It was a little past eleven by the time Yan Hui finished washing up. The father and son changed into outdoor clothes and headed out with Yu Xiang to enjoy a big meal.
As soon as they pushed open the front door, they discovered that the opposite apartment had already started work. Through the wide-open doorway, a pile of dismantled custom cabinets could be seen.
Yan Hui watched for a moment before turning to ask Yu Xiang, “Are you tearing everything out?”
“No, the basic structure like the walls and flooring won’t be touched. We are just cleaning it up, then repainting and laying down new wood flooring. We are buying ready-made furniture, so it should be completely finished in a week at most.”
Yan Hui let out an oh and took a few steps down the stairs before he ultimately couldn’t help chiming in with a warning, “Make sure you choose good quality wall paint and wood flooring.”
Yu Xiang smiled. “Don’t worry, we are using child-friendly paint and solid wood flooring. The furniture is all solid wood too.”
Yan Hui nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad. At least you didn’t get scammed by a renovation company into filling the whole place with formaldehyde. What are you laughing at?”
Yu Xiang let out an ah, looking utterly innocent. “Is laughing not allowed?”
“No, it’s not! You’re an eyesore!”
“Alright, alright. I won’t laugh, is that fine?”
Yu Xiang raised both hands in surrender. Yan Hui rolled his eyes at him and beckoned to Yan Sheng, “Come over here, son. Let’s go!”
Yan Sheng hopped over to his dad’s back in two or three steps, wrapped his arms around his neck, and asked in a small voice that anyone could easily hear:
“Didn’t you say Uncle Yu was treating us to a big meal? Are we not waiting for him?”
Yan Hui didn’t have as many reservations as his son, his voice loud enough to rattle the ceiling. “Don’t worry, he can’t run away!”
Watching Yan Sheng half-hanging off Yan Hui as the father and son walked down the stairs all chummy and affectionate, Yu Xiang shook his head with a helpless yet amused smile, quietly following behind them.
Walking all the way to the white Audi Q3, Yan Hui tossed the car keys at Yu Xiang, ordering him around without an ounce of politeness: “You drive.”
Catching the keys, Yu Xiang looked at the compact SUV in front of him and pressed his lips together. “You drive this car?”
“What’s wrong with this car?” Yan Hui pulled open the rear door to let Yan Sheng get in. “It’s economical, has a high cost-performance ratio, and I don’t have to worry about the car body being too big to park easily. What’s not to love?”
Clutching the car keys, Yu Xiang watched Yan Hui get in and close the door. He swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, walked over to the driver’s seat, pulled open the door, and settled into a vehicle that mismatched him in every possible way.
After adjusting the seat, Yu Xiang drove the father and son to the seafood restaurant he had booked.
Jindu was an inland city far from the sea, so nearly all the seafood was transported frozen, with only one or two high-end restaurants claiming same-day air delivery at absurdly high prices.
Yan Hui had taken Yan Sheng there a few times, but they had always sat in the main dining hall. Today was his first time entering a private room.
As soon as they walked in, Yan Sheng let out a gasp of amazement. He ran from the lounge area to the dining area, opened the doors to the card room and the restroom to take a look, and didn’t even spare the pantry.
Once he had seen enough, he trotted all the way back to Yan Hui’s side, leaning against him as he whispered, “Dad, is someone else coming?”
“Probably not?” Yan Hui picked up the hot towel just delivered by the waiter, wiped his son’s hands, and looked inquiringly at Yu Xiang to confirm.
Yu Xiang was looking over the menu and shook his head at the question. “No, just the three of us.”
“Just the three of us, and we’re sitting in a room this big?” Children didn’t understand and were thoroughly baffled.
Yan Hui picked up another towel to wipe Yan Sheng’s other hand, raising his chin toward Yu Xiang with a teasing half-smile. “Ask your Uncle Yu.”
Meeting the child’s innocent gaze, Yu Xiang awkwardly cleared his throat, struggling for a good while before squeezing out: “This was the only room left.”
Yan Sheng tilted his head. “But there are still a lot of empty tables out in the main hall?”
“Those were all reserved.”
“Oh.”
Seeing Yan Sheng accept this explanation, Yu Xiang let out an inward sigh of relief. Catching sight of his relieved expression, Yan Hui couldn’t help but find it amusing.
He knew Yu Xiang hadn’t done it on purpose; a second-generation wealthy upbringing was just deeply ingrained in him. If that Siamese restaurant had private rooms, this guy definitely wouldn’t sit in the hall, even if he had to pay extra to separate himself from ordinary people.
