DTTM 49

Chapter 49: Too Despicable, Too Shameless

The Sun God team booked the top floor of the hotel, and considering we both brought children, the two largest family duplex suites were given to me and Zong Yanlei.

These two suites faced each other and were located at the very top of the hotel. We could see not only the clear and magnificent horizon in the distance, but also the beautiful scenery of the shimmering lake below.

The hotel was located in the middle of the lake, like a giant ship setting sail. The golden spherical building built next to it, overlooking the lake, was the venue for tomorrow’s GTC Zengcheng leg of the race.

“Daddy, it’s so high! Is that little white dot down there a boat?”

Wei Jiarui woke up in the elevator and was now excitedly running around the suite, opening almost every drawer and cabinet to look inside.

“It seems so.” I stood by the window and looked down, and saw a small white dot moving around, like a sightseeing boat cruising on the lake.

“Dad, the floor here is so soft!” The chubby boy rolled around on the floor. “Can I sleep on the floor tonight?”

“Rui Rui…”

I was just trying to figure out how to persuade him to sleep on the bed when Wei Bao walked over and lightly kicked his butt, simply and brutally exercising his veto power: “No way! Why would you sleep on the floor when there’s a perfectly good bed?”

“Ouch, Uncle’s so mean!” Wei Jiarui covered his bottom. He wriggled like a caterpillar as he moved away from Wei Bao.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Thinking it was hotel room service coming to turn up the bed, I opened the door to politely decline, only to find Aunt Chun and Zong Yinzhuo standing outside.

Somewhat surprised, I opened the door wide and smiled, making way for them: “You’ve come to visit so soon?”

I thought that given Zong Yanlei’s attitude downstairs—even separating us from each other in the elevator—he definitely wouldn’t let Zong Yinzhuo get close to me. But to my surprise, before I even had a chance to settle into my room, he brought the child over.

Zong Yinzhuo let go of Aunt Chun’s hand and rushed towards me: “Uncle!”

I picked him up and said, “Do you remember what I told you last time, that I’d bring someone over to play hide-and-seek with you?” As I spoke, I carried him into the house.

Just then, Wei Jiarui poked his head in through the window and said, “Daddy, look how awesome I am!”

“Wei Jiarui, can’t you see we have guests?” Wei Bao couldn’t stand it anymore and pulled him up from the ground. “Stand still, don’t embarrass yourself!”

Seeing this, Zong Yinzhuo leaned closer to me and asked in a very soft voice, “Uncle, is this very…very big person your child? He doesn’t look like you at all.”

I was stunned for a moment before I realized that he was probably too embarrassed to say that Wei Jiarui was fat to my face, so he used a word that he thought was less offensive.

“Yes, this is my child. He looks like his mother.” I replied in a very soft voice, “His name is Wei Jiarui, and his nickname is ‘Rui Rui.’ Do you want to play with him?”

Zong Yinzhuo looked down at the somewhat flustered little chubby boy on the ground, thought for a few seconds, and nodded: “Okay.”

I put him down on the ground, and he walked straight up to Wei Jiarui, extending his hand like a little adult: “Nice to meet you. My name is Zong Yinzhuo, you can call me Xiao Mitang.”

Wei Jiarui stared at the hand for a while, then his gaze moved from bottom to top, landing on Zong Yinzhuo’s politely smiling face.

“Hehe!” He chuckled, grabbed the other person’s hand, and pulled him upstairs. “Do you want to play hide-and-seek? There’s a second floor, I’ll show you.”

Zong Yinzhuo’s small frame was no match for his strength; he was pulled away like a piece of paper.

Aunt Chun quickly followed, saying, “Slow down, slow down, don’t fall!”

“Is this the son of that lunatic?” Wei Bao’s gaze followed the two children’s figures, not looking away even when they were out of sight. “Don’t you think his smile is a bit…” He crossed his arms, his brow furrowed slightly, lost in thought. “I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

“His mother is Princess Chu Luo, of course you’ve seen her, it’s normal that he looks familiar.” I walked to the water bar, opened the refrigerator door and took out two cans of beer. As I was closing the door, I hesitated for a moment, but in the end I put one can of beer back and replaced it with sparkling water.

