While I Was Away…He Was Hugging Another Man

Xie Zhaozhou stepped back too suddenly.

Ning Shixue, barely steady, instinctively grabbed his arm.

Both of them were stunned.

Ning Shixue’s cheeks burned instantly, red almost to the point of bleeding.
His collarbones were also flushed bright red.
He was so ashamed he wished he could die, unable to lift his head.
It looked like he was the one trying to keep Xie Zhaozhou from leaving.

Xie Zhaozhou looked up.
His Adam’s apple moved.
Those red lips curved uncontrollably.
He wrapped his arm around Ning Shixue’s waist and pulled him closer.

“If you’re this reluctant to let me go,”
Xie Zhaozhou chuckled softly, reluctantly saying,
“A kiss before I leave would be fine too.”

He leaned in as if to kiss him.

Ning Shixue’s face was bright red.
He raised his hand to cover Xie Zhaozhou’s mouth and pushed him away hard.
“…Get lost!”

His eyes were full of moisture, like they held tears.
His long, thick eyelashes were damp.
His hair was a bit messy.
After Xie Zhaozhou hugged him, his bathrobe was loosely open.

He looked like he had been bullied too much.
But it was impossible to feel sorry for him.

The colder and more vividly beautiful his face was, the more he resisted, the easier it was to stir up the worst in people.

“…”

Xie Zhaozhou’s breath hitched for a moment.
He stopped deliberately teasing him.
This time, he really left and closed the door for him.

Ning Shixue stood there, face red and ears burning, for a while.
He couldn’t help raising his hand and rubbing his face.

Only now did he realize that it wasn’t that Xie Zhaozhou was afraid he wouldn’t take responsibility.
It was clearly Xie Zhaozhou who didn’t want to take responsibility for him.

So he said flirtatious things to him… but anything further, nothing at all.

The more Ning Shixue thought about it, the more annoyed he became.
Anyway, he didn’t want to kiss Xie Zhaozhou either.
Why was he thinking about this?
Actually, Xie Zhaozhou wasn’t wrong.
If they slept together now, he really wouldn’t take responsibility.

Ning Shixue pressed his lips together.
He took out his phone and wanted to send Xie Zhaozhou a message.
But he hesitated.

That would seem a bit unreasonable.

He struggled internally for a while, then still lowered his head and typed.

– [snow: President Xie, don’t message me when you get to the airport. No need to message on the way either.]

Why feel sorry for the antagonist?
It would only bring him bad luck.

Xie Zhaozhou was probably already in a meeting.
He didn’t reply.

Ning Shixue walked towards the bedroom.
Even after lying down in bed, that feeling of embarrassment hadn’t passed.

Xie Yaoyao woke up groggily and saw Ning Shixue beside him, rubbing his face.
His face was especially red.

He raised his hand and rubbed his eyes.
Then he crawled over to Ning Shixue on all fours and asked in his milky voice,
“Baby, what wrong?”

Ning Shixue hugged him and buried his face in the chubby kid’s arms.

Xie Yaoyao was so sleepy he almost dozed off again.
He hugged Ning Shixue, his little hands clutching a few strands of his black hair.
His soft, chubby cheek rested on top of Ning Shixue’s head.
He still thought Ning Shixue was crying and said sleepily,
“Baby, don’t cry.”

Holding Xie Yaoyao, Ning Shixue’s embarrassment faded.
He started to feel cold again.
He wrapped the blanket tightly around both of them and fell asleep like that.

Xie Yaoyao had another dream.
He dreamed that Ning Shixue was bullied by the little black pig and hid in the arms of Xie Yaoyao the Great Demon King.

But this little black pig, for some reason, had become very powerful.
It was almost as powerful as Big Daddy.
It could even spank his little bottom.
Xie Yaoyao the Great Demon King couldn’t beat it.

Nothing could stop the clever Xie Yaoyao.

He took the baby and escaped to the spaceship.
Tonight, they would sail away.
Xie Yaoyao directed the baby to pilot the spaceship, saying anxiously,
“We, go fast!”