He used to be like that too, but now, he was already miles and miles away from that kind of lifestyle.
Lost in thought, Yan Hui put down the towel and heard Yu Xiang starting to rattle off dishes:
“Cheese-baked Boston lobster, three portions of abalone rice, steamed leopard coral grouper, scallion-braised sea cucumber, stir-fried geoduck with soybean paste, and grilled scallops. Let’s also add a seafood sashimi platter and sea salt ice cream. Sound good?”
“Way too much, the three of us can’t possibly finish all that. Besides, Sheng Sheng can’t eat sashimi or ice cream, his stomach is weak.” Yan Hui reached out a hand toward Yu Xiang, signaling for him to hand over the menu.
Passing the menu over, Yu Xiang frowned and asked, “Did Sheng Sheng catch a cold? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“He didn’t catch a cold,” Yan Hui said nonchalantly. Yan Sheng sat close to him on the same chair, two pairs of phoenix eyes scanning the menu at the exact same rhythm.
“Sheng Sheng had a bit of an accident when he was born, which left his digestive system fragile. If he eats too many raw or cold things, he gets diarrhea, and in severe cases, intestinal cramps.”
“Accident? What accident?” Yu Xiang’s brow furrowed even deeper.
“Nothing, an abdominal pregnancy. Cough, something went wrong with the amniotic fluid.” Reacting just in time, Yan Hui glossed over it vaguely and quickly changed the subject. “Let’s skip the geoduck, scallops, sashimi, and ice cream. Instead, let’s get a steamed Australian lobster and cheese egg tarts.”
“Alright.” Yu Xiang took back the menu, called the waiter to place the order, but those four words lingered persistently in his mind.
What did abdominal pregnancy mean?
Doesn’t pregnancy always involve a growing belly?
Taking advantage of a trip to the restroom, Yu Xiang pulled out his phone to search and finally learned that embryos could implant not just in the uterus, but in literally any organ, though it came with extreme risks.
An abdominal pregnancy meant the embryo was located inside the abdominal cavity rather than the uterus.
Once that happened, the fetal survival rate was less than one percent, and even if the child survived, the mother faced immense risks during childbirth.
That wasn’t just a bit of an accident. One wrong move and it could cost two lives!
Yu Xiang scrolled through those sensationalized case studies of abdominal pregnancy, letting out a long breath a long time later.
That woman had risked her life to bear a child for Yan Hui.
No wonder Yan Hui treated Yan Sheng like the very core of his life.
Huh? There were even cases of male pregnancy?
Yu Xiang’s fingers paused. Just as he wanted to tap in to read more, he suddenly heard Yan Hui shouting:
“Yu Xiang! Did you fall down the toilet or something? The dishes are already served!”
“Coming, you guys go ahead!” Yu Xiang called back, pocketing his phone and turning on the faucet.
Since he loved her so deeply that he didn’t even want his life, why didn’t they end up together?
If that woman were still around?
Yu Xiang pressed his lips together, turned off the faucet, wiped the water droplets carefully with a paper towel, and tossed the waste into the bin.
There were no ifs. Since she wasn’t around now, she needn’t even think about coming back in the future.
This time, he would never let go!
After the meal, Yu Xiang once again acted as the driver, taking the father and son home.
The moment the car came to a smooth stop, Yan Hui extended a slender, fair hand with a hint of pink at the fingertips, hooking it toward Yu Xiang.
“Give me the car keys. I’ll lock up.”
Yu Xiang obediently placed the keys in his palm. The three of them got out, and Yan Hui locked the car, waving goodbye to Yu Xiang. “Drive safe, and thanks for today.”
Yu Xiang raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and smiled in response. “You’re welcome, it was only right.”
It really was only right. Renovations were noisy, and even with light remodeling that skipped power drills, people coming and going were still disruptive.
Yan Hui took a few steps before realizing something was off. Turning around, he found Yu Xiang following right behind him. Seeing him stop, Yu Xiang asked with a feigned innocent expression:
“What’s wrong?”
“Your place is under renovation, why aren’t you going back to the hotel instead of following us? Still hoping to lure Sheng Sheng into playing games? Absolutely not, he hasn’t finished his homework yet!”
“Relax, I firmly support your principles on child-rearing,” Yu Xiang smiled. “I have work to handle this afternoon, so I have no choice but to come to your place.”
