Even though Yan Shuyu’s oddball hosting method had Zhou Qinhe dumbfounded, he was, after all, the Boss Zhou who’d never fret no matter what happened in front of him. So, Yan Shuyu’s actions only made him stunned for a second before he returned to normal and even thanked her politely. Yan Shuyu, with her unsupported self-confidence that came from nowhere, immediately felt that she was the best and most thoughtful host in the whole world.

Not only did she not reflect on what she may have done wrong, she walked over to the bathroom with a look that couldn’t be more prideful.

Zhang Yuanbao wasn’t done yet, but he also didn’t goof around like any other child would. He was a very detail-oriented boy, much more so than his own mother. The little kiddo was sitting inside his little bathtub and scrubbing himself down carefully.

Normally, Yan Shuyu would also stay in the bathroom and remove her makeup and apply her skin care products when the little kiddo bathed himself. That way she could watch her son while she took care of herself, killing two birds with one stone. But this time, she still has a “date” with the boss, so there was no need to remove her makeup.

Yan Shuyu didn’t know what to do to kill time, so she squatted down in front of the little kiddo and said, “Darling, let mommy help you bathe~”

The little kiddo, who had already been used to bathing himself, quickly turned around. With his back to his mother, he said, “I can do it myself.”

He was so nervous that he was slurring in his speech.

Naturally, Yan Shuyu did not give up just because she was turned down. She took a few pumps of shower gel and said, “Don’t be shy. Mom will help you with your back.”

The little kiddo, who failed to turn her down, looked down and focused on scrubbing his pee pee, at a speed that was much faster than normal.

Yan Shuyu might be goofy when it came to many things, but she didn’t fool around when it came to bathing her son. The weather has been getting colder. She didn’t want to mess around too much and get the little kiddo sick. If that happened, she’d have to take time off, take him to the doctor’s, slave after him to take care of him. It’d be both a drain on money and her energy. So not worth it.

Yan Shuyu quickly finished scrubbing down his back and his little butt and had him stand up in his bathtub. She turned on the shower head and quickly rinsed him off. He had then immediately turned into a white, tender, and good-smelling little bun.

Wrapping the little white and tender body in a bath towel, Yan Shuyu picked him up and placed him on a clean bath rug and quickly dried him off. She helped him put his pajamas on and was all done. Yan Shuyu didn’t let the little kiddo walk on the floor again, but just carried him directly into the bedroom.

Zhou Qinhe had been ignored by her for a few minutes now but that didn’t bother him. He continued to sit there and flip through the book leisurely. Seeing the two finally got out, he even looked up and asked them gently, “Yuanbao is done bathing?”

Zhang Yuanjia, his arms wrapped around his mother’s neck, nodded politely at Uncle Zhou. That’s when Yan Shuyu realized that she had been ignoring her guest. “Yes, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No problem,” said Zhou Qinhe as he closed the book and turned and looked at Yan Shuyu quite attentively.

As he had occupied one side of the bed, Yan Shuyu gave up on that side and carried her son over to the other side, far away from the boss, before she put the little kiddo down. Zhang Yuanjia knew to pull the blanket over himself except that his little arms were not quite strong enough and the blanket was crooked over him. Yan Shuyu got up and straightened it out for him.

With the mother and son duo working together on it, Zhang Yuanjia was quickly tucked in. Lying in bed, he looked at his mommy with his big, round eyes. Yan Shuyu sat on the bed and said, “Alright, close your eyes and get ready to go to bed. Which story are we reading today?”

Having said that, Yan Shuyu reached her hand toward the boss reflexively.

Reacting quickly, Zhou Qinhe waved the book in his hand and asked, “You’re looking for this?”

That’s when Yan Shuyu turned toward him and quickly gave him a smile. “Yes, Yuanbao wants me to read to him every night when he goes to bed. But don’t worry, he falls asleep quite quickly.”

“No rush,” said Zhou Qinhe gently. He has long legs and arms. All he needed to do was to lean over a little and he’d be able to put the book into Yan Shuyu’s hand. But perhaps he felt that leaning over didn’t look very good. He got up, walked over to Yan Shuyu, and placed the book in her hand.

Yan Shuyu was surprised by his action and quickly stood up and took the book from him. “Please have a seat. This won’t take long.”

Zhou Qinhe did not return to where he was. He stood behind her and smiled at the little kiddo in bed. “Goodnight, Yuanbao.”

“Goodnight, Uncle Zhou.” Probably because Yan Shuyu had stressed a few times that it won’t take long for her to put him to bed, the mature Zhang Yuanjia took a look at Uncle Zhou and said to her, “Mom, I am pretty tired today. I won’t need you to read to me.”

“Really?” Yan Shuyu had her doubts. “Last time I came home a little late and you stayed up to wait for me.”

Zhang Yuanjia took another look at Uncle Zhou, blushed, and reassured her, “But I really am very tired today. I had too much fun over at Tongtong’s place.”

