Xu Cheng Yan was in a terrible mood, so bad that he felt like cursing at someone.
Right now, he was like a powder keg—whoever provoked him would set him off.
Obviously, Li Ting Ting had no idea.
After returning, she couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning, her mind filled with thoughts of him.
Later, she discreetly inquired about him and found out that the second young master of the Xu Family was still unmarried. He had ventured out to start his own business early on and was considered young, promising, and exceptionally outstanding.
Such an outstanding man, and he didn’t even have a girlfriend?!
As for whether Xu Cheng Yan truly didn’t have one or simply hadn’t brought anyone home, Li Ting Ting didn’t care. In any case, since they said he didn’t, then he didn’t.
The next day, when Xu Cheng Yan woke up early for his workout, he noticed a maid lingering nearby, sneaking glances at him.
He merely glanced at her a few times, but it was enough for her to misunderstand. She even brought over a bottle of water.
“Young Master, you’ve been running for so long. You must be thirsty. Would you like some water?”
Xu Cheng Yan glanced at the brand—it looked quite similar to a certain brand, but it wasn’t the same. “No need, I’m not thirsty.”
“How can you not be thirsty after running for so long? Just take a sip? Don’t worry, this water is clean. I haven’t opened it. And this towel is clean too…”
The towel was indeed clean, but it had been used before, with a little bear pattern on it. Needless to say, it definitely belonged to someone. Xu Cheng Yan was a person with a cleanliness obsession and would never use something someone else had used. Just as he was about to refuse, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
[Here it comes, the classic idol drama scene!]
[My timing is just perfect, catching this right on cue!]
That delighted tone was as annoying as ever. Xu Cheng Yan turned around and saw none other than that woman.
Xu Cheng Yan’s mouth twitched.
The woman was crouching behind a bush of blooming roses, thinking she was hiding well, but in reality…
The hem of her skirt was peeking out from the corner.
“Young Master, don’t be polite. Take it and use it. It’s fine. You can return it to me after you’re done.”
[Yes, yes, just like that. Use it and then return it to her. She’ll use it afterward, and you two will share the same towel…]
Li Ting Ting moved closer, handing the towel to Xu Cheng Yan, only to see him recoil as if he’d been electrocuted.
“Stay away from me!”
“Young Master?” Li Ting Ting looked up, her face filled with shock.
She seemed unable to understand why Xu Cheng Yan would reject her when she was only trying to be kind. She looked utterly heartbroken.
Xu Cheng Yan wasn’t a bad person by nature; he only had it in for Ruan Yao Yao. Seeing Li Ting Ting’s sorrowful expression, he realized his reaction had hurt her feelings. Feeling awkward, he explained that he had a cleanliness obsession and didn’t like using things others had used.
Li Ting Ting’s grip on the towel tightened. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Her eyes gradually reddened, looking as if she were on the verge of tears.
Wait, why are you crying? Xu Cheng Yan couldn’t understand why she was still upset even after he’d explained his cleanliness obsession.
He felt flustered, especially with someone watching nearby. If he made a young girl cry right in front of her, how embarrassing would that be?
“Don’t cry!”
“I’m not… I just… feel sad inside.”
Xu Cheng Yan was about to step forward to comfort her when Ruan Yao Yao’s voice echoed again: 【Yes, yes, that’s it. Go ahead and comfort her, hurry up and comfort her. Once you comfort her, you’ll win her over.】
【Once she’s moved, won’t you two be together?】
【Oh my, the development is really fast. I wonder when they’ll trip and then kiss…】
Xu Cheng Yan froze completely.
To make matters worse, Li Ting Ting took a step back, stepped on a pebble, slipped, and fell toward the ground.
By instinct, Xu Cheng Yan would have reached out to save her, and then…
But there was no “then.” After hearing Ruan Yao Yao’s inner thoughts, he restrained his instinct. As a result, Li Ting Ting fell directly to the ground, landing hard on her bottom.
Having made such a fool of herself in front of the person she liked, Li Ting Ting couldn’t bear it any longer. Ignoring the pain in her buttocks, she scrambled to her feet, covered her face, and ran away.
