After A Failed Online Relationship, I’m Pregnant With A Wealthy Tycoon's Child - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Cat Ears Perfect! A Straight Man Trap!

He Yanzhou possessed considerable strength. Qiao Yan struggled desperately to wrench his wrist free, but He Yanzhou only tightened his grip.

Grimacing in pain, Qiao Yan snapped, “Let go! Are you part crab? Why are you pinching so hard?”

He Yanzhou cast a calm glance at him and released his hold.

This was the first time Qiao Yan had seen He Yanzhou’s entire frame, and he realized with a jolt just how much taller the man was than him. Qiao Yan actually had to look up to see his face clearly.

He Yanzhou wore a perfectly tailored, deep gray cashmere coat. The fabric draped elegantly, catching the light to reveal subtle, low-profile textures. Beneath it was a custom suit in a matching color scheme, complete with a crisp collar and immaculate shoulder lines that emphasized his exceptionally tall and lean physique.

Ignoring Qiao Yan’s complaints, He Yanzhou stood up and brushed past him. He turned his head to look at Qiao Yunguang, who was still whining and whimpering off to the side. “Are you alright?”

“I—I’m okay…” Qiao Yunguang immediately looked up with watery eyes. His voice was soft and carried a wronged, trembling cadence as he deliberately tilted his flushed, swollen cheek toward He Yanzhou. “It’s just that my face hurts so much, like it’s burning…”

He Yanzhou pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over with crisp efficiency. “Wipe yourself off first.”

Watching this entire scene unfold, Qiao Yan was busy criticizing the “dog-couple” in his head—wishing they would display their affection somewhere away from him—when he saw He Yanzhou lift his eyes to look his way.

“Qiao Yan?”

That’s right, it’s your grandfather right here.

Qiao Yan adopted a lofty, aloof expression, attempting to keep his ground in terms of aura. “Mm-hmm.”

The expression on He Yanzhou’s face remained detached, as if everything happening here had absolutely nothing to do with him, carrying a sense of high-and-mighty disdain.

“If that coffee liquid had hit his eyes, you would be sitting in a police station right now.”

Qiao Yan absolutely detested anyone questioning his actions. “So what? He had it coming!”

“Whether he had it coming or not, I don’t know,” He Yanzhou’s tone remained flat. His gaze swept across the messy floor before settling back on Qiao Yan’s stubborn face. “But if it really got into his eyes, you know exactly what would happen to you.”

Is he threatening me?

Furious, Qiao Yan clenched his fists tightly, the rims of his eyes turning a slight shade of red. Just as he was about to fire back, he saw He Yanzhou shift his gaze away.

He Yanzhou stopped looking at him and gave a slight nod of his chin toward Qiao Yunguang. “I called a car for you. It’s over there. Let’s go.”

“President He…”

Qiao Yunguang immediately called out in a tender, coquettish voice. Clutching the handkerchief with his fingertips, he looked at He Yanzhou with an air of hesitation, then cast a timid glance at Qiao Yan. His eyes were filled with dependency and a plea for help, looking for all the world as though he had suffered immense bullying.

He Yanzhou checked the pricey watch on his wrist, already turning around to walk toward the exit with steady strides. “I have an important meeting. I don’t have time to waste here.”

Qiao Yunguang quickly jogged to keep up. As he passed Qiao Yan, he didn’t forget to glare at him. “Just you wait!”

Since this provocation failed, I will definitely pay it back with interest next time!

Qiao Yan rolled his eyes hard at him.

Only after the two of them had completely vanished from sight did the boss tremulously approach Qiao Yan. “Qiao Yan… you… this…”

“I know, I quit,” Qiao Yan untied his apron with finality and threw it onto the table. “But you still have to settle my wages for the past half month, right?”

An hour later, Qiao Yan walked out of the coffee shop holding a thin wad of cash.

The wind outside was still howling. Qiao Yan blew his nose, his heart filled with nothing but a sense of aimless bewilderment.

By the time the notice of disciplinary action was issued, Qiao Yan was back in the dorm preparing instant noodles.

Cao Jingtong burst in from outside, his phone screen displaying a large image of the disciplinary announcement. “Qiao Yan! This is bad! You’ve been given a demerit, and your scholarship is gone!”

Qiao Yan numbly stirred his instant noodles. “Oh.”

“Oh?” Cao Jingtong stared with wide eyes. “Just ‘oh’? That’s real money we’re talking about.”

