Sheng Nianxi’s grip tightened around the phone.
“It’s not important. It has nothing to do with me.”
She regretted bringing it up.
Her chest felt heavy, and she was eager to end the topic.
Lin Jie still felt that something was wrong.
“One of my students and I are pretty close. He’s related to the Fu family, so I asked him. He said that the Fu family’s second young master never held a wedding, because the Fu family has so many rules. The second young master can’t hold one until the eldest young master has had his.”
Sheng Nianxi said nothing.
There had been no wedding.
But it was still a common-law marriage.
They even had a child.
Her hand clenched the fabric over her chest.
Back then, Fu Shennian had said, “Chen Xuan is pregnant. I have to take responsibility.”
That had been the direct reason she had slit her wrist.
The day before, he had clearly still been proposing to her!
They had been in love for three years, and they had loved each other deeply. She knew that the Fu family had not been very satisfied with her.
But she had never once doubted Fu Shennian’s feelings for her!
Sheng Nianxi had always known that Chen Xuan existed.
But she had never imagined that Chen Xuan would interfere in her relationship with Fu Shennian.
When had Fu Shennian and Chen Xuan started?
When had Chen Xuan become pregnant?
Countless questions surged up like a tide, carrying with them the Fu family’s contempt for her back then and their regard for Chen Xuan. Wave after wave pressed down on her until she could barely breathe.
Lin Jie paused.
“Baby, if you still can’t let go, I’ll find out everything for you.”
“No need.” Sheng Nianxi heard her own voice, calm as though she were talking about someone else.
“Besides, I stopped caring a long time ago. Whether he’s married or not, whether it’s his second marriage or his third, none of it has anything to do with me.”
Lin Jie sighed, unable to bear exposing her further.
“Then do you want to get married?”
“Yes.” Sheng Nianxi leaned back against the sofa and looked up at the ceiling. “Do you have anyone suitable at your university? Introduce me to someone.”
Lin Jie’s excitement could be heard even through the phone.
“Sure, I really do. A handsome guy from the acting department. I’ll set you up with him right away.”
Sheng Nianxi smiled and hung up.
The instant the call ended, her laughter stopped abruptly.
She stared at the ceiling, her eyes vacant.
Something in her chest was slowly sinking, like a stone descending into bottomless water, without a sound.
She turned over and buried her face in the pillow.
Only after a long while did she finally let out a muffled breath.
The Fu family villa stood halfway up Xishan Mountain. Its entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows faced the mountain scenery, and the living room alone was the size of an ordinary person’s entire home.
A crystal chandelier hung from the three-story-high domed ceiling, casting a cold sheen across the marble floor.
The dining table was made from a single piece of huanghuali wood. The tableware was from a limited-edition custom brand, and every piece had been arranged with meticulous precision.
Fu Shennian sat at the dining table, not in much of a mood.
He had been holding his chopsticks for a long time, but had barely taken a few bites of food.
Fu Shennian’s mother, Zhou Yalan, sat opposite him. She set down her soup spoon and glanced at him.
“You’ve taken leave during this time, so stay home and spend it with Xuanxuan. Yuan Yuan is grown now, and you two should have the wedding. You can at least get the marriage certificate first. Dragging it out like this isn’t good for Yuan Yuan.”
Chen Xuan’s hand trembled slightly around her chopsticks. Her eyes suddenly reddened, and she lowered her head, her long hair covering half her face.
Her features were gentle, and whenever she showed such an expression, she inspired pity.
Yet at this moment, Fu Shennian remained unmoved.
Fu Jingren, Fu Shennian’s father, sat at the head of the table, imposing without showing anger.
He said nothing, merely chewing the food in his mouth slowly. Yet his gaze was like a blunt ruler, heavy as it pressed down on everyone.
After a while, he put down his chopsticks.
“Get the certificate as soon as possible. Hold the wedding three months from now.” His voice was not loud, but it struck the floor like a stone. “It can’t be delayed any longer. Since it was agreed beforehand, it cannot be changed.”
Fu Shennian slowly put down his chopsticks.
