Provoking the Obsessive, Cold, and Overbearing CEO - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Rich and Powerful Old Acquaintance

As the plane glided to a stop, Ruan Taoran caught sight of a vast expanse of pink flowers in the city.

March is spring, Jiang City’s most romantic season, where fields of pink and white cherry blossoms bloom wildly, making the entire city seem immersed in a sea of flowers.

Today was sunny, the temperature was pleasant, and the surrounding footsteps were noisy—mostly people who had come to Jiang City to enjoy the flowers, chattering and laughing as they disembarked.

Ruan Taoran’s first task after getting off the plane was to notify Ruan Feng that she had landed safely.

“Uncle, I’ve landed.”

The message sank like mud into the sea. Ruan Taoran figured Ruan Feng was probably in a meeting at this time.

Her next task was to buy a bottle of peach-flavored sparkling water from the vending machine.

She twisted the cap, and with a hiss, the bubbles surged and flowed down her throat, the peach flavor spreading throughout her mouth.

Domestic sparkling water still tasted the best. They had this brand in the Chinese supermarkets abroad, but it was simply too expensive; she was reluctant to buy it.

Then, her phone vibrated continuously.

Ruan Taoran answered the call: “Xiaoxiao, I’ve arrived, safe and sound.”

“Did someone come to pick you up?” the voice on the other end asked.

“I don’t think so,” Ruan Taoran glanced around, her tone not particularly concerned.

“Truly heartless. They are blood relatives, yet they don’t pick you up or send you off, and they still demand tuition fees and send bills…” Lin Xiaoxiao muttered in a small, dissatisfied voice.

Inside Ruan Taoran’s backpack lay a bill that had been mailed overseas a few months ago.

The bill meticulously documented every expense for her tuition since she went abroad to study, signed off by Ruan’s Lingnan Group, and sealed with her uncle Ruan Feng’s personal chop.

Lin Xiaoxiao was clearly very displeased: “Besides, the Ruan Corporation should have been yours in the first place.”

Ruan’s Lingnan Group was founded jointly by Ruan Taoran’s father, Ruan Qin, and her mother, Song Lingyu.

When Ruan Taoran was five, an accidental car crash orphaned her.

Her uncle, Ruan Feng, rushed over from another city, handled the aftermath, took over the Lingnan Group, and became Ruan Taoran’s nominal guardian.

“The bill shouldn’t have been sent by my uncle; he wouldn’t hate me that much,” Ruan Taoran hadn’t asked, but she could guess. “It was probably Ruan Ruyue who stole her father’s private seal and sent the bill to me.”

Ruan Ruyue was Ruan Feng’s daughter, a year older than Ruan Taoran, and thus Ruan Taoran’s cousin.

Ruan Taoran still remembered the first day Ruan Ruyue arrived in Jiang City; she took a fancy to Ruan Taoran’s exquisite princess room and immediately claimed it.

Ruan Taoran’s beautiful dresses? She wanted them. Ruan Taoran’s school bag and stationery? She wanted those too.

Ruan Taoran quickly moved into the guest room, but this did not satisfy the spoiled young lady.

Later, Ruan Taoran went to S Country to study jewelry design. With the distance between them, Ruan Ruyue’s malice decreased.

That is until last year, when S Country held a New Designer Competition. Ruan Taoran’s draft won the gold medal, while Ruan Ruyue only took silver.

But Ruan Taoran’s gold medal was cancelled.

She repeatedly asked the organizing committee for the reason, and they said her work involved plagiarism.

Plagiarism? How could that be? Ruan Taoran had a complete creative process and full records of her creation.

She submitted several appeals, but the committee refused to accept any of them.

The bill was sent along with the notification of the cancellation of Ruan Taoran’s award.

Ruan Taoran instantly understood that Ruan Ruyue had used underhanded means.

What a fool, was Ruan Taoran’s assessment upon receiving the bill.

If she were Ruan Ruyue, she wouldn’t gloat after doing something bad, and she certainly wouldn’t leave so many loose ends for others to grab.

Lin Xiaoxiao asked: “Then if you show the bill to your uncle and explain clearly, will that work…?”

“It’s useless,” Ruan Taoran scoffed lightly. “He will protect his precious daughter, just like he always has.”

“If I bring the bill up, Ruan Ruyue will, at most, apologize to me, and the matter will be vaguely swept under the rug.”

“She can steal other things from me, and I might not care, but she cannot ruin Aling’s reputation.”

Aling, the rising star of jewelry design in S Country, was Ruan Taoran.

Since the last new designer competition, the name Aling had been associated with plagiarism and was notorious.

What Ruan Taoran wanted was far more than just Ruan Ruyue’s apology. She had backed down for almost two decades; this time, she had to fight.

