Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 1011-1020

“Don’t tell me you’ve been dumped, Mr. Ren!” joked Ruka.

Hearing this, Scarlet thought that she made sense and was happy again. “Ren, do you have someone you like? Tell me. I can help you.”

Ren had a glimmer shot across his eyes as he looked at Ruka, who pranked him, before snorting. “And why do you say that?”

“I just guessed it. After all, only people who’ve been dumped would drink like this. You’ve already emptied two glasses.” Since Ruka had Scarlet backing her, she became braver and braver.

Scarlet, who suddenly thought this all was logical, asked, “Spill it, Ren. There’s no couple that I can’t match. I can help you.”

Walter spoke up for Ren. “Why are you in such a hurry? Can’t you see how exceptional your brother is? What kind of girl wouldn’t fall in love with him?”

Ruka was feeling a bit guilty now as she was afraid that the man might blame her for bringing this up, but she was dying to know inside! She wanted to know which woman would dare to reject the vice president.

“Ren isn’t actually that ideal. Not only is he busy every single day, he’s also getting older.” As expected of his sister, Scarlet was scrutinizing her brother, thinking that his achievements were over exaggerated.

Yet, Ren suddenly asked the girl, “Do you think I’m old, Ruka?”

Looking up, she blinked in shock upon hearing that she was called out as she started to observe the man.

The word ‘old’ did not have anything to do with the man. Handsome and noble-like, every line on his face exuded youthfulness to the point where his features looked almost statue-like. When he smiled, his dimples would only add to his charm.

This kind of man would only be more charming as he aged. Just like fine wine, the longer it aged, the better it would taste.

Ruka replied honestly, “You’re not old. I think that you’re very handsome.”

Ren smiled at this, revealing his dimples.

“But, Mr. Ren, I still suggest that you find a significant other soon!” Ruka added.

This made his smile freeze in place before he glared at her. Does she think that I’ve nothing to do in my life? Why is she still mentioning this?

Covering her mouth, Ruka started to laugh, making her upturned eyes look like crescents, which was very bright and alluring.

The man, who felt himself gulp at this, quickly looked down and drank from his cup.

After dinner, he left with the promise of bringing his cat that he raised himself for Ruka tomorrow.

Meanwhile in a luxurious apartment in the city center, Angela was just done with work before she went downstairs from the study. Sitting on the couch was a man reading a book while wearing just a bathrobe. With a relaxed mood, he was resting there, emanating a wild look to him.

This was peace and quiet unlike anything Richard had ever felt before. Like a leopard under the sun, he looked very lazy and relaxed.

Angela, who felt her shoulders somewhat sore, went up to his open arms as the man placed the book down and hugged her before kissing her on the forehead.

“Are you tired?”

“A bit. My shoulders are quite sore because I’ve been writing too many emails,” she grumbled.

He immediately massaged her while she rested on top of his body, admiring her man’s looks. His hair sure has grown. When I first met him, he had a buzzcut. Now that it’s long, he would totally look like a handsome CEO if he styled it a bit.

“I’ll take you to a barber tomorrow!” Angela suggested.

“Is my hair that long?” Richard reached out and touched his forehead. Yup, it’s pretty long. Still, with his looks, any hairstyle would not affect how handsome he was.

Even if he were to go bald, he would be the most handsome bald man.

“I want to design a style for you.” She smiled.

“I don’t need that. I just want a shorter cut.”

“No can do. We’re together now, so you have to please me. Since you’re on break for these two months, you belong to me during this time.” Angela curled her lips slyly.

Richard’s gaze darkened as he caught her sentence. “Alright. Then, please me tonight. I’ll let you do whatever to my hair tomorrow.”

Speechless, she thought that she was on the losing side.

“Richard, just let me rest for one day!” she begged.

“I’m the one doing all the work anyway.” The man smiled evilly. Even if he did care for her, he could not concede on this matter.

It was not as if Angela was tired of this nor did she want a break. She was just afraid of overindulgence, for this was not recommended. Yet, every time, the man would make her forget about this.

“Really? Deal. No going back on letting me choose your hairstyle tomorrow!” She then hugged him by the neck. “Carry me to the room. I need to conserve my energy.”

This made Richard snicker. Am I that terrifying? Come to think of it, it kind of makes sense since she always falls asleep exhausted lately.

