What about me?

"Wei Ziyun." Feng Wanting frowned and warned him, "Go."

Wei Ziyun glared angrily at Pei Yang once more, then stomped off.

Pei Yang stood rooted to the spot, not understanding what Wei Ziyun had meant.

But things had already fallen apart this badly, and Pei Yang no longer wanted to get to the bottom of it. He wanted to leave with Wei Ziyun, but he had barely taken a step when Feng Wanting said coldly behind him, "Pei Yang, did I say you could leave?"

"It's after working hours," Pei Yang said. "You have no right to keep me here, Director Feng."

"One word from me, and everyone in the entire group has to stay and work overtime." Feng Wanting approached Pei Yang from behind, his steps as light as a drifting ghost. He lowered his head slightly and said into Pei Yang's ear, "Now tell me, do I have the right?"

"You!" Pei Yang turned around to find Feng Wanting's handsome face mere inches away. He stepped back, his heart suddenly skipping a beat.

"Whether you wanted to hear it or not, I've explained everything to you." Feng Wanting lowered his eyes slightly, his expression unreadable. "Whether you believe me is up to you."

"Then why won't you let me leave?"

"You're clearly too important to remember what you said." Feng Wanting said, "You said that if Xile still remembered you or mentioned you in the future, you would see your promise to him... through to the end."

"That still stands," Pei Yang said.

"Does it? Does just saying so count?" Feng Wanting's throat was painfully dry. "Ever since Xile came back from the exhibition, he's been holding that watch of his with barely any functions and checking it every day. He opens it eagerly, only to put it down in disappointment. Over and over."

Pei Yang remembered something, and his gaze shifted.

"Before, I was his only contact on WeChat. Now he has you, too."

Pei Yang's usually frosty expression softened a little, his eyelashes trembling ever so slightly.

"Are you treating my son and me like dogs you can toy with?" Feng Wanting said, using words utterly unbecoming of his position.

"I'm not." Feng Wanting's words sent a numb shock through Pei Yang's body. "I just didn't know how to reply to him. I have no experience dealing with children."

"You can ignore Xile's WeChat messages, and you can decide on your own to forget we slept together twice and pretend it never happened." Feng Wanting's voice was very low, as though he were holding something back. "Better a sharp pain now than a lingering one. There's no need for you to keep forcing yourself to do things you don't want to do, Curator Pei. Tell Xile right now that you're a man, that you're not his mom and don't want to be his mom, then delete him."

"You know perfectly well I won't do that!"

"But it's the best solution. That way, Xile will cry for two days at most before gradually coming to terms with it. It's better than him clutching a watch day and night, eagerly waiting for someone to reply."

"As for me..." Feng Wanting let out a trembling breath. "All you have to do is tell me clearly that you slept with me purely on impulse, purely for physical pleasure, and that you have no feelings for me whatsoever. Then, from this day forward, we'll simply be boss and employee. Outside of work, I'll treat you as a stranger."

"..." Pei Yang's face, irritated by the allergic reaction, suddenly began to itch. He wanted to reach up and scratch it, but his body was too stiff to move.

Wasn't this what he had hoped for? All he had to do was delete Feng Chuxun and tell Feng Wanting clearly that he had no feelings for him, and he could cut all ties with father and son. So why couldn't he say it?

At that utterly inappropriate moment, he remembered Feng Chuxun's adorable little face, the way he tilted his head up and called him Mommy in his childish voice, and the immature yet sincere things he had said.

He simply couldn't bring himself to be that cruel.

"I won't delete Xile," Pei Yang said firmly.

"What about me?" Feng Wanting wanted Pei Yang to take a little pity on him. "Will you... cut me off completely?"

"We were never involved to begin with. There's nothing to cut off." Pei Yang lifted his head and said with difficulty, "Director Feng, you've seen how ugly I look. I'm not worth being treated this way. From now on, when you see me, just pretend you don't know me."

Feng Wanting gave a bitter smile. "Do you think I treat you this way because of your face?"

Pei Yang said nothing.

"I understand." Pei Yang's silence said it all. Feng Wanting watched him quietly for a long time before saying, "All right. From now on, we'll pretend we don't know each other."

Pei Yang's heart suddenly clenched.

That was the end of it. Feng Wanting turned away, and Pei Yang called after him before he could stop himself. "As for Xile, I'll... explain why I didn't reply to his messages."

"Suit yourself." Feng Wanting didn't even lift his head. He was clearly keeping his promise and treating Pei Yang as a "stranger."

Having earned himself that cold response, Pei Yang walked out of Feng Wanting's office.

There. Happy now? Pei Yang asked himself.

Things were clearly going the way he had hoped, so why did his chest hurt so much? Why did he feel even lower than yesterday?

He walked dispiritedly to the elevator and remembered that he didn't have access to go downstairs. It felt like a lifeline: now he had a legitimate reason to go back to Feng Wanting. But when he turned around, Wu Rui was standing nearby. "Mr. Pei Yang, I'll take you down."

Looking at Wu Rui's smiling face, Pei Yang felt an inexplicable surge of anger.

"Mm." He stepped into the elevator.

Wu Rui took him down to the first floor. As he nodded and prepared to leave, Pei Yang caught his arm.

Wu Rui looked puzzled. "Yes?"

"Secretary Wu." Pei Yang didn't know why he was asking this, but he asked anyway. "Would the chairman's work ever overlap with the Exhibition Planning Department?"

"Not in the first half of the year." Wu Rui thought for a moment. "Possibly next month, though... There was a meeting about it a few days ago, but whether the project goes ahead still depends on Director Feng."

Next month...?

"Then, in your opinion," Pei Yang asked tentatively, "will Director Feng go ahead with it?"

"Well..." Wu Rui looked uncomfortable. "Mr. Pei Yang, I've actually already broken company rules by telling you this much. If it weren't for your good relationship with Director Feng... I wouldn't be allowed to reveal a single word from an executive meeting."

"...I understand." Pei Yang nodded. "Thank you."

When he got home, Pei Yang fell headfirst onto his bed.

Yesterday, he had been agonizing over Feng Wanting's pursuit of him regardless of the setting and the flirtation that had begun without him knowing when. He had even endured the pain and itching to ruin his face. Today, he had achieved his goal, yet his heart felt heavier than it had yesterday.

"Pei Yang, oh, Pei Yang... Why are you so conflicted? How exactly does Feng Wanting have to treat you for you to be satisfied?"

"..."

He closed his eyes and let his thoughts wander aimlessly for a long time, then suddenly sat up.

Xile!

He had to reply to Xile's messages.

Pei Yang took out his phone, opened WeChat, and immediately found Xile's account, which had no profile picture.

Pei Yang didn't like sending voice messages, but he worried that Feng Chuxun wouldn't be able to read a text, so he simply placed a voice call.

Pei Yang was considering what to say to Xile first when a beep sounded and the call connected.

A cheerful, clear voice came from the other end. "Mommy!"

"...It's me."

"Mommy!!" Xile said excitedly. "It really is your voice! You ignored me for so long that I thought you... thought you didn't want to be my mommy anymore."

"I'm sorry." Pei Yang was utterly sincere. "I... was busy with work for a while and forgot to reply to your messages."

"That's okay. Daddy explained it to me. He said you missed me, too, but your boss was too mean and wouldn't give you any time off."

Pei Yang smiled, his heart softening into a weightless cloud.

He might never have a child of his own, but at that moment, he briefly experienced the joy of becoming a father for the first time.