“Really?” Wei Bao took the ice-cold beer I gave him, and the next second after breaking the tab, he was no longer bothered by the question. “…Maybe.”

Zong Yinzhuo and Wei Jiarui were having a blast, especially when they discovered that the wall of the bedroom on the first floor was actually a hidden door that could be opened to connect the two suites into one. They insisted that I ask the hotel staff to open the door so they could expand their hide-and-seek map.

Whether it could be opened or not was not up to me alone.

I could only ask them to wait, and then I went to the opposite door to discuss it with Zong Yanlei.

Aunt Chun said that when they left, Zong Yanlei was video chatting with his secretary in the study, so he should still be able to say a few words.

Afraid of disturbing his work, I directly asked Aunt Chun for the room key. I stepped into the room and found that all the curtains were drawn. Although the lights were on, it was still very dark, a “silent night” mode completely different from the one across the street.

I tiptoed to the study door. The door was half-open, and the lamp on the desk was on, but there was no one behind the desk.

Where could he be…

A sudden oppressive feeling made my hair stand on end instantly. Before I could turn around, a hot human body pressed against my shoulder and back.

The back of my neck was grabbed, a thumb pressing on my carotid artery. The pressure wasn’t painful, but it precisely restricted my movements. He shoved me forward, forcing me to lean against the wall: “What are you looking for?”

His voice fell on my ear, so low it sounded like a whisper.

Feeling the hand on my neck tighten, I turned my head and smiled even more ingratiatingly than usual: “Looking for you, young master.”

“Oh? It’s surprising you still remember me.” Zong Yanlei chuckled, but there was no warmth in his voice. “I thought you’d long since forgotten your roots.”

As he spoke, his thumb slowly stroked along the side of my neck.

“You’ve made a lot of new friends in these six years. If I didn’t know you don’t like men, I would have thought you were a family of three.”

I shuddered and tried to turn around, but Zong Yanlei held me down even more firmly.

With my cheek pressed against the wall, I could only speak hurriedly: “Wei Bao isn’t a new friend, he is… he is Wei Nuan’s brother. I’ve mentioned him to you before, he and his sister lived next door to me and took care of my grandmother.”

Silence fell behind me. I had no idea what had angered Zong Yanlei, but the hand gripping my neck tightened suddenly, and his breathing became ragged.

“I forgot, the sister died, but the brother is still alive…”

I cried out in pain and pushed him away, “Young Master?”

My hand landed on Zong Yanlei’s abdomen through the thin fabric. Before I could exert much force, the muscles there tensed up, and then the hand on my neck loosened.

He acted as if he had shaken off a red-hot iron, impatiently leaving me behind.

“Why are you here instead of keeping Xiao Mitang company?” In the dim light, he stopped in front of the bar, and after saying that, he picked up the whiskey glass with only a small sip left and drank it all in one gulp.

Since he had moved on, I shouldn’t be so blind as to keep provoking him.

“The children are playing hide-and-seek…” I rubbed the back of my neck and turned the page, bringing up the matter of the hidden door. “Do you think it would be possible to ask the hotel to open the door? Of course, if you feel it will affect your work, you don’t have to open it.”

Zong Yanlei poured himself another glass of whiskey, and upon hearing this, the glass stopped in mid-air.

“Open it,” he said. “It’s rare for Xiao Mitang to play with kids his own age, and it’s good for them to bond…”

I nodded: “Okay, I’ll let the hotel know.”

I stood there for a while, but seeing that Zong Yanlei had no intention of paying attention to me anymore, I had no choice but to go back to the other side.

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After connecting the two suites, the play area became larger, and the two kids had even more fun. Their quickly grew closer; they wanted to eat dinner together and even sleep together. Fortunately, the family suites had three bedrooms, which was more than enough.

