The assistants had long grown used to Ye Qianqian calling Lin Zhou “Little Mom.” Ever since Ye Qianqian became close to Lin Zhou, the title had never changed. No matter how Lin Zhou tried to correct her, Ye Qianqian simply refused to stop.
Ye Qianqian was good in every way, except that she had a bit of a rebellious streak when it came to this.
Chairman Feng corrected her once. It didn’t work. In the end, he let it go.
Lin Zhou herself tried to correct her a few times in the first two years, until Chairman Feng said, “Lin Zhou, you’re too pretty. There are many people in the company who have designs on you. If you don’t want to get entangled with them, and you don’t mind, then let Qianqian call you that.”
After thinking it over, Lin Zhou felt he had a point. If even Chairman Feng didn’t mind, she had no reason to. As long as the people in the chairman’s office knew she and Feng Hexu were completely innocent, that was enough.
She didn’t see the others every day anyway. Let them say whatever they wanted behind her back. She didn’t care. Having a thicker skin made life easier.
So later on, she simply stopped correcting it.
And honestly, Ye Qianqian calling her “Little Mom” all the time really did cut off the interest some of the company’s senior executives had in her, finally giving her some peace.
So why did rumors circulate in the company that Lin Zhou was the future chairman’s wife? That had a lot to do with the two young ladies in Chairman Feng’s family. One of them disliked Lin Zhou, yet was still completely controlled by her.
The other liked Lin Zhou and called her “Little Mom” every time they met, from the age of fifteen all the way to twenty-two. After hearing it for so many years, it was only natural for people who didn’t know the truth to suspect something between Lin Zhou and Feng Hexu.
Huang Xiaowen stood up from her workstation. “Second Miss, Assistant Lin is in the office. Would you like me to take you in?”
Ye Qianqian shook her head. Her eyes, so similar to Feng Hexu’s, sparkled as she blinked playfully and smiled. “No need. I’ll go by myself.”
Ye Qianqian was someone with a strong sense of propriety. When she reached the door, she knocked first. Only after hearing Lin Zhou tell her to come in did she open the door.
Lin Zhou was sitting in the sofa area reviewing documents. When she saw Ye Qianqian, she smiled. “Have a seat.”
Ye Qianqian naturally sat down beside her, hooked her arm around Lin Zhou’s, and leaned her head against Lin Zhou’s shoulder as she acted spoiled. “Little Mom, did I cause you any trouble by coming into the company? If I make things difficult for you, I just won’t come to work here.”
Ye Qianqian was already twenty-two this year, yet in front of Lin Zhou she was still like a little girl, constantly acting coquettish.
Lin Zhou sighed inwardly. Ye Qianqian lacked maternal affection and always wanted to get something from her. But Lin Zhou was an unmarried woman. How was she supposed to know how to give motherly love? Wasn’t that asking too much of her?
Lin Zhou patted Ye Qianqian’s arm and comforted her. “Since Chairman Feng has agreed, I’ll do my best. You can rest assured.”
“Little Mom, you’re so good to me! When Dad comes back, can we have a meal together?” Ye Qianqian shifted slightly, resting her chin on Lin Zhou’s shoulder as she continued to act spoiled. “I haven’t seen Dad for months. I miss him.”
Lin Zhou thought, you two can eat together just fine. Why drag me into it? Out loud, she said, “I’ll help you arrange it when the time comes.” But she might not attend.
Ye Qianqian leaned her face against Lin Zhou’s shoulder again. “After I start working at the company, if there’s anything I don’t understand, you have to teach me, Little Mom. I don’t want to disappoint Dad…”
“Alright. If you have questions, come to me anytime.”
With Lin Zhou’s promise, Ye Qianqian was delighted. She hopped to her feet and waved at Lin Zhou playfully. “Little Mom, you dote on me the most! I won’t disturb your work then. Bye-bye!”
Lin Zhou smiled and nodded. “I’ll have Xiaowen prepare some materials for you. Look them over at home first. If you don’t understand something, call me.”
“Thank you, Little Mom. Love you!”
Ye Qianqian turned and left. The smile on her face faded instantly. The playful sweetness in her eyes vanished, replaced by nothing but coldness and mockery.
The corners of her lips curled slightly as a trace of sarcasm spread across her face.
