Blossom through the Cloud - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Standing beside the car, Bai Yang was trying to figure out when exactly he should carry Fu Mingyu's luggage upstairs.

The boss had simply dropped a casual "in a bit," but there was no telling how long "a bit" was supposed to be, let alone why he needed to wait in the first place.

Checking his wristwatch, Bai Yang noted that nearly twenty minutes had already elapsed since Fu Mingyu got out of the car. Surely that was long enough.

With that, he instructed the driver to pop the trunk.

Yet just as he lifted the suitcase down, he saw Fu Mingyu emerging from the main entrance.

Even amidst the nocturnal shadows, his dark, ashen complexion remained clearly visible as he strode forward with long, heavy steps, looking as though he desperately wanted to flee the premises.

Subconsciously taking a step back until his back brushed against the car body, Bai Yang asked, "President Fu, did we leave something behind?"

"Back to Lakeside Mansion."

He uttered only those few words. Anxious and uneasy, Bai Yang hurried to open the car door.

Instead of getting in immediately, Fu Mingyu stopped by the roadside and lit a cigarette.

Fu Mingyu wasn't much of a smoker; a single pack would usually last him a good half-month, and he rarely ever smoked in public places.

Bai Yang figured that over the past two weeks, rushing from Lincheng to Paris, detouring to the Seychelles, and finally looping back to Jiangcheng had left him severely sleep-deprived. Perhaps he was genuinely exhausted.

Yet amid the night, the tiny ember flickered erratically, and the expression on Fu Mingyu's face showed no signs of relaxing.

An hour later, the car rolled into Lakeside Mansion.

The vehicle gradually decelerated as it rounded the lakeside road, the streetlamps casting shimmering reflections across the rippling water, while the magnolias on the branches hung their heads, looking precariously on the verge of dropping.

Fu Mingyu rolled down the car window, letting a series of cool evening breezes sweep inside. His expression finally softened by a fraction.

Aunt Luo came out to open the door, greeting Fu Mingyu as he stepped inside.

"You haven't been back in over half a month. Madam was still asking after you this morning."

Fu Mingyu swept his gaze across the room, but failing to spot the mother who had been asking after him, he was greeted instead by a golden retriever bounding eagerly toward him.

Stooping down to give the dog a couple of pats on the head, Fu Mingyu straightened up and asked, "Where is Madam?"

Aunt Luo promptly explained, "Her art gallery is holding an exhibition opening today with an after-party. Madam hasn't returned yet."

"Mhm."

By the time Fu Mingyu finished taking a shower upstairs, Helan Xiang had already returned.

Holding up the hem of her silk evening gown in one hand while unclasping the pigeon-egg-sized earrings from her lobes with the other, she glanced at Fu Mingyu as they brushed past each other on the stairs.

"Come down to the dining room to keep me company for a midnight snack in a bit."

With that, she swept past like a decree-issuing empress dowager.

Fu Mingyu had intended to grab a bite anyway.

When he reached the dining room, a light porridge and savory side dishes tailored to his preferences were already laid out on the table.

Before long, Helan Xiang came downstairs after undoing her hairstyle and changing clothes, seating herself directly across from Fu Mingyu.

"What on earth is going on with Yan An's situation?"

"What do you mean, what's going on?"

Fu Mingyu looked up, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "It's been a month already. Why are you still asking?"

Stirring her spoon without touching her food, Helan Xiang tried her best to conceal it, yet her eyes still radiated a glow of pure gossip.

"I heard people talking about it at the banquet. Is his girlfriend some minor internet celebrity? I heard she's been online nonstop tearing into him, claiming he's two-timing and cheating. Is that true?"

Instantly losing his appetite, Fu Mingyu set down his spoon and replied flatly, "I have no idea. Besides, she's his ex-girlfriend."

"Oh, right, of course. Things got so messy they obviously broke up."

Sensing that Fu Mingyu was about to leave, Helan Xiang sank back into her chair with a stern look. "Sit still. How long has it been since you last came home? Can't you spare a moment to talk to me?"

"Go ahead."

Helan Xiang was deeply displeased with Fu Mingyu's attitude, but he was her flesh and blood—what could she do?

"I feel like that boy Yan An shouldn't be capable of taking things that far. But for a young woman to make such a huge fuss, he certainly bears some responsibility. He must have treated her poorly or messed around with someone else behind her back."

Fu Mingyu let out a perfunctory "Mhm."

