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The return journey was silent.
Ye Minqiong didn’t dare let her son drive again; she drove herself.
She wasn’t familiar with the roads in Jiangcheng and relied entirely on the navigation.
While waiting at a red light, she glanced at her son. He was resting his chin on his hand, constantly looking out the car window. To get back to the villa area, they had to pass through an extremely quiet tree-lined road with nothing much to see outside, yet he still hadn’t taken his eyes off the view.
Upon arriving home, Yan Heyu said to his mother, “Mom, get some rest early.”
He took the gloves and went upstairs.
Ye Minqiong couldn’t sleep; she was more distressed than if she had broken up herself.
In the middle of the night, she woke up once. As she tossed and turned, she heard a sound outside.
Ye Minqiong got up, opened her room door, and looked out. There was light coming from the bar in the dining room.
“Heyu?” she called out softly.
Yan Heyu was opening a bottle of red wine. He turned around, “Mom, why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Ye Minqiong said, “I woke up.”
She asked her son, “Are you still awake, or like me?”
Yan Heyu answered vaguely, “I’m having some red wine.”
Ye Minqiong guessed he was drinking to help him sleep. “Don’t you have melatonin?”
“Forgot to bring it.” At this hour, it wasn’t available for purchase.
“I have some. Don’t drink.” Ye Minqiong went back to her room to get it. She carried melatonin for jet lag and didn’t usually need it.
She gave the remaining half bottle to her son.
Yan Heyu put the cork back in the wine bottle, put away the glass, “Mom, hurry up and go to sleep.” He took the melatonin upstairs.
It was 3:30 AM. Also awake was Xiao Donghan, partly because his jet lag was messed up, and partly because of Wen Di.
Closing his book, he called the front desk and asked for a bottle of red wine.
The hotel’s wine was just passable, for passing the time.
Xiao Donghan poured half a glass and sat on the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window.
The room lights weren’t on, making the view outside clearer.
Jiangcheng wasn’t a sleepless city; at this hour, there were only scattered lights, stretching endlessly.
A call came in; it was his older brother, Xiao Dongkai.
Xiao Dongkai immediately asked, “Where are you? What time is it, and you’re still not back?”
Xiao Dongkai thought he was still in London. He told his brother, “I’m in China.”
“To see Tangtang?”
“She doesn’t need me to see her. I came for personal matters.”
Xiao Dongkai was worried his brother was plotting something again. During the previous internal equity battle within the group, Xiao Donghan and Shen Tang went to war directly. That business war severely depleted both sides, allowing competitors to reap the benefits.
Grandpa had temporarily kept Xiao Donghan in check with Shen Tang and Jiang Chengyu. He worried Xiao Donghan hadn’t given up and wanted to strike back. Neither Xiao Donghan nor Jiang Chengyu could withstand such turmoil.
“Are you still not settling down?”
Xiao Donghan retorted, “How am I not settling down?”
Xiao Dongkai said, “You know it yourself.” He rarely advised his brother because it was useless; it was a waste of breath. Today, he added a few more unnecessary words, “If you continue to fight with Shen Tang, Xiao Ning’s competitors will be happy. They can’t wait for you to fight to the death. Tangtang is pregnant now and shouldn’t be emotionally agitated. Be a decent person and don’t engage in business wars with a pregnant woman.”
Xiao Donghan: “...”
He took a sip of wine. “Brother, others might not know, but you should know that if I were truly unscrupulous, do you think Xiao Ning Group would still be fine now?”
“Give me two minutes.” Xiao Dongkai was at the manor. Grandpa lived there, and today, his third uncle’s family came to see Grandpa, so some things weren’t convenient to say in front of others.
He grabbed a cigarette and went to the river by the manor. The weather wasn’t great today, overcast, and the entire manor was enveloped in gloom.
He lit a cigarette and sat on a wooden chair by the river.
In the current Xiao family, he and Xiao Donghan were the closest. They were biological brothers, and Xiao Donghan never kept anything from him, no matter what he did.
In the eyes of others, Xiao Donghan was not capable enough to lead Xiao Ning Group; he lacked vision.
