The Fourth Young Master knows about your blind date tonight

Xia Qinghe had never expected his mother to send ten bodyguards over to stop him from standing his date up.

When the bodyguards came to grab him, he snatched up documents and hurled them at them, kicking and punching. Outnumbered in the end, he was subdued and hauled straight back to the family home.

To keep Fan Jing from seeing her son's bad side, Qian Yulan had been waiting in the garden well in advance. The moment she saw him, she reminded him, "Wipe that scowl off your face. Don't scare the poor girl."

Having completed their task, the bodyguards put Xia Qinghe's dislocated jaw back in place and cut the zip ties binding his hands and feet. They bowed to Qian Yulan and withdrew.

Xia Qinghe nearly passed out with rage. Pointing at the disloyal Chen Xiaohua, his finger trembling with anger, he demanded, "My phone."

Chen Xiaohua had once been an elite soldier. After retiring for health reasons, he had spent several years abroad as a mercenary, and Lin Fengmian had once hired him to rescue Xia Qinghe from kidnappers.

After various twists and turns, he had become Xia Qinghe's bodyguard. When Xia Qinghe was dealing with Xia Weiting, he had feared that Xia Weiting might lash out in desperation and had assigned Chen Xiaohua to Qian Yulan's side.

Unexpectedly, Qian Yulan turned out to know Chen Xiaohua's father, which made Chen Xiaohua even more inclined to obey her.

Chen Xiaohua glanced at Qian Yulan.

With her tacit permission, he pulled the phone from his pocket and tossed it to Xia Qinghe.

Xia Qinghe caught it and hurriedly called the number pinned at the top, only to hear a message saying the phone was switched off.

Unable to reach Lin Fengmian, Xia Qinghe turned and headed outside.

Qian Yulan blocked his way. "Where are you going?"

"I can't reach Mianmian." Anger weighed on Xia Qinghe's brow. Mianmian was still asleep at his place. If he didn't make sure he ate, he would probably sleep hungry until tomorrow.

He was already thin. Missing a meal would only make him thinner.

He still thought Lin Fengmian had been cutest when he was chubby.

Qian Yulan took out her phone and called Secretary Su right in front of Xia Qinghe. "Secretary Su, sorry for the trouble, but could you tell Mianmian that Qinghe has come home and ask him to get something to eat on his own?"

Her tone was perfectly accommodating, yet it irritated Xia Qinghe immensely. He didn't like having things arranged for him.

Especially over something as unimportant as a blind date.

But things had come to this, so Xia Qinghe could only swallow his anger and stride into the family home.

The Chinese garden-style residence was brightly lit. A woman in a qipao sat on the sofa. When she saw them enter, she rose and greeted them with easy poise. "Qinghe, it's been a long time."

Xia Qinghe lifted his eyelids for a glance, then walked straight past her into the dining room. Seeing three seats arranged together, he went over and moved one set of tableware far away.

Fan Jing could tell he was protesting the blind date, but she merely smiled, unbothered.

She wasn't provoked by Xia Qinghe's dismissive treatment. She stepped forward, linked arms with Qian Yulan, and went into the dining room with her.

Watching her son move himself miles away from them, Qian Yulan was angry enough to do more than hit him, but she couldn't lose her temper in front of Fan Jing.

His utter unwillingness to make an effort left her both angry and amused.

And Song Su actually envied her. She was too embarrassed to tell her about her troubles.

Compared with Lin Fengmian, her son was only worse.

Xia Qinghe picked up his bowl, his expression cold. "I'm hungry. Come eat." Once they finished, he could leave.

Afraid Fan Jing would feel offended, Qian Yulan enthusiastically served her food throughout the meal and tried to smooth things over. Unfortunately, her son refused to cooperate and focused solely on eating.

He even smacked his lips noisily.

How mortifying.

Fan Jing, on the other hand, wore a charming smile throughout, showing no anger at being slighted.

Qian Yulan suddenly felt that her son wasn't good enough for this young woman.

After all, such petty behavior was utterly unpresentable.

He was even less worthy of her good sense.

By the end of the meal, the only sound left was Xia Qinghe eating like a pig rooting through its feed.

