The next morning, at breakfast.
Shen Qi opened his eyes, stared at the ceiling for a long time, and finally sat up slowly.
He pushed off the blanket and stepped onto the floor barefoot, the remnants of sleep fading away. Walking to the window, he pulled back the curtains, and the view outside immediately brightened up.
He had gotten up even earlier than usual today to make some necessary preparations.
This was his very last morning in this house.
Taking a deep breath, he turned around and began packing his belongings.
Actually, there was not much to pack. Since he was going to die, everything belonging to Shen Qi should remain in this world.
He opened the closet, folded a few clothes, and placed some essential documents inside his suitcase. The remaining clothes in the wardrobe would probably be disposed of by the housekeeper at Cheng Yanzhou’s direction later on.
Without dwelling on it further, he opened his computer and began handling his finances.
After all, the money given to him upon marrying into the Cheng family was not a small sum, and having worked at Cheng Yanzhou’s company for three years, his daily expenses were mostly deducted from his salary. The money provided by the Cheng family had hardly been spent on himself.
He still had a considerable amount of savings under his name.
There was also a small apartment left to him by his mother.
Deducting what he needed for himself, he split the remaining savings into two parts. One part was transferred anonymously to his father’s account, serving as a final settlement for their familial ties.
The second part was transferred to Yu An as the cost for this death escape and subsequent emergency funds.
As for the small apartment, he left it untouched for now. Although Cheng Yanzhou did not seem to know of its existence, touching the property would make things look too deliberate.
Finally, he deposited every single cent that Cheng Yanzhou had ever transferred to him into a single card. He initially thought about slipping the card quietly into the bedside table drawer in the guest room, but realizing it would surely arouse suspicion, he instead put it back in the master bedroom.
After finishing all of this, Shen Qi felt a sudden emptiness in his chest, momentarily unsure of what else to do.
Glancing around the bedroom, his gaze swept over the photo frame on the bedside table.
It was his wedding photo with Cheng Yanzhou, where both of them stood rigidly upright like two unwilling models.
Shen Qi walked over, turned the photo frame face down on the desk without a word, and picked up his suitcase to head downstairs.
Entering the living room, his gaze involuntarily fell on the entryway cabinet.
The wedding rings belonging to him and Cheng Yanzhou were kept inside.
How laughable. Even wedding rings could be tossed aside so casually. Could this really be considered a normal marriage?
He walked over, found the box, and took out his own platinum ring.
In the beginning, he used to wear it frequently, but after discovering that Cheng Yanzhou never wore his out, he slowly started putting it away.
The ring was simple, without any patterns, just like this marriage, plain without a single ripple. He pinched the ring, his fingertips feeling cold.
Perhaps it was time to let it vanish along with Shen Qi.
Through the door, he saw the fountain in the garden, its bubbling water reflecting a tiny rainbow in the sunlight.
Prompted by some inexplicable impulse, Shen Qi walked over, stood by the edge of the pond, and pulled the wedding ring from his pocket.
The platinum band shimmered with a metallic luster in the sunlight.
He stared at it for a few seconds, then suddenly raised his hand.
With a splash, the ring sank to the bottom of the water.
“Young master?” Hearing the movement, the housekeeper poked her head out from the kitchen window, smiled upon seeing Shen Qi, and said, “Breakfast is ready.”
“No need.” Shen Qi smiled back. “I am in a hurry.”
Next, he needed to head to the office to handle his final bits of work.
There was still an unfinished project on his hands that needed a handover, and he had to organize all the materials and pass them to the succeeding colleague so his death would not affect the project progress of the team.
Shen Qi took one last look at the home he had lived in for three years.
The living room, dining room, bedroom, and garden. Every corner held his traces, yet starting today, these traces would all become completely meaningless.
He pulled his suitcase along. For such a massive house, he was only taking a single small suitcase, which was not even full.
Shen Qi turned and left the Cheng residence without looking back.
The office was not far from his home, taking only half an hour to reach by car.
As he walked into the familiar office building, the receptionist greeted him with a smile. “Specialist Shen, morning.”
“Morning.”
Shen Qi returned a faint smile, though a sour ache twisted in his heart.
This was likely the last time he would appear here under the identity of Shen Qi.
He walked straight to the finance department’s floor, went to his workstation, and opened his computer to organize his files.
Colleagues arrived one after another. Xiao Yang, the most talkative colleague on usual days, tossed a small pack of cookies over to him and bantered. “Qiqi, has your fever cleared up? I missed you to death these past few days when you were not here.”
Shen Qi gave a small smile in return, nodded, and said, “Yes, I am better.”
Then, he diligently finished up the remaining tasks at hand.
The morning passed quickly.
When he sent the last file to the succeeding colleague and clearly explained all precautions face-to-face, the heavy stone in his heart finally settled firmly into place.
“Alright, it is all handed over to you now. If there is anything you do not understand, feel free to contact me.”
Shen Qi stopped mid-sentence.
He almost forgot that from now on, no one would ever be able to contact Shen Qi again.
The colleague did not notice anything amiss and smiled. “Do not worry, Brother Shen, it is guaranteed to be no problem. By the way, why are you suddenly explaining things so thoroughly? Are you taking annual leave?”
“Yes.” Shen Qi smoothly nodded, going along with it without any explanation to round out the excuse. “I have some matters to attend to and want to go out for a trip.”
“Then I wish you a great time.”
“Thank you.”
Shen Qi stood up and lowered his head to tidy his desk when he suddenly caught a faint trace of lime scent.
Thinking it was just the smell of air conditioner cleaner, he paid it no mind and proceeded to pack up the more important items from his workstation one by one.
“Did Specialist Shen wear perfume today?”
“Such a unique scent, like a freshly cut lemon.”
“It really smells nice and refreshing. Let us order lemon tea for the afternoon snack.”
“Oh yes, remember to call me when you do.”
Shen Qi did not hear this conversation. He took one final look at his workstation, then turned and walked away.
Walking to the elevator lobby, he pressed the down button.
The elevator arrived quickly, and when the doors opened, there was only one person inside.
It was Cheng Yanzhou.
Shen Qi’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively wanted to step back, but the elevator doors had already begun to close. Cheng Yanzhou’s well-defined fingers pressed against the edge of the doors, forcing them back open.
“Get in.”
“…”
He had no choice but to bite the bullet and step inside, standing in the corner farthest from Cheng Yanzhou.
“Why are you here? Were you not heading to the neighboring city? I thought you took leave.”
After a few seconds of silence, Cheng Yanzhou’s voice broke the quiet inside the elevator, carrying a hint of confusion.
“I came to finish up some pending work.”
Shen Qi kept his head down, not daring to look at him, his voice slightly raspy.
The elevator began its descent, leaving only the faint hum of operation in the narrow space.
Right at that moment, Shen Qi suddenly felt a strange surge of heat welling up from his lower abdomen, spreading outward with a tingling sensation.
Huh?
He frowned slightly, thinking it was just low blood sugar from skipping breakfast.
But low blood sugar should not feel like this.
The elevator continued its slow descent. At a certain second, a subtle stinging sensation bloomed at the back of his neck, as if something was stirring beneath his skin.
The next second, he caught that faint scent of lime again.
The fragrance was extremely faint, yet exceptionally distinct. Once noticed, it became impossible to ignore.
Even more bizarrely, the scent seemed to be coming from nearby.
It was a bit like it was radiating from his own body.
Shen Qi froze in place.
He had not worn any perfume.
Could it be?
No, he was a Beta. How could he possibly have the scent of pheromones?