In fact, not only did he lack vision, but by his own words, he had no vision at all, because he wanted to completely destroy Xiao Ning. He didn’t like to defeat; defeating the Xiao family required effort and thought, so it was better to simply destroy them.
Over the years, Xiao Donghan had grown strong. His wealth was unknown to outsiders; even his brother couldn’t accurately estimate how much money he had.
So he didn’t care about Xiao Ning and wanted to destroy it.
Later, for unknown reasons, Xiao Donghan stopped in time.
At least for now, Xiao Donghan was considering Xiao Ning Group. To help Xiao Ning successfully open up the domestic market, he didn’t hesitate to exchange resources with the Jiang family using three of his own projects.
In the past, this would have been impossible.
He wouldn’t sacrifice his own interests for Xiao Ning’s development.
Xiao Dongkai was curious: “What made you decide to develop Xiao Ning properly?”
Xiao Donghan said, “Wait a moment.”
He put down his wine glass and went to the bedside table to get the collection of famous quotes that Secretary Lu had organized for him.
“What are you looking for?”
Xiao Donghan turned to the second page and finally found it. He said, “I decided not to destroy Xiao Ning because ‘when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.’“
He could even recite it before, but it was a bit awkward, and he couldn’t recall it for a moment just now.
On the other end of the phone, Xiao Donghan was silent for a long time.
Xiao Donghan said, “If you don’t understand, I can explain it to you.”
“...What’s wrong with you lately?”
“Nothing, just brushing up on my Chinese.” Xiao Donghan put down the book of quotes, sat back on the sofa, and continued, “Keeping Xiao Ning is partly for your law firm’s sake, but the main reason is that my personal investments would be more or less affected.” After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to keep it.
He couldn’t let his brother’s hard-worked law firm be implicated by him.
After keeping Xiao Ning Group, he could only let Xiao Ning be in his hands. If the controlling stake fell into the hands of other members of the Xiao family, they would never let him have an easy time.
Xiao Dongkai’s focus shifted from Xiao Ning. “I heard you suddenly went to Costa Rica a few months ago.” He actually had the leisure to fly there to a manor when the group was busiest.
For some reason, Xiao Donghan subconsciously didn’t tell the truth. “To visit a business friend who happened to be on vacation there.”
Xiao Dongkai: “Is brushing up on Chinese also for business needs? Not for a woman?”
Xiao Donghan said faintly, “What do you think?”
Xiao Dongkai said, “I was overthinking.” It seemed unrealistic; Xiao Donghan never engaged in romantic relationships and wouldn’t let a woman become a hindrance.
________________________________________
After adjusting to the time difference for a day, Xiao Donghan arranged to meet Wen Di.
During that day, he barely slept, constantly thinking about how to pursue her.
In the past, no matter which female companion he was with, it was simple and direct. Adults didn’t need to beat around the bush; dates were arranged by Secretary Lu, usually just drinking and dining.
Occasionally, when he was free, he would go on a sea vacation.
All dating arrangements were predicated on his availability.
But clearly, it couldn’t be like that with Wen Di.
Earlier, when he was half-asleep, he even wondered how Qi Mingche had managed to pursue Wen Di.
Xiao Donghan messaged Wen Di: [Do you have anything you want to do but haven’t, or places you want to go but haven’t? I’ll accompany you.]
He added: [I’m not being perfunctory. I just haven’t thought of how to make you happy yet.]
Wen Di replied: [There’s a restaurant I’ve been wanting to try for two years, but never went.]
Xiao Donghan asked her to send the address, and he would book a table first.
Wen Di: [Don’t rush to book a table; we might not even make it to the restaurant’s entrance. Anyway, I don’t have the guts. The restaurant is on the mountaintop, and you have to cross a nearly 900-meter long glass suspension bridge.]
She asked him: [Do you dare walk on the glass skywalk?]
Xiao Donghan hadn’t walked on one before. [Should be no problem.]
He and Wen Di agreed on a meeting time. Originally, he planned to drive to pick her up, but Wen Di said to use her car since she was familiar with the roads.
To make it easier to walk on the glass bridge, Wen Di wore pants today.
She gave him a heads-up, “If you don’t dare cross, we’ll just come back. It’s nothing; anyway, I don’t dare walk it.”
