Chapter 51#

Side Story 4

When he thought about it carefully, Third Master Ren really was a rather dull person.

After several days of spending time together, Ren Qiri had come to feel this deeply.

As Third Master Ren’s nephew and the current president of the Ren Corporation, this almost legendary figure suddenly returning to Singapore meant that not only could Ren Qiri not sit peacefully in his office, but even his uncles and elders couldn’t stay put either.

Time and again, Ren Qiri had unexpectedly encountered this uncle, with whom he had never been particularly close, at various banquets.

This had been giving Ren Qiri a headache lately.

But not because he was afraid that Third Master Ren’s return would affect the Ren Corporation—rather, he simply had no idea how to get along with this silent, almost cold Third Master Ren.

To put it dramatically, even though they had once lived under the same roof, Ren Qiri and this sickly Third Master had spoken fewer times in a whole year than the old gatekeeper of the Ren family had.

Later, because of the family property disputes—though Ren Qiri himself felt a bit confused about it all—he had unexpectedly taken the position as the head of the Ren Corporation. Then, in a blink of an eye, Third Master Ren went abroad to recuperate, and for two or three years there was no news at all. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for this person showing up at his son’s first birthday banquet, Ren Qiri probably would have forgotten he even had a Third Uncle.

Sigh. Their uncle-nephew relationship was strangely distant. It wasn’t that Ren Qiri held any particular hostility toward Third Master Ren—there were certainly some grudges, but not enough to make him loathe the man to the point of not wanting to see him.

Rather, it was Third Master Ren’s attitude toward his own nephew that was a bit strange.

After all, being a businessman, Third Master Ren did have a sociable side—though calling it “sociable” might have been too generous. With a cold, indescribably handsome face and a faint, ambiguous smile at the corners of his mouth, he looked like a painting. What was a pity was that Third Master Ren’s voice wasn’t very good, especially during those years when his health was poor; he breathed several times as heavily as an ordinary person when speaking. But if anyone thought they could take advantage of him because of that, they would likely end up making fools of themselves later.

Moreover, Third Master Ren didn’t like talkative people. If someone spoke too much in front of him, he would frown, and then nothing could be discussed.

From this perspective, Third Master Ren really was a difficult person to get along with. Despite his amiable appearance and an air of nobility that made people instinctively want to befriend him, being like a celestial being, one had to be careful with every word when talking to him, even breathing softly. After all that trouble, it was enough to shorten one’s lifespan.

Thus, summarizing all the above points, Ren Qiri felt that encountering Third Master Ren on a gambling ship, surrounded by a group of sycophants bowing and scraping, was a rather bizarre scene.

Although Ren Qiri was the president of the Ren Corporation, he was well-known in the industry as a nice guy.

He didn’t smoke much, he handled alcohol well, and best of all, as long as his bottom line wasn’t crossed, he rarely refused anyone.

This time, he had come onto the gambling ship because a relative from a branch family had brought him along. By seniority, this person could be considered a distant cousin of President Ren. This cousin was a fun-loving fellow, not exactly idle and worthless, but close to it. Relying on his slight acquaintance with Ren Qiri, he had forced him to come play for two or three days. So Ren Qiri, half-resisting and half-yielding, was dragged onto the ship and into the casino in the cabin.

For Ren Qiri, it was a place of wine, women, and excitement. The dice and cards spun before his eyes until he was dizzy. He just followed his cousin’s lead and placed bets blindly, treating it as a social obligation.

To be honest, Ren Qiri really wasn’t cut out for socializing. Although his skills in that area had improved over the years, compared to others, when he stood among them, he looked like a fresh college graduate—clean and pure, giving people the illusion of being untouched by the world.

After a few rounds, Ren Qiri had basically lost everything. He waved his hand and kept saying he didn’t want to play anymore, but the older cousin laughed and brought a few seductive ladies over to egg him on. Ren Qiri carefully avoided those scantily clad, passionate women, almost blushing as he yelled, “I have a wife!”

President Ren’s reputation for loving his wife and child and maintaining his integrity was widely known, but there were always those who disliked it. The women, receiving a signal from someone nearby, pressed themselves against President Ren and rubbed against him. In an instant, he lost everything again, and was forced to down a few drinks. His face was slightly flushed, glowing with an unusual redness.

The flirtatious woman on his right suddenly pressed her chest against Ren Qiri, clinging tightly to him, hooking his arm and coquettishly saying, “President, let’s play another round. You can win it back in the next game, right?”

Ren Qiri knew that if he didn’t leave now, trouble would really happen. He wasn’t good with alcohol, so he quickly smiled and waved his hand, planning to go outside to cool off and sober up. Suddenly, he heard several clear voices calling out, “Third Master.”

Before Ren Qiri could react, that indifferent, almost icy face came into view. He froze. Third Master Ren glanced over calmly, though he was now sitting in a wheelchair, dressed in silk and cotton clothes, his complexion looking somewhat unhealthy—like the frail patriarchs of old mansions.

Although the wheelchair Third Master Ren sat in was automatic, someone was still properly pushing it from behind, moving slowly and steadily. His hands were clasped together, resting on his knees, giving off a gentle yet cold and hard aura. The casino lights were a dazzling mix of colors, shining on Third Master Ren, yet creating an almost unreal, hallucinatory illusion.

Ren Qiri couldn’t help but rub his eyes. He wondered if he was already drunk—how could he be seeing his Third Uncle in a place like this?

But when Third Master Ren looked over, Ren Qiri felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Although those eyes were still dark and unreadable, President Ren suddenly felt a sense of guilt, as if he had been caught doing something wrong. He lowered his head and turned away, and Third Master Ren slowly passed by him as if he hadn’t seen him at all.

