Bai Yeqing's gaze lingered on Chenchen's restless form. "My marriage solves nothing. If you seek her happiness, her Uncle Xu must marry her."
Xia Dabai jutted his lower lip, stubborn eyes locked on Bai Yeqing. "But I like you better."
The raw plea in the child's innocent stare made refusal feel like cruelty.
Yet...
"I will not marry her." The words were final, edged with frost.
Dabai's shoulders slumped. "Why?"
"Adult matters." Bai Yeqing dismissed further questions with a glance at the bed. He strode out, the door clicking shut behind him.
Silence hung heavy. Chenchen cautiously opened her eyes. Only once his footsteps faded did she sit up, glaring at her son.
"Xia Dabai! You're embarrassing me! I never said I wanted him!" Her toes prodded his back indignantly. 'I won't marry her'? As if she were desperate!
Dabai turned, blinking wide, guileless eyes. "I was fixing your pride!"
"How?"
"Uncle Xu got stolen by Aunt Xingkong. That's the real embarrassment!"
The verbal knife twisted. Chenchen winced.
"But!" Dabai's eyes suddenly sparkled. "Imagine if Xia Dabao married the President! So cool! He's icy and boring, but way better than Uncle Xu! Let's make Dad marry you!"
Chenchen understood his longing – a complete family, like other children.
But...
"Sweetheart," she sighed, ruffling his hair, avoiding his hopeful gaze, "he's the President. Not an ordinary man. Let's… not dream impossible dreams."
She grabbed her nightgown, fleeing to the bathroom. Marry the untouchable, godlike President? His predecessors wed icons. What was she? Fragments of the car ride flooded her mind: his solid arms, his heartbeat against her ear...
Her pulse skittered. No! Stop it, Chenchen! That man is forbidden territory!
She slapped her cheeks, banishing his image. Only after several steadying breaths did her heart quiet.
...
Morning.
Sunlight streamed through floor-to-ceiling windows as Chenchen led Dabai, impeccably dressed in a miniature suit, into the grand dining room. The President sat at the head, posture regal, bathed in radiant gold. He glanced up briefly, acknowledging only the child.
So close, yet galaxies apart.
"Good morning, Master Dabai, Miss Xia," servants murmured, pulling out chairs.
"Morning, Dad!" Dabai chirped.
"Morning." A cool, detached syllable.
Chenchen ate in silence, the ghost of last night's intimacy thickening the air. Her awkwardness felt painfully singular; he remained unmoved, carved from marble.
"Dad?" Dabai's curious gaze landed on Bai Yeqing's neck. "What's that?"
Chenchen froze. Her bite mark – stark, accusing.
"A gift," Bai Yeqing stated dryly, "from a mischievous kitten." His eyes, heavy with implication, found hers.
Heat scorched Chenchen's cheeks. The innuendo was deafening. Their gazes clashed. Flushing crimson, she fumbled her knife, dropping her eyes.
Beside them, Dabai watched their silent exchange, a knowing grin spreading. "Must have been a pretty kitten!"
"Oh?" Bai Yeqing arched a brow.
"Only a pretty kitten you like gets to bite you there!" Dabai declared, pointing triumphantly at the intimate spot. "No ugly kitty bites my neck!"
A stifled snort escaped a nearby servant. The steward's lips trembled.
Chenchen wanted the floor to swallow her.
Bai Yeqing's glare could have frozen hell. Who told him it was a woman?
"Dabai, eat," Chenchen hissed, shoving fruit towards him.
Dabai blinked innocently. "Xia Dabao? Why's your face so red?"
Little demon!
...
Breakfast was an exercise in crimson-faced torture. Finally releasing the President and Dabai, Chenchen rushed to work, burying herself in paperwork.
Mid-chaos, her grandmother's call shattered her focus.
"Grandmother. Apologies for leaving abruptly last night."
"Enough about last night," the old woman snapped. "Xingkong claims a stranger took you."
Stranger? Bai Yeqing was a household name!
"Not a stranger," Chenchen hedged. "A friend."
"Xu Yan and Xingkong insist he was shady! Tell me truthfully, girl – are you tangled with unsavory men?"
Predictable Xingkong.
"Don't listen to gossip, Grandmother. He's respectable," Chenchen insisted.
"Respectable?!" Her grandmother's voice rose. "Was it 'respectable' to birth a bastard child without knowing its sire? You humiliated our family!"
Chenchen bit her lip, silenced by the old wound.
"I've found you a match," her grandmother announced. "You will meet him. Be grateful if he overlooks your… baggage."
"Grandmother—"
"It's settled." The line went dead.