Chapter 48 - Chapter 48 Come Home With Me

That night, Ruan Xingchen had a dream. In it were her, Lu Xiaobai, and Jiang Heng. The year her mother passed away, she lived alone in a shabby house. Whenever Lu Xiaobai wasn't with her, she would curl up in the corner all night long. She remembered it was a bright, sunny weekend morning. She woke up in the corner as usual, looking at the sunlit windowsill where a bird was perched, watching her. Suddenly, the bird flew away in alarm. She was about to stand up when the old window creaked, and a figure climbed in. She was too young to feel scared, too young to know he might be a bad man who could hurt her. She just sat there, staring blankly at the intruder. He didn't look much older either, with a fair, handsome face. He seemed surprised to see her too, muttering, "Such a pretty little sister." She looked at him without speaking. But inside she thought: this big brother is really good-looking. The prettiest person she'd ever seen, besides Lu Xiaobai. After a moment, the boy seemed to snap out of it. "Are you Ruan Xingchen?" She nodded gently, blinking. "Who are you, big brother?" He walked over, squatted down to her level. "I asked if you're Ruan Xingchen." She said, "How do you know my name?" The boy didn't answer, just smiled—bright and warm, like the sunshine outside. "I'm Jiang Heng. If you're Ruan Xingchen, then you're my fiancée." She was too little to know what fiancée meant. She tilted her head and blinked. "What's a fiancée? Can you eat it? Is it fun?" "It means your future wife. You can't eat it, and it's not fun." The boy held out his arms and gave her a light hug. "I heard you don't have a mom anymore. That's okay. You have me now. I'll take care of you, protect you, and won't let anyone bully you." She stared at him, half understanding. She still didn't know what fiancée meant, but when this big brother said he would look after her and keep her safe, she felt happy. After losing her mom, she finally had someone else by her side. The scene shifted. She brought Jiang Heng to meet Lu Xiaobai, grinning proudly. "Xiaobai, I have a new friend!" Lu Xiaobai blinked. "A boy?" Jiang Heng smiled gently, already carrying himself with grace even at that age. He placed his left hand on his chest and bowed slightly. "Hello, my name is Jiang Heng. I'm Ruan Xingchen's fiancé." "What?!" Lu Xiaobai's eyes widened almost out of her head. "Fiancé?!" She linked arms with Lu Xiaobai, smiling happily. "Xiaobai, Xiaobai, he said he'll take care of me and protect me. So you can't bully him either!" She really liked this big brother who said "You still have me." Because Lu Xiaobai had said the same thing. But later… it felt like she'd lost him. The Ruan residence. With no school, Ruan Shuqing had partied until two or three in the morning and slept straight through until noon. After washing up, she hummed a tune and walked downstairs in a good mood. Ruan Jiancai and Mrs. Ruan were sitting on the sofa—one watching TV, the other reading the newspaper. They both looked toward the stairs at the sound. Mrs. Ruan's face darkened and set down the remote. "How many times have I told you? A student should act like one. A young girl running around with her friends all night—what kind of example is that?" "Mom!" Ruan Shuqing bounced over and sat beside her, clinging to her arm. "I'm grown up now, not a kid. It's just a little fun during break. It's not 'running around'!" Mrs. Ruan frowned and said nothing. Ruan Jiancai suddenly spoke. "I heard you went to Wutong Apartments a few days ago." Mrs. Ruan glanced at her husband, her frown deepening. Ruan Shuqing pouted, let go of her mother's arm, and huffed disdainfully. "So what? Ruan Xingchen let some poor trash relatives move in! We gave her that place out of kindness. Does she think the Ruan family is a charity?" Ruan Jiancai sighed, trying to reason with her. "The apartment is hers now. She can arrange it however she wants. Why did you go trouble her for no reason?" "Dad!" Ruan Shuqing stood up, furious. "Don't forget—I'm your real daughter! She's just an illegitimate child! We can take the apartment back whenever we want!" With that, she stormed upstairs, refusing to argue further. Silence fell over the spacious living room. Mrs. Ruan glanced at her husband