Chapter 20

Chapter 20

That evening, upon returning to the manor, Tian Ruan heard the butler say, "The master will return later."

Tian Ruan: "I thought he wasn’t coming back till tomorrow?"

The butler sighed admiringly, "With such a charming wife waiting, naturally he’d hurry home."

"..."

It wasn’t until nine at night, long after Tian Ruan had finished his homework, that he suddenly heard the sound of a car outside. He glanced out the window and confirmed it was the Maybach Yu Jingmo usually rode in.

Tian Ruan quickly hid the snacks on the table into his backpack and walked downstairs, pretending to be casual. Upon seeing Yu Jingmo, he smiled, "Mr. Yu, you're back."

Yu Jingmo took off his travel-worn coat and glanced at Tian Ruan. "That smile’s fake."

Tian Ruan’s smile slowly faded. *Who’d dare eat before him?* "Have you eaten?"

"No."

"Me neither."

Yu Jingmo’s mouth quirked. "Let’s eat. Next time, don’t wait for me."

Tian Ruan thought, *The Yu household had only one head: Yu Jingmo.*

The ‘three of them’ ate dinner together. Yu Shang, as usual, didn’t ask many questions, and Yu Jingmo offered no explanations. If not for Tian Ruan occasionally chiming in with a word or two, it’d be as silent as a tomb.

Fortunately, staying up late didn’t matter—the next day was Saturday.

With no school, Tian Ruan woke up early with nothing to do. He wandered aimlessly around the manor, unable to find anything to do. *Since when was skipping school this boring?*

Should he join a club activity like Yu Shang did on Sundays?

Tian Ruan scrolled through the school forum and saw there were three main types of clubs: arts, sports, and others.

Under the arts category was "Translation." Tian Ruan clicked in and scanned the requirements: at least sixteen years old, enjoys reading, has a good grasp of foreign literary works in their original language, and has scored 9/10 in a minor language course three times.

Tian Ruan: "..."

They only tested minor languages twice a year. Getting three scores would take at least nine months.

Since that club was out of reach, Tian Ruan mindlessly browsed gossip threads. A trending post mentioned some gorgeous art teacher who was about to go on maternity leave, maybe six months.

Many students left congratulatory messages below, speculating which artist would substitute for her.

Yes, that’s how elite this school was—even the art teachers were renowned painters.

"Uncle, you there?" A crisp, youthful voice called from downstairs.

Tian Ruan put away his phone and headed down. The house was huge—his reply echoed before he appeared: "Yeah—"

It took him a full minute to wind down the spiral stairs.

Yu Ti held a brown paper bag in one hand and gave a lively wave with the other. "Uncle, I brought you a gift."

A servant brought over black tea and osmanthus cakes.

Sitting on the sofa, Tian Ruan opened the fancy gift box to find a crystal eagle brooch made of black and pink crystals—both cute and cool.

"How is it? Do you like it? I saw it in the store and immediately knew it would suit you, Little Uncle," Yu Ti said with eyes crinkled with a smile.

Tian Ruan wore the sandalwood bead bracelet Yu Jingmo had given him—his first gift since coming here. Now, he had received his second gift, from his "niece."

"Thank you, I like it," Tian Ruan said sincerely.

Yu Ti laughed heartily but then added, "But Little Uncle, you didn’t even tell me you started attending school! I only heard about it from the family."

"It’s not a big deal."

"How is it not a big deal? That way, I could’ve had lunch with you every day."

"Even though the middle and high schools of Deyin share the same campus, there’s a wire fence separating them—they're not allowed to mix."

Yu Ti shook her head. "Little Uncle, you’re too by-the-book. The fence has openings—you can crawl through."

Tian Ruan: "That’s a doggy door."

"What does it matter what kind of hole it is? As long as you can crawl through, it’s a good hole."

"If the student council catches us, Yu Shang—"

"Stop, let's change the subject," Yu Ti said. "Little Uncle, did you know tomorrow is Uncle Jingmo’s thirtieth birthday?"

Tian Ruan froze. "Huh?"

"Uncle’s birthday… you didn’t know?"

"...No."

"I went to the luxury store today to buy him a gift. Spent 200,000 yuan of my spending money," she said.