Yan Hui looked slightly bewildered. “Does you having work have any inevitable connection to coming to my house?”
“Of course,” Yu Xiang smiled with increasing innocence. “I left my laptop at your place.”
“Did you?”
Yan Hui looked at his son. Yan Sheng thought for a moment and nodded. “A gray bag, about this big, right?”
“Right, Sheng Sheng’s memory is so good.”
“Hehe.”
Hehe my ass!
Back home, watching Yu Xiang pull a laptop bag out from beside the sofa, Yan Hui stared wordlessly up at the ceiling.
“Fine then, go ahead and work slowly. Sheng Sheng, go do your homework.”
“Okay.”
Watching the father and son walk into the room, a winning smile broke out across Yu Xiang’s face. He pulled out his laptop, walked over to the dining table to sit down, and began processing his emails.
Inside the room, Yan Hui sat beside Yan Sheng, watching blankly as the boy wrote down an absurd sentence like “Taking off clothes on one side while taking off pants on the other,” yet didn’t react at all, his mind clearly wasn’t on his son’s schoolwork.
He rested his chin in his hand, appearing to look at the workbook, but his gaze was long unfocused, his thoughts wandering and tangling into a chaotic mess.
Just as Yan Hui was losing control and on the verge of stepping into the same old trap, a muffled cell phone ringtone suddenly broke the silence.
He reflexively felt around in his pockets, but came up empty-handed. That was when he remembered he seemed to have left his phone on the entryway shoe cabinet when they first came in.
Yan Hui stood up and walked to the door. Just as he pulled it open, he heard Yu Xiang’s deep, mellow voice.
“Hello, President Yu.”
President Yu? Wasn’t that Yu Xiang’s uncle, Yu Zhongnan?
Yan Hui’s steps paused, and he stood quietly by the doorway to listen.
“No, I just happened to be working, so… there were a few emails from Friday I didn’t reply to, and I didn’t want to drag it out until next week.”
As he spoke, Yu Xiang stood up and walked to the living room balcony, staring apathetically at the unremarkable view outside the window.
“Emails that can wait a day can wait another day. You need to balance work and rest.”
Yu Zhongnan’s voice was soft and gentle, sounding nothing like the imposing drive of a group executive officer, but rather like an ordinary, affectionate elder caring for a younger family member.
“Mm, I know, thank you, Uncle.” Yu Xiang’s voice sounded a fraction softer, though his face remained entirely devoid of emotion, like a statue.
“Knowing isn’t enough, you have to keep it in mind. Striving hard as a young man is a good thing, but don’t over-pressurize yourself.”
Pausing for a second, Yu Zhongnan abruptly changed the subject. “I’m calling you today to ask when you are returning to Yunjing.”
Yu Xiang lowered his eyes. “Before the annual meeting, I suppose.”
“Mm, indeed. Once the new factory is established, whether in production capacity or technological content, it will gradually replace the old production lines. It’s only natural for Zhengxin to shift its operational focus. However, it’s still far too early to start thinking about relocating the company headquarters.”
Yu Xiang opened his mouth, then closed it again, offering a soft mm without speaking further.
On the other end, Yu Zhongnan seemed quite satisfied with Yu Xiang’s silence, chuckling softly. “Since you understand, I won’t say any more. Oh right, there’s a dinner banquet scheduled for you on the seventeenth after the group’s annual meeting. Don’t forget.”
A flash of stern hostility crossed Yu Xiang’s eyes, and he refused in a deep voice, “I’m not going.”
Silence settled over the line. After a long moment, Yu Zhongnan sighed. “Fine then, I’ll have the person invited to attend the annual meeting instead.”
“I won’t.”
“Remember, the seventeenth, at the Beijing Hotel.”
The call hung up. Yu Xiang let out a silent sigh, and the moment he turned around, he bumped straight into Yan Hui.
Yan Hui awkwardly shook his phone, explaining somewhat incoherently, “I thought my phone was ringing, I left it in the entryway earlier, I wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping. Sorry.”
Yu Xiang twitched the corner of his lips. “It’s fine.”
Noticing his abnormal mood, Yan Hui asked out of curiosity, “What happened?”
Yu Xiang watched Yan Hui’s expression, where unmistakable concern peeked through his curiosity. His heart stirred, and he lowered his eyelids, assuming a desolate expression as he said:
“My family wants me to go back to Yunjing on the seventeenth. My grandfather has arranged a blind date for me.”