Chapter 9: An Attempt to Coax

Shen Qing worked quickly, having everything arranged in under half an hour.

Wei Yeban had just suffered a fright yesterday; after observing him for another day tomorrow, if his emotions remained stable, they would formally embark on their first therapeutic outing the day after.

The venue chosen was a private restaurant situated a mere fifteen minutes away from the Wei Family Mansion.

The restaurant did not belong to the Wei family.

Weicheng was a premier metropolis, and this surrounding district fell right within the city center; to operate in such prime real estate meant it was certainly no ordinary establishment.

Designed in the style of a rustic farmhouse courtyard, the restaurant opened only at dusk, serving a maximum of three tables per day, and strictly took no guests without personal referrals from friends.

Wei Nianxi had booked the entire place for three straight months.

That night, Wei Nianxi did not return home for dinner.

Gu Qingnan was used to it; after finishing his own meal, he went to keep Wei Yeban company.

***

On the rooftop terrace of Weicheng’s most luxurious Jiayue Hotel.

Under the evening breeze, flickering candlelight washed over men and women dressed in tailored suits and evening gowns, while the air carried the rich aromas of champagne and fine wine.

Concluding a conversation, Wei Nianxi swirled the wine glass in his hand and was about to take a sip when his attention was drawn by two young women nearby.

One of them was excitedly holding up the gemstone around her neck for her friend to admire—a coming-of-age gift from her parents.

Her friend was exceedingly generous with praise, her words brimming with compliments.

The gemstone on the necklace could not be considered exceptionally precious in itself, yet it was undeniably rare.

For people at their level, the intrinsic monetary value of a gemstone held little meaning; what truly carried value was how difficult it was to obtain.

Wei Nianxi drifted into thought for a moment before turning his gaze to Ji Wen beside him.

“Still nothing sent?”

Ji Wen froze almost imperceptibly, then swiftly ran a mental check through his thoughts.

Only on his second pass did he realize that Wei Nianxi was not referring to work, but to Gu Qingnan’s requested list.

“Not yet.”

Wei Nianxi took a delicate sip of his wine.

“Are there any auctions coming up recently?”

Unless strictly necessary, Wei Nianxi never voluntarily set foot in auction houses, yet Ji Wen immediately provided the requested information.

“Yes, there are three within this month.”

“The nearest one is tomorrow—a private auction on a modest scale, but the host is an avid collector, so the pieces offered will not be subpar.”

“The second one is…”

“We’ll go to that one,” Wei Nianxi interrupted.

Ji Wen could not help but steal an extra glance at Wei Nianxi.

Wei Nianxi understood fine jewelry, which was part of the essential cultivation expected of the Wei family head, but he never wasted time personally selecting items.

Whenever he had a need, he directly delegated it to professionals.

In the next moment, Ji Wen stepped aside holding his phone to make the arrangements.

Private auctions were far more troublesome than commercial auction houses, requiring much more than mere wealth to gain entry, but none of those barriers posed any obstacle before the name “Wei Family.”

When Ji Wen returned a few minutes later, everything was settled.

“Let’s head back,” Wei Nianxi said, setting down his glass and walking toward the elevator.

This cocktail party was not hosted by the Wei family, and Wei Nianxi attended only as a guest, yet his presence was undeniably the focal point of the evening.

Watching his departure, the crowd’s topic of conversation shifted immediately.

They began discussing the Gu family.

The Gu family had originally been nothing more than an insignificant small business; after barely squeezing into high society by clinging to Wei Nianxi, they had exhibited upstart arrogance to the fullest, naturally offending countless people.

The moment Wei Nianxi sent out that signal a while back, people made their moves without delay.

In under half a month, multiple severe crises hit the Gu family’s businesses, with estimated losses reaching well over ten million.

To these wealthy figures, that sum was negligible, but for the Gu family, it was nothing short of having their flesh carved away.

“…I heard they went looking for you?” a reeking, flushed man asked the person next to him.

In response to the inquiry, the person’s smile widened even further.

“They did come by; unfortunately, I was not in Weicheng during those days, otherwise I would have properly ‘entertained’ them.”

***

The next day.

Aside from being thoroughly disgruntled while brushing his teeth, Wei Yeban remained in good spirits throughout the morning.

Seeing this, Gu Qingnan felt much more at ease and entertained the idea of taking him for a walk in the garden.

“Shall we go play on the swing?”

“Do you remember? Daddy used to push you on it before…” Gu Qingnan said.

Wei Yeban showed no reaction.

Gu Qingnan picked up the little plush beast nearby.

“The little beast says it wants to play too.”

“It has never been on a swing even once; could you take it to have a look?”

Speaking, Gu Qingnan tentatively reached out his hand.

Wei Yeban was not displeased, but he offered no other reaction either.

Gu Qingnan promptly helped him stand, holding the plush beast in one hand and guiding the boy by the arm with the other as they walked toward the door.

Reaching the stairs, Gu Qingnan slowed his pace.

Wei Yeban’s legs were still short, so he could only tackle one step at a time, making his movements appear endearingly clumsy.

Watching his earnest little strides, Gu Qingnan could not stop his lips from curling into a fond smile.

Wei Yeban had been fine indoors, but perhaps lacking a sense of security after being frightened by Gu Shenghai and the others earlier, he began displaying repetitive behaviors the moment they entered the garden, visibly tensing up.

Seeing this made Gu Qingnan’s heart ache, yet he steeled himself and continued leading him forward.

The swing was something he had built with his own hands, situated beneath a crooked tree to the right of the villa.

Wei Yeban had always loved it previously, but back then he was too small to sit alone, so Gu Qingnan had always held him in his lap.

Every time, Wei Yeban would giggle uncontrollably without end.

