“I don’t think you have the right to decide my life for me.”
Shen Siren half-closed his eyes as he looked down at Wu Yamei. His gaze carried deep exhaustion and disgust. His voice was cold, like a numb corpse, but the defiance in his words was like a blade piercing Wu Yamei’s heart.
“Mom, stop interfering in my life.”
Shen Fuyu’s eyes widened in shock, and she even let out a startled hiccup.
Wu Yamei’s face was full of pain as she said emotionally, “Siren, I’m doing this for your own good…”
Shen Shenyuan frowned and sighed. “The children are grown. When it’s time to let go, we should let go.”
“You father and son have no conscience! If I hadn’t used my family connections back then to transfer Siren out of the capital, the Shen family would’ve been crushed by the Jiang family!” Wu Yamei stood up as well, tears streaming down her face. “Fine! Fine! I won’t care anymore! Do whatever you want!” With that, she cried and went upstairs.
Shen Fuyu looked helplessly at Shen Siren. After hesitating for a long time, she finally said, “Brother, Chuxia has already moved on. Digging up what happened back then again won’t be good for either of you. You should move forward too.”
After saying that, she ran upstairs to comfort Wu Yamei.
The servants had long since quietly withdrawn. Only Shen father and son remained on the first floor.
Shen Shenyuan took a sip of tea and said calmly, “I know you’ve resented us these past two years. We sent that girl away without your consent, and you were hurt. But Siren… if you went back to that time, would you really have had a better way to protect her?”
Shen Siren stood silently, his expression hidden beneath a thin veil, making his emotions unreadable.
He picked up his coat without answering and left without a word. As the door closed, Shen Shenyuan’s long sigh was cut off behind him.
Shen Siren sent the driver away and drove himself to a villa in the outskirts of Beijing.
It was deep into the night. The house was completely dark, silent like a haunted mansion.
He stood alone in the entrance hall and, relying on memory, found the switch. With a click, the entire villa lit up.
All the furniture was covered in white cloth. Shen Siren walked to the sofa and sat down, his hand lightly brushing the empty seat beside him.
The living room was spacious and bright, with high ceilings and a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. Outside was the garden he once carefully tended—now long overgrown and desolate.
He sat quietly, staring at a dust-covered photo frame.
It was a picture of him and Chuxia.
That Christmas, she had excitedly set up a huge Christmas tree in front of the window and insisted on decorating it together. They took this photo in front of it.
He remembered it clearly: Chuxia wore a red-and-green Christmas sweater, a crooked Santa hat, and even a fake white beard she somehow got from somewhere. When she smiled at him, her eyes seemed to hold an entire galaxy.
She had held up a Santa stocking and asked, “What gift do you want?”
He had never cared much about holidays, but because of her, every holiday felt special.
“I want to spend Christmas every year with someone,” he had said.
Chuxia had teased him, “Who’s ‘someone’? You have to say it clearly, or Santa won’t know how to grant your wish.”
He had only smiled at her and, unable to resist her coaxing, gently kissed the corner of her lips.
Now, the bright Christmas tree was gone. Outside the window were only withered leaves and swaying shadows. The once warm living room was mostly covered in white cloth, like a snowfield.
The house was so silent it felt like even dust would be heard falling.
Only his breathing remained.
Shen Siren leaned back against the sofa, covering his eyes with the back of his hand.
After a long moment, his throat trembled uncontrollably. Beneath his hand, tears slid down his face and disappeared into his hair.
In the empty room, only his voice remained.
“I want… to spend Christmas every year with Li Chuxia…”
After returning from the hospital, Chuxia found herself constantly exhausted and sleepy. She had little appetite and was too lazy to cook. In just a few days, she had lost several pounds.
Surprisingly, Sheng Jingshi had been unusually quiet, not even calling her. Lou Fan also seemed busy and had gone completely silent after signing the contract.
She didn’t pay attention to any of it.
After renovations were completed, Qiao Nian handled the gallery’s opening ceremony. On opening day, Chuxia asked Lou Fan to attend the ribbon-cutting.
Lou Fan arrived late, and she had to delay the ceremony for him.
Qiao Nian was strict about timing and was clearly unhappy, but since Lou Fan was the investor, she held back her complaints. However, her frustration peaked when she saw a woman get out of Lou Fan’s car.
“Sorry, I had to pick someone up from the airport,” Lou Fan said casually, with no real apology.
Qiao Nian muttered to Chuxia, “If he didn’t want to come, he shouldn’t have. Now the crowd is almost gone…”
Chuxia simply patted her hand. “Let’s begin.”
Firecrackers were set off for good luck. As they were lit, the woman beside Lou Fan turned pale and grabbed his arm.
Chuxia saw Lou Fan smile slightly and say something to her.
Qiao Nian noticed too. “Who’s that woman? Isn’t Lou Fan your—”
She didn’t finish “boyfriend” before Lou Fan placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder and spoke again amid the firecrackers.
Chuxia couldn’t see his expression clearly behind his sunglasses, but he seemed in a good mood.
“He’s just our investor,” Chuxia said calmly.
Qiao Nian stopped asking.
During the ribbon-cutting, Lou Fan unexpectedly asked the woman beside him, “Want to join?”
The woman quickly shook her head. “This is their opening ceremony. Be serious.”
So Lou Fan and Chuxia cut the ribbon together.
“Wishing Miss Li great success,” Lou Fan said.
“If I make money, so does Mr. Lou,” Chuxia replied with a smile.
Lou Fan then removed his sunglasses, introduced her to the woman: “This is Li Chuxia.”
The woman smiled and extended her hand. “Hello, I’m Ling Muting. I just returned from abroad and don’t have many friends in Beijing. Can I come visit sometime?”
Qiao Nian’s expression darkened slightly as she watched.