An Yin arrived at the studio entrance but didn’t enter immediately. Instead, she stood outside, gazing at the studio’s nameplate.
Colored light reflected off the glass door, allowing a clear view of the displayed items inside from the outside. With a slight lift of her head, she could see “As Initial Seen Studio.”
“As Initial Seen” was a name Jiang Mengyue and An Yin had come up with together. Its meaning at the time was that the clothes they designed always gave people a sense of breathtaking wonder, as if seeing them for the first time.
An Yin stepped inside and saw Jiang Mengyue with her back turned, instructing employees on the day’s tasks.
“Sister Yin…” one of the staff members was the first to notice An Yin’s arrival.
“A Yue.”
Jiang Mengyue, who had been discussing work with the staff, turned around abruptly upon hearing the familiar voice calling her.
There was An Yin, arms outstretched, waiting for Jiang Mengyue to come embrace her.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Mengyue showed no sentimentality. She immediately hooked her arm around An Yin’s neck and pressed down, making it impossible for An Yin to lift her head.
“An Yin, where the hell have you been for the past three months?”
“Cough, cough… A Yue, let me go first.”
An Yin’s impression at that moment was that Jiang Mengyue hadn’t changed a bit—there were simply no boundaries when it came to her best friend.
Jiang Mengyue wasn’t being overly harsh; she just wanted to scare An Yin a little to vent the frustration she’d bottled up over three months.
After releasing her, Jiang Mengyue pulled An Yin into the office, instructing the employees present to focus on their work.
Inside An Yin’s office…
“Miss An, out with it,” Jiang Mengyue said, leaning against the desk and looking down at An Yin seated in the chair.
“Well… that’s pretty much what happened.” An Yin briefly explained the situation to Jiang Mengyue and continued, “Besides, I asked my brother to tell you not to worry about me.”
An Chen had indeed spoken to Jiang Mengyue, but he hadn’t explained the reason. Jiang Mengyue assumed An Yin was emotionally distressed after marrying a man she didn’t love and had given her space to adjust. That’s why she hadn’t pressed for details, focusing instead on managing the studio’s operations while waiting for An Yin to return.
“And now?” Jiang Mengyue asked, referring to An Yin’s current situation with Lu Muqian.
“Now… I really like my husband, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”
Jiang Mengyue then offered some earnest advice, “Sis, it’s good that you can see things clearly. Lu Muqian is actually quite decent—he treats you really well, and we’ve all noticed it.”
“Alright, I get it.”
“A Yue, I’m sorry for making you worry about me and putting you through all this trouble recently.”
Jiang Mengyue waved her hand dismissively, “Hey, as long as you’re back, that’s all that matters. No need for thanks between us.”
“Now hurry up and get the work from my office to handle. That’s the best compensation you can give me.” The first part sounded genuinely sisterly, but the latter had a slightly plastic undertone.
“Okay, I’ll take care of all the work from now on. You can take a break, A Yue.”
An Yin quickly immersed herself in work. It had to be said—there was a staggering amount of tasks. Even after a whole morning, An Yin hadn’t made it through the mountain of documents sent by collaboration partners.
No wonder Jiang Mengyue had been upset. How could anyone handle this much work alone?
At noon, An Yin’s phone on the desk rang. She picked it up, thinking someone was calling, only to realize it was an alarm she had set.
Earlier, before starting work, she had worried she might get too busy and forget to have lunch with Lu Muqian on time, so she’d set a reminder.
At twelve o’clock, she grabbed her bag and dashed out of the studio.
The traffic light on the road had just turned red. An Yin had no choice but to halt her hurried steps, watching the stream of vehicles pass by. She glanced at her phone again to check the time, suddenly feeling that the few seconds waiting for the green light seemed unusually long.
…
An Yin arrived in front of the Lu Corporation building. The security guard at the entrance didn’t stop her, allowing her to enter unimpeded, as assistant Qiao Yi was already waiting there to receive her.
Qiao Yi stepped forward. “Madam.”
