SDVPP Chapter 35

Rong Xu suddenly came in, and everyone in the private room was momentarily caught off guard.

Chi Han froze for a second, then quickly walked toward him:

“Weren’t you going to wait for me downstairs? Why did you come up?”

A flicker of unreadable emotion passed through Rong Xu’s eyes. He lifted his gaze to look at Chi Han, then shifted it toward the people sitting at the dining table.

“Didn’t feel like waiting anymore. Thought I’d come up and sit for a bit.”

Chi Han’s parents had met Rong Xu before, and now, seeing him barge in directly, their faces were full of confusion.

If this had been under normal circumstances, Father Chi would definitely have stepped forward to strike up a conversation with Rong Xu. Disabled or not, his father Rong Xingwen was still, to some extent, part of the Rong family.

As long as it could give his business a bit more leverage, Father Chi would never let any opportunity slip by.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to build his way up from nothing to where he was today.

But no matter how much Rong Xu’s last name was Rong, the guest of honor tonight was still from the Zhou family.

A cripple cast out from the main house versus the Zhou family, who had been gaining momentum recently; Anyone with sense would know which side to choose.

In that instant, Father Chi made up his mind and immediately slapped the table with a stern face, rising to his feet.

“Rong Xu, this is our private dinner. Who gave you permission to come in?!”

He looked toward the server standing at the door, signaling for him to throw the man out.

Chi Han’s behavior tonight had already been quite improper. Before this meal, Father Chi had begged and pleaded to get this meeting arranged, yet now that they were here, his own son was making a mess of things.

Right now, there are so many people desperate to build connections with the Zhou family!

Father Chi shot Chi Han a dark, cutting glance, cursing him bitterly in his heart.

Things were already bad enough, and now this troublemaker had to show up and stir the pot!

For a moment, Father Chi didn’t dare look at Father Zhou’s expression, afraid that the man would storm off in fury.

“Hurry and get him out! What, do I have to call your manager over myself?!”

Father Chi barked sharply, his tone harsh, trying to use this gesture to appease Father Zhou.

From the very first word out of Father Chi’s mouth, Chi Han’s expression had already turned cold. He opened his mouth, about to snap back, when Rong Xu raised a hand and clasped his wrist. His thumb gently brushed over it before pulling him back.

Rong Xu glanced leisurely at Father Zhou, his voice chilling to the bone:

“Then I won’t disturb you any longer.”

Throughout the entire exchange, he didn’t spare Father Chi even a single glance.

Utterly and completely ignored, Father Chi looked as if he’d suffered the greatest humiliation. His face flushed red with anger, his finger trembling as he pointed at Rong Xu:

“You… you—!”

Before he could even finish speaking, a voice suddenly rang out nearby, filled with panic and eager flattery.

Judging by the voice, it was none other than Father Zhou.

“No, no, no, Young Master Rong! How could we not welcome you? Quickly, serve him tea! Bring the menu over!”

His demeanor was a stark contrast to the mysterious and aloof persona he had maintained all evening.

Father Chi, unable to catch his breath, stared wide-eyed. His hand was still pointing at Rong Xu, and the way he looked in that moment was downright ridiculous.

“Mr. Zhou, what are you doing?!”

Father Zhou couldn’t be bothered to respond to Father Chi any further. His company had already started going downhill since last year. He had exhausted every possible strategy, but in the end, due to funding issues, he was forced to begin layoffs.

But even if he hadn’t laid people off back then, it had already become impossible to retain talent.

Core team members left one after another to seek better opportunities, and the company gradually became an empty shell.

Fortunately, at that time, he had followed a friend’s introduction and went to the Twin Towers to meet Rong Xu.

To be honest, Rong Xu didn’t have a good reputation. Rumors were flying around about mental illness, depression, all kinds of talk spreading like wildfire.

Looking back now, it was highly likely that those rumors had been deliberately released by Xu Man, the Rong family matriarch.

Back then, Father Zhou had already reached the brink of despair. A desperate man could do anything. On top of that, Rong Xu’s proposed plan didn’t seem to have any flaws. So he decided to treat a dead horse like a living one and went back to gather one million yuan from the few friends he could still reach, placing everything on one final bet.

What he didn’t expect was that in just two weeks, the company that had been on the verge of collapse was saved and brought back from the brink. Though it wasn’t as glorious as its peak days, it was already far better than bankruptcy and ruin.

And just like that, Rong Xu used just over half a year to bring his company back into the nation’s top ten. At this point, it had even grown stronger than its former peak!

Because of this, Father Zhou could be said to almost worship Rong Xu.

Even though this young man sat in a wheelchair, when compared to the entire Rong family, even the legendary Rong Guanyu in his youth might not have been this capable.

While marveling at how blind the Rong family had been, Father Zhou couldn’t help but let his mind wander.

His daughter was at just the right age. If she could get engaged to Rong Xu, it would be like striking gold!

Give it a few more years—forget just the national rankings—even on the international rich list, Zhou Hai might very well claim a spot in the top ten!

With Rong Xu’s current circumstances, if he wanted to climb higher, it would be incredibly difficult to find a family that truly matched his needs.

Wasn’t the Zhou family’s standing good enough now? Besides, his daughter was so beautiful. Countless people dreamed of marrying her and couldn’t even get the chance!

Father Zhou was pleased with himself, firmly convinced that Rong Xu would definitely agree to the marriage.

But what he hadn’t expected was that the very next day after he revealed his intentions, Rong Xu terminated their collaboration. The problem was, the contract had been drafted so clearly that he had no way to refuse or push back.

From that point on, the Zhou family’s business remained large, but it could never take another step forward.

