AADWFL Chapter 23
by SuxxiThe grand dishes of Lunzhou didn’t suit An Ning’s taste, but the street food had a charm of its own—surprisingly delicious.
He wandered through a park, then stopped by a small café nearby, ordered a drink, and curled up by the window in a cozy booth. As he slowly sipped, he closed his eyes, letting himself drift.
Xu Jianan had gotten straight to the point in that phone call. She’d learned that Yu Linshan—Yu Xiuming’s father—was planning to bring his illegitimate son into the company. Meanwhile, Yu Qi seemed to be cozying up to the Yi family. Though nothing major had happened yet, the potential threat was clear.
“Xiuming doesn’t believe in arranged marriages, but sometimes personal feelings have to make way for business.”
“It doesn’t even have to end in marriage, but the Yi family values their headstrong eldest daughter, Yi Mingwei, the most. If Xiuming can be with her, all of Yu Qi’s scheming will go to waste.”
“An Ning, over all these years, Xiuming has spent more time with you than with me. Talk to him, would you? Convince him to get along with that girl—even if it’s just for a while. If he can make it to the engagement, that’ll be enough.”
Before hanging up, Xu Jianan added, “An Ning, Xiuming can be stubborn about these things. If you can persuade him, I’ll make sure you’re well rewarded.”
A peculiar sense of guilt crept up in An Ning’s chest. He couldn’t help but think—wasn’t this the classic setup where the next line would be “Here’s five million, now leave my son”?
Thankfully, she didn’t say that.
He mumbled some vague replies, somehow muddling through the call. When it finally ended, he was left stunned, adrift in a sea of disbelief. He wandered alone through the streets of Lunzhou until the dizziness in his head began to fade.
Should he tell Yu Xiuming? And if he did—should he repeat every word exactly as Xu Jianan said them, or soften the edges to avoid making Yu Xiuming angry?
After long consideration, An Ning reached a painful conclusion: no matter how carefully he phrased it, Yu Xiuming would be angry—angry at Xu Jianan’s meddling. It wasn’t just about arranging a blind date; she’d even reached out directly to his personal assistant.
Getting An Ning’s number wouldn’t have been hard for her. But actually calling him—that crossed a line. If it wasn’t handled properly, Yu Xiuming might even lose his trust in him.
And when that happened, the one who’d suffer for it would be the humble employee—An Ning himself.
He gave a bitter laugh, took a sip of his drink, and began plotting how to gently break the news to Yu Xiuming later that evening.
As for “persuading” his boss—he shook his head. No way.
It wasn’t that he objected to Yu Xiuming dating or even marrying Yi Mingwei. But An Ning had always known his place: he earned his salary, did his job, and stayed loyal to the only boss he had. That was it. Matters like romance and marriage were never his to meddle in—especially not when his boss had already made his dislike of blind dates crystal clear. An Ning knew he didn’t have that kind of influence, nor did he want to risk it.
As his thoughts cleared, something else struck him. After Xu Jianan had contacted Yu Xiuming, he’d suddenly changed his mind and decided not to bring An Ning to the party that night.
Could it be that Yu Xiuming wasn’t opposed to mingling with the female celebrity after all—and, knowing Yi Mingwei would be there, thought bringing his assistant might be inconvenient?
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made.
If that was the case, telling Yu Xiuming about Xu Jianan’s call later wouldn’t be so awkward after all.
That afternoon, An Ning didn’t linger in the little café.
The Lunzhou Museum was in the same district as the luxury hotel they were staying in, so he didn’t bother driving. Instead, he checked the subway route on his phone, made a quick booking, and rode five stops to get there.
Museums, he always thought, were the best places to understand a city’s culture.
He rarely had the chance to travel. This time, it was a stolen moment of leisure in the middle of work. His free time was short, so the museum seemed the perfect destination.
The Lunzhou Museum was grand—sprawling grounds, several large buildings, each four or five stories high. In recent years, they’d added smart systems, and most exhibits now offered automatic audio guides that synced to visitors’ locations.
Lunzhou was a city with deep historical roots, and the museum was impressively rich in content. An Ning entered with genuine enthusiasm, listening intently to the gentle female voice in his earphones as she explained each exhibit. For a moment, it felt like being back in high school history class.
Interesting. Relaxing.
He’d been a science major in high school, so history wasn’t part of his college entrance exams. But he’d always attended the classes anyway—without pressure, just enjoyment. Every lecture had felt like listening to stories. Remembering it now still made him smile.
Walking slowly across the museum’s marble floors, immersed in the exhibits and the calm atmosphere, An Ning felt a quiet, contented peace he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Truth be told, ever since he’d suddenly been thrust into this demanding job, running around nonstop, he hadn’t had a single moment to simply be.
