The development of Beihai Road was officially put on the agenda. The construction speed of the Greenland Group had always been astonishing. That piece of land, which was originally desolate and barren, changed significantly with each passing day.
Song Que was incredibly busy, constantly rushing between his office and meetings with all sorts of people.
He used to value business above all else, but things were different now.
At dinner tables, he chose tea whenever possible. If he truly could not avoid drinking, he no longer acted like a workaholic trying to kill himself. Song Que did not dare to think too deeply about why, but he knew that at some point, a string had been tied to him; subconsciously, he was afraid of upsetting a certain someone.
Everything went smoothly, and even the frequent, scolding calls from Bian Jierou, who kept changing her number, could be calmly hung up by Song Que.
Ever since that night, Ji Yangle had made no more sound.
As the building gradually took shape, Song Que visited the construction site more frequently.
The weather was cold and dry. Whenever the wind blew, dust and smoke filled the air uncontrollably. Song Que paid out of his own pocket to have the construction site kitchen add a snow pear soup that was good for soothing the lungs.
Over time, the foreman and many of the workers left a deep impression of Song Que.
Although he appeared cold, he was actually quite easy to talk to and looked just like a big movie star.
“CEO Song,” the head foreman, Qian Feiwen, brought over a bowl of freshly boiled snow pear soup, steaming hot. “It is my own bowl, brand new. Please do not mind it.”
Qian Feiwen was a trusted aide of Vice President Wang. If the project were not so important, he would not have needed to supervise it personally.
“How could I?” Song Que shook his head and took the soup.
He took a small sip, and the sweetness spread. The pear flesh was soft and tender, settling at the bottom of the bowl.
“Make sure the meals are well prepared,” Song Que said. “This is hard labor, so the food needs to be hearty.”
Qian Feiwen nodded repeatedly. “Rest assured, CEO Song!”
“Lunch will be ready soon. Will you eat here, CEO Song?”
“No, thank you,” Song Que said. “I still need to go to the hospital.”
Qian Feiwen was surprised. “Are you sick, CEO Song?”
“No,” Song Que replied. “I am visiting a friend.”
Qian Feiwen could not insist further. After finishing the snow pear soup, Song Que handed in his safety helmet at the entrance and took a car to see Pei Cheng.
“A miracle,” Pei Cheng could not help but tease when he saw Song Que. “Has the sun risen from the west? Why have you come to your appointments so often lately without me having to remind you?”
“Is it any different whether I come or not?” Song Que said coolly. “The result is much the same.”
“That is where you are wrong.” Pei Cheng picked up the bone scans Song Que had taken and shook them with a clatter. “After several sessions of heat lamp therapy, the condition of your ankle has actually improved.”
Song Que was noncommittal about this.
Pei Cheng might just be trying to comfort him; in any case, Song Que did not feel much of a difference.
Lying on the therapy bed with the heat lamp adjusted to a suitable height, Song Que stared at the pale ceiling. A faint, prickling pain soon came from his ankle.
The chronic illness was too deep, and the process was not pleasant. Song Que had disliked it before purely because it was a waste of time.
Pei Cheng walked in with a medical record folder and saw that Song Que was awake.
Sweat gathered and slid down from his forehead. The young man’s jaw was pale and beautiful, quiet as a glass sculpture.
Knowing Song Que’s wariness, Pei Cheng only dared to take a quick glance.
“Do you have any free time later?” Pei Cheng asked casually. “How about a meal?”
Song Que was checking his schedule in his mind when a phone call abruptly interrupted.
Song Que had looked weary, but upon seeing the caller ID, he sat up abruptly.
Pei Cheng said, “Hey, you.”
“Mr. Qin.” Song Que gave Pei Cheng a look that said, “be quiet.”
“I heard from Vice President Wang that you went to the construction site today? Where are you now?”
Song Que instinctively wanted to make up an excuse, but the heat lamp’s timer soundlessly betrayed him: “This therapy session is finished. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Song Que asked, “At the hospital?”
