RBNR Ch24: End of Secret Love

Mr. Qin passed by the trash can outside the garage and found Feng Chengyu’s overcoat inside.

He retrieved the coat and tossed it into the laundry room, telling the staff to see if it could still be salvaged. If not, they were to buy an identical one of the same style to return to its owner.

When Mama Tao saw Mr. Qin, she recounted the questions Qin Bao had just asked.

Mr. Qin went upstairs and knocked on the door.

Qin Bao didn’t open it for the longest time.

Given the circumstances, Mr. Qin couldn’t just push the door open directly anymore, so he stood at the doorway and asked, “Everything was fine, what kind of tantrum are you throwing now?”

There was still no response from inside. Mr. Qin couldn’t help but worry. After hesitating, he pushed the door open, only to find the room empty.

Qin Bao wasn’t there. There was a small dent smashed into the wall, and something was glinting on the floor. Mr. Qin picked it up to look; it was an astronomically priced diamond brooch.

Calling his phone, Qin Bao didn’t answer. Mr. Qin then dialed another number.

“Bao’er is missing, and he won’t answer his phone.” He didn’t use an address, clearing his throat with slight awkwardness. “Has he contacted you?”

On the other end of the line was Ms. Rong: “No. Isn’t he with Chengyu?”

Mr. Qin said in his unhurried manner, “He already came back this morning, but now he’s nowhere to be seen. I don’t know if he quarreled with Chengyu, he even threw the boy’s clothes away.”

Ms. Rong said, “Then let me try calling him. If he doesn’t answer, I’ll ask Chengyu.”

Mr. Qin was surprised: “You have Chengyu’s contact information?”

“I do. Last time I ran into him by chance outside, he took the time to pay a visit to our home,” Ms. Rong said. “We exchanged contact info then. When the seasons change, he even sends reminders for us to bundle up.”

The children of the Feng family were always thoughtful, handling social etiquette and interpersonal relations without a single flaw. Ever since they crossed paths at the old master’s birthday banquet, their family had also received ginseng and tea leaves sent by him over these past two years.

“Alright, ask him then, and remember to call me back.” After speaking, Mr. Qin felt it wasn’t quite right to end the call just like that, so he added, “Thank you, A-Qiao.”

Ms. Rong was very graceful: “You’re welcome. Bao’er is my child too.”

When Ms. Rong’s call came in, Feng Chengyu was still on the highway heading back to the capital. It had been two or three days, and he had only slept for a few hours the night before; his fatigue was hard to conceal.

Leaning against the backseat, he closed his eyes to rest. His secretary, Lin Zi, hesitated for a long while before gently waking him: “Mr. Feng, you have a call. It’s Ms. Rong.”

Feng Chengyu opened his dark, deep eyes. His phone was vibrating. He answered it, adopting a relaxed tone the moment he spoke: “Aunt Rong.”

Ms. Rong explained the situation, though she didn’t mention Qin Bao throwing away the clothes, only asking indirectly if they were together.

Once Feng Chengyu understood what had happened, his brow gradually furrowed: “I’ll call you back once I find him.”

He had been far too busy all day. Leaving the person there and taking off, during the few spare moments of rest Feng Chengyu had, his mind had been filled with the image of Qin Bao wrapped in his clothes, pitifully curled up on the rug. Even while attending to official duties, his thoughts had drifted several times.

If possible, he really hadn’t wanted it to happen so hastily, and even less at such a timing—so rushed that he didn’t even have the time to stay behind and take care of the other person.

Yet the moment Qin Bao’s scent had drifted over, he realized he had drastically overestimated his own self-control…

This car was heading toward the Qin residence. Feng Chengyu had taken the time to buy some delicious pastries and driven to a florist to meticulously select flowers. Both items were resting neatly in the trunk.

However, the person he wanted to coax wasn’t resting at home right now. Where could he have run off to in the middle of the night?

Feng Chengyu scrolled through his contacts and found Qin Bao’s name.

The contact card was newly added, but that string of numbers had long been memorized. Now, he finally had a reason to dial it.

The dialing tone rang over a dozen times. After it automatically disconnected, Feng Chengyu redialed. He repeated this three times, but no one ever answered.

Angry?

Feng Chengyu tapped his fingers against the phone.

The age gap between them stood right there. He knew that sometimes he didn’t understand Qin Bao’s thoughts, nor had he figured out Qin Bao’s lifestyle preferences.

Runways, motorcycle racing, grueling training, studying hard, getting into fights.

Filial, fierce, tattooed, smoking—it seemed all contradictory traits were capable of manifesting in Qin Bao. Very wild, yet very well-behaved.

