Chapter 32: Setting the Stage

Chapter 32: Setting the Stage

Du Yang’s eyes trembled slightly as he stared blankly up at Fu Yan, his chin still pinched between the man’s fingers. The posture was far too intimate.

A faint blush crept up to his earlobes, then visibly spread to his right cheek.

He had tested the waters so many times, and Fu Yan never took the bait. Why this time?

Fu Yan let go of his chin, seemingly satisfied with the young man’s performance, and slipped his hand into his pants pocket. Inside, his fingertips gently rubbed together, and a hint of amusement crept into his voice.

“You talk tough, so why are you blushing?”

Du Yang turned around, touching his warm cheek as he scrambled to explain himself.

“I’m not blushing. The room is just too hot.”

“Mm, Du Yang has thick skin, no blushing here. The room is too hot.”

Fu Yan played along, giving the kid an out. Then he added, “Come on, let’s go out for a bit and cool off.”

“Where to?” Du Yang asked, already following him down the stairs.

“To get your luggage back. The Spring Festival holiday is almost here, and I’m giving you a company perk—taking you in to stay.”

Du Yang paused mid-stride, then the corners of his mouth lifted, his eyes sparkling with joy, a rush of warmth flooding his heart.

He quickened his pace to catch up with Fu Yan, his voice bright with delight. “Thank you, Chairman Fu!”

From today on, he was officially stepping into Fu Yan’s life.

After retrieving his luggage and returning, Du Yang carefully set up the room Fu Yan had given him.

By the time he finished putting everything away, it was already ten at night.

Fu Yan knocked on the door and brought in a glass of warm milk.

Setting the milk on the table, he pulled out his phone, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

“Du Yang, did you forget something?”

Du Yang washed his hands and was about to come drink the milk when he heard this, looked at the man, and thought hard.

His gaze landed on Fu Yan’s phone, and it suddenly dawned on him. He picked up his own phone, opened the QR code for adding friends, and held it up to Fu Yan.

“I did forget something important.” The young man’s eyes curved with a smile.

Fu Yan scanned the code, and they became friends.

The account was the same one he had saved as ‘F’. Was ‘F’ truly different, or was this kid just not separating work and personal, with no sense of wariness?

He’d been here so long and never bothered to add Fu Yan on WeChat, yet he teased him every day without fail.

Fu Yan’s WeChat profile picture was a snow-covered mountain peak… as aloof as the man himself.

His WeChat Moments were completely empty.

Putting his phone aside, Du Yang picked up the milk and took a sip. It was delicious, so he finished it in one go.

The young man leaned closer to Fu Yan, tilting his chin up, his soft, clear voice carrying a hint of childish pleading. “Chairman Fu, can you wipe it off for me?”

The lingering milk stain at the corner of his lips was quite noticeable. Fu Yan looked down, his dark eyes churning with emotion, his fingers gripping the phone turning white at the knuckles.

This kid, flirting with him like this, wasn’t he afraid of being devoured without leaving a trace?

“Are you a baby?”

Fu Yan pulled a tissue from the table and wiped the corner of the young man’s mouth with a light touch. The conspicuous milky white disappeared, leaving his lips soft and pink.

Du Yang reached up and touched the corner of his mouth, his smile deepening. “Chairman Fu, was this one on the house?”

Fu Yan picked up the empty glass and said flatly, “One million per time.”

Du Yang’s lips curled upward.

One million per time. If he owed Fu Yan a lot of money, he could stay by his side forever.

As Fu Yan walked out, Du Yang hurriedly called after him, “Chairman Fu, tomorrow morning, I need to go home and get my things.”

Fu Yan stopped without turning around and said in a calm tone, “I’ll drive you tomorrow.”

“Mm, thank you.”

The room fell silent again. Du Yang opened a drawer, containing a miniature camera he had just bought.

Yesterday, he had deliberately provoked Du Debao into hitting him so he could have a reason to get him sent to the detention center.

