Beautiful Wife: The Cold Boss is My Husband - Chapter 19

Yan Chengming reacted swiftly, flinging the bouquet out the door in the blink of an eye. It hit the ground, scattering a few pink and white petals that fell like withered dust, as pale and weary as Zhuo Xiao’s face, hidden from Yan Chengming’s line of sight.

Leaning against the doorframe, Yan Chengming poked his head out to look around. “Hey, where’d he go? Why did he leave so fast? This bouquet must’ve been delivered to the wrong address.”

As he spoke, he raised the hand holding his phone, furrowing his brows and pretending to scrutinize the dark screen. “Seriously, I don’t even have his contact information. It would’ve been great if I could’ve called to ask.”

Zhuo Xiao was forced to watch this clumsy solo performance. He could even see Yan Chengming’s hand unconsciously lifting to touch the tip of his nose—a telltale sign of nervous lying.

After a long moment, Zhuo Xiao asked, unwilling to let it go, “Husband, was it really delivered to the wrong address?”

Yan Chengming abruptly looked up, nodding vigorously like a loyal servant. “Yes, it was.”

Zhuo Xiao stared into his earnest eyes for a moment, then softly exhaled, pretending not to care as he turned away. “Alright. Dinner’s ready. Come eat. You’ve worked all day—you must be hungry, right?”

Yan Chengming didn’t notice anything unusual from Zhuo Xiao’s retreating figure and assumed the crisis had been averted. He happily followed along.

During dinner, Yan Chengming ate heartily, while Zhuo Xiao seemed to have little appetite. After taking just a few bites, he disappeared into the living room, doing who knows what.

Puzzled, Yan Chengming called out to him several times.

Zhuo Xiao’s voice drifted from the living room, somewhat muffled. “It’s fine. I’m not very hungry. You go ahead and eat. I’ll tidy up the living room.”

A while later, as Yan Chengming was nearly finished with his meal, Zhuo Xiao returned holding something. He placed a hand on Yan Chengming’s shoulder and said, “Husband, this is for you.”

It was a paper rose.

Made from white paper torn from Zhuo Xiao’s usual sketchbook, the rose was clearly a first attempt—crooked and uneven, with poorly finished edges, resembling a flawed product.

Yan Chengming couldn’t help but grin. “Did you fold this yourself?”

Zhuo Xiao met his gaze and hummed in affirmation. “Yes. Do you like it?”

Yan Chengming wiped his hands with a napkin and poked at the rose. “Of course, I like it.”

For some reason, Zhuo Xiao fell into an eerie silence for a second before asking, “So, do you like this one or the one we saw at the door earlier?”

At first, Yan Chengming thought Zhuo Xiao had figured something out. He blinked twice and immediately replied, “I definitely like this one. That bouquet was delivered to the wrong address—what does it have to do with me?”

Zhuo Xiao’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. “But this flower is fake, and it’s ugly.”

Hearing this, Yan Chengming frowned. He pulled Zhuo Xiao closer and looked at him seriously. “What does it matter if it’s real or fake, beautiful or ugly… Xiao Xiao, I love anything you give me.”

As he finished speaking, he reached for the paper rose in Zhuo Xiao’s palm. Unexpectedly, Zhuo Xiao took a step back. Just as Yan Chengming was about to question this odd behavior, Zhuo Xiao looked up and spoke, his tone as gentle as ever. “Finish your meal first. I’ll put this flower away and give it to you later.”

Yan Chengming didn’t suspect a thing and nodded. “Alright.”

As soon as Zhuo Xiao stepped into the living room, safely out of Yan Chengming’s notice, the expression on his face instantly faded, replaced by an uncharacteristic gloom.

He lowered his gaze, silently staring at the paper rose resting quietly in his palm for a long time.

For a full five minutes, perhaps even longer… his hand twitched.

The delicate paper rose slipped from his palm and fell to the floor, as disheveled as the petals that had drifted from the bouquet earlier.

After another silent stare, Zhuo Xiao suddenly curled the corner of his lips.

He lifted his foot.

The fragile paper rose was crushed under his shoe sole, flattened into a dirty, misshapen scrap of paper.

The perpetrator still wasn’t satisfied, grinding it twice more until even the scrap was unrecognizable. Then, with an air of cold detachment, he left without a trace of mercy.

A moment later, the sound of Zhuo Xiao making a phone call drifted in from the balcony.

Yan Chengming picked up his phone for what felt like the hundredth time, staring at the WeChat interface with his brows tightly furrowed. “Sigh… sigh… sigh!”

The moment he received the bouquet, all the strange feelings that had been bubbling up over the past few days coalesced. Yan Chengming finally sensed something was off about President Zhuo, but he couldn’t figure out what the man’s intentions were.

Probing into his privacy, accidentally making a video call while he was showering, testing his views on his wife, inexplicably criticizing his wife, and now sending him flowers.Could it be that President Zhuo liked him?

When this possibility crossed Yan Chengming’s mind, his face paled.

But… that didn’t make sense!

He had only known President Zhuo for a few days! They hadn’t even met in person—at most, they were just online acquaintances. He didn’t even know what the other man looked like. President Zhuo had surely met countless people; why would he take a liking to him?

Then it hit him—Yan Chengming smacked his forehead in sudden realization!

President Zhuo must like his wife! He was trying to steal her away!

