After the Arranged Marriage, I Was Pampered by the Powerful Tycoon - Chapter 18

Cheng Ruan dazed for a moment before remembering that Luo Mingzhi had visited the old master at the hospital previously.

He whispered a soft “okay,” yet couldn’t help but turn his head to gaze at Luo Mingzhi beside him.

It was currently dusk, and a magnificent layer of purple floated across the horizon. The light filtered through the half-open car window, making Luo Mingzhi’s profile appear even more deep and three-dimensional.

Cheng Ruan moved his fingers, suddenly realizing that he actually didn’t know Luo Mingzhi at all.

If they were merely simple marriage partners, this state of affairs would be beyond reproach. However, the point Cheng Ruan struggled with was that Luo Mingzhi’s behavior seemed to exceed the boundaries of an ordinary political marriage.

For instance, there was no real necessity for him to accompany him to the hospital to see the old master. Of course, it was possible Luo Mingzhi did so for reasons Cheng Ruan didn’t know.

But he still felt a tiny bit… grateful to Luo Mingzhi.

Perhaps also for reasons he didn’t know.

As he was lost in thought, Luo Mingzhi glanced indifferently at Cheng Ruan. “Have you seen enough?”

Coming back to his senses, Cheng Ruan shook his head and then nodded, before blushing and shaking his head again. “Who’s looking at you? How shameless.”

Luo Mingzhi let a subtle curve touch the corners of his mouth but said nothing more.

Once they reached the hospital, Cheng Ruan walked quickly into the old master’s ward, arriving just as the doctor finished an examination.

“Grandpa!” Cheng Ruan walked over and asked, “How are you feeling?”

The old master looked at Luo Mingzhi and nodded. “Aren’t I about to be discharged?”

“I told you not to worry, yet you two were so insistent that you came together.”

“Of course we had to come!” Cheng Ruan helped the old master sit up. “You’re getting more worrisome by the day; I need to spend more time accompanying you.”

The old master teased with a smile, “Your wings are hardened now, aren’t they? Daring to lecture your grandfather?”

“If you really care about me, bring Mingzhi back to see me more often in the future.”

Cheng Ruan stole a glance at Luo Mingzhi and helped the old master toward the door. “I know!”

Watching Cheng Ruan and the old master walk to the car, Zhang Li walked hurriedly to Luo Mingzhi’s side.

“Mr. Luo, Wei Qian’s surgery is over.”

Luo Mingzhi kept his eyes fixed on Cheng Ruan’s retreating figure and said calmly, “Understood.”

Zhang Li asked again, “Secretary Lu is also waiting there. Should I arrange a visit?”

“Follow Cheng Ruan’s arrangements.” Luo Mingzhi turned his face and asked in a low voice, “Has the person behind it been found?”

Zhang Li looked troubled and shook his head. “Still nothing.”

Luo Mingzhi understood and instructed, “Then I’ll have to trouble you to go there personally.”

Gazing into the distance, he gave a slight nod to the old master sitting in the car, then strode with his long legs directly toward Cheng Ruan.

Cheng Ruan and Luo Mingzhi walked side-by-side into the villa. Cheng Ruan asked, “Luo Mingzhi, do you think Teacher Wei’s injury this time… could have been done by Cheng Jin’s side?”

“The possibility cannot be ruled out.” Luo Mingzhi took off his suit jacket and headed toward the bedroom.

Seeing this, Cheng Ruan followed him, filled with righteous indignation. “If it really was him or Manager Cui, I absolutely won’t let them off. Normal competition is one thing, but to use such underhanded tactics is simply despicable!”

“Cheng Ruan.” Luo Mingzhi untied his necktie and interrupted him seriously.

Cheng Ruan stopped, not understanding, and looked at Luo Mingzhi.

Luo Mingzhi lowered his eyes and unbuttoned his shirt. “Many times, certain things aren’t about right or wrong; they are only about winning or losing.”

“Competition is the same.”

