Volume 1, Chapter 66: I Would Never Change My Heart

Hearing Li Xiulan's words, Lin Chen was slightly stunned before bursting into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?"

Li Xiulan blinked in surprise.

Lin Chen said, "Auntie, do you really think that when I insisted on staying with Tangtang back then, refusing even to take money, it was so I could change my heart later on?"

He raised his hand and swore, "I, Lin Chen, swear to the heavens today! If I ever dare to fail Xu Mi, if I ever dare to do anything to wrong her, may I be struck by lightning and meet a miserable end!"

In the eyes of outsiders, the age gap between him and Xu Mi might be an insurmountable chasm.

Yet to Lin Chen, Xu Mi was the most breathtaking scenery of his youth, the ray of light that illuminated his childhood.

More than that, she was his emotional pillar today.

No one could predict what the future held.

Yet at this moment, Lin Chen was certain of one thing: he would never, under any circumstances, let Xu Mi down!

Li Xiulan was taken aback by his absolute determination.

A moment later, she smiled. "Alright, alright. With your words, I can finally rest easy."

"Go on back now. Sorry for all the trouble."

Watching the older woman and Aunt Zhou step into the elevator, Lin Chen finally headed home.

Xu Mi had already finished her porridge. Seeing him walk in, she asked curiously, "What did Mom say to you?"

"She told me to take good care of you!"

Lin Chen took the empty bowl from her hands and said, "She also told me to work hard, save up more money, so that once you've recovered and we have kids, I'll actually have enough to support my wife and children!"

Xu Mi's face flushed red, and she couldn't help but punch him lightly. "Hate you, you're talking nonsense again!"

How could her mother possibly have said anything like that?

Lin Chen took hold of her hand and leaned in close. "How is that nonsense?"

"Could it be that you, my wife, aren't willing to have children with me?"

With that, he put on a wronged expression. "But I love kids so much. A child of ours would definitely be as pretty as you, and as smart and capable as me..."

"Stop talking!!!"

Feeling as though her entire body was burning up, Xu Mi shyly covered her face. "You are not allowed to say another word! You should be heading back to work!"

Seeing how utterly embarrassed she was, Lin Chen finally relented. "Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Want another bowl of porridge?"

Earlier, to help the porridge cool down faster, he had only scooped out a tiny portion.

Xu Mi nodded.

Aunt Zhou was an exceptional cook. The simple pork and offal porridge was overflowing with aroma. Xu Mi ate two bowls in a row before stopping with a somewhat sheepish expression.

"Did I eat too much..."

Xu Mi touched her belly, feeling rather too full.

Without a second thought, Lin Chen said, "How is that too much? It's just two bowls, and porridge doesn't even fill you up that much. You're simply too thin right now. Eating more is the only way!"

Xu Mi laughed in spite of herself. "Why does it feel like no matter what I do, you always think it's right?"

She suspected that if she were to poke a hole in the sky, Lin Chen would rush out and declare she did a marvelous job just to give the earth some fresh air!

With a completely straight face, Lin Chen remarked, "Of course! How could anything my wife does ever be wrong?"

Growing flustered once more, Xu Mi checked the time and deftly changed the subject. "It's still early. Why don't you head back to the company and check in?"

It was not even two o'clock in the afternoon yet. Although Lin Chen was now a department manager, the department hadn't been officially established yet. If he stayed out for the entire day like this, there was no guarantee people in the company wouldn't start gossiping.

Reluctantly, Lin Chen hesitated. "But your body wasn't feeling well this morning, and Aunt Zhou has already gone back. If I go to work now and something happens to you again, what should I do?"

"What could possibly happen?"

Xu Mi sighed helplessly. "Whenever you go to work normally, aren't I home alone anyway?"

"Besides, after eating, I'm feeling much better. You go to work, and I'll take a nap, okay?"

Faced with this gentle pleading, Lin Chen instantly surrendered.

As he was leaving, he lingered, full of reluctance. "Wife, if you feel uncomfortable anywhere, make sure you call me immediately. Don't try to tough it out!"

"I know, I know. You've said it a dozen times already. I'm not a three-year-old child!"

Though Xu Mi spoke with simulated annoyance, the corners of her mouth curled upward and refused to go down.

Stepping outside, Lin Chen made his way straight back to the company.

The moment he reached the office, he froze.

The entire office was completely deserted, stripped down to bare walls.

"???"

Dumbfounded, Lin Chen grabbed a passing colleague by the arm. "Where's my office?"

The colleague glanced at him sideways. "It moved to the eighth floor! Didn't Jiang Yao tell you?"

"Huh?"

Lin Chen was left speechless.

That scoundrel Jiang Yao worked fast—he had packed up and moved everything in a single morning.

The point was, he didn't even bother to drop a word about it. Unbelievable!

Lifting his feet, he sprinted for the elevator.

All the way up to the eighth floor, the moment he stepped out of the elevator, he saw Jiang Yao standing inside the new office, gesturing animatedly at something.

Lin Chen crept up on him on tiptoe and ruthlessly delivered a stealth wedgie.

"Ahhh!!!"

A miserable scream pierced the air.

Clutching his backside, Jiang Yao spun around. "Lin Chen, are you trying to kill me?"

Raising his chin, Lin Chen said, "Deputy Manager Jiang, please watch your language. What did you call me?"

"I..."

Stifled with frustration and locking eyes with Lin Chen, Jiang Yao muttered unwillingly, "Righteous Father, why are you back?"

Lin Chen rolled his eyes. "I was only gone for a single morning, and you've already packed up the whole office. If I hadn't come back, I probably wouldn't even be able to find my department anymore!"

"As if that would ever happen!"

Jiang Yao put on a flattering smile. "Didn't I figure we'd be moving up to the eighth floor sooner or later anyway, so I just had people help get it sorted out ahead of time?"

"Look at this. Is this arrangement to your liking?"

The entire eighth floor had been allocated by Long Wenying to the live-streaming department, comprising a total of five offices.

The one the two of them were currently occupying was the largest.

Not only did it feature a private washroom, but it even came equipped with a lounge area.

Jiang Yao proudly introduced the layout: "Take a look. The two of us will still share this main office."

"Once we recruit people, the streamers will go into that room on the right. We'll need to do some proper remodeling there later."

"The remaining three offices will be for the rest of the staff. My plan is pretty solid, right?"

He added, "As for the recruitment part, I've already cleared it with the HR department. They don't need to bother; I'll handle it and just send the resumes over for their rubber stamp."

Lin Chen nodded. "Mm, putting you in charge as deputy manager really was the right call. You've delegated everything nicely. Keep it up!"

Jiang Yao instantly swelled with pride. "Hehe, look who you're talking about. I'm known as the all-around prince of H University, you know."

"All-around prince my foot. Patting yourself on the back like that, aren't you even a little ashamed?"

"Patting myself on the back just means I'm making you look good by association, too! With a subordinate as capable as me, how could you, the boss, be anything less than stellar?"

"Well, at least you finally said something human."

After exchanging a few more banterous remarks, Lin Chen sat down at his desk and dove straight into work.

Curiosity instantly flared in Jiang Yao. "What are you up to, looking so serious?"