Qin Beiting pursed his thin lips, offering no reply, as if contemplating whether this feeling for Yu He was akin to liking.
A woman he had slept with only twice – was he that promiscuous?
“If you meet a woman you like, chase after her quickly, don’t be like me,” Bei Ming encouraged. “You have to believe that any woman who catches your eye must be special!”
*She was once the woman you loved the most.*
Bei Ming silently added the thought in his heart, wishing he could say it aloud, but he dared not.
If he had known deception was this arduous, he wouldn’t have agreed with Qi Xifeng and the others’ unilateral decision to erase the boss’s memories of his wife.
But that was the only way to save him. Even now, Freud advised against letting Brother Ting recover his past memories too drastically; his condition had only been suppressed, not fully cured.
So, the most he could do now was to encourage and support the boss in pursuing love, hoping that when the boss recovered his memories, his punishment for him would be a little, just a little, lighter.
The private jet landed at its destination. Qin Beiting opened his phone and immediately connected to the internet. He saw that Yu He still hadn't replied to his message.
This woman dared not reply to him!
His face turned cold, a storm raged in his lowered eyes, finally subsiding into a cold glint. He deleted the message record he had sent to Yu He with his fingertips, then put away his phone and deplaned.
—
Meanwhile.
Yu He, sitting in the passenger seat, saw a message from an unsaved number.
[What are you busy with?]
Although the number was unsaved, Yu He knew this was the number Qin Beiting had forced her to remember.
That scoundrel wouldn't even give her five minutes to talk, so what good could come from him contacting her now?
She locked her phone and pretended not to see it.
She brought Zuo Ye back to the villa; it was already evening. Yue Yue was tinkering with code in his room; Duo Duo was in the living room, playing a fighting game with VR. Hearing her mother was back, she quickly took off the VR headset, hid it, and rushed out to greet her.
“Mommy, you’re back~”
“Hi, Duo Duo, long time no see.” Zuo Ye got out of the car.
“Wow! Uncle Zuo, you’re in China~” Duo Duo joyfully ran over.
Zuo Ye picked her up, lifted her high, and spun her around, making Duo Duo giggle with delight.
Yu He carried the groceries she had bought on the way from the back seat. Seeing her daughter so happy, she couldn't help but smile.
Seeing Yu He carrying things, Zuo Ye put Duo Duo down, pinched her little nose, and said, “Uncle also brought gifts for you and your brother. You can open them later. Let’s help Mommy carry things inside first. Uncle will make steak for you tonight, okay?!”
“Yay!” Hearing about gifts and meat, Duo Duo was incredibly excited. She happily went to help Yu He carry things, “Mommy, we’ll help you.”
Yu He handed her a head of broccoli, and Zuo Ye carried the rest into the house.
Xiao Anran was busy making dinner in the kitchen. Zuo Ye took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and went in, saying, “Let me.”
“Mr. Zuo!” Xiao Anran was surprised to see him but didn't stand on ceremony, handing him the apron.
When they were in France, Zuo Ye often came over to cook for them.
“Esther, come help me. Your steak, the usual, medium-well?” Zuo Ye asked from the kitchen doorway.
He enjoyed the feeling of cooking with Yu He, as if they were a couple, living an ordinary life.
Yu He didn't refuse; she had an irresistible fondness for steak.
The two of them worked in the kitchen for forty minutes, and it was finally time to eat.
Yue Yue was called down from upstairs by Xiao Anran. He was a little surprised to see Zuo Ye but still politely called out, “Uncle Zuo.”
“Yue Yue, wash your hands and come for dinner. Uncle made steak for you.” Zuo Ye wanted to ruffle his hair, but Yue Yue dodged him.
Zuo Ye didn't mind and served the steak one by one. Duo Duo washed her hands and sat at the dining table, looking at the appetizing steak and clapping her hands, saying:
“Wow~ It smells so good~ Mommy, when you look for a daddy for us, find a good man like Uncle Zuo who is so thoughtful!”
Zuo Ye was amused by her words and went along with it, saying, “Then let your mommy marry Uncle, and Uncle will be your daddy, okay?”
Duo Duo, bribed by the delicious food, nodded and said, “Okay!”
“Are you not satisfied even with food?” Yue Yue interjected coldly.
Although Uncle Zuo was very good to them, their mother didn't seem to like him very much.
“Hmm, no, no! Uncle Zuo, no, we already have a daddy.” Duo Duo then remembered that they had a father.
They had also promised their great-grandmother that they would help match mommy and daddy.
Although Uncle Zuo was good to them, he was mommy’s boss, and mommy’s overtime work was all arranged by him!
If he married mommy, would he make mommy work even at home, leaving her no time to play?
No, no!
Their biological daddy was better!
Upon hearing this, Zuo Ye’s eyes narrowed, a fleeting ferocity flashing beneath the surface. He maintained a gentle smile and asked, “You already have a daddy?”
As he spoke, he looked up at Yu He, who was bringing out dishes, as if asking, *Since when?*
Yu He was also surprised. When did they have a father?
She didn't know?
“Yes, if we didn’t have a daddy, how would we exist?” Duo Duo said.
“Oh, so you’re talking about someone who just provided a sperm and then didn't care about anything else. Such a person doesn't deserve to be your daddy,” Zuo Ye said sarcastically.
Duo Duo tilted her head, seemingly not understanding his meaning.
“Let’s eat,” Yu He changed the subject.
After dinner, Zuo Ye, using the excuse that he hadn't found a suitable hotel yet, asked to stay the night. Yu He, remembering his past kindness in sheltering her, asked Xiao Anran to prepare the guest room for him.
In the evening, Yu He put the two children to bed. She went back to her room and checked the progress on the houses Xiao Qing had recently found for her. She worked until midnight and was about to go to sleep when there was a knock on her door.
She opened it to find Zuo Ye in a dark blue pajama set, holding a glass of red wine, leaning against the doorframe. “I can’t sleep due to jet lag, want to chat with me?”
He was her boss, so she had to consider that.
Yu He nodded and went downstairs with him, only to find that Zuo Ye had already set up candles, flowers, and wine glasses by the floor-to-ceiling window on the first floor.
“I’ve been to China a few times, but each time, it feels like it’s changed quite a bit,” Zuo Ye said as he sat down and offered Yu He a glass of red wine.
Yu He took it but didn't drink, placing it aside and sitting in her chair, looking out the window and listening to him talk, though she didn't seem to be fully listening.
“...Oh right, I heard from Alice that you’re looking for a storefront? Are you planning to stay in China?”
As Zuo Ye spoke, he noticed Yu He wasn't responding. He turned his head and saw the woman leaning her head against her chair, asleep.
The soft glow of the candlelight outlined her exquisite features, making her appear softer and more captivating than usual, not always giving off a cold and distant impression.
Zuo Ye watched her, his throat bobbing.
He stepped forward, his fingertips gently tracing the contours of her face, finally settling on her full, cherry-red lips.
He liked watching her sleep; she looked so calm and soft, completely unguarded…