Qiao Yuanyuan rose from the chair opposite him, leaning over He Lang’s desk to get closer.

He Lang remained seated, his expression unchanged as he leaned back slightly.

"Spend the day with me," Qiao Yuanyuan said slowly.

He Lang rested his hands on the armrests of his chair, tapping them slowly as he stared at Qiao Yuanyuan with narrowed eyes.

After a moment with no response from He Lang, Qiao Yuanyuan suddenly sat back in her chair and laughed.

"Don’t get the wrong idea, Boss He. I may be single, but I have my principles. I just want you to see a movie and have dinner with me."

She spread her hands. "It’s that simple, Boss He. It’s a deal you can’t lose."

He Lang raised an eyebrow and ran his tongue over his molars, a lazy smile spreading across his face.

His voice was lazy. "Miss... Qiao, I’m not single. I have a wife. And you probably don’t know this, but this supermarket isn’t mine; it’s my wife’s. She’s a real force to be reckoned with, and frankly, I’m terrified of her. Forget seeing a movie and having dinner with you—if I so much as glance at another woman, she’d probably gouge my eyes out."

Qiao Yuanyuan frowned, her face a mask of disbelief as she looked at He Lang.

He Lang chuckled. "If you don’t believe me, feel free to ask around. I’m just a poor boy from the countryside. My wife, on the other hand, is a college graduate with a great job. If it wasn’t for her, where would I get the money to open a supermarket? I’d more likely be back home herding cows."

Qiao Yuanyuan studied He Lang. He was handsome, but he slouched in his chair with his legs crossed and his head tilted to one side. He even picked his nose.

Qiao Yuanyuan began to believe him. Flustered and annoyed, she shot to her feet, grabbed her bag, and stormed out.

He Lang called out after her, "Miss Qiao, remember to tell your dad to give me that extra ten percent profit!"

Qiao Yuanyuan didn’t answer. She yanked open the office door, only to find Xue Yue standing right outside.

Seeing Xue Yue’s lovely face, Qiao Yuanyuan was instantly curious about her relationship with He Lang.

"Who are you?"

Xue Yue said nothing, her gaze fixed on the room’s interior.

With the door open, He Lang saw Xue Yue standing there.

His eyes went wide, and he shot to his feet.

"Honey!"

Xue Yue glanced at Qiao Yuanyuan, then her eyes locked onto He Lang. "He Lang, you’ve really outdone yourself. It seems a few good days have gone straight to your head. Do you have a death wish?"

He Lang paused for a second before launching into his own performance.

"Honey, I didn’t do anything! You have to believe me! She was trying to seduce me, I’m innocent! I only love you, I swear! May heaven strike me down if I’m lying!"

Xue Yue furrowed her brow, her gaze meeting He Lang’s eyes, which were struggling to hold back laughter.

Hearing such spineless words from He Lang, Qiao Yuanyuan, whose back was turned, stomped away in a huff, her high heels clicking angrily.

Once she saw Qiao Yuanyuan go downstairs, Xue Yue finally stepped into He Lang’s office.

He Lang pulled out a chair for Xue Yue to sit down.

"Honey, what brings you here?"

Xue Yue snorted. "If I hadn’t come, I would have missed such a good show." She looked He Lang up and down. "I had no idea you were in such high demand. A father of two, and you still have women throwing themselves at you. Had I known, I wouldn’t have bothered coming today."

A glint of amusement flashed in He Lang’s eyes. He moved behind Xue Yue and began to massage her shoulders.

"You should have come sooner! You have no idea how many shameless young women out there are trying to seduce me. But I always tell them straight: I have a wife, I only love my wife, and they can get lost. Besides," he added, "none of them are nearly as beautiful as my wife."

Xue Yue turned to look at He Lang. "So, from the sound of it, if you met someone prettier than me, you’d let them lead you astray?"

He Lang raised his hands in surrender. "Never. In my heart, my wife is a goddess. No one else can even compare."

Xue Yue huffed. "Painting me as some kind of tigress, saying you’re terrified of me... You’ve really got some nerve."

He Lang laughed. "I was just trying to turn them down. I can’t exactly hit them or curse at them. If I don’t sound convincing, they won’t back off. Besides, you played your part perfectly, didn’t you?"

Xue Yue pouted. "I was just playing along with you."

Smiling, He Lang walked over and crouched down in front of Xue Yue.

Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at him.

He Lang looked up at Xue Yue.

"Doing business, I inevitably have to interact with other women. I won’t say much more, but I want you to know... you know my heart. I hope you can trust me."

Xue Yue looked into He Lang’s earnest eyes and nodded.

"I do trust you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have played along, would I? It’s just... hearing another woman hit on you makes me feel awful. So, you have to make it up to me. Console my wounded heart."

He Lang smiled and nodded, kissing the back of her hand.

"Alright. What can I do to make it up to you?"

Xue Yue pouted. "You figure it out."

He Lang nodded. "Okay, I’ll think of something."

Xue Yue asked, "But you offended her today. Will it affect the partnership?"

He Lang let out a low laugh. "If a few words are enough to jeopardize the deal, then we shouldn’t be partnering with a factory like that anyway. She’s the daughter of the owner of XX Winery, but her dad’s the one in charge. He’s an old fox. He won’t risk losing a major client like us over his daughter’s tantrum. After all, our order volume is equal to half their yearly output."

"That’s good.

He Lang gently pinched Xue Yue’s cheek. "So what really brought you here today?"

That’s when Xue Yue remembered that her brother and sister-in-law were waiting downstairs with the kids.

She shot to her feet. "I almost forgot! Are you busy? My brother and his family are here."

"Nothing important. Since your brother’s here, let’s go down."

He Lang grabbed his jacket and followed Xue Yue out of the office. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

By the time they reached the ground floor, the kids had already picked out their items and were waiting.

Zhang Qian teased, "We sent you up to get He Lang. What took you two so long?"

Xue Yue replied, "He had a visitor, so I had to wait a bit."

Xue Xingzhou asked He Lang, "Is Xing Jun not around?"

"I sent him out on an errand. He’s not back yet."

Xue Xingzhou nodded. "Alright, let’s go then."

"Daddy, up," Shiyi said, tugging on He Lang’s pant leg while clutching a toy.

He Lang smiled down at him and lifted him into his arms.

"Let’s leave this stuff at the checkout counter," He Lang said. "We can pick it up after dinner."

They left the groceries, but the children couldn’t bear to part with their new toys, hugging them tightly.

There was a restaurant across the street from the supermarket. He Lang had eaten there a few times and liked the food, so he led them over.

While they were waiting for their food to arrive, Xue Yue told He Lang about her brother’s idea.

As soon as He Lang heard it, he smiled.

"Your brother and I are on the same page. It’s already in the works."

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

He Lang looked at Xue Yue. "Did I not? I must have forgotten."