Chapter 33 "Honey, your son seems to have finally become a peacock..."
At 7:30 a.m., his biological clock kicked in. In Linzhou, the days are short in late autumn. When Xu Shaoting opened his eyes, the sky was still shrouded in a hazy twilight.
Normally, he would have finished exercising and tidying up by this time, and then go to his study to practice calligraphy for half an hour. The more agitated he was, the more he would force himself to calm down. After the ink dried and his mind was completely calm, he would sit in the manor's dining room, having breakfast while listening to the butler's report.
After that, the Maybach would drive out of the estate without fail, a journey of nearly an hour. He would occasionally work, but most of the time he would quietly browse newspapers or books. The books were usually classics, which would be very obscure and difficult for ordinary people to understand. However, this was one of the few times he could clear his mind.
A cool autumn breeze stirred the white gauze curtains and swept across the velvet sofa. Specks of morning light filtered through the gaps, casting dappled shadows on the dark red velvet surface.
Xu Shaoting's eyes were not drowsy, but rather overly clear. He moved his body slightly, feeling the unfamiliar yet gentle weight in his arms. He was slightly dazed and took a moment to bring his thoughts back.
Wen Jia had slept soundly in his arms all night, her long, thick eyelashes covering her eyes, her brows slightly furrowed, but she looked surprisingly gentle, and her lips unconsciously pursed, revealing a slightly moist sheen.
Even and light breaths emanated from between Xu Shaoting's collarbones.
He didn't want to disturb her sleep, but reason told him he couldn't continue indulging in this. He pulled his arm away, got out of bed, and glanced out the window.
The black Maybach was already waiting in front of the villa's courtyard, and Lin Youzhe had delivered the new clothes as instructed.
Xu Shaoting stepped into the bathroom, which was in complete disarray; scraps of clothing that someone had taken off the night before were still scattered on the floor…
Half an hour later, he appeared in the stairwell. The man walked down from the top, tall and slender, his suit trousers were perfectly ironed, and the corner of his coat was hanging down as he bent over to adjust his cufflinks.
He wasn't wearing a tie, and his short hair was unkempt, making him look more casual than usual.
Yu Kaiqing was already preparing breakfast on the island platform when she looked up and saw Xu Shaoting coming out of the master bedroom. Her cheeks suddenly turned red; she blushed for Wen Jia.
"Would Chairman Xu like breakfast? I'll prepare it right away." Yu Kaiqing didn't dare to look at him.
Xu Shaoting nodded slightly, "No trouble at all."
His steps were slightly hurried—he seemed to be running late.
At 9:00 AM sharp, the last employee of Yunxi Technology rushed into the building, carrying a bag of sandwiches. He quickly swiped his card at the entrance, took the elevator to his workstation on the top floor, and the first thing he did after sitting down was to chat with his colleagues:
"Chairman Xu didn't come today? I didn't see his car in the parking garage."
The person sitting next to her looked up from their computer screen and cautiously glanced around. "They didn't come."
"I've never seen anything like this before," the employee muttered.
As they were talking in hushed tones, the elevator on this floor dinged. The man, unlike his hurried demeanor at the villa, stepped out of the car with steady steps. He clearly did not allow any flaws in his appearance, and after slowly tidying himself up in the car, he presented his employees with his usual dignified and elegant demeanor.
His tie was neatly tied, and a few stray hairs on his forehead were swept back with hair gel, making him look even more mature and profound.
The man who arrived early every single day of the year without fail was late, which naturally piqued the curiosity of his employees, who all looked up to glance at him, but they didn't see anything unusual about him.
But how could they know that when he arrived in the Maybach, he was resting one hand on his chin, slowly stroking it, his eyes gazing thoughtfully at the bustling traffic outside the window, as if savoring some kind of tender beauty, or perhaps something indescribable.
For the first time ever, during the nearly one-hour drive, I didn't turn a single page of the book.
-
When I awoke from the sound of rushes, the sun was high in the sky.
When the man got up, the hazy sky had vanished, replaced by blazing sunlight.
She opened her eyes briefly, then closed them again, startled by the sunlight, and instinctively touched the spot beside her.
It was completely empty.
