Bo Chengyan lowered his gaze and watched the young man for a moment. Then he scooped him up into his arms and carried him upstairs.
Once he had pushed open the bedroom door, he gently set Qi Jing down on the edge of the bed.
After a brief pause, Bo Chengyan said, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll handle that person.”
Qi Jing nodded, feeling much more at ease. He wouldn’t have to take the initiative to hug anyone himself like this—it was perfect.
“Perfect what?”
Qi Jing blinked in surprise. But when he looked over, the man was merely rubbing his brow.
“It’s nothing,” Bo Chengyan continued. “Can you wash up on your own?”
He knelt down on one knee and tilted his head up to meet the teenager’s eyes.
“I’ll be right next door. Call me if you need anything.”
Qi Jing felt even better now. At least he wouldn’t have to crane his neck to look up at him.
For some reason, the man let out a muffled chuckle.
Qi Jing tilted his head. “What are you laughing at?”
He had even forgotten to address him as “sir.”
It was already nine-thirty at night. Bo Chengyan rose to his feet, intending to leave. But at that moment, the teenager tugged at his sleeve.
“What’s wrong, Little Jing?”
Qi Jing wasn’t even aware of the subtle shift in himself. He wasn’t quite as stiff and reserved anymore—perhaps it was due to the events of the past couple of days.
“At school, that classmate whistled at me. What does that mean?”
Bo Chengyan’s expression darkened in an instant.
“I asked the others, and they told me to just ignore him.”
Qi Jing figured that adults might know more about these things, so he asked outright. He hadn’t expected Bo Chengyan to look so displeased, though. The man immediately gripped his wrist.
Leaning down to squat again, Bo Chengyan asked, “He whistled at you?”
Qi Jing nodded.
A rare shadow of gloom crossed Bo Chengyan’s face. The surveillance footage had only captured the physical shove—there was no audio, so no one knew exactly what had been said during the daytime incident.
“Tell me again. Exactly how did he push you?”
…
The night deepened like flowing water.
For the moment, Qi Jing forgot all about his status as a goldfinch. With his eyes downcast, he slowly recounted what had happened.
Bo Chengyan’s expression grew darker with every word.
Qi Jing’s wrist remained in his grasp. Bo Chengyan unlocked the watch, reset the password, and deleted that WeChat contact.
“Whistling like that is rogue behavior,” he explained. “It’s meant to be flirtatious—extremely rude and offensive.”
Qi Jing mulled it over. “So he was harassing me? What about when he said he’d take me to a cubicle to ‘play’?”
The words had barely left his mouth.
Bo Chengyan felt a taut string snap inside his mind.
It wasn’t until a soft whine came from the young man by the bed. “Ow… it hurts…”
His wrist had been squeezed too tightly.
Bo Chengyan released him at once and began massaging the spot gently. “Sorry, Little Jing.”
The teenager shook his head. “It’s okay.”
They didn’t talk much more that evening.
Bo Chengyan left soon after. He returned once during the night, though, to check Qi Jing’s temperature.
Qi Jing was half-asleep, his injured foot dangling off the bed. His lips couldn’t quite hold the thermometer steady, so Bo Chengyan steadied his chin for him. Five minutes later, he checked the reading.
[Why take my temperature… I’m so sleepy…]
Bo Chengyan gazed down at him. “Because every time your body flares up with inflammation, you get a low-grade fever.”
How had he only just realized this?
It sounded almost like a self-reproach.
The teenager drifted off to sleep.
His cheeks were clean and warm to the touch.
~~~
The next day, a group of outsiders arrived at Bo Group. The top floor of the office tower bustled with teams clutching briefcases, locked in what appeared to be tense negotiations.
Yet every one of them looked grim.
Chen Zhuo was a little surprised when he came upstairs. Who were all these people? After some discreet inquiries, he learned they were from some no-name little company called Fortune Star.
Hilarious. What kind of a trademark was that?
Chen Zhuo had come to offer an apology in the first place. Now he had to wait in line just to see Bo Chengyan, which left him bored. He wandered over to chat with the chief assistant.
A moment later.
“Oh. Got it.”
