Chapter 15

Editor: SleepyMango123

Proofreader: Lore

For a few seconds, there was a heavy silence. Xia Tian was in turmoil, and the revolving memories of his life passed by in front of his eyes. In a daze, he recalled many things… It was as if he had seen his father who had died young…

All the embarrassing incidents that he had experienced in just over a decade added up was nothing compared to as thorough and straightforward as this one.

Xia Tian was about to explode from embarrassment.

Yan Lihua was the first to react. She secretly cursed that things weren’t going her way. Han Cheng had already arrived and it would be useless to say anything more. She realised that acting out wouldn’t work anymore. Suppressing the anger in her heart, she smiled reluctantly. “Oh? Han Cheng is here? No, you didn’t interrupt anything and we weren’t saying anything important… I saw how hardworking Xia Tian was and wanted to take him out to eat something. What about you? Have you eaten?”

Han Cheng was not affected at all by the awkward atmosphere and nodded slightly. “Thank you, I’ve already eaten. Xia Tian… Are you done with your meal?”

Xia Tian whose face was burning red, snapped out from his daze and hurriedly responded, “Yes, yes. I’m done.”

“That’s good.” Han Cheng looked at Yan Lihua and smiled. “He still has classes in the afternoon. You’re probably busy, too. I’ll take him back first?”

Yan Lihua had no choice but to force a smile. “Sure.”

Xia Tian got up and moved beside Han Cheng. He was too embarrassed and did not dare to look at Han Cheng. What he did not expect was Han Cheng to gently hold his hand.

Xia Tian,”!”

Han Cheng smiled at Yan Lihua and said gently, “I might have heard wrongly just now, but… business matters, I hope you can directly discuss it with me in the future. Xia Tian is still young, and he hasn’t been exposed to these things before. In the case of him conveying the wrong message, it could cause a delay in an important event.”

Yan Lihua didn’t expect Han Cheng to be upfront and say it directly. Her dark red nails were deeply pinched into the napkin as she tried her best to keep smiling and replied, “I was careless and neglected to think much about it… I was initially talking about the housework, and before I knew it, business matters were mentioned.”

“That’s normal. When I usually chat with Xia Tian, I would occasionally talk about work as well.” Han Cheng said in his words, “But Xia Tian is well-behaved and sensible. He would never point fingers¹To describe a casual accusation or giving orders..”

Yan Lihua paled knowing what Han Cheng was insinuating.

Han Cheng smiled at Yan Lihua and continued, “I am straightforward with my words. I hope you don’t mind.”

After speaking, he held Xia Tian’s hand and left.

Yan Lihua gritted her teeth angrily… Han Cheng monitored Xia Tian closely; Where he usually went, who he was with and how long he was going all had to be reported to Han Cheng. This time, she had finally found a chance to invite Xia Tian out. However, before she could convince Xia Tian, Han Cheng, who appeared out of nowhere, caught her.

In the future, it would be more difficult to invite Xia Tian alone.

At the dinner table, Yan Lihua threw the napkin on the table and cursed in a low voice, “Treating him like a baby and guarding him so tight. Do you think I’ll eat him up?!”

……

…

In Han Cheng’s car, Xia Tian’s entire body was red.

Han Cheng loosened his tie and looked at Xia Tian quite amused, feeling that if he poked him, he would be burned.

“If you feel shy, I won’t mention it again in the future.” Han Cheng chuckled, “And don’t worry, I didn’t hear much.”

“It was just that last sentence!” Xia Tian was embarrassed and in an abashed tone continued, “Before that, I didn’t say anything…”

Han Cheng smiled. “Okay. I believe you.”

Xia Tian felt helpless and wanted to cry. The decoration of the Cantonese restaurant just now with its partitions looked private and it affected his line of sight. Han Cheng was only discovered when he walked closer, but the words had already been said… Why was it so coincidental?!

