No one knew how long An Zhizhi cried, nor did anyone care. After Yu Nong left, he never looked back. To be precise, he wanted to escape, to flee far away and never see An Zhizhi again.
Yu Nong ran back to his office and slammed the door shut.
Lu Wanqing picked up Shushu from kindergarten and found Yu Nong's office door tightly closed. She was slightly puzzled, walked over, and knocked on the door.
Yu Nong was a workaholic, and he was eager to cultivate honeysuckle. He shouldn't leave before work ended.
Besides, she had gone to pick up Shushu. If Yu Nong had left work early and gone home, he would have contacted her or sent a message, but there was nothing. So Yu Nong should still be at work?
The office was quiet, with not a sound.
Lu Wanqing was slightly confused, was he not here?
But where would he go?
Could it be the ancient Earth plant cultivation room?
Thinking about it, Lu Wanqing opened her light terminal, ready to call Yu Nong. No matter what, she had picked up the child and needed to inform him.
Inside the office restroom, Yu Nong was still scrubbing the spot An Zhizhi had touched, his skin was broken, it was literally broken, not figuratively. But he seemed not to notice, continuously scrubbing.
The light terminal suddenly vibrated, and Yu Nong froze abruptly, stopping his actions.
Yu Nong's body was stiff, only his eyes slightly lowered as he looked at the light terminal on his wrist.
After a moment of silence, Yu Nong opened the light terminal. Seeing that the call was from Lu Wanqing, he breathed a sigh of relief, and his mood inexplicably improved.
Yu Nong adjusted his state of mind before answering the call.
The call connected, and their projections appeared before each other. At that instant, Lu Wanqing and Yu Nong both realized they were together, Lu Wanqing at his office door, and Yu Nong inside the office.
"Daddy!" Little Yu Shu also saw her father and immediately called out happily.
Hearing Shushu's voice, Yu Nong lowered his gaze to look at the child, his eyes couldn't help but soften.
But Little Yu Shu quickly noticed the wound on Yu Nong's hand. Her face changed drastically, and she anxiously asked, "Daddy, what happened to your hand?"
Yu Nong only then reacted and quickly hid his hand behind his back.
Lu Wanqing also noticed now. Her gaze fixed on Yu Nong's hand, then at his surroundings, the office restroom.
A person immediately popped into Lu Wanqing's mind—An Zhizhi!
An Zhizhi had come to find Yu Nong again, and had even grabbed Yu Nong's hand. Yu Nong disliked her intensely, which was why he kept washing his hand.
"We're at the door, come out and open it," Lu Wanqing said immediately. She had many things to ask and was worried about Yu Nong, but it was more appropriate to open the door and go in directly now.
"No..." Yu Nong instinctively wanted to refuse, but after speaking, he remembered that they were in the Academy of Sciences' office, and Lu Wanqing and Shushu were right outside the door.
Yu Nong pursed his lips, feeling inexplicably wronged. After a moment, he agreed, "Okay."
Lu Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief.
The call ended. Yu Nong came out of the restroom and slowly opened the office door.
Lu Wanqing looked at Yu Nong.
Yu Nong also looked at Lu Wanqing.
Their eyes met, and suddenly neither knew what to say.
"Let's go in and talk," Lu Wanqing said after a long pause.
Yu Nong nodded, stepping aside.
Lu Wanqing entered with Little Yu Shu. The little one's gaze was fixed on the wound on Yu Nong's hand. She suddenly said, "Daddy, I really dislike Auntie Zhizhi."
Daddy always got hurt because of her.
Lu Wanqing rubbed the top of the child's head, then took out a spatial button and retrieved the wound medicine she had saved before.
"Put some medicine on it," Lu Wanqing said to Yu Nong.
Yu Nong: "..."
Little Yu Shu also saw the medicine her mother took out and immediately nodded, "Yes, put medicine on it!"
Since both Lu Wanqing and Little Yu Shu said to put medicine on it, Yu Nong didn't know what else to say and reached out to take the ointment.
However, Lu Wanqing didn't move away. She took out a spare cotton swab and said directly to Yu Nong, "Sit on the stool."
Lu Wanqing also disliked An Zhizhi, but she disliked Yu Nong's self-harming behavior even more. No matter how much you dislike someone, you shouldn't vent your dislike for others onto yourself; it's not worth it.
With this thought, Lu Wanqing didn't go easy on Yu Nong while applying the medicine. She even deliberately increased the force. Yu Nong gasped in pain, but seeing Lu Wanqing's stern face, he dared not say anything.
Lu Wanqing, with a stern face, finished applying the medicine to Yu Nong. Then she took out a pack of cotton swabs and a new box of healing medicine from the spatial button, handing them to Yu Nong: "If you get injured often, keep some medicine with you at all times, and take good care of yourself."
"Are you... angry?" Yu Nong asked sullenly.
Lu Wanqing didn't know what to say. After a long pause, she shook her head, "It's nothing."
Yu Nong looked at her.
Lu Wanqing didn't know what to do. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "I'll continue reading the notes."
"Lu Wanqing," Yu Nong suddenly said.
Lu Wanqing paused and looked at him.
Yu Nong was silent for a moment, then said, "An Zhizhi just said that she has another spot, she can apply for ancient Earth honeysuckle seeds. She wants me to marry her, and then she'll secretly transfer her portion to me."
Lu Wanqing froze, then was shocked. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"No!" Little Yu Shu quickly reacted and immediately objected.
Little Yu Shu panicked. She quickly pulled her father's hand and anxiously said, "Daddy, no, you don't like Auntie Zhizhi, you can't marry Auntie Zhizhi!"
By the end of her words, the child's voice was laced with urgent tears.
Lu Wanqing also realized what was happening. She couldn't believe An Zhizhi would make such a request. Then... would Yu Nong agree?
If it were any other time, Lu Wanqing could be sure that Yu Nong would absolutely not agree, but this was honeysuckle!
What if the seeds An Zhizhi applied for successfully cultivated honeysuckle?
"Did you agree to her?" Lu Wanqing couldn't help but ask, her mind racing.
But as soon as she asked, Lu Wanqing couldn't help but doubt. Yu Nong disliked An Zhizhi so much that he would scrub his skin raw from just being touched by her. If they were to get married and be together...
A vision of Yu Nong with his skin completely rubbed off flashed in her mind, which was terrifying.
"Yu Nong, don't force yourself," Lu Wanqing said sternly.
"We can try again. Don't you have a lot of mutant honeysuckle? Let's persevere for a while longer, do more experiments, and perhaps we'll succeed soon!" Lu Wanqing said quickly.
"Yes, yes, Mommy is right, we will succeed!" Little Yu Shu also quickly pulled her father's hand and said anxiously.