Chapter 45 - 45 - Consequences

By the time Ren and Pax reached the clinic, Fang had already been patched up and Dr. Gordon was in the process of lecturing him.

Ren rushed to Fang's side. "How are you?"

Fang grinned boyishly at him. "Just a couple of scratches," he replied cheerfully. "You should see those two men, though! I bet they'll be in a hospital for a couple of weeks!"

Ren turned to Dr. Gordon for validation. The middle-aged doctor nodded in affirmation.

Ren heaved a sigh of relief and kissed Fang's brow. "Good," he murmured. "Next time, I don't want you getting a single scratch, though."

"But it was a girl..." Fang protested.

"Your well-being is more important than chivalry!" Ren snapped.

Fang pouted. "Claw did a number on her," he said.

"I know," Ren said. He looked at Claw. "Thank you."

Claw nodded and waved her arm casually, as if she'd forgotten than Ren had been screaming at her on the phone less than half an hour ago. "Young Master Fang did very well," she said instead. "His movements were very neat, decisive and efficient. He beat up four experienced professionals in less than five minutes."

Fang's purple eyes glowed with anticipation as he looked up at Ren. If he had a tail, it'd be wagging madly. Ren could almost see the words "Praise me!" floating above the boy's head.

With a helpless chuckle, Ren rubbed Fang's head affectionately. "Well done," he said.

Fang preened.

Dr. Gordon shooed them away, promising to check on Fang the next day.

Ren enveloped Fang in a bear hug as soon as they were seated in the car.

"I was scared," Ren complained.

"Sorry," Fang said, not sounding sorry at all. "Oh ye of little faith..." he mocked.

Ren shook his head ruefully. "I know you won't lose in a fight if you get serious...I'm just afraid that you won't take your own safety seriously, though...that you'd hesitate to hurt other people to save yourself."

Fang sighed. "I won't do that anymore," he said softly. "Didn't I promise you?" He leaned in Ren's shoulder. "Besides, I know you get horribly upset when I'm injured, so I'll naturally take better care of myself than I used to."

Ren finally smiled. "Good," he murmured and kissed Fang. "Remember that."

Fang wrinkled his nose. "Were you really supposed to marry that girl, though?" he demanded.

"Of course not," Ren replied. "You're the only one I'm going to marry. We'll have a grand wedding as soon as you're of age. I can't wait till the end of medical school!"

Fang huffed. "Good! I want that too! Your charm is too great to dampened without a marriage! I might enjoy fighting once in a while, but I don't want to fend off your long line of admirers with a stick everyday; I have better things to do with my time!"

Ren chuckled. "All right, then that's settled." He ran his fingers through Fang's dark hair. "Don't worry about this matter. No one should come to trouble you for a while."

Fang frowned. "What did you do?" he demanded. "You didn't call off a business deal because of this, did you?"

The tips of Ren's ears turned red. "Just a bit," he murmured.

"Yes, only about three and a half billion in losses," Pax commented dryly from the front seat.

"I told you I'll earn it back in a few weeks at most!" Ren snapped. "And nothing's more important than my Fang!"

Fang stared at his boyfriend in a daze. "Your overbearing tyrant CEO mode is quite cool, you know..." he muttered.

It was Ren's turn to preen.

"For heaven's sake, shut up, you two," Pax snapped. "I'm beginning to see hearts and bubbles around you. Save your lovey-dovey displays for home."

Ren and Fang looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Their good mood lasted until they reached home and found the owner of Luna Finance waiting at the gate with his daughter. From the girl's pale face, it was clear that Claw hadn't gone easy on her, Ren thought. Maybe he should give Claw an additional bonus this month to encourage quicker removal of similar annoyances in the future.

Ren lowered his window but didn't step out of the car. "Why are you here, Mr. Kalen?" he asked coldly.

"We are here to apologise, CEO Ren," the middle aged man replied politely. "My daughter's behaviour was inappropriate and I hope that with a sincere apology from her, we can end the matter here today instead of letting it affect our business."

Ren sneered. "Mr. Kalen, it is merely out of respect for our previously amiable relationship that your daughter is able to stand next to you instead of being in a mortuary, and why I have simply terminated our deals instead of dragging your Luna Finance into bankruptcy. This is the most leniency I'm able to show, given your daughter's nefarious designs on my beloved Fang."

The girl couldn't take it anymore. "He's just a random orphan you picked up on the streets, CEO Ren! How can he be deserving of your affection? Am I not a much better match for you?"

Ren's handsome face became so cold that everyone shivered involuntarily.

Mr. Kalen glared at his daughter. "Shut up!" he hissed angrily. "Do you want to ruin our company and bring our family to the streets?!"

The girl burst into tears. "But Daddy..."

"Quick! Apologise to Mr. Fang!" Mr. Kalen pushed her forward.

The girl grit her teeth and peered at Fang inside the car. "I'm sorry," she spat.

"Is she young enough for the juvenile detention centre, or does she have to be sent to the criminal correction centre?" Ren asked lazily, looking at Mr. Kalen. "Do you think a month would be adequate for her to learn what she needs to?"

The older man trembled in fear. Then he grabbed his daughter's hand and fled.

Ren winked at Fang. "How's my villainous aura?"

Fang gave him a thumbs up.