Chapter 32: Xie Sichen Verbally Refuses
The next morning, the prizes were delivered to Xie Sichen’s home.
A white electric scooter and a box containing headphones.
Chi Wang first tried out the scooter; it felt incredibly smooth, like flying.
He directly tied Xiaomi to the back of the scooter and rode off to walk the dog. It had to be said—it was really convenient.
Chi Wang happily sent a message to Xie: “I can walk the dog again! Next time, let me do it.”
Xie asked in a low voice, “How are you planning to walk the dog?”
Chi Wang replied, “Ride the scooter while walking him. This prize came at just the right time.”
Xie said, “That’s dangerous.”
Chi Wang responded, “It won’t be. I don’t go fast; sometimes Xiaomi even runs ahead of me.”
Xie firmly stated, “That’s unsafe. You can use the scooter to commute to school instead of walking the dog.”
Chi Wang said, “Well then, do you know how to ride an electric scooter? You could ride it to walk Xiaomi.”
Xie: “…”
Chi Wang subtly hinted, “Xiaomi is still growing and needs enough exercise; otherwise, he’ll start wrecking the house. The sofa in the living room has already been scratched up. It’s genuine leather and quite expensive.”
“…” Xie said, “I can ride.”
He could learn on the spot.
After assigning the scooter’s role, Chi Wang opened the box containing the headphones and tried out the sound quality. Oh my goodness, his entire ears were enveloped! 3D! Surround sound! Immersive!
No wonder he’d been eyeing these Sony headphones for so long!
Chi Wang was overjoyed. He took several photos of his beloved Sony headphones from various angles and posted them on his social media moments, captioning them: “Prize won in a lottery!”
He had many friends, and soon he received dozens of likes and comments.
Chi Wang rarely posted on social media; he wasn’t the showy type. So whenever he did post, everyone paid attention.
Early in the morning, Xiao Fu went into a meeting. Two shareholders were arguing at the table. Feeling impatient, he took out his phone to pass the time and casually checked his social media moments, where Chi Wang’s post appeared.
Xiao Fu looked at the post and found it amusing. Sure enough, still a kid at heart—winning a small prize could make him so happy.
Should he send him something?
Thinking about it, Xiao Fu frowned, feeling he was being too eager; it wasn’t necessary.
Although Chi Wang always treated him well, Xiao Fu knew the kind of person he was. He could tell that Chi Wang was cautious around him—sweet-talking but still guarded.
Xiao Fu felt irritated. He had never truly made friends; people always flocked to him, trying to curry favor. He didn’t need to do anything, and people would come running to be his friend.
“Doesn’t know what’s good for him,” Xiao Fu sneered internally.
His expression didn’t look pleasant, causing those around him to sweat nervously and exchange glances. A junior shareholder finally spoke up, “President Xiao…”
He called out to Xiao Fu, who instantly changed his expression, smiling, “Let’s proceed with Uncle Zhou’s plan. I believe Uncle Zhou will give me a satisfactory result.”
The shareholder he called Uncle Zhou broke out in a cold sweat but smiled and promised to comply.
After the meeting, Xiao Fu received a call from Xiao Chengfeng, who rambled on before informing him that Xie had taken over Haisheng and apparently wasn’t going abroad, planning to take over the family business.
Xiao Fu sneered, “So he’s challenging me.”
Xiao Chengfeng said, “Seems like it. You’ve been in H City for so long without him making a move. Now he’s suddenly taking action; he must be trying to compete with you.”
Xiao Fu said nothing. The Xiao family wasn’t united. If they really competed, they couldn’t surpass Xie. His parents fully supported him.
Feeling annoyed, Xiao Fu took out a cigarette, placed it between his lips, and flicked his lighter to ignite it. He took a drag, exhaled slowly, and laughed, “He’s become stupid from all that studying over the years. Does he still remember how to run a company? Give him some setbacks, and he’ll behave. Compete with me? He’s still far behind.”
Xiao Chengfeng asked, “Brother, what do you plan to do?”