Back then, Angela fell asleep thinking of him. Now, she fell asleep beside him every night.

Yet, the thought that he would be dispatched for missions after his break for months made her afraid that she might miss him again. So, she decided to spend the night together first.

The next day in the afternoon, Angela brought her man to a high end salon and saw that most of the customers and workers were young females, who were dumbfounded to see such a handsome man.

With a tall and striking body, Richard was emanating a very strong aura that they have not seen on a man in a long time.

My God, he’s just a walking pheromone dispenser.

Angela requested for a senior hairstylist while Richard sat at the side, watching her and the barber discussing his hairstyle.

Suddenly, an inspiration came to him before he nodded. “I understand. I will make sure that you are satisfied, Miss Meyers.”

Walking to Richard’s side, Angela bent down and said, “Just sit tight and don’t suggest any weird ideas.”

This was the deal she exchanged by using her body, so she needed to use it to the fullest.

Closing his eyes, he obeyed her.

Angela went to the waiting room, but she did not know that her man was being ogled by the female workers there! Not only that, even the customers were looking at the most handsome man in the shop through the reflection of the mirrors.

Some who were in the service industry kept thinking about how best to approach him.

With closed eyes, Richard let the stylist cut his hair however he wished since he could not resist it anyway. It’s actually quite calm to close my eyes like this.

Even when he was merely shutting his eyes, it was still enough to charm the people there.

“He’s so handsome!” A woman’s voice of praise came.

“Not only is he handsome, looking at him, I think he’s at least six feet tall. Besides that, he has such a wide back.”

“He’s totally my type.”

After cutting and snipping for quite some time, the stylist finally showed the fruits of labor. If one was to say he looked like a tough man before the cut, then he definitely looked more like a business mogul after the transformation.

“Sir, you’ll need to wash your hair now. I’m going to style your hair later.”

Opening his eyes, Richard was a bit displeased with his current hairstyle. However, he did not say anything as he diligently went to the hair washing station. There, a woman was happily preparing to service him before he requested, “I would like a male employee to do it.”

“Sir, I’m very good at this. Don’t you want to try?”

“I don’t. Please get me another employee,” Richard insisted.

As such, they could only get a man to take over. After that, Richard returned to the seat and the stylist dried his hair for him before splitting his hair at the sides. At that moment, the man looked like a dominating CEO.

“Sir, can we take a photo of you?” the stylist asked.

“No.” Richard stood up and rejected him coldly.

In the waiting room, Angela looked up to see her man walking in. As expected, it was just like how she anticipated—handsome and perfect.

“Wow! I love it so much!” She stood up and hugged him.

Richard, who was satisfied to see her satisfied, said while hugging her, “Let’s go shopping!”

“Okay!” She nodded happily. She knew that shopping with him would be a very enjoyable experience since he would be sure to turn heads.

In the mall.

Impatient, Angela dragged Richard to a clothing store. Today, she wanted her eyes to feast on the man. Growing tired of the man in casual clothing, she wanted to see him in a formal suit.

After letting him try on three pieces of clothing, she sat and waited for him.

Including her, even the clerk was full of anticipation as the customer today was just too handsome. With a model’s body, looks and aura, which woman would not fall for him?

Finally, Richard came out with the first set of clothing, which was a white shirt under a gray vest paired with a matching suit, perfectly accentuating his waistline and big back.

Just like a model, he approached Angela for her to admire him. At that point, the clerk wanted to come over and help him tuck his shirt in better before Angela stopped her. “I’ll do it!” She smoothed out his shirt before praising, “It looks very good on you. I like it.”

Smiling, Richard responded, “As long as you’re happy.”

“You don’t have to try the other two. We’ll go with this one since you can wear anything with your figure anyway.” Angela was thinking about what a hassle it was for him to try everything.

She wanted to keep what he was wearing, so he packed the jacket he came in, satisfying her with no strings attached and making her feel doted upon.

Richard felt that he was willing to do anything for her just to see her gaze of admiration and love.

While shopping, Angela got a call from the company, causing her expression to darken. “What?! He took our customers away?”

“Yes. Mr. Graham—oh, I meant Andy—persuaded the client to invest in him. But, Miss Meyers, we made an appointment with the customer at 3.00PM. The president wanted you to negotiate with the customer instead.”

Knowing that her mother was giving her a chance to present herself, Angela calmed herself down and replied, “Okay. I’m coming over right now. Please lay all the information about the client on my desk when I arrive.”