Qin Wangye did not give Song Que a chance to refuse. “Which hospital? I will be there immediately.”
Judging by his tone, Song Que knew Qin Wangye was not asking for permission, so he provided the name of the hospital.
Pei Cheng stood there without a word, wondering if he had seen things wrong.
Song Que put down his phone. His expression was still very faint, yet it was as if he had peeled away that gloomy outer shell, revealing a hint of softness. His fingertips gently rubbed the screen, inexplicably radiating a touch of longing.
Pei Cheng’s heart sank, yet he felt this was utterly absurd.
Song Que had been seeing him for years, always coming and going alone, with at most an assistant bringing things over. He seemed to stand at the pinnacle, surrounded by thousands, yet he carried a self-imposed loneliness.
It was not that Pei Cheng had not tried, but Song Que’s heart was as hard as iron, and he could not catch even the slightest glimpse of what lay inside.
Song Que put on his shoes and sat by the hospital flower bed to bask in the sun. The temperature was pleasant, making him feel a bit more relaxed.
After an unknown amount of time, clear footsteps approached. Song Que opened his eyes to look. The halo of light gathered on his eyelids dispersed, and Qin Wangye’s figure seemed to be coated with a deeper filter.
Song Que just watched Qin Wangye quietly like that.
How could he possibly hide it? Qin Wangye thought to himself. Anyone who had been looked at once with eyes like these would understand the sincerity within them.
Song Que thought that since they had parted ways after high school graduation, the six years in between were all a blank space.
But that was not the case.
Qin Wangye sat down beside Song Que and said very naturally, “Qian Feiwen praised you to the skies, and with the project going so well, Vice President Wang is very happy. He wants to invite us to his private villa to soak in the hot springs, and he also intends for you to have some relaxation.”
Song Que whispered, “Are you going?”
“If I do not go, how would I come to pick you up?” As Qin Wangye said this, he reached toward Song Que’s ankle.
“No!” Song Que was startled and hurriedly dodged away; he could not bear to see Qin Wangye perform any motion of bending over or leaning down.
Qin Wangye followed his lead. “How is the situation?”
“It will still take a long time,” Song Que said. “Although it is troublesome, it is not serious.”
His eyelashes drooped, and he did not look at Qin Wangye. Shimmering, broken light flickered deep within his pupils.
Qin Wangye’s heart was squeezed into a ball in an instant. He could not control his desire to raise his hand, but at the last moment, he held back and tapped Song Que’s shoulder gently. “That is good.”
As the two were about to leave, Qin Wangye suddenly looked back and spotted Pei Cheng standing under the corridor.
“That is my attending physician,” Song Que said. “His medical skills are quite good.”
Pei Cheng did not even have time to mask the disappointment in his eyes before Qin Wangye caught it all.
Qin Wangye looked at Song Que, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Song Que asked, “What is it?”
“Never mind. Let us go.”
Qin Wangye had finally figured it out. All those labels like “King of Hell,” “Cold-hearted,” and “Ruthless” were being plastered onto Song Que one after another. Did that stop their hearts from beating out of rhythm?
Shao Fuguang said that Qin Wangye had plenty of strength but knew nothing of love. That was only because he had not seen Qin Wangye’s detection radar in action.
This time, they were again in Qin Wangye’s car.
On the road, someone began to probe, “That attending physician of yours looks quite young.”
“Pei Cheng? He is young. I heard he was a rare genius in his field at the time.”
“A genius,” Qin Wangye mused.
Song Que did not know what he was thinking, but an alarm suddenly went off in his heart. He seriously replied, “You are the best.”
Qin Wangye glanced sideways; his facial features were handsome and imposing. A moment later, he suppressed a laugh and said, “Thank you for the compliment, CEO Song.”
A wave of heat rushed to Song Que’s face. He wondered how he could have said something so stupid.