The chief assistant stared at him in shock. “President Chen, I haven’t even told you anything!”
Chen Zhuo sprawled lazily against the desk, drawling in a low voice, “You always keep a straight face at work. The fact that you’re looking all smug and relaxed now pretty much means there’s no need for any follow-up steps on your end.”
“Those guys out there look like their dog just died, so talks must’ve fallen through.”
“It’s a done deal.”
Chen Zhuo leaned against the desk with his arms crossed, eyeing the group as he pondered which Capital City family they might belong to. His gaze was cool and detached.
At first, he’d furrowed his brow. There wasn’t much bad blood or profit at stake here—this was just a supplier with heavy dependencies.
Hadn’t they only expanded into the Capital City two years ago? They had started out in some central province, he thought. Surname Qin?
Chen Zhuo racked his brain but came up empty. Then inspiration struck.
No way it was…
“Interesting.”
Just then, the group slunk out, heads hanging low.
Chen Zhuo sauntered into the office. Bo Chengyan had been reviewing something on his desk, but he looked up when Chen Zhuo entered.
“What’s this about?”
Chen Zhuo didn’t mention the visitors. Instead, he asked, “What was that all about? It’s been years since I last saw anyone come begging at your door like that.”
“Your reputation’s taken another nosedive for sure.”
“All that charity work from the past couple years? Down the drain.”
Bo Chengyan’s face remained impassive. “What are you here for?”
Chen Zhuo was no fool, though he liked to play the slacker to mask his sharper edges. Unfortunately, the man across from him was just as sharp.
He could only keep up the act for a couple of seconds.
“Fine, fine. I’m here to apologize.” The young man raised both hands in surrender and took a deep breath. “My little sister’s been shipped back to Macau. An auntie there will keep her in line.”
Macau was their mother’s hometown from the Chen Family—not their father’s generation. If anyone had deep roots there, it was the Bo Family, with all their sprawling branches large and small.
They called it “sending her back for discipline,” but it was really just relocating the scheming. A change of scenery to try breaking through elsewhere.
Bo Chengyan wasn’t particularly concerned. With Chen Jiangqiao there, his distant relatives were bound to find some entertainment.
They couldn’t stomach the idea of him getting married.
“This square it? I know you’re pissed, but she was acting like she was possessed. Sending her to give the Bo Family Old Mansion a headache counts as my apology, right?”
Bo Chengyan glanced at the project proposal on his desk.
His eyes were utterly indifferent.
“Have you figured out how you’ll handle that crowd over May Day yet?”
*
Qi Jing stayed home for two days but eventually headed back to school. There was a weekly exam before the parent-teacher conference—if his grades tanked, that would be a problem.
No sooner had he stepped into the classroom than he heard the good news. Huang Ze said gleefully, “Looks like Yellow Hair transferred out. Something went wrong with his household registry—he can’t study in the Capital City anymore.”
Qi Jing thought for a moment. “Qin Sheng?”
“Yeah, what a moron. How’s your foot doing?”
Qi Jing nodded and glanced sideways at Lin Yuze. This time, Lin Yuze didn’t immediately pull out his notebook. He just asked, “Little Jing, will anyone from your family be coming to the parent-teacher conference?”
Huang Ze, ever the carefree one, was content just knowing the guy had been expelled. He didn’t pry any further.
But Lin Yuze knew better. His family had mentioned the incident in vague terms, but they’d pointed straight to Lingyue Group.
So… was it connected to Qi Jing somehow?
Companies in the Capital City came and went constantly—new ones bursting onto the scene one day, only to vanish without a trace the next. It was all just shuffling the deck.
But the ones at the top? Always the same handful, standing unshakeable. Big fish eating little fish, every time.
Lin Yuze was actually a bit worried. The surname Qi Jing carried didn’t match any prominent families. The only hits were a few small business owners in the Capital City.
Qin Sheng must have seen that as an opening and acted rashly.
A smart wristband like that cost over a hundred thousand on the foreign markets. No ordinary family could afford one…
Qin Sheng wasn’t just barred from Capital City schools anymore—his entire registry was messed up. His family’s business had taken a hit too. He’d probably end up at some rundown private high school.
