Yan Shuyu never self-reflected more than 2 minutes at a time. She was not the type who'd cry over spilled milk. She turned around and comforted herself; she was dying to quit and stay as far away from the boss as possible when she had first transmigrated because "she" had bedded the boss and was worried that he wanted to settle the scores.
But, she had come into contact with the boss a few more times since then, and she could tell from the way he acted that he had no intention to settle the scores with her or hold her accountable. He probably only thought of that night as any normal one-night stand. They were both adults after all and that was no big deal.
Zhou Qinhe's mannerism toward her had her feeling relieved about what she perceived as the No. 1 danger.
And, she'd no longer have to worry about the cannon fodder fate of the stepmom and her son. After all, that arc wasn't going to happen for many, many years to go. Having interact so many times with the boss, Yan Shuyu had gained some insight into his personality. The boss might always have a smile on his face, but deep down inside, he was no less prideful than any other CEOs. As long as she and her son could resist the temptation and not grovel to be the male lead's whetstone like in the novel, there was no way the prideful Zhou Qinhe would cling onto them. After all, there were plenty others out there who'd love to help him out. It didn't have to be them.
Although, it did hurt her ego that the boss could find a better, more qualified "Mrs. Zhou" any minute of the day but she, on the other hand, would never find someone better than him. But, since what she worried most wasn't going to happen, Yan Shuyu did feel better overall.
Given all this, even if she'd willingly offer up herself and let the boss find out where she lived, what difference would it make? It wasn't like the boss would lower his stance and hang out here and bother her.
And, if she really thought it through, she was the one who came out ahead today. The boss paid for the movie tickets, the popcorn, and the 4-digit a person French cuisine. She didn't even spend a penny and had a great time and came home with a fully belly. This was just too good to be true.
Looking at it from a different perspective, Yan Shuyu no longer felt sorry for herself. In fact, she was quite proud of herself. In the original novel, the stepmom was completely used by the male lead's father. He squeezed out the very last drop of usefulness from her. In contrast, she hasn't given him any opportunity to take advantage of her since she had transmigrated. In fact, she had taken advantage of him time and time again. She was such a genius!
Smacking her own belly happily, Yan Shuyu walked inside her building full of pride for herself.
As soon as she walked out of the elevator but before she could even look for her keys, she looked up and saw that the door to her apartment was ajar. She walked closer and saw that her instant son was sitting on a little stool by the door.
As soon as he spotted her, the little kiddo jumped up with a face filled with happiness, shouted a loud "Mom!" and dashed into her arms.
Yan Shuyu also squatted down, threw her arms around him, and smooched him up and down. "MUA~ baby, you guys are home so early!"
Looking at the over-the-top performance from the mother and son, anyone who didn't know better would think that they hadn't seen each other for years. Yang Zifeng stood helpless behind him and explained, "We just got back as well. Didn't you always say Yuanbao was very independent and could bathe and dress himself? I was going to have him take a bath first while we wait for you to come home, but he wouldn't budge. It was as though he was worried that you'd walk inside the wrong house if he didn't wait for you by the door."
Even though Yan Shuyu was a unconscientious mother who'd forget that she had a son when she goes out, she still felt quite a sense of accomplishment hearing about how much her instant son had missed her. She gave him another big hug and a kiss before she picked him up and said to Manager Yang, "Thank you so much for your trouble today. You really didn't have to wait for me. You just needed to drop Yuanbao off."
Yang Zifeng smiled and said, "Oh, you're okay with him being home alone?"