The sound of footsteps gradually faded into the distance, but the strategy between lips and teeth grew fiercer. Xu Chenghao was kissed until his brain was a blank slate. It was only when he heard the sound of the lock clicking shut that he abruptly came to his senses and shoved the other person away: “No, my parents are still waiting for me.”
Jing Yicheng seemed as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head. He froze in place for half a second before sighing and burying his head into the nook of Xu Chenghao’s shoulder: “Give me a moment to calm down…”
Xu Chenghao pulled Jing Yicheng’s hand out from under his clothes. Jing Yicheng pressed his lips together in displeasure but didn’t resist.
After a long while, Jing Yicheng finally regained his composure. Once he had straightened Xu Chenghao’s clothes, he allowed him to get out of the car.
Initially, Xu Chenghao felt some sympathy for him, but as soon as he got out and saw that Ruan Chenxuan was no longer at the spot, he immediately understood. Shooting Jing Yicheng a glare, he said, “You brought this on yourself.”
Jing Yicheng sighed and took Xu Chenghao’s hand: “It’s my own fault for getting carried away.”
Still, being able to frustrate Ruan Chenxuan made him quite happy.
As for the natural enmity between the villain and the protagonist, Xu Chenghao couldn’t be bothered to comment anymore. He cut off the topic entirely and brought Jing Yicheng into the banquet.
According to the original schedule, the banquet was supposed to end at nine o’clock, with everyone going their separate ways. However, with this sudden commotion, everyone could only resign themselves to their bad luck and cooperate with the investigation out of respect for the Ruan family.
Ruan Chenxuan was managing the situation on the first floor, while Grandpa Ruan remained unconscious on the second floor. After confirming that his parents were safe, Xu Chenghao directly approached Ruan Chenxuan for a discussion: “President Ruan, have you found any leads?”
Ruan Chenxuan’s gaze unconsciously swept over Xu Chenghao’s lips, and he said in a low voice, “I can’t disclose anything for now, but you and Jing Yicheng aren’t suspects, so you didn’t need to come back.”
When they left earlier, the child had still been at the banquet, and with so many witnesses present, everyone could vouch for their alibi. Thus, apart from Father Xu calling, no one had informed Xu Chenghao or Jing Yicheng to return.
Especially Jing Yicheng, Ruan Chenxuan didn’t want to see him at all!
Noticing Ruan Chenxuan’s gaze, Jing Yicheng glared back, his expression filled with: Do you think I want to see you either?
Ruan Chenxuan felt like even looking at Jing Yicheng was self-inflicted harm, so he quickly shifted his gaze to Xu Chenghao, as if to cleanse his eyes.
Xu Chenghao pretended not to notice the tension between the two, calmly saying, “I came back to pick up my parents. Their health isn’t good, and I’m worried about them. If the police’s routine investigation is over, I’ll take them and leave first.”
Ruan Chenxuan blurted out instinctively, “No!”
Xu Chenghao found this odd. “Why not? Even the police can’t detain unrelated parties without evidence, right?”
Ruan Chenxuan stared at him for a moment before suddenly saying, “Even bail requires a guarantor. If you want to take your parents, are you planning to stay here yourself? Otherwise, if someone leaves abruptly before the investigation is concluded, I’m sure none of the banquet attendees will accept it.”
Xu Chenghao frowned. “I think everyone is fully aware of how poor the relationship between our two families is. It wouldn’t be surprising if I refused to give you any face. Why should their opinions matter?”
Ruan Chenxuan had no response to that. After a long silence, he finally said, “The child is very important to the elder. Before he lost consciousness, he specifically said that no one was allowed to leave. If you’re unwilling to stay here in place of your parents, I have no way to report back, so I’m sorry, I can’t let your parents leave.”
Xu Chenghao lost his patience. “Your grandfather cares about the child, but my grandfather doesn’t, is that it?” His tone sharpened. “If you want to tear things apart, just say so. Don’t give me these self-righteous excuses to f**k with me.”
