The design institute was not far from the residential building. Chen Dongyang, hungry, hurried away, took a sip of water, opened his computer, and started working ahead of schedule.
Unexpectedly, less than ten minutes later, a colleague came to greet him.
"Xiao Chen, didn't you have breakfast this morning?"
"You're still young. You'll have opportunities to perform later; there's no need to work so hard for it right now. Health is the capital for revolution. You should eat breakfast before continuing to work. Go quickly, go quickly."
The person speaking to him was Wang Gong, a senior designer at the institute. Chen Dongyang didn't know how he knew he hadn't eaten breakfast. He smiled and said it was fine. Just as he was about to continue, two more colleagues entered.
They all came in laughing and joking. With them came Zeng Hui and Dou Bao.
Zeng Hui was carrying a thermos, and Dou Bao was holding his beloved Ultraman.
Seeing Chen Dongyang, Dou Bao rushed over joyfully, shouting as he ran.
"Dad! Uncle Chen! Why did you run off without saying good morning to me today? You also said you'd compare who's stronger with my Ultraman when you got up this morning, but you didn't keep your word. But I brought it over. Look, we slept well yesterday, has it grown a bit bigger? Am I amazing?"
Zeng Hui followed behind him, smiling. She was wearing a new dress, had reapplied lipstick, and let her hair down. She looked radiant and gentle.
"Yes, Dongyang. No matter how busy you are with work, you must eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you don't have time, I'll bring it to you every morning from now on, and you can eat it whenever you have time."
"I spent half the day yesterday making wontons. I just rinsed them with cold water, and they didn't stick at all. I haven't started work yet either, so please eat something quickly."
Chen Dongyang's head immediately began to ache.
Zeng Hui had actually come to bring him food early in the morning, and in front of so many colleagues.
Before he could even get up to receive the food container, his colleagues were already laughing.
"Oh, eating wontons so early, Xiao Chen, you're so lucky."
"A cute child, a beautiful partner, a harmonious family of three, truly enviable."
"Young Miss Zeng knows how to make wontons at such a young age? Impressive. What kind of filling?"
Zeng Hui smiled and told everyone, "Pork and celery. Dongyang likes this kind the most."
"I've been taking care of the child for the past two years, and I haven't had anything else to do, so I've been focusing on cooking. I think my skills are decent. If you don't mind, come to my place for dinner after work tonight. I'll make more, and we'll have dumplings."
That would be wonderful. Everyone smiled and looked at Chen Dongyang.
"Is that okay, Xiao Chen? You don't mind us crashing your dinner, do you?"
Chen Dongyang couldn't refuse even if he wanted to. He stood up with a forced smile and took Zeng Hui's food container.
"I'm not hungry. I ate too much yesterday. Just stay home and take care of Dou Bao. You don't need to go through so much trouble in the future."
Zeng Hui was incredibly gentle. "It's no trouble at all. It's so close, it's just a small thing. I haven't properly met everyone since you started working here. Today counts as an introduction. Dongyang is young and straightforward; he doesn't speak well. If there's anything inconsiderate in the future, please bear with us."
She was young and beautiful, and her words were sweet. Her colleagues gave her face.
"You're too polite. We're colleagues; there's no need for such talk. We should help each other."
Zeng Hui exchanged pleasantries with everyone enthusiastically before bidding farewell.
"Then I won't disturb your work. Remember to come tonight after work. I'll prepare the dumplings and some cold dishes, and you can have a good drink."
"Alright, thank you for your hard work."
After she left, it was still quite early before work started. Everyone leaned back in their chairs, chatting.
The design institute hadn't hired many new people in recent years, and Chen Dongyang was the youngest.
Seeing fresh blood, and a young couple at that, they were all very curious.
"There aren't many girls like Miss Zeng who are hardworking and patient nowadays. My daughter, spoiled by me, can't distinguish the five grains and is lazy. Forget about cooking; even asking her to take out the trash makes her pout so much she could hang a oil bottle. Xiao Chen, you're truly blessed."
"Exactly. She takes good care of the child and always keeps you neat and tidy. I'm sure your home is well-maintained too. Xiao Chen, how did you two meet?"
Chen Dongyang didn't know how Zeng Hui had interacted with them, but she had made such a good impression in just over ten minutes.
Not wanting them to misunderstand that they were a couple, Chen Dongyang subconsciously clarified.
"It's not what you think. We're not married."
Everyone gasped in unison.
Not a couple?
Then this is too strange.
He, a grown man, living with a woman who has a child, and the child calls him Dad, yet he denies being a couple with her?
Seeing that everyone was starting to misunderstand, Chen Dongyang had to add.
"I'll explain to you all slowly when I have time. I have a tight deadline on this, so let me focus on my work for now."
"Alright, alright, you focus on your work."
The crowd, filled with questions, temporarily dropped the topic.
Chen Dongyang turned his back and placed the food container under his desk, feeling extremely annoyed.
Zeng Hui was clearly determined to establish a relationship with him, even coming to the design institute to declare her claim. The situation was far more complicated than he had imagined.
It seemed some things had to be said aloud. Dragging this on would be bad for everyone.
The day passed in busyness and frustration, and soon it was time to get off work.
As if he might forget, Zeng Hui called him right on time.
"I've already made the dumplings, and I've also prepared some cold dishes and bought two bottles of wine. Remember to invite your colleagues. Don't let them say we're stingy."
She had pushed the matter to this point, and Chen Dongyang couldn't refuse. He had no choice but to invite his colleagues to his place.
Upon arriving, they saw that the small two-bedroom apartment had been cleaned and brightened by Zeng Hui, earning more praise.
Zeng Hui arranged the food beautifully on the table and poured them wine. Everyone called out to her.
"Xiao Zeng, come and eat too. You've worked hard all day, and there's enough room. If you stand there, we'll be too embarrassed."
Zeng Hui pulled up a stool and sat next to Chen Dongyang. While chatting with everyone, she fed Dou Bao.
The others continued the morning's topic, this time asking Zeng Hui.
"What's going on? I heard Dongyang say you two aren't married, so is this..."
Zeng Hui felt a little uncomfortable hearing how he had explained it to them, but she still smiled.
"It's not his fault. I'm more responsible for this. Sigh, it's a long story. In short, my parents don't approve."
So that's what it was. Because her parents didn't approve, she had been with him for so long without a formal title. Everyone felt even more that Zeng Hui was a good person.
"Xiao Chen, getting a marriage certificate is not that difficult. The child is already this old; no matter how stubborn your parents are, what can they do? Take some time to go back and apologize to your father-in-law and mother-in-law, and get the certificate quickly."
"Exactly. Dragging it on like this is not right. Miss Zeng is considerate of you, and you must be considerate of her. A man must have the responsibility of a man."
Chen Dongyang had unspeakable grievances. He didn't want to look at Zeng Hui anymore and could only drink glass after glass of wine.