As soon as An Li reached the entrance of the studio, she heard a familiar male voice introducing someone inside.
“Starting today, our Star Voice Band will have a new member joining us.”
Standing at the front was Duan Xingning.
Beside him stood a girl in a white dress, her figure slender, her face gentle and beautiful.
The two of them looked like a match made in heaven.
Even their speech carried a natural rhythm together.
Following his words, the girl continued, “Hello everyone, my name is Wen Shuyi. I’m Xingning’s new assistant—and his fiancée.”
The last sentence was like a stone thrown into the center of a lake, instantly stirring up waves throughout the band.
The keyboardist, the bassist—even the manager—were all stunned. “What’s going on? Brother Xingning actually has a fiancée?”
“Since when? You didn’t even tell us, that’s not fair.”
“Wow, all your fangirls are going to be heartbroken.”
Everyone joked and laughed.
Duan Xingning let them tease him, his expression calm and indifferent. When his gaze casually shifted and landed on An Li at the doorway, his eyes darkened slightly.
Since she had already been seen, An Li didn’t hide. She could only pretend she had just arrived, pressing her lips together. “So… so lively.”
“Sister Li came at just the right time. Our band finally recruited someone new—oh wait, not just anyone, our sister-in-law,” the bassist said playfully. “You’d never guess Brother Xingning is getting married.”
In terms of how fast news spread, An Li had actually known dozens of minutes earlier than them.
She cautiously glanced at the future “sister-in-law.”
As expected of the daughter-in-law chosen by the Duan family’s mother—every movement elegant and poised. Though she was a wealthy young lady, her smile was as gentle as a spring breeze.
Standing beside Duan Xingning, they looked perfectly matched.
“You must be Xingning’s younger sister, right?” Wen Shuyi took the initiative to approach her warmly. “We met when we were little. Do you remember me?”
An Li had come to the Duan family at twelve and had seen many young masters and ladies of all kinds. She didn’t have a deep impression of her and shook her head.
“It’s alright if you don’t remember. We’ll get to know each other slowly from now on.” Wen Shuyi linked arms with her and turned back to smile at Duan Xingning. “Xingning’s sister is also my sister.”
That sentence further confirmed her status as the future sister-in-law.
Duan Xingning didn’t respond. “You all can handle the work handover. I’m going to write songs.”
With that, he left.
He wasn’t particularly warm or cold toward his fiancée.
But no one in the band found it strange.
The famous singer Duan was known as an untouchable figure, both in public and in private. He barely spoke a few words a day.
The bassist continued teasing, “Sister-in-law, when will we get to eat your wedding candies with Brother Xingning?”
Wen Shuyi concealed the disappointment in her eyes and maintained her elegant smile. “You’ll have to wait a bit for the wedding candies. How about I treat everyone to afternoon tea instead?”
“Yay! Thank you, sister-in-law!”
Seeing that An Li remained silent, Wen Shuyi took the initiative to ask, “An Li, what would you like to drink?”
“I… I don’t need anything… thank you!” An Li shook her head.
“Don’t be shy, everyone else has ordered.” Wen Shuyi smiled and handed her phone over. “They say the mango pomelo sago at this shop is very good. I ordered one—do you want to try it too?”
Not wanting to seem out of place, An Li finally nodded. “Okay… thank you…”
Although Wen Shuyi was a refined young lady, she carried no airs. She spoke gently and was generous.
Even though she had joined the band under the pretense of getting closer to Duan Xingning, she didn’t slack off at work. Instead, she seriously asked An Li about the assistant’s responsibilities.
By the end of the afternoon, An Li let out a small sigh of relief.
She hadn’t expected Wen Shuyi to be such a good person.
Duan Xingning was truly lucky to have such a gentle and considerate fiancée.
Wen Shuyi remarked, “I didn’t realize being his assistant involved so much work. You must have worked hard during this time.”
“I… I just did what I should.” An Li was flattered.
Wen Shuyi gently patted her shoulder. “From now on, I’ll take care of the tiring tasks.”
“Th-that wouldn’t be right…”
“It’s fine. I also want to spend more time with him,” Wen Shuyi said with a smile. “Does he have any schedule tomorrow? I’ll handle it for you—consider it giving you a day off.”
“He does. I have a file here—I can send it to you.” An Li took out her phone. “Should I send it through WeChat or…?”
“Just print it out for me. It’s more convenient to carry.”
An Li didn’t think much of it and did as she said.
Duan Xingning had a business magazine shoot the next morning and needed an assistant to accompany him for the whole day.
For that kind of work, it was indeed more appropriate for Wen Shuyi, his fiancée, to take over.
That evening, on her way back, An Li began planning for the future.
Since Duan Xingning already had a fiancée, she should keep her distance from him.
She couldn’t stay by his side as his assistant anymore.
And she definitely couldn’t let him know her feelings.
She even felt a bit relieved that the person from last night had been Duan Zhuo.
Otherwise, if Duan Xingning had seen her love letter and learned of her feelings, she would have been so embarrassed she wouldn’t know where to hide.
But now there was still a ticking time bomb to deal with.
That love letter Duan Zhuo was holding over her.
She had to find a way to get it back.
But Duan Zhuo… wasn’t easy to fool.
It would be difficult to retrieve it.
Unless…
She stole it?
That actually sounded like a good idea.
The love letter was definitely still hidden in his room.
She had already been there once, so going a second time wouldn’t matter.
Once she got the letter back, everything would be settled.
Just as An Li stepped out of the bathroom after washing up, she suddenly heard a knock at the door.
Strange—who would come at this hour?
“Who is it?”
Thinking it was one of the household staff, she twisted the doorknob open—only to see Duan Zhuo’s striking, almost dangerous face.
As if she had seen a ghost, she instinctively tried to close the door.
But she couldn’t match his strength. He forced it open from outside.
“What are you doing!” An Li hurriedly said. “If you keep this up, I’ll—I’ll call someone!”
“Go ahead. Might as well shout about what happened last night too,” Duan Zhuo said fearlessly.
At the mention of last night—
An Li froze for a moment. Before he could say more, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the room.
Her reaction was so quick that Duan Zhuo didn’t even have time to process it. His tall figure was unknowingly pinned against the wall by her much smaller frame.
Looking down at the little person in front of him—
That adorable height difference.
It made one want to pick her up and carry her around while…
An Li didn’t care what he was thinking. Before closing the door, she glanced left and right outside, making sure no one had seen him enter, before finally letting out a breath of relief.
“So this is what sneaking around feels like.” Duan Zhuo took a deep breath, the corner of his lips curving upward. “So exciting.”
“Shut up.” An Li frowned. “You… why are you here?”
“Missed my wife. Can’t I come take a look?”
“No.”
Wait—who was his wife?
“Baby, that really hurts. I just came to bring you some medicine,” Duan Zhuo sighed lightly.
“What medicine?”
He lifted his hand. “The medicine you got at the hospital today—you left it in my car.”
An Li paused. “Oh… I see.”
“I kindly brought you your medicine, and you still want to chase me away. I’m heartbroken. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
“Really?” An Li blinked.
Her expression seemed to say, There’s such a good thing?
“Fake.” Duan Zhuo narrowed his eyes slightly. “Husband still needs to apply your medicine. How could I bear to ignore you?”
“W-what, apply medicine…”
“Did you forget what the doctor said? I’m supposed to help you apply it.”
“…No need.” An Li instinctively stepped back. “I can do it myself.”
“Why be so polite?” He leisurely picked up a tube of ointment. “It’s just a small favor.”
It really was… a matter of raising his hand.