Chapter 3

The little fool never got angry. He would just “hehe” and laugh.
After the adoption, it was Zuo Jun and Ason who finally gave him a proper name and set his “birthday” as the day they’d found him.
Christmas Day.
And today was the first birthday Zuo Nian had celebrated since their wedding.
He really should have been by his side.
“Sorry. I’ve been too busy lately and forgot today was your birthday. I didn’t prepare a present for you.” Duan Baisui’s honesty was almost cruel.
But Zuo Nian didn’t get upset. Smiling sweetly, he said, “Nian‑nian doesn’t want presents. I’m already very happy that Gege came back to eat cake with me.”
Something twisted uncomfortably in Duan Baisui’s chest.
He felt like he wasn’t a very qualified husband.
After hanging up Duan Baisui’s coat and tie, Zuo Nian said, “It’s not midnight yet. Nian‑nian can still make a wish.”
Duan Baisui sat with him at the coffee table, helping insert the candles into the cake and light them. “Mm.”
Zuo Nian turned off a few of the main lights in the living room, leaving only the soft, yellow wall lamps on.
Sitting cross‑legged on the floor, he faced the cake. The soft glow of the candles reflected off his face, making him look even gentler and more delicate.
He folded his hands and held them under his chin. “I hope…”
“That Gege is happy every day, stays healthy, and… marks Nian‑nian soon.”
He recited all three wishes silently in his heart, not letting the man beside him hear.
After he blew out the candles, Duan Baisui asked, “What did you wish for?”
Zuo Nian tilted his head back to look at him, his brows arching. “Dad said that if you say your wish out loud, it won’t come true. So Nian‑nian can’t tell you.”
Duan Baisui lifted a brow. Perhaps infected by the younger man’s good mood, the exhaustion and anger from earlier in the day gradually faded, leaving only a quiet sense of relaxation and warmth. “All right. It’s your birthday today, so you call the shots.”
Zuo Nian wrinkled his nose, making a mischievous little face.
If it had been any other grown man acting cutesy like this in front of Duan Baisui, he would have found it nauseating. After all, a twenty‑five‑year‑old man behaving that way would only seem affected and greasy.
But when Zuo Nian did it, he was simply… adorable.
His expressions and little gestures were many, but never deliberate. They just made people want to keep watching.
After the two of them shared some cake, it was already late.
After his shower, Duan Baisui lifted the blanket and got into bed.
Zuo Nian was already lying on his left side, sound asleep.
They hadn’t separated bedrooms after getting married, but they’d never done anything more intimate either.
One bed, two quilts, each sleeping in their own.
There was an ugly doll tucked into Zuo Nian’s blanket. Every night, he fell asleep clutching it. That was his “A‑Beibei,” something extremely important to him.
Duan Baisui gazed at him for a long while, then reached over to turn off the light.
The room fell into darkness. Duan Baisui thought that tomorrow, he must remember to make up for the missed birthday present.
The next morning, as soon as the company’s meeting ended, his assistant came over to report that public opinion online had suddenly swung in the opposite direction. Now people were saying that the bullying incident was all staged by Ju Xiao himself—that he hadn’t been bullied at all and had only tried to kill himself because his confession had failed and he wanted to frame his teammates.
Some more extreme netizens had even dug up personal information on Ju Xiao’s little niece, saying they were going to wait for her at her school.
The niece depended on Ju Xiao for everything. She was basically his entire hope in life. Going after her was like striking a snake at its seven‑inch weak spot—this was a move made in the shadows to force him to back down and drop the matter.
Of course, Duan Baisui knew exactly whose handiwork this was.
That Rong Jin was the little young master of Rongchuang.
The public might not know, but how could he not?
Rongchuang was trying to dump the whole mess onto Ju Xiao’s head. They clearly knew he was already so depressed that he wanted to die, yet they still chose to handle things this way, leaving him absolutely no way out.
“Start an emergency PR response. Suppress the trending topics first. Doxxing is illegal, and they’re targeting a minor. Send lawyer’s letters to those involved in Ju Xiao’s name,” Duan Baisui ordered coldly.
They were still talking when his phone rang.
It was a call from Qin Li.
A bad feeling immediately rose in Duan Baisui’s chest.
“Hello.”
He had barely put the phone to his ear when Qin Li’s anxious voice came through. “Alex, Ju Xiao is gone.”
According to Qin Li, that morning two troublesome fans had disguised themselves as patients and snuck into the ward area. They made a huge scene outside the room, and the bodyguards at the door moved to escort them out.
No one had expected a scuffle to break out. One of the fans suddenly collapsed, claiming the bodyguard had assaulted them.
The police were called, and both the fans and the bodyguards were taken away to make statements.
After that, Ju Xiao told Xiao Yuan he wanted to eat steamed buns. But when she came back with the food, the ward was empty.
After hanging up, Duan Baisui said to Luo Yin, “Send someone to check at Ju Ying’s school. He might go looking for her. And tell Hu Chun to get over here. Now.”
