Chapter 28

Chapter 28

No one in the office had anticipated Yao Xianqing’s sudden arrival.

Even the usually composed Zhao Jin’s calm expression froze for a moment.

What’s he doing here?

As soon as You Nan saw Yao Xianqing storming over, he was momentarily stunned but quickly reacted.

You Nan hurriedly stepped aside, creating distance between himself and Zhao Jin, then rushed to Yao Xianqing’s side. He clutched the man’s clothes, patted his chest, and whispered that there was nothing between them—Zhao Jin had only called him over to review the surveillance footage.

His explanation only made things worse. Yao Xianqing gritted his teeth and said, "Couldn’t you have watched the surveillance in the conference room? I recall Zhao Jin has a large projector there."

"Oh, the office has one too," Yao Xianqing added, feigning sudden realization. "Then why didn’t you use the projector instead of this cramped computer screen?"

Yao Xianqing’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of irritation rising toward Zhao Jin. "With a projector, all three of you could have seen it. I almost forgot—why were only two people reviewing it when three are involved?"

You Nan was speechless at his words.

He pinched Yao Xianqing’s arm through his sleeve and whispered into the man’s ear, "What are you talking about!"

Yao Xianqing, feeling his wife’s closeness, his gloomy expression finally softened. He turned to You Nan, lowering his voice entirely, shedding the aggressive tone he had used with Zhao Jin. "I was just joking around. Don’t be angry."

That’s what he said, but deep down, he was afraid—afraid that his wife and child might be taken away by someone else.

Yao Xianqing’s gaze returned to Zhao Jin, who remained seated, and his eyes involuntarily took on a judgmental edge.

His wife knew to maintain distance to avoid suspicion with other men in front of him, so why didn’t Zhao Jin understand? Why was he still sitting there?

What, was Zhao Jin trying to act all upright, making Yao Xianqing seem unreasonable?

Zhao Jin had known Yao Xianqing for a long time, and the two had been rivals for years. It’s often said that one’s greatest understanding comes from their rival, and there was truth to that.

Zhao Jin’s feelings toward Yao Xianqing had started with the belief that Yao Xianqing was no match for him. But as they repeatedly clashed over competitions and achievements, Zhao Jin’s impression of Yao Xianqing deepened, and his attention was increasingly drawn to him.

Inevitably, he found himself helplessly falling for Yao Xianqing.

Years of observing Yao Xianqing had made Zhao Jin highly attuned to his every move.

Whether Yao Xianqing frowned or raised a hand, Zhao Jin could tell what he was feeling or what he intended to do.

At this moment, Zhao Jin hated how well he understood Yao Xianqing.

It made it impossible for him to pretend he didn’t understand the meaning behind Yao Xianqing’s gaze.

Did Yao Xianqing really love You Nan that much?

Why couldn’t Yao Xianqing look at him instead?

Zhao Jin didn’t understand.

Gritting his teeth, he forced a smile and patiently explained to Yao Xianqing, "I called You Nan over to review the surveillance footage from the elevator yesterday after work. The gentleman who pushed You Nan and I had already watched it earlier."

Zhao Jin was careful with his words. He didn’t use "employee" but instead said "the gentleman," indicating that he had already struck this person from the company’s employee roster.

Zhao Jin continued, "My office is separated from the hallway by glass. Anyone passing by can see what’s happening inside. Out of basic decency and to protect individual privacy, I chose to use a small screen for You Nan to review it alone, rather than a large screen."

Zhao Jin’s pleasant expression was almost stiff from smiling. "It’s not what you think. There’s nothing between You Nan and me."

His words seemed forced through gritted teeth.

Unfortunately, Yao Xianqing wasn’t buying it.

Zhao Jin watched as Yao Xianqing took You Nan’s hand and gently led him to sit on the reception sofa.

