Cui Xiao clenched his right hand into a fist and pressed it to his chest.
With tears welling in his reddened eyes, he looked almost heartbreakingly fragile.
Qi Shan and Gu Chi both turned their eyes away.
There were limits to how much fun one could make of a colleague. If they crossed the line and angered him, they might not know when he would hold a grudge and take revenge. Qi Shan had finally managed to use Cui Hui to keep Cui Xiao in check. If he didn't quit while he was ahead and Cui Xiao really fell out with him, their lord would be the one to suffer.
Cui Hui looked at Cui Xiao, calm and resolute.
Cui Xiao clutched his chest for a long while before he finally recovered.
The air had stolen the warmth from his tear tracks, leaving only wisps of chill to remind him of the cruel truth: his old affliction had flared up again. At that moment, Cui Xiao wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it. It was bad enough that his daughter had worked him into such a state, but he had even cried in front of his colleagues—and among them was Qu Tan, the enemy he had resented for years.
When Cui Xiao realized that, he wished he could die on the spot.
What was done was done; spilled water could not be gathered up again.
There was nothing Cui Xiao could do to silence them.
"If this was your and your mother's choice, then your father will respect it. Don't worry. I won't do the things you don't want me to do, and I won't make things difficult for Qi Yuanliang..." He firmly wiped the tears from his face with a handkerchief, then sneered. "Heh.