Chapter 8: Self-Torture

Yunding Restaurant, the highest restaurant in the imperial capital, offers a panoramic view of the most prosperous scenery in the city center. Unfortunately, today’s weather was drizzly, and Wen Lan Sheng couldn’t see his beloved urban skyline. However, the thin cotton-like clouds outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, along with the misty rain, had their own charm.

“Xia Xia, let’s sit here.” Wen Lan Sheng pulled her to sit by the window.

A male waiter quickly approached with the menu.

Fan Xia didn’t look at the menu closely. Her life in the orphanage meant she didn’t have high requirements for food; as long as it was edible, it was fine. She simply chose the restaurant’s recommended set meal. Wen Lan Sheng, on the other hand, was torn between Italian panna cotta and Sicilian cheese rolls as he held the menu.

She raised her slender, fair hand, lightly supporting her chin, looking at the lingering drizzle outside the window. The rain fell in fine threads on the transparent glass, each raindrop crystal clear. The inside of the window seemed to be tinged with a faint, moist vapor, as if a gentle breeze carrying misty rain was blowing in.

“Forget it, I’ll have the Sicilian cheese roll,” Wen Lan Sheng said, putting down the menu reluctantly.

Suddenly, he felt an extremely uncomfortable gaze from behind Fan Xia, like a rusty knife cutting into his body. Though blunt and unable to break the skin, he could feel the intense malice it emitted, as if poisonously wishing to kill him.

Wen Lan Sheng looked in that direction. Among the hurrying crowd, Rong Xiu sat by the window, his deep black suit as thick as ink, his back as straight as a pine tree. He was looking out the window, his fair and cold profile almost blending with the chilly drizzle outside.

Wen Lan Sheng gnashed his teeth in disgust, almost certain that the gaze filled with strong malice had come from Rong Xiu. It must have been him.

He’s like a ghost that won’t go away!

Fortunately, Rong Xiu’s position was behind Fan Xia, in a direction she couldn’t see, so Fan Xia hadn’t noticed Rong Xiu’s presence at all.

Wen Lan Sheng glanced at him sideways but didn’t tell Fan Xia.

He had finally managed to have some time alone with her, and he didn’t want Rong Xiu, that rat dropping, to ruin it.

Looking at Fan Xia, who was still gazing at the scenery outside, and then at the appetizers that had just been served, Wen Lan Sheng’s eyes suddenly lit up with an idea.

You want to peek? Fine, I’ll let you look your fill.

“Xia Xia, this salmon tartare is so delicious, you should try some.” Wen Lan Sheng scooped some up with a corn chip and held it to Fan Xia’s lips.

Fan Xia withdrew her gaze from the distance, looked around, and said quietly, “Lan Sheng, this is a restaurant, not home. I can eat by myself.” Wen Lan Sheng insisted, even deliberately trapping her foot between his legs under the table as he whined, “Just one bite. If you eat it, I won’t feed you anymore. If you don’t, I’ll keep holding it up.”

Fan Xia sighed helplessly and slightly opened her mouth to eat it.

“Is it good?” Wen Lan Sheng asked.

“It’s good.” Fan Xia nodded. The combination of salmon and avocado was very refreshing.

“Look at you, you’ve got some on your mouth.” Wen Lan Sheng chuckled, leaning forward and gently wiping Fan Xia’s mouth corner with a napkin. He deliberately bent down, almost pressing against Fan Xia’s face, intimate without a hint of space, even their breathing seemed ambiguous.

Wen Lan Sheng glanced smugly in Rong Xiu’s direction, seeing his hand tightly gripping the cutlery, the veins on his wrist clearly visible, obviously stimulated.

Wen Lan Sheng smiled contemptuously and triumphantly.

“Rong Xiu? Rong Xiu? What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Xu Jingya spoke up, seeing Rong Xiu’s sudden emotional change.

“It’s nothing.” Rong Xiu frowned deeply, his slender fingers impatiently tapping on the table to alleviate the irritation in his heart.

Wen Lan Sheng’s provocation was like a knife cutting through wind and snow, its tip stabbing straight at his eyes, too sharp to look at directly. But even so, he couldn’t help but secretly look in Fan Xia’s direction, even if it was just her back.

“That’s good. You suddenly turned pale just now, I thought you weren’t feeling well. How do you find the taste of this restaurant? It’s owned by a friend of mine, and the chef was specially invited from abroad. The taste is quite good. But I know you’ve been pampered since childhood and must have eaten all sorts of delicacies. If you don’t like it, I’ll have my private chef make you a special meal this afternoon as compensation…”

“Miss Xu, I thought we were having lunch today to discuss the development project for the island sanatorium,” Rong Xiu interrupted Xu Jingya’s chatter, his tone unusually cold and without any regard for her feelings.

Xu Jingya paused briefly, then smiled and said, “Of course we’ll discuss the island project, but it’s rare for us to have a meal alone, and it’s the weekend. We can talk about other things before getting to business.”

“If we’re not discussing business, then we have nothing to talk about,” Rong Xiu said coldly, raising his eyes. Even though he was suppressing his irritation, his tone was still as cold as ice shards.

Xu Jingya’s face fell slightly. She was also from a wealthy family, usually surrounded by countless men trying to climb the social ladder. Which one of them didn’t flatter and agree with her? Rong Xiu was the first person who dared to speak to her so bluntly.

