After the Arranged Marriage, I Was Pampered by the Powerful Tycoon - Chapter 3

At that moment, Cheng Ruan mentally revisited every setback he had ever faced in his life, only to realize that none of them felt as defeating as the present.

Wu Zhou had thoughtfully provided them with a private room. Cheng Ruan sat in trepidation, alone with Luo Mingzhi, his ears turning a shade of red so deep they looked ready to bleed.

Luo Mingzhi massaged his brow with an air of exhaustion, and the words he uttered were of nuclear proportions: “I’ll make this brief. Luo Zhen has run away.”

Cheng Ruan: “?”

Where did my giant-sized wife go?

He hadn’t even met Luo Zhen once.

Attempting to discern if Luo Mingzhi was bluffing, Cheng Ruan asked haltingly, “You’re not joking, are you?”

Luo Mingzhi unfastened the top two buttons of his shirt, subtly revealing the long, provocative lines of his neck. His voice was deep: “I don’t like joking.”

Cheng Ruan felt a slight constriction in his chest. He subconsciously looked toward Luo Mingzhi, who was leaning back on the sofa. “Then what happens to our marriage alliance?”

Luo Mingzhi raised his eyes slightly. “It continues.”

“I have already sent people to track her down.”

Cheng Ruan forced himself to calm down. “I’ll send people to look for her as well. This matter… the Old Master hasn’t been notified yet, has he?”

Luo Mingzhi gave him a somewhat surprised glance and shook his head in denial.

“Good. The Old Master has a weak heart; we can’t have him startled into a medical emergency.” Cheng Ruan stood up, his expression solemn. “Block all information. I’ll notify the Cheng family’s people now. If there’s any news, we keep each other informed.”

Cheng Ruan and Luo Mingzhi moved on two fronts, deploying both public and private search parties, yet there was still no sign of Luo Zhen.

On the fourth day of Luo Zhen’s disappearance, wedding preparations proceeded as usual. The venue had been fully decorated, and fresh flowers flown in by air were being transported on a private jet. Cheng Ruan sat in his office listening to Lu Ling’s report on recent work while browsing through wedding ring styles, seemingly unaffected by the fact that the bride was missing.

Once Lu Ling finished the business report, Cheng Ruan looked up, finally hearing the content he actually cared about.

“There is still no word on Miss Luo’s whereabouts today.”

Cheng Ruan’s mouth twitched. He helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead. “Tell me, if I were to come clean to the Old Master, what would happen to him?”

Lu Ling replied, “The Old Master was only recently discharged from the hospital.”

Cheng Ruan nodded. “Exactly. I’d like him to live a bit longer, too.”

“Have you checked the police surveillance? Airports, train stations, bus terminals, ferries… those need to be monitored at all times.”

Lu Ling responded, “We have already coordinated with the relevant departments. All transportation hubs are under surveillance. We are currently waiting for updates.”

Cheng Ruan asked, “No movement from the Luo family either?”

Lu Ling shook his head. “None for now.”

Cheng Ruan stared intently at the cactus on his desk. “Keep searching. Divert some energy to watch the Luo family’s reactions.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, right.” Cheng Ruan tapped the tabletop. “Send someone to find the master craftsman at Wenyan Pavilion and ask for the size of Luo Zhen’s ring finger.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Wait.” Cheng Ruan called Lu Ling back.

“Also… get Luo Mingzhi’s size while you’re at it.”

Cheng Ruan was invited to an auction that evening. Since Wu Zhou had also received an invitation, the two agreed to attend together.

Wu Zhou stepped out of the car just ahead of Cheng Ruan. Seeing Cheng Ruan’s appearance, Wu Zhou couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow and whistle. “Not bad, Mr. Groom. You’re looking more and more exquisite. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re some top-tier idol.”

Cheng Ruan was wearing a crisp, clean-cut lavender shirt with intricate lace embroidery around the collar and cuffs, paired with wide-legged black trousers. He looked slim-waisted and long-legged, with a white gold bracelet encrusted with fine diamonds gleaming on his wrist.

With media nearby taking photos, Cheng Ruan restrained himself from hitting Wu Zhou. As they walked the red carpet and accepted markers to sign the backdrop, Cheng Ruan whispered to Wu Zhou, “Don’t call me ‘groom’ anymore. Watch that crow’s beak of yours.”

Wu Zhou: “Huh?”

Cheng Ruan pulled Wu Zhou to their seats and lowered his voice. “Luo Zhen ran away.”

Wu Zhou: “My god!”

“Did you find her?”

He received a silent denial from Cheng Ruan.

“That’s not right…” Wu Zhou muttered under his breath. “The Luo family’s deepest roots are in the transportation industry. They have dozens of air routes just in Jincheng… and they still let Luo Zhen escape?”