Otherwise, Big Daddy would catch them.

This was way too scary.

After Xie Zhaozhou finished his meeting that night, he continued dealing with the matters at hand.
The light in the study was on all night.
By the time he finished signing the contracts, it was already time to go to the airport.

But as he picked up his coat, he paused.
He went first to the guest room where Ning Shixue and the others were staying.

Ning Shixue was still asleep.
He was a salted fish.
Xie Yaoyao, however, woke up early, unless he had played especially hard the night before.

Xie Yaoyao opened his eyes, put on his furry onesie pajamas and little socks, huffed as he stood on tiptoe to climb down from the bed, and then ran to the playroom to play with his little train.

He could play by himself for a long time.
When he wasn’t deliberately throwing a tantrum, he was as well-behaved as a little angel.

When Xie Zhaozhou arrived, he wasn’t in Ning Shixue’s arms.
So he went straight to the playroom.

His features were cold.
He crouched down and crooked his finger at Xie Yaoyao.
“Xie Yaoyao, come here.”

Xie Yaoyao was playing with his little train.
He pouted, making ‘woosh’ sounds as he flew it around.
His soft, white cheeks puffed up like a little bun.
Then he suddenly heard Big Daddy calling him.

He immediately looked up and pattered over.
The soft hair on his head bobbed with his movement.

It was the first time Xie Zhaozhou had crouched down to talk to him.
Xie Yaoyao was wearing his furry little dinosaur pajamas.
He ran too fast and couldn’t stop.
Xie Zhaozhou grabbed his arm to steady him.

“Big Daddy,”
Xie Yaoyao blinked a few times.
He boldly leaned against Xie Zhaozhou’s leg, still sucking on his hand.

“Help me do something,”
Xie Zhaozhou looked into his eyes and asked him,
“Can you do it?”

Xie Yaoyao didn’t even know what it was yet.
But he nodded vigorously.
Anyway, he was the Great Demon King, all-powerful.
He could do anything.

He didn’t realize there were things in this world even he couldn’t do.

Xie Zhaozhou met his eyes and told him,
“I have to go on a business trip. Before I come back, you need to stay with the baby every step of the way. Can you do that?”

“What is,”
Xie Yaoyao’s eyes were blank.
“every step of the way?”

He only knew that pumpkin puree was very tasty.
It was baby food.
The butler grandpa often made it for him.

Xie Zhaozhou: “…”

Xie Zhaozhou never regretted anything he did.
Even when he retired back then, he never regretted it.

But now, he suddenly regretted it a little.
He couldn’t understand why he was in this situation.

Xie Zhaozhou closed his eyes in exasperation.
Then he patiently continued to explain,
“It means no matter what he does, you follow him. Don’t leave his side for a single step.”

Xie Yaoyao understood this time.
He clenched his chubby little hand and said excitedly,
“Every step of the way, follow baby!”

“…”

Xie Zhaozhou still thought he wasn’t very reliable.
But he didn’t have time to waste anymore.
Before leaving, he gave Xie Yaoyao one final instruction.
“You can’t tell him I asked you to follow him. Understand?”

“Got it!”
Xie Yaoyao nodded vigorously again.

He didn’t know why he had to follow the baby.
But he was going to follow the baby anyway.

He wanted to be with the baby forever.
Like the moon and the little star in the sky, never apart.

Ning Shixue didn’t wake up until almost eight.
His eyelashes fluttered.
As soon as he opened his eyes, a chubby face was abruptly in front of him.
Xie Yaoyao was also lying on his pillow, enthusiastically snuggling up to him.

“Baby, you awake!”
Xie Yaoyao lay on his chest, his soft cheek squished into the hollow of Ning Shixue’s neck.

Ning Shixue’s body was weak.
His hands and feet were always cold, his body temperature low.
Only the hollow of his neck was the warmest.

Xie Yaoyao loved burying his face there the most.