Ruan Chenxuan replied evenly, “I’m just respecting the elder’s wishes.”
Xu Chenghao sneered, “Then I’m not afraid of making the relationship between our families a little worse.”
With that, Xu Chenghao turned and walked away.
Ruan Chenxuan’s fingers twitched slightly, but in the end, he said nothing. Instead, it was Jing Yicheng who remained standing in place, his gaze piercing as if he could see through everything. His voice was icy as he spoke, “Right now, your child is missing. You’d better set aside your petty schemes and focus on finding the kid.”
Ruan Chenxuan: “I’ve done everything I can.”
Jing Yicheng: “It seems you’re not as concerned as the old man.”
Ruan Chenxuan let out a cold laugh and countered, “If someone suddenly threw a child at you during your amnesia and told you it was your son, what would you think?”
Jing Yicheng replied without hesitation, “If Xu Chenghao said so, I’d believe him.”
Ruan Chenxuan was stunned. A wave of sourness and jealousy surged up within him, consuming his heart like a swarm of termites gnawing relentlessly. Jealousy—intense jealousy. He was utterly envious of Jing Yicheng for having someone like Xu Chenghao as a partner, envious of his unhesitating trust, envious of his relaxed reliance, envious of so much more…
These feelings were amplified tonight, starkly contrasted by An Rouyu’s “I choose the child” and Jing Yicheng’s “I believe him.” It was like a sharp sword mercilessly stabbing into his chest, twisting and tearing, leaving an unbearable pain that suffocated him.
Ruan Chenxuan thought to himself that he might have truly liked An Rouyu before—really, really liked her. The kind of like where he could rely on her, trust her. But after tonight, even if he regained his memories, that feeling would never return.
That affection had been forcibly dug out and discarded, never to be recovered.
From now on, they would have nothing to do with each other.
__________
When Xu Chenghao was escorting his parents out, Jing Yicheng finally caught up, greeting them politely, “Hello, Uncle, Aunt.”
Father Xu responded with a grunt, saying nothing more. Mother Xu, however, spoke up, “Thank you for making another trip. After you drop us off at home, hurry back yourself.”
Was she implying that he should drop them off and leave alone? That Xu Chenghao was staying at the Xu family estate?
Jing Yicheng’s good mood from the entire evening nearly crumbled. He quickly replied, “Aunt, you’re too kind. We’ll make sure to send you home first and then leave together.”
Key point: We! Xu Chenghao and I, together!
After speaking, Jing Yicheng nervously glanced at Xu Chenghao, worried he might somehow lose his senses and actually stay home without him.
Xu Chenghao sighed helplessly and added, “Mom, Dad, once you’re home, just rest well and don’t worry about anything. Jing Yicheng and I will stay a bit longer to wait for any updates.”
Mother Xu nodded readily, agreeing without any hint of recognizing the underlying implications of her earlier words.
Only then did Jing Yicheng relax. After safely dropping off Xu Chenghao’s parents at their home, he immediately whisked Xu Chenghao away, eager to put as much distance as possible between them and the Xu family estate.
Xu Chenghao took the opportunity to chat. “What were you talking about with Ruan Chenxuan just now?”
“You saw that?”
“Yeah, I didn’t ask earlier because my parents were there,” Xu Chenghao said, then repeated his question. “What exactly did you talk about?”
Jing Yicheng recounted their conversation word for word, finishing with a firm conclusion: “The issue with the child definitely has something to do with Ruan Chenxuan.”
Xu Chenghao: “Why do you think that?”
Jing Yicheng: “It’s not that he doesn’t care about the child; his calmness comes from confidence. If it had nothing to do with him, that would be the real surprise.”
Leaning back against his seat, Xu Chenghao was quietly amazed. He never would have thought the male lead and the female lead might collude to take the child away… Did this mean their relationship was mending, or was it completely severed?
If their relationship was improving, they probably wouldn’t need such a dramatic scene involving the child. But the system had said that the plot, no matter how it changed, would never deviate from its core. The male and female leads were destined to end up together, so it likely wouldn’t break off entirely…
The silence in the car grew heavy. Lost in his thoughts, Xu Chenghao eventually nodded off, his head tilting to one side as he fell asleep.
