Chapter 46

When Elder Shao rushed to the hospital room, Shao Yihuai had already been transferred back to a regular hospital bed, with the intravenous needle reinserted.

He had passed out again.

The doctor reproached Zhuang Wan, "Did you let the patient smoke?"

The scent of tobacco still lingered in the air.

Zhuang Wan admitted candidly, "I smoked."

The doctor looked at her as if choked by words, "...He is extremely weak with low immunity right now. You must keep an eye on him and not let him go out into the draft. If he contracts a severe cold at this stage, it will be very troublesome."

Zhuang Wan hadn't considered this angle. "...How troublesome? Is he going to die?"

In the master suite's powder room at Manhe, he had stopped breathing entirely back then, yet she managed to bring him back from the brink while keeping her head. How could he possibly die now?

"Didn't I tell you? The patient has no will to live, and his physiology cannot withstand any more stimulation."

Hearing this, Elder Shao, who had been standing by the window, snapped around abruptly. "What do you mean he has no will to live?! Did he bring this upon himself by trying to end his life?"

Zhuang Wan glared at the doctor.

The doctor awkwardly averted his gaze, deliberating before speaking, "Miss Zhuang, would you please step outside with me for a moment."

Zhuang Wan offered a few words of comfort to the elder and followed the doctor out.

The doctor led her to the nursing station in the inpatient ward and said, "I must impress upon you a few rules. Can you agree to them?"

"Please go ahead."

"First, you cannot stay in the hospital room anymore. As for other family members, it is best that no one comes to visit. Second, I will assign two nurses to look after him. Regardless of how sensitive his background is, a nurse must be present at all times right now."

Zhuang Wan turned the thoughts over in her mind. "...Didn't you say he has no will to live? If no one is by his side to talk to him at a time like this, wouldn't that make things even worse?"

"...Is this caused by some event or someone, or is he suffering from depression?"

"Probably... because of a certain person..."

"Can that person be invited over?"

"It's best not to play that card. I have no idea what his reaction would be if that person showed up."

The main point was that she had no idea how Shao Yihuai would react.

Indeed, they could not risk further stimulating the patient's emotions.

"...Then let's observe him for another two days first. I'll drop by the room to check on him from time to time."

With that decided, Zhuang Wan accompanied Elder Shao as they left the ward.

She walked the elder to the parking lot. "Uncle, please don't worry, he'll be fine. He's young, and with his years of regular workouts, he has a strong foundation. He'll definitely be all right."

A natural authority flickered in the depths of the elder's eyes as he scrutinized her. "Little Zhuang, tell me the truth. Did he try to take his own life?"

"No."

Zhuang Wan immediately denied it. "It's the beginning of the year, work is busy, and he's been swamped with matters concerning Miss Gu. He was under too much pressure and drank too much. It was an accident."

"He has the best self-control. He has never drunk this much before," the elder said, clearly unconvinced. "When he stayed at the old residence during the New Year, I noticed something was off. He was drunk every single day and wouldn't say a single word."

"Oh, pillars that are too rigid easily snap, right? He's been holding on, holding on for too long, and a person is bound to break down occasionally." Zhuang Wan kept her lips sealed and comforted him, "Don't worry, in a few days, he will definitely return home safe and sound."

Elder Shao left with his secretary, and Zhuang Wan had no choice but to head home as well.

In Shao Yihuai's hospital room, only nurses and doctors entered and exited.

The doctor wanted him to stay a few more days for observation, but after just a single day, he insisted on being discharged.

All his physical indicators had returned to normal, though his complexion remained somewhat pale. Having no other choice, the doctor instructed Uncle Zong, who had come to pick him up, that the family needed to keep a close eye on him and contact the hospital immediately should anything arise.

Uncle Zong took this to heart, recording every word the doctor said into the memo app on his phone, syllable by syllable.

Upon reaching the parking lot, Shao Yihuai noticed that the vehicle Uncle Zong had driven was the old Maybach from before.

He remained silent and got into the back seat.

The car pulled out of the hospital and headed straight for the ring road.

Shao Yihuai withdrew his gaze from the car window, narrowing his eyes. "...Where are we going?"

Uncle Zong held his breath, steeling himself, "The elder arranged for you to stay temporarily at the old residence."

"You're quite something," Shao Yihuai said flatly. "I was in the hospital for just a few days, and you've already been bought off by the old man."

