"Who else could it be? That bastard Shen Kezhou actually insinuated on social media that I cheated! How shameless can he get?"
Su Cimu spoke indignantly to Shen Yannian, then showed him the entertainment news he had come across.
Shen Yannian read the gossip with a frown, his expression turning extremely grim.
"Doesn't Shen Kezhou work at this company?" Su Cimu asked indignantly.
"This is headquarters. He isn't qualified to work here. He works at a branch," Shen Yannian answered.
"I'm so pissed! If Shen Kezhou were here, I'd charge straight over and punch him twice. Let him see what I'm made of!" Su Cimu clenched his fists and threw a couple of punches in the air, looking utterly unruly.
But Shen Yannian laughed at precisely the wrong moment, earning himself an eye roll from Su Cimu.
"Sorry, I really couldn't help it. You looked so adorable just now. It really got me." Shen Yannian's lips curved as he explained with a smile, his gaze full of tenderness.
Su Cimu felt rather embarrassed by his reaction. "What's adorable about me? I'm not adorable at all! Do you want a taste of my fists too?"
Su Cimu threatened Shen Yannian ferociously.
"What, we've only been engaged for two days, and you're already going to subject me to domestic violence? That's not something a good man should do to his partner." Shen Yannian turned the tables on him, pinning the label of "domestic abuser" on Su Cimu.
"Who's committing domestic violence? We're not even married yet, so even if I hit you, it wouldn't count! Besides, I don't have violent tendencies. I'm very reasonable, okay?" Su Cimu lifted his chin haughtily.
"Mm, you really are very reasonable."
Shen Yannian recalled the engagement banquet. Faced with Shen Kezhou and Liang Xi's cheating, Su Cimu had calmly played a PowerPoint presentation and explained the course of their affair. That alone was enough to prove that Young Master Su wasn't all flash and no substance, as people claimed.
Had it been Shen Yannian, he couldn't have waited so calmly until the engagement banquet to deal with it. He would have chosen to make that cheating pair disappear from his sight forever before the banquet.
Seeing that Su Cimu still looked furious, Shen Yannian took the initiative to suggest:
"If you really want to beat him up, shall I have him come over from the branch so you can vent?"
"Can you?"
Su Cimu immediately stopped being angry. His eyes sparkled, making Shen Yannian's heart itch at the sight. He wished he could pluck the stars from the sky and give them to him.
"Why not?"
With that, Shen Yannian raised an eyebrow, then dialed the internal line and told Wan Ke to notify Shen Kezhou to come to headquarters.
Throughout the entire process, Su Cimu watched Shen Yannian with an admiring gaze, which Shen Yannian thoroughly enjoyed.
"Chairman Shen, your takeout is here."
Wan Ke brought the takeout they had just ordered into the office, then swiftly retreated.
"Eat first. By the time we're done, Shen Kezhou should be here."
"Mm-hmm!"
Nothing in the world mattered more than his meal!
Looking at the tableful of dishes Su Cimu had ordered, Shen Yannian gained a rough understanding of the young master's tastes:
Heavy on oil, spice, and salt.
"You eat too. To thank you for helping me call that bastard Shen Kezhou over, you can have this big chicken drumstick!"
Painfully parting with his treasure, Su Cimu picked up the only big drumstick and placed it in Shen Yannian's bowl.
Seeing his reluctant gaze, Shen Yannian couldn't help chuckling, then put the drumstick back in his bowl:
"Have some more. I don't like drumsticks."
"Oh, all right, then. Don't say I didn't thank you. You're the one who wouldn't accept it."
With that, Su Cimu started gnawing on the big drumstick without a care.
Shen Yannian smiled. Had the young master forgotten whose phone he had used to order this entire table of food?
He had ordered lunch on Shen Yannian's phone, spent Shen Yannian's money, then used a drumstick from that meal to thank him? Young Master Su certainly knew how to work the abacus.
Everyone called Shen Yannian an unscrupulous businessman, but in Shen Yannian's opinion, Su Cimu was no slouch either. He had real potential to surpass even him.
After eating and drinking his fill, Su Cimu let out a thoroughly undignified burp, then slumped on the sofa with his arms and legs spread out, looking nothing like a young master from a wealthy family.
"Don't sit like that after eating. It's bad for your digestion. Stand for a while first."
"Ugh, why do you nag just like Old Su? Should I call you Daddy Shen?"
Su Cimu hated this kind of nagging most of all and immediately fired back.
"I wouldn't mind you calling me Daddy in bed. That would spice things up. But I wouldn't recommend calling me that when we're out, because I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself."
At those words, Su Cimu met Shen Yannian's gaze, which seemed to hold something left unsaid, and angrily cursed him:
"You're being a creep! Shameless! One of these days, I'll find a reporter and expose your true nature!"
"That would require a reporter who dared publish it."
Shen Yannian was very confident in his own power. Not a single media outlet in the capital would dare offend him.
Su Cimu rolled his eyes, not wanting to bother with this conceited old man.
Knock, knock, knock-
At the knocking, Su Cimu immediately stood up:
That bastard Shen Kezhou must be here!
After knocking three times, Shen Kezhou pushed the door open and entered.
He had barely come in and hadn't even found his footing before Su Cimu grabbed him by the collar and pinned him against the wall.
"Shen Kezhou, do you have a death wish? Spreading rumors about me out there?"
"Cough, cough. Xiao Ci, why are you here? Second Uncle, did you... did you call me here so he could hit me?"
Shen Kezhou's eyes widened as he stared at Shen Yannian and Su Cimu in disbelief. He couldn't believe his second uncle, who had always been fair and rigid, would make an exception for someone!
"Don't change the subject. This-you had someone leak it, didn't you?" Su Cimu took out his phone, opened the gossip page from earlier, and showed it to Shen Kezhou.
Shen Kezhou looked utterly bewildered, with no idea what had happened.
"Xiao Ci, even though we've broken up, I wouldn't go to a reporter to badmouth you. Besides... I was the one in the wrong first. I wouldn't dare approach a reporter..."
Although Shen Kezhou had cheated, he wasn't scummy enough to ruin his ex-boyfriend's reputation. Besides, his ex-boyfriend was now his second uncle's fiancé.
He wouldn't dare.
Hearing Shen Kezhou's words, Su Cimu froze briefly, his grip loosening a little and allowing Shen Kezhou to catch his breath.
"If it wasn't you, who was it? Weren't you the insider the reporter mentioned?" Su Cimu demanded.
"Of course not. I haven't gone out since the engagement banquet. I only went to work today, and then Second Uncle called me to the group's headquarters," Shen Kezhou protested, feeling thoroughly wronged.
Su Cimu was dumbfounded. Had he beaten up the wrong person?
"Oh. Sorry, then. Wrong person. You can go."
Su Cimu let go of him completely, then signaled for him to get lost.
Shen Kezhou: No, excuse me? This was why you called me all the way from the branch to headquarters???
"Second Uncle..."
"Listen to your second aunt."
Shen Yannian spoke in a very good mood, then stared at Su Cimu.
Hearing what Shen Yannian had called him, Su Cimu narrowed his eyes:
Very well. Shen Kezhou wasn't the only one asking for a beating.