Paying him no mind, Helan Xiang continued, "I heard that girl has one or two million followers? This is going to be impossible to clean up. Now Director Yan is furious; the whole scandal has damaged the company's image, so they've sidelined Yan An on one hand while showing no mercy to the girl on the other—she's facing a lawsuit. If she really was defaming him, then that young girl has landed herself in some serious trouble. Ah, you young people nowadays... why can't you just communicate properly instead of making such an ugly spectacle out of things?"

This time, the person opposite her didn't even offer an "Mhm."

With lowered eyes, his gaze remained fixed on the bowl in front of him as though lost in thought.

"Forget it, talking to you is genuinely boring." Helan Xiang covered her mouth in a yawn. "Where's my gift?"

Fu Mingyu lifted his chin, gesturing for Helan Xiang to look at the cabinet behind her.

"At least you still remember me."

Rising to her feet, Helan Xiang walked over to the display shelf. The first thing that caught her eye was an exquisite velvet box embossed with the letters "Piaget."

Prying it open, she found the gold-accented high-jewelry piece from the Oasis collection that she had been eyeing.

Instructing Aunt Luo to put the box away, she spotted another item sitting right beside it.

The box was small. Flipping it open casually, she discovered a string of pearl bracelets resting against black velvet, possessing a delicate, fluorescent luster and an exceptionally refined craftsmanship.

Being a connoisseur of jewelry, she could tell at a glance that these were natural pearls dating back to the early 1990s.

"Is this for me too?"

Fu Mingyu glanced up at her, then quickly looked away.

"Take it if you like it."

Once he put it that way, how could Helan Xiang fail to understand.

Snapping the box shut, she strolled lazily toward the stairs. "I'm not in the habit of snatching other people's things."

Halting midway, she leaned against the banister to look down. "There's a Basel art exhibition at the exhibition center tomorrow morning. Aren't you free? Accompany me."

"No time."

"Hmph."

Meanwhile, most of the lights in Mingchen Apartments were still ablaze.

Ruan Suxian had soaked in a hot bath, feeling so blissfully relaxed she wanted to fall asleep right there in the tub.

Had the doorbell not rung, she truly wouldn't have wanted to stir from the water.

Wondering who could possibly be dropping by at this hour of the night, Ruan Suxian hurriedly threw on some clothes, wrapped her damp hair in a dry-hair cap, and rushed over to check the intercom monitor.

It turned out to be Yan An.

At this time of night, visiting her apartment made the situation somewhat awkward.

Still, figuring that he was at least a prominent and respectable figure, Ruan Suxian went ahead and opened the door.

"President Yan?"

Yan An stood in the doorway with a beaming smile. "Why are you still calling me President Yan? That sounds far too formal. You can just call me by my name."

Ruan Suxian nodded. "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing much," Yan An said. "Didn't I take a trip to Italy a few days ago? I just flew back tonight and brought you a little souvenir."

With that, he brought out the item he had been concealing behind his back.

Without even opening it, Ruan Suxian recognized the logo on the packaging as an expensive luxury jewelry brand.

She demurred, declining the gift, but after several rounds of polite back-and-forth, Yan An simply stepped right inside and set the box down on her entryway console.

"It's just a small token of my appreciation. If you won't even accept this, you're not giving me any face at all."

"..."

Ruan Suxian fell silent. Finding nothing else to say, Yan An asked a few casual questions about how she had been lately. Ruan Suxian answered them one by one, and seeing that she didn't even offer to invite him in for a glass of water, he took his leave.

Closing the door behind him, Ruan Suxian stared at the jewelry box. Yan An's habit of tossing expensive gifts her way whenever he felt like it gave her a genuine headache.

She had genuinely been giving his pursuit some serious thought, but antics like this left her trapped in an awkward, neither-here-nor-there position.

Drying her hair, she collapsed onto her bed, tossing and turning twice without finding a shred of sleepiness.

Her mind drifted back to how Fu Mingyu had looked earlier that day, thoroughly exasperated by her.

Back then, he hadn't said a word. Even though he was furious enough to make his blood run backward, he had simply stared at her for a few seconds before turning on his heel and striding away.

Perhaps the night air bred relaxation, or perhaps the hot bath induced drowsiness, but Ruan Suxian's nerves finally began to unspool.

For a split second, she wondered if she had gone a bit overboard today.

Calming down to think about it logically, Fu Mingyu had merely been holding her flight case, and as for brushing against her hand, it really must have been an accident.

