"Mr. Du, Miss Wood is looking for you."
The office intercom interrupted Du Yuheng and Lei Ziping, who were discussing a project proposal.
"Oh no—" Lei Ziping closed the documents with a look of schadenfreude. "This is going to be entertaining." He couldn't wait to see the drama unfold.
Du Yuheng shot him a glance and pressed the response button. "Please let her in."
Moments later, Julie Wood walked in with graceful steps, her expression calm as she passed by the two of them.
"Hi, good morning." She greeted them and automatically chose a sofa to sit on.
"Do you mind if I stay?" Lei Ziping asked. Although he genuinely didn't want to leave, he thought he should at least feign a bit of courtesy.
"Stay if you want!" She could see through his intentions.
"Thanks!" He grinned, confirming she was indeed a clever woman.
"You came early; the seminar isn't until eleven," Du Yuheng finally spoke.
"Sigh, Du—" She stood up and walked to him, sitting on the edge of his desk. "You're really quite the schemer!"
Du Yuheng leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"How else?" Her delicate finger poked his nose as she sighed. "You purposely had me approach Ouyang Xiaoqing. You knew I couldn't harbor any resentment towards her, didn't you? You calculated that I would only end up liking her and wouldn't hate her just because of you, right?"
He smiled back at her.
"What a cunning man!" She exclaimed, both loving and hating him at once. Julie shrugged her shoulders, "Everything goes according to your plan; I feel like a poor little rabbit hopping into a trap."
"It's not that serious." Du Yuheng replied, his tone lighthearted.
Julie laughed and strolled to the window. "She's a good girl, Du—" She judged people by their vibes, and Ouyang Xiaoqing had given her a surprisingly good one. "She didn't react strongly upon hearing about your past with me; she trusts you, wholeheartedly and unconditionally."
"I know." Du Yuheng smiled knowingly. "I know."
"If you know, then hurry up and take that engagement ring off her finger!" She declared. "If you let her slip away, I'll bring down the American branch!"
"Wow!" Women could be terrifying! Lei Ziping shook his head in disbelief. Julie was just as ruthless as Qiu Mi.
"Thanks for the reminder." He had almost forgotten about it, having assumed Xiaoqing was already his wife. It turned out he still owed her a wedding.
"That's not like you at all, Du." She remarked, noting that the Du she knew wasn't this way. "Where did you learn such polite expressions?" Honestly, she felt a bit reluctant because it wasn't her who had changed him.
"You're a good friend, Julie." Du Yuheng said sincerely.
"With you praising me like that, how can I be bad?" She then turned to Lei Ziping. "Interested in dating me?"
"Thanks, but no thanks." Lei Ziping crossed his arms defensively. "I'm still trying to find a wife!" He didn't want to risk getting killed by his future wife before they were even married!
"What's wrong with Taiwanese men!" Julie Wood teased playfully. "A woman like me with such good qualities, and you all just ignore me! How insulting!"
"That's because we're all already taken, okay?" Lei Ziping joked.
"Forget it, forget it." Julie Wood waved her hand. "I need to prepare for the seminar. After the meeting, I'm going to find my Prince Charming and won't bother with you Taiwanese men!"
As she opened the door, she turned back. "See you later, Du." Then it was truly goodbye—another chapter of her foreign romance closed.
"See you later." Du Yuheng responded, with the same sentiment in his heart.
Their similar personalities had once led to an emotional exchange, but they both understood that neither had truly opened their hearts to the other. In other words, they each held back a step. This step ensured that they were destined to have their own anchors, merely transient passersby in each other's emotional journeys.
Du Yuheng found his anchor—Ouyang Xiaoqing.
But what about Julie Wood? Where was her anchor?
The news broke with shocking reports.
"Yuheng…" Ouyang Xiaoqing was genuinely flustered. "I need to see Yuheng!"
"I'll take you." Ren Qiumi was equally anxious, worried about Lei Ziping's safety. "Yizhou, I'll leave the child to you. Xiaoqing and I are going to the hospital."
"Got it."
Then the two of them rushed out of the flower shop like the wind.
On the other hand, Du Yuheng didn't stop walking once he entered the hospital. The sight of his company's employees lying on hospital beds, some with IV drips and others clutching their stomachs, made him anxious as a leader.
