Chapter 46: Mianmian, Come Here
Ruan Jiarong suddenly extended her hands. Her sharp eyes lowered, stripping away her sternness as a gentle gaze fell. She held Ruan Zhimian, gently patting his back. “Darling, don’t be afraid.”
“In the past, you liked Han He’an. Your dad and I figured you had just returned to the country, so it would be good for you to make a friend and go out more. After all, your father and I would always protect you.”
Ruan Zhimian could barely remember the feeling of being embraced by his mother. His eyes and nose grew stinging and sore. His two hands hovered in the air before he very, very slowly hugged her back, burying his face against Ruan Jiarong’s shoulder.
“Mom, I’ve grown up. I can handle it well.”
Ruan Jiarong sat up straight and told Ruan Zhimian, “Since the Han family threw away their dignity, we don’t need to show them any respect either. I know they will tell you nonsense about ‘mistakes that Alphas make.’ Do not believe a single word of those things.”
“Darling, your father and I have been together for so many years. Even though both of us are Alphas, we still get along exceptionally well. Your aunt’s ex-husband cheated, and after she chose to divorce him, she never dated again. Now she runs a shop daily and does some handicrafts, living a pretty good life.”
“Love isn’t a necessity of life; you just gave your sincerity to the wrong person.”
In a daze, some fragments flashed through Ruan Zhimian’s mind, but when he tried to think carefully about them, he couldn’t recall them at all. It felt as if the sensation from just now was entirely an illusion.
Qiuqiu nudged him from the side, and Ruan Zhimian continued, “Mom, after tomorrow’s matters are resolved, I want to leave this place to clear my mind for a while.”
Ruan Jiarong ruffled Ruan Zhimian’s head. “Okay. Whatever decision you make, we support you.”
The bedroom door cracked open a sliver, revealing his father, Chen Ji.
He carried a tray holding two palm-sized small ramekins filled with crème brûlée. He watched from afar, only knocking on the door after their conversation ended.
“Darling, hurry and try some.”
Chen Ji picked up a spoon and handed it to Ruan Jiarong first. “CEO Ruan, you try some too.”
Ruan Zhimian’s dark eyes curved. “Where’s Auntie?”
Ruan Jiarong took a bite and looked up at Chen Ji. “Your aunt got caught in the rain outside before coming back, so she went to wash up. Why hasn’t your brother come home yet?”
“Brother is busy. He said he ran into an acquaintance and would be back a bit late.”
Ruan Zhimian had already eaten. Ruan Jiarong and Chen Ji stayed a bit longer before heading downstairs to dine, instructing him to remember to brush his teeth and rinse his mouth before sleeping.
After washing up, Ruan Zhimian sat at his desk in his pajamas. He opened the file folder Ruan Jiarong had brought, flipping through the thick documents and plugging in the USB drive.
[Qiuqiu, is the prop for the final plotline ready?]
[It’s ready. Guaranteed they won’t discover it.]
Deep into the night, Ruan Zhimian packed everything away and put the USB drive into the pocket of his formal suit.
He went downstairs to drink water and ran into Ruan Xubai, who had just returned.
Ruan Xubai was drenched all over, water dripping down from his clothes. His cold, indifferent features betrayed deep exhaustion. He sat alone on the steps outside the house, tilting his head up to watch the rain continuously falling from the sky.
Ruan Zhimian grabbed a blanket from the sofa, opened the door, and draped it over Ruan Xubai’s shoulders, sitting down beside him. “Ge.”
“Mianmian, it’s cold outside. Hurry and go back in.”
Ruan Zhimian shook his head. Luckily, he had put on a coat before coming out. “I’m not cold. What happened to you today?”
Ruan Xubai stared at the raindrops drifting onto his palm. “Someone came back.”
“I didn’t want to see him, yet I wanted to know how he was doing. I followed him and saw him; he’s doing neither well nor poorly.”
Ruan Zhimian only half-understood. He couldn’t even handle his own affairs properly, so how could he offer advice to Ruan Xubai? He lowered his small head and quietly sat with Ruan Xubai to accompany him for a while.
