One-way Passage

haughty gaze.
“Let me guess your thoughts.
Ming Sichen became mentally disabled as a result of his car accident, so you fed him, you housed him, you hired a nanny to care for him twenty-four hours a day, which means that you, as a father, have already done your best.
You have two more sons anyway.
There’s someone to inherit your Ming Yan anyway.
You have an endless amount of money to spend.
You have young alpha boyfriends.
At this point, for a beta son, what more can you do, right?”

After letting out in one breath, Xia Wennan paused, reached for the cup on his table and took a drink.

Ming Qin slowly said, “Do you think what you’ve said to me is appropriate?”

Xia Wennan said, “Who cares about that? What are you gonna do about it? At worst, I won’t work for Ming Yan anymore, but there are tons of companies who are crying and begging me to join.
Ming Luchuan and I can also leave and start our own company.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll even be crying and begging for me to return.
Why should I be afraid of you?” The barrage of words managed to convince even Xia Wennan himself, and he felt virtually unstoppable.
“I only respect you because you’re Ming Luchuan’s dad—but are you his dad? Have you ever performed your fatherly duties? I’m telling you now, no one will like you.
You’re the type of person who refuses to give your heart to others, so no one will give their heart to you either.
You think you’ll always stay young and beautiful? When you’re old, you’ll be just like Sichen, with only a nanny to accompany you for the rest of your days!”

Ming Qin’s face divulged no emotion, his expression barely budging, but his chest was heaving and his face had a sickly pallor to it.
After directing a sharp glare at Xia Wennan for a few more moments, he turned around and left.

Xia Wennan watched his retreating figure as he opened the office door, the straightness of his skinny back, his steady footsteps as he walked away.

Despite the fact that the office door remained open, Xia Wennan could no longer see Ming Qin’s back.
He could only make out the neither slow nor quick sound of Ming Qin’s footsteps reverberating in the corridor gradually growing further away, followed by a distant ding of the elevator.

Xia Wennan sat in his comfortable desk chair, picked up his glass of water, and took a few sips.

Deep down, he felt pleased, and the feeling pushed him to recline against the back of his chair, cross one leg over the other, and sway from side to side.

The sensation lasted about one or two minutes before unease gradually filled his chest.

As Xia Wennan picked up his glass and swallowed several more mouthfuls of water, his thoughts flitted back and forth between the things he’d spouted earlier and the expression on Ming Qin’s face right as he left.
In the end, he got to his feet and left for Ming Luchuan’s office.

They had barely made a dent into their lunch break; Ming Luchuan was still napping in his lounge.

Xia Wennan quietly opened the door and entered the room, surprised that he hadn’t roused Ming Luchuan.
He guessed that the man was probably tired from the previous night’s overindulgence, and as that thought passed through his mind, Xia Wennan suddenly felt a little smug.
Approaching the bed quietly, he removed his shoes and crawled onto Ming Luchuan’s bed, still wearing a suit from head to toe.

Ming Luchuan awoke as soon as the bed shook; his eyes flew open and his pupils constricted, before gradually relaxing and reaching out a hand to Xia Wennan.

Xia Wennan burrowed into his arms and laid down beside him.

Ming Luchuan seemed not entirely awake.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, raising his hand to his brow and pushing his hair back.

Recalling what he’d come here for, Xia Wennan said, “I cursed out your dad until he walked out.”

Ming Luchuan looked at him.
“What did you say to him?”

Xia Wennan thought back to what he said and curled up in mild embarrassment, burying half his face in Ming Luchuan’s blanket until only his eyes were exposed.
“I told him that he isn’t sincere towards others, so no one will be sincere towards him, and that he’ll definitely spend his final years alone.”

Ming Luchuan fell silent.

“Was that out of line?” Xia Wennan asked.

“No,” said Ming Luchuan.
“You’re quite correct.”