Xiao Donghan said, “I can’t let you have regrets when you’re with me.”
The glass suspension bridge was built between two mountain peaks. The mountain where the restaurant was located only had winding small paths leading up, and getting there for a meal would require hours of climbing.
No one would climb a mountain just for a meal.
Building a winding mountain road or a cable car would be too costly. However, the platform on that mountain was an excellent spot to overlook Jiangcheng and enjoy the panoramic river view, offering an extremely wide vista. So, a bridge was built from the opposite mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, Wen Di bought tickets, and they took the cable car to the entrance of the glass bridge.
Xiao Donghan asked, “Why isn’t that mountain developed?”
He was referring to the mountain where the restaurant was located.
Wen Di explained, “There aren’t many natural sights, only that section at the top with a good river view. The development cost is too high; it’s basically not profitable.”
She said about the mountain they were currently on, “If you climb up from the bottom, there are many small scenic spots along the way, and also small waterfalls.”
The two rode the cable car up the mountain. The scenery was good. It was Xiao Donghan’s first time accompanying a woman on a scenic tour.
His phone rang at that moment; it was Secretary Lu’s call.
“Mr. Xiao, I’m sorry, I just saw your call.” Secretary Lu was on vacation during this period and wasn’t aware of Xiao Donghan’s personal arrangements.
It was past 3 AM in London. “Mr. Xiao, why aren’t you resting yet?”
Xiao Donghan informed him, “It’s noon here.”
Secretary Lu paused slightly. “Are you in Jiangcheng?”
Xiao Donghan said “Mm,” “There’s nothing to do now.” Before, he wanted to ask Secretary Lu how he and his wife used to date.
Ending the call, they arrived at the cable car’s final stop.
The wind was strong on the mountain. Xiao Donghan wrapped Wen Di’s scarf tightly around her.
Wen Di didn’t even dare walk on the suspended observation deck of the Oriental Pearl Tower, let alone this 900-meter skywalk, which also had a cracking effect—it was terrifying.
She put on the shoe covers provided by the staff and looked at Xiao Donghan. “I’ll squint my eyes and hold onto your clothes.” She was willing to brave it for a taste of that restaurant’s food.
Xiao Donghan put on his shoe covers, took off his overcoat, and then removed his shirt cufflinks, putting them in his coat pocket.
“Why are you taking off your clothes? Aren’t you cold?”
“Do you think it’ll still be cold when we reach the other end?”
Wen Di chuckled, then looked at the people on the glass skywalk. Some were crying and screaming while pushing forward, unsure what state she and Xiao Donghan would be in later.
Xiao Donghan stuffed his overcoat into Wen Di’s arms. “Hold this.”
“You hold your own clothes.”
“I don’t have hands free.”
Saying that, he rolled up his shirt sleeves and leaned down, scooping her up in his arms.
“What are you doing?” Wen Di was startled.
Xiao Donghan bounced her up slightly, adjusting his hold. “The scenery on the skywalk is so beautiful; if you squint your eyes, you’ll miss it. It’s pointless just for a meal. If you’re still scared when we reach the middle, use my coat to cover your eyes.”
Wen Di instinctively wrapped her other arm around his neck. “If you drop me halfway, I’ll never forgive you.”
After saying that, she couldn’t help but laugh at herself.
Xiao Donghan smiled, “I won’t.”
He walked towards the skywalk.
Wen Di’s heart raced. “Aren’t you afraid?”
“Haven’t walked it yet, don’t know.”
“...That sounds a bit unreliable.”
“No matter how scared, I won’t put you down.”
Some tourists nearby were staring at them, but most people were too busy trembling for themselves to pay attention to others.
Wen Di used his overcoat to cover her face, only exposing her eyes.
“How much do you weigh?”
“Gained two jin over New Year, 94 jin.”
Xiao Donghan felt she was too light, seemingly less than 90 jin; she felt weightless in his arms.
Wen Di didn’t dare say more. She pressed her side against his chest, clearly feeling his heart beating intensely, afraid he would put her down the next second and say, “Wen Di, I’m not pursuing you anymore.”