“I know it’s money,” Qiao Yan took a slurp of noodles. “But don’t you think that using that money as the price to splash a whole cup of coffee all over Qiao Yunguang was actually quite worth it?”

“…Has your brain been caught in a door?” Cao Jingtong was speechless. “I’ve watched you eat instant noodles for three days straight!”

“Your brain is the one caught in a door,” Qiao Yan rolled his eyes at him. “I am plotting a highly meticulously detailed plan, okay?”

“?”

Qiao Yan beckoned with his finger toward Cao Jingtong. “Come, come, come. Sit down, and let me break it down for you.”

After Qiao Yan laid out his fishing revenge scheme to Cao Jingtong, Cao Jingtong fell silent for three seconds.

“So,” Cao Jingtong spoke with difficulty, “your plan is to cross-dress as a woman, flirt with your arch-nemesis’s financial backer online, scam him out of his money, and simultaneously infuriate Qiao Yunguang to death?”

Qiao Yan snapped his fingers. “Exactly.”

“No, there are way too many loopholes in this plan of yours,” Cao Jingtong started counting on his fingers. “First, a big shot like He Yanzhou obviously isn’t that easy to reel in. Second, even if you do reel him in, what happens when he finds out you’re a guy? Third…”

“Beat it, beat it,” Qiao Yan said impatiently. “I told you the plan to get your help, not to have you rain on my parade! We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Don’t you understand how that works?”

“Essentially, you just haven’t thought it through, right?”

“I was waiting for my props.”

Qiao Yan reached under the desk and pulled out a massive box. Cao Jingtong peered inside and discovered it was packed with all sorts of accessories and wigs.

Qiao Yan casually fished out a wig and a pink cat-ear headband—fuzzy, with two little ears standing upright.

Cao Jingtong: “When did you buy this?”

“Yesterday at the clearance sale by the school gate. Five yuan for two,” Qiao Yan put it on with delight. “How about it? Doesn’t it give off a totally innocent kitten vibe?”

Staring at Qiao Yan’s stunningly vivid face paired with the pink cat ears, even Cao Jingtong couldn’t help but feel a brief flutter in his chest.

After a long pause, he gave a firm thumbs-up. “Perfect. A straight man trap.”

“Thanks for the blessing,” Qiao Yan adjusted his angles against the phone camera. “Come, take a picture for me. It needs to have that casual feel, like I accidentally showed the headband. Remember, thirty percent calculated, seventy percent nonchalant.”

Making an “OK” gesture with his hand, Cao Jingtong carefully took the phone. “To be honest, you look good no matter how you take it.”

Qiao Yan looked into the camera, lifted his head, and rubbed his eyes vigorously. The skin around his eye sockets was naturally fair, making the faint capillaries underneath barely visible. After being rubbed like this, it flushed an even deeper shade of pink. His eyes looked as though they were brimming with unshed moisture, and against the warm yellow lighting of the dorm, he appeared incredibly soft and easily deceived.

Deeming it still not enough, Qiao Yan amped up the dosage even more. He bit down on his lower lip in a display of mock shyness, his gaze carrying a subtle trace of seduction.

“Perfect!”

While Qiao Yan was still deeply immersed in his own artistic creation, Cao Jingtong had already snapped the photo.

Qiao Yan quickly rushed over to check the picture on the phone. He stared dumbfounded at his reflection on the screen, finding it hard to believe he could actually pull off such an alluring expression.

“Is this really me?”

While questioning his own reality, Qiao Yan ran the image through a heavy editing app. Once everything was successfully completed, he sent it to Jiang Cai, a member of the same university club, to test whether she could recognize him.

QY: My new girlfriend, how does she look? (Image)

Caicaicai: Holy crap, since when did Ningcheng University have such a gorgeous sister?

QY: She’s from outside the school (face-palm laugh)

Caicaicai: You are way too blessed. Those cat ears, that face… can you hand her over to me?

QY: No way, get lost.

Having verified the seductive power of Little Peach, Qiao Yan went to take a shower. After climbing into bed, he opened the Mogu app with a grand sense of ceremony and logged into the account Little Peach Bites Super Hard.

His chat history with Yan was still stuck on the previous night, right where He Yanzhou had remarked that red wine looked dirty.

Pouting, Qiao Yan opened the camera app and took a photo of his right wrist.

The bruising pinched out by He Yanzhou hadn’t entirely faded, remaining highly conspicuous against his pale skin. Qiao Yan also intentionally included the scattered textbooks and anime posters on his bed within the frame.

