Chapter 389: Why Not Invite Him up and Introduce Him to Everyone?
Having watched it for a while, Qi Chenglin looked at the time. It had been an hour since Ruan Danchen’s call. He looked at Qi Youxuan sitting on the rug and playing Lego while watching television. He wondered if the child was heartless, because it had been so long since Ruan Danchen left, yet he did not think to be worried for her.
“Ahem.” Qi Chenglin cleared his throat. Qi Youxuan did not seem to notice at all, treating it as though there was an itch in his father’s throat. He continued playing.
Qi Chenglin then coughed a couple of times and completely covering the noise from the television. It was then that Qi Youxuan turned and said, “Dad, if your throat isn’t feeling well, you should drink more water.”
After saying that, he lowered his head and continued playing with his Lego, and from time to time he would even look at the television, as if he did not have enough eyes to watch everything.
“…” Qi Chenglin drank some water unhappily and suddenly froze. With a sour face, he placed the cup down.
There was nothing wrong with his throat in the first place!
Qi Youxuan still did not react after some time had passed. Qi Chenglin cleared his throat and asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Nope. I had a late breakfast. Two meals are enough for today. I have some junk food too,” Qi Youxuan said without even looking up.
“What do you mean junk food?!” Qi Chenglin roared angrily.
Sometime later, Qi Chenglin looked at his son’s arched back and asked, “Mom’s not home. Don’t you miss her?”
Qi Youxuan finally looked up at the clock. “She’s only been gone for two hours. When I’m in class, Mom’s at work. I don’t get to see her for the entire day.”
“…” Qi Chenglin pursed his lips and then twitched them slightly. “Didn’t you still treat her as Aunt Ruan back then? The feeling has to be different.”
Qi Youxuan looked down and pieced it all together. He finally looked up at his father and stared at the man with his huge, grape-like eyes.
“…” Qi Chenglin’s hair was beginning to stand on end because of the boy’s stare. “What are you looking at?”
“Dad, do you miss Mom?” Qi Youxuan’s gaze was nothing short of disdain.
“When did I say that? I’m worried that you’ll miss her. The both of you had just gotten closer, and aren’t you two still in the early loving stages?” Qi Chenglin asked in a low voice. He decided to pick up the newspaper beside him and use it to block his face.
Qi Youxuan was having none of it. He grinned after seeing Qi Chenglin’s guilty disposition. “Dad, why are you like a child? You miss her after not seeing each other for just a while. You need to give Mom some time to do her own stuff.”
Qi Chenglin’s fingertips—with their neatly trimmed nails—grasped tighter on the newspaper and flipped a page angrily.
Qi Youxuan blinked and threw his Lego down. He ran up to Qi Chenglin and asked, “Dad, is Mom at her senior high school reunion?”
Qi Chenglin simply responded, “Mm”, and ignored him. After a while, a chubby arm crept up from the paper and pushed it down.
The man raised an eyebrow and looked at his son with a sullen expression.
Qi Youxuan looked at him suspiciously. “Could it be that Mom’s old crush will be at the reunion too?”
“Ahem!” Qi Chenglin cleared his throat and refrained from answering.
Qi Youxuan ran into his room at once and took out his Totoro-shaped cell phone. “Dad! You’re worried and you want me to call her right? You could’ve said that earlier! Mom won’t get close with another man and leave you, but you’re worried that someone else might keep bothering her, right?”
As the boy mumbled, he dialed Ruan Danchen’s number. Qi Chenglin’s lips twitched a couple of times.
…
…
Ruan Danchen was in the midst of a conversation. She was seated quite awkwardly with Chen Libai.
Even though she had no other thoughts, Chen Libai still seemed to be unrelenting. On top of that, there was also Chang Jingqiu, who seemed to be rather friendly even though Ruan Danchen felt that something was terribly off. She wondered if it was simply her own subjective interpretation of the situation, and she began questioning if she was a narrow-minded person.
Listening to everyone else’s conversation revealed that Chang Jingqiu was colleagues with Gao Xiaoyang. Ruan Danchen wondered but did not ask, why the former did not go into the family business.
At about that time, the cell phone in her bag began ringing. Ruan Danchen took it out and saw that Qi Youxuan was calling. She excused herself and went to pick the call up.
Ruan Danchen picked up the call outside and smiled while asking, “Youxuan, what is it?”
“Mom, when are you coming home?” Qi Youxuan dragged his voice and asked coyly.
Ruan Danchen smiled. “You miss me already?”
