Extra Story VII (Our Little Life...)

Two weeks after they got their marriage license, Yan Heyu finally showed up at the clubhouse. They teased him, saying the children’s room was finally all set up.

He and Wen Di had moved into their new villa last week and planned to turn the room next door into a children’s room. In the group chat, he humbly asked the members with children for advice on what to pay attention to when decorating a children’s room.

Wen Di also learned from Shen Tang’s experience, summarizing and taking notes on all her advice. If she had the patience to pick out every piece of furniture for the rental house from her movie, she had even more interest and patience for her own child’s room.

When he left for the clubhouse, she was at home designing the children’s room.

There was an empty chair next to Fu Yanzhou. Yan Heyu didn’t sit there; he picked it up and placed it next to Jiang Chengyu instead.

The message was clear. He didn’t want to sit next to Fu Yanzhou.

Fu Yanzhou glared at him. “Is the seat next to me not good enough for you?”

Yan Heyu: “Bad company corrupts good character. I’ll give you some face when you remarry.” He sat down next to Jiang Chengyu, making a point to draw a clear line between himself and Fu Yanzhou.

Qin Xing glanced at Fu Yanzhou and sighed. “What did I tell you? I told you to learn from Yan Ge and Jiang Ge’s mistakes. They were cautionary examples, and you had to study them carefully and not follow in their footsteps. But you didn’t take my advice to heart.”

He then changed his tone and consoled him. “But you didn’t commit a fatal error, so you should sincerely repent and try to get your wedding ring back. Once you get the ring, you’re not far from remarrying.”

Fu Yanzhou had gotten divorced a year ago. It was his wife who had filed for divorce.

She took back the wedding ring he had worn for only a month of their marriage. She didn’t ask for anything else in the divorce, just the ring she had bought.

He actually didn’t want a divorce, but somehow, they had ended up there.

Fu Yanzhou didn’t want to talk about his own affairs, so he changed the subject. “How’s Guan Xiangmu doing lately?”

The others burst into laughter.

Especially Qin Xing, who couldn’t stop.

Now, whoever was the most miserable was the one everyone would pick on and compare their happiness to. It used to be Yan Heyu who would compare himself to Guan Xiangmu to feel happy. Now, it was Fu Yanzhou.

Qin Xing said, “My uncle-in-law is busy with the breakthrough in battery life. He doesn’t have time to chit-chat with us idle people.”

Guan Xiangmu didn’t like people calling him ‘Uncle,’ but he liked it when people called him ‘Uncle-in-law.’

“Yan Ge, want to open a bottle of wine and drink?”

Yan Heyu had been in a good mood lately and was pretty much willing to do anything. He went to the clubhouse’s wine cellar himself and took two bottles, a symbol of good things coming in pairs.

Before he could get back to the private room, Wen Di called him.

She had a timer set for the call between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. She would call him at 9:01 p.m. and never before that. Even if she remembered, she wouldn’t call him ahead of time.

After he answered, Wen Di noticed how quiet it was on his end. “You’re not in the room?”

“I’m in the hallway outside. I just went to the wine cellar to get two bottles of red wine.”

“Oh, then I’ll hang up.”

“Talk to me for a couple more minutes.”

“There’s no one next to you, so it makes no difference whether I talk to you or not.”

“...”

“I’m still busy designing the children’s room.”

“A few minutes on the phone won’t make a difference.”

Yan Heyu handed the red wine to a staff member outside the room and asked them to take it inside. He found a quiet spot to talk on the phone. Unconsciously, he walked to a spot she liked, with mirrors and plants.

He asked Wen Di, “Have you decided which day we’re going to Yunshu Village?”

Wen Di was standing at the door of the children’s room, picturing a fairytale room in her mind, imagining what to put where and what colors to use.

“Wen Di?”

“I’m listening.” Wen Di was marking her sketch. She temporarily put down her pen and paper to talk to him seriously.

Yan Heyu leaned against the railing with one hand in his pocket. “If you’ve decided on a day, I’ll arrange my work ahead of time.”

“How about next Friday night? We’ll stay for two days, so it won’t interfere with your work.”

“You don’t need to consider my schedule. Our honeymoon can’t be so perfunctory.”

He had originally planned to take her abroad for their honeymoon and stay for a few more days, but she said there wasn’t anywhere in particular she wanted to go. She had been to all the places and cities she liked when she was in school. She had spent all her winter and summer vacations traveling.

She said she wanted to go to Yunshu Village again.

Yan Heyu decided: “We’ll stay in Yunshu Village for a week.” The last time he went to find her, he hadn’t had a chance to see the sights and didn’t remember what was there.

