15 2.2

After the funeral, attendees from the business circle felt they'd given enough face and politely said goodbye. The rest of the crowd drove over to Ren Jia's large, comfortable house and warmed up from the rain.

Feng Kuo had intended to leave as soon as the service was over, but he changed his mind when he recalled how Ren Daquan had taken care of him for several years.

Although Feng Kuo was now the undisputed boss of the sex trade around the world, he was born from a prostitute and grew up alone on the streets after she'd died.

He met Ren Daquan when he was ten years old. Rushing to shake off a man he'd stolen from, he'd run into the street without looking and been knocked over by Ren Daquan's car. Feng Kuo, who had simply gotten some scrapes and bruises, jumped into the car and asked to hide.

At that time, Ren Daquan was in his mid-thirties. His business was stable, but the Ren family was only relatively well off. It would take almost another decade before Ren Jia rose to today's heights.

Nevertheless, once Ren Daquan learned about Feng Kuo's circumstances, he spent a great deal of money and effort to take care of him. Yang Shu naturally was informed as well and wanted to raise him in their home, but Feng Kuo was skittish of strangers and refused. All the couple could do was to give him money and make sure he was eating.

This continued for six years.

When Feng Kuo was fifteen, he'd set up several bordellos, and through his keen understanding of the industry, he had rapidly gained distinction within a year, his fame even reaching Ren Daquan's ears.

The sex trade wasn't illegal in B Country, but it was inextricably linked to the black market. Ren Daquan and Yang Shu viewed the youth as family and hoped that he would lead a wholesome life, so when they found out about his business, they were greatly disappointed. They attempted numerous times to persuade him to change. Inevitably, however, the relationship eventually became estranged, with twenty years passing since their last encounter.

Coming back from his memories, Feng Kuo took a shot of whiskey from the circulating waiters and watched the Ren family greeting their guests.

Yang Shu remained elegantly beautiful as he remembered, but her pallid complexion and the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes revealed her grief. Next to her were two women who resembled her very much. The one wearing professional black pantsuits was probably the younger daughter, Ren Chun, making the other Ren Qiu.

In the past, Ren Daquan had often spoken about his children, fondly complaining about the eldest's puppy love and the second child's fixation on her allowance money. Then, when Feng Kuo was fifteen, Ren Daquan had suddenly hugged him and joyously announced that his wife gave birth to a baby boy. Feng Kuo had barely seen a few photographs of the ball-like newborn before he became distant from the Ren family.

Shifting his attention to the young man standing on the other side of Yang Shu, Feng Kuo scanned through the background report on Ren Yijun that he'd ignored before. He seemed to be an unexceptional, coddled boy. His grades were average, his personality soft, and his friends exclusively from rich families.

The single slightly intriguing element was the few cases where several peers from poor backgrounds had tried to get closer to him and he had mercilessly snubbed them, even outright bullying them. But that, too, could be disregarded as typical of a young master.

On paper, Feng Kuo's assessment of Ren Yijun was a talentless brat who only knew to act snobbish.

He would have believed it if he hadn't caught the brilliant and faintly evil flash in the young man's eyes earlier.

Feng Kuo's gaze roamed over Ren Yijun's sharp features, which were softened by the kind smile hung on his thin lips and the endearing tear-shaped mole below his right eye. The youth's figure wasn't short, about 175 centimetres, but the delicate waist, long slim legs, and upturned buttocks combined to form an elfin impression.

Well, his looks alone made him worth a meeting.

Satisfied with his inspection, Feng Kuo headed over to Yang Shu with a few of his bodyguards. She greeted him warmly, asking after how he'd been and sharing a few memories, all without introducing him to her children. Ultimately, she'd accepted that Feng Kuo had his own life, but that was an different issue entirely from letting her babies get mixed up in such circles.

Chen Yu had felt the male lead appraising him with hot eyes and noticed him approaching, but he didn't pay much attention. Yang Shu hadn't presented them to each other, and Feng Kuo wasn't a target of interest to him. He simply considered up to the point of whether Du Guang would meet her fated partner earlier than in the original plot then lost interest.

Feng Kuo was a businessman, he certainly knew how to read the atmosphere. Yang Shu was unwilling for her family to meet him, and Ren Yijun had taken the cue, turning away to make small talk with other guests.

He chuckled quietly. While he wasn't ostentatious, there was no way that the Ren family had missed his imposing momentum and understatedly luxurious attire, all of which indicated his power. That meant they were deliberately staying aloof. How long had it been since someone felt so free to offend him?

