Henry Mills was being chased all over the house by Old Master He. Despite his age, the old man was impressively spry. Henry Mills worried that if Grandpa twisted his back, he'd never live it down.

“Grandpa, why are you trying to hit me?”

“Tell me what you did tonight. I'll give you one chance to be honest,” Grandpa panted, glaring at him. If Henry Mills didn't fess up, the old man was determined to give him a good thrashing tonight.

“I just went out for dinner with someone.”

“Still not telling the truth!” Grandpa huffed, more furious than ever.

Susan Mills watched from the sidelines, thoroughly enjoying the chaos. Seeing Henry Mills fleeing in circles, she covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Oh dear, what's going on in here? Why all the commotion so late at night?" Mother He heard the racket from her room, and after hearing from the servants that Old Master He was angry with Henry Mills, she rushed in to mediate.

Seeing his mother, Henry Mills looked as if he'd spotted a lifeline. He hurried over to her. "Mom, Grandpa's trying to beat me."

Mother He might have come to smooth things over, but that didn't mean she was on his side. "You know why your grandpa wants to hit you, don't you? Now tell us honestly—what did you do tonight?"

Grandpa had set up a match for him, with the granddaughter of an old comrade no less, and not only did Henry Mills stand her up, he still refused to own up to it.

Henry Mills scratched his head, hesitating. “I don’t want to go on a blind date. I already like someone else.”

Mother He’s face lit up. “Who’s the lucky girl? If you already have someone, why haven’t you brought her home to meet us?”

Hearing that he liked someone, Grandpa’s anger eased a bit, and his urge to wallop the boy faded.

"If you didn't like the girl, you should've said so earlier. Then I wouldn't have had to shamelessly approach the other family about the match," Grandpa sighed, clearly frustrated. "Is it easy for me, arranging your future?"

He looked at Henry Mills, his voice suddenly thick with emotion. "You're not getting any younger. Grandpa Xu next door is already cradling a great-grandchild. Who knows how much time I have left? All I want before I close my eyes is to see you settle down..."

As he spoke, Grandpa lowered his head, his tone choked with feeling.

Henry Mills watched this Oscar-worthy performance, thinking: if Grandpa were in showbiz, he’d be an award-winning actor for sure.

“It’s not that I don’t want to bring her home. It’s just—she isn’t willing to come.” What could he do? He was helpless.

“Not willing? Does she look down on our family or something?” Mother He’s question made Henry Mills nearly laugh out loud.

“No, she just… doesn’t like me.” Henry Mills’s voice was almost a whisper, but in the big living room, everyone heard him loud and clear.

After a long silence, Grandpa let out a cold snort. "Look at you!"

This from the same Old Master He who in his youth was a battlefield hero—now to have a grandson who couldn't even win over a girl? Utterly embarrassing. He didn’t even want to tell his old war buddies; they’d laugh their teeth out.

Mother He sighed, exasperated. “Son, if she doesn’t like you, it means she’s got high standards. You know, a forced melon doesn’t taste sweet.* Why not listen to your grandpa and at least meet Old Master Du’s granddaughter?”

Henry Mills: "..." What did she mean, ‘she’s got good taste for not choosing me’? Was she really his mom?

Unhappy, Henry Mills said, “No! I only like her. Don’t try to talk me out of this. I’ll never marry anyone else in this life.”

Old Master He: "..." What a hopeless fool!

Mother He pleaded, “Why won’t you listen? You just said the girl doesn’t even like you. Isn’t it embarrassing to keep pestering her?”

Henry Mills: "..." He felt like he'd just taken a thousand hits straight to the heart.

He was ready to run away from home—there was no point staying here another minute.

He packed two changes of clothes and, heading for the door, found Susan Mills waiting. She grabbed his arm. "Where are you going, bro?"

Right now, Henry Mills just wanted to see Claire Xu for some comfort. This so-called runaway was really just an excuse; all he wanted was to crash at her place—eat her food, sleep in her bed. The thought made him smile.

"I'm staying at a friend’s for a few days. I’ll come back when Grandpa cools off."

Susan Mills kept blocking him. "Hey, who's this girl you like?"

“I’ll tell you once we’re together," Henry Mills said, hurrying out before she could ask more.

That night, Claire Xu was in her loungewear, video chatting with Lauren Shaw. She’d just heard about Li Qiu’s recent car accident, which surprised her.

"Why isn’t this in the news?" She wondered, since celebrity car accidents usually trend online, but there hadn’t been a peep.

That was probably because another person involved was Bryce Shaw. Almost no one knew the details between Li Qiu and Bryce Shaw, and the Shen family surely stepped in to suppress any rumors. Otherwise, it would’ve been all over the internet.

Lauren Shaw didn’t explain much about Li Qiu. Instead, Claire Xu quietly shared, “Something weird happened to me today at work. Guess who I ran into?” Claire Xu raised her eyebrows expectantly.

It must’ve been Yancy Shaw—though Lauren Shaw hadn’t told her about his true identity yet.

"Shengsheng, you'd better come clean."

Grinning, Lauren Shaw said, “It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, just never found the right time. Dr. Shen really keeps secrets, huh?”

She’d gone to sign a contract at the company and was shocked to discover that the boss was none other than Yancy Shaw. The surprise was equal parts shock and delight.

They were deep in conversation when the doorbell rang.

Claire Xu paid it little mind, but after a pause, it rang again. Who could be visiting so late?

She ended the video call with Lauren Shaw and went to open the door. Of course, it was Henry Mills.

"Why are you here?"

Henry Mills’s cheerful face instantly fell as he heard her greeting. "What do you mean, ‘why am I here’? Am I not allowed to come? Hmph, this shabby little place, as if I’d want to visit."

Claire Xu couldn’t be bothered with his act. Leaning against the doorframe, she eyed him warily. “What are you doing here at this hour? Sure, you carried me back last time when I was drunk, but tonight I treated you to dinner, so we’re even.”

Why was he showing up at her place in the middle of the night, pushing his luck?

Henry Mills ignored her defensive stance, his eyes burning with intensity. “I’ve run away from home. Will you take me in or not?”

What? So running away means she had to let him crash? Was her home a shelter or something?

“Dude, what’s your running away got to do with me?” Claire Xu wondered if he’d been hit on the head—maybe he was just short-circuiting.