Chapter 4

TL: Griseo | Proofreader: Sakura

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Chapter 4: Then, Let’s Nurture That

The door access card was tapped on the card reader with a beep following after. 

Shao Chengyun put his hand on the doorknob, though he had no intention of pushing down on it while Xin Rong remained by his side, unmoving. 

“Mr. Shao, let’s just talk about it here.”

Xin Rong’s voice didn’t sound as clear as it did before. It was laced with a hint of dull raspiness, probably a result of exhaustion from work. 

The top-floor restaurant was the restaurant with the highest specifications out of all restaurants on the cruise. Formal dinners were no better than buffets. Customers took longer to dine and it’s never easy to cope with the large number of requirements from them. Performances were sometimes available during meal times too and with that, the waiters weren’t allowed to relax either. 

It was already late at night, and the sound of waves crashing outside the cruise ship was inaudible. Xin Rong’s slightly hoarse voice resonated throughout the corridor before scraping Shao Chengyun’s eardrums. For some reason, Shao Chengyun’s heartstrings were tugged ever so slightly.

Xin Rong wasn’t short. He was estimated to be either 177 or 178 cm in height. But Shao Chengyun was more than half a head taller than he was and had a fitter physique as well. He always came off as condescending from his expressions and some sort of aloofness that terrified people would seep through.

“Talk about what?” He asked Xin Rong rhetorically. His eyes glowered, making it impossible to figure out what he was actually thinking.

Xin Rong was silent for a few seconds before he said, “The reason President Shao called me here, is it still because of the matter that happened this afternoon?”

Shao Chengyun had just returned from the gym and layers of sweat coated his body which made him feel uncomfortable. He wasn’t in the mood to indulge in idle chit-chat with Xin Rong.

He tapped the card reader with his access card again and there was another beep. This time, he twisted the door handle and said in a calm voice, “I just exercised, we’ll talk after I take a shower. Come in and tidy my things for me.”

Xin Rong was taken aback. Shao Chengyun had already opened the door and entered the suite.

Xin Rong had actually imagined some possible scenarios on the way over, even the worst kinds.

However, unlike the assumptions of most people, Shao Chengyun was not a wretched person by nature in the first place. He took a few steps towards Xin Rong with the duffel on his back. Although his expression was cold, his eyes held a firm gaze. He wasn’t harboring any crazy ideas. 

Xin Rong didn’t have a bad impression of him. It’s just that he felt a world’s difference in their statuses, and he didn’t want to cause more trouble. He just wanted to keep a distance as big as he possibly could from him. 

Shao Chengyun held the door with the back of his hand and glanced back at Xin Rong. The meaning was obvious: his patience with Xin Rong was thinning rapidly.

At the end of the day, Xin Rong was housed under the eaves of the cruise which belonged to the almighty President Shao. This job was very important to him, so he could only follow him into the suite obediently.

Shao Chengyun threw his duffel bag onto the low cabinet by the door and pointed to a pile of newly unopened shirts on the side. “Unpack these shirts and put them in the closet. Take away all the decor there and create space for me to work.”

Taking this five-day four-night vacation on the cruise was not in Shao Chengyun’s plan, so he didn’t bring anything except a laptop with him. Fortunately, there were also shops on the cruise. In the afternoon, some employees sent him a few sets of brand-new shirts and trousers, but they haven’t been opened yet.

After Shao Chengyun finished giving instructions, he entered his room to change before going to take a shower. He came out again ten minutes later to see that everything had already been unpacked nicely and Xin Rong was hanging the last ironed shirt into the closet.

Shao Chengyun was wearing a bathrobe and Xin Rong turned around when he heard footsteps. He was taken aback at the sight as Shao Chengyun’s expression remained unwavering. He scanned the room and seemed to be satisfied with Xin Rong’s capabilities. He said to him, “It just so happens I don’t have an assistant while I’m on the cruise for the next couple of days. You don’t have to go back to the restaurant to work.”

His intention was to keep Xin Rong by his side.

Xin Rong was about to lose his shit at this point with the endless demands and irrational nonsense that kept coming from Shao Chengyun. He couldn’t understand why Shao Chengyun had to make his life hard like his whole career depended on it. As he was racking his brain on how to refuse his absurd request, Shao Chengyun was already standing before him.

