Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ruan Danchen sat on the floor, she had no strength to stand back up.

When Qi Youxuan came in, Qi Chenglin let her go in time to walk over to the sink and resume was.h.i.+ng the dishes. On the other hand, her legs decided to give up on her and she slid down the cabinet door.

She had her head lowered, feeling guilty about what had happened. Her face was still burning as she resisted the urge to slap herself. Why did she lose herself in the kiss?

Qi Youxuan was so close to stumbling into the affair. Ruan Danchen was still trying to recover from the shock.

If he had really caught them in that precarious situation, she did not know how she should face him.

"Dad, why aren"t you helping her up? This is why you can"t get a wife." The little boy shook his head disapprovingly, ignoring his father"s darkened expression. Qi Youxuan walked toward Ruan Danchen.

"Aunt Ruan, are you okay? Does it hurt?" Seeing that Ruan Danchen kept her head down, Qi Youxuan figured she must be crying from the pain.

Ruan Danchen calmed herself down and tidied her hair before looking up. During the commotion, Qi Chenglin had tugged her ponytail loose and the hair tie was nowhere to be found.

"I"m fine," Ruan Danchen said sheepishly. She averted her gaze from Qi Youxuan.

"Eh, Aunt Ruan, why is your face red? Are you hurting?" Qi Youxuan asked.

"Em…" Ruan Danchen uttered.

"Is it still hurting?" Qi Youxuan was worried as he took Ruan Danchen"s hand.

His small, soft hands tried their best to rea.s.sure her. Ruan Danchen was incredibly touched by the gesture.

"No, it doesn"t hurt anymore," Ruan Danchen said softly.

"Then I"ll help you up." Qi Youxuan"s small hands had a hard time pulling Ruan Danchen"s arm, let alone her whole body. Knowing his limitations, he turned to his father. "Dad, come help Aunt Ruan. Really, dad. You make me worry for your future."

Qi Chenglin"s eyes narrowed at the boy. Qi Youxuan hunched his shoulders, realizing that he might have gotten too carried away.

Qi Chenglin pursed his lips and walked over. Without any preamble, his arm circled around Ruan Danchen"s waist. Ruan Danchen s.h.i.+vered as the warm palm settled on her hip. She blushed as she stared at the hand resting on her body.

His large hand made her waist look delicate.

"I can get up on my own," Ruan Danchen said as her face heated up.

She heard Qi Chenglin breathe out a sigh over her head. The breath caressed her forehead, leaving behind a numbness.

After that, she was pulled up by Qi Chenglin. Her arm instinctively wrapped around his shoulder. Once her footing was secured, she quickly let go of Qi Chenglin, her eyes avoiding him.

Qi Chenglin chuckled. It tickled his heart to see Ruan Danchen shy and embarra.s.sed.

If it were not for Qi Youxuan"s presence, he would have already taken her to bed.

Later, Qi Youxuan was adamant that he escort Ruan Danchen out of the kitchen to rest on the couch.

Qi Chenglin followed them out. He said indifferently, "Pack up your stuff, we"re leaving."

Qi Youxuan had just sat down on the couch. He immediately hid behind Ruan Danchen and hugged her by the waist. Not wanting to leave, he cried out, "So soon? Let me play a while longer."

"She needs to rest. Don"t forget, we"re going back to the old manor today." Qi Chenglin shot Ruan Danchen a look.

Ruan Danchen was reluctant to part with Qi Youxuan. She hugged him tightly. "Can"t he stay for just a little longer?"

Qi Chenglin stared into Ruan Danchen"s eyes and saw the guilt behind them. She knew that she had no right to keep Qi Youxuan.

"Go pack up," Qi Chenglin ordered coldly.

Qi Youxuan knew that his father was not budging on the issue. With a pout on his face, he crawled down from the couch and walked dejectedly into the bedroom to pack.

The scene made Ruan Danchen"s heartache and she gave Qi Chenglin a pitiful look.

Qi Chenglin pursed his lips as he sat down beside her. He felt the uneasiness radiating from Ruan Danchen—she seemed like she wanted to move away but had no guts to do so.

"Why are you nervous?" he asked teasingly.

"I"m not," Ruan Danchen said under her breath, avoiding his gaze.