After all, he was a man of standing; no matter how rotten his personality might be, he wouldn't pull something like that intentionally.

Yet she hadn't had much of a choice. Even though she wasn't normally someone with a terrible temper, whenever she saw Fu Mingyu, she felt like a powder keg waiting for a spark.

It had to be his fault, she decided.

Ruan Suxian flipped over again, and her phone chimed with a notification.

Seeing that the incoming message was from Fu Mingyu, her heart skipped a beat.

[Fu Mingyu]: What do you have scheduled for tomorrow daytime?

What was the meaning of this?

Did Fu Mingyu suffer from delayed realization, finally waking up to the idea of summoning her to his office for a reprimand over tea?

[Ruan Suxian]: Extremely busy.

[Fu Mingyu]: You have both tomorrow and the day after off.

Since he already knew that, why bother asking?

[Ruan Suxian]: Can't a person be busy on their day off? I have to go running, work out, and practice boxing.

After hitting send, Ruan Suxian pondered for a moment and added one more line.

[Ruan Suxian]: Just in case anyone tries getting handsy again in the future, I won't even need the police—I can handle it myself.

Absolute silence stretched out from the other end for a long stretch. Ruan Suxian half-wondered if he had dropped dead of sheer anger.

Half a minute later, a voice message popped up.

"Ruan Suxian, I'll say this one last time: I didn't do it on purpose today!"

Judging by the tone, he was thoroughly pissed off. For some inexplicable reason, Ruan Suxian felt a twinge of satisfaction. The corners of her lips curved upward as she tapped back a single punctuation mark: ".".

Whether his phone had exploded or his blood pressure had blown a gasket, no further replies came, and Ruan Suxian slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the alarm went off right on schedule. After washing up, Ruan Suxian threw on her sportswear, tied back her hair, and prepared to head out for a run.

As she was changing her shoes by the doorway, she heard the murmur of voices outside.

Assuming it was just neighbors, she paid it no mind. Pulling her shoes on, she swung the door open, only to find a man and a woman standing directly outside her threshold.

Both of them had smartphones clutched in their hands. The moment they saw Ruan Suxian open the door, their conversation cut off abruptly and they froze in place.

The catastrophe unfolded in that exact split second.

Before Ruan Suxian could even process what was happening, the two of them suddenly raised their phones and lunged forward.

"Where's Yan An? Come out here! Yan An! Get out here right now!"

Caught completely off guard, Ruan Suxian was shoved aside, and it wasn't until the pair had already stormed into her apartment that she reacted.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

She chased after them in two strides. "Who the hell are you people? Are you out of your minds? Get out of my home!"

The two intruders had clearly come prepared with a clear division of labor.

The man took charge of blocking Ruan Suxian, while the woman rushed inside with her phone raised to record video.

Watching helplessly as the woman shoved open her bedroom door, Ruan Suxian found herself powerless to stop her.

The disparity in physical strength between men and women proved too great; she simply couldn't shake free from the man's grip.

"I'm calling the police!"

She yelled the threat, but her phone was still sitting inside the bedroom, leaving her with no way to reach it.

Kicking her bedroom door wide open in a fury, the woman screamed toward the interior, "Yan An!"

The moment the name left her mouth, she paused, blinking at the sight of a single, neatly made bed.

By this point, even if Ruan Suxian were a fool, she would have understood what these two were here for.

Burning with rage, she exerted every ounce of strength she had to break away. With a vicious shove, the man threw Ruan Suxian hard to the floor.

Her thigh slammed into the coffee table, wringing a sharp intake of breath from her lips as pain flared through her body, rendering her temporarily unable to get up. Meanwhile, the woman had already started ripping open her wardrobe doors.

"Yan An! Are you hiding in here?!"

"Are you out of your damn minds?!"

Struggling to push herself back up, Ruan Suxian was intercepted by the man, who lunged forward to pin her down.

Yet before his hands could even lay a finger on her, a fierce, explosive wave of impact slammed into his flank. In the flash of a single lightning-fast instant, the agony tore through him with enough force to make his internal organs feel like they were rupturing.

He crashed to the floor, seeing stars dance across his vision. Looking backward in a daze, he saw the man who had kicked him standing there with a face as cold as ice and a gaze as deep and dark as an abyss.

Their eyes locked for barely a single second. Then, withdrawing his gaze, Fu Mingyu squatted down and extended a hand toward Ruan Suxian, a trace of sardonic mockery playing at the corners of his lips.

"Didn't you say you could handle it yourself?"