Chapter 306: It Just So Happens That I Am Free Tonight, I"ll Follow You Home To Take The Gift
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A chilling feeling surged through Ruan Danchen"s body. By the looks of it, Liu Ronghua must have successfully moved into the Shen family"s home. Otherwise, judging from Shen Jialiang"s att.i.tude previously, how could he let Liu Ronghua waltz in and out of the house whenever she pleased?

Ruan Danchen felt cold all of a sudden as she recalled Liu Ronghua once told her that the baby was stillborn. If that was the case, how was it possible that Shen Jialiang would let Liu Ronghua live in the Shen manor?

Ruan Danchen thought of one harsh possibility. The Shen family feared that Ruan Danchen would be unwilling to let go of her child thus they lied to her that her baby was stillborn to prevent her from causing further trouble and she would not observe her child from afar.

Ruan Danchen was leaning against a telephone pole, unable to stand straight due to heartache. She did not expect that her own mother would betray her for self-benefit.

Thus, Ruan Danchen ended her desire to question Liu Ronghua.

Ruan Danchen did not know whether Qi Chenglin"s son was hers or not and she kept observing him for these past few years.

Ruan Danchen finally met with Qi Youxuan when she attended Song Yu"s wedding. She confirmed that Youxuan was her kindred after asking for Qi Youxuan"s birthday on that day at the Qi family"s house.

Ruan Danchen felt conflicted afterward. She was happy and grateful that her own son lived healthily and grown to be a cute and cheerful boy even without his mother"s guidance.

At the same time, Ruan Danchen felt sorry for Qi Youxuan. Youxuan was a boy now and she could not accompany him for these past six years, thus she felt that she did not have the right to acknowledge Youxuan as her son. She would feel satisfied just by looking at him from afar and talked to him if there was any chance.

Ruan Danchen would feel grateful if she could do all these.

There was nothing happier than to see her son grew up happily and healthily.

Ruan Danchen would not want to disturb her son"s life and induced such heavy burden on his tiny shoulders by simply acknowledging him as her son. She would not want the carefree smile to disappear from Youxuan"s cute face.

Ruan Danchen inhaled with her sore nose and wiped the tears off her face.

Now Ruan Danchen"s eyes appeared swollen and bloodshot due to her endless crying when she dreamt.

Ruan Danchen went to the kitchen, made herself a simple sandwich and warmed a gla.s.s of milk. She then used a cloth to wrap some ice she retrieved from the refrigerator and applied it on her eyes while she took her breakfast.

Ruan Danchdn noticed that her eyes were less swollen after her breakfast, then she applied some eye drops to get rid of those capillaries that were bulging out on her eyes. Afterward, she did some simple makeup before leaving for her work.

Song Yu took a glance at Ruan Danchen once she stepped into the design department. Even though there was a makeup on her face, Song Yu could still notice that Ruan Danchen was not in a good mood.

"Danchen, what happened to you? Did you not sleep well? Why were your eyes so red?" Song Yu was taken aback when she saw Ruan Danchen.

Ruan Danchen quickly took out a portable mirror and had a look of herself. Her eyes were a little less red as compared to this morning after the application of eye drops but it was still easily noticeable.

"Nothing, I just had a bad dream and ended up bursting into tears," Ruan Danchen blushed and answered awkwardly.

"Chang Lai will come and fetch me to the banquet tonight. Do you want to come with me?" Song Yu suggested softly.

Qilin would set up a banquet celebration for Qilin Hotel which was at its final stage of construction at a buffet restaurant at Shengyue. The main purpose of the banquet was to show appreciation for the staff of Qilin and Chengs.h.i.+.

Ruan Danchen smiled at Song Yu and said, "What are you talking about? Chang Lai will surely fetch you straight to Qi Chengzhi, where should I go once you met him? I don"t want to be the third wheeler. The company will send out vans to fetch us to Shengyue tonight so I"ll just follow them later."

