My God!

Xia Qiao nearly had a heart attack. After taking a deep breath, he forced a kindly smile. "How long will Xiaoyu be staying this time?"

Leaning lazily against the sofa cushion, Xia Yu said, "I came back to inherit the family fortune. I'm not leaving."

"What?!" Chen Hong, who was about to be helped upstairs by Zhao Jie, cried out in shock. She turned around and sat back down. "Things were perfectly fine abroad..."

"Mom!" Xia Lang barked, his expression turning unpleasant.

"What do you mean by that, Old Madam Xia?!" Liu Ling, Young Master's exclusive spokesperson, spoke up yet again. "You just don't want my young master to come back, do you?! So you can divide the family property among that illegitimate son, right? I guessed long ago that this was what you were thinking. Now that our young master has returned, you're panicking, huh? Heh, you've got quite the scheme going there. Did you even ask whether Old Master Qi agrees?!"

Chen Hong's face stiffened as she was called out. Furious and embarrassed, she snapped, "What nonsense are you talking about?!"

"No, I still need to report this to Old Master!" As she spoke, she moved to take out her phone and make a call.

"Liu!" Xia Qiao spoke through suppressed anger. "No matter what, the Xia Household belongs to Xiaoyu. Whether he is in the country or abroad, he will always be Hundred Rivers Group's sole heir!"

Liu Ling gave a soft snort and put away her phone.

He let out a breath of relief and asked gently, "When does Xiaoyu want to join the company? You can learn from your father and gain some experience."

Xia Yu looked rather uninterested. "We'll talk about it later."

"You've just returned to the country. It's fine to have some fun first. Whenever you want to go, just tell your father."

"Is Third Aunt working at Hundred Rivers too? And in quite a high position?"

Xia Qiao looked confused. "Third Aunt?"

Xia Yu lifted his chin toward Zhao Jie.

"..."

Xia Lang looked somewhat awkward and hurriedly explained, "Zhao Jie is my secretary. She's quite capable too. I absolutely didn't let personal feelings interfere!"

"Oh... a secretary..." Xia Yu drawled. "A secretary is fine, then. Good thing she isn't some finance director, or I really would have gotten the wrong idea. Since Dad likes her, there's no harm in keeping her around."

Zhao Jie's face turned several shades paler. Every word he said was belittling her, and he even wanted to drive her out of Hundred Rivers?

Xia Qiao rose shakily to his feet. "It's getting late. I'm heading back. Xiaoyu, come to the old residence sometime and have a meal with Grandpa."

"Alright. Take care, Grandpa."

"You're leaving already? Aren't you going upstairs to see Qingqing?" Chen Hong was still thinking about her grandson upstairs. "Why not bring Qingqing back to the old residence? I'm worried."

Xia Yu chuckled. "Grandma, who exactly are you worried about?"

"..." She angrily shut her mouth. Of course she was worried about you!

"Enough." Xia Qiao was truly exhausted. "What is there to worry about? The doctor will come take care of him. Hurry up and go home with me."

She did not dare disobey him. Before leaving, she quietly comforted Zhao Jie a few times and told her to take good care of Xia Wanqing.

As soon as they left, Chu Lan came downstairs.

"Chu Lan!" Zhao Jie hurried over. "How is Qingqing?"

"He's already asleep."

"I'll go take a look."

Xia Lang followed her upstairs as well.

Xia Yu brushed the cat fur off himself and stood up. "Is Brother going home?"

"Mm." Chu Lan did not want to speak to him at all right now.

"Then I'll go back with you. It's already six thirty, time for dinner. Aunt Jiang told me to come over and eat."

He frowned slightly. "My mom knows you're back?"

"Yeah, I posted on my social media. Brother, you didn't tell her? Tsk, and you said she'd be happy to know I was back. Liar."

"...Sorry. I was busy and forgot."

"Hmph. You were busy going to the hospital to see Qingqing, right?"

"..." In truth, he had not planned to tell her at all. The moment he did, his mother would definitely invite Xia Yu over for dinner. He did not want to sit at the same table as this black-hearted bastard.