“Understood, Miss Meyers. We’ll be waiting for you.”

Although Angela wanted to continue shopping, it looked like they could only cut that short for now seeing that she needed to return to her company.

“Would you like to come with me to the company?” she asked her man.

Richard, who had heard the conversation, nodded. “I’ll go wherever you go.”

At the company, Angela had just entered the lobby as the six receptionists were shocked before they immediately welcomed her. “Good afternoon, President Meyers.”

Nodding toward them, she quickly entered the elevator, leaving them staring dumbfoundedly at the man who was accompanying her. Even though they had less than ten seconds to look at him, they were already captivated.

Who is that handsome walking beside Miss Meyers?

Is he her boyfriend? My God, he’s so perfect.

“President Meyers sure has it good. That man’s body is stunning.”

“Not only was his body stunning, but did you see his face? With looks and elegance like that, no actor can even come close to matching up to him!”

“He looks just like a soldier.”

Inside the elevator, Angela was already preparing herself to meet with the client in a moment. Drawing in a deep breath, she still felt anxious.

Emerging into the main office of the project department, she walked into the gazes of her subordinates. It was then her assistant came running over. “Miss Meyers, the client hasn’t arrived yet. But, Andy is

here.”

“What’s he doing here?” Angela was upset. Clearly, she did not want to see him here.

“We’re not sure either. But, since he worked at the company for a good six to seven years, we could not just chase him away. He’s so fierce and unreasonable; a complete douche, so to speak. Miss Meyers, you…” Just as her assistant wanted to tell her to be careful in dealing with him, she looked up to see a tall man standing beside Angela, making her wide-eyed. Did Miss Meyers bring a bodyguard with her today?

Angela replied, “Don’t worry. I’ll meet him now.” She then went to the break room with Richard following her.

As an unreasonable and rude individual, Andy took advantage of the fact that Angela was inexperienced and that Daphne was not at the company at this moment, so he came here beforehand to disrupt her mood to deal with the client later.

Yet, the moment Andy saw her enter, he saw a striking figure come follow behind her and stood beside the woman silently with an oppressive aura emanated from him.

This made Andy a bit nervous. Angela actually brought a bodyguard?

“Andy Graham, the company doesn’t welcome you. If you still have some sense left, leave now.” Angela coldly chased him away.

“The fact that this company could achieve its current scale was because I contributed to half the success. It’s not too much for me to come here for a cup of tea, is it?” Andy put his legs on the table and crossed his arms to display a highly arrogant look.

“You’ve been fired. Besides, you of all people should know how much you embezzled. If you don’t want us to take legal action, you best leave now,” she warned him.

“You little twerp. You don’t have the right to lecture me… Ah!” Before Andy could finish his sentence, he felt his chair being kicked from behind. The force threw him forward and caused him to thrash onto the floor.

“You…” Angered beyond belief, Andy pointed at the man who kicked him.”You dare to assault me? I’m going to sue…”

Yet, he had not composed himself when he stood up as his leg was kicked again, causing the man to kneel at first instance. Thud! Before he knew it, a leg had stepped on his back, which resulted in him being on all fours.

“You will listen to her words while kneeling like this.” The man’s cold voice came.

Feeling humiliated, Andy bellowed, “Who the hell are you? Who are you to treat me like this? You want me to listen to a child like her—” The moment he said this, he felt the leg on his body suddenly increasing its force to make him prostrate himself on the ground.

“Ouh… Ouch… Please, forgive me, good sir. Please let me go. I’ll leave. I’ll leave right now!” It was then Andy found out that he was facing someone fiercer than he was, so he immediately changed his attitude and pleaded for forgiveness.

Bending down, Angela warned, “My mom only spared you because you worked for our company for so long and did not ask about the embezzled funds. If you still want to play, then we’ll see each other in court, Andy.”

“Okay, okay, I promise that I won’t cause any troubles at the company again. Tell your bodyguard to let me go.” The man on the floor was in such pain that he started to shout.

Nodding, she motioned for Richard to lift his leg as Andy quickly stood up with a flushed face before running to the door. “Just you wait. I’ll be sure to repay this humiliation I suffered.”

After that, he quickly slipped away.

With a bitter sigh, she thought that he was truly a nightmare to deal with.

