The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 192

Cen Xiao’s gaze trembled, and he couldn’t help but pull Li Rong into his arms, deepening the kiss.

He gently bit Li Rong’s lower lip, taking the opportunity to explore deeper.

Li Rong tilted his chin slightly, passionately responding to Cen Xiao’s kiss, his soft tongue skillfully teasing Cen Xiao’s.

The dimly lit room offered an endless sense of safety. No one knew that the Team Leader of the Ghost Eye Group and the Team Leader of the High Tower Team were kissing inside Hongsuo Research Institute.

Just like no one knew about their deep, soul-stirring love that had spanned two lifetimes.

When the lingering kiss finally ended, both were left breathless. Their lips were flushed red; one leaned against the wall, panting slightly, while the other suppressed his body’s reactions with a visible swallow.

Li Rong’s eyes were slightly misty, his disheveled hair falling over his lashes.

He licked his lips and looked down at the ring on his finger. The moment his gaze settled on it, a rush of indescribable emotions overwhelmed him.

The ring Cen Xiao gave him was shaped like a snowflake, with clear and delicate diamond carvings forming the pattern of icy snow crystals. Even in dim light, the ring emitted a serene radiance visible on its surface.

The ring on Cen Xiao’s hand was slightly different. While it also featured snowflakes, the back of the ring had an engraving of a small cat.

Fortunately, the engraving was on the inside; otherwise, it might have looked overly intricate.

But this was an element both of them understood—a mix of regret, nostalgia, bitterness, misunderstanding, and love, all culminating in the ring that now rested on his hand.

This ring carried so much within it, yet thankfully, their rich souls could contain it all.

Li Rong still remembered seeing his parents’ wedding photos when he was a child.

He had been around four or five years old, wearing little bear-patterned fuzzy socks, sitting cross-legged on the carpet. He had fished out an album from under the TV cabinet.

Gu Nong took the album from him, laid it open in front of him, and pointed at the photo of two people embracing each other. With a warm smile, she said, “When your dad and I got married, he was so nervous he couldn’t even speak.”

Professor Li, always eloquent, open, and a natural Team Leader, was someone Li Rong could hardly imagine being flustered.

But as a young child, he couldn’t yet grasp the complexity of adult emotions.

All he noticed was how beautiful and lively his mother looked in the picture, and the shiny object on her hand.

Staring at the indistinct details of the ring, he asked softly, “Weren’t you happy when you got married? Why would Dad be so nervous?”

Gu Nong shook her head. “No, it’s because he was too happy. Your dad loved me so much that he was afraid of doing something wrong.”

Li Rong, already shy by nature, covered his eyes with small hands when his mother openly talked about love.

Gu Nong pulled his hands away and hugged him onto her lap. “What’s there to be shy about? Your dad’s hands were trembling when he put that ring on me.”

Struggling slightly, Li Rong grabbed Gu Nong’s thumb and asked, “What about you? Were you shaking too?”

He hoped that his parents’ happiness was equally shared.

Gu Nong smiled softly. “I wasn’t shaking, but I felt an overwhelming sense of joy and fulfillment. At that moment, I even thought, maybe one day we could develop a hormonal factor to stimulate the brain so that everyone could experience the happiness I was feeling.”

Li Rong turned his head to look at her, his small arms wrapping around her neck. “Then everyone should just get married, right?”

Gu Nong’s smile faded slightly as she gently patted his head. “Not everyone meets someone who can make them happy in marriage.”

Li Rong was confused. “Why not?”

Gu Nong pondered briefly and then hugged his small back. “I don’t know how to explain it. Maybe you’ll understand when you grow up.”

In a rush, Li Rong tugged at her clothes. “Then hurry up and make that hormone thing! What if I never meet someone?”

…

Snapping back to the present, Li Rong chuckled softly. He gently traced the snowflake-shaped ring with his fingertips, his eyes curving into a bright, joyful arc.

He had found that someone.

He could finally understand the kind of happiness his mother once spoke of.

So this is what it feels like.

It turned out that the person who could make him feel this way was Cen Xiao.

Cen Xiao asked softly, “What are you thinking about?”

Li Rong looked up at him mischievously and replied, “Guess.”

Cen Xiao took his hand, gently kneading it. “I’ll guess… being with me hasn’t disappointed you.”

Li Rong tilted his head. “Since when did Team Leader Cen become so humble?”

Cen Xiao leaned in slightly, his voice low and husky. “Can I take this as a sign that you’re very happy?”

Li Rong touched his nose to Cen Xiao’s, tightening his grip on his hand. “Of course.”

Accepting the ring felt like completing an important ceremony, as though they had moved on to the next stage of their lives.

They had no plans to travel abroad to get married; for the two of them, the formalities no longer mattered. The weight of their emotions was already more than enough to surpass everything else.

Cen Xiao said with satisfaction, “Now that you’re wearing this, there’ll be no more random people buying you milk tea or introducing blind dates to me.”

“You’re still thinking about that…” Li Rong began to tease him for being jealous but suddenly realized something. “I spend a lot of time in the lab. I can’t always wear this on my hand.”

Cen Xiao understood. After all, he knew the nature of Li Rong’s work.

His gaze lowered as his hand reached to caress Li Rong’s slender neck, his fingers lingering at the delicate hollow.

With an ambiguous tone, his fingertips brushed Li Rong’s cool collarbone. “Then wear it around your neck. Be my little cat, marked with my symbol.”

