Chapter 319: Chapter 319

But for Le Tong, the focus wasn’t on the word ’like’ at all.

Ignoring the expensive price of the wine, many odd thoughts flashed through her mind like a spinning wheel regarding Ji Rui’s purpose in gifting it. Among these strange thoughts, the most frequent was that this man before her, once under the influence of alcohol, had lost control...

Thinking of that night which, for her, held nothing but memories of pain and confusion, an exceptionally complex expression unconsciously appeared on Le Tong’s face.

Ji Rui’s precise and sharp analytical skills seemed only applicable at the negotiation table. The complexity on Le Tong’s delicate face was like a fog in his eyes; he tried to see clearly but could not dispel the mist.

Even if he couldn’t see through the fog, he still understood that Le Tong’s expression was by no means one of liking.

"Don’t like it? Then what do you like?" Ji Rui asked sincerely.

For the first time in his life, Ji Rui felt a desire to know the preferences of someone other than Baobao.

Le Tong once more stuffed the box back into Ji Rui’s arms, turned away without looking at him, and focused on washing the dishes.

All her affections combined couldn’t compare to even a tiny fraction of her feelings for Baobao.

Ji Rui wanted to say something, but Le Tong, with her back to him, continued, "Baobao is my son. Whatever I do for him, you don’t owe me anything for it. There’s no need for gifts or whatnot."

Ji Rui hit a wall. His face showed little, but inside, he felt somewhat dejected.

Personal gifts were not something Ji Rui often gave.

Those given with thought were even rarer.

And to care about whether the recipient liked the gift, rarer still.

So, on the way home, Ji Rui uncharacteristically sought Xiao Li’s advice while he drove.

"Xiao Li, what gifts do you usually give your girlfriend?"

Pleasing a woman was something Ji Rui had little experience with; he wanted to learn from others.

Xiao Li was quite surprised. Looking through the rearview mirror at Ji Rui, he had to confirm it wasn’t his imagination upon seeing his boss’s serious face.

Xiao Li scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed, "Ah Xiu is easy to please; just giving her small accessories or bags makes her happy. Of course, on her birthday or Valentine’s Day, I give her flowers and more expensive gifts."

Hearing this, Ji Rui remained silent, eyes downcast, lost in thought.

Connecting the dots between his boss hurriedly taking a rare vintage wine from the trunk and the question he just asked, Xiao Li seemed to understand something.

"Boss, are you planning to give a gift to Miss Le?"

Xiao Li, who was always by Ji Rui’s side, knew that Le Tong was Baobao’s biological mom, but he assumed that Le Tong and the boss used to be lovers.

"Yes." Ji Rui didn’t deny it.

"Miss Le is very easygoing; she should be easy to please too." Xiao Li just assumed.

Ji Rui said nothing; in his mind, no one was harder to please than Le Tong.

Before, he thought Baobao was the hardest to deal with and gave him the most headaches. Now, both these notions had to give way to Le Tong.

Seeing his boss frown and say nothing, Xiao Li intuitively felt his words didn’t hit the mark and immediately dared not speak further.

But Ji Rui didn’t frown for long. A call from Yang Sheng quickly shifted Ji Rui’s attention away from Le Tong to other matters.

The next day, having originally arranged for them both to accompany Baobao to the hospital for a follow-up, Ji Rui called early in the morning, waking Le Tong.

"Le Tong, sorry, I don’t have time to accompany Baobao to his appointment today. I’ll have to trouble you." Check latest chapters at novèlfire.net

Le Tong glanced at Baobao, still sleeping like a log, "It’s nothing. Doctor Dong said it’s just a routine check-up. You go take care of your work."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. Le Tong thought the call had dropped, then she heard him say, "I might need to leave for a few days. Please tell Baobao."

Isn’t this easy to explain? Why the hesitation?

"Okay, I’ll tell him you’re on a business trip."

Ji Rui simply "Mm!" and after exchanging goodbyes, they hung up.

Le Tong accompanied Baobao to the hospital for his follow-up. Once Baobao was lying on a gurney and being wheeled into the examination room by a nurse, she could only sit in the hallway and wait.

This examination relied heavily on instruments, so it took quite a while. To prevent herself from overthinking during the wait, Le Tong went to the hospital lobby and bought a newspaper.

Initially just planning to distract herself with the newspaper, Le Tong was startled by what she glimpsed when she unfolded it.

Of course, the shock was momentary. After all, the woman and the elderly man on the front page really had no substantial connection to her, Le Tong.

After reading the content closely, Le Tong realized that Ji Rui’s fiancée, CoCo, was actually the daughter of the richest man in a certain country. Why the front page had a photo of Mr. Ji and CoCo together? According to the report, it was obviously because CoCo and Ji Rui were engaged.

Besides reporting on the relationship between the two families, the article briefly mentioned that CoCo’s family business would soon be negotiating a series of collaborations with the Ji Family.

Such powerful alliances through marriage were not new to Le Tong, but in the past, these matters involved people she didn’t know. This time, however, it was very close to home. Yet, even so, she remained uninterested in the affair, though she did fear Baobao might be unhappy about this news since he really disliked CoCo.

Of course, from a biological mother’s standpoint, she naturally hoped Ji Rui could find a stepmother for Baobao who would love him and live harmoniously.

But neither she nor Baobao had any right to meddle in Ji Rui’s marriage decisions.

Le Tong stuffed the paper she had casually flipped through back into the trash can, and after sitting in the corridor for over an hour, the nurse finally wheeled Baobao out.

"Baobao is recovering better than we expected!"

Upon seeing Le Tong, Doctor Dong happily reported the test results to her.

"Will there be further rehabilitation therapy?" Having cared for a severely ill mother, Le Tong was psychologically prepared for a series of post-illness rehabilitation therapies.

However, no matter how mentally prepared she was, asking this question still made her heart sink terribly.

After all, Baobao was just a little child. For the first five years, he wanted a mother to care for him but couldn’t have it, and now that his biological mother appeared, he had to endure the torment of illness.

"First, he’ll take medication for a period, then based on his recovery, we’ll devise a phase two rehabilitation plan. Baobao has strong physical resilience, so you don’t need to worry too much."

Doctor Dong spoke gently, perhaps hearing the nasal tone in her voice trying to reassure her.