Winter was exceptionally cold. The snow fell in thick clusters, blanketing the streets in pure white. Nearby, a group of children played and frolicked, accompanied by the laughter and gentle scoldings of their parents.
Tan Qiuyi rested his chin against his cream colored checkered scarf. His eyes were fixed on a second story window, focused so intently that it seemed as if everything around him had vanished.
“Master Qiuyi, we must leave,” the driver said, turning to look at the distracted young man. He paused in surprise. The young man’s usually porcelain fair face was now even paler, and his lips were colorless. He simply stared at the villa, seemingly unaware of the bone chilling wind hitting him.
Tan Qiuyi returned to his senses and rolled up the window. He gave a quiet “Mmh” in response, but his heart was far from calm. When he was preparing to leave, Song Yanxing had unfortunately been called away to record an emergency advertisement. Consequently, Song had to depart in a hurry before Tan could say goodbye in person.
As the car started and drove away, a figure appeared at the French window of the villa. Song Yanxing watched the receding car in silence.
System: [Host, will you continue the recording?]
Song Yanxing withdrew his gaze and looked down at a text message on his phone. He smiled. “Yes. Someone ran away halfway through, but I cannot.”
The system glanced sideways. [Oh, is that a text from him?] Seeing the chat screen, it began to read aloud: [“I am very sorry. Something came up at home and I have to leave early. I will handle everything. I heard”]
Suddenly, Song Yanxing covered the screen with his palm. To the system, this was like being halfway through a juicy piece of gossip only to have it run away. The system bristled with frustration. [Heard what? Let me see! It will not hurt you!!]
Song Yanxing remained unmoved. “No.”
“Finally, that variety show is finished. Next, you will head to the set to focus on filming!” Jiang Wei followed Song Yanxing, reciting his schedule as he unlocked his door with his fingerprint.
Catching sight of a floor mat in front of the opposite door, Jiang Wei said in surprise, “Whoa, someone moved in across from you?”
Song Yanxing’s hand was on the door handle. Hearing this, he glanced toward the opposite unit. “Yes, the property management told me.” He pushed the door open and walked in.
“I must say, the Yi Xing Yi Yi ship sank halfway through, and a bunch of fans are about to riot in your super topic.” Jiang Wei followed him inside, continuing to tease him while looking at her phone. “The Weibo comments are full of posts like: Film King Song, hurry up and chase your runaway sweetheart! Stop recording and go get your wife! and He flees, he pursues, he cannot escape! and I have caught up to the latest episode. Does Song leave the final episode in dejection?”
“Leaving in dejection. You poor thing,” Jiang Wei said. Seeing Song Yanxing remain unresponsive, she lost interest.
Song Yanxing put his luggage in the bedroom and poured two glasses of water before speaking slowly. “You were not there for the final episode.”
“That is true; I picked you up at the airport,” Jiang Wei said, her eyelids twitching. Sensing a hidden meaning, she grew alert. “Is there something I do not know?”
The corners of Song Yanxing’s mouth curled up slightly. “Then why do you think I left in dejection?”
To his fans, that smile would be considered a masterpiece, but Jiang Wei saw a hint of mockery in it. Since his comeback nearly a month ago, Jiang Wei had noticed subtle changes in him. He was constantly revealing sides of himself she had never seen before; he was lively enough, but he also had a restless, mischievous streak.
Thinking of this, Jiang Wei felt relieved that he could move on from the past, but she also had a slight headache over her artist’s ability to stir up trouble. She surrendered. “Fine, I will leave you to it.” After a thought, she added, “The strawberries on your balcony are growing well under my care.”
“Thank you,” Song Yanxing said.
“Alright, it is late. I will head out. I will have the assistant pick you up tomorrow morning for costume photos, and then you have a big brand commercial in the afternoon,” Jiang Wei said, waving her hand.
Song Yanxing nodded. “Okay.”
Meanwhile, at the Tan family ancestral home.
Tan Qiuyi stepped out of the car and straightened his clothes. He turned to the assistant following him, rubbed his brow, and said, “You can go back. I can handle this myself.”
“But” The assistant felt uneasy. She had watched her boss work tirelessly since taking over the company’s business. After she had informed him, he had flown to the variety show filming location. She was the one who told him the wrap up date and booked his flight early, yet now he was going to face the wrath of those two alone.
Sensing her guilt, Tan Qiuyi said, “Even without your help, I intended to go. So, this has nothing to do with you.”
After sending the assistant away, Tan Qiuyi walked toward the large European style villa on the estate. As soon as he entered, the air pressure seemed to drop. He instinctively stepped to the side. A teacup flew past his ear and shattered against the doorframe.
“So you finally decided to come back. Why did you go to that variety show?” Tan’s father, sitting in the center of the sofa, shouted in rage.
Tan Qiuyi looked down at the shattered purple clay cup beside him. Without any change in expression, he walked toward them, stopping a few paces away.
“Good evening, Father, Mother,” Tan Qiuyi said, sounding remarkably calm despite the anger directed at him. “I have returned to work at the company as you wished. I hope you will keep your promise as well.”
“Inheriting the family business was your destiny from birth,” Tan’s father said. “Your current success is inseparable from the Tan family.”
Tan’s mother frowned but said nothing.
Tan Qiuyi lowered his gaze. “Yes, I do not deny your efforts. But do you know what I want?”
“It is just playing the piano. We are not forbidding you from playing. You can still hold performances in your spare time,” his father said dismissively.
Hearing this, Tan Qiuyi shook his head. “There is no chance for Zuo Yi and me. You do not need to try to set us up anymore.”