Uncle Zong felt his scalp go numb and his heart leap into his throat, yet he forced himself to hold firm. "I'm sorry, sir, but this time I must follow the elder's instructions. No one is at ease with you living alone at Manhe."

Shao Yihuai watched his eyes in the rearview mirror while Uncle Zong desperately averted his gaze, concentrating all his focus on driving.

Fortunately, the master ultimately said nothing more.

-

The old residence.

Shao Yihuai returned to his room to shower and change.

Zong Liangzhi summoned the household's maids and staff, instructing them on how the master was to be cared for moving forward.

Not long after, however, the master came back downstairs, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, announcing that he was going to the office.

Zong Liangzhi dared not defy him further and could only drive him to the company.

Over the next few days, Zong Liangzhi intentionally observed the master's complexion daily and, finding nothing out of the ordinary, finally let out a sigh of relief.

During this period, one morning, Gu Peirou personally paid a visit to the Shao family's old residence.

Shao Yihuai met with her, and the two conversed for a while on the second-floor terrace.

The weather was growing warmer, and tree branches were putting forth delicate green buds, hanging in tiny clusters from the tips.

Early in the morning, the air still carried a crisp bite.

Shao Yihuai sat in a rattan chair while Gu Peirou sat diagonally across from him, listening to him say, "I'm fine, I was just too busy recently."

Gu Peirou nodded and still brought it up: "I understand you."

After a moment of silence, Gu Peirou tentatively broached the subject: "...About the wedding photographs..."

Shao Yihuai raised his eyes to look at her. "I'm sorry, the wedding cannot go on."

Gu Peirou felt a shock so profound that her heartbeat skipped a beat. At a loss, she stammered, "...Is... is there something wrong with me?"

"There is someone else in my heart."

These words struck like thunder and fell like a guillotine.

Gu Peirou could barely string her words together. "...But... this doesn't get in the way of..."

She wanted to say that it didn't matter; wasn't everyone like this? A wedding was a wedding, completely separate from matters of the heart.

"I can't do it."

His tone remained detached. "I'm sorry."

He could not bring himself to keep thinking of Tongtong in his heart while marrying someone else.

Gu Peirou no longer knew what else to say.

Shao Yihuai escorted her downstairs, walking her all the way to the driveway. Holding the car door open, he told her, "I will call upon your family another day to offer my apologies."

Gu Peirou got into the car, and the vehicle gradually drove away from the main house along the driveway.

She pressed against the car window and looked back. The man stood before a lush cluster of boxwood, cupping his hands to light a cigarette.

She thought to herself: Could he really be this willful? Just because there was someone in his heart, he could call off a strategic marriage? Perhaps he could—after all, given the Shao family's standing, perhaps he possessed the capital for such caprice. But then again, the higher one's status, weren't they supposed to have the least amount of freedom?

She couldn't make sense of it.

He clearly had an easy path laid out before him; even if they were married, she wouldn't have been in a position to question if he kept someone else on the side. Everyone else did it this way, yet he refused.

As her thoughts spun in this circle, Gu Peirou abruptly realized that, setting aside those impeccable exterior conditions, perhaps he was also a rare and exceptional man, especially within a circle like theirs.

It was only a pity that his devotion was reserved for someone else.

-

Shao Yihuai gave Zong Liangzhi a week off and drove himself to and from work.

By mid-April, after finishing work one evening, he drove back to Manhe alone.

Manhe was his regular residence, decorated with understated simplicity. Apart from the master bedroom, every corner was regularly tended to by housekeeping. Stepping foot inside after half a month away, he felt only an empty, lifeless chill.

He poured himself a glass of liquor in the western kitchen, downed it in a single gulp, and headed up to the second floor.

The master bedroom door remained tightly shut, with the key still inserted in the keyhole.

He stood before the door panel, one hand in his pocket, lowered his gaze in silence for a long moment, took a deep breath, slowly evened out his respiration, and finally turned the key to open the door.

He did not look at the screen, nor did he look at the sofa in the sitting area, but walked straight into the powder room.

Whether it was because the house had been sealed up for too long or merely an illusion, the moment he stepped inside, he caught the scent of her fragrance—shampoo? Body wash? Perfume?

He couldn't quite name it, but it was unmistakably her scent.

Before any other reaction could form, his heart began to ache.

Zhuang Wan had asked him, "Do you love her?"

He had said he didn't know.

He had never thought about it.

