What If I Ended Up Marrying My Enemy? - Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Late Autumn
Time continued moving forward, and in the blink of an eye, the capital had entered late autumn.
Yu Wenxuan was now used to making sandwiches every morning and waiting for someone to come downstairs so he could help tie their hair.
He kept his word and spent a long time learning how to do it, each time tying it better than the last. By now, he could even do it absentmindedly, skillfully creating a beautiful hairstyle.
Yu Zhixue would sit there eating while sometimes watching his focused movements. Occasionally, he’d poke a bite of food from his plate and feed it to him.
Yu Wenxuan accepted the food while finishing up the hairdo in his hands.
Once they were both ready, they went their separate ways as usual. Yu Zhixue was always the quicker one, standing outside the door waiting.
Yu Wenxuan picked up both of their scarves and shut the door behind him. He said to Yu Zhixue, “Give me your hand.”
He held it out, and a gray scarf was draped over his arm. Before he could say anything, Yu Wenxuan spoke again, “Lift your head.”
He lowered his gaze and began wrapping the scarf around his neck, one loop at a time, finally adjusting it carefully.
He cupped Yu Zhixue’s face and gently brushed his cheek with his palm. “The temperature’s dropping today. If it gets cold, make sure your assistant gets you an extra layer.”
Yu Zhixue softly responded, then suddenly remembered something and added, “I need to go to an auction tonight. I might be a bit late.”
Yu Wenxuan put on his own scarf and replied without any objection, “I’ll cook dinner at home then. You should be back around the same time.”
Yu Zhixue smiled. “Alright.”
…
Because of his busy schedule, Yu Zhixue hadn’t had Yu Wenxuan’s cooking in a while. Now that he finally had time for it, even going to work put his in a much better mood.
Though his expression remained calm and his gaze cool as ever, the sharp edge he normally carried had softened noticeably.
Ji Hua, watching him, immediately noticed the beige scarf around his neck and the perfectly styled hair.
He instantly knew who was responsible — it had to be that CEO from next door.
He couldn’t take his eyes off his for a while. Yu Zhixue’s chin was tucked into her fluffy scarf, which made him look much gentler, though his tone remained frosty: “What are you looking at?”
Ji Hua quickly looked down and pressed the elevator button. “Just… noticing that Director Yu seems to be in a great mood today.”
Yu Zhixue stepped into the elevator and didn’t deny it.
The office’s temperature was steady. Yu Zhixue removed the scarf from his neck, folded it neatly, and placed it beside his desk.
Ji Hua cautiously asked, “…Want me to put it away?”
“No need. Just bring me the documents,” he said, brushing aside the loose fringe of the scarf.
Ji Hua left and soon returned with the day’s work.
Yu Zhixue refocused and started going through everything. He calmly read and occasionally signed pages.
But when he flipped to one document, his hand suddenly paused.
Ji Hua immediately sensed something wrong — and sure enough, the next second, Yu Zhixue handed the document to him and said, “Bring the person in charge of this project to see me.”
Cradling the document, Ji Hua sighed inwardly. Once he stepped out, he checked the name of the responsible party and made a call to the direct line.
Liu Ning was happily chewing on a lollipop while printing documents downstairs when he got the call of doom.
Clack — the candy dropped to the floor.
People walking by all glanced at him. He rubbed his face twice, expression grim as he went upstairs.
Yu Zhixue was leaning his face on one hand, lazily spinning a pen with the other as he gestured to a seat. “Sit.”
Liu Ning looked like he was sitting on pins and needles. Eventually, he decided to rip off the bandage quickly and asked, “Director Yu, is there a problem with the proposal I submitted earlier?”
“At least you’re self-aware.” Yu Zhixue never bothered sugarcoating things at work.
He went on to point out several issues with the project.
And he didn’t even have the document in front of him — he spoke entirely from memory.
That was why, even though his interpersonal skills with subordinates were questionable, people still respected him.
Because he was truly excellent.
Even those who thought he was too cold had to admit he was a natural-born leader.
—Of course, his “beloved” at home didn’t count.
Liu Ning realized that while some problems were due to ability, others were careless mistakes.
He immediately apologized. “Sorry, Director Yu. It’s my fault. I’ll revise it today and resubmit.”
But even after saying that, he didn’t expect to get off lightly.
Yet Yu Zhixue just leaned back and said calmly, “Be more careful next time. I don’t want to see these kinds of basic mistakes again.”
Liu Ning: “…?”
That’s it?? Shouldn’t he have yelled at him, slammed the file down, and told him to redo it now?!
Yu Zhixue raised an eyebrow at his look. “Why are you still here?”
Liu Ning rushed out, and only after he got far away from her office did he post in the company group chat:
Planning Dept. Liu Ning: “!”
He had decent rapport at the company, so replies came quickly.
Everyone had seen him get called up — they’d been at this company long enough to know what that meant.
Marketing Dept. Jing Yue: “You were in there less than 20 minutes. He let you go without tearing you apart?”
Planning Dept. Han Ji: “You just sent a punctuation mark? What, Director Yu roast you so hard you can’t type? Happens to all of us, man. :)”
Sales Dept. Hu Hongjun: “Same here. We all got used to it.”
Basically, if you’d never been scolded by Yu Zhixue, you couldn’t say you’d really worked under him.
Planning Dept. Liu Ning: “No, guys! He was shockingly nice today!!”