Song Yu replied Ruan Danchen with a smile as she knew Chang Lai would come much earlier to the company. Since she was pregnant now, Qi Chengzhi wanted her to leave work earlier and Director Zhao did not have a choice but to agree with it, but the same did not apply to Ruan Danchen, she could not possibly leave work earlier.

In the end, as expected, Chang Lai came to fetch Song Yu off a couple hours earlier before it was time to get off work.

Ruan Danchen followed the vans to Shengyue at night, with Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu arrived shortly after. Both of them sat at one corner and Ruan Danchen did not purposely go and greet Song Yu.

Even though Ruan Danchen was close to Song Yu, she did not want to simply greet Song Yu in front of the crowd as the consequences may be disastrous. They would gossip that Ruan Danchen was a bootlicker and wanted to kowtow both of them, thus she did not want to act ostentatiously.

Qi Chengzhi brought Song Yu home after staying for a while due to her current pregnancy.

Qi Chenglin arrived shortly after Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu left due to work overtime.

This humongous buffet restaurant was in chaos as there were staff from two different companies feasting and chatting together. Qi Chenglin was being low profiled so except for Qilin"s important cadre, none would notice that Qi Chenglin arrived.

However, for some reason, Ruan Danchen felt Qi Chenglin"s presence as soon as he stepped into the restaurant.

Ruan Danchen could see the door from where she sat but the distance between her and the door was far and she did not purposely observe the movements in and out of the door. It was a sudden tingling sensation, palpitations and warm ears that made her peeked at the door unconsciously and there Qi Chenglin was, standing at the doorway in a sharp-looking suit.

The tie was properly knotted and the suit was especially well-fitted as it accentuated his wide shoulders with a narrow waist and perfectly showed off his inverted triangle body shape.

Qi Chenglin radiated an aura just by standing there and it induced irregular breathing in Ruan Danchen.

Qi Chenglin appeared to not notice Ruan Danchen at all, which was logical as it was crowded at the restaurant and he did not come here to find Ruan Danchen.

Ruan Danchen did not dare to stare at Qi Chenglin openly so she peeked at him from the corner of her eyes. She noticed Qi Chenglin looked at the opposite direction, nodded and walked in that direction. She followed his gaze and noticed that Qi Chenglin went to talk to Qi Chengyue and Cheng Dongge.

Ruan Danchen relaxed slightly, then she heard her colleague sitting opposite her asking, "Xiao Ruan, don"t you want to take some food and eat?"

Only then Ruan Danchen remembered that she had not taken any food until now and her plate was clean and empty.

"I"ll go and take some food now," Ruan Danchen replied and took a glance at Qi Chenglin again. When she noticed that Qi Chenglin was talking to Cheng Dongge and Qi Chengyue attentively, she hurried off to the j.a.panese cuisine area and chose her favorite sas.h.i.+mi.

She then took a sauce plate and squeezed some wasabi out, and just as she was about to pour some soy sauce, a mellow voice traveled to her ears. "I thought you said you were going to prepare presents for Youxuan? It has been so long, are you giving him a perfunctory promise?"

The voice was unexpected and it made Ruan Danchen jumped. Her hand shook and the soy sauce dripped onto her pants. There was not much soy sauce that accidentally got onto her pants but she wore white pants. It would still be obvious even if it was just a drop or two.

Ruan Danchen turned her head in surprise and stared at the man who came out of nowhere behind her.

Ruan Danchen"s height only reached Qi Chenglin"s chest level even if she stood with her back straight. It was Qi Chenglin"s firm and athletic chest despite buried within his suit and his tie that caught her eyes the moment she turned around.

Qi Chenglin was standing close to her, Ruan Danchen could tell that the tips of their shoes were almost touching each other. She could even feel the heat radiating from his chest.

The men"s perfume still remained on Qi Chenglin despite a full day"s work and the scent traveled all the way into her nostrils. It felt like someone had suddenly turned on an internal heater inside her system and her skin turned into a shade of a ripe strawberry. She could feel warmth now bloomed into a full-blown, sweltering heatwave bursting through her pores as if she was standing beside a stove.

