Xu Yan patted her back and led her to the master bedroom bathroom. She filled the bathtub with water for her, tested the water temperature with her hand, and turned around to find Zhou Luming with her coat and pants off. Xu Yan blushed and looked away from her. Perhaps because of the steam, her whole body felt hot.
"You—don't soak for too long, you might faint." Xu Yan shoved the towel in her hand into Zhou Luming's hands and hurriedly fled the bathroom.
After closing the bathroom door, Xu Yan leaned against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. Using all her willpower to clear away and control her fluctuating emotions, she went to the study to organize her documents.
Things in the Liu family are taking a bizarre turn. After Old Man Liu made his will, Lin Sao's care for him became perfunctory, and Old Man Liu's health deteriorated. He suffered another stroke and was sent to the hospital for treatment. This time, Lin Sao became impatient and was no longer as caring as before.
Xu Yan wanted to go to the hospital to visit Old Man Liu.
After spending a while in the study, Xu Yan glanced at his watch; twenty minutes had passed, yet the person in the master bedroom remained completely silent. Sensing something was amiss, Xu Yan rushed to the master bedroom and opened the bathroom door. Sure enough, Zhou Luming was asleep in the bathtub, his eyes half-closed, his face rosy, and the bathroom was steaming.
Xu Yan picked up Zhou Luming, wrapped her in a bath towel, and dragged her to the master bedroom to lie down.
Zhou Luming, still groggy, turned his head and asked, "What's wrong with me?"
"You fainted while taking a bath." Xu Yan's voice was hoarse.
“Then I…” Zhou Luming fell into a deep sleep again.
Xu Yan silently took a quilt from the cupboard and went outside to spend the night on the sofa.
It's probably going to be another sleepless night.
Chapter 75
===================
Xu Yan had a wonderful dream, and while she was enjoying her indulgence in the dream, she was awakened by the morning sunlight. When she woke up, she realized that she had slept on the living room sofa. She had given the master bedroom to Zhou Luming, the other protagonist in her dream.
Sitting on the sofa in a daze, I felt ashamed of the dream, yet at the same time, I wanted to go back into the dream and continue.
Xu Yan pressed his temples, looking very distressed.
Zhou Luming yawned and walked out wearing a thin silk nightgown. Her long legs swaggered in front of Xu Yan without any hesitation, which startled Xu Yan and brought back a scene from her dream.
"Good morning," Zhou Luming said in a lazy voice. "Thank you for letting me have the master bedroom last night."
"Good morning," Xu Yan said, clutching her pillow. "I'll make breakfast." Actually, all she knew how to do was heat up pre-cooked food in the microwave and boil eggs in water.
While listening to the gurgling water, she glanced at Zhou Luming's side. Before long, the woman with the beautiful figure sat calmly at the dining table, waiting for Xu Yan's breakfast.
She didn't expect a feast, she only hoped for promises.
Last night's events left her feeling defeated. Those cocktails hadn't gotten her drunk at all. When she got back, she deliberately slumped against Xu Yan, wanting her to take care of her. She also wanted to take advantage of the beautiful moonlight and snuggle up to her, wanting to get close to her. However, Xu Yan remained restrained. She couldn't find any trace of passion on her face. It seemed that she was always like this, except for—the time she kissed her first in the hospital.
Zhou Luming really couldn't figure out Xu Yan's thoughts. He was usually cold and distant, maintaining a friendship with her, but sometimes he could see himself in her eyes. Did those kisses mean nothing to her?
Zhou Luming rested her chin on her hand, watching Xu Yan's retreating figure. She truly couldn't understand this woman. She had handled all the men and women she'd encountered before with ease, transforming herself into their preferred persona, feigning the personality they liked, catering to their tastes, and within a month at most, she could completely control their hearts.
This was her usual strategy, and she naturally used it to deal with Xu Yan at first, but she gradually discovered that Xu Yan was completely unmoved by it. She must have a very strong mind and principles; she must have a strong goal in mind, which is why she was unmoved by him.
However, even Zhou Luming himself could gradually feel himself changing, from initially strategizing and taking the lead with reason, to now—
Acting on emotion.
Zhou Luming looked down at the table and smiled faintly; Xu Yan was capturing his heart.
"This is all we have at home, so we'll just have to make do." Xu Yan brought out a plate of meat buns and two boiled eggs, then heated up a cup of milk for Zhou Luming and poured herself a cup of black coffee. The two sat facing each other and ate breakfast.