Qian Yulan had thought that once things quieted down, he would at least restrain himself a little. Instead, he did the exact opposite and ate even more noisily.

The noise echoed throughout the residence, which covered several thousand square meters.

Qian Yulan simply couldn't bear the embarrassment. After dinner, she kicked him out of the family home to go disgrace himself elsewhere.

"I'm so sorry, Jing." Qian Yulan was so embarrassed she wished the ground would swallow her.

She had raised her son, after all. As his mother, she could hardly dissociate herself from his unseemly displays of resistance.

Fan Jing smiled and reassuringly squeezed Qian Yulan's hand in return. "It's all right. Qinghe is just like he was as a child." Just as funny. He could be a comedian.

Fan Jing stayed and chatted with Qian Yulan for a while, then insisted on leaving.

Unable to persuade her to stay, Qian Yulan sighed and had the driver take her to her hotel.

After finishing his call with his eldest brother, Lin Fengmian was so hungry his stomach burned. Unable to keep lying down, he went to forage in the refrigerator, only to discover that apart from fresh vegetables, there was nothing ready to eat.

It was just... very healthy.

Green everywhere.

That was also very Xia Qinghe: healthy meals, regular sleep, as though he were preparing to live to two hundred. He had been looking after his health since childhood.

Lin Fengmian closed the refrigerator, changed his clothes and shoes, and opened the door. Something tumbled inside.

Secretary Su scrambled up from the floor. "Fourth Young Master, you've finally come out."

His voice was so hoarse that it startled Lin Fengmian. "Have you caught a cold?"

Secretary Su shook his head. He had merely been calling outside the door for over an hour. Lin Fengmian turned around and fetched him a bottle of water.

Secretary Su gulped down half the bottle before feeling a little better. "Fourth Young Master, are you hungry?"

He had actually ordered food, but it had already gone cold.

It was no longer fit to eat.

For the Fourth Young Master, that was.

Because Xia Qinghe wouldn't let Lin Fengmian eat cold food.

As President Xia's most attentive secretary, he naturally had to carry out President Xia's orders.

"I'll take you to get something to eat."

"I've been hungry too long, and my stomach feels bad. Somewhere nearby will do."

Hearing that, Secretary Su couldn't possibly delay. He immediately abandoned the idea of taking Lin Fengmian to the private kitchen they often ordered from and took him to the noodle shop on the ground floor opposite the company for a steaming bowl of noodles.

After a few mouthfuls, Lin Fengmian's troublesome stomach finally felt a little better, leaving him in the mood to care about other things. "I heard Xia Qinghe went on a blind date."

Secretary Su's temple twitched. Which blabbermouthed bastard had told him? Was this something the Fourth Young Master should be told?

"D-did he? I didn't know." Secretary Su did his best to imitate his darling daughter's wide-eyed innocence when she had a guilty conscience.

Lin Fengmian glanced at him and said nothing more, focusing on finishing his noodles. He wiped his mouth. "I'm heading back. No need to take me. I'll get a taxi. My phone's dead, so I can't reach Xia Qinghe. Tell him I've gone home."

Secretary Su didn't insist on taking him back. Lin Fengmian was even more set in his decisions than Xia Qinghe. He hailed him a taxi, watched him leave, then hurried to report to Xia Qinghe.

The moment Xia Qinghe got home, he could smell Lin Fengmian's absence in the air.

His dark eyes deepened another shade. He kicked the wall irritably, pulled off his tie, and threw it on the floor.

After throwing it down, he took two steps forward, then doubled back, picked it up, and held it in his hand.

He couldn't leave it on the floor. Mianmian often walked around the house with his eyes closed. It wouldn't do if he tripped over it.

He was about to shower when Secretary Su called.

"President Xia, the Fourth Young Master went home. The driver just called me. He arrived safely."

"Got it."

Secretary Su hesitated, then decided to tattle anyway. "The Fourth Young Master knows about your blind date tonight."

Xia Qinghe said, "...Which blabbermouthed bastard told him?" Why didn't they just announce it to the whole world through a megaphone?

Lin Fengmian was going to mock him again.

His head hurt.