Jingsheng Mall Police Station.
This was already the fifth time the policewoman had walked past the reception room with her thermos in hand. Her gaze repeatedly drifted toward the reception room. Returning to her workstation, she excitedly gossiped with colleagues who had gathered around to inquire: “It really does seem to be that guy who’s been trending online.”
“Who would’ve thought the real person is even better-looking than in the videos.”
A newly arrived trainee policewoman sighed: “To think someone so young already has a child. If the young fans online found out, wouldn’t their hearts break?”
A passing male police officer analyzed, “It’s not like he gave birth himself. The kid on the broadcast called him stepdad—maybe he married into a wealthy family.”
The policewoman rolled her eyes, thinking of those popular online stories, and giggled, “Or maybe he married a rich old man.”
The discussion outside didn’t reach the dead-silent reception room at all. Fu Cen’s soul still seemed to have left his body, his brain having stopped functioning to avoid facing reality.
As for going to the broadcast station to find someone, it was entirely Shen Sigu’s spontaneous idea after returning and not seeing his stepdad. Now, seeing his stepdad looking utterly lost, he felt a bit scared. He stayed quietly nestled in his stepdad’s arms the whole time, not daring to make a sound.
After a day of play, the little one’s energy was completely drained. As he was drifting off to sleep, he heard his stepdad whisper softly, ” Secretary Cai might already be off work. Let’s go back on our own.”
Shen Sigu mumbled a groggy “Mm,” his small hands tightly wrapping around Fu Cen’s neck as he rested his head on his shoulder. His milky breath brushed against Fu Cen—a posture of a young child snuggling close.
It took Fu Cen a while to reluctantly accept the child’s unconscious affection. He awkwardly picked up the little one and thanked the police officers who had been looking after them.
Shen Sigu fought off his sleepiness and sweetly said goodbye to every police officer and policewoman they passed, almost striking up conversations with everyone again.
The socially anxious Fu Cen stiffened, his steps gradually quickening.
Stepping out of the police station, where the air conditioning was set to 25 degrees, they were met with a sudden blast of sub-zero wind. Fu Cen wrapped the child in his thick white fleece shirt. Underneath, he only wore a low-neck thermal top, so holding the little one kept him warm for now, though it probably wouldn’t last long.
Fu Cen planned to hail a taxi by the roadside to take the child back, then retrieve the suitcase hidden in the garden and resume his unfinished plan.
Hmm, perfect!
Except… checking his balance, he wasn’t sure if the remaining seven yuan and fifty cents would be enough for a taxi ride.
The answer was clear. When the driver heard Fu Cen’s offer, he drove off without hesitation. The same thing happened with every taxi that passed by. After all, going from here to the suburban villa area would cost at least thirty yuan, even at a discounted rate.
No one was willing to take a loss.
With the buses already out of service, Fu Cen was left pondering other ways to get back when another car approached. Blinded by the headlights, he thought it was another taxi and waved it down, only to realize it was a Bentley.
And this Bentley, with its dark, gleaming body, actually came to a steady stop right in front of him.
Fu Cen’s heart tightened, and he took a step back, still holding the child.
If even taxis wouldn’t take him, he definitely couldn’t afford a ride in such an expensive car.
But how was he supposed to refuse someone when it was him who had waved first?
In just ten seconds, dozens of thoughts raced through the socially anxious mind. By the time the driver’s side door of the Bentley opened, the tension on his end had reached its peak, and even Shen Sigu was jolted awake by the increased pressure.
When he saw who stepped out of the car, Shen Sigu immediately buried his face back into Fu Cen’s shoulder.
Uncle Cai sure took his time.
Shen Sigu relaxed completely, ready to drift into a deeper sleep, when he heard Secretary Cai say, “Madam, please get in. President Shen is also here.”
The little one’s body instantly stiffened.
Fu Cen stared blankly, watching the unfamiliar man respectfully bow and open the rear door, gesturing for him to enter.
Wait.
Madam?! President Shen?!
His delayed reaction finally caught up, and the confusion in Fu Cen’s eyes turned into sheer shock.
What kind of image did the domineering CEO in novels conjure in people’s imaginations? Fu Cen didn’t know, but when he read this story, he imagined someone akin to a mafia boss.
