Chapter 52: Seeds of Doubt

Hsu Corporation.

For the entire past month, Hsu Shiran had been running himself ragged for the Shen family.

Though exhausted, whenever he returned home each day, Shen Zhiwei would show an even greater dependency on him than before.

This filled Hsu Shiran with elation and contentment.

He loved Shen Zhiwei, and he was willing to do anything for her.

A text message beeped on his phone. The smile on Hsu Shiran's face froze, his fingers gripping the device so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

He pulled a cigar from the pack on his desk and lit it.

Ever since Shen Zhiwei had expressed her desire to have a child with him, he had turned down all drinking invitations and had even stopped smoking.

The nicotine gradually eased the surging anger within him.

Shen Zhao was a doctor; running into each other at a hospital was hardly unusual.

Besides, they had been intimate every single day throughout the past month.

Hsu Shiran, you must not doubt her.

After dropping off Mrs. Qiao and Qiao Xu, Hsu Sian headed over to He Yanxun's entertainment agency.

As he stepped out of the elevator, twirling his car keys, the assistant hurriedly stepped forward to block his path.

"President Hsu, why are you here?"

"Oh, I'm not allowed to come?" he asked, curling his lips into a teasing smirk.

"Did I withdraw my shares? Or did your President He kick me out?"

Hsu Sian placed his hand on the doorknob, pausing just as he was about to press it down to ask the stiff-looking person beside him, "Who's inside?"

"J-Just... President He and CEO Si."

Hsu Sian uttered an "oh" and pressed down the doorknob.

It wasn't even locked.

How careless.

He Yanxun's assistant: ? ? ? ?

Oh?

And you're still going in after saying "oh"?

This job is impossible to do; time to write a resignation letter.

He had been by He Yanxun's side for three years, only to find out his boss was actually...

Still, if the other person was someone like CEO Si, he wouldn't mind playing the submissive for love.

The office was empty, but two ties lay discarded on the desk and the nearby carpet.

A roguish smile tugged at the corners of Hsu Sian's lips. "They really know how to play."

He lit a cigarette, pulled out his phone, and played a couple of rounds of a video game. Just as he was getting ready to leave, the door to the lounge opened.

Si Shen looked momentarily stunned. "Xiao An? When did you get here?"

Hsu Sian settled back onto the sofa. "Been here a while. Didn't hear any noise."

"Hearing it wouldn't have mattered."

Si Shen pressed the intercom button on He Yanxun's desk to have someone bring in water.

"Senior, have some decency. You're coming to the company in broad daylight. If the bed at home isn't soft enough, I'll pay for you guys to buy a new one."

Si Shen chuckled softly. "Just got back from a business trip. Couldn't wait to get home."

Hsu Sian: "......"

Asking those questions was completely redundant; look at how smug the man was.

"Looking for him for something?"

"You probably won't be able to see him right now."

Hsu Sian: "......"

Why did he even come here then?

"Forget it, I'll handle it myself. I'm leaving."

He Yanxun's entertainment agency had a top-tier team of bodyguards under its umbrella, and he had originally planned to borrow a couple of them.

Song Jia had discovered that Shen Zhiwei had recently made a large withdrawal from her bank account.

The recipient was a gambler.

People like that cared about money more than their lives.

Given that woman's vengeful nature, she might very well catch him off guard.

He was even debating whether he should sign Qiao Xu up for some crash-course self-defense classes to buy her a last-minute shield.

At the very least, it could save her life in a critical moment.

Hsu Sian got into his car and dialed an overseas number. "A-Yi, I'm having someone book you a plane ticket for tonight. Come back to Luocheng."

"Bro, did that mother and son from the Hsu family make a move on you?"

Hsu Sian raised an eyebrow. "They made a move on my wife."

"Wife? Bro, when did you get a wife? How come I didn't know?"

“Why would you know when you’re miles away?”

The voice on the other end of the line belonged to a young teenager.

"Bro, weren't you madly, desperately in love with that ex-girlfriend who abandoned you? How did you change your mind so easily?"