We gave the two little ones the bedroom connecting the two suites, and Wei Bao and I chose to sleep upstairs.

The next morning, I thought I had woken up early enough, but when I went out and looked downstairs, I saw that Wei Bao had gotten up sometime earlier and was already doing his morning exercises.

“Up and about!” Wei Bao stopped stretching and called out to me.

“So early?” I walked downstairs.

“I’m used to it, I wake up at five o’clock.”

“Have you had breakfast?”

“I ate. You have no idea how amazing that breakfast was. There was so much variety that I couldn’t take it all in. They even divided it up according to regional preferences. As soon as I sat down, someone laid out a napkin for me and asked me what kind of tea I wanted. The waiter was from Penglai…” He shook his head. “Rich people really know how to enjoy themselves.”

“If you take the money I give you, you can enjoy it too.” I walked over to him, and together we did some stretching in the beautiful morning light outside the window.

“Are you out of your mind? You don’t owe me anything, why are you giving me money?” His thick, dark eyebrows furrowing as he looked me up and down. He asked seriously, “Tell me honestly, do you have some kind of terminal illness? Otherwise, why would you be handing out money?”

I chuckled, “No. I am Rui Rui’s father after all. Isn’t it normal for me to support my son financially?”

“Bullshit!” Wei Bao cursed directly. “How is he your son? Are you even related by blood? Jiang Man, let me tell you, you don’t owe me anything, nor do you owe Rui Rui anything. It’s us who owe you, I, Wei Bao, owe you for the rest of my life. You earned that money through hard work, so save it for your wedding. I, Wei Bao, have hands and feet, I’ll raise my own child. I’ll take your snacks and toys, but if you suddenly throw millions at me, I won’t take it. And if you do that, I’ll really turn on you.”

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about money anymore.” I quickly changed the subject, fearing he might really get angry. “I’ll go check if Rui Rui and the others are awake yet.”

Although the sun had fully risen, the curtains inside the room were so good at blocking out light that entering the bedroom from the bright light felt like stepping from day into night.

As I struggled to adjust to the indoor light, I fumbled along the wall to turn on a light, when someone suddenly grabbed my wrist.

Alarm bells rang in my mind, and I almost reflexively raised my elbow, my fist whistling through the air, but it was intercepted by the other party.

He pulled me forward and drew me into his arms.

In the darkness, I could only vaguely make out a pair of eyes. A ghostly blue light flickered in the shadows, cold and sharp, so close it was almost touching my face, like a hungry wolf lurking in the shadows.

Even his tone was tinged with barely suppressed excitement: “Will you explain it yourself, or should I rush out and ask him right now?”

I froze, I had already recognized the other person.

I glanced toward the hidden door. A warm yellow light shone through the slightly ajar door. I had thought Aunt Chun was sleeping next door, but I never expected it was Zong Yanlei.

No doubt about it, he heard it. He heard my conversation with Wei Bao.

I closed my eyes, afraid of waking the children, and also afraid that he would really do what he said and go to confront Wei Bao, and that the two of them would have a conflict. So I grabbed his wrist and lowered my voice to a whisper: “Not here.”

He didn’t move immediately; his breath still enveloped me.

I tried to pull him, and he didn’t resist. He followed my lead and walked with me through the hidden door to the other side.

The door closed silently, cutting off all sound, and in those few short steps, I had already come up with a plan.

Originally, I didn’t want to use this method, but fate had other plans…

“If that child isn’t yours, then what about that woman? Did you ever have se—”

Before he could finish speaking, I suddenly turned around, cupped his face in my hands, slightly raised his chin, and kissed him without giving him any chance to react.

His breathing suddenly became erratic, and all his questions were disrupted by the unexpected kiss.

Although I told Ye Shuer that I had another way to try, in my opinion, it was a really bad idea, too despicable and too shameless.

I feel like I’ll get my comeuppance…

I closed my eyes, stopping myself from thinking any further.