Chapter 7 - 7

𝐗𝐈𝐀𝐎 𝐙𝐇𝐀𝐍

659 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧,

𝐒𝐲𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐲, 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚.

Slowly, he slipped out of the 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐲-𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭 he was wearing and tossed it onto the 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐚 in his spacious bedroom.

He studied his handsome, slightly flushed face in the mirror, frowning faintly as his fingers brushed over his right cheek, where a single stubborn pimple had appeared the day before...annoying enough to ruin his mood and keep him from going out.

With a quiet sigh, he removed his white underwear and headed to the bathroom, dropping them into the laundry basket before reaching for his toothbrush and toothpaste. As he brushed, his eyes remained fixed on his reflection, irritation lingering over the blemish on his skin.

When he finished, he stepped into the 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐢, letting warm water cascade over him. His eyes drifted shut as the heat eased his tension and calmed his thoughts.

After a few minutes, he emerged, a brown towel wrapped around his waist and a smaller one around his hair. His skin glowed...clear evidence of rest, comfort, and the careful use of 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬.

He sat before the mirror, switched on the hand dryer, and began drying his hair, which he had undone from its bob-marley braids the previous evening.

He slipped into a lightweight 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭 and a pair of 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬, then stepped out of his bedroom with his phone in hand, about to place a call.

The scent of his 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐦𝐞 announced his presence as he entered the wide, elegant living room.

𝐙𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐢, their housekeeper...who had worked with them since Singapore and had been sent by Mr. Shang, Zhan's friend...lifted her head from adjusting the large humidifier after finishing the house cleaning. Her eyes followed him, and she smiled politely.

"𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜."

Yibo glanced at her with calm eyes and replied simply, "𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑍𝑢𝑏𝑏𝑖."

He looked toward Yuli's bedroom and asked, "𝐼𝑠 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑜 𝑌𝑢𝑙𝑖 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑘𝑒?"

"𝑌𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑖𝑟," Zubbi answered as she moved to set up Yibo's breakfast on the dining table before heading into their spacious Australian-style kitchen.

Yibo walked straight to Yuli's room, opening the door as he spoke.

"𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑜 𝑌𝑢𝑙𝑖, 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦. 𝑀𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑤𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛…"

Yuli was seated on a soft ash-colored sofa that matched the room's light, elegant tone. She wore clear-framed glasses and was reading a book, dressed in a long, light-pink Swiss cotton gown of fine quality.

She looked up at him with care and unmistakable affection...an affection that had long become part of her very being. Setting the book aside, she focused on him completely.

"𝑇𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑔𝑜 𝑜𝑢𝑡, 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜.

𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑤? 𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠?

𝑌𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑒...𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑦. 𝐴 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢 '𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍.' 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙."

Yibo sat beside her, his face scrunching as he tried to speak, but she stopped him gently yet firmly.

"𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑢𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑓 ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛. 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑟𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠."

"𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑜 𝑌𝑢𝑙𝑖, 𝑖𝑓 𝐷𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑦 𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙

𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛, ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑟𝑦."

"𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒. 𝐵𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒, 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡?"

He nodded, stood up, and said as he moved toward the door,"𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛."

A faint smile spread across Popo Yuli's face as she admired the smooth, glowing skin visible at Yibo's neck beneath his shirt. With a light laugh, she said,

"𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜𝑜, 𝑋𝑖𝑎𝑜 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜 𝑍ℎ𝑎𝑛."

Yibo turned back toward her with a small smile. His friends often called him that, and Popo Yuli did as well, from time to time. He went to the dining area and sat comfortably, enjoying a cup of black tea, two slices of toasted bread, and eggs.

Once he was done, he left the table and returned to his room, dialing his father again. He had been trying to reach him since earlier, but this time the call finally went through.

Zhan was seated in the living room of his well-appointed duplex in Singapore, holding a meeting with CM Shang, his trusted best friend and business associate. They were discussing plans for a new company whose branch had just been opened in Shanghai, China.

He sat on a two-seater couch, dressed in a soft, sky-blue English suit that reflected both elegance and wealth. His phone lay beside him. When it lit up with an incoming call, he turned calmly to look at it.

His pale eyes shifted briefly toward CM Shang, and he said quietly,

"𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒."

He picked up the phone and brought it to his ear. His voice, naturally deep and controlled, softened instantly. His only son...his most precious possession in the world...always drew out that gentler tone.

"𝒀𝒆𝒔, 𝒀𝑰𝑩𝑶."

Yibo let out a small breath as he sat on the edge of his bed, his voice filled with affection and longing.

"𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑫𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒚."