Throughout the auction, Cheng Ruan distractedly checked his phone, appearing preoccupied. It wasn’t until the final round—the auction for a 16.35-carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond ring—that he slowly picked up his phone. With an air of calm indifference, he placed the winning bid at 370 million RMB.

The entire hall erupted.

Amidst Wu Zhou’s stunned silence, Cheng Ruan patted him on the shoulder. Having arranged for someone to collect the item, he saw that Wu Zhou was still frozen in place.

Cheng Ruan found it amusing. “What are you dazed about?”

Wu Zhou: “Do you know what I just thought of?”

Cheng Ruan was puzzled. “What?”

Wu Zhou: “The profligate young master of the Cheng family spends a fortune on a sky-high priced diamond just to win a smile from his fiancée.”

Cheng Ruan: “…If you can’t speak well, you can just not speak.”

On the seventh day of Luo Zhen’s flight, wedding preparations were complete, and Cheng Ruan finally received news of her whereabouts.

In a small border town in Switzerland.

He received the news almost simultaneously with Luo Mingzhi. However, Luo Mingzhi was already abroad at the time. Across the transoceanic call, he couldn’t quite gauge Luo Mingzhi’s attitude.

He couldn’t exactly say: It’s fine, if you can’t bring yourself to do it, I’ll kidnap your daughter back for you?

That would be a bit much.

But unexpectedly, Luo Mingzhi went silent.

The call was cut off. Cheng Ruan slammed the table in frustration. “What is his problem?”

An executive who was currently reporting a proposal was startled. “What’s wrong, Mr. Cheng?”

Cheng Ruan waved him off. “It’s nothing. Are you finished with your report?”

The executive blinked, then nodded.

Cheng Ruan tried to regain his composure. “Then that’s all. Leave the proposal here. I’ll give you feedback after I’ve reviewed it.”

The executive left with a look of trepidation. Cheng Ruan stared at the name “Luo Mingzhi” on his phone, headache throbbing. Before he could even curse, Lu Ling knocked on the door.

“Sir, the Old Master requests your presence.”

Cheng Ruan sat guiltily opposite the Old Master, his fingers nervously curling together, his heart feeling increasingly hollow.

The Old Master took his time to speak, leisurely sipping a bowl of shark fin congee. The pastel ceramic spoon clicked against the rim of the bowl with a crisp sound. Only after Cheng Ruan had nearly stared a hole through the carpet did the Old Master set down the bowl and take a handkerchief from the butler to wipe his mouth.

Cheng Ruan sat up straight, his face full of tension.

What greeted him was not the expected reprimand. The Old Master asked in a deep voice, “Have you found that girl from the Luo family?”

Cheng Ruan said, “Found her. In a small town in Switzerland.”

The Old Master’s gaze was as sharp as an electric blade. “She ran off with a woman?”

Cheng Ruan bit his lip. “Yes.”

He tentatively studied the Old Master’s expression, only to find it as calm as usual, as if nothing had happened.

“I’m sorry, Grandpa.” After much deliberation, Cheng Ruan decided to confess. “I’ve known for a week. I was just afraid you wouldn’t be able to handle it, and I didn’t want the Cheng family to lose face, so I coordinated with the Luo family to block the news and didn’t tell you in time.”

The Old Master snorted coldly. “You thought you could hide it from me?”

Cheng Ruan looked surprised. “You knew all along?”

The Old Master gave him a look that said figure it out yourself. “My information channels are much faster than yours.”

Cheng Ruan asked, “Then why didn’t you ask me sooner? I’ve been agonizing over how to tell you without making you angry.”

The Old Master glanced at him. “I was just waiting to see when you would take the initiative to come clean.”

Cheng Ruan was momentarily speechless. “I intended to wait until I had news of Luo Zhen before coming to you.”

“The wedding is the day after tomorrow. You’ve already sent out the invitations. What do you plan to do?”

Cheng Ruan said, “I planned to negotiate with Luo Mingzhi, but he…”

Just as he spoke, his phone lit up. It was Luo Mingzhi.

The Old Master signaled for him to take the call.

Cheng Ruan turned his back to the Old Master and answered the phone apprehensively. Luo Mingzhi’s cold, magnetic voice rang in his ear.

“My apologies, Mr. Cheng. I was abroad during the day, and the signal was unstable.”

Cheng Ruan moved the phone slightly away from his ear and cut straight to the chase. “Mr. Luo, how do you intend to handle this now?”

Luo Mingzhi gave an “Oh” and said in a low voice, “She has fled the wedding. The alliance can only be cancelled.”

Cheng Ruan had thought Luo Mingzhi would offer some pleasantries or a roundabout stance, but he hadn’t expected the man to say “cancelled” so bluntly.

