âRuoxi, behave yourself.â
With that, Lu Boyan left right away.
Han Ruoxi looked at his back, and smiled until she cried.
Never did she cry, even when her work made her tired and she had to go to the hospital alone for an infusion. She thought she could get closer to Lu Boyan if she worked hard and succeeded.
But at that moment, reality made her aware that she could never win Lu Boyanâs heart, even if she won an Oscar.
She wiped away her tears and lit another cigarette.
Successful or decadent, whatever.
To her, success was totally pointless at that point.
Lu Boyan returned home half an hour later, when Su Jianan had just woken up.
Su Jiananâs face looked brighter after sleeping. Seeing Lu Boyan in a coat and a scarf, she sat up and asked, âDid you go out?â
âYour brother called me out.â Lu Boyan was cold, so he did not touch Su Jianan and just sat by the bed. âAre you feeling better?â
âYes.â
To show that she did feel better, Su Jianan drank a glass of hot water, and said she wanted to have some porridge.
Hearing that, Aunt Liuâs face lit up with happiness, and ran downstairs to ask the kitchen to cook some porridge.
Only Lu Boyan and Su Jianan were left in the room.
Lu Boyan took a small jewelry box out of the bedside cupboard, and said to Su Jianan, âGive me your hand.â
Su Jianan did as he said, while Lu Boyan opened the box. There was a diamond ring in it, shining under the lights.
At first, Su Jianan could not believe that she was so familiar with that ring.
When she encountered Lu Boyan and Han Ruoxi in the mall that day, she was so angry about Han Ruoxiâs intentionally harsh words that she took off the ring and gave it back to Lu Boyan, who actually threw it away.
âI found it.â Lu Boyan placed the ring on Su Jiananâs finger and said, âNever take it off without my permission.â
Seeing Lu Boyan throw away the ring before her, Su Jianan was heartbroken. She had asked Su Yicheng to look for it but was unsuccessful.
She thought she would never find the ring, or even regain it in a short time, so she asked subconsciously, âDid you look for it as soon as I left?â
Lu Boyan was surprised, raised his eyebrow and said, âHow did you know that?â
âUhâ Su Jianan said, âI sent guys to look for it the next day, but they found nothing.â She showed how happy she felt, while adding, âActually, I gave it back to you because of Han Ruoxi!â
âI know.â Lu Boyan continued to say, âI met her this evening.â
Su Jianan blinked. âOh.â
âDo you want to know what we talked about?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Su Jianan snorted. âI can tell, soâI donât care!â
There were still bits of gossip about Han Ruoxi and him despite the fact that he had taken Su Jianan back home. As a gentleman, Lu Boyan would let Han Ruoxi clarify first.
What he wanted Han Ruoxi to do was only to clarify things to the public.
Lu Boyan could not be happier, having married someone as clever as Su Jianan.
He was a smart man, too.
âI also found the reason why Han Ruoxi agreed to cooperate with Kang Ruicheng,â he said mysteriously. âDonât you want to know?â
Su Jianan had been wondering why Han Ruoxi, the kind of person who could clearly see the pros and cons, would do that. She asked with her eyes brightening, âWhat was it?â
âItâs possibly because of narcotics,â Lu Boyan said.
Su Jianan was shocked.
As a public celebrity, Han Ruoxi should never try narcotics. Let alone the harm they could do to her health.
Although Han Ruoxi was allegedly unkind to her assistants and other staff, she was still a strong-willed, independent, and persevering able woman in the public eye. Once the public knew that she was taking drugs, her public image as well as her career would collapse. For a woman, it would be hard to make a comeback.
âAre you sure?â Su Jianan showed how surprised she felt. âThis isnât a laughing matter.â
âNot really.â Lu Boyan said, âBut itâs a fair guess.â
âI would be able to tell it if she had been doing that for some time.â Su Jianan shrugged helplessly. âHowever, she may hate seeing me.â
When her voice died down, Aunt Liu brought the porridge in.
It was a bowl of rice porridge, in which there were crystal clear rice, bright green chives and fresh lean meat, ready to make her mouth water with its lovely appearance.
Lu Boyan scooped a spoon of porridge, blew to cool it, and said gently, âOpen your mouth.â
Aunt Liu smiled with her hands covering her mouth, walked out, and closed the door considerately. Su Jianan blushed with bashfulness. âI can do it myself...â
âYou had an infusion, watch your hands.â Lu Boyan kept the doctorâs words in mind, that Su Jiananâs hands could easily become swollen. âNow, just open your mouth.â
Su Yicheng was also very careful when looking after Su Jianan, but not as careful as him. While blushing, Su Jianan felt sweetness throughout her heart.
She could not imagine how she could live without Lu Boyan.
After half a bowl of porridge, Su Jianan lost her appetite. Lu Boyan was afraid of making her sick, so he stopped feeding her, and tried to coax her into sleep.
â... I just woke up; how could I fall asleep now?â Su Jianan poked Lu Boyan unhappily. âIâm not a pig.â
Lu Boyan kneaded her face and said, âA pig is exactly what I love.â
If a pig was taken good care of, it would always follow his words, never leave him, not act so clever to see through him or fool him.
