Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Qi Yuwen rolled up his sleeve and turned on the faucet; the water rushed down, icy cold.

A colleague emerged from the company restroom, joining Qi Yuwen. The colleague turned to chat, but as he opened his mouth, his gaze fell upon the scabbed wound on Qi Yuwen’s arm.

The colleague gasped in shock. “Qi Yuwen, what happened to your arm? That’s such a long gash—it must have hurt terribly.”

Qi Yuwen’s eyes flickered slightly, then he casually glanced away, a faint smile playing on his lips. “I accidentally dropped a bowl last night, and a piece of it bounced up and scratched me.”

The colleague winced. “You really need to be more careful.”

Qi Yuwen murmured an agreement and turned off the faucet.

Between the restroom and the office lay a spacious break room. Hotel employees often sought refuge there to relax and chat, as long as their daily tasks were completed—supervisors usually turned a blind eye.

Qi Yuwen detoured into the break room, grabbing a disposable paper cup to pour himself some orange juice.

A group of women from various departments, engrossed in conversation, hushed their voices upon his arrival. Yet, Qi Yuwen still caught snippets of their talk.

He recognized all of them, including Wang Yuanyuan, who worked in the same department as You Nan.

One woman was lamenting her family’s insistence on blind dates, her expression a mix of frustration and stifled resentment.

“Sometimes I truly feel like I’m not my parents’ biological child. They just want to marry me off as quickly as possible, without even bothering to properly vet the candidates. They introduce just anyone. I’m barely in my twenties; I don’t want to marry a man in his thirties. The thought of potentially spending my life with men like that makes me dread the future.”

Her eyes welled up as she spoke, tears beginning to fall.

The others comforted her, urging her not to be upset.

“There aren’t many good men left in the world. Only the less desirable ones end up on the blind date market. We need to break free, save money, and move out on our own.”

“But you know what they say—the good ones are either taken early or they’re gay. What’s even left for us?”

The woman wiped her tears, her composure returning slightly. She gently patted her colleagues’ hands. “I understand what you mean. I’m still young; there’s no need to rush into marriage. I’m just hurt by my parents’ attitude.”

As she looked up, she noticed Qi Yuwen. She couldn’t help but glance at him. Qi Yuwen, sensing her gaze, offered a smile, then moved aside to sip his orange juice, careful not to disturb them.

The woman found Qi Yuwen genuinely considerate. She lowered her voice and whispered to her friends, “If it were any other male colleague from my department, they would have already jumped down my throat, telling me I was wrong.”

Wang Yuanyuan nodded, concurring in a hushed tone, “That’s true.”

The women’s conversation gradually shifted. “I wonder what Qi Yuwen’s wife looks like. I’m so curious—even the leaders weren’t invited to the wedding.”

“There aren’t many good guys left in our company, are there? These days, it’s either this one’s getting married or that one’s getting married.” Someone noticed Wang Yuanyuan staring blankly and nudged her. “What are you thinking about?”

Wang Yuanyuan replied, “Nothing much. I was just thinking about what you said—‘good men are either taken early or gay’—and it reminded me of You Nan’s friend I met that one time.”

She had remembered Yao Xianqing ever since that encounter. “His friend was truly handsome. The dignified kind of handsome.”

Wang Yuanyuan couldn’t help but speculate. “What a coincidence—You Nan rarely takes days off. Do you think he might have taken time off to go on a date with that friend?”

“Oh, come on! No way!”

The women behind him continued chatting, but Qi Yuwen clearly couldn’t listen any longer.

He quickly finished the cloyingly sweet drink and tossed the paper cup into the trash.

Qi Yuwen didn’t need to hear Wang Yuanyuan describe “You Nan’s friend”—he already knew it had to be Yao Xianqing.

During that period, only Yao Xianqing had been bold enough to repeatedly approach You Nan.

Qi Yuwen’s gaze deepened.

He began to suspect that despite his obvious interest in Yao Xianqing, Yao Xianqing showed no reciprocal feelings. Instead, Yao Xianqing seemed closer to You Nan, whom he had only met a few times.

Could it be that Yao Xianqing preferred someone like You Nan?

Qi Yuwen cared about Yao Xianqing. He had long known that Yao Xianqing and his fiancée were in a loveless marriage of convenience.

Huang Jingling even had a boyfriend on the side.

Qi Yuwen guessed Yao Xianqing was aware of this and was only with Huang Jingling because of his family’s arrangements.

There were no real feelings between them.

The way Yao Xianqing treated Qi Yuwen was the same as how he treated Huang Jingling. If things had continued like that, it would have been fine.

But Yao Xianqing treated You Nan differently.

What angered Qi Yuwen even more was how readily You Nan welcomed Yao Xianqing’s closeness.

Didn’t You Nan say he was only into Qi Yuwen? Then why was he messaging Yao Xianqing to get milk tea? Was that cup of milk tea really that good?

On the surface, Qi Yuwen remained as calm as ever, but the energy around him was clearly nearing a breaking point, making his colleagues too scared to approach him.

After work, Qi Yuwen went to a brand store in the mall and bought a phone for You Nan.

True to his promise from the night before, he bought the latest model with the most advanced features on the market, dropping twenty thousand yuan without batting an eye.

You Nan was still lying at home—he had been in bed all day. Even when 007 begged to play, You Nan didn’t move.

