Chapter 93: The Married Beta Looks at Chest Muscles (Chasing Wife 1.0)

Chapter 93: The Married Beta Admires Pecs (Winning Him Back 1.0)

At that moment, Situ Jing's phone also rang.

He took out his phone, glanced at the name on the screen, and answered the call, "Aunt, what is it?"

Bai Yu seized the opportunity to quickly dash into the apartment complex gate. Without pausing for breath, he ran up to the sixth floor, opened the door, went inside, and immediately locked it behind him.

After the mad dash, Bai Yu stopped to catch his breath, his heart pounding wildly.

The bedroom of this apartment faced the main entrance of the residential complex. Bai Yu walked to the bedroom window, parted the curtains slightly, and secretly peeked outside.

From a distance, he saw Situ Jing's car driving away from the opposite side of the street, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Babao heard the commotion and ran out of the cat bed, finding Bai Yu, "Meow~"

Bai Yu picked up Babao, "I won't give you to him, and I won't go back to him either."

Babao wrapped his fluffy paws around Bai Yu's neck, as if comforting him, "Meow~"

After a while, Alex video-called.

Bai Yu put Babao down and answered the video call, "Alex?"

Alex had just finished showering. His silver hair was damp, drooping over his forehead, with a few water droplets on his cheeks. He was only wrapped in a towel, revealing his well-built, muscular chest.

Suddenly, the video shook, and his chest was right up on the screen.

"Sorry, my hand slipped."

Bai Yu: "..."

Alex glanced around Bai Yu's surroundings as if scanning, "Has Situ Jing left?"

Bai Yu said, "Yes, he left after you did."

Alex sat on the sofa, leaning against the backrest, unusually tongue-tied. It seemed like he wanted to say something but was carefully considering how to phrase it. "I noticed you seemed unhappy when talking to him earlier. Was it because of a bad experience at work?"

Bai Yu paused for a moment, neither agreeing nor denying the statement, "It's fine."

Alex, being understanding, didn't press further, "Then don't dwell on him, just forget him. Just remember the happy things now, with me here."

Bai Yu looked at Alex on the screen, and his unease eased up a bit, "How are things on your end?"

Alex pushed his silver hair back, "The issue has been resolved. That model was taken to the ER by his boyfriend. The doctor prescribed allergy meds, and the symptoms cleared up now. If he still feels unwell tomorrow, I've already found a stand-in."

Bai Yu said, "That's good."

*

Situ Long, as the Chief of Staff of the military, was usually busy with affairs and loved playing chess in private.

Tonight, he encountered a difficult problem, racking his brain late into the night but unable to find a solution, so he called Situ Jing over.

Because Situ Long had always supported Situ Jing regarding his father's matters and rarely sought him out otherwise, Situ Jing had to go.

While driving to Situ Long's residence, Situ Jing called Secretary Zhou, "Get me every detail on Bai Yu's ex-husband, immediately."

Secretary Zhou sat up in bed, sleepily putting on his glasses, "Yes, boss."

Arriving at Situ Long's residence, two soldiers carrying rifles standing guard saw the license plate and respectfully opened the gate, welcoming Situ Jing inside.

Situ Jing parked the car, took a box from it, and entered the mansion. Following the butler, he went up the spiral staircase and arrived outside the study.

The butler said, "Madam, the young master has arrived."

Inside the study, Situ Long sat on the sofa wearing a red silk robe, her jet-black hair falling over her shoulders. She was intently focused on the chessboard in front of her, with her adjutant standing beside her.

Her appearance inherited the sharp features of the Situ Family. Often in the military, she was also highly skilled in combat, with gun calluses on both hands.

Hearing that someone had arrived, Situ Long said, "Come in."

Situ Jing entered, "Aunt."

Situ Long looked up at Situ Jing and noticed he was carrying something, asking, "What is that?"

Situ Jing handed the box to the adjutant, "A token of appreciation for Aunt."

The adjutant opened the box, which was filled with a hundred boxes of Gurkha Black Dragon cigars.

Situ Long smiled, giving the adjutant a look, "Light it."

The adjutant took off his white gloves, prepared a cigar for Situ Long, and handed it to her respectfully.

Situ Long lit the cigar, took a deep breath, and exhaled smoke, "The cigar is good. I remember this type has very limited annual production. How did you manage to gift a whole box without keeping any for yourself?"

Situ Jing sat opposite the chessboard, saying calmly, "Of course, it's to thank Aunt."

In reality, ever since Bai Yu mentioned that day that he disliked smoking, Situ Jing finished that pack of cigarettes in the car and never smoked again.

The cigars were just stored in the warehouse with no one to smoke them, so it was better to give them as a gift.

Situ Long narrowed her eyes at Situ Jing, "You didn't say to cut Hui in on the shares?"

Situ Jing said, "He blows through money in less than three days. When he needs money, he can come to me. Isn't that the same?"

Situ Long smirked, "Your nature is very much like your grandfather's."

Situ Jing just glanced calmly at his aunt and lowered his head to study the board.

On the ebony chessboard, the white pieces were made of crystal, and the black pieces were obsidian, all exquisitely carved.

The white army was pressing the attack. The queen, rooks, bishops, and pawns had already broken through the outer defenses. The black forces were already in shambles and on the verge of defeat.

Situ Jing scanned the scattered black pieces and asked, "Aunt got a new chessboard?"

Situ Long said, "From a comrade."

"A comrade from the navy?"

"No, a comrade from Country S, Duke Luke."

