After the Arranged Marriage, I Was Pampered by the Powerful Tycoon - Chapter 9

Cheng Ruan stood frozen on the spot. His first instinct was to grab his phone and double-check with the front desk.

“Hello? I’d like to confirm—is my room number really 5201? Why is it the same as Luo Mingzhi’s?”

The front desk clerk’s sweet voice came through the line: “That is correct, Mr. Cheng. Our manager specifically gave instructions, noting that you and Mr. Luo are newlyweds, so we were to provide our most luxurious grand king suite.”

“…” Cheng Ruan felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. He looked up, catching the faint, teasing glint at the corner of Luo Mingzhi’s mouth.

It looked like he had known all along!

Not ready to give up, Cheng Ruan gripped the phone and pressed on: “Then, could I trouble you to check if there are any extra rooms available?”

The clerk asked in confusion, “What do you mean, sir?”

Cheng Ruan stole a glance at Luo Mingzhi, turned his body away, and covered the receiver, making up a random excuse. “I… I snore. It’ll affect his sleep. It’s better if we have separate rooms.”

The clerk had a sudden realization. “I see! Then let me arrange another room for you nearby.”

“Great, thank you. And it doesn’t have to be too close.”

After hanging up, Cheng Ruan waited for someone to bring the new key card. Out of nowhere, he heard Luo Mingzhi ask deliberately, “Since when did I not know that you snore?”

Cheng Ruan nearly snapped the key card in his hand in half.

You just really want to sleep together that badly, don’t you!

Cheng Ruan tried to gross him out on purpose. “Luo Mingzhi, if you keep this up, do you believe I’ll actually sleep with you?”

Luo Mingzhi smiled slightly. “Are you sure?”

Cheng Ruan almost doubted his own ears. He looked up, scrutinizing Luo Mingzhi’s expression with deep suspicion. Seeing that the man truly didn’t look like he was joking, Cheng Ruan didn’t dare follow up.

It wasn’t that he was “chicken”—he was just afraid that if this continued, he’d actually end up digging his own grave.

He endured.

Soon, the arrival of a hotel staff member rescued the flushed and shamed Cheng Ruan. In front of Luo Mingzhi, the staff member produced a key card and opened the room directly opposite Luo Mingzhi’s.

Cheng Ruan: “???”

Didn’t he say it didn’t have to be too close? This… this was way too close!

“Are there no other rooms?”

The staff member nodded eagerly. “This suite happens to be right across from Mr. Luo’s. It won’t interfere with your… nightly communication.”

Nightly… communication?

Cheng Ruan was completely defeated. Seeing the staff member’s “aren’t we so thoughtful” expression, he didn’t have the heart to cause more trouble. He could only nod. “Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.”

After the staff left, Cheng Ruan and Luo Mingzhi stood leaning against their respective doorways, staring at each other. The air was thick with a deathly silence, as if they were engaged in a silent battle of wills.

Whether Luo Mingzhi was “battling” or not, Cheng Ruan didn’t know. He only knew he couldn’t hold out much longer, so he resignedly averted his gaze and admitted defeat.

This guy, Luo Mingzhi, really had some moves.

Cheng Ruan cleared his throat and said seriously, “Well… all I can say is, since we’re already married, it’s fine, Mr. Luo. Let’s just tolerate each other for the sake of the partnership.”

Luo Mingzhi turned his head. “Is being married to me that hard to tolerate?”

“…” Cheng Ruan went silent. Truly, the old saying was right: if you don’t go looking for trouble, trouble won’t find you.

He lowered his head guiltily. “No, I’m afraid you’ll find me hard to tolerate.”

Luo Mingzhi didn’t show any further emotion and simply turned to walk into his room.

As the door across from him clicked shut, Cheng Ruan retreated into his own room dejectedly, sitting on the outdoor sofa chair and racking his brain.

Seriously, what was Luo Mingzhi’s deal? It was just an alliance marriage—had it really reached the point of being “hard to tolerate”?

“Gents, this is the Intangible Cultural Heritage Street of Muyao Town,” the accompanying staff member introduced. “In its early years, Muyao Town was famous nationwide for its two major heritages: the Muyao Qipao and the Thousand-Butterfly Paper Cutting. However, with the passage of time and shifting realities, currently only the Thousand-Butterfly Paper Cutting continues to be practiced. This has become the key to our development of this heritage district.”

One of the projects Cheng Ruan was responsible for happened to be the construction of this heritage street, so he asked, “What about the Muyao Qipao?”

