Su Chengyang had a good night’s sleep and woke up the next day, close to ten o’clock.
When she got up, Xiao Lu had just woken up as well, lying on the living room sofa, scrolling through Weibo.
During this period of time, Su Chengyang was as busy as a spinning top, and Xiao Lu was not idle either. They hardly had time to look at their phones. Xiao Lu often reported to Lin Yu that one assistant couldn’t handle the workload, and Assistant Xu was frequently occupied with company matters. Lin Yu was also extremely busy, so he told Xiao Lu to bear with it for a while, and things would get better soon.
Su Chengyang also felt it was unnecessary because she could do the things her assistant could do.
Seeing Su Chengyang coming down, Xiao Lu said, “The reviews for the movie you acted in are quite high online, especially for your character, the nation’s first love.”
Su Chengyang chuckled, “It’s not that exaggerated.”
“It really is that exaggerated.”
Xiao Lu tilted her head and said, “My cousin brother brought breakfast over, it’s in the microwave. Go and eat.”
Su Chengyang was taken aback, “Mr. Lin came over?”
Xiao Lu nodded, “He’s the one who bought these flowers. And by the way, both of you have such an ambiguous relationship, why do you still call him ‘Mr. Lin’? Now everyone in the company is spreading rumors about you and him.”
Hearing this, Su Chengyang paused for a moment on her way to the kitchen, and asked skeptically, “How could people in the company know?”
Xiao Lu’s smile stiffened for a moment.
Oh no, I slipped up and said something I shouldn’t have.
Su Chengyang suddenly realized that only the three of them knew about this matter. She hadn’t said anything, and Lin Yu wouldn’t either. The only person who could reveal this was Xiao Lu.
“Lu Yin!” Su Chengyang angrily rushed forward and grabbed her by the neck. “How can you be so bad at keeping secrets?!”
Xiao Lu smiled ingratiatingly and said, “I accidentally let it slip in the employee group chat, but I promise they won’t let anyone outside the company know!”
“What guarantee do you have?!” Su Chengyang was so angry that she wanted to bite her. She regretted telling her in the first place.
“Oh, everyone likes you a lot. They would be happy to see you become the future boss lady. They even call you ‘boss lady’ in private.”
“Lu Yin!”
Xiao Lu stuck out her tongue and said, “Anyway, you and my cousin brother will be together sooner or later. You’ll be my sister-in-law, and I’ll be your little sister-in-law. If you kill me, we’ll have to handle weddings and funerals together in our family.”
Su Chengyang blushed at being called “sister-in-law” and hearing the word “wedding.” Furious, she bit Xiao Lu on the cheek.
“Ah! Holy shit, you really bit me!” Xiao Lu cried out in pain.
“You’re making wild guesses without any basis!” Su Chengyang scolded.
Xiao Lu quickly raised both hands in surrender and pleaded, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You go eat first. My cousin brother will be checking on us later.”
Su Chengyang glared at her with resentment, then turned and hurriedly escaped into the kitchen.
Xiao Lu touched the tooth mark on her cheek and quickly took a photo before it disappeared, sending it to her cousin brother.
【I was bitten by my future sister-in-law.】
【Lin Yu: Transfer 5,000 yuan.】
【So cute.】
【Cute? I also think I’m cute.】
【Lin Yu: The tooth mark of your future sister-in-law.】
【Inhuman!!!】
Lin Yu ignored her roar, opened the photo, zoomed in on the location of the tooth mark, and took a screenshot.
“Knock一”
The office door was knocked.
“Come in.” Lin Yu put down his phone.
Assistant Xu pushed the door open, looked at Lin Yu with a serious expression, and said, “President Lin, the chairman wants you to come to his office immediately.”
Lin Yu raised his eyes and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Assistant Xu said, “There have been rumors about you and Chengyang in the company recently. The chairman would like to talk to you about Chengyang.”
Lin Yu remained silent for a moment and lowered his gaze, saying, “I understand.”
. . . . .
After finishing breakfast, Su Chengyang returned to the living room and saw Xiao Lu typing on her phone with a serious expression.
She calmed down and put a cherry tomato near Xiao Lu’s mouth, asking, “What’s wrong?”
Xiao Lu chewed on the fruit and mumbled, “There’s talk in the employee group that because of the recent affair between you and my cousin brother, my cousin brother was called into the office by our uncle and it seems like he was scolded.”
Su Chengyang’s expression froze, “Because of me?”
Xiao Lu seemed to remember something and her face turned unpleasant. She said, “When my cousin brother was in Italy with an artist, our uncle mentioned that their future daughter-in-law shouldn’t be someone from the entertainment industry. So, you and my cousin brother…”
Su Chengyang’s face turned pale. When she realized that Lin Yu liked her, Su Chengyang was too happy and excited to think about all these things. But now, thinking about Lin Yu’s background, it was completely different from hers. How could Lin Yu’s parents possibly agree?
Seeing her not looking well, Xiao Lu felt guilty and said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let it slip. You and my cousin brother don’t have a relationship yet, and my cousin brother might have other plans.”
Although Su Chengyang’s expression was unpleasant, she managed to remain calm and shook her head, saying, “It’s not your concern. If Lin Yu really wants to be with me, his parents will find out sooner or later.”
Xiao Lu felt a little guilty and held Su Chengyang’s hand, saying, “Chengyang, although I know this might sound cruel to you, I still want to tell you that if you and my cousin brother are just dating, my uncle won’t pay too much attention. But if my cousin brother plans to have a future with you, my uncle… might not agree.”
Su Chengyang understood what she meant: Lin Yu could play with her, but a serious relationship was out of the question.
Su Chengyang smiled and said, “It’s okay. After all, marriages can end in divorce. Even if we’re together now, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll last.”
