It was past eight when they got home. Aunt Chen had just finished preparing a table full of steaming hot dishes.

Si Xiaotie held Lin Ke’s hand and dragged her to wash up, and then the family of three finally sat down together for dinner.

The little chatterbox was as talkative as ever. “Mommy, I saw you on TV!”

A conference of that scale would definitely make the news, though interpreters usually didn’t get much screen time. Lin Ke placed a cola chicken wing into her bowl. “Really? What was Mommy doing?”

“Daddy said Mommy was translating! Translating means changing foreign languages into Mandarin~” The little girl narrowed her eyes proudly, waiting for praise. “Xiaotie remembered it all!”

Lin Ke lifted her gaze toward the quiet man sitting across from her before lowering it again. She pinched her daughter’s chubby little cheek. “Xiaotie is amazing.”

But the little girl suddenly became serious. “Mommy, I want to be a translator too!”

Lin Ke laughed softly. “No rush. Xiaotie can wait until she grows up and finds something she truly likes before deciding.”

“How do I find it?”

That really was a good question.

Lin Ke thought for a moment before asking gently, “Does Xiaotie like playing piano like your brother? Or practicing calligraphy?”

“Mmm…” The little girl tilted her head as if faced with a difficult problem. Then she pouted and answered with complete confidence, “Mommy, I don’t know.”

Hesitation usually meant she didn’t like it that much. Lin Ke patiently asked again, “Then what does Xiaotie like?”

This time the little girl’s eyes lit up instantly. “I like baby dinosaurs and baby spiders!”

“…”

“Mommy, my spider made sooo many webs it almost trapped itself. It’s so silly!” Talking about this made Si Xiaotie so excited she almost forgot to eat. Sitting in her special baby chair, she waved her chopsticks while speaking. “Mommy, I also want to raise a giant whale! A huuuuge baby whale! And little monkeys too, the kind that climb everywhere! They can jump to another tree all at once!”

Lin Ke burst into laughter again. “Then let your dad buy you a zoo. You can be the zoo director.”

The little girl immediately turned toward the man across from her, her eyes wide and round. “Daddy, can I?!”

“Yes.”

“…”

Lin Ke glanced at him again, hoping he was only joking.

Later, the little girl clung to her father while planning out her fantasy zoo world. After dinner, Lin Ke went to take a shower, and afterward she helped Si Xiaotie bathe as well.

At nine-thirty, mother and daughter lay together on the little girl’s warm bed chatting softly. Si Xiaotie pressed tightly against her mother, her tiny voice sweet and soft. “Mommy, I missed you so much.”

Lin Ke brushed the strands of hair on her face behind her ear and answered gently, “Mommy missed you too, baby.”

The last business trip had been the first time she’d ever left Si Xiaotie behind. Back then, the little girl hadn’t adapted well at all. But now, during this second separation, perhaps because her father stayed with her the entire time, she hadn’t thrown a single tantrum. Every phone call had been filled with happiness.

The little baby who once could only whimper in her arms had slowly grown up.

Four years old already.

In the blink of an eye, four years had passed.

Lin Ke lowered her head and kissed her. “What story does baby want to hear tonight?”

“No story. Mommy sing.”

“Then Xiaotie has to close her eyes first.”

The little girl shut them immediately. “Closed already!”

Lin Ke patted her shoulder and softly hummed the lullaby she used to sing when Xiaotie was little.

“Sleep now, sleep now, my dear little baby…”

Before she even finished a few lines, the little girl had already fallen asleep.

Not long later, the door to the children’s room quietly opened.

Lin Ke looked up and met his eyes for several seconds before carefully easing herself away from their sleeping daughter.

After closing the door, she stood facing the man outside.

Si Yuming lowered his head slightly. “I have something to say to you.”

Lin Ke remained silent.

She could already guess what he wanted to talk about. This week apart had been no different from a cold war. The conflict they hadn’t resolved before she left had been postponed until tonight.

And deep down, she already more or less knew the answer.

Lin Ke pressed her lips together, her lowered gaze resting on the third button of his pajama shirt. “I have my exam at the end of the month. Can we talk after it’s over?”

“Okay.”

Silence flowed between them.