So the scene that flashed through Fu Cen’s mind was of a muscular man sitting imposingly in the dark back seat, his expression grim, fingers idly twisting the ring on his thumb, impatiently waiting for the dawdling person outside to step into his territory.
Fu Cen’s memories of the original host were hazy at best, but the imagined image of the domineering CEO was enough to terrify him. Yet Secretary Cai’s commanding gestures left Fu Cen no room to refuse.
Fu Cen walked toward the car with the resolve of a condemned man, holding the little one in front of him as if it could offer some protection. But the child was trembling just as much, his small body trying to burrow deeper into Fu Cen’s embrace.
As he drew closer, the warm yellow light from the streetlamps illuminated half of the car’s interior. Gradually, Fu Cen could make out the silhouette of the person sitting in the back seat.
There was no impatience as he had imagined. The man simply sat there quietly, eyes closed as if resting.
A truck with its headlights on sped past, its beams briefly illuminating the vague silhouette. Fu Cen caught a glimpse of an impossibly handsome face, as if a character from a 2D game had stepped into reality. In the flickering light and shadow, his jawline was sharp and defined, his eyes deep-set, and his nose straight and elegant.
Just the side profile alone made Fu Cen want to pull out a sketchpad and capture the outline on the spot.
Perhaps because Fu Cen had taken too long, the man sitting upright in the car opened his eyes and looked over.
They were deep black eyes, dark and abyssal, sending chills down one’s spine the longer they were gazed into. Paired with his handsome, dignified features, they exuded a sharp, piercing aura, leaving no room for any hidden malice.
“Three seconds. Get in if you can, or I’ll close the door.”
In the past, under such a gaze, Fu Cen would have retreated a hundred miles away. But this time, as if bewitched, he climbed into the car.
The little one in his arms, pretending to be asleep, looked horrified and clung even tighter to Fu Cen.
Hadn’t Father been extremely busy lately, flying out of the province or abroad every day? How did he have time to pick them up?
But Fu Cen was destined not to hear the turbulent thoughts raging in the little one’s mind. At that moment, his eyes were fixed only on the “perfect statue.”
The statue looked back at him.
The statue turned away.
The statue closed his eyes again.
The gaze was simply too intense and scorching. Finally, the domineering CEO could bear it no longer and said in a low voice, “How much longer are you going to stare?”
Fu Cen met those cold eyes, but his mind was preoccupied with how to perfectly capture such irises on canvas.
The atmosphere in the car grew increasingly tense. Secretary Cai, who was driving in front, had already stiffened his back, yet Fu Cen remained completely oblivious. Faced with this sudden encounter with his “muse,” he openly and sincerely praised, “You’re really beautiful.”
He curved his eyes into a smile.
If these words had come from anyone else, they would have carried a hint of flirtation. However, when Fu Cen said them, his gaze was clear and pure, his tone calm and straightforward.
As the heir of the Shen family, Shen Wufeng had never been publicly commented on for his appearance like this. Secretary Cai had completely turned into an invisible person, not daring to glance at the rearview mirror.
As these words reached his ears, Shen Wufeng’s heart suddenly tightened. Just as he was about to frown and remind Fu Cen that there was no need to use such lowly methods to flatter him, Fu Cen had already turned his head away, gazing out the window.
Shen Wufeng was instantly struck with a sense of frustration, like punching cotton.
No, it was even worse—he hadn’t even thrown the punch yet.
Fu Cen was in a good mood now. It had been a long time since he felt the urge to paint on the spot. In the past, when he was exhausted from making money, Fu Cen had listened to the voices around him and even questioned whether he had lost the most important inspiration of an artist.
But now, not only did he have a pair of healthy hands, but his creative spark had returned.
“Daddy.” A small voice sounded from his arms. Fu Cen lowered his head to meet the child’s gaze and heard Shen Sigu say somewhat dejectedly, “Did we forget to take our clay doll?”
Now Shen Sigu could speak clearly and properly again.
his little baby voice was simply a defense mechanism when dealing with his wicked stepfather, an attempt to awaken the other’s conscience. In front of Shen Wufeng, he didn’t dare to put on that act at all.
“Ah.” Fu Cen remembered too. Fortunately, the shop owner had left him a phone number when he left.
