The rain had been falling for days, but today the skies finally cleared. Compared to the treadmill, both Tang Shen and Kejia much preferred the outdoors. Seeing that the weather was turning nice, the older one took the younger one out for a run.
With too many prying eyes inside the house, the running path on Mount Songshan was far more comfortable and open. As they jogged along the gently sloping trail, Cheng Kejia spilled everything to Tang Shen like beans tumbling out of a broken bag.
He said that when Mommy broke the good news about “handling the first branch” to him, she specifically warned him not to tell his sister. Although Kejia didn’t understand business, he still understood that this wasn’t a good thing, so he argued with his mother on his sister’s behalf.
Tan Meiqi had told him, “The one who will have to fight Cheng Kewei and Cheng Keqi in the future is you, not your sister. I’m fighting to secure chips for you.”
These were all matters concerning the Cheng family, and Tang Shen was in no position to voice an opinion. She simply brushed it off with a smile and changed the subject.
As they ran closer to the Cheng residence, the two of them spotted Cheng Baoyi’s car driving out. Kejia hadn’t seen his older sister in days, and he started shouting and waving frantically.
The car slowly brushed past them.
Kejia turned around and chased after the rear of the car. He had just finished a run, and this sudden sprint left him completely out of breath. Fearing he might hurt himself, Tang Shen quickly ran after him.
Cheng Baoyi’s car slowly came to a halt.
Kejia ran up, clinging to the car window as tears welled up in his eyes once more. “Elder Sister, are you mad at me? Why won’t you come home?”
Cheng Baoyi pulled out a pack of tissues and tossed them out the window. “Wipe your tears. If Mommy sees you crying, she’s going to start lecturing again.”
Tang Shen caught up, picked up the tissue packet that had fallen to the ground, pulled out a sheet, and gently wiped Kejia’s tears.
Kejia brushed Tang Shen’s hand away and looked straight at Cheng Baoyi. “…Elder Sister, are you really not going to pay attention to Mom and me anymore?”
Cheng Baoyi looked at her younger brother. This was a face that bore a distinct resemblance to their father. This was his advantage. Of course, his advantages didn’t end there. She finally understood now: it wasn’t that Mommy and her younger brother hadn’t managed to sit at the table.
The only one who truly hadn’t been allowed at the table was her.
Perhaps there was also the eldest sister, and Cheng Baoxin… but they didn’t seem to care.
Just because they didn’t care didn’t mean she didn’t care either! Those were her things!
Leaning against the driver’s seat, she turned her face to look at her younger brother.
“Kejia, I’m not mad at you. You and I will always be family. But starting from now, I have my own battles to fight, too.”
The car window rolled up. The car drove away.
No one noticed Wen Yizhuang standing in the shadows along the side of the slope.
Cheng Baoyi had thrown down her harsh words, but how was she supposed to fight this battle? How was she supposed to reclaim her territory? She hadn’t figured it out herself. Tang Shen, on the other hand, had tested the depth of these muddy waters and made up her mind: she couldn’t wade into this mess.
Day after day, Tang Shen quietly lived her repetitive routine—lesson planning, tutoring, and working out. Cheng Kejia remained restless, frequently updating Tang Shen on his sister’s recent status: “She hasn’t come over for over ten days now…” “She doesn’t even go to the company anymore…” “She hasn’t been managing the retail stores either…”
Tang Shen pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh, read your book, read your book.”
However, when Starlight Elementary School called, Tang Shen could no longer focus on her books.
Teacher Zhao said, “The second batch of funding and supplies that Ms. Cheng promised hasn’t been sent yet. The principal asked me to check with you.” Tang Shen had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but she replied verbally, “Have you asked the person in charge?” Teacher Zhao said, “The other party is being vague and won’t give a straight answer, so that’s why we came to ask you.”
“Alright. I understand.”
Normally, Tang Shen would have felt a sharp pang of pain over the cost of the phone call: receiving mainland calls in Macau was terribly expensive. But right now, she had no leisure to worry about money; she hurriedly sought out Cheng Kejia to probe indirectly. Kejia said that his sister hadn’t been going to work at all, and she wouldn’t even answer Mommy’s phone calls.
Tang Shen felt a tight squeeze in her chest, terrified that she might do something foolish. Sensing her thoughts, Kejia shook his head. “Elder Sister is fine. She went to Italy to clear her head.”
Only then did Tang Shen let out a sigh of relief and return to tutoring.
Kejia wasn’t in the mood today either, and the teacher-student pair were both obviously distracted. Tang Shen closed her book and suggested going out for a night run. Kejia shook his head with an old-man-like air of refusal. “Exercising at night drains your vital energy and blood.”
Truly worthy of a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
She left study videos for Kejia, laced up her running shoes, and headed out.
Mount Guia at night was even quieter than during the day. The streetlights cast a dim, amber glow, reminiscent of last century’s aesthetic. Flanked by trees on both sides, the foliage rustled softly whenever the wind blew. She walked down the sloping path when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her, seemingly following her the entire way. She slowed her pace, telling herself that Macau’s public safety was good and not to be paranoid.
