Song Shuangxu’s return to China this time had been sudden. She hadn’t told anyone.
When the plane touched down, she heard the airport announcements in clear, standard Mandarin. Everywhere she looked, she saw the familiar faces of her fellow countrymen passing to and fro. Only then did it truly sink in that she was back on her native soil.
Shuangxu wore a light beige trench coat over a simple white linen shirt and jeans, yet beneath the soft, silken fall of her hair was an unmistakable air of pampered elegance.
The driver greeted her in an unmistakable Beijing accent. “Where are you headed, miss?”
“Third Hospital.”
In April, Yancheng was alive with the promise of spring, everything stirring back to life. Shuangxu hadn’t been back in five years. She had returned to China in such a hurry this time because her former upperclassman, Shu Yang, had fallen ill.
When Shuangxu entered the hospital room, the gaunt Shu Yang was sitting cross-legged on the bed, meditating and murmuring, “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Men are for playing with, not for giving your heart to…”
The worry Shuangxu had carried all the way there finally eased. “How did one illness make you renounce the mortal world?”
Shu Yang opened her eyes mid-chant, delight plain on her face. “Hey, when did you get back?”
“Something happened to you. Of course I had to come back.” Shuangxu sat down beside the bed. “What did the doctor say?”
Some time ago, Shu Yang had been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome. Put simply, it was a malignant disorder originating in the blood-forming stem cells; some people called it pre-leukemia.
While Shu Yang was in the hospital, her boyfriend of many years had not only run off with all the cash in the company accounts and half the company’s core staff, but had also taken the technical materials Shu Yang had spent two years working on.
“One bad piece of news and one good one,” Shu Yang said. “The doctor says I’m already at intermediate-2 risk, and there’s a high chance it’ll progress to leukemia. I need chemotherapy.”
“And the good news?”
Under the circumstances, Shuangxu was hoping to hear something positive.
“The good news is that chemotherapy can only keep it under control, not cure it. It’ll also do serious damage to my ovarian function, so I might never be able to have children.”
At first, Shuangxu thought Shu Yang had mixed up the two. But on second thought, it was hard to say which piece of news was worse.
“That’s good news?” She felt Shu Yang’s forehead. “This illness doesn’t affect your brain too, does it?”
“Doesn’t finally seeing that scumbag for what he is count as good news?” Shu Yang had always been carefree and able to take things in stride. “Besides, I never wanted kids anyway. I suspect this illness is hereditary. My dad died of leukemia.”
She and Chen Peiran had been together for four years. They had returned to China together to start a business, and their relationship had been steady. Who could have guessed that the moment she fell ill, Chen Peiran would waste no time taking the money and running?
Shuangxu frowned as she listened. “I’m not expecting him to help you in a crisis, but does he have to kick you when you’re down?”
“Aren’t men all like that? The least reliable thing in this world is love. Any woman who believes in love is bound to suffer for it.”
Shu Yang waved a hand. “Forget it. You’ve never been in a relationship. You wouldn’t understand.”
Shuangxu had to admit that was true.
“I may never have dated anyone, but I’ve already suffered because of love.” Shuangxu said, “I have some savings. I’ve transferred them to your account. It isn’t much, but it should help tide you over for now.”
Shu Yang counted the digits in her mobile banking balance and let out a shriek like a rooster crowing. “You call this ‘not much’???”
Shuangxu’s idea of “not much” and hers were fucking worlds apart.
Shuangxu covered her mouth to quiet her. “Shh… Just know I’ve given you my whole heart here. Don’t get so worked up.”
Shen Yu had always doted on her and had given her spending money since she was little. After she was sent abroad, he worried that she would struggle alone in a foreign country and increased her allowance several times over. Added up over five years, it was a considerable sum.
“Forget your heart and lungs—you can dig out my liver and kidneys if you want!” Shu Yang said. “You’re really lending me this much? Given my condition, I might not be able to pay you back…”
“Consider it my investment,” Shuangxu said.
Feixue was already teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Everyone else was keeping their distance; anyone investing now would have to be a twenty-four-karat fool.
