Editor: SleepyMango123
Proofreader: Lore
The love scandal of Han Cheng and his “New Lover” entering the hotel took the internet by storm. At this moment, Xia Tian was lying on the bed in his room, sleeping soundly.
In the afternoon when school was over, Han Cheng waited for him at the school gate.
He deliberately tried to treat him better. After fetching him from school, he did not deal with official affairs and simply accompanied him to chat and have dinner.
Although most of the time it was Xia Tian who spoke, Han Cheng was very interested in what he shared and had been listening attentively, responding from time to time.
This kind of perfunctory attitude that was opposite to how elders usually acted made Xia Tian very happy.
He could feel the importance and respect Han Cheng had toward him.
Of course, what he didn’t know was Han Cheng wanted to understand him better to judge whether his values went off track during his rebellious period.
Fortunately, no matter what they talked about, Xia Tian unknowingly and unintentionally showed positive emotions, which relieved Han Cheng.
Han Cheng was in a good mood and made an exception to let the waiter pour some red wine for Xia Tian.
Usually at home, he would never allow him to drink alcohol, not even beer.
In the past, Xia Tian didn’t have much experience drinking wine. Today, after tasting a little bit and pairing it with the French cuisine, he thought it was pretty good. He quickly finished a glass and looked pleadingly at Han Cheng. Han Cheng couldn’t reject it and allowed the waiter to pour him another glass.
After the second cup, Han Cheng did not let him continue to drink no matter how much he hinted or explicitly persuaded.
He himself also stopped drinking and accompanied Xia Tian to drink lemonade.
Even though his intake was limited, Xia Tian was still a bit drunk. Before leaving the hotel, his face was already flushed and he talked more than usual. As they left the hotel and were walking down the steps, Han Cheng was worried that Xia Tian could not stand steadily and gently hugged his waist, supporting him.
And what the paparazzi filmed was the scene with his arms around the other’s waist.
It was almost nine o’clock at the time. Under the bright lights, Han Cheng had an indifferent expression, but his eyes watched Xia Tian’s feet vigilantly.
Although the photos were taken secretly, they were taken by accident. The lighting was excellent, causing the facial features of the two of them to be clearly photographed and the beauty of the night scene was indescribable.
Of course, this was just a photo. After covering Xia Tian’s face with mosaic and adding an ambiguous title, the affair could not be more obvious.
In the early morning of the next day, Xia Tian got up and turned on his phone. Dozens of text messages flooding in, almost numbing his hands.
Xia Tian felt dizzy and began to read all the text messages but was still confused. Last night, Han Cheng had an affair?
Although he drank some alcohol last night, he was not really drunk. After returning home, Han Cheng cooked him sober soup. He was still alert and was sure that Han Cheng had been with him.
So, who was it that had an affair?
He opened the web browser, typed in a few keywords and clicked to search… He instantly understood.
Xia Tian didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. After reading a few sentences carefully, he blushed.
“… A little after 7pm, Han Cheng arrived at the hotel with his male partner. When he left the hotel two hours later, his partner’s face was reddish, which made people think. Mr. Han’s expression was different from his usual aloof character and was gentle and considerate. When they left the hotel, he carefully held his partner by the waist, as if he was afraid that he would fall. These small details were constantly ambiguous, making people think about what happened in the hotel for two hours causing the male partner to be so weak…”
What are they writing!?
Xia Tian’s face was red. He rubbed his face, holding the phone closely and continued to read…
“However, according to rumours, President Han had gotten married abroad last month. We aren’t sure what President Han’s foreign wife would think after seeing these photos…”
Xia Tian covered his face in pain. He dared not to think about anything now…
At the same time, on the second floor in the other master bedroom, Han Cheng was rudely woken up by a phone call.
There were not many people who knew his phone number and fewer who dared to call at this time. Han Cheng scowled, got out of bed and picked up his mobile phone to see… It was Ruan Sihe who called.
Han Cheng pressed the answer button. Without waiting for him to speak, Ruan Sihe asked in a dissatisfied tone, “Just got up?”
Han Cheng let out an “um”.
Ruan Sihe tried suppressing her anger. “What happened last night? You… I’m going to Mr. Miao’s to celebrate his wife’s birthday tonight. Zhou Yun will also be attending. This kind of news that just came out. Tonight, when we meet, it’s going to be very awkward.”
Han Cheng frowned as he walked to the small desk, turned on the computer, and opened the news page…
“Yan Lihua will also go. Ha… I can imagine her gloating face now. Han Cheng, I did mention that after marriage, I won’t care about your bad things, but can you think about my image? Before this, I had assured Zhou Yun about you. You now…”
Han Cheng looked at the webpage slowly and interrupted, “That was Xia Tian.”
Ruan Sihe was rendered speechless. “…”
Han Cheng looked at the photos carefully. They were edited cautiously. In those few pictures, Xia Tian’s face was covered with mosaic. By coincidence, the clothes and shoes that Xia Tian wore yesterday were all newly bought. As they were covered up like this, even he couldn’t tell who it was.
