Chapter 40 – Confession

Fei Xiangnan took Xiao Fang home. Throughout the journey, Xiao Fang remained in low spirits. Although he spoke normally, Fei Xiangnan could see that he was in a very bad mood. He wasn’t good at comforting people, so all he could do was stay by his side.

After dinner and a shower, Xiao Fang didn’t ask to watch a post-dinner movie together. Instead, he said he was going to bed.

“President Fei, why are you following me?” Xiao Fang asked, halfway to his room, looking puzzled at Fei Xiangnan trailing behind him.

Fei Xiangnan coughed and came up with a very clumsy excuse. “I’m going in to turn off the light for you.”

Xiao Fang was speechless. He wasn’t so weak that he couldn’t even turn off a light.

Despite this, Xiao Fang didn’t say much at that moment. He slowly walked into the room and lay down on the soft, large bed. Only then did his anxious heart find a trace of relaxation. His tense muscles began to loosen, and a sense of powerlessness finally swept over his entire body. Looking at the gentle light above his head, Xiao Fang suddenly had a lot he wanted to say.

“Get some good sleep. Don’t think too much,” Fei Xiangnan said softly. Even though he was furious, he couldn’t vent it in front of Xiao Fang.

“President Fei, there’s some anti-itch ointment in my drawer. You have a lot of bites on your hand, you should apply some,” Xiao Fang said, turning his head to look at Fei Xiangnan, his eyes filled with a determined meaning.

Fei Xiangnan no longer tried to hide it. He grunted in agreement, squatted down, and opened the drawer. A small red tube of ointment lay in a corner.

“I’ll put it on for you,” Xiao Fang suddenly said, sitting up. The thought of Fei Xiangnan trying to apply ointment with one hand in his own room made him feel guilty.

“Okay,” Fei Xiangnan handed the ointment to Xiao Fang, as obedient as a big child. Xiao Fang took it, pulled one of Fei Xiangnan’s hands, unbuttoned his cuff, and rolled up the sleeve. There were far more bites than just on his wrist; his arm hadn’t been spared either. Xiao Fang felt even more ashamed.

“How long were you waiting for me? And your constitution attracts mosquitoes.” Xiao Fang carefully applied the ointment to every red spot. Their interaction suddenly felt like that of a very ordinary married couple.

Fei Xiangnan could see the small whorl of hair on top of Xiao Fang’s head just by looking down. He couldn’t help but ruffle it with his free hand. “You weren’t mistreated, were you?”

Xiao Fang’s head sank slightly. For the first time, he felt that the hand on his head carried a much deeper meaning. A simple “You weren’t mistreated, were you?” was worth more than a thousand words. This place gave him a sense of home, stronger than any other place.

“No.”

“Liar!” Fei Xiangnan said with certainty.

Xiao Fang stubbornly raised his head to meet Fei Xiangnan’s gaze. “It’s just my family’s stupid business. President Fei, you shouldn’t get involved.”

Fei Xiangnan’s eyes darkened. “And what if I insist on getting involved?”

“Even if you want to, you don’t know what it’s about!” Xiao Fang threw caution to the wind and flopped down, turning his back to Fei Xiangnan.

Fei Xiangnan wasn’t annoyed. He said directly, “I will find out. And whoever bullies you, I will help you bully them back.”

Ahhh, it’s the middle of the night, don’t say things that are so heart-wrenching, okay? Xiao Fang’s tear ducts started to lose control. Hold it in! Xiao Fang, if you cry, I’ll look down on you for the rest of my life.

“President Fei, just don’t waste your manpower and resources. It’s not a big deal,” Xiao Fang advised, unable to stop himself from biting the corner of the quilt.

“It’s never a waste on you. Xiao Fang, I like you.” Fei Xiangnan finally said it. In what was probably the least appropriate atmosphere, a million miles away from his ideal scenario. There was no ring, no sacred vow, he just said it. But he couldn’t bear to see the person on the tip of his heart being wronged.

Xiao Fang lay on his side, motionless.

“Xiao Fang.”

Xiao Fang remained as still as a mountain.

“Xiao Fang?”

“Xiao Fang.” The flame of hope in Fei Xiangnan’s heart was about to be extinguished when he suddenly heard the sound of sniffling.

Fei Xiangnan, a man of few words and decisive action, immediately flipped Xiao Fang over like a piece of fried squid. The young man before him was on the verge of having his face smeared with tears. He let out another loud sniff, looking as undignified as possible.

“You fool, what are you crying for?” Fei Xiangnan immediately grabbed a tissue and wiped Xiao Fang’s face, finally holding it to his nose. Seeing Fei Xiangnan’s completely unbothered gaze, Xiao Fang couldn’t hold back and blew his nose. It was a damn loud sound!

The man in question stood up with an unchanged expression, tossed the tissue into the trash can, and by the time he turned back, a certain someone had already hidden his head under the covers in an attempt to escape punishment.

“Did I scare you?” Fei Xiangnan tried to pull the covers down, but failed. At this point, Fei Xiangnan couldn’t keep it all in anymore. He had to say what needed to be said, to make a certain someone understand.

“You’re the one who provoked me first, so you have to bear half the responsibility,” Fei Xiangnan said, shamelessly trying to make Xiao Fang a co-conspirator.

Hearing this, Xiao Fang immediately threw off the covers. He still looked miserable, but his voice was strong. “How did I provoke you?!”

“Who was it that waited at my house for six hours just to celebrate my birthday?”

That was because I was afraid you’d be angry! Xiao Fang desperately wanted to proclaim his innocence.

“No one has ever done that for me.” After saying this, Fei Xiangnan immediately put on a pitiful expression. Xiao Fang’s words of protest were instantly swallowed. He had never understood what had made Fei Xiangnan like him. So this was it.

