Billionaire's Long Journey of Chasing His Love-Chapter 260 - 248: You are Li’s Father! (First Update)

"Mind your own business!" Tong Aino huffed.

"I wouldn’t even bother! Here’s a word for you—pathetic! Now you feel sorry for her, but where were you back then? Your sister-in-law told me that Connie planned to head back to Raman right after Ai Ni’s engagement party. It’s set in stone! And she also said that once Connie leaves, she has no intentions of ever coming back."

Tong Airui finished speaking and quickly headed downstairs.

Tong Aino stood frozen in place for a long time before he slowly made his way to Connie’s room.

He raised his hand to knock on the door but hesitated, finally mustering the courage to give it a light knock.

"Who is it?" Connie, busy reviewing the ledger at her desk, asked without even looking up.

Tong Aino’s lips moved slightly, and he whispered, "It’s me."

The voice was so faint that Connie naturally didn’t hear it. She furrowed her brow and continued scrutinizing the ledger. At this point, the only person who would knock on her door without saying anything had to be Tong Aino.

Realizing the door wasn’t opening, Tong Aino raised his hand and knocked again. "Connie, I noticed you ate very little tonight and might be hungry, so I brought you a midnight snack."

This time his voice was loud enough. Connie set down the ledger, hesitated, then picked it up again. "I’m not hungry!" she replied.

"Connie, could you open the door first? If I keep knocking like this, I’ll wake up everyone in the house."

"If you’re so concerned about waking everyone up, then leave already. I’m not hungry, and even if I were, I wouldn’t eat anything you brought!" Connie responded coldly.

"Connie, please open the door. I just want to talk to you." The usual arrogance in Tong Aino’s voice was gone, replaced by the tone of a guilty child pleading for forgiveness.

"There’s nothing for us to talk about!" Connie picked up her headphones, put them on, and turned her music to the maximum volume while continuing to go over the ledgers.

She deliberately blocked her ears to keep herself from softening under his persistent begging.

Tong Aino lightly patted the door, but when he heard no further response from inside, he shook his head helplessly.

Footsteps echoed from downstairs. Tong Aino glanced that way and quickly slipped into his bedroom, lest Tong Airui spot him and mock him mercilessly.

Tong Airui strolled upstairs with his long legs. With Tong Aino’s amateur attempts, there was no escaping his keen eyes. He glanced at Connie’s firmly shut door and smirked faintly.

Honestly, he hoped Connie would hold her ground for a few more days; only then could Tong Aino truly come to his senses.

Yi Luowa spotted him returning and shuffled over in her slippers. "Did anyone see you?" she asked.

"Old Five went to deliver midnight snacks to Connie but didn’t get through the door." Tong Airui placed a tray on the coffee table and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Hurry up and eat."

Yi Luowa sipped her milk and smiled. "It’s rare to see Connie standing firm for once. I hope she keeps it up. Old Five needs to learn a lesson."

"Exactly what I was thinking. Old Five cares about Connie, but he can’t control his mouth. Giving him a lesson will teach him some manners."

Yi Luowa nodded in agreement and, holding a burger, asked, "Brother, do you want some?"

"I’m not hungry. You eat." Tong Airui grabbed a napkin and wiped the milk off the corner of her mouth.

"I shouldn’t eat too much; otherwise, I’ll turn into a little pig, and then you won’t like me anymore." Yi Luowa nibbled off a small bite and slowly chewed.

"Even if you turn into a little bear, I’ll still like you." Tong Airui lifted her legs onto his lap and gently massaged them.

Yi Luowa glanced at him and hesitated before saying, "Brother, I think we need a plan."

"Plan for what?" Tong Airui tilted his head to look at her.

"Well... you know, what we just did earlier. Can we limit it to once a week?"

Tong Airui shook his head decisively.

Yi Luowa pouted and bit off half of the burger in one go. She had expected this outcome, yet she still felt a little defeated. Honestly, it was too exhausting to keep up with him.

Tong Airui chuckled as he watched her. "Take smaller bites; no one’s going to steal it from you."

Yi Luowa glared at him playfully and took a sip of milk to help swallow the food in her mouth.

After eating, she rinsed out her mouth and crawled into bed to sleep.

The next morning, Yi Luowa and Tong Airui got up early—one heading to Connie’s room and the other to Mi Chenshuo’s.

Connie heard Yi Luowa knocking and quickly opened the door. Yi Luowa noticed the red blood vessels spidering across her eyes and asked worriedly, "You didn’t sleep all night?"

"Yeah, but it was worth it. I found the problem. I was just about to tell Third Brother when you came."

"Let’s go together. Maybe Third Brother’s discovered something too."

The two of them grabbed the ledgers and walked to Mi Chenshuo’s bedroom.

The door to his room was wide open. Tong Aino, his hair a disheveled mess, was slumped on the sofa. When he caught a glimpse of Connie, he immediately sat up straight.

