The feeling of that gemstone resting in his palm…
So light, yet so heavy.
So cool, yet burning hot.
Shen Yuan was completely at a loss, his heartbeat racing to the point it might kill him.
Qiao Hailou suddenly let go of his hand. Only then did Shen Yuan realize his uncle and the others had returned. He hurriedly gathered himself.
He bowed his head to hide his expression, silently putting the necklace back into its box—carefully, just like tucking away Qiao Hailou’s priceless jealousy—hidden, restrained, handled with caution.
He was being so careful, surely no one could notice the secret between them.
But Li Chen noticed the oddness in him. He walked over, catching sight of Shen Yuan’s bright-red ears. “A-Ben, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well? You’ve been acting strange all day.”
Shen Yuan shook his head quickly. “No, no.”
“Really?” Li Chen frowned. Actually, not just today—Shen Yuan had been strange lately.
When his uncle wasn’t looking, Shen Yuan couldn’t help sneaking a glance at Qiao Hailou out of the corner of his eye. Qiao Hailou looked composed as ever, completely unbothered.
In the end, Lin Zhihui bought a five-hundred-thousand-yuan diamond necklace with her own card and successfully finalized a long-term high-end jewelry rental partnership with the company.
Everyone left happy.
She hadn’t spent a cent of Li Chen’s money—objectively, that was good. And yet Shen Yuan felt oddly depressed, as if he’d judged a good person unfairly.
Lin Zhihui didn’t notice any of that. She found a moment to ask him, “Last time we met, I was too nervous and forgot to ask for your contact. Can we exchange phone numbers and WeChat?”
Shen Yuan had no reason to refuse, so they exchanged numbers and added each other. He was surprised—Ms. Lin wasn’t young, yet her profile picture was a cartoon reaction sticker.
She looked embarrassed. “This is my personal account, not my work account.”
Even details like this made her seem warm and approachable. Shen Yuan thought for a moment. “I don’t really separate work and personal accounts.”
She said, “Last time I didn’t know your birthday. I happened to get sick, so Mr. Li couldn’t celebrate with you. I’ve been wanting to apologize. I’m really sorry.”
Shen Yuan had little experience dealing with older women. Her gentleness softened him instantly; his face even flushed a bit. He shook his head hurriedly. “It’s okay, really.”
“I can’t just say sorry and be done,” she said openly. “Let me buy you dinner sometime to make it up to you.”
Shen Yuan hesitated. He wanted to decline, but her bright smile made it impossible to say no. After a long moment, he nodded. “Whenever there’s time.”
Lin Zhihui looked relieved, even cheerful. “I’m shallow—I like pretty boys and girls. Honestly, I wanted to praise you the first time I saw you, but I was afraid of scaring you.”
Shen’s complexion went pale, his expression dazed. “Thank you,” he murmured.
“If you don’t mind,” she added, “you can just call me Aunt Hui.”
“You’re so young and pretty…” Shen Yuan said shyly.
“No way,” she laughed. “I’m old. I accept it. All the younger ones call me Aunt Hui.”
What could he even say? He was jealous—yet he genuinely couldn’t dislike this woman.
He suddenly remembered how his uncle had said, without hesitation, “She’s not that type of woman.” He’d felt sour about it then. But now… perhaps he’d been too pessimistic. Shen Yuan wasn’t naïve—he could read people. Either Lin Zhihui’s acting was Oscar-level, or she really was a decent person.
After shopping, Li Chen and Lin Zhihui prepared to leave.
At the door—
“Don’t walk us out,” Li Chen said gently. “No need. Your uncle’s bothered you long enough—go back to work.”
Shen’s brows and eyes were full of unease. His heart was a mess. He had no idea whether Qiao Hailou had been serious about giving him a multi-million-yuan gift or just teasing him. He couldn’t accept something so expensive. His entire chest was filled with Qiao Hailou’s “jealousy.”
Qiao Hailou glanced at him casually, noticing his gloom. This little thing really can’t see me at all when his uncle’s around, huh? Standing right in front of me but still reluctant to part with Uncle? You can’t pretend a little for my sake?
Shen Yuan snapped out of his daze, planning to step forward to send them off. He had barely opened his mouth—“Ah—” when suddenly, pain shot through his backside.
Someone had pinched him.
Shen Yuan jolted like he’d been electrocuted, his face burning. Damn it—Qiao Hailou, you shameless pervert! How could he do that?!
He never got to finish his sentence. Qiao Hailou cut in smoothly, “Alright, we won’t walk you out. Take care on the road. I’ll take Shen Yuan back to the office.”
Li Chen paused. Shen Yuan had seemed about to speak, then suddenly froze, looking all kinds of uncomfortable. Li Chen frowned slightly, a hint of suspicion rising.
But Lin Zhihui was in high spirits after sealing a deal. “Thank you, Mr. Qiao. We won’t keep you.”
Li Chen’s thoughts were interrupted. When he looked again, Shen Yuan seemed normal. Maybe he’d imagined it.