“And, why did you cry when I confessed to you? Don’t tell me it’s because I scared you.”

Well, a third of it was because of that…

“What about you? Why do you like me?”

“When did I say I liked you?!” Xiao Fang exploded on the spot. He was truly impressed by President Fei’s line of reasoning, which had turned from joint crime to mutual secret love!

“You don’t like me?” Fei Xiangnan’s eyes darkened. “If you don’t like me, why did you cry for me, wait six hours for me, and even speak up for me at the main family’s house?”

“I… I…” Xiao Fang couldn’t explain it himself. Was it because Fei Xiangnan was pitiful? But there were too many pitiful people in the world. Why was it specifically Fei Xiangnan?

“Xiao Fang, stop deceiving yourself.” Well, his entire romantic history had been laid out flat by President Fei. Not liking him meant he was intentionally seducing him. Not being able to give a clear answer meant he was deceiving himself. Was there only one path left?

“Xiao Fang,” Fei Xiangnan suddenly pulled him into a hug. “I’m a selfish person. Once I’ve set my sights on someone, I won’t let them go.”

“President Fei, can I interpret that as you threatening me?” Xiao Fang helplessly rested his head on Fei Xiangnan’s shoulder.

“Mm, it’s a threat,” Fei Xiangnan answered openly, without a hint of shame. Xiao Fang admired this confidence. At the same time, he also knew the answer in his own heart.

“My dad called me back today and told me to get rid of the baby.” Even though several hours had passed, Xiao Fang’s heart was still filled with an indescribable anger when he spoke of it.

“What?” Fei Xiangnan was about to explode.

Xiao Fang immediately hugged him tightly and quickly soothed him. “I refused!”

Only then did Fei Xiangnan calm down from his agitated state.

“But I made my dad faint from anger. The one who tattled was Xiao Qi. My dad said that the Fei family is an entity our Xiao family can’t afford to offend, especially you. You even sent your own uncle to prison. He said you’re sinister, devoid of any emotion, only care about profit, and are an emotionless money-making machine.”

Fei Xiangnan’s face was grim. So that’s how his father-in-law evaluated him.

“Then what do you think?” Fei Xiangnan cared most about Xiao Fang’s opinion.

“At first, I was definitely scared of you. You were fierce and wouldn’t let me eat barbecue.”

“You’re pregnant. You shouldn’t eat those things,” Fei Xiangnan defended himself.

“I know. Until I went home today, I was thinking about not continuing with you. Your family… will definitely bring me a lot of unavoidable trouble in the future. Even if you’re the head of the Fei family, you can’t send all the remaining Fei family members to prison. So, if I agree to be with you, there will be no more peaceful days.”

Fei Xiangnan didn’t comment on this. It was indeed an unavoidable fact, but he would do his best to protect Xiao Fang.

“But, when I went back today, when they saw the baby, there wasn’t a trace of joy. All they thought about was protecting me or the family. They never thought about the baby being innocent. I know my dad loves me, but at that moment, I realized that this place feels more like a home than my own home. Here, you are here, looking forward to the birth of this child.”

Fei Xiangnan held Xiao Fang tightly. Xiao Fang hadn’t said it explicitly, but the meaning behind his words was clear. He had finally relented.

“I didn’t plan on laying my cards on the table so soon,” Xiao Fang said in a muffled voice. At least not tonight.

“Why drag out something that’s already decided?” Fei Xiangnan said matter-of-factly.

Xiao Fang chuckled, but hugged Fei Xiangnan even tighter. After holding back for a minute, he finally let out a wail. “Waaaah, you scared me to death! I thought my dad was going to use the power of money to force me to submit. I almost lost Da Mao! Ahhhhhh!”

Fei Xiangnan’s heart ached as he held this little fool who made him worry so much. He was the only one allowed to bully him; how could he let others lay a hand on him? Xiao Fang’s father probably wouldn’t be so reckless, but Xiao Qi was a different story. There were many things in this world that could be accomplished with the power of money.

After finally coaxing Xiao Fang to sleep, Fei Xiangnan stood up. Looking at Xiao Fang, whose eyes were as red as a rabbit’s, he found it even more impossible to forgive Xiao Qi.

Rule number one for a doting partner: Never let your spouse be bullied! Not even a little bit!

***

The next day, the phones at Xiao Qi’s studio were ringing off the hook. From the boss to the staff, not a single person had a pleasant expression. As a result, when Xiao Qi went to work, he was completely clueless.

“Did something happen?” Xiao Qi asked coolly.

Everyone’s heads swiveled to look at him. For some reason, their expressions seemed to worsen upon seeing him. Finally, his agent came out.

“Xiao Qi, I have some bad news. All of your current endorsement deals have been canceled.”

“What?” For a moment, Xiao Qi could barely stand. All his endorsements? That was a third of his projected income for the near future. How could they be gone just like that?

“Tell me, who did you offend recently?” The agent also worked for a large company and looked down on Father Xiao’s meager wealth. If it weren’t for Xiao Qi’s Film Emperor title, he wouldn’t be so polite. It seemed he had been too lenient with him.

Xiao Qi’s face turned pale. “How could I just randomly offend someone?”

Wait, no, there was one person. Could it be… that he really liked Xiao Fang? It wasn’t an act? A dozen endorsements… how much money would it cost to cancel all of them? Xiao Qi had a rough idea.

“Did you remember something?” Seeing the look on his face, the agent knew it wasn’t that simple.

“I… I need to make a call first.” Xiao Qi frantically took out his phone. He could only gamble, gamble that Fei Xiangnan still had some lingering feelings for him.