Xia Tian tried his best to redeem himself and explained earnestly, “My grandmother wants me to help her as a lobbyist. But I didn’t want to, so I lied. I just want to…”

“You don’t have to explain. I know.” Han Cheng wasn’t comforting him. He smiled faintly. “I knew what would happen once Liang Qingfeng said Chairman Yan suddenly wanted to take you out for lunch.”

The call from Yan Lihua was answered by Liang Qingfeng. He didn’t know the situation and was in no position to refuse on Han Cheng’s behalf, so he could only agree. After Han Cheng finished his video conference and listened in on Liang Qingfeng’s call, he already understood the situation.

Yan Lihua has always been indifferent to Xia Tian, and it was impossible for her to suddenly care. Thinking about how he had rejected cooperation with Yan Lihua about the newly launched project, it was not difficult to guess the true objective behind the sudden meal.

“She had clearly stated her intention to cooperate on this project before, and I also tactfully but certainly rejected it. I didn’t expect that she would invite you to come and persuade me.” Han Cheng looked at Xia Tian and smiled.”However, what surprised me was your reaction. Don’t you want to help your grandmother?”

Xia Tian thought about it and replied in a low voice, “I guessed you were unwilling, so what should I do to make it less difficult for you? Besides, I don’t know your specific collaboration plan. In case you suffer a big loss… Ah, that’s not it…”

The words that he spoke made him feel a little self-conscious. He blushed various shades of red while he tried to salvage the conversation. “Deep down, I actually know that even if I tell you, you won’t listen to me, but I couldn’t…”

Han Cheng said, “I will.”

Xia Tian couldn’t react in time. “Huh? What will?”

“If you ask me personally, I will agree.” Han Cheng said calmly.

The heat on Xia Tian’s cheeks had just dissipated a bit, but after hearing these words, the redness instantly became brighter than before.

Han Cheng thought he didn’t believe it and suggested with great interest. “You can try.”

“No, no.” Xia Tian shook his head vigorously, almost choking. “You… Don’t scare me…”

“What’s so scary about it?” Han Cheng slightly smiled. “Do you think I came to you just to relieve you? Just to take you back to school… Couldn’t Liang Qingfeng do the same? Do I need to run this trip by myself?”

Xia Tian was stunned and hesitated, “If I promised grandmother just now and then told you about this afterwards…”

“I will agree on the spot.” Seeing Xia Tian still had a confused expression, he continued, “If you’d already promised, Chairman Yan would immediately tell me. If I didn’t agree, it would be equivalent to telling your family that despite being by my side, you are of no importance at all.”

Xia Tian understood everything at that moment.

The heat on Xia Tian’s face slowly spread to his heart.

“You didn’t think that I wouldn’t give you any face²To show or treat (someone) with respect, honor, and dignity. The phrase is a translation from Cantonese and is used primarily in reference to Chinese people, culture, and business.?” Han Cheng smiled. “Besides, we have been married for more than a month. Your first request, how could I bear to refuse?”

Han Cheng was not coaxing him, it was just a project. If Xia Tian had interceded and then behaved in a coquettish manner with him… Han Cheng was sure that he could not ruthlessly refuse.

Yan Lihua also knew this well so she tried her best to talk about it through Xia Tian.

Xia Tian tried his best to ignore his accelerated heart rate and whispered, “Don’t worry, I really won’t ask you to do anything. Although I don’t understand it sometimes, I am not that ignorant…”

“I know, you are very sensible.” Han Cheng said with gratitude, “So I was surprised. I remember that you were afraid of your grandmother. Just now, she had probably been aggressive and asked you to agree. She was quite persistent…”

Han Cheng raised his hand, rubbed Xia Tian’s head and softly said, “Good boy.”

Xia Tian clenched his fingers tightly, gritted his teeth and silently stayed with Han Cheng for a while. The wild beast in his heart was about to jump out, going all over the place.

• 1
  To describe a casual accusation or giving orders. ↩︎
• 2
  To show or treat (someone) with respect, honor, and dignity. The phrase is a translation from Cantonese and is used primarily in reference to Chinese people, culture, and business. ↩︎