Ren Qiri suddenly understood what this feeling was—it was exactly like being caught in the act of doing something bad by an elder.

How pathetic.

He had always been a little afraid of this Third Uncle since he was a child. He had heard many people say that Third Master Ren was like a celestial being, but to him, when Third Master Ren sat there without moving, he might as well have been a living corpse—and a well-preserved one at that.

Third Master Ren’s wheelchair stopped at the spot where Ren Qiri had been standing. He scanned the table. Ren Qiri had been playing a double dice game, one of the simpler ones. At the other end of the table sat three other gamblers, all well-known big bosses. When they saw Third Master Ren, a flicker of surprise passed through their eyes, and they nodded at each other.

The stickman and the two dealers nodded. Several people placed their bets, and the stickman first pushed the dice to Third Master Ren.

President Ren suddenly understood then that his Third Uncle wasn’t just a living corpse—he could moonlight as a magician.

Although he didn’t win every round, he won nine out of ten, and in no time, he had won back the total amount Ren Qiri had lost earlier, showing signs of doubling it.

“Third Master, what incredible skill!”

“Ah, Third Master, you haven’t lost your touch. I’ve really lost big this time—you have to drink a few extra cups later.”

Ren Qiri’s tooth suddenly ached, and then he was dragged off by his also-apparently-aching-tooth cousin to drink.

Taking courage from the alcohol, the cousin patted Ren Qiri on the shoulder and said, “Tsk tsk, the way Third Master looked at you earlier was something else.”

Ren Qiri burped and suddenly felt a chill.

The cousin grinned: “I say, President, what are you afraid of? You’re the real winner, after all. That sickly guy, no matter how capable, is now crippled—”

President Ren quickly poured his cousin more wine. For some reason, hearing those words made him feel uneasy.

Later, as they drank on, he didn’t even know how he ended up unconscious.

When Ren Qiri woke up, he was lying on the bed in the VIP room.

His jacket and tie were neatly hung to one side. He rubbed his forehead, which was aching, and staggered to his feet.

Unexpectedly, as he turned around, he came face to face with that visage.

He almost fell back onto the bed.

Breakfast was eaten in the room.

Ren Qiri cautiously looked at Third Master Ren, who was sitting across from him.

He saw the man taking an occasional, listless sip of his congee, looking pale and weak.

Ren Qiri remembered the hand that Third Master Ren had tightly gripped at his son’s first birthday banquet. His mind went blank, and he blurted out, “Th-Third Uncle…”

The man lifted his eyes.

Ren Qiri instantly felt as if he had shrunk a few inches. He stiffly pulled at the corners of his mouth and said, somewhat weakly, “If, if there’s nothing else, you’ve just returned from abroad, and Singapore has developed a lot in these years. I…”

He swallowed hard, feeling an inexplicable tension.

“I, I’ll take you around.”

Third Master Ren didn’t say anything, not even a polite refusal.

Ren Qiri naturally couldn’t find a graceful way out. In the end, he braced himself and actually took his Third Uncle on a tour around Singapore.

And it was only during these few days that he truly realized—Third Master Ren really wasn’t easy to get along with.

Although not as aloof as the rumors suggested, he wasn’t particularly warm either. The uncle and nephew barely exchanged a few words in days, and their relationship was hardly better than before.

In any case, Ren Qiri still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

After a few days of sightseeing, Third Master Ren suddenly fell ill.

It was said that he had caught a chill from the wind.

As soon as Ren Qiri heard about it, he bought some fruit and went to visit him. At the time, Third Master Ren was staying in a villa on the outskirts—a small Western-style house that looked cold and lifeless.

When he arrived, a young man who took care of Third Master Ren’s daily needs opened the door.

The young man looked surprised to see him but greeted him warmly and amiably. However, there was a hint of difficulty in his tone as he said, “Actually, Third Master instructed that he wouldn’t be receiving guests these days, but I think since you’ve come in person, President Ren…”

“I think Third Master would want to see you. With you accompanying him these past few days, his appetite has improved a lot. He even postponed his original plans. This morning, when he woke up, he was still thinking about your appointment.”

Ren Qiri nodded, flattered. The young man added, “Third Master is awake. You can go straight upstairs, President Ren. I’ll wash the fruit and bring it up.”

To be honest, Ren Qiri’s feelings were a bit conflicted.

When he first heard that Third Master Ren had fallen ill, he was genuinely worried, so he had bought a basket of fruit and hurried over. But now that he was here, looking around this house that seemed to exude coldness, he found himself somewhat reluctant to meet face to face.

Third Master Ren’s complexion was as pale as ever, especially when lying in bed—pale to the point of being bluish, making him look not just suffering from a chill, but gravely ill.

The windows in the room were tightly sealed, and the air felt somewhat stifling.

When Third Master Ren saw him, there was a strange look in his eyes, hard to describe.

Ren Qiri suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

Later, when it came to taking medicine and such, Ren Qiri took the initiative to help. After feeding him, he felt that staying cooped up in the room wasn’t good, so he personally pushed Third Master Ren out to the yard for a stroll.

Third Master Ren seemed in good spirits, even giving him a faint smile—at last, a bit of humanity.

After returning, Ren Qiri happily said to the butler, Old He, “Actually, Third Uncle isn’t that hard to get along with.”

It wasn’t until several years later that Ren Qiri deeply understood one thing.

He splashed the wine at the man who towered above him, shouting coldly,

“Ren Xiaoyun, you’re nothing but a bastard—!”

He figured he would remember for the rest of his life—Third Master Ren’s deathly pale face.

In the past, when he looked at it, he felt cold and guilty.

But at that moment, it was oddly satisfying.

Yet no one knew, not even himself—

What exactly was that pain in his chest that felt suffocating, almost drowning him…