Li Rong swallowed, his dark eyes glinting with a playful intensity. “Team Leader Cen, I want to go home. I want to be the little cat sitting on you.”

Cen Xiao’s breath immediately grew heavier.

Li Rong knew exactly how to make him lose control, how to make him give in completely.

Sometimes Cen Xiao felt that falling for Li Rong had been destined from the very first glance.

No one else could ever make him feel this way. Just a single sentence from Li Rong could make him want to cast aside all rules and restraints.

Gritting his teeth, Cen Xiao said, “Now even if you don’t want to leave, you have to.”

Li Rong didn’t even pack his things. He threw on a coat and hurriedly followed Cen Xiao out the door.

Once in the hallway, they had to keep up appearances. Cen Xiao walked ahead with an icy expression, while Li Rong followed behind, equally emotionless.

Li Rong’s assistant, who worked nearby, rushed out when he heard the commotion. Seeing Li Rong’s slightly messy hair and unsmiling face, the assistant’s heart skipped a beat.

“Team Leader Li, are… are you alright?”

Li Rong replied in a low voice, “I’m fine. You can head off now; I’m leaving too.”

The assistant hesitated. “Huh? But we still need to check that set of experimental data…”

Li Rong said bluntly, “Something urgent came up.”

The assistant immediately straightened up, serious. “Got it! You handle your business, Team Leader Li. Don’t let anything important be delayed.”

Li Rong: “…”

He considered himself thick-skinned, but hearing the assistant’s words still made his cheeks burn.

It was important business—but also very much personal.

Cen Xiao, walking ahead, heard everything. He had to work hard to suppress his laughter, speeding up to make sure no one at the Hongsuo Institute caught on to anything. Before long, he had put some distance between himself and Li Rong.

The assistant watched silently and sighed inwardly. Their relationship really is bad. They can’t even walk side by side.

—

After that day, Li Rong threaded the ring through a thin silver chain and wore it around his neck.

Most of his clothes had rounded collars, conveniently covering most of the ring. Paired with his lab coat, it was practically invisible, and no one noticed the extra item around his neck.

Cen Xiao, however, was different.

He wore his ring openly in the Ninth District building.

Aside from being the Team Leader of the Ghost Eye Group, Cen Xiao was also the son of the Blue Pivot Third District President. Naturally, plenty of people were keeping an eye on his romantic life, so news of the ring spread quickly.

“Team Leader Cen is wearing a ring. There’s definitely something going on!”

“I heard Chairman Hu wanted to introduce his niece to Team Leader Cen, but Cen’s father stopped it. Turns out, he’s already found someone.”

“I thought it was just an excuse. After all, the father-son relationship isn’t great. If his father introduced someone, he definitely wouldn’t agree. He wouldn’t want to lose face.”

“Whoever this girl is, she’s so lucky. If they get married, a union between the Ninth and Third Districts—what a cushy life!”

“But I haven’t heard about Team Leader Cen being close to anyone. Even the Song family tried to match him up once. They were high school classmates, but nothing came of it.”

“He’s too prominent. I bet he doesn’t want his fiancée to be targeted. He probably won’t reveal anything for a while.”

“What? Cen Xiao is engaged? As long as he’s not married, my cousin still has a chance. He’s young; he’ll get tired of her eventually.”

“Your cousin who studied abroad? The one who drinks and parties all the time? She’s definitely not his type. He must like someone gentle and quiet—like my niece.”

….

Despite the speculation, no one ever saw Cen Xiao with any woman.

People tried to ask the Cen and Xiao families for information, but Cen Qing would only scoff and walk away. Xiao father and mother claimed to know nothing other than the fact that Cen Xiao had been in a relationship for over a year—but they didn’t know the girl’s name or appearance.

The lack of answers only deepened everyone’s curiosity, and soon, the rumors about Cen Xiao’s mysterious fiancée spread from Blue Pivot to Hongsuo.

Li Rong often ate lunch at Hongsuo Research Institute cafeteria, a place notorious for gossip. The staff, tired from their busy, monotonous work, often relied on such rumors for entertainment.

Li Rong got himself a bowl of chicken noodle salad, chose a bright, clean table, checked his watch, and quietly began eating.

Occasionally, colleagues greeted him, and he returned their smiles with his usual gentle expression.

Soon, a group of newly assigned Ph.D. students sat at the table next to his, chatting animatedly.

“Hey, have you heard? Cen Xiao from the Ninth District has a fiancée.”

“I heard! My classmate in the Ninth District told me. Apparently, Cen’s family doesn’t approve and is pressuring him to break up. Cen Qing gets furious every time someone mentions it.”

“Wow… That’s rough. What about the girl’s side?”

“Who knows? I heard she has a bad temper. Isn’t she forcing Cen Xiao to wear the ring to work every day as a declaration of ownership?”

“Let’s hope she holds on. But honestly, without family blessings, there’s no future.”

“Not necessarily. Maybe she’s so beautiful she has Cen Xiao wrapped around her little finger.”

“What’s the use of being beautiful? You think the Cen and Xiao families only care about looks?”

“How do you know she’s only pretty? Maybe she’s also highly educated and intelligent!”

The “beautiful” Li Rong bit his noodles, startled by the absurd yet oddly plausible rumors. He gasped, nearly choking.

“Cough, cough…”

He patted his chest, quickly gulped down several sips of water, and rushed to leave before anyone noticed him.

Clearly, Cen Xiao’s attempt to “solve the issue” of gossip had completely backfired.