C6 The Taste of Instant Noodles

Yuh Jinnian's face contorted with pain, and Ruan Ruan, disregarding Dan Hengmo's status, pushed him aside, her gaze fixed anxiously on Jinnian's hand.

"I'll take you to the hospital," Ruan Ruan said, intent on escorting Yuh Jinnian away.

Dan Hengmo yanked her back, his dark eyes deepening, resembling a black hole ready to devour everything. "Even if he dies today, it has nothing to do with you," he declared before pulling her into the house and slamming the door shut.

At the mention of death, a chill engulfed Ruan Ruan, her body radiating an icy aura, as she momentarily forgot the identity of the person in her home.

Outside, Yuh Jinnian was left alone, the physical pain in his hand paling in comparison to his heartache. How had their relationship deteriorated to this point? Was it truly over?

Was the one he loved about to fall into the arms of another?

Had this love, which began with him, come to an end?

"Ruan Ruan, I won't give up," Yuh Jinnian declared to the closed door.

Inside, Ruan Ruan sat on the floor, weeping with her head buried in her knees. She had never been strong; she was fragile.

Dan Hengmo paid her no mind, entering her room to retrieve her laptop and began typing. Ruan Ruan neither knew nor cared what he was doing.

"If it upsets you, I could kill him for you," Dan Hengmo offered nonchalantly, as if murder were no more significant than a daily chore—at least, that's how Ruan Ruan perceived it.

Her tears ceased at his words. She had never wished harm upon Yuh Jinnian, despite the deep wounds he had inflicted.

"Have you ever been in love?" Ruan Ruan inquired, suspecting that someone who regarded human life as trivial must be devoid of emotion.

Dan Hengmo paused his typing and met her gaze. "Women are merely outlets for desire," he responded flatly, his voice devoid of inflection, his face expressionless.

To him, women were nothing more than objects for release, and in his eyes, the only distinction was between the living and the dead. Ruan Ruan deeply regretted broaching the subject with him.

Ruan Ruan hadn't eaten anything all morning, and now hunger was setting in. She wasn't the type of girl who lost her appetite when upset; in fact, she tended to eat more when feeling down. That was precisely why Ruan Ruan never seemed to slim down.

As she entered the kitchen, Dan Hengmo said, "I haven't eaten." The implication was clear—he expected Ruan Ruan to cook for him.

Entering the kitchen, Ruan Ruan felt an urge to grab a kitchen knife and take a swing at him. She sighed, resisting the impulse. She was an ordinary person, not hardened enough to contemplate murder. If she were that tough, she wouldn't have spent time crying alone in her room.

Reluctantly, she ripped open two packets of instant noodles. Cooking was not her forte; anything that kept her from starving was fine by her. She recalled how Shi Xuerong loved to cook, and here was yet another thing she didn't measure up to Xuerong in.

With a bitter smile, she prepared the noodles and served them to Dan Hengmo, who disdainfully remarked, "No wonder you can't keep a man."

His cruelty was too much for her. She had tolerated him undressing her for a bath, tolerated his kisses, but now he was mocking her vulnerabilities.

Ruan Ruan was human, not a saint; her patience had its limits. Yet, considering his influential status and the leverage he had over her, she was forced to bite back her anger, responding only with words.

"Yeah, I can't keep a man, unlike you, who seems to have no trouble in that department," Ruan Ruan retorted icily.

Dan Hengmo looked at her, a glint in his dark eyes that Ruan Ruan attributed to a trick of the light.

"Eating anything is a good suggestion," Dan Hengmo said with a smirk, intentionally provoking her. "I recall you have a brother who's quite the looker, studying in City A."

Although Dan Hengmo's words were meant in jest, to Ruan Ruan, they took on a sinister tone.

Ruan Ruan was terrified that Dan Hengmo might harm her brother, and her resistance melted away as she muttered, "I was just kidding. Please, don't be mad." Her words came out half-hearted.

"I was kidding too," Dan Hengmo replied with a chill in his voice, which seemed anything but playful.

Ruan Ruan forced a laugh and bowed her head to her noodles.

Facing a man who could end her life at any moment, fear was all Ruan Ruan could feel. She wondered what terrible deeds she must have done in a past life to deserve an encounter with such a frightening man.

Dan Hengmo was eating instant noodles, which were frankly terrible, but seeing Ruan Ruan relishing hers, he inexplicably found himself following suit.

Dan Hengmo ate with such grace and silence that he made a cheap pack of noodles seem like a gourmet meal worth hundreds.

After quickly finishing his noodles, Dan Hengmo headed straight for Ruan Ruan's room to sleep.

Ruan Ruan followed him into her room, taken aback that he had just barged in without a word to her.

"What are you doing in my room?" Ruan Ruan inquired.

Dan Hengmo approached the wardrobe, took out his clothes, and Ruan Ruan was dumbfounded. When had he put them there?

After Dan Hengmo showered, Ruan Ruan rushed to the closet. She hadn't organized it properly in a while, but now the clothes were neatly arranged by color.

Usually, she would just fold her clothes, placing her favorites at the front and stuffing the rest out of sight.

Ruan Ruan was still staring blankly at the closet when Dan Hengmo emerged from the bathroom. Sensing his gaze, she turned and asked, "When did you put the clothes in?"

Dan Hengmo lay on the bed, surrounded by Ruan Ruan's plush toys, which he had tossed onto the small sofa in the room.

"After I bathed you last night," he said, casually inviting Ruan Ruan to join him in bed.

Ruan Ruan gave him a disdainful look. She decided to let the bathing incident slide; after all, arguing with a murderer was neither of interest nor within her courage.

She left the bedroom. Her rental was tiny, with just one bedroom. Now that her bedroom had been commandeered, reclaiming it was out of the question. She resigned herself to sleeping in the living room.

Checking her phone, Ruan Ruan noted it was only four in the afternoon, yet he had already gone to sleep. Was he planning to engage in some secretive, unsavory activities later that night?

She shook her head, dismissing the thought. Whatever he did was none of her concern. They were merely strangers sharing a roof, and knowing too much about his affairs could only spell trouble for her.

Turning on her computer, Ruan Ruan wondered what Dan Hengmo had been doing with it earlier. She recalled coming across a similar name online.

A photograph popped up on the screen. The man in the image had seductive phoenix eyes, a prominent nose, and lips considered the epitome of sexiness, his mischievous smile giving him the air of a Casanova.

Scrolling down, she found his information. It was Dan Hengyao, the second son of the Haohai Group, notorious for his romantic escapades with numerous female stars. He was well-known in the industry as a charismatic lover and playboy.

Ruan Ruan was familiar with the Haohai Group, a publicly traded company and the leading commercial enterprise in the nation. Its operations extended beyond trade to include catering, real estate, and this year, it had even expanded into international markets. With an annual turnover in the hundreds of billions, it consistently ranked among the wealthiest in the country.