In truth, such a question required no thought at all; he had merely been consciously evading it. The moment those four words were allowed to enter his mind, the answer generated itself automatically.

He loved her.

He did not know when it had grown this deep. Was it from being infected by her smiles over and over again? Was it from being repeatedly warmed and touched by her enthusiasm? Or was it from holding her in his arms and feeling his heart fill to the brim time after time?

He went to the dressing room and pulled open the chest of drawers. Inside lay a cashmere scarf, neatly folded.

The fabric was fluffy and soft. Cupping it in his palm, his hand sank into it as though falling into a warm ocean.

Allowing himself to reminisce at this moment, everything became clear.

He had fallen in love with her at that exact instant—

On their first date, he had taken her to a restaurant for dinner. Afterward, seeing her gaze lingering on the Christmas tree, he summoned the waiter and performed a small trick for her: placing a hazelnut in a designated spot, the entire Christmas tree lit up.

It flickered and glowed, dreamlike and illusory.

At that moment, an intense, brilliant surprise burst forth in her eyes, and she raised her head to look at him, shining.

He clearly remembered his state of mind the moment their eyes met: his heart gave a violent tremor, followed by the rapid resurgence of all living things, akin to spring returning to the earth.

The sensation was overwhelmingly intense, to the extent that his heart had ached faintly even then.

Even back then, he had a vague premonition: It's over.

Yet he had deliberately suppressed it, deliberately ignored it...

He had thought that by keeping his distance and regulating his interactions with her, the final outcome wouldn't prove too disastrous. Little did he know, he was still headed for total destruction.

In truth, from that very moment in the restaurant, everything had already passed the point of no return.

The naive one hadn't been Tongtong; it was himself.

Yielding to his emotions at this moment and frankly admitting the truth seemed to lift a weight from the depths of his heart.

Yet the pain did not diminish by a fraction.

The moment the floodgates were loosened, all his yearning and affection surged forth like a tidal wave.

He missed her so much.

His possessiveness swelled to his throat, suffocating him.

Shao Yihuai loosened his tie, ripped it off, and returned to the powder room.

Stripping off his clothes, he stepped into the shower stall.

Warm water cascaded down.

Within this very space, he and she had once...

He closed his eyes.

He could almost hear her sounds, low or soaring, echoing in his ears. His palms, his skin, and the crook of his arm could still feel her touch, her weight.

The water cascading from the showerhead wound its way down their tightly pressed skin; that sensation was incomparable.

The greater the pleasure back then, the greater the agony now.

A full year had already passed.

Ever since her birthday last year, when he flatly denied their relationship, he had never again felt her weight in the crook of his arm.

He opened his eyes and looked down.

He stood as an onlooker, leaving it alone, deliberately turning down the water temperature to force it down.

-

The next day, after work, he returned to the old residence.

After getting out of the car and entering the main house, he headed straight for the study.

Upon seeing him, the elder spoke directly: "I think paying a visit to offer apologies is unnecessary. A meal between myself and Gu's grandfather will suffice."

Glancing at him, the elder added, "...If you go to apologize, wouldn't it only make the young lady feel even more humiliated?"

Shao Yihuai stood before the desk. "I was in the wrong on this matter. It is only right that I go and apologize in person."

The elder sighed. "I felt long ago that we shouldn't be overly hasty. Very well, let's just slow things down."

"It's not 'slowing things down,'" Shao Yihuai raised his eyes. "Everything concerning the marriage alliance ends here."

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds.

The elder let out a cold snort, looking him up and down with leisurely composure. "What, are you staging a rebellion?"

As the words fell, Shao Yihuai returned the cold scoff. His pupils were icy and composed as he asked leisurely, without a trace of care, "So this is what's called a rebellion?"

Knowing him well and familiar with his temperament—appearing mild-mannered on the surface, yet actually ruthless and unrelenting beneath.

Judging by his demeanor, he had clearly made up his mind.

The elder abandoned the sparring and played his trump card directly: "You think I have no way to bring you to heel?"

"Bring me to heel?"

Shao Yihuai found it amusing. "Do give it a try."

The elder's breathing hitched, and he fell silent for a long moment.

The third grandson had always been different from the start. Eldest brother and second brother, relying on the family's power and influence, had always looked down upon everyone externally, treating all equally with disdain while scheming with a singular focus on profit.

The third grandson was different; he was gentle, modest, yet possessed formidable capability and his own distinct personal charm.

