Saving the overbearing CEO

After settling Qie Ranzhe into bed, Wen Qinxi went to the kitchen to eat something. This day started off normally but ended in an unexpected way. Never in a million years would he have thought his mother would meet Qie Ranzhe like this.

Not only that but she had got him drunk and possibly pried information out of him. He knew he should have spoken about this to his mother earlier but at the time he wasn't ready.

His mother always told him that as long as he is happy then she's happy. That's what his father wanted for them. Therefore it was a policy in the Wen house that one should always speak the truth nothing else but the truth which he sort of violated. Their parents might or would get angry but the truth had to be spoken.

Thinking he could talk to his mother and appease her, he made her a cup of hot cocoa which was befitting for a person who is trying to coax someone. He stood by her door for a while with the steam from the cup wafting in the air as though detecting the freezing temperature inside that room. Wen Qinxi pulled on the drawstring of his hoodie to hide the hickey on his neck just in case it worsened the situation.

He was a bit hesitant but he raised his hand and made a faint barely audible knock. That knock was entirely on purpose. If his mother doesn't respond to that light knock that sounded like a fly accidentally hit the door then he would runoff. If she asks tomorrow he would say, "I came over but you didn't respond, you were probably sleeping."

Unfortunately for him, her ears were as sharp as a baby's. In fact, her ears were so good that even the slightest movement in the apartment she would hear. She was like a walking talking burglar alarm. No thief could step into her apartment without getting caught.

She flung open the door just as he was trying to make his escape startling Wen Qinxi. "Come in," she said before throwing herself on the comfortable chair, "and shut the door behind you."

'No, I would rather leave it open,' he thought but he still complied. One thing he learnt growing up is that whenever his mother called him to the bedroom without asking for anything then that would be the first warning sign that he is in trouble. The second warning being when she tells him to close the door behind him. This meant he would be getting a beating.

Depending on the severity of the crime the punishment tools would be the ultimate slipper of ass-whooping, the unrivalled belt of retribution or the worst of the worst the speech of rebuke.

This only happened to him twice in his childhood but for Wen Danzhe it was a dozen times. He never thought he would be in this room of his own initiative in his 20s with no prior knowledge of what to expect. He placed the cup of cocoa on the side table and back paddled close to the door for an easy escape.

"Sit," she said lifting the cup of cocoa her son made for her with great care. Wen Qinxi complied and sat on the bed opposite her. The words nervous and uncomfortable were written all over his face as he rubbed the back of his neck while averting his gaze.

Mama Wen was scrutinizing her son as she took a sip. As always his cup of cocoa was as good as her husband's. It's a good thing he taught Wen Qinxi to make this before he died. She guessed he was leaving behind a piece of wisdom so his sons would be able to coax their mother when she's upset.

She slowly placed the cup down and crossed her arms on her chest. The tension in the air amplified almost suffocating Wen Qinxi. He swallowed hard as beads of cold sweat laced his forehead. "Are....," said Mama Wen making Wen Qinxi's feet shift towards the door. He looked like an athlete at the starting line of the 100m dash at the Olympics. He was just waiting for the pistol to go off so he can sprint out.

"Are you using protection...," she said but Wen Qinxi didn't even wait for her to finish. In fact, he didn't even listen properly immediately going on the defence.

"I know I was wrong. I should have told you but I wasn't even certain myself that he would like me back so I couldn't come out with it. I didn't want you to be disappointed, wait, what?..... oh... oh god.....," he said before closing his mouth with his hand, "Ma, why would you ask that?"

He couldn't understand his mother's way of thinking. Shouldn't she be upset about him being...? Not asking about him using.....?

"Your life, your decision. I am just here as a backup. As long as you aren't hurting yourself or others who am I to tell you who can make you happy? If you were doing drugs or robbing people then I would intervene but you aren't hurting anyone or yourself, are you?" she said looking straight into his eyes.

Wen Qinxi felt his eyes sting a little as they slowly reddened. He could only count himself lucky for having such a reasonable parent. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, "No, I am not hurting anyone including myself."

"Then are you happy?" she asked leaning forward with her probing gaze still fixed on his eyes as though looking for signs of deception or sincerity.

"Yes, I am happy..... I am very happy," he said as the floodgates opened resulting in an overspill of emotions.

"Then come to mum," she said opening her arms wide for a hug. Wen Qinxi disregarded his age and embraced his mother like he used to do in preschool. That warmth caused his emotions to gush out to the point where he couldn't hold back his tears.

They say men shouldn't cry but damn it aren't men human too? Mama Wen felt her chest tighten seeing this so she stroked his hair in comfort and spoke in a soothing voice. "Why are you crying? Didn't mummy accept your decision so why are you crying, huh?..... Your father would be so proud of you," she said kissing the top of his head affectionately.

After crying it out and having his mother coax him like he was a baby again, Wen Qinxi finally returned to the bedroom and slipped under the quilt. The lights were off and Wen Danzhe was probably sleeping so he didn't turn them on and slipped into bed. He used the light from the street to look at Qie Ranzhe's sleeping face when he noticed something.

"Fuck! Danzhe! Wake the fuck up..... What did you do to his face? You do know he has work tomorrow, right? Oh my god..... it's not coming off," said Wen Qinxi trying to remove the permanent marker drawn on Qie Ranzhe's face.

Wen Danzhe was especially ruthless. He drew two circles around Qie Ranzhe's eyes and an unnatural looking moustache and beard from the 1920s. The culprit wanted to play possum but he couldn't resist snickering under his breath.