1122 - Chapter 25

“Uncle Youpan, please watch Qiao Qiao for me first. Whatever you do, don’t let Nanchen find out she’s here. Absolutely must not be discovered.”

“This is your daughter?! You have a daughter???”

“No, how could I be that amazing to have a daughter while single? She’s Nanchen’s. It’s too complicated to explain now, I’ll tell you later. I have to go. I’ll come pick Qiao Qiao up tomorrow. Remember, don’t let Nanchen find out.”

After entrusting Jiang Nianqiao to his uncle, Chu Beiheng left immediately. Almost the moment he stepped out, his domestic number rang.

Seeing the caller ID, a mahjong tile icon labeled “Nan” he narrowed his eyes slightly. Here we go.

Though he was an innocent actor in this drama, he was still the second male lead. The director’s dad couldn’t just drag his own father out as a shield that really wasn’t his style.

But taking a beating? Even less his style.

This time, he had returned openly on his private jet, fully prepared for a head-on confrontation.

No matter what, Yan Nanchen owed him. If that guy really dared to hit him, he’d tally up the medical bills, emotional damages, five years of singlehood compensation, and child-rearing expenses, all in one go.

Chu Beiheng steered with one hand and answered the call, speaking lazily, “You got the news as soon as I returned? Quite concerned about me, huh?”

“Why did you come back?”

Hearing the gritted teeth in his younger brother’s voice, Chu Beiheng chuckled, as if he’d guessed something. “What, can’t I come back? Dad said he missed me. As the filial son, of course I had to return to spend time with Dad and First Dad.”

“Why now?”

Chu Beiheng laughed. “Since when do you get to decide when I come back? Your big brother just likes returning at this time perfect for catching the sunset. Wanna join me?”

“Chu Beiheng, I’m not joking!”

On the other end, Yan Nanchen gripped his phone, eyes reddening. His brother’s flippant tone made his chest burn with fury. “Has Jiang Yi been with you these five years?”

Chu Beiheng connected to the car’s Bluetooth, tossed his phone onto the passenger seat, and gripped the wheel with both hands. At the accusation, he smirked again. “Yan Nanchen, without me, Jiang Yi would’ve died five years ago.”

Then he decisively hung up.

A second later, Yan Nanchen called back. Without hesitation, Chu Beiheng blocked him.

After a pause, Chu Beiheng raised an eyebrow and exhaled. “Damn, I’m bold.”

Then he drove toward the Zunduan Hotel Jiang Yi had mentioned. As he drove, he dialed Galaxy Hospital. “Send Jiang Yi to Jiangtian Yisu Hospital immediately. Of course, only when Yan Nanchen isn’t around. Yeah, I’ll talk to him.”

The real battlefield hadn’t even begun.

The bigger the fire he stoked, the higher the compensation. He couldn’t wait to see Yan Nanchen’s triumphant facade crumble into tears when the truth came out.

Sure, Yan Nanchen was still on antidepressants, but this mess was entirely self-inflicted. Chu Beiheng had already gone above and beyond by sending high-def, uncensored updates every now and then.

He wasn’t some pushover. If pushed too far, he’d take the act all the way.

After that, he sent Jiang Yi another message.

Just after sending the message to Jiang Yi, he saw his uncle’s call coming in. His heart skipped a beat as he immediately answered, only to hear Qiao Qiao’s tearful cries on the other end, hiccuping with pitiful sobs: “Waaahhh! Did you all abandon me? Does no one want Qiao Qiao anymore? Where is this place? Am I going to be kidnapped?”

“Beiheng, where are you right now? I can’t handle this little girl.”

Chu Beiheng pressed his fingers to his temple at his uncle’s plea for help. “Uncle, are you free now? Could you take Qiao Qiao to the Zunduan Hotel for me?”

At the hospital.

Yan Nanchen clenched his jaw, staring at his phone screen. He had dialed dozens of calls, only to find his brother had blocked him?! If there was nothing to hide, why block him?

Perhaps he wasn’t wrong after all.

Earlier, when Jiang Yi woke up, before even seeing his face clearly, he had instinctively called out “Chu” softly, like a coquettish whimper. That kind of dependency couldn’t exist without having shared intimacy.

But his brother didn’t even know Jiang Yi five years ago. How could they have?

Unless Jiang Yi had used his brother as a substitute?

And his brother knowingly played along?

And what was that earlier his brother saying that without him, Jiang Yi would have died long ago.

Yan Nanchen shoved his phone back into his pocket and turned toward Jiang Yi’s hospital room. He needed to ask Jiang Yi what else had happened in those five years.

But in that half-hour, when he returned to the room, Jiang Yi was gone.

“Where is he?!!!” Yan Nanchen grabbed a passing nurse, eyes burning with urgency. “Where’s Jiang Yi?!”

The nurse, startled by his intensity, stammered, “President Chu said he was transferring him to Jiangtian Yisu Hospital. He mentioned he’d already informed you. They left ten minutes ago. You didn’t know?”

Yan Nanchen gritted his teeth. “Chu. Bei. Heng!!!”