Su Jianan was both unhappy and amused; she tried to push Lu Boyan away. âI wonât be your pig!â At the same time, she recalled something, and said, âBy the way, Kang Ruicheng said he assigned an undercover guy around Mu Sijue. Does he know?â
âYes, he nearly guessed who it is.â Lu Boyan said, âBut not for sure.â
Su Jianan thought for a while and said, âYouning is now working for Mu Sijue. Iâd tell her to take care.â
Xu Youning talked to Su Jianan on the phone with a guilty conscience.
However, rigorous training made it easy for her to hide her emotions. She just answered with âUhâ, âYesâ, and in the end she said, âIâm good at nothing but observing others as well as surroundings. Donât worry. Iâll run once I notice anything unusual.â
She did not want to die that early.
âJust be watchful.â Su Jianan asked, âHowâs Granny Xu?â
âShe feels worse recently, she often asks about Yicheng and you, but I didnât tell her the truth.â Xu Youning hesitated for a while and asked, âHow... about you?â
âIâm fine. My problems have been solved.â Su Jianan said, âYou can tell Granny Xu that Iâm doing well. Maybe Iâll go to City G to visit her.â
âUhâ Xu Youning continued talking with Su Jianan for a while, and hung up with doubts.
Did it mean that she was back with Lu Boyan since Su Jianan said she had solved her problems? If so...
âXu Youning.â
A haughty and firm voice interrupted Xu Youningâs thoughts. She knew it was from Mu Sijue, without even looking back.
Mu Sijue came in, ran his eyes over her and said with disdain, âChange your clothes, then go out with me.â
Xu Youning looked at herself, who was in a white shirt, light-colored jeans and casual shoes. That was a youthful style. Didnât she look good?
Mu Qi must have a bad taste!
Mu Sijue glanced her coldly. âRight now!â
âWhere are we going?â Xu Youning asked. Mu Sijue had behaved mysteriously those days, which indeed made her afraid of being sold by him.
Mu Sijue smiled and said, âA cup of tea is worth more than you. Where do you think we will go?â
Xu Youning took a deep breath, while telling herself to take it easy and get used to Mu Sijueâs unkind words. After all, he always spent over 10,000 yuan on half a kilogram of tea; thatâs why a simple cup of tea would cost a lot!
From what Xu Youning knew of Mu Sijue, he would take her out for business. So she changed to a pair of black trousers, added a sweater, a coat and a scarf, which looked both lovely and formal. Mu Sijue did not nitpick again and asked her to drive alone, while he got into Ah Guangâs car.
Xu Youning was used to Mu Sijueâs changing moods. He even used to ask her not to drive behind his car. So she wasnât surprised at all when she was asked to drive alone.
Within minutes, their cars started and integrated into the evening traffic.
Ah Guang, who drove Mu Sijue, paid attention to the traffic while biting his lips.
Mu Sijue, who sat on the backseat, noticed that and said coldly, âSpeak.â
âWhy did you bring Youning with you?â Ah Guang was both anxious and confused. âYou know, those Europeans are fond of Asian girls, especially girls like Youning.â
Mu Sijue turned his lips into a meaningful smile. âThatâs exactly why Iâm bringing her with me.â
âUh?â Ah Guang was completely confused. âWhat do you mean?â If so, Xu Youning could be offended.
He thought Xu Youning was special to Mu Sijue.
They were involved in some gray area businesses, in which there were certain risks. Although Xu Youning did a good job, Mu Sijue had never asked her to deal with those businesses. Instead, sometimes he taught her how to conduct and protect herself in such situations.
Whatâs more, there were obviously fewer beauties around Mu Sijue those days.
Ah Guang used to bet with his buddies that Mu Sijue liked Xu Youning.
But what did Mu Sijue want to do? Why did he bring Xu Youning with him for those businesses when he actually knew Xu Youning could be offended?
Half an hour later, their cars stopped in front of a club.
City G was a city with lights turned on all night and the city became more boisterous when it was deeper into the night. At that time, recreation places were full of people and streets were near to the brim with fancy cars.
Xu Youning got out of the car and felt a cold wind of the early spring night. She drew her coat while hunching her shoulders, and walked toward Mu Sijue.
What Mu Sijue saw was a lovely girl approaching, who buried half of her chin in the light pink scarf, with only her delicate nose, deer-like eyes and bright face visible.
âItâs freezing.â Xu Youning skipped unconsciously before Mu Sijue. âLetâs go upstairs.â
Mu Sijue thought it funny but said nothing, and walked toward to the club gate. Xu Youning did not understand why he instantly showed a cold face. She complained in her mind, and followed him.
âYouning...â Ah Guang called out with hesitation.
âWhat?â Xu Youning looked back at Ah Guang and asked, âDid you forget anything?â
Ah Guang was about to speak, but said, âNothing!â
âOh.â Xu Youning smiled and replied, âThen Iâm going.â
Ah Guang waved his hand to Xu Youning and said, âSee you in a while.â
Forget it. Mu Sijue said he was in charge of Xu Youning. If Ah Guang was gossipy, he would probably be punished.
If Mu Sijue really liked Xu Youning as he guessed, Xu Youning would not be offended.
If he was wrong... he could only wish that Xu Youning was clever enough.