Besides Aling’s reputation, Ruan Taoran also wanted Seraphine, a jewelry brand under the Ruan family’s Lingnan Group.

This brand was founded personally by Ruan Taoran’s mother, who served as the principal designer for over ten years and was a leader in the industry at the time.

But in recent years, the Ruan family had neglected it, causing Seraphine to plummet. If things continued, the brand might have to be abandoned.

“Then be careful. I can’t help you. All I can say is that the waters in your wealthy family are too deep.”

“If it really doesn’t work out, just come back to S Country. I’ll work part-time and support you,” Lin Xiaoxiao finally said powerlessly.

When Ruan Taoran was in S Country, Ruan Feng only paid the tuition; her living expenses were entirely self-funded. Lin Xiaoxiao was a friend she met while working part-time, a child from a poor family.

Ruan Taoran heard the discouragement in her voice and said: “Don’t worry, where there’s a will, there’s a way. As long as I put my heart into it, I’ll always find a solution.”

Unlike the pessimist Lin Xiaoxiao, Ruan Taoran was optimistic and proactive, meeting trouble as it came.

She had survived much harder times when she was younger; what was this now?

Lin Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but smile faintly; this was still the Ruan Taoran she knew.

In S Country, their group of poor students had a tough life, but only Ruan Taoran was always cheerful.

If they couldn’t afford to travel, they would comfortably enjoy the river breeze by the bank, living contentedly.

While working part-time in the café, she wouldn’t fuss when faced with difficulties, always managing to coax customers into a smile with just a few words.

She was also a perfectionist, ensuring every assignment for every course was done impeccably, always sitting firmly in the front row of every class, welcoming the teacher onto the stage with a smile.

Consequently, Ruan Taoran’s grades were excellent.

Lin Xiaoxiao sometimes truly felt that even if Ruan Taoran were put in a garbage dump, she could still bloom, being optimistic, cheerful, and diligently pushing herself—even plastic would bloom.

“Miss Ruan?” A voice suddenly came from the side.

“Sorry,” Ruan Taoran comforted Lin Xiaoxiao quickly and hung up the phone in a hurry.

The person who spoke had already stepped forward and taken the suitcase from Ruan Taoran’s hand, saying: “Please follow me.”

Someone from the Ruan family came to pick her up? Ruan Taoran found it hard to believe.

Just as she was about to ask what was happening, she looked up again and saw the woman standing by the car.

A dark casual suit, with the cuffs of a light apricot shirt slightly rolled up, revealing her wrist bones and a hint of her forearm.

Her light, amber-colored eyes looked over, chilling as ice, as if overlooking all living things. The sharpness made people hesitate to meet her gaze.

Paired with the gold-rimmed glasses, she exuded an air of ascetic nobility and reserve.

Ruan Taoran’s eyelashes paused for a moment. She saw the platinum wristwatch on the opposite woman’s wrist, and attached to it was a string of light green crystal prehnite.

The crystal prehnite looked somewhat cheap, with a few faded metal letters dangling in the middle—R, T, R.

Ruan Taoran, her name.

When she was young, right after her parents died, her uncle and aunt took charge of the household.

The family was busy, and Ruan Ruyue disliked her. The family cook and maids scrambled to curry favor with Ruan Ruyue, and Ruan Taoran couldn’t even get a hot meal.

Later, she learned to read people.

She would follow the cook and maids, calling them “Auntie” sweetly, and acting as a good girl in front of her uncle and aunt.

In front of visiting guests, she was polite and enthusiastic, dragging peers to play, earning the reputation of the Ruan family’s well-behaved little girl.

Only then did she manage to survive in the Ruan family, and she had consequently provoked countless people.

She had given away many of these prehnite bracelets, holding an older girl’s hand and saying, “I love Older Sister the most, and I want to be with Older Sister forever.”

The Older Sister in front of her was clearly an old acquaintance, but exactly which one, Ruan Taoran couldn’t remember, because there were too many.

“Why are you staring?” A clear voice, like the collision of ice floes, drifted over.

A pair of light, amber-colored eyes were obscured behind the gold-rimmed lenses. Already cold, the gaze seemed even more aloof and distant.

Ruan Taoran confirmed the woman was speaking to her only after seeing the person who had met her put her luggage into the car.

The platinum wristwatch, a limited edition from the Queen Spring/Summer collection, limited to ten pieces worldwide, priced in the seven figures. Only a handful of people could own one now.

The suit and shirt had no obvious logo, but the fabric was exquisite, the cut was impeccable, and there were subtle lily-of-the-valley patterns on the collar…

If she hadn’t mistaken it, it was a custom-made Rain series, an Italian niche bespoke brand that operated on a membership system, open only to a very select few.

