All In

Nighttime, at a barbecue stall.

"Here." Chen Hai tossed over a bottle of something dark.

"What is it?"

"Herbal tea."

Ye Shuang twisted it open and took a sip—still as disgustingly bitter as ever. "How can you drink this without any dried tangerine peel to cut the bitterness?"

"Nothing’s as bitter as life," Chen Hai retorted, downing the entire bottle in one go.

"How bad can it be?" Ye Shuang shook his head with a faint smile. "You’re already doing better than most."

"Every family has its own struggles. No one’s free from problems." As Chen Hai spoke, Ye Shuang noticed his phone lighting up incessantly, flooded with messages.

"Work clients?"

"Zhou Min." Chen Hai grimaced. "Damn, life’s bitter."

Studying Chen Hai’s miserable expression, Ye Shuang ventured, "Actually, you can do a paternity test during pregnancy. Why not check first?"

"It’s too early. The doctor said it has to be after four months..." Chen Hai sighed. "And I’m scared."

"I’m terrified."

He clawed at his hair. "I keep having nightmares. Zhou Min keeps messaging me in the middle of the night. My wife doesn’t check my phone, but I’m afraid she’ll find out one day."

"If she doesn’t check your phone, she must really trust you."

"I..." Chen Hai’s face twisted even more miserably.

After a moment’s thought, Ye Shuang asked, "Why does Zhou Min like you? What’s the connection between you two?"

"She’s my subordinate. We just talked occasionally." Chen Hai waved a hand. "Don’t accuse me of fooling around—for a rich second-gen like me, I’m surprisingly loyal and pure-hearted."

"Then why does she like you? For your age? Or because you don’t shower?"

"Piss off. It’s my charisma."

"Ah yes, the charm of being ‘close to a hundred million’?"

Just then, the barbecue vendor brought over their order. Though it was the same owner, the Hello Kitty tattoo on his arm had been replaced with a Chibi Maruko-chan.

Turned out it was just a temporary tattoo.

"Seriously, it’s better to come clean sooner rather than later," Ye Shuang said earnestly. "The longer you hide it, the worse it’ll get."

"Just like your wife trusts you, maybe you should trust them too..."

"I think Qiaoqiao would rather have a father who takes responsibility than one who lies."

Ye Shuang’s words seemed to strike a chord. Chen Hai fell silent, lost in thought.

Ye Shuang picked at the skewers, but Chen Hai suddenly looked up. "You didn’t call me out just to talk about my mess, did you?"

"Pretty much." Ye Shuang paused, then recounted recent events—Chen Qin, Aunt Xian, and everything else.

Though he left out the part about Chen Qin talking back.

"You should just take them all."

"..."

"Kidding." Chen Hai smirked. "So what’s really on your mind?"

"Chen Qin won’t settle for anything less than your genuine feelings, right?" Chen Hai said. "It’s not that complicated. Get married first, then figure out the love part later—marriage before romance."

"I always thought you and Chen Qin should be together. She’d give you her all, and I wouldn’t mind gaining a brother-in-law."

Ye Shuang: "..."

"So what’s holding you back? If you get engaged to Chen Qin, the Zhou family issue could be resolved easily with the old man stepping in."

When Ye Shuang still didn’t respond, Chen Hai chuckled. "You still can’t let go of Bai Yuyou, can you?"

"Sigh."

"Then what exactly do you feel for that girl?"

"I don’t know. If you’re asking whether I have romantic feelings for her..." Ye Shuang shook his head. "She’s still a blank slate, naive about everything. Even if I did feel that way, the guilt would eat me alive."

"It’s more complicated than that."

He continued, "I can’t push her away. I want to watch Yuyou grow until she can stand on her own."

"You’re just as tangled up as I am," Chen Hai remarked. "Honestly, there’s no way you’d agree to Aunt Xian’s demand for you to marry into their family, right?"

"Yeah." Ye Shuang shook his head.

"That’s why our family’s better. The old man isn’t asking you to marry in—he’s offering to hand over a company as dowry." Chen Hai grinned. "How great is that? Build it up, then join forces with Chen Qin."

"We’ll see."

Ye Shuang hadn’t been looking for solutions—just someone to vent to.

As for Aunt Xian’s proposal, there was no way he’d agree.

...

By the time he got home, it was already ten. The moment Ye Shuang swiped his keycard and opened the door, the sound of piano music drifted out.

By the floor-to-ceiling window, a slender girl sat with her legs stretched out, fingers dancing effortlessly across the keys in a fluid, beautiful melody.

Watching Bai Yuyou’s profile—her quiet focus, the way she seemed lost in the music—Ye Shuang suddenly felt as though she’d matured.

As if sensing his presence, Bai Yuyou turned her head slightly, her gaze instantly locking onto him.

The music stopped abruptly. She sprang up and hurried over. "Ye Shuang, you’re back."

"Yeah, got held up having supper with Chen Hai." He smiled. "Where’d you go with Keke today?"

"Shopping."

"Shopping?"

Bai Yuyou held out a small gift bag. "For you."

Curious, Ye Shuang took it and peeked inside—a little box.

"Can I open it?"

At her nod, he lifted the lid.

Inside lay a black woven bracelet, a tiny dolphin charm fastened at the clasp.

"This is..."

As he unwrapped it, Bai Yuyou spoke up. "A gift..."

"Why suddenly give me a gift?"

"Earned from work."

Ye Shuang froze, fingers tightening around the bracelet. "You used your part-time money to buy this?"

Bai Yuyou nodded eagerly.

Then she extended her wrist, revealing an identical bracelet—hers was red.

"They’re special," she said.

"How?"

"Put it on first."

"Alright." Once he fastened it, she pressed her wrist against his. Instantly, the two dolphin charms snapped together like magnets.

"Special?" Her eyes sparkled, a single strand of hair sticking up excitedly.

Ye Shuang: "..."

"Yeah, very special." He pinched her cheek lightly.

"Happy?"

"Very." Ye Shuang gazed at her tenderly. "Thank you."

"Then we’ll be like these dolphins..." Bai Yuyou murmured.

"Never apart."