“Not crazy.” Yu Yan looked at the lake, where a few swans were swimming leisurely. “He gave me excellent conditions. Why wouldn’t I accept?”
“But that’s He Fan’s father. Even though he’s not his biological father, a nominal father is still a father. Wouldn’t it be… awkward for you two to meet in the future?”
“The one who’ll be awkward is He Fan, not me.” Yu Yan’s tone was indifferent. “From now on, he’ll have to call me ‘Mom.'”
Chen Shu fell silent again.
“Yan Yan, are you making this decision because you’re too upset? That bastard He Fan isn’t worth you doing this… This is too absurd.”
“It’s not because of him.” Yu Yan cut her off. “Shu Shu, I know exactly what I’m doing. Marrying He Chiyan will get me everything I want—money, status, resources. That’s several times better than the best-case scenario I originally planned for.”
“Then do you love him?”
“No.” Yu Yan answered honestly. “I don’t understand why he wants to marry me, but the prenuptial agreement clearly lists all my rights after marriage, and I’m very satisfied with it.”
Chen Shu sighed. “Fine, you’ve always known what you want. But that He Chiyan—his reputation is pretty complicated. They say he’s ruthless and calculating. You need to be careful.”
“I know.” Yu Yan thought of those unfathomable dark eyes and felt a slight stir in her heart. “But he’s been good to me so far.”
After hanging up, Yu Yan went to the bathroom to wash up. Looking in the mirror at the marks on her neck that couldn’t be covered, she felt a bit helpless.
Her phone rang again—a group message from the company.
“@All members, the design department has a new colleague joining today. Everyone, please welcome them.”
A string of “Welcome!” followed.
Yu Yan glanced at it and turned off her phone. She quickly got ready, picked out a high-neck knit sweater to barely cover her neck, and went downstairs to eat.
Lingcheng CBD, Hengya Building.
“Lingyu Design,” where Yu Yan worked, was on the twenty-third floor—a top-tier design firm in the industry.
To get in here, you either had to be a returnee from a prestigious university or exceptionally gifted.
Yu Yan was both. She had won international awards during her studies and was recruited ahead of schedule during her internship.
“Yan Yan, morning.” Her colleague Shen Qiao sidled over and lowered her voice. “Heard the news? The new colleague today has serious connections.”
“Who is it?” Yu Yan turned on her computer and asked casually.
Shen Qiao: “The newly announced fiancée of the young master of the He family.”
Yu Yan’s fingers paused on the keyboard.
Shen Qiao curled her lips. “Her school—I’ve never even heard of it. Her portfolio is mediocre too. If it weren’t for the He family backing her, how could she possibly get into Lingyu?”
Just as she was speaking, the director walked in with someone.
“Everyone, hold on a moment,” the director clapped her hands. “Let me introduce you. This is our new colleague, Su Wanqing. Starting today, she’s joining our design department. Please take good care of her.”
Su Wanqing stood beside the director, dressed in a Chanel suit, with flawless makeup and a poised smile.
On the ring finger of her left hand, a diamond ring sparkled brilliantly.
Her gaze swept across the colleagues in the office, lingering on Yu Yan’s face for a moment before her smile deepened.
“Hello everyone, I’m Su Wanqing.” Her voice was soft and gentle. “I’m new here, so I hope all the seniors can guide me. Especially Sister Yu Yan—I’ve long heard that Sister Yu Yan is very talented. I hope to learn a lot from you.”
Singling out Yu Yan, who had only recently started working full-time, in front of a room full of seasoned professionals—this was deliberately stirring up resentment against her. Yu Yan couldn’t even be bothered to give her a smile.
The smile on Su Wanqing’s face stiffened slightly.
The director assigned her a seat, right across diagonally from Yu Yan.
All morning, Yu Yan could feel a gaze occasionally landing on her.
Six years ago, not long after she and He Fan had just confirmed their relationship, Su Wanqing suddenly returned from abroad and showed up at the restaurant where she and He Fan were on a date.
He Fan’s eyes reddened, but he was still angry at Su Wanqing for leaving without a word, so he directly took Yu Yan and left.
It was also that day that Yu Yan learned He Fan had just been abandoned by his first love when he was pursuing her so fervently.
Later, Su Wanqing privately added her contact information and tried every trick in the book. Yu Yan found it annoying, so she just accepted.
After adding her, Su Wanqing brought up her past with He Fan, hoping Yu Yan would voluntarily step aside.
It wasn’t anything special—just a youthful romance that ended due to circumstances beyond their control.
From then on, Yu Yan knew that He Fan had a white moonlight in his heart. But who doesn’t have a past?
People in the throes of passionate love always stubbornly believe that the present is forever, that they are the special one. Yu Yan was no exception.
In the afternoon meeting, the director assigned a new project: “The conceptual design for the Yunlu high-end resort villa area. The project isn’t big, and the timeline is generous. Yu Yan will be the lead designer, with Su Wanqing assisting.”
Su Wanqing smiled and agreed.
After the meeting, she held her tablet and blocked Yu Yan, who was about to head back to her desk.
“Sister Yu Yan, regarding the Yunlu project, I actually have some initial ideas.” She lit up the screen and pulled up a few images. “Look, these are from a course project I did abroad. The concept is quite avant-garde, and I think it could align with Yunlu’s pursuit of an iconic, artistic positioning.”
Yu Yan’s gaze swept quickly over the renderings.
She could tell the software was used skillfully, but the form outweighed the substance—there was almost zero consideration for the site’s characteristics, residential logic, or the aesthetic preferences of high-end domestic clientele.
“The project has only just started, and the client has only given preliminary intentions.” Yu Yan raised the project brief in her hand. “The first step isn’t to settle on a design. You need to familiarize yourself with the detailed site data first—slope, orientation, views, surrounding constraints, relevant domestic building codes, as well as the style and client analysis of the developer Shengjing’s past projects.”
She glanced at Su Wanqing’s stiffened expression and continued, “Master these fundamentals first. Before next Friday, give me a preliminary analysis report on Plot A-3.”
Su Wanqing: “But I think starting from a concept would grab the client’s attention much faster.”
Yu Yan said matter-of-factly, “This is the workflow, and it’s a necessary step to avoid massive rework later on. If you think the site’s basic conditions don’t need analysis, then perhaps architectural design isn’t the right field for you.”
Su Wanqing’s expression shifted. “Yu Yan, do you have a problem with me?”
Her eyes suddenly reddened. “Is it because of Fan? I know I shouldn’t have come back to disturb you two, but Fan and I are truly in love—I can’t help it…”
Yu Yan cut her off. “This is work hours. It’s not convenient to discuss personal matters.”
She turned to leave, but Su Wanqing grabbed her sleeve. She raised her hand, and the diamond ring gleamed brightly under the light.
“Yu Yan, Fan and I are already engaged. Let the past be the past. We’ll be working at the same company from now on, and I hope we can get along well. After all, Fan wouldn’t want us to be at odds, right?”
Yu Yan gently pulled her sleeve back. “Miss Su, first, He Fan and I have already broken up—his affairs have nothing to do with me. Second, this is a company. Whether we get along depends on work performance, not personal relationships.”
Her gaze landed on Su Wanqing’s face, a hint of mockery curling at the corner of her mouth.
Since Su Wanqing didn’t want to work properly, she didn’t mind adding a little irritation to her day.
“Third, that ring on your finger doesn’t seem to fit quite right, does it? After all, it was originally sized for my…”