Chapter 27 – Nauseating

He Rong ignored the frantic calls and turned off his phone. He returned to the sofa, shooed the kittens away from Xiang Ning, and covered him with a blanket. Xiang Ning mumbled and naturally buried his head in He Rong’s arm.

He Rong gently placed him down and covered him with the blanket.

Xiang Ning woke up to the thick curtains blocking out all light. He sat up on the dim bed, rubbing his eyes, and began searching for his phone in the fluffy blankets.

He accidentally touched something soft and fluffy.

Xiang Ning smiled, picking up the kitten and finding his phone underneath. He held the kitten in one hand and opened his phone, slipping out of the room in slippers and sending a message.

“Where are you?”

He Rong looked at his phone, a smile playing on his lips, and replied, “There’s something at the company. I’ll be back soon.”

The message had just been sent when another one came back immediately: “I’ll make dinner. No rush.”

He Rong could almost see Xiang Ning’s gentle and soft demeanor through the phone. He chuckled softly, then frowned, looking up and crossing his fingers in a clear negotiation pose.

“Speak. What do you want?”

He Mingde, supported by Xu Hui, sat across from him, his beard and cheeks trembling. He looked at his mature son with nothing but disdain.

He Rong’s eyes were deep, his nose high, and his lips slightly downturned when he wasn’t smiling, bearing no resemblance to him. He Mingde looked at him and immediately thought of his deceased wife, that strong and domineering woman, and the humiliating and difficult days he had endured.

He clasped his hands around his cane and snorted.

“You, divorce that man, and being with a man is shameful!”

He Rong found him amusing. He raised his hand, stopping the security guards who were about to intervene, and said, “Mr. He, if I remember correctly, I’ve already said we have no relationship.”

“Or do you need me to get a notarized statement?”

Before He Mingde could speak, Xu Hui, standing behind him, blinked and bit her lip, speaking first, “He… President He.”

She had intended to call him by his name but faltered under his deep gaze, changing her words to, “President He.”

She lowered her head, pressing her fingertips, and continued, “Your father is concerned about you. Being with a man isn’t a problem, but with such a large family business, someone needs to inherit it. Otherwise, your grandmother won’t rest easy…”

She didn’t dare look at He Rong. Recently, she had planned to sever ties with him, but the Xu family had lost several projects to the He family, and their decline had become more evident. This made the Xu family wary, and they approached her with a mix of pleading and threats.

She had no choice but to coax He Mingde into coming to see He Rong.

“Do you remember Yuan Qian? The child came back from abroad recently and visited me, mentioning you,” Xu Hui forced a smile. “I didn’t expect the child to like you so much. Your father wants what’s best for you and doesn’t want to hurt the child, so he spoke in haste.”

“Yuan Qian is a good child. She says she doesn’t mind your partner and is willing to stay married.”

He Rong was silent for a moment. Xu Hui grew increasingly nervous, almost ready to laugh it off. But before she could react, He Rong looked at her, chuckled, and asked, “So the Xu family’s way of treating their own niece is to send her to be someone else’s mistress?”

“Truly unique.”

Xu Hui was speechless, but He Rong waved his hand, and the security guards politely escorted the two out of the office.

He Rong’s face darkened as soon as the door closed. He had almost been sickened by the conversation, and the security guards had clearly understood his meaning.

He tapped his pen rhythmically on the table. Assistant Yuan entered, and he glanced at her, saying, “Have Lawyer Jin notarize a statement for me.”

“Also, increase the security detail for Jiahe. Xu Hui likes to visit, but not in inappropriate places, right?”

Assistant Yuan noted everything down, then put down the documents and said bluntly, “President He, we finally caught you. We won’t let you slip away.”

“These are the company’s quarterly reports, this stack needs your personal review, and here,” Assistant Yuan smiled, “is your schedule for the coming days. If there are any issues, we can adjust.”

She and Xiao Ye exchanged a glance, turned, and gave He Rong a standard smile.

He Rong glared at the two of them and called Xiang Ning.

———

As the Lunar New Year approached, the streets were filled with red and festive decorations, even the sky seemed to be painted with a festive red. He Rong had finally finished his work, but he couldn’t take Xiang Ning out to enjoy it fully. His eyes, however, were filled with hope.

Doctor Yin had flown to the United States for a conference, and Xiang Ning’s treatment had been on hold. Now that Doctor Yin was back, it was time to start the final phase.

He Rong drove to the clinic, and Xiang Ning went into the room, leaving him to wait outside.

He worked on his laptop for a while, then rubbed his sore neck. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a timid figure. He glanced at her and then looked away. The little girl, however, inched closer, sitting two seats away and looking at him with wide eyes.

After a while, she moved one seat closer.

He Rong ignored her and took a call. When he finished, Xiang Ning came out, looking at the child beside him with a questioning gaze.

He Rong turned and noticed that the little girl had fallen asleep next to him.

The doctor, seeing this, apologized and walked over, saying, “I’m sorry, Mr. He. The child probably didn’t sleep well last night, and we were busy and couldn’t keep an eye on her. I hope she didn’t disturb you?”

Seeing that He Rong didn’t seem angry, the doctor continued, “Her mother was in a car accident recently and didn’t survive. Her parents had divorced earlier, and her father didn’t want to keep her. She has no relatives.”

He sighed, “Her mother worked here for many years, and the colleagues have a deep bond. They couldn’t bear to send her to an orphanage, so they let her stay at the clinic.”

He Rong saw the sympathetic look in Xiang Ning’s eyes and asked, “Why doesn’t her father want her?”

“She was born deaf and mute. Her parents divorced because of it.”

The doctor realized he had said too much but saw that He Rong wasn’t annoyed and felt relieved. He went to the rest room with the child.

He Rong met Xiang Ning’s eyes, patted his back reassuringly, and asked, “How was it today? Are you tired?”

Xiang Ning shook his head, smiled at him, and then pursed his lips.

He Rong knew what he was thinking.

He got into the car, kissed Xiang Ning’s forehead, and said, “I’ll have Xiao Ye look into it.”

If they were to adopt, it was best to know everything.

Author’s Note: Oh, right, I checked. According to current law, severing a parent-child relationship is not allowed if there is a blood relation. But since this story is set in the near future, I made it possible.