The little kid’s body, however, was very hot.
Ning Shixue had slept holding Xie Yaoyao all night and was covered in a thin layer of sweat.
Now, being rubbed against again, his whole body felt hot.
He couldn’t help wanting to go take a shower.

He mercilessly rejected the snuggling, picked up his clothes, and walked towards the bathroom.
But as soon as he turned on the water, the bathroom door was suddenly patted a few times.

Ning Shixue turned around.
Even though he had experienced countless terrifying things, he was still startled.

This was why he least wanted to deal with children.

A small, dark shadow was plastered against the frosted glass door.
That chubby little face was pressed tightly against the glass, not moving even as it was squished out of shape.
His soft, plump little body was still wiggling.

Xie Yaoyao twisted into a very alluring pose, then stayed still, mumbling to himself.

Xie Yaoyao sometimes did this to scare him before.
But when Ning Shixue ignored him, Xie Yaoyao would get bored and leave after a while.
This time, however, he never left.

Ning Shixue turned off the hot water and couldn’t help asking him,
“Xie Xingxing, what are you doing?”

Through the bathroom door, Xie Yaoyao’s milky voice was muffled.
His little hands pressed against the glass door as he grumbled,
“I waiting, for baby finish bath oh.”

Ning Shixue: “…”

This kind of filial piety was really unnecessary.

Xie Yaoyao refused to leave.
Ning Shixue could only wash up quickly, then take him downstairs for breakfast.

Today’s task from the program team was simple.
In the morning, they would go learn to ski again.
Mu Yuan and Mu Na would go with them.
In the afternoon, they could do whatever they wanted.

Xie Zhaozhou wasn’t there.
Ning Shixue also went to learn with Yan Ting.
He finally got a little better.
They stayed at the ski resort until noon, then drove back to Grandpa Mu’s house for lunch.

Tang He’an and the others didn’t take naps.
Only Ning Shixue did.
Sometimes the little ones also slept for a while.

Grandpa Mu’s house was a small courtyard with three rooms.
The elders rested at noon.
The little ones were in Mu Na’s room watching TV.
There was a special episode of Forest Bunny Police replaying that afternoon.
Ning Shixue had to go sleep in Mu Yuan’s room.

Xie Yaoyao surprisingly followed him too.
His eyes were practically glued to the TV in Mu Na’s room.
His chubby face was full of longing.
Yet he still grabbed his finger and went to sleep with him.

Ning Shixue thought it was a bit strange.
He told Xie Yaoyao,
“If you want to watch TV, go ahead.”

Xie Yaoyao shook his head firmly.

Even though the cartoon was very interesting, he felt following the baby was more important.
He would never leave Ning Shixue’s side.

His big, dark eyes filled with tears.
He looked so envious he could cry.
But he stubbornly followed Ning Shixue.

Xie Yaoyao wasn’t the kind of kid who couldn’t leave people.
His parents were both gone.
Xie Zhaozhou wouldn’t accompany him.
The old butler was also very busy and couldn’t always be with him.

So he wasn’t shy.
Anyone could soothe him.

Besides, he was very familiar with He Miao and the others.
He wouldn’t refuse to go watch TV just because he was away from Ning Shixue.

Actually, Ning Shixue also felt a bit awkward going to sleep in Mu Yuan’s room.
If Xie Yaoyao hadn’t still wanted to play with He Miao and the others, he would rather go sleep in his own shabby brick house.

He grabbed a blanket and took Xie Yaoyao’s little hand to go to Mu Na’s room.

Mu Na and the others watched TV.
He slept on the sofa behind them.
It was small and warm.
The TV was on beside him.
He watched cartoons with Xie Yaoyao and the others for a while, then got sleepy and fell asleep.

[???]

[Baby, you’re just a little piggy.]

[I have to say, I’m really envious of this kind of sleep quality. Crying.jpg]

Ning Shixue slept for over an hour.
Then he opened his eyes.
His gaze was very clear, as if he hadn’t been asleep at all.

He took out his phone.
There were still no messages.

