Holding onto the idea of “casting a long line to catch a big fish”, Chi Han hadn’t provoked Xu Ting too much during this period, which made Xu Ting mistakenly believe that Rong Xu was just in a bad mood that morning. Thinking that his chance had come, he threw himself even more eagerly into sending messages.
It was just that there wasn’t much useful information in them. Most of it was just romantic drivel, completely useless.
But Chi Han wasn’t in any hurry either. After all, Xu Ting’s goal was still to be with Fang Jingluo, so of course, he wouldn’t reveal the other’s secrets to himself, the so-called “arch-enemy”, at this point.
It didn’t matter. He had plenty of time to wear him down slowly.
Tonight, there was a banquet, hosted by the boss of a local real estate company, who had invited people from all over the business world to attend.
Rong Xu hadn’t originally planned on going, but this boss surnamed Wang had given him a helping hand back when he first set up his studio. So, after thinking it over, he decided to accept the invitation.
Coincidentally, Chi Han didn’t have anything going on tonight either, so Rong Xu asked his assistant to book a suit for each of them.
“At the banquet, you don’t need to be restrained. If you want to eat something, just go get it. There’s no need to cater to anyone else,” Rong Xu fixed Chi Han’s tie for him, raised his hand, and gently pinched Chi Han’s cheek, smiling as he said, “I’ve got you covered.”
Imitating him, Chi Han helped Rong Xu fix his tie, too, giving a sly grin as he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to eat enough to get your money’s worth!”
Once he’d confirmed that Fang Jingluo was being entangled by Fang Chen and couldn’t slip away, Rong Xu felt at ease enough to take Chi Han and head out.
The banquet venue was much bigger than Chi Han had imagined. The hall bustled with people coming and going, everyone’s face wearing a perfect fake smile.
The last event they’d attended together was the Rong family patriarch’s birthday banquet, which had only invited prestigious noble families. Holding themselves as proud and noble, they naturally refused to mingle with people from the business world, so back then, there hadn’t been nearly this many people.
The real estate boss, who was standing at the entrance chatting politely with the guests, instantly brightened up when he saw Rong Xu.
He had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to get Rong Xu to come. After all, Rong Xu’s wealth and status were no longer what they used to be. His future was limitless, and countless people were eager to climb aboard this big ship.
The real estate boss hurriedly came over with a smile, picked up two glasses of wine from the tray held by a server, and handed them over. Anyone who’d managed to climb to his position was already a shrewd old fox. Without showing any trace, the boss glanced at Chi Han standing next to Rong Xu, and instantly understood the relationship between the two.
The matching expensive fabric, plus Rong Xu’s undisguised intimate gestures, any fool could see what place Chi Han held in Rong Xu’s heart!
So, he first handed a glass to Chi Han, smiling as he said, “This must be Young Master Chi, right? I’ve long heard of you. Today, I finally get to meet the provincial top scorer from back then. Truly outstanding and remarkable!”
Being flattered made Chi Han feel awkward inside, though his face kept up a polite smile. He took the wine glass and clinked it lightly with the other’s, forcing a fake smile as he said, “Hehe, you flatter me.”
Sure enough, seeing Chi Han accept the wine, Rong Xu didn’t refuse his either. He just took a light sip and then put it back down.
The real estate boss noticed the envious gazes all around and couldn’t help but straighten his back proudly. He personally led them further into the hall. The long table was piled high with western-style desserts and all kinds of drinks. This was just the area for mingling before the banquet officially started; later, there would be a formal banquet set up in the dining hall.
“Young Master Chi, please feel free to help yourself. If you need anything at all, just come find me directly.”
After bringing them inside, the boss turned and left again. As long as Rong Xu was willing to show up, tonight’s banquet wouldn’t have been held in vain.
“What do you want to eat?” Rong Xu took the wine glass from Chi Han’s hand, his fingertip sliding across the table before picking up a small mousse cake. He brushed it lightly against Chi Han’s lower lip and said, “Open your mouth.”
As soon as Chi Han opened his mouth, the tip of his tongue tasted the sweet, rich flavor of the cake. He couldn’t help but half-close his eyes and puff out his cheeks like a little hamster sneaking a snack, his face full of bliss.
Rong Xu watched him, the corner of his lips curling up as he was about to pick up something else.
“President Rong…” Suddenly, a slightly fawning voice came from the side. A man around thirty, holding a plate piled with exquisite pastries, smiled obsequiously at Rong Xu and said, “Is there anything you need? I can go get you some more.”
