Hello, Heir

She sat in front of the vanity desk and hesitated on whether to make him a call.

Would he pick up the phone?

Zhuang Nainai was debating on it when she looked up to see a piece of red silk next to the table. It was the silk used to wrap the jade bangle Ding Mengya had given her.

Zhuang Nainai suddenly felt that her behavior in the morning was too harsh.

Even if she hated Ding Mengya and could never forgive her, she had delivered the item herself, and it perhaps held special significance to the Si family.

Zhuang Nainai knew the rubbish bin in the room functioned more like a decorative item. Its only use had been to hold the tissue paper discarded after sex.

The bin lining in the morning was new, she had only thrown the box in to vent her anger, knowing that no one would clean it up again.

Zhuang Nainai stood up resignedly and walked to the bin to retrieve the bangle.

Only to find it empty…

Where did the wooden box go?

Zhuang Nainai’s heart leaped to her throat and she panicked. She lifted up the rubbish bin and looked all around it, but could not find any trace of the box.

She bit down on her lips and finally came to a realization.

Could it be… that Si Zhengting got so angry today because he saw the bangle?

All the absurdities in the day made sense now.

She also finally understood why Si Zhengting asked that question today.

Putting herself in his shoes, she would be angry and sad if Si Zhengting had thrown away something her mother had given to him too. And especially when their relationship just started to turn for the better!

Zhuang Nainai clenched her fists and headed downstairs to look for the butler with the last bit of hope. “Lee, has anyone touched the rubbish bin in our bedroom?”

The butler answered reverently, “Madam, no one would enter the bedroom upstairs on normal days.”

Zhuang Nainai staggered.

Her suspicion was confirmed, and she was at a loss for what to do.

She stared at her phone for a long time as she chewed on her lips.

She had to be responsible for the mistake she made.

She took a deep breath and anxiously keyed Si Zhengting’s number. “… Sorry, the number you have dialed is not available.”

Zhuang Nainai sighed and drooped her head.

Si Zhengting did not return home for the next few days. Zhuang Nainai also could not find him in the office. She was barred entry by the bodyguards on the top floor.

It was Friday in the blink of an eye. Zhuang Nainai still did not see Si Zhengting when she returned from work.

This could not go on.

Si Zhengting was a prideful person. If she did not take the initiative, he could possibly stay away for half a year.

Furthermore, she was the one who went overboard in the first place.

She had noted that the lights on the top floor were out when she got off work today. Si Zhengting must have already left the office.

Ji Chen would not have told her if she asked him where he went. However, she faintly remembered Si Zhengting answering a call from Su Yanbing last weekend regarding a night out tonight.

Zhuang Nainai ran downstairs in excitement and asked the butler, “Lee, do you have Su Yanbing’s phone number?”

The butler shook his head helplessly. “No, I don’t.”

He then looked at Zhuang Nainai. “Madam, what happened between you and Sir?”

Zhuang Nainai grew embarrassed. “Nothing.”

The butler kept quiet for a moment and asked again, “Madam, you asked if I had seen a wooden box previously. Pardon my intrusion, was it the bangle from Ma’am you are looking for?”

The butler was old, but nothing escaped his eyes and he could piece together what happened easily. Zhuang Nainai was lost for words and merely nodded.

The butler sighed. “Madam, do you know why Sir got so angry?”

Zhuang Nainai looked at him.

The butler explained, “That bangle is the Si family heirloom. Sir’s grandmother had given it to Ma’am, and now she had entrusted it to you, thereby acknowledging your position as the lady of the Si house!”

Zhuang Nainai’s eyes widened in surprise.

She could tell that the bangle was expensive, but she did not expect it to carry such significance!

It was no wonder that Si Zhengting got so angry. It was not just a simple gift, she was effectively rejecting him!

Zhuang Nainai instantly felt that her mistake was even graver than before.

She sighed and walked upstairs dejectedly.

What could she do now?

She was at a loss when the butler’s voice suddenly sounded from the door. “Madam, Ma’am had just given me Su Yanbing’s number.”

Zhuang Nainai had a moment of happiness before she took in the rest of the sentence. She paused. Ma’am? Ding Mengya?

She was bewildered. Since the butler got the number from Ding Mengya, she must have known that she and Si Zhengting were not talking. She did not mock her but instead gave her the number?

So was Ding Mengya really accepting the fact that she was with Si Zhengting now? She was okay with it now?

Zhuang Nainai shook that thought from her head. Her priority now was to explain to Si Zhengting about the gift and bring him home.

She drew in a deep breath and gave Su Yanbing a call.

——

In the Colors Club…

A group of people were playing with cards. Su Yanbing’s voice was heard all over the place. “Damn! I lost again! My allowance for the month will be gone if I continue losing like this! No, no, that won’t do, I need to win it back!”

Liu Bingxing laughed triumphantly at his side. “Little Bing, you will lose your allowance for the coming month too in a while.”

They saw someone making a face and nodding towards the solemn man seated on the sofa.

Su Yanbing looked over. “Leader Ting is working his brooding look again!”

“He looks strange today. What happened to his hand?”

Su Yanbing glanced at Si Zhengting’s sloppily bandaged hand and pouted. “What else? Who else could make him act so dejectedly like that?”

Liu Bingxing was shocked. “Zhuang Nainai?”

He was absent from the previous gathering as he was away, so he did not know that Zhuang Nainai and Si Zhengting had met.

Su Yanbing nodded and shushed him.

Liu Bingxing lowered his voice and threw his cards down on the table. “But, didn’t he just register his marriage a few days ago?”

Su Yanbing was shocked. “What? For real? With whom!”

Liu Bingxing’s father was the bank manager handling the bank loans for Gu Deshou. He curled his lips. “Of course, or my father would not have approved the loans to the Gu Corporation.”