Zhao Muqing gave the company’s name, and the driver quickly reset the navigation.
The sky was a dull gray. Zhao Muqing looked out the car window to see the sky covered in thick, dark clouds. Sure enough, halfway through the drive, it began to rain.
As the rain grew heavier and fearing that the wet roads would be slippery, the driver had no choice but to slow down. Zhao Muqing couldn’t voice any complaints and could only worry anxiously to himself.
The journey to the company felt longer than Zhao Muqing had imagined. When the car finally stopped, rain had completely blurred the window glass. Without even bothering to open an umbrella, he hurriedly dashed out into the downpour.
A crowd had gathered in front of the company building: reporters, police officers maintaining order, and quite a few employees who hadn’t managed to evacuate and were trapped inside. Zhao Muqing circled through the crowd, but couldn’t find that familiar face anywhere.
His nerves tightened instantly, as if they were about to snap at any second. Zhao Muqing couldn’t imagine what would happen if Shen Guanzhi got into any trouble because of the matter with the project manager; he would probably carry the guilt for the rest of his life.
Both Zhao Muqing’s hair and jacket were soaked through. After searching almost every accessible spot nearby, just as he was about to rush into the company building, someone called out his name: “Zhao Muqing.”
Hearing the voice, Zhao Muqing instinctively turned back. Shen Guanzhi was holding a black umbrella, standing in the rain with his gaze fixed firmly on him. Clearly not expecting Zhao Muqing to be here, he stood frozen in place for a brief moment.
Zhao Muqing immediately sprinted toward Shen Guanzhi, hurling his drenched self straight into Shen Guanzhi’s arms. “I thought something happened to you.”
“Nothing happened at all, don’t worry.” Shen Guanzhi didn’t care about his suit being soaked through. Holding the umbrella with one hand, he used the other to stroke Zhao Muqing’s rain-soaked hair. “Let’s go back.”
Shen Guanzhi glanced back, giving a subtle hint to the man standing behind him, and then held Zhao Muqing tightly as they hurried away from the scene. Glancing up briefly from Shen Guanzhi’s embrace, Zhao Muqing realized there had been another person with him, an entirely unfamiliar face.
Zhao Muqing didn’t think much of it and followed Shen Guanzhi into the back seat of the car. Shen Guanzhi took off his suit jacket and carefully wiped the rain off Zhao Muqing.
Zhao Muqing pushed his suit away. “Stop wiping, such an expensive jacket.”
“It’s fine.” Shen Guanzhi didn’t mind, continuing to dry Zhao Muqing’s palms. “Why did you come? Did you see the news?”
“That project manager hates you so much, I thought he was retaliating.” Zhao Muqing took a deep breath. Seeing with his own eyes that Shen Guanzhi was safe and sound, the heart hanging in his throat finally relaxed. “It’s all because of me. If you had died, I’d probably have to mourn you for the rest of my life.”
“It has nothing to do with you; I was the one who wanted a fallout with him.” Shen Guanzhi chuckled at Zhao Muqing’s words. “I’m not going to die.”
“You scared me to death, I really thought I’d be mourning you.” Zhao Muqing muttered like a brat throwing a tantrum, giving Shen Guanzhi’s wrist a squeeze.
Shen Guanzhi let him vent, rolling up his wrinkled suit jacket and tossing it aside. “You’re the one who gave me a scare. In such heavy rain, you’ll catch a cold without an umbrella.”
“I was afraid if I came too late I wouldn’t even get to see a body.” Zhao Muqing scratched his head sheepishly, then lifted a corner of his dripping shirt. “My physical constitution is pretty decent, you know. Look, I have abs.”
Shen Guanzhi quickly stopped him, grabbed a spare change of clothes from the car, and draped a jacket over Zhao Muqing’s shoulders. “Don’t catch a chill.”
The car drove all the way to the villa entrance. Shen Guanzhi pressed the button for the fourth floor and rode the elevator up with Zhao Muqing. He had someone prepare hot ginger tea for Zhao Muqing and insisted on watching him walk into the bathroom before finally feeling at ease.
After taking a hot shower and changing into a bathrobe, Zhao Muqing returned to his bedroom only to find that Shen Guanzhi was still there, sitting unceremoniously on his bed.
“Drink this.” Shen Guanzhi pointed to the hot ginger tea placed on the table. Zhao Muqing obediently picked it up and drank it. Although the taste was pungent, he gritted his teeth and pushed through. A cup of tea in his belly indeed made him feel much warmer.
As Zhao Muqing put down the cup, Shen Guanzhi handed him a hair dryer, prompting Zhao Muqing to frown. “I’m a grown-up, I can take care of myself.”
“Alright.” Shen Guanzhi put the dryer down, pulled his hand back, and still showed no intention of leaving. Too embarrassed to kick him out, Zhao Muqing dried his hair under Shen Guanzhi’s watchful gaze.
Returning to the bedside, Zhao Muqing discovered that Shen Guanzhi had prepared cold medicine for him at some point. He felt his forehead; it wasn’t hot.
“Take it.” Shen Guanzhi practically shoved the pills into Zhao Muqing’s hand. “It prevents a fever.”
With no other choice, Zhao Muqing obediently swallowed the pills down with warm water. “Alright, can you go back now? I’m really fine.”
Shen Guanzhi’s gaze lingered on him, and the next second, Zhao Muqing was pulled unexpectedly into an embrace. “You always give people something to worry about.”
Resting his head on Shen Guanzhi’s left shoulder, Zhao Muqing shifted restlessly. “You’re the one who worried people first, not replying to messages.”