“If you have to find fault with what I did last night… It would be that I shouldn’t have let him drink wine.” Han Cheng scanned the news of several websites. The press releases were all similar. He went back and forth with the few photos, closed the webpage and continued, “I didn’t expect his alcohol tolerance to be so low. He was even greedy for more. After he got home, I gave him some sober soup and watched him fall asleep. After that, it was almost eleven o’clock and I didn’t go out anymore.”
Han Cheng wouldn’t lie about this. Ruan Sihe understood what happened and said, embarrassed, “These entertainment news… really. Okay, let me explain to Zhou Yun for you, what’s wrong…”
After she hung up, Han Cheng rubbed his eyebrows tiredly, turned off the computer and went to wash up.
When he went downstairs, Xia Tian was already sitting at the dining table. Han Cheng looked at his face and knew that he had already read the news.
Seeing Han Cheng come down, Xia Tian hurriedly quit the news page, opened the Lianliankan 1It’s an a gaming app. Link provided: https://apps.apple.com/cn/app/连连看-最新益智类经典单机小游戏/id633387686app and played games with a grumble.
Upon seeing this scene, Han Cheng was amused. He sat down and asked with concern, “Do you have a headache?”
Xia Tian was stunned. He then shook his head and smiled. “It doesn’t hurt. I wasn’t really drunk yesterday. I just felt a little floaty. It was quite fun.”
“I shouldn’t start this for you. In the future, unless you are with me or your mother, you cannot drink.” Han Cheng worried that Xia Tian was not serious and added a warning tone, “If I find you drinking secretly…”
Xia Tian swallowed his saliva and looked at Han Cheng inexplicably expectantly, wondering what would happen to him.
Han Cheng smiled. “What? You really don’t want to listen to me?”
“No!” Xia Tian hurriedly showed his faithfulness. “I can’t secretly drink. I’ll remember it.”
Han Cheng nodded with satisfaction. Just as he was about to say something, Xia Tian’s mobile rang.
He looked over… The screen showed Zhou Yun’s photo.
Xia Tian gave Han Cheng a blank look and pressed the answer button.
“Have you… read the news?” Zhou Yun asked uncertainly on the other side. “Xia Tian?”
Xia Tian looked at Han Cheng and whispered, “I’ve seen it. But mom, listen to me…”
Zhou Yun breathed a sigh of relief and spoke, “Needless to say, that was you. I can tell at a glance. It was quite late last night. What were you doing?”
Xia Tian thought about it and said, “It was my fault. I made Uncle Han take me out for dinner, but… unexpectedly, we were photographed.”
Xia Tian looked at Han Cheng with guilt. Han Cheng looked at him with an inexplicable expression causing his heart to miss a beat.
Zhou Yun smiled and sighed. “Why are you so ignorant? Han Cheng is busy enough, don’t always cling and pester him.”
When Xia Tian promised not to do it again, Zhou Yun continued, “In these two days, I guess someone will ask you about the pictures, don’t mind what they say and don’t bother to explain that the person in the photo is you… Since the pictures have been blurred like that, no one would believe it and they’d only think you have folded your arms and have hidden them in your sleeves2Metaphor to conceal one’s own shortcomings, which means that one’s ugliness should not be exposed..”
Zhou Yun was afraid that his son would be laughed at and explained carefully, “It is already unexplainable…Anyway, your marriage to Han Cheng is not real, just let them say it. As long as you know it, it’s alright. This kind of small scandal, no one will think about it in a few days’ time.”
Xia Tian nodded with a smile. “Okay, don’t worry. I’m not angry… The person in the photo is me, I can’t be angry with myself.”
He comforted Zhou Yun with a few more words and hung up the phone.
Xia Tian held the phone, looked at Han Cheng with remorse, and asked with a guilty smile. “Did you also know?”
Han Cheng nodded.
Xia Tian blushed when he thought of the explicit and ambiguous words in the press release,and said with a smile, “These people are too cunning…”
“You really aren’t going to take it to heart?” Han Cheng looked at Xia Tian carefully. “You aren’t angry when someone writes about you like that?”
In Xia Tian’s heart, heaven and man were at war3In the narrow sense, it is the struggle between reason and selfish desire in one’s mind.. At this time, should he say angry or not?
If he was angry, it would seem a bit hypocritical. After all, it was a fabrication out of thin air. The cause and effect were very clear to him. What was the point of being upset?
However, if he weren’t angry, it would seem even stranger. To not even be dismayed that someone said Han Cheng had an affair, wasn’t it obvious that…
Xia Tian drank a sip of milk and said, “I can’t tell you, to be honest… It’s actually quite new. It’s the first time I’m on the news, although my face was covered.”
Han Cheng smiled. “Don’t you hate it?”
