Xu Zhen picked up the boiled egg. It felt like a waste to throw it away — and besides, she was hungry. So she cracked the shell, peeled it carefully, and ate it.
Cooking for one person was never easy. Luckily, she'd bought a pack of noodles for breakfast the next morning, so she decided to make a bowl of vegetable and shredded meat noodles for dinner instead.
The leftover ingredients she stored neatly in the fridge — enough to last her a few days eating alone.
While she was boiling the noodles, Shen Lingfeng walked into the airport terminal.
He reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet — he needed his ID for check-in — but the wallet wasn't there.
He searched all his pockets, then his briefcase and suitcase, but came up empty.
His expression darkened. After thinking for a moment, he realized: the wallet must have been left at home.
He frowned slightly and said to his assistant, "Go to Tianhuayuan right now and get it."
The driver had already left after dropping them off, so Yang Zhuming, the assistant, could only take a taxi there himself.
"Boss, there's less than an hour until departure," Yang said cautiously. "I'm afraid there won't be enough time."
Shen Lingfeng's brows furrowed deeper.
"The madam should be home now," Yang suggested. "If we ask her to bring it, we'll definitely make it in time."
That was the only option. Shen Lingfeng thought for a moment, then told Yang to call Xu Zhen immediately.
Xu Zhen was still cooking noodles when the phone rang — they were almost done.
Hearing Yang Zhuming politely ask her to find Shen Lingfeng's ID and bring it to the airport, she raised an eyebrow.
Going to catch a flight without checking whether you had your documents?
She used to think people who did things like that were just careless fools — and now she had married one.
Since time was short, she turned off the stove and hurried to the bedroom to look for his wallet.
As soon as she entered, she saw a white shirt and a pair of dress pants draped over the bench at the foot of the bed — clearly what he had taken off before leaving.
Some men never remember to check their pockets before tossing clothes into the laundry — her stepfather and younger brother were like that, so she was used to it.
Sure enough, she found a black leather wallet in the pants pocket. Inside was Shen Lingfeng's ID.
Without hanging up, she told Yang Zhuming she'd found it and would bring it right away.
"Madam," Yang said, "I've already arranged for property management to send someone to drive you here. The car's waiting downstairs."
Xu Zhen hadn't expected such a service from the Tianhuayuan property staff — truly a luxury residence. It saved her the trouble of calling a cab.
She grabbed the wallet and, without changing out of her loungewear, rushed out the door.
As she stepped out of the elevator, she nearly collided with a small boy running by. She dodged to the side and twisted her left ankle.
It hurt badly when she tried to move — clearly a sprain. But Shen Lingfeng couldn't board without his ID.
Gritting her teeth, she limped out of the building and into the waiting car.
When the car neared the domestic terminal, she called Yang Zhuming to tell him about her sprained ankle and asked him to come outside to get the ID.
"Boss," Yang said, "Madam sprained her ankle and asked me to meet her outside."
Shen Lingfeng froze for a second, then frowned. What a coincidence — the moment she had to deliver something, she "injured" herself?
He and Yang walked out of the terminal to see what she was up to.
They found the car by its license plate. Xu Zhen spotted them too and waved out the window. Into her phone she said, "Assistant Yang, I see you."
Yang hurried over and took the wallet from her hand.
Shen Lingfeng approached more slowly, his sharp eyes fixed on her through the car window. When he stopped in front of her, he asked coldly,"You sprained your ankle?"
"Ah, yes," she replied softly. "It's not serious — some ice will take care of it."
His tone and expression showed no concern at all. Still, she kept her answer light. He had a flight to catch, and she didn't want him thinking she was trying to win sympathy.
Hearing that, a mocking smile touched his lips. "Good. As long as it's not serious. Thanks for bringing my wallet. I have a plane to catch."
With that, he gave Yang a look that said let's go and turned to leave.
He didn't believe she was actually hurt — he'd already made up his mind about her. Her expression looked too normal, not like someone in pain.
In his experience, women were usually delicate about injuries — they complained, sought pity. Maybe she just wasn't very good at acting.
Yang felt his boss was being unreasonably cold, but as an assistant, it wasn't his place to interfere. He simply thanked Xu Zhen and followed after Shen.
As for Xu Zhen, she wasn't surprised at all. Based on what she'd seen of him these past few days, this was exactly the kind of attitude she expected. She didn't take it to heart and told the driver to go.
The property driver, who knew who Shen Lingfeng was, sighed inwardly — so that was how the rich lived. Even a stranger would show more concern for a woman who was hurt.
When they got back to Tianhuayuan, the driver offered to fetch a female staff member to help her upstairs, but she refused and hopped on one foot back to her apartment.
Luckily, Shen kept ice in the freezer — probably for chilling wine. She wrapped some in a towel and pressed it to her ankle.
Because she had forced herself to walk after the sprain, the swelling was already quite bad.
That night, she moved about slowly — either holding onto furniture or hopping on one foot. She reheated the noodles to fill her stomach, took a shower, and finally collapsed in bed, exhausted.
Staring at the ceiling, she thought about how she'd have to stay home for a few days — walking freely was impossible for now.
Tomorrow was Friday. If she recovered within three days, she'd only need to take one day off from the bank.
—
After 10 p.m., Shen Lingfeng's plane landed in Xiangcheng. The company car took him to a hotel owned by the Shen Group.
As he and Yang entered the lobby, a man and woman came laughing and embracing toward them. Their voices were loud and flirtatious, catching Shen's attention.
He glanced at them and thought the man looked familiar.
The man was in his forties, medium build, a bit overweight, with a lewd, sloppy air about him.
Yang noticed too. With his sharp memory, he quickly pulled up some information on his phone to confirm — then said quietly, "Boss, that man is Madam's stepfather, Wang Heng."
Shen nodded slightly — no wonder he looked familiar.
He'd read Xu Zhen's profile before, which included family photos.
The file had described Wang Heng as a drunkard, gambler, and womanizer — and here he was, living up to his reputation in person.
The woman on his arm was heavily made up and dressed provocatively, throwing flirtatious glances at Shen Lingfeng. Clearly not someone respectable.
Seeing his companion's attention shift to Shen, Wang Heng's expression turned sour and hostile.
But when he met Shen's cold, knife-like gaze, he shrank back immediately.
Even without knowing who Shen was, the man's aura alone made it clear he wasn't someone to cross.
Yang wondered if his boss would greet his father-in-law, but Shen didn't spare Wang Heng another glance and walked right past him.
Yang sighed inwardly. With a stepfather like that, it was no wonder his boss had made Xu Zhen sign a prenuptial agreement and kept their marriage a secret.
It was embarrassing, really.
He hesitated, thinking maybe he should text Madam Xu to let her know her stepfather was in Xiangcheng.
But Shen caught the thought instantly. "Don't tell her," he warned sharply.
Yang stiffened. "Yes, sir."