"Technically, you should be calling me Aunt Zhao."

Xue Yue stared at her, a bit stunned.

Zheng Guofeng said, "Yue’er, your mother and she really were the best of friends. It’s perfectly fine for you to call her Aunt Zhao."

"Aunt Zhao."

"Yes!" Zhao Yinglan replied, happily taking Xue Yue’s hand. "I never would have thought Wanyi’s daughter would be so lovely. Unlike me—I had a son, and he doesn’t even look like me."

Xue Yue smiled.

Zhao Yinglan then called her husband over. "Zaven, let me introduce you. This is my best friend’s daughter, Xue Yue." Then she turned to Xue Yue and said, "This is my husband. You can call him Uncle, too."

Looking at the blue-eyed, blond man before her, Xue Yue found she just couldn’t say it. "Hello, Mr. Reynolds," she said sheepishly.

Zaven Reynolds’s eyes lit up when he saw Xue Yue. "A beautiful lady! So we are so... destined to meet."

His words left Xue Yue a little baffled.

Zhao Yinglan laughed and explained to Xue Yue, "Don’t mind him. The way they understand our language is a little different from how we do. He just means he’s very happy to meet you."

Xue Yue finally broke into a smile. "I’m very happy to meet you both, too."

Just then, Zhao Yinglan’s grandson tugged on her arm. "Grandma~"

Zhao Yinglan glanced down at him, then smiled at Xue Yue. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is my grandson, Pain."

Xue Yue nodded at him. "Hello."

Pain didn’t say anything, just continued to stare at Xue Yue with curiosity.

Zhao Yinglan said to Xue Yue, "He’s just a kid, a bit shy and difficult. He was reminding me to introduce him to you. It seems he’s taken a liking to you."

Xue Yue smiled. "He’s very cute. How old is he?"

"He’s eleven. Are you married?"

"Yes, I am. My daughter is ten this year—"

Zhao Yinglan and Xue Yue stood talking together intimately, drawing the curious gazes of everyone at the reception. The people from the Ministry of Commerce, however, simply assumed Xue Yue was Zheng Guofeng’s daughter. Since Zheng Guofeng and Zhao Yinglan were old friends, it wouldn’t be strange for her to be speaking with Xue Yue.

Others went to Feng Yujie to ask about them.

"Mr. Feng, isn’t that one of your people? She seems to be on very good terms with that Lady Reynolds. Are young people these days so scheming? She latched right onto that connection. Looks like a promotion is coming her way soon."

Feng Yujie shot her a look. "They’re just talking. You’re reading too much into it."

The woman pursed her lips, inwardly mocking Feng Yujie’s naivete. ’She won’t even know what hit her when she gets leapfrogged for a promotion.’

Even when the banquet ended, Zhao Yinglan was still holding onto Xue Yue. "I’ve really taken a shine to you, dear. I feel like we’ve barely had a chance to talk. I’ll be in Beijing City for another two weeks, so I’ll give you a call and we can go out for a meal. You can bring your husband and child, too."

Xue Yue nodded in agreement.

Then she watched them leave.

Feng Yujie walked up to Xue Yue. "We should get going, too."

"Okay."

As she stepped outside, Xue Yue immediately spotted He Lang. He was leaning against a nearby tree, his motorcycle parked next to him.

"Sister Feng, my husband came to pick me up. How are you getting home? Do you want a ride with us?"

Feng Yujie glanced over at He Lang. "No, it’s fine. I have a ride coming. You two go on ahead."

Since she said that, Xue Yue replied, "Alright, we’ll head out then. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Xue Yue walked towards He Lang.

He Lang’s eyes swept over Xue Yue before he took a jacket from his motorcycle and draped it over her shoulders.

Xue Yue raised an eyebrow. "Did you go back home?"

He Lang swung his leg over the motorcycle. "Yeah. I was worried you’d be cold, so I went back to grab you a jacket."

