CH 140

Chapter 140 – I Am His Father

After Wei Chen and Chen Li left the shopping mall, they didn’t immediately head back to Wei’s house. Instead, they took a detour to the tallest building in the city, the Pearl Tower.

Upon reaching the top of the tower and standing on the transparent glass floor, looking down, the terrifying height caused their hearts to tighten suddenly. Adrenaline surged through their bodies, and they entered a state of fear. Their bodies felt weak, and they couldn’t command or control them. This was the sensation many people felt when standing in the position Chen Li was in now.

However, Chen Li was different. His nerves became excited, but there was no fear. He even enjoyed the sensation of walking in the air.

Chen Li wasn’t afraid of heights; he even enjoyed the exhilaration brought by the altitude.

Perhaps this was something besides painting that could excite Chen Li.

Wei Chen also wasn’t afraid of heights. Standing on the glass was the same as standing on solid ground for him, and in fact, this was solid ground for Wei Chen.

They walked on the glass together, excitement hidden in Chen Li’s eyes, while Wei Chen’s gaze remained fixed on Chen Li, filled with warmth.

Chen Li occasionally turned his head and met Wei Chen’s gaze. His eyebrows would slightly curve, and a hint of a smile would appear on his somewhat expressionless face.

Although this was an enclosed space, the height of the Pearl Tower and the sensation of defying the wind were enough to make people forget all their troubles. Chen Li’s nervousness from returning to the city gradually relaxed in this altitude.

And this was the purpose of Wei Chen bringing Chen Li to the Pearl Tower.

The two of them spent the entire afternoon on the Pearl Tower. If it weren’t for a call from Wei Hua urging Wei Chen to return, Wei Chen probably wouldn’t have wanted to take Chen Li back.

“Li Li, let’s go back,” Wei Chen hung up on Wei Hua’s call and said to Chen Li.

Chen Li nodded without hesitation. When Wei Chen led him out, he didn’t even glance back at the high place that had helped him relax.

Wei Chen drove, and they smoothly returned to the Wei residence. By now, it was already evening, and the New Year’s Eve dinner was about to begin. In the dining hall, servants were bustling around, and other members of the Wei family had gathered.

When Wei Chen returned home, Housekeeper Zhang came forward and said that the patriarch wanted to have a conversation with him.

Wei Chen didn’t immediately go there. Instead, he took Chen Li back to their room first. After helping Chen Li set up his drawing board, he messaged Wei Hua, asking him to keep an eye on his room and ensure that nobody disturbed Chen Li. Once he received Wei Hua’s response and learned that he was behind the main house, Wei Chen was then led by Housekeeper Zhang into Old Master Wei’s study.

When Wei Hua received Wei Chen’s message, he was in the downstairs living room with Wei Zhenxiong and his family. Wei Zhenxiong was discussing matters of the Beijing branch company with Wei Hua. Wei Wei was reading quietly on the side, which was a rare sight.

Upon receiving Wei Chen’s message, Wei Hua promptly concluded the discussion with Wei Zhenxiong and found an excuse to go upstairs. He didn’t think Wei Chen was overly neurotic, protecting Chen Li too much. In the past, Wei Hua might have thought this way, but now that he had someone he liked, he understood the strong desire to protect that person from harm. In his eyes, Wei Chen’s actions were only natural.

Wei Hua leaned against the railing upstairs. He didn’t enter Wei Chen’s room. After a few interactions, he had gotten to know Chen Li’s personality. Even if Chen Li knew him and knew that he wouldn’t hurt him, it didn’t mean Chen Li would be comfortable being alone with him.

At this moment, Wei Hua was somewhat idle, and when his mind wandered, the person who had occupied his thoughts for four years naturally surfaced in his mind. He couldn’t stop it no matter what.

Wei Hua took out his phone, found Cookie’s WeChat, and sent a red envelope. The amount wasn’t much, just 5.2 yuan, but Wei Hua sent them one after another, bombarding Cookie’s chat screen with red envelopes.

Wei Hua didn’t say anything; he just kept sending red envelopes. Each one was 5.2 yuan. After sending a dozen in a row, there was finally a response from the other side.

Two sweating emoji.

Seeing that Cookie had finally acknowledged him, Wei Hua’s expression instantly brightened. His fingers danced rapidly on the phone screen, and after a short while, a message was sent.

“Dear, you see, each red envelope represents my heartbeat for you. Please accept these red envelopes, and let my heartbeat, my yearning, be conveyed to you with them.” After sending this message, Wei Hua continued to send red envelopes, with each one marked “I miss you, miss you, miss you.”

Before long, Cookie responded with several face-palming emojis, not accepting a single red envelope.

Seeing this message, Wei Hua knew that Cookie was right next to his phone, so he became even more shameless.

“Dear, can you hear it? Each message notification is the sound of my heartbeat. If you listen carefully, you’ll surely be able to hear that these notification tones are filled with the sound of me missing you. Dear, I miss you. Every strand of my hair is missing you, every inch of my skin is missing you. Come touch me, and you’ll find that my skin is burning hot.” Wei Hua became more and more enthusiastic.

