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墨書 Inktalez
"What are you doing here, little brother?"
Zhong Li Fan wandered around the spacious first-floor hall, a hint of arrogance on his delicate face. His eyes meticulously examined the furnishings within, moving with the focused intensity of an inspector, completely oblivious to the Operator's soft inquiry.
"Little brother?" The Operator stepped closer and called out to him.
Zhong Li Fan glanced up indifferently. "May I help you?"
How rude! She should address him as 'Sir.' After all, he was no longer a child; he was eight years old.
He would have to mention this to his father someday and remind him to emphasize basic etiquette to the Operator.
"May I ask why you are here? Did you come with your parents, or are you here alone?" The Operator continued to smile warmly.
"I'm here to find someone," he replied politely.
Well, the Operator in front of him was quite attractive, and her smile was pleasant, but her makeup was a bit too heavy for his taste. Clearly, it was his father's preference. Honestly, his father thought he was oblivious, but he knew that they came here once a year without fail.
The female staff bustling about inside were all quite good-looking. Now he understood why his father returned every year for a week. A change of scenery, perhaps—a bit of cultural exchange.
He really wondered how long his father planned to wallow in this state of despair.
"Who are you looking for?" Judging by his attire and demeanor, she guessed he might be the child of some executive in the company.
"I'm looking for the Acting President." It wasn't yet time to leave work; the person should still be in the office.
How pitiful! He traveled such a long way to find sister Xiao Fan but couldn't locate her. At that time, he thought he could rely on her and hadn't brought anything with him, which left him feeling somewhat stranded now. So he came to his father's company seeking help from the Acting President; that should work out fine, right?
"Huh?"
"Could you please notify them for me?" Zhong Li Fan furrowed his brow.
"Is there a problem? You mustn't tell him that even the Acting President isn't here; otherwise, he won't know who to turn to."
"This..." the Operator smiled awkwardly.
The Acting President isn't married yet; she shouldn't have such a big child.
"Is the President not here?"
"He is." She thought for a moment and hesitantly asked, "May I ask your name? I can inform him."
"I am Zhong Li Fan. My father is Zhong Li Ming Jie. Do you want to see my passport?" He sighed heavily, not at all like an eight-year-old. "Could you please hurry?"
"Please hold on a moment." She hurried back to the counter.
His surname is Zhong Li? If she remembered correctly, the real President also had the surname Zhong Li, and it seemed his name was indeed Zhong Li Ming Jie. How could she dare to delay any longer?
* * *
"You are Zhong Li Fan?"
Lan Xin'en raised an eyebrow, her almond-shaped eyes fixed on the little boy before her.
Is he the child that Zhong Li Ming Jie just mentioned? How could his father be so careless? How did he not realize his own child had flown halfway across the world to Taiwan and was now missing?
It must be tragic to be his child.
But could this child be the one she carried for ten months all those years ago?
She didn't know, as she had never seen the child who was used as a bargaining chip, so she had no idea what he looked like.
If he were her child, Zhong Li Ming Jie should have no reason to hide it from her.
Zhong Li Fan blinked his large eyes and slowly broke into an enchanting smile. "Miss, would you like to go out with me?"
"Huh?" Lan Xin'en's eyes widened in surprise.
Did she hear that correctly? This little kid wanted to date her? She had never realized her charm was so far-reaching, that her allure could even bring a boy under ten to his knees before her.
Incredible, truly incredible; she couldn't help but want to praise herself a little.
However, it seemed that all members of the Zhong Li family shared the same peculiarities, even in their courtship methods. He was likely setting a new record for the the Zhongli Family; yet it wasn't hard to understand, considering his father was such a flamboyant European noble. With that kind of lineage, she believed he couldn't be too far off from the mark.
But did she really want to take this little brat home with her?
She didn't like children; she never had. In fact, she hadn't even met her own child after carrying it for ten months...
"Please wait for me ten years. I believe I will grow into a man you can rely on." Height was not a barrier, and age was not an issue. If only given ten more years, Zhong Li Fan was confident he would achieve great things.
Lan Xin'en raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, but please come back in ten years."
