“Clap!”
The door was forcefully closed by Rong Ning, leaving Rong Chuquan alone outside.
When Rong Ning was fourteen, ten years after the passing of his first wife, Rong Qian met Chu Qing, who also had a child. The two quickly fell madly in love.
Rong Ning understood how difficult those ten years had been for his father. When Chu Qing privately approached him and expressed the hope that he would go abroad to develop his career, Rong Ning felt a lingering unwillingness, yet he did not refuse.
Whether it was evasion, helplessness, or simply giving them his blessing, leaving was ultimately the best choice.
Yet, that stay lasted four whole years.
And after returning to China at the age of eighteen, he only had Jiang Mohan.
Clutching the amethyst crystal, Rong Ning curled up and squatted behind the door, weeping silently.
A faint, piercing pain at the tip of his heart made it impossible for him to straighten his back.
Before long, the door was knocked on once again.
Who is it this time?
Can’t a person even grieve in peace for a little while?
Supportive of the door, Rong Ning stood up and looked through the peephole to see that the visitor was Qin Yu.
Opening the door, he shot Qin Yu a sideways glance and said with displeasure, “Spit it out if you have something to say!” His tone was lazy and indifferent.
Qin Yu’s gaze first landed on the amethyst crystal before shifting upward to look at Rong Ning. “Young Master, you… you…”
Rong Ning’s small face was pale, his back hunched, and he looked far from well.
“What about me? We only hung out an hour ago. What, was the cake not enough to eat?”
“No, I came to check on you.”
“Check on me?” Rong Ning paused slightly. Did a third person already know about what had just happened between him and Jiang Mohan?
“Who sent you?” Rong Ning narrowed the outer corners of his eyes, looking at Qin Yu with leisure.
“Jiang—” Before he could finish, Qin Yu suddenly realized he had fallen into a trap. He slapped himself across the face and quickly changed his tune, “Bah! I… I wanted to come see you myself.”
Rong Ning let out a breathy laugh, placed the amethyst crystal on the entryway cabinet, crossed his arms over his chest, and asked with keen interest, “What did that old man tell you to come here and do?” His gaze carried a hint of arrogance, and his tone was casual.
Caught in the act, Qin Yu forced an awkward laugh. “He was afraid you’d back yourself into a corner.”
When Jiang Mohan called Qin Yu, he didn’t mention any specifics, only saying that Rong Ning was in a bad mood. However, Qin Yu knew that the only person capable of upsetting the young master was Jiang Mohan.
Rong Ning sneered. “Why didn’t he come himself? If he isn’t willing, could I possibly eat him?”
“Uh… this…”
“Forget it, I don’t want to talk about him anymore…” Rong Ning lowered his eyelashes, and the unpleasant emotions surged back into his heart.
“Young Master.” Qin Yu wanted to guide him through it, but since he had no experience himself, he thought for a moment and changed the subject. “What do you want to do next? I’ll keep you company.”
Since the reality was already like this, why torture oneself?
Rong Ning raised his eyes. His dimmed pupils lit up a fraction, and his tone became a bit lighter. “Since you’re already here, why don’t we go out and have some fun together?”
“Now?”
“Nightlife is just getting started!” With that, Rong Ning grew increasingly excited and turned to change his clothes.
A few minutes later, Rong Ning returned to the entryway wearing a strikingly cool set of casual clothes to change his shoes. Accented by black-framed glasses, his unruly exterior gained a touch of refinement. Overall, he looked vibrant, full of energy, and completely different from his depressed state of moments ago.
At a late-night bar, Rong Ning and Qin Yu played well into the small hours of the morning. Exhausted in the end, they simply fell asleep on the bar’s sofa until dawn.
Actually, this kind of feeling was quite thrilling; moving out wouldn’t make much difference anyway.
To avoid Jiang Mohan, Rong Ning waited until after the morning rush hour to return to his apartment, but as luck would have it, he ran into him in the elevator lobby.
Rong Ning pretended not to see him, lowered his head, and stepped into the elevator.
“A’ning!” Jiang Mohan blocked him, pulling him out of the elevator with a strong tug.
Rong Ning thrashed his arm hard, trying to break free, but failed.
He lost simply because Jiang Mohan was stronger than him.
Drooping his eyelids to hide his obscure gaze, Rong Ning spoke in a tone that was both detached and distant, “President Jiang, could you please have some personal boundaries? Our relationship isn’t close enough to hold hands, is it?”
The hand Jiang Mohan used to hold his forearm loosened slightly, but he didn’t let go.
Rong Ning easily pulled his arm back, hid it behind his back, and cast a sideways glance at Jiang Mohan. “President Jiang is sleeping in today too? Showing up for work this late? Don’t you care about the company? Don’t you need to follow up on the new technology?” His tone was sarcastic and laced with a sour undertone.
“I care. I care about all of it.”
“Then your time is too precious, so I won’t delay President Jiang any longer!” Dropping those words, Rong Ning turned and began to walk away.
