The laboratory had many departments.
Xu Jialan independently led one of them.
Wearing her lab coat, she walked briskly into the office area.
She saw that every one of her subordinates had an exquisitely packaged meal box on their desk.
Xu Jialan’s footsteps abruptly halted.
This was the first time she had been caught off guard by such a scene.
The subordinate who had called for her earlier spoke quietly nearby, “Um, Professor Xu, the delivery person said these were all arranged by your husband, so…”
Xu Jialan snapped back to reality, tightened her grip on her phone, her face quickly returning to its familiar cool detachment.
She acknowledged with a soft “Mm,” then said, “Since they’ve been delivered, everyone can eat first.”
After speaking, she quickly walked into her office.
On her desk sat a meal box different from all the others.
This was blatant favoritism.
Xu Jialan’s fingertips curled slightly.
Noticing the curious gazes from outside, she picked up the remote control and pressed a button.
The glass window instantly became one-way.
Blocking the view of her subordinates outside.
Xu Jialan took a deep breath and sat in her office chair.
She looked down at the meal box and opened it.
Steam rose, carrying the rich aroma of food that lingered around her.
These were dishes from the restaurant where they had eaten on their blind date.
All the dishes she had taken extra servings of were in this meal box.
Xu Jialan picked up her phone and made a call.
The other party answered quickly.
“You ordered meals for everyone too?” she asked.
The man’s voice, tinged with faint laughter, came through, “Mm, I was afraid you wouldn’t behave, so I simply ordered for everyone.”
Xu Jialan’s eyes showed some helplessness, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.
“You didn’t tell me earlier.”
Shen Xichuan stood on the balcony, holding a soda can as he took a sip of cola.
“If I had told you, would you have let me order?”
Xu Jialan remained silent.
No, she wouldn’t.
The man already knew her answer and chuckled softly, “Be good and eat. I’m going to pack now.”
Hearing this, Xu Jialan snapped back to attention and quickly asked, “Haven’t you eaten?”
“I’ve already eaten,” he said.
Xu Jialan breathed a sigh of relief, “Okay, I’ll eat then.”
Shen Xichuan acknowledged with a sound, waiting for her to hang up first.
Xu Jialan looked at the abundant dishes before her, unable to suppress the upward curve of her lips.
She took a bite of the spicy beef – fragrant, tender, and delicious.
But after one bite, she drank half a glass of water.
In the end, she still managed to eat most of the meal.
When Xu Jialan walked out of her office with her cup, someone couldn’t resist being curious.
“Professor Xu, when… did you get married?”
They couldn’t forget that the delivery person had said it was Professor Xu’s husband who ordered the meals for everyone.
There was only one Professor Xu in the entire laboratory.
Everyone’s gaze naturally fell on Xu Jialan.
Xu Jialan paused mid-step, a faint, elusive smile curling her lips.
“Mm, we just registered yesterday.”
Everyone was shocked – What?!
Xu Jialan ignored their reactions, calmly carried her cup to the break room to pour some cold water, then returned to her office.
Within one lunch break, everyone in the laboratory knew that Xu Jialan had registered her marriage.
Even Old Liang, far away at the Medical Association, heard the news.
At first, he thought it was just a rumor and was prepared to debunk it.
But when he heard that Xu Jialan had personally confirmed it…
Old Liang couldn’t sit still any longer. He immediately returned to his office, picked up his phone, and called Xu Jialan.
Xu Jialan had just been preparing to go to the Affiliated Hospital of Nancheng Medical University when she received Old Liang’s call.
She initially thought he wanted to discuss matters related to the Bureau of Medicine’s special project.
“Xiao Lan, tell your master honestly—did you get married?”
Xu Jialan froze for a moment. “Master, how did you know?”
Old Liang’s voice unconsciously rose, his tone serious. “You really got married? When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell your master? Who did you marry?”
Xu Jialan pinched her fingers nervously and quickly tried to soothe him. “Master, please calm down first.”
Old Liang took a deep breath to compose himself.
The next second, he spoke again. “Such an important matter—why didn’t you say anything to your master?”
Xu Jialan put down her handbag and walked to the window. “Master, I’m sorry.”
Hearing her voice, Old Liang let out a helpless sigh. “Xiao Lan, you know your master never forbade you from getting married. But shouldn’t you have been more careful with such a major decision?”
Xu Jialan hadn’t been in a relationship all these years.
Then suddenly she married someone.
How could Old Liang not worry?
Hearing this, Xu Jialan explained, “Master, getting our marriage certificate was indeed sudden, but I wasn’t being careless.”
Old Liang remained silent.
Xu Jialan lowered her gaze slightly and said, “The person I married is my high school classmate. We’ve known each other for many years.”
Old Liang was stunned. “High school classmate?”
“Yes. He was also the one who saved me from the fire,” Xu Jialan added.
Old Liang didn’t process this immediately.
“Wasn’t it firefighters who rescued you from the fire? How…”
Then it dawned on him. “The person you married is a firefighter?”
Xu Jialan softly confirmed with an “mm” and added, “Last time, the matchmaking candidate your wife introduced to me happened to be him as well.”
Old Liang’s temple twitched.
So this marriage was actually facilitated by his own wife?
He forced himself to calm down and said, “Alright. Bring him home tonight. Since you’re married, shouldn’t he meet your family?”
Xu Jialan’s parents were no longer around.
That made him her family.
Xu Jialan paused. “Master, he…”
Old Liang snorted. “What? Afraid your master will eat him alive?”
“No, Master…”
“Then is he too embarrassing to be seen?” Old Liang pressed.
Xu Jialan sighed silently. “Alright, we’ll come back tonight.”
Old Liang snorted again. “Don’t forget.”
“Okay, I won’t forget.”
Only then did Old Liang hang up satisfied.
Xu Jialan held her phone, unsure how to break the news to Shen Xichuan.
She stared conflictedly at their chat interface.
After a long while, she finally typed: “Um, are you free tonight?”
Shen Xichuan replied quickly: “Yes. Is something happening tonight?”
Xu Jialan sighed and pressed the voice message button: “My master found out about our marriage. He wants us to go over for dinner tonight.”
After listening, Shen Xichuan also froze for several seconds.
Meeting the family tonight?