“Wen Di.”
“What?”
“Don’t look at me, look at the scenery.”
Wen Di was still staring at his face. “I have to constantly observe your expression; who knows if you’ll suddenly put me down.”
It was him walking on the suspended, shattered glass, yet her legs were turning to jelly.
Xiao Donghan glanced at her. “Is it that hard to trust me once?”
It wasn’t that Wen Di didn’t want to trust him; trust, once shattered, was very difficult to rebuild.
After a moment of silence, she said, “Then I’ll try.”
After that, she tried her best to focus on the scenery, but the hand wrapped around his neck never relaxed its vigilance, mechanically and stiffly clinging to him, becoming her lifeline.
A sign was hung at the 450-meter mark of the skywalk.
Several young couples were slumped on the side of the bridge, resting.
“His clothes are all wet.”
“Don’t know if it’s from exhaustion or fright.”
The few people whispered and laughed.
Wen Di asked him, “Are your clothes wet?”
“I don’t know,” Xiao Donghan looked straight ahead.
Wen Di slowly loosened her grip on his neck, and touched his back with the back of her hand. She felt the damp fabric of his black shirt, then covered the wet spot with her hand, worried he would catch a cold.
Xiao Donghan finally caught his breath and swallowed.
His neck had been constricted by her arm; he had difficulty breathing.
“See if you can find your villa from here,” he guided her to look at the scenery.
Wen Di overlooked the urban area, but it was too far. “Can’t see clearly.”
A nine-hundred-meter skywalk. Every step he took, the glass beneath his feet showed cracks. How he managed to reach the other end of the bridge, he dared not imagine.
Finally, stepping off the bridge, Wen Di let out a long sigh of relief.
Xiao Donghan carried her towards the restaurant. There were few tourists there; most only came for the scenery, and only a minority ate, as the restaurant’s dishes were ridiculously expensive.
Wen Di recovered her senses. “Put me down.”
Xiao Donghan didn’t let go. He said, “My arms are stiff; I can’t put you down.”
Wen Di knew he was saying that on purpose. “Aren’t you tired?”
“It’s alright.” He swam regularly, and his arm strength was enough to carry her that far.
Xiao Donghan carried her all the way to the private room in the restaurant. He had reserved a table before coming; it was the most expensive private room in the entire restaurant, pricey because it had an exclusive small terrace with the most beautiful view of Jiangcheng, unobstructed.
Wen Di urged him several times, but he just wouldn’t let go.
The wind on the terrace was even stronger, with nothing to block it.
Wen Di shook out his overcoat and draped it over him.
No matter how beautiful the scenery, no one was in the mood to appreciate it.
Xiao Donghan asked her, “Can you trust me now?”
Wen Di nodded. “I trust you won’t throw me off the glass skywalk halfway.”
“The trust I’m talking about isn’t just about this one thing today.”
Xiao Donghan raised his arm and lifted her higher, so she was above him. He tilted his head slightly to look at her. She was also barefaced today, with only a touch of lipstick.
He turned around, facing away from the wind, placing her in the leeward side.
He gazed at her, her hands still pulling at the collar of his coat to prevent it from slipping off his shoulders.
Giving unconditional trust to others was a luxury for him; in the past, it would have been impossible. He had no extra trust to give to a woman.
Xiao Donghan motioned to her, “Take off my glasses.”
Wen Di wrapped one arm around his shoulder, pressing the coat tight, and used her free hand to take off his glasses. Her fingertip gently rubbed the shallow indentation on his nose bridge.
As soon as the glasses were removed, she slid down against him until their eyes met. Xiao Donghan pulled her tightly into his embrace, his lips covering her warm ones.
The biting north wind howled through the tree branches, but they could still hear the frantic sound of their hearts beating.
________________________________________
During dinner, Xiao Donghan switched hands to eat, finding it a bit difficult to pick up food.
He wasn’t particularly tired, but his muscles were a bit stiff from being tense the whole way.
Wen Di looked at him. “On the way back, I’ll just squint my eyes and walk; you don’t need to carry me.”
Xiao Donghan said, “One more trip won’t hurt.”
He switched hands while eating, slowing down his meal, which worked out perfectly for accompanying her.
