Madam, Please Behave-Chapter 233: Affection

What does it feel like when a man’s career starts taking off?

In his past life, Liu Changqing might not have understood, but in this life, he finally realized why people often say:

"Men change when they get rich."

Of course, that only applied to ordinary men—not him.

Being invited out for dinners and drinks was one thing, but when his business partner led him into a dimly lit private room, everything changed.

Liu Changqing’s expression turned strange.

The man hosting him noticed this and assumed he wasn’t satisfied. In a hurry, he called for another group of people to come in. But from start to finish, Liu Changqing’s expression barely shifted.

At one point, the man even began to doubt Liu Changqing’s preferences.

After all, in all the business deals he had done, wasn’t it common for men Liu Changqing’s age to enjoy this kind of setting?

Why did he sit there the whole time looking like he had just swallowed something disgusting?

Even after the gathering ended, the man couldn’t figure it out. This was a perfect process—what had gone wrong?

Of course, he had no idea what Liu Changqing was thinking. And so, with a defeated look, he returned home, still utterly confused.

He simply didn’t understand that Liu Changqing’s aesthetic standards were ahead of his time—far ahead of this era.

After parting ways, the first thing Liu Changqing did was rush to a nearby pharmacy. He bought a bottle of eye drops, tore open the packaging as soon as he stepped out, and squeezed a few drops into his eyes.

Not for any medical reason—just to cleanse his vision.

Because what he had just witnessed was beyond words.

Apparently, the beauty standards of this era included:

— Pin-straight, slightly frizzy hair dyed in cheap, unnatural colors.

— Thin, overly shaped eyebrows.

— Strange, exaggerated makeup.

— Lipstick shades that could only be described as… questionable.

If someone had the right features, maybe they could pull it off.

But not one of the women he had just seen could.

In three simple words:

Painfully ugly.

Flagging down a taxi, Liu Changqing gave his home address, then leaned back and closed his eyes to rest.

From now on, if situations like this came up again, he’d just let Old Feng handle it.

After all, a man who was already taken shouldn’t be hanging around places like that too often.

When he arrived home, Liu Changqing pulled out some cash from his wallet, along with a few coins from his pocket, and handed the exact fare to the driver.

Then, he staggered toward his house.

Upstairs, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Despite drinking, he hadn’t had much, so his mind was still clear.

After changing into indoor slippers, he walked into the living room—only to find it empty.

That was odd. At this hour, his daughter should have been home already—Feng Qian was supposed to have brought her back.

Usually, after school, his daughter would immediately park herself on the sofa to watch TV.

Pausing for a moment, Liu Changqing thought of something and headed toward his bedroom.

Sure enough, both of them were there.

An Yuanyao, her injured left foot resting off the ground, was holding what looked like a children’s storybook. His daughter was sitting beside her, listening attentively.

Both of them looked up as he walked in.

The moment An Yuanyao noticed the slight flush on Liu Changqing’s face, she instinctively moved to stand up.

But before she could, his voice stopped her.

“Don’t move. Your foot can’t touch the ground.”

She froze in place, sitting at the edge of the bed, supporting herself with both hands, her right foot on the floor while her injured left foot remained elevated.

For a moment, it was as if time had paused.

Liu Changqing walked over and looked down at her from above. He let out a deep breath before reaching out and ruffling his daughter’s hair.

“Did you do your homework?”

“I— I’ll go do it right now!”

Hearing his words, Liu Xiazhi immediately jumped off the bed and rushed out of the room as if escaping, even thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

Liu Changqing knew all too well that she hadn’t done her homework.

His daughter was getting lazier by the day, and he could already tell that if this continued, it wouldn’t be something that could be solved easily.

Even though he came from a more advanced era, Liu Changqing was still clueless about parenting.

His current parenting methods?

They were just imitations of how his own parents had raised him in his past life.

Not exactly mature.

Or perhaps… he hadn’t fully grasped the essence of it yet.

With a sigh, Liu Changqing collapsed onto the bed, looking a little defeated.

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His sigh immediately caught An Yuanyao’s attention.

Her expression shifted, a hint of concern appearing on her face.

“What’s wrong? You seem… troubled today.”

“Parenting,” Liu Changqing muttered, rubbing his face to wake himself up. “Xiazhi doesn’t seem to care much about studying. To be honest… it’s really stressing me out.”

His fatherly worries made him look genuinely troubled.

He turned his head to look at An Yuanyao.

Maybe it was because of the alcohol, but when he suddenly looked at her, he really looked at her.

Her face, filled with concern.

Her slightly furrowed brows.

Her clear, bright eyes—so clear, in fact, that he could see his own reflection in them.

Her smooth, unblemished skin.

Her hair, still only half-curled from the last time she had tried to perm it.

And the more he stared, the stranger his thoughts became.

His mind flashed back to the horrors he had just seen earlier.

Maybe it was because his expression was too weird, but An Yuanyao started to feel uncomfortable under his gaze.

She looked away, avoiding eye contact.

“W-Why are you looking at me like that…?”

Liu Changqing suddenly reached out and grabbed her face.

With both hands.

Gently but firmly, he turned her face back toward him, making sure they were looking directly at each other.

An Yuanyao hadn’t expected this at all.

Caught off guard, her face reddened, and her lips—squeezed together by his hands—pouted slightly.

“W-What are you doing?” she mumbled.

“Let me look at you a little longer… cleanse my eyes…”

Liu Changqing muttered as if talking to himself.

“The ones I saw earlier were too horrifying… I need to erase them from my mind…”

“…What are you even talking about?”

An Yuanyao was completely confused by his words.

She instinctively reached out and pressed her hand against his forehead.

“How much did you drink?”

Then, she held up one finger in front of them.

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“……”

Liu Changqing didn’t answer.

He just stared at her—completely dazed.

The alcohol was starting to kick in.

His head felt light.

His body leaned forward…

And then—

"Smooch~"