If it weren’t for the fact that Rong Xiu held thirty percent of Shanhai Group’s shares, and he was a man – marrying him would make Shanhai Group hers – she wouldn’t be willing to have dinner with a man like Rong Xiu.

He may be handsome, but he’s an impenetrable iceberg, speaking harshly and hurting people. No woman would like a man like him.

Despite her complaints, Xu Jingya still smiled and said, “Don’t be angry. My father and your father are close friends. Your father told me that you’ve been so busy with the company all these years that you haven’t had time to date, and he feels very sorry for you. But he’s also worried that work might interfere with your lifelong happiness, so he specially asked me to come and chat with you more.”

“Afraid of interfering with me?” Rong Xiu curled his thin lips, a mocking curve revealing his innate arrogance. “My personal affairs don’t need anyone’s concern.”

His good father wasn’t really worried about interfering with his lifelong happiness, but rather concerned that his dear sister wouldn’t have a foothold in the company, right?

How ridiculous, actually colluding with outsiders to scheme against him, using the pretext of business talks for a blind date.

Instinctively, he wanted to pull out a cigarette from his clothes, but remembering that Fan Xia was nearby and the pungent tobacco smell would drift to her, Rong Xiu restrained his hand, feeling even more irritated.

“Your father is just thinking of you. As a son, you should be more understanding of your parents’ good intentions,” Xu Jingya said with an awkward smile.

“Miss Xu is indeed filial,” Rong Xiu said, suppressing his anger with a sardonic smile. “Since you’re so filial, why don’t you think of a way to save the Xu family’s annually loss-making fast-moving consumer goods brand? Don’t let it crash and burn, forcing you to sell even your ancestral home, leaving your beloved parents homeless on the streets with you.”

“You-” Xu Jingya stood up, slamming the table, pointing at Rong Xiu’s nose, wanting to curse. But constrained by Rong Xiu’s strong financial power, she didn’t dare to completely fall out with him. She could only glare at him hatefully before leaving in anger.

The commotion here attracted quite a few people, naturally including Fan Xia, who was not far away.

“CEO, I didn’t expect to see you dining here too,” Fan Xia approached to greet him.

“What a coincidence, you’re here too?” Rong Xiu stood up, his narrow eyes feigning surprise.

Fan Xia nodded, “It’s the weekend, I brought Lan Sheng out for some fun.”

“Hello, senior,” Wen Lan Sheng said, linking arms with Fan Xia and smiling. “I’m sorry, senior. Actually, I saw you earlier, but because I saw you with a lady – probably your girlfriend, right? – I thought I shouldn’t disturb your meal. Oh, has she left?”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Rong Xiu said coldly. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Wen Lan Sheng looked at Fan Xia for help. “What should we do? I’ve said the wrong thing again. Senior, please don’t mind. I just thought you two looked good together, so I assumed… It was all my misunderstanding.”

Rong Xiu lowered his eyes, suppressing the storm in them: “It’s fine.”

“That’s great, I’m glad senior doesn’t blame me. Since we’ve met, why don’t we join tables, senior? It’s been a while since we’ve gathered together,” Wen Lan Sheng suggested, holding Fan Xia’s hand.

Their tightly interlocked fingers, the intertwined iris flower wedding rings flashing with dazzling light, burned his eyes, silently mocking his dark thoughts that couldn’t see the light of day.

“No need,” Rong Xiu refused in a deep voice. “I have something to attend to. You two enjoy your meal.”

“Leaving so soon?” Wen Lan Sheng said, feigning disappointment. “I was hoping to spend more time with you, senior. But it’s alright, if we miss this chance, we can always gather at the wedding.”

Rage surged straight to Rong Xiu’s brain. His tightly clenched fingers dug deep into his flesh, but even this couldn’t alleviate the pain of Wen Lan Sheng’s soft knife stabbing into his heart.

He almost rushed out of the restaurant and into his car. If he had stayed any longer, he didn’t know what he might have done.

Below Yunding Restaurant was a busy square, and Rong Xiu’s car was parked by the roadside.

He took out a cigarette, bit it between his lips, lit it, and inhaled. Smoke swirled, the tobacco smell filling the entire car interior. But even after smoking two cigarettes in quick succession, the irritation in his heart showed no signs of subsiding. It was like a fire that could never be extinguished or quenched, burning constantly.

Rong Xiu leaned his head back against the seat, his long neck arching slightly. He stared blankly out the car window. Outside were countless vendors carrying fresh flowers, balloons, and small toys, weaving through the bustling crowd.

A familiar figure in white entered his field of vision. Rong Xiu’s unfocused eyes regained their light.

Hidden in the car, he watched Fan Xia buy a bouquet of red roses from a small boy selling flowers and give it to Wen Lan Sheng, who was standing nearby. Wen Lan Sheng happily cradled the flowers, lowering his head to lightly smell their fragrance. That ring was thus surrounded by the passionate red roses.

In the privacy of the car, Rong Xiu finally stopped hiding his emotions, revealing an envious expression, until the cigarette burned out, scalding his fingers.

He frowned in pain but didn’t throw away the cigarette. Instead, as if possessed, he gripped the cigarette, unbuttoned his cuff, and viciously pressed it against his arm!