Yao Xianqing patted You Nan’s hand reassuringly, telling him to relax, then turned back to Zhao Jin with the familiar gentle demeanor. "You don’t mind if we sit down like this, do you?"

Zhao Jin replied softly, "Of course not."

Yao Xianqing sat upright, crossing his legs, and his gaze toward Zhao Jin grew increasingly sharp. "Good. I’d like to ask, given the current situation, what process does Xiao Nan need to go through if he wants to resign?"

Zhao Jin was struck speechless.

He hadn’t expected Yao Xianqing to discard a friendship of over ten years for You Nan’s sake.

This version of Yao Xianqing felt unfamiliar to him, and it fueled a sense of betrayal and anger within him.

Before he could speak, however, You Nan, sitting beside Yao Xianqing, balked.

Earlier, Yao Xianqing had whispered to him, asking him to let him handle the situation, and You Nan had chosen to trust him.

But now he realized he had trusted too soon. With Yao Xianqing making a scene like this, his job was likely on the line.

You Nan imitated the way Yao’s mother would pinch Yao’s father and pinched the soft part of Yao Xianqing’s side under his clothes, causing Yao Xianqing to clamp his mouth shut in pain.

But Yao Xianqing only frowned and didn’t stop You Nan from speaking.

You Nan leaned in to discuss with him, "I can’t leave now. Manager Zhao just assigned me a project yesterday, and I need to follow it through to completion."

You Nan had a strong work ethic and disliked leaving things unfinished.

Hearing his wife reject his suggestion, Yao Xianqing reluctantly bit back the rest of his words.

But he still had something to say. "Zhao Jin, since Xiao Nan encountered such an incident in your company, I need you to make this right for him."

"This kind of behavior within your company constitutes workplace bullying."

Yao Xianqing’s expression remained gentle, but his words were cutting and aggressive, making Zhao Jin uncomfortable. "This time it happened to my... my good friend You Nan, but who’s to say others won’t face the same in the future? I hope you will address this seriously."

He had almost called You Nan "wife" in front of others.

This made Yao Xianqing feel a little guilty, but he quickly puffed out his chest again.

Yao Xianqing’s suspicious, scrutinizing gaze swept over Zhao Jin’s face. "Zhao Jin, your reputation for management is well-known in our circles. Many people want to learn your methods. What will others think when word gets out about workplace bullying under your watch?"

Zhao Jin stared at the Yao Xianqing before him, who felt so unfamiliar, and for a moment, he was dumbstruck. When had he ever seen Yao Xianqing like this?

In his memory, Yao Xianqing had always been magnanimous, gentle, and kind—someone who made everyone feel fond of him.

But now, this person had been dragged down by You Nan. The current Yao Xianqing felt utterly foreign to him.

He would lash out for the sake of someone he loved, and he would get jealous over someone he loved.

He was no longer the Yao Xianqing from his memory, who treated everyone equally with a warm smile.

Zhao Jin found it absurd and couldn’t come to terms with the reality before him.

The man’s eyes behind his glasses narrowed sharply. "Fine."

"Let's talk about You Nan's resignation."

Zhao Jin leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs and interlacing his fingers over his knee. His handsome face took on an unapproachable, stern demeanor. "According to our company's explicit regulations, You Nan is now a full-time employee. If he wishes to resign, he must submit a formal resignation letter one month in advance. During this month, he also needs to train his replacement and ensure a complete handover of all responsibilities."

"Your company has similar policies, I assume?"

Zhao Jin lifted his eyes to look at Yao Xianqing.

You Nan sat beside Yao Xianqing, his hand gripped tightly by the man, unwilling to let go.

You Nan let Yao Xianqing keep holding it.

Listening to the conversation between Yao Xianqing and Zhao Jin, he felt calmer.

Yao Xianqing was the first person to have his back—whether it was facing Qi Yuwen before or Zhao Jin now.

You Nan’s heart felt warm and soft for him.

