By the fourth day, when there was still no news from Meng Yu, Lu Shian lost his mind at home and smashed his phone in a fit of rage. Eventually, he bought a plane ticket and flew abroad on his own.
Lu Xuelan followed him immediately, but Lu Shian remained stubborn and insisted on staying overseas. After a month of fruitless persuasion, she had no choice but to return, withdraw him from his school, and use her connections to arrange for him to attend a university abroad.
He stayed abroad for four years. During that time, he sought out both girlfriends and boyfriends. Every time the image of Meng Yu holding and kissing someone else flashed through his mind, he felt a desperate urge to vent by sleeping with someone else. Yet every time the clothes came off, regardless of whether the person was male or female, he would look at their face and feel a wave of revulsion. He could never bring himself to go through with it.
Because he hated Meng Yu so much, he found himself unable to even react physically to people lying in his bed, posing and trying to seduce him. Eventually, he resigned himself to being alone, fearing that people would gossip about him being impotent or sick.
Only Lu Shian knew he was perfectly fine. Whenever he had needs, Meng Yu’s face would inevitably surface in his mind. For a long time, he dealt with his desires on his own while thinking of Meng Yu.
It was not until two years ago, when Lu Xuelan called him in tears and told him a truth he still found hard to accept, that he finally returned from abroad. Upon his return, he joined Fangsheng and systematically stripped power from his father, Fang Ziming. It was only after Fang Ziming suffered a stroke and was hospitalized with paralysis that Lu Shian became the new Chairman of Fangsheng.
After returning to the country, he was incredibly busy. He poured his heart and soul into his work, and the time he spent thinking about Meng Yu grew sparse. Before their recent encounter, he had almost forgotten the man entirely.
Time truly fades everything. Forgetting someone begins with forgetting their voice. Six years had passed; whether it was love or hate, it had all begun to recede. Before they met again, he had truly forgotten Meng Yu’s voice. He rarely looked at Meng Yu’s photos, and that face had become blurred in his memory. Occasionally, when he did remember, the most vivid image was the red silhouette of the person Meng Yu had been kissing.
He looked at the person in the photo, unable to define his current state of mind. He used to have hundreds of photos of Meng Yu, some taken openly and others in secret. He had burned them all, leaving only this last one.
He let out a cold laugh and flipped the photo over. On the back, two large words were written in a bold, sweeping hand: Scumbag!
Lu Shian had written those words himself back when he kept the photo, using the very pen Meng Yu had given him.
His thoughts drifted. After staring at those two words for a full ten minutes, Lu Shian finally picked up his phone. He opened his contacts and quickly dialed Zhou Yang, his roommate from university.
After returning to the country, he had intended to gather everyone, but two of his three roommates were no longer in Jingjiang, and there was one he had no desire to see. Consequently, the dormitory group had not met since he left the country.
The call was answered after a dozen seconds. “President Lu, you are a busy man. What made you think to call me today? The last time we spoke was half a year ago,” Zhou Yang’s teasing voice rang out.
“Yangzi, I have something to ask you.”
Zhou Yang agreed readily. “Sure, go ahead.”
Lu Shian hesitated for two seconds before speaking. “After I went abroad, you once called and said there was something about Meng Yu you wanted to tell me. What was it?”
“My dear President Lu, that was six years ago. How could I possibly remember?”
Lu Shian felt an uneasy tug in his chest. “Think carefully.”
“How am I supposed to think? It has been so long, who would remember? Wait,” Zhou Yang sensed something was off. “Why bring him up all of a sudden?”
Lu Shian replied calmly, “I ran into him recently.”
“What!” Zhou Yang’s voice jumped two octaves. “He is back in Jingjiang?”
Lu Shian was confused. “What do you mean back in Jingjiang? Has he not always been here?”
“No,” Zhou Yang paused. “Now that you mention it, I remember what I wanted to tell you back then.”
“What?” Lu Shian’s voice was urgent.
“A month after you went abroad, he dropped out of school and left Jingjiang.”
Lu Shian’s breath hitched. “Why?”
“I heard his father died. I think it happened right after your birthday. Later, his family went bankrupt. Dropping out was likely related to that. He probably left Jingjiang to dodge debts.”
Lu Shian’s heart tightened, and the hand holding the phone broke into a cold sweat. He knew a bit about Meng Yu’s family. They also owned a company; though not as famous as Fangsheng Group, they were considered wealthy compared to average families.
When Lu Shian went abroad, he changed his phone, got a new SIM card, and registered a new WeChat. He never contacted Meng Yu again, so naturally, Meng Yu could not reach him either. At the time, Lu Shian hated Meng Yu intensely. He refused to hear any news about him and never inquired after returning to the country.
Today was the first time he had taken the initiative to ask Zhou Yang.
Silence fell over the line until Zhou Yang broke it. “We only heard about his family matters later. He probably did not contact you because he was busy with his family, but even so, it is an indisputable fact that he scammed you and played with your feelings. You said you met him and are asking about him; you aren’t thinking of rekindling things, are you?”
“No,” Lu Shian said weakly. “Contact me when you are back in Jingjiang. Let’s get together.”
“Sure. Out of the four of us, only you and Zhuo Xun are in Jingjiang. Have you contacted him since you returned? I haven’t reached out to him since he left the dormitory group chat two years ago. I have no idea how he is doing.”
At the mention of Zhuo Xun, Lu Shian’s expression darkened instantly. His gaze turned somber. After a long pause, he replied, “No.”
“You two used to be the closest. I thought you would be seeing each other often.”
Lu Shian rubbed his brow irritably. “I am tired today. Let’s catch up another time.”
He hung up, put Meng Yu’s photo back in the drawer, and climbed into bed to sleep, his mind clouded with restless frustration.
A week later, Lu Shian went to the hospital to have his stitches removed and to have his shoulder checked. He arrived near closing time to avoid the peak hours.
He went to Neurosurgery first. The wound on the back of his head had healed well, leaving a shallow scar that would be invisible once his hair grew back. Lu Xuelan had booked both appointments for him; she had insisted the department head at Neurosurgery handle the simple removal of stitches, and she had specifically booked a specialist for him in Orthopedics. She still felt Meng Yu was too young and wanted an experienced veteran to confirm everything was fine.
After seeing the specialist, Lu Shian was told his shoulder was fine, provided he avoided strenuous exercise for the next two weeks. As he left the outpatient clinic, he headed toward the Orthopedics office in the inpatient building. He did not see Meng Yu inside and prepared to leave.
As he passed the nurses’ station, the nurses spotted him. Except for Nurse Dong, who had previously called him cold blooded and pointedly retreated to the restroom, the remaining two were visibly excited. Today, Lu Shian wore grey casual clothes and a baseball cap to hide his bald patch. He looked refreshing, handsome, and youthful, resembling a university student.
The fangirl who admired him plucked up her courage and called out as he walked away, “President Lu, you look so handsome today!”
Lu Shian stopped and turned around. The two nurses fell silent immediately, and the one who had spoken blushed a deep red.
“Thank you,” Lu Shian said lightly. He did not leave immediately but walked over and asked, “Is Doctor Meng not on duty?”