It happened to coincide with the evening rush hour after work, leaving the roads, which were normally quite spacious, completely jammed. Whether it was the million-dollar luxury cars driven by high-level white-collar executives or the three-wheeled mobility carts for the elderly that had accidentally wandered into the traffic jam while picking up their grandchildren, all of them seemed like tiny insects stuck to a spiderweb. The rows of bright headlights shining in the front looked just like the crimson compound eyes of insects.
Min Zhuozhou drove his car, slowly maneuvering along the elevated highway. The wild, incessant blare of car horns all over the street made him feel rather irritable. He hadn’t kept Min Hua by his side; after finishing his phone call with He Yi, he immediately contacted Min Zaiming and asked him to come over and take the child away.
The car ahead finally squeezed forward with great effort, and Min Zhuozhou eased off the brake to keep up. The phone resting on the passenger seat lit up for a moment and then went dark again. He knew it was He Yi sending him messages to tactfully urge him along.
The reason He Yi called him didn’t have much to do with Pei Che. Today, the Pei Corporation was hosting an important business collaboration with a top domestic enterprise. Right now, Pei Che was sitting inside a conference room in the middle of a meeting, completely unaware of what was happening outside:
Min Zhuozhou’s half-sister, Guo Ailin, had somehow tracked down the company address. Holding up a placard, she was blocking the main entrance. The security guards had tried to persuade her to leave several times, but she refused to budge. Her attitude was unyielding, and her objective was crystal clear,
She wanted money.
Ever since Min Zhuozhou took Min Hua away five years ago, Guo Ailin and her little boyfriend had broken up and gotten back together several times. In the end, she inexplicably lost her mind and registered for a marriage certificate with him.
That man was a useless piece of trash who refused to hold down a real job. Instead, he engaged exclusively in illegal online gambling investments, driving himself into absolute financial ruin. To make matters worse, his creditors were all dirty, shady underworld types.
Min Zhuozhou’s social circle only consisted of ordinary, respectable people. He couldn’t bear to watch his own sister and her actual husband get their hands and feet chopped off by debt collectors, so over the years, he had poured a significant amount of his own money into helping their household. But that man’s greed was insatiable, and he refused to exercise any restraint. He was convinced that Min Zhuozhou was nothing more than an automated money printer for Guo Ailin; as long as he whispered sweet nothings into his wife’s ear to influence her, he could just sit back and watch cash roll in, achieving humanity’s ultimate goal of having money fall right out of thin air ahead of time.
Recently, Guo Ailin came to her brother asking for money again, claiming her husband wanted to settle down and invest in a project to run a legitimate business. Min Zhuozhou made his stance explicitly clear, telling her that if she wanted the money, she had to divorce that man first.
Upon hearing this, Guo Ailin threw a fit. Seeing that soft persuasion, acting spoiled, and throwing tantrums were getting her nowhere, her delicate brows straightened, and a murderous glare flashed in her eyes. She accused Min Zhuozhou of being a heartless monster who can’t stand to see his own sister do well. She then pulled up her pants legs to reveal a pair of legs heavily scarred by boiling water. As she cursed him out, her nose twitched, and she burst into a loud, wailing sob.
She cried, recounting how much she loved dancing since childhood, and how it was a mistake Min Zhuozhou made when he was nine years old, spilling a pot of scalding water all over her legs, that ruined her chance of ever becoming a dancer, forcing her to live forever under the shadow of damaged legs.
At the time, the situation was far more complex than Guo Ailin remembered, but that pot of hot water had indeed been spilled on her by the young Min Zhuozhou. Because of this, Guo Ailin believed she had every right to hate Min Zhuozhou for a lifetime.
Min Zhuozhou hated himself too, which was why he felt he owed this younger sister for the rest of his life. He indulged her endlessly, granting almost every single one of her requests, yet on the matter of requiring her to get a divorce, his attitude remained extraordinarily firm.
Guo Ailin had begged and cursed, but in the end, she still couldn’t get the money. She had no choice but to pack away her tears, which usually worked every time, and turn her twisted scheme toward Pei Che instead.
Although Min Zhuozhou was a very famous actor, his taste in choosing roles was quite peculiar. He rarely accepted commercial blockbusters featuring famous directors, big productions, and massive box office returns. Instead, he favored starring in artistic indie films for young directors who had just graduated from drama school, who felt lost about their futures, but were full of creative ideas.
Relying on these indie art films, Min Zhuozhou had won international awards long ago, enough for him to transition into lucrative mainstream movies. Yet, he could endure the loneliness and still refused to judge the quality of a script based on fame or fortune. This also meant that although he enjoyed financial freedom, he was still a step behind when it came to true, immense wealth.
Pei Che, however, was completely different. He was a monumental figure standing at the absolute peak of the business pyramid in Ningcheng, looking down upon the world. Merely opening a commercial news app meant bumping into his name. If anyone claimed a figure like him had no money, Guo Ailin would absolutely never believe it.
Thus, she inquired about the location of the Pei Corporation building early on, intending to put on a dramatic performance, crying, screaming, and threatening suicide, in the middle of the crowded plaza downstairs, refusing to give up until her goal was achieved.