With only that old woman at home in the Du household, he would have a chance to go back and install the camera without being discovered.

Fu Yan had given him an even greater surprise—not only did he understand his hint and arrive in time to save him, but he also took him in.

Such a good Fu Yan—why had he never noticed him in his past life?

The next day, after breakfast, Fu Yan drove Du Yang out.

The Du home was far from downtown; the drive one way took an hour and a half.

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After an hour and a half, Fu Yan’s Rolls-Royce Cullinan stopped at the entrance of an alley.

Du Yang unbuckled his seatbelt, turned to Fu Yan, his eyes curving in a smile, and said, “Chairman Fu, you can’t drive in any further. Head back; I’ll get home on my own later.”

Fu Yan placed his hands on the steering wheel, watching the young man.

His face wasn’t swollen anymore, but there was still some bruising. He wore the black down jacket Fu Yan had bought for him.

Since it was Sunday, Fu Yan had time. He said flatly, “Getting your things won’t take long. I’ll wait here.”

The young man frowned slightly, as if troubled. “Grandma is still at home, and I still need to fix her lunch. I probably won’t be done until noon.”

Fu Yan’s gaze lingered on the young man’s delicate features, not looking away.

This kid was going home while Du Debao was away.

He didn’t believe it was just to take care of that old woman who only hit him.

If he left him here alone, he wouldn’t be able to stop worrying about him.

When did he start worrying about this kid's safety?

What a troublesome kid.

"I have time today. Go ahead and go back first. I'll just wander around nearby. Call me when you're done, and I'll come pick you up."

The man's tone was casual, but it left no room for argument.

In that moment, Du Yang felt a warmth in his heart, and his eyes seemed to well up. It felt so good to know someone cared.

Du Yang nodded firmly, opened the passenger door, got out, closed the door, and without looking back, walked into the alley.

Fu Yan watched the boy with the backpack disappear at the end of the alley, then reclined his seat, leaned back halfway, and waited in the car.

Du Yang made his way through the alley and entered a run-down residential area. The dilapidated buildings were at least thirty years old, and the white lime on the corridor walls had long since flaked away, leaving the original color unrecognizable.

Cardboard boxes, old clothes, and other clutter were piled by the stairs, narrowing the staircase to half its usable width.

Du Yang climbed to the second floor and stopped in front of an old, worn lacquered door. He knocked for a while before the door was opened from the inside.

The old woman, leaning on a cane, opened the door with a big smile on her face. Her face was covered in wrinkles, and her smile was calculating, with a glint of shrewdness in her murky eyes.

As soon as she saw it was Du Yang, and that he was alone, her face immediately fell. She turned and went back inside.

"You still have the nerve to come back! And you even made your dad go find you for money! After a few days of college, you think you're all that, bossing your dad around!"

"Your dad went looking for you to get money, and he hasn't come back yet!"

The old woman sat on the worn-out sofa in the living room, leaning on her cane, and the more she looked at Du Yang, the more annoyed she got.

Du Yang ignored the old woman, put down his backpack, unzipped it, and rummaged inside it.

"He called me yesterday, said he went out with friends, and told me I absolutely had to come back today to bring money."

Du Yang took out a stack of cash, walked up to the old woman, and handed it to her.

The old woman took it with a frown, counted it, and her voice suddenly went up several pitches. "Why only a thousand?! Where's the money you earned from working?"

Du Yang lowered his head, sounding a bit aggrieved. "My wages won't be paid until around New Year's. I even begged them for an advance."

Hearing this, the old woman's face turned even uglier. She stomped her cane on the floor with a thud. "You little ingrate! Going to a club pays fast cash, but you won't listen. I can't control you anymore, can I?"

Du Yang sneered inwardly, but on the surface he remained obedient. "Take the money and buy some meat. I'll make you braised pork for lunch. I'll tidy up the place a bit, since I won't have time to come back and clean before New Year's. I have to leave in the afternoon."

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