Shen Yuan finally snapped out of his melancholy. Feeling guilty, his face warmed as he muttered, “It’s… it’s fine, I guess…”
Li Lin frowned. “When you misunderstood that little girl as his kid just now, why were you so mad? There was no need for that, right? Even if she really were his child, what’s it got to do with us? Why’d you pick a fight with him?”
Panicking, Shen Yuan scrambled for a believable excuse. Half true, half false, he said, “I work at Uncle Qiao’s company, remember? He takes good care of me.”
After thinking for a moment, he pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself to praise Qiao Hailou. “Uncle Qiao’s a really good person. Super capable. He built everything he has from scratch—never relied on his family at all. The predecessor of Brilliant Jewelry was basically a failing business, but after he took over, he turned it around in a year or two and made it huge. He’s smart, funny, sharp… So yeah, I admire him a lot. He’s kind of like my idol. So if he really had a secret kid and even denied it, it’d be hard for me to accept. You know? Like a fan who suddenly finds out their idol lied.”
“…Okay,” Li Lin said, looking confused but accepting it anyway. His explanation felt a little off, but he didn’t dare think too hard about whether Shen Yuan was lying—much less why.
Shen Yuan quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Damn it, praising Qiao Hailou felt like selling his soul.
If Qiao Hailou ever heard that, his old fox tail would be wagging straight into the sky.
The engagement banquet finally ended.
Li Lin left with his uncle. Shen Yuan, used to staying behind, lingered as usual. He never left early—people would say he didn’t have manners.
He drove back toward his rental. Just as he got into the car, someone knocked on his window. Shen Yuan froze, lowered it—and saw Qiao Hailou standing outside.
This man had been popping up everywhere today. Annoyed, Shen Yuan snapped, “Why are you here again?”
Qiao Hailou tapped the window a few more times, totally unbothered. “Let me in first.”
Shen Yuan stared him down for a good few minutes, realizing Qiao Hailou wouldn’t leave unless he got in. With no other choice, he unlocked the door. Qiao Hailou bent down, slid into the passenger seat, and the first thing out of his mouth was, “Your car’s tiny.”
Shen Yuan glared. “Then get out.”
Qiao Hailou treated the irritation like a breeze and settled himself comfortably.
Before Shen Yuan could curse him out, QiaoHailou spoke first—far too pleased with himself. “I heard that because Qiao Hailou is very talented, you admire Uncle Qiao a lot, hm?”
Shen Yuan froze. His face flushed red in seconds.
Shit. He did hear it.
Mortified, Shen Yuan lashed out, “Were you eavesdropping on me again?! Didn’t we go separate ways? Did you follow me? Why are you always like this—stalking people everywhere?!”
Qiao Hailou looked at him with a “I-feel-no-shame-and-I’ll-feel-even-less-later” expression. “I was planning to leave. But my little boyfriend saw a lonely little girl with no parents and his face basically said, ‘Come comfort me.’ So obviously I couldn’t go. I had to find a chance to cheer him up.”
Shen Yuan went blank for a moment. His heart thumped painfully hard—too obviously—and softened all at once. Embarrassed to admit it, he mumbled, “I—I did not. Stop talking nonsense. I don’t need you to comfort me.”
He turned his face away, refusing to look at him.
God, how embarrassing. One throwaway line from Qiao Hailou and he suddenly felt a sting behind his nose—like he might cry. Shameful. He could not let Qiao Hailou see that.
Why was Qiao Hailou so annoyingly perceptive? How did he even notice he was upset? He thought he had covered it perfectly—just looked a second longer, that’s all.
Qiao Hailou leaned over anyway. “What’s wrong?”
Shen Yuan twisted further away, body angled almost sideways in the driver’s seat, curling a little, forehead pressed to the seat rest—anything to hide his face. Of course, the infuriating Qiao Hailou kept leaning over to peek.
He kept turning; Qiao Hailou kept following.
Finally, Qiao Hailou just grabbed his chin and pulled his face back. “You really don’t want me to see you that badly? Are you crying?”
Shen Yuan slapped his hand away and tried hiding again. “You’re so annoying!”
Qiao Hailou moved behind him and wrapped his arms around him, lowering his voice. “I know I shouldn’t have come over. That little thing named Shen Yuan is fierce and timid, scared someone might find out about his relationship with Qiao Hailou. But when Qiao Hailou saw how sad he looked, he just couldn’t help himself. He had to follow quietly and comfort him once no one was around.”
Shen Yuan sniffed. “I didn’t ask you to.”
Despite the protest, his body relaxed a little, unconsciously leaning back into Qiao Hailou’s hold.
Qiao Hailou gently stroked his hair. “I’m here. Tell me if you want to. If you don’t, I’ll wait until you’re ready.”
The softness of his tone melted everything.
Slowly—like a tiny snail—Shen Yuan crawled into Qiao Hailou’s arms and started quietly crying. Qiao Hailou didn’t question him. He just held him, hand moving soothingly over his head and back.