A-Yi was a Chinese-American kid Hsu Sian had picked up on a roadside in Los Angeles—a kid who fought as if his life depended on it.

"She was never my ex-girlfriend; she's my wife. I saw her the moment I came back."

Hsu Sian hung up the phone and told Song Jia to book the ticket.

After leaving the hospital, Shen Zhiwei returned to the Shen residence. Seeing her parents, who lacked their usual vitality, a twisted wave of hatred surged within her.

Hsu Sian, you were the one who showed no mercy first.

Then don't blame me for what comes next.

When Shen Zhiwei arrived home, the villa was dark. She walked in wearing seven-to-eight-centimeter high heels. "Where's the housekeeper? Why hasn't anyone turned on the lights?"

The crystal chandelier overhead flashed on. Hsu Shiran was sitting on the sofa, several cigarette butts resting in the ashtray on the coffee table.

"Brother Shiran?"

"Why are you sitting in the dark at home? Weren't you busy at the company today?"

Shen Zhiwei kicked off her high heels, walked over to him, and leaned against his chest.

The heavy smell of smoke made Shen Zhiwei's expression contort slightly.

Instead of hugging her as he usually did, Hsu Shiran rested his hands on the armrests of the sofa.

"Where did you go? You're back so late."

Shen Zhiwei looked up at him. "I went home to have dinner with Mom and Dad. Husband, Dad said this whole ordeal was thanks to you."

"Mhm, and then?"

Shen Zhiwei paused for a moment. "What do you mean, 'and then'?"

She met Hsu Shiran's gaze and saw the profound disappointment lingering in the depths of his eyes.

Shen Zhiwei understood; he must have found out about her trip to the hospital today.

"Did Hsu Sian tell you I went to the hospital?"

Hsu Shiran did not hide it. "Mhm."

"Weiwei, is there anything you want to tell me?"

Shen Zhiwei pulled a medical checkup report from her bag and handed it to him. "I originally wanted to give you a surprise, but now it's not surprising at all."

A surprise?

Hsu Shiran felt no surprise whatsoever.

If this had happened in the past, he would have been ecstatic.

But tonight.

He had received an anonymous email.

Inside were details showing that on the very day Shen Zhiwei was released from police detention, she had slept with him in the morning and gone to the hospital to see Shen Zhao by the afternoon.

She had gone to Shen Zhao's villa and stayed from six in the evening until nearly ten at night.

Between consenting adults, a lot can happen in four hours.

The medical report was crumpled into a tight ball, and the man's dark eyes grew even more glacial.

"Husband, we've finally got a baby after four years of marriage. Aren't you happy?"

The man gently stroked her cheek with his finger. "Of course I'm happy."

"Tomorrow, I'll have someone send over some loose-fitting dresses and flat shoes for you. From now on, whenever you want to go somewhere, let the driver take you."

Shen Zhiwei nodded obediently.

She had no idea what Hsu Sian had said to him, and even she herself wasn't entirely sure whose child she was carrying.

After all, during this period, whatever Hsu Shiran had had, Shen Zhao had shared as well.

While Shen Zhiwei went upstairs to take a shower, Hsu Shiran instructed his assistant to check the GPS history of Shen Zhiwei's car over the past month.

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it takes root, sprouts, and grows with wild abandon.

In the small apartment, Hsu Sian and Mrs. Qiao were cooking together in the kitchen while Qiao Xu sat on the rug, binge-watching a television drama and petting the dog.

"Cherry, you piece of work are really good at putting on acts. You look like a respectable gentleman by day, and a total beast by night."

"How about you share two cans of your wet food with him?"

Cherry let out two unhappy barks; absolutely nobody was allowed to touch his canned food.

Not even his master.

Hsu Sian carried a spread of four dishes and a soup to the table. "Darling, stop hugging the dog and come eat."

After stepping out of the kitchen, Mrs. Qiao resumed her daily routine of praising Hsu Sian from head to toe.

Qiao Xu silently ate her meal, her foot beneath the table delivering a few rebellious kicks to the man sitting beside her.

The man wore an aggrieved expression. "Qiaoqiao, what did I do wrong? Why are you kicking me?"