Ten minutes later, Ruan Xubai stood up. “Don’t tell anyone else. With Mianmian accompanying me, my mood is much better.”
Ruan Zhimian still felt uneasy, so he went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of noodles for Ruan Xubai and brought it to him before finally returning to his bedroom.
It was past 1:00 AM. Ruan Zhimian rubbed his eyes, pulled back the quilt, and lay inside, tightly hugging the plush toy beside him. Pressing his chin against the rabbit ears, he murmured softly, “Qiuqiu, goodnight.”
“Shi He, goodnight.”
On the bedside cabinet table, Ruan Zhimian’s phone screen lit up and dimmed again.
[Shi He: (Photo) (Photo)]
[Shi He: Baby, goodnight.]
The black and white kittens were curled up stacked on top of each other, fast asleep.
…
The next morning, the bedroom door was pushed open soundlessly.
The black-haired, black-eyed Alpha stepped into the room, dressed in a sharply tailored Chinese ink-wash patterned black formal suit, carrying the morning chill brought by the temperature drop.
Ruan Zhimian’s head was buried beneath the quilt, his breathing light and slow, revealing half of his soft, porcelain-white profile, deep in sleep.
The phone alarm went off, letting out a buzzing vibration.
Ruan Zhimian slowly opened his eyes, burying his forehead lower as he reached out to grope for his phone to turn it off.
He didn’t touch it; instead, he touched a person.
Immediately after, a hand reached over, and that person lifted him by the waist out of the quilt. A deep, elegant voice slipped through his hair and drifted into his ear canal. “Time to get up and prepare to head out, Baby.”
The drowsy and bewildered young master sat on the Alpha’s lap, tilting his beautiful small face up, his thick eyelashes blinking. “I… Shi He…”
“Aren’t I at home?”
“I said yesterday that I would come look for you.”
Cold white, slender fingers brushed against his brow, gently tidying the hair ruffled from sleep. “It’s already ten o’clock. Do you still want to sleep?”
Ruan Zhimian didn’t have a habit of staying in bed; he was a good baby. Dazedly, he shook his head. “No more sleeping.”
Today’s Shi He was exceptionally gentle. “I brought a makeup artist along. Go wash up and eat first.”
Ruan Zhimian obediently agreed, running off to wash up pitter-patter in his slippers. After washing his face, he poked his head out while brushing his teeth. “Are the kittens at your house?”
“I sent them to the hospital. The doctor is currently examining them.”
Ruan Zhimian retracted his head and wiped the water droplets off his face with a towel.
Shi He and Ruan Zhimian went downstairs together. The butler had already prepared breakfast, and in the living room not far away, the makeup artist and stylist Shi He brought were getting ready.
Ruan Zhimian sat down to dine. “Aren’t you busy today?”
Shi He tapped his phone screen; his special assistant was staying at the company to keep watch. “Not busy. Accompanying you.”
He hadn’t told Shi He yet about his plan to call off the engagement today, but he instinctively felt that Shi He was very keen on going to the Han family home with him.
At 11:00 AM, Ruan Zhimian sat on the sofa in his pajamas. The makeup artist applied a light touch of makeup for him—just a few simple strokes, yet it made him look even more beautiful. The stylist held a curling iron and gave him a wavy hairstyle.
Ruan Zhimian went upstairs to change into his formal wear. Before heading out, he detoured to his safe and took out the sapphire watch Shi He had gifted him.
The watch made of sapphires—from the central dial to the strap—was entirely carved and inlaid with sapphires and diamonds, worth an absolute fortune.
The downstairs area was bustling. Ruan Zhimian held onto the handrail as he walked down the stairs, dressed in a simple black velvet suit. His snowy-white wrist was lifted, making the sapphire watch exceptionally eye-catching.
He lowered his eyes and spotted Han He’an standing in the center of the hall.
Han He’an held a bouquet of pink roses, dressed impeccably in a suit. “Mianmian, I’ve come to pick you up. My family is waiting for you at home…”
At this very moment, Shi He stood at the foot of the stairs, his phoenix eyes deep, dark, and cold, yet his expression remained gentle.
“Mianmian, come here.”
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