Shang Xingyu had just gone to the bathroom to relieve himself, not because of constipation, and he soon came out.

As soon as he came out, he saw his sister, who was on the phone, and his brother-in-law, who was waiting for her to finish the call.

Shang Xingyu was actually a bit afraid of Lin Heng most of the time.

His sister, on the other hand, was a bit of a naive, sweet type—though her temper was far from mild, she was still a hot-headed, sweet kind of person.

His brother-in-law… well, no, he just had one brother-in-law.

The former brother-in-law, Shen Wang, was no longer a brother-in-law.

Lin Heng, however, was a bit of a mystery.

Shang Xingyu’s animal instincts—no, scratch that, his wild instincts—no, his intuition!—told him that his brother-in-law was not someone easy to mess with.

“Hello, brother-in-law,” Shang Xingyu obediently greeted him.

Lin Heng nodded in acknowledgment, a substitute for a greeting.

At that moment, Shang Xingyu suddenly realized that while he knew Liu Heguang was Shen Wang, his sister didn’t, and neither did his brother-in-law.

His sister was on the phone with the person now, so she surely knew who it was. But still, his brother-in-law didn’t.

That meant his sister was talking to her ex-brother-in-law, and her current brother-in-law had no idea????

Shang Xingyu felt a cold sweat running down his forehead.

Uh…

Well… it would be better if his brother-in-law continued to not know.

Lin Heng looked at the phone in Shang Xingyu’s sister’s hands, which wasn’t her flashy, decorated phone with bling-bling accessories, but Shang Xingyu’s phone.

Lin Heng asked, “Who’s she talking to?”

Shang Xingyu thought: I’m absolutely not going to say my ex-brother-in-law’s name! Not a chance!

So, Shang Xingyu decided to play a word game.

He said, “My sister was asking my classmate’s cousin for something, so she used my phone.”

Lin Heng casually asked, “Your classmate?”

Shang Xingyu casually replied, “My classmate, Liu Heguang.”

Then Lin Heng: “……..”

It’s Shen Wang.

Lin Heng instantly recognized who Liu Heguang’s cousin was.

Meanwhile, Shang Xingyu still thought: How could my brother-in-law know my classmate?

We’re six or seven years apart!

He couldn’t possibly know my classmate!!!

On the other end of the phone, Shen Wang was speaking in a very businesslike manner with Shang Xinglu.

“Is Bu Zheng Financial sort of like your own family at Yunshi? If your own people aren’t confident, even if I support it for personal reasons, my risk assessment team here won’t back it. So, this matter is looking rather uncertain.”

Shang Xinglu calmly and coldly replied, “Hmm, okay, I understand, thank you.”

Little did he know, she was sweating profusely behind the phone!

She hung up very quickly.

Not dragging things out at all.

Shen Wang: “……”

…Didn’t have to hang up so fast.

Am I some kind of monster or something?!

Shen Wang suddenly thought of a phrase—“cutting someone off without any feelings.”

Then Shen Wang: “…………”

What am I even thinking about?!!!

Meanwhile, Shang Xinglu quickly hung up the phone and tossed it to Shang Xingyu.

She turned to Lin Heng and said, “What did you just tell me? I didn’t catch it because I was on the phone.”

Lin Heng didn’t respond right away.

Shang Xinglu didn’t know why, but she suddenly thought about Lin Heng’s mother’s constant nagging in the car—“It’s bad to still think about an ex.”

Shang Xinglu agreed. It was really bad.

So she could’ve just told Lin Heng that she was consulting Shen Wang about something.

But what was she even asking about?

To confirm if Lin Heng’s information was true or not… that’s practically questioning Mr. Lin himself!

…That’s something she couldn’t say out loud!

So instead, Shang Xinglu explained, “I was just consulting with my classmate’s cousin about a few things.”

The two siblings were using the same excuse.

Not mentioning names, just intentionally blurring the details.

Lin Heng didn’t speak, though he didn’t know what Shang Xinglu wanted to ask Shen Wang, but now he was even more curious to hear what kind of excuse Shang Xinglu would come up with.

Shang Xinglu smiled.

After all, she hadn’t put it on speakerphone.

And facing someone who was only scared of fluffy little Lin Heng…

Shang Xinglu confidently gave her excuse: “I was asking him about tips on raising penguins, and how to pet them specifically.”

Even Lin Heng was taken aback.

A simple little fluffy Lin Heng wouldn’t ask any more questions.

Shang Xinglu half-jokingly said, “Honey, I really, really want to raise penguins.”

The air became still.

Then Lin Heng calmly responded, “I really, really have a fluff allergy. Therefore, I reject this request.”

Shang Xinglu: “……”

Once again, her dreams were shattered.

Lin Heng repeated the details of the banquet to the business manager, Lou, once again.

At the end, Lin Heng remembered something.

He hesitated.

But then he thought about the phone call between Louise and Shen Wangzhi earlier.

He had overheard half of it, and although it seemed like nothing serious, still…

Lin Heng took a deep breath, exhaled, and repeated the process.

He said, “A month ago, I told you that the branch office is planning a resort park, right? There are five parks in total, and one of them is an aquarium. The venue is mostly completed. Yesterday, a batch of animals was brought in to adapt to the environment, but the park is not open to the public yet. However, if you’d like to go… you could come with me.”

Shang Xinglu remained silent for a moment.

Wait a minute—what about Lin Heng’s allergy to fluff?!

