HC Chapter 29

HC Chapter 29: I Obey You (VIII)

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Those two words seemed very simple, but Dong Ci felt their heaviness as they escaped her mouth.

On the day that Dong Ci got the admission notice from the F University, she was getting ready to go to the hospital to visit her mother together with Jing Rong.

As she held the piece of paper with her fate written on it, her hands shook. She couldn’t wait to rush to her mother and tell her all about her success!

“Mom, I received the admission notice from F University! As long as I am diligent with my studies for a few more years, I believe that the fulfillment of my father’s dream is not too far away.”

Full of excitement and joy, Dong Ci couldn’t contain herself any longer. She wished to share the good news and see her mother’s smile, but when she entered the ward the older woman was assigned, she couldn’t be happy anymore.

It was clear at first sight that her mother hasn’t been sleeping well for a long time, as the dark circles underneath her eyes indicated. In just a few months, she lost a lot of weight.

For a moment, Dong Ci recalled the scene of her mother making sushi for her a long time ago. Suddenly, she realized that even then, there was already something wrong with the older woman.

When she opened the restaurant, the mother would always make all kinds of delicious food for her daughter. At that time, Dong Ci was occupied with her studies and distracted by Jing Rong – she didn’t notice that her mother’s appetite was getting smaller with each day. Now that the illness was discovered, she ate every day, but the portions remained small.

Dong Ci’s mother showed no response to the admission notice that was placed in front of her. She sat on the bed, her eyes blankly staring at the dazzling F letter printed out on the paper. A tear suddenly escaped from her eye.

“You, you get out of here!”

The mother seemed to be in a lot of pain. She held her head and irritably tugged at her hair, her body uncontrollably shivering. Dong Ci was taken aback. She was just about to walk up to her mother, but her body was hurriedly pulled away by a doctor who rushed in.

“The patient is emotionally unstable – you can’t stimulate her. Please, leave the room immediately.”

Her mother was still trembling on the hospital bed, her face scrunched into a painful grimace and eyes full of grim emotions. As her body kept on shivering, she even seemed to develop some breathing difficulties.
Dong Ci bit her lip as she stared at the sight, unable to look away.

It’s ridiculous. Her mother is suffering from so much pain, but as a daughter, she can’t even come forward to comfort her. She is even being asked to stay away for her mother’s well-being to be ensured.

“Mom—” Dong Ci unconsciously muttered.

“Please, go out immediately.”

Dong Ci had no choice but to helplessly follow the doctor’s urging.

Suddenly, her mother, who had been groaning with pain, turned her gaze in Dong Ci’s direction. Her eyes were ferocious as they attentively stared at her daughter’s face.

She shouted, “Xiao Ci!”

Dong Ci immediately turned her head when she heard the familiar voice shouting her name. It’s been a long time since she heard it coming from her mother’s lips. At that moment, her mind was blank. She ran towards her mother without thinking about anything else but was stopped in her tracks by the doctor.

“Let me go over, didn’t you hear that my mother called for me? I will take care of my mother by myself!”

Just now, her name was shouted with so much pain and helplessness, but her mother’s eyes were still fierce, as they gazed at Dong Ci’s face.

“Xiao Ci,” Jing Rong called while hugging her from behind. He covered the girl’s eyes with his palm to block her vision. “Follow me out.”

“I don’t want to go out, I want to stay and accompany my mother.”

In the sudden darkness, Dong Ci could no longer control her emotions as the accumulated tears fell from her eyes. She whimpered like an injured little beast, and whispered, “I just want to be with my mother…”

Jing Rong pursed his lips and took her out of the ward, regardless of her weak struggles. When the door was about to close behind them, he seemed to hear a very soft ‘I am sorry’ coming from behind.

Jing Rong hurriedly turned his head and seemed to see the older woman’s crying face before the door was shut in front of him. He looked at the sobbing girl in his arms, his eyes dark like an abyss. The arm around the petite body tightened, but in the end, he didn’t say a word.

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The day that Dong Ci went to register at the F University, Jing Rong also accompanied her.

On the first day of school, the weather was very hot. When Dong Ci went downstairs, she was wearing a short skirt – her exposed legs seemed white and slender. It really attracted the attention of others.

“Change your clothes,” Jing Rong said with a frown after glancing at her attire. “You are not allowed to wear such short skirts to the lectures – remember it in the future.”