Regardless, Feng Kuo wouldn't miss out on what he wanted. He gestured toward Ren Yijun and asked, "Is that your son? Yijun, was it?" The question was directed at Yang Shu, but his eyes didn't leave the youth.

Yang Shu struggled for a moment, but in the end, she was too considerate to be rude and hurt Feng Kuo's feelings. Drawing her son over, she introduced, "Darling, come meet Mr. Feng Kuo, he was very close to your father."

Ren Yijun politely greeted him and reached out to shake his hand. As a connoisseur, Feng Kuoimmediately took note of the young man's dark eyes, which were shallow at first glance and magnetically vigorous below the surface. Highlighted by the beauty mark, anyone who saw them could sense that Ren Yijun would be a passionate partner in bed. Such an alluring feature by itself would make him nearly priceless, not to mention that the rest of the package was also very charming.

Feng Kuo squeezed the youth's fingers in his calloused palm and indulged in the boneless sensation, imagining the tender hand wrapped around something else, when he suddenly felt Ren Yijun tense for a second.

Chen Yu wasn't really concentrating on the male lead until he glimpsed the whiskey he was holding and the light smell reminded him of the heady taste that often accompanied Zhao Cui's kisses. But he quickly restored his expression. This man wasn't Zhao Cui, Zhao Cui was gone.

Once Feng Kuo traced the young man's momentary stiffness to his drink, he handed the glass to a guard then casually inquired, "Are you bothered by alcohol?"

Ren Yijun tried to pull his hand back while courteously replying, "Not at all, Mr. Feng. Please don't refrain on my account."

Feng Kuo considered testing how long he could maintain his gentle façade if he refused to let go of the handshake, but he was a gentleman, he wouldn't use force when words would work. So he began a conversation about various topics, including what kind of work he did and ambiguous insinuations about his relationship with Ren Daquan, observing the unchangingly warm expression on Ren Yijun's face.

In fact, Chen Yu was looking around for Du Guang in order to escape. Surely there would be some kind of instinctive attraction between the protagonist and her husband-to-be? But when he found her, the girl was in a corner crying.

Du Guang, as befitted a heroine, effortlessly maintained her loveliness even when she sobbed for hours on end, so showing her current image to Feng Kuo wouldn't affect the future development of their feelings much. And of course, Chen Yu didn't hold back because of his tender feelings for the grieving girl. What stopped him was that it'd be hard to bring her here unobtrusively.

Actually, thinking about it, it was probably for the best that the two not meet yet. Feng Kuo was thirty-six right now, Du Guang was seventeen. In the original plot, their relationship had been consummated as soon as Feng Kuo felt like it despite the fact that Du Guang had yet to turn twenty, and a couple years' difference wouldn't stop Feng Kuo if they fell in love earlier. It wasn't a big problem, but sex with minors also wasn't something Chen Yu wanted to encourage. Although, no matter what, it didn't change that it was truly a case of an old cow eating young grass.

Chen Yu gave up on throwing Du Guang at Feng Kuo and let the other man continue to amuse himself by trying to disturb and seduce Ren Yijun.

For one thing, he was busy mentally debating whom he should step on first. For another, this man would be connected to him through marriage, so it'd be troublesome to fall out too soon. Finally, he'd been monitoring Ren Anjing for a chance to lay the groundwork for his trap.

But now, Chen Yu had decided to give Secretary Xi the honor of first place, any family trouble that came up could be solved by just not interacting with Da Guang, and Ren Anjing had returned to the main room from his 'secretive' meetings with other guests. It was time to dismiss Feng Kuo.

At last, Ren Yijun offered a longer response. "Mr. Feng, we're grateful that you travelled all the way here for Father's funeral, and I'm sure Father would have appreciated it as well."

Feng Kuo had long sensed that Ren Yijun wouldn't betray his etiquette training no matter what he did. The young man's patience and refinement somewhat surprised him, as the description from the report portrayed an immature boy whose egotism was only disguised by a shallow layer of refinement. Nevertheless, this ploy had been useful, since he'd gained a better understanding of Ren Yijun's character.

Still, he didn't immediately comply with the implied goodbye. Since it was veiled so graciously, he seized the opportunity to take some advantage.

Squeezing the youth's narrow shoulder, he drew close to murmur, "I would have been remiss if I didn't come. Jun, I know you're not familiar with me, but I hope that if you have any troubles, you can contact me, okay?" Then he slid his hand across Ren Yijun's chest and left an embossed black card in the pocket of his suit jacket.

Ren Yijun agreed, showed a shallow smile, and turned on his heel without a second glance.

Behind him, Feng Kuo's face turned sinful. Hm, truly a prideful little child.