The little kiddo even yawned with his hand over his little mouth as he said that. This time he wasn’t even acting. Yan Shuyu could see the tiredness in his eyes.

Thinking over it, her instant son went over to Manager Yang’s place after school. They had invited many kids over for the birthday party. Her son wasn’t shy at all and immediately blended in with all the other kids. They played straight from 5 PM to 8 PM. It made sense that he was tired and didn’t need her to read to him to put him to sleep.

Yan Shuyu happily accepted her son’s suggestion. After all, the boss was already inside her apartment. It wasn’t like there was somewhere she could go. Given the current circumstances, stalling wouldn’t do her much good. She might as well talk it through with the boss. That way she would be able to come back earlier and go to bed.

“Alright.” Yan Shuyu nodded, pulled the little kiddo’s blanket up a little, and gave him a smack on his cheek. “Be good and go to bed. Mommy will be back soon.”

Zhang Yuanjia did not go to bed obediently but look at Uncle Zhou, who was standing behind his mother. With his limpid eyes, he asked softly, “Mommy, can Uncle Zhou give me a kiss too?”

Yan Shuyu was shocked by the request coming from her normally very mature son. She blurted out, “Why?”

With the purest of all looks, the little kiddo replied, “Yuanbao would like a kiss from Uncle Zhou.”

“Sure.” Before Yan Shuyu could say anything else, Zhou Qinhe had already taken a few steps up, bent down, smacked him where Yan Shuyu just did, and said to him softly, “Goodnight. Sleep tight.”

Zhang Yuanbao closed his eyes satisfyingly and announced, “Yuanbao is going to bed now.”

Witnessing that, Yan Shuyu only had one thought in her mind; no wonder the male lead, as his real son, would lose to the non-blood-related stepson in the novel. She wasn’t even Mrs. Zhou yet and Zhou Qinhe, at most, was just someone a tad closer than an acquaintance. And the little kiddo was already able to glue to him like that. And, looking at the way the two interacted, they truly looked like real father and son.

Once they became father and son on paper, he’d for sure stick around Zhou Qinhe all day long and would want him to hug him, kiss him, and lift him high up in the air.

Yan Shuyu figured that with the boss’s personality, he would not decline any request that wasn’t asking for too much. Even if it was a little much, he still wouldn’t say anything about it, which would give the little kiddo the opportunity to push his luck. Looking at how serious the little male lead was, he was definitely no match over her son who was not above crying or flattering to get what he wanted.

Before she was even done with all her crazy thoughts, Yan Shuyu saw that the boss was already done wooing her son and turned to remind her, “Do you need the curtains drawn?”

Yan Shuyu quickly nodded. “Yes, yes, I do.”

As soon as she said that, she got up to go draw that curtains but she was already a step too slow. The boss had already thoughtfully drawn the blinds for her. Yan Shuyu stood behind him and watched him with a very complicated look.

As slow as she was, after everything that Zhou Qinhe had done, Yan Shuyu finally noticed that he had been very at ease ever since he had walked inside her apartment. He didn’t really think of himself as a guest at all. Did he already see her as Mrs. Zhou? He wanted to marry her that much?

For the first time in her life, Yan Shuyu felt that it was such a pressure to be as attractive as she was. She already started worrying about how to talk the stubborn boss out of wanting to marry her.

Zhou Qinhe had no idea how much duress Yan Shuyu was feeling inside. After he had finished helping her, he turned and asked her, enthusiastically, “Anything else I can help with?”

“No, No.” Yan Shuyu shook her head reflexively. Seeing that the little body had steady breathing, a tell-tale sign that her instant son was fast asleep, she said in a lowered voice, “Let’s go.”

The two of them retreated outside carefully.

When all was said and done, it was already 9:30 PM. Even though Yan Shuyu was staying at the central business district, by this hour, there still weren’t a lot of people left on the street. After all, the mall closed at 10 PM.

Granted, the mall downstairs was still not a suitable place to have a conversation. As soon as they walked outside of the building, there came a cold breeze. Zhou Qinhe suggested thoughtfully, “Why don’t we go grab a beverage somewhere?”

“Okay,” replied Yan Shuyu as she happily pointed at the Starbucks across the street. “Let’s go get a drink there?”

Yan Shuyu beat him to the punch this time. The coffee shop that she worked at wasn’t far from her place. She didn’t want to give the boss the opportunity to suggest going to Sunshine House. She didn’t want to have to turn him down in front of all of her little buddies. Even though she wasn’t the one who was being turned down, it'd still be a hassle if her gossipy coworkers found out about it. They would never let her live it down. Plus, it’d also be a hassle if the boss snapped from anger after being turned down publicly.

Which was why she cleverly suggested going to Starbucks. As far as she knew, this Starbucks closed even earlier than Sunshine House, meaning they could just get in and get out~

Not knowing her evil intentions, Zhou Qinhe nodded agreeably, “Okay.”