The innocent dreams of a child—no matter how cruel she might be, she wouldn't shatter them in front of him. However, it was difficult for her to make any promises. Besides, his identity... Hmph! She should have known Zhong Li Ming Jie was absurd; she just hadn't expected him to have an illegitimate child outside. Since he already had one, why did he need her to bear him another heir? It seemed there were men in this world who wouldn't give up a forest for a single tree; first, they had a child to satisfy their elder brother's wishes and then escaped the pressure of marriage to live leisurely and happily.
Sigh! How could she have demeaned herself so much back then?
Looking back now, it was probably out of spite that she threw caution to the wind. If life could start over again, she would absolutely not want any ties with him... Huh? That sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere or perhaps even said it herself; yet she couldn't recall when exactly.
"So, will you wait for me for ten years?" Zhong Li Fan remained focused on the topic.
She had such a cute face, with a gentle smile lighting up her features and her eyes filled with joy; even the corners of her lips were turned up. He liked this feeling much more than being around the aunties by his father's side.
He knew his father lacked discernment to let such a beautiful sister go... No, his father was always one to take what he wanted; anyone who caught his eye never escaped his grasp. This sister before him might already...
"Do you know my father?" he asked cautiously.
“Of course.” Yes, this was indeed a question an eight-year-old would ask—quite silly. “Your father is the true Executive President of Beiheng, and I am the Acting President he hired, so naturally, I know him.” In fact, they were quite familiar.
“Then has my father ever…” He swallowed hard, hesitating to finish his question.
“Hmm?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Uh, what I mean is, how should I address you?” This was too embarrassing for him to ask outright.
Lan Xinsi thought for a moment and forced a smile. “You can call me Aunt Lan or Sister Lan, whichever you prefer.”
What should he call her? It didn’t really matter; after all, he wouldn’t be here long.
“Then I’ll call you Sister Lan. I already have plenty of aunties.” Just like his father, he could never remember the names of those aunties because there were too many to keep track of.
“That’s fine.” She wasn’t really paying attention to what he said and casually instructed him, “Just sit over there; Sister has work to do, so don’t disturb me.”
If he made too much noise, she might just throw him off the fiftieth floor.
“But I’m hungry.” Saying something like this in front of a lady felt quite inappropriate, but he hadn’t brought much money with him, which was why he hadn’t bought anything to eat earlier. What could he do? He was just a child.
“You’re hungry?” Was that a hint that he wanted her to take him out to eat? Not happening! “How about I ask Secretary Sister to order you some Bento?”
Children were just like that—loud and demanding. The sound of their shrill voices would send her into a frenzy; he better behave because she didn’t want to ruin her elegant image in a moment of weakness.
“Is Bento good?”
“It’s not bad.” As long as there was food, the little brat should be happy.
“Okay, then I’ll wait for you.” Following her instructions, he obediently sat on the sofa in the reception room, looking like a doll with his round eyes fixed on the spotless table.
Lan Xin'en was somewhat surprised by his compliance. She nodded and pressed the intercom button to give instructions before burying herself in work, determined to tackle this important project proposal head-on.
After a while, she noticed her secretary bringing in a message, and only then did she remember that a child was waiting in her office for lunch.
She stood up and saw that the child, resembling a little doll, had already curled up on the sofa and fallen asleep.
"President, should we wake him up?"
Lan Xin'en sighed and shook her head. "No need. I'll take him back to my place later." She asked the secretary to leave first, helplessly shutting down her computer. Sitting on the sofa, she gazed at his innocent sleeping face, feeling a gentle wave of maternal love stirring within her.
She was a woman; no matter how much she disliked children or how much resentment she felt towards his father, there remained a trace of maternal instinct. The thought of waking this adorable sleeping face made her feel a twinge of pain. After all, grievances have their origins; she wouldn’t vent her anger on an innocent child.
"What is Zhong Li Ming Jie doing? Leaving the child unattended!"
She glanced at Zhong Li Fan with mild irritation. "How could such a small child fly all the way from England to Taiwan? I even forgot about the time difference."
