Ru slapped the back of his head. "I told you those were not love-letters."
"Did you ever read even one of those letters? How are you sure they were not love-letters?" Xia Haoran retorted back. The letters were still sealed as they were sent. Who couldn't tell that she never even bothered to open any one of those?
"How can a kid of ten or eleven years know what love is? They were definitely not love-letters. Besides, how can you say those were love letters? Did you read?" Ru also shot back challengingly.
"I wanted to read but my dear mother was very strict about that. I couldn't do so." Ru narrowed her eyes at him while he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "However, I know those are love letters. Because every letter was addressed as 'To my dearest love' and wrapped in a beautiful red envelope. You tell me, what else does it prove?" Ru opened her mouth to retort when he shut her up with a hand over her mouth and continued, "And why do you think that a kid can't understand love? Love doesn't have an age. Also, when two people are connected by the red thread of fate, there is no way they'd escape. In my opinion, a child's love is the purest one."
"You talk too much," Ru grumbled as she shot him a deadly glare which he disregarded with a chuckle.
He eyed her with a smirk as he said, "I learned from the best." Obviously, he was referring to her and even she knew it herself. "However, I really don't care who you are gonna choose. Either it's Xiao Zhiren or that nuisance from your childhood. I'm okay with either one since I know both love you. The question is, who do you love?"
"No one," Ru answered plainly as if trying to just get rid of this conversation.
"Keep denying." Xia Haoran muttered to himself. A ping sound caught his attention and he rummaged out his cellphone. His brows furrowed slightly as he looked through the content of the message. "Ge, I gotta go. Something came up." He gave Ru a hug and whispered, "Don't run. I'll see you soon."
Ru stroked his head gently and said, "I won't. I think I've run out of places to run to."
Xia Haoran smiled when heard her reply and nodded before turning to leave. As he stood before the elevator, he looked back at Ru with a deep gaze and shouted, "Take care of yourself."
Ru waved him off saying, "I always do."
As she watched him leave, her eyes fell back to the porcelain bottle of peach wine that he left for her. There was an unfathomable emotion in her eyes as a gush of memories came back with that wine...
"Grandfather, why don't you teach me how to make that peach wine?" She had blinked her eyes adorably at that old man before her. "I'm already fourteen. I should carry on your legacy."
Her grandfather smiled at her as he leisurely picked his white chess piece and made his move saying, "Focus on the game. If you lose, I'll lock you in the library." His stern voice held a bit of amusement which could be seen in his eyes as he saw the horrified look on Ru's face.
Library? That place was her nemesis. Why did everyone love to lock her there?
She hated the books the most. It was like standing between books, she could hear them calling to her and it was creepy really creepy.
Taking a deep breath to come over her fear of books, she said, "And if I win, will you let me learn your secret recipe of wine?" Her eyes looked at him earnestly while she picked her black chess piece and placed it on the marble chessboard.
When she didn't hear his reply for a while, she tugged at his sleeve and groaned, "Tell me..."
"Didn't Young Master Ru was punished by the clan patriarch a couple of days ago for stealing my wine?" His words made Ru retract her hands as she avoided his eyes. That reminder of sticks on forearms made her unconsciously rub her wrists. How could she forget how numb her lower body was after kneeling on that ice block?
Father was really angry that day because she stole something. And stealing was way below her values and status. She couldn't even blame her father for being furious with her.
"Now you're gonna bully me as well?" She narrowed her eyes at him accusingly.
"No one dares to bully our Young Master Ru." With a hand on her head, he added, "I'll teach you the wine recipe but when it's the right time to do so."
This answer had given her hope back then. After all, even her father didn't know the secret of grandfather's wine. She used to love spending time in her grandfather's courtyard which was filled with peach blossoms. In Spring, whenever she sat under those trees, it felt like pink snow was falling from the sky. It was indeed a sight to behold.
With a sigh, she stopped daydreaming. She was promised to learn the secret recipe on her eighteenth birthday but she ran away before that. Time couldn't turn back so, she picked up the wine bottle before her now. She cradled it like it was a delicate baby. It was amusing to see how gentle she was with just a wine bottle. But it also showed how much her grandfather mattered to her.
Ru also took the elevator down since she didn't plan on running all the way down for 40 or so floors. It's not like she was impatient to do so. In the elevator, a thought crossed her mind. She dialed a number and waited for the call to connect.
"Master?" A very cautious and uncertain voice came from the other side.
"Wu Dishi, this lord has some important business for you." Hearing Ru's voice, Wu Dishi became alert at an alarming rate.
"Yes, Master. What can I do for you?" He questioned politely and courteously.
"Buy the Sky Building for this lord."
"What?" Wu Dishi was confused when did Sky Building become important? Was it really valuable?
"It's very valuable to me." Ru continued, not paying heed to his stunned or confused state.
"Master, Sky Building's market value is not very beneficial. We wouldn't be getting any profit." Wu Dishi felt like he needed to make this clear even though he was certain that this point was clear to Ru herself.
"Sometimes, profits are not everything. Mr. Wu, there is a thing called sentimental value. And trust me, it outweighs the monetary profit."
Wu Dishi choked on air as he heard her words. He was thinking whether there was a ghost who took hold of his master's body. Like how could Lord Alev Knight who valued money and power could talk about sentimental values? It just didn't make sense. At all!
He drank a mouthful of water to stop his coughing and decided to take another chance, "Master?"
"What?"
"Are you okay?" His cautious tone made the vein in Ru's forehead to twitch visibly. "I mean I never heard you talking about sentimental values before."
"Mr. Wu..."
"Yes?"
"I'm a crazy, bloodthirsty devil. Do you really want to know whether I am okay or not?"
Her blatant threat made him shut up instantly as he said, "Understood. I'll arrange everything right away."
"You better do," with that, she hung up.
Initially, she really had no plan on buying this building but now the time was different. Circumstances were also different. After all, now this place really had sentimental value for her. Her little brother met her right in this building. That one fact was enough to make this building valuable for her.
She had thought of seeing her brother plenty of times in these years but this was still unexpected. She was so happy that it was hard to conceal it. Her lips couldn't just stop from curling up and the shine in her eyes was just unconcealable.
She was so lost in her own happiness that she didn't even notice when the elevator stopped. But she did notice when she heard an annoying voice calling her, "Hey, Aly!"
Ru lifted her eyes to glare at Adrian but her body stiffened when she noticed the person standing beside him with a broody look and a furious aura that looked like it was about to erupt at any moment now.
This person was none other than... Xiao Zhiren.
And Xiao Zhiren's eyes were boring into her soul and when he noticed the glimmer in her eyes and that smile on her face along with that wine bottle cradled in her arms, his brows quirked up in surprise. Who could make her so happy?