“It’s very hot today,” Dong Ci protested. She lowered her head and tried to tug down her skirt to cover more of the exposed skin, hoping to convince Jing Rong.

“Go and change.”

“No!”

Hearing the commanding tone, Dong Ci’s stubborn temperament also flared up. She pursed her lips and walked right past Jing Rong, ready to ignore his words.

“What—”

Just as she walked two steps past him, she was picked up from behind. For a moment, Dong Ci was taken aback. When she understood what happened, she angrily hammered him with her fists, and demanded: “What do you think you are doing?”

“If you are not going to change your clothes, you can forget going to the university.”

Jing Rong carried her upstairs, pushed open the bedroom door, and walked into the cloakroom. He placed her on the ground and blocked the door with his body. His aggressive demeanor made Dong Ci want to rush at him and bite him.

“I’ll change when you go out.”

Jing Rong raised his eyebrows, looked at her from top to bottom, and said with a smile, “Is there anything I haven’t already seen?”

He is so annoying…

Dong Ci didn’t know where the extra strength came from, but she finally managed to push Jing Rong out of the cloakroom. After the two of them lived together for a few weeks, she finally understood the meaning of his previous words – ‘As long as you are obedient, I will indulge you.’

As long as she listens to him and doesn’t resist his approach, Jing Rong will bear with her little temper tantrums.

When she came out for the second time, her clothes were changed. The hem of the dress that she wore barely covered her knees, but Jing Rong still wasn’t satisfied with her appearance. He blocked the door, and once again demanded her to change into yet another outfit.

“Do you want me to die from heat? If you want for me to come out covered in fabric from head to toes, you should just straightforwardly say it. Do you have to toss me around so much?!”

When Dong Ci moved to live with Jing Rong, he didn’t let her bring any of her clothes. All of the things she wore now, were bought by Jing Rong. Since he disliked what she selected to wear, why did he buy those things in the first place?

“Wear this.”

In the end, she went to the university in the clothes that Jing Rong personally chose for her. What he selected was a long white dress. The material was light and slippery as it fell to Dong Ci’s toes. As she walked, faint ripples appeared on the fabric, making her look like a fairy coming down from the clouds.

Her hair has grown out a lot, and because Jing Rong pulled out her hairband before she got off the car, the black silky strands were draped over her bare shoulders, attracting the attention of surrounding people.

Dong Ci has always been a good-looking girl, but as she walked through the campus in this white dress and loose black hair fluttering around, she looked even more beautiful. Her cold temperament also made her appear different from the surrounding people – just like an immortal descending into the mortal world.

“Classmate, are you a freshman? Do you have any luggage with you? Some of us, seniors, came here to help the freshmen with settling in.”

“Student, are you here to register, or do you want to find your dormitory? If you don’t know the location, this senior can show you the way.”

“Thank you, I don’t need your help.”

Although the loose hair looked nice, it also made Dong Ci sweat as she stood under the unrelenting sun. She pulled her hair behind her ears and looked around with almost imperceptible anxiety.

“Classmate, what is your name? Which department are you majoring in?”

“Classmate, are you standing here waiting for someone, or can’t you find your way? Tell this senior, and I will surely be able to help you.”

“Let’s go.”

Jing Rong, who finally finished his call that suddenly came up when they arrived, saw the many boys surrounding his girlfriend as soon as he came back. Fortunately, she was well-behaved and didn’t pay much attention to this group of people.

Jing Rong was the same – he ignored the surrounding crowd and walked up to Dong Ci, wrapping his arm around her to declare the ownership as soon as he approached. He didn’t even spare a look at others.

As soon as he appeared, the surrounding students became more restless.

Originally, this girl was already very good-looking. They didn’t expect an even better-looking man to appear with her! Seeing their intimate demeanor, many people already guessed that they were a couple. This thought made many of their hearts filled with disappointment.

“Give me my hairband, it’s too hot with my hair covering my neck.”

There were a lot of small beads of sweat on Dong Ci’s forehead. She grabbed a handful of loose strands and waved it around, trying to cool herself. Obviously, she couldn’t bear wearing this hairstyle.

“If you can’t stand the heat right now, what will you do at the military training?”

Jing Rong didn’t give her the hairband but personally walked behind her to help tie up the hair. He was very gentle in his actions, fearing that he would accidentally hurt her if he tugged too hard. Because of that, the tied hair didn’t look very good.

Dong Ci immediately understood Jing Rong’s meaning when she heard his words. It seemed that he didn’t want her to participate in military training.