Now, with certain problems proving impossible to resolve, how could Father Zhou possibly let Rong Xu leave so easily?

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and change the tableware!”

Father Zhou walked to the door, shot a glare at the server, and reached out, wanting to push Rong Xu inside, his face brimming with an eager smile.

Rong Xu calmly lifted his hand slightly, his slightly upturned phoenix eyes sweeping across Chi Han, his voice carrying the long-cultivated cold detachment he always had.

“No need. I came to take him home.”

Zhou Ling, who had been standing beside her mother the whole time, looked over at Chi Han the moment she heard that.

She had long heard of Rong Xu, but the name had always come with labels like cripple and useless.

She never imagined that the father she had always seen as high and mighty would act so eager and accommodating in front of Rong Xu!

When did Rong Xu become this powerful?

But more importantly, why, late at night, had Rong Xu come to personally take Chi Han home?!

What exactly was the relationship between those two?!

Zhou Ling stared wide-eyed, her beautiful eyes fixed on Chi Han without blinking, hoping desperately that he would at least glance her way.

But Chi Han’s gaze was completely on Rong Xu.

Though Chi Han had never thought of Rong Xu as some delicate little bird kept at home, he also hadn’t expected him to be this capable.

Now that he thought about it, when the novel described the adult Rong Xu, it only mentioned that he had extensive connections and resources across many industries, but never said when he acquired them.

Thinking about it now, he must have been laying the groundwork long ago.

At that thought, Chi Han lifted his chin and aimed a look at his father.

Go on, keep flapping your mouth. Open those damn dog eyes of yours and see for yourself!

Scared speechless, aren’t you?!

Father Chi met Chi Han’s gaze, and his expression turned as ugly as if he’d just swallowed a fly. But the worst part was that he couldn’t even say a word in response.

Rong Xu also caught the look on Chi Han’s face. His finely shaped eyes narrowed as he shot him a cool glance.

He then turned his wheelchair himself, not letting anyone push him.

“Chi Han is still young. He doesn’t need to be involved in all this. If anyone still wants to continue,” he paused slightly, “you’re welcome to come to me anytime.”

His eyes, cold as frost, swept slowly over Father and Mother Chi. After a moment, he seemed to chuckle lightly:

“Don’t dirty Chi Han’s ears.”

Father Chi: “…………”

His breath caught, blood surging violently to his head. He could barely keep the smile on his face.

Rong Xu’s words were simply too harsh!

Mother Chi was trembling with anger, too, but she still clung tightly to Father Chi’s arm.

For Zhou Hai to humble himself like that in front of Rong Xu, it meant Rong Xu definitely had some capabilities they knew nothing about!

It might even be related to the Zhou family’s sudden rise this year.

So now was absolutely not the time to act on impulse.

Chi Han swept a glance at the two of them, both so furious their eyes were red like rabbits’, yet still desperately restraining themselves. He secretly curled his lips in disdain.

Greedy for wealth like it’s their lifeblood—that phrase really suited the two of them.

Living a whole life like this? What a waste of breath.

Seeing that he truly couldn’t stop Rong Xu, Father Zhou finally gave in with a sigh.

Only after watching the two of them get into the car and drive off did his expression finally fall.

With a deep and heavy face, he stared at the black car slowly disappearing into the distance. After a moment, he turned to Zhou Ling, her cheeks pink and lovely like a peach blossom, and said:

“From now on, you’re not allowed to go looking for Chi Han again. Do you hear me?”

“Dad?!”

Zhou Ling panicked the moment she heard that, her eyes instinctively welling up with tears.

Every time she wanted something, as long as she showed that expression, Father Zhou would always end up agreeing.

But this time, no matter how much she fussed, Father Zhou had only one answer for the whole night: “You are not allowed to go looking for Chi Han again!”

Rong Xu clearly had an unusually close relationship with Chi Han. He even came all the way over just to issue them a warning. It looked like this engagement was destined to fall through.

Zhou Ling couldn’t understand why things had suddenly turned out like this. So what if Rong Xu showed up? He could control a lot of things, sure—but could he really control who Chi Han married?!

Biting her lower lip hard, Zhou Ling’s expression shifted through a mix of emotions.

Hmph. She was going to try anyway!

***

After the car pulled out onto the road, Chi Han turned his head to look at Rong Xu.

Ever since getting in, Rong Xu had been turned toward the window, gazing outside, with no intention of speaking.

Chi Han rubbed his nose, confused as to what he was mad about this time.

Was it because of Father and Mother Chi?

Judging by the situation, that was very likely.

Rong Xu stared at the streetlights flickering past the window, feeling a tight pressure in his chest he couldn’t relieve.

The breathing beside him was light and shallow, but there wasn’t a single sound.

Still waiting for Chi Han to say something, Rong Xu’s eyes grew colder.

Five minutes later, Rong Xu finally turned his head, his pitch-black eyes reflecting the image of Chi Han.

He opened his mouth slowly, his voice chillingly low:

“What was that girl’s name just now?”

Though Rong Xu’s tone and speed were no different from usual, Chi Han could distinctly hear a chilling undercurrent beneath the words.

It felt as if a ferocious beast were crouched in the darkness, sharpening its claws, ready at any moment to pounce and tear out his throat.

Could it be that he and that girl knew each other from before?

Chi Han instinctively swallowed hard, racking his brain for a moment. After quite a while, he finally said, with clear uncertainty:

“Zhou… Zhou something? I didn’t really pay attention…”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Chi Han could feel that the beast lurking in the shadows seemed to quietly retract its claws, lying back down once more.

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