Chapter 28

In mid‑February, Xingyu launched a new talent‑scouting project to inject fresh blood into the company.
The new audition show was in intensive preparation. One day, right after a meeting, Luo Yin came up to him. “President Duan, a Mr. Zhou Xu is here to see you. He’s been waiting in the reception room for quite a while.”
“Zhou Xu?” Duan Baisui repeated unconsciously.
“Yes.”
Zhou Xu was one of the very few friends he could genuinely open up to.
They’d met in junior high. Later, when they both went abroad to study, they’d ended up in the same city and often met up on weekends. Their parents had even bought them apartments in the same neighborhood so they could look out for each other.
When Duan Baisui had returned home early to take over the company, Zhou Xu had stayed behind, preparing for graduate school. His father had always hoped he would become a brilliant lawyer—but that hope, clearly, was doomed.
As Duan Baisui pushed open the door, he heard a flat mechanical voice: “Defeat!”
Zhou Xu flung his phone aside. “You suck, marksman!”
Looked like he’d just lost another game.
“When did you get back?” Duan Baisui’s sudden question almost made him jump.
Spinning around, Zhou Xu sprang to his feet and hauled him into an enthusiastic hug. “Alex, finally! I thought you’d died!”
Uninvited enthusiasm was always suspicious.
Shoving him off expressionlessly, Duan Baisui asked, “So, did you pass the bar exam?”
Zhou Xu’s face fell. “No. I fought with my dad. I couldn’t stand that place for one more minute! So I left. I’m that kind of man—very principled.”
“And then?” Duan Baisui had known it wouldn’t be that simple.
Zhou Xu’s father was notoriously strict. He’d once declared that unless his son passed the bar, he wasn’t allowed to come back to China.
But Zhou Xu being Zhou Xu—
He weighed one hundred and fifty jin, and at least one forty‑nine of that was pure contrariness.
He was either in a relationship or chasing the next one. His mind was never on his studies. Passing the exam would’ve been the real miracle.
“Then he froze all my cards. I don’t have many friends here, so I had to come rely on you,” Zhou Xu said, half joking, half serious. “I heard your company’s putting together a talent show. What do you think of me? I really think I’ve got the kind of looks that can make it in showbiz.”
Looking him up and down, Duan Baisui said, “With your romantic history overseas, you want to be an idol? You’d debut in the morning, post an apology at noon, and retire by night. I don’t have time to clean up your PR mess.”
“…” said Zhou Xu.
“Then at least let me crash here for a few days? I really have nowhere else to go. Don’t worry, I won’t stay long. My mom still loves me,” Zhou Xu added with a fawning grin.
He knew exactly how to play on his mother’s soft heart.
Glancing at the time—just after four, with nothing urgent left to do—Duan Baisui took in Zhou Xu’s travel‑stained, disheveled state and said, “Let’s go.”
“On it!” Zhou Xu scrambled to grab his suitcase. “Duan‑ge, you’re the best.”
Given how long they’d known each other, and how rarely Zhou Xu came home, he couldn’t exactly throw him into a hotel.
And he knew that Zhou Xu’s family would never let him really fend for himself for long. So he simply treated it as having a guest and took him straight home.
The villa was quiet. Aunt Liu had gone out grocery shopping.
After they changed their shoes and went inside, Zhou Xu dragged his suitcase to the side and flopped onto the sofa like a boneless slug.
Just then, Zuo Nian’s orange tabby appeared from nowhere, gave them a wary look, and bolted upstairs.
“You have a cat now?” Zhou Xu asked, amused.
“Zuo Nian picked it up,” Duan Baisui said.
“Oh, right. I forgot—you’re married now.” Sitting up a bit straighter, Zhou Xu asked, “Where’s your wife? I missed your wedding, you know. I still haven’t officially met him.”
“Probably at the shop,” said Duan Baisui. “It’s not like you don’t know him.”
