Jiang Fuyue: “I saw it clearly.”
“Good, now you try.” Xie Dingyuan withdrew his hand and stepped back.
Yet his gaze lingered on her, reluctant to leave, until—
“Like this?” Jiang Fuyue turned around and held up the paper.
On it, a new character appeared — “Jiang.”
“Mhm,” the man nodded. “Your handwriting would look even better with a calligraphy brush.”
Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow — he had sharp eyes.
In her past life, wasn’t she precisely trained in calligraphy?
Jiang Fuyue then wrote a “Xie” character. She had to admit, using a fountain pen did feel quite different.
“Here, your pen.” She handed it back.
Xie Dingyuan took the pen and sat back down. Both of them buried themselves in work.
Half an hour later, after finishing the summary, Xie Dingyuan straightened up and put away the pen.
Jiang Fuyue kept her eyes on the screen, catching his movement out of the corner of her eye. She said calmly, “I still need about fifteen minutes.”
“No rush. Take your time.”
Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Fuyue finished her task, and the two began wrapping things up.
She tidied the lab benches and shut down the computers.
Xie Dingyuan checked the power sources, instruments, and windows and doors.
Before leaving, he even carefully pulled the main power switch.
Jiang Fuyue was used to his meticulousness by now. If time allowed, he’d probably do a full inspection from start to finish.
“Let’s go.”
Just like before, Xie Dingyuan drove her to her building, waited until she entered, then turned the car around and left.
As he passed by his own home, he happened to run into Old Zhang picking up Zhong Ziang from school — the two sides came face-to-face.
“Uncle Zhang! Open the car door!”
Click—
The central lock released, Zhong Ziang jumped out and ran toward Xie Dingyuan.
“Uncle! Caught you red-handed! Hehe… what do you think would happen if Third Aunt knew you passed by home without visiting?”
“Zhong Ziang, looks like you’re itching for trouble.”
The teenager instinctively shrank his neck, quickly jumping back two steps. “Don’t scare me! Third Aunt’s here — dare to hit me and see what happens?”
Xie Dingyuan gave him a cool glance. “Third Aunt’s heading back to the capital the day after tomorrow.”
Zhong Ziang: “…”
“Move.”
As if he dared not move? He shuffled aside immediately — then suddenly—
“Ziang? Why are you standing outside? You’re blocking the car!” Xie Yunlan walked over.
The next second, her eyes widened in surprise: “Little Nine?!”
Xie Dingyuan: “…Third Sister.”
“You’re done with work? Come, come, come, park the car inside first! Why didn’t you call ahead? I would’ve told Aunt Liu to cook more dishes…”
No choice. Xie Dingyuan could only park the car, and naturally had to stay for dinner too.
Luckily, he’d made it clear earlier that he had no interest in being set up with Zhuang Yawen again, and Xie Yunlan didn’t bring it up.
Zhong Ziang had originally wanted to watch his uncle squirm awkwardly, but to his shock, Xie Yunlan didn’t mention matchmaking at all.
Zhong Ziang: “?”
What about the promised blind date?
…
The next day, Jiang Fuyue took her day off.
Xie Dingyuan didn’t pick her up. Instead, he drove straight to the company early.
Today he wore a full suit and tie, not a hair out of place. When he walked into the board meeting, everyone unconsciously stood up—
“Chairman Xie.”
That’s right. Today he wasn’t headed to the lab but was switching into his CEO persona.
Okay, actually, it was because a mountain of paperwork had piled up and needed his full attention.
…
Meanwhile, after breakfast, Jiang Fuyue also headed out.
Crossing the street from her building, a black Honda was parked at the curb.
She opened the door and got in.
The driver, Liu Jinzhong’s trusted aide, greeted her respectfully: “Miss.”
“Mhm. Let’s go.”
The Honda sped along and finally stopped at the back entrance of Yufeng Kitchen.
Jiang Fuyue went upstairs directly, where Liu Jinzhong was already waiting at the stairwell.
“Miss, you’re here.”
“Uncle Liu.”
They entered the office together. Liu Jinzhong followed behind and closed the door.
Turning around, Jiang Fuyue was already seated behind the desk, in front of three stacks of documents.
“So many?”
“These are from Yufeng Group, KT Company, and Yufeng Real Estate — all the documents needing your signature from the past month.”
Jiang Fuyue twitched her lips and picked up a pen — then suddenly paused: “Uncle Liu, do you have a fountain pen?”
“Huh? Yes, top drawer on the left. Fully inked.”
Jiang Fuyue randomly picked one up and gave it a few test flips — it felt satisfyingly heavy.
This one would do.
Today, Jiang Fuyue also fully switched into her CEO mode as the head of several companies.
By 1 PM, she had finally finished signing the last page. Throughout the morning, Liu Jinzhong had come in several times to ask if she wanted lunch — Jiang Fuyue declined each time.
Now finally free, she felt the hunger.
Liu Jinzhong quickly called the first floor to arrange a meal.
“No need to bring it up. I’ll come down.”
Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Fuyue sat quietly in an inconspicuous corner of the restaurant, enjoying her food.
Just as she was finishing, the door opened, and a vaguely familiar figure walked in — with a young woman in his arms.
“President Jiang, are we eating here?” the woman asked sweetly.
Jiang Hua nodded: “Mhm.”
The woman curiously looked around, amazed by the restaurant’s refined and luxurious decor: “I heard it’s hard to get a reservation here…”
At that moment, a waiter approached: “Sir, do you have a reservation?”
Jiang Hua gave a number, his strong jawline exuding a natural arrogance and aloofness that made the woman’s heart pound with admiration.
“Mr. Jiang, right? This way, please.”
Jiang Hua and the woman were led to a table, and they began ordering.
Throughout, the woman clung to his arm, whispering flirtatious words. Occasionally Jiang Hua would respond, and even — when he was particularly amused — grabbed her hand and kissed it, making her blush deeply.
Behind a one-way screen, Jiang Fuyue observed with great interest. She could see everything clearly, but Jiang Hua, from his angle, couldn’t spot her.
She hadn’t expected that her usually serious and solemn Second Uncle would be so bold and indulgent in private.
In just a few moments, the woman had melted into his arms, gasping softly.
Tsk…
Jiang Fuyue wondered if Yang Jinqiu had ever seen her husband behave so… wild and uninhibited.
She wiped her mouth with a napkin, then got up and headed upstairs.
As long as Jiang Hua didn’t mess with her, she naturally had no interest in his private affairs.
“Sir, all your dishes have been served,” the waiter informed politely before leaving.
“Enough fooling around. Sit properly,” Jiang Hua coughed lightly.
Only then did the woman reluctantly sit up straight and turn her attention to the dishes.
“What’s this?” she poked one curiously with her chopsticks.
“Try it and see.”
“…Delicious! It tastes like yam?”
“Mhm. The broth melts the yam completely, then bird’s nest and goji berries are added, with a pumpkin base steamed for two minutes.”
The woman was surprised: “You know all that?”
Jiang Hua paused slightly: “…I’ve had it before.”
“Oh,” the woman nodded, her eyes sparkling. “Then next time I’ll make it for you at home, okay?”
The man lowered his eyes, casually picking up some food. His tone was faint: “No need. Even if you make it, it won’t taste like this.”
The woman pouted, her bright eyes filling with unshed tears.
When Jiang Hua looked up and saw her expression, he froze — then quickly softened.
“You already have a good life. Why take on unnecessary burdens? I don’t need a little cook — I want something else…”