Qi Chenglin had just kissed her senseless a moment ago and here he was now, acting as if nothing had happened.

Qi Chenglin snorted and teased her, saying, "Then why won"t you look at me?"

"Why should I? There"s nothing worth looking at," Ruan Danchen said moodily.

There was a period of silence. Qi Chenglin did not speak.

She could feel the intensity of his gaze even with her head down.

The pressure on her was immense as he refused to look away.

In the end, Ruan Danchen raised her head and took a peek. Her eyes were instantly drawn into Qi Chenglin"s obsidian orbs.

"Why are you looking at me?" Ruan Danchen asked in an incredulous tone. Her scalp was feeling numb under his stare.

"You"re pretty," Qi Chenglin smirked and said playfully. The intensity of his gaze felt like the sun scorching her.

Ruan Danchen was at a loss. She chewed her lip and said, "Young Master Lin, please don"t make these kinds of jokes."

"I"m not," Qi Chenglin replied in a deep, sensuous voice.

Ruan Danchen did not know what Qi Chenglin was thinking. As she was about to reply, the young boy gloomily walked into the room with his little box.

"Did you take all your gifts? Don"t leave stuff behind again," Qi Chenglin asked as he stood up.

"They"re already in the box," Qi Youxuan replied in an unhappy tone.

Qi Chenglin took hold of Qi Youxuan"s hand and walked over to the front door. Qi Youxuan still did not want to leave; he pouted as he said goodbye to Ruan Danchen.

Ruan Danchen could not find a legitimate reason to keep Qi Youxuan here, so she could only watch as Qi Chenglin took him away. She followed them all the way to the elevator. Watching the young boy"s face disappear behind the elevator doors made Ruan Danchen tear up. She sniffled as tears threatened to flow.

When she returned home, she went out to the balcony and spotted Qi Chenglin and Qi Youxuan. Perhaps it was because of the bond forged from Qi Youxuan staying over, she found herself wanting to spend more time with him.

As she watched them, Qi Youxuan suddenly stopped and looked up at her. He proceeded to dramatically wave his small arm at her.

At this point, Ruan Danchen could no longer hold back her tears. Thankfully, Qi Youxuan was not there to witness it.

She waved back at Qi Youxuan. She watched the boy look back in her direction periodically as he was being ushered away by Qi Chenglin, all the while waving goodbye until he got into the car.

Ruan Danchen stayed on the balcony until the car left.

She sat on the couch and daydreamed for a moment before realizing that she was still in her sports attire. She had not washed off the sweat from her morning jog, thus she went to the bedroom to get ready for a shower. Seated on her bed was Qi Youxuan"s teddy bear.

Ruan Danchen walked over to the bed and pulled the teddy bear into a hug. She could still smell Qi Youxuan"s scent as he had always slept with the toy.

The teddy bear was something he carried around with him everywhere. She wondered how it got left behind.

Ruan Danchen placed the teddy bear on the bedside table and went to shower.

After drying her hair, she went to lie down on the bed. She hugged the teddy bear and inhaled the lingering baby scent of the boy; in doing so, it calmed her.

She spent around thirty minutes relaxing on the bed before she was interrupted by a phone call.

It was Qi Youxuan calling. She quickly picked up the call. "Youxuan?"

"Aunt Ruan, I"m at Great-grandpa"s house now," Qi Youxuan"s bright and clear voice echoed through the phone. "I think I accidentally left my teddy bear at your place."

"Yes." Ruan Danchen looked down at the toy and said gently, "I"m hugging it now."

Qi Youxuan was especially happy to hear that and his voice went a pitch higher as he said, "Really? We"ll leave that bear at your house then. When I"m not there, you can think of it as me and feel like I"m there with you."

"Don"t you have a habit of hugging the bear to sleep at night? Are you sure that it"s okay to leave it here?" Ruan Danchen asked softly. Just hearing Qi Youxuan"s voice made her smile.

"No worries. I"m happy that the teddy bear is keeping you company," Qi Youxuan said while blus.h.i.+ng.

"Okay. I shall hug the teddy to sleep every night," Ruan Danchen said as she smiled. She felt that Qi Youxuan had intentionally left the toy here.

