Reborn: Back to the 1980s Chapter 77

Chapter 77: The Aftermath

"Brother..." Guan Yuan was the first to rush forward. Zhao Shenggu held Guan Yuan tightly as he flung himself into his arms, breathing in the fresh scent of his hair mixed with Chanchan's milky sweetness. His heart instantly settled.

"Were you scared?" Zhao Shenggu kissed Guan Yuan's forehead, and the childhood endearment slipped out. He knew Guan Yuan had been frightened, but in such a situation, to have understood his meaning and rescued him—his baby really was amazing.

He knew the standoff couldn't drag on any longer. Otherwise, a cornered dog would jump over the wall—even if they couldn't take him back, they'd make sure Huaguo couldn't have him either.

Wu Runduo was pinned down by the barrage of gunfire. Now he knew fear—his whole body was trembling. The helicopter had been his contribution. When those foreigners contacted him, they said that as long as he got Zhao Shenggu to America, not only would they offer Wu Runduo generous terms, but they would also help make things happen between him and Zhao Shenggu.

He was obsessed with Zhao Shenggu. When the opportunity presented itself, he wrestled with it briefly before agreeing. He never expected it to all fall apart at the last moment.

As he was led past Zhao Shenggu, he stared longingly at the man he had pined for day and night. But Zhao Shenggu didn't spare him a single glance — his entire attention was on comforting Guan Yuan in his arms. Again. Always. Whenever Guan Yuan was around, Zhao Shenggu had eyes for no one else.

Why? How was he, Wu Runduo, any worse than Guan Yuan? Why couldn't Zhao Shenggu ever see him?

He refused to accept it. His eyes reddened, and he finally couldn't hold back from asking Zhao Shenggu: "Why—why can't you like me? What's so great about him?"

Only then did Zhao Shenggu seem to notice this person existed. He finally turned to look at Wu Runduo: "Are you sure it's me you like?"

"Of course! Do you think I don't even know who I like?" Wu Runduo shouted.

"Do you understand me? What do you like about me—my passable looks? My decent wealth?" Zhao Shenggu asked, holding Guan Yuan close.

Wu Runduo fell silent. He couldn't answer. He only knew that he wanted Zhao Shenggu to treat him the way he treated Guan Yuan.

Guan Yuan looked at Wu Runduo — pitiful, yet hateful. What he had fallen in love with was never Zhao Shenggu himself, but Zhao Shenggu's capacity to love.

After saying his piece, Zhao Shenggu left with Guan Yuan in his arms. Having survived a crisis, there was no need to let an outsider affect them. As for how Wu Runduo would be dealt with, that was entirely up to the police—they wouldn't interfere further.

When they got home, the butler was holding Chanchan in the living room, waiting.

It was already nine at night, and Chanchan still wasn't asleep.

"Ee-ya…" Seeing the two of them return, Chanchan let out an excited cry.

Zhao Shenggu took Chanchan into his arms. "Butler, it's so late—why haven't you put Chanchan to bed?" He stroked Chanchan's head, and only after finding nothing unusual did he relax.

"I tried to coax the young master to sleep long ago, but the moment I carried him out of the living room, he started crying. I had no choice but to sit with him in the living room and wait. The young master kept staring at the door the whole time—he was waiting for you two to come back! The young master is so considerate!"

These words melted both fathers' hearts. Zhao Shenggu kissed Chanchan gently. "Chanchan is so good — so young and already worrying about us." His voice was so tender it made Guan Yuan weak in the knees.

Guan Yuan knew Zhao Shenggu would go further and further down the road of the doting father. It seemed the role of strict parent would have to fall to him. Of course, that was for the future. For now, Guan Yuan held Chanchan's little hand and kissed it endlessly—his own son, naturally he had to spoil him!

Chanchan, doted on by both fathers, giggled happily. Then he excitedly babbled on—clearly wanting to "chat" with them.

But Guan Yuan saw it was already too late, so he picked Chanchan up and placed him on the bed. Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu surrounded Chanchan. Guan Yuan patted him and sang a lullaby, and before long, Chanchan yawned and fell asleep.

The two of them tiptoed out of the room.

The temperature in the bathroom was scorchingly hot, and even more provocative were the heavy gasps. "Ah… no more…" Guan Yuan endured Zhao Shenggu's deep thrusts, his eyes glistening, his porcelain-white body faintly flushed, even his pleas carrying a hint of rejection that was really invitation.

Zhao Shenggu thrust even harder, the bathroom growing even hotter. Who knows how long passed before the bathroom finally fell quiet.

Guan Yuan had already fallen into unconsciousness. Today it was he who had eagerly thrown himself forward—eager to confirm the feeling of Zhao Shenggu inside him, eager to know that the person before him was unharmed.

And Zhao Shenggu, too, had been rougher than usual because of his own surging emotions.

