Chapter 442 A Visit From a Friend
Bai Rong stopped in her tracks. Then, she remembered that he had access to surveillance. It was as easy as pie for him to find her.
Is he here to ask me to go back?
Gu Mingchen stepped out of the elevator and handed over the bag in his hand. “I’ve packed all of your things in here. Bai is in there too. Pets are probably prohibited in the hotel, so you had better not let anyone notice.”
Bai Rong’s heart sank. So he was just here to return her things. “Um… I really do not have time to care for Bai. Can you please take care of Bai for the time being?” she asked.
Gu Mingchen looked at her steadily, curled his lips, and uttered two words meaningfully, “Very busy?”
“Yeah,” replied Bai Rong.
Gu Mingchen opened the bag and took out the docile Bai.
Woof! Bai barked at her.
She touched Bai’s head tenderly.
The dog whined comfortably and even licked Bai Rong’s hand.
Her lips curled up into a gentle smile. Gu Mingchen gazed at her quietly, and the look in his eyes softened a little. But in a fraction of a second, he steeled himself and turned his back to her. He pressed on the elevator button to go downwards.
Bai Rong stared at his reflection on the elevator door.
Their heated gaze met on the cool steel surface of the elevator.
Bai Rong lowered her eyes and proceeded to walk back towards her room.
She took out her clothes and documents that were meticulously packed into a sealed package. She zoned out on the sofa for a while. Suddenly, she recalled that she still had something to do, she looked at her phone. The call is still ongoing! She had not hung up earlier.
She raised her phone to her ear and asked, “Aaron, are you still there?”
“Yes,” he responded.
“I’m so sorry, I ran into Gu Mingchen. We talked for a bit and I forgot. My apologies. You’re all still at the airport, right? I’ll come over now,” she said while getting up to make a move.
“There is no need. We are already on the way. Just a while more and we’ll reach the hotel you’re at,” said Aaron in a gentle tone.
He was a person with high emotional intelligence. Usually, when he sensed that a certain matter is sensitive for a person, he would not mention it. Even if he knew that Bai Rong and Gu Mingchen were not on good terms, he would not point it out directly.
“Oh, that’s great. It will probably take you all an hour to reach here. Let’s go for lunch, and I will show you around,” Bai Rong said with a smile.
“I’ve already booked the rooms. Let us reach first and we’ll see what to do,” Aaron said and hung up.
The weather was getting colder now. She did not have many outfits at her disposal. But, she would need some very soon as she had to socialize with the politicians and rich ladies.
She had less than an hour to visit the shopping mall next door. She quickly bought three sets of clothing and some cosmetics. Just as she returned to the hotel, she received a call from Aaron. After applying some simple makeup, she made her way down to the hotel lobby.
Aaron was already checking in at the reception.
There were six of them in total. She recognized Aaron and his grandmother. There was another old man, who she assumed to be Mr. Tang. Besides the three of them, there were two other young girls. Bai Rong was shocked because one of the girls looked a lot like her mother.
Bai Rong had features that were similar to Bai Bing. Hence, the girl whom she just met had roughly a sixty percent similarity to her as well.
She recalled that Aaron’s grandmother once mentioned that her maternal grandmother only had one child. And that was her mother. Is there something that I have missed out?
“Nian,” Aaron called.
Bai Rong came back to her senses. “Hi, how do you do? I am Wu Nian, Aaron’s friend,” she introduced herself.
The old man scrutinized Bai Rong from the side. She just let him do so and didn’t make a fuss out of it. She could hazard a guess as to what he was thinking about. He was checking whether she looked like his wife.
Cheerfully, Aaron’s grandmother started introducing everyone. “Allow me to introduce. This is Mr. Tang. This is the caretaker, Qiao Na, and that is her daughter. And over there, the girl who looks like your mother is the child of your grandmother’s younger sister.”
Ah, I see. Now Bai Rong understood. “You should go and settle your luggage in your rooms first,” said Bai Rong, “I’ll wait for all of you in the lobby and we can go eat together.”
“Alright, alright. Aaron, you keep Nian company. We’ll be back here soon,” said Aaron’s grandmother.
With that, Aaron stayed back to accompany Bai Rong.
Since there were six of them, they would not fit into a normal vehicle. A seven-seater SUV would be too cramped as well. Therefore, she called Shen Yiyan. “Hey, I am at the A City International Hotel, lend me a car.”
However, Aaron instantly snatched her phone away with a faint smile and said, “Sorry, wrong number.”
“Why did you do that?” asked Bai Rong. “I don’t have a car. I have used all my money to buy a yacht,” she explained.
“I have a car. It’s parked outside,” replied Aaron. “Have you forgotten? I told you before that I had investments here. The company I invested in sent me a car.”
“I see… Oh yeah, how much do I owe you for the mercenaries?” asked Bai Rong.
“Not much. Don’t mention it. To me, that amount of money is what I can earn within this few minutes of conversation,” Aaron responded with a smile.
“So, how much was it?”
Aaron swept his arms over her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. “You have saved me twice,” he said, “I wouldn’t be here and still earning money if it weren’t for you. Just let me repay my debt to you, please?”
“But you have helped me a lot already,”
Aaron’s smile widened, “It’s no big deal to me. Alright, that’s enough drama. When are we going to stop thanking each other? Don’t forget you promised to cook me a meal. I have been holding that promise close to my heart all the while.”
“I know,” answered Bai Rong. “One more thing, does Mr. Tang intend to do the paternity test?” Bai Rong inquired while turning to look at him, simultaneously distancing herself from his embrace without looking too obvious.
“I think Mr. Tang wants to play it safe. But you told me that you underwent plastic surgery and had a bone marrow transplant. Would the test still work?”
“It should be fine. I am ovulating these few days. As long as we extract the egg, the paternity test can still be done,” Bai Rong answered, nodding her head. She believed that doing the test would be better.
“Would it be dangerous for you?” Aaron asked with concern.
Bai Rong shook her head and said, “No.”
“Shall I arrange for it to be done tomorrow?” Aaron asked for her opinion.
Nodding quietly, Bai Rong answered, “Yes.”
Ding! The elevator doors parted. Bai Rong could hear Aaron’s grandmother speaking to Mr. Tang with a carefree A City accent. “Isn’t she pretty? I really adore this girl. Maybe we can become in-laws after all. This would make my wish come true.”
“Yes, yes. Whatever you say,” responded Mr. Tang pleasantly.
Bai Rong nodded at them and said, “Let’s go.”
Aaron’s vehicle was a nine-seater Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and was very spacious. It even came with a driver.
“Please take us to the A City Hotel,” said Bai Rong. She looked at Aaron and asked, “A City cuisine tends to be sweet. Is there anybody here who cannot take food that is too sweet?”
“We’re all okay, but Mr. Tang has gout. Do order a few bland and healthy dishes for him,” Aaron’s grandmother cut in.
“Okay,” Bai Rong replied.
“Are you Aaron’s girlfriend? You’re so pretty!” said the girl who looked like her mother.
“She’s Ling,” Aaron introduced her to Bai Rong. Peering at Ling, he asked, “Didn’t you keep insisting that you wanted a boyfriend from A City? You’ll have to work hard on it this time.”
“Whatever,” Ling stuck out her tongue and retorted. She was cheeky and adorable indeed.