"Thank you, that's already quite a lot." Zhou Luming said, biting into a steamed bun, his cheeks bulging out, looking very cute.
"Are you going to Shan Hai Restaurant today..." Xu Yan paused, then continued, "or are you going on a date with Wu Fan?"
"Let's make an appearance at Shanhai first, then wait for Wu Fan to go on our date."
"Exhibition or movie?" Xu Yan asked casually. Movie theaters are places where things can easily go wrong; you often see couples making out in the dark. Wu Fan would definitely do the same to her.
“No, Wu Fan said he’d take me to a concert,” Zhou Luming looked up at Xu Yan with a half-smile. “Don’t sneak off with me, though. Your tracking skills are really not that good. You were just lucky last time you weren’t caught. Wu Fan has seen you before, so don’t let him find out.”
"It was a coincidence last time; I wasn't following you."
"Really not?"
"No."
“Okay,” Zhou Luming took a sip of milk, frowned, reached for Xu Yan’s coffee cup, took a sip, and her frown deepened. She stuck out her tongue, “Wow, it’s so bitter, your coffee is over-extracted…”
Xu Yan stared at the tip of her pink tongue, her throat bobbing. She had already drunk from this cup of coffee, and the spot where Zhou Luming's lips had just touched... was the spot where she had touched it.
Zhou Luming mixed his milk with Xu Yan's black coffee to make two lattes, "This is just right."
Xu Yan looked at the latte beside her and said, "Thank you."
She then retrieved Wu Fan's detailed information and discovered that, aside from his father's bribery and imprisonment, he was a promising young man. He had a finance background, held a CFA charter, and worked in investment banking. While he might have initially relied on his father's connections, his later achievements were entirely due to his own exceptional abilities.
Wu Fan himself is tall and handsome, but unlike Xu Yi, he is not a weak scholar. Instead, he has a healthy physique that he goes to the gym regularly, and he is probably the prince charming in the eyes of many young girls.
If it weren't for the fact that he had reported Wu Fan's father and thus incurred Wu Fan's wrath, the two of them, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, would indeed be a perfect match.
"Why are you staring at me like that? Is it because you think my makeup is so beautiful today and you don't want to leave me?" Zhou Luming tossed his hair, a faint smile playing on his lips. "How about I skip my date today and stay with you?"
“Well, I just wanted to remind you to be careful. After all, you two dated before and were even engaged. When he sees you again, he might not be as reserved as when you first started dating. I'm afraid he might not be very polite to you.” Xu Yan said tactfully. “His initiative towards you is partly due to the pressure from Xu Lang, and partly due to some resentment. Men are prone to losing their temper and even resorting to violence when they're impulsive. Even if you've studied boxing and martial arts, you should be extra careful, especially with the food and drinks he gives you. Try not to eat them.”
“Okay,” Zhou Luming said, resting his chin on his hand and smiling. “I understand.”
She wore a beautiful dress and exquisite makeup, and happily went out. Xu Yan looked out the window at the scene below. Wu Fan, dressed in a black suit, opened the car door with an air of elegance, and even shielded Zhou Luming from a collision with the roof of the car. The two drove away, looking very well-matched.
Xu Yan suppressed her soreness and took a taxi to the hospital.
At the entrance to the hospital ward, she overheard people talking inside.
"This old man is left here, and no one from his family has come to check on him. He's really pitiful." A middle-aged woman was chatting.
"Don't say these things in front of him, it's not appropriate," said the man lying in the hospital bed.
“What’s the big deal? He’s asleep. Even if he heard us, he had a stroke and half his face is paralyzed. There’s no one else around. Why do you care so much?” the woman said. “I heard the woman who brought him here used to be his caregiver, but I haven’t seen her since. You know, she’s so much younger than him. What would she want from him? Is it his age or his stench? Isn’t it because he’s a local resident with a house and residency permit? Maybe his house is going to be demolished soon. That woman is definitely after him.”
"Even if he has a house, he should leave it to his children, not to an outsider," the man said, puzzled.
"Who told you men to only care about the process and not the result? After the baby is born, you leave all the baby's eating, drinking, and toileting to your wives, making them stay home to take care of the child. You find excuses to shirk your responsibilities as fathers, saying you're busy with work and have to work overtime to earn money to support the family. In reality, life goes on as usual. You just don't want to come home to face your haggard wife and noisy baby..."