“Qiao Yi, you didn’t have to come down to get me. I’m sorry for the trouble.”
“It’s no trouble at all, Madam. This was also the CEO’s instruction. He said since it’s your first time here, he was worried you might be stopped, so it would be better for me to come down and escort you.”
Ever since An Yin had sacrificed herself to save Lu Muqian last time, Qiao Yi had genuinely acknowledged her as the madam, and his tone was much more respectful than before.
“Alright then, thank you.”
Qiao Yi led An Yin to take the CEO’s private elevator up to the 88th floor, to the CEO’s exclusive office.
Following Qiao Yi’s steps, An Yin’s light footsteps tapped on the floor as she observed the surroundings. It wasn’t much different from when she had come here in her previous life to make a scene about divorce.
Outside were the workstations for the assistants. Strangely enough, all of Lu Muqian’s assistants were male. An Yin scanned them and noticed they were quite handsome, but they couldn’t compare to her husband in the slightest.
She could only say, sorry, but although she was someone who appreciated good looks, she wasn’t a very qualified one when it came to her husband.
Qiao Yi stopped at the door. “Madam, the CEO is waiting for you inside.”
After saying this and receiving a nod from An Yin, Qiao Yi turned and left. It was time for him to go have a meal with Qiao Er.
An Yin pushed the door open, first peeking her head in as if to check the situation inside before deciding whether to enter.
Before Lu Muqian could notice her, An Yin had already spotted the man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, reviewing documents at the desk and then signing his name with a flourish.
This was the first time An Yin had seen Lu Muqian wearing gold-rimmed glasses. It wasn’t his first time wearing them, but rather that An Yin had never paid attention to him before.
“Lu Muqian…”
An Yin called out his name while already stepping fully into the room.
“Yinyin.”
An Yin said playfully, “See, I didn’t lie to you. I really came.”
“Yes, Yinyin didn’t lie.”
Before Qiao Yi had gone down to receive An Yin, Yuan Bo, the butler of Cloud Villa, had already delivered the meal prepared by Aunt Lan to the corporation. Lu Muqian led An Yin to sit on the sofa, opened the food containers, and handed chopsticks to An Yin.
During the meal, An Yin proactively brought up her morning work with Lu Muqian, pretending to complain and act coquettishly, saying how much work had accumulated during the three months she hadn’t been to the studio.
Lu Muqian seemed to be seriously considering how to help An Yin solve the problem. After a while he said, “If Yinyin doesn’t mind, you could bring your work home in the evening. I’ll handle it for you, so your workload won’t be so heavy.”
“No.” An Yin was unwilling.
“Alright.” Lu Muqian’s eyes darkened slightly, thinking that An Yin minded and didn’t want him to know about her studio matters. In that case, he wouldn’t ask.
“I don’t mind,” An Yin explained, observing his change in expression.
“I’m concerned about you. The amount of work you have to handle in a single day must be more than what I accumulate in half a month. You’re already very tired, and I don’t want to become an additional burden that increases your workload.”
“It’s fine. When I come home in the evening, I won’t do any other work. I’ll specifically handle Yinyin’s tasks.”
As long as she didn’t dislike him, being tired wasn’t a problem.
“But I care about you, and I won’t allow you to work so hard. No one is allowed to, not even myself. Understand?”
Lu Muqian was deeply moved. Yinyin said she wouldn’t allow him to exhaust himself – he should obey her. “Alright, I understand.”
…
After lunch, An Yin proactively requested to take a nap in Lu Muqian’s lounge before returning to work.
It went without saying that every CEO’s office came standard with a private lounge.
An Yin knew this, which was why she wanted to stay, even pulling Lu Muqian along with her. The man was more than willing, obediently following her for the nap.
…
At half past two, An Yin finally woke up. Rubbing her drowsy eyes, she got up, put on her shoes, and went to the bathroom to wash her face to refresh herself. After saying goodbye to Lu Muqian, she took the small cake that assistant Qiao Yi had purchased – the one promised to Jiang Mengyue – and returned to As Initial Seen Studio to continue working.