Chapter 29

Chi Junrui could not forgive himself for completely failing to show Li Jiuying, whom he was about to serve, his usual mature steadiness, smooth wit, humorous charm, and the side of him that handled everything with ease and kept everything under control. He could not understand why he felt such immense pressure when facing Li Rongxiu, a useless playboy who lived off his family background and waited around to die.

Of course, Chi Junrui might never understand, even in his lifetime, that although they were both playboys, a playboy of sixteen or seventeen and a playboy nearing thirty... were fundamentally different after all.

Depressed because he could not figure it out, Chi Junrui looked at Li Rongxiu again. In his imagination, Li Rongxiu had to be wearing a nauseatingly smug, villainous grin right now. After all, he had finally succeeded in disgusting him. Yet when his gaze landed on Li Rongxiu's face, he discovered that Li Rongxiu was looking down at his phone. The iced cocoa that had thoroughly humiliated him had been casually set on the table.

Li Rongxiu looked at the dozen or so missed calls displayed on his screen. Four were from an unfamiliar number, the same string of digits as the missed call from that afternoon. Another seven were from his eldest brother, Li Rongyu, two were from his mother, Zhuang Meiru, and one was from his grandmother, Mo Wanrou. At that moment, Li Rongxiu could not help feeling fortunate that his father and grandfather were away on business. Otherwise, he might have had several more missed calls.

After thinking it over, Li Rongxiu ignored the four unfamiliar calls and directly called his eldest brother, Li Rongyu. The call was answered after three rings. Before his brother could speak, Li Rongxiu asked, "Why did you call me so many times? Didn't I report in this afternoon that I'd be with friends tonight and wouldn't be eating at home?"

"But it's already nine-thirty at night." Li Rongyu's usually cool and composed voice carried a trace of helplessness. "Mom and Grandma are worried that if you don't come home this late, you might run into bad people. Besides, our curfew is ten o'clock. Even if you want to go out and have fun, you should be heading home by now. You still have class tomorrow morning."

Li Rongxiu laughed speechlessly. "Come on, Big Brother, I'm not a child anymore. Stop trying to scare me with that story about witches kidnapping children at night to make meat soup. Besides, I'm chatting with a friend at the bar in our family's hotel. Don't tell me you have no confidence in your own hotel's security system?"

"A new friend whose background you know nothing about except his name?" Li Rongyu raised a brow on the other end of the call, clearly noncommittal about Li Rongxiu's choice. However, he had no intention of continuing that topic and changed the subject. "Come back quickly. Otherwise, Mom and Grandma won't be able to sleep peacefully. Also, someone sent you a gift. It's already been delivered to the house."

"A gift? What gift?" Li Rongxiu sat up straighter with interest. Whether he was sixteen or twenty-six, Li Rongxiu had always possessed an unusually strong desire and curiosity for gifts.

"It's the one you want most. Come home and see for yourself. I'm having the kitchen prepare a late-night snack now." With that, Li Rongyu hung up.

"The gift I want most?" Listening to the busy tone, Li Rongxiu thought about the gift and felt as though a kitten's claws had scratched at his heart several times. He could hardly sit still.

Unable to suppress his itching curiosity, he lowered his crossed leg and said to Li Jiuying, "Brother Jiuying, you just arrived in Wancheng today. You must be exhausted after all that travel. How about we call it a night? Go back to your room and get some proper rest so you can recover. We'll come find you again tomorrow night."

Li Jiuying looked at Li Rongxiu's earnest and considerate expression and really wanted to remind him that although this was his first time in Wancheng, it was certainly not his first day here. Besides, he had plenty of energy and wanted Li Rongxiu to keep chatting with him. But after considering it, Li Jiuying did not say so. He merely smiled and asked, "Why wait until tomorrow night? I feel an immediate kinship with Rongxiu. I'd very much like to see you tomorrow morning."