Lin Zi had roughly overheard the contents of the call and said hesitantly, “Mr. Feng, the report from that side came back this afternoon; I hadn’t had the chance to brief you yet. The injury on Qin Bao’s face… is related to an Alpha at his school named Zou Jiudong. The guy seems to be pursuing Qin Bao, which many people know about. Qin Bao rarely pays attention to him, and the two seemingly had a physical clash in the dance studio a few days ago, which even alerted the campus police.”

“Zou Jiudong?” Feng Chengyu murmured the name. “A student?”

“Yes, from the acting department. His family has a significant background; his father is the chairman of Sufeng Entertainment, and his mother’s side has people serving in the Alliance.” Lin Zi hesitated slightly at this point. “When the two were pulled apart, Zou Jiudong wasn’t wearing a shirt… but Qin Bao didn’t suffer any losses. Could his sudden trip out now be because that person found another excuse to harass him?”

Feng Chengyu pondered for a moment: “No.”

Given Qin Bao’s temperament, a fight should have settled it. Qin Bao was clever and held grudges; he wouldn’t give someone a second chance to harass him, let alone be called out on some flimsy pretext while safe at home.

However…

“Is it convenient to look into this Zou Jiudong?”

Feng Chengyu asked.

On Qin Bao’s end, after leaving home, he took a cab straight to the airport.

He wasn’t so reckless as to pull a disappearing act abroad; he simply had a job there in a few days. Unwilling to face anyone in his family in such an explosive state of mind, he decided to head over early to clear his head.

The feeling of humiliation accompanied him the entire ride to the airport, and surging up alongside it was an unspeakable sense of shame.

Everyone knew about his relationship with Feng Chengyu, including Feng Chu. That meant when he started asking around about Feng Chengyu, when he sent Feng Chengyu gifts, when he decided he wanted to date Feng Chengyu, when he and Feng Chengyu vanished together at the banquet… everyone had been watching like spectators at a show.

They must be gossiping: Look at how obedient and easy to handle Qin Bao is; he’s already been reeled in by the Alpha from his arranged marriage.

His phone rang incessantly; Qin Bao didn’t answer a single call.

He was an adult now. Booking hotels and flights was very convenient, as was changing his SIM card. The moment his flight touched down, he swapped to a new number, refusing to contact anyone unless strictly necessary. In any case, he was thoroughly familiar with the work arrangements and the brand clients.

“What is that smell?” When An Qingyan picked him up, he exaggeratedly fanned the air with his hand to catch a better scent. “A new perfume?”

Qin Bao sat in the back row of the nanny van with a foul expression.

An Qingyan commented, “Oh, doesn’t seem like perfume, it’s the smell of pheromones. I almost wronged you—I was about to say that as a brand ambassador, buying another house’s fragrance deserved a fine.”

Irritated, Qin Bao pulled his cap down below his nose, leaving only half of his mouth exposed.

An Qingyan wanted to laugh, but knowing the kid cared deeply about saving face, he barely held it in: “This scent smells remarkably good. I always found your pheromones a bit too sweet, but neutralized with this narcissus, it’s just right. Confess honestly, are you in love?”

Qin Bao remained silent, a pitch-black storm cloud seemingly hovering over his head.

An Qingyan prodded, “Not dating? Then a one-night stand?”

A one-night stand?

That sounded far less humiliating than sleeping with someone from an arranged childhood betrothal, so Qin Bao grunted an “En.”

This scent of being thoroughly marked couldn’t be concealed even if he slapped on a dozen gland patches. Unless everyone around him was inhaling suppressants, denying it was practically impossible.

“With an attitude like yours, whoever had a one-night stand with you is definitely no ordinary guy.” An Qingyan hit the nail on the head: “Let me guess—could it be that Feng Chengyu?”

How could Qin Bao’s experience compare to An Qingyan’s?

Hearing this, he completely forgot his sullen retreat. He yanked his cap up and glared at An Qingyan: “How did you know?”

An Qingyan said, “Your two families are longtime family friends, and he definitely showed up for your birthday yesterday. Besides, you fancy him so much—buying the same watch and staring at his news all day long. I just made a wild guess, and you confessed.”

Only then did Qin Bao breathe a sigh of relief: “…So what if it’s him?”

He had become so paranoid that he felt the entire world knew about their affairs and was waiting to mock him.

It turned out An Qingyan didn’t know about the arranged marriage.

At least he could preserve a shred of dignity here.

Qin Bao didn’t want to discuss it, but An Qingyan was older and spoke with far less filter than he did. He had always been free-spirited and outspoken, yet his professional capabilities were so stellar that people had no choice but to admire him. Many in the circle called him an enchanting demon.