“Sorry, I was tied up with work.” The hand Shen Guanzhi had placed on Zhao Muqing’s back tightened a bit more. “I’ll reply promptly next time.”
“Alright, alright, can you let go of me now?” Zhao Muqing felt like a squirming bug; Shen Guanzhi was holding him way too tightly.
Shen Guanzhi finally pulled his hands back. “Take care of yourself.”
Zhao Muqing thought Shen Guanzhi’s attitude was inexplicable. He had just foolishly stood in the rain, was that really grounds for all this?
He quickly shut his bedroom door.
The next day, after finishing his training session and stepping out of Room 012, Zhao Muqing spotted Shen Guanzhi waiting outside the door.
He cautiously approached him. “Boss, have you been waiting long?”
“Not long.” Shen Guanzhi seemed to dislike this title, his brows twitching in an imperceptible frown. “Call me by my name from now on.”
“Fine, Shen Guanzhi, shouldn’t we be heading back?” Zhao Muqing didn’t get it; he had called him that plenty of times before, so why did it suddenly sound jarring?
“There’s something I want to show you.” Shen Guanzhi fished his car keys out of his pocket.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhao Muqing racked his brain but couldn’t guess what Shen Guanzhi had prepared; there wasn’t even any special occasion recently.
He even secretly checked Shen Guanzhi’s birthday online; it didn’t match. His own birthday matched even less.
When the sedan arrived at its destination and Zhao Muqing stepped out of the car, he found a three-story small villa before him, its exterior exquisitely designed.
“This isn’t another party, is it?” Zhao Muqing’s psychological trauma flared up again.
“No.” Shen Guanzhi led the way ahead. “Follow me, come inside.”
Zhao Muqing followed Shen Guanzhi through the entrance of the small villa. The interior furniture was fully complete, showing signs of having been specially designed by a professional.
“Do you like it here?” Shen Guanzhi spoke from behind him. “You can head upstairs to take a look.”
Zhao Muqing indicated that going upstairs wasn’t necessary; just looking at the main hall was enough to imagine how intricate the rest of the place was. “Are we moving?”
“No, this is a gift I’m giving you.” Shen Guanzhi stepped a bit closer to him.
Zhao Muqing almost choked on his own saliva. “Why would you buy me a big house for no reason? I can’t accept this.”
“I heard you don’t own a place and have always been renting.” Shen Guanzhi paused. “Your parents’ former residence was also sold off to pay compensation to the victims’ families from the car accident.”
Zhao Muqing had some impression of this. He had chatted about it with Jian Shigu in private; apparently, his father had been driving drunk, hitting a pedestrian who died on the spot, while Zhao Muqing’s parents in the car had also succumbed to severe injuries.
He found it hard to comment when he first heard about it, so he just listened and let it go.
With such a massive compensation debt landing on his head, it was no wonder the original owner went to any length to scrape together money.
“Living at your place is pretty comfortable too.” Zhao Muqing hurried to find an excuse to decline. No one hated money, but while he wouldn’t mind eating extra meals at someone else’s expense, accepting a multi-million villa was genuinely nerve-wracking.
“You’ll only feel at ease once you truly own a place of your own.” Shen Guanzhi clearly had his mind set on giving it to him. “The paperwork is already being processed.”
Zhao Muqing still couldn’t wrap his head around rich people.
“Will you be settling down in Dongyuan?” Shen Guanzhi asked next.
“Where else would I live if not here?” Zhao Muqing sighed helplessly.
Shen Guanzhi seemed quite satisfied with his answer. He stepped behind him and pulled something out of his pocket. “Close your eyes.”
Obediently, Zhao Muqing shut his eyes. He felt Shen Guanzhi’s fingertips brush against his neck from time to time, followed by something cold being placed around it.
Without guessing, he knew it was a necklace. It wasn’t until Shen Guanzhi’s hand left his neck that Zhao Muqing opened his eyes and looked down at his chest.
He couldn’t help a shock of disbelief; this necklace was none other than Dryad, locked deep inside the display room.
“A housewarming gift.” Shen Guanzhi’s fingertips brushed against the gemstone resting on his chest. “Now it belongs to you.”
“I can’t take this, what if I lose it?” Zhao Muqing’s mind went blank. He was supposed to keep a gemstone necklace this valuable?
“The password to the display room safe is the month of my birthday plus the day of your birthday. You can put it back or take it out anytime.” Shen Guanzhi pulled a key from his pocket. “Only I can open the display room’s main door, but now you can too.”
Weren’t they afraid he’d clean out the whole display room? “Boss, no, Shen Guanzhi, blink twice if you’ve been possessed.”
“Stop talking nonsense.” Shen Guanzhi frowned with mild annoyance.
It seemed he really was himself. Zhao Muqing was even more baffled; he might as well just assume Shen Guanzhi’s brain had broken somewhere.
Keeping Dryad in his possession gave Zhao Muqing no peace of mind, so he headed straight back to the studio to lock Dryad back into the safe.
As soon as Zhao Muqing stepped out of the elevator, he ran straight into a fresh face. He couldn’t help sizing up the man opposite him for a moment; tall, handsome, and striking in appearance.
“Have we met before?” The man smiled faintly.
Zhao Muqing looked completely blank, so the other person offered a prompt: “That day at the company, when it was raining so hard.”
Memories slammed unbidden into his mind, and Zhao Muqing remembered: when he had dashed into the rain to look for Shen Guanzhi, he had crossed paths with this exact person.
“Hello, I’m Song Lijun. May I ask your name?” Song Lijun extended a hand toward Zhao Muqing.
Zhao Muqing practically froze in place.
Wasn’t this the name of the original novel’s protagonist shou?