His words sounded somewhat frivolous, but Li Rongxiu clearly did not catch it. He seriously explained to Li Jiuying, "Because I have school tomorrow during the day. I'm only free to go out at night."

Li Jiuying was instantly at a loss for words. He shook his head with an amused smile and said regretfully, "All right, then. It seems I can only wait until nighttime."

He wanted to tease him a little more, but Li Rongxiu was no longer in the mood for pleasantries. After hearing Li Jiuying's words, Li Rongxiu stood up directly and said, "All right, then. See you tomorrow night—at seven. I'll come to the hotel to find you."

Seeing this, Alan and the others stood as well, exchanged a few polite words with Li Jiuying, shook hands, and said their goodbyes.

Li Jiuying watched in slight astonishment as Li Rongxiu and the others abandoned him and hurried away. He could not decide whether to laugh or cry. Back when he was in the capital, he had often heard people say that the heirs of Wancheng's wealthy families were arrogant by nature and difficult to get along with. He had never taken it seriously. Yet after seeing Li Rongxiu's hot-and-cold attitude toward him, he could not help believing it.

Still, this attitude was better than people who fawned over him, groveled before him, and bent over backward simply because of his status and position. It suddenly reminded Li Jiuying of his experiences interacting with people while studying in Europe under a false identity.

Equal, natural, independent—without compromise or concession driven by profit, but simply interacting and getting along as one pleased.

Thinking this, Li Jiuying became even more eager for their meeting tomorrow night.

Only Chi Junrui secretly rejoiced as he watched everyone leave. He hurriedly said to Li Jiuying, "It's all right. I have nothing to do tonight. I can keep you company for a while longer, Mr. Li."

However, Chi Junrui had not expected that Li Jiuying, who had been full of energy and reluctant to see Li Rongxiu leave just moments ago, would give him an apologetic smile, then say in a perfectly justified, guiltless tone, "Sorry, I'm feeling a little tired and want to go upstairs to rest. Let's meet again tomorrow night."

At those words, Chi Junrui froze where he stood.

When Li Rongxiu drove home, Zhuang Meiru and Mo Wanrou were still awake. The two women were dressed in soft, comfortable loungewear and sat on the living room sofa, teasing something. Every so often, they would excitedly say, "Look, it glared at me again. So cute."

From behind the large European-style sofa came intermittent babyish cries from a small animal: "Awoo, awoo."

Li Rongxiu handed his coat draped over his arm to the maid who came to greet him and casually thanked her. Then he quickly walked around the sofa and immediately spotted a lively little dog curled up in the space between the European-style sofa and the coffee table, on a handmade Persian pure wool carpet. Its fur was black and white. Its limbs, chest, belly, and face were white, while the rest was black, including the circles around its eyes. When it tilted its head to look at people, it gave off a feeling of "fake fierceness" and "utterly goofy."

Li Rongxiu brightened and blurted out with a laugh, "Isn't this a Siberian Husky? Who sent it?"

"No idea. They only said it was a gift for you." As Zhuang Meiru spoke, she teased the puppy into making all sorts of expressions and took photos of it with her phone.

Mo Wanrou sat on the other side of the sofa. She first asked whether Li Rongxiu had eaten dinner, and after receiving an affirmative answer, she smiled and said, "This little puppy doesn't have a name yet. Give it one."

"Kitty. It'll be called Kitty." Li Rongxiu blurted it out instinctively, because in his previous life, he had owned a Siberian Husky named Kitty.

"A dog named Kitty?" Mo Wanrou frowned, seemingly unable to understand Li Rongxiu's logic. Still, she did not say anything more.

Li Rongxiu continued, "Where's my brother?"

"Upstairs in the study. There are still some company matters he hasn't finished handling, so he's working late." Zhuang Meiru answered. She seemed to have grown tired of playing with the dog. She casually set her phone on the coffee table, stood up, rubbed her lower back, loosened her shoulders, and shook her head. The little Siberian Husky hiding beneath the sofa immediately raised its front paws against the coffee table, trying to reach the phone. Unfortunately, its legs were too short to be of any use.