Drawing closer, Gu Qingnan placed the little plush beast onto the swing and moved to lift Wei Yeban, but the boy resisted slightly out of anxiety.

Gu Qingnan did not force the issue.

“Then let’s let the little beast take a ride.”

As he spoke, he positioned the plush beast securely and gave the swing a gentle push, sending it into a gentle sway.

While pushing, Gu Qingnan chatted aloud with the plush beast.

The swing was great fun, and the little beast loved it very much.

After letting the plush beast swing to its heart’s content, Gu Qingnan tried once more to place Wei Yeban onto it, but Wei Yeban still refused.

It was midsummer, and even in the shade beneath the large tree, the temperature was quite warm.

After letting the plush beast play for a bit longer, Gu Qingnan brought the child back inside.

Returning to the bedroom, Gu Qingnan let out a long breath, a soft smile surfacing on his face.

The garden still fell within Wei Yeban’s safe zone, and while this outing could not be deemed perfect, they had successfully stepped outdoors nonetheless.

That gave him even greater confidence for tomorrow.

***

The door was pushed open, and Shen Qing entered carrying two cups of water.

She had seen everything that had just occurred.

Gu Qingnan took one.

“Thank you…”

Shen Qing fed water to Wei Yeban.

Once the boy finished drinking, Gu Qingnan was just about to speak when his phone rang.

The call came from the production department.

Gu Qingnan stepped aside to answer.

– “…Please make it as quick as possible; once you sign off on your end, I still need to verify everything before we can formally begin, which will take some time, and any further delay will be too late.”

The person on the other end was asking about the report with the faulty parameters.

– “Understood.”

Hanging up, Gu Qingnan checked the time; there was still over an hour until lunch.

Gu Qingnan turned to Shen Qing.

“I need to make a trip to the office first.”

His working hours were very flexible.

He usually went in the afternoon because Wei Yeban took naps during that time.

Since they were scheduled to go out tomorrow, today was the day this matter had to be cleared.

A little over ten minutes later, Gu Qingnan arrived at his office.

Plenty of documents awaiting his review were placed on his desk and stored in his computer, but that particular report was nowhere to be seen.

Gu Qingnan dialed the internal extension directly.

The call was answered quickly; the person responsible for the report maintained a pleasant attitude, promising to bring it up right away.

Gu Qingnan handled other files first.

An hour later, he had processed all the documents in his hands, yet the report still had not been delivered.

Gu Qingnan had no choice but to call again.

This time, no one answered.

Gu Qingnan waited a moment and placed another call.

The phone rang unanswered once more.

Gu Qingnan’s brow furrowed slightly.

In the next second, he walked straight down to the departmental office downstairs.

It was almost lunchtime.

When he arrived at that person’s workspace, the entire team was casually discussing what to eat for lunch.

Seeing Gu Qingnan step inside, the smiles on everyone’s faces vanished, and they retreated to their respective desks.

Ignoring the presence of the others, Gu Qingnan walked straight up to the person in charge of the report.

“I’m sorry, I was so busy that I forgot…”

That person sat down in front of the computer with a guilty conscience.

Gu Qingnan said nothing, standing quietly to one side waiting.

He received the report in less than three minutes.

The document had clearly been completed long ago.

Back in his office, Gu Qingnan scrutinized the calculations once more, signed his name upon confirming everything was correct, and forwarded it to the production department.

Finally, he made a point of calling the production department to notify them that the report had been sent.

By the time he finished, lunchtime was nearly over.

Gu Qingnan hurried back home.

***

Stepping through the front doors, Gu Qingnan was surprised to see Wei Nianxi in the living room.

Even when Wei Nianxi came home early, it was usually in the evening; he was almost never seen at noon.

Wei Nianxi was currently eating, his meal nearing its end.

Ji Wen was waiting just outside the door.

Gu Qingnan headed straight upstairs; feeding Wei Yeban was always an ordeal, and he always handled it personally.

“This is for you.”

Wei Nianxi’s voice came unexpectedly.

Gu Qingnan halted his steps and looked over; a navy-blue jewelry box had appeared on the dining table at some point.

Gu Qingnan walked toward the jewelry box.

“When is it?”

Resting inside the box was a pair of blue cufflinks.

Gu Qingnan knew little about fine jewelry, yet he could tell that those two gems—blue as though an entire ocean were captured within them—must be exceedingly expensive.

Having set down his cutlery and stood up, Wei Nianxi paused.

“When is what?”

“Isn’t there a banquet?”

Gu Qingnan had accompanied Wei Nianxi to several banquets before, though they were mostly concentrated around the time they had first married.

Wei Nianxi had needed those events to warn certain people away from harboring designs on him, as well as to facilitate business networking.

For that purpose, Gu Qingnan had even specifically learned proper high-society etiquette.

In the past, however, his attire was always coordinated by stylists, as if he were a doll dressed up only when necessary to appear worthy of standing beside Wei Nianxi.

“There is no banquet,” Wei Nianxi explained.

“I bought those specifically to give to you.”

Gu Qingnan’s brows furrowed involuntarily; placing the box back on the table, he turned to walk away.

“I don’t need your reward.”

Wei Yeban was his child as well.

Wei Nianxi was taken aback for an instant before realizing what Gu Qingnan meant.

“It’s not a reward; I’m coaxing you.”

Gu Qingnan, who had already reached the foot of the stairs, thought he had misheard and turned to look back.

“Aren’t you angry?” Wei Nianxi asked, looking at Gu Qingnan.

Not just over this recent matter with the doctor—Gu Qingnan had been angry with him ever since the incident half a year ago.

He had originally thought Gu Qingnan would get over it once his anger passed, but six months had gone by, and Gu Qingnan was still furious.

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