Back when Rong Xu was sitting in a wheelchair, they had never once looked him straight in the eye. It wasn’t until now, when Rong Xu had stood up again and shown strength that no one could match, that they finally felt deep regret, wondering why they hadn’t treated him a bit better back then.
The man cast a discreet glance at Chi Han standing next to him, his eyes gloomy and carrying a trace of contempt.
Heh, just relying on those scraps of pity he’d once tossed Rong Xu, and now he’d flown right up to perch like a phoenix!
Yet here he was, forced to curry favor!
Rong Xu didn’t miss the man’s expression. His gaze instantly frosted over with a layer of icy chill. He pulled a wet wipe over and wiped the cream off his fingers, his eyes full of gloom and mockery. “And what do you think you are?”
The man’s face instantly drained of color. He forced himself to argue, “No, I…”
Very quickly, word of this reached the ears of the real estate boss. Though he kept a smile on his face, there wasn’t the slightest smile in his eyes. He lifted a hand to summon security and had the man thrown out on the spot.
A thirty-year-old upstart entrepreneur?
Seeing his trusted aide’s worried look, the boss let out a cold snort.
Offend Rong Xu, and soon enough, he’d be nothing at all.
Chi Han hadn’t expected that just by eating a piece of cake, so much would happen. Though to be fair, that man really had dug his own grave.
“Don’t like it here?” Rong Xu’s eyes stayed fixed on Chi Han’s expression. When he noticed that his mood was obviously lower than just a moment ago, a hint of coldness flickered through his eyes. “Then let’s go home.”
After what had just happened, the people nearby who’d been itching to come up and network instantly gave up any idea.
What a joke. Who would still dare approach now!
Chi Han truly wasn’t feeling great inside, but he was afraid that leaving now, although satisfying for a moment, might end up having a bad impact on Rong Xu’s business later.
Anyway, at most it would be over in two hours. If it really came to it, he just wouldn’t come to these things again in the future.
Chi Han picked up a small fork, speared a grape, popped it into his mouth, and waved his hand. “Forget it. That guy’s already been kicked out anyway.”
Seeing Chi Han say that, Rong Xu didn’t say anything more, but the chill around him never really faded.
With no one else coming to bother them, Chi Han quickly forgot about that man just now. He ate his way along, and whenever he found something tasty, he’d get a piece for Rong Xu, too. Rong Xu indulged him without restraint. The two of them really did just walk and eat, completely out of place next to the crowd in gowns and tuxedos, all moving with elegant, practiced grace.
“Pfft…”
A crisp laugh suddenly sounded out. It felt a little familiar. Chi Han looked up and saw that it was Song Yao, whom he hadn’t seen in ages.
“Rong Xu, you two are something else. Treating this place like an all-you-can-eat buffet?”
Song Yao’s hair was swept up high, leaving only two strands framing her face. The delicate jewelry she wore sparkled brilliantly under the lights, making her look even fairer and stunning.
A trace of amazement flashed through Chi Han’s eyes. A whole year without seeing her, and Song Yao had grown even more beautiful and striking!
Back then, when the misunderstandings were cleared up, during the year Rong Xu went abroad and Chi Han was in his final year of high school, Song Yao had even helped him block Fang Jingluo and the Chi family’s harassment more than once. By now, the two of them were long since friends.
When Rong Xu saw the look in Chi Han’s eyes, his already sour expression turned even colder by another degree.
He took Chi Han’s hand, glanced at the various delicate pastries on the plate in Song Yao’s hand, and said in an utterly flat tone, “Then what, you here to pack some up to go?”
Song Yao: “……”
Dog of a man! Ptui!
Chi Han tugged at Rong Xu’s hand. Rong Xu lowered his eyes to look at him, then turned his face away to the side, but his hand still held on tightly, refusing to let go.
Chi Han let out a helpless laugh, then said to Song Yao, “What a coincidence. Did you come by yourself tonight?”
Song Yao’s temper with Chi Han was much better than with Rong Xu. She pointed behind her to a certain spot and smiled, “I’m here with my dad.”
As she spoke, a gentle-looking middle-aged man walked over to them. It was none other than Song Yao’s father, Song Lianze.
“Xiao Rong, I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you yet on standing up again.” Song Lianze smiled as he patted Rong Xu’s shoulder, then lowered his voice and said, “You’ve suffered, child.”
This was one of the very few people who had been good to him back then. Rong Xu showed a rare smile. “Uncle Song.”
Before Song Lianze could say anything else, Rong Xu pulled Chi Han in by the shoulders and said, “It’s all thanks to Chi Han always taking care of me. We’re already together now. Chi Han, greet him.”
