Contractual Love: Mistaken for True - Chapter 41 - You Need to Come Back Safe

Mom Xia left without saying anything, and Xia Chen went into the study. Xu Xiaoyou could understand Xia Chen’s feelings well. His best friend was missing; even though they weren’t brothers by blood, they had grown up together. How could he not be anxious? Mom Xia’s worries were valid; she had only one son, and how could she not be concerned? Moreover, what Xia Chen was doing this time was dangerous, and no one could guarantee what the outcome would be.

Xu Xiaoyou pushed open the study door, and Xia Chen opened his eyes for a moment before closing them again. Xu Xiaoyou picked up a piece of clothing from the chair and draped it over Xia Chen, then turned to leave. But Xia Chen grabbed her hand; with a firm pull, Xu Xiaoyou found herself falling into his embrace.

Xia Chen held Xu Xiaoyou tightly, resting his head on her shoulder, silent.

“Ah Xia, when are you going to Hawaii?”

“If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll leave tomorrow afternoon.” Xia Chen’s voice was laced with fatigue.

“That soon?” Xu Xiaoyou was surprised; she thought he would at least wait a few more days.

“Yeah, this can’t be delayed.”

“Ah Xia,” Xu Xiaoyou wrapped her arms around Xia Chen’s waist, drawing herself closer to him. “How long will you be gone this time?”

“Not sure, probably about two months,” Xia Chen also held Xu Xiaoyou tightly. He was reluctant to leave her, but he had no choice.

“Ah Xia, I can’t stand you being away from me for so long.” She was used to their daily banter, and the thought of being apart for over two months felt unsettling.

“I don’t want to leave either.” Xia Chen felt helpless. If he didn’t find Chen Zihan, he would never have peace of mind. “Xiaoyou, I don’t have brothers; I’ve only ever had Zihan with me. I’ve always considered him my brother. Now that he’s in trouble, I can’t just stand by.”

“I know, I know.” Xu Xiaoyou held Xia Chen tightly.

The next afternoon, Shen Mobai burst into Xia Chen’s office with Jingjing in tow. As soon as they entered, he pulled Jingjing to the sofa and ordered Yilin to make coffee.

Xia Chen put down the documents in his hands and stood up to walk over to Shen Mobai. It had been over a month since they’d last seen each other, and both of them had changed; Shen Mobai was thinner, while Xia Chen looked more haggard. It seemed they’d both been through a lot during this time.

“What’s so urgent that you had to ‘summon’ me back? Don’t you know I have more important things to do than work right now?” Shen Mobai was genuinely annoyed. He was on vacation, trying to cultivate his relationship with Jingjing, and was close to success when he suddenly found himself dragged onto a plane and brought here.

Xia Chen forced a smile, clearly strained.

“What’s going on?” Shen Mobai noticed something was off. It had to be serious.

“Zihan is missing.”

“What?!” Shen Mobai exclaimed in shock. “Isn’t he in Hawaii? How could he go missing?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I had someone look into it, and there really hasn’t been any news about him. I suspect the Old Master is hiding him; otherwise, we wouldn’t be unable to find him,” Xia Chen shared his thoughts with Shen Mobai.

“What do you plan to do?” Since Xia Chen had been brought back to the country, it indicated he had a plan.

“I’m planning to go find him in person.” The meaning was clear; he intended to talk to the Old Master.

Shen Mobai set his cup down on the table and stood up, patting Xia Chen on the shoulder. He understood what it meant for Xia Chen to go now, and he wanted to stop him but couldn’t find the words. Chen Zihan was their brother; after all those years of friendship, Xia Chen wouldn’t just stand by while he was in danger.

“Are you sure? This isn’t a joke?” Shen Mobai asked. He knew how skilled Xia Chen was, but those people were ruthless characters, and he didn’t think Xia Chen could handle them alone.

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Xia Chen replied, looking straight at Shen Mobai.

“What about Mom Xia? Has she agreed?” Shen Mobai knew that Mom Xia was very protective of Xia Chen and wouldn’t let him participate in something like this.

“She hasn’t agreed; she disagrees.” This was the first time in Xia Chen’s life that he hadn’t followed Mom Xia’s wishes.

“So you’re still going?” Shen Mobai didn’t expect Xia Chen to be so determined.

Xia Chen nodded.

“What about Xu Xiaoyou? Has she agreed?” Jingjing asked. Although she hadn’t fully understood their conversation, she knew the mission Xia Chen was about to undertake was dangerous.

“She agreed, but I know she isn’t willing,” Xia Chen admitted.

“Then just go. I’ll keep an eye on the company for you, but I can’t guarantee it will thrive,” Shen Mobai said, aware of his own limitations.

“As long as you don’t ruin the two companies, I’ll be grateful,” Xia Chen joked. In truth, as long as Yilin was around, the company would be fine, but there were some things that only Shen Mobai could handle. With an uncertain return date, Xia Chen was worried about potential disruptions in the company, and having Shen Mobai, a major shareholder, would help.

“When are you leaving?” Shen Mobai asked.

“This afternoon.” Xia Chen didn’t want to waste any time. Xu Xiaoyou had been distracted all morning; last night, Xia Chen had slept in the study while she had tossed and turned all night. The thought of Xia Chen leaving in the afternoon pained her. Checking the time, she realized she could still make it, so she gathered her things from the desk, grabbed her bag, and headed out.

“Hey, Xu Xiaoyou, where are you going?” Xiaoyu called out to Xu Xiaoyou as she walked out.