Moreover, all of them were senior executives from the seminar that morning—talented individuals he had nurtured.
"Damn it!" Which restaurant had served that cursed bento?
"Yuh… Yuheng—" Lei Ziping staggered towards him, dragging the IV stand. "Is everyone… okay?" He was also one of the poisoned victims.
Du Yuheng scanned the emergency room and looked back at him. "What do you think?" Seeing Lei Ziping about to collapse, he quickly supported him.
"Looks like it's not good…" Lei Ziping's pale face conveyed the severity of his poisoning. "Fortunately, you weren't greedy like me." He needed to change his bad habit of eating three meals regularly to avoid poisoning again. "I should learn to be a workaholic like you."
"Now's not the time for jokes."
"Hey, is Julie okay?" She probably wouldn't dare come back to Taiwan for a while, given this so-called "food paradise."
"She's fine." Luckily, it was just food poisoning, not chemical poisoning. "You should lie back down."
"Hey!" Lei Ziping smiled wryly. "It's touching to see you worried about me."
"Cut the nonsense—"
"Ziping!"
"Yuheng!"
Two anxious voices came from the hospital corridor outside the emergency room.
Upon seeing the men they cared for, both women rushed forward and embraced their worried partners.
"How did this happen?" was the shared question in their minds.
"Are you okay? Where do you feel unwell?" Ouyang Xiaoqing stepped back to examine Du Yuheng closely.
"Are you alright?" She was nearly in tears with worry.
"I'm fine." Du Yuheng gently held her tearful face and softly reassured her, "I didn't eat that bento, so I'm okay."
Meanwhile, Ren Qiumi pulled Lei Ziping's unhooked arm over her shoulder, muttering angrily, "Are you crazy? Food poisoning and still moving around like a show-off? Idiot! You're just causing me trouble."
"Stop lecturing me!" Goodness! His girlfriend's way of showing concern was quite unique! "If I'm not poisoned to death, you'll have me dead from your scolding."
"Better to be dead!" Ren Qiumi remained sharp-tongued but started walking towards an empty hospital bed in the emergency room. "Heavy death, why eat so much!"
Then, it was just the two of them…
After learning that Du Yuheng was okay, Ouyang Xiaoqing felt reassured but still worried seeing the numerous patients moaning on their beds. "How could this happen?" she asked.
"There were coliform bacteria in the lunch bento." Damn it!
She felt the muscles of his arm tightening under her grip and pressed gently. "Relax! Everyone will be fine," she said softly.
Du Yuheng wrapped his arm around her and forced himself to breathe deeply. "I'm fine." He leaned down against her shoulder and slowly repeated, "I'm fine…"
"Don't push yourself too hard, okay?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked gently. "Can we go back now?"
"I'll stay with you."
"Okay…"
"Mr. Du!" A well-dressed man, sweating profusely, hurried toward the couple through the bustling corridor filled with patients' families.
"Have you found out what happened?" Du Yuheng asked. He had already promised the employees' families that he would seek justice.
"Yes." The man panted heavily. "The lunch bento was provided by Yuan Yang Catering, and I've already notified them to send someone over."
Yuan Yang Catering!? Ouyang Xiaoqing paused for a moment.
"What's wrong?" Du Yuheng noticed her suddenly tense hands. "Are you unwell?"
She snapped back to reality. "Uh… it's nothing." Yuan Yang Catering… that familiar name.
"Mr. Du, should we take legal action?" The man, clearly the legal advisor of Huanyu Group, was serious. "We can file a lawsuit, and we're guaranteed to win." With witnesses and evidence, there was no way to lose.
"No! No way!" Ouyang Xiaoqing shouted unusually, shaking her head. "Absolutely not!"
"Xiaoqing?" What was going on?
The man looked at his boss in confusion. "Who is this?"
"She's my fiancée."
Huh? The boss is getting married!? When did that happen!?
"Yuheng! Don't file a lawsuit, please don't!"
"Why not?"
"Because I am—" She suddenly paused, sensing that if she revealed everything, he would be even less inclined to let Yuan Yang Catering off the hook.
"Xiaoqing, I can't just let this go; it concerns the health of my nineteen employees, do you understand?"
