Sun Yufeng worked quickly. Lu Cheng and Shen Nian had only been chatting in the room for a little while before they heard her calling them to dinner.
Looking at the table full of food, Shen Nian knew that Sun Yufeng had prepared it all because she doted on her son. However, that didn't affect Shen Nian's plan to get on her mother-in-law's good side.
"Thanks, Mom. You worked so hard!"
"..."
Suddenly met with Shen Nian's smiling face, Sun Yufeng was so taken aback she didn't react at first. After a moment of stunned silence, she finally mumbled a reply, "It was no trouble."
After saying that, Sun Yufeng grumbled to herself, 'This daughter-in-law really seems different from before! Don't tell me my son just gave her a lecture and whipped her into shape?'
But as soon as the thought popped into her head, she shook it away. 'My foolish son practically worships the ground that girl Shen Nian walks on. Him, lecture her? No way!'
Still, no matter the reason, her daughter-in-law changing for the better was ultimately a good thing. After all, who doesn't want peace in the family?
"Lu Cheng, these are all your favorites. Eat up."
Sun Yufeng said while placing some food into Lu Cheng's bowl.
"Thanks, Mom."
Lu Cheng ate the food his mother gave him, then picked up some of Shen Nian's favorite dishes from the table and put them in her bowl.
"You eat more too."
He didn't know when he'd be back after this trip, so naturally, he wanted to cherish Shen Nian as much as he could before he left.
However, seeing this scene unfold, Sun Yufeng's heart soured.
'That was her son! Even she, his own mother, had never received such treatment! Her son had truly fallen head over heels and couldn't get out!'
'What a misfortune!'
Shen Nian gave Lu Cheng a sweet smile and was about to eat the food he had given her when she felt an unusual gaze from the side.
She looked up and saw Sun Yufeng's expression, a look of disappointment as if 'hating iron for not becoming steel'. Shen Nian was confused at first, but she quickly understood.
'Is my mother-in-law... jealous of me?'
'Should I tell Lu Cheng to hurry up and put some food in his mom's bowl too? But that would be way too obvious!'
'Ah, I have an idea.'
As the thought raced through her mind, Shen Nian acted almost on impulse. She immediately picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and placed it in the bowl in front of Sun Yufeng.
"You should eat more too, Mom."
Sun Yufeng looked at the smiling Shen Nian, then at the food lying in her bowl, and her expression gradually softened.
'Oh, well,' she thought. 'If it's not from my son, food from my daughter-in-law is just as good!'
Seeing Sun Yufeng's expression soften as she ate the food, Shen Nian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
'I never would have thought my mother-in-law had such a cute side to her! And she seems a bit easier to get along with than I imagined!'
After dinner, it was time for Lu Cheng to leave. Ignoring his protests, Shen Nian insisted on walking him to his car.
They had so little time together to begin with, and Shen Nian was naturally unwilling to waste a single second of it.
Seeing how insistent she was, and thinking that the walk was safe enough, Lu Cheng finally had no choice but to nod in agreement.
"I have to get in the car. It's going to get dark soon, you should hurry back!"
"Okay, I'll head back then. Take good care of yourself while you're away."
"Right. And you need to take even better care of yourself at home. If anything happens, just give me a call."
"Okay."
"Hurry back now!"
"Mhm."
Shen Nian looked at Lu Cheng standing before her and nodded. She turned and took two steps, but when she glanced back, she saw him still watching her, his face filled with reluctance to part.
Shen Nian sighed to herself, turned around, and walked back to Lu Cheng.
"What's wrong—"
Lu Cheng had just started to speak when he felt Shen Nian suddenly move closer. A moment later, he felt her soft body wrapped around him in a hug.
The moment Shen Nian's arms wrapped around Lu Cheng, she was enveloped in his distinct scent, and her face instantly turned bright red.
'In two lifetimes, she had never done something so forward. If she'd known, she wouldn't have acted on that sudden impulse!'
Tossing out a quick "I'm leaving!", Shen Nian trotted away without looking back, terrified that Lu Cheng would see her crimson face.
As for Lu Cheng, he was already frozen stiff, standing stunned on the spot. He didn't move for a long time.
The driver who had come to pick him up saw that Lu Cheng wasn't moving and couldn't help but come forward to hurry him along.
"Mr. Lu, it's about time. We should get going."
But Lu Cheng remained standing there, motionless.
"Mr. Lu?"
This time, Lu Cheng stirred, having finally heard him.
"Let's go."
After uttering those two words, Lu Cheng turned and got into the car first.
He left the driver behind him completely bewildered. 'Did I... just see Mr. Lu blush?'
'You have to be kidding! That's Lu Cheng! The Lu Cheng known as Yama Lu at their company! How could he possibly blush?!'
'I must have seen it wrong. I must have!'