But a gaze from nearby, completely unconcealed and particularly noticeable, made You Nan look up. The intern hurriedly averted his eyes, yet the trace of resentment and disgust in that glance put You Nan on alert.

Still, he quickly composed himself beside Yao Xianqing.

Whether others liked him or not was their own attitude—all that mattered was that he and Yao Xianqing be happy together.

Though this was only a small world, he still wanted to make good memories here with the person he loved.

Someone like the intern couldn’t influence his choices.

In the time it took for You Nan’s thoughts to wander, Yao Xianqing and Zhao Jin quickly worked out an arrangement.

The company would assign a new intern to You Nan. You Nan would need to guide the intern in taking over his tasks while continuing to see his current project through. After a month, once the intern was settled, You Nan could then leave the company.

Only then did Yao Xianqing set aside his displeasure toward Zhao Jin and feel somewhat satisfied.

All he wanted was for You Nan to stay away from Zhao Jin, and the sooner, the better!

"You’re done here. I’ve informed HR to process your termination. Go pack your things at your workstation."

Zhao Jin turned and spoke briefly to the intern, making the intern’s dismissal final.

The intern looked up, his face full of panic.

"Mr. Zhao! I don’t want to leave—please don’t fire me!"

Zhao Jin said, "Apologize to You Nan."

The intern bit his lip, reluctant.

The intern had been in the company’s accounting department for less than a month, still a probationary employee. He could be let go immediately.

He had been working under a female mentor during his internship. Though there was an age gap between them, they got along well, and the intern looked up to her.

This female colleague was the one who disliked gay people.

The intern didn’t want to apologize to You Nan.

Over the past few days, their private chat group had been filled with talk about You Nan. No one in the office liked him.

Everyone felt this way, and so did he.

That was why, when he heard his senior colleague shout in the elevator that it was overloaded and someone needed to step out, he’d shoved him without a second thought.

The intern hesitated, unwilling to speak. But from what Mr. Zhao implied, it seemed that if he apologized to You Nan and You Nan forgave him, he might be able to stay.

That had to be it!

The intern didn’t want to leave. This company was publicly listed, ranked among the top 500 nationally, with excellent salary and benefits. Countless people fought tooth and nail to get in. He himself had sucked up to his professor for a long time before finally getting recommended.

The intern’s eyes welled up. Faced with losing his job, he immediately bowed his head and apologized to You Nan, though his tone remained unwilling. "You Nan, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you."

You Nan listened, lowered his eyes, and said nothing.

The two men in the office who could decide the intern’s fate remained silent. The room was so quiet that only the intern’s nervous, ragged breathing could be heard.

The intern grew anxious, his words rushed. "You Nan, please forgive me."

You Nan didn’t nod. If the push had succeeded and Zhao Jin hadn’t happened to catch him, the baby he was carrying might truly have been lost.

That night, he’d asked 007 whether something would happen to the baby if he accidentally fell or something.

007 scoffed and said sternly that the baby in his belly needed careful protection.

Its special ability was childbirth, but it wouldn’t add an extra layer of protection to the child—no shortcuts. So You Nan had to protect it himself.

You Nan lifted his head and met the intern’s gaze. His voice was calm, his eyes reflecting the intern’s face. "You must have heard the saying: if apologies were enough, what would we need the police for? I don’t know what it is about me that displeases you so much you chose to push me. But everyone must face the consequences of their actions."

"Whether to forgive is my own decision. Just because you apologize doesn’t mean I have to forgive you. Your mindset doesn’t represent mine."

You Nan’s words set the intern off.

The intern’s eyes reddened with anger. He thought fiercely, *Since I’m being fired anyway, what do I have left to fear?*

His emotions surged, and he spoke with spitting anger. "So what if I pushed you? You didn’t fall, you weren’t hurt—what does it matter if you forgive me? I’ve already apologized—can’t you just forgive me? What do you want me to do? Tell me!"

