To avoid actually being kissed, Xu Yanxia stopped struggling.
Fortunately, the Chairman and his wife, who had arrived home first, had already gone upstairs.
At this hour, most colleagues were also resting. Only Aunt Zhang saw them and even proactively helped open her room door and turned on the light.
Lu Jingming placed her on the dormitory bed and promptly checked the injury on her right foot, his expression becoming much more serious.
"There's still some bruising,"
he frowned and asked her, "Has it swollen a bit again? Does it hurt badly?"
"It doesn't hurt,"
Xu Yanxia quickly shook her head, "Maybe it's from standing today, the blood circulation isn't great. It'll be fine after lying down and sleeping for a while."
Lu Jingming gave an acknowledging hum and told her, "Then prop your foot up a bit higher."
As he spoke, he glanced at the bottle of medicated oil on her bedside table that he had bought for her from Hong Kong last time, walked over to get it, and said, "Let me apply it for you."
"There's no need..."
Xu Yanxia still wanted to politely refuse, but he had already poured the medicated oil into his palm and was rubbing his hands together.
Once it was warmed, he immediately applied it to her injured area.
Then he began pressing in circular motions, starting lightly and gradually increasing pressure. His technique actually seemed quite professional.
While massaging, he asked her, "Does it hurt?"
"It's okay,"
Xu Yanxia, whose attention was captured, was a bit curious and asked him, "Did you learn this before?"
Lu Jingming hummed in affirmation, "You could say that. I used to get injured often playing ball in school, so I picked up a bit myself."
As he spoke, he smiled and asked her, "So, wasn't I lying?"
Xu Yanxia was momentarily stunned, her mind immediately conjuring up his demeanor from earlier, and she couldn't help but tease, "Are you sure you're not drunk? You're nothing like your usual self tonight."
He just smiled and even asked her, "So, was it quite adorable?"
"Yeah."
Xu Yanxia couldn't help but laugh at him, "Adorable to the point of being a little scary."
Lu Jingming, however, lifted the corner of his mouth and looked at her, saying, "I did have a bit to drink tonight, feeling a bit excited, but I'm far from drunk. Don't be afraid, I have very good drinking manners. Even if I were drunk, it wouldn't be a problem."
Xu Yanxia felt her face grow warm, thinking to mention how he had just threatened to kiss her.
But he had already finished applying the medicated oil and stood up.
"Get some sleep early."
He bid her farewell like a gentleman again.
Xu Yanxia also nodded to him and said, "Goodnight."
He then walked out the door and even closed it for her.
Walking back to the living room, the smile hadn't faded from Lu Jingming's lips when he ran into Chairman Lu coming downstairs.
Seeing each other suddenly, both father and son were taken aback.
Lu Jingming called out, "Dad, you're not resting yet?"
Chairman Lu, in his pajamas, hummed, "Came down to brew some ginseng slices for your mom."
He paused, then lowered his voice and said to him, "Although I, your old man, have been young too, and understand it's normal to be full of youthful vigor at your age, but we are a respectable family. The proper formalities should still be observed."
"You should at least meet the parents, get engaged first..."
"Dad,"
Lu Jingming, who had already caught on, quickly explained, "Xiao Xia's foot was bothering her just now. I was just helping her apply some medicated oil, nothing else happened."
"Oh, that's good then."
Chairman Lu started up the stairs.
After a couple of steps, he stopped and told him, "Keep it up. The National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays are coming up soon. Plan more activities, best if you can visit her family..."
Lu Jingming, "...I'll try my best."
...
She had indeed been busy all day. After Lu Jingming left, Xu Yanxia went to freshen up, changed into her pajamas, and lay down on the bed.
There were still some tasks to complete. She opened her phone, first adding notes to the contacts of the ladies she had added on WeChat tonight.
Then she went to a certain app and selected a few photos of some finished dishes she had managed to snap during the day and posted them.
—She really didn't have the energy to edit a video at this hour, but posting a few photos as a preview for her fans was doable.
After posting, she suddenly received a message from Mrs. Lu—
[Xiao Xia, Lao Lu and I are going to have morning tea with Jingming's grandfather tomorrow, so we won't be home for breakfast or lunch. I heard your foot isn't fully better yet, so no need to get up so early to cook for us.]
Xu Yanxia hurriedly replied, [Okay.]
Just after sending it, she received another text message, a deposit notification for her salary card.
Xu Yanxia clicked to check and was immediately startled by the six-figure transfer amount.
Immediately after, she received a new message from Mrs. Lu, [Just had finance transfer a bonus for tonight's work. That's from our Lao Lu. My share will come tomorrow, haha.]
Xu Yanxia, "..."
