Lin Can shrank his neck at the shout, only able to glare at Qi Yuan with a look of accusation. Qi Yuan wasn’t angry; he just curled his lips and urged him in a low voice, “Hurry up and answer.”

How many times had they gone through this with the ex-husband? Lin Can felt his face heat up, and the pain from being bitten earlier became even more pronounced. “I-I was talking to the cat…”

“Lin Can,” Ran Yang was almost furious, her words coming out through gritted teeth, “Do you think I’m brainless and easy to fool?”

Lin Can immediately fell silent. Qi Yuan had intended to let it go, but seeing his reaction made him curious. Could this guy still be under the thumb of his wife? He tentatively grabbed Lin Can’s face.

“Stop messing around…” Lin Can pleaded softly.

Qi Yuan released his grip and huffed heavily. Realizing that they had no intention of stopping, Ran Yang’s voice turned colder. “Lin Can, if you’re not convenient, you can totally ignore my call. There’s no need for me to hear the details of your little affair.”

Lin Can helplessly replied, “Sorry, I didn’t know it was you…”

“True, after all, you’ve blocked me. I didn’t think you’d answer from another number.”

“It wasn’t me who blocked you…” Lin Can explained.

Perhaps Lin Can’s genuine confusion about the blocking made Ran Yang believe him almost immediately. But after believing, he quickly realized. If it wasn’t Lin Can who blocked him, then who did? Who could use Lin Can’s phone so recklessly, not caring at all about blocking his contacts?

Recalling everything that had happened recently, Ran Yang felt as if he had woken from a dream. That sugar daddy was declaring his territory. Coming to this conclusion, Ran Yang found it amusing. He never expected that such a scumbag like Lin Can would have someone playing these little tricks for him. How low-class could one be?

Forget it, forget it, let’s lock this scumbag down and make sure he doesn’t harm anyone else in the future! Ran Yang, feeling flustered, suppressed his chaotic thoughts. “Forget it, I won’t waste my breath with you.”

“I called to ask you to check with your sugar daddy when he plans to meet. In a few days, I’ll be busy with a variety show and won’t have free time for months.”

Lin Can raised his eyes to look at the person standing a few steps away. Noticing his gaze, Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow, looking quite mischievous. “What’s up?”

Lin Can lowered his eyelashes. “I’ll ask him and let you know when I have an answer.”

Ran Yang quickly hung up the phone. Listening to the beeping sound, Lin Can felt like he was being rejected. Whatever, this wasn’t the first time.

Seeing him put down his phone, Qi Yuan’s voice returned to a normal volume. “What do you want to ask?”

“About the meeting,” Lin Can said honestly. “He said he’s going on a variety show in a few days, and if we don’t meet soon, it’ll probably be months before we can.”

“He really wants to meet you that badly?”

Recalling the earlier phone call, Qi Yuan couldn’t help but speak sarcastically, “You two are so close, how come you got divorced in the first place?”

“…” Lin Can shot Qi Yuan a glance. “You were the one who wanted to arrange our meeting back then.”

“Yeah, that was me,” Qi Yuan replied with a couple of “mm-hmms.” “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely make sure you two lovebirds meet. If you get back together, remember to treat me to the wedding feast.”

“What…”

Before Lin Can could finish his question, Qi Yuan suddenly jumped up from the sofa and said he was leaving for the company. The door slammed shut with a loud bang, clearly expressing his frustration.

Lin Can was left with even more question marks floating above his head.

• “Ancestor, just let me go home!” In the bar’s private room, Gong Yusheng shouted in despair while hugging a bottle of alcohol.

Qi Yuan had a cold expression. “Where are you going? Is someone waiting for you at home?”

Look at that, look at that, as expected of someone with a family, spouting such cheesy lines.

Gong Yusheng rubbed his temples. He had been called out by Qi Yuan early in the morning, and now it was almost eight in the evening, yet he still hadn’t been able to go home.

Staying in the bar for over ten hours, who could handle that?

“What’s going on?!” He had asked this question at least a hundred times, and with each repetition, Qi Yuan’s expression grew darker. It was completely baffling!

Wang Qian was huddled in a corner, shivering. He was called in as a backup by Gong Yusheng and had only been in the private room for eight hours, but he had already thought about escaping a thousand times.

Gong Yusheng, you’re such a troublemaker! Qi Yuan looked clearly unhappy!

Wang Qian cursed inwardly but could only echo, “Qi Yuan, if there’s something going on, you should share it with your brothers. It’s not good to keep it all bottled up.”

Please, he really just wanted to go home and sleep in his bed.

Qi Yuan tilted his head back and took a swig of alcohol. Just when Wang Qian thought he would continue to sulk in silence, he suddenly blurted out, “I shouldn’t have kept Lin Can around!”

This was the first non-confrontational thing he had said all night. Gong Yusheng and Wang Qian exchanged glances, finally realizing where the problem lay.

“Lin Can? What’s wrong with Lin Can?” Gong Yusheng asked. “Did he do something to upset you?”

“Lin Can…” Wang Qian felt a bead of sweat form in his palm.

Qi Yuan’s long fingers gripped the cup tightly, his strength evident. “It has nothing to do with him; I’m just annoyed!”

“Annoyed about what?” Considering how Qi Yuan had been drinking silently since he arrived, Gong Yusheng felt the situation was getting serious.

“If I knew what was annoying me, would I be looking for you?” Qi Yuan shot him a glare.

“…” If it weren’t for the fact that it was him, Gong Yusheng would have been ready to swing the bottle.

Wang Qian quickly stepped in. “Is Qi Yuan having a spat with Lin Can?”

