The chauffer of someone like the boss, who was born standing at the apex of the pyramid and very particular about details, was naturally also the best in his field. By the time Yan Shuyu walked out after sending her text through WeChat, Zhang Yang was already pulling up in front of them. They didn’t need to have to look for the car at all. Stopping in front of them, Zhang Yang got out of the car with a professional smile and said, “Little Young Master, Miss Yan, little Young Master Zhang, did you all have fun?”

The little male lead had always been quiet in front of others and perhaps little kiddo Zhang Yuanbao was mimicking him. He, too, was being cold and quiet. So Yan Shuyu was the only one conversing with Mr. Chauffeur. “It was fun. Sorry to have you wait for us all night long.”

“Don’t mention it. It is my job.” Zhang Yang opened up the back door first and asked mindfully, “Should I take you and little Young Master Zhang home first?”

Yan Shuyu was about to nod, but seeing the little male lead’s eager look out of the corners of her eyes, she asked, “Is it convenient? We can take Xiao Yi back first.”

If he dropped them off first, the little male lead would be all alone in the back seat. That’d be so pitiful.

Zhang Yang opened his mouth. He was just about to say that he lived close by and it’d save him a trip to drop them all first then take the little young master home. But before he was able to say anything, his little young master had already thrown his arms around Miss Yan’s leg affectionately. “Aunty Yan…”

Even though the little young master did not say another word beside that, his soft and somewhat whiney tone made Zhang Yang shut his mouth quietly.

Even though the little young master didn’t say anything else, his little buddy, on the other hand, totally got what he meant. Little kiddo Zhang Yuanbao, too, threw his arms around Yan Shuyu’s other leg and whined in a carefree way, “Mom, Xiao Yi is only going to be home by himself anyway. Why don’t we bring him home with us? I can share half of my bed with him~”

The little male lead blinked at Yan Shuyu. That was obviously what he was trying to say.

Yan Shuyu was baffled. “When did the two come up with this?”

Ever since she started raising a child, Yan Shuyu had paid a lot more attention to the news. She knew that kidnapping was a big issue and had read about some of the commonly used methods. When she was out with them this time, she was extremely careful the entire time. The workers at the plaza were very cautious as well. Every ten minutes or so, there’d be an announcement asking the parents to keep an eye out on their children, etc.

Every time there was an announcement, Yan Shuyu would look at the two kiddos, who were gluing onto her. She was 100% certain that they were with her the entire time, even when they went to the bathroom – she took them to the bathroom back at the hotpot restaurant. They have a common bathroom and she was there helping them.

So, the question was, how were the two of them able to discuss this with her around the entire time?

The little male lead, after all, had not spent that much time with Yan Shuyu and didn’t quite get her sense of humor. While the little male lead looked baffled, Zhang Yuanbao, on the other hand, got it right away. He shook his head and said, “No, we didn’t talk about it.”

Yan Shuyu hrumphed. “If you didn’t talk about it in advance, how are the two of you trying to trick me at the same time?”

“We are not trying to trick you,” rebutted Zhang Yuanjia articulately. “Xiao Yi happened to want to come to our place and Yuanbao also wants him to come to our place. It’s called a coincidence.”

Not only did he excel in articulating, he was also very logical. Not only was he not influenced by Yan Shuyu, he almost convinced Yan Shuyu. Was she being unreasonable about a coincidence?

But, it was still a bad idea. Taking the boss’s son out for fun was one thing. Bringing him home with them was definitely the precursor to becoming the little male lead’s stepmother.

She couldn’t take that risk even for the brotherly love between her son and the little male lead. Yan Shuyu, having recollected herself, rejected the idea adamantly, “No, we can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Both little kids blinked and looked at her. If she looked carefully, Yan Shuyu could also see that the little male lead looked like he was about to start crying, which softened the heart of the old Aunty Yan, who was a fan of good looks. She may not be able to accept the proposition, but she needed to come up with a good reason to placate them.

Thinking about it for a few seconds, Yan Shuyu said with most seriousness, “Even though it’s pretty cold today, you two are both good little kids who like to be clean, right? We all sweated when we had hotpot, so we need to go home and shower. Xiao Yi didn’t bring any clothes with him. What is he going to change into?”

Zhang Yuanjia replied immediately, “I can lend him my clothes.”

Yan Shuyu gave him a look. Her son’s response was startlingly fast. But, no worries, she went on, “But you don’t have brand new clothes either. Are you asking Xiao Yi to wear your old underwear?”

Having said that, Yan Shuyu looked over at little Zhou Yi confidently. She figured that as particular as the boss was, the little male lead probably wouldn’t be too different from him. He was, after all, a little young master born into a prestigious family. That’d be the bare minimum, right?

Sure enough, after she had said that, there was hesitation on Zhou Yi’s look. Zhang Yuanjia, too, was a bit embarrassed. He did say that his little buddy could borrow his clothes, but he couldn’t possibly lend him his underwear. The teacher at his school had also said that personal hygiene was important.

