Fu Zhiyuan, in the neighboring private room, had listened to the entire conversation between the two without missing a word. He hadn’t expected that the young man from the Xia family would have ulterior motives toward Xing Bao, even trying to steal him away. He had originally come here to meet a client, but unexpectedly, there was a surprise—Shen Nanxing was here too. After hastily wrapping up the business talks, he was eager to go greet him, but when he heard Xia Zimu confessing his feelings for Shen Nanxing, he stopped in his tracks. Without thinking, he chose to eavesdrop. He was too curious about how Shen Nanxing would respond.

Xia Zimu, seeing that Shen Nanxing remained silent, leaned closer to him. “Say something! Quickly answer me. If you don’t answer, it means you agree.”

Fu Zhiyuan leaned against the doorframe, his expression inscrutable as he looked at Shen Nanxing. “Xing Bao.”

The two of them turned and froze in place, staring at the person at the door. Fu Zhiyuan was here!!!

Shen Nanxing let out a frantic scream inside his head. ‘Stay calm, stay calm. I didn’t do anything wrong, why should I be afraid of him?’ Shen Nanxing pinched his palm and forced a smile at Fu Zhiyuan. “What a coincidence.”

Fu Zhiyuan saw his strained smile and felt a pang of disappointment. ‘Does he really not want to see me?‘

At that moment, Xia Zimu also realized what was happening and greeted Fu Zhiyuan. “Uncle, what are you doing here?”

Shen Nanxing was confused. “Uncle? Why are you calling him uncle? He’s not that old, is he?” Then why did Fu Zhiyuan make him call him ‘Big Brother Zhiyuan’? It didn’t make sense.

Xia Zimu leaned close to his ear and whispered, “He’s on the same generation as my dad, so I have to call him that. Luckily, I’m not Fu Chengyu, or I’d have to call him that every day.” He didn’t want to call a man only a few years older than him ‘Uncle,’ okay? He was forced to do it.

Shen Nanxing responded with an understanding “Oh.”

The intimate interaction between them caused Fu Zhiyuan’s expression to darken, and the atmosphere around him became even more oppressive.

Fu Zhiyuan walked over to Shen Nanxing and asked, “Xing Bao, are you full? Do you want to eat something else?”

It turned out that the restaurant where Xia Zimu had brought him to eat was owned by the Fu Group, and it was well-known, with an excellent environment. Not only that, but the dishes were rich and flavorful.

“I’m full,” Shen Nanxing replied.

Fu Zhiyuan grabbed Shen Nanxing’s backpack and said, “Okay, I’ll take you home.”

“Huh?”

“Uh, Uncle, Nanxing said he wanted to go with me…” Xia Zimu’s voice trailed off as he received a cold look from Fu Zhiyuan. Xia Zimu lowered his head and fell silent. The same person who had been so arrogant in front of Fu Chengyu now looked as docile as a quail in front of Fu Zhiyuan.

Fu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to have a competition this afternoon?”

Xia Zimu froze. “How did you know?”

“Probably because someone was speaking too loudly, and I overheard.”

“Does that mean you heard everything I just said…?”

Xia Zimu closed his eyes, waiting for Fu Zhiyuan’s final judgment.

After a long pause, Fu Zhiyuan finally spoke coldly, “It wasn’t much, I just heard you say you wanted to ‘move up’ somewhere.”

It’s over! Fu Zhiyuan heard everything! Xia Zimu felt his peaceful life slipping away. Not only had he tried to steal someone else’s partner, but now the actual owner’s uncle had overheard him. Xia Zimu mentally cursed himself, regretting not paying attention to closing the door when he went to the bathroom. Why? Why did he forget?

He blamed everything on not closing the door properly, which led to Fu Zhiyuan hearing everything.

“Uncle, please take care of Nanxing for me. I suddenly remembered that the competition might have started earlier. I’ll be late, so I’ll leave now,” Xia Zimu quickly said. “Nanxing, bye.” After saying his goodbyes to Shen Nanxing, Xia Zimu hastily made his escape, leaving Shen Nanxing to face the terrifying presence of Fu Zhiyuan alone.

Shen Nanxing, bracing himself, looked at him and said in a tone that seemed to be trying to reason, “Um, how about I just go back on my own?”

He tried to grab his backpack back, but Fu Zhiyuan’s grip was too strong, and he couldn’t pull it away.

Fu Zhiyuan’s gaze burned as he watched Shen Nanxing’s slender white hand. “Are you afraid of me?”

“Not really…”

“So, you hate me?”

“Not exactly…”

“Then why?”

Fu Zhiyuan closed in, not letting Shen Nanxing’s expression go unnoticed. Shen Nanxing had never met someone so sharp with their words; each question felt like a death sentence. What made it worse was that Fu Zhiyuan was standing so close to him. The unfamiliar scent of him lingered in his nose, making Shen Nanxing feel uncomfortable.

Nervousness tightened Shen Nanxing’s chest, and he felt as if he could hardly breathe.

“I…”

“Xing Bao, what’s wrong?” Fu Zhiyuan suddenly noticed that Shen Nanxing’s face had turned pale, and his breathing was quickening. He hurriedly patted him on the back, his voice soft and soothing. “Xing Bao, don’t panic, just breathe slowly.”

He remembered that Shen Chuanqiong had mentioned before that Xing Bao needed to take medication every day. He quickly rummaged through his bag for a moment and then placed the pill in Shen Nanxing’s mouth.

His cold fingers brushed against Shen Nanxing’s warm mouth. Seeing Shen Nanxing’s pale face and weak expression, looking as if he had lost all vitality, Fu Zhiyuan felt a dull ache in his chest.

Luckily, Shen Nanxing soon recovered, but Fu Zhiyuan was left feeling uneasy.

Shen Nanxing accepted the water Fu Zhiyuan handed him, smiling gratefully. “Thank you.”

Fu Zhiyuan sighed, resigned. “Fine, if you hate me, then hate me. Just don’t scare me like that again.”

Shen Nanxing didn’t understand why his sudden illness had anything to do with Fu Zhiyuan thinking that he hated him. He never said he hated him. Blinking innocently, he looked at Fu Zhiyuan. “Did you misunderstand something? I never said I hated you.”

Fu Zhiyuan, shaken, looked at him with trembling hands. “Really?”

Shen Nanxing nodded seriously.

No matter what relationship he had with Fu Chengyu, the fact that Fu Zhiyuan helped him just now was undeniable. He couldn’t let himself be so oblivious to right and wrong!

Fu Zhiyuan quickly picked him up, holding him in his arms, and strode out. “Xing Bao, I’ll take you home.”

Fu Zhiyuan’s movements were so swift that Shen Nanxing didn’t have a chance to protest. The strong, rhythmic heartbeat from Fu Zhiyuan’s chest echoed through Shen Nanxing’s body, making him feel embarrassed. Here he was, a grown man, being carried so easily by someone else. The worst part was that he couldn’t even resist.

Breathing in Fu Zhiyuan’s unique scent, Shen Nanxing felt as though he was suffocating again. This was driving him crazy!