Chapter 46#

A long time passed.

There wasn’t a single sound in the room; even the sound of breathing had to be carefully captured.

The heavy atmosphere, nearly condensing into substance, almost suffocated Xiao Wu. Standing to one side, he neither dared to leave nor knew if he should stay. He always felt that their boss definitely wouldn’t want anyone to see him like this now, yet he didn’t even dare to make a sound, not even dare to move.

Qiao Nanqi kept his head lowered.

Before him lay Zhao Rong’s report cards from before age nineteen that could be found from the past years. They were numbers that even Qiao Nanqi, who had long forgotten his student days, could tell were excellent at a glance.

There were also the awards, one by one, written on the paper.

On one photocopied document, a young man’s ID photo was pasted in the top right corner. Even with only black and white colors, it still couldn’t hide the beauty of the smile on that clean face.

Vibrant, pure.

That was the Zhao Rong he should have been able to see again all these years, but because he had shielded his eyes and given up on listening, he never saw him again.

He had once said the words “useless person” to Zhao Rong’s face.

He had also indifferently brushed past the low opinions others had of Zhao Rong countless times in the past: “good-for-nothing,” “useless,” “playboy,” “unambitious”…

But this contempt was merely the compromise of an unsupported illegitimate son, recognized by the Chen family halfway through his life, in order to preserve himself.

Every word and sentence was Zhao Rong’s pain.

Yet he not only failed to protect the person behind him and failed to excise this pain, but instead, like Chen Senior, Chen Junior, and those people, he coldly poured salt water onto this wound.

If he had discovered it earlier, or understood sooner, he could have protected Zhao Rong five or six years ago, letting Zhao Rong shine without ever stopping.

Like the young man preserved in this photo.

Bright as a sword unsheathed, gentle as a sharp blade cutting through water.

Qiao Nanqi felt his eyes grow somewhat moist.

He should have long been accustomed to hiding all emotions in front of others.

Since Qiao Anqing left, the nightmares, startles, and irritability that he initially couldn’t control at all had gradually been adjusted back. Even when there were moments of losing control, he could hide them very well.

He had long had experience with this.

But now, knowing Xiao Wu was watching by his side, he didn’t even have the energy to wave his hand and tell Xiao Wu to go out first.

Outside the window, a bird broke through the sky, flashing past with a brief cry.

Floating clouds looked down upon the clamor in the vast expanse, yet silently passed through an unknown amount of time amidst their gathering and dispersing.

He once thought every insignificant moment in his past life, when pieced together, was actually enough to pierce his heart with ten thousand arrows.

He stayed calm for a good while before saying to Xiao Wu: “You go back first.”

Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief but said: “There’s one more thing…”

“Speak.”

“There’s a business gala tonight. It’s in a direction we’re not very involved in, so you received the invitation before but didn’t plan to go,” Xiao Wu moved the invitation out from under the pile of materials related to Zhao Rong. “But I’ve been checking for news related to Mr. Zhao these past few days, and up until now, I’ve heard that he’ll also be going…”

Qiao Nanqi glanced at the invitation.

His voice had already become hoarse: “I understand. Help me prepare. I’ll look at these first.”

Only then did Xiao Wu leave, as if granted a general amnesty.

Stars dotted the sky.

Classical piano music interspersed with violin sounds rang out, echoing melodiously in the spacious gala venue.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, subtle conversations blended into the music.

The scene of this business gala wasn’t decorated very luxuriously, yet even the wine glasses placed in the corners and the smooth embossing on the edges of the carpet revealed impeccable refinement.

Low-profile yet ostentatious.

Zhao Rong stood below the performance stage, holding a wine glass filled with fragrant orange juice.

It was rare for him to wear such a formal suit. The ink-black suit made him look increasingly noble, possessing an air of elegance within his nobility.

He watched the performer on stage, taking occasional sips of orange juice and quietly listening to the person beside him say: “…Once I’ve settled the work here in Yang City, I’ll find someone to discuss the investment issue with Mr. Zhao in detail.”