They stayed on the mountain until three o’clock, enjoying the scenery to their fill, before heading back.
On the nine-hundred-meter skywalk back, Xiao Donghan still carried her across.
As dusk fell, Wen Di returned home.
Her second aunt asked her where she had gone on her date. She had left in the morning and was only just returning.
Wen Di said she had a meal at the restaurant on the mountaintop.
“Oh.” Wen Qizhen smiled, hugging a cushion. She knew her niece was afraid of suspended glass, and gossiped, “Scaredy-cat, how did you get across?”
Wen Di just smiled without speaking.
Wen Qizhen pushed her. “Quick, tell me.”
“Auntie, what are you doing?”
“Tell me.”
Wen Qizhen tickled her.
Wen Di laughed continuously, finally surrendering. “He carried me across.”
“Tsk.” Wen Qizhen had guessed it. Anyway, Xiao Donghan wouldn’t have dragged her across the glass. “That restaurant you’ve wanted to try for two years, was the food good?”
“Good.”
Whether the food was delicious or the scenery beautiful no longer mattered.
Wen Qizhen rubbed her niece’s head. “Good is good.”
Wen Di’s phone chimed with a message. Xiao Donghan: [Check if my cufflink is missing in your car. One is gone.]
[I’ll check.] Wen Di put on her coat and ran to the yard. After he got in the car, he always put his coat on her back seat.
She turned on the dome light, but the car interior wasn’t bright enough.
She then used her phone flashlight for extra light, searching for a long time but couldn’t find it.
Wen Di replied: [It might have fallen on the mountaintop. I’ll buy you two pairs tomorrow.]
Xiao Donghan: [No need, I have spares.]
Wen Di still decided to buy them for him. He wouldn’t have taken off his cufflinks if it weren’t for carrying her.
Back at the villa, the familiar opening theme song of the TV show sounded. Her second aunt waved, “Come quickly, the first episode is about to start.”
The Great Awakening was airing tonight.
In another villa area, Yan Heyu was also watching TV.
Ye Minqiong looked at his overcoat from left to right. “Can’t be handled. It needs to be sent to the dry cleaner. Do you have any other coats?”
“No. Only two. The other one was sent for dry cleaning before the New Year.”
He didn’t bring much luggage to Jiangcheng. Most of his winter clothes were at his villa in Beijing and would be brought over when the housekeeper and Aunt Cui arrived.
Ye Minqiong simply folded the overcoat and put it in a handbag.
Last night, his son accompanied her to the food street in Jiangcheng. It was crowded. When she was eating a snack, someone behind her accidentally bumped her, and the snack in her hand smeared onto her son’s overcoat.
“When does the dry cleaner open after the New Year?”
Yan Heyu wasn’t sure; he wasn’t familiar with any of the shops around.
Ye Minqiong: “You have nothing here. Aunt Cui won’t arrive until the sixth day of the New Year. I’ll go to the mall tomorrow to buy you a few things and some more daily necessities.”
“I’ll buy them myself. You go pick up Heyan.” His sister had finished her skiing trip and insisted on coming to Jiangcheng. Her flight landed in Shanghai at noon tomorrow, and she would transfer to Jiangcheng by high-speed rail.
The next afternoon, his mother went to pick up his sister. Yan Heyu went to the mall, wearing only a shirt. He drove directly into the mall’s underground parking. From getting out of the car to the elevator, it was only a few tens of seconds; walking fast, it wasn’t too cold.
Jiangcheng had a total of four comprehensive shopping malls, but only one was high-end.
Yan Heyu typically wore only a few brands. He went to the service desk to ask which floor those brands were on.
The staff regretfully informed him that there was only one of the brands he mentioned, on the fifth floor.
“Thank you.” Yan Heyu took the elevator directly to the fifth floor.
Turning out of the elevator, the striking logo of that brand came into view.
There were only a few scattered customers in the store, Browse clothes.
Yan Heyu picked out clothes very directly: the simplest styles, a few colors he often wore. He told the clerk his size and asked for three pieces.
