Chapter 45: Enchanting

Di Ye was in a hurry to leave Liu Shaosong's house because Di Yan was hosting a dinner that evening at Lingyun Hotel for Xia Jianwu and Xia Fangfei.

Lingyun Hotel was built in 1975, formerly the Yuncheng No. 1 Guesthouse; it is located in the most prosperous part of the city center and is known for its quiet, elegant environment and rich variety of dishes, having hosted many high-ranking officials and celebrities. To show her respect, Di Yan specifically asked a friend for help to book a top-tier private room there.

The protagonists of the evening should have been Di Ye and Xia Fangfei, but both had ulterior motives; one pretended to be simple and honest, the other pretended to be a lady, and neither spoke much, leaving the stage to Di Yan and Xia Jianwu.

The Yuncheng Post and Telecommunications Bureau has over 500 employees, and the internal environment is a complex mix of people and tangled relationships. Di Yan became a Deputy Section Chief of the Personnel Section at only 26, so her social skills were naturally excellent; she chatted happily with Xia Jianwu during dinner without a single awkward silence, and they even exchanged business cards when they parted ways.

Di Ye did not drink that night, acting as the designated driver; he first sent the Xia siblings to the hotel, then drove Di Yan home, reminding her on the way: "Sis, Xia Jianwu is a refined scoundrel, even more of a playboy than me; you must not be deceived by him."

"Just looking at the way he puts his arm around your shoulders, one can tell you two are the same breed."

Di Yan took out Xia Jianwu's business card, tossed it into the glove box on the passenger side, and said: "I am already married, not a teenage girl; how could I be so easily deceived by someone?"

"I'm just worried because you and Brother-in-law often argue, and I'm afraid someone might take advantage of the situation."

"Are you not comfortable unless you get a beating? My relationship with your brother-in-law is perfectly fine; never mind some refined scoundrel, even if the Four Heavenly Kings came, I wouldn't be interested."

"Then I can rest easy."

When they arrived at the Youdian Residential Quarter, Di Yan played a trick as she got out of the car; she lured Di Ye in front of her, then grabbed his ear and warned: "Xia Fangfei has two brothers to take care of her, so she lives a very comfortable life—she's fine with or without you—but Huang Ya can't do without you. You must treat her better and don't let her suffer any grievances, otherwise, I'll beat you to death with a feather duster."

"I know. Sis, let go, I'll have a titanium alloy feather duster custom-made for you later; you can hit me however you like."

"Always grinning, never serious, get lost!"

Di Yan let go of Di Ye's ear, watched him scramble away, and then, humming the tune of "So Happy Today," walked into the residential building, took the keys from her handbag, and opened the door to Room 201, where she saw Lu Hanming sitting on the sofa, flipping through a printed document.

"What are you reading?"

"Xiao Ye asked me to be the temporary store manager at the Yingfeng Flagship Store for a few days, so I'm looking over the marketing plan he wrote to avoid any mistakes... Did you drink?"

"I had a few drinks with the brother of my little brother's girlfriend."

Lu Hanming put down the document, got up to brew a cup of green tea for Di Yan, then took a stack of hundred-yuan bills from his jacket pocket, placed them on the coffee table, and said triumphantly: "I ran errands for Xiao Ye all day today and earned 1,000 yuan; count it."

Di Yan looked at the hundred-yuan bills, then at the cup of green tea, feeling touched, and said: "This is extra money you earned, keep it for yourself; you don't need to hand it over to me."

Upon hearing this, Lu Hanming was not happy but startled, asking in surprise: "Yanzi, 1,000 yuan is equivalent to more than two months of my salary at the publishing house!"

Di Yan looked up at him, then reached out to pick up the green tea and took a gentle sip, asking: "Hanming, I keep you on a tight leash, don't let you run around, don't let you save private money, and I often complain about you, saying you lack ambition; do you resent me?"

Lu Hanming was even more surprised; he reached out to touch her forehead and said: "Yanzi, are you drunk? Why are you talking nonsense?"

Di Yan swatted his hand away and insisted: "Do you resent me?"

"Why would I resent you? It's not like I don't know what I'm like—soft as dough. If you weren't keeping me in check, I would have been into all sorts of vices long ago."

Lu Hanming looked content, picked up the 1,000 yuan, placed it in Di Yan's lap, and emphasized: "I like you keeping me in check; if you stopped, I'd actually feel uncomfortable."

Di Yan smiled sweetly, put down the teacup, pulled 400 yuan from the 1,000, and handed it to him, saying: "In the past, you were always messing around, so I was a bit strict. Now that you're working with my little brother, you've become much more ambitious. From now on, I can loosen up a bit; split the extra money 40/60—keep 40 percent for yourself, and save 60 percent for buying baby formula in the future."

Lu Hanming was both surprised and happy; he tossed the 400 yuan aside and asked: "Are you pregnant?"

"You wear a condom every time, how could I get pregnant! But I plan to get pregnant this year; do you agree?"

"I agree, I absolutely agree."

