She held the phone closer to her face, inspecting.
"He is so hot."
"RIN!"
i finally caught up, grabbed her by the arm and snatched the phone back.
Without hesitation, she reached up and pulled Rin’s ear.
"Ow—OW—HEY!"
"Stay out of things that are not your business!"
Rin winced, trying to pry her hand away.
"Okay, okay, damn—!"
anwhile, at the head of the table Renzhi had been watching everything unfold quietly.
His brow lifted slightly.
"...A boyfriend?"
The room stilled again as i froze.
There was no escaping it now.
She sighed softly while straightening up. "...Yeah."
"Don’t make a big deal out of it, Dad. I’m over eighteen."
Renzhi opened his mouth but before he could speak, Lianhua’s gaze t his.
Without saying a word, she passed a silent ssage that said be gentle.
Renzhi was known for being hotheaded but Lianhua had always been able to put him on a leash. He was madly in love with his wife so he would never go against her wishes.
Renzhi exhaled lightly while leaning back.
"...Alright."
His tone softened. "You are eighteen... but you still need to be careful."
i crossed her arms slightly.
"I know," she stated before adding quickly—
"He’s not so random guy."
Renzhi’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Oh?"
"He’s Mom’s personal fitness coach."
This revelation caught his attention causing Renzhi to slowly turn to Lianhua.
"...That true?"
Lianhua nodded calmly.
"Yes."
"And he’s good at what he does."
Renzhi blinked.
"...Why am I the last one hearing about this?"
Lianhua gave him a small look.
"Because you’d make a fuss out of it."
Renzhi opened his mouth before closing it again.
"Fair."
He leaned back slightly, processing.
"...Hmm... well... in that case..."
He glanced at i.
"At least invite him over."
i frowned imdiately.
"...Why?"
"To et him properly," Renzhi said simply. "Build a relationship."
i raised an eyebrow.
"Or interrogate him like the others?"
Renzhi waved his hand quickly.
"No, no—nothing like that."
He leaned forward slightly with a sincere look. "I promise."
i studied him with a suspicious look. "...You said that last ti and then scared the other one away with your awakened power."
"That was different."
"How?"
Renzhi hesitated.
"...He deserved it."
Rin snorted from the side while Eric smirked slightly.
"Typical dad."
Lianhua sighed softly and i shook her head.
"You’re not doing that again."
"I won’t."
"I swear."
i stared at him for a few seconds longer before groaning. "...Fine."
"But if you start anything—"
"I won’t."
She pointed at him.
"I an it."
"I know."
She leaned back into her seat while crossing her arms.
"...I’ll invite him."
Rin imdiately perked up again.
"Ooooh! Dinner with the hot boyfriend—this is going to be interesting."
"Rin."
"Okay, okay."
However, her grin didn’t fade and across the table, Renzhi leaned back slowly with a thoughtful look.
~ Thursday~
West stretched his body, rolling his shoulders as he stood in front of the mirror in clean fitness outfit.
He was heading to Renzhi’s residence again ad this ti, he already knew what he intended to do...
West smirked slightly.
"...Finally, ti to complete this one month quest."
He grabbed his phone and suddenly paused with his brows furrowing.
There were more notifications from the sa unknown number.
~ Son, please help ~
~ They’re after ~
~ You’re the only one who can ~
~ Please... ~
~ I don’t have much ti ~
~ Son ~
~ Please answer ~
West stared at the screen as his playful mood from earlier vanished.
His expression hardened slightly at the persistence of this so called prank.
His fingers hovered over the screen as he typed.
"...Who the hell is this?"
He had already confird his father was fine so why "son"?
West’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t press send imdiately.
His thumb hovered briefly before he finally tapped send.
A reply ca almost instantly.
~ Your mother ~
For a mont, West froze in place unmoving.
Sothing complicated and buried deep beneath years of indifference, resentnt... and quiet longing he had long since trained himself to ignore, flickered across his face.
"...Yeah right."
His fingers moved again as he typed faster this ti.
~ Don’t ever ssage this number again. ~
After tapping send, he block it instantly.
West exhaled slowly, tossing the phone onto the table as if it had suddenly beco aningless.
"There’s no way..."
His voice was low and almost dismissive.
His mother? After all these years?
That woman had walked out of his life without a single glance back, a call, a ssage or even a whisper of concern...
He had waited for so long but that version of him didn’t exist anymore.
"...Prankster."
That was the only explanation and to him it made sense.
—
West arrived at Renzhi’s residence about forty minutes later and the gates opened smoothly.
As expected, i was at work while Rin and Eric were at school.
Renzhi was away at the Dragon Fang base which left just one person at ho as usual, if one didn’t count the silent, ever-present maids who moved like shadows through the mansion.
West stepped inside and a maid bowed slightly.
"Madam is waiting in the fitness room."
West nodded with a smile and went ahead.
—
The personal fitness room as usual was expansive and filled with high-end equipnt that looked barely used... until recently.
Lianhua stood near the center waiting but today, she wasn’t dressed like usual.
West paused for half a second as he stepped in because she was dressed in a much tighter and revealing outfit.
Short athletic shorts hugged her lower body perfectly, leaving her toned legs and smooth, fair skin completely exposed. Her top clung closely to her figure, outlining every natural curve in a way that felt... intentional.
West’s gaze lingered for just a fraction longer than usual.
"...Damn."
The words slipped out of his mouth without resistance.
’Asians are a blessing from God...’ he voiced internally.
Lianhua noticed his lingering gaze and a satisfied smile blood across her face.
"Sothing wrong?" she questioned with a light tone.
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