“So we’ll go next Friday? I’ll ask Assistant Kang to book the tickets.”

“Sure, whatever you want.” Wen Di urged him, “Go play cards. Talking to me is a waste of time. We can talk when you get back.”

“I don’t think it’s a waste of time.”

Yan Heyu had gotten used to receiving her calls every night. If she was ever perfunctory, he would be the one who wasn’t used to it.

Wen Di talked to him for five minutes before hanging up. It was about the same as when they used to chat on the phone all the time. Half of what they said was nonsense.

Putting down her phone, Wen Di picked up her sketch again.

She was using all her romance to design a princess room for their little Ningmeng. Maybe it was because Yan Heyu talked about it so much, but she often found herself thinking about little Ningmeng, what their daughter would look like, and how happy Yan Heyu would be when their daughter called him “Daddy.”

But whether they would have a boy or a girl wasn’t up to her and Yan Heyu, so she planned to design two children’s rooms: one for a girl and one for a boy.

Wen Di went back to the study and started drawing according to the effect she had imagined. She lost track of time until she heard Yan Heyu’s voice in the hallway outside. “Wen Di?”

Yan Heyu came back from the clubhouse at one in the morning. No one was in the bedroom, so he came to the study to find her.

Wen Di answered, and when she looked up, Yan Heyu had already pushed open the study door.

“It’s so late. Why aren’t you in bed?”

“I’m designing a walk-in closet for little Ningmeng.”

“It’s too late. Design it tomorrow.”

“I’m almost done with this part.” Wen Di told him to go shower first.

Yan Heyu had a strong smell of smoke on him from the private room. He didn’t hug her. “Turn off the computer in ten minutes, no later.” He went back to the bedroom to shower.

Wen Di said she would go to bed in ten minutes, but twenty minutes later, she still hadn’t looked up from the computer screen.

Yan Heyu came back after his shower. “Wen Di, can you please be a little more obedient?”

The desk was covered in sketches. He didn’t touch anything on her desk and turned off the desk lamp.

Wen Di saved the design and turned off the computer. She raised her arms, and Yan Heyu picked her up and carried her.

She leaned close to his lips and didn’t smell any alcohol. Before she could pull away, Yan Heyu pressed his lips against hers. Even now, his kisses could still make her heart race.

She loved and was addicted to this feeling.

“You were busy all night designing a princess room for our daughter?”

Wen Di nodded. “The inspiration just keeps flowing. I hope the princess room can be put to good use.”

Yan Heyu knew what she was worried about. “We’ll have two children. Whether it’s a brother and a sister, an older sister and a younger brother, or two sisters, the princess room will definitely be used.”

“What if it’s two brothers?”

“...Wen Di, we haven’t even had a baby yet. Don’t say such disheartening things.”

Wen Di smiled. “Okay.”

Yan Heyu put her on the bed and leaned down to kiss her. “Is your period almost here this month?”

“Don’t you have a record of it on your app?”

“I uninstalled it a long time ago.”

“Why did you uninstall it?”

“I don’t need it anymore. Before, when you had mood swings, it was because I wasn’t doing a good job.” Now that he thought about it, when she had mood swings during her period, it was because he had done something to upset her. Now that he gave in to everything she wanted, and never got into a cold war or an argument with her, she never had those mood swings anymore.

He kissed her eyes. “I won’t ever make you angry again.”

Yan Heyu reached up and turned off the lights.

Ever since they got their marriage license, they had stopped taking precautions.

During this kind of intimacy, Yan Heyu almost lost control.

________________________________________

Yan Heyu had been receiving special wedding gifts from the company’s senior executives over the past few days. He lacked nothing, so they gave him handwritten letters.

They were no longer the rigid, perfunctory letters from year-end summaries. The thickest envelope contained seven pages of handwritten letter from a board member who was about the same age as his father.

The board member wrote about his life’s realizations over the years. In the letter, he mentioned that he had written a letter to his son on his son’s thirtieth birthday.

His son cried after reading it and wrote him a letter back. It was the first time the father and son had ever had a calm conversation. The years of estrangement and conflict between them were completely resolved because of that letter.

Yan Heyu read all seven pages of the letter, word for word. The last five pages were a profound summary of Jingyue Group’s development up to the present. The details he had already forgotten, the board member still remembered.

The board member offered him valuable advice on the areas where he was still lacking.

And this advice was the heartfelt words he wouldn’t hear in a meeting. This kind of advice was often called thankless in the workplace. After all, no leader liked to hear unpleasant things, even if they were true.

Yan Heyu spent an entire afternoon reading all the letters.

