Early the next morning, Bailu came in with a bag of hot breakfast for Shen Yuan.
Qiao Hailou was scheduled for surgery, so he couldn’t eat.
After eating, Shen Yuan and Bailu walked Qiao to the operating room, and two hours later they followed the staff back as he was wheeled out and brought to his room again.
When Qiao came out of surgery, he was still fairly alert. He told Bailu to return to the company to handle work, and to bring him any major decisions that required his approval. But the surgery had clearly drained him; not long after he was settled into the room, he fell asleep. Shen Yuan kept an eye on the IV, calling the nurse to change it as soon as it was nearly empty. He moved quietly, afraid of disturbing Qiao’s rest.
The hallway outside was very quiet.
So the moment a cane tapped steadily toward the room — tok, tok, tok — Shen Yuan noticed immediately. The sound stopped right outside their door.
He turned and saw an elderly man standing at the entrance.
He recognized him — he had met him once before. It was Qiao Hailou’s father.
The old Mr. Qiao leaned on a cane with his right hand and held his granddaughter’s hand with his left. His face was dark, and he didn’t look like someone coming to visit an injured son — more like someone here to pick a fight. But who brought a little girl to cause trouble? He spotted Qiao lying on the bed right away and didn’t pay any attention to Shen Yuan sitting in the corner. Which wasn’t surprising — it was a single ward, only one bed in sight.
He tightened his hold on his granddaughter and marched straight to Qiao’s bedside.
Before he could do anything, Shen Yuan quickly stepped in front of him. “Don’t wake him. He just got out of surgery. Let him sleep a bit.”
Shen Yuan was afraid the old man would start yelling, but surprisingly, after giving Shen Yuan a glance, Old Mr. Qiao swallowed whatever he had been about to say. His face was still unpleasant, but he asked, “Was his surgery successful?”
“The doctor said it went well,” Shen Yuan replied.
Old Mr. Qiao nodded. The hand that had been gripping the cane’s handle eased, and the tension in his expression loosened.
But the noise had already woken Qiao. He blinked groggily, still half-asleep, and when he saw the old man at his bedside, he let out a low laugh. “What are you doing here?”
Old Mr. Qiao’s tone with Shen Yuan had been fairly civil, but the moment he heard Qiao’s mocking voice, his face dropped. “I came to see whether you’d died.”
Qiao didn’t get angry. But Shen Yuan’s face froze instantly — how could he say that?
Qiao answered weakly, “Sorry to disappoint you. I’m not dead. Just a broken leg. My life’s not in danger.”
Old Mr. Qiao snorted. “That’s your retribution for being an unfilial son.”
The more Shen Yuan listened, the angrier he became. He finally couldn’t hold it in. He stepped forward, blocking the old man. With firm determination, he said, “Qiao-shushu needs rest. Please leave.”
He was more or less calm, but the anger in his eyes was unmistakable. He was furious on Qiao’s behalf, and the words started pouring out of him. “Sir, he just had surgery. He’s exhausted. And the moment you walk in, you start scolding him? Talking about life and death? Aren’t you his father? I don’t know what happened between you two in the past, but can’t you at least think of the patient? Saying things like that is too cruel. Qiao-shushu got hurt because he saved me. He did it out of kindness. I won’t let you talk to him like this!”
Qiao watched Shen Yuan bristle like a puffed-up cat, daring to talk back even to an old man — fierce and cute at the same time. He added lazily, “He’s not my father anymore. We severed ties.”
Still riding the momentum of anger, Shen Yuan blurted out, “If he’s not your dad, then why’d he run over here the moment something happened to you? Just to watch the show?”
Qiao: “…”
Old Mr. Qiao: “…”
The little girl stood between the adults, clutching her grandpa’s hand, blinking up at Qiao, then at Shen Yuan, completely lost.
Well, he’d already offended the man — not like he had any intention of pleasing him anyway — so Shen Yuan went all in. “I wanted to show some respect since you’re an elder, but that depends on whether you do anything worthy of respect.”
