Saved Just for Your Birthday
When Rong Hua rushed over from Rongcheng in the middle of the night and arrived at Rong Ci’s place, she found him once again lying on the recliner in a daze. Rong Hua was utterly speechless. She climbed in through the window, ran over, and shoved his arm. “Get up. I heard there’s still noise next door. Take me over to mooch breakfast.”
Rong Ci avoided her hand and said in a low voice, “Go by yourself.”
Rong Hua noticed something was off about his expression and asked, “Didn’t sleep well?” Rong Hua knew this person would lose his temper if woken from poor sleep.
Rong Ci didn’t even look at her. “I already ate.” In reality, he hadn’t eaten a single bite. He just felt stifled, like something was stuck in his throat, and suddenly had no appetite at all. He dropped his chopsticks and left. He didn’t even know what was wrong with himself.
Rong Hua believed him and said, “Alright then. I’ll go find Ah Li first. This afternoon, I’ll treat you to a meal at Lin’s Small Eatery. It’s your birthday today, after all.”
Rong Ci made a sound of acknowledgment. Rong Hua then immediately abandoned him and eagerly ran next door. As soon as she entered, she rushed over and hugged Ling Li’s arm, leaning against him and acting spoiled in an extremely intimate manner. Su Jingyang had long grown used to this and always felt that she was projecting her emotions onto Ling Li.
Ling Li actually wasn’t very used to being treated like this, but every time he heard her soft, clingy tone, his heart would soften, and he couldn’t bring himself to push her away.
Hearing that she hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, Ling Li was about to go to the kitchen to ladle porridge for her when she said, “Ah Li, you sit. I’ll go myself!” She pressed Ling Li back down just as he stood up and ran cheerfully into the kitchen, familiar with the place as she grabbed a bowl and scooped porridge.
Su Jingyang happened to be there scooping water from the vat. Rong Hua’s gaze swept toward him, her eyes shifting slightly. Carrying the bowl of porridge, she strolled over and smiled brightly. “Jingyang, did you know today is Ah Yi’s birthday?”
“I know.” Just mentioning it made Su Jingyang annoyed. He tossed the ladle back into the vat, straightened up, and said to her, “He even insisted I cook longevity noodles for him. I worked forever, and in the end, he didn’t eat a single bite. I think he did it on purpose to mess with me.”
Rong Hua was baffled. “He didn’t eat? He said he already ate.”
Su Jingyang replied, “He ate something else. Not what I made.”
Rong Hua studied his expression for a moment, then suddenly shook her head with a soft sigh. Her face was instantly flooded with endless sorrow and her tone trembling. “Ah Yi… he’s really pitiful. His father passed away, and his mother doesn’t love him. It’s only natural he would feel sad on his birthday. He definitely didn’t mess with you on purpose.”
Su Jingyang had already guessed his family situation probably wasn’t good, so he wasn’t too surprised by what she said. Still, he couldn’t help asking quietly, “His mother… why doesn’t she love him?”
Rong Hua said painfully, “I don’t know. How would I know? All I know is that his mother treated him badly since childhood, never cared, even avoided him, and only doted on her precious younger son. After Ah Yi’s father died, that woman became even more unrestrained. Once, she was even caught placing a vicious curse on Ah Yi, cursing him to die. My poor Ah Yi, what great harm his heart has suffered. Yet he always endures it without a word, pretending he’s fine.”
Su Jingyang was dumbfounded, unable to believe it. After a long while, he finally spoke. “What kind of mother does that?” Cursing her own son to die? No matter how biased, that was unimaginable. And they were from Rongcheng. A so-called vicious curse was definitely more than just verbal abuse.
“How could there not be?” Rong Hua scoffed, her eyes icy cold. “Parents were never synonymous with goodness. There are plenty of scumbag parents out there. The disgusting things she’s done don’t stop at that. Anyway, Ah Yi has suffered a lot growing up. If she weren’t his mother, I would have made my move long ago.”
