Chapter 18

Wen Cishu froze, as though the man before him had merged with the man from their honeymoon ten years ago.

He quickly snapped out of it and pointed casually. "He went to change. He'll be downstairs soon."

Bo Tingyuan spotted the ring box in his palm and asked with apparent casualness, "Found the ring?"

Wen Cishu couldn't help grumbling inwardly: We've been married for ten years. What exactly are you pretending for?!

He couldn't resist saying coolly, "Yes, Uncle Xu found it for me." Lifting his phoenix eyes, he added, "Remember to give him an extra red envelope at the next holiday."

Bo Tingyuan said, "All right. I'll remember."

He glanced at Wen Cishu's hands. Neither wore a ring, so it was evidently still in the box. "Not going to put it on?"

Wen Cishu walked inside, grinding his teeth. "Oh, then I'll go find Uncle Xu right away and have him put it on for me..."

Before he could finish, his wrist was caught, and his whole body leaned back.

His chest tightened as he raised his eyes to stare into those deep green eyes.

Bo Tingyuan's fingers pried open his palm with considerable force and took out the ring.

Then Wen Cishu watched him lower his eyes, lift his hand, and slowly slide the ring onto his ring finger.

As the hard metal slid on inch by inch, a faint electric current actually seemed to pass through his skin.

Wen Cishu's fingertips curled slightly, only to be held tightly in Bo Tingyuan's palm.

The little monkey's excited calls for his dad were already coming from the living room.

In the hallway, amid light and shadow.

Bo Tingyuan gazed at the exquisitely beautiful man and lowered his voice a little. "Let's go."

As though his soul had been stolen, Wen Cishu drifted out after him...

Chapter 18

Li Yun's little courtyard residence stood in a designated area under the foreign affairs department's jurisdiction, only a few steps from the central administrative offices.

Several cars pulled up outside the courtyard one after another, and Bo Yiming saw his grandfather hurrying over, his face full of delight.

He was the first to jump out. [Grandpa!]

Li Yun took his eldest grandson's hand, his slightly aged features holding back his excitement as he lowered his voice affectionately. [Thank you for helping Grandpa invite both your dads, Yiming.]

Bo Yiming lifted his head proudly, then turned to gaze expectantly at another black sedan alongside his grandfather.

The tall Bo Tingyuan held Wen Cishu's hand tightly, supporting him as he stepped out.

On this rare outing, Wen Cishu exuded an air of nobility as he stood in the evening breeze, a gentle, faint smile on his face.

As their elder, Li Yun looked at the two men he so rarely saw and spoke first. "Cishu, Tingyuan, I'm so happy you could come."

Bo Tingyuan called him "Dad," then had his assistant bring over the gifts.

Wen Cishu followed suit. "Dad, happy birthday."

"Good, good."

Seeing the two of them and his little grandson here together, Li Yun seemed dazed for a moment. Only after coming back to himself did he raise a hand.

"The wind picked up this afternoon. Tingyuan, hurry and help Cishu inside. Don't let him get chilled."

Wen Cishu looked at the elder, who remained cultured and refined even past middle age.

As he recalled, their last meeting had been a very long time ago, all the way back when Bo Yiming had just been born.

Before marrying, he hadn't been particularly clear on the exact relationship between Bo Tingyuan and his father, Li Yun. He had only known that Li Yun and Bo Tingyuan's mother had never married, and Bo Tingyuan had always lived with his mother.

Judging by the current situation, the bond between father and son was also very distant.

Li Yun was in high spirits but momentarily couldn't find anything to say, so he told Wen Cishu, "Yiming has grown a little taller since New Year."

He was about to raise his hand to ruffle the boy's hair, but the boy dodged.

Bo Yiming leaned aside and said anxiously, [Grandpa! It took so much effort to style my hair up! A whole two centimeters!]

Wen Cishu listened to his rapid babble of French as he grew anxious.

He pressed his lips together, amusement glimmering in his eyes, but when he looked up, he found that Bo Tingyuan had been watching him for who knew how long.

Li Yun put an arm around Bo Yiming's shoulders.

[All right, Grandpa won't touch your hair. Don't stand so far away from me.]

He then told Wen Cishu, "Everyone coming tonight is a colleague or old friend I've made through work, with some of their family members. Cishu, don't feel ill at ease."

"I won't."

Wen Cishu squeezed Bo Tingyuan's hand. "With Tingyuan here, I won't feel ill at ease."

The grip on his hand tightened again, as though answering his words, warmth flowing steadily into his palm.

When the group entered the courtyard, the guests looked over, their eyes truly lighting up.

Everyone knew about Li Yun's relationship with the Bo family and knew of Bo Tingyuan, but none had met Wen Cishu.

One face had distinctly sculpted mixed-race features, with the sharp lines of a Western sculpture; the other

face possessed an especially classical Eastern beauty, graceful and lush.

The moment the two appeared, they seemed to come with their own halos, making it impossible to look away.

Li Yun gave a relatively brief introduction.

