He Xihuan suddenly kicked the door open, radiating a fierce hostility from head to toe.
“What do you mean by this?” He clenched his fists, his deep voice carrying an oppressive fury.
As soon as he returned home, he heard Housekeeper Chang’s report regarding the “move” Xu Yiwen had quietly completed by noon.
Housekeeper Chang was hired by He Xihuan and essentially belonged to his camp; Xu Yiwen knew this very well.
By moving out of the master bedroom and into the guest room without hiding it from Housekeeper Chang at all, Xu Yiwen clearly intended for Housekeeper Chang to report it back to He Xihuan.
Therefore, Xu Yiwen not only executed the move without prior notice, but he also had no intention of bringing it up to He Xihuan personally.
He Xihuan was instantly ignited. He first went to take a look at the master bedroom; sure enough, just as Housekeeper Chang had said, many things were missing from the room, and even the pillows on the bed were short by one.
He then went to check the guest room Xu Yiwen had moved into, but the room’s password had been reset, and he couldn’t get in.
Guessing that Xu Yiwen must be in the study, he marched over with a blaze of anger.
Xu Yiwen raised his eyes to scan He Xihuan, then lowered his gaze to check the time on his laptop screen.
It was already ten o’clock at night, and he was almost finished reviewing this set of documents.
Acting as though he had long anticipated He Xihuan’s reaction, he unconcernedly continued browsing the final few pages of documents, tapping words out on the keyboard with a detached tone.
“We agreed on this beforehand. Once Mom stopped making unannounced spot-checks, I would move to the guest room.”
“Mom hasn’t come by for inspections in a long time now, so moving out at this point won’t arouse any suspicion.”
Hearing this, He Xihuan froze right where he stood, the hostility surrounding him suddenly dimming.
This was indeed an agreement the two of them had made back then, but after so much time had passed, who would have thought anyone still remembered the arrangement about separate rooms?
“As for our agreed-upon temporary marking once a month, I will fulfill it. I’ll go to the master bedroom to rest for one night every month.” Xu Yiwen’s fingertips trembled slightly, the corners of his mouth dipping downward imperceptibly.
The pheromone-driven pact between him and He Xihuan really should have been abolished long ago, but out of consideration for the Xu and He parents, the mark on the back of his neck had to remain, meaning this agreement could not be stopped just yet.
Fortunately, He Xihuan’s unrequited white moonlight was far away overseas, and He Xihuan hadn’t managed to express his romantic feelings to that person yet, so Xu Yiwen didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of guilt when fulfilling the agreement.
The one who ought to feel guilty was He Xihuan, whose actions and words contradicted each other and who couldn’t control himself.
On their wedding day, he had already fallen asleep in bed when He Xihuan, who had just thrown the divorce papers at him, hugged him from behind and woke him up using pheromones.
Xu Yiwen raised his eyes to look at He Xihuan once more.
He Xihuan’s physique, appearance, family background, and capabilities were all at the top tier among Alphas.
If He Xihuan could throw tantrums like he did with him in a timely manner and fly abroad regardless of everything to pursue his white moonlight, he wouldn’t be trapped in this marriage either.
“I still have work to continue. If there is nothing else, please close the door on your way out.”
The sound of keystrokes grew heavier, as if serving to usher the visitor out for Xu Yiwen.
He Xihuan incredulously twitched the corner of his mouth, but finding himself unable to say anything, he simply turned around and slammed the door as he left.
Both his and Xu Yiwen’s work required independent studies, and this study had been specifically designed for Xu Yiwen by Wang Congmeng, giving Xu Yiwen every right to chase people away.
He Xihuan stood by the doorway with his hands on his hips, fuming in frustration for a bit before returning to the master bedroom.
On their wedding day, the two of them had negotiated to temporarily play the part of a superficial couple. Who would have thought that Xu Yiwen, while pretending to be asleep, would intentionally expose the back of his neck and release his pheromones, leading to them crossing the line that very night?
Ever since then, Xu Yiwen had done everything he could to please him for the sake of the Xu family, accepted his demands, and even, to keep him tethered, made him come home every night by setting a strict ten o’clock curfew.
