After such a big incident, Shen Yuan thought Qiao Hailou would at least go confront Wang Ziqin in person, give him a warning, make him behave, right? But when he went to work the next day, he found that Qiao Hailou wasn’t at the office.
Shen Yuan plucked up some courage and asked Bailu, “Sister Lu, when is Uncle Qiao coming to the office today?”
Bailu replied, “Mr. Qiao went out for a business meeting today. He won’t be coming in.”
Shen Yuan obediently said, “Oh,” thinking to himself, Well, there’s nothing I can do. Business must be more important. I’ll wait until Uncle Qiao comes back.
But at noon, when Shen Yuan scrolled through his social feed, he saw a photo Qiao Hailou had posted from a bowling alley, smiling from ear to ear, looking so carefree it almost made him explode with rage.
In his heart, Shen Yuan cursed Qiao Hailou: Damn it! Our affair was practically exposed, and I’m here sweating bullets at work, and you’re out there playing like nothing’s wrong! And having fun like that! It’s infuriating!!
Qiao Hailou wasn’t just playing around—he really was on a business trip, just a very casual kind of meeting.
“Bang!” The crisp sound of a strike.
Qiao Hailou knocked down all the pins in one shot. He turned back and raised an eyebrow at Cen Chuan with a smug smile.
Cen Chuan, who was wiping his bowling ball nearby, said, “Not bad, Little Qiao. Your skills haven’t faded,” calling Qiao “Little Qiao” because he was slightly older.
Cen Chuan didn’t play as well and sheepishly admitted, “I’ve always been worse than you at this.”
Seeing Cen Chuan distracted, Qiao Hailou asked, “Your mind wasn’t really on the game. You were on your phone the whole time. What’s got you so happy?”
Cen Chuan reluctantly handed him his phone, saying, “Here, my in-laws were helping with the kids and sent me a video.”
Qiao Hailou glanced at it. Two kids, both mixed-race, one little boy, one little girl, one sitting on top of the other, both chubby and fair-skinned, unbelievably adorable.
“And your wife? Isn’t she taking care of them?”
Cen Chuan replied, “She’s busy with the company too. We’ll both handle the kids in the evening.”
Qiao Hailou figured the timing was right to ask.
He had long wanted to ask Cen Chuan, whose young husband was just in his twenties, how he managed to win him over.
Teasingly, Qiao Hailou asked, “I didn’t get the chance to ask before. How did it happen between you and your partner? How did you get him to fall for you?”
Cen Chuan’s eyes softened when he mentioned his beloved, his gaze melting.
He shyly admitted, “He… he pursued me.”
Qiao Hailou was slightly surprised, a bit envious: “Really? You’re not lying, right?”
Cen Chuan honestly said, “In our relationship, marriage, he was the first to propose. You know I tend to be slow. It’s not that I didn’t love him—I loved him deeply. I just thought I was too old to expect someone so young and wonderful to be with me.”
“He’s young, impulsive, and straightforward. If he likes something, he goes for it. When he said he liked me, he meant it. When he said he wanted to marry me, he insisted. My in-laws were great and agreed right away.”
What old man? Qiao Hailou, only slightly older than Cen Chuan, felt a sudden jab at his pride. Forty-one and still in his prime, really! How could Cen Chuan call him an “old man”?!
Qiao Hailou carefully said, “Old Cen, not to hide anything… I’m also seeing a younger guy right now.”
Cen Chuan laughed heartily, curious: “Oh? Really? Didn’t you say last time you disliked dating younger guys because they were immature? What happened?”
Qiao Hailou’s face flushed: “These things… can’t really explain. Sometimes you just run into a little troublemaker.”
Cen Chuan chuckled: “Exactly. Before I met him, I never imagined I’d end up with him. I had heard stories about him too—it was all a mess. I nearly got engaged to Qi Nan, remember? He was Qi Nan’s student and had pursued him too, making quite a scene. That’s my first impression of him. Many people knew about it.”
Qiao Hailou hadn’t known that. He’d just returned to the country and missed all the drama from the past few years. What a ridiculous mess!
Cen Chuan recalled fondly: “After I broke off my engagement with Qi Nan, he came to me crying, saying, ‘Uncle Cen, I think you’re better.’ He tried so hard to cheer me up every day, and I started realizing… he really liked me. I felt too old to accept him, but seeing him so upset, I couldn’t say no. He was just too cute.”
Listening to Cen Chuan’s story, Qiao Hailou felt a pang of jealousy.
Damn it, that boy was so thoughtful, so adorable, so obedient! His own little one only knew how to tease him, and even when he asked for something, he called him “Old Rascal” instead of “Uncle Qiao.”
