Chapter 1 — The CEO's Only Antidote

I suffer from a severe allergy to marriage, yet I have always possessed a deep, singular longing for the perfect child. To achieve this, I set my sights on my direct superior—Huo Yunting, a man widely revered as a walking embodiment of pheromones. After successfully reaching my goal, I promptly submitted my resignation. My stated reason for leaving was: [I am allergic to money; the company salary is far too high, and I fear sudden death from such wealth.] Five years later, my son got into a fight at kindergarten. When I was summoned to meet the other child’s parent, I was shocked to find it was none other than Huo Yunting. Seeing the two boys, who looked identical to one another, he let out a soft, knowing chuckle. By the very next day, he had moved into the apartment directly across from mine. He used gourmet food and luxury toys to charm my son, and within mere days, the boy was weeping and demanding to call him "Daddy." In the dead of night, he cornered me against the wall, his warm breath fanning against my earlobe.

"Jiang Shiyu, I heard you were allergic to money?"

I feigned composure. "So what?" He laughed, pulled out a black credit card, and slid it into my hand.

"That is fortunate, then. I possess a fortune in the billions. You will never be able to escape me for the rest of your life. Let me be the one to 'cure' you."

01

I stared at the handsome face magnified before me, my mind completely short-circuiting. It had been five years. Five full years during which this face had only appeared in financial magazines and my midnight dreams. Yet here he was, standing in the flesh before me, one hand braced against the wall, enveloping me entirely in his shadow. My nose was filled with his familiar, chilly woody scent, with a faint trace of tobacco—bold and overbearing, exactly as it had been five years ago.

"Jiang Shiyu, I heard you were allergic to money?"

His voice, deep as a cello, resonated near my ear, leaving my entire body numb. I shivered, desperately trying to force myself to remain calm. Do not panic, absolutely do not panic! I stiffened my neck, attempting to summon some bravado.

"So what? Mr. Huo, please clear the way. A good dog does not block the path."

The moment the words left my lips, I regretted them. This was nothing short of tweaking a tiger’s whiskers. Sure enough, Huo Yunting’s eyes darkened, and his lips curled into an even deeper, mocking sneer.

"Five years gone, and your temper has certainly grown."

Not only did he not step aside, he stepped even closer, his searing breath washing over my face.

"Your nerves have grown just as much, daring to steal from me."

My heart skipped a beat. Did he know? Did he know everything? That was impossible! I had hidden it all so perfectly back then! I forced myself to remain calm, looking him directly in the eyes while feigning innocent ignorance.

"Mr. Huo, you can eat anything, but you cannot say just anything. What did I steal from you? A pen? Some documents? If you truly lost something, you should call the police, not harass an upright woman here."

"An upright woman?"

Huo Yunting seemed to hear something incredibly amusing and laughed out loud; the sound echoed in his chest, vibrating through his thin shirt against me.

"Sleeping with your boss and then running away, all while hiding a child—you call that upright?"

Boom—my brain exploded. He really did know everything! I froze, cold sweat instantly drenching my palms. Seeing me turn deathly pale, Huo Yunting seemed quite satisfied. He raised his other hand, using his long, slender fingers to grip my chin, forcing me to look up.

"Why stop talking? A guilty conscience?"

His fingers had thin callouses that brushed against my skin, sending a tingling sensation that made me shudder.

"Jiang Shiyu, you wrote your resignation letter with such flair back then. You said you were allergic to money, that the salary was too high and you were afraid of sudden death. What happened? Are you cured now?" I gritted my teeth, unable to speak. The reason I had written for my resignation back then was something I had carefully considered, deliberately crafting it to be so ridiculous that he would think I was unwell and simply forget about me. Who could have imagined that not only would he not forget, but he would remember it for five long years?

"I..." I opened my mouth, my throat parched.

At that moment, a soft voice rang out: "Bad man! Don't you dare bully my mother!"

