Chen Chuan pushed open the car door and jumped out first, preparing to go to the back to help unload the truck. Yu Ning called out to him, "Boss Chen, could you help me down? It's a bit high."
The trailer bed was indeed over a meter off the ground. When she had climbed up earlier, she hadn't thought much of it.
Now, looking down, she wasn't quite sure where to step.
Chen Chuan turned back to meet her still-bold eyes, as if trying to discern the truth in her words. He also estimated the height from the ground to the trailer bed, his brows furrowing slightly.
Yu Ning looked at his reluctant expression and put on a standard smile. "What's wrong? Boss Chen, is it so hard to help your lovely, adorable guest down from the car?"
As if it would cost you a piece of flesh!
The moment her words fell, the man's hand was already extended in the air.
Good, you know what's good for you!
Yu Ning glared at him fiercely, then her gaze fell on his hand.
His hand was large and broad—not particularly smooth, yet without deep creases.
His bronze skin gleamed faintly in the afterglow of the setting sun. There was a layer of calluses on his palm and several fingertips.
She raised her brows slightly and placed her fair, delicate hand into his dry palm with a prideful air.
She was 1.7 meters tall with slender fingers, but in his hand, they seemed rather petite.
The stark contrast between their two completely different skin tones was particularly striking.
When Chen Chuan felt the softness settle into his palm, he paused and didn't close his hand around hers.
Like an emotionless support post, he stood there motionless.
Yu Ning stepped on the footboard and hopped down. She didn't hurry to let go of his hand; instead, like a female hooligan taking liberties, she rubbed the callus on his palm.
The rough sensation was like sandpaper sliding across silk—rather jarring, yet somehow very gentle.
She casually asked, "Do you often do manual labor? Your calluses are so thick."
Chen Chuan jerked his hand back as if shocked. His brows furrowed deeper. He pressed hard at the spot she had touched, trying to stop the slight itch from spreading.
"Rough work in the mountains."
Leaving those words behind, he walked away without looking back.
He left quite decisively.
Yu Ning eyed his tall figure, clicked her tongue, and a trace of cunning quietly crept into her eyes as she curved her red lips.
Chen Bin was a liar.
Saying his Brother Chuan was someone who could remain unmoved with a beauty in his lap.
Bull—
Can't say profanities. We are high-class white-collar professionals with quality and self-restraint.
Look at him now—fleeing in panic after just having his hand touched.
Tsk!
He was still quite easy to flirt with.
They were unloading the truck, and she couldn't help much. She was wondering whether to stroll into town to find something to eat, since she was a bit hungry.
She hadn't had time to eat at the airport at noon. The meal on the plane had been like swill served up by the flight attendants.
It tasted terrible.
However, before she could carry out this plan, a young woman in her twenties walked out of the repair shop.
Wearing an apron and holding a two- or three-year-old little cutie in her arms, she warmly greeted Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan only nodded and continued with his work.
Instead, Chen Bin called out, "Ah Yan, look after that pretty lady over there. She came with Brother Chuan."
Only then did Xue Yan notice the graceful figure standing in the early summer dusk. She paused, then smiled. "I'm so sorry, I was only focused on greeting Brother Chuan just now. I'm Xue Yan, Chen Bin's wife."
"Hello."
Perhaps because of her career in sales, Yu Ning was accustomed to smiling when she spoke, radiating an approachable and friendly warmth.
She took the little one's hand in Xue Yan's arms and shook it gently. "Hello to you too."
"Haohao, greet the lady."
"Auntie." The child's voice was soft and milky.
Yu Ning would have preferred to be called "sister," but she didn't correct him. Instead, she naturally asked, "So cute. How old are you?"
"He's over three. He'll be shipped off to kindergarten in September." Xue Yan put the child down. "What should I call you, Sister?"
"Yu Ning. Yu as in Yu Ji, and Ning as in serenity."
"Then I'll call you Sister Yu Ning. Your name is as pretty as you are."
Yu Ning smiled. "Your sweet mouth matches your sweet face."
The two women entered the house with the child.
They hadn't chatted for long before Xue Yan went to cook. Yu Ning didn't want to freeload, so she offered to help, but the moment she touched a handful of greens, Xue Yan shooed her out.
"Sister Yu Ning, please help me keep an eye on Haohao. I don't have many dishes to cook; it's no trouble."
Yu Ning looked at the little cutie playing with a toy car with one hand and eating a small bun with the other.
And indeed, she truly had experience coaxing children.
Previously, a client had a child about this age. To have better conversation topics, she had bought two parenting books to read.
She had read them from cover to cover without missing a single word.
She felt more than qualified to be a kindergarten teacher now.
She walked over and asked familiarly, "Haohao, does this little car have a name?"
The little cutie thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No."
Yu Ning was bored out of her mind. "Then let's give the cars names, okay?"
Half an hour later, Chen Chuan came in to wash his hands and saw Yu Ning pushing the toy cars one by one. "Little Pink is coming! Haohao, catch it! Little Blue is coming again..."
She was playing with great enthusiasm when she looked up and crashed into Chen Chuan's dark eyes.
Their eyes met.
An awkwardness instantly permeated the air.
Yu Ning blinked, her expression normal, and even smiled as she invited him. "Boss Chen, want to come play together?"
The little cutie followed her gaze and shouted with a smile, "Dad Chuan, come! It's so fun."
Chen Chuan: "..."
"Dad Chuan? What kind of address is this?" Yu Ning asked in confusion.
"My godson."
"Oh." Yu Ning dragged out the syllable and rubbed the little cutie's head. "Then your godson is inviting you to come play. Are you coming?"
Come play what?
Push her Little Pink and Little Blue?
Chen Chuan grumbled inwardly, averted his gaze, and replied blandly, "The car parts haven't been changed yet."
"Isn't Chen Bin doing that? You can do it too?"
"A little. Helping out while I'm at it."
"Oh. Roughly how long until it's fixed?"
"Two hours."
Yu Ning roughly calculated in her mind. "Then we won't get to Jidong Town until nine or ten?"
It was only six o'clock now.
Chen Chuan glanced at the time on the wall. "About right. You're in a hurry?"
"Yeah, I'm in a hurry. I want to collapse in bed."
This whole day, she had been either in a car or on a plane.
She really wanted to lie down for a while.
Chen Chuan saw the exhaustion on her face and hesitated before saying, "I'll try to hurry."