RBNR Ch13: Admit It

The “black-market good” customization was quite fast; after waiting for only about a month, Qin Bao got it in his hands just as he wished.

That day happened to be when Ms. Rong returned to the country. She arranged to eat out at a restaurant with his maternal grandfather and grandmother, so Qin Bao brought the watch along to show her.

The mother and son sat in the restaurant, leaning in close to talk, looking more like siblings.

“Not bad.” Ms. Rong opened the watch box to admire this astronomically priced watch. “Isn’t it a bit big for you?”

Qin Bao hadn’t expected her eye to be so sharp, and fudged an excuse: “I want to wait until I grow up a bit more to wear it, besides, can’t the watch strap be altered?”

Ms. Rong praised it: “It looks very good, and the blue diamonds on the hands are also very beautiful.”

Grandmother also said Qin Bao chose very well: “Bao Bao’s skin is fair, this mid-blue really complements Bao Bao’s skin tone.”

Grandfather sat across from them and snorted: “Extravagant.”

Qin Bao originally wanted to show it to him, but upon hearing this, he closed the watch box, pretended not to have heard, and asked his grandmother what places they had visited for fun while away.

After a short while, his grandfather started coughing. The weather was turning cold; he had bronchitis and would easily start coughing and be unable to stop.

Qin Bao asked, “Did Grandpa bring a jacket?”

Ms. Rong said he did, but it was left in the car. Without a second word, Qin Bao took the keys and went to the car to get his grandfather’s clothes.

Once he left, his grandmother scolded, “Xiao Bao is so filial, as soon as he heard you cough he hurriedly went to get your clothes, it’s just you who has prejudices against young people day in and day out.”

His grandfather said, “I don’t have prejudices against young people. I have prejudices against Old Man Qin’s education. Spoiling him like this, what good does it do for the child’s future development?” After speaking, he looked at his daughter, his face sinking. “Since you dared to divorce, why didn’t you dare take Xiao Bao away? Even if you couldn’t afford to raise him, could I, Rong Yun, not afford to?”

The atmosphere stagnated.

Ms. Rong stood up and said, “There’s a draft here. Dad, you cough when the wind blows on you. I’ll go ask if we can change tables.”

Like a punch landing on cotton, the old man was so angry he blew his beard.

Ms. Rong found a waiter and requested to change seats. Just as she was about to return, she heard someone passing by call out to her, “Aunt Rong.”

The young Alpha possessed a cold and proud aura, looking somewhat familiar. He politely introduced himself, “I am Feng Chengyu.”

She looked him up and down in surprise, then became overjoyed: “Chengyu, it’s you! How did you grow so big?”

Back in the day, the two families were on good terms. Professor Lin had given birth to Feng Chengyu early on, but Ms. Rong’s belly had seen no movement for a long time. Old Master Feng was even more anxious than Old Master Qin, and often had Professor Lin bring the child over to play at the Qin family’s house, saying this could “lead the way for a junior”, meaning it could bring good luck for pregnancy.

Feng Chengyu also curled the corners of his lips: “You are still as young as I remember, you haven’t changed at all.”

Ms. Rong said gently, “You must be joking, Aunt Rong has gotten old. Long time no see, you’ve returned from studying abroad, right? Are you here to eat today?”

Feng Chengyu: “Yes, I have an appointment with someone. I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

“We are just having a casual meal here,” Ms. Rong replied, adding, “Qin Bao is here too, he went out to grab something for his grandfather. Last time when he ran away from home, he really bothered you.”

“It was just lifting a finger, it wasn’t a bother, you don’t need to take it to heart.”

Feng Chengyu had his secretary by his side, so it seemed he was here to discuss official business. He raised his wrist to look at his watch and apologized, “It’s almost time for my appointment, I’ll visit you properly next time.”

Ms. Rong saw that watch, and merely said calmly, “Go ahead, go ahead.”

After Qin Bao returned, the group changed seats. Everything was as usual, except that Ms. Rong casually mentioned to the grandparents: “I just ran into an acquaintance. Do you remember that little Alpha who stayed by my side for a few days in the past?”

Grandmother asked, “Which one?”

Ms. Rong said, “The Feng family’s child, Chengyu. Very smart and sensible, the one you even knitted a sweater for.”

Qin Bao nearly spat out a mouthful of tea.

Feng Chengyu?

Grandmother immediately remembered: “Oh, it’s that little darling, a fine-looking boy. He must be an adult now, right?”

“He returned from studying abroad,” Ms. Rong said. “He’s entering politics. I saw him on the local news a few days ago. He seems to be in charge of the ski resort project over in Chunshan recently.”

Grandfather said, “Chunshan? Building a ski resort there? That’s supposed to be a protected area, originally very rich in resources, and there are some stubborn locals living there who rely on the mountain for their livelihood. Even if the government has plans, I see very little possibility of it getting built.”

Qin Bao suddenly stood up. “I need to go to the restroom.”

Ms. Rong gave him a look. “The restroom is on the second floor.”

Qin Bao uttered an “Oh” and immediately left the table.

Last time he compensated Feng Chengyu with a pot and had an errand runner deliver it, he had stuffed a large red envelope inside. It was the New Year’s money he had received; he didn’t count exactly how much it was, but it was definitely more than enough to repay the favor.

He had written a note: [Repaying you for the takoyaki and a few days of living expenses.]

Who knew that a few days later, he also received a same-city express delivery.

Such a huge box, almost as tall as a person, incredibly heavy. When he opened it, inside were neatly arranged boxes of toffees.

There was also a note inside: [I don’t have change, treating you to some candy.]

The handwriting was flamboyant and flowing.

