Xu Chenghao’s car window was very clear, allowing Ruan Chenxuan to immediately see that it was Jing Yicheng sitting in the driver’s seat opposite him. Without even thinking, Jing Yicheng knew that the person sitting across from him had to be Ruan Chenxuan!
After the two cars remained in a standoff, head-to-head, for thirty seconds, Ruan Chenxuan was the first to call: “I mean no harm.”
Jing Yicheng responded coldly: “Your very existence is the greatest harm.”
Ruan Chenxuan instantly gripped his phone tightly, glaring at Jing Yicheng through gritted teeth: “President Jing, you seem to be lacking confidence, to be this afraid.”
Jing Yicheng: “Even with confidence, it’s hard to deal with someone who doesn’t understand human language!”
Ruan Chenxuan: “The more you talk, the more you reveal your lack of confidence.”
Jing Yicheng: “I knew it; you really don’t understand human language.”
Ruan Chenxuan was momentarily speechless, then finally said: “It seems like President Jing’s hostility toward me has grown.”
Jing Yicheng retorted without missing a beat: “That’s because the degree to which you disgust people has also grown.”
Ruan Chenxuan: “If President Jing insists on viewing people through tinted glasses, of course, the result will only be disgusting to yourself.”
Jing Yicheng: “For someone like you, even with tinted glasses, disgust wouldn’t begin to cover it.”
Ruan Chenxuan: “Is President Jing taking this opportunity to seek revenge?”
Jing Yicheng: “Do I need to wait for an opportunity to get revenge on you?”
Ruan Chenxuan was once again left speechless, his mind racing to come up with a comeback when he suddenly heard Jing Yicheng’s voice again through the phone: “I heard your son’s health is doing well. Congratulations, Haohao and I are looking forward to attending the baby’s one-month celebration.”
This final remark was a devastating blow. Ruan Chenxuan was utterly defeated, angrily ending the call and reversing his car to leave.
Perhaps it was because he had said too much while pursuing Xu Chenghao in the past, but now Ruan Chenxuan was truly afraid to talk about the child in front of Xu Chenghao. Even standing outside the Xu Group building gave him a sense of nervous panic, as if his past would be exposed at any moment, filling him with a deep sense of shame.
So he fled back to his own company, hoping to calm himself through work. However, the company’s affairs were overwhelming, and the most frustrating part was the constant disruption caused by the illegitimate son’s family.
In their quest for power, shares, and money, they completely disregarded the safety of the Ruan family. Han Haofeng would even conspire with others, joining forces with other families to bring down the Ruan Group in order to oppose him.
Ruan Chenxuan thought that this guy might have something wrong with his brain, as he never had a good expression whenever he saw him. But Han Haofeng, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy hovering around him, probing, “Oh, big brother, you don’t look too good today. Nothing bad has happened, has it?”
Ruan Chenxuan shot him a cold glance, “Don’t worry, even if something happens to you, nothing will happen to me.”
Han Haofeng’s face stiffened for a few seconds before he forced a laugh, “Seeing you so confident really makes me happy for our father. I’m sure you can lead the Ruan Group to greater heights.”
Ruan Chenxuan couldn’t be bothered to listen any further and went straight into his office, slamming the door shut just as Han Haofeng was about to follow him in. Instantly, the world became quiet.
Sometimes having an opponent is a good thing, because their existence can put pressure on you, pushing you to keep improving and maybe even sparking unexpected surprises that make you genuinely happy.
But that’s only if your abilities are balanced and your opponent can actually put pressure on you.
In Ruan Chenxuan’s eyes, Han Haofeng didn’t have that ability. He didn’t even consider Han Haofeng worth his attention. Every time he saw Han Haofeng jumping around and playing tricks in front of him, it was like watching a child who had just learned to walk—so childish that Ruan couldn’t even be bothered to respond. After all, bullying a child isn’t much fun.