Chi Han suddenly felt like he was meeting the elders, and he instinctively straightened his back, speaking seriously: “Hello, Uncle Song! I’m Chi Han.”
Seeing how Rong Xu couldn’t wait to introduce someone the moment they met, Song Lianze couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Good, good. If your mother were still here…”
As soon as he said it, he realized he’d misspoken. He pressed his lips together and quickly shifted the topic.
Chi Han fell silent. Rong Xu’s mother was a pain in his life that could never be touched.
“Oh right, that matter you mentioned to me last time already has some progress,” Song Lianze suddenly remembered something and turned to Song Yao. “Yao Yao, take Xiao Chi to meet your Uncle Chen. Xiao Chi, he’s the president of our provincial People’s Hospital. You’re in clinical medicine, aren’t you?”
Chi Han froze for a moment. He understood right away that they must have something to discuss in private, so Song Lianze was intentionally sending him away.
But Rong Xu usually told him everything anyway. There was no need to be tactless and insist on staying just to listen in.
Chi Han smiled, nodded, and was about to go with Song Yao.
Rong Xu suddenly grabbed Chi Han’s wrist, raised his eyes to look at Song Lianze, and said, “It’s fine. There’s nothing that can’t be said.”
Song Lianze: “……”
He stared speechlessly at Rong Xu. This rascal was the one who didn’t want him mentioning that Fang family brat in front of Chi Han in the first place, so what kind of act was he putting on now??
Rong Xu’s eyes flickered slightly, as if he realized something. He glanced at Song Lianze, pressed his lips together, then changed tack: “It’s good for him to get to know more people. Go on, I’ll wait here for you.”
Facing this sudden 180-degree shift, Chi Han was full of question marks: “???”
Wait, what’s going on now?
In the end, Chi Han still went off with Song Yao first. He trusted Rong Xu very much. If the other didn’t want him to know, then there was no need to insist on digging it out.
Rong Xu watched Chi Han’s back as he walked away. After a moment of silence, he looked at Song Lianze and said, “Uncle Song, go ahead.”
…
Xu Ting stood in a corner holding a glass. The Xu family had already fallen into decline; many people didn’t even recognize him anymore. Even if they did, they didn’t want to come over and greet him.
Xu Ting let out a thin, cold smile.
The world had always loved to trample the lowly and flatter the high, nothing more.
He’d heard that Rong Xu had been invited to this banquet, so he had come on purpose to try his luck. The two of them messaged each other every day, but had only met once. This was no way to develop feelings.
When he saw that Rong Xu had really shown up, Xu Ting instinctively tightened his grip on the wine glass, his heart pounding like a drum.
But right after that, his face turned pale because Chi Han had come, too.
The two of them were still as loving as ever.
Xu Ting dug his nails hard into his sleeve and, after a moment, forced himself to calm down.
They must just be putting on an act!
Even though he couldn’t figure out why those two would need to fake it, Xu Ting stubbornly clung to this belief.
After all, didn’t they still message each other every day?
When he saw another man brazenly approach only to get dealt with immediately, Xu Ting suddenly had an epiphany. Rong Xu was probably afraid that too many people would try to arrange a marriage with him, so he had dragged Chi Han out as a human shield.
Since he couldn’t get close openly, Xu Ting took advantage of the crowd and got a waiter to secretly snap a photo for him, right at the moment Chi Han happened to be leaving.
Because of the angle, the photo looked as if he was standing right beside Rong Xu, the two of them gazing at each other. With the dim lighting, it almost looked real.
Once he got the photo, Xu Ting hurried back to his corner. If Rong Xu found out, all his efforts these past days would go down the drain.
He pulled up the photo for a look, nodded in satisfaction, then sent it straight to Fang Jingluo.
He added a note: Forget it. In the end, it’s just not meant to be between us.
After sending it off, Xu Ting nervously took a sip of his wine, his fingertips drumming anxiously on the phone in his pocket.
A few minutes later, his phone buzzed, and a new message popped up.
Xu Ting immediately pulled out his phone. When he saw the reply, he let out a relieved smile.
Fang Jingluo: [Address]
He deliberately waited ten minutes before sending over the address for the banquet.
Xu Ting slowly swallowed down the rest of his wine, smoothed his hair, and leaned a little tipsily against the wall, thinking to himself.
As expected, Fang Jingluo still couldn’t let him go.
The Fang family’s ancestral home.
Fang Jingluo lowered his eyes to look at the photo on the screen. His fingertip lightly traced over Chi Han’s figure in the picture, and on his bold, unruly features appeared a smile tinged with a faint, almost bloody excitement.
Chi Han.
I’ve finally got you.
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