"Look—now I’m losing my job! What more do you want?" Before the intern could finish, a grim face appeared before him.

Yao Xianqing stood up, blocking his angry gaze toward You Nan. The man’s tone was stern and cold. "Is this how you apologize? What, if You Nan doesn’t forgive you, you’ll resort to guilt-tripping? Even without this incident, with an attitude like yours, you’d never keep your job anyway."

Yao Xianqing’s voice was neither loud nor soft, yet every word hit hard.

The intern hated You Nan, and by extension, he hated Yao Xianqing.

Driven by rage, his mind went blank. Overcome by emotion, he took a swing straight at Yao Xianqing.

Zhao Jin’s eyelids twitched at the sight. "Stop!"

But he was too late—it was already unavoidable.

Yao Xianqing caught the intern’s fist mid-swing and, using the momentum, flipped him over his shoulder. The intern’s back hit the tile floor hard, pain making him cry out.

Zhao Jin hurried to Yao Xianqing’s side.

Ignoring the intern on the ground, his concern was solely for Yao Xianqing. The man was clearly worried. "Are you hurt?"

Yao Xianqing was puzzled by the question. *Couldn’t he tell?* That question should be directed at the person on the floor.

"Have someone take him to the hospital. I’ll pay the medical bills." Yao Xianqing felt a gentle tug at his hem from You Nan and immediately cooled down, sitting back down beside You Nan and protecting his partner.

He wouldn’t let anyone hurt the other person.

"Hmph! Like I need his money!" The intern shot up upon hearing this.

He shot a dirty look at You Nan and Yao Xianqing, then without another word, rushed out of the office and headed straight to the accounting department.

The intern left anxiously and returned sobbing, with the entire accounting department staff immediately gathering around him.

A coworker who was friends with him was especially worried, "What's wrong? Why are you crying? Did Manager Zhao scold you? It's okay, don't be afraid. I've been chewed out by Manager Zhao before."

"No, it's not that!" Comforted by her, the intern's emotions burst forth. He blubbered through the story of what had happened in the office, "Zhao Jin is tight with You Nan, and You Nan also has connections with the Yao family. Both of them took You Nan’s side. They made me apologize to You Nan, and I did, but You Nan just refused to forgive me."

"Later, Manager Zhao said he was going to fire me. I begged You Nan—I don’t want to lose this job—but he just stared me down without a word. I tried to grab his clothes, but his boyfriend grabbed me and beat me up."

As he cried, the intern turned around to show his colleagues the back of his clothes, "Look, my clothes are all dirty. Only the back is stained. If you pull my clothes aside, you can even see red marks. He slammed me to the ground and hit me. You Nan wouldn’t forgive me, so they wouldn’t let me go."

The intern’s words had everyone speechless.

"Is You Nan really that full of himself?"

"What about Manager Zhao? Did he do anything? You’re his employee—he shouldn’t let someone push you around right in front of him."

The crowd grew agitated, wishing they’d been there to help the intern.

The intern shook his head, throwing his stuff into a cardboard box while tears streamed down his face. This really got to everyone.

After all, the intern was always a sweet talker in the office, really polite. Although he was straightforward and emotional—which wasn’t ideal—he was a good person, seeing things in black and white, much better than You Nan, who barely talked to anyone and only cared about dating guys.

The intern took a tissue from a colleague nearby to wipe his tears, "Manager Zhao didn’t stick up for me. When they hit me, he was only concerned about if they hurt their hands."

As he spoke, the intern started sobbing again, crying so hard that no one doubted his words.

Since no one was familiar with You Nan, their impression of him was totally based on the intern’s account.

While they were talking, someone from HR arrived quickly, bringing the pink slip.

Seeing the termination notice sealed the deal for everyone, making them even more convinced of what the intern had said.

The female colleague’s eyes reddened, "You Nan is way out of line! How could they bully someone like this!"

"Exactly! Not only is he connected to our Manager Zhao, but he’s hooked up with Yao Xianqing too. They’re both protecting him."

