Chapter 5.2

After a long while, she spoke softly. “Does Yangyang really need a nanny?”

She brought up this matter again. He chuckled lowly.

She heard the teasing in his laughter and blushed in the darkness. “I just feel… I can take care of him completely by myself. There is no need to hire someone to help.”

“You mind that much?”

“Not at all!”

“You do not like Liwen?”

“I do not even know her.” She quietly pouted.

Although Du Lingyun could not see it, he could hear a faint trace of sourness in her words. The corners of his mouth lifted, and his smile silently widened.

“Actually, she is Wang Weihao’s cousin.” He explained. “Originally, Yangyang’s nanny was a woman in her forties. About half a year ago, something happened in her family, and she said she wanted to resign. We could not find anyone temporarily, and just then Weihao told me his cousin was a kindergarten teacher who had quit to study for graduate school entrance exams at home. She could temporarily help us look after Yangyang.”

“So you asked Miss Zhou to help?”

“Yes. I saw that she was quite attentive to Yangyang, and for more than half a year, she has taken very good care of him.”

Of course! She has ulterior motives. If she does not first win over the son’s heart, how can she pursue his father?

Cheng Yu secretly curled her lips. “Did you only meet Miss Zhou at that time?”

“Yes, Weihao introduced us.”

“You have only known each other for half a year, but you two seem quite familiar.” One calls the other by name directly, and the other keeps calling him “brother.”

“What, are you jealous?” His tone carried that teasing smile again.

“Not at all!” Her small fist pounded his chest.

He laughed softly and grasped her soft, boneless little hand with his large one. “I only see her as a friend’s younger sister, really.”

Why emphasize it like that? Her cheeks burned even more, and she muttered softly. “Who cares if it is real or not.”

“If you really mind, we can take care of Yangyang ourselves. He is almost old enough to go to nursery anyway.”

“Who said I mind?” She still had to defend herself, her slender white fingers secretly playing with the buttons on his pajama top.

He did not argue with her and playfully pinched her hand. “The project I am working on wrapped up a phase today. Tomorrow I will take a day off and go with you to your previous company to report back from leave. You can see if you still want to continue working.”

“I want to resign.” She had already made up her mind long ago.

“Really?”

“Yes. I want to stay home and spend more time with Yangyang. Even if I go out to work later, I will wait until he is a few years older.”

“That is fine too.” He kissed the top of her hair again. “No matter what you decide, I will support you.”

How wonderful! Such a considerate and tolerant man. How could Jian Lanxi not know how to cherish him?

Cheng Yu sighed quietly, her soft body unconsciously moving closer into Du Lingyun’s embrace, nestling even tighter.

The next morning when she woke up, Cheng Yu found herself still nestled in the man’s arms. He had actually let her use his arm as a pillow all night without moving.

And he seemed to have woken up long ago. His dark eyes were bright like stars as he quietly gazed at her. “Good morning.”

She was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly sat up in panic, putting distance between them. “Good, good morning! You, how…” How could he just let her lean on him the whole night?

Morning light filtered through the window. It was bright now. Without the cover of darkness, she suddenly felt extremely embarrassed, wondering what had possessed her last night to so naturally throw herself into this man’s arms!

She looked helplessly as he sat up with her, moving the arm she had used as a pillow all night. It seemed very stiff.

“I am sorry. Your arm must be really numb, right?” Her voice carried guilt.

He smiled. “It is not.”

How could it not be? Watching him flex his arm, it was clearly uncomfortable.

“Then let me rub it for you!” Saying that, she moved closer again, trying to place her hand on his numb arm.

His reaction, however, was to pull back. “No need.”

She was stunned.

He quickly got out of bed. “I will take a shower first.”

With those words, he turned and left, not using the master bathroom but heading straight to the one outside.

She stared blankly as he walked away.

He had clearly showered last night. Why was he taking another shower so early in the morning, and acting as if he wanted to escape from her? Had she done something wrong?

Cheng Yu pondered gloomily, feeling a little lost for a moment. After a while, she pulled herself together and told herself not to overthink it. The most important thing now was to make a nutritious and hearty breakfast for the father and son to enjoy.