Zhan glanced at the 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐤 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 on his wrist, then briefly at CM Shang. He knew Yibo would want to talk for a while, and CM Shang had a flight to China at eleven. Still, he replied with warmth and care.

"𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒀𝒊𝒃𝒐.

𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍?"

"𝑰'𝒎 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑫𝒂𝒅, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒆?

𝑯𝒐𝒘'𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌?

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌?"

Calmly, Zhan answered,

"𝑰'𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑪𝑴 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕? 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑷𝒐𝒑𝒐 𝒀𝒖𝒍𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆."

"𝑶𝒌𝒂𝒚, 𝑫𝒂𝒅. 𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓.

𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖."

Zhan ended the call and set the phone down before looking back at CM Shang, who had been waiting patiently. He was already showing signs of concern...everyone knew that whenever Yibo called, important meetings could easily be delayed or interrupted.

It was no secret among those close to Zhan: when it came to Yibo, Xiao Zhan's judgment often softened, no matter how critical the business at hand was.

Yibo was Zhan's one true weakness...something no one fully understood except Shang and Popo Yuli, the only two who truly knew how deeply his son lived in his heart.

At the same time, Yibo was also the source of Zhan's strength.

All the wealth and success he had accumulated meant less to him than a single day of his son's happiness.

Yibo himself knew he was the light of his father's life, just as everyone knew that Zhan's love for his son was beyond measure. He was not only Yibo's father...

he was his mother, protector, guide, and the center of his world.

CM Shang let out a slow breath as he looked at Zhan. He had assumed he would be kept waiting while Zhan finished his call, but fortunately, Zhan kept it brief.

Zhan noticed the tension CM Shang was in, so he quickly wrapped things up.

Calmly, he picked up the documents requiring his signature and began signing as he said,

"𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑨𝑰𝑨 𝑑𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜'𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤. 𝐻𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡. 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑙𝑒𝑡'𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠."

"𝐴𝑙𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡," CM Shang replied.

They parted ways at ten o'clock, after one of their staff members escorted CM Shang to the airport.

At 11:30, Zhan boarded his own flight with his secretary, leaving Singapore for Australia.

Even though Yibo had no real desire to go, he prepared for school and left the house. Before leaving, he spoke with his friend...who felt the same way about school. Neither of them had much interest in academics; they preferred leisure and luxury, living the carefree lives of privileged youths.

Although Yibo often claimed he disliked studying, that never meant he neglected his work once he was in class. Whenever he attended school, he focused seriously, and with his sharp intelligence, he had never failed. His grades were always good. It wasn't that he lacked ability...he simply lacked passion.

What truly interested him was marriage. He dreamed of leaving school behind and living life on his own terms: shopping, visiting beauty salons and spas, and traveling freely to any country he pleased.

That was already close to the life he lived. He had no occupation beyond shopping trips, spa visits, and body care routines. Personal grooming was extremely important to him, and it showed...his skin always glowed with health, rest, and meticulous care.

He rarely traveled alone. Most of the countries he had visited were alongside his father or Popo Yuli.

Even after their lives changed drastically, Zhan still did not allow him complete freedom to roam as he wished, no matter how little time Zhan himself spent at home. His rules remained firm wherever he was. Because of this, Yibo desired marriage far more than education...especially a modern, comfortable marriage that would allow him to live freely, without pressure or stress. Love itself fascinated him; it was something he longed to experience fully.

That was why, after his father and Popo Yuli, there was no one he loved more than his boyfriend, 𝐄𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝.

Erland held a deep place in Yibo's heart, just as he cared deeply for Yibo. Their lives were strikingly similar. Erland also came from a very wealthy family; his parents lived in China, and he was originally from Shanghai. Though he studied abroad, he had spent much of his childhood in Western countries before his parents returned home and left him to continue his education.

Like Yibo, Erland was a refined, privileged young man, raised in comfort and elegance. Because their lifestyles matched so closely, their bond grew strong and intense.

Zhan was fully aware of Yibo's lack of enthusiasm for school and knew that marriage mattered more to him than academics. However, he pretended not to notice, refusing to give Yibo any opportunity to justify skipping his studies. He called that feeling to 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬.

Zhan's stance was firm and unwavering:

There would be no marriage until Yibo completed his education.

⚡⚡⚡

In the next morning, Yibo did not linger in bed. He woke up around nine o'clock, remove his clothes, tossed them onto a chair, and went straight into the bathroom, wrapping a towel around himself.

He took his time in the shower, as usual, indulging in the soothing ritual. After several minutes, he came out with a soft milk-colored towel wrapped around his body and a smaller one around his hair.