The speaker was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, half a head taller than Zhao Rong, likely around the same height as Qiao Nanqi. His facial features were quite sharp, his eye sockets deep, and his pair of sword-like eyebrows were extremely keen; it wasn’t hard to see some Western mixed-blood features.

This person wasn’t from Yang City; he just wanted to do some projects in Yang City. Although Ruan Cheng’s roots weren’t in Yang City, in terms of family background, he was no worse than people like Qiao Nanqi or Xia Yuantu.

Zhao Rong had met Ruan Cheng through Liu Shun’s parents.

Over the past half month, he had talked with Fang Zhuoqun, thinking that since Qiao Nanqi likely wouldn’t move against him now and Chen Senior and Chen Junior wouldn’t be getting out, he might as well act more freely.

Why not make up for the freedom and spontaneity he had missed in the past?

He had always wanted to be a person who followed his heart.

He wanted to use his money to establish a firm foothold in Zhuxi and make some investments in the direction of entertainment industry development. Once he made up his mind, he started doing it. It just so happened that Liu Shun’s family was in that field of commercial development, so he naturally wouldn’t waste the opportunity. Through Liu Shun’s introduction, he talked with Liu Shun’s parents.

However, Liu Shun’s family had no knowledge of the Zhuxi area. They could only give Zhao Rong some experience in this area and recommended Ruan Cheng, who had been in Yang City these past few days discussing projects, to Zhao Rong. Ruan Cheng’s home was near Zhuxi, and it just happened to align with the direction Zhao Rong wanted to develop. With Liu Shun’s parents as intermediaries, the two made an appointment to meet at this gala.

Zhao Rong had originally thought that for this first talk, he would more or less meet with rejection. He was even prepared for a long-drawn-out struggle.

Yet to his surprise, they hit it off immediately.

“Mr. Ruan trusts me this much?” Zhao Rong smiled. “I’m actually investing in these things for the first time. I lack experience, and my ideas are simple. Aside from having some money, I don’t have many other advantages. And…”

He scanned the surroundings with his eyes, catching several people glancing this way at first sight.

“Even my appearance here is incomprehensible to many people. Mr. Ruan must have heard about my reputation during his two days in Yang City.”

Ruan Cheng swirled the wine in his glass and said slowly: “It’s precisely because I’ve heard it.”

Zhao Rong was stunned.

“I believe that someone who can retreat unscathed after such a big storm in his family, and even has the capital to come to me to talk about investment, is a partner worth developing.”

“Even if Mr. Zhao isn’t mature enough now, a person with a long-term vision looks at the future.”

“Most importantly, I find that Mr. Zhao seems to lack confidence,” Ruan Cheng looked at Zhao Rong with an appraising gaze. “When you were talking to me just now, I didn’t see where you were ’lacking experience’ or had ‘simple ideas’.”

With a movement of his wrist, Zhao Rong tilted the rim of his glass. “Thank you.”

Ruan Cheng clinked glasses with him.

The man took another sip of wine and suddenly leaned forward, whispering: “…Mr. Zhao seems to be the same kind of person as me.”

He leaned in so close that Zhao Rong even felt the hot breath emitted as the man spoke.

Zhao Rong hurried to take a step back. As the wine glass in his hand swayed, he almost spilled the orange juice onto his own shirt.

He frowned and hadn’t said anything yet when Ruan Cheng laughed a few times: “Don’t worry, I won’t do something one-sided. You’re not interested in me.”

Zhao Rong’s face turned slightly cold as he spoke in a low voice: “I don’t like such jokes.”

Perhaps because he had spoken too gently before, this sudden coldness made Ruan Cheng freeze for a moment. He stepped back properly and smiled: “Fine, my fault. I apologize.”

“I have other people to see. I’ll take my leave first,” Ruan Cheng retracted his previous expression. “See you next time.”

At this time, a piece of classical music had already ended. After a moment of silence, a new piece began.