In their family’s generation, while the elders held final decision-making power over most businesses, operational control lay with their own generation. Galaxy Hospital was under his management but Jiangtian Yisu Hospital belonged to Chu Beiheng.

The intention was obvious.

He drove straight to Jiangtian Yisu Hospital, ignoring the nurse’s warnings behind him, and rushed to the private ward floor reserved for their family. But when he arrived, Jiang Yi wasn’t there.

Standing rigidly outside one of the rooms, his expression darkened as he searched the entire floor, Jiang Yi was nowhere to be found.

The suffocating tension radiating from him made the nurse shrink back nervously before she finally whispered, “President Yan, the person you’re looking for really did leave.”

Only then did Yan Nanchen register her words. He turned sharply. “What?”

“He left. As soon as he arrived, he insisted on leaving still in his hospital gown. He refused to stay. I did mention it earlier.” The last part was muttered under her breath.

Yan Nanchen’s frown deepened. Jiang Yi had left on his own?

Then it struck him, his pupils constricted. Could Jiang Yi have gone to meet Chu Beiheng? Did he dare slip away under his nose to see him?

His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Pulling out his phone, he dialed a number, voice icy. “Find out where my brother is. Send me his location in two minutes.”

Exactly two minutes after hanging up.

The phone vibrated, and a location was sent in the message:

【Zunduan International Hotel】

Yan Nanchen’s eyes darkened slightly, his deep pupils calm and unruffled, like the quiet before a storm brewing terrifying waves. After a moment of silence, he parted his lips lightly:

“Don’t let me catch you.”

Zunduan International Hotel.

Jiang Yi couldn’t care less about the strange looks he was getting from those around him. Upon receiving Chu Beiheng’s message, he immediately took a taxi back to Zunduan Hotel, the reason being that Qiao Qiao was crying uncontrollably.

And indeed, it was still the middle of the night in Country M, and the child had been brought over directly by Chu Beiheng. Originally, Chu Beiheng had said the child was left with his uncle Director Duan’s father-in-law. Probably out of concern that Yan Nanchen might come looking and scare the child.

But waking up in a stranger’s home, unable to find her uncle, and with her father away on a business trip, how could she not be frightened?

That’s why he had no choice but to rush back to the hotel, disregarding Chu Beiheng’s arrangements for his hospital transfer.

Upon returning to the hotel, he drew attention the entire way. Even his assistant, who had been unable to reach him, was waiting in the lobby. The moment the assistant saw him in his hospital gown and with the bandage on his forehead, his eyes widened in shock.

“Director Jiang, what happened to you?! What on earth went on all day?”

Jiang Yi had no time to explain. He rubbed his temples helplessly. “I’ll tell you later when there’s time. Right now, I need to see my daughter.”

The assistant nodded quickly. “Oh, right! I just saw your husband holding Qiao Qiao earlier.”

Jiang Yi shot the assistant a weary look. “How many times do I have to say it? Chu Beiheng is not my husband. Stop spreading nonsense.” With that, he walked to the elevator and pressed the button.

Right now, he was frantic with worry, mainly afraid that Qiao Qiao had been badly frightened. He had been too hasty, he shouldn’t have let Chu Beiheng return to the country so abruptly.

For some reason, an uneasy premonition suddenly settled in his chest, making him uncomfortable.

When the elevator reached his floor, Jiang Yi told his assistant to return to his own room and politely decline Galaxy Group’s dinner invitation for the evening. To him, the child naturally came first.

Back at the room, since he didn’t have the key card, he could only ring the doorbell.

The moment he pressed the bell, the door swung open almost simultaneously. As it opened, his eyes immediately fell on Chu Beiheng holding Qiao Qiao, her little face flushed from crying, hiccuping between sobs.

The moment Jiang Nianqiao saw her father, she could hold back no longer. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she reached out to him. “Daddy can’t leave Qiao Qiao. Daddy, hold me.”

The child’s tearful, milky voice twisted Jiang Yi’s heart. He reached out and took Qiao Qiao from Chu Beiheng’s arms, stroking her face tenderly before kissing her forehead. “No, Daddy would never leave Qiao Qiao. Didn’t I tell you Daddy was just away for work?”

Chu Beiheng took in Jiang Yi’s current state hospital gown, bandaged foreheadand rubbed his temples in exasperation. “What happened to you? How did you end up in such a mess in the short time I was away?”

With that, he stepped aside to let Jiang Yi in and closed the door behind them.

“I want to leave the hospital too, but Yan Nanchen won’t let me. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even know how to get out.” Jiang Yi carried Qiao Qiao to the sofa nearby and sat down. Seeing his daughter crying so hard she was hiccuping, he gently patted her back and said softly, “Don’t cry, Qiao Qiao. Daddy won’t let Uncle take you to someone else’s house again. Daddy was wrong. Can you forgive Daddy and Uncle this time?”

Qiao Qiao buried her face in her father’s chest and gave a soft “Mm,” sounding utterly aggrieved. Still crying, she lifted her face and looked at her father with teary eyes, pointing a tiny finger at his forehead. “Daddy, did someone hurt you?”