Seeing that his father was about to erupt again, Tan’s mother intervened. “We already discussed this topic the last time you were here. Although the Zuo family has given a clear stance, what feelings cannot be nurtured after marriage? Even if there are conflicts between a couple, they can be resolved by talking it out.”
“I can see that Zuo Yi still has feelings for you,” his mother said in a softened tone.
Tan Qiuyi was not moved. He simply asked, “Do you think this shattered teacup can be repaired?”
“You… you” Tan’s father felt a tightness in his chest. “As I thought, your mother and I were too lax with your upbringing. You have been cold and heartless since you were a child. Even sending you to a psychologist could not cure your lack of emotion. And now you have learned to talk back!”
Tan’s mother held him back, signaling him not to say more, but his father continued to yell: “You are emotionally cold and have no empathy. How did I give birth to such a monster!”
A monster?
Tan Qiuyi’s cold eyes blinked slowly, as if stunned by the word. “In your heart, have I always been like this?” He looked at his father, his eyes filled with gloom.
Realizing what he had said, Tan’s father went silent, trying to compensate. “I did not mean”
“I am sorry for disappointing you and Mother. But the things I stand for will not change. It is late; you should both rest. There is still work at the company, so I will leave now.” With that, Tan Qiuyi walked toward the door, ignoring the voices behind him and without looking back.
After pushing the door open, he walked quickly toward the estate exit with his head down.
“Qiuyi, are you not staying the night since it is so late?” The white haired Butler Wei approached him and asked kindly.
Tan Qiuyi stopped. “No, there is work to handle at the company.”
Butler Wei understood and gestured toward the villa. “A dispute with your parents?” He shook his head and sighed. “I have watched Mr. Tan grow up. He and his wife have been influenced by family rules and responsibilities to become like this: old fashioned and stubborn.”
Seeing that Tan was in a low mood, Butler Wei changed the subject and smiled. “Let us not talk about them. Did you not always pester me about wanting a kitten when you were little? A relative’s cat just had a litter. Tomorrow, I will”
“No need, thank you, Uncle Wei,” Tan Qiuyi shook his head.
Butler Wei was stunned. “Oh… alright then.”
After saying goodbye to Butler Wei, Tan Qiuyi returned to the car that had been waiting at the roadside. The assistant turned to look at the man leaning against the window with an unreadable expression. “President Tan, should we go to the office or take you home?”
“Home,” Tan Qiuyi replied.
After getting out of the car at the entrance of his apartment complex, Tan Qiuyi did not go inside. Instead, he found a quiet bar nearby. He drank until the sharp pain in his heart grew numb before returning to the complex.
Stepping out of the elevator, Tan Qiuyi stood in the hallway, feeling dazed. His slightly intoxicated state made his brain sluggish, and he could not remember if his home was on the left or the right. When he finally figured it out, he stood at his door, his muddled brain trying to remember where his keys were. He grew tired of thinking and crouched by the door to rest, eventually falling asleep against it.
Song Yanxing, returning from the supermarket, stepped out of the elevator. He instinctively glanced at the opposite door and saw a human shaped mushroom huddled there. He intended to ignore it, but the figure; which did not look disheveled even while huddled; seemed strangely familiar.
Song Yanxing paused, his eyes unreadable. A moment later, he walked straight toward the mushroom. The mushroom had a faint scent of alcohol and was sleeping peacefully, its forehead slightly red from leaning against the mahogany door. It was Tan Qiuyi, whom he had recently parted with on the variety show.
Song Yanxing crouched down and touched Tan’s warm, flushed face. The smooth texture made him unable to resist gently rubbing it. Perhaps the man’s cool hand felt comfortable to the intoxicated person, as the cool and handsome face instinctively rubbed against the hand.
Amused, Song Yanxing could not help but laugh quietly, which caused the mushroom to open its watery peach blossom eyes.
“Are you awake?” Song Yanxing asked naturally, showing no signs of alarm.
“Mmh,” Tan Qiuyi stood up. He did not react much to Song but shook his legs, which were numb from crouching, and stared intently at the door.
Just as Song Yanxing thought Tan had sobered up and prepared to turn toward his own door, someone grabbed his sleeve.
“Have you seen my keys? I cannot find them. I have looked for so long,” the clear voice said with a sob, sounding extremely aggrieved. “I cannot go home.”
Song Yanxing admired the crying beauty for a few seconds before approaching him. His eyelashes lowered as he pinched the chin of the aggrieved man, while his other hand gently brushed the red corner of Tan’s eye.
“Why are you crying?” his magnetic voice asked.
Tan Qiuyi looked at him with misty eyes. The familiar scent made him rely instinctively on the man who was half a head taller than him.
“The keys. I want to go home.”
“Are they in your pocket? Have you checked?” Song Yanxing let go and looked at him.
Tan Qiuyi thought back sluggishly. “Check… ah, I thought about it, but I do not think I checked.”
Song Yanxing said patiently, “Then reach into your pocket and look.”
“Oh.” Tan Qiuyi slowly reached into his pocket. After fumbling for a while, he pulled out the keys with a look of surprise. His eyes brightened as he looked at the man standing beside him. “I found them!”
Looking at the man who was looking up for praise, Song Yanxing cooperated. “Yes, you did great.”
The corners of Tan Qiuyi’s mouth curled up uncontrollably. He took the keys to open the door but could not get them into the lock. Song Yanxing took the keys helplessly, opened the door skillfully, and led the muddled man inside.
After closing the door, Song Yanxing found that the person in front of him was not moving; a faint sobbing sound could be heard. Before his hand could press the light switch, he was pulled back. The room was pitch black, with only scattered light from the neighboring building drifting in.
Song Yanxing did not move. The intoxicated man turned around and grabbed his sleeve. With red eyes, the usually cold man asked cautiously: “Am I a monster?”