Title: The Villain’s Mother
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 278 -282
Chapter 278 - So then, what do you like about me? (1)
In Ruan Xia's impression, Song Tingshen always had a sedate demeanor. Even if he occasionally said a few cheesy pick-up lines, he would say it in a serious manner. But now, he had suddenly confessed to her in a Taiwanese accent. In this small restaurant with her holding a dumpling with chopsticks, she looked at him blankly. After a while, she couldn't hold back her smile and answered in a Taiwanese accent, "Do you know?"
(T/N: Ruan Xia's reply is in reference to a popular Chinese drama. The full line from the show is "Do you know? I like you!" said in a Taiwanese accent.)
Song Tingshen probably felt a bit embarrassed. He didn't know what came over him to confess to Ruan Xia out of the blue. He quickly changed the topic, "I worked part-time here when I was in college."
Ruan Xia had a pretty good understanding of Song Tingshen by now. He was a person that liked to share his past with people that he cared about. Perhaps, that had to do with his age, or maybe, it was related to his personality. Just take that time he took her to his hometown as an example. He didn't bring her along because he was concerned about taking care of Little Wang by himself. Looking back at now, he probably hoped that she would understand him better by showing her his past.
Just like now, they were in a relationship, and he would bring her to a place like this one to share his past experience.
His idea was very simple. He just wanted to tell her, this is me, this is my past.
"I didn't have any place to go during the lunar New Year, and these small businesses are short on staff during the holidays and pay higher than usual wages." Song Tingshen smiled. "Most importantly, they also included free meals for employees. At that time, the college's dining hall was closed, and I was the only one left in the dorms."
Ruan Xia was curious. "Is there any type of job you haven't done?"
Song Tingshen thought over her question seriously. He lowered his voice to say, "My friend once introduced me to a job with a high salary, but I didn't go."
Ruan Xia's mind went into the gutter. She tentatively asked, "An escort…?"
He was in his 30's and maintained a pretty good figure. He had a good appearance and steady temperament. Ten years ago, his appearance wouldn't be any worse than idols that relied entirely on their appearance to be popular. There were many rich women that would like his type. He was tall and handsome. Most importantly, he was attending a prestigious university, which gave people a cool feeling.
A trace of embarrassment flashed over Song Tingshen's face. It was acquiescence by silence.
Ruan Xia heartily laughed. "That's recognition of your appearance. You must have been very handsome back then."
Song Tingshen helplessly said, "I didn't go."
"Why not?"
"I was afraid that a moment's error will bring a lifelong regret."
A fresh bout of laughter came from Ruan Xia. He was so serious even then.
Song Tingshen recalled that time period. He was lacking money, but he wasn't moved by the job offer. Even when others kindly suggested it, he would show a cold face to them, leaving them stunned speechless.
Listening to him talking about this, Ruan Xia still found it impossible to connect his past self with his present self.
He didn't go into excess on how miserable and pitiful he was, and his tone remained calm as he spoke of his past.
Chapter 279 - So then, what do you like about me? (2)
After they came out of the dumpling restaurant, Song Tingshen brought Ruan Xia to another place he had been before. It had already changed greatly. The old feeling from before couldn't be found again. However, the two of them held hands and chatted with smiles the entire way. It was much more interesting than watching a movie.
His narration about the process of his entrepreneurship was like watching a fascinating TV show.
Holding her hand, Song Tingshen chuckled and said, "I used to think that the person that would hear these stories would be Little Wang when he grew up."
He had once thought that when Little Wang was older, he would share his experiences with him. He would have never expected there would be a day when it was Ruan Xia that listened to his stories.
Ruan Xia felt slightly jealous. "Ai, sure enough, it's a child that's the most important to a man."
Song Tingshen asked rhetorically, "Isn't that true for women too? You called Little Wang several times today. You never call me that often." His last words had a jealous tone to them.
Alright, neither of them should feel jealous over their child. They were both the same.