“I am afraid of heat, but I won’t die because of it. I survived the military training in junior high and high school, why can’t I survive it in the university?”

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After the first day of military training, Dong Ci was slapped back with her own words.

Yes, military training won’t burn people to death, but it can certainly exhaust them enough to wish to die.

“Although it was difficult during military training in school, I have never been as embarrassed as I was today. I just stood under the sun for a while, and it already caused me to feel dizzy…”

When Dong Ci spoke to Yan Ning Shuang about this, she could hear the other girl’s ridicules over the phone:

“Dong Ci, I guess that you have been abandoned by Jing Rong.”

Yan Ning Shuang knew a lot of things about their relationship. Although she didn’t know of the specifics of how they got along with each other, when she visited them in the Jing mansion once, she personally witnessed Jing Rong’s ‘raising’ method. She could make guesses about their daily lives from just that.

“Unexpectedly, the more Jing Rong spoils you, the weaker you will be. Tsk tsk, I expect you to be stronger the next time we meet.”

“This is nonsense. I am hanging up!”

“Don’t, don’t. I still want to talk with you a little longer,” Yan Ning Shuang hurriedly persuaded. After all, she went to a university abroad after graduation and didn’t have any way of getting domestic news.

“What’s up?”

There was a long silence as Yan Ning Shuang gathered her words. If Dong Ci didn’t hear a faint sound of breathing in her phone, she would have suspected that there was no one on the other end of the line.

Dong Ci wasn’t stupid. She could guess from Yan Ning Shuang’s behavior, what the other girl wanted to ask. She sighed and took the initiative to say, “Both An Cheng Feng and Chen Wan Wan were admitted into the J University. I heard that the An Family is already aware of their relationship.”

“What was their reaction?” Yan Ning Shuang asked, her voice sounding unnatural.

It is said that love is the most difficult thing to give up in this world. At first, she didn’t believe it. But when she had to give up on building a relationship with An Cheng Feng, she was forced to admit it. Her character was built on self-respect, so she managed to come to terms with reality, and stop pestering him. But she couldn’t completely ignore his affairs.

Yan Ning Shuang hated herself because she couldn’t help inquiring about him every time she spoke with Dong Ci. In the end, she just couldn’t contain herself.

“I don’t know what An Family’s reaction was. Jing Rong never spoke to me about it.”

“Then you should ask.”

Dong Ci was taken aback. She almost thought that she heard it wrong.

“How can I ask about their affairs?”

While talking, Dong Ci saw Jing Rong walking downstairs with a stack of papers in his hands. She raised her head to look at him. As a result, their eyes met in the air, causing Dong Ci to hurriedly withdraw her gaze. Quietly, she said, “These days, his mood doesn’t seem to be very good.”

“If he’s in a bad mood, won’t you be the one who’s suffering? Tell you what, you should soften your tone and use the words he likes to hear – I don’t believe that this matter will affect you if you gently inquire about it!”

“…”

“Hurry up, I want to know the news about the conflicts happening in the An Family. Otherwise, after I return to China, I will tear apart the Loft’s clothing design sketches that I have managed to get, right in front of your eyes!”

Beep—

Before Dong Ci could respond, the call was already mercilessly cut off. All of her attention was focused on Yan Ning Shuang’s last sentence, and she couldn’t help licking her lips.

Loft was a world-renowned fashion designer. He usually drew a large number of design concepts and decorative elements in his sketchbook. If she could get her hands on this book, it would be of great help to her.

Dong Ci turned her head and cautiously looked at Jing Rong, only to find that he was waving the document in his hand in front of another man in a suit, who had just entered the room. His expression was freezing as he stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window while reprimanding the man.

His current mood could no longer be described as just ‘not very good’.

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“You have been staring at me ever since I came downstairs. Xiao Ci, what’s the matter?”

Just after the suited man left with a pile of documents, Jing Rong undid the buttons of his shirt and slowly walked towards her. He encircled her petite figure in his arms from behind and leaned down to rub her soft cheek with his chin.

Dong Ci felt the hairs on her body stand up as his warm breath hit her bare skin. She licked the corners of her dry lips, whispering, “It’s nothing.”

“Oh?”

When Jing Rong was in a bad mood, it was hard to deceive him. He turned her body around and lifted her chin, making Dong Ci look directly at himself. His next words carried a seductive feeling: “Xiao Ci, what is this ‘nothing’?”

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