Chapter 106: Entangled in Love
At this moment, Rong Shen no longer kept her in suspense. He leaned toward her slightly, laughing softly as he explained, “If you still have the receipt for the list, you can find it later and take a look. The itemized expenses under that entry are Han Qi’s evaluation fee.”
His answer caught An Tong off guard.
She truly hadn’t paid attention to the itemized details and had assumed it was their initial counseling fee.
An Tong murmured, bewildered, “Then the bank card…”
The man led her to the tea table and sat down, his voice deep and resonant, “When you return to your room later, you can search the inner compartment of your suitcase.”
An Tong: “?”
She was puzzled for only a few seconds before she suddenly understood, “I’ll go check.”
Rong Shen didn’t have time to stop her; the young woman had already dashed toward the stairs.
He pressed the button to boil water, withdrew his gaze, and the curve of his thin lips spoke of inscrutable depths.
A hunter never places himself in danger while hunting.
His carefully laid “invitation into the trap” would never leave flaws vulnerable to accusations of professional ethics.
Even though Rong Shen cared little for ethical principles, he still avoided risks that could be used against him.
Everything had been meticulously calculated—except for the unexpected entanglement of his own feelings, which had become the sole unpredictable variable.
…
Three minutes later, An Tong hurried back to the living room, clutching a bank card in her palm.
All uncertainty and hesitation seemed suddenly insignificant. She sat across from the man, opened her hand, and asked, “When did you put it in?”
“Naturally, when you weren’t aware.” Rong Shen poured a fresh cup of black tea and handed it to her, his lips curled in enigmatic amusement.
An Tong took the cup and sipped lightly, her gaze lingering on him, thoughtful.
In her mind, Rong Shen was not the kind of person who would secretly slip a card into her suitcase.
After a moment, a fleeting image flashed through An Tong’s mind, but she caught it: “Was it…Ling Qi?”
Since she had moved into Cloud Peak, Ling Qi was the only one she had had frequent contact with.
Including several times when she packed her luggage—Ling Qi had been present each time.
Given Ling Qi’s lively personality, it wasn’t impossible for her to slip the card into the suitcase when An Tong wasn’t paying attention.
The man neither confirmed nor denied it. His thick brows relaxed, and he shifted the conversation, “Now, you don’t have to worry that I’ve violated professional ethics, do you?”
An Tong’s eyes flickered, and she asked directly, “But…why?”
Learning he hadn’t broken his professional code eased her considerably.
But deeper doubts followed—why had he gone to such lengths, even offering her guidance without payment?
An Tong, in her self-consciousness, wondered: surely it couldn’t be…love at first sight?
---
The man’s gaze was as deep as the sea as he looked at her. Perhaps now was a good opportunity—a moment to set things right.
After a brief silence, Rong Shen spoke in a low, magnetic voice, “Perhaps because I am not a professional psychological therapist. You are the first patient I have ever worked with—and you’ll be the last.”
An Tong tilted her head, confused.
What did he mean by not being a professional therapist?
The man sipped his tea elegantly and continued, “In the domestic field of psychological therapy, counseling and medication are generally the main approaches. But my specialty is music therapy, which has not yet become widespread here.”
More precisely, music therapy was his second major.
During his university years, he had taken music therapy courses as electives, and in the end, graduated with a dual degree.
An Tong nodded in partial understanding, recalling that Han Qi had mentioned that Rong Jiu had made significant achievements in music therapy. The listening plan he had devised for her also supported this.
The melancholy between her brows visibly faded. “Did you study abroad?”
Rong Shen responded and named the foreign university.
An Tong felt a pang of inferiority.
It was a top ten university in the USNews world rankings.
She rubbed the precious porcelain cup between her hands, looked up at him, but hesitated.
“Come here,” Rong Shen leaned back against the chair, his posture relaxed as he spoke.
An Tong rose obediently and approached him. The moment she stood by his side, her fingers were wrapped in his palm.
She stood while he sat.
An Tong looked down at his handsome profile, and after two days of quiet, her heart fluttered with a subtle joy.
Next moment, the man released her hand and drew her directly into his embrace.
An Tong was forced to lean against his shoulder, her hands awkwardly folded behind her back.
Rong Shen crossed his legs, his fathomless dark eyes met hers frankly, “Tell me, what are you thinking now?”
“No thoughts.” An Tong grasped his fingers resting at her waist behind her back and added calmly, “Just don’t let me affect your career, that’s all.”
Rong Shen’s breathing deepened, a sudden, unspeakable emotion stirring within him.
He tightened his arm around her, pulling her onto his lap—a more intimate pose than when he had held her in the study.
He asked, “Don’t you think I deceived you?”
“You must have your reasons for doing this.” An Tong placed her hands on her lap, her shoulder pressed against him, and spoke earnestly, “It’s more like you concealed the truth than deceived me. But compared to those, I think you’ve helped me far more.”
He had helped her relieve her emotions, overcome her emotional obstacles, restart her life, transfer schools…all too many to count.
If he had intended to deceive her, he could have simply stood by and watched.
She couldn’t let this so-called concealment negate all the good he had done for her.
---
If one must weigh right and wrong, at most it balanced out his merits and faults.
An Tong was not blinded by romance; at least in this moment, her mind was clear and her judgment sound.
As long as no lines of ethics were crossed, she would continue to cherish him as always.
Whether it was reliance or affection, the essence was the same—it all stemmed from Rong Shen.
After that, the man said nothing more, but leaned in and kissed her.
An Tong remained inexperienced, but did not resist his intimacy.
Perhaps after resolving their issues, their hearts had both changed.
Rong Shen’s embrace was powerful, holding her so tightly it ached her spine.
A feeling called guilt surged in his chest—for his calculated schemes, and for her gentle, noble spirit.
…
The next day was Christmas Eve.
An Tong woke late and didn’t leave her room until nearly ten.
There was no sign of the man downstairs, but breakfast was still warm on the dining table.
She walked over and sat quietly, lost in thought.
Just then, Rong Shen’s tall figure entered her view.
He noticed her dazed expression and tapped her brow with his cool fingertip, “Still not fully awake?”
An Tong leaned in and sniffed his wrist, “Did you go outside for a smoke?”
“Yes. You don’t like the smell?”
He sat beside her, opening the lid of the warming plate, but his deep gaze remained fixed on her face.
An Tong shook her head, “No, my dad…my father used to smoke too.”
She paused, surprised that she could mention her father so calmly.
Biting her lip, her eyes held a secret joy, “It seems I haven’t had any symptoms of emotional detachment for quite a while now.”
“That’s a good sign. Don’t be proud—keep it up.” The man brushed away a stray strand at her lips and nodded toward the table, “Eat your breakfast first. Later, I’ll take you somewhere.”
(End of chapter)