Wen Jia lay lazily on one side of the bed, curled up, and slowly blinked her eyes.
She carefully recalled everything that happened last night, and then in the morning, the blush that Yu Kaiqing had given her was cleverly transferred to her cheeks.
She took out her phone to check the time; it was 10:30. She didn't know how long he had been gone, but it must have been a long time. The spot where he had been lying was now ice cold.
Open the chat box and send a message to Xu Shaoting.
It was early morning, the busiest time of his day, and he also had an interview scheduled. At that moment, he was sitting in the meeting room, making final preparations with the interview team.
If it were just a message from someone else, it wouldn't be worth his attention. However, he noticed the nickname on the screen, so he slowly swiped the screen and looked down to read her message:
"Chairman Xu, did you sleep well last night?"
After careful consideration, he finally answered her:
"generally."
To be fair, she didn't sleep very soundly, perhaps because of what happened during the day, so she was very restless in her sleep and made a lot of small movements in his arms.
Xu Shaoting was tormented to the point of exhaustion, yet he couldn't bear to truly let her go. So he could only coax her until she murmured in a half-dreaming, half-awake state, smacked her lips, and didn't even bother to open her eyes. Under his soothing caresses, she drifted back to sleep.
He was savoring the moment when he suddenly felt the large space was a bit too hot. He folded the document in front of him in half and fanned it impatiently a couple of times.
Feeling that the pain wouldn't subside, I got up and went to the window to take a deep breath, which finally helped.
That's insane.
He sat back in the main seat, with cameras positioned on three sides in front of him. On the screens of the high-definition cameras, his expression had returned to normal.
But who knew that a meaningful new message had arrived on his phone, which he was looking down at:
Did I say anything shameful in my sleep last night?
In the second bedroom of the small villa, the person who started the message threw the phone away after sending it, as if they were really afraid that they had said something shameful last night and dared not look at Xu Shaoting's response.
She stretched, got out of bed, and left the room.
She wasn't fully awake yet, so when she saw the chaotic scene in the living room, she almost thought she was still dreaming—
Six burly men, dressed in black suits and wearing matching Bluetooth devices, stood by the sofa. They greeted her as she arrived.
Wen Jia suddenly realized, "Kaiqing, what's going on?"
Yu Kaiqing was sitting on the sofa chatting with Lin Youzhe. They had obviously become familiar with each other, and she covered her mouth and laughed so hard she was bent over.
Upon hearing Wen Jia's abrupt voice, the man and woman both turned their gaze towards the stairwell.
Lin Youzhe stood up respectfully, greeted her with "Good morning," and then added, "It was arranged by Chairman Xu."
Wen Jia glanced at the imposing, muscular men, each as imposing as a mountain, and felt a chill run down her spine. She gasped, "Bodyguards? Or thugs?"
Lin Youzhe smiled, "To protect your personal safety."
"...That's an exaggeration."
"Two guard the villa, two guard your van, and two more are substitutes."
Lin Youzhe spoke with a straight face and a sanctimonious air.
He looks exactly like his boss.
Wen Jia shook her head, hands on her hips, and rubbed her forehead. "Lin Youzhe, you'd better quit as soon as possible. Your boss has gone mad..."
He couldn't hear this incredibly disrespectful conversation. He had finished the brief interview, the interview team had left, and he returned to his office. He lowered his eyes and swiped the screen again, but received no reply from her; the chat window remained on his side.
"What aspect of it are you referring to that is shameful?"
Xu Shaoting paced alone in his office for half a minute, pondered for a moment, and then made a phone call to her.
The bell rang just as Wen Jia stepped into the bedroom.
She pounced on the bed, her legs crossed. The call connected, and before he could even speak, she preemptively struck:
"Xu Shaoting, are you crazy?! You've crammed six men into my house, enough to kill someone sitting on them! There's barely enough room for them to stand in the living room!"
A distinct laugh came from the other end of the phone. Xu Shaoting felt pleased to hear her call his name, but he also knew in his heart that she must be a little emotional.
So he explained with a sanctimonious air, "It's written in the contract that I need to protect your personal safety."
Wen Jia paced anxiously back and forth in the room, "I don't need... you should let them go back."