Xia Yu did not mind. "Aunt Ling, I'm going to Brother's house for dinner. Feed them some cat food, then you can get off work."

"Got it."

No matter how unwilling Chu Lan was, he could only go out with him.

By evening, the sun had fully set, but it was still sweltering outside.

Xia Yu followed behind Chu Lan, keeping nearly five meters between them.

As they walked, he suddenly stopped. "Brother."

Chu Lan turned back. "What now?"

"Come here."

"..." He rolled his eyes and walked back. "What is it?"

"I got sand in my eye."

"Then go back and wash it out."

"Blow on it for me."

"I'm not blowing on it," Chu Lan refused without thinking. Who wanted to get that close to him? What if he pulled some trick again and hurt him?

Xia Yu tilted his head up slightly, mist already gathering in his eyes. "Are you going to blow on it or not?"

"No. My breath stinks. I'm afraid I'll fumigate you."

"Hm?"

After more than ten seconds of standoff, Chu Lan caved and stepped forward twice. "I'm not touching you on purpose. Don't hit me."

"When have I ever hit Brother?"

"..." Heh, what a forgetful nobleman. "Which eye?"

"My left."

Chu Lan was one eighty-five, two centimeters taller than him. He merely lowered his head a little and quickly blew on Xia Yu's left eye. "Is it better?"

Xia Yu reflexively closed his eyes. When he opened them again, a faint blush had spread around them. "Blow again."

"..."

"Brother?"

Chu Lan, who had been staring at him blankly, jolted back to his senses. He quickly blew on his eye again, then retreated two steps in a row and stammered, "I-Is it better now? Otherwise, I... I can go buy you eye drops?"

Xia Yu blinked. "No need. Let's go."

"O-Okay, let's go..." Chu Lan quickly turned around and strode toward home, secretly despising himself. So what if he was good-looking? His heart was black!

Xia Yu followed leisurely behind him. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the vehicle hidden behind a distant flower bed, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

The heat outside billowed, while the inside of the car was like an ice cellar.

Chi Er sat in the driver's seat, somehow having gotten hold of a small pair of binoculars. He reported to his boss in the backseat, who was radiating cold air from head to toe, "The childhood friend kissed Young Master. My God!"

The chill became even more terrifying.

Chi Yi snatched the binoculars away. "Shut up!"

Suppressing towering fury, Chi Yan stared through the car window at that slender figure without saying a word.

Chi Er swallowed with difficulty, but he had not yet delivered the lines Young Master had instructed him to say. He could only force himself to speak. "Sir, I suddenly have a bold guess. You might get angry if I say it..."

"Speak."

"Is there a possibility—just a possibility—that the person Young Master actually likes is his childhood friend, and you're only a... substitute?"

Chi Yi's vision went dark from his outrageous words. What the hell was this idiot even saying?! Did he really have a death wish?!

He could already feel the murderous look in his boss's eyes, but there was nothing he could do. He had not finished his lines yet. "When you're in a foreign country, it's easy to miss family and friends. If Young Master hadn't seen the shadow of someone familiar in you, how would he have dared to stick so close to you the moment he arrived at the Chi Household? Sir, you keep such a cold face every day that everyone avoids you. And after that happened between you two, Young Master didn't make much of a fuss. Just now, he obediently let his childhood friend kiss him. What happened with you was an accident he couldn't avoid, but just now, he had no intention of avoiding it at all. Whether someone loves you or not is really obvious."

Chi Yan's back teeth nearly shattered from how hard he was grinding them. He squeezed out coldly, "He has always said he likes me. Are you saying he was pretending?"

Chi Er was already lighting a candle for himself in his heart. "I'm not Young Master, so how would I know what he truly feels for you, Sir? But... he really doesn't reject kisses from his childhood friend..."

"Shut up! Get out! All of you, get out!"

"Yes!" The two of them scrambled out of the car and huddled more than ten meters away. It was as if they could see waves of black smoke rising from the vehicle. Oh my God, this was the first time they had ever seen Sir this angry.