She really didn’t know how this man was built. Before, he’d smoked and drunk all the time, yet his skin was flawless—apart from being a bit dark and dry, there was nothing to criticize. Not even a single pimple. It was truly infuriating to compare.
Sensing his wife’s “intense” gaze, Xiao Cheng turned his head briefly to glance at her. “Wife, what’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”
“No.” Lin Aiyun gritted her teeth, thought for a moment, and still offered up her moisturizing cream. “The seasons are changing lately, and the weather’s been harsh. You should put some on, don’t you think? Your face is starting to get dry and flaky.”
Hearing this, Xiao Cheng frowned. “That’s stuff for you girls. Why would a grown man like me put that on?”
His straight-man comment made Lin Aiyun roll her eyes so hard she let out a cold snort. “So what if you’re a grown man? Fine, don’t put it on—I’m not even willing to share it with you! Do you know how expensive this is? Almost half a month’s salary!”
“…” Xiao Cheng had no idea how one sentence of his had offended her again, but he knew that no matter what, going along with her was always the right move.
“Then how about you put some on for me later? Thanks, wife.”
Who would’ve thought that as soon as he said that, Lin Aiyun swiftly hid the jar back in her bag and retorted, “In your dreams.”
Well then. They say a pregnant woman’s mood can flip three or four times in a single minute—Xiao Cheng finally understood what that meant. He twitched the corner of his mouth and looked away, careful not to stir up any more trouble.
But in his mind, he was already planning to send word to his aunt when he got to the factory, asking if she could help buy a few more jars. He just so happened to have some extra bonus money to hand out today.
The drive wasn’t long, and they soon arrived at the association’s entrance. Xiao Cheng wanted to carry her things inside, but Lin Aiyun wouldn’t let him. “It’s not like I’m that delicate. Just yesterday, Mom said to keep a low profile, and you’ve already forgotten? If you go striding in with me like that, it’ll draw way too much attention!”
Xiao Cheng thought she had a point, but he still couldn’t feel at ease letting her go alone. Things were different now—one body carrying two lives, equivalent to his very lifeline plus theirs combined. How could he rest easy?
Before he could say anything more, the bag and blanket were snatched out of his hands, and the words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back. “I’m going now. Remember to come pick me up tonight.”
She took two steps forward, then added: “And buy another roast duck, would you? I’m craving it.”
“Okay. Take care of yourself. Don’t shoulder everything alone—if anything comes up, go to Auntie. She’ll help you.” Xiao Cheng unconsciously took two steps after her.
Lin Aiyun nodded, waved at him, and walked straight through the association’s entrance. Only after she had completely disappeared from sight did Xiao Cheng stand there for a few seconds before turning to get back in the driver’s seat. But just as he opened the door, a voice called his name from not too far away.
It wasn’t very loud, but he caught it sharply, his eyes shooting in that direction with a fierce glare.
Two men. They looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t place them at first. He closed the door again and searched his memory for a moment before finally remembering who they were.
That playboy from the He family—He Feng, was it? The only time they’d ever interacted was when he was searching for someone in the capital and had Zhou Jin ask around. Since the man had been with countless women, there was a chance he might remember something—but the result had been disappointing.
It was also him who had just called his name, full name and all. Quite bold—even his own old man wouldn’t dare address him like that.
As for the other man, Xiao Cheng let his gaze fall on his face but couldn’t place him.
“Mr. Xiao! What an honor to run into you here today—truly a blessing, truly a blessing.” He Feng was a slippery one, his face plastered with smiles, but inwardly he was cursing his own mouth. Calling him by name in private was one thing, but he’d just blurted out his full name in public!
Was he asking for death? They weren’t even close—couldn’t even be called nodding acquaintances.
Xiao Cheng could crush him as easily as stepping on an ant.
Facing the hand extended toward him, Xiao Cheng merely cast a cold glance and looked away, making no move to shake it. He’d never had any patience for promiscuous playboys like this, let alone shaking their hands.
To put it simply—he found it dirty.
“Haha, you probably have things to do. I won’t keep you. Maybe we’ll meet again sometime.” He Feng didn’t take it to heart, withdrawing his hand on his own, bobbing his head obsequiously as he saw the man off. Only after the car had disappeared from sight did he let out a breath of relief and slowly straighten his back.
Turning to face his friend’s look of contempt and disgust, He Feng felt a bit of face was lost, but still couldn’t help defending himself in a low voice: “That’s Xiao Cheng! Xiao Cheng!”
If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have groveled like he was meeting his ancestors.
“So what?” Jiang Run inexplicably felt short of breath. That feeling had started the moment Xiao Cheng laid eyes on him, and only eased after he left. It was really strange.
He reached up and adjusted his collar, his gaze deepening. The look in the other man’s eyes was clear—he obviously didn’t remember him.
Tsk. They’d been classmates for two years. What kind of fish memory did this guy have…
But Jiang Run didn’t really care. Not being recognized was fine—forgotten was forgotten. They were never going to cross paths anyway. What he cared about now was why Xiao Cheng had come to their association.
“Heh, you say that, but he’s someone who deals with our fathers’ generation. I heard he was even invited to attend the grand ceremony recently. Take a good look—how many young people from our families got that honor?”
It had to be said—Xiao Cheng was impeccable in every aspect. If he could be half as capable, his family would have handed over all their assets long ago. He wouldn’t still be treading carefully, only able to exercise his talent in limited areas.
He Feng shook his head, sighing as he walked forward. Before he knew it, he had been singing Xiao Cheng’s praises for quite a while, until a sudden thought struck him. He turned to look at Jiang Run. “Wait—what was Xiao Cheng doing at the association anyway?”
“How should I know?” Jiang Run was pondering the same thing.
