Chapter 373: Your Aunt Ruan Promised to Acknowledge Me
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Qi Chenglin smiled and leaned over on purpose to give her a quick peck on the lips. Before Ruan Danchen could even react to what happened, he took great strides and walked quickly ahead of her, catching up to Jiang Yuan and Luo Yushu in no time.
One step of his was equivalent to two of Ruan Danchen’s. Unable to utter a single word, Ruan Danchen could only blush and watch as Qi Chenglin walked away.
When they were checking-in at the reception, Luo Yushu very casually arranged the rooms for all three women. His reasons were very sound. “Okay, if you don’t mind, Senior Du can stay in a room with Xiao Chen. Xiao Ruan’s flu looks quite serious and it won’t be good news if someone else gets infected. I’ve let her have her own room.”
It sounded very reasonable so Senior Du and Chen Siyu had no objections to it.
From the corner of his eye, Luo Yushu caught a glimpse of Qi Chenglin’s apparent expression of approval.
…
…
Ruan Danchen’s room was a suite located two floors above Senior Du and Chen Siyu’s room.
Her only wish was that Senior Du and Chen Siyu did not pop by for a visit, or else they might be wondering why their rooms were so vastly different from each other.
As soon as she placed her luggage bag down, the doorbell rang.
Ruan Danchen was quite taken aback. Surely, Qi Chenglin would not cling to her so quickly!
She knew exactly why Luo Yushu arranged for her to stay alone in the room—it was to facilitate Qi Chenglin to come looking for her and vice-versa.
As she thought of that, she somehow had the feeling that the whole setup felt like an affair.
Ruan Danchen took a look through the peephole, but to her surprise, it was Xiao Yang. He was supposed to pick Qi Youxuan home from school, but there he was, looking all flustered and anxious.
Ruan Danchen almost immediately felt a jolt in her heart. Her knees were getting weak and the first thought in her mind was that Qi Youxuan met with an accident.
Already pale-faced, she opened the door immediately, but before she could even say anything, she heard a crisp voice call out, “Aunt Ruan.”
Her mind went blank immediately. She blinked a few times and her pale face begin to fill with blood again. She lowered her gaze and saw Qi Youxuan standing properly before her, all while holding hands with Xiao Yang. She literally felt like she was dreaming.
Qi Youxuan did not look as though he went home. He was still dressed in his uniform and his schoolbag was held in Xiao Yang’s other hand.
“Miss Ruan,” Xiao Yang began awkwardly. “I brought Youxuan to Jade Residence but he insisted on coming to looking for the both of you. I couldn’t stop him. He didn’t want to eat his medicine if he wasn’t brought here and we couldn’t force feed him. Madam was heartbroken and couldn’t stand him crying so much, at the same time, she couldn’t bring herself to force feed him those pills. She told me to bring Youxuan here.”
“…” Ruan Danchen looked at Qi Youxuan but saw no trace of a boy who was crying earlier. Nevertheless, she hurried them in immediately.
Xiao Yu immediately phoned back to Jade Residence. “Madam, Youxuan has been sent to Miss Ruan.”
After that, Xiao Yang handed the phone over to Ruan Danchen. “Miss Ruan, Madam wants to speak with you.”
“Auntie,” Ruan Danchen said after taking the phone.
“Sigh, Danchen, I’m so sorry. Chenglin told me that the both of you were going on a business trip and placed Youxuan under my care, but who would’ve known that the boy threw himself on me and cried, saying that the both of you eloped and didn’t want him anymore. He said he was already motherless and did not want to end up being fatherless too.”
“…” Ruan Danchen looked at Qi Youxuan speechlessly. She thought everything had been properly explained to the boy in the morning.
“I told him that the both of you were on a business trip to the city’s northern district, not that you didn’t want him anymore, but he didn’t believe me. He kept saying that the both of you eloped.” Guan Liya’s hands were tied too. She nearly believed him even, since his cries were just so stringent earlier.
“We can’t let the child keep crying right? He’s not eating food and he’s not eating medicine. We have no choice but to let Xiao Yang bring him over. It’s a Saturday tomorrow anyway and he doesn’t need to go to school. When you and Chenglin are busy, just let him be a good boy and stay in the hotel room,” Guan Liya said.
Ruan Danchen looked at the little boy. ‘Problem is, will he be able to behave and stay in the room?”
Qi Youxuan sat conscientiously on the sofa and dangled his little short legs. He reached the fruit platter prepared by the hotel and popped a cherry tomato into his mouth.
His innocent and naïve manner made Ruan Danchen sigh in silence. She responded, “Okay. It’ll be fine.”