---
In the afternoon, Ruan Xia and Song Tingshen decided to visit their alma mater. Ruan Xia remembered that the original owner and Song Tingshen had graduated from the same college. When she thought it about it carefully, she realized that the original owner was also a top student. Since she was a local, her admission score requirement was lower than that of Song Tingshen, who came from another province. However, it was undeniable that she must have studied hard when she was in high school.
Ruan Xia couldn't help sighing at the thought of that.
The original owner had set her sights on the best local college since high school. The majority of outstanding men would be in good colleges. She wanted to select someone with good prospects and knew that her family background wasn't good enough, so she could only increase her personal value little by little. Beauty was important, but a suitable springboard and environment was even more important. There were outstanding people in average colleges, but more often that not, top-notch people would attend the very best of colleges.
If the original owner hadn't been admitted to this college, she wouldn't have had the chance to meet Song Tingshen, who had come back to give a speech at his alma mater. Without that intersection, she wouldn't have applied at his company… In the end, although there were down-to-earth CEOs, they would nonetheless only interact with people in their social circles no matter how down-to-earth they were.
Ruan Xia sighed. If such a bizarre thing hadn't happened, she would have never come into contact with someone like Song Tingshen with her aptitude and conditions.
"Why are you sighing?" Song Tingshen glanced at her.
He noticed that she would occasionally sigh a lot. Of course, he was the same. Little Wang seemed to have been infected by them. It wasn't good for a four-year-old kid to constantly sigh and pretend to be deep.
Ruan Xia gripped his hand harder. "I keep thinking that I picked up a big bargain, and I feel guilty."
Such a good man, such a good life. It didn't belong to her originally. She didn't have the original owner's outstanding qualities.
Whether it was Duan Chi or Qin Yu, the person they really liked was the original owner. It was the original owner that attracted them.
Song Tingshen didn't understand Ruan Xia's words. "Picking up a big bargain, are you referring to me?"
Ruan Xia nodded. "Actually, I'm very ordinary." She paused, "Although it's true that I'm very beautiful now, but…"
That was someone else's beauty.
Song Tingshen couldn't help laughing. "Don't get upset, but after two people have gotten along for a long time, outer appearance isn't the attracting factor. At the very least, I'm immune to your looks."
Ruan Xia squeezed his hand hard. "Hey! I'm so beautiful!"
How could he be immune? Shouldn't he find her breathtaking every day? His heart should beat faster every time he sees her!
Chapter 280 - So then, what do you like about me? (3)
She had been here for so long, but whether it was before or after she had put on makeup, she would be amazed every time she saw this face. Every day, she would admire herself in the mirror for a long time. For him to say he was immune to her beauty, she simply couldn't accept it. Of course, Ruan Xia knew he was stating the truth. When she had first transmigrated here, no matter how beautifully she dressed up, he barely looked at her. And when he did, there was no fluctuation in his eyes. He really was indifferent to such top-level beauty. After all, he had seen her for several years.
"I'm just telling the truth." Song Tingshen was helpless. Once again, he felt that his son had really hit the mark with his observations. Girls really couldn't stand to hear the truth. Although telling lies would make her happy, let him be able to disclose the truth occasionally.
"So then, what do you like about me?" Ruan Xia persisted. She was suddenly very interested in this matter. If he didn't like her because of this face, what was it then?
Song Tingshen halted. He stood face to face with her and squeezed her cheek. "I don't know."
Ruan Xia was discouraged. Sure enough, he couldn't find any good points about her.
She wasn't very smart, beautiful, or top-notched. She wasn't the ordinary of the ordinary, but the gap between him and her was too wide.
She finally understood and experienced for herself why people in love would feel insecure. Even for clearly outstanding people, they would feel inferior in front of the person they love.
Song Tingshen saw her wilted state and couldn't help smiling. "How about this? I'll take my time to think about it and give you an answer."