Honestly, she liked to joke around sometimes, teasing Lin Heng about his “allergy,” but she had never forced him to interact with fluffy little animals!

The former stray dog “Wangcai” at her house stayed quietly in its designated area and never bothered Lin Heng’s discomfort.

Unable to help herself, Lou moved closer and touched Lin Heng’s forehead.

Lin Heng was much taller than her, and she was wearing flat shoes at home, so she had to stretch her hand to reach his forehead.

Her hand was slightly cold from the air conditioning.

Lin Heng’s forehead felt warm.

So when her fingers touched his forehead, Shang Xinglu felt an unusual warmth.

…It was a different sensation.

She immediately withdrew her hand. “Xingyu! Look, Lin Heng is also capable of having a fever!”

Lin Heng: “…………”

Shang Xingyu: “Wow! I thought my brother-in-law was a robot, but he can get a fever too! Let me see.”

Lin Heng: “……………”

After the sibling duo’s playful teasing, Lin Heng, with a neutral expression, invited again, devoid of any emotion: “There are penguins, several species were brought in. Are you going or not?”

“Yes! I’ll go!” Shang Xinglu quickly replied.

She couldn’t care less about Lin Heng’s fever now.

Penguins are involved, so he’s my dad.

That’s the truth!

— From Shang Xinglu’s book.

…

The banquet went on as expected. Every married man brought his wife along, and they talked politics, business, and some small talk.

Shang Xinglu stood in place, being a beautiful yet silent figure.

Honestly, she could talk a lot. Normally, in such settings, she could mimic her research institute leaders and chat aimlessly, trying to make both sides think she was impressive while no one understood what she was saying.

But today, Shang Xinglu was very quiet.

She was quite well-known in the circle.

Her personality was rather flamboyant, and her face was strikingly beautiful, making her the opposite of melancholy or fresh-faced.

Today, however, she was very silent.

One of the wives couldn’t help but ask, “Louise, what’s going on with you today?”

Shang Xinglu hesitated, paused for a while, and then said in a somewhat melancholic tone, “I’ve been thinking a lot about the new resort park that Runyu is building, and my spirits haven’t been very high.”

Someone immediately commented, “It’s so lucky for Mr. Lin that his wife can help with his business!”

Lin Heng politely agreed.

He glanced at Shang Xinglu subtly.

He lightly held her hand on the table.

The implied message was — do you still want to see penguins?

Shang Xinglu immediately squeezed his hand back — Yes, I do! I’ll behave well!

Finally, the lunch event ended.

They changed into more casual clothes and headed to the park, which had not yet opened to the public.

The penguin exhibit was designed to simulate the Antarctic living environment for penguins, with refrigeration systems and lots of ice.

When Shang Xinglu and Lin Heng entered, they both wore thick padded jackets.

Some penguins were let out into the central plaza, which was half land, half water.

The penguins could freely swim in the water.

The glass walls surrounding the plaza seemed very thin and transparent but were actually one meter thick, keeping the audience and penguins separated.

Since Shang Xinglu wanted to interact with them, she had to ask the zookeeper to take her inside.

Meanwhile, Lin Heng stood far outside the glass wall, arms crossed, his face buried in his puffy coat, leaving only his eyes visible, like a scarecrow in a rice field — passively ignoring everything.

Shang Xinglu, now completely engrossed with the penguins, forgot about Lin Heng.

She sanitized her hands and followed the zookeeper into the exhibit.

Under the guidance of the professionals, Shang Xinglu finally got to touch the baby emperor penguin…

That fluffy feeling! That chubby body! The goofy personality that always queued up behind the biped creatures…!

So satisfying!

Shang Xinglu’s face lit up in pure joy.

Outside, Lin Heng sneezed.

“…Achoo!”

…So cold.

Shang Xinglu continued to interact with the penguins.

She petted the emperor penguins, then the king penguins.

It was as if she had entered a treasure trove of penguins, completely losing herself in the experience.

Lin Heng was still outside, sneezing repeatedly.

“…Achoo! Achoo!”

…So cold, and allergic to fluff, how long is she going to keep petting them!

After finishing with the king penguins, Shang Xinglu reached for a tiny, round-eyed penguin with a ring of white feathers around its eyes, looking just like a meme character.

This penguin was smaller than the emperor penguin chick, but it seemed very soft…

Zookeeper: “Hey! This Adelie penguin is very aggressive. Please don’t touch it…”

Before the zookeeper could finish, Shang Xinglu was already reaching out and petting it.

Then…

“Ahhh!! Don’t chase me! Don’t! Don’t slap me!! Aahhh!!!”

Shang Xinglu frantically sped around the exhibit in a wheelchair, but the floor was too slippery.

She couldn’t go too fast.

Behind her, the angry penguin flapped its wings furiously, chasing and smacking at her.

It looked like it wouldn’t stop until it pulled her hair out!

Soon, Shang Xinglu reached the edge of the water, with the penguin still behind her.

The ground was slippery, and she couldn’t stop in time. With a loud splash…

She and her wheelchair fell into the water.

The fall wasn’t far from where Lin Heng was standing, and just before she hit the water, she saw Lin Heng unimpressed, letting out a cold “Hmph.”

“…Heh.”

Then Lin Heng, for the first time, smiled brightly, as if saying: Do you still want to pet penguins?

Shang Xinglu: …………

I hate you!!!!!!!!

I hereby declare that you are no longer my dad!!!!!