novelraw Chapter 377 If, That Time! (Second Update)
Chapter 377 If, That Time! (Second Update)
"Brother Rui, you’re not much older than me, so tell me, when you were my age, where was the Ji Family ranked in terms of assets?"Ji Rui was silent for a moment and didn’t answer. In reality, he was only two or three years older than Luo Yifan, and two or three years ago, the Ji Family’s assets should have ranked fifth.
Luo Yifan noticed Ji Rui was silent and knew he was trying to save face. "I’m not really interested in the family’s business. As for the Luo Family, my brother is enough. I’m just an ordinary person. I only want to do things I like while I’m young."
It was clear that Luo Yifan had thought this decision over thoroughly. Now, no matter how much Ji Rui tried to persuade him, he couldn’t make him turn back.
Seeing that this tactic wasn’t effective, Ji Rui directly gave up on this approach. It happened to be the moment when the waitstaff began serving the food. The dishes were indeed quite distinctive and delicious, and both Baobao and Le Tong ate with great pleasure and satisfaction.
At this moment, for Ji Rui, as long as Baobao and Le Tong were happy, he was happy.
So, seeing the two across from him eating joyfully, he momentarily relaxed and enjoyed the delicious lunch.
However, when Ji Rui noticed Luo Yifan always watching Le Tong with smiling eyes, the knot in his heart gradually swelled, making him uneasy.
Ji Rui felt uncomfortable, so while the other three were thoroughly enjoying their meal, Ji Rui, apart from savoring a few bites of the delicious food at first, couldn’t really taste anything else.
Previously, he didn’t know much about Le Tong’s past, but when Baobao had surgery and he conducted an investigation, although he couldn’t find out who Le Tong’s biological father was, everything else, including the past between Luo Yifan and Le Tong, was clearly listed in the investigation materials.
After looking at those materials, Ji Rui realized that Luo Yifan had liked Le Tong for more than just a year or two.
Thinking about Le Tong’s young and vibrant days at eighteen or nineteen, when she chatted, played ball, watched movies, and ate with Luo Yifan, made Ji Rui even more dejected.
If back then, he had insisted on finding Baobao’s biological mother, would the person chatting, playing ball, watching movies, and eating with the eighteen or nineteen-year-old Le Tong not have been Luo Yifan, but him, Ji Rui?!
If back then, he had actually found her, would her mother have received better care, and maybe still be alive now? Would Le Tong not have been so lonely and miserable?!
If he had cared a bit more for Baobao at that time, would Le Tong already be Mrs. Ji now, instead of someone who constantly makes him worry?!
Thinking of this, Ji Rui found that the usually fearless him didn’t dare to follow his own hypothetical scenario through.
Because he feared that the more answers there were to "If, back then," the more he would regret and hate himself.
Originally, he was the most likely person to be by her side to cry, laugh, grow, and face challenges with her.
But because of his indifference, he missed out on six beautiful years.
When he still had serious prejudice against Le Tong, Yang Sheng had once told him that Le Tong had been through a lot. At that time, he even thought Yang Sheng was being manipulative.
But after knowing the truth, he realized that all the hardships Le Tong endured were unknown to everyone around her, including her mother.
And he, Ji Rui, became the most unforgivable among those who were unaware.
Over the past year, he had hurt her too much and too deeply. How he should compensate and spoil her, he was willing to do everything. But to hand her over to someone else, absolutely not!
Even the slightest hint of competition was something he could not allow his rival to exploit.
After carefully contemplating, Ji Rui finished lunch and returned to the Ji Family. Taking advantage of the time when Le Tong took Baobao for a nap, he picked up the phone and dialed out.
"Uncle Luo, hello! This is Ji Rui."
Then, that evening, when Luo Yifan returned home, Mr. Luo called him into the room. Mr. Luo told him that the Luo Family decided to invest in his plan to open a chain of restaurants in Beijing. Soon, the news of the Luo Family’s major expansion into the restaurant industry spread out.
Moreover, not long after, the Luo Family’s restaurant chain in Beijing became very successful. Apart from the fact that Luo Yifan genuinely had management skills in this area, Ji Rui’s silent support behind the scenes was also a major reason.
Of course, these are all later stories. Anyway, Ji Rui found his own way to solve his "big problem" and also expressed his gratitude to Luo Yifan for accompanying Le Tong all these years in his own way.
Both Le Tong and Luo Yifan were unaware of Ji Rui’s secret actions. A few days later, when Le Tong received a call from Luo Yifan about moving to Beijing, she was not only happy for him, but also cheerfully invited him to her home for a meal.
That farewell dinner was exceptionally lavish, leaving President Ji unhappy for quite some time. However, since his own "revolution" had not yet succeeded, he had no right to be openly jealous. So he had to suppress his discontent, almost stifling himself.
Many years later, after Luo Yifan had become a mogul in the restaurant industry, he occasionally mentioned to Ji Rui about letting go of Le Tong completely back then. Ji Rui realized that all the jealousy he felt back then was entirely self-inflicted!
Now that Ji Rui had resolved the Luo Yifan issue, he felt slightly better. However, in terms of Le Tong’s attitude towards him, it had become even more indifferent.
Actually, it’s not surprising that Le Tong would treat him this way.
Originally, Le Tong didn’t want to be treated differently at work, and now it’s even worse. Ever since Ji Rui made a fuss on WeChat, her days at the Ji Family became difficult.
Of course, if she were someone who loved vanity, being greeted as the president’s wife with welcoming smiles everywhere would make her laugh in her dreams.
But she absolutely detests having such labels marked on her forehead. Moreover, she’s become the private property of the "demon" she’s determined to cold war against. Is it any wonder she’s infuriated?
As a result, in the office, Ji Rui hadn’t had coffee made by Le Tong for several days.
No one brought him lunch. Even when he shamelessly insisted on going home with her, she still didn’t give him any good face.
This time, even his clever son, who usually spoke on his behalf, couldn’t sway her.
In the end, Baobao didn’t dare to say a word on his behalf, because Le Tong warned him, "If you speak for your daddy again, go live with him at his house!"
Baobao, being struck at his weak spot, immediately didn’t dare to utter a sound!!