Ruan Xia listlessly nodded.
What he didn't say was that being with her gave him a feeling that no one else's company had ever given him. He held tightly onto her because he was clear about this.
Love wasn't that simple or complicated. If you had to give a reason or two… After all, love was an abstract concept.
Ruan Xia was an expert at comforting herself. After chatting with Song Tingshen about nothing of importance, she stubbornly bought a chicken cutlet and ate it under his frowning and disapproval. She felt a lot better after that. Although it was normal for the heroine in novels and TV shows to feel insecure and this negative mood was used as a justification to abuse the hero of the story for a few chapters, she felt there was no reason to make trouble and insist on making herself unhappy.
---
When they came out of college campus and were about to find a nearby place to have dinner, Ruan Xia got a call. She took her phone out of her bag and saw that it was a call from Mother Ruan. Was this a call to urge them to come over for dinner?
Ruan Xia answered the call.
A heart-wrenching cry came from the other end. It was Mother Ruan's voice.
Ruan Xia's mind immediately went blank. The hand holding the phone involuntarily trembled.
In the pauses between her crying, Mother Ruan said, "Xiaxia… Little Wang… Little Wang... he's missing!"
In an instant, Ruan Xia felt as if she had lost her hearing. The whole world had become quiet. She stood there in a daze. It was only when Song Tingshen shook her shoulder that she recovered and blankly looked at him.
Chapter 281 - He couldn't take that last step in being a bad guy (1)
Little Wang was missing.
Ruan Xia and Song Tingshen went to the Ruan's home. After settling down Father Ruan, who was already beside himself and Mother Ruan, who had fainted, they went back and forth between the local police station and nearby neighborhoods. There were surveillance cameras everywhere these days, but there were still lost kids getting abducted every year. The community that Father Ruan and Mother Ruan lived in was a bit old, and the surveillance cameras here were empty shells. There was no way to find out where Little Wang had gone missing with them.
According to what Father Ruan and Mother Ruan remembered, at the time, Father Ruan had gone to buy something for Little Wang and Mother Ruan was keeping an eye on Little Wang. Little Wang was a lively and mischievous child. One moment she saw him dashing around with his friends, and the next moment, she lost sight of her grandson.
Song Tingshen and Ruan Xia drove around, shouting their son's name, but they couldn't find him.
The police had already been dispatched. The best time to find a lost child was in the first 24 hours, so they had to make the most of that time.
Ruan Xia was sitting in the passenger seat. She was out of her wits. She really wanted to calm down, but her mind was blank. She could clearly hear what others were saying, but it was as if she couldn't understand what they were saying. Her hands were cold.
Since she had gotten Mother Ruan's call, Ruan Xia hadn't said a single word. Although she didn't cry or fuss, her current state made Song Tingshen even more worried.
Towards 11 PM, Song Tingshen made a U-turn and headed towards home.
Ruan Xia saw the familiar road and asked in a daze, "Go… Going home?"
Song Tingshen held her hand. "En, we're going home. You need to rest."
Ruan Xia suddenly became anxious. Her speech was incoherent. "No! Little Wang isn't back. He hasn't gone home. We can't go home!”
Her eyes grew red as she spoke. She felt as if she was floating. Her hands and feet were numb. It was as if only her brain was working.
How could they go home?! Little Wang wasn't home!
Song Tingshen braked. Ruan Xia leaned forward from inertia.
He said with a serious expression, "You need to rest. After you fall asleep, I'll go back out to look for him. Xiaxia, calm down. Everyone is out looking for him. He's very well-behaved too. Believe me. He'll be fine."
Ruan Xia's eyes were red. She couldn't speak.
She really wanted to calm down and regain rationality, but she couldn't do it. For the very first time, she realized that the mind and body were separate.
The mind wanted to be clear-headed, but the body was out of its control.
She didn't even dare to think too much. She was scared to think about the news she had read on Weibo before and the movies about missing children. As soon as she touched on those thoughts, she felt like she was on the verge of collapse.