There was only more one step to close the distance between them and behind Xin Rong was the wardrobe, so there was nowhere for him to back up to. Shao Chengyun had no intention of forcing him, all he did was walk closer to talk to him. However, with such a powerful aura looming before him, Xin Rong still clearly felt a sense of oppression that only a full-grown adult man could exude.

He unconsciously licked his lower lip. Shao Chengyun’s gaze switched to fixate on his lips because of his sudden little movement, and only two seconds later did he speak up. 

“You don’t lose anything from signing the contract, so why didn’t you agree to it?” Shao Chengyun asked straightforwardly. 

Xin Rong was very short on money. Shao Chengyun had read his information so he knew that his mother had spent a lot on medical expenses before her death. Their family’s house was also sold to raise money for her kidney replacement surgery. However, it’s a pity that Xin Rong’s mother rejected the donor’s kidney after the operation. Following a year of prolonging, she departed from this world.

Up ‘till today, Xin Rong still has debts that have not been paid off. For a young man in his early twenties, earning a salary to pay these debts off was no easy feat. 

For anyone else, if an heir of the Shao family was sent to marry them due to an alignment in their birthdays, they would’ve agreed to the engagement on the spot without hesitation despite the peculiar situation. That’s why Xin Rong’s reaction seemed incomprehensible to Shao Chengyun.

Xin Rong was backed up against the wardrobe as he was blocked by Shao Chengyun towering in front of him with no way of escape. He simply leaned against the wardrobe. His posture seemed to have relaxed a little and he was no longer as uptight as he was earlier.

“You must’ve done a background check on me before you approached me.” Xin Rong said in a calm tone, the shadows of his eyelashes reflecting in his eyes. “My mother passed away two years ago. The last thing she said to me before she left was to not fool around when it came to marriage; to not just marry anyone casually, and I promised her.”

Now it was Shao Chengyun’s turn to be stunned for a few seconds.

When Xin Rong said the first half of his sentence, he looked as though he was someone who had seen the world with the wisdom of an elderly all locked up in that young body of his. In the second half of the sentence when he mentioned the instructions of his mother given to him while she was still alive, he seemed as innocent and naive as a child could ever be. As if he took the last words of his deceased mother very seriously.

Xin Rong’s parents divorced in his early childhood years and Xin Rong started living with his mother at the age of five. Xin Rong’s father was in the freight business, and although his family background could not be compared with the Shao family, their family income was still enough for them to get by. Logically speaking, Xin Rong shouldn’t be living such a difficult life right now. 

Shao Chengyun remembered the information that his mother, Lin Ying showed him. After Xin Rong’s father remarried, he had a younger son with his new wife and that was seemingly when he started to ignore his ex-wife and son. Xin Rong’s mother was blinded by love when she met his father and ended up marrying a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a jackass. Her mistake would then plague her for the rest of her life. It made sense to convey something of such importance to Xin Rong before her death.

After Xin Rong finished sharing his sentiments, he looked at Shao Chengyun and spoke in a sincere tone, “President Shao, please drop this matter.”

After a moment of short silence, Xin Rong saw Shao Chengyun break into a slight smile.

Xin Rong had seen this kind of smile on other people’s faces before; it was merely just movements of the corners of his mouth, his eyes held no emotions. It was a smile with no sincerity whatsoever.

Regardless of whether what Xin Rong said was true or not, even if it was from the bottom of his heart, Shao Chengyun would not be faltered by it. Xin Rong was in no place to make a decision regarding this whole matter. 

Shao Chengyun didn’t answer anything, nor did he continue the topic from earlier. Instead, he said to Xin Rong, “You’ll stay here tonight. I’ll inform Manager Zhu that you won’t be clocking into the restaurant tomorrow.”

After speaking, he noticed that the muscles in Xin Rong’s cheeks tensed up as if he was clenching his teeth in secret.

But in the end, Xin Rong didn’t refute and accepted the arrangement in silence. “I haven’t eaten yet. Can I go back and eat dinner first?” He asked in a quiet voice. 

Manager Zhu told him after the restaurant closed that Shao Chengyun had asked him to visit his suite. With so many things occupying his heart and mind, he couldn’t stomach anything at all, so he went to the suite directly.

When Shao Chengyun was listening to him talk about his dead mother’s last words, his heart didn’t waver and he was as equally indifferent as when he heard him begging him to drop the matter. However, when he saw Xin Rong forbearingly tell him that he hadn’t eaten yet, he frowned unconsciously and immediately said, “I’ll call room service.”

Xin Rong didn’t want to accept his goodwill, “No need, President Shao.”