“Dear, how I wish that one day you would miss me just as much as I miss you. I feel like my heart is no longer mine. I’m home now, but my heart has already fallen by your side. If you’ve heard the sound of my heartbeat, please take good care of it, because my heart is filled with my overflowing love for you.” Perhaps the other person couldn’t bear these overly cheesy and nauseating messages any longer, so they replied with just four words.

“I am his father.” As Wei Hua was about to type a response, he saw this reply. The phone flew out of his hand with a slap and landed on the ground. Wei Hua didn’t even bother to pick it up; he just stood there looking utterly bewildered.

The person he had just been chatting with was his future father-in-law? Wasn’t this Cookie’s account? How could his future father-in-law be using it? Did his future father-in-law actually listen to his words? Would he think he was too frivolous?

In that instant, Wei Hua wished he could retract everything he had just said. Teasing Cookie was one thing, but how did he end up teasing his future father-in-law directly?

The more Wei Hua thought about it, the more he felt fearful and apprehensive. He didn’t dare to say anything more on WeChat. What if it really was Cookie’s father?

Meanwhile, in the Sheng residence in Beijing, Cookie was looking at his phone with a smile that curved his eyes and eyebrows. He could imagine what kind of expression Wei Hua was making now. However, seeing no new messages on WeChat, Cookie couldn’t help but pout and silently complain in his mind. “This Wei Hua guy really can’t handle a little scare.”

Sheng Jiaqi, who had been observing Cookie’s various expressions while he looked at his phone, felt an increasing sense of crisis. He had a feeling that before long, his son might just run away with someone.

“Big Quqi, who were you chatting with just now?” Sheng Jiaqi walked over to Cookie with drooping eyelids and asked with a playful smile.

Big Quqi was Cookie’s nickname. His full name was Sheng Qi, and his mother’s surname was Qu. So, once he introduced himself, “Quqi” turned into “Cookie,” his nickname. Cookie liked this nickname, so when he registered as a hacker, he chose “Cookie” as his codename.

When he was a child, Sheng Jiaqi liked to call Cookie by his nickname. However, as he grew up, Sheng Jiaqi rarely called him that nickname anymore. He referred to Cookie by his actual name, except for specific moments when he would still playfully call him “Quqi” along with a smiling face.

Every time Cookie heard that, he felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

“Just chatting with a friend,” Cookie instinctively hid his phone, even though he didn’t realize he was doing it.

Sheng Jiaqi noticed and his smile grew even wider. “Is it a boyfriend or a girlfriend?”

“Just a regular friend,” Cookie answered, swallowing nervously.

“Oh,” Sheng Jiaqi continued to smile playfully. “Just a regular friend? How about introducing them to dad next time?”

Cookie forced a laugh. “I’ll bring them over when I have a chance.”

Sheng Jiaqi didn’t inquire further and turned around with a smile, entering the kitchen where the soup was nearly ready.

Cookie let out a sigh of relief. However, a soft voice suddenly sounded near Cookie’s ear.

“Dad, you looked like you did something wrong just now.” Little Biscuit sat among his pile of New Year’s toys, grinning mischievously. He seemed quite pleased with himself.

Cookie scooped Little Biscuit up, lightly nibbled his nose, and said, “You talk too much.”

Little Biscuit held his own nose against Cookie’s face and whispered like he was sharing a secret, “Did dad just chat with Uncle Wei just now?”

Cookie was taken aback. “How did you know?”

Little Biscuit replied nonchalantly, “Because dad always seems happy when chatting with Uncle Wei.”

“Really?” Cookie asked, his expression freezing for a moment before he resumed his thoughts.

Little Biscuit nodded, grinning mischievously. “Dad, can you tell Uncle Wei I say Happy New Year and ask him for a New Year’s red envelope for me?”

“Sure.” Cookie regained his composure and answered, planting a kiss on Little Biscuit’s cheek before setting him down.

Cookie picked up his phone and, without realizing it, sent a message.

“Little Biscuit told me to say Happy New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and ask for the lucky money.” By the time Cookie realized what he had done, the message had already been sent. He hurriedly held down on the message, trying to retract it, but it was too late.

Soon, Wei Hua replied to the message, but this time, he seemed somewhat cautious.

“Is this Cookie?” This message made Cookie chuckle. He replied with a touch of arrogance, “Who else?”

After receiving confirmation, Wei Hua let out a sigh of relief and generously transferred a sum of money to Cookie’s account, and it wasn’t a small amount.

“This is for Little Biscuit’s New Year’s red envelope. I’ll give you a big one when I see you after the new year.” Wei Hua’s intentions were clear. He wanted to arrange a meeting with Cookie after the new year.

Cookie picked up on this, and after staring at the message for a while, he finally tapped out a simple “OK.”

Seeing this “OK,” Wei Hua dropped his phone to the ground, not from carelessness but excitement. He felt like dancing in the hallway.

Cookie had agreed to a date!

For Wei Hua, this was the best New Year’s gift he could have asked for.