Driving an Honest Man Crazy

There were too few men like him in this world.

Regardless of whether he came home to help Xiao Yan prepare to take over the Xiao Family's business someday.

To Xiao Jue, having a man like him by her side meant that her Yanyan was certain to grow more independent and capable, able to hold her happiness firmly in her own hands.

And Zayne alone would keep Xiao Yan from following Xiao Jue's old path.

That was also why Xiao Jue was so understanding and willing to accept this relatively equal and respectful "new model of marriage."

She had striven to be strong all her life. She did not want her Yanyan to have to shoulder everything alone, too.

Zayne would become a very powerful source of support in Yanyan's life.

"Little Li, I owe you an apology as your mother." Xiao Jue's expression relaxed completely, becoming incredibly gentle. "I overstepped. I'm sorry."

Xiao Yan was surprised yet again.

Xiao Jue really knew how to balance kindness and authority. As expected of the head of the Xiao Family-what magnanimity!

Zayne gave a slight shake of his head, then turned to Xiao Jue again. "Mom, a mother never needs to apologize to anyone for loving her child."

Xiao Jue felt even more touched. Zayne could see straight through even her painstaking intentions as a mother.

What an extraordinary young man. From the bottom of her heart, Xiao Jue liked, appreciated, and respected Zayne all the more.

Throughout all this, Chen Qian had gone through surprise, worry, inner conflict, and admiration.

Now, he clapped his hands. "A round of applause for a mother's great love and true romantic love!"

With the weight lifted from everyone's hearts, the family exchanged smiles and actually began applauding.

The tone for this meal had been set right from the start.

Everything went much more smoothly after that.

Chen Qian suggested having some alcohol.

Xiao Yan said, "No drinking. My Zayne has a major operation tomorrow morning. Five hours of precision work!"

After dinner, Xiao Jue asked Zayne whether he wanted to stay the night.

Xiao Yan spoke up again. "You questioned him for so long today, he was nervous to death. He won't sleep well if he stays here, and that'll affect tomorrow's surgery. A life is at stake!"

She stood up to the whole family with the commanding air of a little wife in charge.

In the end, Xiao Jue could only take out a gift, hand it to Zayne, and see them off with a smile alongside her five husbands.

As soon as the car left the courtyard, Zayne's tense shoulders relaxed, and a sheen of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Xiao Yan could see it out of the corner of her eye, but this was not the right time for her to analyze too much of what had happened over dinner.

She knew very well that pressure from one's surroundings could bring out a great deal of energy, making someone seem entirely different from their usual self.

Zayne needed time to digest things, to think carefully about whether, after this meal, he wanted to return to their formalized married relationship or truly see Xiao Yan as a person.

That was something Zayne had to work through himself. Xiao Yan did not want to interfere too much.

A melon forcibly twisted off the vine would not be sweet. She only wanted a sweet Zayne. Everything had to come from Zayne's own initiative and willingness.

Beside him, she bobbed her head as she opened the gift, looking to be in a very good mood. "Wow! A scalpel made of gold!"

She even reached out to touch the blade with a finger.

"Careful," Zayne warned.

"It hasn't been sharpened. It's blunt." Xiao Yan grinned at Zayne, then pretended she had only just noticed the cold sweat covering his forehead. "Zayne... are you okay?"

Zayne shook his head. "Mother... she certainly lives up to being the head of the Xiao Family. I really am a little afraid of her now."

Xiao Jue really had some skills, to make Zayne afraid.

Xiao Yan laughed, poking Zayne's arm with the handle of the scalpel. "Even Department Chief Zayne has moments when he can't keep his composure, huh?"

"Deputy chief," he stressed, then sighed. "She's your mother, after all. I have to handle things carefully. This kind of pressure is greater than performing the most difficult surgery."

"But what you made up on the spot sounded pretty good, didn't it?" Xiao Yan played with the scalpel. "And my mom didn't really mean to make you give up medicine. Otherwise, she wouldn't have prepared such a thoughtful little gift for you beforehand."