I turned around to see my son, Jiang Zimo, charging toward us like a small cannonball. He spread his arms wide to shield me, tilting his head up to glare fiercely at Huo Yunting. Behind him, another little boy who looked exactly like him was watching us with curiosity. That was Huo Yunting’s son—Huo Zu'an—and the very "culprit" behind today’s fight at kindergarten. Looking at the two identical little faces, my scalp went numb. Even if I jumped into the Yellow River, I would never wash away this stain now. Huo Yunting’s gaze rested on Jiang Zimo, and his expression instantly softened. He crouched down to be at eye level with my son.

"What is your name?" His voice was so gentle it could practically drip honey.

Jiang Zimo, full of character, turned his head away. "Hmph! I call you Daddy!" I stood there, stunned. My son, you truly dealt your mother a fatal blow. Huo Yunting froze for a second, then immediately began to laugh even more happily. He reached out to pat Jiang Zimo’s head. "Good boy." Jiang Zimo: "???" He had not expected the man to be so thick-skinned as to accept it immediately. His little face turned bright red as he pointed at Huo Yunting indignantly.

"You… you have no shame!"

"What is shameful about being a father?" Huo Yunting looked at the boy with feigned innocence. "You were the one who called me Dad."

With that, he pulled a limited-edition Transformer model out of his pocket and waved it in front of Jiang Zimo. "Call me Dad once more, and this is yours."

Jiang Zimo’s eyes lit up instantly. He had been talking about this Transformer for an entire month! Because it was a global limited edition, I had scoured every toy store and could not find it. My heart hammered, sensing a bad omen.

"Jiang Zimo! Don't you dare take it!" I shouted hastily.

But it was too late. I watched as my spineless son looked from the Transformer to Huo Yunting, hesitated for less than three seconds, and then mumbled like a buzzing mosquito: "...Dad." Huo Yunting beamed, shoved the toy into his arms, and conveniently scooped him up.

"That's my boy."

Watching this, I nearly suffered a heart attack. A traitor! The little piece of cotton-padded clothing I had painstakingly raised for five years had been bought off by a single Transformer!

"Huo Yunting! Give my son back!" I lunged forward to reclaim him.

Huo Yunting dodged effortlessly, carrying Jiang Zimo in his arms while conveniently grabbing the hand of his other son, Huo Zu'an, with his free hand.

"Let’s go, Daddy is taking you both out for something delicious."

"Yeah! Feast time!" The two boys cheered in unison.

I watched the back of that warm "family of three" as they walked away, standing there all alone, feeling like a discarded clown. After walking a few paces, Huo Yunting suddenly turned to look at me, his lips curled in a confident, calculated smile. He pulled a black card from his pocket, waving it at me like a trophy, then shoved it directly into my son’s jacket pocket.

"Jiang Shiyu, I forgot to tell you, I just moved into the apartment across from yours yesterday."

"From now on, I will personally cure your illness."

"I have billions in assets; in this lifetime, don't dream of escaping me."

Having said his piece, he led the two little traitors away in style. I stood rooted to the spot, watching his back disappear around the stairwell, trembling with rage. Huo Yunting, you jerk! If I could escape you five years ago, I can do it again! I took a deep breath and pulled out my phone to look for international moving companies. However, when I reached home and saw the brand-new digital lock across the hall and a shoe cabinet identical to mine placed outside, the fire of resistance that had just ignited was instantly extinguished. He was serious. This lunatic… he really had moved in right across from me. I leaned weakly against my door, feeling that my future was as dim as the night. That evening, after bathing Jiang Zimo, I tucked him into bed. The boy was still clutching his Transformer, looking perfectly content. I poked his cheek and asked angrily:

"Jiang Zimo, did you forget something today?"

He blinked his big, round eyes with an innocent look. "Forget what?"

"Did you forget who your mother is!" I gritted my teeth and pinched his nose. "Just because of one Transformer, you surrendered? Do you even remember what your surname is?"

"My name is Jiang," Jiang Zimo replied with gusto. "Mom, that uncle… no, Daddy, is he really my dad?"

My heart clenched. This was a question I had avoided for five years. I had always told him his father was away on business and would return when he grew up. I remained silent for a moment, stroked his hair, and whispered:

"Zimo, tomorrow, Mom is taking you away from this place."