According to the family's blueprint, the third grandson should have gone into business, but he had never relied on the family. Counting those two years studying in the United States, he had been forging his own path independently for a full decade, and the empire he had built by himself was already unshakable.

So what if he had? This was a society of human connections, which valued networks and pedigree.

The elder adopted a nonchalant attitude. "...Do you think that if you are stripped of your identity as the third young master of the Shao family, your career won't be affected?"

"You shouldn't be asking me that; you should go conduct a market survey," Shao Yihuai said, sounding slightly fatigued. "Take a look at whether my business is built under the banner of the Shao family's third son or under the banner of the President of Zhuoyi Group."

"Don't be naive! Can you separate the two? Wherever you go, don't others respect you and fear you because of your identity as a Shao family member?"

"No matter how you choose to deal with me, feel free to go right ahead."

Shao Yihuai pinched the bridge of his nose. "...There is only one thing I must remind you of," he let out a faint, flat laugh. "...Do you really think that with my eldest brother's personality, he could have climbed to the position he holds today?"

The elder's pupils shrank sharply. As if reacting to something, he slammed his hand on the desk and stood up. "You!"

"It's me," Shao Yihuai said indifferently. "I'm the one pulling the strings behind the scenes; he doesn't have the brains for it."

"So, feel free to do whatever you please. See whether I'm the one who goes under, or if the entire Shao family goes down with me."

With that, he turned and left.

The elder collapsed back into his chair with a dull thud.

For all these years, the eldest brother had been sailing smoothly, rising step by step, and had even surpassed the position the elder himself had held back in the day. Therefore, during New Year family gatherings, the eldest brother had always assumed the role of the head of the family—disciplining this person, mentoring that person. Everyone deferred to his authority, treating him with a mixture of fear, flattery, and ingratiation.

The second brother and the second brother-in-law had also been swimming in clover.

The entire Shao family had grown arrogant and overbearing.

The elder had privately marveled before at how the eldest brother, usually so undisciplined, could somehow maintain his footing and make the right choices every single time a critical moment arrived. Perhaps it was a case of supreme intelligence disguised as simplicity?

That had been his consistent belief.

Never had he imagined that everything behind the scenes was the work of the third grandson.

Reflecting on it now, it all became glaringly obvious. No wonder, during every family gathering when the eldest brother delivered his speeches, the third grandson always looked so detached. And no wonder the eldest brother, a man who cared so intensely about his pride, had always treated his third younger brother with absolute politeness whenever he wanted to establish his authority.

A man as proud as the eldest brother—how could he possibly confess to the family that everything he achieved relied on the reality of the third grandson's support?

And the third grandson had possessed such forbearance, keeping it a complete secret for all these years.

At this moment, the elder recalled Zhuang Wan once joking that Shubai was the most suited to inherit his mantle—unfathomable and formidable behind an unangered exterior, wearing a gentle facade while possessing a ruthless nature.

He was indeed suited for it.

He simply had no desire to wade into this muddy water.

-

May.

Chu Tong was busy preparing her graduation thesis, countless versions in, thumbing through various reference materials until her head spun from revisions.

Professor Chen Xizhen was her thesis advisor. Seeing that she had quoted Lü Bicheng's poetry in her paper, the professor invited her home to consult her reference collection, which was even more extensive than the university library's regarding Lü Bicheng.

While organizing the bookshelf, Chu Tong realized there was a book here she hadn't returned yet.

It was the one Shao Yihuai had left with her, asking her to return it to Professor Chen on his behalf.

Not only that, she also still had his bookmark, engraved with his name.

Should she throw it away?

Discarding it deliberately seemed to serve little purpose, considering that the money she had been spending lately came from his card, and the everyday clothes she wore were almost entirely gifts from him.

Yet this bookmark was different; he had given it to her with his own hands, and at such a special moment.

Running the pads of her fingers along the wooden texture, her heart hardening, she tossed it into the wastebasket beside the desk.

Standing up, she gathered her laptop and books, changed into outdoor clothes, and took the bus to Professor Chen Xizhen's home.

Professor Chen was as fond of her as ever, welcoming her and having the housekeeper prepare tea.

Checking references and revising the thesis on the spot, she worked through the entire afternoon. As evening approached, Professor Chen invited her to take a break and sit on the sofa for a cup of tea.

"It's truly wonderful. I remember when you sat on this sofa and told me you wanted to apply for the Journalism Department at HKU—it feels just like yesterday, and in the blink of an eye, you've been admitted! Have you received the offer?"