Seeing Rong Hua’s expression, Su Jingyang believed she wasn’t lying. There was no reason for her to fabricate this.
The anger in Su Jingyang’s heart dissipated a little. He couldn’t help thinking that maybe Ah Yi hadn’t lost his appetite because Su Jingyang had gone and become a third wheel, but because he suddenly thought of his cold-blooded family and felt miserable.
Seeing him lost in thought and no longer as furious as before, Rong Hua struck while the iron was hot. “This afternoon, I’ll treat Ah Yi to a meal at Lin’s Small Eatery. Let’s celebrate together. With more people, it will be livelier. Maybe he’ll feel a bit better too.”
Su Jingyang looked up at her. Seeing her earnest expression, he nodded. “Alright. Ah Li and I will prepare in advance.” He wasn’t that petty to begin with.
Rong Hua immediately beamed, playfully winking at him before carrying her porridge out to find Ling Li.
She ate two bowls of porridge and a plate of small spring rolls. After everyone headed to Lin’s Small Eatery, she returned to Rong Ci’s place, utterly satisfied, humming a tune.
Rong Ci was already sitting up with his arms crossed, his dark eyes glaring at her with irritation. “What nonsense were you spouting to that guy just now”
Rong Hua raised her brows at his questioning and fired back a string of questions. “How was I talking nonsense? Everything I said was true. Did your mother treat you well? Didn’t she place a vicious curse on you, cursing you to die? All these years, seeing how she treats your younger brother, doesn’t your heart ache?”
“I don’t feel hurt at all.” Rong Ci said flatly. He was silent for a moment before looking at Rong Hua and saying in a low voice, “You don’t understand. Don’t go telling him these things again.”
“Fine, fine, I won’t say it. My bad for meddling.” Rong Hua rolled her eyes. Then she remembered something. “Oh right, the Grand Shaman will be leaving seclusion soon. In half a month, you can bring Ah Xuan back for him to take a look.” As she said Ah Xuan’s name, her eyelids twitched twice. Annoyed, she cursed under her breath and slapped her own eye to make it stop twitching.
Rong Ci hummed in acknowledgment. Hearing movement, he turned to look out the window, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Rong Hua laughed. “Oh? Your devoted chicken is here again.”
Rong Hua deliberately chose the afternoon to go to Lin Ji Small Eatery, thinking it would be less crowded. Instead, it was as noisy as ever. As soon as she arrived, she eagerly ran into the kitchen, wanting to help Ling Li.
In the end, she couldn’t help with anything. She couldn’t remove her gloves, so Ling Li, busy as he was, pushed her aside, stuffed a piece of egg cake into her hand, and told her to wait.
She obediently waited, nibbling on the egg cake, her gaze following Ling Li wherever he went.
In front of Ling Li, Rong Hua always appeared exceptionally well-behaved, as if she weren’t the ruthless Little Rakshasa feared by Rongcheng’s people, but merely a sensible child.
During this time, Ah Xuan ran in with quick little steps. Seeing her eating, he got greedy and ran over to cling to her, asking to be fed. Rong Hua froze stiff, eyes wide, staring at Ah Xuan sprawled against her knee with his mouth open, waiting to be fed, as if she had forgotten how to breathe. Only when the wet nurse came over to pick up Ah Xuan up and took him outside with some food did Rong Hua relax.
She clutched her chest and let out a long breath, then shakily resumed eating. The more she ate, the more her throat felt blocked. Rong Hua thought that maybe something was wrong with her head.
Su Jingyang was upstairs in the eatery entertaining guests. One table had been introduced by Liang Lu and came often. Everything about them was fine except one habit. Every time, they insisted on dragging Su Jingyang over to drink with them before letting him go. Su Jingyang’s alcohol tolerance was terrible. One cup made him dizzy and flushed. Two cups had him swaying when he walked.
After much negotiation, they finally agreed to let him just sip one shallow cup this time. He drank it readily, smiling as he exchanged a few more pleasantries before finally escaping the table.
Sigh. Being a boss really wasn’t easy.
