novelraw Chapter 376: Testing, Giving Up (Part 1)
Chapter 376: Testing, Giving Up (Part 1)
Le Tong thought to herself that this man really liked to talk about his son, mentioning age-old wisdom like ’having a child to care for in old age,’ and ’can’t eat without seeing the son,’ coming up with new excuses every day."Baobao, turns out you’re an appetizer!" Le Tong joked, pinching Baobao’s cheek.
Ji Rui glared at her sullenly, opening his mouth to say something, but Luo Yifan interrupted, "Brother Rui, if the cafeteria food doesn’t suit your taste, just call me. The chef here is pretty good."
Saying that, he raised his hand to summon a waitress and instructed her to go to the kitchen to convey his message for the chef to prepare some signature dishes.
Ji Rui did not respond to Luo Yifan’s kind suggestion, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He merely picked up the coffee brought by the waitress, took a slow sip, and kept his gaze fixed on the mother and son opposite him.
After he set down the cup, his gaze returned to focus on Luo Yifan.
"Thank you for doing so much for Baobao recently. In the future, I’ll often come by to support the business."
Actually, all three adults present were well aware that the things Luo Yifan did were to help Le Tong, not Baobao.
But with Ji Rui phrasing it this way, Luo Yifan’s care for and attentiveness to Le Tong were deliberately misconstrued into care for Baobao, thus, as Baobao’s father, regularly helping out the coffee shop as a sign of gratitude to Luo Yifan was only right.
Le Tong’s role in all of this, thanks to his interpretation, was diluted from the leading lady to the most insignificant and dispensable supporting role.
Le Tong and Luo Yifan are both smart people; how could they not understand Ji Rui’s words and intentions?
Whether you say Ji Rui is in self-denial or that he is hinting at something, in any case, he is openly thanking Luo Yifan, but in truth, he’s telling Luo Yifan: whether Baobao or Le Tong, they are Ji Rui’s people, and your contributions to them will be doubly rewarded by me!
Le Tong looked at the still self-righteous Ji Rui and didn’t feel the hatred she usually did, but found him somewhat amusing and a bit adorable.
This man probably doesn’t realize that his self-proclaimed imposing speech sounded to her like words tinted with heavy jealousy.
Looking at Ji Rui who appeared calm on the surface but was internally quite aggrieved, Le Tong felt a hint of satisfaction.
Le Tong felt a pang of guilt for her satisfaction for a moment, but then thought of what he posted in the group, and ground her teeth slightly in secret: that’s what you get for spreading nonsense in front of the entire company, you deserved it!
"Brother Rui, why are you being so polite with me? The things I did for Baobao were just trivial matters, Baobao calling me Uncle Yifan is worth everything."
Luo Yifan smartly went along with Ji Rui’s interpretation, turning his original intention of helping Le Tong into helping Baobao.
Actually, his real reason for making this call today was to verify a rumor circulating wildly in high society over the past few days.
However, from Ji Rui’s attitude now, even if the rumor might be exaggerated, at least parts of it are true.
Originally, Luo Yifan did harbor some unspeakable thoughts about Le Tong, but now, those thoughts have been completely extinguished.
Besides, Le Tong’s constant rejection of him, not to mention Baobao who was like the Little Demon King, Luo Yifan admitted to himself that with his barely-smart brain, there was no way to get past Baobao. Now seeing Ji Rui’s bossy protection of Le Tong, he was further convinced that he had no chance at all.
So, the tiny flame left in his heart was completely snuffed out.
"Uncle Yifan, your pastries are really delicious; dad and mom and I will come often to eat, remember to give us a discount."
See, what ordinary child could be so clever? When faced with intricacies that even adults have to rack their brains to understand, this little one just listened to two sentences from the three of them and sided with his father to collectively declare sovereignty over him, the outsider.
"Baobao is Uncle Yifan’s esteemed guest; forget discounts, even free is no problem."
Previously, Luo Yifan would generally take detours when he saw Baobao, the Little Demon King, lest he got tricked without knowing it.
But now, he actually found this little guy’s sweet talk and newfound charming personality quite delightful.
Probably because Baobao is Le Tong’s son, he couldn’t muster any dislike for him.
"Thank you, Uncle Yifan!"
Baobao puckered up and blew a kiss to Luo Yifan generously, clearly, the little one had realized that his father’s rival has completely given up!
Unfortunately, while Baobao, the observer understood it, Ji Rui, the one involved didn’t seem to notice at all.
"Are you planning to stay here long-term to manage the restaurant’s business?"
Ji Rui verbally asked this, but inwardly he believed that Luo Yifan’s real intention was ’proximity to the water’ to seek permission first, and the talk about managing the restaurant is false—the actual aim is to pursue Le Tong!
Whether Luo Yifan understood Ji Rui’s probing or not, he thought for a moment and earnestly replied.
"I split my working time fifty-fifty, half at the Luo Family, half here."
There was no reading Ji Rui’s expression, but inside he tightened up, instinctively giving Le Tong a glance.
And Le Tong, at that moment, was not listening to what the two were talking about; she was exploring some pastry recipes with Baobao.
"Did your grandpa and dad agree?"
Ji Rui secretly pondered whether or not to pressure the Luo Family to rope Luo Yifan back to properly work for them instead of lingering here, getting in his way!
Luo Yifan naturally couldn’t imagine Ji Rui had such thoughts, nor did he realize he was being considered the biggest rival, despite having given up!
"Yes, I spoke with them properly. There are plenty of talents at Luo Family, they don’t miss my half-baked skills."
These words were quite true; ever since he was little, the family treated him like a treasure, with all the hard work and toil borne by his brother, while he, the second son, seemed born just to enjoy life.
That’s why when he said he wanted to do something he liked, the Luo family didn’t obstruct him much before agreeing.
"You’re still young, good to learn from your brother, in the future you’ll surely succeed, don’t you feel it’s a pity giving up so soon?" Ji Rui knew the Luo brothers shared a deep bond, thus did not intend to sow discord but rather subtly advise him to return to the Luo Family.
What Luo Yifan did not realize was Ji Rui’s true intention; he merely thought Ji Rui was genuinely concerned for his future.
"Brother Rui, you’re not much older than me; tell me, at my age, where did Ji Family rank on the asset list?"
[It’s a new semester, students, keep pushing forward! Those at work, do your best too! Only two updates today, don’t ask why, blame the inspiration, sigh!]