Cheng Ruan didn’t quite understand Luo Mingzhi’s meaning and argued, “But right is right and wrong is wrong. That shouldn’t have any necessary connection to winning or losing…”

“If the opponent dares to use such tactics against others, naturally a day will come when they use them against you,” Luo Mingzhi said. “If you want to defeat them, it means you have to become someone even more ruthless and decisive than they are.”

“In the face of the reality where the winner takes the profits—and even survival—right and wrong become less important.”

“I still don’t think so.” Cheng Ruan shook his head. “Winning and losing are certainly important, but that doesn’t mean right and wrong are irrelevant, let alone that one should fail to distinguish between them.”

“Even if they treat me that way, I won’t counterattack in such a filthy manner.”

“Forget it.” Cheng Ruan shrugged. “Regarding interests, perhaps each of us has our own set of principles. It’s late; get some rest early.”

Walking to the door, Cheng Ruan remembered tomorrow’s plans and turned back to tell Luo Mingzhi, “By the way, I’ve called a designer to come over tomorrow morning. Don’t leave yet; I need them to take your measurements.”

The alarm went off. Cheng Ruan let out a yawn and checked the time; the designer should have arrived at the villa by now.

He leisurely finished washing up and went downstairs. The designer happened to be in the hall holding a soft measuring tape. For some reason, Cheng Ruan felt that the moment the designer saw him, an expression of profound gratitude flashed in their eyes.

“What’s wrong, Teacher Ye?” Cheng Ruan looked suspiciously at the flustered designer, then at Luo Mingzhi, who was sitting upright on the sofa. “Are the measurements finished?”

The designer shook their head, walked over, and whispered to Cheng Ruan, “Mr. Cheng, could we step aside for a moment?”

Cheng Ruan had no choice but to follow the designer a bit further away and ask, “What happened that requires such secrecy?”

The designer said helplessly, gesturing with a delicate hand, “Mr. Luo won’t allow me to measure his body.”

“Huh?” Cheng Ruan looked at the stern-faced Luo Mingzhi. “Why?”

The designer had a bitter expression. “…Maybe he doesn’t like being touched by others? Maybe he’s afraid a close interaction would cause a misunderstanding for you? Or maybe he just doesn’t like the look of me?”

“How about you personally measure him and report the data to me? We’ve worked together for so many years; please have pity on me! I’ll send you several extra sets from the new summer collection later! Thank you, thank you!”

The designer left a pile of measuring tools and fled at high speed. Cheng Ruan stared dumbfoundedly at the soft tape stuffed into his hand. After a long while, he spoke up, “But I’ve never measured someone else’s body before…”

Just as he was studying where the tape measure started, Luo Mingzhi, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up, walked toward him, and slowly spread his arms.

Cheng Ruan reflexively took a step back. “What are you doing?”

Luo Mingzhi narrowed his eyes and said matter-of-factly, “Weren’t you going to measure my dimensions?”

“The designer came to the door just now and you wouldn’t let him?” Cheng Ruan was so angry he wanted to punch Luo Mingzhi. “Do I look like someone who knows how to take measurements?”

Luo Mingzhi said without any remorse, “It’s fine. You’ll learn after doing it a few times.”

“I’m so grateful to you.” The designer had already escaped, and Cheng Ruan had to improvise. He picked up the soft tape and gestured at Luo Mingzhi, muttering under his breath, “Where do I start…”

After gesturing in the air for a few minutes, Cheng Ruan was forced to start. He hesitantly took the zero-mark starting point of the tape and held it against Luo Mingzhi’s left shoulder. “Shoulders first… yeah, start from here.”

Cheng Ruan’s fingers and the tape arrived at Luo Mingzhi’s shoulder at the same time. Just as they touched, he suddenly heard the person in front of him ask, “Don’t I need to take off my clothes?”

Cheng Ruan was so startled he nearly dropped the tape. “What?”

Take… take off clothes?

Luo Mingzhi replied in a serious tone, “I thought taking them off would make the measurements more accurate.”

Cheng Ruan actually considered Luo Mingzhi’s words seriously for a moment, nearly pulling out his phone to ask the designer. However, when he saw the playfulness in Luo Mingzhi’s eyes, he realized this man was 100% teasing him!

