"Ah, it's all your fault," Su He, dazed by Lu Yanbei's kiss, exclaimed, "The things you bought are all cold now, how can we eat them!" She had completely lost track of time. By the time they separated, breathless, the pile of food on the coffee table had gone cold.
"I'll have someone send food up," Lu Yanbei said, reaching for his phone.
Su He, however, was adamant. "No, I want these."
After a pause, she added, "Does the company have a microwave? We can just heat them up."
Microwaves were, of course, available.
There was one in the pantry on every floor, for whenever it was needed.
"I'll have Cheng Jue heat them for you," Lu Yanbei sighed, conceding.
"You don't need to trouble Assistant Cheng for such a small matter, I can do it myself," Su He said, accustomed to doing things on her own. She wasn't missing any limbs, nor did she like being waited on.
Lu Yanbei grunted and let her have her way.
Carrying the food, Su He walked out of the office and bumped into Cheng Jue. She asked for the location of the pantry and happily headed over.
It was lunchtime, and the office area was mostly empty.
However, the pantry was bustling.
Everyone was discussing what had just happened, their voices animated and absorbed, so much so that they didn't notice anyone approaching.
"You should have seen Lu Shao's expression, it was hilarious!"
"What do you think the boss and the boss's wife were doing in the office to make Lu Shao look like that?"
"What else could they be doing, of course... you know!"
"Newlyweds, fire and brimstone, anything is possible!"
"Ah, no wonder there was a hint of anger in his expression."
"Why is he angry? Could he be jealous!"
"He ignored her for three years of marriage, and now he's jealous? What was he doing before?"
"I think he's jealous! Jealous that the boss's wife found someone better after divorcing, while he broke up with his first love on such unpleasant terms?"
"Ah, he broke up with Song Yan? When did that happen?"
"Haven't you noticed there's been no news of Song Yan lately! Without the resources Lu Shao provided, what is she?"
"Oh, so he just can't stand seeing others do well!"
Su He stood outside the pantry, unsure whether to go in or not.
She was, after all, one of the subjects of this gossip.
Besides, what was this about Lu Jingyang being jealous?
Nothing had happened between them, so what was he jealous about!
"Distance creates beauty, understand? The prodigal son returns, realizes his original match is better, and naturally has feelings."
"Hey, you all should stop guessing wildly, what if someone overhears..." A female employee in a white suit came out of the pantry with a coffee cup and saw Su He standing outside with an innocent expression. Her unfinished sentence got stuck in her throat.
"Bai Lin, why are you blocking the doorway?"
Bai Lin gave a wry smile and respectfully greeted, "Boss's wife."
This one address immediately silenced everyone in the pantry.
Su He blinked and feigned calmness. "Ah, I just wanted to use the microwave to heat up some dishes."
"Boss's wife, please go ahead." Everyone hastily cleared a path.
Su He thanked them and, pretending nothing was amiss, began operating the microwave.
Those who had been inside earlier looked awkward and stood outside, appearing flustered.
Su He knew what they were afraid of, but she remained silent.
Gossiping about others behind their backs was not a righteous act, and she didn't intend to forgive them so easily. Although they hadn't said anything bad about her, rumors could still cause trouble for both her and Lu Yanbei.
Finally, Bai Lin couldn't bear it any longer and stepped forward to apologize to Su He. "I'm sorry, Boss's wife. It was my loose tongue that spoke some inappropriate words. I promise, it won't happen again."
Seeing her admit her mistake, the others quickly chimed in.
Su He saw they knew they were wrong and had no intention of pursuing the matter further. "I have no right to interfere with you all, but I think it's better to focus on work in the office area, don't you agree?"
"The Boss's wife is right."
"You are absolutely correct, we will sincerely reform."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear what happened just now. Let this be the last time!" Su He said. "Also, don't call me Boss's wife anymore, just call me Miss Su."
"Alright, Miss Su."
A crisp "ding" sounded, signaling that the heated food was ready.
Su He continued to heat the remaining items without paying any further attention to the people outside. Seeing that Su He was no longer pursuing the matter, everyone immediately returned to their posts, patting their chests with relief.
However, this incident made everyone realize that Su He was not a pushover. They had initially thought she had gotten where she was solely due to her innocent looks and Mr. Lu's support, but now they had to re-evaluate her.
*
Su He did not mention the incident in the pantry to Lu Yanbei, which greatly relieved everyone.
After finishing the snacks with Lu Yanbei, Su He yawned and went to his rest room.
Alas, one gets sleepy after eating.
"Sleep well, and I'll wake you up when it's time to go home," Lu Yanbei said, affectionately stroking her face.
Su He happily agreed.
However, before she fell asleep, several unknown calls came in. One of them was from the editor-in-chief who had previously emailed Su He. She couldn't get away herself that day, which was why she had sent her assistant to discuss the collaboration.
Who would have thought that the assistant, with her arrogant demeanor, had labeled Su He as a newcomer and assumed she had only succeeded by luck with a hit product. Moreover, the company's offered copyright price was five hundred thousand. This assistant, under the guise of acting in the company's best interest, had directly slashed the price to one hundred thousand.
She thought Su He wouldn't read the contract carefully and that once it was signed, it would be binding, leaving no room for regret even if she discovered discrepancies.
What surprised her was that Su He didn't read the contract but asked directly. Little did she know that what she considered a handout had deeply offended Su He. The contract wasn't signed, and she was sure to receive a scolding from her superiors.
"Who told you to arbitrarily modify the contract price?"
"Do you know who she is? I went to great lengths to find out her background, and you've ruined everything with your actions."
The editor-in-chief was furious when she learned what the assistant had done.
"She's just a newcomer..." The assistant initially refused to admit fault, thinking the editor-in-chief was overreacting.
"What do you know!" The editor-in-chief exclaimed, holding her forehead. "Setting aside her work, her true identity alone could bring significant benefits to the company!"
"And you, you've severed a relationship that was within our grasp!"
"Is it that serious? Who is she?" The assistant pouted and reluctantly asked.
The editor-in-chief pulled a file from her drawer and threw it in front of her. "Does it look familiar?"
The assistant scanned the document from beginning to end, her heart growing increasingly alarmed.
She never would have imagined that the girl who looked like a university student was actually the wife that Young Master Yan of Lu Corporation protected so fiercely!