Qi Youxuan nodded immediately. “I miss you.”
“Then I’ll come home now,” Ruan Danchen said, although she did enjoy going to reunions in the past.
Chatting with her old classmates and meeting them was nice as all her senior high school friends were good people and did not show off about their jobs or anything of the sort. They mostly talked about the interesting things that happened in school, but the overall gist of the conversation took an unexpected turn that afternoon, and it was pointless to keep staying there.
Qi Youxuan was just about to tell her how much he missed her, but after hearing Ruan Danchen’s words, he immediately answered, “Mom, you’re coming back now?”
He turned to tell that to Qi Chenglin, but the man had already left his side. Hearing some noise at the door, he realized that Qi Chenglin was putting on shoes at the door, having already taken a jacket and his car keys.
“Mom, Dad is going to pick you up.” Qi Chenglin was already out the door after Qi Youxuan said that.
From behind, Qi Chenglin looked as tall and proud as ever, but his footsteps were very much quickened.
Qi Youxuan stretched his neck to look out. He was sure that Qi Chenglin had left, but he still suppressed his voice and whispered, “Mom, Dad’s the one that’s missing you. He kept looking at the clock when he was sitting in the living room. He’s too embarrassed to admit it and kept using me as an excuse. All of a sudden, he asked me if I’m hungry, or if I miss you. He really wants to keep appearances and pretend like it’s no big deal.”
Ruan Danchen giggled. She found it hard to imagine Qi Chenglin anxiously waiting for her to come home. Due to Youxuan’s words, her mind was filled with the imagery of Qi Chenglin wanting her to come back home soon but was too proud to call and tell her. She found it extremely adorable.
“When he left to fetch you, he was walking really fast.” Qi Youxuan was revealing everything to Qi Chenglin without showing any signs of holding back.
“He went out already?” Ruan Danchen asked. The thought of Qi Chenglin brought an exceptionally warm smile to her face.
“Yup!” Qi Youxuan nodded and said, forgetting that Ruan Danchen could not see him. “I wanted to follow him to pick you up, but I didn’t because I wanted to tell you about what Dad did.”
“Are you okay with being alone at home?” Ruan Danchen was slightly worried. Although the young boy was already in his primary school, he was still a child in her eyes.
“I’ll be fine. I won’t just run away,” Qi Youxuan promised.
“Alrighty, I’ll be back really soon. Call me if there’s anything. Also, the book underneath the landline phone at home has the numbers of your upstairs and downstairs neighbors. You can call them if anything happens, do you understand?” Ruan Danchen was worried that Qi Youxuan might be alone one day and would have to visit the neighbours in order to find someone to care for him.
A place like Prestige Residences was not the kind of place with neighbors who were keen on visiting one another. Most of them were successful people and were busy with their respective careers. It was rare to meet them. Nevertheless, everyone’s housekeepers were familiar with each other.
Fortunately, Aunt Zheng knew the neighbors’ servants quite well, and if something were to happen and Aunt Zheng was not there, Qi Youxuan could look for the neighbors’ housekeepers.
Nevertheless, Ruan Danchen decided she would greet everyone in the evening when most of them were already at home. A couple of visits would break the ice a bit.
Qi Youxuan answered and acted coquettishly for a while before hanging up.
A smile was still present on Ruan Danchen’s lips. She just could not help herself when she thought of the boy’s cute looks and how Qi Chenglin was sulking at home all alone.
She wanted to give Qi Chenglin a call, but after a second thought, she decided not to because he was driving.
As she held her phone and headed back to the room, she looked up to see Chen Libai standing right beside her since God-knows-when.
Seeing her finally realize his presence, Chen Libai smiled warmly, but traces of his gloominess was still there.
Ruan Danchen distanced herself politely and returned the smile. She had no idea why Chen Libai was so despondent. They may have had feelings for each other during their school days, but they were nothing more than naïve children who were experiencing love for the first time.
When Chen Libai left back then, she did feel some sadness and found it a bit hard to bear, but it was not to the extent that she was unable to part from him. Not long later, she managed to pick herself up, and by then her feelings toward Chen Libai was simply her first awakening of love.
If in the present, it was Qi Chenglin who left, she would have been in such unimaginable suffering that she may not ever date anyone else again in the future.
In her eyes, no one could compare to Qi Chenglin.
“You’re talking with your boyfriend?” Chen Libai smiled and asked.
Ruan Danchen shook her head. “My son.”