Lu Hanming leaped up from the sofa, looked at the wall clock, rubbed his hands, and said: "It's only 9 o'clock; I have to go to Qingyun Road to put up posters at 12, so we have three hours. Yanzi, let's do it now."

Di Yan was amused by his impatient manner; she pulled a cushion from her waist and threw it at him, saying: "I drank tonight, it's not appropriate; let's wait until tomorrow."

"Right, right, right, it's really not appropriate after drinking; then tomorrow it is."

Lu Hanming picked up the cushion, sat back on the sofa, put away the 400 yuan he had tossed aside, and asked: "You previously said you wanted to wait until the Post Office and Telecommunications were split before having a baby; why did you suddenly change your mind?"

"I originally wanted to take the opportunity of the split to promote from Deputy Section Chief to Section Chief. During dinner tonight, my little brother thought the split would take at least two or three years to complete, and he has other ways to help me get promoted, so it's better to have the baby this year and then focus on work later."

"Fine, you go ahead and have it; once it's born, I'll stay home and take care of the child. I love playing with kids."

Lu Hanming and Di Yan had liked each other since middle school; although they had only been married for two years, they had been together for nearly 10 years, making them an old married couple. Romance had long since turned into deep affection, so after daydreaming for a while about life with a child, he went back to looking at the marketing plan Di Ye had given him.

"You, if only you could be this serious at work."

"Working at the office, no matter how well I do, the editor-in-chief only gives a few verbal compliments. Working for Xiao Ye, he gives bonuses of hundreds or thousands, so of course, I have to have a better attitude. Besides, he's your brother; if I didn't do a good job, wouldn't that make you lose face?"

Di Yan was very satisfied with Lu Hanming's performance tonight; she leaned over to massage his shoulders and asked: "My little brother said he's preparing to spend 100,000 yuan on marketing; do you think he can earn it back?"

"Definitely, and very quickly. I estimate he can earn it back in about a week."

"Really?"

"Really. The Flagship Store at Tianma Cinema is having a trial opening tomorrow; you can go with me and see for yourself."

"You just want me to see your heroic posture as a store manager, don't you?"

"Hehe, it's rare for me to be in the spotlight, so of course I have to show off for you, otherwise what's the point?"

Di Yan couldn't help but laugh, her heart filled with sweetness; she patted Lu Hanming's back and said: "It's been a long time since we did anything out of the ordinary together. I'm going to sleep for a bit, and when it hits 12, I'll go with you to post those flyers on Qingyun Road."

"Okay!"

The Youdian Residential Quarter was less than two kilometers from the Sihai International Hotel. While Di Yan and Lu Hanming were discussing having a baby, Di Ye had already arrived at the luxury suite on the top floor of the hotel. After entering, he saw Xia Fangfei sitting on the edge of the bed, admiring the gift Di Yan had given her.

"Di Ye, your sister gave me a very beautiful Jade peace buckle."

Di Yan hadn't taken any of the luxury goods Di Ye bought back from Pengcheng, but had prepared one herself. Di Ye didn't know much about Jade, but seeing the peace buckle was pure in color, emerald and translucent, it must be quite valuable. He said: "It's beautiful, but it's too fragile and easy to break; you should put it away carefully. I have another gift for you to wear for fun."

"What is it?"

Di Ye took a small box out of his pocket. Xia Fangfei opened it and discovered it was a Cartier TRINITY Ring, composed of three intertwined rings in rose gold, Golden, and white gold. She couldn't help but laugh and teased: "You really are calculating, even buying a ring with three rings."

"Officially, they say these three rings represent love, loyalty, and friendship; I think it's quite fitting."

"As if! These three rings clearly represent you, me, and her."

Di Ye didn't argue; instead, he took the ring from the box, placed it on the middle finger of Xia Fangfei's left hand, and declared his territory: "From now on, you are mine."

Xia Fangfei held up her left hand to examine it, finding that the ring fit her finger perfectly. She was a bit surprised and asked: "You bought this in Pengcheng, right? I wasn't there at the time, how did you know my finger size?"

"Because I held your hand before winter break, so I remembered."

Xia Fangfei particularly liked this kind of intimate, thoughtful gesture and decided to reward Di Ye; she suggested with a giggle: "You must have bought one for Huang Ya too, why don't we drive over and pick her up now so you can put it on her too."

This suggestion clearly implied something else. Di Ye was very tempted, but he held back and refused: "Forget it, I'm afraid she'll be shy."

Xia Fangfei had made rapid progress in the last two days, having completely cast aside the shyness and reserve of a young girl, and said quite boldly: "Huang Ya and I used to go to the school's public bathhouse together all the time and scrubbed each other's backs; what's there to be shy about? Besides, isn't this what you've always wanted to do?"

"I do want to do it, but there's no rush. Because you two are both tigresses, I have to figure you out one by one before I can deal with you together; otherwise, if I get handled by you two instead, wouldn't that be very embarrassing?"

"Then come and touch me, I won't resist."

Di Ye could no longer hold back; he transformed into a big bad wolf and pounced, pinning the coquettish Xia Fangfei down onto the bed.