Yan Yunning’s heart gave a sharp lurch. She grabbed the nurse’s hand and jogged to the doorway of the room next door.

“Dad, Mom, hurry and come take a look.”

Inside the ward, Shiyao’s eyelid twitched violently. If someone had overheard what she had just said and word got out, she would not only lose Xuan Yanyu’s protection — it would also break the heart of her baby’s father overseas.

Then she would have nothing left at all.

Shiyao’s father and mother wore grim expressions as they opened the ward door and saw a young and beautiful young woman enter the next-door room with the nurse. They let out a breath of relief. “She’s from the next room.”

The knot of tension in Shiyao’s chest also came loose.

Next-Door Room.

Yan Yunning had barged in along with the nurse, momentarily startling the woman who was entertaining a baby, the man holding the baby, and the bespectacled man standing to one side.

“I’m sorry — wrong room.” Yan Yunning gave the three of them an apologetic smile.

“You’re… you must be Ningning, aren’t you?” The man with glasses perched on his nose — straight nose, thin lips, long narrow corners to his eyes, his features sharply handsome — spoke with the ghost of a smile at his lips.

“Sihang, you know her?” The woman on the hospital bed looked at Yan Yunning with curious interest.

Chu Sihang pushed his glasses up with one hand, his voice gentle. “Sister, she’s Jingzhi’s younger sister. Jingzhi sent me a photo — she’s very beautiful, so I remember her well.”

“Oh?” A smile spread to the corners of the woman’s eyes. “Sihang, your brother-in-law is here, and there’s the caretaker too. You’ve already had a look at the baby — take Ningning out for a meal.”

“All right.” Chu Sihang turned to look at Yan Yunning, a smile lifting his lips. “Last time, because of me, we didn’t get to eat. If you have time today, Ningning, why don’t we go have a meal together?”

“Sure.” Yan Yunning, who felt guilty for barging in on Chu Sihang’s family without warning, didn’t have the heart to refuse and agreed.

The two of them walked out of the room side by side. The woman looked up at the man holding the baby, pressed her lips into a smile, and said, “I have to say — Sihang and Ningning do make quite a pair.”

“Honey, you don’t think this little miss came specifically to find Sihang, do you?” The man carefully set the sleeping baby down in the small crib and lowered his voice. “Otherwise, what are the odds she’d end up at the maternity ward of all places, and push open our room door at that?”

The woman smiled, her dimples showing. “That would be wonderful — our little baby is about to have an auntie-in-law!”

The nurse pressed her lips together. When that young woman had asked at the nurses’ station, she had been looking for Shiyao. The only coincidence was that their room happened to be right next to Shiyao’s. Abiding by the principle that one word less was better than one word more, the nurse said nothing further, finished her rounds, and left.

Underground Parking Garage.

Since Yan Yunning had driven herself here, she still needed to take the car back to the Xuan residence. To spare Chu Sihang from being gentlemanly and insisting on driving her home after dinner, she suggested driving him to the restaurant herself.

Chu Sihang raised an eyebrow in surprise. “This is actually the first time I’ve sat in a woman’s passenger seat.”

“Is that so?” From his words, Yan Yunning gathered that he was agreeing, and she went ahead and opened the car door for him.

The man gave a low laugh, a warm, gentle sound rising from his throat. “Aren’t we doing this backwards?”

“Hm?”

Chu Sihang sighed softly, his gaze falling on Yan Yunning’s slender, fair hands gripping the car door.

Yan Yunning understood his meaning, tilted her head, and said, “Should I close the door and let you come around and open it for me instead?”

Chu Sihang laughed out loud, walked around to the driver’s side, and pulled the door open. “Here you go.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

“Honk honk honk—” A piercing horn blast, paired with a blinding flash of high beams. Yan Yunning curled her hand into a fist, suppressing the urge to go over and have it out with whoever was responsible.

Chu Sihang frowned and squinted toward the customized sports coupe ahead — a striking violet-flash finish that reflected back the surrounding light in the darkness, making the car appear both luminous and dazzling.

Several men in black suits stepped out one after another, opening the rear car door. A man with exceptionally striking features and a cold, piercing air between his brows descended, taking long strides in their direction.

