Chapter 2998: Taming the Stubborn 15

The next day, approaching noon.

Jin Chen had arranged to meet someone that afternoon to discuss an important rental business, so he deliberately stayed home for lunch; he rarely had such leisure, usually just grabbing a bite in the study or skipping it altogether.

The table was already set with four dishes and a soup; he sat at the head, leisurely sipping the pre‑meal soup.

Only when the soup was about to cool did slow footsteps come from the stairs.

Chenshu seemed to have slept well; his complexion was much better than the night before. As soon as he lifted his eyes and met Jin Chen's gaze, he quickly looked away, a blush creeping up his ears.

Jin Chen took in that faint shyness and unease, raised an eyebrow, and let his gaze, tinged with intimacy, slowly sweep over his face, finally resting on his lips, which still retained a hint of fresh moisture.

Feeling uncomfortable under that stare, Chenshu hastily pulled out a chair and sat down, burying himself in his rice.

Jin Chen also remained silent, setting down his bowl and spoon, leaning slightly back in the chair with his arms crossed.

Chenshu's eating motion froze; he sneakily glanced at Jin Chen from above the rim of his bowl.

All he saw was the man leisurely leaning back in the chair, looking at him; the man's calm gaze inexplicably made Chenshu's heart skip.

Chenshu felt a sudden spark of inspiration, rolled his eyes inwardly, and thought, 'This old man is so clingy! It's just pouring soup—does it really matter? I have hands; I don't need to wait for him to do it.'

But he still muttered as he walked over, picked up Jin Chen's soup bowl in front of him, obediently ladled him a bowl of mushroom chicken soup, intending to sit back down and continue eating—until his chin was suddenly pinched by two cool fingers and gently pulled aside.

Jin Chen turned his face, leaned in, and quickly kissed his lips, then casually tousled his slightly bed‑headed hair.

Chenshu: '……'

Chenshu's hair was messed up from the rubbing, a few strands of his gray highlights sticking up, making it look even more disheveled.

He covered his lips, which had just been kissed, gave Jin Chen a glare, then thought, 'Forget it; I won't argue with this moody old man.'

Chenshu sat back down and took two bites of rice, then suddenly thought of something, lifted his head to look at Jin Chen, his tone tinged with probing anticipation: 'Can I go out and play today? I've been cooped up at home for days—I'm about to go crazy.'

'Or… I could go with you to discuss the business? I promise not to cause trouble, just sit quietly beside you and say nothing!'

Jin Chen's gaze fell on his face; he sensed that the latter half of the sentence was the real goal, and he smirked slightly without exposing that little scheme.

'Go out and play by yourself.' Jin Chen said in a flat voice, 'If you get into trouble, make sure to settle it—dropping my name is more useful than fighting.'

Chenshu blinked, his eyes flickered, then he broke into a bright grin, drawing out his reply: 'Okay, husband~!'

Although they couldn't go discuss the business together, Chenshu did feel a bit happy; the sensation of being backed was unfamiliar to him but not unpleasant, and the awkwardness and resentment from last night seemed to have been considerably eased by this simple promise.

Overjoyed, Chenshu couldn't help leaning in, cupping Jin Chen's face with both hands, and quickly pecked his cheek.

——

Unfortunately, no matter how much he was coaxed, the seemingly obedient little dog was ultimately wild at heart and impossible to tame.

Another half‑month passed.

During this period Jin Chen was extraordinarily busy; the area near the East Harbor of Record City had been unsettled lately, with a mysterious group of unknown background appearing, repeatedly loitering near important cargo docks, their movements orderly, as if they were investigating something.

Intelligence from his subordinates warned that these people were very dangerous, and their target might be connected to the port trade under Jin Chen's control.

Jin Chen had to devote a great deal of energy to investigating and responding to them, while also handling several important international business negotiations; he often returned only late at night, sometimes even staying directly at the office.

That morning, Jin Chen was in his office listening to Chen Gai's report on the latest surveillance situation at the East Harbor, when his private phone on the desk vibrated.

He glanced at it; it was a message from the security chief of the Half Mountain Villa.

Normally, the villa would not bother him directly unless there was something special.

"President Jin, Mr. Chenshu has not returned for two consecutive days. Moreover, there are signs of violent tampering with the password lock on your study; the interior appears to have been disturbed. The scene has been secured, awaiting your instructions."

Jin Chen held the phone, his finger pausing on the screen for a moment.

He opened the chat page; his conversation with Chenshu still showed the exchange from the previous night.

It was rare, but that night before bed he received a short video from Chenshu: the latter was obediently curled up in the guest room blankets, only his face—steamed pink by the heat—visible, pretty and well‑behaved; the clip was under thirty seconds, and Jin Chen, busy until the early hours that night, saw it only late at night.

It turned out that at that very moment, this little dog was already no longer in his nest.

Jin Chen narrowed his eyes; his already light‑colored pupils looked even icier, and the air pressure in the office seemed to drop a few degrees.

Chen Gai and Yan Rui, standing nearby, exchanged a glance, and an inexplicable chill ran down their backs.

"Little Yan," Jin Chen said, his tone edged with coldness, "Go to the Half Mountain Villa yourself and check my study computer."

"Yes, Brother Jin!" Yan Rui's expression tightened, and he immediately responded.

Outside the floor‑to‑ceiling window, Record City lay beneath a leaden gray cloud cover; seaside storms always arrive swiftly, the dark, heavy clouds pressing low over the city, the air humid and oppressive, carrying the suffocating pressure of an impending mountain rain.

Jin Chen watched the gloomy sky for a while, then picked up his phone again and opened the encrypted tracking software; the screen should have shown three tightly clustered green dots—the micro‑trackers he'd placed inside those three gifts—but now all three dots had turned gray.

Jin Chen curled his lip, letting out a hum of laughter that revealed no emotion.

"Little trickster, his vigilance is actually not low."

He lightly tapped the screen, switching the tracking source.

Almost at the same moment, on the screen a red dot lit up in the area of Record City's East District near the old industrial park, and it began to move slowly.

The smile on Jin Chen's lips deepened, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

The oppressive black rain finally poured down.

Raindrops hammered the car windows in dense bursts, making a pattering sound; even with the wipers at maximum, they could barely clear a blurry view.

Far off on the road leading to the East District industrial park, a long dragon of dozens of black SUVs advanced, while the rain‑shrouded sea churned with turbulent waves, presenting an ominous deep gray.

In the second vehicle, Jin Chen leaned back in the rear seat, looking at the message Yan Rui had sent.

"Brother Jin, we've checked—your study computer shows signs of intrusion. The security log indicates that yesterday afternoon someone logged in with the highest‑privilege account, copied the encrypted folder containing all recent cargo records and monitoring backups from the East Harbor, then deleted the copy log; the method wasn't top‑tier, but it left traces. Nothing else was missing from the scene."

Jin Chen stared at the words on the screen; in the flash of pale lightning that flickered past the car window, his eyes looked especially icy.

"How ruthless," he thought.

"Those things are the foundation of Jin Chen's standing in Record City; they are the savings he painstakingly accumulated over several years using who‑knows‑how‑many means."