Ruan Zhi patiently settled into life at the Ruan family home.
On the one hand, she didn’t want to just sit back and wait for the worst to happen, hoping that Ruan Jiajia would suddenly take pity on her and return the items.
She wanted to take advantage of her stay at the Ruan family’s home to go find the items herself.
On the other hand, she was afraid that Ruan Jiajia might actually throw the items away.
So she was all the more determined to stay and get to the bottom of it.
I had thought Ruan Jiajia would take the opportunity to make things difficult for her, but to my surprise, everything remained calm; she didn’t even step outside her room, and the servants brought her meals right to her room.
Even Auntie Lin Qinglan rarely ran into Ruan Zhi.
Ruan Zhi, on the other hand, was often out and about, trying to find any clues.
Perhaps because word of what happened that day had spread throughout the Ruan household, the servants were all on edge; whenever they spotted Ruan Zhi from a distance, they instinctively stepped aside.
She spent two days quietly making her way around the Ruan family estate, but came up empty-handed.
On the afternoon of the third day, just as Ruan Zhi was about to lose her patience and take the initiative, she received a call from her senior, Song Ran.
“Ruan Ruan, what’s going on with you and your boyfriend? I just got back to Rongcheng today and got a call from him asking about what happened the night the film wrapped. Did you tell him about that?” He seemed pretty angry—he kept pressing me to tell him exactly who was there. I told him the truth, but don’t worry—I didn’t mention that bastard Lin Tao spiked the drinks…”
The more Song Ran thought about it, the more something didn’t feel right, so she hung up and immediately called Ruan Zhi.
After a moment of silence, Ruan Zhi said softly:
“It’s okay, senior. I told him about being drugged, but I didn’t say who did it. He probably wants to figure it out on his own… just to let off some steam.”
“I knew it.”
Song Ran let out a sigh of relief, then asked cautiously, “So, are you two okay?”
“We broke up.”
Ruan Zhi’s lips curled slightly, and she gave a casual, faint smile,
“But that’s not why—it’s because I caught him cheating; I caught him red-handed.”
“Damn!”
Song Ran’s eyes widened. “Are there even any men these days who don’t cheat? They’re all a bunch of scumbags who can’t control their lust—rich or poor, they’re all the same.”
Who wouldn’t agree?
Standing by the window, watching the sky—which had been clear for a few days but had now turned overcast again—Ruan Zhi smiled wryly.
She suddenly fell silent. Song Ran could tell she was feeling upset, so she changed the subject:
“Oh, right—I forgot to congratulate you. I heard from Zhenzhen that the short series you wrote is set to premiere after the New Year. If it’s a hit, you’ll make a nice chunk of change.”
“Really?”
Ruan Zhi was surprised and thrilled. “I thought there was no hope—after all, the script isn’t based on a popular theme.”
“If you’re ‘on fire,’ you’re trending.”
Song Ran raised an eyebrow. “Does this count as ‘unlucky in love, lucky in career’? We should’ve dumped those two jerks ages ago and focused on our careers. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me sick. If it weren’t for that bastard Qin Shou, I’d already be a top-tier star, making it big in the film and TV industry.”
Ruan Zhi was infected by her confident and outgoing spirit and smiled brightly:
“Once my screenplay becomes a hit, you’ll be my go-to leading lady. We’ll break into the film and TV industry together, write screenplays, and I’ll make you the lead actress.”
“It’s a deal.”
Song Ran chuckled. “I’ll be waiting for you, sis.”
The two chatted for a few more minutes, then hung up.
Thinking about what Song Ran had mentioned, Ruan Zhi paced back and forth in her room. After a moment of inner conflict and hesitation, she bit her lip, opened the closet, and pulled a black business card out of her freshly laundered pink down jacket.
The business card, with a gold-embossed background, contains only a name and a cell phone number.
She murmured, “Rong Junheng?”
Junheng, meaning “noble ruler,” is a symbol of privilege and status.
Even his name reflected his status as a man of power.
She took a deep breath, pressed the numbers with her fingertips, and dialed the number.
She was still wondering how to bring it up when she heard the man’s rich, deep voice on the other end of the phone:
“Who is this?”
Those two words, spoken with utter indifference, made Ruan Zhi’s heart skip a beat, and she began to regret making the call.
“…It’s me, Ruan Zhi.”
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, followed by some rustling sounds, before the man’s voice came through:
“In trouble?”
“It’s not really a bother.”