A real opponent should be someone like Xu Chenghao. They come from the same background, are of similar age, and even their abilities and methods are evenly matched. He still remembered reading in a report that Xu Chenghao had once made him stumble, proving that if Xu Chenghao were his opponent, he would certainly put pressure on him.
Ruan Chenxuan suddenly realized that sometimes the more you interact with someone, the more you notice their flaws. But other times, the more you interact, the more you discover their strengths. Xu Chenghao was the latter. He was like a hidden treasure—at first, only a small part of him caught your attention, but as you slowly got to know him, you’d uncover the real treasure behind it.
Unfortunately, he realized it too late.
—
As Ruan Chenxuan silently regretted this, on the other side, Jing Yicheng, who had discovered the treasure much sooner, was by the treasure’s side, recounting what had just happened.
When Xu Chenghao heard that it was Ruan Chenxuan, he had a feeling of “I knew it”: “What’s going on between him and An Rouyu now? It seems like he’s been even more exhausted since she returned.”
Jing Yicheng, holding back his frustration, replied, “An Rouyu has been emotionally unstable since giving birth, and she’s been deeply resentful of Ruan Chenxuan for taking the child away, as she still hasn’t seen the baby. Every time she sees him, she screams and cries hysterically.”
Xu Chenghao was surprised: “An Rouyu screams and cries? That doesn’t seem like her personality.”
Jing Yicheng, still restraining himself, said, “It’s supposedly postpartum depression.”
Xu Chenghao sighed, amazed at how the situation had turned out. Just as he began to sort through the situation and prepare to return to work, he looked up and noticed Jing Yicheng staring at him with an extremely unhappy expression.
Xu Chenghao was puzzled: “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Jing Yicheng, upset, said, “You were just concerned about Ruan Chenxuan being tired, and you said An Rouyu has a good personality! I told you so much and even went out of my way to investigate, but you didn’t even praise me.”
Xu Chenghao almost laughed at his aggrieved look and quickly cupped his face, giving him a kiss. “You’re the best. You’re so amazing in my eyes that I can’t find words to praise you, and I wouldn’t compare you to anyone else. Are you happy now?”
Jing Yicheng tried to suppress a smile and said, “Well, now that you’ve said it, you have to stick to it. Don’t compare me to others in the future, and always think I’m the best.”
Xu Chenghao assured him, “I will.”
Jing Yicheng was finally pleased. Just as he was about to say something, Xu Chenghao suddenly felt an itch in his nose and quickly turned away to grab a tissue, sneezing three times in a row.
Jing Yicheng was startled and thought Xu Chenghao was sick. He quickly draped the jacket hanging on the chair over him and insisted on finding a thermometer to check his temperature.
Xu Chenghao, helpless, said, “It’s just an itchy nose, I’m not sick.”
Jing Yicheng, with a serious expression, said, “How could your nose itch for no reason?”
Xu Chenghao, thinking whimsically, replied, “Maybe someone is badmouthing me behind my back.”
Jing Yicheng didn’t believe such superstitions and held Xu Chenghao’s chin in place, using the thermometer to check his forehead. Only after confirming that his temperature was normal did he relax. He adjusted the temperature in the office and reminded, “Remember to drink more water, and wear a jacket when you leave the office.”
Xu Chenghao, opening a folder, casually agreed, “Okay, okay.”
Jing Yicheng immediately pressed down on the folder and said, “Look at me and say it properly.”
Xu Chenghao reluctantly looked up, “Got it, Assistant Jing.”
Jing Yicheng was barely satisfied and sat across from him, helping with the work. The atmosphere between them was very harmonious. They discussed what needed to be discussed together, and took breaks when necessary—Jing Yicheng would ponder over gifts for meeting the parents, while Xu Chenghao calculated the number of chili peppers. After resting enough, they continued working. Everything was perfect.
Xu Chenghao was working on the computer when he realized that after two harvests, he had 386 chili peppers in hand. This meant that to complete his task, he would need to harvest 614 more peppers in the remaining three planting cycles, averaging 205 peppers per cycle.
