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Yu Jingze had been sitting in front of his computer for nearly an hour. The screen had already gone into sleep mode, and the faint hum of electricity was gone. It felt as though everything had come to a standstill.
The office, the city, even the world—it all seemed quiet.
Outside, snow began to fall again.
The sky darkened, stretching blackness to the horizon.
Yu Jingze lit a cigarette. He thought back to the first time he met Zou Lexiao—it was years ago at a charity gala. She had accompanied her father, Director Zou.
His impression of her back then was that she was mischievous.
At first, he hadn’t paid much attention to her. But later, he kept feeling like someone was following him, like a little shadow. Every time he turned around, there she was, standing behind him.
She carried a plate filled with all kinds of desserts.
Whenever he looked at her, she would smile faintly, completely unfazed as she continued eating.
She even asked him, “Is the wine good?”
He nodded, “Not bad.”
She went to get herself a glass.
That night, he had drunk quite a bit on an empty stomach, and his stomach wasn’t feeling well. He grabbed some food to eat before continuing to drink.
Whatever food he picked up, Zou Lexiao mimicked him—down to the exact placement of the items on her plate. If something was slightly off, she would crane her neck to look at his plate, then adjust hers accordingly.
Knock knock. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
Yu Jingze stubbed out his cigarette, “Come in.”
His secretary entered, “President Yu, what would you like for a late-night snack?”
Yu Jingze didn’t have much of an appetite, “Nothing, thank you.”
He didn’t plan to work overtime. He couldn’t focus on anything here anyway.
Turning off his computer, he decided to go find Yu Jingxin to see if she had returned home yet.
There was someone in Yu Jingxin’s office—Qi Yuan’s younger sister.
He recognized her, though they weren’t close. She enjoyed writing novels and scripts as a hobby.
After exchanging greetings, Qi’s younger sister pulled out a chair next to her, gesturing for Yu Jingze to sit. “I’m asking my sister-in-law about the mindset of a scumbag. I want to know how my brother managed to repent.”
Yu Jingze: “...”
Yu Jingxin poured a cup of coffee for Yu Jingze, “Brother, sit down. If you have any relationship issues, feel free to consult us.”
Yu Jingze hesitated to sit, fearing he might accidentally become part of the conversation. “It’s not appropriate for me to be here while you talk badly about Qi Yuan. You carry on—I’ll head home.”
Without even touching the coffee, he quickly closed the door and left.
The snowfall that evening was light, leaving only a thin layer on the roads.
Yu Jingze was lost in thought the entire way home. By the time he parked the car, he wasn’t even sure what he had been thinking about.
Qi Yuan was at home, watching TV in the living room. Their child had already gone to bed.
When he heard the sound of a car in the driveway, he came out to greet whoever it was. To his surprise, it was Yu Jingze. He handed him a cigarette, “Is the meeting over? Why hasn’t Jingxin come back yet?”
Yu Jingze suddenly realized what was going on. Jingxin had lied, saying she had a meeting, so she could gossip with Qi Yuan’s younger sister without Qi Yuan finding out.
“She has one last department meeting before the New Year,” Yu Jingze explained.
Qi Yuan nodded, lighting his cigarette. “I wanted to go pick her up, but she refused, saying she doesn’t know when it’ll end.” Yu Jingxin had also said that if he waited for her, she’d be distracted thinking about him, which would affect her work.
So Qi Yuan had gone home, leaving the driver to wait for her instead.
For some reason, Qi Yuan had felt uneasy all evening.
“Is everything okay at your bank? I’ve been feeling uneasy.”
Yu Jingze thought to himself, How can you feel at ease when your sister and wife are talking behind your back?
He shook his head, “Everything’s fine. Normal.”
Taking a drag of his cigarette, after a moment, he added, “You’re just bored and have nothing to do.”
Qi Yuan shot him a sidelong glance, “What’s going on between you and Zou Lexiao?”
Yu Jingze: “...”
The cigarette he was smoking now felt more like shards of glass.
Halfway through the cigarette, he stubbed it out and went to the front yard to find Yu Qing.
Next to Yu Qing’s garden, a handcart lay quietly covered in snow.
Yu Jingze glanced at it and headed inside.