"But…" She wanted to explain but feared it would be unclear.
"What do you want to tell me?" He noticed her strange demeanor and unstable emotions.
"Lawyer Chen—"
"Yes! What can I do for you, Mr. Du?" The man stood at attention.
"Handle this matter, and we'll leave. Notify me if anything comes up, okay?"
"Yes, Mr. Du!"
Ouyang Xiaoqing took the coffee from Du Yuheng and took a small sip.
"Tell me the reason," he demanded, his tone commanding for the first time after their heart-to-heart.
"I..." She hesitated, unsure whether to speak.
"Speak up!" he shouted. The issues with his subordinates had already left him anxious, and now she was hiding something from him, which he didn't want between them.
Startled by his outburst, Ouyang Xiaoqing slipped and spilled the hot coffee. "Ah! It's so hot!"
Du Yuheng immediately pulled her into the kitchen, holding her hand under the tap.
"I'm sorry," she murmured.
"The one hurt is you; you don't need to apologize." Why was she so quick to say sorry? Hearing that weighed heavily on him; none of the women he knew behaved like her—avoiding responsibility with a playful tone instead of acknowledging their mistakes.
"But..." She didn't care about her burned hand; she was concerned about—"The coffee you made for me, I..." She trailed off, her cheeks flushing.
"I..."
He tightened the faucet and led her back to the living room to treat her injury. "Tell me," his voice softened.
"I..." She cleared her throat and said, "I feel like I've let you down. I'm really sorry, and I genuinely wanted to finish the coffee you made." It was his kindness, and she had knocked it over.
"I'm the one who should apologize," he gently cupped her face, tracing the redness from the burn. "But you need to understand, from a company perspective, I can't ignore this, and you do owe me an explanation."
"Then I won't let it go," he recalled how she had shared the reason for her homelessness, a fact he had kept in mind.
"No!" She had to stop him. "Don't do this! He's my brother!"
"Did he ever treat you like a sister?" he asked, sensing her flinch.
"Do you know?" He brushed her hair behind her ear. "Even if you don't care, I can't help but be troubled. Call me petty if you like, but I can't ignore it because they hurt you."
"No! They didn't! The only ones who can hurt me are you and the kids; you are my only family, my only support. You're the only ones I truly care about, and only you can hurt me. Honestly, I should thank my brother—don't frown; I mean it. Without him, I wouldn't have met you—at my most vulnerable moment, you know? Meeting you was the luckiest thing for me. I love you, and please forgive them. Don't make things difficult for them, okay? I believe they didn't mean it."
Ouyang Xiaoqing smiled in return. "I've been selfish enough."
Really? Du Yuheng's eyes questioned her.
Though deeply moved, Du Yuheng had to do certain things. He fell silent, deep in thought.
"Yuheng?" Ouyang Xiaoqing tentatively called out.
"I can't ignore responsibility."
"But..."
"Let me finish," he interrupted. "I'll try to resolve it privately as long as they provide a satisfactory solution; reconciliation isn't out of the question."
Du Yuheng wiped her tears with his thumb. How could he not cherish such a woman?
After hospital tests confirmed food poisoning caused by staphylococcus infection, and with both the company and the restaurant willing to compromise, they decided to settle the matter privately.
Yet, when Du Yuheng faced the restaurant owner, he couldn't help but throw a punch for fairness.
"Juli, you can stop now. I just got you out of the hospital; I don't want you back in right away." Sitting behind his desk, Du Yuheng felt increasingly displeased as he watched her laugh uncontrollably.
"Who said a good supervisor must... control their emotions?" she laughed, clutching her stomach.
"Juli Wood!"
"Is there something...?"
A third voice chimed in, as Lei Ziping entered to inform Juli that a taxi was waiting downstairs.
"Okay." Juli slowed her breathing. "Thanks, Ziping."
"What were you laughing about just now?" What could make her laugh like that, tears streaming down her face?
"Nothing." Waving her hand, she picked up her bag. "I'm leaving. I'll call you from America."
"I'll be like your hospital buddy," Lei Ziping teased.
"Me too," Juli replied, her blue eyes meeting Du Yuheng's—"Goodbye." She gave him a meaningful farewell.
Du Yuheng merely nodded, saying nothing, but that was enough for her.