Unlike most parents, who would have made a great show of having such outstanding children, he merely introduced them as his two children and grandson.

With him in politics and the Bo family in business, their positions were sensitive, so he deliberately played it down.

His friends could tell that the birthday celebrant was unusually open in his delight today, clearly because of these two important guests.

As close friends, they were happy for Li Yun too, and all took care to steer clear of inappropriate subjects in their conversation.

Bo Yiming had excellent taste. The counterweight pendant he had chosen for his little dad indeed drew everyone's attention, and after asking about it, they began discussing traditional Chinese and European culture.

At dinner.

Wen Cishu took his seat, with Bo Yiming on his right and Bo Tingyuan on his left, still holding his hand without letting go.

He leaned over and teased softly, "Aren't you going to eat?"

Bo Tingyuan drew his hand over to rest on his thigh. "Dinner hasn't started yet."

Wen Cishu felt his thumb rubbing over his ring repeatedly, neither too lightly nor too firmly, as though confirming again and again that it was properly in place.

Bo Yiming leaned close to his little dad's ear and whispered, "Little Dad, have you noticed? Grandpa's positively glowing today."

"Mm, he's happy, I suppose," Wen Cishu said. "What about you?"

"I'm happy!"

Bo Yiming tugged at his little black bow tie. "Little Dad, you haven't complimented me yet. Am I handsome?"

Wen Cishu looked at his childish little face and nodded.

"That won't do, Little Dad. You have to say it."

Bo Yiming put on an expectant little expression that said, "I'm ready for my compliments."

Wen Cishu quickly pinched his cheek and said softly, "Extremely handsome. The star of the evening."

"Yay!" Satisfied at last.

When his big dad looked over, Bo Yiming made two victory signs.

He was so pleased with himself that his little tail was practically sticking up.

Li Yun kept a low profile and lived simply, and his birthday banquet was very modest too.

The conversation over dinner also revolved around work.

After dinner, Li Yun made a point of telling Wen Cishu, "Cishu, my place isn't as comfortable as home. I hope you'll forgive that."

Over his years working for the government, he had earned a meager salary and hadn't bought property in China.

This courtyard residence was provided by the government, and he only had to pay an annual maintenance fee.

"Not at all, Dad. Please don't say that."

Remembering why he had come, Wen Cishu took the opportunity while Bo Tingyuan and Bo Yiming went to the restroom to gesture for Li Yun to join him in the courtyard garden.

Seeing that he had something to say, Li Yun asked first, "Cishu, is there something you want to tell me?"

Wen Cishu asked softly, "Dad, it's about when Tingyuan and I got married. I remember my parents saying that the old master gave Tingyuan my photograph?"

Li Yun said, "Yes. At the time, Yiming's great-grandfather wanted Tingyuan to return and inherit the family business, so he hoped Tingyuan would marry in China."

The moment Wen Cishu heard this, something felt wrong.

"Then he probably didn't just give him my photograph, did he?"

Li Yun frowned as he recalled. "I really don't know the details. Yiming's great-grandfather and I hadn't been in contact for a long time. It was only after Tingyuan returned and you two married that we visited a little more, before he passed away."

Wen Cishu nodded. "Dad, do you know whether Tingyuan had any health problems before he married?"

Li Yun said, "He's always been strong and healthy. His mother had him learn horseback riding and fencing from childhood. Cishu, why do you ask?"

"No reason." Wen Cishu also felt he had been too direct, and hurriedly changed the subject. "But he seemed to like Eastern culture even back then?"

Li Yun didn't think much of it and simply followed the topic. "It's a coincidence, really. It was probably a year before you married. Tingyuan's mother mentioned to me that he'd suddenly seemed to develop a fascination with Chinese culture, and might return to China for a look someday. You know, he wasn't close to me before, either. I wanted him to learn Chinese, but he never took it to heart."

"A year before we married?"

Wen Cishu recalled his own circumstances. "I went to France with my parents around then."

He had wanted to go alone, but no amount of persuasion had worked, and his parents had accompanied him in the end.

Li Yun smiled. "If you were in Paris, perhaps you happened to run into Tingyuan. After all, central Paris is only so big."

Wen Cishu thought, Was that possible?

Perhaps the romanticism in Li Yun's bones was acting up, because the more he talked, the more plausible he found this speculation.

"I think that might really be what happened. Tingyuan saw you and fell in love at first sight. Then, when the old master gave him your photograph, he saw it was you and couldn't possibly let you slip away again. So he immediately agreed to his grandfather's request to return to China."

Wen Cishu said, "..."

No wonder you insisted on changing your surname. Your style really is completely different from the Bo family's.

Seeing that he seemed to be pondering something, Li Yun stopped smiling. "Cishu, don't take it to heart. I'm just happy to see you all tonight. What I said was only speculation. But since you're asking me these things... have you and Tingyuan had some trouble?"

"No, it just happened to come to mind." Wen Cishu had barely finished speaking when he gave a light cough.