Xie Zhaozhou should have arrived at the airport by now.
He searched for that flight.
It had arrived safely.

He also searched for Xie Zhaozhou’s name on Weibo.

It looked like no one had died.

Finally, Ning Shixue opened his chat with Xie Zhaozhou.
He hesitated for a long time, typed a few words, and deleted them.

He had pestered Xie Zhaozhou to send him messages.
Then he changed his mind and told him not to send any.

Even he thought he was crazy.

Ning Shixue lowered his eyelashes.
He typed a few words again and deleted them again.
He did this several times.
Distracted, several messages suddenly popped up in the chat.

– [. : I’ve been waiting for ten minutes. Teacher Xiao Ning still hasn’t figured out what he wants to say to me?]

– [. : Arrived.]

Xie Zhaozhou had sent him a photo of the airport.
The night was deep.
It looked like it was already evening where Xie Zhaozhou was.

Damn it.

The tips of Ning Shixue’s ears reddened.
He just remembered that his side must have been showing ‘typing…’ all that time.

But Xie Zhaozhou saw it and actually waited for him for ten minutes like this.
Was he crazy?

Shouldn’t he be very busy right now?
He had time to wait and see what he wanted to say?

Anyway, the man was still alive.
Ning Shixue put down his phone, not wanting to bother with him anymore.
It wasn’t until almost three in the afternoon, when Mu Yuan was about to go to training, that he sat up again.

The bullet comments initially thought Mu Yuan was looking for Mu Na.
But Mu Na was only focused on playing with He Miao and the others and didn’t even look up.

Instead, Ning Shixue put on his down jacket, wrapped his scarf, and put on his gloves, looking ready to go out.

The bullet comments were extremely shocked.

[??? What’s going on? My salted fish wife actually stood up?]

[Did I not wake up, or did I open the live stream with my left hand? This drama queen is actually going out???]

[I’m a vegetative patient who has been asleep for ten years. I’m standing up now. Since even Ning Shixue can stand up, what reason do I have not to stand up! (just kidding)]

It wasn’t that the bullet comments were exaggerating.
Ning Shixue really could slack off.
If the program team didn’t give tasks and no one actively talked to him, he could lie motionless and silent all day long.

At the first stop in the small mountain village, he would occasionally go out for a walk.
But it was so cold in the northern city, he really didn’t want to move.

Except for that time he went to buy little lights with Xie Zhaozhou, he hadn’t actively gone out at all.

[Wait, he finally stood up, and he’s going out with Mu Yuan???]

[Oh no, oh no, President Xie, danger!!!]

As soon as Ning Shixue started putting on clothes, Xie Yaoyao stuck out his little bottom and scrambled up to follow suit.
He also anxiously began to dress himself.

Ning Shixue turned around and saw he wanted to come with him.
He said,
“You stay here and watch cartoons.”

“I want go too!”
Xie Yaoyao bounced vigorously.

He had to follow the baby every step of the way.

Ning Shixue really had no way to take him.
He made it up on the spot.
“That place is only for adults.”

This time, ‘adult’ didn’t work.
Ning Shixue refused to agree.
Xie Yaoyao grumbled and looked like he was about to lie on the floor.
But in the end, he crouched on Ning Shixue’s foot.
He used his hands and feet, clinging to Ning Shixue’s leg like a little koala.

Ning Shixue dragged him a few steps.
When he looked down, he met Xie Yaoyao’s pitiful little eyes.
Xie Yaoyao blinked.
His eyes were full of tears, blinking like little stars.

The drawing of the stars and the moon that Xie Yaoyao had given him was still carefully stored in his suitcase.

Ning Shixue suddenly realized that this smooth talk, this acting skills to manipulate him by acting wronged… if he didn’t know the original story, he would almost suspect Xie Yaoyao was Xie Zhaozhou’s biological child.

But damn it, he was manipulated.
He picked up Xie Yaoyao and said,
“You can’t run around later, okay?”