“Come back!” Jiang Mohan frowned, his tone an unquestionable command, yet not overly harsh.
Rong Ning’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt. He bit his lower lip, turned his head, and swept his gaze toward him. “Is President Jiang trying to restrict my freedom now?”
“No.”
“Then why are you stopping me?”
“You’re angry.”
Rong Ning let out a scoff, stuffing his hands into his pockets with a casual posture. “Shouldn’t I be angry?”
“Stop being angry…” Jiang Mohan’s tone was somewhat stiff, lacking a bit of its usual dominance, yet it didn’t have its former coaxing nature either, making his emotions impossible to read.
Rong Ning twitched the corner of his mouth, remaining silent.
Was this supposed to be a proper way of coaxing someone?
Then again, it was all just his own wishful thinking.
All the vexation belonged to him alone, and Jiang Mohan had no reason to coax him.
“I think it’s better if we go back to how things were before.” Jiang Mohan’s pupils trembled slightly, his emotions shifting silently while a trace of loneliness hid deep within his eyes.
“Well, I don’t want to.” Rong Ning dismissively waved his hand. “I’m leaving, I’m sleepy.”
He wouldn’t fall for tricks meant for coaxing kids anymore.
Back in his apartment, as Rong Ning was changing his shoes, his gaze inadvertently swept across the amethyst crystal on the entryway table. Next to it was an unopened gift box.
That box hadn’t been there yesterday, it seemed.
Recalling this, Rong Ning carried the box into the living room, sat down on the sofa, and slowly unwrapped it to find a custom wristwatch inside.
He picked it up to inspect it closely, wondering who could have sent it so he could return the favor later. However, on the inside lid of the gift box, he spotted a line of text: A gift I promised you. A’ning, happy birthday!
Upon seeing those words, Rong Ning’s anger flared up instantly, and he silently cursed, “Don’t try to cozy up to me with these things. I’m not forgiving you this time!”
“Go away, go away, go away…” he muttered, shoving the gift box far away, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning back against the sofa, and panting heavily.
A short while later, Rong Ning prepared to pack up Jiang Mohan’s wristwatch along with his other gifts, but he happened to catch sight of the price tag.
1.8 million?
In US dollars?!
A broken watch was worth two amethyst crystals combined.
“Damn it! Jiang Mohan, you did this on purpose, didn’t you? You calculated that once I saw the price, I wouldn’t dare just throw it around?!” Rong Ning bit down on his inner cheek. “Fine, you win!”
Unwillingly, he placed the wristwatch in the most secluded spot of his walk-in closet and locked it up.
Afterward, he changed the password to his apartment.
As he punched in the new password, Rong Ning angrily muttered to himself, “Don’t even think about casually walking into my place ever again!”
For the next period, Rong Ning didn’t go to the company to work, nor did he run into Jiang Mohan again.
That feeling of being annoyed when seeing him, yet missing him when he was gone, was actually quite painful. So, he forced himself to stay busy with no time left for wild thoughts.
By day, he went to practice motorcycle racing, flying across the track like the wind to release himself. At night, he frequented bars, indulging himself wildly amidst the neon lights until he was completely exhausted, then heading home to crash headfirst into bed.
With this routine continuing for several days, Rong Ning’s energy clearly couldn’t keep up, and his state of mind while riding frequently slipped.
In motorcycle racing, a lack of concentration was a major taboo, and he had no desire to throw his life away.
On this day, after completing his final lap, Rong Ning prepared to pack up his bike and go back to rest. Just as he stepped out of the training area, he saw Han Yi walking toward him with a wide smile.
Too lazy to deal with him, Rong Ning wanted to loop back onto the track for another run, but it was already too late.
“Nan Xing, leaving already?” Han Yi stepped right in front of Rong Ning, blocking his path.
He had almost run into him the previous two times, but Rong Ning had managed to dodge him. He wanted nothing to do with these people; the more they spoke, the more he would expose himself.
Rong Ning forced an awkward smile before immediately letting his expression turn cold. “Yes.”
“Free tonight? Grab a drink?”
“Sorry, I don’t drink.” Rong Ning refused without a single shred of hesitation.
Han Yi wore a look of utter disbelief. “I really couldn’t tell.”
“Yeah, my family is strict. If I go home too late, my dad will yell at me. I’m leaving.” Even talking nonsense was done with such a straight face.
“Alright, let’s have tea some other time.”
Rong Ning didn’t respond, walking straight ahead with hurried steps.
Han Yi watched Rong Ning’s retreating figure as it gradually faded into the distance, a thought-provoking smile flashing in the depths of his eyes.
After putting away his bike, Rong Ning went straight back to his apartment. While lying on the bed to zone out, he suddenly remembered that this week was the critical period for the new technology’s trial run. Whether it could be successfully launched before the new year depended entirely on this final push.
He frantically scrolled through the company’s updates for the week, but couldn’t find a single entry related to the new technology.
Rong Ning checked his email, browsed through an internal announcement there, and instantly sprang up from the bed.
“What is going on here?!”