mockingly. "What? Regretting it now?" "I…" Ruan Jiancai opened his mouth to explain, but Mrs. Ruan stood up coldly and walked toward the kitchen, not bothering to listen. Ruan Jiancai watched her back with a complicated expression and let out a heavy sigh. A doorbell rang in her ears. Ruan Xingchen woke from her dream. She slowly opened her eyes, automatically turning toward the window—only to squeeze them shut against the harsh sunlight. The bell kept ringing insistently. Ruan Xingchen rubbed her aching head and got out of bed without putting on shoes. After returning to the hotel last night, thinking about Lu Xiaobai and Jiang Heng had made her cry again. She hadn't even showered, just cried herself to sleep on the bed. Ruan Xingchen pulled the door open with a frown. When she saw who was outside, her eyes widened in shock, and she stammered, "U-Uncle…?" "Mm." Lu Jingyuan responded calmly. His dark eyes swept over her slightly swollen eyes. He stepped into the room, raised a hand, and ruffled her hair. "Why are you staying in a hotel?" Thinking about everything that had happened lately, Ruan Xingchen's eyes reddened again. This time she stubbornly held back her tears. After a long pause, she whispered shakily, "Ruan Shuqing said I took in strangers and kicked me out. I can't find a place to rent…" Her shoulders trembled slightly, her ponytails bouncing. She sounded utterly miserable. "A young girl staying alone in a hotel for this long—don't you know it's not safe?" Lu Jingyuan's tone held a faint reproach. "You have a key to my apartment. Why didn't you stay there first?" His scolding only made her feel worse. "That's your apartment, not mine. It's not right to just move in without asking." "Couldn't you have called or texted me?" "I didn't want to bother you…" Ruan Xingchen's head hung almost to her chest. So mean, this bad uncle—scolding her the second he got back. Looking at her pitiful expression, Lu Jingyuan exhaled softly, closed the door behind him, and asked quietly, "You can't find a place, so you planned to stay here forever?" Right after he landed, Wei Yuanxiao had called and told him everything he'd found out. There were plenty of rentals in the area. It was impossible for her to find none. A little checking made it clear someone was interfering behind the scenes. It wasn't hard to guess: Ruan Shuqing kicked her out, then Jiang Heng pulled strings to block all rentals, trying to force this silly girl to come to him. Unfortunately, before his plan worked, his own mother ruined it. Mrs. Jiang had approached Ruan Xingchen in secret to end the engagement. The funniest part was that the silly girl had agreed right away and even taken the check. He didn't care how Jiang Heng felt. But if this had happened to him, he might have strangled this heartless little thing on the spot. Still, her carelessness worked in his favor. Ruan Xingchen kept her head down, twisting the hem of her clothes and muttering, "If I can't find a place, I just have to stay here." She had money now. She could stay in the hotel for a month, even a year. Lu Jingyuan smiled faintly, a dangerous glint in his dark eyes, his voice turning cooler. "Ruan Xingchen, do you plan to live off that money here for a year or more?" Ruan Xingchen suddenly looked up at him, mouth slightly open. How did he know what she was thinking? He was amazing! Lu Jingyuan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his gaze was sharp and unyielding. "Check out now. Come back to Wutong Apartments with me." "I don't want to stay at your place." "Where else will you go?" "I just don't want to." "Fine." Ruan Xingchen blinked. Did he give up that easily? Before she could wonder, Lu Jingyuan took out his phone. "Before Xiaobai left for City A, she asked me to look after you. If you won't listen, I'll just—" "No, Uncle!" Ruan Xingchen panicked. She stood on tiptoe trying to grab his phone, but at 163cm, she couldn't reach the 180+cm man's raised hand. Panicked that he was actually going to dial, her mind went blank. She suddenly threw her arms around his neck and pulled down hard. Caught off guard, Lu Jingyuan bent over at the waist. By some coincidence, his thin lips landed directly on hers, which was tilted up to look at him. At the touch of their lips, both Ruan Xingchen and Lu Jingyuan froze.