Li Rongxiu walked over, bent down, and lifted the little Siberian Husky by the soft skin at the back of its neck. Suspended in midair, it nervously flailed its limbs, and its frightened expression made it look even goofier.

Li Rongxiu laughed loudly, tossed the dog into the air, and caught it with both hands. The little Siberian Husky immediately let out a miserable "Awoo!" as though it was unaccustomed to its owner's style of play. It struggled with all its might, only for Li Rongxiu to pat its head, stuff it into his arms, and give it another fierce rubdown. Before long, the little Siberian Husky's originally sleek fur had been thoroughly tousled. Its fluffy coat, paired with its somewhat tragic expression, made it even cuter.

Mo Wanrou could not bear to watch Li Rongxiu treat the dog with such "enthusiasm." She shook her head, rose, and headed toward the dining room, saying casually, "The kitchen has stewed a late-night snack. Remember to come downstairs and eat after you shower. Call your brother out too. Work can never be finished in a day. No matter how busy you are, you still have to take care of your health."

Li Rongxiu nodded and set Kitty on the floor. Once its paws were on solid ground again, Kitty fled Li Rongxiu's "claws" at almost the speed of light. It staggered wildly in its panic and accidentally crashed into a flower stand. The stand swayed slightly, and the vase on top of it began to wobble precariously. The maid standing nearby immediately stepped forward to steady the vase. Seeing the maid's lingeringly frightened, accusatory expression, Li Rongxiu innocently shrugged, then spread his hands.

Having witnessed her precious son's entire series of bratty antics, Zhuang Meiru smiled and said, "Xiu Xiu is still so energetic. Being young really is wonderful. Hurry upstairs and take a shower, then change your clothes. Later, watch the opera competition with your grandmother and me."

Li Rongxiu nodded. Then he instructed the household servants to drag the little Siberian Husky out from beneath the sofa. Holding the dog in his arms, Li Rongxiu bounced it with some effort and said despite Zhuang Meiru's somewhat disapproving expression, "I'm taking it upstairs for a bath."

As he spoke, Li Rongxiu excitedly carried the constantly struggling Kitty upstairs.

Li Rongxiu carried the dog all the way to his room and tossed it into the massage bathtub. Watching Kitty continuously slip as it tried to climb out of the smooth tub, he curled his lips in glee and pulled out his phone to take photo after photo. Whenever Kitty finally managed to climb to the edge of the bathtub, he even stretched out one finger, poked it on the head, and pushed it back down.

After repeating this several times, Li Rongxiu finally put away his phone once he had had enough fun. He stood up, returned to the walk-in closet, found clean loungewear, then carried it back to the bedroom and began undressing.

His eldest brother, Li Rongyu, had mentioned this issue to Li Rongxiu many times. He suggested that when time was tight in the morning, Li Rongxiu could simply change in the walk-in closet and tidy his appearance in front of the mirror, which would save time. However, Li Rongxiu could not break his habit of changing in the bedroom. He would rather go back and forth from the closet to the bedroom, then from the bedroom to the closet, than change clothes in such a cramped space—especially when he had to put on or take off a crewneck T-shirt or hoodie.

Because Li Rongxiu always felt that the moment his head was buried in his clothes, the moment his eyes could not see his surroundings, something bad would crawl out of the mirror—and when he opened his eyes to face the world again, it would scare him half to death.

Faced with Li Rongxiu's overwhelmingly convincing reason, Li Rongyu could only express understanding and compromise after a long silence.

Lost in his thoughts, Li Rongxiu seemed to hear his phone vibrate while taking off his clothes. He paused slightly, listened carefully, then dug his phone out from beneath a pile of clothes. The screen still displayed that unfamiliar string of numbers from the afternoon.