Not long after hanging up, Chen Siyu called her and asked if she wanted to join them for dinner.
Due to Qi Youxuan’s presence, Ruan Danchen refused the invitation by using her illness as an excuse. She called room service and ordered two bowls of Yi noodles and a fresh veggie salad to eat with Youxuan. She then told Xiao Yang to inform Qi Chenglin of the situation.
Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Qi Youxuan blinked and exclaimed in surprise, “This hotel is so efficient!”
Ruan Danchen felt odd and thought that it was unlikely that room service came. She looked through the peephole and saw a dour-looking Qi Chenglin standing outside.
“…” Ruan Danchen turned around, looked at the boy reveling in his good fortune and said, “It’s your dad.”
Qi Youxuan then let out a choked expression and watched as Ruan Danchen opened the door to let the somber Qi Chenglin in.
The boy then immediately threw the cherry tomato he was holding. The one in his mouth was quickly chewed and swallowed.
“I’ll get Xiao Yang to send you home after dinner,” Qi Chenglin said glumly.
Qi Youxuan had no appetite then and protested depressingly, “I don’t want to go home.”
“You saw it yourself that we’re here for work. We need to go to work tomorrow. It’s unreasonable for you to be here!” Qi Chenglin said unhappily.
The dispirited Qi Youxuan looked at Ruan Danchen. It was not that much of a deal to stay at his grandma’s place in the past, but when he finally experienced the warmth of a three-person family, he could not bear to be apart with Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen. He would feel uncomfortable if Ruan Danchen did not come and look at him before he slept at night.
“Looking at your Aunt Ruan won’t do you any good,” Qi Chenglin said coldly.
Ruan Danchen opened her mouth to plead on the boy’s behalf, but Qi Chenglin stared at her and remarked bluntly, “Loving mothers spoil their child.”
No one would have predicted that Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan would smile so joyously and be in such a good mood.
Qi Chenglin was completely at a loss for words. Ruan Danchen slowly moved over and held his hand in the interlocked-finger grip that he so adored.
The man’s gaze warmed up and even the corner of his lip was unable to resist curling into a smile.
Qi Youxuan looked on as if it was a mysterious sideshow.
Qi Chenglin was originally a big tiger, but Ruan Danchen—the tamer of beasts—managed to tame the man into a big house cat. He was perfectly happy to be tamed and was extremely obedient.
“The child is already here and it’s very late in the night. Jade Residences is really far from here and it would take a two-hour drive. It’s still peak hour on the road right now, and if we factor in the jam, we don’t even know when Youxuan will get home. Xiao Yang will have to drive late at night too, and this worries me. How about we just let Youxuan stay here,” Ruan Danchen said softly.
Her voice was so soft that Qi Chenglin answered immediately, but not without some resentment.
Ruan Danchen spoke softly but not to the extent of whispering on purpose. Qi Youxuan could hear it very clearly from his seat on the sofa and he immediately stood up straight and gave Qi Chenglin a puppy-eyed look.
Qi Chenglin looked at him, and at that instant, it was like his eyes became even beadier.
“…” Qi Chenglin pursed his lips. “Can you promise to behave tomorrow and stay in the room without running all over the place?”
Qi Youxuan nodded vehemently. “I promise not to go anywhere.”
Qi Chenglin then nodded. “I’ll let Xiao Yang look after you in the room.”
Qi Youxuan agreed.
Ruan Danchen then called room service and ordered some more food. Dinner was served shortly after.
Qi Youxuan’s lips were stained red from the sauce of the Yi noodles, and the sight led Qi Chenglin to let out a heavy sigh. ‘Where is the romantic couple’s world that we agreed on earlier?’
After Qi Youxuan had his fill, his tummy became very big. He held his fatty stomach and went into the toilet with Qi Chenglin following him behind.
Upon opening the door however, the smell of feces hit Qi Chenglin’s nostrils.
Qi Youxuan pulled up his pants immediately to cover his little ‘chili pepper’ down there. He exclaimed frantically, “Dad! What are you doing!”
“…” The smell caused Qi Chenglin to frown and he switched on the bathroom exhaust fan. “How can you poop so fast after just finishing your food?”
Qi Youxuan reacted like a hapless little lamb. “I have good digestion.”
“…” Qi Chenglin looked askance at him and said, “Sleep earlier tonight. I’ll bring you to my room tomorrow morning.”
“You and Aunt Ruan slept in different rooms?” Qi Youxuan was about to expel a nice big turd, but because he was too shocked, he failed to maintain pressure on his sphincter and it went back into his rectum.