“Let me deal with this kind of person if you meet them in the future. I will make sure that they stop harassing you.” Richard was enraged. Had I not been here, I wonder how this snake planned to terrorize my woman? Leading Richard, Angela walked across the hallway of the offices while the employees were secretly gossiping.

All of them were making guesses about Richard and Angela’s relationship as she overheard some of them.

“Is he her bodyguard or boyfriend?” The assistants were chatting with each other.

Turning her head, she loudly announced, “He’s not my bodyguard or my boyfriend. He is my husband.”

At this point, some of them flushed in embarrassment while others stopped guessing. Originally, some of the single male employees thought they had a shot at dating Angela. Now, they found that the chance was long gone.

Angela’s actually married now. Even though we’re not sure how rich her husband is, we can tell that he isn’t any normal joe from the aura he possesses.

On Angela’s office desk lay the information of the client. After she sat down, her assistant immediately came in with two cups of water before Angela made a request. “Change them to coffee for me.”

“Will do.” The assistant nodded and went out.

“Did you not sleep well last night?” Richard was concerned for her.

Rubbing her temples, Angela looked at him somewhat shyly. “Why do you think that was?” All rights © NôvelDrama.Org.

He pursed his lips and smiled, for he was the reason she did not sleep well.

“Alright. I’ll let you rest well tonight.” Richard promised to not use up her bedtime again.

Shooting a glance at him, Angela took his words with a grain of salt before reading the documents with intent. With the sun shining on her from behind, she looked like a very successful businesswoman.

At that moment, Richard was enamored by this as he crossed his hands and silently admired her without interruptions. He was committing this scene to memory.

If not for her work, he would be sweeping away the documents on the desk and embracing her, doing the things they should be doing.

The assistant entered with their coffee as Angela pursed her lips, sifting through the documents and unknowingly ignoring the man beside her. Yet, he did not feel bothered by this. Instead, he was satisfied with being able to accompany her like this and enjoy this moment.

When Angela looked up, she remembered that she had company, prompting her to smile apologetically at the man. “Are you bored? Do you want to head back first?”

Shaking his head, Richard replied, “I’m not bored at all.”

Uneasy that he was spending his afternoon like this, she stood up and hugged him by the neck before kissing him on the cheek. “Then, just accompany me at work for now. I’ll reward you tonight.”

“Didn’t you say that you were tired?” He looked at her.

Gently placing her hands on his shirt, Angela ran her fingers around his collarbone for a few seconds and bit his ear lightly. “The moment you slid into these clothes, I was already thinking about how to strip them off tonight.”

Richard felt his stomach tighten, for he reached behind her head and pressed it gently. With one head looking up and the other looking down, they locked their lips.

This made Angela blush. Yet, it was the excitement of being at the office that made her heart beat faster.

Even though there was still ample time before the client would arrive and her office was very much private, she still embarrassingly went back to her seat upon thinking that there was still work to be done. Blushing, she continued work while the man looked on with a gentle smile.

The client arrived around 3.00PM as it turned out that it was all a misunderstanding. Andy had given him the wrong information, so the client came over sincerely to renew the contract, allowing Angela to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Miss Meyers, you sure have competent workers. I like your management,” praised the client.

Shocked, Angela replied, “Thank you for your compliments, President Cunningham.”

“Also, didn’t my daughter participate in a fan-vote event? I didn’t know which one of your employees caught wind of it, but their votes got her to first place! I was very happy to learn that most of the votes came from your company!”

This stunned Angela, as even though it was a simple gesture, the client obviously seemed very grateful for it.

Frankly, she did not know what kind of power or luck she possessed, but ever since she entered the project department, the whole team was very willing to follow her and assist her along.

In actuality, this was because Angela fulfilled her role of being a good leader. Ever since she took over the position, she solved most of the employees’ problems. Besides that, she did not act arrogantly in the company, seeing that she was well-involved with her subordinates during mealtimes and also projects.

The hardships they shared were witnessed by her subordinates and enlightened them just how bright and meaningful their future would be when they worked under her.

Before this, they assumed that it was better to save the trouble, hence they established the superficial relationship with the clients. However, things were different now—even the trivias related to the clients could raise the alarm of every employee.

Their efforts eventually gained themselves a compliment from Lauren. It was because he truly felt genuine warmth which was not vocational.