She got out of bed and freshened up.

Meanwhile, Du Lingyun quickly grabbed a set of clean underwear from a drawer in the study cabinet, then hurried into the bathroom.

He locked the door, leaned back against it, and only after making sure no one could see him did he allow himself to glance at his lower body. The corners of his mouth twisted into a wry smile.

It seemed he had overestimated his self-control. Was this what they called retribution?

He laughed at himself bitterly, took off his clothes, turned on the faucet, and let icy cold water slowly pour over his strong, masculine body. Tempting water droplets glistened with dazzling light.

In another part of the city, in the bathroom of a hotel suite, another man was also taking a shower.

But he was not alone. A woman with a fiery figure entered naked, her voice sweet and coquettish.

“Want me to scrub your back?”

The man gave her a cool sideways glance. “No need.”

He unceremoniously pushed away the beauty who clung to him like an octopus, not sparing her another look. “I have an important meeting this morning. I have to leave soon.”

“Hmph, so boring.” The woman pouted in complaint.

The man ignored her, finished his shower, carefully dried his body with a towel, then put on a newly bought suit. Even the tie was new. An Armani blue striped tie on a light-colored shirt made him look even more handsome and outstanding.

He fastened exquisite cufflinks, pinned on a tie clip, combed his hair, and only after confirming he was perfect from head to toe did he pick up his briefcase and casually say,

“I am leaving.”

Twenty minutes later, the man drove a dark blue BMW sports car into the underground parking garage of an office building. He parked, took the elevator to the top floor.

The entire top floor, over two hundred ping in size, belonged to a large international law firm. The interior decor was quite modern and stylish.

Lawyer colleagues and other staff greeted him with nods as they saw him.

“Attorney Deng, good morning.”

“Morning.”

A pricey nameplate hung on the door, indicating this was the private office of Attorney Deng Ruofan.

Yes, the man was none other than Deng Ruofan.

With a cold expression, he entered his office, made a few routine calls, then his assistant reminded him the meeting was starting. He immediately picked up his laptop and went to a medium-sized conference room.

Several lawyers of varying ages were already seated inside, all in sharp suits, each with sharp, keen eyes.

The topic of today’s meeting was a lawsuit accusing a major domestic tech company of infringement. Since the client paid enormous consulting fees every year, they were an absolute VIP who had to be served impeccably. Therefore, every lawyer attending was a shrewd and capable elite—none of the firm’s rising stars or carefully groomed talents were absent.

Deng Ruofan was precisely one of the young talents the senior partners highly favored. They had worked hard to pull him into this team. When they heard he had recently lost his wife, they thought he would surely be devastated and might slump for a while. Unexpectedly, after handling the funeral matters, he returned to work in just a few short days, full of energy and presenting an almost flawless litigation strategy during the meeting, determined to shine.

After fierce back-and-forth debate, the final decision was made: they would adopt Deng Ruofan’s strategy.

After the meeting ended, several colleagues crowded around to congratulate him, saying that if they won this difficult case, the firm would definitely credit him with a major achievement and his future would be bright!

Deng Ruofan smiled warmly and acted modest until he returned to his office. Only then did the smile fade from his lips, replaced by a sharp, cold glint in his eyes.

A bunch of hypocrites. Did they really think he could not see through their insincere words? In this world, anyone who wants to climb higher has to step on others—especially in a large international law firm, which is nothing but a fiercely competitive arena of fame and fortune. It is either you die or I die.

He had fought with blood and sweat to reach his current position. Nothing and no one could obstruct his path forward.

Not even the death of his wife.

At that thought, Deng Ruofan’s expression inexplicably softened. In truth, Cheng Yu’s death had dealt him a certain blow. After all, they had been together for many years and had some feelings. Yet in the endless daily conflicts, those feelings had gradually worn away.

He had never expected that her death would leave a hole in his heart. Every night when he returned to an empty house, he could not help feeling lonely.

That was why he preferred picking up random women at nightclubs and spending the night in a hotel rather than going back to a home without her.

He still liked her. That day, he should not have argued so fiercely with her. If he had coaxed her a little, maybe she would not have stormed out in anger, and the car accident would not have happened.

