Chapter 61: Fruits!

By the time Xu Yan and Chen Yi hauled the steaming dry pot rabbit through the front door, it was already the next morning.

Last night’s tantalizing feast held no appeal for Chen Yi today. She stashed the takeout in the fridge and warmed up some milk and bread instead.

“I don’t wanna go to work,” she whined from the kitchen, wrapping her arms around Xu Yan in a pouty hug.

Xu Yan yawned and planted a kiss on her forehead.

For the first time in her life, she didn’t want to go to work either.

To inspire such thoughts in a workaholic like her?

In a way, it was a miracle.

“Why don’t we just call in sick?” Chen Yi dreamed aloud.

Xu Yan pinched her cheek. “The milk’s hot. Eat your breakfast and go wash up.”

When your boss was your wife, you still had to clock in—even if you didn’t want to.

Besides, Chen Yi didn’t have much time left at the office anyway.

Chen Nanyun had even asked her yesterday if she wanted to end her internship early. Chen Yi hadn’t come here for much beyond this experience; she had no interest in a certificate or a full-time offer. Sitting around doing busywork while getting paid was just money shuffling from one pocket to another.

If Chen Nanyun had brought it up sooner, Chen Yi would’ve agreed without a second thought.

How great would it be to skip work!

But things were different now.

With her boss turned into her wife, Chen Yi felt more motivated than ever to head into the office each day.

Not to mention they were still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, all clingy and inseparable. After last night’s “lesson,” Chen Yi couldn’t bear the thought of being apart from Xu Yan for even a single minute of her twenty-four hours.

Her wife!

Her sweet, soft, fragrant wife!

Xu Yan took pity on her. “If you really don’t want to go, taking the day off is fine.”

Her boss was openly playing favorites.

Chen Yi shook her head. “No, no way.”

“I’ll only take time off when my wife does. Otherwise, never.”

Xu Yan smiled. “I can’t afford any more absences either. Work from the past few days is piling up, and with the end of the year approaching, there are tons of events. It’s crazy busy.”

“I know.” Chen Yi pecked her cheek, grabbed the warmed milk and bread with one hand, and looped her other arm around Xu Yan as they headed out. “So let’s go to work together.”