Only a few wall lamps in the living room emitted warm yellow light, while the humming of the refrigerator became the only sound in the entire space.

The steady mechanical noise seemed to tap against the strings of their hearts.

After a minute or two, Lin Ke stepped closer and rose slightly on tiptoe to kiss him.

He responded almost immediately.

She was pushed back against the cool wall as overwhelming kisses covered her completely, heat rushing to her cheeks.

No one knew how long it lasted before the children’s room door suddenly opened.

The little girl had woken up halfway through her sleep and, not seeing her mother beside her, came stumbling out barefoot with a wronged expression.

The couple both jumped in surprise. Si Yuming immediately pulled Lin Ke into his arms.

When Si Xiaotie saw both Mommy and Daddy together, she relaxed a little. Stretching out both arms, she spoke in a hoarse sleepy voice, “Xiaotie wants hugs too!”

……

Lin Ke entered the final sprint phase of her exam preparations.

Picking up and dropping off the child was entirely handed over to Si Yuming. Aunt Chen took care of all the cooking and housework. Every evening after dinner, Lin Ke would head straight into the study.

Si Xiaotie didn’t really understand what the “national exam” was, but she was an obedient little girl. She didn’t even watch cartoons on TV anymore, quietly watching them on her tablet with the volume turned low.

Entropy Domain’s project was also nearing completion. Friday afternoon marked the final online meeting with the Russian side, and after that only simple finishing work remained.

Before the meeting started, Si Yuming called Shen Wan into his office.

“After Lin Ke gets off work today, tell her she doesn’t need to come anymore.”

Although Shen Wan didn’t quite understand why the boss was specifically instructing this, the remaining work after today’s meeting indeed wouldn’t require Manager Lin anymore. She nodded. “Understood, President Si.”

Si Yuming opened the documents on his desk, preparing to assign work to her, when someone knocked lightly on the glass door outside.

Both of them looked over at the same time.

The moment Shen Wan saw the beautiful and capable-looking woman at the door, she immediately stood up. “President Si, then I’ll leave you and President Jiang to talk.”

After Shen Wan left, Jiang Chengyin walked in and gracefully sat down in front of the desk.

Although the two companies collaborated on many projects, Jiang Chengyin rarely had opportunities to directly work with Si Yuming. She more or less understood the situation and crossed her legs with a smile.

“President Si, mind if I sit here for a while? Your wife won’t suddenly come upstairs, will she?”

Si Yuming glanced at her and pulled over another folder regarding a collaboration project with the Jiang family.

She really had come to discuss work, but she wasn’t in a hurry for the moment. While he carefully reviewed the documents, Jiang Chengyin quietly studied him.

Her relationship with Si Yuming was simple in some ways, yet complicated in others.

If Lin Ke had never existed, there was a very high chance she would have married him.

That realization had rooted itself deeply in her mind ever since she was sixteen or seventeen years old, constantly visiting the Si family home and occasionally overhearing hints dropped during family dinners.

Did she like him?

She didn’t know.

For someone she had already identified as her future husband, most of her emotions naturally gravitated toward him. Her eyes and heart had been filled with only him. After becoming an adult, she had even deliberately chosen the same university overseas as him, hoping life in a foreign country would bring them closer together.

But the older Jiang Chengyin grew, the more she understood that Si Yuming didn’t like her.

The only reason he tolerated her presence was because of the relationship between their elders and his grandfather, and because of Si Yun’s reputation.

Once, unwilling to give up until she faced the truth directly, she had personally asked him for an answer.

The answer was exactly what she expected.

She, Jiang Chengyin, was considered a proper wealthy heiress within Beijing’s elite circles. She had her pride too. When he returned to China and got married, she hadn’t even dared come back.

Several years had passed since then.

Her father had unexpectedly fallen ill and passed away, leaving the heavy burden of the family on her shoulders. She had been completely lost.

Fortunately, he had helped support her through it all, giving her numerous projects and introducing her to many more.

She genuinely thanked him from the bottom of her heart.

But there was still some lingering unwillingness.

In terms of status, education, and appearance, how was she inferior to Lin Ke?

Why her?

So she asked, “Si Yuming, what do you like about Lin Ke?”