Hmm, very lived-in and natural.

Qiao Yan attached the photo of his bruised wrist right after his text, composed the message, and hit send.

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: Daddy, boohoo, I got bullied by someone QAQ Look, my wrist was pinched so hard it turned blue! Now my job is gone, and the school wants to discipline me. I’m so poor I can only eat instant noodles… (Image)

After sending it, Qiao Yan tossed his phone aside and rolled over to lie flat.

Three seconds later, he couldn’t resist reaching out to grab the phone again.

No reply.

“Pfft, acting all cold and aloof.” Qiao Yan muttered. Just as he was about to exit the app to play a tense and exciting round of Where’s My Water?, his phone suddenly vibrated.

Qiao Yan sat bolt upright like a leaping fish, causing the low-quality dorm bed to creak and groan under the sudden movement.

Yan: Who did it?

He actually replied!

Qiao Yan’s eyes lit up, his fingers flying across the screen.

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: A super fierce, big bad guy! He helped the person who stole my stuff, and he was mean to me too… It hurts so much QAQ

Yan: Call the police.

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: I don’t dare call the police. They are super rich, and I can’t afford to offend them at all, boohoo (Crying-cat-face.jpg)

The other side fell silent for a short while this time.

Yan: Are you really unable to afford anything now?

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: I’ve already eaten instant noodles for three days straight QAQ. My stomach hurts so much right now. Is Little Peach down with a terminal illness? Boohoohoohoo

Yan: …

Yan: Stop eating instant noodles.

Watching He Yanzhou’s roundabout conversational tactics, Qiao Yan was dying of impatience internally, yet he couldn’t let it show in the chat.

He wished he could just press up against He Yanzhou’s face right now and tell him to hurry up and sponsor him!

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: Boohoo, I really have no money left.

Even Qiao Yan found his own chat logs to sound incredibly tragic; he refused to believe He Yanzhou could remain unmoved. Thus, he exited the Mogu chat interface, opened his photo gallery, fished out the stock photo of his pitiful cat-ear look, and sent it over to He Yanzhou.

Yan: Why are you wearing cat ears?

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: This is the cat outfit I just bought today. Does Daddy like it?

He Yanzhou didn’t give a direct answer.

Yan: You really don’t have any money left, is that right?

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: After being kicked out by the boss these past few days, my scholarship from last semester is gone too QAQ

The other side remained quiet for a long time. Qiao Yan kept a tight watch on his phone until he finally saw a reply appear.

Yan: Card number.

Ahhhhhhhh—

He had finally taken the successful first step in hauling in the gold! He Yanzhou was finally willing to sponsor him!

Qiao Yan quickly pulled out the secondary Alipay account he had prepared long ago and sent it over.

Yan: Okay.

The very next second.

A notification from Alipay arrived: 5,000 yuan has been deposited.

While it wasn’t an astronomical sum, he finally didn’t have to worry about finding food.

Accepting He Yanzhou’s sponsorship with delight, Qiao Yan felt his mood improve even while chatting with him.

Qiao Yan quickly continued his performance.

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: DADDY!! That much?! Little Peach actually only needed 50 yuan to buy another pack of dried noodles (Cat-throwing-confetti.jpg)

Yan: Go buy some medicine.

Yan: Don’t eat instant noodles anymore in the future. It’s bad for your health.

Staring at those two lines of text, the corners of Qiao Yan’s mouth couldn’t help but tilt upward.

How could this not count as a form of care?

Clutching his phone, he rolled happily across his bed before continuing to type.

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: Thank you, Daddy! Daddy is so nice!! Boohoo, I’m going to set up a longevity tablet for Daddy!!

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: But that big bad guy is really too much. My hand is all swollen from his pinching. If he comes to cause trouble for me again, what should I do? (Wailing-and-crying.jpg)

Yan: You can come find me.

Heh.

The big bad guy is actually you.

Qiao Yan silently fantasized for a brief moment about the scene of He Yanzhou slapping his own face twice, letting out a wicked chuckle in the process.

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: How could I trouble Daddy like that QAQ

Yan: Study hard, don’t overthink things.

Little Peach Bites Super Hard: I will definitely study hard!!! (Cat-cheering.jpg)

This time, the wait was a bit longer.

Just as Qiao Yan assumed the other party wouldn’t reply further, a message arrived.

Yan: The cat ears from earlier were very cute. Take a picture of the whole outfit and show it to me tomorrow.

Qiao Yan: “???”

But I only bought the cat ears!!!