Indeed, this was the first time Rong Ning had ever asked so seriously about Jiang Mohan’s family background, and it was also the first time the man had answered him with such genuine seriousness.
Previously, he only knew that Jiang Mohan’s uncles were always relying on favor to act arrogantly and bully others, even cutting off Jiang Mohan’s cash flow. He had never expected that Jiang Mohan didn’t even have a single reliable person in his entire family to lean on.
Rong Ning felt his spirits sink. He slumped over the table in silence, his fingertips idly playing with the chopsticks in front of him.
Yet what did all of that have to do with whether someone liked you or not?
And what was this talk about the Jiang family being complicated? Did it have any connection to him at all?
Loving someone was an inner emotional state; why use external factors as an excuse to brush him off?
Right now, he felt like he was the one who deserved pity more. He no longer wanted to feel sorry for the damn man sitting opposite him.
Not liking him, yet kissing him anyway, and kissing him so well that his first kiss had been stolen, was so infuriating!
“What are you thinking about?” Jiang Mohan tapped him lightly on the forehead. “Is there anything else you want to ask?”
Rong Ning sat up straight, rubbed the spot where he had just been tapped, and shook his head slowly. “No.”
“You talk so much today, and you’re even starting conversations on your own.” He glanced at Jiang Mohan. Clearly, he should have been worrying about the false accusation, yet the man looked relaxed and at ease, talking much more than usual.
“From now on, whatever you want to know, I will tell you truthfully.”
“Really?!” Rong Ning suddenly raised his eyes, a look of joyful surprise creeping across the edges of his brows, before his face immediately fell. “Never mind.”
He didn’t dare ask, and even less wanted to ask.
What was the point of getting an unwanted answer and suffering the heartache of unrequited love all over again?
He had worked so hard just to walk away from that feeling.
“Why never mind?” Jiang Mohan pressed on.
“It’s nothing, I just haven’t figured it out yet.” Rong Ning hurriedly brushed the matter aside, grabbed his chopsticks, and prepared to eat. “The food is here, let’s eat.”
Barely a few bites in, the phone at the corner of the table buzzed. Seeing from the notification bar that it was a message from Rong Chuquan, Rong Ning couldn’t be bothered to check it.
As a result, his phone didn’t stop for the next minute, buzzing with continuous notification alerts while the table vibrated right along with it.
“Take a look. It looks like something important,” Jiang Mohan glanced at his phone. The messages were coming in a bit too frequently.
Only then did Rong Ning reluctantly unlock WeChat, only to find that Rong Chuquan had actually sent over a dozen images.
“What on earth is he playing at? He’s sick!” Rong Ning lazily swiped across the screen, his brow furrowed as he muttered an oath.
Even as he cursed inwardly, his finger tapped on one of the images, enlarging it. The sensitive words printed across it instantly made Rong Ning’s throat go dry.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Mohan paused with his chopsticks, spotting a clue in Rong Ning’s subtle facial changes, and couldn’t help feeling concerned.
“Oh, well, these are pictures sent by Rong Chuquan.” Rong Ning turned off his screen, his gaze shifting over to Jiang Mohan. “Dad mentioned wanting to catch up on my work progress a few days ago. Once I finish up these next few days, shall we go back together?”
Work was nothing more than an excuse.
Seeing Rong Chuquan’s messages reminded him that because he had been in a bad mood, he hadn’t even gone home for his birthday. If he didn’t go back now, his family would start getting upset. He needed to find someone to act as a shield so he wouldn’t be bombarded with endless questions.
Jiang Mohan was the undisputed top choice.
“Sure!” His eyes filled with warmth, and he agreed readily. “Eat up, I’ll drop you back at your apartment later.”
“Oh.” Rong Ning obediently lowered his head to eat.
Wait, they weren’t going back to the apartment together? What was with him using the word drop?
Rong Ning didn’t ask any further questions and went back to filling his stomach.
After dinner, Rong Ning rode in Jiang Mohan’s car back home.
The elevator doors opened, and the two stepped out together. However, Jiang Mohan didn’t head straight into his own home; instead, he followed closely behind Rong Ning.
As Rong Ning lowered his head to punch in his apartment’s passcode, having barely entered the first two digits, he felt a hungry gaze burning into his back.
He glanced sideways to catch Jiang Mohan staring intently, like a fierce wolf spying on a fine meal, practically ready to press his face against the door just to steal the code.
Rong Ning frowned in dissatisfaction. “What are you doing? Why are you staring at me entering my password for no reason?”
Jiang Mohan straightened up, the corners of his lips curving upward. “Didn’t I say I was going to drop you home? We aren’t home yet.” He stared at him with keen interest, his tone thoroughly justified.
Rong Ning massaged his temples, feeling like crying without tears. So that drop meant a literal drop off at the front door.
“Thanks, President Jiang, consider the delivery completed.” Rong Ning forced an awkward laugh, gesturing politely toward the door. “Can you go back to your own place now, please?”
“No, I’m a man of my word.” Jiang Mohan’s tone dropped a fraction deeper, as if failing to see him safely to his door was a matter of unfinished business.
He could still talk utter nonsense with a straight face at a time like this. Rong Ning truly admired him, and in the end, he had to compromise. “Fine, turn around while I put in the code.”
“Alright.”