Zhao Rong stayed in place alone, looking at the stage. His gaze paused—the violinist had actually been replaced by someone he was familiar with.

Lu Xingping was in a light-blue formal shirt. He lowered his head slightly, holding the violin in one hand and the bow in the other, elegantly drawing across the strings.

It was as if on a whim, he had temporarily stepped in for someone else; his manner was full of casualness.

For a moment, many more eyes were fixed on the stage.

Zhao Rong was surprised at first, then remembered that this was a business gala. Besides those talking business or interested in projects, there were also those who came simply to make their faces known. No matter how much of a hands-off manager Lu Xingping usually was, it was normal for him to come to such an occasion to build connections.

Lu Xingping clearly saw him as well. When their gazes met, Zhao Rong smiled, treating it as a silent greeting.

Who knew how Lu Xingping’s consideration of the marriage contract was going.

Since that day, they hadn’t talked about matters related to the marriage contract again.

Perhaps he could ask over these next few days.

Before the song ended, Zhao Rong listened from below the stage. As his gaze wandered randomly, he suddenly saw Qiao Nanqi.

This man was in a light-gray checkered suit today, with a pure white shirt still underneath. The cut of the suit further emphasized his tall and slender build, making him very prominent.

Even amidst the sparse shadows of light, he could still be spotted at a glance.

He seemed to have just arrived and was walking toward Zhao Rong.

Zhao Rong was somewhat surprised.

He clearly remembered that in the past, Qiao Nanqi wouldn’t attend such business galas that were unrelated to the industries under his command.

He hadn’t seen Qiao Nanqi for many, many days. Since he left Qiao Nanqi’s company, there was really nothing between them that had to be entangled. Their contact information had been deleted, so naturally, they wouldn’t meet.

And Qiao Nanqi hadn’t come looking for him again either.

Zhao Rong felt this was normal—Young Master Qiao was so proud and arrogant that at that moment half a month ago, it was likely already a first in many years of “condescending.” Qiao Nanqi’s liking, perhaps like liking the drifting clouds in the sky or the pale moon in the Milky Way, was truly impossible to believe in its reality.

Now that the momentum had passed, he naturally wouldn’t come again.

As for now…

Zhao Rong glanced at Lu Xingping on the stage.

He’s probably here to find Lu Xingping.

He didn’t want to encounter Qiao Nanqi, so he waved to Lu Xingping from across the space and walked all the way to Liu Shun, who was idling in another spot.

There were some people around who had seen him a few times before; their tentative gazes, seemingly present yet absent, never stopped. From beginning to end, Zhao Rong didn’t look sideways, as if those gazes didn’t exist.

He walked up to Liu Shun with a smile: “Didn’t you say you weren’t coming?”

“I didn’t plan to come,” Liu Shun was actually looking quite respectable today, even having dyed his yellow hair back. “But I heard those grandsons of Yu Xian were coming too and wanted to take a look. Hey, Third Young Master, you didn’t see it just now. When you were talking to that President Ruan, Yu Xian was staring from behind, his eyes almost popping out from anger. And those few who, after the Chen family fell, went around saying you were useless and that you were definitely finished—today they’re all following sheepishly behind their parents. Seeing you talking to President Ruan alone, their faces turned green. Want to go stroll around in front of them?”

Zhao Rong didn’t care what those people thought and said helplessly: “Why waste that time?”

“Cough,” Liu Shun said in a low voice, “then Third Young Master, let’s talk business.”

Zhao Rong: “?”

Liu Shun pulled the young man beside him forward: “You weren’t satisfied with the one from last time. How about this one?”

The young man was wearing a very plain formal suit, on the thinner side. Although his facial features couldn’t be called exceptionally beautiful, they were clean and delicate. He also wore a pair of glasses, adding a bit of scholarly air.

Although he wasn’t the same style as the person Liu Shun brought to the bar that night who had features somewhat similar to Lu Xingping’s, his temperament was indeed a bit similar.

As soon as Zhao Rong’s gaze subconsciously fell on this person, the other party met his eyes and smiled at him.