“Luo Mingzhi, are you being a rogue?!” Cheng Ruan became fierce again, poking the tape at Luo Mingzhi. “Your closet is full of high-end custom suits; I don’t see you going naked every time you order clothes!”

“If you don’t cooperate, don’t even think about getting new clothes!”

Being scolded like this by Cheng Ruan, Luo Mingzhi became much more cooperative. After smoothly measuring the shoulder width and waist, Cheng Ruan filled in the numbers on the measurement chart left by the designer.

“Height 187cm, shoulder width 47cm, waist 78.1cm…” Cheng Ruan put down the pen and told Luo Mingzhi to turn around. “Next, hip circumference.”

Standing in front of Luo Mingzhi, Cheng Ruan felt that no matter how he gestured, it didn’t seem right. He simply half-squatted, his fingers touching Luo Mingzhi’s hip bone as the soft tape spread along the fullest part of the buttocks.

Luo Mingzhi moved slightly.

“Don’t move.” Cheng Ruan pressed against Luo Mingzhi, placing one hand on his thigh to steady him. “You wobbled, and I can’t see clearly anymore.”

Cheng Ruan pressed the tape and leaned in to read the value. After reading the number, he suddenly felt the texture under his hand was wrong. He turned his head to look and saw that his hand was pressed against a certain dangerous location.

The temperature in his palm rapidly became scorching. Cheng Ruan subconsciously closed his hand and gave it a squeeze, to which Luo Mingzhi appropriately let out a soft groan.

“S-Sorry!” Cheng Ruan quickly let go, using the measurement chart to hide his face in a cover-up. “My hand slipped!”

“Hip circumference 9-98cm…”

“Okay, finished.” Cheng Ruan picked up the tools, intending to retreat, but was unexpectedly stopped by Luo Mingzhi’s question, “What about chest circumference?”

“Luo Mingzhi, are you playing with me?” Cheng Ruan couldn’t help but shake his fist at Luo Mingzhi. “You clearly know I don’t know how to do this, yet you insist on making it difficult for me. If Teacher Ye had done it, it would have been finished long ago.”

Luo Mingzhi looked at him, his voice revealing a rare trace of innocence. “But I only want you to measure me.”

“…” Cheng Ruan was left dazed by the sudden show of favor. After a moment of struggle, he resignedly picked up the tape. “It’s just a few numbers. What’s the difference between me measuring or him measuring?”

Luo Mingzhi opened his arms, allowing Cheng Ruan’s hands to circle around his chest. The soft tape surrounded them both in an extremely intimate posture.

The scent of Luo Mingzhi’s perfume wafted into his nose. For some reason, Cheng Ruan’s heart suddenly began to race, his arms and Luo Mingzhi’s chest pressed tightly together.

Seeing his movements slow down, Luo Mingzhi kindly reminded him, “Continue.”

Luo Mingzhi’s breath brushed past his ear without warning. Cheng Ruan felt goosebumps rising all over his body, and his legs went soft, nearly causing him to lose his footing.

Luo Mingzhi reached out in time to give him a hand. Cheng Ruan’s hand slipped again, his palm landing right against Luo Mingzhi’s left chest, even rising and falling with the rhythm of Luo Mingzhi’s heartbeat.

Although they had been “honest” with each other several times before, and he had even slept on that chest several times, Cheng Ruan still couldn’t help but twitch his fingers, lamenting, “So, so big…”

Luo Mingzhi’s tone shifted upward. “Hmm?”

“Where did you say is big?”

Cheng Ruan quickly shook his head in denial. “You heard wrong! I said ‘Okay, okay!’ It’s just a phrase!”

He swallowed hard and with great difficulty moved his fingers down from Luo Mingzhi’s chest. “Chest… chest circumference 104cm…”

Staring at the flustered Cheng Ruan who was looking down to record the data, Luo Mingzhi slowly curled his lips, his eyes revealing a hard-to-detect sense of satisfaction.

That was the difference.