Ugh! It’s none of her business; why should she think so much?
Instead of pondering these questions, it would be better to figure out how to take this child home.
Should she carry him? She had never held a child before; how should she do it? Should she cradle him horizontally or hold him upright?
After some thought and adjusting her position, she finally decided to lift him horizontally. To her surprise, this not-so-chubby child had quite a bit of weight to him. Moreover, he carried a faint fragrance that was unlike the usual sweat smell of children.
It was clear he had been well brought up—he was quiet and well-behaved. But how could Zhong Li Ming Jie be such a father? How could he bear to let such a small child travel alone to a foreign land without concern?
That man!
* * *
"Long time no see, Xin En."
Without needing to look up, Lan Xin'en already felt uncomfortable with the prickling sensation rising on her skin.
"You finally made it. I never knew it would take three days to get from Manchester to Taipei." She didn't look up, her hands still busy typing away at the keyboard; she was either too afraid to look at him or simply didn’t want to, and of course, she was genuinely busy. After all, unlike him, who could just stay in his castle in Manchester while a bunch of fools worked hard to earn him a lifetime of endless wealth.
"I didn't expect our first greeting after eight months apart to be so cold," Zhong Li Ming Jie said with a charming smile, casually sitting down on the sofa. "So, what do you need my help with? Any news?"
She had always been this way, and he had grown accustomed to it over time.
"Your son is at my place," she replied calmly, sitting down across from him and glaring. "Since you want me to help you find him, why weren't you waiting for my response in Manchester? Don’t tell me you left for Taiwan right after calling me; I don’t believe that it takes three days to fly here from Europe because there’s no large-scale unrest."
"Of course, I don't believe you went out looking for your son instead of being at your mansion in Manchester, and I also don’t believe you’re busy with anything as a dealer because A Ye has already contacted me. You have no business on your hands right now."
She didn’t want to hear lies, nor did she want to expose his falsehoods. So before he could start lying, she made sure he couldn’t. Both of them understood this unspoken agreement; lying held no meaning between them.
"Are you questioning me?" he asked.
"No, I just feel sorry for that child," she replied sincerely. "If possible, it would be better if you put more thought into the child."
Despite her dislike for him, she still believed that children were the future's stewards. If parents failed to educate their children properly and caused societal chaos or wasted national resources, she believed they should bear significant responsibility.
"I think so too," Zhong Li Ming Jie nodded in agreement.
However, he wanted to return that sentiment entirely back to her.
In this world, perhaps only she was foolish enough not to realize that Xiao Fan was their son because she would never believe in his sincerity.
"Then I can give you the keys to my house; you can take him away right now." She walked back to her desk and pulled out a key from the drawer.
"Can’t I come back and check on him for a few days?!" he said with a bitter smile.
He had just gotten off the plane and rushed here, temporarily setting aside thoughts of his son just to ease his longing. Did she really need to wear such a cold expression?
Did she still hate him so much? It had been ten years; their son had already been born. How much longer could she hold onto her hatred? Although their son wasn’t born willingly for him, at least she had done it, which should have been enough for him to think that she had let go of their past grievances.
"Don't tell me now that it was just my one-sided wish."
"Sure." She paused, somewhat surprised. "So how many days do you plan to stay?"
"Let's see." There was no need to rush him out!
She would never believe how much he wanted to see her, and yet how terrified he was of meeting her, afraid that her smiling face would twist into hatred because of him.
No woman had ever treated him like she did, and yet he didn’t storm off in anger! She was the only one who made him feel inferior, making him question whether his past actions had been wrong... She was the first person to make him feel a sense of defeat.
"Then let me arrange a hotel for you." A few years ago, when he planned to settle in England, he had sold off all his properties in Taiwan, so whenever he returned, she usually took care of his accommodations.
"No need, I want to stay at your place." He had made up his mind.
It wasn’t a reckless gamble; he had learned nine years ago that such risks were futile. He simply wanted to carve out a little more time with her—not to force her to feel his love, but rather humbly wishing for just one more glance, even if it was only for an extra minute or second.
That was all he wanted. It was that simple.
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