At a glance, he was an old hand at this.

Zhao Rong: “…”

Liu Shun leaned into his ear and whispered: “How about it?”

“This is business?”

“How is it not? A major life event!”

“…” Zhao Rong knew Liu Shun meant well, but his perspective was truly a bit problematic. He raised his hand and patted Liu Shun’s head with some force. “Stop doing these unnecessary things every day. I don’t want to be in a relationship for now.”

“Third Young Master, you really don’t want him?”

“No need.”

He reached into his pocket, wanting to transfer some money to the person and let him go back, only to find that his phone was left in the car. He beckoned to the person Liu Shun brought. “Come with me, I’ll transfer money to you.”

The person originally looked disappointed seeing Zhao Rong wasn’t interested, but hearing there was money, he obediently followed.

Before leaving, Zhao Rong added: “Stop calling me Third Young Master.”

Liu Shun was stunned.

“The Chen family is gone. My surname is Zhao.”

After speaking, he led the person toward the parking lot.

Just as he stepped out of the banquet hall, Zhao Rong’s footsteps came to a sudden halt.

The corners of his mouth, slightly curved due to his good mood, also fell at this moment.

In the corridor, Qiao Nanqi seemed to have come from the other side to this spot. He was now facing Zhao Rong, standing in front of him, blocking his way.

Getting closer, Zhao Rong noticed that although Qiao Nanqi looked respectable today, he seemed a bit thinner than in Zhao Rong’s memory.

He stared straight at Zhao Rong, his eyes as if containing an unfathomable Milky Way, wanting to see into Zhao Rong at a single glance.

Zhao Rong didn’t say a word. He frowned slightly and gestured for the young man behind him to follow him, intending to go around Qiao Nanqi.

But as soon as he took a few steps, Qiao Nanqi suddenly grabbed his arm, pulling him back a step.

Holding him with a backhand, the man’s gaze was heavy. He glanced at the person behind Zhao Rong, his voice low as if emerging from a whetstone: “Who is he?”

After all, that person wasn’t from a prominent family like Zhao Rong’s and hadn’t seen much of the world; he simply couldn’t withstand Qiao Nanqi’s cold glare. Just from being swept by that glance, the person subconsciously hid behind Zhao Rong.

This hiding seemed to tell Qiao Nanqi the answer in an obvious way.

The man’s gaze grew even heavier.

Zhao Rong raised his hand, wanting to shake off Qiao Nanqi’s hand, and said: “What are you doing again?”

He had thought this man was the same as before, using “liking” as a reason to do things he didn’t understand and refusing to let go once he grabbed him. In the end, it was no different from before.

But with a forceful shake, Qiao Nanqi was actually shaken off by him, as if he had restrained his strength just now.

Zhao Rong was stunned for a moment.

Qiao Nanqi subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to grab him again, but as soon as he reached out, seeing Zhao Rong’s quite displeased gaze, he forced himself to pull back.

His eyes were slightly red, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and he said word by word: “Where are you taking him?”

Looking at Qiao Nanqi’s expression, Zhao Rong understood what Qiao Nanqi had misunderstood.

—Could it be that their last meeting didn’t mean a complete break?

Not seeing each other for half a month, this man appeared at a gala he wouldn’t have accepted an invitation to before. Instead of watching the “white moonlight” whom Young Master Qiao used to often go to find performing on stage, he was here in this quiet corridor arguing with him.

He had already let go of the past and had even started planning his departure, yet Qiao Nanqi was still blocking him at this time.

Zhao Rong sighed and said, simply giving up: “Naturally, I’m taking him away.”

Qiao Nanqi first showed a look of disbelief, then gritted his teeth and said: “You don’t like him.”

“Whether I like him or not has nothing to do with whether I want to take him home, right? I’m an adult with needs. We’ve been broken up for so long, and I’ve finally found someone I like the look of. Even if I don’t like him, taking him home to stay and satisfy my needs while I provide what he wants—that’s not too much, is it? Mr. Qiao,” he said, “aren’t you most clear about such things?”

the person behind Zhao Rong didn’t dare to speak at all.