The smart little boys were speechless all of a sudden. Yan Shuyu was happy about their responses, but she didn’t stop there. She continued, “Besides, Yuanbao and Xiao Yi are not the same size. Your clothes will be too big on Xiao Yi, and they won’t be comfortable for him.”

That being said, even at Zhou Yi’s age, all of his clothes were custom made. A few sets every month and more every quarter. He didn’t need to wear the same set of clothes a second time if he didn’t want to. It had never ever occurred to him to wear something that didn’t fit him. Even Zhang Yuanjia had never experienced that. His parents were not wealthy, but they weren’t so poor that he’d need to wear used clothes from others that didn’t fit him. Let it be the original owner or Yan Shuyu, who came later, they have always bought him clothes that fit him.

As such, the two little boys who had never experienced any hardship were easily intimidated by Yan Shuyu and exchanged a look with each other.

After a little while, the little male lead backed off and let go of Aunty Yan’s leg as he said with a stutter, “Em, perhaps, maybe next time…”

Yan Shuyu didn’t pay too much attention to what he said, but she’d need to act disappointed when he gave up so easily. She hasn’t even used her ultimate move yet – the little male lead had never seen an apartment that was smaller than a bathroom in his house. After all, even the very experienced boss was shocked when he reached the front door the first time he was there. Had the little boy insisted, she’d have told him that not only was her apartment small and old, but they only had one bed. If he came over, he’d have to share a bed with them. There was no way the little young master, growing up pampered, could handle that.

Yan Shuyu was very proud that she was able to deter the two super intelligent little boys all by herself. She proudly patted both boys with both hands and said to them, “Okay, we will take Xiao Yi home first today. Let’s stop blocking the road.”

After witnessing the defeat on his little young master, Zhang Yang finally shared the fact that he lived with the little young master. Yan Shuyu looked at the little male lead regretfully and said, “Then maybe we shouldn’t make Uncle Zhang make two trips. It’s a waste of time and not environmentally conscious. How about he takes Yuanbao and I home first?”

The little male lead was much more agreeable now. He nodded and said lightly, “Okay.”

They all piled into the car and went back to their respective places.

After she had successfully handled two very intelligent little kids, Yan Shuyu was still very excited mentally despite being tired physically. After little kiddo Zhang Yuanbao had showered and climbed into bed, it was already 9:30 PM, but Yan Shuyu wasn’t tired at all. She was humming when she went into the bathroom with her change of clothes in hand, and her performance never stopped through her entire shower.

The boss timed it perfectly. Yan Shuyu’s phone that was sitting on top of the sink rang right after she had finished showering and put her clothes on. Yan Shuyu picked up the phone as she walked out and took a look. She saw that her son didn’t even wait for her to be done and his little body was already rising and falling rhythmically. She turned off the lamp by the bed, covered her own mouth with her hand, and went back inside the bathroom. “Yuanbao is already asleep…”

“They’ve both had so much fun today. I just called home and Xiao Yi had already fallen asleep in the car. He didn’t even wake up when they carried him inside the house and bathed him,” said Boss Zhou gently. “Thank you for your hard work today, Yanyan.”

Yan Shuyu indeed felt that she had put in a lot of hard work tonight, so she accepted his gratitude freely. Leaning against the bathroom door, she smiled and asked him, “I thought you went to take care of work. How come you have time to call me?”

Zhou Qinhe smiled and said, “I squeezed some time out. I’m heading into the office right now.”

Yan Shuyu remembered the boss had mentioned an important meeting at 9 o’clock. It’s probably almost time to start the work day.

Granted, the boss squeezing out time to call her long distance amidst his busy schedule made her feel very flattered. Pleased, Yan Shuyu shared with him in a complacent tone, “I almost had to call you up for some extra help earlier.”

Zhou Qinhe played along with her, “Oh really? What happened?”

Yan Shuyu told him the entire incident of how the two kids were having so much fun with the bumper cars that they refused to leave and how when they finally agreed to leave, they wanted Xiao Yi to come stay over at her place. Naturally, during her recount of the incident, she emphasized on how smart she was when she went against the two kids. Sure enough, after listening to her, the boss praised her, “They can be very difficult to handle. Yanyan is so smart.”

Before her tail could stick straight up, the boss followed up with, “But why didn’t you want to take Xiao Yi with you? Does he fuss a lot?”

“Of course not.” Yan Shuyu shook her head reflexively. She didn’t just say that to be nice to the boss. The little male lead was not a troublesome child. And even if he was to come over to her place, there would be little kiddo Zhang Yuanbao who’d help out in hosting him. Meaning, having to take care of the both of them at the same time really wasn’t a problem.

Boss Zhou’s tone was cheerful but also very persistent. Chuckling, he asked again, “Then what is it?”

Yan Shuyu was speechless all of a sudden. To keep a distance, of course. To make the point that she didn’t want to become the little male lead’s stepmother.

But what could she say? Dating the boss wasn’t bad. The fact that they were calling each other multiple times daily truly felt like they were in a relationship. Even though they both knew full well that their relationship wouldn’t end in marriage, that was more “understood but not stated”. It would not be the same when said out loud. More likely than not, it’d even affect their current relationship.