It was only half past three after the job was settled. Angela bought some desserts for takeout and brought them to the office for the staff.

Seeing how she got along with them harmoniously, Richard let out a doting smile.

At the same time, a maid entered the Husson Residence while carrying a cat carrier. “Miss, Mr. Husson has asked someone to send this.”

Ruka crouched and stared at the beautiful Ragdoll in the carrier, which melted her heart at the drop of a hat.

“Oh my, it’s so cute!” she exclaimed. The one-year-old cat sat in the carrier meekly and blinked its eyes at her while meowing.

At this moment, her phone rang, which surprised her. It was an unknown number, but she answered the call nevertheless. “Hello, who is this?”

“Have you seen the cat?” The low mellifluous voice of a man resounded from the other side of the line.

“Mr. Ren!” Ruka was delighted to receive his call. “Yeah, I just saw it. It’s so adorable!”

“Don’t hug her. She’s kinda fuzzy and she might bite you. Just leave her at the study. I’ll pick her up later.”

“But she is super duper cute! She seems obedient. Can’t I hug her?” An insistent Ruka asked as not only did she want to hug it, she wanted to kiss it too!

I can’t believe that a well-built man like Mr. Husson rears such a cute creature, she thought to herself.

“Okay, but you gotta be careful.” Ren relented in helplessness.

“Yay, I’ll bring her to the study room now,” she responded before becoming curious about something. “Does she have a name?”

“Callie.” His husky voice was as appealing as that of a voice actor.

She smiled. “That’s a pretty name.” With that being said, she could not suppress the urge to hug Callie anymore. “Mr. Ren, I’ll hang up the phone and take Callie to the study room. Bye!”

After terminating the call, she stretched out her hands to hug Callie, which was surprisingly obedient. It neither struggled nor made a fuss. Despite its petite size, she figured that it would be enough to scare the wits out of the rat and let it escape through the open door at night.

She placed the little furball on the couch before gently stroking its head. With narrowed eyes, it enjoyed her touch comfortably.

Right then, its ears pricked up as though she heard something. Ruka told, “I’ll leave it to you, Callie.”

She knew that she should not disturb it when it was on its mission to chase the rat out. Leaving the cat with its mission, she closed the door and informed the maids not to open it for the time being. Losing the little furball when the rat had not been caught yet was the last thing she hoped for.

Ruka returned to her room to read some books. In the meantime, a maid, who was headed downstairs after cleaning, was doing her duty by the door of the study room. Her job was to clean every single room and so she opened the door and carried a bucket of water toward the windows to wipe them.

At that moment, a fleeing rat squirmed out of a corner with a cat hot on its heels. Both of them went outside through the open door.

After spending an hour reading, Ruka reckoned that little furball might have scared the rat enough. With the hope that the rat might run out of the room on its own the moment she opened the door, she decided to take a look at the situation.

Ruka reached the closed door that led to the study room. Stretching out her hand, she opened the door and quickly closed it behind her after entering. She listened attentively to the surroundings. Why is it so quiet?

“Meow!” She meowed to draw the little furball’s attention.

Still, the room was in total silence and there was no meowing sound of a cat. Ruka’s heart pounded rapidly as she wondered, Where is that little furball?

She began to search every nook and cranny of the room—beneath the couch, behind the curtains and atop the book racks with the help of a ladder. Yet, Callie was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh gosh! Where did she go? Callie! Callie, where are you?” Ruka was on tenterhooks.

It’s Mr. Ren’s cat. What am I going to do if Callie’s gone missing?

She hurriedly closed the door and headed downstairs to ask a maid, “Has anyone gone into the study room?”

“Miss, what’s wrong?”

“The cat that I left in the room is missing,” explained Ruka in distress.

The maid contemplated while muttering, “I wonder if Maya went to the study room for cleaning.”

Then, she told Ruka, “I’ll ask her. She’s cleaning the garden right now.”

“Okay. Please do.” Ruka nodded, but doom had dawned upon her.

After a while, the maid by the name of Layla returned with an anxious expression. “Maya said she did clean the study room, but she didn’t see a cat. It must’ve run away.”

Ruka turned to look at the direction of the study room as she was getting restless. In fact, she was more worried about losing the kitty. If she failed to find it, she would be done for.

“Layla, please ask everyone to stop working and look for the cat with me. She’s a white Ragdoll and her name is Callie.” She decided to ask everyone to help search for the cat.