Xiao Fu replied, “First, investigate Haisheng. We’ll trip him up in any way we can. Haisheng has several factories, right? If dozens of production lines stop for a day, they’ll lose hundreds of thousands. Fire safety, sanitation, safety hazards—force multiple rectifications and see how much they lose. You get the idea? Also, work on raw materials, snatch his orders and projects. Ideally, squeeze his production costs to cut off his funds. After a month, I want Haisheng’s performance to be dismal. I’ll handle this myself; no need for you to get involved.”
Xiao Chengfeng felt somewhat touched. After all, if he got involved, Xie wouldn’t let him off. Xiao Fu usually liked to use him, but when it came to matters involving Xie, he always handled them personally, never dragging him into it.
Xiao Fu still considered him a brother!
But he was hiding something from Xiao Fu.
Last time, when he investigated Chi Wang for Xiao Fu, he ultimately discovered that Chi Wang had moved into Xie’s home.
Although he didn’t know their exact relationship, Xiao Chengfeng had a hunch that if he told Xiao Fu about this, Xiao Fu would be furious. When Xiao Fu got angry, it was terrifying, so he kept this to himself.
Since he’d kept it secret until now, he couldn’t bring it up—better to say nothing. It probably wasn’t that important anyway.
*
Zuo Qianxing hadn’t seen Xie for some time. Upon seeing him again, he was startled. “Whoa, you—you—you…”
Xie glanced at him, eyes cool.
Zuo swallowed the words he was about to say and smiled, “You’ve become more handsome.”
Xie said nothing.
Zuo clicked his tongue, looking him over. “You’re glowing! Have you been sleeping well lately?”
Xie paused his hand flipping through documents and replied, “Mm.”
Zuo widened his eyes, “Really? Has your insomnia been cured?”
Xie said, “I don’t know.”
He quickly picked up his phone, snapped a photo of Xie, and sent it to Xie’s mother, Chu Qing.
Xie looked up, staring at him with a cold, hard voice, “Don’t take random photos.”
Realizing Xie was angry, Zuo quickly apologized, “Sorry, I’ve already sent it to Auntie.”
Xie said, “Withdraw it.”
Obediently, Zuo retracted the message, but Chu Qing had already seen it and replied, “Is this Sichen? He looks much better. Has his insomnia improved? Why didn’t he tell me?”
Zuo broke into a sweat and said to Xie, “Auntie has already seen it.”
Xie gave Zuo a chilly look.
Zuo was puzzled; although Xie disliked having his photo taken, he’d never gotten this angry before.
Xie’s phone immediately rang—it was Chu Qing calling. His fingers twitched, wanting to hang up, but ultimately, he couldn’t and answered the call.
Chu Qing’s voice came through, “Shengsheng, Qianxing sent me a photo of you. You look much better. How’s your health now? Are you able to sleep?”
Xie gave Zuo a cold glance and calmly replied, “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
Chu Qing didn’t believe him and kept pressing. Xie gave repetitive answers until Chu Qing finally ended the call.
Zuo apologized, “I won’t send anything next time, really.”
Xie said, “In the future, don’t tell my mom anything about me.”
Zuo didn’t understand why, but since Xie said so, he could only nod in agreement.
He was confused, but Xie knew his gentle and kind mother had keen intuition. He didn’t want Chi Wang’s situation exposed to his parents.
Although they couldn’t yet be called partners, it would still create pressure, and he didn’t need that right now.
Xie had just taken over Haisheng and was unfamiliar with many things, so he handled business until evening before returning home.
With sufficient sleep and proper rest, Xie looked much more spirited, his mood more peaceful—a complete contrast to before.
Xie walked home briskly, and before reaching the door, he could see the living room lights were on.
He lightened his steps, took out his key, and opened the door. The hallway connected to the living room with an unobstructed view, and he immediately saw Chi Wang wearing a one-piece dinosaur pajama, sitting on the beige carpet using his computer.
At this moment, Chi Wang was practicing video editing, using the software skillfully. He could produce a finished piece in half an hour.
