"Need something?"
Facing Wan Yunting's sudden visit, Jiang Tongxin, as always, projected an aura of detached calm, her face devoid of any discernible emotion.
"It's nothing much, really."
Wan Yunting was accustomed to her cool demeanor. He smiled and said, "After my last patient's follow-up appointment in the Traditional Chinese Medicine department today, I'll no longer be in Huadu City. So, I just came by to see you."
Jiang Tongxin nodded, her reply calm and measured, "That's good."
Wan Yunting smiled. Dealing with the taciturn Jiang Tongxin, they had barely interacted before. If not for the Bai Minglang incident that had brought them closer, and her initiating contact with him during the New Year, Wan Yunting would definitely not have sought her out today.
"It's lunchtime, may I treat you to lunch?" Wan Yunting asked with a slightly awkward smile.
"Okay." Jiang Tongxin agreed without a second thought, catching Wan Yunting off guard. She added, "Wait for me a few minutes."
With that, Jiang Tongxin turned and entered the emergency department, leaving Wan Yunting at the entrance scratching the back of his head, perplexed that she had actually agreed to have lunch with him!
He had merely intended to be polite, to find an excuse to leave. To his surprise, Jiang Tongxin accepted. Wan Yunting waited at the entrance for about five minutes before seeing Jiang Tongxin emerge, having shed her white coat. She was wearing a very sharp, stylish suit, her long hair elegantly cascading down. She looked entirely different from her usual brisk, decisive, and formidable persona.
"Let's go."
As Jiang Tongxin came out, Wan Yunting snapped back to attention, smiled, and nodded. They walked out of the hospital together. He asked, "What do you feel like eating?"
Jiang Tongxin pointed across from the hospital entrance. "There's a good grilled fish place in the food court opposite. I ate there once with Ke'er and the others."
"Alright, let's walk over then."
So, Wan Yunting walked alongside her across the road and into a small grilled fish eatery within the food court. They ordered a fish and sat opposite each other, a palpable sense of restraint and awkwardness hanging between them.
After all, they had hardly interacted before, and now to be dining alone together felt inherently awkward. Wan Yunting broke the silence, "Ke'er has already started her new job at a hospital in Beijing."
"Yes, she told me."
Jiang Tongxin, who had been looking at her phone, nodded and spoke, then fell silent again.
Wan Yunting also remained quiet, and the awkward atmosphere descended once more. Fortunately, the waiter brought their grilled fish, and they focused on eating, occasionally remarking, "Delicious," or "Not bad..."
Perhaps Jiang Tongxin didn't feel the awkwardness, but Wan Yunting felt so embarrassed he could have dug a hole in the ground with his toes.
As they finished eating, both set down their chopsticks. Wan Yunting checked the time, knowing he had to visit Tie Niu and Cui Hua at the warehouse that evening. He asked, "Director Jiang, Bai Minglang has been sentenced, right?"
"Yes, sentenced." Jiang Tongxin nodded expressionlessly.
Bai Minglang, who had drugged them last time, resulting in rape charges, had already been tried and imprisoned.
Wan Yunting nodded, paused, then looked up at Jiang Tongxin and said, "Director Jiang, regarding this matter, if you were to...!"
"That's enough, you don't need to say more. I understand!"
Suddenly, Jiang Tongxin shook her head, interrupting him, and stood up. "The past is the past. We'll pretend it never happened. Ke'er is in Beijing now; I hope you'll take good care of her and not let her down!"
"This meal is on me, as a token of my gratitude. I'll be going now; the emergency department is busy..."
"Alright..."
Wan Yunting also stood up. Jiang Tongxin, after speaking, went to the front desk, settled the bill, and left directly.
Wan Yunting sat back down, lit a cigarette, and slowly exhaled the smoke, a smile involuntarily playing on his lips...
After finishing his cigarette, Wan Yunting got up and left the grilled fish eatery. He returned to the Traditional Chinese Medicine department to get his car, called Meng Hu, and then drove out of the city. Forty minutes later, he arrived at the warehouse training ground.
"Boss Wan, you're here..."
Meng Hu had arrived ahead of him. Tian Lang was dressed in a black form-fitting top, black tactical pants, and combat boots. While his muscles weren't explosively defined, they were firm and exuded explosive power, giving him a perfectly sculpted physique.
Mei Ying was also in tactical attire. Wan Yunting looked at them and smiled, "Tie Niu, Cui Hua, Happy New Year belatedly. Here, these are red envelopes."
Tian Lang and Mei Ying, their faces impassive, looked at him as he produced two red envelopes. Without a word, they reached out and accepted them. Tian Lang asked, "When are you going to Beijing?"
Wan Yunting took out cigarettes, offering one to Tian Lang and distributing them to Meng Hu and the others before lighting one for himself. "In a couple of days."
Meng Hu said, "Boss Wan, once you go to Beijing, what happens to things here? These people are almost trained."
"What do you mean, what happens? Continue training them as usual."
Wan Yunting glanced at Meng Hu. "You continue recruiting students, and let Tian Lang and Cui Hua be responsible for the training. It will be useful someday."
"By the way, Tiger, how's the bodyguard company coming along?"
Meng Hu shook his head. "Boss Wan, none of us have experience running a bodyguard company, so it hasn't been progressing smoothly!"
Wan Yunting raised an eyebrow. He suddenly thought of someone: Zhong Hongmei!
