The surroundings were quiet, the gentle and refined male voice on the other end of the phone pierced straight into Zhai Yu’s eardrums.
Zhai Yu’s eyes darkened.
Ruan Ning glanced at the bank transfer notification: “I’ve received the money. We’re doing fine. Ziyan went to her grandmother’s house.”
After speaking, she looked at Zhai Yu, walked to the balcony, and closed the door. “If you miss her, you can call. At this hour, Ziyan probably hasn’t left for school yet.”
“Alright.” He Yanxing added, “Take care of yourself.”
Song Ruannin hummed in acknowledgment and hung up.
A conversation lasting less than two minutes sketched out a happy and harmonious family of three.
Song Ruannin returned to the living room, put down her phone, and looked at Zhai Yu: “What you just said…”
“Forget you heard it.” With that, Zhai Yu grabbed his jacket from the sofa and put it on.
Seeing him about to leave, Ruan Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
The man who had reached the door turned back, striding over to grasp Ruan Ning’s shoulders, the corners of his eyes tinged with red.
“Song Ruannin, why did you come looking for me the night before last?”
Ruan Ning lowered her gaze.
Zhai Yu’s voice carried a slight tremor: “Song Ruannin, are you still—”
“You’re the big boss of Yunmeng.” Ruan Ning raised her eyes to meet his gaze.
She continued explaining her reason for going to find him that day: “If something happened to you, Yunmeng would be in trouble. I didn’t want to go, but I was afraid it would affect my income.”
As if oblivious to the man’s expression, she went on, “That night, I was supposed to follow Shen Yi to find you, but I got lost and somehow ended up at your place.”
“That’s the whole story.”
Her gaze was firm, her tone devoid of any emotion.
The grip on her shoulders loosened, and Ruan Ning rubbed her sore arm.
Zhai Yu’s deep eyes remained fixed on hers.
After a long moment, he finally spoke: “Song Ruannin, do you love your husband?”
“Of course I do. If I didn’t love him, why would I have his child? I’m terrified of pain, you know that.” Ruan Ning answered without hesitation.
Zhai Yu paused, as if remembering something.
Song Ruannin was indeed afraid of pain. Back when her wisdom teeth kept getting inflamed, he accompanied her to have them extracted. Even with anesthesia, Ruan Ning was so scared she shed many tears.
Zhai Yu suddenly let out a laugh and nodded: “Alright, I understand. Then I wish you happiness.”
As he reached the door and opened it, Ruan Ning spoke up: “Zhai Yu, I also wish you and Miss Lin happiness.”
The man snorted coldly: “No need.”
Downstairs, sitting in his car, Zhai Yu’s trembling hands lit a cigarette while his other hand rubbed the steering wheel.
Suddenly, he clenched it tightly, his fingertips turning white.
Every drag of smoke he inhaled seemed to scorch his insides.
Did she love that man so much?
Enough to endure the pain of bearing his child.
Zhai Yu exhaled a cloud of smoke and let out a derisive laugh.
He laughed at his 26-year-old self for believing Song Ruannin’s nonsense about loving only him forever.
She had said it more than once, each time with such conviction.
Now she claimed to love someone else.
Zhai Yu gritted his teeth, unable to avoid recalling the events of the past.
In his senior year of college, his biological parents found him and wanted to bring him back to the Zhai family.
He didn’t want to return. What right did a guilty person like him have to enjoy the wealth and luxury meant for his deceased older brother?
So he used studying abroad as an excuse to delay his return home, and Zhai Yufeng and Yu Jiangyuan agreed.
He hadn’t forgotten he still had a girlfriend.
He had never considered not taking responsibility for Song Ruannin.
At the time, Song Ruannin didn’t know about his background, and he didn’t plan to tell her so soon.
But he wanted Song Ruannin to go abroad with him.
This decision was selfish because Song Ruannin’s family was all here.
Yet he still wanted her to leave with him.
So he came up with a despicable idea.
If only Song Ruannin were pregnant.
Three months before going abroad, during their last time together, he didn’t use protection, and Song Ruannin went along with it.
That night, she was as soft as water, as if offering him all her tenderness.
That night, he was unusually affectionate, whispering sweet nothings he had never said before.
The last line of those sweet words was, “Song Ruannin, come with me.”
Unfortunately, she had already fallen asleep and didn’t hear it.
It didn’t matter if she didn’t hear it—he could tell her again once he had taken care of everything.
During that time, he was busy handling matters related to school and home, often not returning to their rented apartment for days.
It was during those few days that Song Sixun had an accident, and Song Ruannin broke up with him.
Song Ruannin said he had no power or money and couldn’t give her what she wanted.
He inwardly mocked her lack of judgment but didn’t take it to heart.
He thought Song Ruannin would come back to him in a couple of days, just like before.
In those two years, Song Ruannin had broken up with him a few times, only to cling to his waist the next day, pouting and saying she had spoken in anger.
He truly believed that time was just another minor incident.
But until the day he left the country, Song Ruannin didn’t send a single message.
He waited at the airport for a long time, but not even a shadow of her appeared.
When he tried calling and messaging, he realized Song Ruannin had blocked him.
He left in a fit of anger but never changed his phone number.
Thinking that at most, Song Ruannin would call in a few days, and he could just return to pick her up.
That wait lasted six years.
He never imagined that when he returned, Song Ruannin would already be married, with a six-year-old daughter.
He secretly came back a few times and only then learned that she had dropped out of school, and no one around her could contact her.
Over those six years, every time he returned, he would visit the small apartment they had rented together, though the owner had changed several times.
But Song Ruannin seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
Did he regret it? Probably.
If she had gotten pregnant during their last time together, that six-year-old daughter named Song Ziyan would have been his.
Didn’t she say she loved him?
Didn’t she say she would love only him for a lifetime?
How could she have had someone else’s child?
Zhai Yu’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, as if he wanted to crush it.
If he had known things would turn out this way, he would have made sure Song Ruannin got pregnant six years ago.
Even if she hadn’t, he would have found countless ways to make her leave with him.
He stepped on the accelerator, and the car sped away.
The lights were dim, and the atmosphere in the dance floor was electric. Young, single men and women swayed closely to the rhythm of the music.
In a private room on the second floor, Zhai Yu was completely drunk, lying in the center of the bar’s VIP area.
Several nightclub hostesses had never seen such a handsome second-generation heir.
This aloof, handsome man had an extraordinary appearance and presence. As soon as he arrived, he ordered the best drinks in the place, and within less than two hours, hundreds of thousands were already displayed on the coffee table.
A woman beside him mustered the courage to lean closer, but Zhai Yu lifted his eyes and gave her a cold glance.
He said one sentence: “Get lost. Stay away from me.”
Several young ladies were frightened by the low pressure surrounding him.
Only one, dressed the most revealingly with a fiery figure, coyly pressed herself against him.
“Handsome, did your girlfriend dump you? Why are you so angry? Do you want us sisters to comfort you a bit?”
Zhai Yu still stared coldly at the big-breasted woman: “Didn’t you hear what I said? Get lost.”
The woman wasn’t annoyed and continued: “Handsome, did you get your heart broken?”
Zhai Yu remained silent.
The woman thought she had guessed right and went on: “It’s just a woman, isn’t it? We have plenty of them here—no shortage of ones you might like. Tell me, what kind do you like?”
Hearing the word “like,” a glint flashed in Zhai Yu’s eyes: “Who said I liked her?”