"I'm afraid that won't work."
Wen Jia had never heard such a certain "I'm afraid" before.
"I'm worried about you if that happens again."
"You really have too much money to burn. I'm a public figure; if I had several bodyguards around me every day, I'd be ridiculed to death."
Wen Jia held her phone in one hand and gestured wildly in the air with the other, almost stomping her feet in frustration.
"No, I gave them instructions, and they know what they're doing."
"I don't want to."
As Xu Shaoting signed the document, he gently coaxed her, "Listen to me, I don't want you to go through that again."
It truly frightened him; the fact that something had endangered her personal safety made him even more uneasy than hearing her say that she had feelings for Zhou Jingcheng.
Wen Jia bit her lip hard, her brows furrowed, and she was furious. She hung up the phone without hesitation.
She stood by the window, biting her nails, lost in thought for a long time. Then, she deftly took off her pajamas, changed into a loose and comfortable sweatshirt set, and put a beige baseball cap over her smooth black hair before stomping down the stairs.
"Kaiqing, give me the car keys, I'm going out for a bit."
Yu Kaiqing, who had been chatting and laughing, turned her expression to one of suspicion and looked at her suspiciously. "Where are you going?"
"Don't ask so many questions, just give me the key." She held out her hand.
Wen Jia was the boss, so Yu Kaiqing didn't dare disobey her. She took out a small car key from her bag and handed it over.
Wen Jia took the mask, put it on, and headed out the door.
Lin Youzhe frantically signaled to the bodyguards from behind. But to his surprise, Wen Jia seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, suddenly turning around and ordering righteously, "You are not allowed to follow."
The six men were caught in a dilemma, looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Chairman Xu instructed that your personal safety be protected."
"I'm safe!" She circled around the bodyguards, squinting as she looked them up and down, then, quick-witted yet seemingly righteous, said, "I'm going to shoot some costume fitting photos for my new drama. This is a private schedule, involving some makeup and styling details that can't be revealed in advance. If it gets leaked, it will affect the progress of our entire production. Can you take that responsibility?"
Before the six bodyguards could even process what a makeup and costume photo was, she seized the opportunity to slam the villa door shut and stormed out of the courtyard without looking back, leaving the bodyguards and Lin Youzhe staring at each other inside.
Wen Jia went to the underground garage to retrieve her car, a pink Porsche Taycan in ice berry pink. It was a birthday gift she bought for herself two years ago. She only drove it a few times a year, so it was brand new, no different from one she had just picked up from the dealership. Because she rarely appeared in public, even her paparazzi couldn't find out the license plate. It was parked in the garage for at least 360 days a year.
She started the engine and typed four large characters into the car's navigation system—
Yunxi Technology.
Her driving skills were terrible and she was very inexperienced. She drove very cautiously for a while, and some people on the road even cut her off maliciously because her car was pink, and honked their horns to urge her on. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and had a calm enough mentality. After an hour, she arrived safely at the underground parking garage of Yunxi Technology.
Since Xu Shaoting wasn't notified, he was stopped by the receptionist as soon as he entered the door.
Fortunately, she was wearing a mask and hat, so no one recognized her. However, she recognized one of the receptionists as the one who had served her last time.
"Hello ma'am, who are you looking for?"
"Find Chairman Xu."
The staff member remained as meticulous as before, glancing through a few pages of paper before regretfully informing Wen Jia, "I'm sorry, Madam, the company secretary hasn't notified us of any visitors today, so it might not be possible..."
A slight smile unconsciously curved her lips beneath the mask. "Could you please call Chairman Xu? I came here last time, Ms. Lü."
The staff member's eyes flickered slightly, as if searching her memory. She had a deep impression of this "Ms. Lü"—she had an elegant demeanor, but only showed her eyes and spoke very little, seemingly afraid of revealing anything. Moreover, she had been personally brought up by her superior, so she didn't dare to be negligent this time and immediately dialed the landline.
With the hands-free speakerphone on, Xu Shaoting's voice came through, "What is it?"
"Chairman Xu, that Miss Lü from last time came, she said she was looking for you."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the landline.
"Let her come up."
The receptionist respectfully swiped her VIP elevator card, taking her directly to the top floor.