Situ Jing looked up, "You've been to Country S?"

Situ Long tapped the cigar ash into the ashtray and said leisurely, "No, when I was young, I joined the United Nations peacekeeping forces and went to a small country in the Middle East for international aid. I met him by chance. Duke Luke even took a bullet for me; it's a bond forged in life and death. Unfortunately, as military ranks get higher, it becomes harder to go abroad. We can't meet, so we can only send gifts to show our regards."

Although Situ Long appeared standoffish and refined, Situ Jing knew she was actually very pleased inside.

Situ Long possessed the competitive nature of an alpha and the bloodline of the Situ Family, power-hungry and strategic. Duke Luke was undoubtedly one of the allies she cultivated.

In the Situ Family, aside from Situ Jian, there was no dead weight.

It was originally supposed to be Situ Long who inherited the family business, but she had no interest in the family's enterprises at all and resolutely enlisted. Over the years, she has worked her way up entirely through her own efforts.

Situ Jing asked, "How many days does Auntie plan to rest this time?"

"I'll be inspecting the Air Force units in a couple of days, so I won't be staying long." Situ Long stared at the black pieces on the chessboard. "Is there a solution to this game?"

"Let me think."

While Situ Jing was pondering, Secretary Zhou sent a long series of photos, with notifications continuously pinging.

He had to check what Secretary Zhou had sent.

After unlocking his phone with his fingerprint, hundreds of photos of Bai Yu and Alex suddenly flooded the screen.

Alex and Bai Yu strolled down the street in matching couple outfits, ran across a grassy field holding balloons, fed each other food, posed playfully as couples do, climbed mountains together, rode roller coasters together...

In almost every photo, Bai Yu was beaming with a bright smile, the images overflowing with sweetness and joy.

Situ Jing had known from the beginning that Bai Yu had an ex-husband, but seeing it all laid out before him still pierced his heart.

Why had Bai Yu never mentioned anything about her ex-husband?

Turns out, feeding each other, hugging—these things—Bai Yu had done them with Alex too.

Then, had Bai Yu also shared those things he'd said—heartbeats, the lighthouse jellyfish, tattoos—with Alex?

Including his body.

Situ Jing stared expressionlessly at the photos, his gaze so intense it seemed to burn a hole through the screen.

Situ Long sensed something was off with Situ Jing. "What's wrong?"

"Some work stuff." Situ Jing locked his phone and looked up calmly. "This game can be solved."

He picked up the black pawn on the seventh rank of the queen’s flank and moved it forward one square, placing it on h7.

Situ Long studied the board. That piece had precisely pierced a tiny but fatal weak spot in the white army's formation, allowing the black pieces to stage a comeback and win.

"Very impressive." The tip of the cigar in Situ Long's fingers glowed red. "Since you're free tonight, play another game with me."

Situ Jing wasn’t in the mood for chess and stood up immediately. "Auntie, I have a meeting tomorrow. Let's play another day."

Situ Long's expression stiffened slightly. "In such a hurry?"

The aide standing nearby also looked surprised. No matter how busy the company was, Situ Jing always stayed awhile when he came to play chess.

Leaving after just one game tonight was something that had never happened before. What meeting could be so important to Situ Jing?

Situ Jing didn't explain the specifics, only saying, "It is somewhat urgent."

After the tall figure of the man left the study, Situ Long lowered her eyes to the cigar in her hand. "He left early from Father's wedding that day, and now he won't even indulge his aunt. Is he really that busy with the family business?"

*

Situ Jing drove away from his aunt's residence and returned to Yan Ting. He immediately reviewed the documents Secretary Zhou had sent.

Alex, full name Alex Frederick Tristan, S-level pheromones. Born in Country S, he was an orphan and was adopted by Duke Luke at the age of ten, becoming his adopted son.

"The Duke's adopted son?"

Situ Jing narrowed his eyes, reached out to flip through the documents, and looked at the group photo.

Alex stood to Duke Luke's left, the two with arms around each other's shoulders, smiling brightly, seemingly closer than the eldest son standing beside them.

Years ago, there were rumors that Alex was actually Duke Luke's biological son, but the Duke's family never acknowledged it.

After completing his studies, Alex did not stay in Country S to develop his career but came alone to Country C to enter the fashion world and has remained here since.

He is currently the Creative Director at BV, based in Manduo City, with a luxury apartment in downtown Yun Jing and earns millions a year.

Situ Jing closed the documents, crossed his long legs, and called Secretary Zhou.

Secretary Zhou answered the phone and immediately began apologizing: "Sorry, boss. The electronic public notice board at the marriage certification bureau didn’t have photos, and I didn’t gather detailed information on Alex. It was my mistake, causing you to lose the upper hand."

Secretary Zhou, who had gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to collect information, had accidentally come across the collab videos posted by Bai Yu and Alex and finally understood why the boss suddenly wanted her ex-husband’s details.

Situ Jing picked up the whiskey on the table and poured it into a glass. "The advantage was lost long ago. He knew Bai Yu first."

Secretary Zhou rarely heard such understanding remarks from his boss, tinged with what seemed like a hint of disappointment, perhaps stirred up by the photos.

He was also surprised when he found those photos—they were married for only three months, so how did they take so many?

"He’s from Duke Luke’s family. We still have project collaborations in Country S. I’m afraid it might not be easy to take action against him."

Situ Jing took a sip of his drink and said coldly, "What does it matter if he’s well-connected?"

"Ex-husbands are ex-husbands for a reason. Find his flaws."