Shu Yang hadn’t cried when she fought with her ex during their breakup. She hadn’t cried when she lay alone in a hospital bed and signed her own chemotherapy consent form. But now, tears filled her eyes.
“When it really counts, you’re still the one I can rely on!”
Strong as she was, and capable of shouldering everything herself, it still made a difference to have someone standing behind her at a time like this.
Shuangxu smiled, hugged her, and patted her on the back. “A man who’ll share the good times but not the bad isn’t worth keeping. It’s okay. I’m here with you.”
Remembering something, Shu Yang straightened and asked, “Oh, right. You came back so suddenly. Won’t it be hard to explain things to your family? Did they let you come back?”
Shuangxu rarely talked about her family or about what had happened before she went abroad.
Shu Yang only knew that Shuangxu wasn’t close to her family and that she had an older brother who was the most important person in her life.
She also knew that five years ago, Shuangxu had been forcibly sent abroad.
Shuangxu herself called it exile.
Shuangxu reacted more calmly than Shu Yang had expected. “The worst they can do is send me away again. I was already prepared for that before I came back.”
At that point, Shuangxu had no idea that news of her return had already been spread by some passerby she hadn’t even noticed.
If you asked which heiresses were the most talked-about in Yancheng’s elite circles, Song Shuangxu would unquestionably rank among the top three.
That was not only because of her complicated family background, but also because she had the famous Shen Yu behind her.
The news passed through several hands before it finally reached Yue Zifeng. He tossed the photo into their private group chat and tagged Shen Yu several times, but got no reply.
Shen Yu had just come out of a conference room when Yue Zifeng called. “What are you so busy with that you can’t answer my messages? Shuangxu’s back, and you didn’t even tell us?”
At that, Shen Yu lowered the phone from his ear and opened WeChat. He saw the photo of Shuangxu.
The background was a hospital, with people coming and going. As if she had sensed someone secretly taking her picture, she had turned to look back. Her hair brushed across her cheek, and her clear eyes held a hint of bewilderment.
Shen Yu backed out and opened his chat with Shuangxu, confirming that there were no new messages.
After she went abroad, Shuangxu had contacted him less and less. The child who used to trail behind him like a little tail now had many things she no longer shared with him.
The last time she had messaged him first was more than two months ago, with a simple “Happy New Year.”
But coming back to China without even telling him—wasn’t she being a little too “rebellious”?
His secretary handed him a financial authorization for a large sum. Shen Yu took the pen and signed it, his expression unchanged. “Why would I tell you?”
“Come on, Shuangxu’s my little sister too.” Yue Zifeng sounded eager. “Ask her out to dinner tonight. I haven’t seen her in ages. I really miss her.”
“Go eat with your own sister.”
“My sister’s only seven. Am I supposed to eat a kids’ meal with her? That wouldn’t even fill the gap between my teeth.”
“Then you should see a dentist.”
Shen Yu hung up and gave a slight wave toward the door. His secretary took the hint, closed the door, and left.
He called Shuangxu.
When Shuangxu received the call, she was just about to leave the hospital.
She naturally knew why Shen Yu was calling at this moment. As she answered, she wondered how she should explain coming back on her own without permission.
Shen Yu spoke first, his tone completely matter-of-fact. “You’re back?”
“Mm.” Shuangxu said, “I got in this afternoon.”
“What were you doing at the hospital? Are you feeling unwell?”
Shen Yu’s unhurried way of speaking steadied Shuangxu a little. Ever since she boarded the plane, her heart had felt unsettled, as though it were floating without anything to anchor it.
“I’m fine. I was just visiting my upperclassman.”
Shen Yu said nothing more, only, “Come home for dinner tonight. Send me your location, and I’ll have someone pick you up.”
“Okay,” Shuangxu answered obediently.
Dusk was falling. The chill of late spring still lingered in Yancheng. Shuangxu pulled the collar of her trench coat tighter and stood by the roadside. She had not been waiting long when the car arrived.
The driver came around to the back and respectfully opened the door for her. “Miss Shuangxu.”
Shuangxu handed him her suitcase and bent to get into the car. Only then did she see the man sitting inside.