After four years of living alone after marrying far away, he went back to his parents' home and

Lan Qingqing, who was next to her, followed suit and sat down beside her.

However, compared to Qi Lei, she wasn't as exaggerated as Qi Lei, except that she was a little hungry.

Qi Lei held a loaf of bread in one hand, his hand trembling as he put it into his mouth, while his other hand clenched into a fist and gently pounded his leg muscles.

He looked at Lan Qingqing sitting beside him, seemingly unaffected, and asked curiously:

"Hey, you've been standing all morning too, aren't your legs sore?"

Lan Qingqing blinked and said while eating her bread:

"What's this?"

"When I used to work the night shift, I would stand for eight or nine hours straight, and I was even wearing high heels!"

"But back then, if you got caught slacking off, you'd get your pay docked, so we didn't dare to sneak off to rest."

"Unlike in a coffee shop, although it can be busy at times, there's still a chance to slack off if you really want to..."

As Lan Qingqing spoke, she glanced at her master Qi Lei beside her with a smug look, as if she were looking at a fool who wouldn't go to work and was just being lazy...

Lan Yujuan started working as soon as she arrived at the store. After having a light meal of bread, the master and apprentice quickly joined in.

Since there were fewer customers at noon, and the customers who were in the store earlier had finished their coffee and left, the store gradually returned to quiet.

Around 12:40, a crisp "ding-a-ling" sound came from the doorway; it was the sound of the wind chimes hanging on the door.

Hearing the noise, the three of them poked their heads out from different directions and looked toward the door.

When they realized it was Chen Mo carrying a food box and pushing the door open, everyone put down what they were doing and gathered around the usual staff table with smiles.

"Dinner's ready!"

After washing her hands, Lan Qingqing took the initiative to set the table.

Qi Lei silently counted the people eating and then began to move chairs.

Lan Yujuan walked up and reached out to take the food box, but Chen Mo gently blocked her with his hand.

"It's quite heavy, but I can carry it."

Chen Mo glanced at the bar area and said in a low voice, "I'm a little thirsty, I want some water."

"I was so focused on cooking that I forgot to drink water."

Upon hearing this, Lan Yujuan immediately smiled and said, "Wait here, I'll go get you a glass of water."

When the water was brought over, the food was already laid out.

At a rectangular dining table, Qi Lei and his apprentice Lan Qingqing, with great tact, sat close together, far to one side.

Then Qi Lei took the tablet from the store and started playing videos of previous coffee competitions.

The master and apprentice each wore one of the two earphones, consciously acting as background figures, clearly not wanting to disturb the young couple's meal and conversation.

During the meal, Lan Yujuan watched the man patiently picking out fish bones for her, his expression somewhat serious, and a sense of unease crept into her heart.

"What's wrong?" Lan Yujuan asked with a soft laugh.

"It's a workday, and you actually went out of your way to come home and cook for me. Is there something you want to tell me?"

During this time, although she was busy herself, she could still sense that something must have happened at Chen Mo's company.

It's not hard to see from the increasing number and length of company meetings, as well as the increased frequency of Chen Mo's overtime work.

Chen Mo paused for a moment before slowly raising his head.

Then, while placing the deboned fish meat into her bowl, he tentatively asked:

"I may need to travel to Beijing on business in the next few days."

Lan Yujuan was engrossed in her meal when she heard the news, and her eyelashes trembled slightly.

Before her mind could process what was happening, she already felt a sense of emptiness inside.

"Work is important, you go ahead with your work!" Lan Yujuan forced a smile and looked up to reply.

"Don't worry, leave everything at home to me."

Strangely enough, even though she was smiling, her eyes felt sore and dry, and she felt a little like crying.

Lan Yujuan herself couldn't quite understand this strange and unfamiliar feeling.

It's just a business trip, it's not like I'm not coming back!

Lan Yujuan tried her best to use such words to comfort herself when she was feeling down.

She attributed her current state to maladjustment.

It seems like they haven't been apart since they got their marriage certificate.

Before she knew it, she seemed to have gotten used to seeing him every day when she came home.

Whenever Lan Yujuan saw him, she felt incredibly at ease.

While she was lost in thought, Chen Mo across from her was also staring at her.

He stared into her eyes, as if trying to glean something from her unfocused gaze.

"Cough, cough!" After a while, Chen Mo cleared his throat and broke the silence first.

"I'm going on a business trip soon, don't you have any questions for me?"

Lan Yujuan blinked, her thoughts gradually returning to normal.

After a moment's thought, he asked seriously, "So when are you leaving?"

"By the way, how many days are you going to be gone, and when are you coming back?"

When Lan Yujuan asked these questions, she subconsciously reached out and placed her hand on the back of his hand.

Chen Mo glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw the slender fingers resting on the back of his hand. His tense expression finally began to dissipate, and a smile gradually appeared.

"I'll go back to the company for a meeting this afternoon, and then leave tonight."

"If all goes well, they should be back in three to five days."

"If it's slow, it might take about half a month."

When Lan Yujuan heard that his business trip would last so long, she felt even more distressed.

"Why is it taking so long..."

Her reluctance to part was clearly visible in her eyes.

Seeing this, Chen Mo grasped her hand in return and tentatively suggested:

"Why don't you come with me?"

"With Manager Qi and Qingqing in the store, there won't be any problems."

"I'll tell my parents that Shuyi and Xiaoman can go back to their house for a few days."

"I know you went to university in Beijing, and you haven't been back for many years, have you?"

"Just treat it as a vacation. I can go back to your alma mater with you later."

Upon hearing this, Lan Yujuan immediately withdrew her hand, and the reluctance on her face vanished instantly.

"That won't work, my new store just opened, I can't leave."

"Besides, business has been really good lately, and we need more manpower right now."

"Besides the coffee shop, I also have a novel to update."

"The first script has already been completed, and now we need to write up to thirty episodes, which will also take time."

As Lan Yujuan spoke, she sorted out the thoughts in her mind.

"However, there's one thing I think you're right about."

"While you're away on your business trip, Xiaoman can stay at her grandparents' house, and my parents can help me with pick-up and drop-off."

"This way, I'll have more time to work with peace of mind."

Lan Yujuan still remembers that when she first started writing novels, she would hold Xiaoman and lull her to sleep while writing on her phone whenever she had a spare moment.

At that time, although she was in a sea of ​​suffering, she didn't feel that it was too bitter because she kept swimming forward and trying not to drown.

But since returning to Hunan, she has been pampered and loved by her parents when she goes back to her parents' home.

At home, Chen Mo spoils her, picking up and dropping off the children at school every day.

At this point, the thought of having to work while taking care of her child is so daunting that she feels exhausted just thinking about it.

"So, you'd rather abandon me than put your work aside for now," Chen Mo said in a low voice, his voice seemingly tinged with a hint of grievance.

His words sounded like he was accusing her of prioritizing her work over him.

Lan Yujuan's eyes flickered slightly, and she replied with a faint smile:

"Mr. Chen, have you forgotten? Your trip to Beijing was also for work."

"Or, why don't you skip your business trip and stay home with me?"

Chen Mo choked and immediately fell silent.

He was clearly very angry when he heard this.

But for some reason, I had a vague feeling that what my wife said made some sense.