Chapter 46: What a Child

After he had eaten lunch and returned to the office, Cheryl approached him as he walked in. “President Chen, CEO Wang from Yuanfeng Group sent you a lunch invitation.”

He stopped in his tracks. “Yuanfeng Group?… Did he mention why?”

She pondered for a while before she replied, “CEO Wang has invited Xu Zhicheng along, it seems that… he may want to put in a good word on the director’s behalf.”

It looked like Xu Zhicheng finally knew who to ask for help after his first few failed attempts.

Sneering, he said, “Seems that he wants to play the good guy here. You can tell him that I’m not free.” With that, he headed straight for his office.

Once he reached his office, his eyes swept across his office table before he realized that Ruan Ruan was not sitting on her favorite sofa as usual. Instead, her back was facing him as she stared at the streets below, through the full-length window.

He wondered if she was serious in her request to take a walk outside the office…

Perhaps Ace was right after all. Since she was curious about the world at large, it might be best to let her have a look. If not, she might run away again…

He looked out of the window. The weather in May was especially warm and comfortable. This looked like a pleasing day for an outing.

“Ruan Ruan,” he called out.

Her fluffy ears flicked a little, and then she turned her head to look at him. As her soft eyelashes flickered twice under the sunlight, she looked innocent and childlike.

The man softened at this sight. “Do you want to go out to play?”

She looked at him, rather bewildered. It seemed like he was coaxing her like a child. What’s this about…?

He edged closer. “Didn’t you mentioned that you want to go out for a walk?”

But… that was because I wanted to go and look for my sis…

He had already clasped his hand around hers and walked her out of the office. She did not expect him to do this for real, and had to ask, “Don’t you have work this afternoon?”

It was not usual for a workaholic not to be working.

“A few urgent matters on hand have been attended to. I can manage the rest later.” He explained patiently as he opened the office door.

Just as they were stepping out, Cheryl stood up hastily to inform him, “President Chen, Mr. Xu has called just now…”

“I’m not free,” He said as he pulled his robot along.

His secretary asked dutifully, “Where are you going now? Do you need the car and security to accompany you?”

“It’s not necessary. I’m just going out for a walk.”

Alan sighed as the back of his boss disappeared into the elevator. “President Chen is really busy, it seems.” He could not help chirping with dry sarcasm.

The lady merely shrugged. “He has ignored this Director Xu for a few days already, one more day won’t make a difference.”

Her colleague wrinkled his brow. “But he has been calling rather frequently for the past two days. His tone didn’t sound friendly now… I’m not sure if he’ll come up with some funny business if we push him to the edge…”

Cheryl gave a soft sigh of resignation.

This was the first time she had seen the devil king… opposing someone so openly.

She wondered what the director had done to antagonize her boss so badly…

As the man drove along the road without any idea of where to take his robot, he chanced upon an open arena in front of him. It was spacious, with entertainment, without being overly crowded. Thinking that this was a good place to visit, he stopped the car at the carpark and took her over.

Besides the pigeons, there were a number of visitors loitering around. Other than children with their parents, they noticed couples as well. He let go of her hand and patted her shoulder lightly, watching her reaction at the same time.

She was at a loss, having no clue to the reason he brought her to this place…

However, she had come to this open square with her parents when she was young. Hence, when she saw the parents feeding the pigeons with their children, she could not help remembering her childhood.

Chen Yuheng saw her expression soften as she watched them, and reckoned that this was a good move. He found a long bench to sit and relax as if he were an adult looking after a kid: Go and have fun but don’t run far.

She stood where she was without moving, not fully comprehending his intention. After a while, she reckoned that he was overworked and wanted a break. Imitating his actions, she also sat on the bench to watch the children running about in the open.

“Why aren’t you playing along?” he asked.

Her eyes widened doubtfully as she asked in return, “What should I play?”

… shouldn’t she be observing the world at large with curiosity?

At this point, he suddenly heard a soft exclamation from her. “… Ferris wheel!”

He looked up. Across the greenery surrounding the open square, far away, was a huge Ferris wheel.

With a smile, he let out a resigned sigh and reached his hand to ruffle her hair and ears as usual. “What a child…”

Feeling sheepish, she let him caress her head…

She did not recall seeing this Ferris wheel during her visits in the past. This has been built in recent years, I believe. I haven’t been here for a long time. What a change…

“There’s an amusement park over there, do you want to go there?”

She looked at him with sparkling eyes. “Can we?”

A gentle smile lit up on his face. He picked up her hand without a word and led her in the direction of the amusement park…

This was not a long weekend so there were not many people at the amusement park. This was good for Gu Anbao; it meant that she could enjoy the rides she wanted without waiting too long.

When Chen Yuheng received a message from Ace, he was already on the Ferris wheel with her for the sixth time.

“Yuheng! Are you having fun with Ruan Ruan? Don’t forget to take pictures! Pictures, please!”

The voice message was loud enough for Gu Anbao to catch it as well. Revealing a shy smile, she sat discreetly and tried to soothe over the creases in her hair and attire. She even smoothened the furry mass of hair on her little leopard ears.

“I’m ready,” she told him quietly.

With her sweet, pretty smile, under the cheerful sun, she looked like a perfect picture of a girl-next-door. His heart skipped a beat as he watched her but this strange arousal fled just as quickly. Just as he was trying to make out what he had felt, his handphone screen had auto-focused on this composition.

She pressed in to have a look, her furry ears brushed against his chin as she did so. “Did you take a picture?”

He was distracted momentarily.

She watched the image on the screen and retorted, somewhat disappointed, “… I seem to look fat in this picture…” She complained coyishly.

Recomposing himself, he smiled and said, “Alright, I won’t send this image to him.”

“That’s good,” she nodded, satisfied.

After finishing the sixth ride on the Ferris wheel, he led her to the queue again. This time around, she tugged at his elbow and pointed to the roller coaster not far behind.

Perhaps she was really having a good time, her smile seemed less restrained, and more natural and friendlier than usual.

Still…

Roller coaster…

He was not afraid, however, he never had an interest in such pursuits of extreme sensory stimulation.

Nevertheless, Ruan Ruan was keen to ride…

She had already dashed over to the respective queue and had waved repeatedly at him to join her.

He looked resigned as he approached her.

Her voice quivered with slight excitement as she held his hand and asked, “Are we going to fall in mid-air?”

He smiled and shook his head.

Beaming, she turned her back toward him and watched intently as the next ride was about to start.