Guo Ailin certainly picked a convenient time. Today, the Pei Corporation happened to be negotiating with the largest domestic investor in their relevant sector. If these guests from afar were to witness such a scene of a loud-mouthed woman throwing a street tantrum, the impact on the corporate image would be extremely negative.
The security guards had wanted to remove her right away, but whenever anyone approached, Guo Ailin would shout at the top of her lungs, claiming to be Pei Che’s sister-in-law. She even glared and put on a serious show of authority, threatening the guards that there would be terrible consequences for them.
These guards were just working for a fixed monthly salary and were afraid this woman might actually be President Pei’s relative. After all, though her behavior was maniacal, she was outfitted entirely in luxury designer brands, with her ensemble easily exceeding one hundred thousand dollars.
For a moment, no one dared to act rashly. The security supervisor called upper management to request instructions, and after moving up the chain, the matter reached Pei Che’s assistant, He Yi.
Her boss was inside negotiating a legal suit and could not be disturbed, so she urgently contacted Min Zhuozhou, pleading with him to take his disruptive sister away.
By the time Min Zhuozhou finally made his way out of the congested elevated highway and turned into the area beneath the city’s most bustling CBD building, the night sky had completely draped over him, enveloping him in a sudden, freezing autumn cold.
He Yi was waiting in the plaza. Usually an elite corporate professional working in the building, she was wearing a delicate but uninsulating business suit. Standing outside, she had shivered countless times before finally spotting a tall man wrapped in an overcoat, wearing a hat and sunglasses, walking over with fast strides.
In normal times, that handsome, striking figure would definitely have set He Yi’s heart fluttering for a long while. But right now, she only felt like she was finally saved, experiencing an illusion of being dug out from a frozen cellar, her nose feeling intensely sore.
Mr. Min, you’re finally here!
He Yi spoke in an anxious, rushed tone. Clacking her high heels, she ran to Min Zhuozhou’s side and glanced toward the center of the plaza not far away: Please go quickly and persuade your sister to leave. If the executive leaders come down later and see this, the impact will be really terrible.
Through his sunglasses, Min Zhuozhou saw her trembling shoulders. He unbuttoned his overcoat first and placed it over her: It’s cold outside. You go upstairs first.
Immediately after, he looked toward the direction He Yi pointed and caught sight of Guo Ailin sitting on the ground. For a fraction of a second, the eyes hidden behind the shades went pitch black.
Thank you, Mr. Min, but I should still… still watch you take her away, He Yi murmured softly, looking at the distant woman with lingering fear. She already caused a scene earlier, and a lot of people saw it.
Min Zhuozhou felt trapped by a sense of helplessness. Ever since escaping the gridlocked road, he had sped all the way here, pushing against the speed limit. At this moment, his heartbeat was racing, chaotic and floating like the crowded city streetlights. The injury on his lower back felt as if it had been soaked in acid, with dense networks of pain wrapping tightly around every single one of his sensory nerves.
Yet, turning toward the anxious young assistant, he still squeezed out a trademark smile, reassuring her in a tone that was calm and gentle: I will take her away right now. Don’t worry.
Min Zhuozhou was highly conscious of disguising himself in open public spaces. He pulled his hat lower, pulled out a face mask to put on, and after finishing his cover, walked quickly toward the center of the plaza.
Guo Ailin was sitting right beside the main fountain pool in the center of the plaza, holding a twenty-five thousand dollar designer handbag, wearing a pair of limited-edition red-bottom high heels. Her freshly perked hair was piled high on top of her head, and her face was heavily made up. Her posture looked as though she desperately wanted every journalist’s camera lens in the city aimed directly at the slight redness near the outer corners of her eyes.
Perhaps she herself didn’t feel that this matter was shameful at all; instead, she treated it as a piece of performance art meant for showing off.
Min Zhuozhou walked over and squatted down beside Guo Ailin. His voice remained relatively steady: Ailin, what are you trying to do?
Guo Ailin shrank back in fear at the sudden presence of the man in front of her, but she quickly recognized his identity. Unusually smug, she let out a delicate, coy smile, a high-and-mighty self-satisfaction flashing in her eyes, as if she had predicted all along that Min Zhuozhou would come:
Brother? Didn’t you say you didn’t care about me anymore? What business is it of yours what I want to do?
Min Zhuozhou’s face was completely devoid of any extra expression. He asked once more: What are you trying to do?
I want… Guo Ailin’s gaze swept past Min Zhuozhou, landing with envy upon the most prosperous neon lights of the city. She smiled with pure, innocent charm: I want money, of course.
If you want money, you can have it, Min Zhuozhou’s voice was not loud, but there was an underlying, subtle gloominess radiating from this overly gorgeous man. Get a divorce, and I will give you the money.
I won’t. A trace of fear flickered across Guo Ailin, but she remained convinced that Min Zhuozhou wouldn’t dare do anything to her. She kept her neck stiff and smiled, her stubborn gaze clashing directly against his.