“Okay. I’ll tell them right away.”

After the maid left to inform the others, Ruka started her search in the spacious yard. Though the yard was enclosed by walls and iron fences, she figured it would be easy-peasy for the kitty to slip through those fences and leave the place.

“Callie, where are you?” Ruka’s figure weaved through every corner of the garden without missing any potential hiding spots.

Meanwhile, the maids were on the move as they commenced a blanket search throughout the area. Leaving the search duty within the residence to the maids, Ruka left the yard to check on the bushes outside.

There was an artificial garden outside of Husson Residence, where lush shrubs covered most of the area. In order to find the kitty, Ruka couldn’t care less about it and she just slid into every crevice she found.

Suddenly, she hissed when a sharp branch slit her hand, but she was not bothered by the pain at all. After taking a look at the wound, which barely bled, she marched forward.

The branches ruffled her tresses into a mess and there were many leaves and grasses on her. It was as though she had been rolling around in the bushes a few times.

At this moment, a black premium car was driven into the yard. Then, a bodyguard got out of the car first before opening the door of the back seat.

A pair of long legs stretched over the door. The remnant glow of the evening sunlight shone upon the man, who was donned in a black suit. His fringe was combed to the back to expose his forehead and deep eyes, enhancing his mature aura. The formidable air exuded from him into the air.

“Mr. Husson, you’re here.” One of the maids, who was in the middle of the cat search, hastily welcomed him.

Ren scanned the whole yard and saw that the maids were all leaning over to look for something. His brows knitted. “What are you guys looking for?”

“We’re looking for your cat. It has run out of the study room, but we still can’t find it after searching the yard.”

The glint in his eyes dimmed. “Where’s Ruka?”

“She’s searching for the cat among the bushes outside.”

Hearing that, he wheeled around to head outside, but the bodyguard stopped him instantly. “Mr. Husson, I think it’ll be better if you don’t go outside. I’m worried that—”

“It’s alright.” He ignored the advice and strode toward the little gate at a fast pace while two bodyguards followed suit.

Ren walked out of the bushes area of the garden and saw a white silhouette weaving through the nearby shrubs. Who could it possibly be other than Ruka?

Oblivious of someone’s arrival, Ruka suddenly heard a meow coming from between the two shrubs. Surprised and elated, she squirmed into the opening like a female warrior charging forward. There were two branches stuck in her hair, but she was unfazed. Despite being covered in dirt, she was not bothered in the slightest.

However, once she saw the cat in between the bushes, she was utterly disappointed because it was a stray cat. As soon as it noticed someone was approaching, it hopped into another bush and disappeared.

“Ruka.” A man’s frosty voice tinged with concern could be heard from outside the bushes.

Ruka was paralyzed in surprise. The voice… Is it Mr. Ren?

She quickly retreated backward. Since she was wearing jeans, it was not that awkward. However, she seemed like a crazy woman the moment she squirmed out of the bush. There were a few dry leaves stuck in her messy hair and some stains on her fair face. Her hands and clothes were dirtier with bloodstains.

“Mr. Ren, I’m sorry. I lost your cat.” Like a child in the wrong, she lowered her head as she prepared herself to be chided.

Still, Ren noticed the bloodstains on her finger with his keen eyes. Marching forward, he grabbed her hand to take a look. “You’re hurt.”

“I’m alright. It’s just a scratch and it doesn’t hurt.” She hurriedly withdrew her hand and shook her head since it was urgent to search for his cat.

Looking at the dry leaves and twigs on her hair, he gently removed them for her. She was surprised for a few seconds while standing still to let him do the job.

After removing the grasses off her head, he ordered in a low voice, “Wash up and bandage your finger.”

“But your cat—” Her eyes slightly widened. She would never return without the cat.

“I’ll look for her.” Gazing at her pathetic state akin to a little kitten, Ren let out a chuckle.

Embarrassed, she could not help but glanced at him. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.” He then patted her shoulder. “Trust me. I can find her.”

The intense regret filled her heart, for she had not foreseen herself losing his cat upon borrowing it.

“Sorry…” apologized Ruka with downcast eyes as her long lock covered her ears.

“Don’t be silly,” he chided lightly while raising his hand, which stiffened in midair before he withdrew it.

No one knew what he was going to do except for him—he almost tucked her strands of hair behind her ear.