“Your…” Chen Libai felt choked for a moment.
“I had him with my boyfriend. He’ll be seven after the new year.” Ruan Danchen knew that Chen Libai was still harboring hope, although she did not know why it was something worthy of not letting go. Therefore, she decided that she might as well reveal her son to him.
After standing there in shock for some time, Chen Libai finally regained his senses and smiled. “Let’s go.”
Ruan Danchen followed him back, but once he sat down, he no longer had the mood to keep on thinking. If someone made a joke, he would laugh as well but his thoughts were constantly fixated on Ruan Danchen’s child.
He began counting in his brain. Her son’s age tallied with the year that Ruan Danchen broke up with her boyfriend. She was pregnant, but she did not expect to break up with her boyfriend. She carried the child herself and raised him, but eventually she crossed paths with her ex-boyfriend again. Once the ex knew that she had given birth to his son, he may have decided to get together with her to acknowledge the child as his.
Chen Libai then realized that Ruan Danchen had her boyfriend’s child but still referred to him as her boyfriend. In that case, that would mean she got pregnant out of wedlock, and with the son already seven years of age, it was surely not something to be proud of.
Naturally, he would not simply bring that subject up in front of others as that would probably tarnish Ruan Danchen’s reputation. What surprised him was that Ruan Danchen proudly proclaimed it, as though she did not mind at all that she was not yet married.
Chen Libai thought that it was quite irresponsible for the boyfriend not to give her status as a wife, considering the fact that their child was already seven-years-old. He then thought further and concluded that the boyfriend probably could not bear the responsibility, since he made her pregnant when she was only nineteen.
Nineteen was an age where one could still be considered a child.
The man was probably very young too, and due to his inability to provide for the child, he decided to run away irresponsibly. It was completely different from Chen Libai himself, who did not lead people on because he knew he would not be able to take responsibility—that was a proper thing for a man to do.
As he thought of all that, Chen Libai frowned. From his observation, Ruan Danchen’s boyfriend was an unreliable person. Otherwise, he would not have ditched mother-and-son in the past. The boyfriend probably did not have what it takes anyway and was unable to give Ruan Danchen happiness. That might be the reason why he did not even dare to wed her.
If the boyfriend only cared about his son, then just give the boy to him. Chen Libai was more than willing to take care of Ruan Danchen.
His first love was unforgettable. Even though he went out of the country, Ruan Danchen was always in his memory. Memories are often capable of painting a person in a better light, making it even harder to forget the innocent first love he had as a teen.
Coming back home and seeing Ruan Danchen, he realized that the pureness she had during her school days was still present. Nevertheless, her purity was not faked—it was all natural, making one feel rather pleasant when looking at her. Due to her age, she became more and more mature as the days went by, giving her an attractiveness that she did not have in the past.
At times, her off-handed smile would cause her pure attractiveness to ooze out and made Chen Libai’s heart thump even harder.
He made a firm decision to overlook the fact that she birthed another man’s son—Chen Libai was hell-bent on showing Ruan Danchen how unreliable her current boyfriend was.
Ruan Danchen had no idea that Chen Libai’s mind was filled with all those weird thoughts. However, she was restless because she knew that Qi Chenglin was coming over to pick her up. From time to time, she would glance at the time on her watch.
Once Qi Chenglin’s call came, she picked it up immediately, but instead of going out, she walked to the window just behind her chair.
“I’m here.” Qi Chenglin’s voice was as delightful as always. It was mature and sonorous, much unlike most of her same-age classmates.
Through the window, Ruan Danchen was able to spot his black Benz parked just below. Qi Chenglin was standing on the front passenger seat door, leaning on it with his slender-looking legs placed slightly in front of him.
It was snowing on the pavement and he was wearing all black. He appeared arrogant against the backdrop of the snow, and his chilly aura caused many passersby to do a double-take.
His hands were placed inside his pockets and he was even wearing a pair of sunglasses. He directed his gaze to Shengyue’s entrance originally, but for some reason—perhaps having sensed her gaze—he proceeded to look up.
Even if it was separated by the sunglasses, Ruan Danchen knew that their gazes had met.
Her heartbeat quickened after being looked at from a distance, and it felt to her like she was fresh into the relationship.
How was it that he had such a strong aura just by standing there? She completely forgot everything else after looking at him.
That man was hers. He was devoted to her, and thinking about that made her heartbeat quicken even more. She lamented that father and son would be thirty-four and seven, respectively, but continued to be as attractive as ever.