Even so, hearing those footsteps made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up.
She whipped around, and there was Wen Yizhuang, dressed in sportswear, right in front of her.
She asked, “Where did you come out from?”
“Just like you,” he chuckled softly. “I’ve been running behind you—you only just noticed?”
Wen Yizhuang didn’t have the habit of night running. Tang Shen looked at him, watching his half-smile, and suddenly understood: he had something to tell her. And it was only convenient to say it away from the Cheng family residence.
“Looking for me?”
“You can’t hide anything from you,” he smiled. “I want to ask you to persuade Cheng Baoyi to come back.”
What was he up to? Tang Shen watched him with heightened vigilance.
He said, “You should persuade Cheng Baoyi to come back and continue fighting this war.”
She thought to herself: Huh? Out loud, she politely replied, “You’re on Cheng Kewei’s side. You’ve already won.”
“The ones who won are them, not me.” He lowered his gaze to look at her. “I hear your Chinese history is exceptionally good. Then you should know the saying: ‘When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the hares are dead, the hounds are boiled.'”
Tang Shen understood.
Without struggle, a person like him would lose his usefulness. He wanted to keep the birds and hares from exiting the game more than anyone else—or at least, not too early.
She let out a soft, amused scoff, then asked out of curiosity, “I’ve never understood why someone as smart as you would stay in the Cheng family? With your ability, wouldn’t you soar just as high at an outside company?”
Wen Yizhuang spoke his mind directly: “The ship the Cheng family is steering is riding right on the economic tailwind of the traditional Chinese medicine health industry, and now there’s even a favorable political wind. Calling it a fast ship is no exaggeration. I have no reason to jump ship halfway. I’ve already walked this path once within the Cheng family, and I’m confident walking it all the way down with Cheng Kewei. But most importantly, this play must have an opponent, a struggle. Only where there is struggle can the value of people like us be revealed.”
Tang Shen thought to herself: You and I are definitely not part of this ‘us.’
Her feelings toward Wen Yizhuang were complex. He couldn’t quite be called a “bad guy,” yet he was undeniably the “villain” in Baoyi and Kejia’s story.
She didn’t want any part of it. “Going to lobby her in person would be much more direct than coming to lobby me.”
“Cheng Baoyi isn’t answering anyone’s calls.”
“She won’t answer mine either.”
“You haven’t called her yet, have you?” Wen Yizhuang said. “She has no conflict of interests with you; she’ll listen to you.”
“What reason do I have to help you?”
“What reason do you have not to help me? Kejia doesn’t have any real say, but Baoyi is your backing in the Cheng family.” He smiled, attempting to persuade her with mutual benefit. “This benefits you, me, and her.”
A night breeze swept past. The silhouette of a distant church was submerged in the shadows, like a paper cutout made by a giant, pasted against the deep blue canvas of the night sky.
After a long silence, Tang Shen finally said, “I’ll try. But I’m saying this upfront: I’m not doing this for you or Cheng Kewei.”
“Of course.” Wen Yizhuang smiled. “The children at Starlight Elementary School are still waiting for the second batch of supplies. You’ve never forgotten them.”
Tang Shen was surprised.
True to being Cheng Kewei’s strategist, any piece of information could become intelligence to him—even the children could be turned into chess pieces.
She said, “There’s one more condition: I’ll try my best to persuade Baoyi, but if she refuses to listen to me…”
Wen Yizhuang interrupted her, “Whether she comes back or not, I will find a way to get those supplies for Starlight Elementary School.”
Tang Shen was surprised once again. Standing beneath the streetlight, she slowly uttered a single word: “Fine.” Wen Yizhuang smiled. “Are you still going to run?”
Tang Shen raised her wrist to check the time. “It’s late, I’m done.” Besides her red string bracelet, she was also wearing a cartoon watch. He looked down and caught sight of her fair, translucent hand.
Macau’s nights seemed to possess a certain magic. Under the streetlight at that moment, seeing her pure, white face faintly flushed with the lingering warmth of her run, with fine beads of sweat clinging to her temples and the back of her neck, unexpectedly stirred up some romantic, passionate associations in his mind.
He was shocked by his own thoughts. Growing up in this oppressive household like a parasite, he had always viewed women as floods and fierce beasts, and emotions as a burden and an obstacle—all because he had watched people of his own kind crash and burn over this very issue. For that, he had kept striking the warning bell day after day, year after year.
At this very moment, that bell in his heart suddenly stopped for a second… two seconds…
Tang Shen waved a hand in front of him. “I’m heading back.”
Wen Yizhuang quickly snapped back to his senses and acted nonchalant. “Then I’ll walk you back.”
He warned himself: she was on the opponent’s side, just another parasite in this household. It was merely a momentary surge of emotion that would quickly fade.
Maintaining a slight distance between them without speaking, they fell into a staggered stride, running one right after the other. Up and down Macau’s sloping streets they went, and as the two of them ran upward, the golden-yellow moon rose from the low distance behind them like a balloon. If either of them had looked back, they would have seen that tonight’s moonlight was truly beautiful.