He intended to ease the tension, but as soon as the words left his mouth, Qi Yuan scoffed, “Me and him? Having a spat?”

“…” Wang Qian silently closed his mouth.

Gong Yusheng, however, was unfazed and said, “If you find Lin Can annoying, just dump him and find someone else.”

Qi Yuan looked up, a hint of confusion in his narrow eyes. “Dump?”

Gong Yusheng said, “Just wait a moment,” and turned to make a phone call.

Before long, the door to the private room was pushed open. A line of over a dozen handsome men with various charms walked in.

Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, and one young man took the initiative to sit beside him, gently calling out “Qi Shao” in a soft, obedient tone.

“You…” Qi Yuan hesitated as he recognized the face.

“How is it?” Gong Yusheng asked proudly. “They specifically found this group, called Xiao Lin.”

Qi Yuan didn’t answer but raised his hand to pinch the young man’s face, examining it closely from side to side.

He looked like Lin Can, definitely.

So much so that Qi Yuan couldn’t help but marvel at how good it was to have money; even roles like this could be played by them.

But…

“Do you think I would be so low-class as to settle for a substitute?”

Gong Yusheng’s face instantly changed.

He was thrown off balance, forgetting that Qi Yuan wasn’t the type to settle.

“I…”

“Tell that group to behave themselves and stop thinking about playing tricks all day.” After saying that, he forcefully shoved the young man aside. “Get lost.”

Xiao Lin blinked in confusion. When that group came to find him, they clearly said that with just this face, he could rise to fame in one step.

So why now…

A buzzing sound shifted his attention.

Xie Jun’s voice came from Qi Yuan’s phone, sounding as formal as a work report. “President Qi, Mr. Lin just called the company, asking why you haven’t left work yet. I told him you haven’t been to the company all day and are drinking at the bar.”

Qi Yuan instinctively sat up straight. “And then?”

“He asked which bar you were at.”

“You told him?”

“Of course, he said he wanted to pick you up for dinner…”

“!” Qi Yuan suddenly jumped up from the sofa, feeling dizzy and swaying a bit.

“When did he ask?”

Xie Jun replied, “Half an hour ago.”

For the first time, Qi Yuan felt what it meant to be on the verge of collapse. “Why didn’t you say it earlier?”

“President Qi, do I need to remind you that your phone just turned on a minute ago?”

Qi Yuan didn’t want to argue with Xie Jun, tossing his phone aside and starting to shoo people away. “Get out, get out! Hurry up!”

“What’s going on?” Seeing Qi Yuan suddenly acting like a shepherd herding sheep, Gong Yusheng was baffled.

“Lin Can is here!”

“So what if he’s here? Why are you so nervous…”

Before Gong Yusheng could finish his sentence, the door to the private room, which hadn’t been closed tightly, was knocked on again.

A tall figure walked in at a leisurely pace. The dim light in the room couldn’t hide the stunning face that caught everyone’s attention.

“Qi Yuan?”

The person looked at the chaotic scene in the private room and seemed to frown.

Then he looked at Qi Yuan, who had been lazily indifferent to everyone just moments ago, now appearing unusually flustered. “What are you doing here?”

“I…” Lin Can felt a wave of smoke and alcohol rush into his throat as he opened his mouth, unable to help but cough a couple of times.

The air in the private room was stuffy, and the overwhelming smell of alcohol made it hard for him to adjust. Seeing Qi Yuan’s reaction, which seemed pleased to see him, Lin Can couldn’t help but start to regret it.

What kind of person was Qi Yuan? When did it become his turn to worry?

His behavior of inquiring about the schedule through Xie Jun might have led to misunderstandings.

“It’s nothing,” he gently shook his head. “I just wanted to ask what you wanted for dinner, but seeing you like this…”

He glanced around and saw the dozen or so boys crowded together in the private room, his expression growing even more indifferent.

“Looks like you’ve already eaten, right?”

Qi Yuan, having lived for twenty years, had never felt such a strong sense of guilt.

It was as if he had been caught red-handed by his partner while indulging in debauchery. Besides softening and begging for forgiveness, he couldn’t think of a second solution.

Qi Yuan stood there like a wooden statue, while Lin Can had already greeted Gong Yusheng and Wang Qian, telling them to continue and that he would head back for dinner first.

He came and went in a hurry, not saying a word of nonsense. By the time Qi Yuan snapped back to reality, Lin Can had already reached for the doorknob.

Seeing him about to leave, Qi Yuan instinctively wanted to follow.

Gong Yusheng stopped him, pointing at the group of over a dozen men in the corner who were stuck in a dilemma of whether to leave or stay. “What are you doing? What’s going on here?”

“What’s going on? It’s not like I invited them!” Qi Yuan swatted his hand away, his eyes fixed on the direction Lin Can had turned.

Wang Qian sensed something was off and quickly stood up. “Qi Yuan, hurry! You’ve had so much to drink today, and you can’t drive. Isn’t it perfect that Lin Can is here to pick you up?”

“Isn’t he just having a spat with Lin Can?!”

“Why are you shouting?!” Afraid that Lin Can, who hadn’t gone far, would hear, Qi Yuan shot Gong Yusheng a fierce glare.

Wang Qian urged, “Qi Yuan, hurry up, or Lin Can will leave.”

Qi Yuan didn’t dare to slack off, chasing after Lin Can as he rushed out, almost forgetting to put on his sunglasses.

Fortunately, Lin Can wasn’t walking fast and turned back to look when he heard the commotion.

Seeing that it was Qi Yuan who had caught up, he stopped in his tracks. “I’m planning to go out tomorrow morning.”