Planning Dept. Liu Ning: “I was bracing for death, but he just said to be careful next time and let me go!!”
The group chat immediately flooded with question marks.
Marketing Dept. Jing Yue: “@Special Assistant Ji Hua, what’s going on, Little Ji? Give us a report.”
Special Assistant Ji Hua: “@Planning Dept. Liu Ning, did you notice anything unusual about Director Yu today?”
Planning Dept. Liu Ning: “…He kept looking at his scarf. Does that count?”
Special Assistant Ji Hua: “Bingo. That scarf was a gift from his beloved. So now guess why you were spared today. 😊”
Planning Dept. Liu Ning: “Oh my god!! Bless his partner!!!”
Ji Hua was about to reply with another smiling emoji when a new message popped up and caught his eye.
Yu Wenxuan: “I’ve ordered lunch. Should be arriving downstairs soon.”
Ji Hua: “Got it.”
Yu Wenxuan’s habit of coming by during lunch didn’t last long.
A day or two was fine — he could excuse it as business. But too often would raise suspicion.
Once he saw that Yu Zhixue had been eating properly for a while, he reverted to asking Ji Hua to watch over him.
He’d only call during lunch to video chat.
That afternoon, Ji Hua picked up the food and knocked on the office door before leaving for the cafeteria himself.
…
Right on time, Yu Wenxuan made a video call, and it was quickly answered.
Yu Zhixue had already started eating. He waved toward the camera.
They chatted casually as they ate, occasionally glancing up to talk.
Yu Wenxuan suddenly asked, “Anything you want for dinner tonight?”
Yu Zhixue chewed his chopsticks, a little conflicted. “Anything’s fine. Just see what’s in the fridge.”
“I’m going to the supermarket later, so you can ask for anything,” he replied.
Yu Zhixue let out a small “Oh,” thought for a while, and finally listed some dishes: “I want braised prawns and sweet and sour pork ribs.”
Not too difficult, though prawns had to be bought fresh. Yu Wenxuan mentally mapped out his route and nodded. “Got it.”
That meal passed quickly. Since he didn’t have much to do in the afternoon — everything else could be handled by email — he left the office earlier than usual.
He checked the time and drove to a large supermarket Yu Zhixue had mentioned.
It was peak dinner prep time, so the store was busy. He pushed a cart, carefully selecting items. Aside from the dishes Yu Zhixue requested, he also picked up some fresh seasonal vegetables.
He still wore that gray scarf, and his glasses added to his composed, aloof aura — yet there he was, earnestly grocery shopping.
He even snapped pictures of unfamiliar ingredients to ask Yu Zhixue for confirmation, only putting them in the cart once he got a reply.
Nearby, a girl clutched her friend’s arm, thrilled. “The ultimate soft-spoken, deep-feelings gong!”
Her friend warned, “He’s right there. If he hears you and comes over, I’m not saving you.”
As if on cue, the handsome man walked over.
They immediately panicked and stepped back, ready to apologize.
Yu Wenxuan: “…?”
Did he really look that intimidating?
He raised his phone to his ear, listened for a few seconds, then said to them, “Sorry to bother you. Could you tell me where the C section for snacks is?”
“Huh?” One of the girls was confused.
Thinking he misspoke, he switched to speakerphone.
Yu Zhixue’s voice came through: “Snack Section C — where the chips and biscuits are. My husband doesn’t come to places like this often. Could you help him find it?”
The voice was clear and pleasant, and you could easily picture a good-looking person on the other end.
But… it was clearly a male voice.
The girl tightened her grip on her friend.
Husband!! He just said husband!!
She quickly smiled and offered, “Got it, I’ll show you!”
Yu Wenxuan hadn’t expected Yu Zhixue to call him that. He paused, then turned to her. “Thank you.”
As they walked, the girls overheard snatches of the conversation.
“No, you’ve already bought too many.”
“…Only after dinner. Don’t skip meals again.”
“That flavor’s sold out. I’ll check another store next time.”
He might look cold and rich, but chatting like this with his lover made him seem surprisingly down-to-earth.
The girl peeked over her shoulder and, sure enough, saw him smiling gently — a quiet kind of happiness.
…
Back home, Yu Wenxuan first put the requested snacks into the cabinet, then began prepping ingredients.
Sweet and sour pork ribs and soup would take time, but with luck, it’d be ready when Yu Zhixue got back.
He took off his glasses, coat, and scarf, rolled up his sleeves, and started cooking.
At 7:30, he checked the pot of soup — rich and aromatic. It was almost ready, so he lowered the heat.
Just as he reached for his phone to check when Yu Zhixue would be back, the door lock clicked open with a ding.
Yu Zhixue stepped in, changed his shoes at the entrance, and placed something on the table.
Seeing him home, Yu Wenxuan turned off the stove and carried a bowl out.
Yu Zhixue sat on the sofa, looking a bit out of it. Yu Wenxuan called his name a few times before he looked up.
His eyes were unfocused, and his face unnaturally flushed.
Sensing something wrong, Yu Wenxuan reached out to touch his forehead—
—Burning hot.
As soon as Yu Zhixue felt the coolness of the palm on his head, he grasped Yu Wenxuan’s hand and pressed it to his cheek. “I feel a little dizzy.”
Yu Wenxuan’s brows furrowed tightly.
He said, “Yu Zhixue, you have a fever.”