I looked into the project that man wanted to invest in, and I traced its source. Do you want to guess where the root of his so-called ‘partner’ actually leads?
Min Zhuozhou seemed to find the matter laughable, his voice pressing low against Guo Ailin’s ear:
It’s a gambling website funded by Venetian merchants, ten thousand dollars a bet, complete with live female dealers on the other side who strip and do whatever you want. Is that the kind of ‘career’ you are investing his money in?
Guo Ailin was struck pale with shock for a moment, then immediately raised her voice to refute: Impossible! You’re slandering him! You just came up with a fake excuse to drive a wedge between us! I think you are the frequent visitor to those kinds of websites, which is why you know everything so clearly!
Yeah, exactly, the suppression of anger in Min Zhuozhou’s remarkably beautiful eyes finally exposed a sliver of its edge as he flashed a sharp, fierce look. As a fucking gay guy, what I love most is watching sexy live dealers deal cards online.
Guo Ailin’s eyes were filled with absolute disbelief. She didn’t believe a single word Min Zhuozhou said. In her mind, this brother of hers was selfish, self-serving, stingy, and cunning; his favorite thing was manipulating people’s minds and sowing discord. He just didn’t want to give her money; he just didn’t want her to live a better life!
The young woman’s eyes burned with insane jealousy and resentment. Whenever she found herself unable to refute Min Zhuozhou, she would bring up old history in the most piercing voice possible:
If it weren’t for you, if you hadn’t poured that boiling water on my legs back then, how could I have turned out like this? I would have become the greatest dancer in the entire country, in the whole wide world!
Min Zhuozhou’s hands holding Guo Ailin’s shoulders suddenly tightened, the force so immense it almost made her scream out in pain.
Yet very quickly, the strength in Min Zhuozhou’s hands quietly relaxed. The overwhelming pressure surrounding his body appeared in an instant and vanished in the next, like the crushed ashes of a burnt bone.
Back then, when you signed up for dance classes, it was only because you envied the neighbor’s kid wearing a ballet dress.
Min Zhuozhou’s tone was so plain it was almost gentle, yet a thick, heavy irony practically overflowed from his voice: Out of the ten classes our family paid for you, you skipped eight of them. The greatest dancer in the entire country, in the whole wide world? Ailin, how do you have the nerve to say that out loud?
My business is none of your business to criticize!
Guo Ailin had never expected that the brother who had never refuted her before would expose her so brutally. The corners of her bright red lips twisted into a manic smile. Leaning forward close to Min Zhuozhou, her laughter sounded like the low whisper of a demon: It’s not the turn of a whore who sells himself to everyone to order me around.
Min Zhuozhou’s body went abruptly rigid. The air surrounding them seemed to be silently drained away, leaving his lungs compressed to the limit, rendering him unable to catch his breath for a brief moment.
Unexpectedly, he didn’t feel anger or hatred. Perhaps both emotions had been burned to their absolute limits, leaving him unable to perceive any actual, tangible pain.
After a few minutes of unknown silence, Min Zhuozhou gazed into Guo Ailin’s eyes with absolute calm, suddenly breaking into a shallow smile: Then aren’t you still lusting after a whore’s money?
Without waiting for Guo Ailin to respond, he coldly shifted his gaze away, no longer casting a single glance at this bloodsucking monster of a sister. He stood up, intending to walk away, but was yanked back hard by Guo Ailin.
A madness-driven emotion flashed through Guo Ailin’s eyes. She suddenly reached out and ripped away the hat and sunglasses Min Zhuozhou used to disguise his identity. The woman’s movement was rough, and the slender arms of the glasses nearly poked directly into her brother’s beautiful eyes.
Min Zhuozhou’s strikingly famous face was forcibly exposed to the open air. Like a pile of firewood soaked in gasoline meeting an open flame, it ignited instantly into an uproar. A carnival of scrutiny and gasps from the surrounding onlookers immediately erupted. Though the security guards were trying to maintain order on the outer perimeter, many people still instantly whipped out their phones, aiming blindingly bright camera flashes straight at Min Zhuozhou’s face.
The fountain in the center of the plaza was illuminated by bright LED lights, sparkling brilliant like stars. For a moment, Min Zhuozhou felt it was far too dazzling, so bright that his vision turned blurry. He suffered a brief second of absentmindedness and confusion, but then attempted to pick up his thrown hat as fast as possible. He reached out his hand, only to watch another person pick the hat up one step ahead of him.
Tracing his gaze upward, Min Zhuozhou saw Pei Che.
The man’s eyes were complex and profound, a mixture of the exhaustion from just finishing a meeting, inexplicable confusion, a hard-suppressed rage, his usual cold indifference, and a very subtle trace of pity.
The waters of his eyes were ice-cold, as if brewing a storm.
They locked eyes.
In that instant, time seemed to stretch infinitely long. The noisy space and time around them began to blur and float, swept away by the chilly autumn wind.
Afterward, Pei Che pulled Min Zhuozhou into his own embrace, wrapping him tightly with his overcoat, just like a miser hiding away his most cherished vase, refusing to let anyone else steal another glance.