His movements were very light. The porcelain chopsticks touched the porcelain plate, producing a crisp sound.
“It was agreed beforehand.” He repeated those four words, the corner of his mouth twitching with a trace of self-mockery. “You were the ones who agreed beforehand. What does that have to do with me?”
Zhou Yalan frowned. “Shennian!”
“Four years ago, you told me that Chen Xuan was pregnant and that I had to take responsibility.” He lifted his eyes, his gaze sweeping over his mother’s face. “I agreed. In these four years, I’ve done everything I was supposed to do.”
He paused, his voice lowering. “But what you promised me—are you planning to go back on it now?”
The living room fell silent for a moment.
Fu Jingren set down his chopsticks, his gaze bearing down on him. “You’ve grown bold enough to negotiate terms with the family!”
Zhou Yalan tried to smooth things over.
“Shennian, your eldest brother has been married for a year already. You can hold your wedding now.”
Something pricked Fu Shennian’s heart.
From childhood to adulthood, he had lived in the shadow of his elder brother, Fu Shence.
His elder brother was outstanding, ambitious, and sensible—the heir the family had devoted all its effort to cultivating.
And what about him?
He was the second son who could “do whatever he wanted,” as long as he did not cause trouble, disgrace the family, or affect his elder brother.
Years of neglect had carved a vast hollow in his heart.
Until four years ago.
For the first time in his life, he had seen “expectation” and “tenderness” in his parents’ eyes, and heard in their voices a kind of “need” he had never felt before.
“Shennian, only you can help the family with this.”
The shock those words brought him had been no different from experiencing a tsunami inside his own body.
In the end, he had nodded.
He had thought that this was his mission, his value.
Because this time, he could finally see a different version of himself in his parents’ eyes, and could finally fill that hollow.
But the price was that he had lost Sheng Nianxi forever.
“You promised me.” Fu Shennian raised his eyes and swept them over everyone. His voice was not loud, but every word was heavy. “No marriage, no certificate. We would simply live like this.”
Zhou Yalan and her husband exchanged a look but said nothing.
Fu Shennian saw it clearly. The concessions and responsibility he had taken on back then had not earned him recognition. They had only encouraged them to push further.
Over the years, his career had soared. He had become the youngest captain at Air China, and the four stripes on his shoulders were steadier than anyone else’s.
But in this family, he discovered that he was still that “insignificant” second son.
He could be arranged, sacrificed, and forced to walk through his entire life with his head pressed down.
He had thought he had accepted it long ago.
Until he met Sheng Nianxi again.
In the emergency room, she had been dressed in a white coat, with only a pair of eyes visible above her mask—clear, rational, calm, as though she did not know him.
He had stood there, his heart feeling as though something had slammed into it.
This body that had been dead for four years suddenly regained its senses.
He regretted it. At last, he understood what it meant to “regret it until one’s guts turned green.”
It was more than just turning green. The pain twisted until it was nearly tearing him apart. He could not breathe, like a walking corpse.
Zhou Yalan and her husband exchanged a look. The two of them understood each other without words and no longer continued the topic.
Zhou Yalan’s gaze fell on Chen Xuan’s wrist, and she changed the subject.
“We’re all family. Why get angry over such a small matter? You two argued because of this, didn’t you?”
She took Chen Xuan’s hand and gently rubbed the edge of the gauze, her voice full of concern.
“Just look at this poor thing. Xuanxuan, you’re the daughter of a great calligrapher. Your hands are so precious—how could you treat yourself so carelessly?”
Fu Shennian’s gaze shifted to Chen Xuan’s wrist.
The gauze was white and neatly wrapped.
He looked at it for only a second.
Yet another scar suddenly flashed through his mind—the scar on the inside of Sheng Nianxi’s left wrist.
Its color had already faded, but the scar tissue was slightly raised, winding across her slender, pale skin like the bed of a dried-up river.
How had it gotten there?
A thought suddenly rose from the depths of his heart like a needle, stabbing him until his entire body turned cold.
“Four years ago,” he suddenly said, his voice somewhat hoarse, “during the time you tricked me into going abroad, did you do something to Sheng Nianxi behind my back?”