Chapter 11.1: “Why aren’t you wearing clothes?”

A few days later in the evening, Duan Zhuxian returned to Duan family house for the first time in a long time, and Duan Song opened the door to welcome him in person.

Duan Song had always been cold towards Duan Zhuxian. After divorcing his ex-wife many years ago, he left the non-competitive Duan Zhuxian to live alone in another house and never invested much in his education.

However, when Duan Zhuxian managed to get into the top domestic university through his own efforts and later returned from studying abroad, he suddenly became an existence that Duan Song could not ignore. He began to fear this capable and deep-thinking eldest son, always feeling that Duan Zhuxian had ambitious plans.

But now, Duan Zhuxian unexpectedly had taken the initiative to enter into a marriage with another man, sacrificing the ability to continue the family line and losing significant competitive power among his peers, in exchange for gaining favor in the eyes of the old man.

Duan Song rarely let his guard down and let go of his prejudice, returned to his role as a father and shared a few drinks with Duan Zhuxian at the dinner table.

In the end, he even took the initiative to inquire about Duan Zhuxian’s relationship with Jiang Yao and asked Duan Zhuxian to bring Jiang Yao to have a meal together another day.

“Don’t disturb Jiang Yao’s life.”

Duan Zhuxian’s tone was calm, but there was a hint of warning.

Hearing this, Duan Song chuckled dryly, “I don’t have time to meddle in the affairs of you young people.”

Duan Zhuxian slowly cut into his bloody steak: “You know what I’m talking about.”

After the engagement was settled, Duan Song had sent quite a few people to investigate Jiang Yao. It was only because of Jiang Yao’s carefree nature, thinking no one would dare to provoke him, that he hadn’t noticed anything amiss.

Challenged by his son at the dinner table, Duan Song’s elder-like smile was hard to maintain.

Duan Zhuxian still had the same indifferent expression.

Seeing this, He Lu, who hadn’t said a word for a long time, hurriedly spoke up, “Zhuxian now has his own little family, so it’s normal for him to protect his other half. If you really wants to manage children, isn’t there still Feiyi?” Saying this, she glanced at the clock and added, “Oh, it’s already past seven o’clock. Why is Feiyi still working overtime at the company?”

With this diversion, the tension on Duan Song’s face eased a bit, “Feiyi has indeed made a lot of progress recently.”

Duan Song casually praised for a few more words, then turned to ask Duan Zhuxian, “I heard from the finance department that the headquarters has been investigating the accounts of several subsidiaries. Did you instruct that?”

He Lu was taken aback, her expression showing a hint of surprise, “Didn’t we just investigate them not long ago?”

Duan Zhuxian hummed and said, “That was before I took office.”

Duan Song nodded and didn’t say much, but He Lu was still there, probing about the investigation of the accounts.

The tense atmosphere at the dinner table slowly returned to normal.

Duan Song no longer talked about marriage-related topics with Duan Zhuxian. He only asked about some company matters, and his expression gradually became kind, like an old house that had been freshly painted, desperately trying to conceal its blemishes and cracks, extremely fake.

And He Lu was like a loose window frame clinging to the old house, creaking at the slightest movement.

The combination of the two created an annoying scene.

*

At 8 PM, Jiang Yao finished work and spent an hour in the company’s gym before leisurely heading home.

Ever since they started living together, he and Duan Zhuxian had been coming home at the same time for several days in a row, as if the gravitational force between them had exceeded the limit, which was quite strange.

He almost suspected that Duan Zhuxian was deliberately causing trouble for him.

But he estimated that Duan Zhuxian thought the same way.

So, in order to prevent further misunderstandings between them, he deliberately worked overtime today.

As a result, Duan Zhuxian came back even later than him.

Just as he stepped into the house, Duan Zhuxian pushed the door open behind him.

Seeing the man loosening his tie as he entered, Jiang Yao retreated two steps as if pricked by a needle, and asked with narrowed eyes, “What do you want?”

