The father and son hadn’t seen each other in nearly a year, so without even a word of greeting when the driver saw me arrive, he just got in the car and drove off.
I suppose Ah Xing must have taken his father’s car to run some errands.
“Here you are. Come on in.”
Rong Junheng cast a glance at Rong Che’s handsome, youthful face, his expression impassive, and tilted his head slightly toward the door behind him.
“Okay.”
Rong Che unconsciously composed himself, suppressing the excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time.
But just as Rong Junheng turned his head, he caught a glimpse of the red mark on his Adam’s apple.
His raised foot hesitated slightly as he stared at Rong Junheng’s tall, imposing figure heading back into the house, his expression grave.
He couldn’t be mistaken—those were fresh bite marks left by a woman.
Suddenly, he remembered the car he had just seen driving away.
Then he saw Rong Junheng, dressed only in a bathrobe, looking extremely casual and carefree.
Maybe he was wrong.
Besides Ah Xing, there must have been a woman in the car whom his father had personally escorted to it.
A shadow fell over his face.
In all these years, he had never seen his father show up with any woman, let alone leave such obvious, suggestive marks on his body.
In the living room, the father and son exchanged their usual pleasantries. After Rong Junheng asked Rong Che about the project he was following up on in Beijing, they fell silent.
“Dad…”
Rong Che hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and spoke,
“I’ll be graduating from college in six months, and I’d like to start learning from you sooner.”
Rong Junheng took a light sip of tea and looked up at him:
“No rush. Stay in Rongcheng for now—that’s where the Rong family’s roots are. Once you’re able to handle things on your own at the company and pass my evaluation, it won’t be too late for you to join me.”
“……”
Rong Che felt a pang of unease.
This is the second time I’ve been rejected.
When he first started college, he had asked but his father had asked him to work his way up from the bottom at the company during his vacations.
He did as he was told, and he did a great job.
The Rong family, a prestigious clan with a century-long history, is undoubtedly the most prominent in Rongcheng—but it still pales in comparison to his father’s influence and power in Hong Kong and even around the world.
And that was just the tip of the iceberg—what he could see on the surface.
Rong Junheng’s deep gaze swept over the other man’s somber expression; after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked:
“I heard you have a girlfriend?”
Last night, while having drinks with a close friend, he was teased about becoming a grandfather soon—that’s when he found out about it.
Rong Che’s heart skipped a beat. After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded: “Yeah, we’ve been dating for a year.”
Although he didn’t know how his father found out, he hadn’t intended to keep it a secret from his family.
“Are you serious?”
Rong Junheng set down his teacup, elegantly crossed his long legs, and spoke in a deep voice tinged with a hint of authority, “Is this still just a game?”
At the thought of Ruan Zhi, a hint of tenderness softened Rong Che’s sharp features. He looked Rong Junheng straight in the eye and said firmly:
“Dad, I’m serious about Ruan Ruan. She’s a junior now, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, I’d like to get married after she graduates.”
He instinctively assumed that Rong Junheng had asked these questions because he had already looked into Ruan Zhi.
Rong Junheng furrowed his brow slightly, and a hint of sharpness flashed in his narrowed eyes.
Rong Che gradually grew anxious, and his back straightened without him realizing it.
A dozen or so seconds later, Rong Junheng lowered his gaze. “As you wish.”
Rong Che’s tense nerves instantly relaxed, but strangely enough, he didn’t feel as happy as he’d expected.
He still thought that…
My father would object.
After Rong Che left, the living room was silent for a few seconds before a ringtone sounded.
Rong Junheng glanced at his phone and answered it.
“Mr Rong, this little girl is really sharp.”
On the other end of the line, Ah Xing let out a couple of “tsks.”
“Did you get her there?”
Rong Junheng leaned back against the sofa, casually resting his long arms on the backrest.
“No, I dropped her off at the bus stop at the foot of the mountain. The little sister insisted on getting off, so I let her. But don’t worry—I made sure she got on the bus before I left.”
After saying that, Ah Xing seemed to think of something,
“By the way, Mr Rong, I have some bad news to tell you. You asked me to give her a business card and ointment to her, but I saw with my own eyes that she threw them into a trash can by the roadside.”
Mr Rong’s private number is something that outsiders, no matter how hard they try to pull strings, simply cannot obtain—except for his family and a few close subordinates.
Not to mention that he took the initiative to make a move on a woman.
Something that so many women around the world can’t even dream of having is so despised by this little girl.
The corners of his mouth turned up, betraying his schadenfreude.
“Are you asking for a beating?”
Rong Junheng narrowed his dark eyes slightly, his expression turning cold. “Get back here, and I’ll give you a good thrashing.”
Ah Xing knew he was annoyed, so he pretended not to understand, laughed twice, and was about to hang up—but Rong Junheng called out to him:
“Wait, go check who Xiao Che is dating.”
Ah Xing suppressed a smile. “Got it.”
After hanging up, the room fell silent, but Rong Junheng suddenly felt a wave of irritation wash over him.
He tossed his phone onto the sofa beside him, and the image of a fair, delicate little face suddenly flashed through his mind, making him feel even more restless.
Hmph, what an ungrateful little girl.
*
Ruan Zhi got off the bus near Fuzhou University and entered the old apartment building where Song Ran was renting a place.
She had originally planned to go to the school dorm, but when she suddenly received a reply from Song Ran while on the bus, she changed her route at the last minute.
Song Ran lived on the sixth floor. The hallway was narrow and dim, and the motion-sensor lights weren’t very reliable, so she walked cautiously, using her cell phone as a flashlight.
When she stood at the door of Song Ran’s place, she was breathing a little heavily; her legs were still sore.
She rang the doorbell, and the moment Song Ran opened the door, she couldn’t hide her surprise:
“Senior…”
Her hair was a mess, her eyes were red and puffy, her makeup was smeared all over her face, and she was still wearing the same clothes from last night. The room behind her was in shambles, and the acrid smell of cigarette smoke mixed with alcohol stung her nose.
“Come in and we’ll talk.”
Song Ran opened the door, her voice hoarse.