Su Jingyang lifted the back of his hand to touch his warming cheek and was about to head downstairs. When he reached the stairway, he ran straight into Rong Ci coming up, dressed in black with his hair tied back, brows sharp and cold.
Their gazes collided, both halting at the same time.
Su Jingyang wasn’t drunk enough to fail to recognize him. Remembering what Rong Hua had said earlier, he took the initiative. “I saved a private room for you on the second floor, all the way inside. Go sit there first.”
Rong Ci didn’t move. He frowned as he looked him over. “…You drank?”
Su Jingyang smiled, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol, his speech slower and lazier than usual. “I drank a bit. Why?”
“You’re doing business. Why are you drinking in broad daylight?”
“Naturally, to drink with customers.” Su Jingyang said. “The customer is god. Can’t be helped.”
Rong Ci’s face darkened slightly. “How is there no helping it? You could also choose not to drink.”
Su Jingyang found that funny. He didn’t bother explaining about social obligations. “Why not drink? They pay for my alcohol and then let me drink it. That’s a great deal, isn’t it?”
Rong Ci was amused to laughter by his anger. “I always thought you were quite stupid. Didn’t expect you to be so calculating.”
Su Jingyang took the sarcasm as praise and shamelessly said, “You flatter me.”
He continued downstairs, stopping two steps above Rong Ci. At the bottom of the stairs, Liang Lu suddenly appeared, waving cheerfully. “Boss Su, come down quickly!”
“Coming, coming!” Su Jingyang had business with Liang Lu. Seeing him, his face instantly lit up. He stopped bickering with Rong Ci and ran down, dragging Liang Lu toward the counter.
Business at Lin’s Small Eatery had exceeded expectations. Su Jingyang wanted Liang Lu to help find a server. With just him and Ling Li holding everything up, they were close to exhaustion.
Liang Lu had already helped him a lot. Normally, such a small matter wouldn’t be worth bothering him. Yet the situation was special. Ling Li worried about hiring someone with ulterior motives who might discover his existence, ruining the eatery’s reputation.
Su Jingyang understood his concern. He felt for him but had no solution. After thinking it over, Liang Lu was the safest choice.
The hall was noisy, so Su Jingyang spoke quietly. Liang Lu leaned closer over the counter to listen. Just as he was about to agree, he sensed something and turned his head. On the stairs, the black-clad youth was staring over with a blade-like gaze.
Liang Lu curled his lips leisurely, saying nothing.
Noticing Liang Lu suddenly fall silent, Su Jingyang followed his gaze and realized Rong Ci was still standing there, unmoving. Feeling puzzled, he told Liang Lu, “Wait a moment.” He came out from behind the counter, ran back up the stairs, and asked Rong Ci, “Why aren’t you going in? Can’t find it? The upstairs isn’t big. It’s easy to find.”
Recalling that Rong Ci had never gone into a private room before, Su Jingyang decided to lead him since he was already there. He brought him into the only large private room in the eatery.
As Su Jingyang poured tea, he chuckled. “Saved this especially for your birthday. Pretty considerate, right?”
Rong Ci had been surveying the room. Hearing that, he abruptly turned to stare at him. “You saved it especially for me?”
“Not me, not me.” Su Jingyang hurriedly denied it, then smiled brightly at him. “If not me, then guess who it was?”
The implication was obvious. It was Ling Li.
In truth, Ling Li had pushed off a regular customer’s reservation to leave this room empty for Ah Yi’s birthday. Su Jingyang wanted to say it now to make the person in front of him happy, to let him know that although Ling Li didn’t say much, he wasn’t indifferent either. Otherwise, this guy always wore that icy expression like someone had stolen his wife.
The moment Su Jingyang denied it, the faint curve that had just lifted at the corner of Rong Ci’s mouth fell instantly.
Su Jingyang’s following words had just finished when Rong Ci’s eyes turned ice-cold. With a sullen face and extremely poor tone, he snapped at him, “I’m not guessing. Get lost.”
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