The staff member said helplessly, “The successor of the Muyao Qipao is the contemporary master, Mr. Sun Yiliang. Unfortunately, his wife fell ill, and Mr. Sun announced his retirement fifteen years ago. His only disciple has already passed away. Since the project started, we’ve invited him twice, but both times were in vain.”

Cheng Ruan nodded thoughtfully. Looking around at the dense vegetation, he scratched his neck. “There’s a lot of greenery here.”

“Yes,” the staff member picked up the thread. “The areas along this route are all planting grounds for Chinese herbal medicines. Up ahead is the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industrial Park, which is currently managed mainly by the Cui family.”

“No wonder.” Cheng Ruan felt a burning, stinging sensation on his neck.

By the time they returned to the hotel, it was already 7:00 PM. The local authorities had organized a welcome banquet for the visiting executives, but Cheng Ruan wasn’t very interested. He used the excuse of being “unwell” to return to his room early.

After taking a shower, while waiting for his food delivery, Cheng Ruan lay on the bed with his briefing materials and notebook to review the day’s research.

His phone rang and the doorbell chimed at the same time. Cheng Ruan answered the phone while walking to the door. “How is it, Lu Ling?”

On the other end, Lu Ling was talking about the old lady’s condition. Cheng Ruan opened the door and asked casually, “Has her family arrived?”

Lu Ling replied, “They’re here. They’ll be taking her back to Muyao Town in a few days.”

“Okay, then you come over tomorrow.” Cheng Ruan hung up. As he took his food delivery, he saw the elevator doors slowly open, and Luo Mingzhi stepped out.

Cheng Ruan instinctively wanted to close the door and hide. Although they were legally partners, they weren’t actually close. Furthermore, they had shared an intimate encounter under extremely embarrassing circumstances, and they would inevitably be tied together in the future…

Thinking about it that way, running away didn’t seem like the answer.

Cheng Ruan decided to take the initiative and gave a friendly greeting. “Hello, Mr. Luo.”

Luo Mingzhi swept a glance over him. “So, Mr. Cheng really is ‘unwell’.”

Cheng Ruan thought Luo Mingzhi was being sarcastic again. As soon as the man turned away, Cheng Ruan stuck his tongue out and made a face at his back, only to pull it back quickly when Luo Mingzhi turned around to answer a call.

He acted overly enthusiastic. “Does Mr. Luo want to have some Malatang together?”

Luo Mingzhi ignored him and spoke into the phone: “Correct. Bring a box of allergy medicine and some insect repellent spray.”

Cheng Ruan’s mouth hung slightly open. Then he heard Luo Mingzhi continue: “Yes, deliver it to room 5210.”

Cheng Ruan touched his neck and slowly turned to look at his own room number.

After finishing his Malatang, Cheng Ruan stood before the mirror and pulled the collar of his bathrobe down a bit. Only then did he realize that a large patch of red had spread from his neck down to his collarbone and chest. It looked like he really was having an allergic reaction.

No wonder his skin felt like it was burning that afternoon.

Staring at the allergy meds and spray in his hand, Cheng Ruan’s emotions were complicated.

This Luo Mingzhi… call him cold-blooded, yet he’d have someone send over allergy medicine. Call him thoughtful… yet he was more cold-faced and tight-lipped than anyone.

What a strange person.

Cheng Ruan sat in the hanging chair and called Wu Zhou, unexpectedly finding out that his friend had been grounded for a week.

Cheng Ruan couldn’t help but let out an unkind laugh. “No way, how are you so pathetic? You only ran wild for a few days before being caught and sent into solitary reflection again.”

“Don’t even mention it.” Wu Zhou’s tone was uncharacteristically annoyed. “I’ve done whatever I wanted for over twenty years, and for the first time, someone is breathing down my neck—and it’s a former brother-in-law! What kind of bad luck is this?”

Cheng Ruan laughed. “Well, who told you to wish him a happy divorce? And then you even hit on him because you were too drunk to see straight?”

“I was drunk!” Wu Zhou felt like he was coughing up blood. “My sister was absolutely right to divorce him.”

“It must have been your Luo Mingzhi who told him. I’m so pissed.”

Cheng Ruan instinctively countered, “Why are you calling him ‘my’ Luo Mingzhi? Aside from the nominal marriage, our ‘well water doesn’t mix with his river water’ (we stay out of each other’s business).”

“Give me a break.” Wu Zhou didn’t buy it. “You’ve already slept in the same bed—how is that ‘well water not mixing with river water’? I don’t believe you two can just act like nothing happened.”

Cheng Ruan was too lazy to argue. “Believe what you want.”

