Chapter 29: First update
The Qiao family dining room was shrouded in mysterious dark clouds.
Four people sat at the table wearing four different expressions. Mu Xiangxiang slowly sipped the vegetable porridge she had made herself—which honestly didn’t taste very good—while discreetly withdrawing her gaze from the pale-faced eldest brother beside her, Qiao Rui.
Having recovered from his hangover, Qiao Rui had returned to his usual cold and indifferent demeanor. His brows were slightly furrowed as he methodically scooped up spoonfuls of porridge, as though the chaos in the early hours of the morning had merely been everyone’s hallucination.
Fortunately, the small bruise on Qiao Yuanshan’s cheekbone remained as honest evidence—it had come from crashing into a doorframe while fleeing in panic last night.
Mu Xiangxiang’s nerves twitched. She couldn’t help recalling the farce that had dragged her out of her room again in the middle of the night. Qiao Rui had chased his own father around the house with a liquor bottle in hand, while Qiao Yuanshan flailed his chubby legs and wailed loudly, dashing around at top speed with sleep crust still hanging from the corners of his eyes.
Luo Meisheng had stood at the doorway of her room in pajamas, holding a mug of water while casually enjoying the spectacle. When she spotted Mu Xiangxiang, she had even politely greeted her: “Want a cup too?”
Old, overweight, and not exactly athletic, Qiao Yuanshan naturally couldn’t outrun his son in the prime of his life. Before long, Qiao Rui caught him. Tossing aside the bottle, he pinned his father down aggressively—but didn’t actually hit him. Instead, he grabbed a pillow and repeatedly smacked him in the face with it.
All in all, the entire house had overflowed with a kind of idiotic yet joyful New Year atmosphere.
At this moment, Qiao Yuanshan was being extremely cautious. Like a bullied little daughter-in-law, he picked up a boiled egg from the table and peeled it while carefully watching his eldest son’s expression before timidly offering it over. “Rui… Ruirui?”
Qiao Rui merely glanced at it, stirred his porridge, and refused flatly. “My head hurts.”
“Your head hurts?!” Qiao Yuanshan immediately panicked and stood up. “Then—Dad’ll get you some water!”
Qiao Rui’s face turned green. After Qiao Yuanshan poured him a glass of water, he hovered awkwardly by the table before finally forcing himself to begin: “Ruirui… about what you said last night…”
Clack—
Before he could finish, his eldest son abruptly set down his chopsticks and hurried away.
Qiao Rui had once again become unreadable, his emotions hidden beneath his usual calm expression. Qiao Yuanshan looked helpless and disappointed, but remembering everything his son had confessed so openly the night before, he felt he should also speak more honestly. So, facing his son’s retreating back, he gathered his courage and continued: “…I thought carefully about everything you said last night. Dad’s sorry—to you and Nannan. All these years, I never tried to understand what life was like for you at your grandparents’ house. I just assumed you were being well cared for. I assumed they treated you well. That was my failure as a father. You suffered because of me.”
Qiao Rui said nothing. Before long, his figure disappeared around the staircase corner.
The moment he turned the corner, however, he stopped. His ears were burning red.
He slammed a fist against the wall in frustration.
He swore to heaven, this was not what he had understood from his younger brother’s “just say what’s on your mind.” He had only resolved to communicate more with his family in the future. But once the alcohol hit, all his emotions had spiraled out of control.
He had actually gone drunk and crazy, chasing his father around trying to fight him, dredging up years of old grievances.
Everything. From the day his mother died, to the malicious gossip he and his brother overheard at their maternal grandparents’ house, to all the resentment after his father remarried.
He had said it all.
Held nothing back.
He remembered clearly the stunned look on his father’s face when he grabbed his collar, the panic when he chased him around the house, and how that expression shifted from shock to sorrow before finally dissolving into tears.
Qiao Rui remembered every bit of it. And after waking up, he discovered he had stolen his father’s bed, wrapped himself in his father’s blanket, and mercilessly driven the actual owner of the room into the guest bedroom.
Combined with the pounding headache from drinking, Qiao Rui felt as though he had run naked through the middle of downtown. Standing dazed in his father’s room—which looked like the aftermath of a war zone—he briefly felt that maybe jumping out the window would be easier.
Only sheer rationality kept him from ending his young life.
Qiao Yuanshan, meanwhile, had no idea his son’s survival instincts were currently under brutal assault. If he had merely been annoyed when woken up in the middle of the night, then now, facing his two sons, this business titan who was invincible in the corporate world felt nothing but overwhelming guilt.
He wasn’t a perfect father. In fact, he had been deeply inadequate. And over the past while, he had slowly begun realizing that himself. But all of that introspection had been gentle and gradual, like water from a spring. Last night, however, his eldest son’s drunken outburst had struck him like a slap to the face—so direct and brutal that even now, the middle-aged man remained deeply shaken.
He had never known his sons lived like that as children.
Success in business always came with flowers and praise. Qiao Yuanshan’s life had been filled with both. Hardly anyone ever dared make him uncomfortable. He was constantly flattered, and even after his first wife had died so many years ago, her family had continued staying close to him.
Everyone had been so attentive, always showing him the best side of things. Whenever he visited after sending Qiao Rui and Qiao Nan to the Shi family, all he ever saw was their loving care toward the children. Over time, it never once occurred to him that they might behave differently behind his back.
Because he had never seen that darkness, he naturally assumed the children received the same treatment he did.
So throughout those years, he only felt that his sons were becoming more distant from him. At first, after long separations, they would cry and throw themselves into his arms saying, “Dad, we missed you.” Later, that slowly became nothing more than cold, polite greetings.