He had asked them to handwrite a letter for their spouse’s birthday. Some of them wrote a letter to their spouse, while others whose spouse’s birthday hadn’t yet arrived wrote a letter to their child or their parents. No matter who the letter was for, their minds were filled with countless thoughts as they wrote.

In the letters, they shared their family members’ joy and emotion upon receiving the letters. Besides wishing him and Wen Di happiness, they talked the most about the company’s development and some of the current problems, not only raising the issues but also providing solutions.

They all said that he had changed a lot in the past four years. When asked specifically about the changes, they joked that they lacked the vocabulary to describe it, but they all agreed that he had changed.

He was still as ruthless and merciless toward his competitors as before, but he was certainly no longer as arrogant toward the people around him as he used to be.

People who had never interacted with him before would now realize: Oh, so President Yan is the real-life model for Tan Moxing’s character in Behind Desire.

He was still a long way from being the male lead in Wen Di’s heart. For now, he was just a little closer to being modest.

Yan Heyu took pictures of the envelopes of all the letters and sent them to Wen Di. [These are my wedding gifts from Jingyue’s senior executives. I’m basking in your glory.]

Wen Di was confused. [?]

Yan Heyu: [I showed them the postcard you wrote me. Now I have a new goal.]

Wen Di told him to share it with her.

Yan Heyu: [To be not just a decent person, but a leader with charisma.]

Wen Di replied: [I miss you.]

Followed by a screen full of falling stars.

She hadn’t meant to say “I miss you.” She was trying to send him the star shower to encourage him.

The last time Yan Heyu saw a screen full of stars was before they broke up, more than four years ago.

He put the letters away in the safe. In the eight years he had known Wen Di, he had gained more than just a relationship; he had also gained the genuine hearts of these people.

And in the world of fame and fortune, the most difficult thing to gain was another person’s sincerity.

But he had gotten so much all at once.

Yan Heyu sent Wen Di another message: [I don’t have any social events tonight. I’ll come home and cook a meal for you.]

The last time he cooked was ten months ago. He had made her fish soup, but it hadn’t turned out very well.

Before she received the message, Wen Di had been typing a message to him, asking him if he could come home early tonight.

She looked at the pregnancy test stick beside her. Two lines. Just as she was thinking about him, he messaged her, saying he wanted to come home and cook for her.

[Husband, please come home early. I want some fish soup.]

Yan Heyu: [Okay, I’ll go buy some fish after work.]

He had long forgotten his experience of cooking fish soup last time.

But thankfully, he had a note in his phone.

Yan Heyu bought the fish and ingredients and got home before it got dark. Wen Di was reading a book on the sofa. She had been in a good state lately and was able to finish her work for the day in the morning.

“Husband, you’re back.”

“Yeah.”

Yan Heyu handed the fish to the auntie and walked over to the sofa. He leaned down, and Wen Di gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The corners of her mouth curled up, higher and higher.

Yan Heyu kissed the corner of her mouth. “What are you smiling about?”

“I’m happy you’re cooking for me.”

Yan Heyu said, “I’ll cook for you more often in the future, maybe two or three times a month.”

“You don’t have to. If you do it too much, it won’t be a surprise anymore.”

Wen Di wrapped her arms around his neck, not letting him go.

Yan Heyu put his hands on the back of the sofa behind her. “How am I supposed to make you fish soup if you don’t let go? If little Ningmeng is like you in the future, will I ever get to cook?”

Wen Di looked at him, the smile on her face slowly disappearing, replaced by a serious look. “Husband, if I don’t get pregnant this month, you can’t be disappointed.”

Before, Yan Heyu was the one in a hurry. Now it was his turn to comfort her. He didn’t want her to feel pressured. “It’s not like it’s a sure thing in the first month. Don’t think about it too much. Just let nature take its course.”

He had been planning to ask her if her period had arrived, but judging by her expression, it seemed it had. She had been so happy, and he shouldn’t have brought up little Ningmeng.

“I’m going to go make you some fish soup. A hot bowl of soup will make your stomach feel better.”

Wen Di still didn’t let go of Yan Heyu. Her acting was terrible, and the smile on her face couldn’t be hidden.

She pressed her lips to his, her voice a little muffled: “Husband, congratulations on becoming a daddy.”

Yan Heyu pulled away from her lips, stepping back. She was smiling, but her eyes were moist.

His heart was pounding frantically, so intensely that he could almost hear it himself. He thought he had heard the word ‘daddy’ just now.

He was afraid it was all for nothing. “What did you just say?”

Wen Di took one of his hands and placed it on her lower abdomen. “Our little life. It said it wants to drink the fish soup Daddy makes. It will definitely be the best fish soup in the world.”

Yan Heyu pressed his forehead against hers, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say. He could only hold her tightly.