The man lifted his eyelids slightly but didn’t answer.

In truth, even Si Yuming himself couldn’t clearly define what liking someone meant.

Maybe it was simply a feeling.

Lin Ke was a gentle person.

If Si Xiaotie was like an unrestrained bonfire—warm, passionate, and flamboyant—then Lin Ke was like a small flame that burned steadily. Simply approaching her made one feel warmth, and holding her in his arms brought peace of mind.

During those years in Shanghai, he often returned to Beijing every half month or month.

He needed to draw energy from both mother and daughter.

Si Yuming pushed the confirmed documents toward her and shifted the conversation back to work.

“The Xinghai Bay project has already been approved by the board, but I don’t trust your current team. Rebuild a new one.”

“Okay.”

“Also, handle the matter involving your uncle properly. He’s a hidden danger.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Chengyin picked up the documents and walked toward the door. Before leaving, she turned back with a dazzling smile.

“President Si, I’ve been hearing some rumors lately. I think you might need to pay attention to them. Otherwise Lin Ke might become unhappy.”

“What rumors?”

Jiang Chengyin didn’t answer. She merely curled her lips into a smile and walked out on her high heels.

At the desk, the man frowned and pressed the office phone.

“Xu Lin, come in.”

Xu Lin quickly entered the office and stood respectfully in front of the desk. “President Si.”

Si Yuming lowered his voice. “What rumors have been spreading around the company lately?”

Xu Lin’s heart skipped a beat.

Oh no.

President Jiang hadn’t looked very pleased when she left just now, and now the boss’s face looked terrible too.

Could President Jiang have found out something?

That shouldn’t be possible. He had resisted telling even his own girlfriend about it. Unless someone else had discovered it?

Still, nothing stayed hidden forever.

Xu Lin quickly organized his thoughts, his expression twisting awkwardly. “President Si… I don’t know too much, but I’ve never mentioned it to anyone else.”

“?”

“President Jiang may have heard about it from somewhere…”

“?” Si Yuming’s frown deepened. “Speak clearly.”

The sharpness in his voice startled Xu Lin badly.

But he truly felt miserable inside. Serving a boss really was like serving a tiger.

After racking his brain for nearly half a minute, he finally thought of one possibility.

“Maybe it’s because during National Day, you and Manager Lin went traveling together, and Manager Lin posted on Moments. Then President Jiang has also been coming to meetings frequently over the past month or two…”

“What connection do those two things have?” Si Yuming’s voice grew colder again. “Xu Lin, I’m asking what rumors are spreading in the company. Are people saying Jiang Chengyin and I are involved?”

“???”

This time, question marks practically appeared over Xu Lin’s head.

“Everyone already knows you and President Jiang are close.”

The enormous office suddenly became terrifyingly silent.

Xu Lin cautiously glanced up and saw the darkest expression on his boss’s face since joining Entropy Domain.

So frightened that he instinctively stepped back half a step, his voice trembling, he stammered, “You and Manager Lin’s relationship…”

“Xu Lin.” Si Yuming cut him off. “Is your brain filled with water?”

“???”

“Lin Ke is my wife!”

“???”

Uh… what?

“So for the past two months, the entire company has been spreading rumors that Jiang Chengyin and I are involved… and Lin Ke knew about it the whole time?”

The man practically ground the sentence out through clenched teeth, his expression dark and dangerous.

Xu Lin felt like he was finished.

And everyone else probably was too.

Just then, Si Yuming’s phone received a message.

He calmed himself slightly and picked it up to look.

Aunt Chen: 【Sir, my old man fell and got injured. I need to rush over immediately. I won’t be able to pick up Xiaotie later. I can’t get through to Keke’s phone. Would it be convenient for you to go instead?】

Si Yuming replied: 【Yes.】

He put down the phone and cast another icy glance at Xu Lin.

“You and the driver go pick Xiaotie up from kindergarten and bring her here.”

Xu Lin, whose heart was still trembling, hurriedly answered, “Understood, President Si.”

After taking two steps, he suddenly heard the man behind him speak in an eerie tone.

“When she gets here, ask my daughter what her mother’s name is.”

“……”

    Cold sweat instantly covered Xu Lin’s back.