On the third floor of the villa atop Zitan Mountain, shrouded in the night.
Rong Junheng had just finished his shower and was wearing nothing but a bath towel around his waist when his “Mother” called.
“Auntie, what’s up?”
Huo Yunchuan tiptoed out of his daughter’s room, and as soon as he heard his son’s deep, detached voice, he couldn’t help but get angry:
“What’s up? What’s up? Can’t I just call you when nothing’s wrong?”
Rong Junheng paused as he dried his hair and gave a resigned smile:
“Sure, but it’s 10 p.m.—I thought you were putting Mingzhu to bed.”
The little girl has been having nightmares lately, and she insists that her third aunt sleep with her.
Huo Yunchuan gave a soft snort and got down to business:
“What do you think about what I told you last time?”
“What’s up?”
Rong Junheng bent over and sat down on the couch, put his phone on speaker and tossed it aside, then looked down to wipe his hair.
“A blind date, you loser.”
Huo Yunchuan knew full well that he hadn’t given it a second thought, so she angrily pushed open the bedroom door and glared at her husband, who was reading in bed.
She walked over and snatched the comic book he was engrossed in, giving him a look that told him to go to bed.
“The old lady calls your dad every day, blaming us for not finding you a wife. She says the Rong family’s lineage isn’t thriving, and if you find a wife and get married, maybe you’ll be able to have children again.”
Huo Yunchuan spoke with a hint of sarcasm: “Since this old lady doesn’t dare to push you herself, she torments the couple by chanting like a monk reciting sutras.”
Rong Junheng casually wiped himself down a few times, tossed the towel aside, picked up his phone, and walked over to the window:
“I thought I’d made my position clear: the Rong family has Xiao Che, and the Huo family has Mingzhu—marriage means nothing to me.”
“How is that meaningless?”
Huo Yunchuan frowned. “Having another woman in the house means someone who cares about you and keeps you warm—someone to keep you company in your old age.”
“So what if you can’t have kids? There are plenty of women these days who don’t want to have children. With your looks and wealth, all I have to do is put the word out, and the line of women wanting to marry you would stretch from Hong Kong all the way to Italy.”
“I don’t care. I’ve already made plans with them: once you get back from Rongcheng after the New Year, you’re going on a blind date. She’s only five years younger than you—the age difference is just right. She’s well-educated, well-mannered, and accomplished in her own right; she’s just about good enough for you.”
Huo Yunchuan’s tone grew firm:
“Stop making excuses, Rong Junheng. It’s been twenty-two years since that happened—it’s time you found a woman.”
“……”
A hint of resignation flitted across Rong Junheng’s face as his dark eyes rested on the courtyard below the window.
A beam of headlights shone in from outside, and the Rolls-Royce slowly pulled up, finally coming to a stop in front of the door.
Before Ah-Xing could open the back door, a petite, pink figure stepped out of the back seat.
“You don’t need to worry about it.”
His dark eyes grew even more profound. “I’ll find it myself.”
Huo Yunchuan froze for a moment; before she could react, the call was disconnected.
She glared at her phone: “You jerk.”
She turned and saw the man on the bed lying with his back to her, wrapped in the blanket. She was so angry she couldn’t help herself; she walked over and yanked the blanket off him:
“Stop sleeping—get up and read to me.”
*
As soon as Ruan Zhi entered the villa, the warm air hit her face; her cheeks, which had been exposed to the wind the whole way, stung a little.
Ah-Xing didn’t come in with her; he said he hadn’t done his job well and didn’t dare face the boss.
The living room was brightly lit, and a middle-aged woman with a warm smile guided her to a seat on the sofa. After pouring her a glass of warm water, she excused herself.
After a few sips of warm water, my stomach felt much better, and my dizzy, numb mind gradually cleared up.
Looking around the spacious living room, the night outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was pitch black; the branches were being blown this way and that by the biting cold wind, and tiny ice crystals could be seen drifting onto the glass.
It was too quiet all around—so quiet that it made her feel inexplicably anxious.
She regretted coming here on a whim.