“Of course I do~” Zhou Xu dragged out the last syllable. “Your little child‑bride~”
“Back in junior high, you used to drag me off to eat lunch and go home together after school just to avoid him. My first love was convinced you were an Omega and threw a fit about it for months.”
“Then right after graduation, when he said he wanted to go to the same high school as you, you turned around and chose to go abroad. My dad only shipped me off because of you. Tell me, how is that fair?”
With a sideways look, Duan Baisui said, “Did you forget you were caught dating, refused to break up, and had your girlfriend’s parents show up at your house? Your dad sent you abroad because of that.”
“Lies,” Zhou Xu huffed, refusing to admit it. “Anyway, if you hated him so much, how did you end up marrying him after all that?”
“I promised him when we were kids. And besides—”
“Keep spinning,” Zhou Xu cut in. “You told me yourself that what you say as a kid doesn’t count. Since when do you compromise? That’s not the Alex I know. My guess?” He pointed at him. “You just didn’t want to go through forced matching, so you took the easy way and accepted him. I know you. Straight as a ruler, heart of stone.”
Before Duan Baisui could refute that, the front door opened.
Carrying bags of groceries, Aunt Liu came through the entryway and into the living room. “Young Master, sir, you’re back,” she greeted them warmly.
“You went shopping, Auntie? That’s hard work. Sorry to add another mouth to feed today,” Zhou Xu said cheerfully.
Smiling, she said, “Not at all. Make yourselves comfortable, I’ll cut up some fruit.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
She took a few steps toward the kitchen, then stopped, peering up the stairs. “Mr. Zuo, you’re still running a fever. Why are you sitting on the floor?” she called out in puzzlement.
From as far back as he could remember, Zuo Nian had known he wasn’t wanted.
Most of the children at the orphanage were there because they’d lost their parents.
He, on the other hand, had been thrown away by his own.
Because his glands were malformed.
Because… he was “slow.”
Every year, many people came to adopt children. Omega kids were especially popular—except for him.
Whenever prospective parents visited, Director Xia would dress him in clean, tidy clothes and wash his little face until it shone. Then she’d tell him, “Xiao Qi, remember to be brave in front of your new parents. Smile a lot. Moms and dads like children who smile. That way, you can go to a good home and live a happy life.”
“Why can’t I just stay with you forever?” he had asked, tilting his head.
Heart aching, she’d stroked his hair. “I’m getting old. I won’t be able to protect you forever. You’re very pretty and very naive. Without a good family behind you, life will be very hard. You’re still young; there are things you don’t understand yet. But when you grow up, you’ll see that life for a beautiful Omega can be very, very difficult.”
He hadn’t fully understood, but he listened.
If Director Mama wanted him to smile, he smiled—and he never cried.
“Ah… this child’s glands are problematic,” a man said regretfully more than once.
“But Xiao Qi is very well‑behaved and very sensible. The more time you spend with him, the more you’ll like him,” Director Xia would insist, trying her best to recommend him.
Time after time, he’d be picked out of the crowd of children, made to perform alone, to chat with the adults alone. He’d lost track of how many times he’d sung the same little nursery rhyme.
Eventually, he began to suspect that the song was the problem. Maybe he just sang badly.
So he’d learned to recite a classic poem he’d heard an older girl perform before she was adopted. It had taken him a long, long time to memorize it smoothly.
But that hadn’t helped either.
“Director Xia, I’m sorry. We still want a healthy child,” the man’s wife would say gently.
Director Xia would nod her understanding. “Then take a look at the others.”
“What about that little girl with the ball? She seemed nice,” the man would suggest.
“Let’s go,” his wife would agree.
Gripping the hem of his shirt, Xiao Qi would shrink into the corner, head down.
He knew he’d been eliminated again.
He still held the candy the kind auntie had just given him. She smelled so nice—soft and sweet. He’d almost let himself call her Mama.
But he’d failed again. So he was terrible.
As they were about to leave, Xiao Qi crept after them and held the candy out with both hands.
