Chapter 168: Anger

An Tong instinctively looked up at the newcomer, her gaze suddenly colliding with the man's calm and deep eyes, which inexplicably stirred a sense of guilt within her.

On second thought, she hadn't said anything inappropriate. Even if she had complimented Rong Yan on his good looks, it should be harmless enough.

Just as An Tong was about to greet him, Rong Shen's gaze shifted to Wen Wan, his tone flat and devoid of any emotion, "Sixth has matters to attend to. Shall I have someone send you back to the hotel?"

Wen Wan looked hesitantly at An Tong beside her and politely declined, "There's no need to trouble you. I have nothing to do this afternoon anyway, so I can just stroll around the neighborhood."

In this situation, it was inappropriate for her to continue lingering here.

Wen Wan stood up, preparing to leave, when a sudden thought crossed her mind. Frowning slightly, she asked, "Ninth Brother, has he already left? Then my bag..."

Unlike An Tong, who always traveled light when stepping out, she, as an elegant socialite, always matched different handbags to her outfits every time she went out.

And just now, when she came out for a stroll with An Tong, she hadn't brought her handbag.

The man turned slightly, his low and slow voice answering, "I didn't see him take it. Ask the hotel front desk; if it was left behind, they will keep it safe for you."

Wen Wan understood. Fortunately, she hadn't really expected Rong晏 to carry her bag for her anyway. Before leaving, she shook her phone toward An Tong to signal her, "I'll message you later."

An Tong nodded. Watching her leave, her gaze drifted back toward Rong Shen.

The second-floor terrace garden was open-air, and even though the temperature was warming up, it was still accompanied by a chilly spring breeze.

The man wore only a white shirt and black trousers. His tall, pine-like figure stood a few paces away from her, radiating an aloof and cold composure.

An Tong stepped forward to stand before him, offering a slight smile, "You just now..."

Rong Shen pinched her cheek, "Let's go. I'll have Cheng Feng take you home."

An Tong's sentence was cut off halfway, stuck in her throat, unable to go up or down.

He hadn't said anything, hadn't asked anything, and his expression hadn't even shown any unusual changes.

Yet An Tong felt as though he was... displeased, though she couldn't be certain.

The two walked one after the other into the corridor connecting to the terrace. An Tong bit her lower lip, hurried to the man's side, and took the initiative to clasp his hand.

Feeling the wide, warm palm tighten slightly, the heavy stone in her heart finally fell back into place. Then, searching for a topic to break the silence, she asked, "Did Rong Yan really leave by himself without waiting for Sister Wan?"

As soon as the last word left her lips, Rong Shen turned his head to cast a glance at her, his eyes brimming with amusement. "So curious about Rong Yan?"

"No." Realizing she had chosen the wrong topic, An Tong flickered her eyes, trying to salvage the moment, "I just think he's not only annoying, but he also doesn't know how to care for people."

The man curved his lips without a change in expression. Arriving at the first-floor lobby, he stood by the elevator entrance and gestured toward the revolving doors, "Go on. Cheng Feng is at the entrance. Have him take you back, and let me know when you get home."

An Tong stood in place, unmoving, "What about you?"

"I'm heading back upstairs. I have a meeting later."

"Oh..."

An Tong drew out the syllable, then turned and slowly walked out of the lobby.

Wasn't this his way of showing displeasure?

In the past, he definitely would have walked her all the way to the entrance and seen her into the car, but this time he had merely watched from afar.

An Tong reached the curbside and listlessly slid into the back of the commercial vehicle.

As Cheng Feng turned the steering wheel to pull away, a soft inquiry drifted from the back seat, "Cheng Feng, if your girlfriend praised another man's good looks right to your face, would you be angry?"

"I'm single..."

An Tong frowned slightly, "I mean... assuming you have a girlfriend, just try to put yourself in those shoes."

Cheng Feng pressed the brake pedal, imagining the scenario An Tong described in his mind. A few seconds later, he replied, "There's nothing really to be angry about, but if my girlfriend dared to praise someone else so blatantly, I'd probably tell her... if you think he looks so good, go find him then."

An Tong: "..."

She fell silent for a moment before asking again, "Then what if your girlfriend didn't mean to do it, and was just making an objective evaluation? Would you still be angry?"

"Isn't an objective evaluation still derived from subjective judgment?" Cheng Feng turned around from the driver's seat, resting his arm across the back of the chair, and said with an air of absolute authority, "Xiao An, let me tell you, don't let us men fool you with our calm exteriors; it's all an act. Our inner monologues are more than you could ever imagine. You understand possessiveness, right? Forget my girlfriend praising someone else; if she even looked at another man right in front of me, I'd have to deal with her."

It took An Tong a long while to digest his lengthy speech.

Thinking in reverse, if Rong Shen were to praise another woman as sexy and pretty right to her face...

She tried to imagine that picture, but her brow immediately furrowed.

Just imagining it alone made her angry.

An Tong pressed her lips together and said no more, while Cheng Feng had no idea why she had posed such a hypothetical scenario.

Just as the car merged onto the main road, An Tong's phone rang.

It was a WeChat voice call from Wen Wan.

An Tong smoothed her brow, answered, and brought the phone to her ear, "Sister Wan."

"Xiao An, have you left?"

"Just left the Zhanzhou Building. What about you?"

Wen Wan sighed, lamenting with a sense of disappointment, "So fast? I was hoping that if you had nothing to do this afternoon, we could find a coffee shop and sit for a while. I'm heading back to Hong Kong the day after tomorrow, and who knows when we'll meet again."

An Tong glanced sideways at the street scene outside the window and suggested, "Then I'll head back now. Wait for me by the roadside of the building for a bit."

"Okay, take your time, no rush."

An Tong's return to find Wen Wan reached Rong Shen's ears in less than ten minutes.

Cheng Feng sat in the car, watching them walk side by side into the coffee shop, and immediately reported the situation to the man over the phone.

The former "love rivals" had now surprisingly become friends.

Friendships among women truly were wondrous things.

On the other end of the line, Rong Shen gave a noncommittal hum and instructed in a low voice, "Ask where they're going, and drive them there."

Cheng Feng said they went to a coffee shop and didn't seem likely to go anywhere else.

Hearing this, the man pondered for a moment before saying, "Call Ling Qi over to follow them, and pick her up to go home once they're done gathering."

Meanwhile, Wen Wan and An Tong sat by the window in the coffee shop. Naturally, she recognized the commercial vehicle and had also spotted the "driver," Cheng Feng.

The waiter served the coffee just as the commercial vehicle by the roadside drove away. Wen Wan couldn't help sighing, "Ninth Brother is really good to you."

Even when he couldn't spare the time himself, he still arranged for his capable assistant to escort An Tong.

As Rong Shen's chief assistant, though Cheng Feng did not hold a lofty title, no one in their circle ever looked down upon him.

More often than not, Cheng Feng represented Ninth Master Rong, making him a confidant-level figure.

Yet now, he was being used as a "driver" for An Tong.

Thinking of her own fiancé, Rong Yan, who had abandoned her and left alone... truly, people had vastly different fates.

Knowing Wen Wan's thoughts and understanding her helpless destiny, An Tong had no wish to flaunt her affection in front of her. She simply replied flatly, "Mhm, he is very good to me. When you meet someone who loves you, they will treat you just as well."

Over an hour later, the two companions walked out of the coffee shop together.