Connie didn’t even spare him a glance as she went straight to the table, placed the ledgers down, and said to Mi Chenshuo, "Third Brother, these books have issues, but the ones Yi Luowa checked are fine."

"Thanks for the hard work, Connie!" Mi Chenshuo frowned slightly. "Old Five and I also found a few problematic accounts."

"So, what’s next?" Tong Airui asked, his voice deep. "If you can’t handle this, I’ll take care of it."

"No need. This is something I have to deal with myself." Mi Chenshuo gave a self-deprecating smile. "To think I was raising a wolf right under my nose."

"Third Brother, everyone makes mistakes in judgment. At least you caught it in time," Yi Luowa said earnestly. She put down the ledgers and tilted her head to look at him. "Don’t forget our agreement. No matter what happens, you won’t let it break you."

"With you all by my side, nothing will break me." Mi Chenshuo smiled before turning to Tong Aino. "Later, I’ll head to the office. You stay home and catch up on sleep."

Tong Aino, however, wasn’t listening to a word. His eyes were glued to Connie.

Feeling his gaze, Connie subtly shifted her stance, showing Tong Aino her back. She told Mi Chenshuo, "Third Brother, I’m heading back. Call me if you need anything; I’ll be home these few days."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Tong Aino jumped to his feet. "Connie, I haven’t approved your early departure from your internship yet—"

A swift kick to his calf from Tong Airui silenced him.

Tong Aino shot him a look. Tong Airui furrowed his brow and mouthed, "Speak properly!"

Tong Aino ran his hand through his messy hair and adjusted his tone. "You didn’t sleep all night. Take a break today and go to work tomorrow."

"Don’t forget I’m no longer an intern at Zorion." With that, Connie left without a backward glance.

Tong Aino chased after her and grabbed her hand. "Tell me what I can do to stop you from being angry. If you’re staying up late, I’ll stay up with you. If you’re hungry, I’ll bring you snacks. Can’t these gestures make up for my past mistakes?"

"Mistakes? And what mistakes were those? You’ve done nothing wrong!" Connie snapped as she shook off his hand. When she saw him reaching out again, she raised her finger at him in warning. "Tong Aino, don’t push me into laying a hand on you!"

"You? Lay a hand on me?" Tong Aino sneered, half amused.

Seizing the moment, Connie grabbed his collar and shoved him against the railing.

Tong Aino stared at her in disbelief. She actually dared to use force!

Pressing her elbow against his throat, Connie pushed him further down until his body was almost bent over the edge. "It’s the second floor—falling from here won’t kill you, but you’ll at least hurt for a few days."

Tong Aino wanted to laugh. With her measly skills, he could easily counter her. But to let her vent her frustration, he decided to play along.

Yi Luowa and Tong Airui stepped out of their rooms. After glancing at the scene, they nonchalantly turned back. "Let Old Five deal with this himself. As long as no one dies, they can do whatever they want," Tong Airui muttered indifferently.

Nobody came to break up their "fight," and since Tong Aino wasn’t fighting back, Connie started feeling a little trapped.

"Ahem..." Long Che emerged from another room with a soft cough but didn’t otherwise interfere, heading downstairs as if he’d seen nothing.

Connie’s face flushed red. Released him abruptly, she bolted back to her bedroom.

Tong Aino straightened himself and leaned on the railing. Hearing the door slamming shut behind her, he slumped his shoulders and walked downstairs, looking defeated.

Connie was so embarrassed that she skipped breakfast altogether. Xiao Yudian ended up bringing her meal to her room.

"Mom, where are the spare keys to the bedrooms upstairs?" Tong Aino asked lazily, having stayed home while everyone else had left for work or school.

Tong Yao gave him a side glance. "Ask the butler."

Without wasting a second, Tong Aino rushed to find the butler, got the keys, and dashed upstairs.

Tong Yao shook her head in resignation. "You can’t even utter one decent sentence. I’d advise you to stay put."

"Mom—" Tong Aino glanced back at her but continued racing up the stairs.

In the end, Tong Aino’s excitement turned into disappointment.

He managed to unlock Connie’s door, but she had secured it with the safety chain.

Through the small gap, he could see her lying on the bed. His chest tightened. After considering her sleepless night, he decided not to disturb her and softly closed the door.

The moment the door shut, Connie turned her head and stared at it, her eyes misting.

"I swear I hate you! This time, if I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll walk over me for the rest of my life!" she muttered under her breath. Then she froze. Walk over her for life? What was she even thinking? He was flawed in every possible way, so why was she even contemplating a life together?

At lunch, Connie finally came downstairs to eat. By that time, Tong Aino was still asleep, so they completely missed each other.

When he eventually emerged after sleeping in, Connie had already retreated to her room.

Not spotting her, Tong Aino lazily slumped onto the sofa and asked, "Mom, did Connie have lunch?"

"I’m not your personal Connie monitor," Tong Yao scoffed before walking out the door.