Zhao Shenggu held Guan Yuan close, the two of them intertwined like paired mandarin ducks, and fell deeply asleep. The next day, Guan Yuan didn't wake until nearly noon. He opened his eyes to find Zhao Shenggu sitting by the bed reading documents. "Why didn't you go to the company today?" His voice came out terribly hoarse the moment he spoke.

Zhao Shenggu's heart ached at the sound: "You're awake. I'm sorry—last night I was too rough. I wore you out."

"Ee-ya…" Guan Yuan was about to speak when he heard this sound. He looked around and only then noticed Chanchan's cradle beside the bed—the "ee-ya" had come from there.

"Chanchan's awake!" Zhao Shenggu lifted Chanchan from the cradle and gently rocked him.

"Was he sleeping just now?"

"Yes. After he woke up in the morning and had his milk, he looked for you for a while. Seeing you asleep, he dozed off again before long. He probably slept too late last night—no energy during the day."

Guan Yuan looked over and saw Chanchan's big eyes darting around — he didn't look low on energy at all.

Chanchan looked at Guan Yuan and leaned slightly forward. Zhao Shenggu followed his movement and placed him in front of Guan Yuan. Chanchan beamed happily, then started "chatting" with his father again.

Guan Yuan chatted with Zhao Shenggu from time to time, while also pausing to respond to Chanchan.

Yesterday when they got home, they'd been too worked up to ask for details: "How did Wu Runduo manage to capture you?"

"That's exactly what I was about to tell you—there may be a problem with someone at the company." Zhao Shenggu recounted yesterday's events to Guan Yuan.

Guan Yuan thought for a moment. "From the sound of it, that secretary is the prime suspect. You didn't go to the office today — what if she ran?"

"On the way back yesterday, I already had someone put her under surveillance. She's at the office right now."

Guan Yuan was still worried: "This incident is a wake-up call for us. We must thoroughly investigate anyone close to us—otherwise, if something like this happens again at the company, I won't be able to take it!"

Zhao Shenggu leaned down and kissed Guan Yuan. "It's my fault—I was careless. I won't make you worry again. But you have to do the same—when you go out from now on, you must bring people with you!"

This time Guan Yuan obediently agreed. He used to feel uncomfortable having a group of people following him everywhere, but now, for Zhao Shenggu and Chanchan's sake, he couldn't afford to care about that. No matter what, their family had to stay safe.

The next day, in Zhao Shenggu's office.

After finishing a document, Zhao Shenggu finally looked at the trembling woman standing before him. He hadn't known that Wu Runduo would actually seduce a young girl into helping him set a trap.

"Why did you do it?"

The woman dropped to her knees with a thud. "I'm sorry, President Zhao, I'm sorry." Fresh out of college, faced with a man like Wu Runduo — handsome, wealthy, and gentle — she had fallen easily. Her head had gone fuzzy and she'd agreed to his request.

Only after hearing that Zhao Shenggu had been kidnapped did she realize how serious this had become.

"Runduo said it was just a calming supplement, that drinking it would only help you sleep better at night. He said he was your classmate and hated to see you work so hard, so he asked me to make it for you."

She sobbed softly, looking utterly wronged.

"I don't believe you didn't sense something was off," Zhao Shenggu said coldly, unmoved.

The woman fell silent. Of course she'd known such a flimsy excuse was suspicious, but she'd done it anyway — partly out of her feelings for Wu Runduo, partly because of the nice car he'd promised her, and partly for some other reason she couldn't even name herself. Thinking back now, she didn't understand why she'd been so out of her mind as to do such a thing.

Zhao Shenggu had no intention of saying more to her. He called in the police waiting outside. When the cold handcuffs clicked around her wrists, the woman finally broke down into loud sobs.

As she was led out past her former colleagues, she was too ashamed to lift her head. She kept her head bowed, and even her crying stopped.

"Hmph, always showing off, really thought she'd found Prince Charming — turns out he was a demon. She even had designs on President Zhao. Serves her right, getting arrested," one secretary huffed.

"Enough. No more talk about today. Everyone, back to work," said the head of the secretarial department — Zhao Shenggu's personal secretary.

As head of the department, she bore responsibility for having someone like that on her team.

Thankfully, nothing had happened to Zhao Shenggu.

She knocked lightly. "Come in." After getting Zhao Shenggu's permission, she entered his office.

"I'm sorry, President Zhao. This is my responsibility. I never expected someone like that in our department. I failed to supervise properly."

Zhao Shenggu finished signing the document in front of him and handed it to her. "You're not a mind reader. How could you always know what she was thinking? But I can't say you're entirely blameless either. Half a month's pay docked. Deliver this to Procurement."

"Understood." The secretary took the document with crisp efficiency.

Her steps as she left were remarkably light — this punishment was practically nothing. What she'd feared most was losing Zhao Shenggu's trust. Once a boss stopped trusting his secretary, she wasn't far from being out the door.