Cen Chuan coughed lightly, realizing he might have overshared, and asked, “And your guy?”
Qiao Hailou, feigning disdain, said, “Don’t even mention him. My little one’s way too delicate and spoiled.”
Cen Chuan said, “Sounds like you really like him.”
Qiao Hailou: “What?”
Cen Chuan, ever perceptive, said, “It’s the first time I’ve heard you speak about someone like this. I get it. You’re different from me. Don’t spoil him too much—older folks have to give in to the young ones.”
Qiao Hailou thought, I haven’t really indulged anyone like this in my life. Truly outrageous.
He hummed: “I think you shouldn’t be too lenient. These kids will take advantage. If you don’t control them, they’ll assume your care is owed and demand whatever they want. Then they might run off.”
Cen Chuan, lacking all dignity, said, “I love him. I just want to make him happy.”
Qiao Hailou silently judged him—so useless, so incapable of handling a partner. He was nothing like that.
After bowling, Qiao Hailou didn’t go to the office. He went home directly after dinner. At the door, he saw the lights on and froze, realizing Shen Yuan must have come over.
He was genuinely surprised—he’d only just slept with him yesterday, and now he was here again?
As soon as he entered, Shen Yuan stomped over, scowling, and scolded him: “I was terrified! And you went out to play! How could you do this? Have you handled the Wang Ziqin situation? I’ve been worrying all day. Aren’t you at all afraid of being discovered? Or are you even hoping someone finds out so my reputation gets ruined?”
Qiao Hailou, flustered, quickly held him and smoothed his hair: “Ah, my little treasure… I just got home after work, didn’t even drink a sip of water, and you’re scolding me. I didn’t mean for anyone to see us. You were so upset that day—I had to hug you. I couldn’t think of anything else. I’ll definitely fix the Wang Ziqin situation for you.”
“You were that scared?” Shen Yuan muttered.
Qiao Hailou teased, “Rather than saying you were scared of being caught, it’s more like you were afraid your uncle would find out, right?”
Shen Yuan paused. “…It’s bad no matter who finds out.”
“I’m not usually like that,” Qiao Hailou said.
Shen Yuan thought a moment: “When my grandfather was alive, he taught me to live properly and honorably. I was always well-behaved, followed the rules.”
He spoke with a mix of frustration, guilt, and self-reproach: “How did I end up mixed up with you?”
Qiao Hailou pulled him inside: “Alright, don’t scold yourself anymore. Blame me, the cunning and sly one, if you like. Not you. Me.”
Shen Yuan realized he couldn’t put all the blame on Qiao Hailou either. Their situation was truly a two-way street. He admitted, “You have to promise me you’ll handle Wang Ziqin.”
Qiao Hailou thought leaving Wang Ziqin alone would be fine—going in personally could make things obvious. But seeing Shen Yuan so scared, he couldn’t leave it be. After all, this little thing was so terrified, yet pretending to be fierce—it was kind of cute. Truly adorable.
He kissed him, coaxed him onto the bed, and said: “Alright, Uncle will go see him tomorrow. We’ll make sure this stays buried. You’re getting cuter by the day.”
And Qiao Hailou didn’t waste any time. The next day, he called Wang Ziqin directly to his office.
Wang Ziqin trembled. He wasn’t stupid. When the manager called him, his heart skipped a beat. Looks like Qiao Hailou knew he knew about the affair.
After all, Qiao Hailou was a powerful elder, on the same level as his father. Though he secretly despised Qiao Hailou, he felt intimidated. How could he face him now without his father protecting him?
Wang Ziqin walked up to the office, shoulders squared, feeling ready to face death. At worst, he’d lose this job—but he’d easily find another.
He needed to know if Qiao Hailou was just playing with Shen Yuan or serious. If it was just a game, he wouldn’t let it slide.
All these years, he’d hurt Shen Yuan. If he could help, even a little, at least he’d feel better and sleep peacefully at night.
He knocked and entered, looking like a righteous warrior.
Qiao Hailou was reviewing documents and didn’t even glance at him. “You’re here early. I’m still busy. Sit, wait. I’ll talk to you once I’m done.”
Wang Ziqin: “…”
He sat, frozen, waiting over twenty minutes, drained of all his energy.
Finally, Qiao Hailou put away the documents, looked up, and as if noticing him for the first time, said, “Ah, you’re still here? Almost forgot about you.”
Wang Ziqin flushed with anger at Qiao Hailou’s nonchalance, unsure how to read it. He thought this meeting would be about Shen Yuan. Was it not?
He was already tired of adults speaking in circles, making him guess their meaning.
Then Qiao Hailou said, with stunning directness: “The other day, you sneaked a peek at me hugging Shen Yuan, didn’t you?”