Tian Ruan wondered if he misheard. "How much?"

"200,000." Yu Ti stared at him, sounding astonished. "Little Uncle, don’t tell me you don’t even have 200,000?"

Tian Ruan: "...Now I feel insulted."

Yu Ti quickly waved her hands. "I’m not trying to put you down. I’m just surprised—doesn’t Uncle give you an allowance?"

It wasn’t Yu Jingmo’s fault, really. Food, clothes, housing, and school were all arranged for Tian Ruan. Even Sha Meijuan’s hospital stay required no concern. In short, Tian Ruan rarely had any need for money.

Even snacks—there was a special snack cabinet at home, which he quietly took from. And miraculously, it would always be fully restocked the next day.

"I don’t need an allowance," Tian Ruan said, salvaging his pride.

Yu Ti: "Then how much do you have?"

"A few thousand."

Yu Ti’s eyes widened, exclaiming "Oh my god," as if a few thousand yuan might as well be nothing to her.

Fortunately, Tian Ruan had thick skin. If Tian Yuan had heard this, he might’ve been devastated.

Yu Ti looked troubled. "Little Uncle, with only a few thousand to spend, I really can’t think of any gift worth buying. Uncle has high standards—a single tie costs over ten thousand yuan."

Tian Ruan asked seriously, "Can I just not give a gift?"

Yu Ti looked him over and let out an impish giggle. "Sure, you could. Just having you there with Uncle would be enough—he wouldn’t want any other gift."

Tian Ruan was speechless.

Yu Ti cleared her throat. "Seems my humor isn't funny. Actually, there are ways to live frugally, and there are gifts even poor people can afford. Maybe Uncle would like something like ice cream, claw machines, or raunchy comics."

Tian Ruan: "Those are things *you* like."

"Either way, we should investigate first." Yu Ti raised a slender finger. "We could ask his secretary or assistant."

"Or maybe the butler and Liu Ma."

They summoned the butler and Liu Ma, and Yu Ti directly asked them if her uncle had any inexpensive hobbies. The butler said, "Exercising," while Liu Ma said, "Drinking tea."

Yu Ti waved her finger. "Tea isn’t cheap, Liu Ma. Do you know the tea Uncle drinks costs a thousand per ounce?"

Liu Ma was shocked. "That expensive?! I sometimes drink the leftovers in the tea jar... Heavens above!"

Getting nowhere at home, Yu Ti decisively drove Tian Ruan in her Maserati to the Yu family headquarters—a skyscraper in the heart of Su City, the Wintergreen Group.

A sea eagle statue spread its wings atop the building, which towered into the clouds. Employees entered with a card swipe, while outsiders needed an appointment or an escort.

Yu Ti was a walking Yu family VIP pass. Since Tian Ruan had never shown his face at the company, the receptionist didn’t recognize him and smiled politely. "Miss Yu, this gentleman needs to register."

Yu Ti was surprised. "The boss’s spouse needs to register?"

Receptionist: "What?"

"My uncle’s spouse."

The receptionist quickly apologized. "My apologies, Mr. Tian. I didn’t realize it was you. Are you here to see President Yu? I’ll notify the secretary’s office."

Tian Ruan didn’t want to trouble anyone. "No need, I’ll just go see him myself."

A large corporation like this had five elite secretaries alone, with over a dozen backup staff ready to serve as temporary secretaries. This team was called the executive secretarial team.

Most of the secretaries were women.

Women tend to be soft-hearted, and when faced with a man like Yu Jingmo—perfect in nearly every way except for one or two shortcomings—it was hard not to be smitten.

Especially when that man was also on the world's richest list.

Yet such a man had suddenly up and married.

Annie, the chief of the executive secretarial team, had been moping lately because she was heartbroken. Yes, ever since joining the company five years ago, she had fallen for the handsome, wealthy, and exceptionally capable Yu Jingmo.

Annie had been the school beauty queen all her life, always the center of attention—until she met Yu Jingmo and realized how laughable it was to have once reveled in such hollow illusions.

The center of attention? Perhaps she was, but compared to the dazzling brilliance of Yu Jingmo, she paled in comparison.

If she couldn’t surpass him, she’d join him. The saying goes, men conquer the world, women conquer men. Annie resolved to conquer this unattainable man with her own abilities.