Yet the moment her hand touched the doorknob, an innocent, adorable smile appeared again. She opened the door and waved to the assistants outside. “Bye-bye, brothers and sisters!” Then she lowered her voice. “My Little Mom seems a bit thinner. You all need to take good care of her, or my dad will be angry when he comes back.”
Huang Xiaowen looked helpless. Outsiders could speculate all they wanted, but those of them here all knew perfectly well that Lin Zhou and Feng Hexu were completely innocent.
Yet Ye Qianqian, whether possessed or simply too fond of Lin Zhou, insisted on pushing Lin Zhou and Feng Hexu together.
They had tried explaining it before, but Ye Qianqian never believed them. After explaining too many times, they couldn’t be bothered anymore. In the end, everyone could only cooperate with this Second Miss of the Feng family and play along. It was truly exhausting.
Huang Xiaowen forced a smile. “Understood. Take care, Second Miss.”
After Ye Qianqian left, Huang Xiaowen brewed a cup of coffee for Lin Zhou. Using delivering the coffee as an excuse, she went inside, making it seem less deliberate.
Lin Zhou really liked the coffee Huang Xiaowen made. She always added plenty of creamer and sugar, exactly to Lin Zhou’s taste.
“Thank you,” Lin Zhou said, taking it. After a sip, she casually set the cup down on the dark-colored coffee table.
Huang Xiaowen didn’t leave. Instead, she stood to the side, looking as though she had a lot on her mind.
Lin Zhou closed the file in her hands and gestured. “Something on your mind? Sit down and talk.”
Huang Xiaowen pouted and sat on the sofa, sighing repeatedly.
That sight made Lin Zhou laugh. Huang Xiaowen was highly efficient at work and rarely behaved like this. “What happened? Did you run into some trouble?”
Huang Xiaowen rubbed her hands awkwardly on her knees. Her round face puffed out, cheeks bulging like a ceramic roly-poly doll on display.
Lin Zhou had been given a headache by the two young ladies earlier that morning. Seeing Huang Xiaowen’s honest, amusing expression now, she finally laughed sincerely. “What’s wrong? Look at our Assistant Huang, so anxious she’s turning into a pufferfish.”
“Assistant Lin, and you’re still joking. I’m worried about you!” Huang Xiaowen’s lips jutted out even more. The emperor isn’t anxious, but the eunuch is.
“What’s there to worry about? At most, it’s just two deities fighting and us little shrimps in the pond getting caught in the crossfire. I’ll always find a way to deal with it. Don’t worry. Haven’t these two princesses caused enough trouble over the years? Didn’t everything get resolved eventually?”
Lin Zhou tried to reassure her, but Huang Xiaowen remained unconvinced.
She took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage, and only spoke after a long pause. “Assistant Lin, you’ve already broken up with Lawyer Cheng. You’re single now. I think Ye Qianqian calling you ‘Little Mom’ all the time is going to cut off your chances at romance.”
Lin Zhou was already twenty-nine. After a breakup, she would have to find someone new eventually, right? The single senior executives in the company would almost certainly never pursue her because of the rumors about her and Feng Hexu.
That didn’t mean Lin Zhou couldn’t look outside the company. Before, when Ye Qianqian wasn’t around and only showed up occasionally, it was tolerable to let her call her that. But now things were different. Ye Qianqian was coming to work at the company. If she kept calling her “Little Mom,” and Lin Zhou found a boyfriend, wouldn’t that make the man uncomfortable?
Did Lin Zhou still have a chance at love? Clearly, who would like their girlfriend having been someone else’s “Little Mom”?
Lin Zhou quickly understood what Huang Xiaowen meant. She had always believed that a clear conscience spoke for itself, and she thought her relationship with Lawyer Cheng would last a lifetime. She had never considered this issue.
Would she date again in the future? Lin Zhou asked herself. Only then did she realize that over the years, in order to avoid harassment from Hefeng’s senior executives, she had already been firmly labeled with Feng Hexu’s name. The label was stuck fast and hard to peel off.
Now, with Ye Qianqian’s “Little Mom” serving as solid proof, finding a boyfriend who could truly match her seemed increasingly difficult.
Unless she left Hefeng, left Jingcheng, and moved somewhere no one knew her.
Or she simply never dated again.