Due to the humiliating experience of being tied up by a tie, Jiang Yao was instinctively wary of this gesture.

“Going upstairs, to take a shower.”

After Duan Zhuxian finished speaking, he walked past Jiang Yao, leaving behind a noticeable scent of red wine.

“Taking a shower after drinking so much, aren’t you afraid of slipping?”

Jiang Yao turned around and muttered to himself while looking at Duan Zhuxian’s back.

Duan Zhuxian, who was climbing the stairs, stopped and turned his head with a smile that was not a smile, “Are you that worried about me?”

Jiang Yao gave him a disdainful look, “I’m afraid you’ll fall and die, and I’ll be the only suspect at the crime scene.”

A high-intensity chandelier had been added to the living room, and the fair and beautiful young man stood under the bright light. Although his words showed obvious concern, the corners of his eyes and eyebrows revealed a frivolous bad temper.

Like a cluster of thorny flowers blooming in March, shining brightly in the middle of the road, all the thorns on his body were covered in the spring sun, without any intimidation, but rather appeared fluffy and warm.

Duan Zhuxian’s lips twitched, and much of the gloominess that he brought from the Duan family house dissipated. His mood also became much more pleasant.

Suddenly, he remembered ten years ago.

At that time, Duan Song, to curry favor with his new father-in-law and secure support from the He family, resorted to some tactics. He transferred a house left by Duan Zhuxian’s mother into Duan Feiyi’s name, thus making clear his stance towards his ex-wife and eldest son.

Previously, Duan Zhuxian had lived there alone. When he rushed back after finding out, the locks had been changed. In the garden, the irises his mother had planted were gone, replaced by the cosmos flowers He Lu liked.

He was barred by the iron gate, while Duan Feiyi stood inside, smirking triumphantly at him, and proclaimed disdainfully, “Your mom managed to live off the Duan family for several years, how come she only left you so little inheritance? My mom and I find it embarrassing to even accept.”

As the least valued descendant in the family, Duan Zhuxian had learned to endure early on. Even if his interests were gradually taken away by those around him, he rarely fought back.

That was the first time Duan Zhuxian felt overwhelmed by loneliness, losing all restraint and replaced by the impulsiveness of youth. Even if it meant using any means necessary, he wanted to reclaim the only thing his mother had left for him.

He sent away the driver who had brought him and took the driver’s seat himself. Just as he was about to step on the accelerator towards the closed gate, a message popped up on the phone in his hand—

[Are you coming or not? If you dare to stand me up, you’re dead!! (Angry emoji)]

In just a moment of stagnation, all those uncontrollable violent emotions crumbled after seeing the message.

Next month, there was a high school swimming competition, and both he and Jiang Yao would participate. Jiang Yao couldn’t wait to compete against him and had challenged him to a pre-match.

And now, an hour had passed since the agreed time.

He rushed to the empty swimming pool, and the youth at the other end of the pool swam towards him rapidly. The moment he broke through the water’s surface, the sunlight illuminated his slender yet powerful body, blooming like a beam of light before his eyes, so beautiful that he was dazzled.

Jiang Yao didn’t blame him for being so late; he just urged him to get into the water quickly, and make a bet on who would swim to the other side first.

After emerging from the water, Jiang Yao handed him something in his hand.

“You won, so here’s your prize.”

Duan Zhuxian looked down at the little fox keychain in his hand. The fox was bright red, squinting its eyes and wagged its tail in his palm.

Something soft in his heart was stirred by this.

After a long time, he smiled and thought to himself that he wasn’t completely without anything.

By the swimming pool, which was dyed orange-red by the sunset, Duan Zhuxian asked Jiang Yao, “If someone keeps stealing your things, what would you do?”

“Of course, I would make them regret it,” Jiang Yao replied, flicking the water with his toes, creating a large splash of shimmering droplets.

Duan Zhuxian smiled, it was an answer full of aggression, perfectly in line with Jiang Yao’s personality.

However, the next moment, Jiang Yao tilted his head and said, “But not now.”