"Tie Niu, Cui Hua, don't you want to stay in Huaxia permanently? I'm giving you an opportunity now, see if you can seize it!" Wan Yunting said to Tian Lang and Mei Ying.
The two exchanged glances and looked at Wan Yunting. "What opportunity?"
Wan Yunting smiled. "You'll know when the time comes. Come on, take me to see how the members you're training are doing..."
After inspecting the training academy, Wan Yunting also assessed Tian Lang and Mei Ying's martial arts. He had previously taught them several sets of techniques from the Xiaoyao Sect, and they had been diligently studying them. Now, Wan Yunting corrected their mistakes.
By four o'clock in the afternoon, Wan Yunting and Meng Hu returned to the city. As they parted ways, Wan Yunting asked Meng Hu to come to his place the next morning to discuss the bodyguard company matters in detail...
Wan Yunting did not go home. Instead, he headed towards a villa community – none other than Ruan Xingwen's home!
He parked his car at the main entrance of Ruan Xingwen's villa and pressed the doorbell. A moment later, their housekeeper opened the door. Upon seeing Wan Yunting, she exclaimed in surprise, "Teacher Wan!"
"Mm."
Wan Yunting smiled and nodded, asking, "Is Manager Ruan in?"
"Manager Ruan isn't in. She hasn't finished work yet," the housekeeper replied.
Wan Yunting hadn't called Ruan Xingwen beforehand, wanting to surprise her. He hadn't expected her to still be at work, but the housekeeper added, "However, Moyi is at home. She's playing upstairs with some neighborhood children."
"Oh, it's Teacher Wan..."
Song Moyi, who was playing on the open-air balcony on the second floor, saw Wan Yunting at the gate and shouted joyfully. Forgetting her two playmates, she ran downstairs barefoot and rushed out to meet Wan Yunting, who had been invited in by the housekeeper. Song Moyi immediately threw herself into his arms, exclaiming happily, "Teacher Wan, you're here! I missed you so much!"
"Haha, is that so?"
Wan Yunting laughed heartily, gently stroking the little girl's head. Song Moyi's big eyes blinked, and she nodded happily, "It's true. It's a shame you didn't come to my house during the New Year. I asked Mom to take me to find you, but Mom said you were in Beijing."
Wan Yunting took her hand and led her into the villa's living room, smiling. "Teacher was indeed in Beijing during the New Year. Since I'm back, I came to see you."
"Hehe, I'll call Mom and ask her to come home quickly." Song Moyi let go of Wan Yunting's hand and went to find her phone, directly calling her mother...
At that moment, Ruan Xingwen was in an important meeting at her company. Seeing her phone vibrate, she initially didn't want to answer, but upon seeing it was her daughter, she had to apologize to the company executives present, excused herself, and stepped into a corner of the conference room to take the call. Before she could speak, her daughter Song Moyi excitedly exclaimed, "Mom, Mom, Teacher Wan is at our house! When are you coming home?"
"Mm, Teacher Wan is at home?"
Upon hearing that Wan Yunting was at her house, Ruan Xingwen's heart skipped a beat, and an unconcealable joy appeared on her face. She quickly said, "Mom is coming home right now. Ask Teacher Wan to wait."
"Okay, Mom, hurry back."
"Mhm, mhm."
After finishing the call, Ruan Xingwen turned back to the executives and said with a smile, "We'll end today's meeting here. We'll continue tomorrow morning. Everyone can go back to your work now..."
With that, Ruan Xingwen eagerly pulled open the conference room door and left. The executives and her secretary exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what phone call could have made their boss smile so happily...
"Teacher Wan, Mom says she's coming home right away."
Song Moyi ran over and sat on the sofa. Wan Yunting smiled and said, "Okay, then Teacher will stay for dinner at your house tonight, alright?"
"Yay!"
Song Moyi cheered happily. The housekeeper, seeing this, immediately went to check the refrigerator. Ruan Xingwen then called her, telling her to go out and buy groceries quickly for a lavish dinner tonight...
Wan Yunting was led upstairs by Song Moyi. The two neighboring little girls didn't know who he was, and Wan Yunting played with them for a while before hearing footsteps on the stairs. Ruan Xingwen appeared, dressed in a white OL suit skirt, her beautiful legs complemented by black stockings, exuding extreme allure.
Wan Yunting knew it was her and turned to look at Ruan Xingwen as she came up, smiling, "Sister Xingwen, you're back."
"Mm, Yunting..."
Seeing the man she hadn't seen in a long time, Ruan Xingwen's heart surged with emotion. However, with her daughter present, she couldn't pounce on him. She asked, "Why didn't you call me in advance to let me prepare?"
Wan Yunting stood up and smiled, "I thought you hadn't gone to work yet, so I came straight over."
Ruan Xingwen nodded and said to her daughter, "Moyi, it's getting late. You should escort Xiaoxiao and the others back."
"Okay, Mom."
Song Moyi got up, taking her two friends with her, and said happily to Wan Yunting, "Teacher, I'll take them home first. I'll be back to play with you, okay?"
"Alright, go ahead."
Wan Yunting nodded, smiling as he watched Song Moyi lead her two companions downstairs...
Once her daughter and the others had gone downstairs, Ruan Xingwen turned back and her beautiful eyes locked onto Wan Yunting. Unable to hold back any longer, she lunged into the man's arms, inhaling his familiar scent, and said happily, "I missed you so much..."
"Mm..."
Wan Yunting held her close, speaking no words. They immediately began to kiss passionately...