Xu Chenghao waited a few seconds. Seeing that the other party didn’t react at all, his expression instantly turned serious as he said, “Where is Jing Yicheng? Are you hiding something from me?”
The assistant adjusted his glasses and calmly replied, “President Jing went to handle some work and will be back soon. President Xu can rest here or wait with me.”
Xu Chenghao looked at him doubtfully. “If he’s dealing with work, why are you here?”
The assistant: “I didn’t want to… No, I mean, I also want to contribute to helping the boss. But the boss was worried that it wouldn’t be safe for you to be alone, so he told me to stay with you.”
Xu Chenghao still felt something was off. He stared at Jing Yicheng’s newly renovated house for a while before suddenly saying, “I can’t sleep well on unfamiliar beds. Why don’t we go to my place instead?”
The assistant’s smile froze for half a second before he quickly reacted. “Of course, that’s fine. But if we suddenly change locations, the boss might not know. How about we call him first to let him know?”
Xu Chenghao nodded. “Then you call him.”
The assistant: “Sorry, President Xu. My phone’s battery is dead.”
Left with no choice, Xu Chenghao pulled out his own phone. After unlocking it, he suddenly paused as if remembering something and said, “Mine’s dead too. Let’s just go downstairs to charge our phones and then call him.”
The assistant: “There’s also a charger here.”
Xu Chenghao: “The phone models are different.”
The assistant said earnestly, “Whatever model your phone is, we have a charger for it.”
Xu Chenghao: “…”
Savage.
Xu Chenghao couldn’t argue with him, but his curiosity about what was really going on only grew stronger. Deciding to drop the verbal sparring, he strode directly toward the door.
The assistant hurriedly blocked his way. “President Xu, you can’t leave. If you go, I won’t be able to explain to the boss. Please don’t make things difficult for me.”
Xu Chenghao: “If you stop me, I’ll tell Jing Yicheng you harassed me.”
Not this again!
The assistant braced himself and said, “There’s 24-hour surveillance in the house, which will prove my innocence.”
Without another word, Xu Chenghao spread his arms wide and lunged at him. The startled assistant instinctively bent down to dodge, allowing Xu Chenghao to seize the opportunity to dart to the door, fling it open, and dash out.
The assistant, while dialing Jing Yicheng, chased after him, saying, “President Xu, you’ve just woken up and shouldn’t go out. If you catch a cold and fall ill, the boss might fire me!”
Xu Chenghao, waiting for the elevator, threatened, “If you dare stop me, even if I don’t get sick, I can still get Jing Yicheng to fire you!”
The assistant: “…”
That… actually seems quite possible.
So this is the terrifying nature of a first-class high-risk individual!!
Downstairs.
An Rouyu leaned against the doorway, holding her child. Her eyes were filled with joy and satisfaction at having her baby back. Finally, she had reclaimed her child and could fulfill her dream of fleeing far away. She believed she could raise the child on her own, give him a happy childhood, and ensure he grew up healthy and safe—with the surname “An.”
But there was a problem. Although Ruan Chenxuan had arranged everything for her to leave the country with the child, An Rouyu didn’t trust him. She was deeply worried that history would repeat itself and the Ruan family would take her child away again. What if he regretted it and wanted the child back? What if Old Mr. Ruan managed to track her and the baby down again?
Therefore, she couldn’t follow Ruan Chenxuan’s prescribed plan. She needed to find Hao-ge and ask for his help one last time—just this once. After that, she swore she would never come back to bother them again. She would dedicate herself to living a good life with her child.
Finally, after waiting for what felt like ages, she heard the elevator doors open. However, just as a look of joy was about to spread across her face, it froze. Hugging her child tightly, she exclaimed in panic, “Y-you-you! Why are you here?”
Jing Yicheng stepped out of the elevator. “This is my and Xu Chenghao’s home. Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?”
An Rouyu instinctively glanced behind him, her eyes searching for someone. When she found no one, she retracted her gaze in disappointment and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you. But Hao-ge… apart from President Xu, I really don’t know who else to turn to.”
Jing Yicheng’s expression remained cold. “Asking Xu Chenghao for help again? If I recall, the last time you wanted to leave the country, you said the same thing. It seems I underestimated just how thick-skinned you are.”
An Rouyu bit her lip, gazing down at the child in her arms. In a soft voice, she said, “This really is the last time. As long as I can leave the Ruan family’s sphere of influence, I’ll live quietly with my child and never disturb you again.”
Jing Yicheng sneered. “You want help, so everyone is supposed to help you? Do you think others are selfless philanthropists?”
An Rouyu remained silent, but in her heart, she was determined to wait for Xu Chenghao. She believed that if she explained things to him this way, he would definitely help her.
How could Jing Yicheng not see through her plan? He said bluntly, “You might be able to wait, but are you sure the child can? I seem to recall this baby was born prematurely and isn’t in good health. Are you certain you can take proper care of him, especially out here?”
“I can! This is my child!” An Rouyu suddenly erupted, shouting at Jing Yicheng without the slightest fear—a rare display of defiance.
The child, who had been sound asleep, was startled awake by the commotion and began crying loudly. An Rouyu panicked, clumsily trying to comfort the baby with a few ineffectual pats. She was completely unprepared, having brought nothing with her in her rush to escape from Ruan Chenxuan’s people. Most importantly, she lacked experience.
Jing Yicheng watched her flounder with cold detachment, his disdain for her earlier claim evident. “Look at yourself. You’re unfit to care for a child. Forcing the baby to stay with you will only ruin him.”
