Chapter 06 – Some Past Events

Xiang Ning was caught off guard and instinctively leaned towards He Rong. After a moment, he realized what had happened and let out a small, embarrassed sigh. He Rong pretended not to hear, wrapping his arm around the flustered Xiang Ning and taking a few more steps. Suddenly, they heard Xu Hui’s startled cry:

“Old He!”

He Rong turned around to see He Mingde, his eyes wide and breathing heavily. Xu Hui rushed over, patting his chest, and it took a while for him to regain his composure. He Mingde’s face was ashen, his eyes closed as he leaned back in his chair, adjusting his breathing, his face twitching slightly.

Xu Hui, on the verge of tears, couldn’t hold back any longer. She stood up, swaying slightly but quickly steadying herself, and said with a quavering voice, “He Rong, you can’t cause so much trouble over a little thing.”

She turned to face He Rong, but her eyes instinctively avoided his, lowering her head to wipe away her tears. “Your father’s health has been poor lately. He wants you to come back and spend more time with him. We invited Qianqian here so the young people could have something to talk about. What you said last time…”

He Mingde coughed at the right moment, his beard trembling, sounding quite serious.

“Brother Rong, you should spend more time with Uncle He. Family is more important than work,” Yuan Qian said, handing a cup of water to Father He and gently patting his back. He Mingde took a sip of water, patted her hand lightly, and said with satisfaction, “Little Yuan is so sensible.”

Xiang Ning felt a bit flustered and instinctively looked at He Rong.

He Rong’s face was expressionless, and his hand on Xiang Ning’s waist didn’t move an inch. Just when Xiang Ning thought he wouldn’t say anything, He Rong suddenly spoke, “Then you can all live together.” Without waiting for a response from Father He or the others, he wrapped his arm around Xiang Ning and walked away.

It wasn’t until they reached the garage that Xiang Ning, feeling slightly uncomfortable, wriggled out of his embrace and followed him silently from behind.

He Rong started the car and left Jiahe. Only then did he say, “Sorry. I made you see that.”

Xiang Ning shook his head, indicating it was no big deal.

He Rong continued as he drove, “My father owns a part of the company’s shares but doesn’t participate in its management or operations. He’s always wanted to get the shares I hold.”

He signaled and slowly turned, then continued, “He cheated on my mother when she was pregnant. Later, when she had a difficult second pregnancy and died, he brought Xu Hui into the house, and I stayed with my grandmother.”

Xiang Ning thought of Grandma He at the nursing home and turned to look at him with concern.

He Rong noticed his gaze and explained, “Grandma has Alzheimer’s. If you have time, I hope you can visit her.”

Xiang Ning nodded vigorously, and He Rong found it amusing, reaching out to ruffle his hair. Xiang Ning was startled and moved away. He Rong naturally retracted his hand and smiled, “Sorry.”

Xiang Ning shook his head in a daze, looking out the window and frowning in confusion: Why did he touch my head?

He Rong walked down the stairs and was surprised to see Xiang Ning sitting at the dining table, turning his head to look at him.

Usually, when He Rong left, Xiang Ning was still asleep, always staying up late to write music, only getting out of bed around noon to have lunch. Although He Rong didn’t approve of this lifestyle, he didn’t want to say anything.

He fastened his cuffs and sat down at the table. Xiang Ning had cooled the porridge to the right temperature. He Rong met Xiang Ning’s eager gaze and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xiang Ning hesitated and slowly pushed a piece of paper to He Rong. It read: “Can you give me a ride later?”

“Of course,” He Rong smiled. “Going to meet a friend?”

Xiang Ning shook his head and pushed another piece of paper: “I need to go to the company.”

“Sure.” Hearing He Rong’s agreement, Xiang Ning’s eyes lit up. He put his bowl and chopsticks in the kitchen and handed his phone to He Rong. “I’ll go get my clothes. Wait for me.” With He Rong’s nod, he ran upstairs, the sound of his slippers slapping the floor in a hurried and cheerful rhythm.

He Rong took a sip of porridge and smiled.

The two parted ways downstairs. He Rong took the elevator directly to his office, while Xiang Ning carried his sheet music to the production room to find Director Lin.

“How are you getting back?” He Rong asked.

Xiang Ning clearly hadn’t thought about this and was pondering when He Rong said, “Why don’t you come to my office when you’re done? We can go back together if you don’t mind waiting.”

He knew that the company didn’t have strict time requirements for freelance musicians like Xiang Ning. Today, Xiang Ning would probably only stay for about two hours to discuss things, and might not even need to come in for the later stages.

Xiang Ning hesitated but agreed.

“Do you know where my office is? If not, I can have Yuan Qian pick you up,” He Rong said with a smile.

Xiang Ning, remembering their first meeting, shook his head and ran off.

“President He.” He Rong pushed open the door to his office, and Assistant Yuan, who was pregnant, handed him a stack of documents. She watched as he signed them and said, “I have a prenatal checkup this afternoon. Can I take the day off?”

He Rong didn’t look up. “What’s on the schedule for this afternoon?”

“There’s a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Should I arrange for someone else to go?”

“Let’s see.” He Rong didn’t immediately agree. Yuan Qian was about to speak when the door was knocked on.

Xiang Ning poked his head in from the doorway and cautiously stepped inside. He gave Assistant Yuan an awkward smile and then looked at He Rong for help, unsure of what to do.

Yuan Qian smiled knowingly and nodded at Xiang Ning. “Madam.”

Xiang Ning stood there, his face visibly turning red. If there had been a hole, he would have crawled into it and never come out.

He Rong gave Yuan Qian a cold glance, and she closed her mouth.

“Go and ask someone to bring in a glass of milk,” He Rong said, standing up and walking to Xiang Ning. “Are you tired?”

Xiang Ning shook his head, unconsciously touching his heated earlobe.

“If you want to rest, there’s a lounge inside. Or you can play on the sofa.”

Xiang Ning hesitated for a moment and chose to sit on the sofa and play with his phone.

“President He, I’ll be off then,” Yuan Qian said, placing a glass of milk on the coffee table and turning to He Rong.

He Rong frowned slightly. “I haven’t approved your leave.”

“President He, I only dared to ask because there’s nothing much to do today,” Yuan Qian smiled. “Besides, you can have Madam accompany you to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.”

Xiang Ning looked up, staring at the two of them in confusion. Yuan Qian winked at him. “Madam will definitely agree, right?”

Xiang Ning, unable to avoid her gaze, nodded.

“Then I’ll go. My husband is waiting for me downstairs,” Yuan Qian said briskly, waving to He Rong, who was flipping through documents and waved back without looking up.

The door clicked shut, and Xiang Ning watched He Rong, who was bent over his documents, and held the milk without disturbing him.

After a while, He Rong glanced at the sofa. The person there had fallen asleep, his head tilted against the back of the sofa, a faint milk mustache around his mouth.

He Rong smiled but didn’t make a sound.