The clean, calming scent of his 𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐎𝐏 shower gel lingered on his skin. He glanced at the small bedside clock and noticed it was almost ten, so he moved directly to the mirror to get ready.

He applied a light layer of 𝐋𝐀 𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐄 moisturizer, followed by oil and the rest of his skincare routine, carefully massaging everything in until his skin felt perfectly balanced.

Before he even stepped out of the bathroom, Zubbi had already tidied his room, turned on the humidifier, and sprayed fresheners that filled the space with a gentle fragrance. She had taken the clothes he removed to the laundry and quietly left.

He slipped into an 𝐄𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚 shirt and dark-brown 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐬. As he walked out, the scent of 𝐉𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐞𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐭 blended softly with the air around him.

He headed straight to Popo Yuli's room, knowing she would still be asleep.

Ever since she began aging, she had never stopped supervising Zhan's meals whenever he was in the house. It had become a habit...if she wasn't seen in the kitchen, it meant Zhan was away. Once she finished preparing his breakfast and ensured everything was set on the dining table, she would return to bed until noon, then wake, bathe, and later assist Zubbi with lunch preparations.

As Yibo expected, Popo Yuli was asleep. He left her room quietly and went toward the dining area. Just as he entered, Zhan was walking in.

Yibo lifted his eyes, lined subtly with expensive eyeliner, and looked at him. The scent of Zhan's cologne overpowered his own, making him pause before sitting.

With calm respect and deep affection, he greeted him,

"𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝐷𝑎𝑑. 𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛."

Zhan looked at him quietly, pulled out a chair, and sat down slowly, studying Yibo's relaxed posture. He replied evenly, "𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐷𝑖𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙? 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑠 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑜 𝑌𝑢𝑙𝑖? 𝐼𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝?"

"𝑌𝑒𝑠, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝," Yibo replied as he sat.

Yibo served Zhan breakfast before pouring his own and settling down to eat. Zhan ate quietly...brown paste served with fried potatoes and liver. Popo Yuli knew well that he did not care much for pastries; he preferred proper meals over fancy, decorative food.

Yibo kept stealing glances at him, wanting to talk about the request he had made the previous day, but he hesitated. He feared that the rules Zhan had already set might become even stricter. The night before, Zhan had scolded him seriously over skipping school and had imposed new boundaries.

Unable to hold back, Yibo set his fork down and looked up weakly.

"𝐷𝑎𝑑…"

Zhan picked up a tissue, wiped his mouth, then raised his eyes and fixed them on Yibo, waiting.

Under that steady gaze, Yibo lowered his head. Fake tears welled in his eyes, and when he looked back up, they spilled down his cheeks.

"𝐷𝑎𝑑, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒… 𝐼'𝑚 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦. 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑝 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝐼 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠."

Zhan watched the tears fall and let out a brief, unexpected smile. Seeing his son...whom he had raised with his own hands...trying to soften him with tears amused him. How old was Yibo, really? When had he grown clever enough to think he could manipulate him this way, knowing well that he could never stand his tears?

Yibo hadn't grown up with a mother, yet somehow he had learned this tactic all on his own.

Zhan's smile widened slightly as he studied Yibo's genuine tears. In the past, they would have shattered him instantly. Now, he felt more surprised than anything else at how capable Yibo had become.

He exhaled softly, took another tissue from the table, and handed it to him.

"𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ. 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦. 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝐼 𝑔𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒."

Yibo wiped his tears with the tissue, relief washing over him. Nothing made him happier than knowing his father could never endure seeing him cry.

He stood up, grabbed his channel bag, and followed behind. His phone buzzed in his hand...Erland's name flashing on the screen.

He didn't answer. Instead, he slipped the phone into his bag. For now, all he wanted was to soften Zhan's heart enough to let him continue going wherever he pleased.

They left the house in a black BMW 7 Series, with Zhan driving himself and Yibo seated in the front passenger seat. The interior of the car was filled with the rich scent of their expensive perfumes, but since it was Zhan's car and he used it more often, his fragrance naturally dominated the space.

Zhan dropped Yibo off right at the school gate, ignoring all the pleading and silent requests Yibo had been making along the way. After parking, he turned to look at him, his expression softening slightly as he spoke in a gentle but firm voice.

"𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜."

Yibo lifted his head, trying unsuccessfully to summon tears that refused to come.

"𝑌𝑒𝑠, 𝐷𝑎𝑑," he replied quietly.

"𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑛𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑, 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛," Zhan said calmly.

"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟'𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡? 𝐼𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠, 𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑦?"

Yibo shook his head weakly, looking hurt.