This seemed a bit challenging… especially since the second harvest yielded only 175 peppers, which didn’t inspire much confidence. If he ended up with two more harvests of just 175, it would be a disaster. A 10% reduction would make things even harder in the future.
It seemed that as the required quantity increased, the greenhouse’s area could no longer keep up with the yield rate.
He wondered what the situation was like at the chili pepper base…
Xu Chenghao calculated that he hadn’t visited the base in over three months, so during lunch, he suggested going to check on it. Jing Yicheng, of course, didn’t refuse. After lunch, he took Xu directly to the chili pepper base, showing him the dramatically transformed site.
Having not visited for a long time, Xu Chenghao was struck by the base’s fresh, new appearance. The first thing he noticed was how expansive the base was—the greenhouse couldn’t even compare to one of the planting zones. Seeing this, Xu Chenghao suddenly felt hopeful about the future, thinking that maybe the 10% yield rate could be achieved.
After that, Xu Chenghao toured the interior, from the machinery to the security systems, from the layout to the decor. He was very satisfied and eagerly anticipated the base’s official completion.
Jing Yicheng said, “It should be completed in about a month. If there’s another task after that, we might be able to plant directly here… Oh, let me show you the management system.”
Xu Chenghao was led to the control room, where he sat at the computer as Jing Yicheng demonstrated the results of his hard work over the past few months. Xu Chenghao praised, “It’s amazing. I didn’t expect you to finish more than a month ahead of schedule. Really impressive.”
Jing Yicheng stood behind Xu Chenghao, one hand resting on the table and the other on the mouse as he demonstrated. As he leaned forward slightly, he completely enveloped Xu Chenghao in his arms. Hearing the praise, he immediately moved his face closer to Xu Chenghao.
Xu Chenghao leaned in, intending to give him a kiss, but just as he did, Jing Yicheng repeated his old trick and turned his head again. This time, Xu Chenghao was prepared and quickly dodged with a smile. However, being in Jing Yicheng’s embrace, there was nowhere to run. Jing Yicheng held him firmly and gave him a fierce kiss, and eventually, they returned to seriously looking at the management system.
After a long while, Jing Yicheng suddenly said in a muffled voice, “Haohao, let’s get your leg checked.”
Xu Chenghao’s ears turned a bit red. “Let’s wait a few more days.”
Jing Yicheng buried his head in Xu Chenghao’s shoulder, rubbing against it. “But I can’t wait anymore.”
Xu Chenghao: “…”
Jing Yicheng: “We’ll go after work this afternoon.”
Xu Chenghao: “…”
Jing Yicheng: “I’ll make an appointment right now!”
Xu Chenghao: “…”
It seemed like Jing Yicheng really couldn’t wait any longer.
Xu Chenghao found it both funny and a bit embarrassing, though it made the situation less awkward. While he was propping his chin, thinking about how to prepare his family for this, Jing Yicheng, having finished the call, excitedly started planning: “If your leg is healed, we can move forward with our life plans. Then in a couple of days, we can meet the parents, get our marriage license, and even plan our honeymoon!”
Xu Chenghao glanced at him and calmly said, “All of those things depend on getting through the meeting with the parents first. You need to make a good impression; otherwise, none of it will happen.”
Jing Yicheng, suddenly brought back to reality, snapped out of his excitement. “Right, there’s the meeting with the parents in a month! I’ve already started looking for gifts. It’s easier to find something for your mother, but finding good porcelain is really hard. Give me a few more days…”
Xu Chenghao, giving him a mix of encouragement and a little pressure, noticed how genuinely nervous Jing Yicheng was and reassured him, “It’s okay, we still have more than a month. No need to rush.”
Jing Yicheng, snuggling closer to him, finally felt at ease. After a long pause, he suddenly said, “In a few months, I’ll finally have a real family!”
T/N: Our Cheng-ge has come a long way from being a loner to a man with a family in a few months 😢