An expression of constipated knottiness immediately surfaced on Qi Youxuan’s red, round face.
“Didn’t I tell you? Your Aunt Ruan likes to keep it low,” Qi Chenglin said.
“Ohhhh.” Qi Youxuan understood immediately.
Qi Chenglin twitched his lip and said curtly, “Why are you always present?”
Qi Youxuan, “…”
“I originally wanted to use this as an opportunity to get closer with your Aunt Ruan, but you insist on coming over and being a busybody,” Qi Chenglin said in irritation.
“You said it was for work.” Qi Youxuan rolled his eyes.
“To get closer and work at the same time,” Qi Chenglin said.
Qi Youxuan, “…”
Ruan Danchen had no idea what the father-son duo were murmuring about inside the toilet. Moments later, Qi Chenglin came out followed by Qi Youxuan.
The hotel was a hot spring hotel and the tub faucets obtained water directly from the hot springs. Qi Youxuan’s enjoyed a comfortable hot spring bath in the bathtub and Ruan Danchen then helped him blow dry his hair. Once that was done, Qi Chenglin told him to go and sleep.
As soon as Qi Youxuan’s head hit the pillow, Qi Chenglin came out and locked Qi Youxuan out.
Looking at Ruan Danchen’s worrisome look, Qi Chenglin explained plainly, “This is to prevent him for butting in again.”
Ruan Danchen, “…”
“I still want to be with you in our romantic couple’s world,” Qi Chenglin grumbled begrudgingly. His lips then approached her and was very near to hers.
Ruan Danchen covered her nose and mouth immediately. She spoke in a muffled voice, “I’m sick. It’ll infect you.”
“It’s okay. If you infect me, then you’ll get better faster,” Qi Chenglin said and kissed her without further ado.
The flu caused the temperature of her lips to soar upward and his heart was soon filled with fire. He felt extremely restless, and the more he kissed, the less control he had over himself. Ruan Danchen was then mindlessly pushed onto the sofa.
“Youxuan’s inside,” Ruan Danchen took a deep breath and said. Her nose was severely blocked due to her flu, and his kisses made her unable to breath even more, so she had to hold in her breath. It was a struggle just to break free from his lips and she began panting heavily after that.
“Then you have to be quiet,” Qi Chenglin whispered and groped her.
Ruan Danchen moaned and bit his shoulder. She could feel the heat from his palm and its endless teasing. She may be naked, but instead of feeling cold, she was beginning to heat up even more. After the insertion, she clenched her jaw and moaned. Her entire body started trembling and she did not dare to make any more noise.
…
…
The bed was occupied by Qi Youxuan, so Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen huddled over on the soda. Fortunately, it was broad enough, almost equivalent to the size of a single bed.
Lying down flat was impossible, but they could just barely lie on their sides.
At four o’clock in the morning, Qi Chenglin woke up and covered Ruan Danchen with a blanket. The blanket had a different warmth than his own and the slightest change was enough to wake Ruan Danchen up.
Dazed and hazy, she had no clue what time it was. She looked out and saw that the sky was still dark, so she thought it was still in the middle of the night.
“Where are you going?” Ruan Danchen asked foggily.
“Carrying Youxuan back to my room,” Qi Chenglin said softy. “Since you’re awake, you can sleep on the bed after I carry him off. Don’t sleep on the sofa.”
Ruan Danchen was almost fully awake by then but her phone was not beside her and the whole room was so dark. Unable to locate her phone, she asked, “What’s the time now?”
“A little over four,” Qi Chenglin answered softly.
A strong feeling of guilt rushed forth from the depths of her heart. It was because of her insistence to keep a low profile that made him look like he was unfit to be seen. He had to secretly bring his son back to his room before the sun even rose up.
When she really put some thought into it, she realized that making her relationship public was nothing of a big deal actually. Most of Qilin’s higher-level employees knew her status and were treating her good. That was practically the same thing as covertly trying to get on Qi Chenglin’s good books.
The normal employees could try but they would still get nowhere by trying to fawn on her.
Once she finally came to terms with it, she sat upright and wrapped herself in the blanket so that nothing was showing. Qi Chenglin did not look too pleased. He narrowed his eyes and hooked his finger on the tip of the blanket. In a half-smiling manner, he teased, “What are you covering for? I saw everything before I covered you with the blanket.”
Ruan Danchen, “…”
Her guilt nearly disappeared after what he said.
Nevertheless, when she touched his awake, slightly fatigued, and cold face, the guilt that began disappearing came back with a vengeance.
She did not uncover her hands and expose herself to Qi Chenglin, but she leaned forward and pressed her forehead on his chest. After a while, she said, “How about we find a time, go with the flow, and announce our relationship? I feel bad to see you sneaking around.”