Forget work—even if Uncle Lao Wang’s car led straight to hell when they stepped out, Chen Yi would go willingly.

~~~

Yu You’an always arrived early, and today was no exception. When she got there, the floor was empty of other colleagues.

The sight of Xu Yan and Chen Yi chatting and laughing as they approached sparked a thought in her mind: How did Chen Yi always manage to come up with Chief Editor Xu? What kind of luck was that? Why couldn’t she run into them?

She took a sip of her coffee, her gaze drifting downward.

The coffee went down the wrong pipe.

She spotted Chen Yi’s pinky finger hooked around Chief Editor Xu’s.

Had they hooked up?

Wait—

The person Chen Yi had mentioned getting back into dating with… was it Chief Editor Xu?

Yu You’an’s mind exploded.

Chen Yi noticed Yu You’an and instinctively tried to pull her hand away. Xu Yan stopped her.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to find a time to tell her?”

“Now’s perfect.”

“Go on. I’ll head to my office.”

Xu Yan gave Chen Yi a gentle push forward, then nodded elegantly at Yu You’an. Yu You’an hurriedly bowed toward Chen Yi. Once Xu Yan was gone, she turned to her friend.

Yu You’an hadn’t said a word yet, but Chen Yi’s mind was already racing with the questions she knew were coming.

What the hell? What the hell!?

Are you with Chief Editor Xu? When did this happen? It’s only been a few days—isn’t that way too fast?

Aaaah—

Did I just see something I shouldn’t have? Am I gonna get silenced?

Yu You’an’s actual words matched Chen Yi’s predictions exactly.

“Ahem.” Chen Yi tugged Yu You’an back to her desk and whispered, “I’m only telling you about this.”

“The chief editor and I aren’t planning to go public yet.”

“Mm-hmm.” Yu You’an nodded vigorously. “Don’t worry. I love gossip, but I’ll never breathe a word about my friend’s secrets. If I do, may lightning strike me down and curse me for eternity!”

Chen Yi: “…That’s a bit much.”

Yu You’an: “Heh, been bingeing dramas lately.”

“So… you and Chief Editor Xu are…?”

“Remember that online fling I told you about? That was her.”

A simple sentence short-circuited Yu You’an’s usually quick brain.

It took her a moment to piece it all together and grasp the truth of Chen Yi’s romance. “So that day you went out to meet your online date in person… it was Chief Editor Xu? Oh! Does she know it’s you? I mean, about the online dating thing.”

“None of that matters.” Chen Yi didn’t want to share the intimate details of her relationship with Xu Yan. Everyone had their own opinions, and she wasn’t about to let outsiders judge who Xu Yan was. “Anyway, things are just like you saw.”

“Got it.” Yu You’an glanced up, accidentally spotting the red mark peeking out from under Chen Yi’s high-neck sweater. She clapped a hand over her face. “I get it. I saw it.”

Chen Yi didn’t catch on at first. Then something felt off, and she followed Yu You’an’s gaze to her own collar, realizing Xu Yan had planted a strawberry in such an obvious spot at some point.

No wonder she hadn’t checked carefully that morning.

Come to think of it, Xu Yan had deliberately picked out the high-neck top for her. Was that why?

Chen Yi snapped a photo of her neckline with her phone—no face, just a bit of her jawline.

She texted: Wife, anything to say~?

Xu Yan replied: Nice outfit match.

Chen Yi: And~?

Xu Yan: Don’t like strawberries?

Of course Chen Yi liked them. She was just too embarrassed. For her, strutting into the office the morning after their fun with these on display—without anyone noticing yet—was advanced-level stuff.

Xu Yan: So unfair.

Xu Yan: You did way worse to me last night, and I didn’t complain^^

With Xu Yan putting it that way, what could Chen Yi do? She had to own up to it, kicking off a day of nervous paranoia. If she weren’t worried about making Xu Yan jealous, she’d have borrowed a scarf from a colleague right then.

Wait—

A scarf.

She remembered Xu Yan’s office had extras. She’d spotted them yesterday.

Chen Yi had a plan. She grabbed a stack of work files and stood up, heading for Xu Yan’s office.

Yu You’an winked at her. “Off to see Chief Editor Xu?”

Chen Yi: “Business!”

Yu You’an teased, “Hey, I didn’t say anything! Little Yi, you gotta work on that acting.”

Chen Yi raised the files to bop Yu You’an on the head, but she dodged. Yu You’an shooed her along to go see Xu Yan.

Chen Yi huffed and made her way to Xu Yan’s office. She knocked politely at the door and asked to come in. Once permitted, she strode straight to the desk with feigned seriousness. “Chief Editor Xu.”

Xu Yan had paused her work the moment she heard Chen Yi’s voice. She was reviewing color swatches from the design department, a rainbow spread across her desk.

“What is it, Assistant Chen?”

Chen Yi clutched her files tighter, her eyes flicking to the standing coat rack behind Xu Yan.

“Just borrowing a scarf.”

Her voice was barely a whisper.

Xu Yan heard it and arched a brow. She followed Chen Yi’s gaze to the Hermès scarf hanging there.

Propping her chin on her hand, she regarded Chen Yi leisurely. “A scarf? Didn’t someone swear they never wanted to wear mine before?”

“Xu Yan!” Chen Yi flushed. “Why bring that up now? I already explained! And my friend said she could mail me one!”

The little puppy bristled, and Xu Yan laughed.

“I was just teasing.” She stood, walked to the rack, picked up the scarf, and returned to drape it around Chen Yi’s neck. To do so, she leaned in close—close enough for Chen Yi to catch the perfume she’d spritzed that morning once more. She could even detect traces of last night’s scent lingering on Xu Yan’s skin.

“Happy now?” Xu Yan patted the scarf into place, stepped back to admire her handiwork, then added with mock regret, “That strawberry turned out pretty nice.”

“Xu Yan!”

“I’ve got work to do.”

“Walking around with strawberries on display? Come on.”

“I know.” Xu Yan blinked innocently. “That’s why I picked the high-neck. Unless someone’s right up in your face, no one’s gonna notice.”

Chen Yi finally got the full picture.

She glanced out at the office.

The blinds were drawn—no one could see inside.

She slipped her arms around Xu Yan’s waist and murmured close to her ear, “Sis, are you trying to go public?”

Xu Yan hugged her back.

“Is that a problem?”

“Before, whatever. But after General Manager Chen dropped by yesterday, a bunch of people have been asking about you.” Xu Yan’s expression soured as she spoke, like her precious treasure had suddenly caught the eye of outsiders—for the dumbest reasons.

“I don’t mind.” Chen Yi kissed her. “My internship’s ending in a few days anyway. But sis, I’m worried it’ll affect you.”

If her identity hadn’t been exposed, it might have been fine even if her relationship with Xu Yan came to light. At worst, it would just spark some juicy office romance gossip. But things were different now. News of Xu Yan dating the group heiress was bound to be twisted by those with ulterior motives.

Chen Yi had never been one to care much about company affairs or get caught up in workplace grudges. Still, she couldn’t help picking it up by osmosis from listening to Yu You’an vent about all that drama over daily meals.

There were plenty of people in the group’s other magazines and departments who already had it out for Xu Yan.

Going public now was just handing ammunition to her enemies on a silver platter.

“So what?” Xu Yan said carelessly. “At most, they’ll say I’m climbing the ladder, pulling strings behind the scenes—or living off a rich woman again.”

Chen Yi hurriedly clapped a hand over Xu Yan’s mouth. “Wife, you can’t talk like that.”

“In the future, you’ll probably be the only one in our family working a regular job outside.” Chen Yi was dead set on becoming a full-time streamer. Once the timing was right, she’d start her own esports team. In any case, getting her to sit obediently in an office all day was out of the question.

Who knew who’d be living off whom by then?

She even suspected that once her mom confirmed her relationship with Xu Yan was rock-solid, she’d dump a pile of group responsibilities on Xu Yan. After all, even before Chen Yi had started dating, her mom had always said, “I don’t have high hopes for you anyway. Just do your best to find a capable girlfriend before I retire. Who knows? She might even make a better heir to my legacy than you.”

Chen Yi hadn’t given it much thought back then.

Looking back now, she realized her mom had spoken like an oracle. Her words had become prophecy.

The woman was a prophetic genius!