Xie didn’t disturb him. He changed out of his suit and coat into casual clothes.
He grabbed the scooter key, took Xiaomi out, looped the leash around his arm, and with a composed expression, began familiarizing himself with the scooter.
The scooter was a large model with plenty of front space—enough room for his legs and then some.
Xie quickly figured out the scooter’s functions and called Xiaomi to the front. He tried starting it.
An electric scooter isn’t hard to learn; anyone who can ride a bicycle can easily pick it up. Naturally, Xie wasn’t so clumsy as to not know how.
So after a brief period of bumping and wobbling, Xie soon mastered riding the scooter.
He stopped, secured his helmet, let Xiaomi down, and led him on a steady run along the empty streets.
Chi Wang finished editing a piece, stretched lazily, and shut down his computer.
Noticing the time, he thought Xie should be back. Seeing that Xiaomi was missing, Chi Wang rushed outside to look—the scooter was gone too.
So Xie really went to ride the scooter to walk Xiaomi?
Chi Wang chuckled; he couldn’t imagine Xie riding a scooter.
But with the efficiency of scooter dog-walking, Xie returned in half an hour. Xiaomi panted heavily beside him.
Chi Wang watched as Xie removed his helmet. His prominent nose was reddened by the cold wind, and his exposed hands were also red. Remembering something, Chi Wang said, “We should get a windproof cover; that way, your hands won’t get cold. If installing a windshield were allowed, we could add one to keep your face warm.”
He opened an online shopping app, selected a few options, and showed them to Xie, “Which one do you like? I’ll get it for you.”
Xie looked at the images of the windproof covers, falling into a long silence.
He didn’t like any of them.
Xie said, “The white one.”
Chi Wang quickly placed the order, flashing a bright smile, “You have great taste. I think this one looks good too; it matches the scooter.”
Xie: “…Mm.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Chi Wang took his cold, reddened hands into his own warm palms, “Your hands are freezing. You’ve worked hard; let me warm them up for you.”
Xie froze, slowly lowering his gaze. Chi Wang’s hands were warm; after holding his for a moment, warmth spread through his hand, penetrating right to the bone.
Chi Wang focused on warming his hands. Once one hand was warm, he switched to the other. His intention was simple. After achieving his goal, he cheerfully let go, saying, “Alright, at the very least, wear gloves. Such nice hands shouldn’t get frostbite.”
Xie was silent for a moment before saying, “Thank you.”
Chi Wang replied, “No need to thank me.”
Xiaomi rubbed Chi Wang’s leg with his paw, wagging his tail, eyes bright and mouth slightly upturned as if smiling.
Chi Wang looked down, “What is it? Xiaomi, do you want me to warm your paws too? Come on, I’ll help you.”
Xiaomi placed his paw into Chi Wang’s hand. Chi Wang held his paw with both hands, looking concerned, “Your paw pads are so cold. I’ll make you some shoes another day. I know how to make them. Let me make you a pair, okay?”
Xiaomi nodded and barked, “Woof!”
Chi Wang looked at Xie, “Did you see that, senior? Xiaomi nodded! He’s so smart.”
Xie glanced down at Xiaomi. Xiaomi met his gaze briefly, then lowered his head with a hint of disdain, avoiding Xie’s eyes.
Xie: “…”
From now on, your name is Chi Xiaomi.
Xie suddenly asked, “You know how to make shoes?”
Chi Wang said, “Yes, I can knit wool slippers. Making shoes for a dog’s paws is more than manageable.”
He suddenly had an idea, raised his face to smile at Xie, “I also know how to knit scarves. Last year, I made one for Luo and the others. I’m quick; I can finish one in an hour. Do you need one, senior? If you do, I can make one for you.”
Xie politely said, “No need.”
After a pause, he added, “I have enough scarves.”
Chi Wang smiled, “That’s not the point. Who can’t buy a scarf these days? It’s a token of my goodwill. You shouldn’t refuse.”
Xie’s eyebrows relaxed, and in a cool tone, he said, “Alright, thank you in advance.”
