Chapter 047: The Autumn Chill Heralds the King's Demise (13)
Wang Jingye paced back and forth several times in Le Yixian’s office before she finally couldn’t take it anymore and paused her work to ask, “Dad, do you need something?”
“Uh,” caught off guard by her sudden question, Wang Jingye hesitated. He happened to notice the pink lunchbox in the corner of his daughter’s desk and pointed at it, asking, “When did you buy that lunchbox?”
“I didn’t buy it,” Le Yixian replied. “Someone brought me lunch.”
“Who?” Wang Jingye instantly tensed up.
Le Yixian glanced at him, deliberated for a moment—suspecting the truth might be a blow to her father—but decided to be honest. “My boyfriend brought it.”
“What?? When did you get a boyfriend???”
“It’s been a few months already,” Le Yixian said, smiling at him. “He’s a really good person—you’re sure to like him.”
There she was, even speaking up for that rascal.
Wang Jingye felt utterly defeated.
“You really will like him,” she added, knowing that her father was quite fond of his new apprentice.
He would occasionally even praise Huangfu Shang at home.
“All right,” Wang Jingye, seasoned by life’s storms, quickly composed himself and even managed a kindly expression. “Since you’re officially together, shouldn’t you bring him home to meet me?”
And once he did, he’d make sure to give the guy who stole his daughter a good lesson.
——
At that very moment, Huangfu Shang, who was slicing vegetables, suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
After work, during their date, when his beloved told him she wanted to bring him home to meet her family, he felt as if he were floating among the clouds.
Weightless, completely unreal.
“W-what sort of gift should I bring?” Huangfu Shang stammered.
“Hmm, he doesn’t really have any particular favorites. Occasionally, he enjoys a drink or two,” Le Yixian recalled as best she could.
Since arriving in this world, she’d been wholly engrossed in her romance, barely paying attention to anyone else.
When Wang Jingye was home, she’d sometimes see him alone, sitting by the window with a crystal glass, savoring his drink.
Wine? Huangfu Shang nodded in understanding.
He decided he’d swing by home tomorrow.
Fine wine can’t be bought with money, but as luck would have it, one of his cousin’s many hobbies was collecting rare spirits.
If he snuck a few bottles from his cousin’s cellar, surely no one would notice.
When Huangfu Shang returned home, the butler was naturally delighted, giving him a once-over full of concern. “Young Master Shang, you must have had a hard time out there. Look at you, you’ve gotten so thin.”
Having gained five pounds while working in the restaurant, Huangfu Shang was at a loss for words.
There’s a kind of “thin” that only elders can see.
“What would you like to eat tonight? I’ll have the kitchen prepare more of your favorites,” the butler said with a cheerful smile.
Huangfu Shang quickly shook his head. “No need, I’m just here to pack a few clothes.”
“Young Master Shang,” the butler hesitated, but Huangfu Shang had already bounded up the stairs.
He hastily packed a few sets of everyday clothes, then quietly slipped into his cousin’s wine cellar.
He didn’t know much about wine, so he simply grabbed two bottles from a dusty corner. They were stored in round, ceramic jars and looked as if they’d been sitting there for ages.
Bottles in the corner, covered in dust—no one would notice if they disappeared.
As soon as Huangfu Shang left, his cousin Huangfu Lie returned.
He’d had a rough day, his mind in a fog.
When the butler asked what he’d like for dinner, he waved it off, signaling he wanted to be left alone.
He, Huangfu Lie, one of the world’s top ten most eligible bachelors—sure, that’s how it should be.
But today, he’d found out he was going to be a father. Although the child was still in its mother’s womb, that fact was unchangeable.
Recalling the scene he’d stumbled upon today, Huangfu Lie felt a splitting headache.
The child’s mother didn’t seem to have any intention of letting the child acknowledge its father.
At that thought, Huangfu Lie felt like drinking.
He got up and headed to the wine cellar.
Two minutes later, he rushed out and asked the butler, “Where are my two jars of wine?”
The butler looked baffled. “What wine?”
“The two jars of scholar’s wine my mother steeped for me when I was born,” Huangfu Lie said.
Of course, he hadn’t become the top scholar in the province, so the wine had never been opened. Instead, it was said it would be saved for his wedding day.
Now, his wedding wine had gone missing.
“The wine cellar? No one’s been in there today…” At this, the butler hesitated.
“Speak,” Huangfu Lie’s expression darkened.
“Today, Young Master Shang came home and said he was packing a few clothes. I remember that before he left, besides his backpack, he was carrying two bottles.”
Upon hearing this, the veins on Huangfu Lie’s forehead bulged. That cousin of his was too much.
“Get in touch with him.”
——
“Sir, Young Master Shang’s phone is off.”
“Do you know where he lives?”
“You once said not to protect Young Master Shang, to let him tough it out on his own outside, so he’d appreciate home and come back on his own…”
“Enough with the nonsense,” Huangfu Lie cut him off impatiently.
The butler took a deep breath. “So, we haven’t had anyone following him. We don’t know where he lives.”
“Forget it, leave him be for now,” Huangfu Lie said. “Go prepare an engagement ring for me.”
The butler was stunned. “Young Master Lie, which heiress are you proposing to?”
“Heiress?” Huangfu Lie raised an eyebrow, his handsome face showing a blend of exasperation and affection. “Just a girl who’s mad about money, that’s all.”
The butler: ???
——
On Saturday morning, Huangfu Shang dressed in the formalwear he’d brought from home and carried the two jars of wine as he headed out.
Just as he left, he ran into Ouyang Zining, who sported heavy dark circles under her eyes.
“Did you not sleep well?” Huangfu Shang and Ouyang Zining got along pretty well. Both worked in the kitchen—one in a hotel, one in a restaurant—so they had plenty to talk about and had grown close.
“Nope,” Ouyang Zining nodded. Damn, even a hospital visit had her running into that CEO.
He’d said all sorts of inexplicable things, insisting he would provide for and educate the child, among other bizarre promises.
Wait, did he mean to take the baby home after it was born and separate mother and child?
From now on, she’d have to be on guard against that CEO.
——
The first time Huangfu Shang went to meet his future father-in-law, his nerves were on edge. He circled the Wang family’s gate several times, not daring to ring the bell.
On his seventh lap, he noticed his mentor squatting by the community’s greenery, smoking a cigarette. He approached and greeted him.
“Shang, what are you doing here?” Wang Jingye looked up and gave his beloved apprentice a cursory glance. The young man looked quite dashing today, but Wang Jingye was in no mood to compliment him.
“I… I’m here to visit my girlfriend’s house, and I’m a bit nervous,” Huangfu Shang stammered.
“Your girlfriend’s house, eh? What’s there to be afraid of? Just go and knock, be polite—that’s all.” Seeing him this way, Wang Jingye, whose mood was already foul because his daughter now had a boyfriend coming over, grew even more annoyed. His apprentice was about to meet the parents, and yet looked scared out of his wits. Honestly, neither kid was easy on the heart. “If your future father-in-law looks down on you, just mention my name—Wang Jingye.”