Chapter 281: Chapter 281

However, Ji Rui didn’t mind if others misunderstood his relationship with CoCo, but he didn’t want Baobao and Le Tong to misunderstand.

"She... is just the daughter of one of my mother’s good friends. Apparently, there were jokes about an arranged marriage, but you know, those were all nonsense."

Ji Rui and CoCo indeed played together since childhood.

But Ji Rui, being the kind of person he is, rarely cares deeply for anyone, let alone someone like CoCo, who always treated him as her possession.

He hated being manipulated by others, and CoCo happened to be a woman with a strong possessive streak. But because she’s the daughter of his mother’s good friend, Ji Rui couldn’t be too heartless. The source of thɪs content is novęlfire.net

So, he always avoided her whenever possible.

But CoCo’s skin was indeed thick enough; no matter how clearly Ji Rui stated things, she continued to see herself as his fiancée.

She didn’t even try to hide this in front of Baobao.

Fortunately, Baobao seemed to understand his father’s temperament well and never took her seriously. He even privately told Ji Rui that CoCo was a crazy woman...

Le Tong, with her back to him, was stacking Baobao’s fairy tale books one by one, and still in a detached manner, she asked, "Really?"

This kind of response was like when someone tells you a long story, and you just say "haha," a real conversation killer.

As expected, Ji Rui was silent for a moment, staring frustratedly at Le Tong’s busy back, unsure of what to say next.

Should he say that he only stirred up trouble with CoCo to find Baobao’s biological mother to save him?

Or should he say that he would handle his relationship with CoCo and that she didn’t need to worry?

Since he felt that nothing he said would be appropriate, Ji Rui decided to stop circling around the issue of CoCo. Moreover, he had more important matters to resolve.

"You don’t need to pack your luggage separately; anyway, we’ll send everything to my house together when the time comes."

With this, he undoubtedly made a decision for Le Tong on his own.

Of course, Le Tong understood his intentions. It wasn’t surprising for him to presume that she would agree to his suggestion; ever since she met him, he never considered others’ feelings and was always self-assured.

"I’m not staying at your house." Le Tong firmly rejected Ji Rui’s arrangement.

Ji Rui looked surprised; he thought that with Le Tong’s level of concern for Baobao, she would undoubtedly agree to his proposal with both feet in the air.

"Why? Baobao’s still in recovery; who will take care of him if you’re not there?"

Ji Rui’s words were quite unreasonable, as if taking care of Baobao was solely Le Tong’s responsibility, while he, as the father, was merely a hands-off boss.

"I will try to find time to take care of Baobao."

Le Tong didn’t bother to criticize Ji Rui. From what she knew of him, even if she wasn’t there, Baobao would never be neglected and would definitely be well taken care of.

Seeing that bringing up Baobao didn’t move Le Tong, Ji Rui was momentarily at a loss.

Ji Rui was at least 90% sure that Le Tong would come to live at their house, but now she rejected him without any room for negotiation.

"So what are Baobao and I supposed to do next?"

Ji Rui asked righteously, completely oblivious to the fact that he had shifted the responsibility for both Baobao and himself onto Le Tong.

Perhaps, because over the past month, he had become accustomed to being taken care of by Le Tong, subconsciously assuming that taking care of him was her obligation and responsibility.

This time, it was Le Tong’s turn to be surprised. She turned around, looking coldly at Ji Rui.

"How would I know what you should do?"

This man was becoming increasingly outrageous.

Did he think Le Tong was just kind and easy to bully?

Before, at the Ji Family, she received a high salary for working for him, which was understandable.

In the past month, she had wholeheartedly taken care of Baobao because she knew she owed him something and felt it was her duty as Baobao’s mother.

But when she was just coincidentally taking care of Baobao, how did her goodwill get interpreted by him as all being her duty?

Ji Rui didn’t acknowledge the obvious disdain in Le Tong’s eyes. "Le Tong, Baobao would definitely not agree to you leaving to live on your own. If he makes a fuss, I won’t be able to handle it or pacify him."

Le Tong was unfazed by his threat, turning back to continue packing Baobao’s toys.

"That’s my business; you don’t need to worry about it."

Although Le Tong hadn’t yet figured out how to refuse Baobao, she believed that as long as she explained things well, Baobao might be unhappy but wouldn’t cause a scene.

She and Ji Rui were two unrelated individuals, with no connection except for Baobao. They both had their own independent social circles and friends, which were objective facts.

She couldn’t invade Ji Rui’s life just because of indulging Baobao; that wouldn’t be fair to Ji Rui, and it might not be a good thing for Baobao either.

Seeing that even after he put everything on the line, Le Tong was still unmoved, Ji Rui was a bit anxious, but he couldn’t show it.

Standing behind Le Tong thinking for a while, he had no choice but to resort to the most primitive method.

"Le Tong, are you planning to return to work after Baobao is discharged? How about this: you come to my house to take care of Baobao, just like Aunt Guan and them. I’ll pay you double the salary you received at the Ji Family. Wouldn’t that work?"

Ji Rui thought this should be the method Le Tong would find most acceptable.

However, ever since he handed her that check and contract, Le Tong would get very annoyed whenever he talked about money.

Moreover, a few days ago, his malicious misunderstanding towards Le Tong had left a big stumbling block in her heart.

At this moment, hearing him talk about money again, Le Tong felt a wave of nausea and stopped, speaking in a cold tone.

"I’m not staying at your house; it has nothing to do with money."

Ji Rui wasn’t stupid. Even if he only saw her bent-over back and couldn’t see her expression, he could still sense from her tone that she was in a very unpleasant mood.

He realized something was wrong, but he didn’t know which nerve he had touched.

"Le Tong, have you misunderstood my intentions? I just thought you didn’t want to live at my house because you were planning to find a job. Since you’re planning on finding a job, why not come to my house? You’d get to take care of Baobao and would still receive a salary. Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone?"

Le Tong turned around once more, looking directly at him.

"Mr. Ji, for that month’s salary spent at the hospital, how much are you planning to pay me? Tsk! I know you have a lot of money and like to solve everything with it. But there will always be some exceptions, some things that money can’t solve!"