Chapter 172: Good Dog

An Tong nudged Rong Shen's finger and whispered, "Shall we... go in later?"

Before the man could reply, Rong Xian's voice drifted out from the room once more, "Don't sound so righteous. Why would I suspect you if not for your prior record?"

A few seconds later, Xiao Mingyu said lazily, "How about I go get a certificate of no criminal record tomorrow? What do you think?"

"You..."

Rong Xian was left speechless, burning with anger.

Xiao Mingyu always knew just how to easily provoke her fury.

Outside the door, Rong Shen smiled with amusement, shook his head slightly, and led An Tong inside.

Seeing the newcomers, Rong Xian reined in the displeasure between her brows, picked up her glass to take a sip of lemonade, and instantly resumed the poised and elegant demeanor of a well-bred lady.

In the eyes of outsiders, Rong Xian always maintained a serene and unbothered facade. Dressed in a beige chiffon shirt paired with women's suit trousers, she exuded an elegant aura, combined with the capable poise of a career woman.

Yet, whenever she was in front of Xiao Mingyu, she was inevitably provoked to the point of bubbling rage. Casting aside all her airs, she became much more grounded and vibrantly human.

Perhaps Rong Xian herself did not realize that Xiao Mingyu was the only man capable of stirring such emotional turbulence within her.

Meanwhile, An Tong and Rong Shen sat side by side opposite them, and the stagnant atmosphere eased somewhat.

Rong Xian raised her eyes with a light smile. "I heard you started school today?"

"Yes, I just came back from campus," An Tong replied softly. Remembering that her number was still languishing on the blacklist, she asked pointedly and in a low voice, "Eldest Sister... have you calmed down yet?"

Rong Xian was slightly taken aback. She picked up a pre-poured glass of lemonade and handed it to her. "I wasn't mad at you. I'll take you off the blacklist later."

An Tong felt this wasn't entirely reassuring; after all, having overheard their conversation outside the door earlier, she had no idea where Eldest Sister's phone even was right now.

Thus, she fished out her own phone and stealthily slid it across from under the table. "Eldest Sister, let's add each other on WeChat."

She had tried searching for Rong Xian's phone number on WeChat earlier, but the account did not exist.

Once they were WeChat connections, surely she wouldn't be implicated and blocked again in the future.

Noticing An Tong's clever little maneuver, Rong Xian couldn't help but pinch her cheek, took the phone, and typed in her own WeChat ID.

It was a string of letters that looked like the initials of two names.

An Tong sent the friend request with satisfaction, and Rong Xian's reminder sounded right on cue, "I'll accept your request as soon as I find my phone."

In the information age, lacking a mobile phone felt akin to walking out the house stark naked—utterly awkward and uncomfortable.

All afternoon she had been at the company, making a trip to the café downstairs midway, where she had run into Xiao Mingyu lying in wait like a hare waiting for a stump. Upon returning upstairs, she discovered her phone had vanished.

Before long, a waiter brought over a copper pot brimming with seafood. Xiao Mingyu and Rong Shen occasionally exchanged vague, ambiguous remarks, but Rong Xian couldn't be bothered to listen, keeping her attention firmly fixed on An Tong.

"Are you entering as a sophomore or a junior?"

An Tong replied, "A sophomore. If I pass all the mid-year exams, I'll properly promote to a junior in September."

As a university transfer student, aside from meeting necessary and rigorous transfer criteria, various examinations and evaluations set by the admitting institution were of paramount importance.

Hearing this, Rong Xian nodded knowingly. "I have a university classmate who is a lecturer at Zhan Ke University. I'll give him a call later and ask him to look out for you on campus."

Just as An Tong was about to say it wasn't necessary, Rong Xian sighed to herself, "If my phone hadn't been carried off by a stray dog, I could call him right now."

With that, she took a sip of water with a completely normal expression, while her peripheral vision targeted Rong Shen sitting diagonally across from her.

