After Gu Yansheng rejected Lu Feng at the mall, Lu Feng never expected that Gu Yansheng would dare to turn him down. Losing his patience, he directly stepped forward and tried to snatch his laptop.
If Gu Yansheng hadn’t been pregnant, he probably would have fought back against Lu Feng, but the moment Lu Feng lunged toward him, he remembered that he was pregnant, and the first three months were still the vulnerable period. To play it safe, he could only watch helplessly as Lu Feng grabbed his laptop.
Lu Feng was simply too strong, and Gu Yansheng couldn’t fight him off. Most importantly, he didn’t want the baby to suffer even the slightest harm.
Yet he never expected that Lu Feng wouldn’t be satisfied after stealing the laptop, setting his sights on Gu Yansheng’s jacket as well. Gu Yansheng’s jacket was an international luxury brand, and a single jacket was worth tens of thousands. If taken to be sold, even at a steep discount, it could still fetch several thousand, which was a tidy sum.
Staring at him, Lu Feng flashed a wicked smile. “That jacket of yours looks pretty good too. Are you going to take it off yourself, or should I take it off for you?”
Fortunately, Lu Feng hadn’t dared to snatch his bank card.
Listening to Gu Yansheng recount the sequence of events in a halting voice, and imagining how terrified and wronged Gu Yansheng must have felt coming back like that, Xuan Chiyi was consumed with deep regret. When he had first returned, he had even demanded loudly why Gu Yansheng wasn’t wearing his jacket. Feeling a pang of heartache, Xuan Chiyi pulled him into a tight embrace and fiercely cursed himself out.
Though Gu Yansheng had stopped crying, his eyes were still red. “Mr. Xuan, I’m sorry. It’s my fault for being useless. I just didn’t want the baby in my tummy to get hurt, which is why I didn’t fight back.”
Xuan Chiyi coaxed him in a low voice, “Sese, you did the right thing. You did very well.”
Gu Yansheng looked at him in confusion. Was Xuan Chiyi actually praising him?
Catching the puzzled look in his eyes, Xuan Chiyi smiled. “Really, what Sese did was right. In that kind of situation, you have to protect yourself first and protect our baby. Nothing else is more important than you and the baby, so our Sese did the absolute right thing.”
Gu Yansheng understood now, because he had protected the baby inside him.
Xuan Chiyi had no idea that Gu Yansheng had misunderstood his meaning.
Xuan Chiyi continued, “Whenever you encounter something like this in the future, don’t be afraid and don’t cry. Come home and tell me, and I will definitely stand up for you.”
“Mr. Xuan.”
Xuan Chiyi interrupted, “Sese, didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t call me Mr. Xuan anymore?”
Gu Yansheng yielded. “Brother Chiyi.”
Xuan Chiyi smiled with satisfaction, coaxed him a bit more, and then said, “Let’s eat first.”
Gu Yansheng held back for a long time before finally asking, “Brother Chiyi, aren’t you angry with me?”
Xuan Chiyi sighed softly. “Sese, can you tell me why you’re so afraid of me?”
Gu Yansheng stayed silent; naturally, he couldn’t tell Xuan Chiyi that it was because the version of him in the book was terrifying.
Seeing that Gu Yansheng wouldn’t speak, Xuan Chiyi stopped pressing him.
“Sese, you never have to apologize to me, because with me, whatever you do is right, and whatever you do, I will support you.”
Gu Yansheng froze in shock. These were words no one had ever said to him before.
And the person saying them turned out to be Xuan Chiyi.
Words like these reminded him of how the parents of the classmates who used to fight with him would comfort their children, telling them not to be afraid because whatever happened, their parents would have their backs.
Back then, Gu Yansheng had truly envied those classmates.
During this meal, Gu Yansheng ate a full bowl of rice. Crying took a lot of energy, especially since he had been sobbing for a long time. When he first returned, his mind had been preoccupied with worry, leaving him completely unable to eat a thing, so he was genuinely starving now.
