AADWFL Chapter 29

Fortunately, the distance from the plane to the car wasn’t long. Still, that strange, hard-to-describe feeling once again spread between the two of them. Yet the man who had caused it all seemed utterly unaware, continuing to act as he pleased.

The fine rain wasn’t enough to soak their clothes, merely coating their coats with a thin sheen of moisture. Under Yu Xiuming’s careful coverage, An Ning’s damp sleeve soon dried, and the lingering chill of the rain quickly disappeared under the umbrella’s shelter.

Once they were finally back in the black Bentley, An Ning automatically slipped into the driver’s seat. Fastening his seatbelt, he glanced at his boss — and seeing that Yu Xiuming had sat in the back seat, as usual, he silently let out a breath of relief.

In their last few days in Lunzhuo, Yu Xiuming had seemed to forget his own habits. Without warning, he’d often climb into the passenger seat instead of the back, throwing An Ning off balance every time.

He was the boss — the boss belonged in the back. An Ning was the assistant, the driver when they traveled — the driver sat up front. Wasn’t that a perfectly reasonable arrangement?

It had always been that way before.

But ever since that night, Yu Xiuming had inexplicably taken a liking to the front passenger seat. Whether it was because the seat cushion was more comfortable or for some other reason, he’d repeatedly claimed that spot without saying a word, leaving An Ning uneasy each time.

An Ning had been driving for seven or eight years now. His earliest experience behind the wheel had been with Yu Xiuming sitting in the back seat beside him. It was a habit — a rhythm they’d never broken.

Whenever Yu Xiuming met with other company executives for dinner and An Ning drove them, the same seating arrangement applied — it was simply understood.

After all, there was a difference in their status. After all, Yu Xiuming was the one paying his salary — and it was a salary generous enough that An Ning wanted to feel he’d earned it properly.

The moment earlier, in the rain under that tilted umbrella, had already made him self-conscious and awkward. So when they returned to the familiar black Bentley and Yu Xiuming quietly returned to the back seat, An Ning felt like he could finally breathe again.

Their dinner had been served on the plane. The meals prepared by the private crew for Yu Xiuming naturally couldn’t be compared to those on commercial flights. Though not luxurious, the food was still leagues better than the local Lunzou dishes that hadn’t quite suited their taste — filling and satisfying enough.

After the drive back to their residential complex, they finally parted ways in the elevator. An Ning got off one floor earlier than Yu Xiuming. He hadn’t even pressed his fingerprint to unlock his door when his phone suddenly rang.

A glance at the screen told him it was his long-forgotten real estate agent.

“Hello? Oh, yes… I just got back from a business trip… This weekend? I can make some time then… Great, thank you.”

The agent said they’d found a few new listings that matched his preferences and asked if he could come see them soon. An Ning checked his schedule — weekdays would be tight, but weekends might work.

The joy of the thought — finally buying his own place — welled up in him, momentarily washing away the recent confusion and unease that had been weighing on him.

The next day was Monday — the start of the workweek, the most hated day for every office worker.

Three meetings were scheduled that morning, every minute of the schedule packed to the brim. By the time the last one ended around 12:30, An Ning apologized to the attendees and told them lunch would be on him — courtesy of Assistant An’s company account.

He himself didn’t have the appetite to eat. During the meeting, he’d only glanced once to make sure Yu Xiuming’s lunch had arrived on time — and asked their usual private restaurant to include a slice of cake for him when delivering the meal.

An Ning had a long-standing habit — one that had followed him all the way from high school to adulthood, even after his finances improved.

When he was busy, his appetite would vanish. Anything greasy or savory was unappealing. The only thing he could stomach was something sweet.

He hurried back to his office, file folder in hand — and froze the moment he opened the door.

Yu Xiuming was sitting on his sofa. And beside him, on the coffee table, was the cake An Ning had ordered.

An Ning knew that since he’d been stuck in meetings all morning, the delivery person must have coordinated directly with Yu Xiuming’s office — so it made sense that his boss had brought it over. That part wasn’t surprising. What he hadn’t expected was that Yu Xiuming would still be there, waiting for him.

“Done with your meetings?” Yu asked first when An Ning entered.

“All done,” An Ning said with a smile. The exhaustion etched into his brows seemed to lift a little under the brightness of his eyes.

Spotting the cake, he walked over, taking the box from Yu Xiuming’s hand. “Have you had lunch yet, President Yu?”

Yu nodded. “I have.”

He stayed seated, watching as An Ning placed the cake on the coffee table, went to wash his hands, then came back to open the box, tear open the plastic fork wrapper, and start eating.

An Ning assumed Yu had just stopped by at the right time — knowing he’d finish his meetings around now and deciding to drop the cake off personally. So after he sat down and started eating, he figured Yu would soon take his leave.

But instead, Yu suddenly asked, in his usual calm tone,

“Is it good?”

It was such an ordinary question — yet the way he asked it made one thing perfectly clear:

He had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

An Ning looked up and found that Yu Xiuming was still sitting in his seat, watching him eat with apparent interest.

“It’s pretty good,” An Ning said with a grin, a bit of cream mixed with chocolate still smeared at the corner of his lips.

“Why are you eating cake for lunch?” Yu Xiuming thought for a moment. “Are you feeling unwell? No appetite?”

The concern didn’t feel abrupt — in fact, it was rather pleasant. An Ning’s eyes curved with a smile. “Thank you, President Yu. I’m fine. It’s just… I like sweets when I’m busy. A personal habit, I guess. So today, I just ordered cake.”