An Qingyan said, “Look at that foul face of yours… A night of passion, and he couldn’t even satisfy a virgin like you? Is his technique that bad?”

Qin Bao let out an “En.”

Bad technique—this blame was entirely what that man surnamed Feng deserved.

An Qingyan: “Can he bite properly?”

Caught off guard by the question and having no frame of reference, Qin Bao didn’t know whether he counted as good at it or not, so he replied, “It hurt like hell.”

What was the point of it feeling amazing in the moment if the aftermath was like this?

“Damn,” An Qingyan marveled. “How does the saying go? The most ascetic are the most depraved… With that watch suppressing him for so many years, I thought he’d be an absolute beast of an Alpha. Sure enough, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Bao, take my advice: with technique so lacking and unable to bite properly, no matter how much you like him, don’t hook up with this kind of Alpha again.”

Qin Bao looked out the window, his voice turning icy: “I don’t like him. There won’t be a next time.”

With both stunning looks and immense wealth, An Qingyan was a certified winner in life. Having semi-retired at a young age, he had thoroughly mastered the art of hedonistic indulgence over the years. With him guiding Qin Bao around to unwind, coupled with a lavish shopping spree across major luxury boutiques, Qin Bao tossed all his troubles to the back of his mind within two days.

After wrapping up work that afternoon, they went swimming at a villa. An Qingyan had invited several friends; because they were peers in the industry, each was more eye-catching than the last, and all were decent, polite company. The conversation flowed effortlessly.

Qin Bao drank a few glasses of champagne. Returning after swimming a lap, his phone began to ring. Drying his hair with a towel, he answered without checking, his tone still carrying a light laugh: “Hello?”

It was an unfamiliar number, but the voice that came through was all too familiar.

“It’s me,” the other end said. “Feng Chengyu.”

Qin Bao’s face instantly darkened, causing the others around him to exchange curious glances. Not wanting to ruin everyone’s mood, he got up and walked aside, his tone turning as cold as ice: “How did you get my number?”

The background noise on Feng Chengyu’s end was quite loud; he was likely busy somewhere again, but Qin Bao couldn’t care less.

Feng Chengyu’s voice was just as gentle as that morning, asking, “Are you free tomorrow evening?”

Qin Bao froze for a moment, an immediate wave of anger washing over him.

Feng Chengyu used to not even bother saving his number, yet now not only did he possess his newly changed number, but it was as if he had omniscient eyes—the moment Qin Bao booked a flight back for tomorrow morning, Feng Chengyu asked if he was free that evening.

He answered, “Not free.”

Undeterred, Feng Chengyu asked again, “What are you busy with? Squeeze out some time to have dinner together. I want to talk with you.”

“I told you I’m not free, and besides, we aren’t close—what is there to talk about?” Qin Bao tried his hardest to sound indifferent so as not to betray the fact that he had once fallen for him. “I just accepted a movie role and will be joining the film crew soon. I’ll be very busy for the next few months. There’s no need to contact me anymore.”

The movie matter had only been mentioned casually by a friend of An Qingyan’s, who suggested Qin Bao try auditioning for it; nothing was set in stone yet, but he didn’t want to give Feng Chengyu any opening.

Feng Chengyu listened quietly on his end, waiting until he finished before saying, “I can drop you off, and I can wait until you wrap up filming.”

Qin Bao snapped: “Feng Chengyu, can you not understand rejection? Do I have to spell it out for you? Then let me tell you: forget about what happened last time. We’re both adults; rolling around for a night because of pheromones is completely normal. Once you’ve had your fun, it’s over. Why are you pestering me like this?”

“Rolling around for a night is completely normal?” Feng Chengyu repeated. “Once you’ve had your fun, it’s over?”

“That’s right. A one-night stand—at the end of the day, it’s just lust going to your head.” Qin Bao’s lips parted and closed, the words tumbling out without any need for thought: “If you don’t even understand that, don’t go hooking up with people casually. When I say I’m not free, it means I don’t want to hook up with you a second time. I have zero interest in you, meaning there’s no need for us to stay in touch from now on.”

Having said his piece, without waiting for the other man to respond, Qin Bao swiftly tapped the screen and hung up.

Someone over by the pool called his name. He turned around casually, intending to answer, only to find his throat constricting painfully tight. Hurriedly averting his face to pretend to gaze out the window, his tears spilled over.

Beyond the glass of the indoor pool stood a row of trees, the wind gently rustling their boughs.

His three-year-long secret crush, which had never once been spoken aloud, came to an official end just like that.