Once his uncle and the manager left, only Qiao Hailou and Shen Yuan remained in the room.
Shen Yuan exploded. “My uncle was right there! You PINCHED me!”
Qiao Hailou pulled him into his arms like he was scooping up a squirming kitten, deliberately pinching him again. “So if your uncle isn’t here, then it’s allowed?”
Shen Yuan scrambled out of his embrace, the flush spreading down his neck. He wanted to yell but didn’t dare raise his voice. “He just left! What if they come back? What if someone walks by? You— you’re shameless! Even if you don’t care about your face, I still care about mine!”
Qiao Hailou abruptly changed the subject. “Our argument earlier isn’t finished.”
Shen Yuan froze. Right. Before his uncle arrived, they’d been fighting—or rather, Qiao Hailou had been teasing him for being biased and jealous.
His confidence collapsed instantly. He knew he was in the wrong but couldn’t swallow his pride to apologize. So he dodged, grumbling, “That thing you said about giving the jewelry to your ‘little boyfriend’—you were joking, right?”
Qiao Hailou’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “What do you think?”
“How would I know?” Shen Yuan snapped, impatient. “Don’t give it to me. I don’t want it.”
“Oh? So you already assumed the ‘little boyfriend’ was you?” Qiao Hailou mocked.
Shen Yuan blinked, brain blanking for a second. Then fury flared. “You have someone else behind my back?! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t see anyone else while you’re with me?! Were you lying?!”
Qiao Hailou’s voice dropped coldly. “So you’re allowed to look at one pot while eating from another bowl, but I’m not?”
“I’m just looking! I didn’t do anything!” Shen Yuan shot back. “I only blocked you for two days and you already found someone else?! Go ahead then! Not like you care about me! Fine!”
He thought about how perfect Uncle and Miss Lin looked together and felt ashamed, jealous, sick, hurt—only for Qiao Hailou to cheat on him too?!
Shen Yuan was actually angry now—so angry his mind was chaos, his fingers trembling, his eyes reddening. He turned in circles, unable to figure out where to go, like a confused idiot—until Qiao Hailou dragged him back.
Qiao Hailou had been furious too, but seeing Shen’s frantic state softened him. “There’s no one else.”
That only made Shen Yuan angrier. “You say one thing, then another—this one must be the lie!”
Shen Yuan fired off words like bullets, each one cutting deep, tears gathering in his eyes. “Who would believe you? You’ve got money—you can find anyone you want. Why waste time messing with me? You think it’s funny? You’re always like this—I hate it. If you really found someone else, just tell me. I wouldn’t cling to you.”
He finished with a huff, fists clenched, ready to storm off.
Qiao Hailou quickly wrapped his arms around him from behind. “I only said a few words, and you’ve already made up a whole drama to accuse me with. Weren’t you the one who said we were just a physical thing, and you wouldn’t take responsibility for me? I was the one who wanted you as my boyfriend—you refused to admit it. So what are you mad about now? I didn’t find someone else.”
“One hot-and-cold little brat like you is headache enough. You want me to tolerate your double standards but not even look at anyone else? You really are a little scumbag.”
Shen’s overheated brain finally cooled a bit. Still sulking, he muttered, “Yeah, I’m scummy. Take it or leave it. You should hurry and get tired of me.”
Qiao Hailou actually laughed. “Not tired at all. Still very into you.”
He held Shen Yuan tightly until Shen Yuan stopped struggling. Then, tears finally spilled over. Shen sniffled, unable to stop crying.
They called a temporary truce. After a moment, Shen Yuan turned around and wrapped his arms around Qiao Hailou’s waist, burying his face in Qiao Hailou’s chest.
Feeling his uneven breathing, Qiao Hailou stroked his back. “My clothes are expensive, you know. If you wipe your tears and snot all over them, you’ll have to compensate me.”
Shen Yuan grabbed his shirt, deliberately wrinkling it. “I won’t. I’m not paying,” he mumbled, voice thick.
He cried quietly—utterly silent.
Qiao Hailou’s heart clenched. “I noticed last time—you only shed tears, no sound. Do you only cry like this? It’s fine to cry out loud. You think I’d laugh? Okay, I won’t laugh. But seeing you cry like this actually hurts worse.”
As a child, Shen Yuan had been a crybaby—he cried when his parents fought, when they divorced, when his mother left, when he missed her… But his father never allowed him to cry. The moment he cried, he was beaten and called noisy. After enough times, he learned to cry in silence.
He hadn’t cried many times in recent years—only twice, when his grandfather and mother passed away. And even then, he only realized in the morning that his pillow was soaked. The only times he’d cried in front of someone… were both in front of Qiao Hailou.
Shen Yuan choked, whispering, “I’m just looking. I’ll always just be looking… nothing more.”
“She’s a good person.”
Qiao Hailou said nothing—just held him a little tighter.
The door at the northwest corner was cracked open.
Wang Ziqin stood there, eyes wide, staring at Qiao Hailou embracing Shen Yuan. An unbearable tightness rose in his chest.