As Wen Jia stepped out of the sedan chair, she was greeted by rows of neat workstations. A sense of guilt welled up inside her, and she didn't dare to look in that direction, even though she had indeed heard some whispers.
Fortunately, she arrived at the door of the Dong office after only a few steps. The gap seemed to have been made just for her. She pushed it open and stepped directly into the office.
The man at the desk sat calmly, but upon hearing the noise, he looked up from his computer screen with a half-smile, "Why did you suddenly come?"
"Come check up on me, huh? See if you have any other women outside, so I can grab a breach of contract fee and run away." She spoke frankly, glancing around the office as if to play a game.
Xu Shaoting smiled faintly, "Who else could it be but you? I even use a male secretary."
He led her to the desk and easily picked her up and sat her on it.
It's absurd that a woman's figure stands out so incongruously among the white documents with black text on the table.
This man, who usually wipes the table with alcohol wipes even if a stranger touches it, surprisingly allowed her to sit on it.
He stood in front of the table, his arms resting on the edges on either side of her, and wrapped them around her. "How did you get here? Did Lin Youzhe bring you?"
"I came by myself."
"You came by yourself?"
As he spoke, Xu Shaoting glanced towards the entrance of the board's office.
Wen Jia understood the meaning behind his gaze and said with a hint of pride, "I came alone by car, without any bodyguards," and emphasized, "It's very safe."
Xu Shaoting took two seconds to understand her purpose. He couldn't do anything about it, so he curled his lips and said, "You don't want a bodyguard that much? It's kind of you to make a special trip to prove it to me."
A faint smile played on his lips, but the next second, as he turned around, the smile vanished, and he pulled out his phone to demand an explanation:
"What did you tell them? Wen Jia drove here alone."
Lin Youzhe, standing at the villa, grinned, scratched his brow, and typed a line with obvious difficulty:
Ms. Wen said it was a private schedule for the film crew.
"You believe everything she says?"
Lin Youzhe, being a smart man, naturally didn't believe it either. However, he knew in his heart that compared to making Miss Wen unhappy and being held accountable by the boss, the consequences of letting her go directly were obviously lighter.
Serving a ruler is truly like serving a tiger...
He didn't reply to the message, feeling rather annoyed.
Xu Shaoting turned off the screen and returned to Wen Jia's side, coaxing her, "Listen to me, try it for a week first, and I'll take it off if you don't like it."
Wen Jia saw right through him. "You're lying! What other excuse will you come up with to coax me a week later?" She glanced at him through the brim of her hat. "You're absolutely capable of doing it."
Xu Shaoting said helplessly but patiently, "Wen Jia, I can't protect you every moment. In situations like last time, I might not even be able to get to your side in time."
"So I let other men protect me."
“…Yes,” Xu Shaoting frowned, “no, it isn’t.”
He took half a step forward and wrapped his arms around her slender waist. "Be good."
Wen Jia was in a bad mood and didn't want to listen to him. She reached out and pushed his chest, but before she could push him away, a hurried male voice came from outside the door, approaching rapidly:
"Chairman Zhao, Chairman Zhao, Chairman Zhao, you can't come in—Chairman Zhao—"
The next second, the door to Dong's office was opened without warning, and a middle-aged woman with a perfect hairstyle, exquisite makeup, and elegant clothes stood in the doorway, greeting him with a bright expression and a high-profile "hi".
The voice is flamboyant, but surprisingly it doesn't feel offensive; instead, it has a natural charm and approachability.
The urgent male voice that tried to stop her came from the employee next to her.
The male employee rubbed his forehead, looking embarrassed. "Sorry, Chairman Xu, I couldn't stop him..."
Xu Shaoting raised his hand, "It's nothing, you can go out first."
The employee nodded and closed the door to the board's office.
Chairman Zhao did not notice anything unusual about the man and woman in the office, because Wen Jia had jumped off her desk as soon as she heard the employees' voices. She was glad that she was wearing flat shoes today, so that she could keep a great distance from Xu Shaoting.
At this moment, Xu Shaoting remained calmly leaning against his desk, not moving an inch. As for Wen Jia…
He had already swiftly escaped to the other side of the table, clasped his hands in front of him, stood respectfully, and remained silent.