“Miss Singed, you should return home. We’ll help Sir find the cat,” a bodyguard suggested. The bodyguards intended to escort Ren back into the house before he caused a ruckus by exposing himself in the public.

In the end, Ruka could only return home first. One of the bodyguards told Ren, “Sir, we can search the cat for you. You may return to the residence.”

Ren waved his hand and raised his head to scan the area. Next, he rounded toward the backyard. Though Ruka had previously searched around this area, the bushes behind the walls of the garden were outside her radar.

Once she arrived at the yard, the maids came up to her and reported that they did not see the cat anywhere upon looking at every nook and cranny of the place. Obviously, the kitten had escaped outside the yard.

“What am I going to do?” Her face scrunched up in distress. Where can a little kitty possibly go? What if she’s hit by a car on the road? Or kidnapped by a lunatic to be tortured?

Forget about taking a bath, she did not even wash her face. However, the maids noticed the bruises on her finger and brought over a band-aid.

A couple of moments later, a commotion happened outside the yard. Ren trod into the place as the beam of golden sunlight gleamed upon him. Nestling in his arms was a little white feline with its slightly dirtied and messy fur. It was none other than Callie!

The juxtaposition of his towering stature and the curled up furball in his arms created a different side of him whom Ruka had never witnessed before.

Right at this moment, the idea of morphing into that little furball in his arms to be pampered and overindulged by him suddenly occurred to her.

Her face glowed with red when the notion seeped into her mind due to the embarrassment of having such a thought.

Although they were not blood related, she should not have such nonsensical thoughts!

“You found her! Where was she?” She scurried to him in surprise and delight to check on the little kitten.

“She was behind the walls of the garden,” Ren explained while a maid proffered a primordial pouch to him. He then put it into the bag before zipping it. Guess I should give her a bath.

“Did she hurt herself anywhere?”

“No. Only her fur is dirty,” he soothed her before facing the maid. “I’ll have dinner here.”

“Madam Falkner has called to inform us that she has an appointment with Old Master Lloyd. We will prepare dinner for you and Miss Singed,” the maid replied.

His brows were slightly knitted together. When the maid turned around, he suddenly added, “Nevermind, then. I’ll take Miss Singed somewhere else for dinner.”

Ruka was baffled as she blinked her beady eyes. “Are we dining out?”

“Hmm. You should wash yourself up and change your clothes. I’ll wait for you,” said Ren.

Her heart palpitated at the thought of going out with him for dinner. The sudden change of plan was a surprise to her, causing her to be jittery because never once had she shared a private meal with him before.

As such, she returned to her room for a shower. Considering how late it was and the possibility of the man growing impatient from all the waiting, she dried her hair and headed downstairs with a bare face. She wanted to put on some light make-up, but there was no time for that.

“Mr. Ren, I’m ready.” She smiled at the man who was sitting on the couch.

She dressed up like a college student—a thin, white down jacket; a pair of jeans and white sneakers.

After getting into his car, she felt the urge to hush her breathing. The air was solemn enough with the presence of the two bodyguards. Now that there was another man that exuded impelling force, her mind was in a daze and she could not even come up with a decent topic.

In actuality, she was not that close with Ren; they met less than twice in a year, especially after she was told off during middle school. They had not seen each other for years when he pursued his studies abroad. He did appear when Scarlet was celebrating Ruka’s graduation from high school, but that was the last time they met. Now, he was a mature man who no one dared to approach.

“Did the translation department contact you?” Ren suddenly inquired.

“N-not yet,” she stammered with her words due to nervousness.

At that time, her phone suddenly rang, which prompted her to ask, “May I answer the call?”

Her expression somehow indicated that it was a sin for her to answer a call in front of him.

“Sure.” He nodded.

It was not until then that she glanced at the screen. Despite the surging surprise and pleasure, she kept her voice as low as possible. “Are you here yet?”

“Yup! I’ve just landed. What about you? Have you eaten? Should I pick you up and have a meal together?” It was the brisk voice of a man.

“No, it’s alright. You should go home and get some early rest. We’ll meet up tomorrow.” She smiled lightly.

Unbeknownst to Ruka, the man next to him could hear the voice resounding from her phone due to the silence in the car.

“Why? Don’t you miss me?” the man grumbled.

“Of course I… I do miss you! But you’ve just returned to the country. You should head home first.”