Qi Youxuan continued to happily chat with Ruan Danchen until he saw Grandmother Qi walking over. He quickly said his goodbyes and hung up.

Grandmother Qi was interested to know more about the woman Qi Chenglin was interested in. However, Qi Youxuan seemed unwilling to share any information so she walked away feeling unsatisfied.

On Monday, Ruan Danchen was meeting a client at Shengyue. It was not a big-name client, just a client who wanted to do some house renovations. Now that her name was tarnished, major clients did not frequent her service. Hence, even minor jobs such as house renovations fell into her purview.

After the discussion, the client took his leave.

As Ruan Danchen was packing up to leave, a call came from Mu Huaisheng.

She was indifferent toward Mu Huaisheng. Anything beyond friends was unthinkable as he was related to Mu Sisi.

"Mr. Mu," Ruan Danchecn addressed politely through the phone.

"Miss Ruan, I have a renovation job that requires your help. Are you in the office? I can go over to meet you," said Mu Huaisheng.

"I just finished up with a client at Shengyue," Ruan Danchen replied. "I"ll be back in another forty minutes."

"Coincidentally, I"m around the area. How about we meet at Shengyue?" Mu Huaisheng asked.

The call ended and Ruan Danchen waited at Shengyue.

Twenty minutes later, Mu Huaisheng showed up.

He was dressed in a tailored suit and the cold aura he exuded was much more elegant than Qi Chenglin. Nevertheless, she had always preferred Qi Chenglin.

Without having Qi Chenglin as a comparison, Mu Huaisheng was an eyecatcher.

As he approached, Ruan Danchen stood up as a sign of respect. She was treating him as she would a client.

"I"m sorry to barge in on you suddenly." Mu Huaisheng sat down and gave her an apologetic smile.

"Mr. Mu is giving me business. I should be the one thanking you." Ruan Danchen returned the smile. "It"s just, MU. is already in operation so I"m unsure as to what other renovations there might be?"

"It"s like this, my parents visited B City a while back and decided to stay longer. Initially, we wanted to live together in the house that I had originally bought, but it might be too much of a squeeze for the whole family. So I chose another villa for my sister and parents while I moved to an apartment that"s nearer to the company. Since I"m living alone, a big house will only end up feeling empty." Mu Huaisheng"s sonorous voice carried on. "For these two houses, I would like you to design them if you have the time."

Ruan Danchen was a little hesitant. If that villa was meant for his parents and Mu Sisi, taking on the job might mean running into Mu Sisi and that was the last thing she wanted.

As for Mu Huaisheng"s bachelor pad, it would mean a lot of interaction with him during the renovation works. She was not comfortable with the thought as she preferred not to have too much dealings with him.

However, this was a job opportunity that was hard to come by. The decline in her number of clients had garnered some looks from Director Zhao.

In the midst of her internal debate, Ruan Danchen"s eyes fell upon Qi Chenglin.

He had just walked in with his a.s.sistant, Jiang Yuan, by his side. They were accompanied by another two middle-aged men that she did not recognize. One had a bald spot at the top of his head while the other sported a large belly—both who looked like clients. They were chatting happily with Qi Chenglin.

Qi Chenglin was a sight to behold with his tall and slender frame, every gesture from him was graceful and charming. Standing next to him, the two clients were an unsightly scene.

Ruan Danchen"s anxiety was piqued as she worried that Qi Chenglin would see her. Although she was only talking business with Mu Huaisheng, she felt like she was getting caught cheating by her boyfriend. The whole thing was ridiculous.

She only saw Qi Chenglin"s side profile and already her face was red. His long legs followed the directions given by the waiter while his eyes were fixed ahead. It seemed like he was not aware that she was here.

Funnily, she found herself feeling a bit disappointed that he did not notice her at first sight.

The change in her expression from bashful to disappointed must have been obvious as Mu Huaisheng turned around to understand the situation.

At that point, Qi Chenglin had already walked down the corridor toward the private rooms. Mu Huaisheng only saw the waiter that was serving Qi Chenglin. Confused, he turned back and asked, "Miss Ruan, you saw a friend?"

Ruan Danchen quickly snapped back to the situation and shook her head. "No, I was mistaken."