Qiao Nanqi’s eyes grew even redder.

Zhao Rong actually saw grievance, shock, and powerlessness in this man’s usually sharp eyes.

If anyone were to be pulled out of the gala to take a look, no one would believe this was Qiao Nanqi.

Such a Qiao Nanqi made Zhao Rong somewhat unsure how to respond.

He felt that Qiao Nanqi seemed to have changed somewhere, becoming different from the one he knew. But he no longer had any leisure to explore even a shred of change in this man.

He had already let go. Looking back, he couldn’t see anything that could hold him back.

Seeing Qiao Nanqi didn’t say anything, he thought Qiao Nanqi was no longer stopping him and said to the person: “Let’s go.”

Hearing his words, Qiao Nanqi, who had been standing there dejectedly, suddenly took a few steps forward again and quickly blocked Zhao Rong’s way.

“I… I have many things I want to say to you,” he whispered, as if deliberately softening his tone, “Zhao Rong, I understand your words now. Don’t take him back, okay?”

Being blocked in front of someone else halfway through and being entangled again and again, any normal person would be angry.

Zhao Rong was also a normal person.

He took a deep breath and nodded: “Fine.”

Qiao Nanqi’s eyes lit up, and he was about to say something when Zhao Rong continued: “But I don’t want to talk about feelings; I only want to get what we each need. If I don’t take this person home, could it be that Mr. Qiao will accompany me for a night?”

“My requirements aren’t low. Besides making me comfortable and being on call at all times, the person accompanying me must be quiet and obedient. When it’s over, they pack their own things and leave. As for money…”

Zhao Rong asked the person Liu Shun recommended: “Is a house considered too little for you guys?”

That person wasn’t someone who didn’t understand things; he could naturally see the entanglement between Zhao Rong and the man who suddenly appeared before him. He shook his head and whispered: “It’s very generous…”

“Then one house it is,” Zhao Rong said. “Mr. Qiao, are you willing?”

Before his voice even fell, Qiao Nanqi’s fists were already tightly clenched, his teeth gritted, and his face was frighteningly dark.

He didn’t speak for a while, and didn’t even move.

Zhao Rong knew that saying this was already enough.

He had pursued this man for ten years; no one knew Qiao Nanqi’s pride better than he did.

It was a haughtiness that couldn’t be erased even after being abandoned by his mother and targeted by his father, walking alone to where he was today. It was the self-esteem cultivated from being born into the Qiao family, being treated like a star surrounding the moon, and always crushing his peers.

Saying such words to Qiao Nanqi was already a huge insult.

This time, Zhao Rong didn’t immediately lift his foot and leave.

After saying all this, he realized that he himself had also changed quite a bit lately.

In the past, he would never, nor would he dare, speak like this in front of Qiao Nanqi. He would even be worried about saying a single confession, keeping it in his heart and holding it for so many years before finally saying it before he left.

He really had made progress.

He thought to himself.

After a moment.

Zhao Rong gave a light chuckle and said to the person behind him: “What are you standing there for? Let’s go; the night is getting deep.”

The person hurriedly followed him.

As they took a few steps, the two sets of footsteps rang out in alternation, and the faint music from the gala hall behind them drifted through.

Suddenly, the voice that Zhao Rong was extremely familiar with and had once hoped and prayed to hear day and night, moist with a plea like a fairy tale and suppressing humiliation, came as if every word were being uprooted from the deepest part of his heart.

“I can,” Qiao Nanqi said, like a leaf tip cautiously poking out a branch in a dark corner, desperate yet hopeful.

As if afraid Zhao Rong didn’t hear, he repeated: “I’m willing.”

Zhao Rong froze suddenly.

At this moment, he almost turned his head back.

But he still stopped himself.

“Oh,” he said with his back to Qiao Nanqi, “but I’m not willing.”