Chapter 2: The Cold Husband’s Secret

What Miaomiao didn’t know was that Song Yichen had been quietly noticing her long before they officially met. Three years ago, at an urban design conference, Miaomiao, then still an intern, had happened to help him find the wallet he’d dropped in the crowd. At the time he was disguised as an ordinary employee to secretly survey the market. She had helped him with a bright smile that held no calculation at all.

That moment was etched deep in Yichen’s mind. For three years he quietly followed her career, and he even discreetly arranged for her company to win a few small contracts with his group, just so he could see her more often without revealing himself.

Yichen had never told Miaomiao this secret. Partly out of a shyness rare in a man as powerful as him, and partly because he wanted her to come to him out of genuine feeling, not because of the pressure of his status or wealth.

One afternoon, while tidying her husband’s study to prepare a surprise dinner, Miaomiao happened to find an old notebook in a drawer. Inside, in careful detail, were notes about… her. From the projects she’d worked on to her food preferences and the little daily habits that even her best friend might not have noticed.

“This is…” Miaomiao froze, her heart racing as she turned to the last page. There was the exact date of the conference three years ago, along with a line: “Today I met a girl with the warmest smile I’ve ever seen.”

That night, when Yichen came home, Miaomiao held out the notebook, her eyes both moved and a little reproachful. “How long have you been hiding this from me?”

Yichen paused for a moment, then sighed and pulled her into his arms, with a rare touch of embarrassment in his voice. “Three years. I was afraid that if I told you too soon, you’d think my feelings weren’t sincere, that I’d just used my position to arrange everything. I wanted you to feel it yourself, and then choose me for who I am, not for anything else.”

When she heard that, Miaomiao couldn’t stop her eyes from welling up. She hugged him tight. “You silly man. Why would you hide that? If I’d known sooner, I might have started pouting at you three years earlier.”