“I’m just stepping out for a bit, help me take a leave,” Xu Xiaoyou replied without looking back.

Xiaoyu raised the documents in her hand. “What do I do with this? It needs your personal attention, and it looks like you won’t be able to finish it now.”

Xu Xiaoyou sat in the taxi, trying to call Xia Chen. She wanted to tell him that she was on her way to Tianchen, but Xia Chen was in a meeting and had left his phone in the office, so nobody picked up. After trying three times and getting no response, she decided to give up.

Upon entering Tianchen, Xu Xiaoyou found that the receptionist was new and didn’t recognize her. The receptionist wouldn’t let her in, saying that the CEO was in a meeting. Just then, Yilin entered from outside and saw Xu Xiaoyou. He scolded the receptionist, saying, “This is the CEO’s wife; how could you make her wait in the lobby?” The receptionist quickly apologized, clearly surprised that she was the CEO’s wife.

“Xia Chen is in a meeting; why don’t you take a break in the CEO Office?” Yilin said, leading Xu Xiaoyou to the office.

Xu Xiaoyou took in her surroundings, noting that the office’s decor was quite unique and not to everyone’s taste. Just look at the sofa and the desk; everything seemed to be luxury imports. She couldn’t help but think that just because someone had money didn’t mean they had to flaunt it.

“Hey, sweetheart, when did you get here? You didn’t call to let me know,” Xia Chen asked as he appeared at the door. If Yilin hadn’t told him that Xu Xiaoyou was there, he would have continued with his meeting.

“I just arrived. I tried calling you, but no one answered,” Xu Xiaoyou said, turning around with a smile for Xia Chen.

Only then did Xia Chen realize he had forgotten his phone. He picked it up from the desk and found several missed calls from Xu Xiaoyou. He looked at the time and said, “It’s time to eat. You came from the newspaper office, right? You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“Yeah,” Xu Xiaoyou replied honestly, suddenly aware that she was a little hungry.

“Let’s go eat,” Xia Chen said, taking Xu Xiaoyou’s hand and leading her out of the office.

Meanwhile, Mom Xia was at home, troubled all night. She knew that Xia Chen would have to deal with Chen Zihan’s situation, but she was worried. If something went wrong, how could she explain it to the Xia family? And what about Xu Xiaoyou? She was still so young. Mom Xia understood the underworld; after all, she came from that place too, so she knew its darkness and dangers well.

After tossing and turning all night, she finally came to a conclusion. Since she couldn’t persuade him to stay, she might as well support him. With family backing him, Xia Chen wouldn’t feel too hesitant about going. If… if something truly unfortunate happened, she could only blame herself for not having more children.

Once in the CEO Office, Xu Xiaoyou found that Xia Chen was not there, and he hadn’t taken his phone either. Yilin was also gone, so she decided to wait for him to return.

As Xu Xiaoyou and Xia Chen entered hand in hand, they found Mom Xia sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper. They greeted her together, saying, “Mom.”

Mom Xia didn’t lift her head as she muttered a simple acknowledgment. She had just seen an article in the newspaper about Murong Qing returning to the country soon. Earlier in the year, there had been rumors of her return, but later some journalists claimed it was just a publicity stunt. Now, the chatter had started up again; it couldn’t be another stunt, could it? It was just as well that Xia Chen was out of the country during this time. It would be best if they didn’t cross paths.

“Mom, what are you reading?” Xia Chen asked as he sat down beside her. He glanced at the newspaper and saw the same news about Murong Qing. It seemed like there had been ongoing speculation about her returning to develop her career. This had happened before, and now it was happening again.

“Just browsing,” Mom Xia replied, putting the newspaper away in the cabinet. “I thought about it all night. Since I can’t keep you here, I’ll let you go and do what you need to do. But you have to promise me that you will take care of yourself. If things get too tough, you must know when to retreat, okay?”

“Don’t worry, Mom. I promise I will come back safe,” Xia Chen said, placing his hands on her shoulders to comfort her. “You all are here at home; I won’t let anything happen to me.”

“That’s good to hear,” she said, gently tapping Xia Chen on the head.

“Mom, we need to have faith in Ah Xia,” Xu Xiaoyou chimed in, coming over to console Mom Xia.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Yilin took Xia Chen to the airport. The two talked a lot during the ride. Xia Chen held Xu Xiaoyou tightly, feeling uneasy as if something would happen with his departure. Perhaps he was just overthinking things.

“Ah Xia, you have to call me whenever you have the chance, okay?” Xu Xiaoyou said, hugging him.

“Yeah, I will,” Xia Chen replied, giving her hair a gentle kiss.

After returning home, Xu Xiaoyou sat in a chair feeling drained. With Xia Chen gone, her heart felt significantly emptier. This was a secret trip abroad; they couldn’t let the media find out, or who knew what kind of trouble it could cause.

Jingjing called Xu Xiaoyou using Shen Mobai’s phone to invite her out for dinner. Xu Xiaoyou thought about it and realized that eating alone would be rather boring. Having someone accompany her would be nice.

Jingjing’s invitation was prompted by Xia Chen’s instructions. He had asked her to keep Xu Xiaoyou company while he was away. Jingjing also needed time and space to figure out her feelings for Shen Mobai, so she seized the opportunity to offer to stay with Xu Xiaoyou. Xia Chen readily agreed since he knew Xu Xiaoyou would feel bored alone at home. It was good for her to have company. Besides, Shen Mobai had his company to manage and shouldn’t let personal matters interfere with work.