Anya and Zaizai sat down at the table.

After tasting the soup, both the adult and the child praised it with smacking lips.

"Mommy, your cooking skills have improved a lot, you could even open a restaurant now," said Zaizai, a foodie, whose praise was not easy to come by.

Jiayi smiled, but her smile imperceptibly solidified at its brightest.

In the past at Disheng, that man disliked her cooking, as if treating her like an idiot when it came to daily life, keeping her pampered in a greenhouse.

Of course, she wouldn’t have made any progress.

The times she cooked frequently at Disheng seemed to be only when she was pregnant, making soup with the ingredients she bought for him.

Thinking of the pregnancy, it was like a dragonfly skimming the water in her heart, stirring ripples.

It had been some time since her miscarriage.

She thought she had reached a state of tranquility, without any attachments left.

But each time she fleetingly thought of it, there were still some emotional stirrings.

And the father of that child would probably never know of that child’s existence now.

Seeing Xiaoyi’s dazed look, Liang Anya knew she was probably thinking of those unhappy things again and hurriedly changed the subject to liven up the mood, "There is so much soup here, the three of us can’t finish it, and with such expensive ingredients, it would be too wasteful to throw it away! Why not save two portions and bring them to Auntie Xia and Uncle Chu tomorrow?"

Jiayi returned to her senses and smiled, "Okay."

She turned and went to the kitchen, ready to get the takeaway boxes, then remembered something and took out her phone to call Nie Yixiao.

Since she had stood up Nie Yixiao that day, Jiayi had been concerned about it.

Perhaps the bodyguard company had been too busy, and he hadn’t sought her out again.

Brother Yixiao had just recovered from his injury, and drinking some soup would be good for him.

It would also make up for her missed appointment that day.

The phone rang for a long time, but it was perpetually busy.

Jiayi then dialed the number for Nie Yixiao’s apartment.

After a few rings, the apartment’s nanny answered. Recognizing Jiayi, she said kindly, "Ms. Chu, Mr. Nie is still at the bodyguard company and hasn’t come back yet. Is there something you need?"

"I made some soup and was thinking of bringing some over to Brother Yixiao."

"The company seems to have taken on a big task these past few days and is very busy. Mr. Nie has spent several nights at the office organizing the staff and hasn’t come back. He also called today to say he won’t be back. If you deliver the soup now, we don’t know when Mr. Nie will be back to drink it, and if you wait too long, it could go to waste."

So it was indeed because the bodyguard company was too busy.

Jiayi exhaled softly.

Brother Yixiao wasn’t so petty as to be angry with her for standing him up that day, but she still felt a bit uneasy, worrying that he might be displeased.

"Oh, I see. Then I’ll just bring the soup directly to the bodyguard company tomorrow."

The nanny remembered something, "Mr. Nie’s task is actually tomorrow, and it seems to be at Yunling City International Airport. It’s said he’s going to personally meet and protect an important client, and Mr. Nie will personally lead the team to the airport for the pickup. Ms. Chu, if you want to see Mr. Nie, you can just go there."

Jiayi roughly understood the bodyguard company’s procedures.

Clients would book their travel locations and timings in advance, and then the company would arrange and set up the scene and the routes.

Nie Yixiao, now the owner of the bodyguard company, usually didn’t make personal appearances. His daily work involved training subordinates and planning behind the scenes.

If he was personally involved, it indicated that the client was no ordinary person, indeed a VIP.

Hmm... that could work.

The bodyguard company’s hours were quite flexible, so when the time came, she could just go there and hand the soup over to the company’s staff.

*

The next morning, Jiayi heated up the soup, placed it in a thermos, and first drove it to mommy’s place; then she headed to Yunling City International Airport.

The airport was usually bustling, and although it wasn’t packed to the brim, it was still incredibly noisy.

Today, the VIP exit at the airport was exceptionally deserted and quiet.

A solemn row of bodyguard vehicles, lined up like a dragon, was parked along the roadside at the airport’s entrance, seemingly waiting for someone to disembark at any moment.

It must have been cleared by the bodyguards in advance.

In addition to the well-trained bodyguards, there were also some management and ground staff from the airport, standing by at the entrance.

It seemed that whoever was disembarking from the plane today was indeed a significant figure.

Jiayi, carrying a thermal flask, took a few steps closer and immediately spotted Nie Yixiao standing in the center.

He was in a professional black suit today, standing tall and dashing, as he discussed the pickup arrangements with several of his subordinates.

Looking up and scanning the area, his gaze landed on Jiayi, who wasn’t far away.

"Jiayi, what brings you here?" Nie Yixiao asked, surprised, striding over.

Jiayi hurried forward to meet him, "I heard from the nanny that you had a mission here today, and I thought I’d bring you some soup and leave. I intended to hand it to one of your subordinates... I hope I’m not disturbing you, Brother Yixiao."

"It’s fine." His distinguished features relaxed, and even his tightly drawn brows and eyes seemed to lighten a bit at the sight of the soup she was holding.

Worried about interrupting his important business, Jiayi pushed the thermal flask into his hands, "I have nothing else to do, so I’ll be leaving first. Go on with your work."

The conversation and actions of the two were clearly seen by the group of bodyguards nearby.

Most of the bodyguard agency’s subordinates were young men with bold and unrestrained natures.

Since Nie Yixiao took over as the new boss, he had quickly reformed the company and got along well with the subordinates, approachable and not putting on airs, more like a brother than a boss.

Therefore, the group of men had no reservations, joking around:

"Boss, who is this lady? Aren’t you going to introduce her to us?"

"Could she be the future Mrs. Boss?"

Jiayi forcefully pushed the thermal flask into Nie Yixiao’s arms, "I’m leaving now. You all be busy."

Seeing Jiayi embarrassed by his subordinates’ remarks, Nie Yixiao turned his head and put on a stern face, "Don’t you have any proper work to do?"

The subordinates had never seen Mr. Nie scold anyone before, but today he did so for this young lady.

This indicated that she indeed held a significant place in the boss’s heart.

At that moment, sounds came from the VIP exit door.

It was the sound of dress shoes rubbing against the red carpet.

Suddenly, the air turned a few degrees colder for no reason.

The people at the scene looked towards the noise,

An imposing figure draped in an aura of chill emerged, surrounded by his entourage, having just disembarked from the plane and now standing among the crowd.

The hired bodyguards from the agency stepped forward in unison, making way for the newcomer to proceed to the bodyguard vehicles:

"Mr. Huo, please get in the car."

Nie Yixiao’s eyes shimmered with a hint of light, "Jiayi, you should go back first."

The words "Mr. Huo" rooted Jiayi’s feet to the asphalt ground as she took in the man emerging from the VIP passage.

The man’s eyes, as dark as the night yet as cold as an ancient pool, were also looking over, clearly seeing the two of them.

His deep gaze shifted slightly, then settled on the soup box that Nie Yixiao had just taken from her hands, and his expression subtly darkened, growing more brooding.

It was Huo Zhenyang.

Her heart inexplicably tightened.

He had returned to Yunling.

The so-called VIP client that Brother Yixiao’s bodyguard agency was hosting this time turned out to be him.