Fu Jichen wasn’t home—he had a business engagement. Yu Qing was arranging flowers, working on a large bouquet of roses that Fu Jichen had sent her. He had told her he couldn’t keep her company that evening, so he gave her something to do to pass the time.
She hummed a tune, completely relaxed.
“Big Brother, you’re back?”
“Mm.”
Yu Qing vaguely remembered, “Didn’t you have an evening flight? You shouldn’t be home this early.”
Yu Jingze: “I had something to take care of, so I changed my flight.”
Yu Qing nodded and continued trimming the excess stems.
Yu Jingze, having nothing else to do, helped her.
Something about his demeanor tonight was off. Yu Qing had noticed it as soon as he walked in.
She didn’t ask directly, waiting to see if he would bring it up himself.
She casually brought up an unrelated topic: “Are you going to the office tomorrow?”
Yu Jingze handed her a flower, “No.”
Silence followed once again.
Both Yu Qing and Yu Jingze were accustomed to such quiet moments. When they lived together abroad, they often spent hours at home doing their own things, even sitting in the same living room without speaking for an hour or two.
A large bouquet of roses had been arranged into several vases.
Yu Jingze had been waiting for Yu Qing to ask about his romantic situation, but she never did.
Perhaps she didn’t want to embarrass him, or maybe she already knew that Zou Lexiao had a boyfriend and thought it inappropriate to bring it up.
All the flowers on the table had been arranged, leaving only a pile of trimmed stems and leaves.
Yu Jingze found a trash bin and cleaned up the table.
Yu Qing placed the vases back where they belonged, glanced at the time, and urged Yu Jingze, “Thanks for keeping me company, but it’s late. You should head home.”
Yu Jingze: “...”
Nothing had been resolved.
He went to the kitchen to wash his hands, using soap deliberately. As he scrubbed, he pondered how to broach the subject. Even he felt awkward about bringing it up.
Suddenly, the dining room lights went out, dimming the kitchen as well.
“Yu Jingze, even you are wasting water now?” It was Fu Jichen’s voice.
Yu Jingze turned around, “After cutting flowers all evening, I can’t even wash my hands?”
Fu Jichen came to the kitchen with a glass to fill with water, “Even if your hands are dirty, can’t you wait until you get home to wash them? Your water bill isn’t paid by you anyway—it’s all Qi Yuan.”
Yu Jingze: “...”
Lately, whether it was Qi Yuan or Fu Jichen, every word they spoke felt like nails piercing his heart.
Fu Jichen had drunk quite a bit that evening and was now thirsty, gulping down half a glass of water. He could guess that Yu Jingze had come over for something important tonight—most likely related to Zou Lexiao.
Setting the glass down, he advised him, “Hurry up and wash your hands. Use less soap—it’s expensive.”
Yu Qing chuckled, patting Fu Jichen twice.
Fu Jichen took her upstairs, and Yu Qing turned to Yu Jingze, “Big Brother, I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”
“… Wait a moment.”
Yu Jingze quickly rinsed his hands clean, turned off the faucet.
Fu Jichen let go of Yu Qing, not interrupting their conversation, and went upstairs first.
Yu Qing casually asked, “What’s up?”
Yu Jingze strode over, “Zou Lexiao is with her university classmate. You know about it, right?” That wasn’t the main point—he was concerned about, “What kind of person is he? If he’s decent and treats her well…” He felt reassured.
He didn’t finish the second half of his sentence.
Yu Qing suddenly didn’t want to make things harder for him. She had assumed he came here to ask how to win Zou Lexiao back, but instead, he was inquiring about how Zou Lexiao’s boyfriend treated her.
Zou Lexiao had called her earlier that day, saying she ran into Yu Jingze on the road. She had lied, saying she had a boyfriend, and asked Yu Qing to help cover for her.
Zou Lexiao also mentioned that she might soon have a boyfriend. If someone confessed to her soon and it felt right, she planned to accept.
“Big Brother, that whole ‘couple wine’ thing was just nonsense made up by me and my sister to provoke you. That night, the person who went to the bar with Zou Lexiao was Fu Chenglin, not some university classmate. And those gift boxes—it was my idea. Dad paid for them, and we worked with Qin Yu to trick you. Zou Lexiao, after being pushed by you repeatedly, thought the only way to make you feel at ease was to admit she had a boyfriend. So she did.”