"Young… Young Master Lin," Ruan Danchen swallowed hard as she was sent reeling backward. She was as red as a beetroot and radiated heat like a hot pan, one could cook a three-course meal on her steaming scalp. She felt so nervous until she did not care whether they attracted the public"s attention or not.

Seeing Ruan Danchen backing off as if trying to escape from a grotesque monstrosity, Qi Chenglin narrowed his eyes slightly and his gaze s.h.i.+fted to the soy sauce stain on her pants.

Ruan Danchen followed his gaze to her pants where the soy sauce stained and she found a reason out of this. "I"ll tidy up myself in the washroom."

She lowered her head, avoiding Qi Chenglin"s gaze and hurried off. She purposely moved one step further away from Qi Chenglin as if he was a blazing fire ready to consume her.

Qi Chenglin quirked up a corner of his mouth and smirked. He stared with narrowed eyes at Ruan Danchen who was rus.h.i.+ng towards the washroom with her head down.

Ruan Danchen used tissue papers to try and wipe the soy sauce stain off her pants. The stain faded slightly but still remained noticeable. She had no choice but to wait until she returned home.

Ruan Danchen crumpled up the tissue and threw it into the bin. She looked at herself in the mirror and let out a heavy sigh, thinking for a reason to leave the banquet earlier.

She left the washroom after a while and immediately froze in place right after she turned around.

Qi Chenglin was leaning against the wall with his left foot stepping on the wall, a cigarette was between his long and slender fingers and he exhaled cigarette smoke. Ruan Danchen had no idea what was he thinking but his usual expressionless face now became stern and firm.

His hair fell slightly on his forehead created shadows around his eyes which made him appear dour and unapproachable.

Ruan Danchen started to feel a little gastric pain. Qi Chenglin turned towards her and raised his eyebrows. He straightened up and face her, then leaned against the wall again from the side and took another deep drag.

"I bought Youxuan"s present, I just couldn"t find a chance to give it to him," Ruan Danchen grimaced.

This man acted like he was collecting debt when he kept asking the status of his son"s present.

Qi Chenglin puffed out the smoke towards Ruan Danchen. Even though they were not close to each other but the smoke hit her face directly.

Ruan Danchen pursed her lips and held her breath as she did not want to inhale secondary smoke. She frowned and took a small step backward.

Qi Chenglin gave her a slight smirk and asked, "You left the present in your house?"

Ruan Danchen nodded slowly, with hesitation as she did not want to admit it.

Qi Chenglin straightened his back and said with a mellow voice, "It just so happens that I am free tonight, I"ll follow you home to take the gift."

"…" Ruan Danchen was speechless as he did not ask if she was free tonight.

"Haha. Young Master Lin, I thought you are going to attend the celebration banquet tonight? Are you not supposed to speak something on stage later?" Ruan Danchen asked with a dry smile.

Qi Chenglin narrowed his eyes slightly and gave her a mock smile, his mellow voice mixed with a tinge of taunt. "Mr. Qi Zhongxun will personally address to the staff tonight."

"…" Ruan Danchen was at a loss of words.

Qi Chenglin stared at her with mocking eyes. He kept quiet and left.

Did Qi Chenglin want Ruan Danchen to follow him or just let her be? She had no idea what Qi Chenglin wanted so she froze in place with hesitation.

"Why are you not moving?" Qi Chenglin turned his head slightly and asked calmly.

Ruan Danchen felt as if she was strangled and followed Qi Chenglin unwillingly.

Ruan Danchen went back to her seat and saw Qi Chenglin walking straight towards the door and stood still like a statue afterward.

Even though the distance between them was far and Ruan Danchen could not really notice his gaze but somehow she could feel his gaze locking onto her as if waiting for her to leave.

Ruan Danchen felt herself become numb due to the pressure Qi Chenglin radiated. She took her bag unwillingly and informed her colleagues that she wanted to leave soon.

"You"re leaving now? You haven"t eaten anything," Ruan Danchen"s colleague took a glance at her empty plate.

