“Are you going to abandon me — a childhood neighbor you’ve known for twenty years — for your boyfriend, or are you going to come with me to the hospital?”

Yan Yuning pressed her fingertips to her temple with a pained sigh. “Alright, I get it.”

“Great, then Yanyan can go ahead and stay busy. I won’t bother you.” Wen Zhilu hung up swiftly.

Yan Yuning: “……”

——

The third floor.

Yan Yuning changed her outfit, gathered the bouquet in her arms, and knocked on Xuan Yanyu’s bedroom door. Hearing no answer, uncertain whether he was inside, she simply turned the handle and opened the door.

The man inside heard the sound and swiveled his chair to face her.

The young woman wore a pale pink dress embroidered with floral patterns, its hem edged with ruffled lotus-leaf trim and cinched at the waist, her long waves falling naturally loose — and she held in her arms a matching pink rose bouquet.

Her eyes were bright. Her pretty, vivacious face wore a soft smile as she looked at Xuan Yanyu, and whether by accident or design, she stopped directly beneath the warm pool of overhead light.

The warm amber glow cast a hazy filter over her, making her already beautiful features look stunning in the light’s embrace.

The light gathered around her until her whole presence seemed to radiate a luminous glow.

Xuan Yanyu stared at her without blinking, even forgetting to breathe. A phrase surfaced in his mind unbidden: gentle and sweet.

Yan Yuning let the corners of her lips curve with quiet composure, her voice coming out soft and sweet. “Xuan Yanyu, you know flowers so well — so if I give you pink roses, do you know what they mean?”

Without waiting for him to answer, she curved her lips and continued, “Pink roses are generally seen as a symbol of first love, a subtle way of conveying one’s affection for someone. I’m giving you ninety-nine of them — which symbolizes an enduring, long-lasting love.”

“So…” Yan Yuning’s tone shifted abruptly. “Can you please stop being angry with me.”

Xuan Yanyu came back to himself and cleared his throat. “Go out first.”

“I don’t want to.” Yan Yuning set the bouquet down and threw herself into Xuan Yanyu’s arms, her slender arms wrapping around his neck. In a soft, coquettish voice she said, “What would it take for you to stop being angry with me?”

The man lightly hooked his foot, rolling his chair a little to one side. His voice held no trace of emotion. “If you were going to leave me behind, shouldn’t you have figured out how to make it up to me before you left? Why are you asking me now?”

Yan Yuning rubbed the top of her head against his chin. “I thought you wouldn’t be angry.”

Xuan Yanyu laughed low. “Why would you think that?”

Yan Yuning pressed her lips together and said sincerely, “Because I thought you’d trust me. Lulu is to me what Ranran is to you.”

The man’s words carried a grinding undercurrent. “And that was your reason for leaving me?”

“I was wrong.” Yan Yuning pecked the corner of his mouth a few times in a conciliatory manner, her voice soft. “It won’t happen again. I’ll never leave you behind again.”

“You’ve already left me once before.” The words slipped out of Xuan Yanyu before he even understood why.

A sensation like cotton filled Yan Yuning’s chest, suffocating her until she could barely breathe. “I’m sorry.”

Xuan Yanyu was inwardly stunned. As his mind slowly cleared, no matter how he searched his memory, he couldn’t recall why he had said something so inexplicable.

The hand gripping the man’s shirt trembled slightly. Thoughts of the past came rushing in, and tears began to fall unbidden. “Xuan Yanyu, I’m sorry.”

She hadn’t just left him — she had also lost their baby. If the baby were still here, it would have been over three months along by now…

“Why are you crying?” Xuan Yanyu wiped her tears gently with the pad of his thumb, his gaze softening with warmth. “I’m not angry anymore.”

“Hmm?” Yan Yuning raised her reddened eyes, blinking in disbelief.

Not… not angry anymore?

Hadn’t Xiaxia called to say he was furious?

Based on past experience, he wasn’t usually this easy to appease!!

Xuan Yanyu smiled and pinched her cheek gently, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. “Surprised?”

Yan Yuning pouted and gave a sniffling “mhm.”

“Yan Yuning? In your eyes I’m that……”

“Mhm, mhm.” Before Xuan Yanyu could finish, Yan Yuning was already nodding.

The man raised an eyebrow, lifted a hand, and lightly tapped her forehead, his tone languid. “Have you eaten?”

“No.” Yan Yuning snuggled closer into his arms.

“Then go downstairs and eat.”

The young woman tilted her head up. Her voice still carried just a faint trace of nasal stuffiness. “What about you — have you eaten?”

“Go downstairs to the dining room and wait for me.”

Yan Yuning held onto his neck, nestling her head against his shoulder. “No. I want to go down together with you.”

“Then sit on the sofa or the bed and play on your phone for a bit first.” Xuan Yanyu rubbed her back with quiet patience.

Yan Yuning refused. “No.”

The man stretched his long legs out, a smile tugging at his lips. “Really no?”

“Mhm.” Yan Yuning didn’t want to move away from him just yet.

Xuan Yanyu’s mouth curved upward. He gave a teasing laugh. “You sure?”

“Mhm.” Yan Yuning took his hand, fingers interlacing with his.

“Alright.” The man pressed his foot lightly to the floor, rolling the chair to the sleek, elegant desk. He glanced at the heads of the various overseas subsidiary offices who had been waiting, gave a slight smile, and said, “Apologies, my girlfriend is a little attached. Let’s carry on with the meeting.”

The head of the subsidiary on the other end of the screen smiled back. “Director Xuan, we were just discussing the company’s next-step plan. Now let’s continue.”

Xuan Yanyu gave a slight nod.

Yan Yuning’s expression froze for a few seconds as her mind failed to catch up.

Xuan Yanyu watched the young woman go wide-eyed and tuck herself into his arms, too embarrassed to turn around, and the faintest arc lifted at the corner of his mouth.

Thinking back to how she had been clinging to Xuan Yanyu, Yan Yuning closed her eyes and stayed perfectly still, listening quietly as they held their meeting in English.

She kept reassuring herself silently — her back was to the computer screen. All they could see from either side was her back and the back of her head. No one had seen her face. It was fine. She wasn’t embarrassed. Not embarrassed at all. There was absolutely no reason to be embarrassed!!

Twenty minutes later, she heard Xuan Yanyu conclude the meeting in English. Yan Yuning worked out the stiffness in her neck, then fled his room without a shred of dignity.

Xuan Yanyu watched Yan Yuning’s fleeing figure and laughed out loud.

“Son.” Once everyone else had left the meeting, Xuan Shi’an spoke up. He hadn’t dared utter a single word during the entire meeting for fear of embarrassing Ningning — just nodding, shaking his head, shaking his head, nodding.

Xuan Yanyu’s hand paused on the mouse. He said lazily, “You still have something?”

Xuan Shi’an shot him a look. “Xuan Yanyu, I’m your father, not your employee.”

The man leaned back in his chair with easy languor, giving a low laugh. “Then say what you have to say quickly. I’m busy and I don’t want to have a discussion with you about whether you’re my father or my employee.”

Xuan Shi’an ground his back teeth. “Busy doing what? Busy going to find Ningning for dinner?”

Xuan Yanyu: “……”

——