Xu Yan had to admit that what the women in the story said reflected the reality of most families. The conflict in the Liu family was even more pronounced—their father, Old Liu, was an idle and lazy man who not only left the children with their mother but also always took money from home to go out and have fun.
As the children grew up, they were only close to their mother and never spoke to him. After his mother passed away, Old Liu completely lost them. They neither visited nor contacted him. After suffering a stroke, Old Liu realized he was unwanted and unwanted. He initially planned to sue them, but then he ended up in the hospital, unable to move, and that's when he met Mrs. Lin.
Now that he has made a will leaving the house to Mrs. Lin, hoping that she would take care of him for the rest of his life, he has been abandoned by Mrs. Lin in the hospital and left to fend for himself. Old Man Liu is probably feeling depressed and regretful now.
The son, Lao Liu, didn't want to come see his father, but he was worried about him, so he asked Xu Yan to come and check on him. Xu Yan was inexplicably appointed as the estate administrator, and out of professional responsibility, she had to come.
He knocked on the door to let the people inside know he was there. Under the awkward gaze of the middle-aged couple in the other bed, Xu Yan went to Old Liu's bedside and asked casually, "Old man, have you changed your mind?"
Old Liu smirked, his face expressionless, and stared at Xu Yan with his cloudy eyes.
"You tell me, I'll record the audio and video," Xu Yan said, glancing at the curious couple beside him. "As for witnesses, there's no way to find them. For now, we can only ask these two next door. They don't know you and have no vested interests, so they're a perfect match."
"I...can I change my will?" Old Liu asked vaguely.
"Yes, you're conscious now, and although you have difficulty expressing yourself, you can still speak clearly." Xu Yan took out her phone. "Could you be our witnesses for this?"
The couple looked at each other for a while, unsure how to respond.
Xu Yan assumed they had tacitly agreed, and said, "Then let's start recording the new will. This will will replace all the previous wills."
"Wait a minute...I...Isn't my son here?" Old Liu asked.
"He asked me to come see you, but he didn't come himself."
"If I leave the house to my eldest son, will he come to see me?" Old Liu looked at Xu Yan expectantly.
Xu Yan shook his head and answered truthfully, "I don't know."
"If they don't come to see me and take care of me, don't even think about me giving them the house..." Old Liu said fiercely, clutching the bed sheet.
Xu Yan stared at him silently for a while, then said, "Don't you understand?"
"Understand what?"
“They hate you because you haven’t fulfilled your duties as a father,” Xu Yan said calmly.
"Nonsense! I don't need an outsider like you pointing fingers here. I gave birth to them, gave them a place to live, and fed them. How have I wronged them?!" Old Liu's expression was ferocious, and his paralyzed muscles made him look terrifying.
Xu Yan put away her phone and said indifferently, "Having children and becoming parents doesn't require a permit, and there's no parenting qualification exam in this world. So—many people bring children into this world for their own selfish desires, give birth to them, but don't take responsibility for them."
Li Ruo was like that before. She never knew who her biological parents were. She grew up in an orphanage and was later taken away by her adoptive parents, but they couldn't give her a warm home and instead plunged her into another kind of hell.
Thinking of this, Xu Yan glanced at him coldly, causing the old man Liu on the hospital bed to tremble. He felt that the young girl in front of him had no human warmth at all, which made him, a man of his age, feel afraid.
"You're not fit to be a father. Since you don't want to change your will, I'll be leaving now." Xu Yan left these words and quickly departed the ward.
She bumped into a female doctor outside the ward. She recognized her; she was Zhou Jiasang, the third young lady of the Zhou family and actually her aunt.
"So young, yet so arrogant," Zhou Jiasang commented bluntly on Xu Yan.
Xu Yan said, "Being older doesn't mean you understand everything. You are not my teacher, and I don't need to accept your teachings."
Zhou Jiasang watched her departing figure, his face expressionless.
Chapter 76
===================
Zhou Jiasang made a phone call after Xu Yan left.
"Yes, that's what she said."
"Okay, I know what to do."
After putting her phone away, she turned and walked towards Old Liu's hospital room.
"Hello, I am a doctor at the hospital."
Zhou Jiasang walked calmly into the ward with his hands in his pockets.
A concert hall in Shanghai.
Zhou Luming, dressed in an elegant dress, sat with Wu Fan, pretending to appreciate the live performance, but her mind was wandering far away.
Xu Yan...
Tickets are expensive, and those who come to listen to music are all people who know how to appreciate it. Therefore, there is no other sound in the huge concert hall except for the music being played on stage.