Shen Yuan’s little sobs leaked out.
Qiao Hailou sighed. Better than last time—at least he was making sound now… like a cat.
After who knows how long, Shen Yuan finally stopped crying. Voice still thick, he said, “When I was little… I was just like that girl. I lived with my grandpa. Our house was small, so he added a little bed in his room for me. He never picked me up from school. He taught me the route twice, then made me walk on my own.”
Qiao Hailou murmured, “But you still loved him a lot.”
Tears welled up instantly. “In second grade, I found out he always followed behind me. He pretended to let me go alone, but he was watching me the whole time.”
“My grandpa was so, so good to me. Nobody else wanted me. When my parents divorced, my dad didn’t want custody. My grandparents didn’t want me either… but Grandpa did. He didn’t reject me. He chose me.”
Qiao Hailou frowned slightly. He knew Shen Yuan’s general background—divorced parents, custody fights, eventually living with his grandfather. But Shen Yuan’s grandparents were alive, and Shen Yuan as a kid wasn’t troublesome—quiet, obedient, beautiful. It made no sense that his grandparents wouldn’t want him. Especially in traditional families where sons—and grandsons—were valued so deeply.
Something must have happened. Something nobody talked about. Something hidden.
Qiao Hailou stored that away. He wouldn’t interrogate Shen Yuan now. He’d look into it privately later.
When Shen Yuan finally calmed down, most guests had already left. They needed to go too. Since Shen Yuan wasn’t in a state to drive, Qiao Hailou took the wheel. “Your place or mine?”
Shen Yuan looked at him with red eyes. “…Can I go to your place? Will you… sleep with me tonight?”
His ears flushed. “Just sleeping.”
Qiao Hailou chuckled and cupped his cheek. “Sure. I’m not a monster.”
And so Shen Yuan slept at Qiao Hailou’s home. For the first time—nothing happened. Qiao Hailou gave him an ice pack for his swollen eyes and held him as he slept.
Shen Yuan slept better than he had in a long, long time.
The next morning, he woke up feeling strangely embarrassed.
They had done plenty of not-safe-for-kids things before, but they didn’t usually spend the whole night together. And even when they did, he never let Qiao Hailou hold him.
He remembered falling asleep in Qiao Hailou’s arms. But when he woke up—he was hugging Qiao Hailou back.
Qiao Hailou was already awake, watching him with amusement. “You sleep like an octopus.”
Shen Yuan regained his fire instantly. “You’re the octopus!”
Qiao Hailou made him breakfast—fried egg toast, fruit salad, and a cup of warm milk. Shen Yuan noticed that Qiao Hailou preferred Western-style breakfasts; when Xiao Lin stayed over, he always made Chinese food.
After eating, Shen Yuan left early for work.
Damn capitalism.
Before heading to the office, he went home to change.
The last week of his internship still had a big task. He had to pull himself together and finish strong.
His final assignment was helping Director Lan with a jewelry exhibition. With his experience running school events as the student union vice president, he adapted immediately and handled everything smoothly. Director Lan praised him nonstop.
Lan said sadly, “You really can’t come after school starts?”
Shen Yuan replied, “I’ll be free in the second semester of junior year.”
“Then you better contact me,” Lan insisted. “Whatever you need help with, I’ll teach you.”
Who wouldn’t love a smart, sweet, capable, beautiful little apprentice?
The week was so busy that Shen Yuan barely had time to meet Qiao Hailou, though they still argued constantly over text.
Shen Yuan: 【Why are you so stingy?! I’m sweating buckets running venues and you only give 200 for overtime. Heartless capitalist. Shameless.】
Qiao Hailou: 【Compare it to previous years. I even secretly raised the pay for you.】
Shen Yuan: 【OMG, abusing your power for personal gain?? You’re evil.】
Qiao Hailou: 【……】
The exhibition ended successfully. Shen Yuan stayed behind to clean up.
Qiao Hailou, as the boss, only needed to show his face—but he lingered just to watch Shen Yuan work. Standing a distance away, he looked at him with pride.
Shen Yuan had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves, utterly focused. His beautiful face was cold with concentration as he directed everyone—he even remembered the names of every temporary mover.
So capable, Qiao Hailou thought smugly. No wonder he’s my little lover.
Then he noticed the tall metal advertising board behind Shen Yuan sway unnaturally. In the noise of people talking, Qiao Hailou heard—clear as day—the sharp metallic crack of something breaking.
It all happened in an instant.
Shen Yuan suddenly felt a shadow fall over him. He frowned, about to turn around.
Something slammed into him from behind—shoving him hard out of the danger zone.
He hit the ground before he even knew what was happening.
A deafening crash followed.
Dust burst into the air.
The person who pushed him lay on the ground, leg pinned beneath the steel frame.
It was Qiao Hailou.