Ruan Yao Yao: 【…Wait, why did she run away?】
【This isn’t how the plot should go!】
【What about the hero saving the beauty?】
Xu Cheng Yan: Save what beauty?!
He had already said it—he could never fall for such an ordinary woman.
Moreover, she was a maid who reportedly had a seriously ill mother in bed, worked multiple jobs, and hadn’t even graduated from university.
It wasn’t that he looked down on those with lower education; it was just that Xu Cheng Yan was proud and ambitious. Having graduated from a world-renowned university himself, he naturally wanted to find someone similar to him.
What made him even more furious was that he spotted his elder brother and sister-in-law in another corner.
In other words, not only had that woman witnessed the entire scene, but his elder brother and sister-in-law had also seen it all through her inner thoughts?!
It was embarrassing enough to lose face in front of Ruan Yao Yao, but to lose face in front of his elder brother and sister-in-law as well—Xu Cheng Yan couldn’t stay a moment longer. He fled the scene as if escaping.
To prevent himself from truly becoming the “Domineering CEO” in Ruan Yao Yao’s mind, he took a shower, changed his clothes, sent a text message to his elder brother and sister-in-law, and left in a hurry.
Thus, when Ruan Yao Yao came down for breakfast, she noticed one person missing from the dining table.
“Where’s the second son?”
Yu Xiang Qiao felt guilty and avoided eye contact.
Could she admit that she and her husband had turned on the home surveillance out of curiosity, saw the mother-in-law appearing in the second son’s vicinity, and went over to watch?
Xu Liang Han remained relatively calm and said, “Oh, he said something came up at his company, so he left early.”
Ruan Yao Yao felt a bit disappointed: 【He left so soon? I thought I’d get to watch a live version of a youth idol drama, but now I won’t get to see it.】
【I wonder when it’ll be my turn to appear. When the time comes, should I play the Evil Mother-in-law or the Evil Mother-in-law?】
Ruan Yao Yao was highly interested in her “Evil Mother-in-law” role. To gather more material, she had even flipped through numerous romance novels featuring domineering CEOs and was now well-prepared.
As for Xu Liang Han and Yu Xiang Qiao, their “melon” had already “ripened.” Flipping through it only revealed “sweet daily life after marriage,” which seemed uninteresting. For something exciting, she would have to rely on the second son.
Therefore, Ruan Yao Yao was already scheming in her mind—if nothing else came up, perhaps she should visit the second son’s company more often.
Because according to the plot, if the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain—even if the second son didn’t return, the female lead would surely appear around him.
Either in his living environment or his workplace.
Ruan Yao Yao wasn’t sure which of the second son’s locations Li Ting Ting would appear at, but if she checked them one by one, she should eventually find her, right?
Xu Liang Han and Yu Xiang Qiao, who were eating, exchanged a glance: There’s more gossip?!
“Eldest brother, after we finish eating, send me the address of the second son’s company and the places he lives.”
“Oh, okay.” Second brother, you’re on your own now!
But seeing that the “unlucky” person was someone else, not himself, why was he so happy?
Yu Xiang Qiao glared at him: Someone else? Have you forgotten you still have a pile of things to deal with?
Indeed, he still had to handle the matter with Cheng Xiang Rong’s family; that mess wasn’t wrapped up yet.
It wasn’t that Xu Liang Han didn’t want to wrap it up, but Cheng Xiang Rong was no pushover either. His company was just having operational difficulties, not actually on the verge of collapse.
He wondered if the private investigator he sent out had found anything yet. Hopefully, there would be some good news.
“Achoo…”
Xu Cheng Yan sneezed and suddenly felt like having coffee, so he asked his secretary to bring some in.
The secretary went to the pantry and found there was no water, so she wanted to ask someone to go upstairs and buy a cup for Xu Cheng Yan.
This task passed through several hands and somehow ended up with the new employee, Li Ting Ting.
“Me?” She pointed at herself, completely bewildered.
She was a cleaner—did she have to buy coffee too?
The fashionable young woman glanced at her disdainfully and said, “Besides you, who else is here?”