Seeing this, Xuan Chiyi felt another wave of heartache for letting the boy put himself through such misery. At the same time, he mentally marked down the person named Lu Feng for a heavy reckoning.
When he heard Gu Yansheng finish recounting everything earlier, Xuan Chiyi’s eyes had been filled with raw murderous intent. However, realizing that such a gaze would frighten Gu Yansheng, he managed to suppress that fury.
In his heart, Gu Yansheng and the baby came first; everything else could wait.
While Gu Yansheng was in the living room catching up on a television drama, Xuan Chiyi went to the study to make a phone call.
“Song Ming, help me find someone named Lu Feng. Yes, I want him found by tomorrow.”
Song Ming replied without missing a beat, “Understood, sir.”
Regarding the matter Xuan Chiyi had previously assigned him, finding a reliable housekeeper, Song Ming had already secured a suitable candidate. “President Xuan, the housekeeper you requested has been found.”
Xuan Chiyi instructed, “Good, have her come over tomorrow morning.”
He had absolute confidence in Song Ming’s efficiency.
After Xuan Chiyi mentioned this to Gu Yansheng, Gu Yansheng responded with a soft oh before asking, “Will you be here tomorrow?”
If he were left alone at home, he wouldn’t even know how to face this unfamiliar housekeeper.
Xuan Chiyi smiled. “Of course I’ll be here.”
Only then did Gu Yansheng give a relieved oh and return to watching television, snacking on the fresh fruit Xuan Chiyi had bought for him. Xuan Chiyi had even thoughtfully sliced the fruit into small, bite-sized pieces for his convenience. Perhaps he hadn’t even realized it himself, but he didn’t seem quite as afraid of Xuan Chiyi anymore.
The next day, Gu Yansheng met the housekeeper.
She had a kind face; even when she wasn’t smiling, she gave off a warm, maternal aura that put people instantly at ease, true to the saying that appearance reflects the heart.
Unlike Xuan Chiyi, whose towering stature exerted an intimidating pressure just from his height alone. Fortunately, Xuan Chiyi was exceptionally handsome, otherwise he would have been even more terrifying.
The housekeeper’s surname was Li, and everyone called her Auntie Li. Auntie Li’s professional reputation was legendary: she could cook, clean, and excelled above all at caring for pregnant individuals.
Most importantly, Auntie Li maintained strict confidentiality regarding her clients’ private affairs and never gossiped, making her immensely popular within elite circles. Song Ming had pulled strings to finally secure her services.
Xuan Chiyi kept a close eye on Gu Yansheng’s reaction throughout. Seeing that Gu Yansheng seemed quite pleased with Auntie Li and even took the initiative to greet her, he finally felt at ease.
Before the meeting, Song Ming had assured Xuan Chiyi how exceptional Auntie Li was, but if Gu Yansheng hadn’t liked her, Xuan Chiyi would have dismissed her immediately and searched for someone else.
To his pleasant surprise, Gu Yansheng was thoroughly satisfied, and he himself was too.
After briefing Auntie Li on the household arrangements, Xuan Chiyi received a call from Song Ming informing him that Lu Feng had been located.
“Sese,” Xuan Chiyi called out to Gu Yansheng, who was engrossed in his show. “I’m stepping out for a bit. I won’t be back for lunch.”
Although Auntie Li seemed very kind, they had only just met moments ago, and lunchtime was approaching. Why did Xuan Chiyi have to leave right at this hour?
Still, knowing that Xuan Chiyi couldn’t possibly orbit around him twenty-four hours a day, he nodded. “Goodbye, Brother Chiyi.”
A tiny trace of disappointment lingered in his tone.
Xuan Chiyi tracked down Lu Feng, the very person who had stolen Gu Yansheng’s laptop and jacket.
Lu Feng had no idea whose toes he had stepped on until he found himself cornered inside a KTV private room.
Gu Yansheng’s laptop and clothes had managed to fetch twenty thousand yuan.