“Then, we can meet up for a meal and a movie tomorrow. Your favorite sci-fi movie has just been released.”

“Really? I’m totally up for it.” She was on cloud nine. Not only did her crush return to the country, the movie she anticipated was also released. It was as though wonderful things were happening at the same time.

On the other hand, Ren turned his head to look out of the window as if he was deep in his thoughts. However, he kept listening to how happy her voice was while she talked over the phone; mixed feelings stirred in his eyes.

It was not until Ruka terminated the call that he turned to look at her, only to see the smile across her lips. Her joyous expression struck somewhere deep in his racing heart.

He stared at her while images of past memories flashed across his head. He could vividly remember the way she looked as she grew up like a butterfly.

They met for the first time when he was twelve; Scarlet carried a little girl home, who was weeping non- stop with her hands held onto Scarlet’s shoulders tightly. It was safe to say that tears did not stop falling from her beady eyes.

At that time, Ren was doing his homework at Scarlet’s house and the girl was so noisy that he was annoyed.

During the afternoon, she would snatch away his ball when he was playing basketball. Not only did she refuse to return it while hugging it, she even cried while lying on the ground like a brat!

Back then, she was only two years old, the age where even dogs found them annoying. It was her first time rebelling, but she was not someone to mess with.

Scarlet told him that she was going to take care of the child since the parents left the country upon receiving a job transfer at the very last minute. Meanwhile, Scarlet’s son was taken to the army base to be raised by his grandfather; the far distance rendered it difficult for them to meet up. Thus, she really wished to look after the girl.

“Ren, play with me.” The little girl chased after Ren after he finished school.

Scarlet pulled her and told her, “Ruka, Ren is your Uncle. You should address him respectfully.”

From that day onward, he had a faithful shadow who imitated everything that he did; whenever he was finishing his homework, she would sit beside him and pretend to write something on a small notebook while reading, “Rabbit, pig… duck, baby… Done!”

However, the once puny girl, who learned new vocabularies next to him, was dating a guy right now.

Time flew by in a blink of an eye. When Ruka was still five, Ren left Scarlet’s house to pursue his studies abroad. He bet she did not remember anything before she turned five, but he maintained the recollection for all of it.

“Was that your boyfriend?” He turned his head to confirm the situation.

“No. He’s my senior.” She waved her hand.

“Are you going out with him?” he questioned further.

Her expression turned sad as she scratched her head. “Nah, we’re just friends.”

His intense gaze fixated upon her as he claimed, “You’re still young. You have a lot of time to find yourself a partner.”

“You’re right. I don’t have plans to date one in the near future either.” She nodded like an obedient child.

It was not that Ruka did not want to; there was a fine line between her and her senior that neither of them crossed just yet. Moreover, it was not the time for a love confession since they only had favorable impressions of each other.

Ren and Ruka arrived at a restaurant, which did not seem like one at all. Surprised, she sized up the place with eyes of scrutiny. Instead of a restaurant, it appeared more like a private kitchen because the decor was that of a kitchen with no tables of customers around.

Even so, the waiters treated him with utmost reverence. They even addressed him as ‘Sir’ without his surname, which was obviously an honorific form of address like he was their master.

Sitting on the table next to a pond, she need not order food as she leaned her body to observe the little fishes. She was like a kid who still held onto a child-like interest.

Meanwhile, Ren sat down with his elbow on the table and chin on his palm. As his intense gaze landed upon the girl, his eyes glazed over.

More and more past memories conjured in his mind. The recollections of twenty years expanse were vivid as if they had occurred just yesterday; even the image of Ruka sobbing played in his mind so vividly.

He could remember that one time, when she was listless due to a cold, he bought a pretty doll for her. She was so pleased that she ran to him to give him a peck and thank him with a squishy voice.

Ren reminisced about her childhood while looking at the slim figure, which was crouching next to the pond. He had an illusion that he could still find her younger self from the beautiful girl.

He zoned out as his deep gaze contained inexplicable emotions. When Ruka rose to her feet, he came back to his senses. His eyes regained their clarity and tranquility, whereas his visage turned to its usual solemn and reserved one.

“Mr. Ren, I reckon this is not any ordinary restaurant. Is it your private restaurant?” Ruka sat down and asked curiously.

“Yep. I usually treat my clients here. It’s not open to the public.” He nodded.