Yu Qing looked at him, “If you’re sure about your feelings, go after her properly. But if you still can’t muster any emotions, I think it’s the best outcome for both you and Zou Lexiao. At least neither of you will regret it, and Zou Lexiao won’t have any lingering regrets.”
Yu Jingze stared blankly at Yu Qing, taking a long time to process all of this. His previously lost rationality slowly returned.
He felt relieved, but also drained.
He sat down, leaning against the edge of the table.
From the moment Zou Lexiao said she had a boyfriend, he had been forcing himself not to dwell on it.
Yu Qing poured a glass of warm water for Yu Jingze, “If you don’t say anything, no one can help you.” She forwarded him the electronic receipt for the cosmetic sets their father had purchased.
She gently hugged him, “Goodnight, good luck.”
Yu Jingze drank most of the warm water, finally returning to his usual self. “Thank you,” he said, realizing that he was the one causing the most worry in the family.
Yu Qing went upstairs, leaving Yu Jingze alone in the living room for a while longer.
He didn’t forward the electronic receipt to Zou Lexiao, nor did he want to use it to make her forgive him.
Opening the message verification box again, he carefully typed each word: [“When I repeatedly confirmed with you earlier if you had a boyfriend, it was because I wanted to pursue you. Yu Qing said you didn’t, so I’ll take her word for it.”]
After sending that, he added her as a friend and continued typing: [“The seating arrangement for the Lemon concert—I called Li Yanzhuo and had him arrange it. I don’t know what I was thinking.”]
[“You blocked me, canceled your card, and rejected the chocolates. Later, when you added me back, you didn’t approve my request. For a while, I didn’t know what you were thinking.”]
[“Before, a big part of it was my fault. When I was rational, I wanted you to find someone younger, someone as cheerful as you. When I wasn’t rational, I wanted to be with you.”]
[“Now, I’m very rational, and I still want to be with you.”]
After sending so many messages, he didn’t know if she hadn’t seen them or if she didn’t know how to respond.
Yu Jingze: [“Whether you reply or not, I’ll still pursue you.”]
Meanwhile, Zou Lexiao was at home watching TV with her parents, scrolling through her phone absentmindedly. Unexpectedly, she received a flood of messages from Yu Jingze.
She should have been happy, thrilled enough to jump around the room and shout to everyone that Yu Jingze liked her.
She wouldn’t have to marry someone else—she could stay with him forever.
But after reading them three times, an indescribable wave of sadness overwhelmed her.
Mrs. Zou happened to glance over and saw her daughter crying uncontrollably.
She quickly reached out to wipe away her tears, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Director Zou also looked over, turning off the TV. “Lexiao, what’s wrong?”
Earlier that day in the office, he had sensed something was off with his daughter’s mood but didn’t dare ask too much. He joked with her during the day and even walked her home in the evening, reminiscing about her childhood.
He thought she had adjusted by now.
Zou Lexiao felt embarrassed and quickly wiped her tears with her hands.
She rested her forehead on her mother’s shoulder, “It’s nothing, nothing. I’m happy.”
Mrs. Zou handed her a tissue, “Why are you crying if you’re happy?”
Zou Lexiao’s tears flowed freely as she pressed the tissue to her face. “Mom, Yu Jingze said he wants to pursue me. I was sad all afternoon.”
“No, I’ve been sad for years because I thought he’d never like me. Once, I even dreamed he got married, and it took me days to recover.”
As she spoke, her voice choked up.
She took a deep breath, her tear-filled eyes looking at her father. “Dad, don’t blame him. He’s really a good person. Maybe it’s because I’m much younger than him—he always thought it wasn’t appropriate.”
Director Zou patted Zou Lexiao’s head, “Our daughter’s judgment of people has never been wrong.”
Zou Lexiao’s tears flowed even harder.
Director Zou: “Alright, crying a little is enough. Any more, and it’ll start to feel fake. The day you make Yu Jingze cry has already arrived. I don’t believe you haven’t cheered secretly in your heart.”
Zou Lexiao burst out laughing again, tears still streaming down her face.
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