“Chengyang…”
“Alright, I made plans to watch a movie with Mr. Lin tonight. Looks like you’ll be alone again.”
Su Chengyang rubbed her face, then got up and went back to her room.
Su Chengyang wasn’t lying. Relationships don’t always last, to begin with. It’s just that she and Lin Yu hadn’t even fully started yet, but she could already see the ending.
But that’s okay. She knew the final outcome. Even if the process sinks into despair, she can still prepare herself to give Lin Yu her final blessings.
Su Chengyang has never been greedy.
These past few days, she has spent less time looking at her phone. There were piles of WeChat messages that she hadn’t opened.
She glanced at them. Almost everyone she knows had sent her congratulatory messages. Su Chengyang replied to each one, then clicked into a small group chat. The conversation stopped yesterday, and the messages became fewer and fewer, with less and less from Han Songxue.
Everyone’s lives are heading in different directions.
Su Chengyang had prepared herself in advance for this matter, but when the day arrived, she still felt melancholy.
. . . . .
In the evening, Lin Yu drove to the door to pick up Su Chengyang.
Throughout the journey, Lin Yu didn’t mention being called to the chairman’s office. Su Chengyang felt it was not important to her. As long as Lin Yu still liked her and wanted to be with her, she didn’t mind the final outcome. The process was the most important thing, and even if the result wasn’t satisfactory, the beautiful process would be remembered for a lifetime.
“What would you like to eat tonight?” Lin Yu asked.
Su Chengyang replied, “Can we eat anything tonight?”
“Managing your figure is your job, but now it’s our dating time.”
Su Chengyang narrowed her eyes and said, “I want dessert!”
“Chocolate?”
“Cake!”
Lin Yu chuckled and said, “Let’s save the dessert for after dinner. How about having Western food for dinner?”
Su Chengyang nodded and said, “Okay, I want to have two steaks.”
Lin Yu laughed, “Can you still eat dessert after that?”
“I can, desserts are considered snacks. I have separate stomachs for my main course and snacks.”
“Alright, I’ll go with your choice.”
Lin Yu took Su Chengyang to a Western restaurant where the waiters were all foreigners.
Lin Yu fluently placed the order in English. After the waiter left, he looked at Su Chengyang and asked, “How is your English learning going?”
He knows what Su Chengyang has been studying recently.
Su Chengyang felt a bit embarrassed, “I can barely understand what you and the waiter were talking about.”
Lin Yu nodded, “That’s not bad. What about math?”
When it came to math, Su Chengyang was at a loss. Although she had studied it before, her level was at most junior high school. She could only solve a few problems in the exercise books that Du Senyu gave her. She had never realized how complicated math could be, it was too difficult.
Seeing her disappointed expression, Lin Yu said, “Do you want to hire a tutor?”
Su Chengyang shook her head, “I’m going to join the crew in a couple of days. I don’t have time to study. Let’s talk about it next year.”
Lin Yu didn’t want her to be too tired either and said, “There’s no rush to study. I had someone inquire at your school. You applied to retain your student status for two years. You can go to the school to register after the New Year. If your college entrance exam results next year are not ideal, you can still take it in the future.”
Su Chengyang nodded, “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
After the steak was served, Lin Yu cut it into pieces and handed it to her as usual.
During the meal, Lin Yu spoke very little, and Su Chengyang was used to eating quietly.
When Su Chengyang was full and satisfied, elegant violin music filled the Western-style restaurant.
“Are you full?” Lin Yu sat across from her, smiling.
The soft lighting in the Western-style restaurant made his face appear much gentler.
Su Chengyang felt inexplicably nervous. She wiped her mouth with a tissue and hesitated to meet his gaze. She nodded and said, “I’m full.”
Su Chengyang noticed that in the spacious restaurant, only the two of them were left, and she didn’t know when.
Realizing this, Su Chengyang became even more nervous.
Lin Yu smiled at her and said softly, “I want to talk to you.”
Su Chengyang nodded, “Okay.”
“Chengyang, I initially didn’t want to tell you these things in advance. You haven’t fully accepted me yet.”
Su Chengyang shook her head, “Go ahead.”
“Why didn’t you ask me about the matter of the chairman calling me to his office?” Lin Yu’s smile gradually faded, and his expression became more serious.
Su Chengyang tensed up, with a momentary look of surprise, “How did you know…”
Before the words were fully spoken, Su Chengyang guessed that it must have been Big Mouth Xiao Lu who spilled the beans.
“Aren’t you curious about what he said to me?”
Lin Yu’s gaze grew heavy, and Su Chengyang knew why he asked if she was full. This topic was too serious to have an appetite.
Su Chengyang’s throat tightened, unsure how to answer.
“Or do you think that no matter what the chairman said to me, you don’t care?”
“It’s not…” Su Chengyang softly retorted.
“Su Chengyang, do you think I’m just playing around with you? So you don’t care whether my father will approve of us? Or is it that to you, I’m just a plaything?”
“No!” Su Chengyang suddenly raised her voice, surpassing the volume of the violin.
Lin Yu silently watched her and said, “Continue.”
Su Chengyang’s eyes welled up with tears, “I didn’t think that way, but what can I do if the chairman doesn’t agree? Anyway, even marriage can end in divorce. What if we were never meant to reach that point?”
Lin Yu remained silent for a while after hearing her words. Su Chengyang timidly lifted her head, and he suddenly reached out, taking her hand from the table and holding it in his palm.
“Chengyang, you don’t trust me enough,” Lin Yu said.
He rubbed Su Chengyang’s hand with his thumb, his tone gradually becoming gentle. “I can handle my own affairs. You just need to trust me.”
“I know that it may be difficult for you to completely believe me, but I don’t want you to spend every second by my side thinking that we will eventually separate.”