What did she mean, made up on the spot?

Zayne had to concentrate on driving at night, so he did not look at Xiao Yan.

Only after more than ten seconds of silence did he frown. "To you, were those words all calculated lines meant to get me through?"

"What else?" Xiao Yan deliberately played slow. "Don't tell me you really think that? You don't love me."

Zayne: "..." But he had thought Xiao Yan knew he had laid out a possibility.

The possibility that they would fall in love.

And he had thought Xiao Yan understood and accepted that this might happen in the future.

Why did she seem... not to understand again now?

Then, on second thought, perhaps she had never understood from the beginning. Perhaps she had only been focused on how to handle her family and had not thought that much about it, leading Zayne to mistakenly believe she had tacitly agreed.

This was really difficult.

Zayne could not rashly tell Xiao Yan that they would definitely fall in love in the future.

He would never casually settle on something he had not yet thought through himself. Otherwise, it would become a promise he had to fulfill.

Yet he was also a little worried that Xiao Yan would decide they would never fall in love.

That would make their relationship patterned and formulaic, hemmed in by rigid rules.

For a moment, he actually had no idea how to communicate with her.

All he could do was remain silent for now.

Xiao Yan thought Zayne's stifled frustration was far too amusing.

It meant Zayne was thinking very seriously about something. In that case, she would let him think it through.

Stifled and frustrated the whole way, Zayne drove across the city and returned to Xiao Yan's villa.

Xiao Yan placed the gift box containing the gold scalpel on the passenger seat.

She got out, left the door open, and bent down to wave at Zayne. "Go home and get some rest early, Dr. Zayne~ See you next Saturday~"

Zayne noticed that Sylus's motorcycle was already gone.

There were no other suspicious vehicles parked in the courtyard either, so he knew the other four men were probably not home.

As Xiao Yan shut the car door and skipped back toward the house.

Zayne sighed, opened his door, and followed her.

He caught Xiao Yan by the arm.

Startled, Xiao Yan turned and glared at him. "What are you doing?"

Zayne stared into Xiao Yan's eyes. "..."

"Do you have something to say?" Xiao Yan blinked. "Then come inside and say it. It's so cold out here."

Zayne gritted his teeth, bent down, and lifted Xiao Yan off the ground.

Xiao Yan's heart soared!

Yet she still had to put on an act and struggle a few times. "Wait, what are you trying to do, Dr. Zayne? This is my own home. There's no need to put on a show of affection anymore. Why are you still holding me... let me go!"

"Promise me," Zayne said with difficulty, "that you won't make any assumptions about us." Especially assumptions that they would never fall in love.

"Huh?" Xiao Yan was determined to play dumb. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know." Zayne even felt a slight twinge in his heart. "Yanyan."

Oh, he really had changed what he called her!

Xiao Yan struggled again.

"Yanyan," Zayne called again. "You like jasmine."

Zayne loved jasmine flowers.

The lollipop Xiao Yan had given him today had also carried a rich jasmine fragrance.

Just as Xiao Yan's little crossbody bag had a snowflake pattern, Zayne also liked snowy days and pure white snowflakes drifting down from the sky.

He firmly believed that coincidences like these all symbolized their future.

It was unscientific, but it did offer guidance. He had to take it seriously.

Xiao Yan settled down a little and rested against Zayne's shoulder. "So what if I like jasmine?"

She liked it. When they met next Saturday, Zayne would bring a large bouquet of jasmine.

He set Xiao Yan down.

Then he took a step back. "Sorry."

Without waiting for Xiao Yan to say anything, he turned and left, got into his car, and drove off with a press of the accelerator.

Xiao Yan stood dumbfounded, feeling as though she was about to drive an honest man crazy.

"I don't feel bad for him." Xiao Yan patted her chest and turned toward the door. "I don't feel the least bit..."

"What kind of scene is this?"

A sweet, mellow voice suddenly rang out.

Xiao Yan whipped her gaze toward the doorway!