Shao Chengyun pointed to a chair in the room. “Wait.” He said in a tone that was not to be ignored.

Xin Rong had no choice but to stay in the room.

The food delivery service for passenger suites usually takes at least half an hour, but within ten minutes of the call made by Shao Chengyun, the front door was already knocked on.

Xin Rong got up to open the door, praying in his heart that the person delivering the meal wouldn’t be a familiar face. After opening the door, a somewhat unfamiliar waiter standing in the corridor welcomed him. 

There were as many as five to six hundred staff members on the cruise, and it was normal for employees to have not met each other before. Xin Rong breathed out a sigh of relief. He took the tray from the other party, thanked him, and retreated back into the suite.

Shao Chengyun sat at the long desk after just starting a teleconference. Xin Rong didn’t dare eat the food even though he was the one who received it. He didn’t know if Shao Chengyun’s portion was in one of these lunch boxes.

In the midst of his hesitation, two knocks sounded behind him. He turned around, Shao Chengyun had knocked on the table with his knuckles. “Everything is yours.” He said in a rather hushed voice. 

Upon hearing what he said, Xin Rong brought the tray of food to the corner farthest from the desk, so as to not disturb Shao Chengyun’s meeting. Then, he opened a box containing fried noodles and began to eat. 

It was approaching 11 pm. Although the suite was equipped with double-glazed windows, the undulating sound of the waves outside could still be heard. In contrast, it also brought a sense of emptiness and tranquility that was unique to the sea.

Shao Chengyun had put on headphones for the meeting and Xin Rong couldn’t hear the people on the other end. Throughout the meeting, Shao Chengyun barely spoke but he’d occasionally utter a few words, speaking in a slow and steady manner. 

Xin Rong listened without looking over but became distracted as he involuntarily followed the rhythm of the man’s voice. 

He has been working on the ship for more than two years and was mostly surrounded by his peers his age. His colleagues were a rowdy bunch, but there was always a barrier between Xin Rong and that kind of enthusiasm adopted by his colleagues. He didn’t take too much of a liking to it nor did he miss it.

Now that he was in Shao Chengyun’s room and listening to him have a meeting with his subordinates while he himself sat in the corner eating dinner, he somehow felt an indescribable sense of security in his heart.

Shao Chengyun’s teleconference lasted for almost half an hour. Xin Rong finished the fried noodles and drank a portion of soup before getting up to throw the tableware he had used away. He put the remaining unfinished food back on the tray.

Shao Chengyun’s gaze would fall on him from time to time and Xin Rong seemed to have gotten used to the curt glances because he didn’t feel as uncomfortable as when he was in the restaurant before.

After he finished cleaning up, he sat back in the corner chair. The single chair came with armrests and Xin Rong sat curled up inside the chair. He browsed through his phone silently with his head slightly tilted, leaning against the wall to his side. He looked sleepy.

Shortly after, Shao Chengyun closed his laptop. While still sitting behind the desk, he said, “Go to sleep if you’re tired.” 

Xin Rong looked at him and stood up from the chair slowly. “Can I go back to my room, President Shao?” He asked softly. 

Shao Chengyun also turned to look at him. Xin Rong was standing in the shadow cast by the dimmer light which highlighted the loose clothing on him, accentuating his already tall and slender figure. 

Shao Chengyun had been watching Xin Rong eat during his meeting just now. He barely heard a word of what his subordinates reported, yet he remembered the image of Xin Rong clutching the lunch box to eat the noodles very clearly.

“The guest room is over there.” Shao Chengyun said, glancing at the room on Xin Rong’s right, “I’ll have people send over whatever you’re lacking.”

This kind of frequently displayed arbitrariness from Shao Chengyun finally felt unbearable to Xin Rong. He harbored a sudden impulse; the worst-case scenario is him losing this job and even so, he refused to be so pathetic at the mercy of others.

The words of rejection were close to escaping his lips, but Shao Chengyun added, “If we go according to your mother’s wishes, what type of marriage do you reckon isn’t considered fooling around?” 

Xin Rong was taken aback. He hadn’t thought about this question at all and his brain failed to process Shao Chengyun’s unexpected inquiry. Still surprised, he hesitated before muttering, “W-We have to understand each other at the very least. There needs to be some emotional foundation established…”

Shao Chengyun sat behind the table and looked at him calmly. After half a minute, he said nonchalantly, “Okay then, let’s nurture that.”

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