After a wealthy woman went bankrupt, her live-in husband became her sugar daddy.

He leaned closer, one hand on his desk, and with the other, turned off the glaring screen for me. "They calculated that the delays would put pressure on the board; they're trying to bleed us dry."

"I had Lao Chen check Xinda's transaction records for the past six months, and guess what? They used the same tactic on the Chengnan project—first bribing an insider, then using confidential information to blackmail for higher prices."

"But this time they've hit a brick wall."

"What? What do you want to do?" Xu Sisi asked tentatively.

"Here, a vice president of Xinda Building Materials is handing a bulging envelope to someone from the audit bureau."

"I've arranged to meet them at the top floor of the Hyatt Hotel tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.

He continued, "You're in charge of playing the bad cop; I've prepared a surprise for them."

He was thinking... While I was pondering this, Song Yang went out.

That night, when I opened the door, the warm yellow light made the house feel especially cozy, and I could smell a faint milky fragrance in the air.

Jiang Yichen was pacing around the living room with Xiaoman in his arms. The nine-month-old baby was chewing on a teething toy on his shoulder, and his drool was soaking the shoulder seam of his dark gray pajamas.

"I just got him to sleep for ten minutes." He lowered his voice and mouthed for me to be quiet.

Suddenly, Xiao Huai in my arms propped up her head, her grape-like eyes lighting up the moment she saw me, waving her little hands covered in cookie crumbs and letting out a joyful "woof".

I hurriedly took off my coat, rubbed my cold hands, pinched her little face, and hugged her.

Xiao Huai immediately grabbed my pearl earring and stuffed it into her mouth, her baby teeth making a crisp sound as they hit the metal setting.

"The nanny told me today that my baby vomited three times, and Grandma is already asleep." Jiang Yichen rubbed the back of her neck and handed her a warm breast pump.

"The probiotics prescribed by the pediatrician are on the second shelf of the refrigerator." Hearing this, I hesitated for a moment.

I nestled into the sofa with my child in my arms, and he expertly lifted the tie of my cardigan at the back.

Xiao Huai was playing with the necklace she was holding, pulling it against my chest, her warm cheek pressed against my heartbeat.

I told him what had happened during the day.

"Song Yang wants you as bait?" he suddenly asked, his movements as he disassembled the breast pump parts carrying a hint of hostility.

I held down Xiaoman's kicking feet: "It's just for show; he arranged for twelve bodyguards..."

"It's not too much trouble."

Xiaoman suddenly let out a loud burp, and the sour smell of apple puree exploded in the air.

Jiang Yichen instantly switched to a practiced one-handed diaper-unfastening posture, and I took the opportunity to press down on the back of his hand, where the veins were bulging: "When we first got together, haha, you weren't like this, you weren't so hesitant."

"You and she are both the most important people to me."

Amidst the jasmine scent of baby wipes, he suddenly cradled Xiao Huai's head against my forehead: "Back then, I only needed to be responsible for myself, but now..." Xiao Man's foot kicked his collarbone, leaving a footprint smeared with lotion.

At two o'clock in the morning, Xiao Huai was already asleep.

I was sitting on the playmat organizing documents when I was suddenly pulled into an embrace that smelled of freshly showered fragrance.

Jiang Yichen's chin rested on the top of my head, and his palm covered the black material from Xinda Building Materials that I was flipping through: "Engineer Chen redid three quality inspection reports. I'll have his assistant deliver them to the hotel tomorrow."

“When did you…”

Xiaoman suddenly started sobbing in her sleep, and our simultaneous movement towards the crib knocked over the file box.

Jiang Yichen quickly put the pacifier into the child's mouth. I looked at the sweat stains on the back of his pajamas and remembered the figure of him coaxing Xiao Huai in the maternity ward.

"The weather station has issued a blizzard warning." He suddenly wrapped my icy feet in a blanket. "Why are they so cold?"

"It must be because you've been working too hard lately."

I tried to argue, but he held me tightly.

Xiaoman's breathing gradually became long and even.

"We're already so familiar with each other now."

"I am a father who loves his daughter."

As he leaned over, his button brushed against my burning earlobe. "Now, lie down."

"OK, good night."

The next morning, I arrived at the agreed location early.

The crystal chandelier cast dappled light on the conference table.

Mr. Zhang from Xinda twirled his jade ring, a half-smoked cigar peeking out of his suit pocket: "Gu Mo, it's not that we're being unreasonable, but your company's plan changes every three days; someone has to bear the cost and risk."

I gripped the teacup tightly with my fingers. If Song Yang hadn't gently pressed down on my knee under the table, I would have almost blurted out "profiteering from someone's misfortune."

“Mr. Zhang is right.” Song Yang suddenly chuckled.

He pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses he was wearing today; the reflection in the lenses obscured his usual gaze.

He has indeed changed a lot since I met him.

"How about we try a different approach—I heard your company helped Wansheng Group dispose of a batch of substandard earthquake-resistant steel bars last year?"

Mr. Zhang's hand, which was twirling the ring, suddenly stopped.

"What a coincidence, I just visited the construction site of Wansheng Plaza yesterday."

Song Yang pulled a test report from his briefcase, slamming the paper onto the table like a thunderclap. "Do you need me to help you recall the honeycomb structure of the load-bearing wall on the 28th floor?"

The air in the conference room froze instantly.

The legal counsel behind Mr. Zhang was about to speak when Song Yang raised his hand to interrupt him: "Wait, I haven't told you how your company tampered with the quality inspection report. Oh, by the way, this morning a friend from the tax bureau asked me if I wanted to see Cinda's cross-border transaction records..."

"Mr. Song!" General Manager Zhang stood up abruptly, the mahogany chair scraping against the carpet with a dull thud. "Why make things so ugly in business?"

“You taught us how to be human first.” Song Yang slowly opened the contract.

"Supply at the original price, plus three months of priority supply rights. Otherwise, tomorrow's headlines will be filled with news of the shoddy construction of Wansheng Plaza—"

The sweat on the back of Mr. Zhang's neck seeped into a dark gray patch on the collar of his shirt.

He stared intently at the phone recording beside Song Yang, his Adam's apple bobbing three times, before finally grabbing a pen and slashing out the numbers on the price list: "Song Yang, you're ruthless."

"Same to you." Song Yang smiled and pushed the contract over.

"By the way, Wang Hua took a flight this morning to go on vacation—with the hush money you gave him."

Song Yang confronted him head-on. The sparks from his cigarette flickered between his fingers.

"Why use such a risky method?" I asked him in a low voice.

"What if they fight to the death..."

He ignored me and continued, "Do you remember the land bidding in the western suburbs three years ago?"

"You insisted on carrying out the earthquake-resistant upgrades despite pressure from the board of directors. At that time, I thought, 'A person who would risk the future of a resettlement housing building...'"

He chuckled softly. "Someone always has to protect your back."

“Look, the previous cooperation agreement.” I said, seizing the opportunity.

He looked at me hesitantly.

"I've sifted through the supplier list three times and found Wang Hua. You can figure out the rest."

After saying that, Song Yang prepared to leave.

"Wait, we're all partners, there's no need to make things so ugly."

As he spoke, the other person gestured to his subordinates to take out paper and pen.

In a flash, he had already signed it. "Please."

We won.

"Gu Mo, sign it."

After we came out, he said to me, "Your hands were shaking in the conference room."

I froze for a moment, then said randomly, "The situation was too tense. But we succeeded." My face was beaming with barely suppressed joy.