After entering the phone number, mentally preparing how to start the conversation, and silently rehearsing it once, Fu Cen finally clicked to dial. As the dial tone rang, his heart tightened with nervousness.
After anxiously waiting for more than ten seconds, the other side finally answered. After some communication, the loud voice of the clay shop owner came through the receiver: “Someone contacted me online offering a high price to buy it. Handsome, would you be interested in selling it?”
“Huh?” Hearing the price the other party quoted, Fu Cen was indeed a little tempted. He was currently penniless, but…
“Sorry, this clay doll is a gift for… my little one.”
After politely declining and asking the other party to send the item to his private residence, Fu Cen hung up the phone and relaxed his tense body. When he looked down, he saw Shen Sigu’s bright, sparkling eyes fixed on him.
“Is it really for me?” He started using his little baby voice again.
Fu Cen nodded. Shen Sigu’s face lit up with a smile, but it quickly faded as he suddenly realized that perhaps it was only because his father was present that his stepfather was putting on this act.
The little one, convinced he had uncovered the truth, felt an emptiness in his heart. Shen Sigu buried his head back into his stepfather’s embrace, deducing that today’s sudden kindness from his stepfather was likely due to the news of his father’s return.
But despite all that, he promptly fell asleep in the arms of the stepfather he claimed to dislike.
The Bentley drove leisurely into the suburban villa area. Once the car came to a stop in the parking lot, Fu Cen got out holding the sleeping child and slightly bowed to the person inside the car, saying, “Thank you very much.”
He stood there waiting for the car to drive away, but instead, the driver’s door opened. Fu Cen was taken aback for a moment, and before he could react, he saw Secretary Cai walk to the rear door, open it, and shield the top of his head. The next moment, a pair of polished leather shoes stepped onto the ground as Shen Wufeng emerged from the car.
Only then did Fu Cen remember that the owner of this estate was the other man.
Which meant that Shen Wufeng would be staying here tonight?
Fu Cen grew nervous again. He was very unaccustomed to sharing a roof with others, no matter how good-looking they were. Moreover, in Fu Cen’s mind, Shen Wufeng was still his boss.
Oh right, that resignation letter!
The naive little artist had already realized through the taxi incident that without money, one couldn’t go anywhere. Until he could earn money, he couldn’t afford to lose this job. He had to retrieve the resignation letter before Shen Wufeng discovered it.
As soon as Shen Wufeng stepped out of the car, he adjusted his collar with practiced ease, only to see the very person who had just praised his looks turn and walk away, holding the child, moving so fast he was almost a blur.
The sharp Secretary Cai almost immediately sensed the sudden drop in pressure emanating from his boss.
The best strategy was to flee.
“I’ll be going now then.” Receiving a nod, Secretary Cai promptly made his escape.
Although the boss was usually as cold as a statue, never showing any expression on his handsome, chiseled face, today the sense of oppression was even stronger.
Cai Qiming could only attribute it to President Shen not liking this male spouse.
Considering the complex family dynamics of the Shen family, Secretary Cai could understand. The president needed someone who wouldn’t cause any impact on the current family situation and had a clean background.
To maximize benefits, if this person could also educate the young child in the private residence, it would be even more suitable.
Fu Cen, who had just lost both parents, been forced out of the entertainment industry, and was still a student at a prestigious university, was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.
On the second floor of the villa, Fu Cen practically sprinted to carry the child into the nursery, placed him on the bed, and quickly covered him with the blanket. Then he dashed off to find a servant to get the spare key to Shen Wufeng’s bedroom, only to receive unfortunate news: there was no spare key to Shen Wufeng’s room.
This man was too cautious; even when he wasn’t home, his room was off-limits to others.
Shen Wufeng had already entered the villa, handed his overcoat to the approaching servant, changed his shoes, and walked inside. The servant followed behind, hesitating for a moment before saying, “Madam just came to ask me for the spare key to your bedroom.”
His footsteps paused briefly. A cold glint flashed in Shen Wufeng’s eyes as he headed straight upstairs.
Author’s Note:
Resignation letter (×) Divorce papers (√)
Fu Cen crouched by the door, desperately reaching inside with his small cat-like hand.