“It’s okay.” Xia Tian recalled Han Cheng’s previous scandalous news and instantly felt that many of them were fake. He looked at Han Cheng sympathetically, “You were often maligned like this?”
“Since returning to China ten years ago, it hasn’t stopped.” Han Cheng nodded and recalled, “At the beginning, my career was not going well. I was drunk when I had business talks with others and was accidentally photographed. The news wrote that the young master of the Han family didn’t make any progress and only knew how to drink all day long.”
The smile on Xia Tian’s face disappeared instantly.
Han Cheng continued while eating, “Later, business got better. At a celebration dinner, I was framed with a lady I had never met before. There were reports saying that I was able to get financing from that lady’s father because I had an unspeakable deal with her.”
Han Cheng had a little soup and continued, “Later… There were not many people who dared to say this, but there are more and more rumours. Some were true, however, there were some that were ridiculous. I didn’t even have a decent conversation with the other party and there were reports and rumours of such things happening.”
Han Cheng looked at Xia Tian, who had a tense face and smiled. “What’s the matter? Are you angry?”
Xia Tian felt suffocated. “How could these people…”
“That is why I didn’t care anymore and I never bothered to rectify it.” Han Cheng smiled. “Otherwise, I’d be mad to death.”
Han Cheng put an omelet on Xia Tian’s plate and continued, “There is no need to spend time on this. It is silly to be truthful and honest to them… Do you want to eat shrimp dumplings?”
“No…” Xia Tian rejected him and still felt a bit uncomfortable.
Xia Tian’s mobile rang again. It was a text message from Xia Sisi.
He knew what the content of the text message was and felt lazy to open it. Han Cheng looked at him puzzledly, Xia Tian grimaced. “My aunt, she probably came to ask me about…”
After a while, he had no choice but to open the text message.
“Xia Tian, have you read the news? Han Cheng and another guy are having an affair outside and their photos are all over the internet. But don’t be too angry. A man like Han Cheng has too many temptations around him. These things are normal. You’ll get used to it in the future. Just go to the hotel now, maybe you can move back to the house in the future?”
Xia Tian took a deep breath…
My aunt’s care and concern was so comfortingly sweet.
Seeing that Xia Tian’s expression was wrong, Han Cheng frowned. “What did she say?”
Xia Tian hesitated for a while but handed the phone to Han Cheng and dumbfoundedly explained, “They all thought it was real… Forget it, my mother said that it was useless to explain so I ignored her.”
Han Cheng held Xia Tian’s cell phone. After a few seconds of silence, he exited the text message interface, opened Xia Tian’s address book and called Liang Qingfeng.
“Have you seen the news?”
Liang Qingfeng, who was driving to the company, almost choked when he heard Han Cheng’s voice from Xia Tian’s call.
However, his professionalism made him adjust in an instant.
Han Cheng had never cared about such scandals. But now that he and Xia Tia were newly married, and this call was made with Xia Tian’s mobile phone, it held a different meaning. Liang Qingfeng figured out the boss’s wishes and said while driving, “I’ve seen it. Do I need to give the original sites some pressure to take down the news?”
He glanced at the time and continued, “It’s still early. If we start now, the news could be taken down before 9 am which is the peak timing of the Internet.”
At the table of the Han family, Han Cheng coldly replied, “No, tell them to send it again.”
Liang Qingfeng on the other side did not understand and repeated, “Resend?”
Han Cheng said indifferently, “Tell them if they remove the mosaic on Xia Tian’s face, change the stupidly forced title and post it before nine o’clock, I won’t pursue it. Otherwise… they can try and see what the consequences are.”
Xia Tian turned his face abruptly and sprayed out a big mouthful of milk.
On the other end of the phone, Liang Qingfeng was much more mentally prepared. He quickly agreed and hung up.
Xia Tian didn’t know if it was because of the choking or some other reason, but his face flushed bright red. He pulled the napkin a little embarrassedly, wiped his mouth and weakly said, “You just said…no need to spend time on this…”
Han Cheng glanced at Xia Tian, his eyes were not at all worried.
Xia Tian instantly shut up and cursed at himself for not knowing how to value his life. Slapping Han Cheng right in the face, did he want to die?!!
On the same day, at 8:03am, a news article materialized. “The head of the Han’s household, Han Cheng first appeared with his lover after marriage. Small gestures that are full of love, making others green with envy”, with a HD shot of Han Cheng and Xia Tian appeared. The big picture landed on the headlines of the entertainment section.
4 thoughts on “Chapter 17”
Of course Han Cheng have to take care of those fake news, Xia Tian’s reputation is in the line too.
Thanks for the chapter!
Awww! That ended as well as it could have gone! Protective hubby to the rescue!
Thanks for your hard work translating!
LOL.
Good job, Xia Sisi.
You’ve made Han Cheng aware of his and Xia Tian’s reputation.
LOL.
Thank you for the translation ❤️
I’m pretty sure I’ve read this before but I can’t remember if I finished it. But I’m not opposed to rereading this!