Plenty of women who passed by looked at him, not once but a couple of times. Ruan Danchen felt sick in her heart.
Soon after, Qi Chenglin smiled at her and said crisply, “Come down.”
Ruan Danchen replied, “Mm.” She was just about to leave but managed to spot a woman coming up to him and saying something. Qi Chenglin kept a stern face and answered briefly, though she had no idea what he said to her.
Nevertheless, Ruan Danchen could make out that the woman was hitting on him.
Ruan Danchen was getting angry. She hung up and grabbed her bag, wishing she could just jump down from the window.
Although she was really anxious, she turned around and said to everyone, “I’m sorry, my boyfriend’s here to pick me. I have to go.”
Naturally, none of them were willing to just let her leave so easily.
“Oh, come on, you’ve only just sat here for a while. We’re all having such a good chat, it’s gonna be disappointing if you leave,” someone said.
“Yeah! It’s not easy for all of us to have a reunion,” another remarked while looking at Chen Libai.
None of them knew that Ruan Danchen had a child. All they saw was a relentless Chen Libai, who seemed to be hung up on her even though she already told them that she had a boyfriend.
Everyone could see that Chen Libai’s attention was wholly focused on Ruan Danchen. When she went out to pick up the call, he followed suit as well.
Even after returning, his unwavering determination showed no signs of fading.
Since they were classmates in senior high, they were all very close to each other. Chen Libai liked Ruan Danchen, so compared with the boyfriend whom none of them ever met, they were quite supportive of Chen Libai. Whether intentionally or otherwise, they all wanted to lift his spirits and put down Ruan Danchen’s boyfriend, whom none of them were acquainted with.
“Since he’s here, why not invite him up and introduce him to everyone?” asked someone.
“Yeah! He’s already here let him stay around for a while,” Wang Kaiyi said courteously.
“That’s right! He’s already here, we should meet him,” said another, although the tone was not so much polite as it was odd.
Ruan Danchen’s expression remained steadfast, but deep down she was quite unhappy.
They did not know Qi Chenglin’s status and definitely would not take that into consideration. If Qi Chenglin were allowed to come up, he would be faced with an endless assault of peculiar remarks. Although Qi Chenglin would definitely not get the worst out of it, she still did not want him to hear all those rude and inconsiderate remarks.
There was no need for her to drag him there and show him off like a trophy. She hated doing that.
She was also worried that Qi Chenglin might just tolerate everything for her sake. She felt incredibly unhappy when she thought about how an eminent man like him would have to suffer all those insensitive jokes and become the subject of everyone’s attention.
Besides, Qi Chenglin was a smart man—if she could make out that something was off with her classmates’ words, then it was even more likely that Qi Chenglin could sense it. He might even be able to recognize Chen Libai with just one look and kick up a fuss with her at home. She would then have to coax him.
Ruan Danchen smiled calmly. “He’s waiting downstairs and he drove, so he can’t drink any alcohol. My son’s alone at home, and he’s too young, so we can’t let him be alone for too long. We’re gonna have to rush back home, so my boyfriend’s not going to come up.”
Chen Libai frowned. ‘That’s nothing to be proud of, so why did she say it out loud?’
Those who heard her were shell-shocked. With eyes wide open and mouths agape, they could not say anything at all. Everyone looked at each other, and it was so quiet that awkwardness began setting in.
“You have a son?” Chang Jingqiu asked.
Ruan Danchen nodded and smiled. “Yes, he’ll be seven this year.”
“Is he a child your boyfriend had with someone else?” Chang Jingqiu asked again.
As rude as the question was, everyone knew that Ruan Danchen would have to be pregnant when she was nineteen if the child were to be hers. To them, that was impossible. Ruan Danchen was a proper girl when she was still in school, and she would never do such an out-of-character thing.
That was why no one regarded Chang Jingqiu’s question as rude.
Ruan Danchen was very unhappy after hearing that. “Of course not. I gave birth to him.”
_____
Author’s Note:
An error in yesterday’s chapter. When I wrote about Chang Jingqiu’s background, I was constantly thinking about how to arrange our Xiao Ruan’s background, hence my error in writing ‘Ruan family’ when it’s supposed to be ‘Chang family’. So sorry. I can’t change it anymore, because if I did, they will have to review it again and I wouldn’t have any idea when it’ll be done. I won’t amend it, but I’ll make a note here. Sorry for the confusion to all the readers who read it. _(:з」∠)_ All I can do is lie down and make googly-eyes~
