Chapter 165: The Gift

Xiao Mingyu didn't stay long at Yuefu. After finishing a cigarette and having a few cups of tea, he drove away.

During this time, An Tong had been hiding in the dining room and didn't come out until Rong Shen walked in to look for her. She cast a resentful gaze at the man, as if accusing him of his "beastly behavior" that very morning.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

The man sat down opposite her, his handsome face wreathed in a pleasant smile as he asked a question with an obvious answer.

An Tong casually picked up a fork, poked a piece of cantaloupe, and stretched out her arm to offer it to Rong Shen's lips. "This is delicious, have a taste."

She used this gesture to deflect his question.

Rong Shen wrapped his broad, warm palm around her small hand holding the fork, leaning in as if to take a bite, but instead of eating the fruit, he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "Are all your materials for the new semester ready?"

An Tong was slightly startled, not expecting that he would still have the energy to care about her school matters right after returning from a business trip.

She nodded, a faint anticipation in her eyes. "Almost. I'll go register the day after tomorrow."

"What time are you heading over?"

An Tong tried to pull her hand back slightly, but failing to do so, she simply maintained her posture and replied, "I checked the route. Walking from the back gate of the residential complex, crossing an alleyway, and I'll be right at the entrance of USTC. It takes about fifteen minutes on foot. I plan to leave at seven-thirty and will definitely arrive before eight."

Rong Shen curved his thin lips, took the fruit fork from her hand and placed it on the plate, gently massaging her fingers. "Don't you want me to accompany you for registration?"

The girl's eyes brightened a fraction, but she deliberately put on a coy front and said the opposite, "It's so close, wouldn't it be too much trouble..."

She hadn't really thought of having Rong Shen accompany her, but the moment she mentally pictured him seeing her off to school, her heart couldn't help fluttering a little.

"You've certainly improved quite a bit after a few days apart." The man raised his index finger and pointed it at her from across the space. "You've learned to say the opposite of what you mean in front of me."

Unable to suppress the upward curve of the corners of her mouth, An Tong averted her face to look out the window, though out of the corner of her eye she kept glancing at the position opposite her. "Then you can take me."

The man was amused by her expression, and a lively smile bloomed on his thin lips.

Today's An Tong was like a deep-sea treasure.

The deeper one dug, the more new surprises and delights one would discover.

Those once-depressed emotions were gradually becoming full and rich, and her emotional detachment had almost completely healed.

Before Rong Shen, the liveliness and playfulness inherent in her nature were reviving bit by bit, making her appear increasingly vivid and real.

After a while, the two of them came to the living room. Learning that Xiao Mingyu had left, An Tong abandoned the idea of changing clothes and sat with Rong Shen at the tea table, gazing slightly dazed at the scenery outside the window.

The midday sunlight was bright and fair. After the spring rain, new buds were sprouting from the branches, exuding vitality everywhere.

The pet dog, An'an, was also running around wildly in the courtyard. Having gone through the New Year, it had grown another size larger. Its fur was fluffy, disheveled, and... somewhat ugly.

After all, it was the awkward growth phase of a puppy, and there was no escaping it.

An Tong watched for a few moments. Just as she withdrew her gaze, the man's deep, magnetic voice came from across the table, "Open the bag on the sofa and take a look."

She turned her head to look at the sofa. As she stood up, she pointed at the briefcase-like bag. "That one?"

"Mhm, see if you like it."

Such a response was unexpected.

An Tong hurried over, picked it up, and weighed it in her hand. "For me?"

The man brewing tea nodded in silent confirmation.

An Tong's heart softened by a fraction instantly.

She hadn't expected that amidst the busy days of his business trip, Rong Shen would still find time to buy her a gift.

An Tong didn't open it immediately. Instead, she cradled the light gray bag, her thumb brushing over the raised texture at the bottom right corner, and realized this was exquisite luxury packaging.

She hugged the bag back to the tea table and unzipped it right in front of Rong Shen.

Coming into view were two light Tiffany blue velvet boxes.

One was rectangular, and the other was oval.

An Tong vaguely guessed what they were. There was no overwhelming surprise, which perhaps stemmed from her current disposition of neither experiencing extreme joy nor profound sorrow.

Opening the rectangular box, she found a bracelet that was as exquisite as it was minimalist.

In the oval velvet box, unsurprisingly, was a matching necklace.

Harboring a few subtle thoughts, An Tong unzipped the bag further and reached inside to grope around. There was no small square box as she had anticipated. She lowered her eyelids, concealing the fleeting regret deep within her eyes.

Raising her head again, she smiled and shook the boxes in her hand. "It's very pretty. Thank you."

*Pretty*, not *very much*.

Rong Shen was so perceptive that he naturally heard the implication in her words.

With a look of amusement in his eyes as he observed her still-calm brows and eyes, the man took a sip of tea from his celadon cup, his voice sounding even richer and mellower. "The jewelry comes as a set. There are still two pieces that haven't been released for sale yet and will be delivered after a while."

An Tong stroked the cool-to-the-touch bracelet, smiling faintly as she asked with a curious yet deliberately restrained tone, "Oh, what are those other two pieces?"

Was it the four-piece jewelry set she had in mind?

Necklace, bracelet, earrings, and a ring.

At this moment, Rong Shen was leaning back against his tea chair. As he raised his cup to take a sip of tea, his profound and warm gaze remained fixed on the girl.

He could see the melancholy she had hidden deep within her eyes, and how could he fail to understand the subtext of her words?

The man put down his tea cup and answered in his consistently steady and composed voice, "When the gifts are delivered, you will know naturally."

An Tong curled her lips in a playful reproach, ultimately suppressing her desire for curiosity and inquiry.

It wasn't that she was being overly fastidious and desperately wanted a ring; it was simply that after seeing Wen Wan's engagement ring the other day, she suddenly realized that she and Rong Shen were clearly married, yet possessed nothing that could attest to their married status.

A marriage certificate could only prove they were a legally recognized couple.

Yet among strangers who didn't know the truth, who would ever know?

She couldn't possibly carry her marriage certificate around every day to prove the fact that she was married.

A ring was undoubtedly the most straightforward and self-evident tool.

That was what An Tong thought in her heart, but she had no way of voicing it out directly.

Besides, given Rong Shen's thorough demeanor and deep astuteness, it was impossible for him to overlook such an important detail as wedding rings.

Unless there was another reason.

An Tong comforted herself while simultaneously giving herself peace of mind.

She pondered that once those unreleased jewelry pieces were delivered, if they weren't the rings she wanted, she would... go buy a pair of wedding rings herself and put them on each other.

Immersed in her own thoughts, An Tong's mind inevitably drifted.

She didn't notice the man's handsome face brimming with a smile, nor the focused gaze resting on her fingers.

The reservation and production of certain items required a time cycle.

Before the final version was finalized, Rong Shen didn't want to reveal too much to An Tong too early, just in case something changed.

Yet it was precisely because the production cycle of the wedding rings had delayed things for a while that, after An Tong returned to campus, very few people knew she was married.

Relying on her excellent academic performance and outstanding appearance, she even attracted the attention and pursuit of quite a few young peers.

And at that time, in the twenty-eight years of his life, Rong Shen experienced for the very first time what it meant to reap what one had sown.

Before long, An Tong collected her thoughts, took out the bracelet from the box, and gently stroked it. "I heard you chatting with Mingyu-ge just now when I came downstairs. Did you get blocked by Eldest Sister too?"