He hadn’t been chosen; he couldn’t accept their kindness. Just like the pretty teddy bear that had been taken back out of his arms by another set of parents—things that didn’t belong to him never stayed.
The woman blinked in surprise, then smiled. “It’s all right. I gave it to you. You can keep it.”
She crouched down to smooth a hand over his cheek. “I’m sorry. It just wasn’t meant to be. But Xiao Qi will meet even better parents.”
His heart hurt, but he didn’t cry. Remembering Director Mama’s words, he lifted his chin and managed a smile. “Thank you.”
Before they left, they gave him even more candy.
Later, peering out of a window, he saw them leading away a little sister—and tucking an adorable stuffed doll into her arms.
Hugging his own bald, ugly doll tighter, Xiao Qi told himself he wasn’t envious at all. He had one too.
He only felt sorry—
Once again he’d disappointed Director Mama. Once again he’d made her sad.
He hid the candies she’d given him, unable to bear eating them. In the end, the other children snatched them away, all except the one he’d tucked into his doll’s clothing. That one, he ate in secret under the covers that night. It was so sweet.
He kissed the worn fabric and murmured, “As long as I have you and Director Mama, that’s enough.”
The seasons turned. He went through round after round of “selection.” All the Omega children who’d arrived when he had were adopted one by one. Only he remained.
Not only was he unwanted by parents, he wasn’t welcome among the other kids either. They never let him join their games. Every time he tried to tag along, he was beaten.
So he’d learned his lesson.
He’d squat under the tree watching from a distance. When the others laughed, he laughed too. When someone was almost caught in “eagle catches chicks,” he’d hold his breath in pretend tension.
If he pretended hard enough, it almost felt like he was playing too.
But there were always those who refused to leave him alone.
One day, a sandbag flew through the air and smacked straight into his face. His nose hurt, and then itched. Warm liquid trickled out.
It wasn’t the first time. By now, he was used to it.
His first instinct wasn’t to cry, but to run.
Crying only made things worse; it brought more beatings. He didn’t want Director Mama to worry.
The boys behind him chased him gleefully, as if tormenting him was the only fun in their dull days.
He didn’t dare stop. Glancing back over his shoulder, he slammed into a tall man in a sleek suit.
Another striking man with blond hair and blue eyes stood at his side. They both radiated the effortless ease of the very rich.
The bullies scattered the instant they saw them.
Xiao Qi stared at the blood smeared across the man’s jacket. Knowing he was in trouble, he frantically rubbed at the stain with his filthy sleeve. Tilting his head back, he forced out a smile. “I’m sorry, Uncle. Xiao Qi didn’t mean to. Please don’t be mad.”
The man’s expression was gentle. He crouched down and patted his hair. “Your name is Xiao Qi?”
“Mm‑hm.”
“How old are you?”
“Almost six.” These were standard questions, and he’d answered them so many times that they came out smooth.
Just then, Director Xia came hurrying from her office. Seeing him, she cried, “Xiao Qi, what happened to you?”
He had no idea what his face looked like. “I fell. I wasn’t careful,” he lied, still grinning.
The man watched him with pained eyes. “Director Xia, may I see this child’s file?”
Once again, he’d been chosen.
But this time, the new parents didn’t make him perform a poem or song. Instead, they had Director Xia take him back to the dormitory while they talked in her office.
“You’ve seen how things are for him here,” he overheard Director Xia saying, her voice thick with tears. “Mr. Zuo, Mr. Ason, you’re both kind men. Please, give him a way out. That Mr. Yue is coming again tomorrow. I’m so afraid I won’t be able to protect him. That man is… foul. I can’t hand Xiao Qi over to him…”
Ears pricked, Xiao Qi felt a fresh wave of guilt. He’d made Director Mama worry and cry for him again.
He really was a bad child. No wonder no one liked him.
A little later, the office door opened.
The pretty blue‑eyed man crouched in front of him and smiled. “Xiao Qi, would you like to come home with us?”