Day in and day out, he revolved around Yu Xiuming—planning the company’s affairs, managing his boss’s schedule, coordinating with subordinates. He was constantly on the move. Busy, yes—but fulfilled too. And, in the most tangible sense of success—money—he’d been rewarded quite handsomely for it.
It really had been a long time since he’d allowed himself to simply do nothing.
An Ning rarely thought about what he would do after quitting his job.
He’d never drawn up any detailed plan for his life—he’d just been swept along by circumstance until he ended up where he was now.
Then again, maybe most people were like that: stumbling half-blind through their careers. And for An Ning, at least for now, the path hadn’t turned out badly.
He’d managed to save a good amount of money. Soon, he’d be able to buy a place of his own, resign, and then find another job—something peaceful and far from the chaos—or maybe finally do something he truly wanted.
As he strolled through the Lunzhou Museum, a thought suddenly came to him: if he could carve out some time to travel, wouldn’t that be nice?
But the more he indulged in the fantasy of a serene, job-free life, the more he began to feel a quiet nostalgia for the present one.
He couldn’t help but think of his daily routine—of Yu Xiuming—and an unexpected pang of reluctance bloomed in his chest.
That strange emotion grew slowly, quietly swelling, leaving An Ning a little dazed.
Was he really that reluctant to let go of Yu Xiuming after all this time working together?
It must be because he’d given him too much—time, energy, everything.
Convinced he’d found the reason, An Ning nodded to himself, satisfied. But then, as always, his thoughts drifted back to Yu Xiuming, and before long, he was worrying about him again.
The party tonight!
He’d gone to the museum just after lunch. Yu Xiuming’s gathering was that evening—An Ning wasn’t attending, but he still had to drive him there. Which meant he needed to get back soon to prepare.
A quick glance at his watch nearly made him jump out of his skin.
It was already 3:30 p.m. He hadn’t driven, his phone battery was down to 45%, and he didn’t have a power bank. He was still on the third floor of the museum, five subway stops away from the hotel, listening to the audio guide’s soft voice describe the era and the owner of the armor in front of him.
Panic replaced the calm leisure he’d felt moments ago.
He quickly opened his call log and WeChat messages—no texts or calls from Yu Xiuming.
His fingers moved almost automatically, and before he knew it, he’d dialed Yu Xiuming’s number. But before the call went through, he deleted the digits one by one.
What would that call even mean? Admitting I got carried away sightseeing and forgot about work?
That sounded even worse.
The air-conditioning in the hall was cold, but sweat beaded on his forehead.
After thinking for a moment, An Ning decided to leave the museum as fast as possible. He checked the traffic, chose the more reliable subway route, squeezed into the station, boarded the train—and finally, after an hour and twenty minutes, arrived at the hotel.
He kept his phone in hand the entire time, making sure the line stayed open, avoiding unnecessary scrolling to save battery. Still—no call from his boss.
For no particular reason, a nervous flutter stirred in his chest.
Nothing had technically gone wrong, but this situation was definitely outside Assistant An’s usual experience.
It wasn’t that Yu Xiuming always called to check in under such circumstances—it was that An Ning had never let such a situation happen before.
He always planned everything for Yu Xiuming in advance, revolving entirely around him.
Over the years, it couldn’t be said that Assistant An had never made mistakes—but he had never once forgotten something related to Yu Xiuming, never once gotten his timing wrong.
Now it was nearly five o’clock.
Even though the evening’s party wouldn’t start until late—seven or eight at the earliest—and it wasn’t far away, by An Ning’s usual standards, he should have been ironing Yu Xiuming’s clothes at least half an hour ago, preparing everything he might need.
He already knew exactly what Yu Xiuming should wear. Once inside the room, he’d pick it out in seconds. After changing into fresh clothes and drinking a bit of water to steady himself, he grabbed his room card and headed out, stopping at Yu Xiuming’s door.
Just before pressing the doorbell, he hesitated.
His phone was still completely silent.
No call, no message.
Normally, that would be a relief—but for some reason, it felt off.
Procrastinating wouldn’t solve anything, and time was ticking away. An Ning took a deep breath and finally pressed the bell.
Ding-dong—ding-dong—
“President Yu, it’s me.”
Unlike at the office, before An Ning could even hear a “come in,” Yu Xiuming opened the door himself.
Caught off guard by the sudden face-to-face, An Ning steadied himself and quickly remembered why he’d come. With a polite smile, he said, “President Yu, I’m sorry—I was out and lost track of time. I’ll prepare your clothes for tonight’s party right away. You won’t be late, I promise.”
After opening the door, Yu Xiuming stepped aside, letting him in.
At An Ning’s explanation, he asked mildly, “Just got back from outside?”
Author’s Note:
Yu Xiuming: (breathing… breathing…) “Why isn’t An Ning back yet?” (breathing… panicking… not a single minute without thinking about him)