"Take good care of Xiaoqing," she said before leaving. In little Taiwan, she probably wouldn't return for a long time; when she did, it would mean her wounds had healed…
"Husband, did we arrive too early?" Sun Yuru asked her husband beside her. "Is Yuheng still at work?"
"Why do you say that!" Sun Yuru raised her voice. "I just want to see my beloved children sooner. You're not considerate at all! How pitiful… After marrying you for thirty years, I found out you don't love me at all—"
"Alright, alright!" Du Zhenhuan said repeatedly. He had faced countless formidable opponents in business but couldn't handle his wife at home. "I'll accompany you, as long as you want."
Sun Yuru, looking youthful at over fifty, smiled. "I knew you loved me the most."
"Let's go, let's go, hand in hand..."
Suddenly, the sweet voices of children echoed, and two kids stood before them.
"Who are you?" Xiao Kaiyin protectively shielded her brother behind her. "What do you want outside my house?"
She had to protect her brother.
Xiao Kaifeng stepped forward, placing himself in front of his sister.
Ding-dong—the elevator arrived just in time.
"Kaixin, Kaifeng, why did you run so fast—"
"Mama!" Xiao Kaiyin rushed to her mother, pulling her brother along. "We saw some weird old man—"
"And an old lady!"
An old man? Du Zhenhuan turned to look at his wife.
An old lady? Sun Yuru turned back to her husband.
Were they the weird old man and old lady!?
"Don't be rude!" Ouyang Xiaoqing gently rubbed the children's cheeks. "Didn't Mama teach you to respect your elders?" Honestly.
"But—" Xiao Kaiyin wanted to argue but was silenced by her mother's glare.
"I'm really sorry." Ouyang Xiaoqing quickly apologized to the elderly couple. "The kids don't know better; I apologize on their behalf."
"It's okay." Du Zhenhuan smiled in response.
"I'm the weird old lady..." Sun Yuru felt crushed. Oh no... she had become an old lady...
"Your home—" The couple exchanged glances, turning to the delicate young woman before them.
"Have you moved?" How could that be?! This house belonged to Yuheng; it couldn't be a move. Sun Yuru sensed something was off.
"May I ask where the original owner, Du Yuheng, has moved to?" Du Zhenhuan asked.
Yuheng? "Are you looking for Yuheng? He lives here!" How strange, who were they? "Do you know Yuheng?"
"May I ask who you are—" Sun Yuru pointed at her and the two children. "And who are they—"
The weird old couple. Ouyang Xiaoqing thought to herself.
Still, she answered, "I'm Yuheng's fiancée."
"And they—" The elderly couple's eyes widened as they looked at the two kids.
"They're mine and Yuheng's children."
Oh my!
Sun Yuru never expected the surprise her precious son gave her would be far greater than the one she was about to give him.
An unwed daughter-in-law and two six-year-old children?! "Oh my!" she gasped, collapsing onto the sofa.
"Dad." Du Yuheng immediately interrupted before his father could say anything: "I have my own way of handling things with Xiaoqing. I don't want you to interfere or have any negative thoughts about her. I hope you'll accept her; if not, that's fine too. The only choice for my wife is her."
"Yuheng." Ouyang Xiaoqing tugged at his sleeve. "How can you be so rude to your father!"
She lightly scolded him.
The Du Zhenhuan couple exchanged glances, witnessing this back-and-forth. This kid could actually be subdued by someone? They shared this realization. Haha, there's always someone stronger!
"Xiaoqing, is it okay if I call you that?" He was increasingly satisfied with this future daughter-in-law; just hearing her words was enough to impress his son.
"Of course."
Du Yuheng could see his father trying to distance Xiaoqing. "I won't allow you to say anything hurtful to her."
"Why would I say hurtful things to my daughter-in-law? Come on, dear?"
"Exactly!" Sun Yuru was also immensely pleased with this daughter-in-law for the same reason. "Especially since she gave you twins; look how adorable they are!" Although they called her an old lady at first, children speak their minds, and she wouldn't take it to heart.
"When's the wedding?" This was the shared concern of both parents.
"Soon." Du Yuheng glanced deeply toward the kitchen, meaningfully repeating, "Very soon."