Yet after five years of diligent work, Yu Jingmo had up and married. Heartbroken, she stopped trying—no more charming smiles, no more thoughtfully adding milk to his coffee, no more dressing to impress.

—None of these changes she thought were noticeable were noticed by Yu Jingmo.

Annie’s heart shattered again. Clearly, the boss had a heart of stone and didn’t care about her at all.

"Annie, this report is sloppy, and the research is incomplete." Yu Jingmo frowned as he flipped through the printed document before sliding it across the desk. "Redo it."

Annie clenched her jaw, took the file, and stood her ground. "I refuse to redo it."

Yu Jingmo looked at her, "Are you thinking of resigning?"

"...If I resign, what would you do?"

"There's no shortage of secretaries eager to fill your position."

"But none of them have my combination of skills and looks."

In some business settings, having a secretary with good looks does save a lot of trouble. Yu Jingmo asked, "Do you want a raise?"

Annie swallowed her retort, about to vent when she suddenly heard Assistant Xu's voice: "Mr. Yu, your husband is here."

Yu Jingmo: "Hmm."

Assistant Xu: "Security cameras show he got lost after just one bathroom trip."

Yu Jingmo: "?"

Yu Jingmo stood up and strode out purposefully, "Which floor?"

Assistant Xu hurriedly followed, "26th floor."

Annie gaped after them, helplessly returning to the secretarial office. A nearby secretarial assistant asked, "Annie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Annie replied irritably, thinking to herself, Is this CEO's husband really such a clueless bunny? Getting lost like this.

And even going to get him personally... Wasn't it said their marriage was loveless? Maybe the rumors were false?

Annie couldn't imagine Yu Jingmo in love at all, so she gave up for now, deciding to do some digging later.

Ten minutes later, Tian Ruan was brought back by Yu Jingmo to the Chairman and CEO office.

Shortly after, Yu Ti and Assistant Xu arrived. Yu Ti blurted out, "Uncle, where did you wander off to? I've been looking for you forever!"

Tian Ruan said, "I didn't see you when I came out, so I went to find you."

Yu Jingmo said calmly, "Cameras show you two just wandering, looking suspicious, almost getting detained as suspicious persons."

"..."

This was the sentence Annie heard as she entered.

Though she had vaguely seen wedding photos in the media, the deliberate blurring only allowed a rough recognition. Now, seeing him up close, Annie was taken aback.

The word around the industry was that Yu Jingmo avoided women, and even the men thrown at him were rejected. Thus arose the theory that "Yu Jingmo is face-blind," unable to distinguish beauty.

But now, this youth who looked very much like a high school student was undeniably gorgeous.

"Did you come here to see me for something?" His tone softened, sitting on the sofa and gesturing for Tian Ruan to sit beside him.

Yu Ti: "We weren't actually here for you, Uncle..."

"We were here for you." Tian Ruan went over and sat beside Yu Jingmo. "Your birthday's tomorrow, right?"

Yu Jingmo: "Hmm."

"So I need to get you a present."

"What gift do you want to buy?" Yu Jingmo perked up with interest, his voice laced with quiet amusement.

Tian Ruan looked at him earnestly and said, "I don't have money, but you can pick a gift under a hundred yuan from me."

"A hundred yuan? That's it?"

Yu Ti: "Uncle, you have thousands to spare!" And you're only giving your beloved husband a measly hundred??

Annie was also shocked, though what stunned her was the fact that the esteemed Yu Jingmo’s wife had so little money. My god, is Yu Jingmo actually this cheap in private?

Annie's romantic fantasies instantly froze into a lead weight pressing against her chest, leaving no room for further infatuation.

In fact, her expression toward Yu Jingmo even carried disdain—deep disdain. Typical unreliable men.

Annie’s expression was far too obvious, and the scene fell into silence.

Assistant Xu steered Annie away. "Come with me for a moment."

Tian Ruan: "Why was she looking at you like that?"

Yu Jingmo: "Beats me. Back to our hundred-yuan discussion."

The Yu family patriarch, who regularly closed multimillion-dollar deals, was actually willing to spend time discussing a mere hundred yuan with his wife. The story spread like wildfire through the company.