Jiang Yi couldn’t help but laugh and took his daughter’s hand, kissing it gently. “No, Daddy just bumped into something by accident.”

“Does it hurt?” Qiao Qiao asked in a small, tearful voice, her eyes full of concern for her father.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Then I’ll blow on it for Daddy.” Qiao Qiao sat in her father’s lap, cupping his face with her little hands. But she was too small to reach, so she sniffled and said, “Daddy, bend down a little.”

Jiang Yi’s heart melted at her words, and he lowered his head.

Then he felt his daughter carefully holding his face, blowing softly on the spot where the bandage was on his forehead, her voice still shaky from crying as she comforted him, “Blow on Daddy’s boo-boo, then it won’t hurt anymore.”

Jiang Yi’s eyes reddened instantly. He hugged his daughter tightly, suddenly realizing that letting Chu Beiheng bring Qiao Qiao back today had been a mistake not only had it scared his daughter, but it might also lead to unforeseen consequences.

He looked up at Chu Beiheng, his eyes filled with regret. “I think asking you to come back was a mistake. I shouldn’t have let you return. I’m worried he’ll misunderstand you if he finds out, and I’m also afraid he might scare Qiao Qiao.”

He had been too influenced by Yan Nanchen at the time, acting impulsively without fully considering the consequences. Coming back here meant stepping right under Yan Nanchen’s watchful eye, there was nothing Yan Nanchen couldn’t find out if he wanted to.

Even Chu Beiheng’s return might not escape his notice.

Chu Beiheng walked over from the bar, holding a bottle of warm milk he had prepared for Qiao Qiao in a sippy cup. He handed it to her, letting her hold it herself to drink, then reached out to take her from Jiang Yi.

By now, Qiao Qiao had calmed down after seeing her father and willingly stretched out her arms to her uncle, nestling obediently in his embrace as she drank her milk.

“You should go change first. Don’t scare Qiao Qiao wearing those clothes.”

Jiang Yi glanced down at his hospital gown and suddenly realized he had been wearing it the whole way back. “I must have been too anxious to notice earlier.” He headed to the walk-in closet to retrieve his suitcase and change.

“Jiang Yi.”

He was in the middle of changing when he heard Chu Beiheng call his name and responded.

“Yan Nanchen already knows I’ve been by your side these past five years.”

Jiang Yi’s hands froze on the buttons of his hospital gown, his expression stunned.

“He checked the flight records and eventually traced my return through the VIP channel. Maybe it was just too coincidental, he noticed something was off and called me directly.”

Jiang Yi swallowed hard, suddenly recalling that he had almost slipped up himself. “Beiheng, I think I might have let it slip. What did I say?”

“What did you say?” Chu Beiheng stood outside the closet, wiping the tears from Qiao Qiao’s eyelashes with the back of his hand, ears perked to listen to Jiang Yi’s response.

Jiang Yi looked embarrassed as he buttoned up his shirt. “I just woke up in the hospital and saw a familiar figure sitting beside me. Instinctively, I thought it was you calling me for morning jog, so I blurted out ‘Chu’ without thinking. Only after realizing it was Yan Nanchen did I correct myself and ask him to leave.”

Chu Beiheng let out a merciless laugh.

Qiao Qiao, sucking on a straw while drinking milk, only half-understood the situation but giggled along when she saw her uncle laughing.

Hearing the mocking laughter from the two outside, Jiang Yi finished changing and stepped out, meeting Chu Beiheng’s teasing gaze. He was momentarily speechless before saying, “You’re about to take the blame, and you’re still laughing?”

Noticing Jiang Yi’s collar was askew, Chu Beiheng adjusted it with one hand while holding Qiao Qiao. “I don’t mind,” he chuckled. “Either way, I come out ahead.”

At that very moment, the hotel room door beeped as someone swiped a keycard from outside.

Both Jiang Yi and Chu Beiheng froze, slowly turning toward the entrance.

Even Qiao Qiao in Chu Beiheng’s arms curiously peeked out. When she saw the man who looked identical to her uncle, she gaped, the straw slipping from her mouth.

Yan Nanchen stood at the doorway, his face livid. The scene before him, his beloved, his brother, and the child in their arms felt like a cruel mockery. His lips pressed into a thin line, rage so intense he could taste blood in his throat. His fists clenched at his sides, eyes glistening with unshed tears as he finally roared:

“Chu Beiheng, get out here RIGHT NOW!!!!”

Jiang Yi: “…” Awkward. This really looks like a cheating scandal.

Chu Beiheng noticed the keycard in Yan Nanchen’s hand and raised a brow. “Wow, you have Jiang Yi’s keycard too.”

Jiang Yi shot him a deadpan look.

Then Qiao Qiao, still in Chu Beiheng’s arms, added fuel to the fire by patting his face and pointing at the man in the doorway. “First Dad, this uncle looks like you, but he’s so mean. Should we call the police?”

Jiang Yi: “…”

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