Wu Zhou eventually compromised. “Fine, I believe you. By the way, I forgot to remind you—doesn’t Muyao Town have a lot of herbal gardens? You’ve always hated traditional medicine. Be careful not to have an allergic reaction.”

“Too late.” Cheng Ruan smiled, subconsciously scratching his neck again. “I’ve already been hit.”

Wu Zhou got anxious. “Then what? Did you ask someone for medicine?”

Cheng Ruan pouted. “Luo Mingzhi had someone send me some.”

“…”

After a moment of silence, Wu Zhou let out a shriek. “And you said your well water doesn’t mix with his river water!”

“Don’t panic,” Cheng Ruan quickly corrected himself, speaking with a clear conscience. “We really don’t have much to do with each other. He probably just saw that I was breaking out and ordered the medicine.”

“He’s likely just afraid my absence would affect the project progress. But he underestimates me—a little allergy isn’t going to be that serious.”

Wu Zhou: “As long as you’re okay. Don’t be too stubborn, kid. Heaven punishes every man who talks tough.”

Cheng Ruan planned to award Wu Zhou the “God of the Jinx” prize.

In the middle of the night, he woke up in a daze, feeling an unbearable itch all over. His forearms felt as if they were being pricked by needles, like thousands of tiny insects were crawling under his skin. No matter how much he scratched, it didn’t help.

Cheng Ruan knew something was wrong. He turned on the bedside lamp; his arms were indeed covered in a dense red rash. The areas he had scratched were raw, and tiny droplets of blood were seeping through the broken skin.

“Help…” Cheng Ruan quickly got up and turned on the main lights. Only then did he realize he had forgotten to take the medicine Luo Mingzhi had sent.

He really shouldn’t have talked tough.

It was now around 2:00 AM. Cheng Ruan didn’t want to bother his driver, so he called the night front desk to ask if there were any nearby hospitals.

Upon hearing he needed a hospital, the clerk asked in a panic, “Ah! Is this Mr. Cheng? What’s wrong?!”

The clerk sounded more worried than he was. Cheng Ruan comforted her helplessly, “It’s nothing… just an allergy. I didn’t see a hospital on the map. Is there one with decent facilities nearby?”

The clerk replied immediately, “Please wait a moment, let me check. I’ll get right back to you!”

About a minute or two later, the landline rang. “Mr. Cheng, the town hospital is a bit far. You can go to the nearest health station; it’s about a twenty-minute drive.”

“Okay, thank you.” Cheng Ruan changed into a simple long-sleeved T-shirt and casual pants. He put on a mask, and just as he opened his door, the door opposite his opened as well. Luo Mingzhi, dressed in a plain black trench coat, stepped out.

Seeing Luo Mingzhi out so late, Cheng Ruan was a bit surprised. He greeted him through the mask: “Still up so late, Mr. Luo?”

As he spoke, he scratched his arm through his sleeve.

Luo Mingzhi didn’t say a word. He scanned Cheng Ruan’s pale skin, his brow furrowing slightly. “Let’s go.”

Cheng Ruan blinked, not quite following. “Go where?”

Luo Mingzhi glanced at the tiny scratch marks just above Cheng Ruan’s collarbone. “The front desk called my room by mistake.”

Cheng Ruan understood what he meant. Before he could even react, Luo Mingzhi’s long legs were already moving toward the elevator. He had no choice but to follow, trying to stop him: “No need to trouble you. It’s late; I can go by myself.”

Luo Mingzhi glanced at him and pressed the button for the floor. The elevator doors closed. Seeing this, Cheng Ruan obediently shut his mouth.

Fine. If Mr. Luo wanted to do some late-night charity, he wasn’t going to stop him.

Seeing Cheng Ruan and Luo Mingzhi walk out together, the front desk clerk stood up quickly. “Mr. Cheng, Mr. Luo! I am so sorry, I dialed the wrong extension earlier…”

“It’s okay, thank you for the help.” Cheng Ruan nodded to her and followed Luo Mingzhi to the parking lot.

A gust of cold air hit him. Before Cheng Ruan could suggest calling a car, he saw Luo Mingzhi pull out a key. The car lights flashed, and Luo Mingzhi slid into the driver’s seat.

?

Luo Mingzhi driving personally was a bit terrifying… Thank goodness this was Muyao Town. If it were Jincheng, they’d be on the front page of every gossip rag by tomorrow.

While he was daydreaming about a gossip drama, the window rolled down. Luo Mingzhi’s cool voice rang out.

“How much longer do you plan on standing there?”