This was also the first time since getting married that Qi Yuwen arrived home after work to find the house pitch dark.

Qi Yuwen entered, went upstairs, and gave the phone to You Nan. He took the SIM card from the broken phone and inserted it into the new one.

“Check it out.”

Qi Yuwen placed the phone beside You Nan’s pillow. You Nan lay with his eyes open, staring at the wardrobe by the bed, not even glancing at Qi Yuwen or the phone.

Qi Yuwen noticed You Nan’s attitude. He knew You Nan preferred his usual gentle demeanor. His emotional outburst the previous night had freaked You Nan out, and it was only natural that You Nan needed time to get over it.

As Qi Yuwen watched the silent You Nan, images flashed through his mind—You Nan making him dinner every night. Those were the most comfortable moments since they had gotten together.

Thinking of this, Qi Yuwen’s patience for You Nan expanded. He even took the initiative to move all the data from the old phone to the new one.

He opened the social media app and told You Nan to enter his password. “Log in and block him.”

You Nan didn’t move.

Qi Yuwen pulled back the covers, revealing You Nan’s hands clenched tightly on the sheets. Qi Yuwen covered You Nan’s hands with his own, but the next moment, You Nan reacted with intense resistance—he shoved Qi Yuwen’s hand away forcefully.

You Nan tried to bolt, but Qi Yuwen anticipated the move. He lifted one leg, kneeling on the bed with one knee, pinning You Nan down in his arms.

He shoved the cold phone into You Nan’s clenched fist. A soft, amused whisper brushed against You Nan’s ear along with Qi Yuwen’s breath: “Behave.”

You Nan struggled in his embrace, but his strength was nothing against the man’s. He couldn’t break free.

007, who had originally been sleeping in bed with You Nan, was so frightened by the aggressive and seemingly deranged Qi Yuwen that it hid under the bed, unable to come to You Nan's aid.

You Nan was helpless. His struggling grew weaker and weaker, tears welling up again, falling drop by searing drop onto the man's wrist.

Sobbing, You Nan picked up the new phone, logged into his account, and, right in front of the man standing over him, then blocked and deleted Yao Xianqing's contact.

Qi Yuwen had gotten what he wanted and was in a good mood. He released his restraint on You Nan, who collapsed onto the bed, completely drained.

Seeing You Nan like this, Qi Yuwen frowned. For some reason, he didn’t like seeing You Nan this way.

But he didn’t stay in the room any longer. He also blocked Yao Xianqing’s contact in You Nan’s phone's address book, to tie up loose ends, then placed the phone on You Nan’s bedside table and walked out.

You Nan wouldn't contact Yao Xianqing again.

You Nan was a timid and cautious person. Any mistake he made once, he would never make again.

Qi Yuwen believed that You Nan would surely learn his lesson from this incident.

.

Just at last night’s dinner, Qi Yuwen mentioned You Nan getting his driver’s license.

Yao Xianqing pretended not to hear the implications in Qi Yuwen’s words.

Qi Yuwen didn’t want him to seek out You Nan again, but Yao Xianqing couldn’t stand by and watch You Nan trapped by Qi Yuwen’s side.

Qi Yuwen didn't actually love You Nan at all—he wouldn’t give You Nan the happiness he desired.

As soon as Yao Xianqing returned home, he sent a message to You Nan. It was very late, and You Nan didn’t reply immediately. Yao Xianqing wasn’t worried; he was patient with everyone.

But by the time he got off work today, You Nan still hadn’t bubbled up.

Something was wrong.

Yao Xianqing and You Nan had exchanged many messages since exchanging contact information.

Talking with You Nan was comfortable. You Nan was very good at providing emotional support—no matter what topic the other person brought up, You Nan would carry the conversation and never let conversations die.

This was undoubtedly very considerate of others’ feelings.

They'd never gone more than half an hour between replies, but now almost a whole day had passed. Had something happened to You Nan?

Yao Xianqing tapped his screen, and he sent a message to You Nan. The next second, a red error icon appeared in front of the chat box, along with a line of small text below.

"Sorry, you are not yet his friend."

Yao Xianqing froze momentarily by this line of text.

He quickly realized this wasn’t You Nan’s doing—it was Qi Yuwen.

Qi Yuwen was a mad dog. Beneath his calm facade lay an unfathomable abyss. No one could predict what he might do.

Worried about You Nan, Yao Xianqing called him directly, only to hear the recorded message: "Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable…"

Yao Xianqing hung up and called again ten minutes later, but it was the same.

By now, he understood completely. Qi Yuwen had directly blocked him in You Nan’s phone.

Yao Xianqing thought for two seconds, then immediately realized something. He grabbed his car keys and went out again, heading to the place where they had dinner the night before. Yao Xianqing went straight to the manager and asked to see the surveillance footage from the private room the previous night.

The manager recognized him and made an exception. Within ten minutes, the surveillance footage was in Yao Xianqing’s hands.

Yao Xianqing played the recording and saw Qi Yuwen, looking like a total creep, squatting in front of a trash can, holding a milk tea cup in his hand. He stayed completely still for a long time before taking any further action.

Yao Xianqing’s face darkened.

He knew that You Nan had been suffering because of his association with him.

As the man watched the footage of the repulsive Qi Yuwen, a sudden desire to eliminate him welled up in his heart.