Chapter 58

◎Oh dear~◎

Yu You’an had accompanied Chen Yi to buy coffee, and the two of them were chatting quietly at the counter. Their conversation was far too explosive to be overheard by just anyone.

“So, General Manager Chen showed up today because you’re dating?” Yu You’an pieced together the full story.

Chen Yi nodded. “Yeah.”

“Then why come all the way to the company? Couldn’t she have just talked to you at home?”

“Cough.” Chen Yi glanced around before leaning in to whisper to Yu You’an, “And that’s the key part.”

“You’an, I’m only telling you about this.”

“Okay, okay!” Yu You’an’s eyes lit up with excitement. She loved being the only one in on juicy gossip like this.

“It’s like this… actually, the person I’m dating…”

“Chen Yi!” Out of nowhere, someone called out to her. Chen Yi frowned and looked over, only to see a face she didn’t recognize.

The stranger acted like old friends. “It’s me! I showed you the way during new hire orientation.”

Chen Yi had completely forgotten, but she mustered a polite smile anyway.

Yu You’an was sharp as a tack. She tugged at Chen Yi’s clothes and whispered from behind her—just loud enough for the two of them to hear—”Someone trying to butter you up.”

In the short time they’d been gone, word that Chen Yi was the group’s heiress had clearly spread like wildfire through the company.

Yu You’an pulled out her phone and checked the gossip group chat.

The group that usually had only eight or nine messages was now flooded with 999+ notifications.

Everyone was reeling from the same bombshell:

The group’s heiress was right there interning among them?!

Even Yu You’an’s account had been @’d multiple times. Lots of people asking: You’re so close to Chen Yi—did you know all along?

For the first time, Yu You’an found the gossip downright annoying.

Chen Yi hated scenes like this too.

“Sorry, I’ve got something to handle. Gotta run.” She grabbed the freshly made coffee and hustled Yu You’an away. When the person tried to sidle closer for some chit-chat, Chen Yi gave them a cold look. “You’re in the way.”

That shut them down.

When they reached the elevators, the colleagues who’d normally crowd in after Chen Yi all stepped back three paces, leaving plenty of space for her to enter first.

Chen Yi felt deeply uncomfortable.

This was exactly why she’d never liked the fashion world growing up. With Chen Nanyun’s name hanging over her, people everywhere treated her like fragile porcelain. But that wasn’t the kind of world Chen Yi wanted.

“Little Yi, listen to me,” Yu You’an said solemnly. “From now on, my status at the company is about to change. If this were ancient times, I’d at least be the princess’s personal attendant!”

“You’re just making fun of me.”

“I’m not!” Yu You’an insisted. “But since you kept this from me for so long, I decree your punishment: buy me coffee for a week. Bubble tea’s fine too. I’ve given up on dieting lately.”

“Fine, fine,” Chen Yi agreed. “Drink as much as you want. I’ll buy you a hundred cups if that’s what it takes.”

Yu You’an pictured the scene and shuddered, shaking her head vigorously. “On second thought, never mind. Even without caffeine poisoning, I’d probably end up with the runs until I was dehydrated.”

The two headed upstairs, chatting and laughing the whole way.

“Alright, Princess, your humble minister can only accompany you this far.” Yu You’an was fully in character by then. She stopped at the door to Xu Yan’s office. “The rest is up to you alone.”

Chen Yi gave her a helpless nudge with her elbow, knocked on the door, and waited for permission before stepping inside.

She’d braced herself for the worst—maybe Xu Yan and her mom at each other’s throats, or at least exchanging icy glares. On the way up, she’d even rehearsed a bunch of ways to smooth things over. But when she pushed open the door, there they were, sitting side by side on the sofa.

Chen Nanyun was holding Xu Yan’s hand, beaming with a kindly smile. She didn’t even glance up as Chen Yi returned.

It was Xu Yan who spoke first. “General Manager Chen, Little Yi’s back.”

Chen Nanyun waved it off. “I see that.”

Chen Yi bristled. “Here’s your coffee.”

Chen Nanyun snorted. “You really think I came for the coffee? Just set it down.”

Chen Yi had to fight the urge to roll her eyes.

Turning back to Xu Yan, Chen Nanyun said, “My daughter’s great in every way—except she’s a bit dense sometimes. You’ll have to put up with her.”

“Mom—”

What kind of mother badmouthed her daughter right in front of her girlfriend?

Chen Nanyun ignored her completely and kept going. “She’s always been that way—spoiled rotten by me since she was little.”

There was laughter in Chen Nanyun’s eyes, but only Xu Yan, who was close enough to meet her gaze directly, could see the sharp glint of a mother’s protectiveness beneath it.

“Now that you’re dating, make it work.”

Xu Yan understood perfectly.

“I will,” she promised earnestly. “I’ll take good care of Little Yi.”

Chen Yi muttered under her breath, “I can take care of you too, you know.”

“Alright then, that’s settled. I’ve got to check on the other floors.” Chen Nanyun rose to her feet and picked up one of the coffees from the table. “You haven’t eaten yet, Chen Yi. Take your girlfriend out for lunch.”

“Mom, you’re leaving already?”

“What else? I’m not retired yet. You think I can just lounge around like you?”

True to form, Chen Nanyun swept in like the wind and left just as abruptly. The woman was impossible to pin down.