The kind with terrible teachers.
His dreams of studying abroad were shattered.
Lin Yuze couldn’t help feeling cautious about it all, but Huang Ze was utterly oblivious. He blurted out, “So, is it your dad or your mom coming? Little Jing, your birthday’s coming up soon, right? You never throw parties. We have to do one this year!”
“There’s this awesome camping spot in the neighboring province—super pretty. We could pitch tents there!”
Qi Jing wasn’t sure which question to tackle first. The parent-teacher conference… it made him anxious.
“Knock it off! Class is starting—leave Little Jing alone.” Lin Yuze chucked a book at him, instantly diverting Huang Ze’s attention.
“You got a problem or something?!”
They scuffled playfully as the bell rang.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Yuze caught Qi Jing quietly exhaling in relief.
The school allowed students to go home for lunch. Qi Jing made his way smoothly to the school gate and pulled open the car door. “Uncle, I…”
“Class is over.”
Bo Chengyan was seated in the back. He lifted his eyelids to glance over.
“Come here.”
Qi Jing slid into the car and asked curiously, “Why are you here?”
Bo Chengyan reached out and took hold of his wrist. He examined the smart wristband for a couple of moments before setting it aside.
“It’s getting a bit outdated. Time for a new one. Someone from the company is waiting—they can customize it for you.”
Qi Jing’s gaze drifted involuntarily to the old wristband. Curious, he asked, “What about the old one?”
“Toss it.”
[What a shame. It has to be thrown away.]
Bo Chengyan released his wrist and instructed the driver to buckle Qi Jing’s seatbelt. After a moment’s thought, he added by way of explanation, “That’s just how electronics work. They need upgrading.”
“If users don’t replace their products for a long time, then tech companies won’t be able to upgrade them. That wouldn’t be good for the companies’ continued development.”
Bo Chengyan found himself explaining again without thinking. “If you don’t replace it, your old device will stop getting updates too. Wouldn’t that be a shame, Little Jing?”
Qi Jing fastened his seatbelt and nodded. He stopped dwelling on the old smart wristband.
But there was still a flaw in this approach to education. Bo Chengyan never took money into account. He had always simply given Qi Jing new things whenever needed.
It seemed the question of “where the money comes from” fell outside the scope of his lessons.
Qi Jing arrived at the company again. Once the door opened, he stared blankly at the proffered hand.
[Didn’t he say no hand-holding?]
Bo Chengyan frowned slightly. “Your foot can’t take another fall. Get out.”
Qi Jing reached out and took it. He stepped properly onto the ground and looked up. “Hasn’t it healed yet?”
“No.”
The two headed for the private elevator. It was completely empty.
Qi Jing studied his reflection in the elevator mirror. He didn’t feel tall at all. Last time, Qin Sheng had scared him. But on closer inspection now, Bo Chengyan seemed even taller.
It was strange. He wasn’t nearly as afraid.
The elevator went straight to the top floor.
Bo Chengyan led Qi Jing toward the office. Along the way, Qi Jing spotted the assistant waiting outside the door and remembered who the person was. He called out a greeting. “Hello.”
The assistant looked pleasantly surprised. Clutching a folder, the assistant bowed and waved enthusiastically. “Hello, hello!”
Before Qi Jing could even smile at the assistant, a hand pressed against the back of his head. His cheek was nudged back into place.
“Watch where you’re going.”
They entered the office.
The space was still enormous.
A hand nudged Qi Jing’s back, urging him forward. Bo Chengyan’s voice sounded in his ear. “Go rest on the sofa. I’ll have someone come up later. Go on.”
Qi Jing had no choice but to obey. Once he sat down, he habitually glanced at Bo Chengyan again. The room was comfortably temperate. Bo Chengyan had draped his suit jacket over a chair. His shirt fit perfectly, hugging his frame without clinging too tightly. His forearms looked powerfully muscled.
He was handsome.
But the boy had no idea what kind of handsome this was.
There wasn’t anyone like this in the movies.
Qi Jing stared for a long time.
Bo Chengyan finally picked up an internal line. He seemed to instruct someone to come up.
