He picked up the photograph and saw a young boy in the photograph, about five years old, smiling incomparably wide. Beside him, there was a man in his thirties. His face was well-defined and he had a smouldering gaze, he was incredibly suave and brimming with heroic spirit. After looking closely, one could tell that there was much resemblance between that man's features and Ling Chen's own.
"Dad..."
Staring at the man in the photograph, a bitter smile flashed on Ling Chen's face.
He had forgotten how long it had been since he saw his father. Five years? Six years? Or even seven? It was too long since then, and he had no impression of it already.
From his memories, he recalled when he was very young, his father would often bring him along on his travels and they would wander everywhere. Afterwards, when he was about ten years old and could survive on his own, his father said he had something important to attend to and left. From then on, he never saw his father again and did not even know whether his father was fine or not.
"Ling Chen."
Hearing a voice behind him, he instantly woke him from his reminiscence.
He quickly hid the photograph and looked towards the entrance of the guest room, only to see Su Lin strolling him. Her high heels made a loud click-clacking sound against the floor, she looked to be very sullen.
"Miss Su." He curled his lips into a grin and waved in greeting.
Su Lin pulled a face and said unhappily, "Ling Chen, if you know what's good for you, then you'll move out on your own. This is my and Wanqing's place. I won't allow any stinking man to stay here."
Ling Chen threw up his hands in helplessness. "Miss Su, you can't say that. It's not like I wanted to move in, but your grandfather gave the explicit instruction for me to do so. I am under his employment, so naturally, I need to obey his orders. You want me to move out? Sure, it's straightforward. You just need to find your grandfather, not me."
"You..."
Su Lin fumed angrily, "If you don't move out, I guarantee that there'll be tough days ahead for you."
With that, she stomped her foot before turning to leave the guest room.
Ling Chen could only helplessly shake his head. These matters were Nanrong Yong's arrangements and had nothing to do with him.
After tidying up his room, he looked at the time. After busying himself for the whole day, it was almost nearing six in the evening. He had skipped lunch, and his stomach was growling ferociously.
The villa had a kitchen, so he wanted to check it out.
Walking out of the guest room, Ling Chen was prepared to head to the kitchen before he stopped in his tracks when he saw two people sitting in the living room. They were Nanrong Wanqing and Su Lin, respectively.
Once they saw him, Su Lin immediately displayed an irksome expression. However, she was a beauty, and no matter what emotions she showed, they would always be pleasing to the eye. On the other hand, Nanrong Wanqing did not even bat an eye at the sight of him, seeming like a never-melting mountain of ice.
Ling Chen casually waved towards the two beauties, smiling greeting, "These two beauties, are you hungry? Why don't you give my cooking a try and we can dine together?"
"Hmph!"
Su Lin turned her head away, her sexy lips in a pout and an expression of disdain written all over her face.
Nanrong Wanqing coldly said, "Ling Chen, I don't want to see you in this villa tomorrow morning. Xiao Lin, bring me back to my room."
"Ok."
Su Lin viciously glared at Ling Chen, before pushing the wheelchair upstairs.
To better facilitate the movements of Nanrong Wanqing, the villa had a specially-built wheelchair ramp so that she could travel between the two floors easily.
Listening to the sound of a door being firmly closed upstairs, Ling Chen was at a loss. He had to cultivate a friendly relationship with the two beauties; else others would definitely look down on him.
As he was buried in contemplation, his phone suddenly rang.
"Lil Hao, what is it?... Hmm, accompany you for dinner?... Alright, I'll head over now."
After hanging up, Ling Chen directly headed over to the beige-colour villa. By that time, Nanrong Hao already had a sumptuous feast laid out.
"Bro Chen, sit please."
"Wow, you're living alone in such a large house?"
"There's still the housekeeper. Every villa has a housekeeper assigned to it, and they are in charge of preparing meals and the cleanliness of the rooms. The housekeeper over at my sister's villa seems to have applied for leave. So, the dishes over there are all prepared by my housekeeper."
"Just now, I didn't see anyone sending food over, I was prepared to roll up my sleeves and do it myself."
"Bro Chen, I guess you don't know about it." Nanrong Hao cast a furtive look at him, leaning in to whisper in a secretive tone. "My sister and my cousin went to reason with my grandfather, petitioning to kick you out. The result was that my grandfather refused, so they decided on starvation to protest against him. They even specially informed my housekeeper just now, telling her not to send food from today onwards."
"Starvation?"
Ling Chen's eyes widened. They are so ruthless to themselves! What a waste it would be if these two delicate and exquisite beauties starved themselves to death!
"Lil Hao, how about… I go talk to your grandfather and move over to your place. The two villas are not that far apart anyway."
"Bro Chen, I think you should stop worrying about this matter. My grandfather will never agree to it. Furthermore, would you be able to react in time if the killer finds my sister at night after you move over to my place? I'm not afraid to tell you that my sister is the jewel in my grandfather's eyes. To ensure her safety, he would stop at nothing. Bro Chen, I know that you are suffering there, but please bear with it for a few more days. Things will get better once everyone is accustomed to it."
After dinner, Ling Chen lingered at Nanrong Hao's villa for a while. It was nine o'clock before he made his way back.
He put on a pair of baggy pants after his shower and turned on the aircon, and gently reclined into his incredibly soft bedding, feeling incomparably relaxed. He gradually dozed off into a deep slumber.
However, after an unknown period, as he was still groggy and in a half-awake state, Ling Chen suddenly heard a faint rustling sound from outside. He shot up immediately, his mind becoming alert in an instant.
An intruder!
He leapt to his feet, gently landing on the floor without making a single sound. As he crept to the entrance of the guest room, he placed his ear right against the wooden surface of the door. A soft set of footsteps was immediately transmitted through the door.
Although they were not very audible, he was still able to pick up the sound.
The enemy clearly chose to lighten his footsteps, proving that he was not a member of the Nanrong family.
He thus slowly twisted the doorknob, trying his best not to make any noise. The moment the door revealed a slit wide enough for a person to pass through, he rolled on the floor and nimbly made his way to the living room, using the sofa to conceal his presence.
The lights in the living room were not turned on and were only illuminated by the soft glow of moonlight. The surroundings were pitch-black, and he found it difficult even to make out the fingers of the hand he stretched out in front of him.
He crouched into a low pose and made his way around the sofa, silently but surely approaching the intruder.
He listened as the enemy's footsteps gradually grew louder as they approached where Ling Chen was hiding. Ling Chen's entire body was tense, as though a leopard lying in wait, ready to pounce on its prey.
A few seconds later, under the illumination of the moonlight, a faint silhouette flashed through his eyes.
I got you now!
Ling Chen revealed an anticipatory grin, and his eyes gleamed. He ferociously pounced forward, tackling the intruder to the ground.
AH!
Instantly, a scream reverberated through the air.
Ling Chen froze. This scream… it sounds like it came from a girl?!
At that moment, he grabbed a lamp that had toppled on the floor and hurriedly switched it on. Under the dim light of the lamp, an incredibly beautiful countenance appeared before his eyes.
"Miss Su?! Why is it you?!"
Su Lin's entire face was Scarlet, and she angrily screeched, "You beast! move your filthy hands away!"
Ummm…
It was only at that moment that Ling Chen realised that when he tackled Su Lin to the ground, his hand had coincidentally landed on her soft and deep bosom. The incredibly velvety sensation left him intoxicated and furthermore, he was sitting on her to pin her down, both of them were in an extremely ambiguous position right now.