The j.a.panese cuisine area Ruan Danchen went to just now was far from her seat so the scene happened between Qi Chenglin and her did not attract her colleague"s attention. Ruan Danchen was in a hurry to avoid Qi Chenglin just now and left her plate at the j.a.panese cuisine area.

"I"m feeling a little under the weather. I"m not sure if it was because of the lunch I had this afternoon but I feel disgusted and lacking in appet.i.te now," Ruan Danchen had a nightmare last night and did not sleep well, so when she pressed on her gastric region now, it became really convincing that she was unwell.

"Then go home and rest. Normally it costs around three hundred dollars even by group purchase so it"s a pity that you wasted such an opportunity to dine in when there are so many delicious cuisines for free," Her colleague said.

Ruan Danchen could not help but smile and let out a long sigh. "Well, I"m out of luck today."

Ruan Danchen then took her bag and walk towards the door.

Qi Chenglin turned around and walked away when he saw Ruan Danchen was almost at the door.

Ruan Danchen followed Qi Chenglin but she remained at least three to four meters away from him to prevent others from misunderstanding.

While Qi Chenglin was waiting for Ruan Danchen at the door, he instructed the valet to fetch his car so the moment he stepped out of the restaurant, the valet from Shengyue already parked his car in front of the door and pa.s.sed him the keys.

Qi Chenglin did not turn around and went straight into the driver"s seat.

Ruan Danchen observed her surroundings carefully to make sure there was no acquaintance around, then she quickly ran towards the car. When she opened the back door of the car and about to get in the car, she heard a cold voice from Qi Chenglin. "Am I your driver?"

Qi Chenglin turned his head ever so slightly and Ruan Danchen could already noticed his annoyance and stern face.

"…" Ruan Danchen became sluggish. She closed the car door and unwillingly sat on the front.

Ruan Danchen was so nervous when she sat so close to Qi Chenglin. The scent of Qi Chenglin lingered in the car and she could feel the scent of the perfume on Qi Chenglin coated her everything.

Ruan Danchen could only keep her head as low as possible and unconsciously, her gaze fell on the long lower limbs of Qi Chenglin.

The Mercedes-Benz Qi Chenglin drove was huge and s.p.a.cious but Qi Chenglin bent his long and muscular legs as if there was not enough s.p.a.ce for his built.

All of a sudden Ruan Danchen felt her scalp burnt as if a cavitation was going to form from the blazing fire. This was what she felt every time Qi Chenglin stared at her.

Ruan Danchen did not dare to lift her head up and only looked at him from the corner of her eyes, which she noticed Qi Chenglin was really staring at her.

Ruan Danchen"s face burned with embarra.s.sment and she felt especially stressed. She started hyperventilating and gasping for air.

Ruan Danchen wanted to act dumb and ignore his gaze but Qi Chenglin just would not start his car. She felt the initial s.p.a.cious environment became smaller as Qi Chenglin"s gaze became more penetrating.

Did Qi Chenglin noticed Ruan Danchen peeking at his long and slender legs?

Ruan Danchen summoned up her courage and met with Qi Chenglin"s gaze, who was still staring at her with a sparkle in his eyes.

Ruan Danchen swallowed down her nervousness and felt her heartbeat became irregular. "Young… Young Master Lin?"

"Do you want to fasten your seatbelt?" Qi Chenglin asked calmly which did not match his sparkling eyes.

"…" Ruan Danchen was speechless.

The reason why Qi Chenglin kept staring at Ruan Danchen was because of this seatbelt issue?

"Why don"t you just say it if you want to remind me to fasten my seatbelt?" Ruan Danchen pulled the seatbelt and when she was about to buckle up, she noticed Qi Chenglin was still staring at her.

Ruan Danchen raised her head again to look at Qi Chenglin and noticed his face appeared as if annoyed at her for talking back at him, and his gaze radiated intense pressure on her.

Ruan Danchen"s hands started to tremble under stress and just could not buckle up the seatbelt even after endless attempts.