Xu Shaoting remained calm in the face of this uninvited guest, turning to the door with a faint smile, "Chairman Zhao, what brings you here so suddenly?"
Within an hour, two ladies suddenly arrived. The first one, Ms. Lü, at least gave some advance notice, but the second one arrived without any warning. If Lin Youzhe were there, he could have stopped her. However, as it happened, Lin Youzhe had been sent to Wen Jia's villa to be on standby.
She took off her shawl and waved her hand reproachfully, "Why call me Chairman Zhao? There are no outsiders here. Call me Helen, it makes you sound younger."
"They're young to begin with."
Ms. Helen was clearly very pleased with Xu Shaoting's words, and gave a very elegant smile. When she got closer, Wen Jia carefully lifted the brim of her hat to look at her and found that she was very well-maintained. When she smiled, only the slight fine lines at the corners of her eyes showed any signs of age.
But why does that smile look so familiar?
Wen Jia glanced at Xu Shaoting, then returned her gaze to Helen; they were clearly two pairs of identical eyes…
A sudden realization washed over her, and she gasped for breath beneath her mask. Her previously upright and respectful posture instantly turned to utter embarrassment, and all she wanted to do was run away.
Is this Xu Shaoting's mother?!
The mother and son hadn't seen each other for more than half a year. Zhao Xinglan couldn't wait to hug Xu Shaoting, stroked his face and looked at him for a long time, sighing with heartache and the same old story about how thin he had become.
After examining her son, she turned her gaze to the woman standing to the side.
Helen sized up the woman in front of her, who was dressed casually and whose only part of her body was visible—her gaze swept over her from head to toe. But this scrutiny was not offensive, because the woman had a gentle smile on her lips and in her eyes, which instead conveyed a sense of appreciation.
Wen Jia felt her gaze and lowered her head even further; in this huge office, she had nowhere to hide.
Xu Shaoting stood between the two women and calmly spoke first, "This..."
Before he could finish speaking, Wen Jia interrupted him with her clever plan:
"Chairman Xu, I'll be leaving now! Let me know if you need anything!"
He spoke with utmost seriousness and respect.
He then grabbed an unidentified document from the table, bowed, and fled in a panic.
Helen's expression was intriguing as she stared at Wen Jia's retreating figure. "These days, do companies still look at a person's demeanor when hiring?"
Xu Shaoting lowered his head, a smile reappearing in the corner of his eye. It was unclear whether he was laughing because of Wen Jia's actions or because of Helen's words. "I'll take it as you praising my taste."
"But shouldn't the appearance of employees be standardized now? It's not that they have to wear business attire, but at least their faces should be visible."
"...This young lady just had a cosmetic procedure and is a little uncomfortable seeing people."
When it comes to cosmetic procedures, Helen can really empathize. She nodded understandingly with a knowing look on her face.
Seeing Helen's gaze fixed on the doorway, Xu Shaoting, fearing she might notice something amiss, skillfully changed the subject:
What brings you here today?
Helen hesitated, pondering for a long time.
To be fair, she has been living a carefree life for the past two and a half years. The group has been handed over to her son, and her position as chairman has become merely a nominal one. She doesn't need to concern herself with company affairs. Her daily routine consists of visiting various luxury brand stores, meeting up with her close friends for tea, getting manicures, and beauty treatments. So the only thing that worries her and that she cares about the most is her son's marriage.
However, today, the situation was slightly different. She squinted, savoring the subtle atmosphere in the office just now, and unusually, she didn't bring it up again.
"I just came to see you."
Xu Shaoting secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The mother and son were in tacit agreement, each harboring their own secret motives.
They each took out their phones and tapped the screen twice.
Hsu Shao-ting: "Where are you hiding?"
Wen Jia: "...The bathroom, come save me..."
Helen, with her back to her son, her pupils curving in her eyes, couldn't hide her smile. Her manicured nails clattered on the screen. "Honey," she said, "it seems your son has finally shown his true colors."
"Besides, why does this girl look so familiar?"
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Author's Note: Wen Jia: Regarding the matter of my mother-in-law being my ( ), guess what's in the parentheses!
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