Lying on his side in bed, He Xihuan gazed at the empty space beside him, breathing in the lingering scent left in the air, closed his eyes, and let out a low huff.
It was only natural for Xu Yiwen to experience some emotional fluctuation after just finding out about his own background; he wasn’t going to bicker with Xu Yiwen over this.
However, seeing Xu Yiwen put up such a front of desperately continuing to act like a member of the Xu family told him one thing: Xu Yiwen couldn’t leave the Xu family behind.
For the sake of the Xu family, Xu Yiwen would definitely come crawling back again.
When that time came, he would absolutely not make it so easy for Xu Yiwen to move back in.
On Friday, the two of them left the house one after the other without running into each other, and both ate lunch and dinner outside.
After spending the morning checking references at the library and an entire afternoon lingering in the faculty office, Xu Yiwen finally went out for dinner with Wen Yuhang.
The faculty cafeteria had been canceled, leaving them with no choice but to head to the student cafeteria.
Since Xu Yiwen had a class in the evening, he went to eat half an hour early.
Wen Yuhang carried his food tray, sat across from Xu Yiwen, and placed a chicken wing onto Xu Yiwen’s plate. “I sent you messages and you replied that everything was fine every single time. Now that I’ve finally caught you in the faculty office, don’t think you’re going to brush me off.”
Ever since he sent Xu Yiwen home on Wednesday, he had been terribly worried. Unfortunately, Xu Yiwen refused to let him stay or take care of him, leaving him with no option other than to help call a designated driver.
Xu Yiwen had never drunk so recklessly before; something major must have happened.
From the incoherent words Xu Yiwen muttered while intoxicated, he gathered that Xu Yiwen had made a trip back to the Xu family home.
That being the case, whatever matter had driven Xu Yiwen to such a degree of heartbreak was likely tied to the Xu family.
Consequently, Wen Yuhang made a trip home on Thursday and learned from his parents, who had business dealings with the Xu family, that Xu Yiwen was actually an adopted son of the Xu family, and their biological son had already been found.
He had called Xu Yiwen, but Xu Yiwen kept insisting that everything was fine.
With Xu Yiwen’s naturally tight-lipped, bottled-up personality, he always chose to endure things quietly; the more he claimed nothing was wrong, the more something definitely was.
On Thursday, his and Xu Yiwen’s schedules overlapped while they were assigned to different campuses. By the time he rushed over to the campus where Xu Yiwen was teaching, Xu Yiwen had already gone home.
Today, when he went to the faculty office to pick up some items, he happened to run into Xu Yiwen and immediately dragged him along for dinner.
“The day you got drunk, you said you made a decision. Are you planning to go look for your biological parents?” Wen Yuhang asked, pausing to let Xu Yiwen swallow the food in his mouth before continuing.
Xu Yiwen’s expression stalled for a moment before he shook his head. “My second uncle said I’m an orphan.”
Even though the surrounding seats were entirely empty, Wen Yuhang still lowered his voice to a whisper. “Xiao Wen, I can help you.”
Even though his own parents had passed away, he felt that Xu Yiwen would still want to know what kind of people his biological parents were, and how Xu Yiwen ended up becoming an orphan.
Through years of tacit understanding, Xu Yiwen immediately grasped what Wen Yuhang meant, but he still shook his head in refusal. “No need.”
Or rather, not right now.
The decision he spoke of while drunk was the very thing he needed to carry out now.
He needed to sort out the chaotic mess of relationships currently surrounding him.
He had to help himself and Qiu Yao reclaim their rightful share of assets from the Xu family, bring his marriage to He Xihuan to an end, and then take Qiu Yao away from Chongcheng to settle down in another city, find a new job, and start a brand-new life.
Only after dealing with all of these matters would, he has sufficient space and emotional bandwidth to confront the chapter regarding his biological parents.
Seeing that Xu Yiwen had no desire to pursue the topic any further, Wen Yuhang did not press on.
Having known Xu Yiwen for so many years, he knew that these matters required Xu Yiwen to process them entirely on his own.
All he could do was offer his silent companionship.