Chapter 99 Little Present
It was none other than Jing Xue, who was calling him at this moment. Had it been his previous self, he would not bother to pick up her call. Since he had come to an agreement with her about not interfering with each other\'s lives, Ren Ye became more comfortable talking one on one with her.
Ren Ye picked up the call after the five rings, "Hello."
"Have you picked up all the ingredients?" Jing Xue \'sweetly\' asked him, causing Ren Ye to be confused and raised his eyebrows.
Her voice was inexplicably sweet and soothing today. What happened to the cool and indifferent tone she has always used when talking to her?
As expected of a singer, she can alter her voice whenever she felt like it without it seeming forced.
"I have," Ren Ye indifferently replied and took out his credit card to pay for the grocery bill. He had recently opened a new card despite never having had one before.
Preferring to spend it entirely in his hands, he even considered credit cards to be a scam.
"Good. I thought you were caught up by something or some friends. I was going to send one of my friends to help and deliver the things," Jing Xue laughed softly.
"There is no need. I already bought them. It seems I have encountered an old friend," Ren Ye curled his lips into a smile as Ma Zheng is seen waving his hands, seemingly confused at the sudden warmth shown by Ren Ye.
"Who is this man talking to? To think someone has the strength to soften his hard and cold exterior? Impressive," Ma Zheng praised the person on the phone with Ren Ye, not knowing who it was.
"Alright then. All of us are done with golfing and will return home. We will prepare the soup base and wait for you arrival with your vegetables and meat."
"Oh."
"Mm," Ren Ye raised his eyebrows as he nudged Jing Xue to continue speaking, "What are you thinking?"
Ren Ye recalled this response from Jing Xue could only happen whenever she remembers something exciting or something surprising. Therefore, he is able to guess what she was doing and thinking.
"I forgot to mention that some of my friends came to China," Jing Xue continued in a strange voice, "I apologize if it was too sudden…"
Ren Ye suddenly chuckled deeply, "You do not to apologize. By the time Ren Jia called me, I could humbly guess this was the case. Although it was somewhat surprising and quick but now I have accepted that I will face your friends."
Jing Xue heaved a sigh of relief, "They are coming over to eat with us. If you feel uncomfortable, you can…"
Jing Xue was extremely worried that Ren Ye would be wary of her close friends and never allowed them to meet. She has never mentioned that she has an extremely extensive and wide network of friends compared to him.
Perhaps, she was rather sensitive to his feelings. She did not want to bother him with insignificant things such as her friends and her family.
"It is fine. I do not mind if you bring them or not," Ren Ye snorted softly.
Ren Ye did not want to say it but he wanted to say say something about them being scared of him instead of him being scared of them. Ren Ye normally detests strangers and generally, his aura will be able to ward them off.
Ren Ye did not care if he is going to make a good impression or not. He only wanted to know if they are worthy enough to get close to his family. He may sound cynical but he had to make sure that no one in his family will be threatened by an outside.
Ren Ye chatted with Jing Xue for a couple of minutes before hanging up. He teleported himself to a nearby ice cream store and bought Ren Jia strawberry flavored ice cream.
"I am sure she will forgive me for leaving her for so many days," Ren Ye said in a bitter tone, feeling immense guilt for not spending enough time with her, "I wonder if one day I may need to stray further away from her to pursue my path."
Ren Ye\'s eyes lowered gloomily as he felt the strawberry ice cream in his hand began to get colder and colder.
Ren Ye sensed it must have been his attachment to his daughter or else he would not feel this gloomy, knowing full well that one day he might be separated from her in order to pursue power.
Ren Ye did not understand what kind of feeling and struggle he was going through as this was the first time he is experiencing it.
"Aye aye," Old Yi comforted funnily Ren Ye\'s gloomy spirits, "What is it today that caused my student to feel gloomy for the first time in his life?"
Ren Ye\'s saddened spirit did not rise as he continued to lower his head, "I think one day everything in front of me will crumble to the ground sooner or later."
Like the vision he saw with Tang Bo beneath the cave, he felt he was getting a glimpse of the future. A future where he was not good enough to be a father and not enough to be able to protect his child.
"You are thinking too much," Old Yi sighed as he comforted the young man in low spirits, "As long as you keep up your performance right now, you will be able to avoid separation and the suffering that comes with it."
"I do not know if you know this but I met Tang Bo a couple of days ago beneath the cave," Ren Ye muttered silently with his head lowered, "He showed an image of what appears to be…"
Ren Ye did not want to continue speaking as he solemnly closed his mouth. Old Yi was still able to understand what he is trying to say. Instead of being ignorant and mean, Old Yi nodded his head and confirmed that he knew all along.
"I knew about it way before," Old Yi chuckled lightly, "After all, I fought him for you once in the front of the Jade Emperor. Of course, he would return to get revenge on me and scare my student away."
Old Yi knew about what has happened as the Jade Emperor was generous enough to ensure Old Yi that Ren Ye was doing well on his own without his help by conjuring a recording of them.
"You do not need to worry about him. I am sure he has introduced himself to you as Glitch," Old Yi rubbed his chin as he continued in a serious tone, "He is well-known to trick people into doing his biddings. I am not sure what he sees in you back then other than someone who he believes is easy to manipulate and mind control."
"…"
Ren Ye shrugged indifferently, "I must have been a catch for everyone."
"Not really. I chose you because I did not want to bother with those nuisances that came from other universes. I\'d rather tie myself with someone as lazy as I am," Old Yi suddenly chuckled as he mocked both Ren Ye and himself.
Ren Ye nodded his head and stopped talking, teleporting himself to Jing Xue\'s villa. He appeared right at the entrance of the private residential area as he made his way into the zone by walking.
As he walked, he overheard engine noises from behind him as five sports car rode past him and into the private residential area. The guards in charge allowed them to easily pass as they noticed the logo of the car in front of them.
"Rich…"
They could not help but exclaimed silently while feeling envious inside their hearts.
Ren Ye knew it was Jing Xue and her friends but he lowered his head, not allowing them to catch a glimpse of his face as he wore his black hoodie and covered his face.
He was holding large bags of food as he walked up the guards who solemnly nodded their heads upon seeing him. They did not say anything as they knew his identity, the man who has been occupying Jing Xue\'s residence for many days.
Ren Ye arrived in the door and saw a large piles of shoes in the front, he was about to knock the door before it suddenly opened. In front of him was Jing Xue, who was looking at him with clear and gentle hazel eyes.
It appears that she was waiting for him to arrive.
She lowered her eyes to his hands, laying them on the grocery bags that he was holding. Instead of chiding him for being late, she simply curled his rosy lips into a content smile.
"You have come."
Her words meant he finally lived up to what she has expected him as Ren Ye shrugged his shoulders and waited for Jing Xue to allow him to join in.
Before she could, a petite and small figure crept behind her legs as the little girl tilted her head and extended her tongue at her Papa.
"Papa is here!"
Ren Ye\'s heart immediately warmed as he subconsciously put his hands into one of the bags and took out a paper cup filled with strawberry ice cream that was Ren Jia\'s favorite.
"I bought you ice cream," Ren Ye said in the utmost gentle voice as he smiled at her with soft eyes.