“You don’t know? This is your turf!” He Feng said it with such conviction that Jiang Run shot him a speechless glare.
By now, the two had reached the association’s courtyard, with a tall locust tree blocking the way not far ahead. Seeing no one around, Jiang Run pointed at him and scolded: “You really need to get that mouth of yours sewn up.”
If anyone else at the association had heard that, what would they think? He had no idea how reckless he was being.
The association was different from other organizations—it wasn’t a hereditary system but a meritocracy. Every ten years, there was a vote for a new leader. If the current leader acted inappropriately during their term, members had the right to remove them and install someone else.
“I was just saying it casually.” He Feng pursed his lips, knowing he shouldn’t talk nonsense. After a moment of silence, he half-jokingly added: “What do you think—could Xiao Cheng have come because he found out there’s an embroiderer at your association who looks exactly like the woman he was looking for before?”
“I think you’ve lost your mind. Did you forget what we talked about last time? Xiao Cheng is already married, and I hear they’re very much in love. Why would he come to our association to look for someone?” Jiang Run didn’t want to discuss this with He Feng any further and directly changed the subject.
“Hurry up and grab whatever you left here last time. I have real work to do today.”
“Fine, fine. I was just saying. Let’s go—won’t hold you up from your important business.”
The two walked straight toward the association building, completely unaware of the figure sitting in the corner by the big locust tree.
Zhuang Dongping’s eyes widened. It took her a long moment to snap out of it, her gaze filled with shock as she lowered the half-eaten fried pancake in her hand. She hadn’t expected to stumble upon such news just by coming out for breakfast today!
No wonder the first time she saw Lin Aiyun, she thought she looked familiar—so this was the reason! She, too, had happened to see that portrait back then by chance! After all, it had caused quite a stir at the time, even if it wasn’t done openly—some people were still in the know.
Plus, she had a good memory and had thought the beauty in the portrait was truly striking, so she’d stored it in her mind. She never expected it would come in handy today.
Women’s thought processes could sometimes differ from men’s. For instance, Jiang Run and He Feng would assume that Lin Aiyun merely happened to resemble the woman Xiao Cheng had been looking for—pure coincidence. But Zhuang Dongping thought otherwise—there was a very real possibility that Xiao Cheng had married Lin Aiyun because he saw her as a substitute for that woman.
If you can’t have the best, then settling for second best would do.
In just a few breaths, Zhuang Dongping had already concocted an entire love-hate drama between the three of them in her head, probably not much different from what you’d read in romance novels!
Xiao Cheng and the woman in the portrait had fallen in love first, then broken up for some reason. The woman, heartbroken, had fled far away, while Xiao Cheng regretted it and started searching the city for her.
But after searching for a long time without finding her, he grew despondent and went to another province to clear his mind. There, he met Lin Aiyun, who looked eight or nine parts similar to his ex. After spending time together, he figured since he couldn’t find the original, he might as well make do with her.
In the end, he brought her back to the capital and married her.
Maybe even that was done to spite the other woman, to force her to show herself!
Zhuang Dongping felt she had figured out the whole chain of events. Her face flushed red, and her heart pounded rapidly as she unconsciously looked toward the direction of the association building.
If Lin Aiyun ever learned the truth, would she throw a hysterical fit? Hopefully, she’d be so devastated she’d never recover, leave the capital, and go back to Jiangming Province.
After all, no woman in the world could tolerate a husband who doted on her on the surface while keeping another woman in his heart and treating her as nothing but a stand-in—it was disrespectful to both parties!
If that happened, even if Master wanted to take her as a disciple, it would be impossible.
Thinking about using this to make Lin Aiyun leave the association, Zhuang Dongping’s heart gave a sudden lurch. She hesitated, her fingers tightening around the fried pancake in her hand until the crispy pastry crumbled apart. But slowly, she relaxed her grip.
No. Master could only have her as a disciple—that was the promise she’d made!
Having made up her mind, Zhuang Dongping didn’t rush to expose anything to Lin Aiyun just yet. This alone wasn’t enough—it had to be a lethal blow, one that would leave her with no face to stay at the association.
From what she knew, Master had arranged for Lin Aiyun and Jiang Run to work together on that big association project. If…
When the time came to expose this, it would be perfect. Under the double blow, no matter how strong Lin Aiyun was, she wouldn’t be able to stay at the association.
Zhuang Dongping sat there finishing her fried pancake and milky tea before heading toward the office.
Luo Cheng and Aunt Liu were already seated at their spots. The moment the former saw her come in, he unconsciously turned his gaze toward her. This time, Zhuang Dongping didn’t glare back—she let him look.
“See? That’s how it should be—eating breakfast in the office stinks up the whole place.” Aunt Liu let out a sarcastic snort, all while sipping her own bowl of congee.
Luo Cheng couldn’t stand it and wanted to say something, but in the end, he just lowered his head.
Seeing this, Zhuang Dongping curled her lips in a faint sneer. If she hadn’t woken up late today, she wouldn’t have been sitting outside eating breakfast in the first place. This Aunt Liu, relying on her seniority at the association, was always putting on airs. Though she held back out of consideration for her status, she never missed a chance to nitpick over trivial matters.
And Luo Cheng—he claimed to like her, but he was as timid as a quail. When it came down to it, he didn’t dare stand up for anything.
Apart from that one time he’d helped her with something, he’d been useless ever since. But still…
“Luo Cheng, my master asked me to pick up five bolts of embroidery fabric and some high-quality embroidery thread from the storeroom. Come with me—I can’t carry it all alone.” Zhuang Dongping had barely been seated for a moment before she spoke up.
“Sure.” Whatever she asked, he never refused.
The two left the office one after the other.
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