It was after 9 PM, even inside of Starbucks, there weren’t a lot of people. The quiet coffee shop was perfect for a serious discussion. Yan Shuyu and the boss picked a seat in a corner. Yan Shuyu didn’t sit down right away, instead, she said to him, “I am going to go place the order, what would you like?”

Zhou Qinhe rarely ever visited places like that. He finally took a look at the cash register after he heard Yan Shuyu’s words. He said in a very gentlemanly way, “I’ll go. What do you want?”

Yan Shuyu quickly grabbed him and said in a serious tone, “I’ll get it. You have already paid for the movie and dinner last time. Any way you look at it, it’s my turn this time.”

It was nice to take advantage of others, but Yan Shuyu wasn’t that frugal. She could at least afford a cup of Starbucks coffee.

Zhou Qinhe was very unused to the whole pulling and tugging in public, so he only hesitated for a little bit before he gave in. “Okay, just get me one of whatever you are having.”

Yan Shuyu thought to herself; every time the boss visited their shop, he had never drunk that coffee. The cup of Starbucks coffee was most likely just a decoration anyway. She nodded and said, “Okay. I’ll order two cups of café latte then.”

Zhou Qinhe nodded lightly and said, “Okay, I will wait for you here.”

Yan Shuyu had already turned around with her cellphone in hand. She waved at him with her back to him and said, “Have a seat. I will be right back.”

She might have said “right back”, but in reality, Zhou Qinhe still had to wait for a few minutes before Yan Shuyu returned with two cups of freshly-made café latte.

She hadn’t expected the boss to actually drink it, but as soon as he took the cup from her, he took a sip from it. Yan Shuyu couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Is it good?”

“It’s alright,” replied the boss nonchalantly, followed by another sip. He seemed to approve of her taste in coffee.

Yan Shuyu should be happy about it, but thinking that both the price and the product at Sunshine House was higher end than Starbucks, and the boss didn’t even care about their coffee that was raved about on the internet, there was no way he really enjoyed Starbucks coffee. Perhaps that was the rumored “by association”? He only enjoyed the cup of coffee because she was the one who had ordered it for him?

Thinking about that, there was not much to be proud of anymore. Yan Shuyu put on a more serious look and sat up properly before she said, “Hrm, Boss Zhou…”

Zhou Qinhe put down the cut of coffee and smiled at her. “Yes?”

The happier the boss looked; the more worried Yan Shuyu got. She worried that he would be enraged after she had turned him down. But she still needed to get her point across. She couldn’t just agree to becoming his son’s cannon fodder stepmother just because she worried that he’d get angry at her. So, as worried as she was, she decided to cut to the chase, “Can we forget about the whole marriage thing? I….”

Yan Shuyu was still trying to come up with some sort of an excuse and let the boss know that she was just kidding the other day and that she wasn’t serious about getting married. But, before she was even able to finish saying it, Zhou Qinhe, sitting across from her, nodded without hesitation. “Okay.”

“……” As it had all come so easily that Yan Shuyu now had a hard time believing it. She couldn’t help but ask again, “You mean you agreed to it?”

“Yes.” Zhou Qinhe looked at her with a grin. “You really didn’t need to stress that. I thought you already realized that I was just kidding when we were downstairs of your apartment earlier.”

Yan Shuyu, “……”

How’d she knew that what she had told her son under the given circumstances would turn out to be the truth?

Shoot. Now everything she wanted to say had been taken away by the boss. Now she felt sad. She had finally realized that the boss being head over heel crazy for her was but all her own imagination. Zhou Qinhe didn’t really want to marry her, so naturally, he wouldn’t be too insistent upon her either.

Thinking about all the details that she had conjured up in her head that was even more cliché than the most cliché cheesy romance novel, Yan Shuyu felt very ashamed of herself. She couldn’t sit still anymore and said, “Well, then, it was all just a misunderstanding. If there’s nothing else, I am going to head back now?”

“No rush,” said Zhou Qinhe in an unhurried manner. “I think we have more serious matters to discuss other than marriage.”

This whole thing did not go the way that she had expected. Now Yan Shuyu was completely in the passive stance of this event. She could do nothing but ask dumbly, “What is it then?”

“You said before that you’d only want to date me under the assumption that we will be getting married. Now that it’s you who don’t want to get married anymore. Should you be considering dating me now then?”

Yan Shuyu, “……”

All said and done, that was the trap that the boss had set for her. Meaning that all those excuses that she had made up the other day, he didn’t believe in one word of them! Okay, never mind that he didn’t believe in one word of them, he pretended that he did and waited till the opportune moment to turn the table on her.

All of a sudden, Yan Shuyu finally understood the meaning of Zhou Qinhe’s action and in that very moment all of her shame had turned into anger. ╰_╯