The intern was leaving—that fact couldn’t be changed. He stopped crying and calmly kept laying it on thick.

He didn’t mind throwing You Nan under the bus before leaving—consider it payback for not forgiving him!

"Besides, since you weren’t in the office earlier, you didn’t see how two outstanding men were fighting over him. You Nan looked so smug and loving it."

The more the intern spoke, the more agitated and suppressed the crowd’s emotions became.

If You Nan were there right then, he might have been chewed out so bad he’d shut down!

A group of people saw the intern off, bad-mouthing him all the while.

Couldn’t focus on work, they waited for over ten minutes, but You Nan still hadn’t returned. This only reinforced their belief that You Nan was exactly as the intern described—a tease who still hadn’t been let go by Zhao Jin.

The small group chat blew up again.

"Wonder what You Nan is doing in the office now? The intern came back and left so long ago, but he still hasn’t returned. Is that enough time to get off?"

"!!! Since when did the group chat get so wild?"

"You Nan is shameless! The intern just pushed him once, and he pulled a soap opera stunt, falling all over the boss. He actually benefited from it! How could he not forgive the intern? The intern indirectly helped spice things up with Manager Zhao."

"OMG, dead! So true!"

"Hey, I have a document to deliver upstairs today. Should I go now?"

"!!! Yes, yes! Manager Zhao’s office has see-through glass walls—maybe you’ll see something (evil grin.jpg)!"

"I have a guess—could it be a threesome?"

"Wow~"

In this small group chat without You Nan, everyone spoke freely, casually discussing, speculating, and gossiping without caring whether any of it was true.

They only knew that if everyone says so, it must be right.

In Zhao Jin’s office.

After the intern left, Zhao Jin asked Yao Xianqing to stick around for tea.

You Nan wanted to go back to work, but Yao Xianqing wouldn’t let him go.

"Keep me company, okay?" Yao Xianqing lowered his voice, almost whining.

You Nan couldn’t resist this side of Yao Xianqing.

He had no choice but to nod quickly, "Okay, okay."

Zhao Jin, drinking his usually good tea, found it suddenly tasteless.

He only wanted to spend quality time alone with Yao Xianqing and wasn’t happy having You Nan third-wheeling.

Zhao Jin chatted with the now-calm Yao Xianqing, casually changing the subject to other topics to capture Yao Xianqing’s attention.

You Nan sensed something and shot a quick look at Zhao Jin.

Zhao Jin ignored his gaze entirely.

You Nan withdrew his gaze and quietly stayed by Yao Xianqing’s side, not interrupting the "brotherly" conversation between the two men.

In public, he would respect Yao Xianqing and not interfere with his words or actions.

Besides, Yao Xianqing had come specifically to support him today. The current situation was fine—no need to stir up more trouble.

The reunion between the two men was interrupted by a phone call from Yao’s father.

"Yao Xianqing! Where are you? Are you coming back to work or not?" Yao’s father rapped on the table on the other end, "Didn’t you tell me yesterday you’d work hard and earn more to support You Nan and your child? How could you forget already?"

Yao Xianqing hadn’t forgotten, of course—it was just an urgent matter today.

Yao Xianqing responded twice, saying he’d be there soon. Only then did Yao’s father grumble and hang up.

Now that Zhao Jin knew about his relationship with You Nan, Yao Xianqing didn’t hide it.

He leaned down and kissed the back of You Nan’s hand, gazing tenderly at his lover, "Wait for me to pick you up after work."

You Nan nodded in agreement. After saying goodbye to Zhao Jin, he left the office with Yao Xianqing, wanting to see him off.

Back in the office, Zhao Jin was pissed off by what he saw of Yao Xianqing’s affection for You Nan. He flung his pen, which hit the ground and bent.

Zhao Jin sat back down, rubbing his forehead.

No, he had to figure out another way.