The cake was quite large, and An Ning figured he probably wouldn’t be able to finish it. So he turned toward Yu Xiuming, seizing the opportunity. “President Yu, would you like a piece?”

He picked up the small knife and paper plate that came with the cake, ready to cut a slice for Yu Xiuming — only to be stopped by a raised hand.

“You go ahead,” Yu Xiuming said. “I’m already full.”

Remembering that his boss had already eaten a proper meal earlier, An Ning figured he probably couldn’t fit in dessert, so he let it go and continued eating slowly from his own plate.

If he had looked up again, he would have noticed that his boss seemed deep in thought.

Yu Xiuming pulled out his phone, opened a note in his memo app, started a new line, and typed a few words:

[Likes sweets when busy. Cake preferred.]

For most office workers, lunch breaks were a rare luxury — and today, An Ning didn’t have one at all. He hurriedly ate most of the cake, packed the remaining portion neatly, and stored it in the office pantry fridge. Then he drew the curtains, turned off the lights, reclined in his ergonomic chair for a ten-minute power nap, and soon after grabbed his car keys and headed out.

That afternoon, he had an appointment to meet with Yi Mingwei’s assistant to discuss their agreement in detail.

As for the collaboration between Yu Xiuming and Yi Mingwei, they had come up with a brand-new kind of partnership — turning what used to be family alliances through marriage into a contractual relationship. Of course, all of this was thanks to the young lady’s initiative.

Yi Mingwei wanted to pursue her own path as far as she could go, and naturally hoped Yu Xiuming could help her make deeper progress in that field. In return, she would use her influence within her family’s company to help Yu Xiuming block Yu Qi’s attempt to get into the Lunzhuo project.

On the surface, it sounded straightforward — but in reality, it involved a web of intertwined interests. They also had to make sure it appeared absolutely solid to outsiders.

At the very least, they needed Xu Jianan to believe that Yi Mingwei would firmly stand by her son’s side — and that she held real sway over her company’s decision-making. In the past, that kind of cooperation usually required a marriage alliance as its foundation. But Yi Mingwei didn’t want marriage; she was willing to join forces with Yu Xiuming in a different way.

Just as Yu Xiuming didn’t show up in person, Yi Mingwei didn’t either — instead, she sent her executive assistant to meet An Ning in a private club room for the discussion.

Their conversation was strictly professional, yet filled with genuine sincerity — enough to dispel An Ning’s last bit of hesitation or doubt.

“Pleasure working with you,” An Ning said with a polite smile, shaking hands with the assistant.

Both sides had strong intentions and came fully prepared, so everything went smoothly. Three hours later, they’d basically reached a consensus.

“Once you get approval,” said the assistant, “the next step will be arranging a meeting between President Yu and Miss Yi to sign the agreement.”

By the time they finished — from two o’clock to five — the sun that had been high overhead when they entered was already sinking behind the horizon. An Ning had been on the move all day — half a day of meetings, followed by hours of intense negotiations — not a single moment to truly relax. He hadn’t noticed the fatigue while working, but now that he could finally breathe, exhaustion hit hard.

Leaning back in the driver’s seat, he adjusted it to recline, closed his eyes, and rested for ten minutes before starting the car.

Today, he wasn’t driving his boss’s vehicle — since this trip was a private one, and he preferred to stay low-profile, he’d taken his own car instead, a small Mercedes sedan.

Usually, the car sat in his apartment’s underground garage. He’d take it out for a spin every now and then and kept it regularly serviced. This morning, he’d even asked one of the company drivers to bring it over for him.

Just as An Ning was about to turn toward the company, his phone rang.

It was Yu Xiuming.

An Ning assumed his boss was calling to ask about the meeting, so he perked up, ready to report — but Yu Xiuming only asked if he had finished for the day.

“Yes, I just wrapped up. I’m on my way back,” An Ning replied, glancing at the time — already past office hours. But both he and Yu Xiuming often stayed late, so he’d been planning to drive back to the company anyway.

“I see… The company driver had to take leave today for some family matter,” Yu Xiuming said. “So once you’re done, just drive your own car straight home. Otherwise, there’ll be no one to take your car back for you.”

An Ning’s hand on the steering wheel shifted direction slightly as he thought for a moment.

“President Yu,” he said, “then should I head home first… or would you like me to come back to the company after that to pick you up?”

In An Ning’s memory, Yu Xiuming could be counted on one hand the number of times he had personally driven a car. He surely had a driver’s license, but after so many years with a chauffeur, was he really used to driving himself anymore?

“No need,” Yu’s voice came from the other end of the line, followed by a soft chuckle. “I’ll drive myself home. I’ve had my license for years — it’s not like I’ve forgotten how to use it.”

It was as if Yu Xiuming had read his mind. Even though they were only speaking over the phone, An Ning’s cheeks flushed faintly. “Understood, President Yu.”

“Head home early. You’ve worked hard today — get some rest tonight,” Yu said, not lingering on the topic. “You can give me the full report tomorrow.”

“Thank you, President Yu.”
Being let off work early felt like an unexpected gift. An Ning’s mood instantly brightened.

Feeling a rare surge of happiness, he got onto the road — but oddly, he didn’t feel like going home right away.

He suddenly remembered that the real estate agent had told him that viewings weren’t limited to weekends — he could come by any evening as well.

After a moment’s thought, An Ning pulled over and called the agent.