“Last time you misplaced your granddaughter, Qiao-shushu helped bring her back. You couldn’t even thank him. And now he’s injured and in pain, but you barge in talking that harshly? Even I can’t listen to it. I thought you were here to visit him. If so, why can’t you speak properly? Why do you have to say things that nasty?”
“Do you realize what a terrible example this is for a child? You’re letting your granddaughter grow up in this kind of hostility? Kids her age imitate everything. If you curse cats and dogs all day, talk viciously, she’ll learn it too. Even if you don’t like Qiao-shushu, shouldn’t you think about your granddaughter?”
Qiao said quietly, “Alright, A-Ben, stop.”
Old Mr. Qiao had no response. His face went red, then white.
His granddaughter tugged his hand anxiously. “Grandpa?”
He looked down at her, paused, then said, “We’re leaving.”
And with a tok, tok, tok, he walked away with the little girl.
Qiao looked amused. “A-Ben, you’re pretty fierce.”
Having just yelled at the patriarch of the Qiao family, Shen Yuan now felt a little nervous, though what was said was said. He shot Qiao a glare. “I did it for you! And now that I’ve offended him, you’d better cover for me.”
Qiao said, “Give me your hand.”
Shen Yuan didn’t know what he wanted but handed it over anyway. “What?”
Qiao ran his fingers along Shen Yuan’s hand. “A-Ben treats me too well. So well I’m tempted to offer myself to you. How are you even cute when you’re scolding someone?”
Shen Yuan’s face flushed. He snapped, “Your leg’s broken and you’re still flirting? You’re too committed to being a pervert.”
“And you’re not?”
“Can’t you talk properly to your dad? I think he rushed over because he was worried about you. He claims you’re no longer father and son, but if he didn’t care, why would he come? He just has a sharp tongue.”
“And your tongue isn’t sharp? You two are absolutely father and son in that department. Sometimes every word out of your mouth is infuriating — drives me into an argument with you. I bet your dad loses his patience the same way.”
Then Shen Yuan added, sour to the extreme, “Your dad… is way better than mine. His mouth is mean, but at least he cares.”
“I don’t know what happened between you two, but can’t you just talk it out?”
He thought of his own mother. The first couple of years after she returned to the country, their relationship had been awkward because they hadn’t lived together in so long. And he’d been fifteen or sixteen — rebellious, angry. He’d resented things from childhood, ignored her, shut her out. After she passed, he realized he’d never really had a proper conversation with her. By the time he regretted it, it was too late.
Shen Yuan said quietly, “If your issues really can’t be fixed, then fine. But if they can… you should talk to him someday. He’s getting old.”
“I regret so much that I kept fighting with my mom before she died… Don’t make the same mistake.”
Qiao stared at him, taken aback by his seriousness. After a long moment, he smiled. “And how old are you, giving me life lessons?”
Shen Yuan hated when Qiao pulled the age card. Nothing annoyed young people more than older folks saying things like, “You’re still young,” “You’ll understand later,” or “I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve walked roads.”
He pulled his hand back, angry. “I’m talking to you seriously. If you don’t want to listen, then forget it! This has nothing to do with age.”
Qiao immediately softened. “Don’t be mad. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I know you’re saying it for my sake.”
Outside the room, Bailu stood by the door.
Silence.
More silence.
Bailu: “…”
She should probably… go smoke a couple of cigarettes.
And come back later.
No wonder she’d felt something off about how nice President Qiao was to Shen Yuan… her poor coworkers who’d been trying to flirt with cute boys had no chance. Shen Yuan always looked clean and innocent, but who knew he liked President Qiao?
Bailu had been Qiao’s secretary for years. She respected his work skills, but his private life was… not exactly responsible. He’d never gone after young men before. Why this boy? Shen Yuan was such a good kid — how did President Qiao sweet-talk him this far?
But… it was none of her business.