“Yes, President Duan.”
Whether it was for the sake of his conscience or the company’s reputation, this incident had to be handled fairly.
Hu Chun arrived quickly.
He stuck to the same old story—that he hadn’t known anything and had only heard Rong Jin complain that Ju Xiao liked him and that he felt very troubled by it.
Expressionless, Duan Baisui tossed a file down in front of him. “I heard you suddenly paid off a large debt recently. Do you think I can’t find out where that money came from?”
Hu Chun gave a small laugh. “President Duan, the money did come from President Rong. But it was just to thank me for looking after Rong Jin. You know what he’s like—his personality gets him into trouble all the time. I’m always cleaning up after him. It’s not surprising that President Rong gave me a little money.”
Duan Baisui nodded. “Of course. After all, President Rong is such a ‘loving father.’”
“What is surprising, though, is that the doctors examined Ju Xiao yesterday and didn’t find any external injuries. With President Rong’s methods, it would be easy to clear Rong Jin’s name. So what secret was worth six million yuan in ‘compensation’ to you?”
Hu Chun’s smile stayed on his lips.
“You’re overthinking it, President Duan. There really isn’t any secret.”
Fixing his eyes on the man, Duan Baisui suddenly smiled. “You say Ju Xiao likes Rong Jin and that Rong Jin is distressed by it. But when I watched that variety show a while back, why did it look to me like Rong Jin was the one especially dependent on Ju Xiao?”
At that, he fell silent, closely observing Hu Chun’s expression.
The corners of the man’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. “You know how these things are. It’s all scripted.”
“Then his acting has improved a lot,” Duan Baisui said.
“He’s been working hard in his acting classes…”
“You’ve managed them for a long time, Hu Chun. You should know them very well.” Duan Baisui’s voice was as calm as an ancient well. “Someone like Rong Jin would never accept that he’s fallen for a Beta, would he?”
Hu Chun’s smile froze completely.
Not long after Hu Chun left, Duan Baisui received a call from Assistant Luo.
He had found Ju Xiao—he really had gone to his niece’s school.
There, he had been besieged by the other three members’ fans, but luckily the staff arrived in time.
Now, Ju Xiao had only suffered some superficial injuries and had already been taken back to the hospital. The troublemakers had been taken away by the police.
Looking at the information about Rongchuang Group on his computer screen, Duan Baisui said, “Tell Qin Li to run a blood test on Ju Xiao.”
“Got it.”
“And get a psychologist for him as soon as possible.”
“Understood.”
That evening, when work was over, Duan Baisui didn’t have the driver take him home.
He drove himself to New Era Plaza.
Zuo Nian’s shop was there.
Before the wedding, Zuo Jun and Ason had bought him a small storefront and helped him open a handicraft shop.
Zuo Nian was very good with his hands. The things he made were exquisite.
The family didn’t need him to earn money. They just wanted him to be happy.
Compared with the large eighty‑to‑ninety‑square‑meter units that lined the outer ring of the mall, his little shop was tiny.
He had chosen it himself: a space of just over thirty square meters in an inner corridor on the first floor. But for a handicraft store, it was actually perfect.
Because of his busy schedule, Duan Baisui rarely came here.
Now he relied on memory to find his way.
It was easy to recognize Zuo Nian’s shop.
On a street full of minimalist, sleek, high‑end storefront designs, his shop looked like a little cottage out of a fairy tale.
Above the pink wooden single door hung a pale yellow, French‑style half‑round awning. Instead of a full floor‑to‑ceiling display window, there was just a square opening in the wall, lined with a slim strip of lights.
On the display table inside the window sat a crystal‑ball music box. Floating in the clear sphere was a pink‑and‑white castle, and as the colored lights shifted, delicate flakes of “snow” drifted up and down.
Next to the music box stood a pair of teddy bears dressed in a suit and wedding gown.
Above the window, the shop owner had hung a rainbow and clouds knitted out of yarn.
On this bitter winter day, the little shop was the warmest, brightest spot on the entire street.
In just a few strides, Duan Baisui reached the door. As his hand touched the knob, laughter drifted out from inside.
“What did you say? You got married? You’re not pulling our leg, are you?” a teasing male voice said.
“He said the same thing last time I saw him. Guess who he claimed his husband was?” another man chimed in.
“Who?”
“You know Xingyu Entertainment, right?” the man said. “He said his husband is their young master—the one who’s on magazine covers every other day.”
“Holy crap, are you okay, class belle? Even people with mental issues can be this vain, huh?” The man’s voice was dripping with mockery. “No wonder you wouldn’t agree to go out with me back in school. So you’ve been dreaming of marrying into a rich family.”
“If you’re not buying anything, please leave. I’m closing the shop soon. My husband is coming home for dinner, I have to go home and cook…” Zuo Nian raised his voice a little, but that soft, lilting tone of his didn’t make him sound angry at all.
“What, the young master’s family can’t even afford a housekeeper? Hahahaha…” the yin‑yang‑toned mockery just kept coming.