Ren Chuqing's body trembled.
After Qing's father had passed away, his grandfather came to take him, but he refused to leave this home. In the end, it was their mother who, for the price of 500,000, handed Qing over to his grandfather.
She couldn't forget the way he looked at her then, his phoenix eyes hollow as he asked, "Sister, don't you want me anymore?"
"Your dad is no longer here, and I am not your sister. We have no relation." Back then, she had steeled her heart to say this to him, because she felt that following his grandfather was the best choice for him at the time.
"So that night, when you said you wanted me, of course I gave in. After all, I always obediently listened to whatever you said, didn't I?" He bent down, his lips barely grazing her neck, leaving a ticklish sensation.
Ren Chuqing felt uncomfortable and tried to step back, but he pressed closer.
"What's wrong, Sister? Don't you like me getting close?"
"We're adults now, we can't be like we were as children anymore!" she said, placing her hands on his chest trying to push him away, "Also... although you helped me just now, you've offended Wang Sheng, that vile person. You'll need to be careful from now on..."
Before she could finish speaking, her hands were easily twisted behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and their bodies suddenly pressed together.
Her softness met with his hardness.
Ren Chuqing's face immediately turned bright red.
"Sister, we've already done things more intimate than when we were children." His cool voice murmured softly, his lips caressing the corner of her mouth as if he could devour her at any moment, "That night, you were the one who wanted me first, weren't you?"
Yes, it was she who had wanted him first. Ren Chuqing moistened her dry lips and, after a long while, said, "Sorry... Also, how have you been these years?"
"If I say I haven't been doing well, what do you plan to do?" he countered.
"Then I would take care of you!" she blurted out, though such words sounded somewhat comical given their current posture.
His gaze deepened, his lips slowly moving to her ear, his warm breath on her ear, while his lips gently sucked on her earlobe, "Then how do you plan to take care of me?"
In this way, it was more a tease than a question.
Ren Chuqing's body trembled, "Ah Qing, stop it."
"But Sister, you did the same thing to me that night."
Once again at a loss for words about her past self, Ren Chuqing tried to calm her mind and asked, "Where do you live now? What do you do for work?"
"No fixed abode, and as for work, I do whatever needs to be done."
Although he had many residences in City Yan, he didn't fixate on any one place for long, and as for work, he was now the president of Wen Yuan Group. A lot of company affairs required his attention.
However, to Ren Chuqing, his words conveyed a different impression; she thought his life was not going well.
"How about you come and live with me for now? If you want to change jobs, I can help you," she offered.
"Why would you help me?" He buried his face in the crook of her neck, asking softly.
Because he was Ah Qing, the Ah Qing she felt she owed the most!
"Because I promised to take responsibility for you, until death," she said earnestly.
Even if she only had one year left to live, she could still do many things for him and ensure he had a better life.
He straightened up and looked at her, suddenly smiling. The curve of his lips brought forth endless warmth, "Alright, this time you can't go back on your word, Sister!"
————
Ren Chuqing's residence was a three-bedroom, two-living room house with 110 square meters. When she bought it, the price hadn't skyrocketed like it had nowadays.
The apartment was well-located in the city center, and selling it now would fetch nearly ten million.
Ren Chuqing gave one of the vacant bedrooms to Wen Muqing, then took him shopping for clothes at the mall.
"Do you have any favorite brands you usually like?" she inquired.
"I quite like this brand," Wen Muqing raised his finger, pointing directly at a store not far away.
Ren Chuqing nearly choked on her saliva.
The store he pointed to was a top-tier luxury brand where clothes cost tens or even hundreds of thousands.
"Sister, are you going to buy something for me?" Wen Muqing asked with a seemingly playful look as he glanced down.
Ren Chuqing clenched her teeth, "Buy!"
Her own brother, she must spoil him!
Once inside the store, Ren Chuqing pointed to the trench coat worn by the male model on the poster, "Try one of these trench coats in his size."
As soon as Wen Muqing put on the trench coat, it dazzled onlookers, even the originally indifferent sales clerk showed an amazed expression.
Looking at Wen Muqing, Ren Chuqing had to admit, he was born to be a clothes hanger—with that face and the clothes on, he looked even better than the model in the poster.
But the price of 38,000 was indeed steep!
"Are you really going to buy this coat for me?" Wen Muqing's voice sounded low in her ear.
Ren Chuqing looked at the person before her, childhood memories of him flooded her mind.
Back then, her mother had her out of wedlock, and she never knew who her father was.
It wasn't until she was nine that her mother started living with Ah Qing's father, and she and Ah Qing began to call each other siblings.
At that time, she often felt delusionally like she had a family, as if she had a father and a brother!
"Ah Qing, I'll treat you well in the future," murmured Ren Chuqing, her bright almond eyes watching him, "So, I'll buy you anything you like."
Just then, several women walked into the store chatting and laughing; it was Su Yuyu and her entourage.
These people paused upon seeing Ren Chuqing.
"Who would've thought, Ren Chuqing, you'd come to shop at a luxury store like this. Just think, back in the day, you relied on financial aid for impoverished students, nibbling on plain steamed buns every day looking all pitiful!"
Ren Chuqing glanced at the speaker, Zhao Qianshan, Su Yuyu's best friend, and a classmate from university.
Not wanting to deal with them, she simply said to the sales staff, "We'll take the trench coat he's wearing."
"Certainly," the staff member replied.
"Hah, Ren Chuqing, got dumped by Jiang Huai and now you've picked up a pretty boy? But isn't this 'keeping up appearances' going too far? Does your pretty boy know about it?" Zhao Qianshan walked up continuing her ridicule.
It was only when she got a clear look at Wen Muqing's face that she paused... where did Ren Chuqing find such an attractive pretty boy?
"Chu Qing, don't buy such expensive clothing just to spite Qian Shan. After all, you've resigned from the company and are all alone," Su Yuyu interjected.
"Yuer, why bother advising someone like her? The little money she earns, it's all thanks to Jiang Huai's company's goodwill! It's like a pig that, caught in the wind, might fly high in the skies, but some pigs actually believe they can soar!" Zhao Qianshan bluntly likened Ren Chuqing to a pig.
The others let out snickering laughs.
Ren Chuqing sneered. They all thought she was riding on Jiang Huai's coattails, but little did they know, it was actually Jiang Huai's company that depended on her for its growth.
The best-selling products in Jiang Huai Company, the profitable projects, all came from her efforts.
Zhao Qianshan thought Ren Chuqing's silence was an admission and thus walked up to Wen Muqing and said provocatively, "How about coming with me? Anything Ren Chuqing can give you, I can give you too, even more, in fact."
After all, this pretty boy really was good-looking.
Zhao Qianshan believed her family background was far better than Ren Chuqing's. Her family owned a small factory, and her parents gave her plenty of spending money. Snaring a pretty boy shouldn't be difficult.
Ren Chuqing frowned, about to speak, when Wen Muqing preempted her, "You want me to follow you?"