Although she had already gained some understanding of the wealthy families' lavish spending, tonight's amount was simply too much!
And that was just from Chairman Lu?
Mrs. Lu still had to give her more tomorrow???
She quickly started typing to the other party, [You really don't need to be so polite...]
However, before she could finish, she received another new message from Mrs. Lu, [Goodnight.]
Followed by a moon and stars emoji.
She hesitated, then deleted the text and also sent her a, [Goodnight.]
Just after exiting the chat with Mrs. Lu, she received a message from Lu Jingming, [My parents won't be home for breakfast tomorrow, and you don't need to make any for me either. I'll manage myself.]
Xu Yanxia replied with an [OK].
He didn't send any more messages after that.
Originally very sleepy, Xu Yanxia was momentarily roused by the shock of that bonus. She simply scrolled through her Moments feed.
The first post that caught her eye was from Lu Jingming.
It was a few lines in English.
She tried reading it and realized it was the English version of the poem "Longing" he had recited to her in the car that night.
"..."
Xu Yanxia couldn't help but think of how he was back then and couldn't suppress a smile.
After smiling, she still gave him a like.
Then she turned off the bedside lamp, closed her eyes with a smile, and fell asleep.
...
After a wonderful night's sleep, the next day, Xu Yanxia still got up early.
It wasn't that she didn't like sleeping in. For one, her biological clock was now firmly established, making it difficult to sleep late even if she wanted to.
Another reason was her professional integrity.
—Although no one in the Lu family needed her to make breakfast this morning, having been away for several days in a row, she still felt she should check on things at her post.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she reached the kitchen door, she saw someone already busy inside.
It wasn't Sister Wang or Sister Sun who handled cleaning, but Lu Jingming in his loungewear.
He seemed to be rummaging through cabinets, looking for something.
On the counter nearby were ingredients like eggs, milk, bacon, and tomatoes.
Xu Yanxia asked him with some surprise, "You're up this early to cook for yourself?"
—After all, it was only just 7:30 a.m., and he normally didn't leave for work until 9.
Seeing her, Lu Jingming was also somewhat surprised and asked, "Why are you up so early too? Is your foot better?"
Xu Yanxia nodded, "Much better. What are you looking for?"
Lu Jingming said, "Oh, black pepper, ketchup, and cheese slices."
Xu Yanxia quickly stepped forward to help him find the items and asked, "Making a sandwich yourself?"
"Yeah,"
he smiled at her, "I've already figured out how to tell salt and sugar apart this time. I promise I won't mix them up."
Xu Yanxia also smiled, "I believe you. Need any help?"
Lu Jingming had already started washing the tomatoes and was now slicing them on the cutting board. He said, "No need, but if it's convenient, you could give me some guidance."
"Sure."
She then stood by and watched as he began cooking.
First, fry the bacon.
This didn't pose much technical difficulty; it was just about controlling the heat to fry the bacon until it was lightly browned and glistening with oil.
Next, he wiped the oil from the pan dry to prepare for scrambling the eggs.
Lu Jingming cracked two eggs into a bowl. When pouring in the milk, he specifically sought her opinion, "Is this about the right amount?"
Xu Yanxia nodded, "The maximum ratio should be one part egg to three parts milk, otherwise it won't set properly."
"Okay."
Watching as President Lu finished adding the milk, then seasoned it with salt and pepper, he waited until everything was well mixed. By then, the butter in the pan had melted, and he poured in the egg and milk mixture.
Indeed, having expert guidance made all the difference. Two minutes later, a perfect portion of scrambled eggs took shape in the pan. It looked lightly yellow, fluffy, and gave off the aroma of eggs and milk. Even without tasting it, one could tell it would be incredibly tender and smooth.
The bread slices had also finished toasting in the toaster.
The next step was to assemble all the ingredients while they were still hot and add some ketchup.
He was quite skilled at this step. In no time, the sandwich was made and neatly sliced in two with a knife.
To be honest, judging by the clean cut, he really had cooked before.
Xu Yanxia was just about to offer a few words of positive encouragement when she saw him hand one portion to her.
"Want to try it?"
She was taken aback, "Aren't you going to eat it yourself?"
He picked up the other portion and started eating, "One is enough for me."
As he ate, he even praised it, "It really is delicious. I told you I have some talent for this."
Then he sincerely invited her again, "Do me a favor and try it. It's really not bad."
Well, alright then.
Xu Yanxia accepted it.
Just as she was about to take a bite, a voice came from the kitchen doorway, "Xiao Xia, didn't we agree you didn't need to cook for us? Why are you in the kitchen so early?"
She quickly turned around and saw Mrs. Lu, who had just finished her yoga, coming in.