He was surprisingly obedient this time without coming up with an excuse, turning his back entirely so there was zero chance of him seeing the passcode.
Beep beep beep beep. After the four digits were entered, the sound of a successful unlock followed.
Rong Ning pulled the door open, turned his head, and spoke to Jiang Mohan with lukewarm indifference. “We’re really home now. It’s too late and inconvenient, so I won’t invite you inside.”
“Okay.” Jiang Mohan’s eyes curved into gentle crescents as he gave a wave. “Good night, A’ning.”
Two days later, the plagiarism crisis at Lingyue Technology was successfully resolved. Because the incident had delayed the research and development process for the new technology, the trial run had to be postponed.
Still, good things were worth the wait. Rong Ning remained quite confident, simply waiting for Lingyue to astonish everyone.
Yet, once the crisis was resolved, he suddenly didn’t feel like going to work anymore.
This time it wasn’t out of anger, but rather fear of running into Jiang Mohan.
Ever since he had been forcefully kissed by the man, the more Rong Ning replayed it in his mind, the more he felt that Jiang Mohan was exceptionally skilled at kissing. He was great at it, leaving a lingering, unsatisfied feeling behind.
Because of this, whenever he saw Jiang Mohan at the company, he couldn’t help staring at his soft lips, his prominent Adam’s apple, the tiny hint of skin exposed at his collar, and then his imagination would run entirely wild without any restraint.
He was practically on the verge of having a physical reaction just from looking.
How sinful…
When the weekend rolled around for their visit to the old family residence, Rong Ning outright refused to share a car with him.
“A’ning!” Just as he stepped into the courtyard, Jiang Mohan grabbed Rong Ning’s arm, his eyes filled with a grievance. “Why are you dodging me again?”
Their relationship had only just eased up. While things weren’t quite like they used to be, at least they were no longer greeting each other with sour faces.
Jiang Mohan couldn’t quite figure out how he had managed to offend him this time.
Rong Ning scratched the back of his head and offered an embarrassed smile. “No, President Jiang is overthinking it.”
If he couldn’t have him, and didn’t hide from him either, wasn’t he just asking to suffer?
“And you weren’t calling me Brother anymore.” Jiang Mohan’s voice turned low and hoarse, carrying a trace of melancholy.
“Huh?” Rong Ning processed this for a moment. Indeed, he hadn’t called him that lately. A clever spark flashed in his eyes as he gave a tactical, light cough. “Brother is too easy to misunderstand. Calling you President Jiang or Uncle is much more polite.”
Rong Ning intentionally raised his eyebrows, his gaze filled with a bit of provocation and mischief. “Am I right, President Jiang?” With that, he turned on his heel and bolted.
The very second he stepped foot inside the living room, Rong Ning immediately wiped away his playful expression, turning instantly docile.
Walking up to Rong Qian, he bowed respectfully. “Dad, I’m back.” Then, glancing at Jiang Mohan trailing right beside him, he added, “Uncle came along too. He wanted to talk to you about work.”
Rong Qian smiled and nodded, looking Jiang Mohan up and down. “You look even more handsome after a few months apart.”
Jiang Mohan smiled politely. “I look the same as always, just trying out a new clothing style.” Yet the corner of his eye kept tabs on Rong Ning’s reaction.
Rong Ning slanted his eyes, giving Jiang Mohan a quiet, thorough once-over as the inquisitive glint in his gaze grew stronger.
No wonder he had felt something was off the moment they walked in. Looking closely now, Jiang Mohan was actually wearing a casual outfit. While it wasn’t in the oversized style Rong Ning usually wore, the overall look was fresh and refined, the textbook definition of someone who looked slim in clothes yet possessed a solid physique underneath.
His hair had also been changed from the standard domineering-CEO hairstyle, with a few loose strands falling softly across his forehead, giving off an immense youthful vibe.
“Hahaha…” Rong Qian let out a hearty laugh and continued his praise. “He has proper features, looks good in anything.”
Jiang Mohan showed no false modesty whatsoever. A shallow curve graced the corners of his lips as he gave a slight nod. “Thank you, President Rong.”
“Sit down and drink some tea.” Rong Qian gestured, pushing the freshly brewed tea from the tea table toward Jiang Mohan and Rong Ning sitting opposite him before speaking slowly. “How is Xiao Ning doing at the company? He hasn’t been causing you any trouble, has he?”
“A’ning…” Jiang Mohan glanced sideways at Rong Ning, then looked back straight ahead, his gaze firm and serious. “He has a very strong learning capability, and he’s never stopped coming to work rain or shine. He hardly ever takes leave, and he even fights to take on the dirty and exhausting work. He’s fantastic.”
He rattled off a long string of compliments, every single one praising Rong Ning.
Rong Ning had just taken a sip of tea. Hearing Jiang Mohan’s words, he nearly choked to death.
Turning his face away, he coughed violently several times before guiltily burying his head, his toes awkwardly curling inside his shoes as terminal second-hand embarrassment threatened to consume him.
He had brought him along to act as a cover, not to lay on the exaggerated praise! It was way too fake; there was no way his dad would ever believe it!
“Besides, the company’s new technology is about to enter its trial run, and A’ning made the biggest contribution.”
Rong Ning gripped his own thighs tightly, cursing Jiang Mohan internally, “Damn man, you did this on purpose!”