In the past, she thought she wasn't able to take on the role of a mother yet, but today she found out that Little Wang had become a very important person to her without her noticing. She suddenly understood emotionally how parents who had lost their children felt. It felt like the sky had fallen down on her and as if the world had ended. It was impossible for her to be strong and rational.
Ruan Xia's remaining rationality told her that she had to calm down and rest. If she gave herself free rein to continue being in this state, she might suffer a mental breakdown before they even found Little Wang.
Chapter 282 - He couldn't take that last step in being a bad guy (2)
She swallowed her saliva. It felt as if she was swallowing thousands of needles. She gripped Song Tingshen's hand and slowly nodded. At that moment when she opened her mouth, she felt as if there was the taste of blood in her mouth, "... Okay."
Seeing that she was responding, Song Tingshen felt reassured. He put the car back into drive. It didn't take them long to return home.
Ruan Xia couldn't fall asleep, but she didn't want Song Tingshen to worry or have a nervous breakdown herself, so she forced herself to close her eyes.
In times like these, it was even more important to keep calm.
After turning off the light in Ruan Xia's room, Song Tingshen went to the bathroom. In the late autumn night, the ambient temperature was a bit low, but he still took a cold shower.
Shortly after graduating, he had rented a single room by himself. Sometimes, there wouldn't be hot water available in the communal bathroom, so he simply took a cold shower. After every cold shower, he would feel invigorated.
Song Tingshen closed his eyes as the cold water showered down on him.
He actually wasn't any calmer than Ruan Xia, but he couldn't mentally collapse before her. He was taking a cold shower to jump out of this pit of tension and pain and be able to use the most careful and calm state of mind to think over this matter.
There were many times when the issue was simple, but people would overlook things because they were in a flustered state.
It wasn't an accident that Little Wang had gotten lost.
Father Ruan and Mother Ruan were very careful about keeping an eye on Little Wang. Although there were surveillance cameras everywhere, Little Wang had disappeared in a blind spot. The surveillance cameras on both sides of the street showed that no one had walked out of that blind spot with Little Wang, so the police were currently investigating suspicious cars. Too many cars passed that street. It would take a while to check out each car.
Song Tingshen suddenly opened his eyes. His bloodshot eyes looked tired and scary.
Qin Yu.
---
It was very early in the morning when Song Tingshen went out again. He knew Qin Yu's address and contact information for his previous investigations.
After getting into the car, he called Qin Yu. His call was quickly picked up.
Qin Yu sounded very surprised as he said, "CEO Song? Why are you calling me at such a late hour?"
Song Tingshen said in a heavy voice, "Did my son have a good lunch this afternoon?"
Qin Yu was silent for a while. "I don't understand what CEO Song is saying."
In those few moments of silence, Song Tingshen had already determined that Little Wang was with Qin Yu. Even if Little Wang wasn't with him, Qin Yu definitely had something to do with Little Wang's disappearance.
"You've been playing a game of chess from very early on. Let me think. It probably started when you ignored the opposition of the senior executives in your company to set up a branch office here, especially when the location of that branch office was near my home," Song Tingshen slowly said, "If I'm not guessing wrong, you had something to do with Li Jing's suicide attempt. Later on, when your company had an island company retreat, you arranged for Xiaxia to sit next you on the plane... And then even later after, you deliberately said those words in front of me with the goal of creating a misunderstanding and conflict between Xiaxia and me. You wanted to plant the seeds of doubt in me.
"Let me guess, you've been monitoring us during this entire time, right?" Song Tingshen chuckled. "What you didn't expect was that Xiaxia and I didn't quarrel because of this. On the contrary, our relationship even improved. You must have been furious and unable to accept that. Based on your knowledge of me, you know that my son is the most important person to me, so you wanted to use his disappearance to cause conflict between Xiaxia and me."