It was Feng Chengyu!

What else did Qin Bao not understand? The day he had hypoglycemia, he had asked the other party to feed him toffee. This was the other party giving him an eye for an eye in response to his attempt to settle accounts so clearly.

Tasting it carefully, one could even taste a bit of mockery.

That huge box of toffees sat in the living room; even without cavities, one could eat their way into a few. The old master was furious when he saw it and almost pulled out his cane to beat the floor again. Only upon hearing that Feng Chengyu had sent it did he let it go.

There was so much candy they simply couldn’t finish it. Mr. Qin gave away quite a lot to friends, domestic helpers, and the like.

During those days, when he had nothing to do, the old master would also pop one into his mouth, smiling as he savored it. Even when he yelled at people while playing chess, it carried the smell of toffee.

Running up to the second floor in one breath, Qin Bao snapped out of his upset state of mind. It wasn’t like he really wanted to go to the restroom anyway.

Lifting his eyes, he saw a silhouette not far away.

The second floor was very spacious, with screens separating the tables.

Beneath the open-air carved wooden pillars, Feng Chengyu was shaking hands and conversing in a low voice with someone. Unlike the last time they met when he only wore a white shirt, the Alpha was wearing a long black trench coat without a tie. He appeared casual, yet maintained a sense of distance due to his innate aura.

The person beside him handed a document to the other side and said something to them.

They seemed to have serious business to attend to. Qin Bao knew it was a bit inappropriate to go over at this time.

He originally wanted to just forget it and talk to him next time, but his feet were somehow rooted to the spot.

He saw Feng Chengyu take out a cigarette, lower his head to light it, and gently exhale a puff of smoke.

That posture was indescribably captivating.

His heart suddenly pounded fiercely a few times, and he fled in panic.

Walking downstairs, he felt annoyed the whole way. He casually grabbed a waiter: “Do you have sweet soup here?”

Waiter: “Yes.”

“Which one is the sweetest?”

The waiter was baffled, but since the customer asked, he could only answer honestly: “The sweet… sweet soup, boiled from roasted sugarcane.”

Qin Bao nodded: “Please add ten times more sugar and deliver it to Mr. Feng’s table upstairs. Just say I am returning the treat.”

The waiter refused: “That’s not a good idea, is it? We’ll get complained about.”

Qin Bao said, “He loves drinking sweet things. If there’s any problem, just give them my name.”

The waiter finally agreed: “You are?”

Never changing his name wherever he goes, he answered: “Qin Bao.”

Shu Helan was the last to arrive. When he got there, the waiter was just bringing over a bowl of sweet soup. He was shocked: “I was only a few minutes late, you guys couldn’t have already started ordering dessert, right?”

Everyone was confused: “No, no.”

They only heard the waiter say: “It was ordered by a guest named Qin Bao, he already paid the bill, saying he wanted to return the treat to a Mr. Feng.”

Hearing that it was ordered for Feng Chengyu, everyone was curious, even the secretary stared at Feng Chengyu.

The latter was also somewhat surprised. He took the sweet soup and said, “Thank you.”

Only Shu Helan smiled. Hindered by the work setting, he couldn’t say much. He cleared his throat: “Time is tight, let’s talk while we eat. Chengyu, my colleague should have briefed you on the procedure part just now.”

“En.” Feng Chengyu took a sip of the sweet soup, was about to say something, then suddenly frowned tightly and pushed the bowl aside.

Shu Helan asked, “What’s wrong, is the soup poisoned?”

It was so sweet it tasted bitter. Feng Chengyu gently spat it out onto a napkin and took a sip of tea: “Close enough.”

His secretary, Lin Zi, was an Alpha who had just graduated from university not long ago, but his behavior and handling of matters were much more immature than Feng Chengyu’s. Hearing this, he took it seriously and immediately stood up nervously: “Mr. Feng, I will go look for the kitchen.”

Feng Chengyu tapped the table: “Sit down, just joking.”

Seeing that he was fine, Shu Helan’s colleague also joked: “Did the restaurant’s chef doze off today, or was Mr. Feng pranked?”

Feng Chengyu said, “A kid I know being mischievous.”

Shu Helan chuckled muffledly, probably enduring it until his stomach hurt: “He kindly treated you, it’s good intentions no matter how you put it, why don’t you finish it?”

Feng Chengyu actually smiled slightly too: “It seems I treated him to too much last time.”

They finished their meal nearly an hour later. As they went downstairs, they happened to see Qin Bao’s group downstairs. Shu Helan saw them first, patted Feng Chengyu’s back, and signaled him: “Hey.”

Downstairs, Qin Bao wore a black hoodie and loose trousers. The tall, thin figure walked at the very back, hands stuffed in his pockets. Even a casual outfit looked very stylish on him, making it look expensive.

The distance wasn’t far; they could clearly see the teenager’s slender, angular profile, fair skin, and the several silver earrings on his ear.

As if sensing something, Qin Bao suddenly turned around and walked backwards, looking up towards the second floor.

It was backlit up there, and he narrowed his eyes.

Feng Chengyu met his gaze amidst the glaring light.

The old man seemed to call Qin Bao’s name. He turned back around, and the group quickly walked into the corridor downstairs, disappearing from sight.

Shu Helan hadn’t driven and left in Feng Chengyu’s car.

Once only the two of them were left in the backseat, Shu Helan said pointedly: “He looks better than on that billboard.”

Without naming names, Feng Chengyu glanced at him.

Shu Helan: “Admit it, he’s your type.”

Feng Chengyu did not deny it.

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Author’s note:

This type like Xiao Bao! Who gets it!