"Wife," he called her for the first time, the word rolling off his tongue with surprising ease. Lin Mei's cheeks flushed.
She had been called that before by Chen Qi during their relationship, but hearing it from Xing Zheng was entirely different. Unsure how to respond, she simply murmured an "Mm." He, however, was not to be deterred. Seeing her blush only fueled his desire to tease. It had always been like this; her blushing would only make him push further.
"Shouldn't we reciprocate?" he leaned in, his breath warm against her ear. "Call me 'husband'."
The warmth of his breath made Lin Mei's face burn even brighter. "Don't be ridiculous. We're by the roadside."
"Ridiculous? Hmm? What are you thinking?" he teased. "I didn't expect you to be so fond of excitement?"
"Let's get in the car. I want to go to the pastry shop. I want to eat egg yolk pastries," Lin Mei quickly found an excuse. If she didn't change the subject, she feared she would be utterly embarrassed by his teasing.
"Call me 'husband,' and I'll take you," he refused to let go, blocking her path, clearly determined to have his way.
With no other choice, Lin Mei finally relented, "Husband."
He was immensely pleased. He leaned down and kissed her lips, then pulled her into the car.
Their destination was a famous local pastry shop in Xiangxi, an old brand with no branches in other cities. The shop was renowned for its egg yolk pastries and butterfly pastries. Lin Mei hadn't had them in a long time. As soon as they stepped out of the car, a rich, milky aroma filled the air.
No matter the time of day, there were always crowds. Lin Mei and Xing Zheng stood in line, and to their surprise, they ran into Ruan Yufei and Yang Shuo while waiting.
Lin Mei hadn't seen Ruan Yufei in years. Ruan Yufei hadn't changed much, still appearing delicate and beautiful. Yang Shuo, however, had grown considerably, shooting up in height. His features and facial contours now bore a stronger resemblance to Xing Zheng than before.
Without knowing the truth, one might easily mistake them for father and son.
Ruan Yufei also hadn't expected to encounter Lin Mei and Xing Zheng here. She hesitated before greeting them, "A Zheng, Miss Lin, you're here to buy things too."
Xing Zheng simply replied, "Mm." He wasn't particularly warm towards Ruan Yufei, whose face turned pale as if she had suffered some injustice.
Lin Mei felt Yang Shuo's gaze. He wasn't exactly friendly towards her, as if she were the wicked woman who had stolen Xing Zheng. However, he seemed to have been taught some manners, as he didn't say anything harsh to Lin Mei.
"Uncle, is this your girlfriend?" Yang Shuo asked.
"You should call her Auntie," Xing Zheng's words shattered Yang Shuo's last hope. "She's my wife."
This declaration shocked not only Yang Shuo but also Ruan Yufei. Xing Sha and Xie Qin Jia lived nearby, and they were completely unaware of this?
"When did this happen?" Ruan Yufei stammered.
"Just now," Xing Zheng said, putting an arm around Lin Mei and stepping forward.
Seeing their affectionate gesture, Ruan Yufei offered a bitter smile. "Congratulations."
"Grandpa and Grandma, and Aunt and Uncle... do they know yet?" Ruan Yufei probed tentatively. "They'll definitely be happy when they find out. Why don't you bring Miss Lin back for a meal?"
"Miss Ruan, that's very thoughtful of you, but we have no such plans for now," Lin Mei refused before Xing Zheng could even respond. She disliked Ruan Yufei's tone, which felt like a declaration of ownership. Lin Mei felt it was not Ruan Yufei's place to concern herself with her and Xing Zheng's affairs.
Ruan Yufei's face paled further. Yang Shuo took her hand, his heart filled with resentment, but he dared not say anything. Mother and son eventually left.
After waiting in line for nearly twenty minutes, they finally bought the butterfly and egg yolk pastries. Besides these two items, Lin Mei also picked out a few other sweets to take back. During the journey, she remained silent.
Xing Zheng sensed her displeasure and proactively explained, "She's living with the elders and her child now. I haven't been in contact with her."
"Her?" Lin Mei gave a dry laugh. Why did that pronoun sound so ambiguous?
"Ruan Yufei," Xing Zheng, not quite understanding her point, stated her name.
To his surprise, this only made Lin Mei angrier. "You don't need to remind me. I remember that name very clearly."
Xing Zheng responded with an "Oh." "Are you jealous?"
"You're overthinking it," Lin Mei would never admit it. "Her son really looks like you. No one would doubt they were father and son."
"My son is asleep at home. Don't go around claiming other people's sons," Xing Zheng denied.
Lin Mei brought up past grievances. "Claiming? Didn't you used to be quite happy when he called you 'dad'?"
"He was young then, and his father died because of my driving, so I took care of them," he explained. He never expected that his care would lead Ruan Yufei to develop other ideas. "He knows now that I'm not his biological father."
Lin Mei had indeed heard Yang Shuo call him "Uncle" earlier. However, people often get jealous without reason. On their first day of marriage, encountering a "rival" was quite disheartening. After Xing Zheng's persistent explanations, Lin Mei finally put the matter aside for the moment.
Upon returning home, they showed their marriage certificate to Lin Zhengde and Xiao Yue, and Xing Zheng naturally stayed.
It was a good day for registering their marriage. Xiao Yue went to the kitchen to prepare a meal, while Xing Zheng took a photo of their marriage certificate and, uncharacteristically, posted it on his WeChat Moments, publicly announcing their marriage.
He was not usually active on social media, but he had many contacts from his industry. As soon as the news was posted, he received numerous congratulatory messages.
Xing Zheng also had contacts from Nanjiang Bank. A screenshot of his WeChat Moments was quickly shared within the bank's internal group, thus spreading the news of Lin Mei and Xing Zheng's marriage.
Lin Mei had not been to work at the bank for a long time. She was a workaholic, and such a long break had already sparked much speculation. Now that people knew she had registered her marriage with Xing Zheng, someone immediately concocted a dramatic story, suggesting Lin Mei had gone to have a child and used the child to force Xing Zheng into marriage, leveraging her child for status.
Lin Mei was unaware of this until Xiao Fang complained to her on WeChat, informing her that the news of her marriage to Xing Zheng had already spread throughout the bank.
Xiao Fang had messaged, "Some people are just jealous. 'Leveraging a child for status'? Are they living in the Qing Dynasty? Don't they know it's the era of 'keeping the child, discarding the father'?"
Lin Mei chuckled. She hadn't visited the group chat in a long time. Indeed, they were discussing her and Xing Zheng's marriage.
A quick glance revealed two factions. One group believed she had indeed climbed the social ladder through her child. The other faction argued that someone like Xing Zheng would not be threatened by a child. The two sides argued fiercely, seemingly forgetting that the person in question was still in the group.
"What are you looking at?" Xing Zheng sat down beside Lin Mei. Seeing her engrossed, he leaned in to look with her. Upon seeing the content of the group chat, his gaze darkened.