"𝑁𝑜, 𝐷𝑎𝑑."

"𝑁𝑜, 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜. 𝑇𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ," Zhan insisted.

"𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑦. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡, 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦?"

Yibo nodded, holding back the tears that stubbornly refused to fall.

Truthfully, he had no real reason to cry. God had blessed him with everything he needed through his father. The only thing missing in his life was a mother...a topic he never mentioned, neither carelessly nor deliberately, in front of Zhan or behind his back. Zhan's visible anger and bitterness whenever the subject arose had long seeped into Yibo's own heart, leaving him with the same quiet resentment whenever he remembered that he did, in fact, have a mother.

Whether she had abandoned him and his father during their hardest days or left because she could not endure Zhan's difficult personality, Yibo didn't know. What he did know was that only him and Popo Yuli truly understood how to live with his Daddy, knowing exactly what he liked and what he could not tolerate.

Yibo was not used to disappointing his father, and he could never bear the weight of Zhan's anger. He reached out gently, touching his father's hand as he spoke softly.

"𝐼'𝑚 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦, 𝐷𝑎𝑑. 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛."

Zhan nodded, placing a reassuring hand on Yibo's head.

"𝐴𝑙𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡. 𝐺𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒. 𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓."

Yibo smiled faintly.

"𝑂𝑘𝑎𝑦. 𝐵𝑦𝑒, 𝐷𝑎𝑑. 𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘."

He stepped out of the car, waved once, then turned and walked away.

Neesah, who had been waiting for him, joined him, and together they headed inside while Yibo complained lightly about how his father had completely canceled their spa plans.

Once they were gone, Zhan drove off, ignoring the students who stood nearby admiring him. He was used to the stares and the whispered comments...some of which openly suggested they would gladly become Yibo's stepmother. He only smiled when he heard such remarks.

Only then did he pick up his phone, start the engine properly, and head toward his office.

****

That day, Yibo went straight home after school. There was no usual hanging out or wandering around. Neesah also had no choice but to return home, even though neither of them wanted to. Yibo simply could not disobey his father or risk upsetting him.

For two days, they stopped going out and focused entirely on their studies, especially since they were already far behind. Even Popo Yuli found herself praising Zhan's new rules. In the whole world, he was the only one capable of controlling Yibo's outings. Yibo disliked staying indoors, especially when Neesah was around, so the days began to feel unusually dull....school and straight home, nothing more.

Zhan, however, kept a close watch on all of Yibo's movements. He never considered separating him from Neesah. From the beginning, his investigations had shown that Neesah had a good upbringing. She was simply a girl who had been given too much freedom by her parents. Shopping trips, beauty spas, outings with friends...that was the extent of it. She had no involvement in anything reckless or dangerous, which was why Zhan allowed the frienship to continue. After all, Yibo was bound to grow up with friends around him.

Time passed like this until they reached a two-week break. That was when Erland began pressuring Yibo relentlessly about marriage.

He was very direct, insisting that he wanted to get married because his desire for physical closeness had grown stronger.

At first, they argued fiercely. Yibo told him bluntly to stop comparing himself to friends who treated life carelessly, living in luxury and excess. Erland eventually took his advice and distanced himself from 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 for a few days...the same friends who constantly fueled his desires.

Their living situation didn't help. The three of them shared a large house, each with a spacious bedroom, private bathroom, and walk-in closet. They had been friends since childhood. Zacks was Black American, while 𝐒𝐮 𝐅𝐢𝐚𝐧 was practically family due to their long-standing family friendship.

They lived comfortably, surrounded by money and privilege. Women came and went constantly; there was hardly a night without someone staying over. If Zack didn't bring someone, 𝐒𝐮 𝐅𝐢𝐚𝐧 did. Over time, this environment began to weigh heavily on Erland, especially as his desires intensified.

After two days of struggling, he started pressing Yibo again about marriage. Yibo had already made his stance clear...they would only be intimate after marriage, as he wanted to avoid any chance of pregnancy.

That day, they nearly argued again. Frustrated and overwhelmed, Yibo finally said,

"𝐵𝑎𝑏𝑦, 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢...𝑚𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑓 𝐼 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑢𝑝 𝑛𝑜𝑤. 𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒? 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒, 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑑. 𝐼'𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤… 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑡. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒, 𝑙𝑒𝑡'𝑠 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡."

Erland was upset, but he didn't push further. Instead, he turned to his own father, pressing him insistently about marriage. Eventually, his father had no choice but to approach Zhan with the proposal, hoping that, if possible, the marriage could happen soon, since the children engaged already.