Recalling their past—how he had pursued her so earnestly, how overjoyed he had been when she accepted his proposal—Deng Ruofan felt both regret and resentment. He regretted that he had indeed neglected her somewhat; he resented that she could not have been gentler and lived with him peacefully.

He admitted that over the years he had had some affairs outside, but they were all consensual and just for fun. He had never intended to abandon her or divorce her.

Yet that night, she had been so resolute about divorcing him.

Did she no longer love him? How could she just leave him like that, abandoning him alone?

The intercom rang. He picked up.

“Attorney Deng, Nancy has returned from leave today. Would you like to see her?”

Nancy!

Hearing that woman’s name, Deng Ruofan could not help grinding his teeth. She was the one who caused all this trouble. He had heard she had been on leave for several days after something happened. Today she finally showed up at the office.

“Tell her to come in.”

Deng Ruofan stood up irritably and paced the office. He was not sure what attitude to take with Nancy. On one hand, he still needed her connections to land that big American client. On the other, he hated how she had messed up his life.

He waited impatiently for several minutes, almost ready to call and curse, when Nancy finally arrived late, knocked, and entered with an uneasy expression.

He glared at her darkly, making her face even paler, yet she stubbornly refused to look away, her expression cold.

“You still have the nerve to come to the company?” His sharp voice squeezed out through gritted teeth.

She seemed surprised by the question. Her eyes flickered. “I came to resign.”

“What, you want to run away after causing trouble?” Deng Ruofan sneered and advanced on her step by step. She retreated in panic until he had her cornered against the wall.

He looked down at her with a complex gaze. “You heard about my wife, right?”

She froze, her expression shifting unpredictably. After a moment, she gave a slight nod.

“If it were not for you, she would not have died.” His piercing glare sliced toward her.

She bit her lip, suppressing her fear. “What does that have to do with me?”

The more she acted innocent, the more furious he became. “You still dare to say it has nothing to do with you? If it were not for you, my wife would not have come to the company out of nowhere that day, would not have seen that scene, would not have argued with me, and would not have stormed out in the middle of the night and gotten into that accident! It is all because of you, you bitch! All because of you!”

She stood frozen, staring at him in disbelief. “I… I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“You’re still pretending! I already know—it was you who sent the text message to my wife! You deliberately tried to drive a wedge between us!”

Her face went deathly pale. “What are you saying? The… text message was from me? Why would I do that?”

“Why? Because you’re jealous!” Deng Ruofan looked at her with contempt. “You’ve always been secretly in love with me. Did you think I could not see it?”

“You say I’m secretly in love with you?” She cried out as if he had said something absurd.

Still acting! How had he never noticed before that this woman was such a drama queen? Deng Ruofan was both angry and stifled, and even more frustrated that he could not break ties with her yet.

“So tell me—what do you want me to do?” He slammed both hands against the wall on either side of her, trapping her. Women loved this kind of move; he knew it well. Since she still had value, he did not mind playing along.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

Her face turned pale, her lips lightly pressed together. She was clearly afraid, yet her clear eyes did not dodge at all, staring straight at him. That fragile yet stubborn appearance stirred something in his heart.

Why was there this strange sense of familiarity? As if he had seen it somewhere before?

Deng Ruofan was lost in thought for two seconds, then coldly snapped back. The corner of his mouth curved into an evil, charming arc. “Are you sure you still want to keep acting in front of me?” He lowered his head, almost breathing against her ear, his tone seductive and intimate. “I already understand your feelings. My wife is gone now. What else do you have to hold back for?”

He did not expect that she would remain completely unmoved by his deliberate seduction. Instead, she spat curses through gritted teeth.

“You… shameless! Even if your wife is gone, I have a husband! Do not touch me! I have no interest in you at all. Let go!”

Was she actually showing disdain toward him? How dare she!

“Stop playing this game with me. A slut still wanting to build a memorial arch for chastity…” Deng Ruofan said as he lowered his lips to forcefully kiss her, but she stomped hard on his foot instead. He cried out in pain and instinctively stepped back.

She quickly seized the chance to push him away and stumbled toward the door.

“Jian Lanxi! You bitch, get back here!”