“Really?” Qi Chenglin’s eyes lit up even in the darkness. He felt touched and was so happy that he forgot to lower down his voice. He reached out and hugged her spontaneously.
“Mm.” Ruan Dnachen did not expect that a simple sentence could be enough to make him so happy. She felt like she had done injustice toward him in the past.
However, she added, “But remember, let it come naturally. Don’t force it.”
Ruan Danchen did not notice Qi Chenglin’s glimmering pupils and only heard his answer of approval.
Qi Chenglin then went into the bedroom and carried Qi Youxuan out.
Qi Youxuan was sleeping very soundly, but he felt a burst of cold air after Qi Chenglin carried him up. He curled himself up but still felt that something was off, so he opened his eyes in a daze and looked at his father. It was then that his fears were allayed, but he continued to feel that something was not right. He asked, “Dad, are you sending me back home?”
“I’m not. Didn’t we agree that I’ll bring you back to my room to sleep?” Qi Chenglin answered.
Qi Youxuan mumbled, “Oh”, and finally set his mind at ease. He closed his eyes and continued sleeping, but after a moment, he asked, “Dad, you look like you’re really happy. What’s the good news?”
Qi Chenglin carried Youxuan up and since he had his hands full, Ruan Danchen helped him open the door. As Qi Chenglin left with the boy, Ruan Danchen heard Qi Chenglin’s 1 soft reply. “Your Aunt Ruan promised to acknowledge me.”
“…” Ruan Danchen staggered and nearly tumbled down.
After Qi Youxuan congratulated him, the father-son duo was silent.
Ruan Danchen closed the door silently. Qi Chenglin’s words had such a profound effect on her that she could not fall asleep anymore.
…
…
When morning came, Ruan Danchen went down to the restaurant. It had a breakfast buffet spread, and she joined Senior Du as well as Chen Siyu for lunch. She saw Jiang Yuan and Luo Yushu come down but neither Qi Chenglin nor Qi Youxuan was present. She began wondering if they had already woken up.
Luo Yushu and Jiang Yuan both grabbed some food and sat down with the ladies. Without waiting for Ruan Danchen to ask, Jiang Yuan explained, “The general manager is having his breakfast in the room.”
Ruan Danchen finally felt relieved. The important thing was that both father and son were eating well.
When it was time for them to visit the property, Qi Chenglin came down by himself. As he walked over, Ruan Danchen received a call from Qi Youxuan.
Qi Youxuan sat on the sofa and swayed his short little legs. He ate the fruit platter ordered from room service earlier and said to Ruan Danchen. “Aunt Ruan, I’m at Dad’s room. Uncle Xiao Yang is taking care of me.”
“Have you eaten your breakfast?” Ruan Danchen asked.
“Of course! I even drank a huge glass of milk, ate lots of salad, and now I’m eating fruits,” Qi Youxuan answered as he took a refreshing bite out of a slice of watermelon.
“If there’s anything you want to eat, just tell Uncle Xiao Yang to order it for you. You didn’t really sleep well last night, did you? Don’t watch so much TV and sleep if you’re feeling tired,” Ruan Danchen said.
She finally felt relieved after getting Qi Youxuan’s assurance. A few more words of advice later, she hung up.
Senior Du and Chen Siyu heard from Yao Jingfei that Ruan Danchen had a child and was probably a single parent. Neither of them was surprised to hear the contents of her phone call, as they both thought that she was speaking to her son.
They examined the configuration of the entire building, making measurements of every aspect and photographing them too. Later, when they completed their design, they could make a show house for interested prospective customers.
Their work continued non-stop until over two in the afternoon. They missed lunchtime, so theyhad to make do with a snack shop nearby the building.
Ruan Danchen was not at all worried about Qi Youxuan, since he would never let himself go hungry. When it came to food, he was more proactive than anyone else.
As they had lunch, Qi Chenglin sneezed a couple of times.
Ruan Danchen was already feeling much better, and it seemed apparent that she transferred all her germs to Qi Chenglin.
“General Manager, are you sick? Danchen, do you have any flu medication?” Senior Du asked.
“I do. The medicine was always with her. She took them out from her bag and handed them to Qi Chenglin. “Remember to eat this after half an hour.”
At that moment, it slipped her mind and she spoke to Qi Chenglin in a very casual manner, just like how she usually spoke to him. It was a stark contrast to how her colleagues speak to him and it sounded as though she was even ordering him not to forget.
After those words escaped her mouth, Senior Du and the others looked at her immediately.
