Driving to Butterfly Garment Factory, Qin Chuan's appearance caused great excitement among many employees, who greeted him like an idol, shouting "Boss Qin!"
His fame had recently spread throughout the entire county, attracting many fans, especially among young men and women of similar age.
Qin Chuan waved and greeted them with a smile.
His heroic and handsome looks, his tall, straight 1.85-meter physique, coupled with a charming smile, made him seem like a television star, triggering another wave of screams.
Many young women's faces turned flushed with excitement, and they continued to chatter joyfully long after Qin Chuan disappeared into the office building.
Inside the general manager's office, Qin Chuan pushed the door open and immediately saw Li Ya standing by the window, drinking coffee.
Seeing him enter, Li Ya turned her head. A bright smile bloomed on her fair and lovely face as she teased, "Oh, let me see which big star has graced my humble corner of the world!"
"Should I prepare some paper and a pen for an autograph?"
Qin Chuan walked over, reached out, and playfully slapped her full, firm breast, eliciting a soft gasp from Li Ya.
"Even you are teasing me? Do you want me to punish you!"
Qin Chuan's fingers gently lifted Li Ya's flawless chin, his dark eyes radiating a deep glow.
Being playfully teased so directly by Qin Chuan, two rosy blushes gradually crept up Li Ya's fair and lovely cheeks.
Although they were already a long-married couple, and she was older than him, Li Ya couldn't help but blush and feel shy whenever Qin Chuan made such teasing gestures.
It was impossible; the man before her was becoming more charming and masculine by the day, seemingly changing every moment, growing more mature and refined.
His aura was becoming increasingly commanding, subconsciously making a woman feel a sense of submission.
It was an instinctual reliance from a female creature towards a powerful male. Li Ya found herself increasingly unable to leave her boyfriend, who was a few years younger than her.
"Not at all, I'm your fan too!"
Li Ya pouted affectionately at Qin Chuan, casually placing her coffee on the windowsill and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I saw so many pretty young girls shouting and screaming for you after you got out of the car, calling you 'Boss Qin' repeatedly, and you were smiling so brightly. I want that kind of treatment too!"
Qin Chuan finally understood why his dear sister had sounded so sarcastic the moment he entered. She was feeling a bit jealous.
"Your treatment is far beyond what those outside could ever achieve, even if they threw their shoes."
"If you don't believe me, I can let you experience it right now."
Qin Chuan smirked and pulled Li Ya to sit on the large sofa beside him.
The sofa was spacious and soft. As they sat, it felt like a waterbed. Li Ya wasn't sitting on the sofa so much as in Qin Chuan's arms.
In no time, she was panting, her expression alluring, her eyes veiled with a misty haze.
Sensing that things were heading in an unintended direction, Li Ya stood up in a fluster, tidied her clothes, and gave Qin Chuan, who was still reclining on the sofa, a playfully seductive glare.
"I knew you wicked guy would only know how to bully me when you came here."
"I still have a lot of work to do. Be good, and I'll properly serve you when we get home tonight."
Qin Chuan glanced down at his own body and could only nod resignedly.
He casually grabbed a cushion, placed it under his head, and lounged there, admiring Li Ya as she worked diligently nearby, engaging in desultory chatter.
After a few minutes, Li Ya suddenly noticed there was no response beside her. Puzzled, she turned her head and found that Qin Chuan on the sofa had fallen asleep at some point.
Li Ya stood up, looked at the man in deep sleep on the sofa, and couldn't help but lean closer. She gently touched the increasingly charming lines of his face with her finger, her eyes filled with an affection as intense as the sun, impossible to conceal.
He was a full four years younger than her, yet he possessed a maturity and wisdom far beyond his years. In his life, he seemed to be a synonym for miracles.
Initially, Li Ya chose to be with Qin Chuan simply because she felt a connection with this younger man and found him to be a shrewd businessman with an incredibly agile mind.
It also happened to be the most difficult period in her life, when she desperately needed a smart business partner to rely on and navigate through hardships together.
Li Ya decided to try interacting with Qin Chuan. Gradually, she became captivated by his nonchalant demeanor, his blend of righteousness and wickedness, his unconventional thinking, and his consistently surprising ideas, which ultimately led her to become irrecoverably smitten.
They had been together for over fourteen months now.
In these fourteen months, the man sleeping before her had shown her what a true genius was. He seemed born for business.
In just fourteen months, from having nothing to being worth tens of millions, with assets continuously growing, and renowned throughout Yongnan County, it all felt like a dream.
Li Ya had never expected Qin Chuan to develop so rapidly, so much so that she had to look up to him.
At times, Li Ya felt a great sense of insecurity.
She feared that if Qin Chuan continued to develop at this pace, he would leave her.
Having studied abroad, she was acutely aware of the vast temptations of the outside world, and the existence of countless women who were even more beautiful and better-figured than her.
Qin Chuan, at such a young age, with such wealth and fortune, would he truly be faithful to her?
She was a full four years older than Qin Chuan; she was twenty-seven this year, while Qin Chuan was only twenty-three.
At this age, in this era, nearly ninety-nine percent of women were married and had their own children.
If she didn't get married soon, she would be nearing thirty in a few years, by which time she would have truly missed her prime. Both her looks and her figure would start to decline.
On many occasions, Li Ya wanted to express her true feelings to Qin Chuan; she wanted to get married, to have a home.
Because time waits for no one, she didn't have the luxury to wait any longer.
Yet, she was afraid, terribly afraid of hearing a frightening answer.
Suddenly, Li Ya found herself under immense psychological pressure, oscillating between hope and despair.
Especially in the recent period, whenever she was with Qin Chuan, she deliberately avoided any precautions, yet her stomach showed no signs of pregnancy.
This only amplified Li Ya's inner pressure. She had even secretly gone to a large hospital in another city for an examination and found that there was nothing wrong with her body.
Feeling the warmth from her fingertips and the warm breath exhaling from the sleeping man on the sofa, Li Ya found a blanket and covered the sleeping Qin Chuan. She murmured to herself, "Xiao Chuan, you are all I have left in my life! You absolutely cannot leave me!"
"If even you abandon me, then I truly cannot go on living!"
Qin Chuan, in his sleep, seemed to hear Li Ya's inner monologue. He shifted his neck, his face resting on one of Li Ya's small hands, sleeping even more soundly...