Xie Yaoyao nodded eagerly.

Mu Yuan had originally planned to take Ning Shixue on his motorcycle.
But now with a little kid, Mu Yuan simply got the sleigh again.

Ning Shixue went to help Mu Yuan.
Xie Yaoyao secretly sent a voice message to Xie Zhaozhou.

It was past ten at night where Xie Zhaozhou was.
He drove with Song Li to the harbor.
The sea breeze carried a salty, fishy smell.
There was a problem with their cargo ship.
A large batch of goods had been soaked in water.

It almost sank, causing casualties.

Now, the police had been called, but the authorities hadn’t given a result yet.
Xie Zhaozhou planned to come and see for himself.

Xie Zhaozhou stepped onto the deck.
The vice president of the branch followed behind him, trembling as he reported the extent of the damage.

Xie Zhaozhou casually opened the voice message and heard Xie Yaoyao whisper,
“Big Daddy, baby went out with gege. They’re going to, a place only for adults.”

Xie Zhaozhou: “…”

The vice president was in the middle of his report when he saw Xie Zhaozhou’s face suddenly darken.
He instantly didn’t dare continue speaking.

This incident was originally his fault for not handling things properly, causing Xie Zhaozhou to have to rush over.
Xie Zhaozhou’s eyes were dark and gloomy.
When he put on a cold face, it was especially terrifying.

The vice president wiped the cold sweat from his palms, observing his expression.
He paused for a moment before speaking again,
“President Xie?”

Xie Zhaozhou’s face was cold, expressionless.
His dark eyes glanced over.
“Continue.”

Ning Shixue went with Mu Yuan to the ice hockey rink.
Ice hockey was the only sport where fighting wasn’t prohibited.
After watching Mu Yuan’s game yesterday, he noticed that Mu Yuan was very good at fighting.
He could easily pin his opponent down on the ice by grabbing their neck.

Ning Shixue only hated killing.
But he didn’t mind learning a little combat.
As they were leaving, he asked Mu Yuan if he could teach him.

Mu Yuan had learned Sanda and was the high school Sanda champion in the northern city.
Of course, he didn’t mind teaching Ning Shixue.
But his gaze fell on Ning Shixue’s slender, thin wrist bones.
He hesitated for a second.

He didn’t think Ning Shixue was very suitable for learning.

But since Ning Shixue wanted to, he still brought him to the ice hockey rink.

Because he had to train in the afternoon.
He could only spare time to teach in between.
Ning Shixue took Xie Yaoyao and waited for him nearby.

Mu Yuan trained for an hour.
Then he took off his hockey gear and came to find him.

This ice rink was very large.
Even with people training, there were many empty spaces outside the rink.
Mu Yuan, holding his hockey gear, asked Ning Shixue,
“Teacher Ning, is here okay?”

Ning Shixue was still wearing that white down jacket.
He looked up and asked,
“Can we go somewhere with fewer people?”

Ning Shixue knew that his fighting style was too fierce.
He couldn’t change it now.
Of course, he wouldn’t be that fierce with Mu Yuan.
But it was best not to be seen by too many people.

His skin was pale, his lips a thin red.
Because he was asking a favor, and Mu Yuan was his sparring partner, which wasn’t exactly lucky for him, his attitude towards Mu Yuan was almost gentle.

Those beautiful peach blossom eyes curved.
Mu Yuan’s face instantly turned bright red.
He didn’t know what to do with his hands and feet.

Ning Shixue’s acting skills were also good back in the day.
But when he first debuted at sixteen, he really became famous because of his looks.
There were so many people in the entire galaxy.
It wasn’t on the same scale as becoming famous in this world.

Some media even praised him, saying these eyes were the galaxy’s treasure.
No one disagreed.

Staring into them for a long time was like gazing into the deepest, most distant stars.
One glance could make you drown in them.

Mu Yuan’s mind went completely blank.
His face was so red he couldn’t lift it.
These people were all celebrities.
He was already very nervous and awkward.
When Ning Shixue spoke to him gently, he almost dropped the hockey gear in his arms.
His neck was noticeably red.