At the checkout, Yan Heyu saw several pairs of cufflinks displayed on the counter. One pair looked good to him, and he told the clerk, “Please give me a pair of cufflinks of the style on the left.”
The store manager was present today, and she quickly walked over. “Sir, I’m sorry, this pair of cufflinks is temporarily out of stock. Please leave an address, and we’ll deliver them to you promptly by 6 PM.”
She didn’t expect this pair of cufflinks to sell so well during the Spring Festival, and the ordered stock hadn’t arrived yet.
“Just these few pieces,” a familiar female voice said from behind.
Yan Heyu spun around suddenly, and Wen Di happened to look over as well.
Wen Di had come to buy cufflinks for Xiao Donghan and also bought a few coats for her father. She had been shopping in another section just now and hadn’t seen Yan Heyu.
She gave a slight nod and went to pay.
Yan Heyu only then realized that those cufflinks were the ones Wen Di had wanted to buy.
After three years together, his taste had become very similar to hers.
In the end, he didn’t order that pair of cufflinks.
In the past, she bought all his clothes. Now, they paid for their own things.
After leaving the store, Wen Di went to the shop next door.
Yan Heyu watched her walk into that shop, then he walked towards the elevator.
Just as he got into his car in the underground parking lot, Kang Bo called him. The signal in the parking lot was poor, and the call kept breaking up. He could only hear clearly once the car drove onto the road.
“Xiao Donghan wants to meet me?”
“Yes.” China was on Spring Festival holiday, but London was working as usual, and the project had reached a critical stage.
“Secretary Lu called me, saying that there are some documents to sign for the project collaborating between Jingyue and Xiaoning, and some details still need to be discussed. Xiao Donghan happens to be in China, so he’s asking when you’re free, and Xiao Donghan will come to Jingyue.”
The cooperation project between the two groups was originally approved by Xiao Donghan’s grandfather. According to Xiao Donghan’s wishes, he didn’t want to cooperate at all.
Last time, he went to London to inspect the project and met Xiao Donghan. This time, Xiao Donghan came to Beijing to see him.
Each seeking a balance by visiting the other once.
“Tell Secretary Lu, no need to come to Jingyue. Just meet in Jiangcheng.”
They were collaborating while competing in the domestic market.
Kang Bo sought his boss’s opinion. “Should we continue competing in the North China market as is?” As of now, his boss hadn’t made any further moves.
All the competition was considered benign.
“Let’s keep it like this for now.” After a pause, Yan Heyu said, “I don’t know if Wen Di is with him or not. If they are, and I act too harshly against him, Wen Di might misunderstand me again.”
Kang Bo: “Okay, I understand.”
They arranged to meet the next morning at the hotel, using the hotel’s conference room.
Kang Bo flew in from Beijing. Secretary Lu was still on vacation in the Southern Hemisphere. Xiao Donghan and his lawyer arrived with the documents.
The two nodded slightly as a greeting.
After sitting down, the lawyer handed a copy of the documents to Kang Bo for review.
Yan Heyu picked up the water glass beside him to drink. Xiao Donghan across from him was looking at his phone. He inadvertently glanced at Xiao Donghan’s side and froze.
The cufflinks Xiao Donghan was wearing today were precisely the ones Wen Di had bought yesterday.
He swallowed the warm water in his mouth with great effort.
After that, he struggled considerably to keep himself from looking at those cufflinks.
Today’s negotiations went smoothly; no one contradicted anyone, because neither wanted to spend more time with the other and wished to end the discussion as soon as possible.
What would have originally taken five or six hours of discussion concluded in four hours.
All documents were signed and collected by Assistant Kang.
Back in the car, Yan Heyu took a moment to compose himself. He took out another phone, a new one he had bought, with a Jiangcheng SIM card inside.
Only Assistant Kang knew this number.
Yan Heyu opened the text message editor: [Wen Di, it’s me. After two years apart, you probably think of me less and less, maybe even not at all now. I’m the opposite. This Spring Festival, I’ve been in Jiangcheng, wanting to find you, but afraid you’d be annoyed. You’re probably in love again, right?]
He drafted it, entered her number, and reread it.
Finally, he deleted her number.
He also deleted the message, word by word.
Then he turned off the phone.
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