Given how much Little Nine valued An An, upon hearing that someone at the university would help look after her, wouldn't he immediately step in to help her retrieve her phone?

Before the man could react, Xiao Mingyu seized the opportunity to chime in, "Good dog."

Rong Xian: "..."

An Tong: "..."

Rong Shen, who had been silent for a long time, cast an amused look at Xiao Mingyu. Noticing the scrutiny, the latter spread his arms wide and said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "What on earth would I want with her broken phone? Here, anyone who doesn't believe me can search me."

Clearly, when dealing with a brazen and thick-skinned scoundrel, any method was futile and quite helpless.

Rong Shen curved his thin lips in indifference, took out his phone, and dialed a number. "Buy a new phone and have it delivered to the Seafood Hot Pot House."

Xiao Mingyu: "..."

After hanging up, the man raised his eyes to look at Rong Xian. "Is everything on the phone backed up?"

"Maybe," Rong Xian leaned back against her chair. "I'll ask my assistant later."

In the past when she switched to a new phone, her assistant always handled these backup matters.

Busy with work, she rarely paid attention to the details of data backups.

Without a word, Xiao Mingyu lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, feeling quite annoyed.

Calculate all he wanted, he hadn't factored in that Rong Jiu would be so inclined to "meddle in other people's business."

During the meal, Cheng Feng swaggered over and delivered the latest newly released smartphone. Handing it to Rong Shen, he said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, "Young Master Little Ridge is arriving in Zhanzhou around midnight tonight. Should I go pick him up?"

The man handed the phone box to Rong Xian and said in a deep voice, "Yes, arrange accommodation for him. We'll discuss the rest tomorrow."

An Tong was sitting right beside him, listening to their conversation without paying much attention.

Come to think of it, she did know someone with the surname Ridge, though everyone else was accustomed to calling him Stephan.

As for the other matter on her mind, the health center's business development was quite comprehensive indeed—it had even expanded overseas.

Meanwhile, Rong Xian unwrapped the phone packaging. Glancing at the brand-new screen, she shot a sidelong look at Xiao Mingyu and said in a low voice, "Last time, give me my phone back. Otherwise, I'll go register a new SIM card tomorrow, and even if you return it then, I won't want it anymore."

Xiao Mingyu cast a slanted glance at the new phone, pondering the likelihood of stopping her from getting a new SIM card tomorrow.

As for Cheng Feng, who was about to leave, he reached into his pocket and said with a sheepish smile, "Elder Sister Xian, they gave away a new SIM card when I bought the phone just now. Would you like it?"

Xiao Mingyu: "..."

Seeing the sudden, dark sinking of Xiao Mingyu's expression, Rong Xian smiled with deep satisfaction. "It turns out Cheng Feng really does—XIAO MINGYU!!!"

Before her words had even faded, the mobile SIM card Cheng Feng was holding out was directly snatched away by the man, who slammed it right into his own dipping sauce bowl.

The others: "..."

Perhaps feeling that this wasn't thorough enough, Xiao Mingyu picked up the dipping sauce bowl and casually lobbed it, tossing it squarely into the trash can in the corner.

Having finished this, he stood up with a cigarette clamped between his lips, grabbed Rong Xian's wrist, and forcibly dragged her toward the exit. "You guys go ahead and eat."

Rong Xian was already wearing high heels, and being yanked forward unawares, her balance faltered as she collided straight against the man's chest.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Xiao Mingyu looped an arm around her waist and forcefully hauled her right out of the private dining room.

Cheng Feng stared in stunned silence, suddenly feeling a bit reluctant to leave—such a lively spectacle didn't happen every day.

Glancing back at Ninth Master and Little An, who both remained completely unruffled and entirely unaffected as if they were used to this sort of thing, Cheng Feng didn't linger much longer and quickly greased the soles of his feet.

He wasn't in a rush to leave; rather, he was stepping outside to catch the show.