…Go somewhere with fewer people?

Mu Yuan rubbed his face hard, trying not to think crookedly.
He had to constantly remind himself that Ning Shixue was already married.
Yes, that soft, chubby kid next to him was Ning Shixue’s child.

But even so, his mind was still frozen.
He could only instinctively listen to Ning Shixue and follow him.

Xie Yaoyao also trotted along on his short legs behind them.

Ning Shixue reminded him again,
“Xie Xingxing, if you get scared later, tell me, and we’ll go back.”

Xie Yaoyao couldn’t understand.
They had come here yesterday.
What was there to be scared of?

During yesterday’s game, when people fought on the rink, Ning Shixue covered Xie Yaoyao’s eyes.
He didn’t see anything.

What Ning Shixue wanted to learn was a throw over the back.
He took off his down jacket.
In just his sweater, he looked even thinner.
Mu Yuan asked him one last time,
“Teacher Ning, are you sure you want to learn?”

He was afraid he might hurt Ning Shixue later.

“Come on,”
Ning Shixue refused to give up.

Mu Yuan demonstrated for Ning Shixue first.
He grabbed one of Ning Shixue’s wrists and told him,
“Teacher Ning, I’m going to throw you now. Try to fight back. Don’t let me throw you.”

Ning Shixue nodded.
“Okay.”

Although Mu Yuan was only nineteen, his parents were often away from home.
He had elderly grandparents and a young sister to take care of.
He was much more mature than other boys his age.

Since he was going to teach Ning Shixue, he would do it seriously.
He wouldn’t let Ning Shixue get hurt.
But he also wouldn’t slack off.

He grabbed Ning Shixue’s wrist, trying to find a position that wouldn’t hurt too much to throw from.
After calculating roughly, he pulled Ning Shixue’s wrist, intending to loop it behind his own neck.

But before he could loop it, he didn’t even know what happened.
He was already grabbed by the wrist by Ning Shixue, his arm twisted behind his back, and thrown to the ground.

Mu Yuan: “…”

Mu Yuan: ???

Ning Shixue still had an innocent face.

He had originally planned to let Mu Yuan throw him once.
Once he was thrown, he would learn.
But Mu Yuan insisted he fight back.
He thought he should listen to the coach, right?

Who knew it would be this easy to take him down.

Mu Yuan was completely confused.
He thought it must have been an accident.
He grabbed Ning Shixue’s wrist, used his strength to stand up, and told Ning Shixue,
“Again.”

After being thrown three times in a row, Mu Yuan lay on the ground and didn’t want to get up anymore.
He felt Ning Shixue didn’t need to learn from him at all.

And finding a place with fewer people was probably just Ning Shixue being kind.
Otherwise, being thrown so badly would be really embarrassing.

Ning Shixue worried for nothing.
Xie Yaoyao had no idea what they were doing.
His chubby face was full of confusion.

After all, no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t figure out why, for no reason, the baby was fighting with someone.

In Ning Shixue’s eyes: block, sweep, over-the-shoulder throw.

In Xie Yaoyao’s eyes: holding hands, touching legs, hugging.

Xie Yaoyao watched Ning Shixue and the others for a while, then scratched his cheek.
He secretly turned around, presenting his soft, plump little back to Ning Shixue, and called Xie Zhaozhou.

Xie Zhaozhou had just met with a cooperation partner and happened to have time.
He answered the call on the deck.

“Big Daddy, Big Daddy,”
Xie Yaoyao said excitedly,
“Me and baby, outside.”

Xie Zhaozhou lit a cigarette.
His voice was unreadable.
“Is that gege there too?”

“Yes,”
Xie Yaoyao said.

Xie Zhaozhou asked again,
“What are they doing?”

“Um, um,”
Xie Yaoyao thought for a moment, then said firmly in his milky voice,
“They’re hugging!”

“…”

Xie Zhaozhou’s face darkened.