Cheng Ruan stole a glance at the Old Master, walked a bit further away, and asked, “So you don’t intend to cooperate on the Muyao Town project anymore?”

Luo Mingzhi’s coldness was displayed to the fullest at this moment. He replied nonchalantly, “Although there is no marriage to bolster it, the project has already been launched. Aside from cooperating, I imagine Mr. Cheng won’t give up easily.”

Cheng Ruan: “Well, thank you so much.”

Luo Mingzhi seemingly hadn’t expected to be thanked. He paused, then said with a smile, “You’re welcome.”

“…” Cheng Ruan rolled his eyes so hard they almost disappeared. Having clarified Luo Mingzhi’s attitude, there was no point in lingering on the call, so he simply cut the line.

Before he could speak, the Old Master asked, “He went back on his word?”

Cheng Ruan’s nails dug deep into his palms before he finally nodded in defeat.

The Old Master remained unmoved. “What do you plan to do?”

Cheng Ruan’s brow furrowed, his thoughts momentarily scattered.

In truth, this cooperation was largely exchanged for the marriage alliance with the Luo family. Although the relationship between the two families was already public, if Luo Mingzhi could shamelessly renege now, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t change his tune again later. At that point, they would be left in a passive position.

But given Luo Mingzhi’s current attitude, they couldn’t exactly kidnap Luo Zhen back themselves.

Cheng Ruan pondered for a moment, then spoke under the Old Master’s watchful gaze: “You’re right. A marriage alliance makes the exchange of interests much more stable.”

The Old Master pressed, “And so?”

Cheng Ruan’s eyes darted around, suddenly losing his confidence. “Grandpa, you wouldn’t mind… if your grandson-in-law was a man, would you?”

The Old Master raised an eyebrow. “You don’t mean…”

Cheng Ruan said, “Luo Zhen ran away, but isn’t there still a Luo Mingzhi?”

“He’s only thirty-two this year, only nine years older than me. His looks, education, and family background are all exceptional. Though his personality is a bit lacking, I’m not exactly going to fall in love and live a real life with him.”

“He’s barely good enough for me.”

A sharp glint flashed in the Old Master’s eyes, but he still shook his head. “Has your brain short-circuited? What kind of figure is Luo Mingzhi?”

“While I admire your courage, let’s be realistic—you might not necessarily catch his eye.”

Cheng Ruan rolled his shoulders as if preparing for battle. “That’s fine. Let’s just try and see.”

Returning to his bedroom, Cheng Ruan walked to the solid wood, European medieval-style bookshelf. He pulled open one of the drawers and took out a jewelry box carved from lobular red sandalwood.

Opening the box, inside was the blue diamond ring he had recently won at the auction.

This was his mother’s favorite ring, which Cheng Duan had casually taken to give to some mistress or another, after which it had been lost to the world.

Cheng Ruan carefully closed the jewelry box and held it close to his heart.

On the day his mother committed suicide, it had rained heavily, while Cheng Duan was off somewhere being intimate with another woman. It was on that day that Cheng Ruan swore that no matter what happened or who he faced, he would never lose or compromise again.

He would return everything he had experienced, exactly as it was, to Cheng Duan and those people.

Now that this diamond had returned to him, it served as a fulfillment of his vow.

Cheng Ruan had never been a calculating person; sometimes he was even a bit slow. He hated convoluted schemes, but being born into the Cheng family left him no choice. He had to construct personas to protect himself.

So what if it was Luo Mingzhi? He wasn’t afraid at all.

I shall conquer him.

As the night deepened, a black Rolls-Royce drove into the coastal villa complex. The car door opened, and a man with broad shoulders and a narrow waist stepped out. A suit jacket was draped over his arm, his shirt buttons undone with a hint of casualness, his expression indifferent and cold.

Luo Mingzhi lit a cigarette, letting it burn down between his fingers before crushing it out ruthlessly in a crystal ashtray.

He stared expressionlessly at the gloomy seascape outside the floor-to-ceiling window, his eyes devoid of any ripple.

He had seen Luo Zhen in Switzerland.

The girl was only twenty. When she was little, she had followed his every word, clinging to him and calling him “Daddy” all day. Now, she stood beside another woman, tearfully accusing him of caring only for profit and knowing nothing of feelings or love.

Luo Mingzhi had asked his adopted daughter: “Is ‘love’ really that important?”

Luo Zhen’s father had been a brother-in-arms to him. Luo Mingzhi had always treated her as his own daughter. He believed he had treated her well, never expecting to one day be branded as “cold-blooded and heartless.”

Seeing Luo Zhen’s tears, Luo Mingzhi had eventually withdrawn his orders, letting her do as she pleased.

As for the marriage alliance—wasn’t it just a Cheng Ruan? He wasn’t bothered at all.

I shall regret it.