He once thought it was simply because they spent too little time together. Now he finally understood it wasn’t that at all.
In truth, Qiao Yuanshan hadn’t slept at all after going to the guest room last night. He stared at the ceiling the entire night, unable to understand why people who were family would treat his sons with such malice.
Telling them they had already been abandoned by their father. Telling them that after he remarried, any new children would be loved more. Telling them there might no longer be a place for them in the Qiao family once a stepmother entered the house…
Those had been two children who had just lost their mother and were already frightened and insecure!
The Shi family had once been ordinary people. Only after his career flourished had they gradually begun living comfortably. Over the years, whenever any member of the Shi family asked him for something—from borrowing money to arranging jobs—Qiao Yuanshan had never once refused.
He truly couldn’t understand it. How exactly had he offended them? Hadn’t he treated the Shi family well enough?
There was no answer.
His emotions shifted from confusion to anger, then from anger to sorrow, until finally settling into deep guilt.
Regardless of his intentions, the debt he owed his children already existed, objectively and irrevocably.
Neither Qiao Rui nor Qiao Nan could ever return to the age when they had hoped for their father’s protection. They had already grown from tender saplings into towering trees, and the years he missed in their lives would forever remain a blank space buried in distant time.
No amount of wealth could ever change that.
Qiao Yuanshan had been shrewd his entire life, yet this was the first time he had felt so defeated. His eldest son refused the egg he peeled and the water he poured. Only when everyone was preparing to leave did Qiao Rui finally reappear at the staircase corner.
Qiao Yuanshan looked over hopefully, but the moment their eyes met, Qiao Rui quickly looked away again. He strode over, brushed past him, and headed for the shoe cabinet.
Qiao Yuanshan sighed in disappointment. As expected, things wouldn’t be so easy.
Then the tall figure with his back turned suddenly spoke.
“Don’t bring up the past anymore.”
Qiao Yuanshan froze slightly and turned around.
His eldest son seemed deeply focused on putting on his shoes, head lowered so his expression couldn’t be seen.
But his voice was perfectly clear. “I was wrong too. I kept too many things bottled up inside. I won’t do that anymore.”
Mu Xiangxiang had already finished putting on her shoes. The moment she looked up, she met Father Qiao’s tear-filled eyes. Just as she hesitated, warmth suddenly pressed against her side.
Someone had abruptly hugged her. Her body stiffened instinctively, muscles tightening, and then she felt a gentle pat on the back of her head.
“Study hard.” After leaving behind those words, Qiao Rui released her and walked out the door without ever letting anyone clearly see his face.
Mu Xiangxiang: “……”
A wave of delayed fear washed over her. Just now, she had nearly pushed Qiao Rui away on reflex.
Was this how Qiao Nan usually interacted with his brother? Constant hugging and touching? And the way this family communicated seemed far more direct than she had analyzed before. Those mushy “I’m sorry” and “It’s okay” kinds of phrases—even the Mu family didn’t casually say things like that.
Looks like if she wanted to avoid blowing her cover, she’d better learn to adapt.
Assistant Xiao Lou arrived a little late and happened to run into the young general manager of the group by the elevator. Even after entering the apartment, he still couldn’t understand why the eldest young master’s face looked unusually red today.
But upon seeing the equally stiff-looking younger young master and chairman inside, his confusion was quickly answered.
Looks like the family had fought again.
Naturally, he didn’t dare ask questions. Only after watching the younger young master leave with his backpack did he open the schedule and begin reporting work matters to his boss.
Before starting, however, he suddenly remembered something. “Oh right, Chairman Qiao. Miss Shi from the Shi family contacted me this morning. She said she has a pretty promising project that’s short on startup funds and wants to arrange a meeting with you so you can ‘offer some guidance.’”
“Miss Shi,” of course, meant another Shi family relative. What project? What guidance? They’d never successfully accomplished anything before. Using these grand-sounding excuses—the real goal was still just asking for money.
Assistant Xiao Lou knew the routine well. The Shi family had countless relatives. Every month he received more calls like this than he could count on one hand. Honestly, it was pretty contemptible.
That whole family had healthy hands and feet, and with the Qiao family as such a strong backing, anyone even remotely hardworking could have seized opportunities and built a decent life. Yet over all these years, aside from Shi Jiajun, there wasn’t a second person in the family willing to honestly support themselves. From top to bottom, all they knew was how to stretch out their palms and ask Qiao Yuanshan for spending money.
It was only because the chairman was wealthy and generous that he still frequently visited them during holidays and birthdays. Anyone else would have long since avoided them entirely.
As Xiao Lou silently grumbled to himself, he was already mentally preparing to contact the accounting department later to transfer funds. One hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand? Three hundred thousand?
Yet long after he finished speaking, no instructions came.
Xiao Lou finally looked up from the tablet screen in confusion and unexpectedly met a face completely devoid of emotion.
Qiao Yuanshan’s expression slowly hardened from the softness he had shown his sons.
The Shi family…
“Tell her I’m busy. I won’t see her.” He gave a cold snort.
Even if he couldn’t yet completely expose Shi Jiajun, from now on, that family could forget about taking another cent from him.
***
Author’s Note:
Mu Xiangxiang [very logical][deduction]: Qiao Nan and his brother hug all the time!
Mu Xiangxiang [very logical][deduction]: The Qiao family’s way of interacting is super mushy!
Mu Xiangxiang [conclusion]: I need to adapt! I need to blend in!
Future Qiao Nan after switching back: “………………fml.”
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