The moment she was gone, Chen Yi hurried to Xu Yan’s side and sat down. “My mom didn’t give you a hard time, did she?”

She didn’t think her mom would pull some melodramatic TV trope like offering two million to stay away from her daughter, but she knew Chen Nanyun wasn’t one to fool around with.

Sending her off so they could talk alone…

“You okay?”

Xu Yan shook her head with a smile.

“What did you two talk about?”

“Just some things about you.”

“Me?” Chen Yi blinked in confusion. “What about me?”

Xu Yan crooked a finger at her. Chen Yi leaned in close, nestling into her embrace. Xu Yan draped an arm around her shoulders and gently toyed with her earlobe—a habit of hers.

Chen Yi’s earlobe had a pleasant bit of softness to it, so satisfying to pinch.

“She told me why you decided to intern here,” Xu Yan said. “And about the bet you two made.”

“Oh no!” At the mention of that wager, Chen Yi panicked. “Did she tell you I lost?”

“No.” Xu Yan pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. “Baby, from now on, you can chase whatever makes you happy without worry.”

From the very start, it had been a bet Chen Yi couldn’t lose.

Chen Nanyun had never intended for two months of interning to make her fall in love with the fashion world and take up her mantle. Once Chen Yi had turned away, Chen Nanyun laid out the truth for Xu Yan.

“I’ve never had many expectations for her growing up—just that she’d be happy. I’m not against her gaming; I just worried it was a phase and she’d regret it later. So her dad and I staged a little act. Truth is, no matter how the internship went, if she still wanted to game in the end, we’d support her.

“At worst, it was to make her think it through—ensure it was her choice, and that she’d own the consequences.”

Parents like Chen Nanyun never pushed their children to greatness. She’d fought tooth and nail her whole life precisely so her daughter could have room to breathe. Over empty accolades and social climbing, Chen Nanyun wanted her daughter to grow into someone independent.

Sincere. Brave. Able to face life’s storms head-on and welcome the rainbows that followed.

To Xu Yan, Chen Yi had already become that person.

She’d opened her heart and shared everything with Chen Nanyun.

Only then had Chen Nanyun begun to warm to her.

As a young woman, Xu Yan had envied people with families like this. To her, it had seemed like something out of science fiction.

But now, all she felt was simple joy.

Xu Yan brushed the stray hairs from Chen Yi’s forehead and lost herself in her eyes. She leaned down, their breaths mingling, noses brushing—a kiss hovering on the verge of unfolding.

Red lips trembled on the edge, while her caressing hand conveyed boundless affection.

If the world decreed that someone had to grow up in the full glare of the sun, then Xu Yan hoped that person wouldn’t be her.

She hoped it would be Chen Yi.

Thank goodness you’re happy.

Xu Yan’s gaze was thick as ink, spilling over Chen Yi, filling the space around her, and finally weaving into their shared breaths.

She swallowed hard before asking, “Chief Editor Xu, you haven’t eaten yet.”

“I’m not hungry,” Xu Yan replied.

“But it’s lunchtime.”

Xu Yan tilted her head, her thumb grazing Chen Yi’s lips. “Can I have something else first?”

Her eyes curved seductively upward at the corners, her chin lifted just so, gazing up from below like a sly fox.

Chen Yi blinked. “Then you have to eat for real later, okay?”

Xu Yan murmured her assent.

That soft “okay” was both agreement and permission.

The eager puppy, already hooked from last night’s kisses and craving more, didn’t hesitate now that its owner had given the green light. It lunged straight for its favorite bone.

Such a soft, exquisite bone from a beauty—one kiss, and it melted away.

The aroma of freshly ground coffee from downstairs wafted through the office, bitter and distinctive.

The little puppy had no taste for that bitterness.

And yet it adored the one who did.

Struck by inspiration, she wheedled playfully, “Chief Editor Xu, want some coffee?”

Xu Yan laughed. “I didn’t teach you that one.”

Chen Yi nuzzled against the curve of her neck. “Will you drink it or not?”

Xu Yan said nothing, merely tilting her chin toward the coffee. If Chen Yi had a real tail, it would have been whirring like a helicopter propeller.

The coffee was bitterly intense—and a little cold. Chen Yi took a sip.

When she passed it to Xu Yan, Chen Yi was exceedingly careful.

She wouldn’t want to stain Xu Yan’s clothes.

Who knew what those gossipy colleagues outside might speculate.

It was clearly the same coffee, yet for some strange reason, after it had passed through Xu Yan’s lips, Chen Yi drank it down with ravenous thirst.

After a moment, her face flushed red, she asked, “Chief Editor Xu, do you have to work overtime today?”

“Yes,” Xu Yan replied.

Chen Yi couldn’t conceal her disappointment.

“Then should I wait for you so we can go home together after work?” she asked.

Xu Yan pinched her chin and planted a kiss on her lips. “I have to work overtime.”

“Isn’t there a studious little student waiting at home for her lesson with me?”

Chen Yi’s face burned with heat.

Xu Yan, however, was still mulling over a question.

“Baby, with this setup… shouldn’t you call me Teacher tonight? What does Student Chen think?”

Student Chen couldn’t think a thing.

Her brain overloaded and crashed on the spot.

Another day driven crazy by her wife.