The design institute was not far from the residential building. Chen Dongyang, hungry, hurried away, took a sip of water, opened his computer, and started working ahead of schedule.
Unexpectedly, within ten minutes, a colleague came to greet him.
“Xiao Chen, did you skip breakfast this morning?”
“You’re still young. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to show your abilities in the future. There’s no need to push yourself so hard for work right now. Health is the foundation of everything. Go have breakfast before you get back to work. Hurry, hurry.”
The person speaking to him was Wang Gong, a senior designer at the institute. Chen Dongyang didn’t know how he could tell he hadn’t eaten breakfast. He smiled and said it was fine. Just as he was about to continue, two more colleagues entered.
They came in laughing and joking, and with them were Zeng Hui and Doubao.
Zeng Hui was carrying a thermos, and Doubao was holding his beloved Ultraman.
Seeing Chen Dongyang, Doubao joyfully rushed towards him, shouting as he ran.
“Daddy! Uncle Chen! Why didn’t you say good morning to me today and just run off? You said we’d compare who was stronger, me or my Ultraman, this morning. You broke your promise. But I brought it with me. Look, we slept well yesterday, has it grown a bit? Am I awesome?”
Zeng Hui followed him with a smile, wearing a new dress, with fresh lipstick and her hair down. She looked radiant and gentle.
“Yes, Dongyang. No matter how busy you are with work, you must eat your meals. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you’re short on time, I’ll bring it to you every morning from now on. You can eat it whenever you have time.”
“I spent half the day making wontons yesterday. I just rinsed them with cold water, and they haven’t stuck together at all. I haven’t started work yet either, so please eat something quickly.”
Chen Dongyang’s head immediately began to spin.
Zeng Hui had actually come early in the morning to bring him food, and in front of so many colleagues.
Before he could even get up to take the lunchbox, his colleagues were already chuckling.
“Oh, eating wontons so early, Xiao Chen, you’re so lucky.”
“A cute child, a beautiful partner, a harmonious family of three. So enviable.”
“Miss Zeng, you’re so young and you can make wontons? Amazing. What kind of filling?”
Zeng Hui smiled and told everyone, “Pork and celery. Dongyang really likes this.”
“I’ve been taking care of the child for the past two years, and I haven’t had anything else to do, so I’ve been focusing on cooking. I think my skills are decent. If you don’t mind, please come to our place for dinner after work. I’ll make more, and we’ll have dumplings.”
That would be wonderful. Everyone smiled and looked at Chen Dongyang.
“Is that okay, Xiao Chen? We hope you don’t mind us freeloading.”
Chen Dongyang couldn’t refuse even if he wanted to. He braced himself and stood up to take Zeng Hui’s lunchbox.
“I’m not hungry. I ate too much yesterday. Just take good care of Doubao at home. You don’t need to trouble yourself like this anymore.”
Zeng Hui was exceptionally gentle. “It’s no trouble at all. It’s so close by, it’s just a simple thing. I haven’t properly introduced myself to everyone since you started working here. Today is a good day for introductions. Dongyang is young and straightforward, not very good with words. If there’s anything I do that’s not thoughtful enough in the future, please bear with me.”
She was young and beautiful, and her words were sweet. The colleagues gave her face.
“You’re too polite. We’re all colleagues; there’s no need for such formalities. We should help each other.”
Zeng Hui chatted warmly with everyone for a few more minutes and then took her leave.
“Then I won’t disturb your work. Remember to come tonight after work. I’ll have the dumplings ready, and I’ll prepare some cold dishes and a couple of bottles of wine. You can have a good drink.”
“Okay, thank you for your trouble.”
She left. It was still a long time before work started, so everyone leaned back in their seats and chatted.
The design institute hadn’t hired many new people in recent years, and Chen Dongyang was the youngest.
Seeing fresh blood, and a young couple at that, they were all very curious.
“Girls like Miss Zeng who are hardworking and enduring are rare these days. My own daughter, spoiled by me, can’t even tell one grain from another and is useless around the house. Forget about cooking, she’d pout like a dried fish if asked to take out the trash. Xiao Chen, you’re truly fortunate.”
“Exactly. She takes good care of the child and keeps you tidy every day. I assume your home is also well-kept. Xiao Chen, how did you two meet?”
Chen Dongyang didn’t know how Zeng Hui had managed to impress them so much in just a few minutes.
Not wanting people to misunderstand that they were a couple, Chen Dongyang subconsciously clarified.
“It’s not what you think. We’re not married.”
Everyone gasped silently.
Not a couple?
Then this is really strange.
He, a grown man, living with a woman who has a child, and the child calls him father, yet he denies they are a couple?
Seeing everyone’s thoughts go astray, Chen Dongyang could only add.
“I’ll explain it to you all later when I have time. This project I’m working on is rather pressing, so let me get back to it for a while.”
“Alright, alright, you focus on your work.”
The crowd, filled with questions, temporarily dropped the topic.
Chen Dongyang turned his back and placed the lunchbox under his desk, feeling incredibly annoyed.
Zeng Hui was clearly determined to establish a relationship with him, even coming to the design institute to declare her position. The situation was far more complicated than he had imagined.
It seemed he had to say some things out loud. Dragging this out any longer would be bad for everyone.
The day passed in busyness and frustration, and soon it was time to leave work.
As if he might forget, Zeng Hui called him right on time.
“I’ve already made the dumplings, and I’ve prepared a few cold dishes and bought two bottles of wine. Remember to invite your colleagues. Don’t let them say we’re stingy.”
With things escalated to this point, Chen Dongyang couldn’t refuse and had to invite his colleagues over.
When they arrived, the small two-bedroom apartment was cleaned and brightened by Zeng Hui, earning more praise.
Zeng Hui beautifully arranged the food on the table and poured them wine. Everyone called out to her.
“Miss Zeng, come and eat too. You’ve worked hard all day. It’s not like there’s no room. If you stand there, we’ll be too embarrassed to eat.”
Zeng Hui pulled up a stool and sat next to Chen Dongyang. She chatted with everyone while feeding Doubao.
The group continued the morning's topic, this time asking Zeng Hui.
“What’s going on? I heard Dongyang say that you two aren’t married, so this is…”
Hearing that he had told them that, Zeng Hui felt a little uncomfortable, but she still smiled.
“It’s not his fault; I’m mostly to blame for this. Oh, it’s a long story. In short, my parents don’t approve.”
So that was the reason. Because her parents didn’t approve, she had followed him for so long without any formal status. Everyone felt Zeng Hui was an even better person.
“Xiao Chen, getting a marriage certificate is not that difficult. The child is already this old, how stubborn can your parents be? Take some time to go back and apologize to your future in-laws, and hurry up and get the certificate.”
“Exactly. What’s the point of dragging this out like this? Miss Zeng is considerate of you, and you must be considerate of her. As a man, you need to have the responsibility of a man.”
Chen Dongyang had a bitter tale to tell. He didn’t want to look at Zeng Hui any longer and could only drink glass after glass of wine.