It all made sense now! Probing into his privacy was to understand him better, the video call during his shower was to check out his physique and see why Zhuo Xiao was so willing to be with him, but he hung up, fearing it might be misunderstood as interest in Yan Chengming. Testing his feelings for Zhuo Xiao was to gauge how deep their bond was and whether stealing her away would be met with resistance. The sudden, passionate rant criticizing Zhuo Xiao was an attempt to drive a wedge between them, hoping Yan Chengming would give up on her willingly!

And even the flowers he sent were pink! What kind of upright, masculine man like him would like pink? Pink was clearly meant to match Zhuo Xiao! Those flowers weren’t for him at all—they were sent under the pretense of being for him, but they were actually meant for Zhuo Xiao!

What a scheming man!

Yan Chengming gritted his teeth in frustration.

But when did they meet? Where? How long had they known each other? It seemed like President Zhuo was harboring unrequited feelings, but what was Zhuo Xiao’s attitude toward him?

What kind of stunning, unforgettable encounter could make the dignified, authoritative President Zhuo, who commanded an entire group, willingly become a homewrecker and turn into such a shady character?

“Ugh…” Just as Yan Chengming was scratching his head, wanting to ask Zhuo Xiao but too afraid to—worried she might recall the man who had been silently coveting her and leave him for President Zhuo—his phone rang.

Gu Yu was calling. His tone was initially serious, but hearing Yan Chengming’s agitated state, he paused. “What’s wrong with you?”

Yan Chengming scrambled up from the bed, sitting upright and clenching his teeth. “I’m fine. Go ahead.”

He needed to focus on work! He couldn’t let President Zhuo outdo him! He wouldn’t give that man any chance to steal his wife!

Gu Yu was speechless for a moment before saying, “When is President Zhuo’s investment coming through? The company’s situation is getting worse by the day.”

Yan Chengming was stunned. “Didn’t you spread the news that the Zhuo family is optimistic about Mingyu?”

Gu Yu sighed helplessly. “I did. At first, some companies contacted me, expressing interest in cooperation. But for some reason, when I reached out to them, they stopped responding. Right now, we can only rely on President Zhuo. You should ask him what he thinks.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Chengming deflated. After stammering for a while, he finally admitted, “I don’t dare.”

Gu Yu was taken aback. “Why not? I thought you two got along quite well?”

Yan Chengming let out a few loud sighs, sounding utterly defeated. “Let me be straight with you. I feel… I feel like he might be interested in my wife!”

Gu Yu: “…Huh?”

Holding his phone at the office, Gu Yu was utterly confused. He even took the phone away from his ear to check the screen several times, making sure it was really Yan Chengming and not some scammer.

Yan Chengming immediately launched into a detailed explanation, complete with vivid sound effects, turning it into a dramatic storytelling session.

After listening, Gu Yu fell silent for a moment before cautiously suggesting, “Well… cutting off contact like this isn’t the solution. Why don’t you test him a bit? See if he really has feelings for your wife. You can’t just accuse someone based on your own assumptions, right? If he doesn’t have those intentions, we can still continue working with him. If he does, you can make things clear. Whether we cooperate or not depends on fate. At worst, we can find someone else. There’s always a way.”

Yan Chengming hissed through his teeth. “You’re right.”

Summoning his courage, he picked up his phone again, opened the chat window with President Zhuo, and nervously swallowed as he looked at the string of unanswered messages.

[Yan Chengming: Sorry, President Zhuo, I’ve been quite busy with work lately.]

[Yan Chengming: May I ask… do you have someone you like?]

It seemed the other side had been waiting for his reply, as the response came instantly.

[Zhuo: Yes, I do.]

Yan Chengming perked up at this.

[Yan Chengming: Where is she from? How old is she?]

[Zhuo: From City A, around your age.]

Yan Chengming’s eyes widened. Zhuo Xiao was from City A, having grown up on that mountain far from the suburbs! And Zhuo Xiao was only a year younger than him, so she was indeed around his age!

With a nervous heart, he continued typing rapidly.

[Yan Chengming: From City A? What a coincidence. Would it be okay to share her name? Maybe I know her.]

[Zhuo: I’d rather not share the name… but you definitely know her.]

Zhuo Xiao thought to herself while holding her phone—how could Yan Chengming not know himself after twenty-four years?

Yan Chengming broke into a cold sweat. From City A, someone he knew, around his age, and unwilling to reveal the name. Zhuo Xiao fit every single criterion! It was almost certainly her! His hands trembled as he typed.

[Yan Chengming: Where did you two meet?]

Zhuo Xiao’s gaze swept over the beautiful European-style building in her profile picture on the screen, her eyes darkening slightly.

[Zhuo: Abroad.]

After sending this message, she hesitated before adding two more words.

[Zhuo: In Country Y.]

She stared intently at the screen, sweat beading on the tip of her nose, hoping Yan Chengming would remember something upon seeing those two words.

Unfortunately, he didn’t.

Yan Chengming let out a groan, tossing his phone onto the pillow before thrashing around in frustration on the soft, springy mattress. A year ago, Zhuo Xiao had followed his mentor abroad to attend a conference and it was in this very country, Y! He had even personally driven Zhuo Xiao to the airport!

It’s over, it’s all over!

That guy really has his eyes set on his wife!