AADWFL Chapter 22
by Suxxi“This is my stance on the matter. You know it, and I know it too. I will not yield.”
The voice rose and fell — sometimes clear, sometimes slightly muffled due to volume.
An Ning, sensing the tension between the mother and son on the other end of the line, instinctively slipped over to the kitchen island, preparing chrysanthemum tea to help clear heat for Yu Xiuming.
The kitchen, having been used for dinner the day before, had already been cleaned by the hotel staff and looked spotless.
An Ning filled a glass teapot with chrysanthemum tea. Once heated, the liquid turned a pleasing yellow-green, releasing a gentle fragrance that was refreshing and perfect for Yu Xiuming, who had been a little overheated lately in Lunzhou.
The hotel suite’s semi-open kitchen had no glass doors, directly connecting to the living area. Though Yu Xiuming was on the phone in the study, the bedroom door was half-open, allowing An Ning to hear his responses.
The last sentence he spoke had been loud and decisive.
An Ning stood holding the freshly brewed tea, caught in a dilemma.
The tea was ready and meant to be delivered to Yu Xiuming now.
Every evening at this time, Yu Xiuming had a drink. Most of the time it was water or tea. Tonight, An Ning had carefully chosen chrysanthemum tea — not only would it not affect sleep, but it was also effective in clearing heat, making it perfect for Yu Xiuming during his stay in Lunzhou.
He had originally thought that if the phone could just hang up at this moment, he could bring some tea inside and help calm his boss’s temper. But unexpectedly, the quarrel between the mother and son hadn’t yet ended.
An Ning hesitated, and then noticed that along with the shadowy sounds from the study, a faint smell of something burning wafted through the air.
His heart skipped a beat, and he realized what had happened.
It was the cigarette that Yu Xiuming had lit—it had fallen onto the expensive carpet in the executive suite of the hotel.
His boss always carried himself with refined elegance; during meetings at the company, An Ning had rarely seen him truly lose his temper, let alone behave so unrestrainedly.
When he was genuinely angry, his words were sharp and precise, capable of piercing someone’s heart in a few sentences—but he would never let the backlash harm himself even slightly. This moment, however, was different. An Ning didn’t know if the person on the other end of the phone had been hurt, but one thing was clear: Yu Xiuming’s mind was far from calm.
An Ning hesitated for a long moment but slowly stepped forward. Without asking a word, he carried the glass teapot and made his way toward Yu Xiuming’s study.
Every family has its secrets, and wealthy households even more so. The depths of what lay behind the doors were beyond a normal person’s understanding. An Ning truly didn’t want to get involved.
Yet, lingering here for so long, he couldn’t help but think beyond reason.
Seeing Yu Xiuming’s solitary figure made his chest tighten with a vague ache.
“An Ning.”
He wasn’t sure if the phone had been hung up, but Yu Xiuming had been silent for quite a while. Just as An Ning prepared to push open the door, he heard his name called.
“I’m here,” he quickened his pace. “Mr. Yu, you called me?”
Yu Xiuming was dressed in casual loungewear, his jacket open at the front. He lacked the usual composure he always carried, and his expression was marked with fatigue and weariness.
The pitiful phone was clutched tightly in his hand, while a cigarette stub lay lifeless on the carpet, still releasing wisps of gray smoke like it was barely clinging to life.
Yu Xiuming held an empty teacup in his right hand, his brows furrowed. Seeing An Ning enter, he forced a small smile. “You made tea?”
“Yes, it’s ready. I’ll pour it for you,” Anning lifted the glass teapot and took his boss’s cup.
He poured silently. Yu Xiuming quickly took the filled cup, tilted his head, and drank most of it in one go. After pausing briefly, he finished the rest, then handed the cup back to An Ning.
Anning understood and poured another large cup. This time, Yu Xiuming drank only half slowly, then gently set the cup on the table.
“Clink.” The bottom of the cup touched the tabletop.
Like a mysterious switch, it locked away all the relaxed atmosphere in the room that had existed before that abrupt phone call, turning it into the past.
An Ning stood silently, waiting for instructions.
“Yi Mingwei will also be at tomorrow’s gathering.”
Just that one sentence made An Ning instantly understand.
It turned out Xu Jianan hadn’t given up yet and had gone through great lengths to arrange a meeting between Yu Xiuming and Yi Mingwei.
“So it’ll be a bit troublesome for me,” Yu Xiuming said, his voice tired. “I’ll need your help this time. Wait outside as usual.”
The next morning, at a café near the five-star hotel.
“Finally we meet,” Jing Yan leaned over the booth, trying to get as close as possible to observe his friend’s face carefully. “I haven’t seen you since Sunset Bar! You’ve been so busy?”
“Always busy, you know that,” Yu Xiuming replied helplessly, struggling to smile. “Today I just snuck out for a break—nothing exaggerated.”
Jing Yan, of course, knew every word was true and felt a bit sympathetic. “Look at you, already managing the company so early, getting busier and busier. How are you going to handle this constant exhaustion in the long run?”