This was a rich and powerful old acquaintance.

Ruan Taoran naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to ask, Who are you? No one likes being forgotten.

She curved her lips into a dazzling, sunny smile, her eyes sparkling with surprise: “Older Sister, why did you come to pick me up?”

The March spring light, and the warm sun poured down, seeming to coat her smile in a warm hue.

Among her delicate features, what caught the eye most were her fawn eyes—innocent, light, and lively. Her cheeks were flushed, like spring peach blossoms in March.

That bright, obvious smile instantly struck Ji Qingyun’s eyes, causing her gaze to pause.

The scene seemed to merge before her. Back then, she had occasionally met Ruan Taoran at social events.

A pair of moist, innocent fawn eyes would grab her coat and refuse to let go: “Older Sister, can we play together? Rannan loves Older Sister the most.”

She couldn’t understand why, at that time, she was merely the illegitimate daughter of the Ji family, ignored even by the servants, yet this little girl clung to her relentlessly.

She hadn’t met Ruan Taoran many times, but each time, the girl smiled happily, her eyes like a pool of water, reflecting only her.

“The Ruan family didn’t show up. Are you coming with me?” The voice was clear, cold like colliding ice floes. A pale, slender hand was extended toward Ruan Taoran.

It was phrased as a question, but it gave Ruan Taoran almost no choice. The hand already covered the back of Ruan Taoran’s hand.

Ruan Taoran’s fingertips unconsciously paused; the temperature of Ji Qingyun’s palm was slightly icy, just like her cold aura.

Layers of sunlight fell, resting on Ji Qingyun’s profile, shrouding her eyebrows and eyes. Her light, amber-colored eyes were like an ancient piece of amber.

Ruan Taoran smelled a cool, woody fragrance, like a net that instantly enveloped her whole being.

“Don’t want to?” The cold voice interrupted Ruan Taoran’s thoughts. “Don’t want to come with me? Don’t like me?”

Before she could finish the sentence, the touch of softness suddenly hit her chest. She was hugged tightly by Ruan Taoran, who had burrowed into her arms.

“Older Sister, how have you been these past years?”

She looked up at Ji Qingyun, smiling brightly, yet tears seemed to shimmer in her eyes, suggesting immense affection.

The next second, a soft fragrance entered her embrace. Ruan Taoran had already nestled into Ji Qingyun’s arms, loosely embracing her waist.

Ji Qingyun hadn’t expected such an action and subconsciously frowned slightly.

Ruan Taoran didn’t hug her tightly, maintaining a good measure of distance by loosely embracing her for a moment before letting go.

“You look a little thinner, and your clothes are thin too.” Ruan Taoran’s voice was soft. She gathered Ji Qingyun’s fingers in her hand. “Your hand is so cold.”

The touch was icy, but she didn’t seem to mind, slowly warming it with the temperature of her own palm.

Her palm was warm.

The little girl was so happy to see her, and beyond the happiness, she was concerned that she was dressed too lightly…

“Only Older Sister came to pick me up. I love Older Sister the most,” Ruan Taoran’s tone was full of reliance.

“You like me?” Ji Qingyun’s voice deepened. “Ruan Taoran, are you sure?”

Ruan Taoran looked into those light, amber eyes, which resembled a desolate, withered plain, chilling her heart.

She felt as if she had been targeted by a cold-blooded jackal.

The fingertips were cold, and the eyes were cold.

But she didn’t hesitate, immediately clasping Ji Qingyun’s arm and whispering softly: “I do.”

Even if it was a jackal, she would cling tightly. She had been doing this kind of people-pleasing since she was a child.

It wouldn’t cost her a piece of flesh to say one extra word, to say “I like you.”

“Remember that sentence of yours…” Ji Qingyun’s voice was faint. Her eyelashes lowered, and a flicker of darkness seemed to pass through the eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses.

Ruan Taoran’s heart suddenly trembled. When she looked at those eyes again, she felt the darkness had been her own illusion.

Ruan Taoran showed no sign of this on her face, naturally blinking her eyes, which rippled like clear spring water, innocent and pure.

“Of course I remember. I’ll remember it forever. Always and forever, I love Older Sister the most.”

Ji Qingyun’s fingertip brushed Ruan Taoran’s cheek. The obvious reliance in those eyes struck her. Her fingertip paused, then slowly retracted.

Ruan Taoran’s smile was like the spring breeze shattering a tree full of peach blossoms. The scent of gardenias mixed with the sweetness of peaches—the flavor of peach sparkling water.

Ruan Taoran still loved her desperately, just like when she was a child.

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