Jing Yicheng instinctively slowed the car, driving smoothly until they arrived at the apartment building. After handing the car keys to the bodyguard, he picked Xu Chenghao up and carried him to the elevator.
“Boss.” The assistant appeared out of nowhere, only to almost retreat under Jing Yicheng’s withering glare before he could finish his sentence.
“Keep it down,” Jing Yicheng said in a low voice.
The assistant obediently lowered his voice. “An Rouyu has been waiting outside Mr. Xu’s door for quite some time.”
Jing Yicheng’s expression immediately darkened. “Press my floor! And who let her up? Are you all useless? Can’t you stop her?”
The assistant silently pressed the button and waited for Jing Yicheng to finish his tirade before calmly reminding him, “Boss, please lower your voice. Mr. Xu is sleeping.”
Jing Yicheng: “…”
They’re all out of control!
Xu Chenghao, sleeping fitfully, was jolted awake as the elevator chimed upon reaching their floor. Nestled in Jing Yicheng’s arms, he mumbled groggily, “Why are we going to your place?”
Jing Yicheng nuzzled his cheek with his chin. “It’s fine, go back to sleep.”
Xu Chenghao yawned and buried his face back into Jing Yicheng’s shoulder, drifting off again.
The assistant busied himself unlocking the door. The jangle of keys, the click of the door, and the sound of the lights being turned on created enough noise to fully wake Xu Chenghao. He peeked out from Jing Yicheng’s shoulder, curiously taking in the surroundings of Jing Yicheng’s home.
What he saw left him stunned.
Staring at the warm yellow-and-white color scheme, Xu Chenghao couldn’t believe this was Jing Yicheng’s house. It was nothing like the cold and minimalist style he had seen before!
And the yellow-and-white combination… why did it look so much like a spread of little yellow ducks?
Xu Chenghao fell into silent disbelief at his own conjecture.
As he spaced out, Jing Yicheng had already carried him into the bedroom and gently placed him on the bed. “Weren’t you tired? Sleep for a bit,” he said softly.
Xu Chenghao rolled into the blankets. Feeling the cool sheets, he immediately flung them open and patted the bed. “It’s so cold! Get up here and warm my feet.”
Jing Yicheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As soon as he lay down, sure enough, a pair of feet snaked out from the blankets and latched onto him, boldly slipping under his clothes.
They were indeed cold.
Jing Yicheng adjusted the air conditioning to a warmer temperature. Gently patting Xu Chenghao, he waited until the latter’s eyes closed once more before carefully getting out of bed and leaving the bedroom.
The assistant was still waiting outside. “Mr. Xu fell asleep?”
Jing Yicheng nodded. “Yes. Stay here and keep an eye on him. I’ll be back soon.”
The assistant immediately felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Uh… can I wait downstairs instead?”
Jing Yicheng glared at him. “Do you think I want you here? But if Xu Chenghao loses a single strand of hair, you’d better watch out!”
The assistant: “…”
I knew it. That’s exactly why I didn’t want to stay!
The job of protecting Mr. Xu was practically classified as a high-risk task at the research institute now. Who would dare take this on lightly?
But resistance was futile. The inevitable result was that Jing Yicheng went downstairs to personally deal with An Rouyu, leaving the assistant to sit in the living room and carry out his new “high-risk assignment.”
What a tragedy.
The assistant watched the bedroom door close and couldn’t help sighing in resignation. He consoled himself that Mr. Xu was asleep and wouldn’t wander off. Even if it was a high-risk task, as long as he kept the room secure and didn’t let anyone sneak in, he’d definitely—
Assistant: “…”
The door creaked open a bit wider, and Xu Chenghao peeked out with a smile. “Good evening.”
Assistant: “…”
No, it’s not good at all! Someone please get me a fast-acting heart pill!!
T/N: Somebody save our poor assistant lol
