“Go find Wilson.”
Su Xingque didn’t name him directly, but Qin Zaiyu knew the command was directed at him. Standing up with a quick word of thanks, he slipped away as fast as his feet could carry him to find Wilson, handle the bank transfer, and collect his new car.
Once Qin Zaiyu left, Shen Zhu clearly felt the temperature in the office plummet several degrees.
Su Xingque gave his arm a slight jerk, shaking off the small hand resting there. His eyes remained glued to his computer monitor, as if turning his head even a fraction of an inch would force him to look at something utterly repulsive.
“Get away from me.”
The harsh words left Shen Zhu dazed. He stared blankly at Su Xingque’s profile, carefully retracing his steps. He was certain he hadn’t done anything out of line.
“Did I do something wrong to upset you?”
“Get out!” Su Xingque cut him off, his voice slicing through the air.
Psycho, Shen Zhu cursed in his head.
Keeping his movements as quiet as possible, he dragged his chair back to its original spot and quietly retreated, obeying Su Xingque’s order.
As the office door clicked shut, Su Xingque stopped typing. He deleted the long string of gibberish on his screen and leaned back in his chair, staring blankly ahead.
He knew Shen Zhu possessed an emotional-soothing capability. He was quick to accept this phenomenon—despite how surreal it seemed—and was fully prepared to leverage it to maximize his own interests. Yet, perhaps because of his overconfidence, he had neglected to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the boy’s ability.
At the moment of contact earlier, his emotions had fluctuated to a degree that was entirely beyond his control.
He despised this feeling of losing control.
His phone alarm chimed, reminding him of a scheduled meeting. Su Xingque pinched the bridge of his nose to steady his breathing, grabbed his notepad, and walked out.
Wilson was already waiting at the door. Su Xingque glanced around but saw no sign of Shen Zhu.
“Where is he?” He asked, feigning indifference as he headed toward the elevator.
Wilson took a moment to register who “he” referred to before answering, “Mr. Shen said he was feeling a bit tired, so I had the driver take him back to the estate to rest.”
At least he knows how to save face, Su Xingque thought silently, though the tightly wound string in his chest loosened slightly.
Today’s routine meeting dragged on. Several ongoing projects had hit roadblocks; normally, these wouldn’t be major issues, but the business partners were all being incredibly evasive, deliberately dragging their feet to create a deadlock.
Since taking over the family business a few years ago, Su Xingque had made plenty of enemies in the industry. Externally, competitors were waiting to pounce; internally, relatives near and far eyed the family fortune like hungry wolves.
On top of that, countless onlookers were watching from the sidelines, eagerly waiting for this young, upstart CEO to make a fool of himself.
Unfortunately for them, Su Xingque had never given them that satisfaction. In just a few short years, he had successfully steered the company through its restructuring and established it as a market leader.
Yet behind the glamour lay endless decisions, countless hours of overtime, immense pressure beyond what an ordinary person could bear, and a near-demonic level of self-control.
That was why, the moment he learned of Shen Zhu’s special ability, Su Xingque had felt a long-overdue sense of relief.
“President Su?”
Noticing Su Xingque’s distraction, Wilson leaned in to quietly prompt him.
Not knowing why his thoughts had drifted back to Shen Zhu yet again, Su Xingque reined in his mind and focused on the presenter.
This current crisis seemed highly unusual. It looked like the most common, easily resolvable business hiccup, yet resolving it was proving to be exceptionally difficult.
They couldn’t find a suitable approach, nor could they secure strong backing.
Years of experience told Su Xingque that the various factions trying to hinder his progress were starting to join forces.
“The rest of you are dismissed. Senior management, stay,” Su Xingque commanded, making a swift executive decision.
The internal meeting dragged on until midnight. Everyone’s nerves had been stretched to their absolute limits, their eyes bloodshot. The moment the meeting was adjourned, they collapsed back into their chairs, lacking even the energy to walk out of the room.
For now, they couldn’t identify who was behind the trouble, and they couldn’t risk spreading panic within the company. All they could do was map out every possible scenario and draft contingency plans.
On the way back to the estate, Su Xingque sat in the back of the car, resting his eyes.
“Keep an eye out for any bakeries along the way that are still open,” Su Xingque suddenly spoke.
His sudden voice startled the driver, whose hand slipped, accidentally honking the horn.
Su Xingque opened his eyes in irritation, loosened his tie, and tossed it aside. He was incredibly restless right now.
“There, there is one right here,” the driver said, carefully pulling over to the curb.
Su Xingque opened his mouth to say something, but after a brief hesitation, he got out of the car and walked into the bakery himself.
He had never been a fan of sweets and had no patience to listen to the clerk’s recommendations. He casually pointed out several expensive items, paid, and took the bag, completing the transaction in one swift motion.
By the time they reached the estate, it was already past midnight. Su Xingque had dozed off during the ride and had to be woken up by the driver.
The irritation of having his sleep interrupted only fueled his foul mood. Su Xingque pushed the car door open and marched toward the house.
The driver hurriedly grabbed the cake boxes from the car and ran after him. “President Su, you forgot your things.”
With one hand already resting on the electronic lock of the front door, Su Xingque froze slightly as he took the boxes with his other hand.
This was already his second slip of control today.
His original intention in buying the cakes was to apologize to Shen Zhu, so the boy wouldn’t feel hurt by his sudden outburst earlier that day. His ultimate goal was simply to have Shen Zhu sit quietly by his side for a while to soothe his frayed nerves, which were hovering on the brink of explosion after a relentless barrage of meetings.
But he had overlooked one key detail: ever since they had registered their marriage, the dynamic between him and Shen Zhu had always been unequal. In other words, as long as he made a demand, Shen Zhu had no room to refuse.
That was how it was when he sent Shen Zhu to the club, and that was how it was when he restricted Shen Zhu’s movements around the estate.
In truth, he could have easily done the same today. He didn’t need to apologize, nor did he need to buy these things. With a single word, or even by doing absolutely nothing, Shen Zhu would have gravitated toward him on his own. As long as he didn’t push him away, the boy would undoubtedly stay by his side.
Because Shen Zhu liked him so incredibly much, there was no reason for him to lower himself and worry about Shen Zhu’s feelings.
Consider it an equal exchange of benefits, Su Xingque thought, his brow furrowing, completely oblivious to the fact that he was once again subconsciously making excuses for his own actions.
He would need to keep utilizing Shen Zhu in the future. From a businessman’s perspective, it was only fair that he compensate Shen Zhu for his services.
Whether material, mental, or emotional—as long as Shen Zhu’s utility was high enough, he could offer an equivalent return on investment.
Having successfully rationalized his actions, Su Xingque unlocked the door and stepped inside, only to find the living room dimly lit by a single floor lamp.
The little thing must be asleep by now, Su Xingque thought, changing his shoes while trying to come up with a plausible excuse to wake him up.
A faint rustling suddenly came from the corner of the sofa. A figure curled up amidst a pile of throw pillows shifted.
“You’re back?” Shen Zhu muttered, rubbing his eyes with a sleepy, dazed expression.
The floor lamp happened to be positioned right behind him, casting the warm, golden light across his face and throwing the delicate shadows of his eyelashes and the bridge of his nose into relief.
Su Xingque suddenly realized that the boy before him was actually quite beautiful.