As Rong Junheng came downstairs, he saw the young girl sitting restlessly with a cup of water in her hands, getting up and sitting down again; her little face, flushed crimson from the heat, was full of frustration.
Even when he was already standing in front of the couch, she didn’t notice him.
He pressed his fist to his lips and cleared his throat:
“Ah-Xing said you wanted to see me?”
A crisp, low-pitched male voice suddenly rang out, startling Ruan Zhi—who had been gazing down, lost in thought—causing her heart to skip a beat as she instinctively looked up.
Unwittingly, I found myself gazing into a pair of dark, mysterious eyes so deep they seemed capable of drawing one’s very soul in.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked away.
Only then did I notice that the man was wearing a navy-blue robe that reached his calves; the belt was loosely tied, and through the slightly open collar, his well-defined, lean muscles were faintly visible.
The light, silky robe perfectly accentuated his tall, straight figure with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
On this quiet night, the man exuded a powerful and suggestive aura of masculinity that seemed to emanate from his very bones.
Her heart was pounding like a drum, and she regretted her impulsiveness even more.
But in the blink of an eye, the man lifted his leg and sat down on the single sofa next to her.
“I came here to ask you something.”
She suddenly stood up, took a deep breath, suppressed her panic, and looked him straight in the eye:
“Why do you keep having Ah Xing follow me around?”
The girl’s jet-black curls fell down on either side of her chest, and the collar of her pink down jacket snugly wrapped around her swan-like neck, making her fair, delicate face appear even more delicate and petite.
Her slightly reddened, almond-shaped eyes were wide open, and she stood ramrod straight, trying to stand her ground against him with a cool, stern demeanor.
“Didn’t you already figure it out?”
Rong Junheng tugged at the hem of his robe, elegantly crossed his long legs, rested his right elbow casually on the armrest, and habitually twirled the ring on his left ring finger with his slender fingers.
Once this was confirmed, seeing his nonchalant demeanor once again, Ruan Zhi felt a surge of inexplicable anger welling up inside her.
“So, you’ve known all along that your son was cheating? Is that why you had asked me to break up with him last time?”
Rong Junheng paused and quietly watched her as she spoke so passionately, silently acknowledging her words.
Ruan Zhi let out a sarcastic chuckle.
“I really must have been blind not to see your good intentions, Uncle.”
She also knew that, no matter what his motives might be, he was under no obligation to tell her the truth.
After all, Rong Che is his own son.
The pain of being betrayed by both Rong Che and Xia Shan cut to the bone, filling him with rage and hatred.
That pent-up emotion, with no outlet to vent it, weighed heavily on her chest, almost suffocating her.
She couldn’t help but direct all her negative emotions toward this man.
“You really are a great dad to Ah-Che—you had Ah-xing take me to find out the truth, but then you were afraid I might do something reckless once I knew it, so you specifically had Ah-xing wait for me and take me home.”
“Since you’re so all-powerful, why didn’t you just make sure I’d never find out the truth?”
“……”
Rong Junheng furrowed his brow slightly; he didn’t like seeing her look so sarcastically mocking.
I especially hate hearing that deeply sarcastic “Uncle” and the constant “Sir.”
He suddenly stood up and moved closer to her:
“Don’t read too much into it—I don’t have any ulterior motives.”
“Rong Che is my son. With something like this happening, it’s the Rong family’s fault for not raising him properly.”
“Both out of compassion and common sense, I should ensure your safety.”
“As compensation, you can ask me for anything you want, and I’ll make it happen for you.”
The two were just a step apart; Ruan Zhi had to look up to meet his gaze.
His sharp, angular features gave him a stern, almost austere appearance, with facial features as perfectly sculpted as a work of art.
Every gesture and movement exudes the air of a person in a position of authority; this aura is even more pronounced when he remains silent.
As he spoke to her at that moment, his gaze was deep and dark, and he remained as secretive as ever.
His deep voice was neither hurried nor slow, exuding a gentleness that seemed out of character for him.
“…What if I said I was going to get back at your son?”
“Will you help me, too?”