He’d always lived an easy life—did fine in university, nothing spectacular, and after graduation, he never had any grand ambitions. He just wanted to live off his family’s wealth. Naturally, his life was a lot more exciting than that of Yu Xiuming, who spent every day buried in the company.
“Party tonight—don’t forget to let An Ning come and have some fun too,” Jing Yan finally got to the point. “The poor guy’s been following you around, working non-stop. You’re finally going out to relax, don’t make him keep working while you have fun.”
Yu Xiuming’s face darkened. “He’s not coming tonight.”
“What? Why not?” Jing Yan was taken aback. “Didn’t you say—what’s going on?”
“Xu Jianan called yesterday. She said Yi Mingwei will be there tonight.”
“Yi Mingwei?” Jing Yan immediately frowned. “Didn’t you already turn her down? Auntie wasn’t like this before—at most, she’d just wait a bit and then introduce a different type.”
It was an honest slip of the tongue—but it hit home for Yu Xiuming.
“This time is different.” His tone was calm. “According to Xu Jianan, my father’s illegitimate son has recently gotten close with Yi Mingwei’s younger brother.”
Jing Yan instantly understood, though he still hesitated. “So… what, you have to be with her now?”
Yu Xiuming’s temples throbbed from Jing Yan’s dramatic voice. He was starting to lose his patience. “Can you not jump to conclusions like that?”
“Hey, I’m just saying—you’ve known since day one your dad was trying to plant him in the company, right? You’re not on guard at all?” Jing Yan paused, then pressed on. “Let’s be honest—if your dad wasn’t backing him up, what waves could Yu Qi possibly stir? Don’t tell me you’re completely unaware of what’s been going on.”
Those words made Yu Xiuming close his eyes for a moment before finally collecting himself. He took a sharp gulp of black coffee—so bitter it made him wince. He suddenly remembered that the past two days, when he hadn’t gone to the office, An Ning had been making him lattes instead—less bitter. He muttered without thinking, “Too bitter. An Ning always makes me lattes.”
Jing Yan’s expression slowly shifted from tense to… complicated.
Yu Xiuming noticed the look and realized, belatedly, what he’d just said.
He fell silent, unable to find words.
“Yu Xiuming,” Jing Yan said quietly after a moment, calling him by his full name. “After all this time… shouldn’t you have come to some kind of conclusion?”
The conversation had come full circle—back to where they’d started—but Yu Xiuming suddenly felt the urge to retreat.
Jing Yan, however, wasn’t about to let him. If anyone knew him best, it was Jing Yan—he understood not only Yu Xiuming’s polished exterior, but also the shadows and fragility beneath it.
“Do you like him?”
When those five words hit, Yu Xiuming felt something inside him unravel—those long-tangled threads of confusion and hesitation suddenly bathed in a flood of sunlight, dissolving completely in that golden glow.
After dropping Yu Xiuming off at the café to meet with Jing Yan, An Ning drove back alone to the hotel. Once inside his room, he idly opened the floor plans a real estate agent had sent him earlier, going through them one by one again.
House-hunting was exciting, but the initial thrill was starting to fade, replaced by cautious calculations.
And no matter how he did the math, he inevitably thought of Yu Xiuming.
After all, most of the recent deposits in his bank account came from the man—his salary and bonuses.
Since he was already thinking about his boss, An Ning couldn’t help but slip into “work mode.” He checked the time, recalled Yu Xiuming’s schedule, and remembered that his boss had said he didn’t need a ride that morning—or for lunch.
It was nearly lunchtime now, which meant… for once, he only had to worry about feeding himself.
An Ning thought for a moment, changed into casual clothes, grabbed his phone, and headed out.
It was his first time in Lunzhou. Growing up and living his whole life in Binzhou, he’d never had the means to travel far—let alone fly three hours to some distant city like this.
Since he had free time and didn’t need to prepare for the evening banquet, his only remaining task for the day was to drive Yu Xiuming later that night. He was happy to go explore a bit on his own.
But fate had other plans. Just as he was ready to head out, his phone rang—a number he didn’t recognize.
A scam call?
An Ning frowned at the screen. The number was from Binzhou—not marked as spam.
He hesitated, then answered.
“An Ning?” The woman’s voice on the other end was elegant, confident, commanding. “This is Xu Jianan.”
An Ning froze, stunned, his mind blank from shock. Meanwhile, Xu Jianan continued smoothly, full of composure and authority, as always.
“I know Xiuming’s going to a party tonight. There’s something very important I need you to keep an eye on—to help with.”
Later, as An Ning wandered the streets of Lunzou, hunger drove him into a small local diner. Even while he ate, Xu Jianan’s words echoed in his mind, refusing to fade.
After living in this “book” for so long, following a routine, An Ning had almost forgotten—this was, after all, a melodramatic rich-family novel.
And Xu Jianan, the archetypal matriarch of a wealthy conglomerate family, had finally made her grand entrance—exactly as she was supposed to.
“Talk to Xiuming for me. Convince him to get along with Mingwei.”
Author’s Note:
A tiny bit of dog-blood drama, but don’t worry—still pure sweetness ahead 🌈