"I have."

Chu Tong smiled, cradling her teacup as she nestled into the sofa. "Even after graduation, if I return to Beijing, I still want to come visit you."

"Of course I would welcome that! This place of mine is perpetually quiet, save for Mr. Shao and his mother who occasionally drop by to see me."

Chu Tong held her breath and remained silent.

"Come to think of it, it's rather strange; he hasn't been around much these past two years. I heard he took up with a little girlfriend, so he's probably been busy with romance."

Chu Tong thought to herself: How outdated is your news, Professor? He and that little girlfriend broke up long ago.

Professor Chen shot her a sideways glance. "And you? I remember you used to run around with a young man named Xiang Chengyuan?"

"...He graduated, and we haven't been in touch for a long time."

"Ah, that's right," Professor Chen twinkled her eyes like an old urchin. "I ran into Zhiyun at school a few days ago and heard her mention that you've recently been seeing a young man from Hong Kong?"

"...You mean Liang Jiahao?"

"Haha, you see? Just two sentences, and I managed to fish the name right out of you."

Chu Tong let out a soft laugh.

"Well, that's fine too. I had originally thought that if you stayed in Beijing for work after graduation, I'd introduce a few elite young men to you—guaranteed to have both talent and looks. But since you're heading to Hong Kong, meeting local young people on your own is quite good too."

Chu Tong continued to smile, happy at the unearned affection she received from the elder. "If I get married and have children in the future, I'll definitely have them call you grandma."

"That would be wonderful!"

Chen Xizhen smiled and said, "You must remember that. Before you leave for Hong Kong to study, don't forget to come say goodbye."

"I will!"

As the sky grew dark, Chu Tong stood up to take her leave. "Professor, I won't disturb you any longer; I still need to go back and revise my thesis."

"Go on, go on."

"Oh right, about that book earlier—I happened to run into Mr. Shao, and he asked me to return it to you. I've already placed it on the desk."

"Very well."

Leaving the semi-open study and rounding the corner, she inadvertently cast a glance toward the French windows facing the backyard.

Outside the sliding glass door was an outdoor reading space covered by a glass roof.

A rattan chair, a round table, and a floor lamp beside it.

It was from this exact angle that she had first laid eyes on Shao Yihuai.

Back then, she had felt he was as illusory and ephemeral as a soap bubble.

After all that twisting and turning, it truly had been a bubble.

She withdrew her gaze, stepped down the entryway, and left.

Outside, a spring rain had quietly begun to fall.

In the misty, drizzling nightscape.

Bus No. 368 and a black Maybach brushed past each other in opposite directions.

The neon lights along the street illuminated the side profile of the girl sitting by the window inside the bus, everything submerged in the curtain of rain, hazy and unreal.

In the back seat of the Maybach, Shao Yihuai was handling work.

Having promised his mother, Yi Jiaying, that he would visit Professor Chen Xizhen today, he could only take care of his urgent work inside the car.

Yi Jiaying and Chen Xizhen were long-time best friends. Though they had lived apart for years and met less and less frequently, they still cared for each other, always sending Shao Yihuai back and forth to convey their regards.

The Maybach came to a smooth stop in front of the building.

Shao Yihuai stepped out, holding an umbrella as he walked toward Professor Chen's residence.

The housekeeper opened the door for him.

The moment he stepped into the entryway, Professor Chen walked out with a beaming smile. "My, what is going on today? One after another, you're all coming to my place."

A gentle smile surfaced at the corners of Shao Yihuai's lips. "Who else came?"

"Tongtong, of course. Oh, you've crossed paths a few times, haven't you? That young lady."

Shao Yihuai held his breath. "She was here?"

"Yes."

Chen Xizhen noticed his somewhat strange expression, but thought nothing of it and beckoned him inside. "Come in, come in. It always rains whenever you visit. Come have a cup of tea."

Receiving no reply, she turned around only to find that the man at the door had vanished.

Shao Yihuai bolted outside.

Outside the building's entrance, the spring rain drifted through the misty night.

Just like that autumn evening.

He and she had stood right at this entrance, and he had asked her, "What is your name?"

She had replied, "Chu Tong."

The "Chu" as in "surrounded by enemies on all sides."

He remembered thinking at the time that her choice of words was somewhat peculiar.

Yet at this moment, it was unmistakably his own precarious heart that was surrounded by enemies on all sides.