Xue Yue smiled. "How thoughtful of you." She then got on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

The motorcycle’s engine hummed as it disappeared into the distance. Feng Yujie watched them go, a hint of envy in her heart. She wrapped her arms around herself. It was a little cold. Slowly, she started walking.

When they got home, Mrs. He still had a meal warming for them in a pot. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He Lang washed his hands and brought the food into their room. Xue Yue had already changed out of her qipao.

He Lang said with a hint of regret, "Seriously? I barely got a look at you in it before you took it off."

Xue Yue arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Should I put it back on for you, then?"

He Lang said between bites, "Nah, it’s fine. Since it’s already off... might as well take everything else off later."

Xue Yue: "..."

After dinner, He Lang went to clear the dishes while Xue Yue went to shower first.

When she came out of the bathroom, He Lang was already lying on the bed, stripped down to his boxers.

"You haven’t showered yet?" Xue Yue said.

He Lang was sprawled out on his back. "I’ll just have to shower again later anyway, so this is fine for now."

Xue Yue, who was drying her hair, paused. ’His hint couldn’t have been more obvious.’

"Go take a shower first. You’re not touching me until you’re clean."

He Lang turned to look at Xue Yue. "Honey, I waited a really long time for you outside today."

Xue Yue arched an eyebrow. "And?"

He Lang said plaintively, "So... I need to collect a little reward first."

Xue Yue nodded. "Fine. Go shower first."

He Lang was speechless. He looked at Xue Yue and saw she wasn’t going to budge. With a sigh, he reluctantly pulled his pants back on and went to wash up.

Xue Yue finished toweling her hair dry and started applying her skincare.

By the time He Lang came out of the shower, she still wasn’t done.

He Lang’s patience snapped. He strode over and swept Xue Yue up into his arms.

"Ah! What are you doing? I’m not finished yet!"

Carrying her toward the bed, He Lang said, "I’m in a bit of a rush. You can finish up properly after we’re done."

Xue Yue couldn’t even bear to look at him and rolled her eyes.

He Lang had already laid her on the bed and was lowering himself on top of her.

Afterward, Xue Yue was already drifting off to sleep, with no energy left to think about skincare.

He Lang, on the other hand, was wide awake. He leaned against the headboard and watched her sleep. Reaching out, he gently brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. He gazed at her for a long time before finally turning off the light and lying down. He pulled her into his arms, and she mumbled softly before snuggling against him and falling asleep again. In the darkness, a smile spread across He Lang’s face.

When Xue Yue got to the office the next day, Feng Yujie hadn’t arrived yet, but Zhao Li was already there.

Xue Yue walked to her desk and sat down without greeting Zhao Li. ’Politeness is a two-way street.’

Zhao Li shot Xue Yue a sideways glance and muttered something under her breath. It certainly wasn’t anything kind, but Xue Yue couldn’t hear it.

Feng Yujie came in and announced, "Meeting in the conference room. Everyone, let’s go."

When they got to the conference room, the higher-ups were already there. Seeing Feng Yujie enter, Minister Jin Shaoming beckoned to her. "Mr. Feng, bring your people and sit here in the front."

Feng Yujie hesitated for a second before leading her team to the front row. Xue Yue and Zhao Li naturally followed, finding themselves sitting directly across from the department heads.

Jin Shaoming glanced at Feng Yujie, then his eyes landed on Xue Yue. He smiled. "Ah, Xiao Xue, I saw you had a good chat with Lady Reynolds yesterday. She called this morning, actually. Said she’d like to invite you to dinner."

Xue Yue was surprised. "Just me?" she asked, looking toward Zheng Guofeng.

Jin Shaoming nodded. "She said she just wants you to go. No one else was mentioned." As he spoke, he shot a look at Zheng Guofeng next to him and teased, "Hey, Vice Minister Zheng, wasn’t she your classmate? How come she didn’t invite you?"

Zheng Guofeng replied nonchalantly, "Inviting Yue’er is the same as inviting me."

Jin Shaoming: "..."

Feng Yujie’s expression flickered, while Zhao Li just looked curious, not understanding what they were all talking about.