With the cash in hand, Lu Feng immediately treated his usual street companions to a lavish meal, followed by a trip to the KTV where they ordered a mountain of alcohol and began living it up in a drunken haze.
Those companions were also from the same orphanage background, and they were all curious as to how Lu Feng had suddenly come into so much money and grown so generous.
Lu Feng boasted smugly that he had borrowed it from Gu Yansheng.
They knew a little bit about Gu Yansheng, the guy was stunningly pretty, but far too aloof to run with their crowd.
Knowing that Gu Yansheng was broke, however, they wondered how Lu Feng had managed to extract so much money from him.
Lu Feng sneered with a vulgar expression. “Gu Yansheng must have been kept by some sugar daddy, right? With a face that pretty, plenty of people are dying to get with him. Of course he’s cashing in on those looks! Once I run out of cash later, I’ll just go borrow some more from him.”
That was when the others realized this wasn’t an ordinary loan.
One of them, who had left the orphanage long ago, asked, “I always thought Gu Yansheng looked pretty good back then. What’s he like now?”
Lu Feng grinned. “Even prettier. Prettier than most women, actually. Too bad I’m straight, but looking at him could still get a guy hard. Might just have to try it out next time.”
Before the laughter could even fade, the private room door was kicked open with a violent crash.
Several burly men strode in and immediately pinned Lu Feng down onto the sofa.
Caught completely off guard, Lu Feng was dazed for a moment before snapping back to reality. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Let me tell you, I’m connected on the streets. Mess with me and you’ll regret it!”
The sudden intrusion of professionally trained fighters terrified the rest of the group. Huddled together in a corner, they stammered in panic, “Big brothers, we don’t know what we did wrong! We really don’t know anything!”
They stared in sheer terror at the man who stepped through the doorway.
Xuan Chiyi walked in with a dark, menacing expression, radiating a chilling aura of absolute ruthlessness. His eyes burned with raw fury, making him look like an avenging demon from the underworld. Trailing right behind him was the KTV owner, who glanced dismissively at the cowed group. “Chiyi, don’t go overboard. Just leave him breathing, and I’ll handle the rest.”
Hearing that, the companions turned pale with fright, practically dropping to their knees to beg for mercy. They had no clue what kind of terrifying monster they had provoked.
Struggling fiercely, Lu Feng tried to break free. “Who the hell are you people?”
Xuan Chiyi walked slowly toward him, his eyes narrowing slightly, a telltale sign for Song Ming that President Xuan was furious beyond measure.
Xuan Chiyi instructed the bodyguards nearby, “Strip his clothes off.”
Since Lu Feng had dared to strip Gu Yansheng’s clothes off, Xuan Chiyi would make sure he was stripped entirely bare.
Without a word, the two bodyguards efficiently and ruthlessly stripped Lu Feng down to absolute nothingness.
Xuan Chiyi glanced down at him with a look of utter disdain before sneering, “Pathetic and tiny.”
Covering himself in sheer humiliation, Lu Feng’s face cycled through shades of pale white and livid green. Yet he was utterly helpless; he couldn’t fight back, and he didn’t dare hurl insults. All of his previous arrogance had vanished into thin air.
“What, what exactly do you want?”
Xuan Chiyi settled onto the sofa, crossing his legs with the commanding air of an absolute ruler.
“Didn’t you enjoy stripping other people’s clothes off?”
The surrounding men suddenly pieced the situation together. They recalled Lu Feng bragging earlier about stealing Gu Yansheng’s clothes, and deduced that Gu Yansheng must have found a powerful backer. This man had clearly come to exact vengeance on Gu Yansheng’s behalf.
Realizing that the man before them possessed wealth and power far beyond their reach, one of them hastily blurted out, “Big brother! This has nothing to do with us! The one who robbed Gu Yansheng was Lu Feng alone, we didn’t take part in any of it!”
Xuan Chiyi’s voice dropped to a glacial temperature, sounding like a demon crawling straight from the abyss. “And do you dare claim you never bullied Gu Yansheng in the past?”