Any discussion involving her child, especially about separating her from the baby, instantly ignited An Rouyu’s fury. She screamed, “What do you know?! He’s my child! I can take care of him! He’s happiest with me! Yes, only with me can he be truly happy!”
Jing Yicheng glanced at the crying baby, utterly baffled by the source of her confidence. He took out his phone and, with a pointed gesture, said, “For the child’s sake, I’ll give you two choices. First, take the child and leave. There’s no philanthropist here to help you—not even Xu Chenghao. Second, if you refuse to leave and insist on staying, don’t blame me for notifying the Ruan family to personally take you away.”
Before he finished speaking, his phone lit up and began ringing. Already on edge from his threats, An Rouyu’s fear and desperation erupted. Still holding the baby, she lunged at him, screaming, “No! You can’t notify the Ruan family! This is my child!”
Jing Yicheng ruthlessly brushed her hand aside and was about to check the caller ID when An Rouyu, driven by fear and desperation, completely lost control. She lunged at him again, attempting to snatch the phone from his hand.
Initially, Jing Yicheng had refrained from taking drastic action out of consideration for the child. He had even exercised rare patience in trying to handle the situation peacefully. But An Rouyu, acting like a madwoman, seemed incapable of listening to reason. Her wild flailing finally pushed him past his limit. Seizing her flailing arms, he twisted them behind her back and slammed her forcefully against the wall.
“Ah—!”
“Wah—!”
The sound of her pained scream mixed with the baby’s piercing, heart-wrenching cries, creating a harrowing cacophony. At that moment, the elevator doors opened, and Xu Chenghao stepped out. Hearing the commotion, his expression changed drastically. He rushed out of the elevator, shouting, “Jing Yicheng!”
That voice, to Jing Yicheng, was like a magic incantation. His fierce expression was instantly replaced by panic, and he hastily released An Rouyu, backing away several steps as if he’d done something terribly wrong. His voice dropped to a whisper, barely audible amidst the crying of the woman and the child, as he said, “Haohao…”
Even though the words were faint, Xu Chenghao caught them. He walked over, took Jing Yicheng’s hand, and gently reassured him, “Don’t be afraid. Tell me what happened.”
Jing Yicheng immediately grasped his hand back, his grip tense with worry that Xu Chenghao might be angry. Keeping his explanation brief, he recounted the events that had just transpired. When he finished, he lowered his head and admitted, “I know it wasn’t right to act like that when she’s holding the child, but I was so angry I couldn’t control myself… I’m sorry.”
“You were defending yourself,” Xu Chenghao comforted him with a few calming words before turning his gaze to An Rouyu.
Freed from Jing Yicheng’s restraint, An Rouyu collapsed weakly to the floor, leaning against the wall. One arm clutched the baby tightly, while the other hung limp, trembling uncontrollably—it seemed to be dislocated.
The baby was still crying, the wailing so intense that its voice had started to turn hoarse.
An Rouyu remained on the floor, staring at them with a guarded expression, as if afraid they might take the child away from her.
For the first time, Xu Chenghao felt that having the child stay with their mother—given An Rouyu’s current mental state… might not truly be in the child’s best interest.
However, since this arrangement had been decided by the male and female leads, Xu Chenghao had no intention of intervening. Instead, he spoke coolly, “Why are you here?”
An Rouyu began to cry, her voice full of desperation. “Hao-ge, please help me. I want to leave with my child… This is the last time I’ll ever ask you for help. I swear I’ll never appear in your life again. Please, don’t notify the Ruan family. Just help me this one last time.”
Xu Chenghao found her plea laughable. “Why should I help you? What do you have that’s worth me helping you for?”
An Rouyu could only cry harder. “I swear it’s really the last time. I just need to leave the Ruan family with my child. Please, Hao-ge, I’m begging you, help me one last time.”
Unmoved, Xu Chenghao replied coldly, “The goodwill of twenty years has already been exhausted. Do you really think I’m a charity worker?”
Standing behind him, Jing Yicheng curled his lips slightly, finding satisfaction in how perfectly in sync they were.
Panicking and desperate, An Rouyu blurted out, “I can let the child take the Xu surname!”
Jing Yicheng’s expression immediately darkened. “So, you’re trying to exploit Xu Chenghao, is that it?”
“No, no!” An Rouyu stammered in a rush. “I just want the child to recognize Xu Chenghao as a godfather so he can honor him in the future.”
Jing Yicheng sneered, “Oh? A filial child or just another troublemaker? Once he recognizes a godfather, there’ll be endless problems demanding help. You’re quite adept at taking advantage of others.”
An Rouyu broke down. “But I have no other choice! I just want to leave the Ruan family and take my child away… I really don’t have anything to offer you…”
Jing Yicheng replied coldly, “Then leave!”
An Rouyu fixed her gaze on Xu Chenghao, hoping to find her final salvation in his response.
Xu Chenghao looked at her calmly and stated objectively, “In your current mental state, you’re not fit to care for a child…”
Before he could finish, An Rouyu exploded on the spot. Hugging the baby tightly, she screamed hysterically, “Get out! All of you, get out!!!”
The child, held too tightly, continued to cry, his face turning from red to purple, clearly in distress.
A premature baby required delicate care, and this ordeal only made things worse.
For once, Xu Chenghao felt a rare headache forming. On one hand, he didn’t want to meddle in the male and female leads’ affairs. On the other hand, he was worried the child might suffer irreversible harm.
Weighing his options as the baby’s cries grew weaker, Xu Chenghao finally sighed and gave in, deciding to play the savior this one time.
T/N: The assistant really deserves a raise for all the stress lol. As for An Ruoyu, I really don’t know what to think of her. She really needs to give the baby up for the child’s own good.