"So, Miss Ruan, are you willing to take this case?" Mu Huaisheng asked in a light tone. He gave her a look that suggested a closer relations.h.i.+p than just the average client but it did not make her feel uncomfortable.

"Mr. Mu, I am thankful that I"m your first choice but because of Miss Mu, I don"t think I should be taking on this case. The renovations on the villa will require some degree of interaction with Miss Mu and there"s some conflict of interest. To be honest, I would like to have zero interactions with her," Ruan Danchen replied in all honesty.

Since the incident with Mu Sisi, Ruan Danchen"s words carried some weight to them and Mu Huaisheng had no right to be mad.

Mu Huaisheng nodded his head calmly. "I understand. The renovation in the villa would be a bigger project which would bring you more profit but if you"re not comfortable, we can forget it. How about my apartment, I take that there are no such considerations?"

Ruan Danchen peered at him doubtfully. Her attention was diverted to the arrival of Qi Chengzhi at the front door.

The magnetism of the two Qi brothers was a force to be reckoned with. When Qi Chengzhi walked in, it was akin to a stork among chickens. He stood out without much effort.

Qi Chengzhi somehow noticed Ruan Danchen and turned in her direction. She felt her skin crawl under his gaze.

Qi Chenglin was always a tease which made her heart race like a deer caught in the headlights. On the other hand, Qi Chengzhi only filled her with dread.

From afar, Qi Chengzhi only nodded his head and bounded for the private room.

A moment later, Qi Chenglin walked out from the corridor. He took long strides toward the public dining hall, each footstep was steady and measured, making Ruan Danchen nervous.

Mu Huaisheng was facing the other direction and could not see what was happening. Qi Chenglin was clearly looking at her as he walked toward their table. For some reason, he had a smirk on his face.

She was not spotted by him just now, yet here he was.

His expression seemed to imply that she had been caught red-handed.

Although she had done nothing wrong, guilt lingered in her heart.

She watched as Qi Chenglin walked toward their table but stopped short at the table before them. He took a seat behind Mu Huaisheng.

Ruan Danchen was speechless.

What was he doing now?

"Miss Ruan?" Mu Huaisheng asked when he noticed Ruan Danchen"s unfocused gaze.

Ruan Danchen"s attention returned to Mu Huaisheng. "Can I have some time to consider?"

Mu Huaisheng was surprised. He smiled and said, "Is your schedule tight these days?"

Ruan Danchen did not know how to answer his question. Mu Huaisheng just had to ask around to learn of her recent decline in work performance.

Director Zhao would be his main source of information regarding herself.

Mu Huaisheng chuckled. "Miss Ruan, there is no need to feel pressured. This is purely a work offer, nothing more. I am interested in you, something that I"m sure you"re aware of. I do not want to be off-putting in the process of courting you. I know that my sister has caused a lot of problems for you at work, hence I wanted to do my best to alleviate that. Notwithstanding the incident with my sister, I would still be inclined to have you work on this project, if for nothing else than to leave a good impression. If this renovation project brings us closer together, it would be an additional benefit."

This took Ruan Danchen by surprise. Mu Huaisheng"s unexpected honesty left her with nothing to say.

"Mr. Mu chose the wrong person." She decided to respond in kind. "I have no intentions of getting into a relations.h.i.+p. If you are approaching me as a normal client, I would be more than happy to take on your case. But now, I"m afraid I"ll have to reject your offer. I hope you can understand my decision."

Mu Huaisheng was not expecting an outright rejection. It took him a while before speaking up, "Miss Ruan, don"t be hasty with your rejection. Taking on this project does not mean you have accepted me, take it as a chance for us. Or you can treat it purely as work and I will be your innocent client, then there will be less pressure on you, I"d say?"

Free mini scene:

ChengYu Mini Scene 2

As Song Yu was taking the book out, Qi Chengzhi was playing with five-month-old Youjin.

"What"s with this book?" A red-faced Song Yu shoved the book at Qi Chengzhi.

Qi Chengzhi gave the book a quick glance and said, "A present for Chenglin."

Silence.

"And what about that bookmark?" Song Yu pointed at the card slotted between the pages of the book.