Zhu Ran did as he said. He hung up the phone and immediately mailed off the watch. After filling out the shipping form at the hotel front desk, he suddenly noticed someone staring at him. He looked up and saw, to his surprise, Zhu Yanqing.
Zhu Ran hesitated for two seconds before walking over and calling out, “Dad.” The other man nodded, showing no anger about his running away from home.
This eased some of the tension in Zhu Ran’s nerves. Compared to his overly strict mother, his father’s attitude toward him was about the same as that of a university counselor.
Zhu Ran asked, “How did you know I was here?”
Zhu Yanqing replied, “I asked around.”
Zhu Ran found this strange. His family had no connections on Hong Kong Island, and his little aunt had only gotten in touch this summer—he hadn’t even told her where he was. The only person who might know his address was Huo Boyan, since Amy knew it. The information had passed through several hands before reaching his father’s ears.
Huo Boyan had sold him out!
Zhu Ran thought angrily, his impression of Huo Boyan worsening. He should have just sold the watch and run off, letting Huo Boyan taste the harshness of the world for himself.
Standing at the hotel entrance, Zhu Ran didn’t invite Zhu Yanqing upstairs. In a cold tone, he asked, “What do you want?”
“I’ve come to apologize to you,” Zhu Yanqing said. “I heard about what happened that morning. Your mom made a big fuss over nothing. I understand her personality is extreme. To be honest, even I can’t stand it sometimes.”
Zhu Ran stayed silent. Zhu Yanqing assumed his son agreed and continued, “Women are like that—accomplishing nothing themselves, always watching your every move, suffocating you.”
“Dad,” Zhu Ran interrupted, somewhat displeased, “is it appropriate to talk about your wife like that?”
Zhu Yanqing laughed indifferently. He wanted to impart some wisdom to his son but hadn’t expected him to be so naive. Instead of sharing more life experience, he adopted the fatherly pose from Western movies and TV shows, suggesting they go out for a meal.
The proposal felt abrupt to Zhu Ran.
Aside from living together at home, Zhu Ran rarely went out with his parents. They only returned to their respective hometowns for holidays and family visits. In Zhu Ran’s memory, the three of them almost never did anything together outside.
Though it felt unfamiliar, since his dad had suggested it, Zhu Ran didn’t refuse.
They went to a nearby cheap tea restaurant and ate lunch indifferently, barely acknowledging each other. This was the norm for Zhu Ran and Zhu Yanqing.
Zhu Yanqing rarely spoke, and Zhu Ran had realized this when he was very young. Back then, he thought it was fatherly love like a mountain—his dad just wasn’t good at expressing it—so the young boy racked his brains to keep the conversation going.
But his words were either ignored or shot down and belittled. Over time, Zhu Ran stopped talking much himself.
Eventually, it became their current dynamic: father and son finishing a meal without exchanging a single word, like two strangers sharing a table.
Zhu Ran assumed this time would be the same, but halfway through the meal, Zhu Yanqing suddenly asked about Huo Boyan.
Zhu Yanqing said, “Are you close with Huo Boyan?”
Zhu Ran didn’t respond.
Zhu Yanqing continued, “Your mom saw you getting out of his car that morning. She said you spent the night out with him.”
Zhu Ran couldn’t quite gauge Zhu Yanqing’s intentions, so he gave a conservative answer: “Not really, we’ve just met a few times.”
Zhu Yanqing suddenly laughed—a knowing smile between men.
He didn’t call out Zhu Ran’s lie, just said, “I have a project I could discuss for collaboration with him. Help us set up a meeting.”
Zhu Ran grew irritated but held his temper. “I told you, we’re not close. I can’t set it up.”
Zhu Yanqing’s face darkened unhappily as he lectured, “Why can’t you understand? I’m just thinking you’ve grown up and want to give you a leg up in your career. This project isn’t limited to him—I don’t have to go through you to meet him. His second uncle, Huo Zhixiao, is already reaching out to me. I figured since you’re on good terms with Huo Boyan, we might as well keep it in the family.”
Zhu Ran replied coldly, “In that case, go find someone else.”
With that, he tossed two Hong Kong dollars on the table and left without looking back.
Zhu Ran switched hotels right away, but two days later, his parents cornered him at the entrance again.
He turned to leave, but Zhu Yanqing said they were heading home and just wanted a farewell meal with him. Wang Ruyun nodded repeatedly, changing her tune to say she’d just been too emotional at the time and actually believed him.
Zhu Ran’s expression softened slightly, though he remained tense.
Zhu Yanqing added, “Your mom’s just worried you’d run into bad people. She’s been so anxious these past few days she hasn’t slept a wink and went through several rounds of heart meds.”