Chu Sihang’s temple gave a small throb. He withdrew his gaze. If he wasn’t mistaken, the man walking toward them should be Young Master Xuan.

“Car keys.” Xuan Yanyu came to a stop in front of Yan Yunning and held out his palm.

Yan Yunning looked up at him. “What for?”

The car was already unlocked — pressing the button inside would start it. Why would he need the car keys?

Did he want to take the keys and lock the car?

And then send Chu Sihang away???

“Are you giving them to me or not?” The shadows in Xuan Yanyu’s ink-dark eyes flashed with a cold, dangerous glint.

Yan Yunning turned the car key between her fingers, and answered a question with a question. “Have you been drinking?”

The man’s eyes stilled for a moment. He leaned in close to her, his nose nearly brushing against Yan Yunning’s, his voice softening with a disarming, unexpected gentleness. “Smell for yourself.”

Yan Yunning cleared her throat, uneasy. “Back up.”

Xuan Yanyu hooked an arm around her waist, asking with languid interest, “Well? Have I been drinking?”

“No, no — let go of me.”

The man arched an eyebrow without the slightest shame. “You could smell it?”

Yan Yunning: “……”

“Young Master Xuan.” Chu Sihang hesitated, then asked, “You and Ningning…”

Jingzhi had said Ningning was single.

“There’s nothing between us.” Yan Yunning pried Xuan Yanyu’s hand free and gave Chu Sihang a smile. “Let’s go eat.”

If she admitted to something, her brother would explode.

With a bang, the passenger door Yan Yunning had opened was slammed shut by Xuan Yanyu.

From the sound alone, it was plain — he was very angry.

Yan Yunning shot a glare through the window at the man sitting inside the car, then apologetically opened the rear door for Chu Sihang. “Don’t mind him.”

Chu Sihang smiled and shook his head.

Whether Young Master Xuan was someone he could afford to take issue with — that wasn’t even a question.

Once Chu Sihang was settled, Yan Yunning pressed her fingers to her temples with a small headache, climbed into the driver’s seat, glanced at the man sulking in silence beside her, and reminded him, “Seat belt.”

Xuan Yanyu leaned back against the headrest, his posture languorously loose, and made no move whatsoever.

“Seat belt.” Yan Yunning acted as though he hadn’t heard her and repeated it once more.

Xuan Yanyu raised his lashes and gave Yan Yunning a drowsy look.

Yan Yunning took a slow, deep breath. The words “get out” that had risen to her lips she swallowed back down. She reached over, pulled the passenger-side seat belt across, and said in a patient tone, “Can you just lift your arm?”

They were close. The man shifted his nose slightly, catching the pleasant fragrance from the young woman beside him, and his throat moved with a quiet swallow.

Seeing that Xuan Yanyu still hadn’t moved a muscle, Yan Yunning bit down discreetly, gave the man’s waist a quick, furtive pinch, and kept her voice barely above a breath. “Either you get out of the car, or you behave yourself.”

Xuan Yanyu’s eyes darkened. He took the seat belt latch from Yan Yunning’s hand and clicked it firmly into the buckle.

The corner of Yan Yunning’s eyebrow rose lightly. She sat up straight, fastened her own seat belt, then started the car and struck up a conversation with Chu Sihang.

“Sihang, how did you and my brother get to know each other?” Yan Yunning turned the steering wheel as the car pulled out of the underground garage.

Chu Sihang said with a smile, “Call me by my name — Jingzhi is my senior from university. I’ve always admired him greatly. It was through the alumni association that I got to know Jingzhi, and after that we stayed in regular contact.”

Yan Yunning teased, “I wouldn’t have guessed — that someone could actually admire a person like my brother.”

Chu Sihang laughed. “You might not know, Ningning, but Jingzhi was quite well known back in school. Exceptional people naturally earn a lot of admiration.”

“He bragged about it to me once. I didn’t take it seriously.” Yan Yunning pressed the brake, glanced at the red light counting down, and smiled as she asked, “Sihang — do you have any dietary restrictions?”

Xuan Yanyu’s dark eyes narrowed. The fingers absently turning his phone came to a sudden, sharp stop.