Ruan Zhi licked her parched lips. “I just wanted to let you know that Rong Che is probably investigating the incident that night when I was drugged, and I’m worried…”
Rong Junheng stood tall and slender in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, dressed in a black shirt and black pants, with one hand in his pocket.
He could easily tell what the girl meant, even though she hadn’t finished her sentence.
“Are you worried he’ll find out that I was the man who slept with you that night?”
“……”
The man’s bluntness caught her off guard, and Ruan Zhi’s ears were burning.
After all, he and Rong Che are father and son; even though I’ve broken up with Rong Che, that doesn’t change the fact that we were once a couple.
If people find out that you had a relationship with your ex-boyfriend’s father, it’s bound to spark a lot of gossip and be labeled a scandal.
It doesn’t do either of them any good.
Especially since she still has a year and a half left before she graduates from college, and she doesn’t want this to affect her studies.
But judging by the man’s tone…
“Aren’t you worried? What if he finds out? Have you thought about how you’d face him?”
“That’s not something I should be worrying about.”
Rong Junheng raised the ends of his thick eyebrows slightly. “He’s the one who needs to face this; he must accept this reality.”
“……” Ruan Zhi was momentarily at a loss for words.
A leader who has weathered many storms is indeed fearless; it is she who is too timid.
The girl’s flushed face and anxious expression seemed to be reflected in the floor-to-ceiling window.
A faint glint flashed in Rong Junheng’s deep eyes, and his tone softened slightly without his realizing it:
“Don’t worry—the hotel surveillance footage has already been deleted. As long as you don’t say anything, he won’t find out.”
“I definitely won’t tell.”
Ruan Zhi clutched her chest and let out a long sigh,
“Mr. Rong, you’d better be careful not to let anything slip.”
This man’s thoughts were hard to fathom, and he had no qualms about speaking his mind, so she had no choice but to remind him.
Faced with her threat, which held not the slightest hint of intimidation, Rong Junheng’s brow relaxed, and the corners of his lips turned up slightly.
Seeing that he had hung up the phone, the bodyguard in black who had been waiting nearby stepped forward and reported in a low voice:
“Mr Rong, this morning Young Master Che took Xia Shan to the hospital to have an abortion, but she ran away.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Rong Junheng replied calmly, without a trace of emotion, “Keep following her. Let Xiao Che handle the rest on his own.”
He wanted to see how Rong Che would ultimately handle this mess.
“Understood.” The bodyguard bowed and withdrew.
The living room was silent. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Rong Junheng’s deep gaze fell upon the red plum tree in the courtyard.
It was as if I could see that day again—snowflakes swirling through the air, and the girl with her delicate little face, reddened by the cold, looking up with a radiant smile.
“Uncle…”
Even the crisp, playful cries still echo clearly in my ears.
“Hmph.”
A sigh of resigned self-mockery escaped through his nose. He turned and sat back down on the couch, lit a slender cigarette, and clamped it between his lips. He casually draped one arm over the back of the couch and spread his long legs wide, exuding a lazy, carefree air.
Amid the swirling smoke, his chiseled face bore slightly furrowed, thick brows, and his jet-black eyes were veiled in a haze, their expression inscrutable.
“Wow, Auntie Song, I’ll bet you the boss is definitely thinking about the girl—as if he’s going through puberty.”
At the entrance to the living room, Ah Xing, with nothing better to do, was leaning against the wall, craning his neck to glance at the sofa. He was peeling a head of cabbage in one hand, and the floor at his feet was littered with cabbage leaves.
“I bet if you say one more word, Mr Rong will send you right back to Hong Kong, and Xiao Si will take your place as his number one bodyguard.”
Aunt Song snatched the mangled head of cabbage from his hands, clearly exasperated.
Ah-Xing felt his hand go empty; his expression grew serious, and he sat up straight:
“Xiao Si isn’t even in the same league—is he as skilled as me? Is he as quick with a gun as me? Is he as sharp as me? Can he suck up to people as well as I can?”
Life in Rongcheng was far too peaceful; he missed the thrilling days of “brawling and fighting” in Hong Kong, but wherever Rong Sheng was, that’s where he would be.
Ah-Xing made Aunt Song laugh in exasperation.
I’ve never met anyone more self-absorbed than him.
“Ah-Xing.”
Rong Junheng’s cold, stern voice suddenly rang out, “Go get the car. I have an appointment with Murong Yanqing.”
“Okay.”
As soon as Ah-Xing heard this, he ran out to get his car, excited as if he’d been injected with adrenaline.