“Miss Song? What are you doing here?”
“Lawyer Lin?”
When Song Shuyao saw Lin Qing, she hurriedly lowered her head and wiped the corner of her eye. Then, forcing a smile, she gave a polite nod before walking into the restroom.
Lin Qing thought it was odd. Why would she suddenly be crying for no reason?
From what she knew, Song Shuyao was highly capable at work—she handled many of Song Corporation’s major projects. She didn’t seem like the delicate and pampered heiress type.
Did she have a fight with Fu Sinian? Or… did they break up?
Just as she was thinking about it, Fu Sinian’s voice rang out.
“Shuyao.”
Seeing Lin Qing, Fu Sinian paused in his tracks, a trace of surprise showing on his face.
Lin Qing teased, “President Fu, stop right there. That’s the ladies’ room up ahead. No matter how worried you are about your girlfriend, you can’t just barge in, don’t you agree?”
Fu Sinian replied coolly, “Didn’t expect to run into Lawyer Lin even while grabbing a meal. What a coincidence.”
Lin Qing, convinced that he was the reason Song Shuyao had been crying, gave a soft snort.
“President Fu, you should learn a bit more about how to comfort your girlfriend. A man who makes his girlfriend cry isn’t exactly what I’d call a good man.”
With that, she turned and walked away.
Fu Sinian watched her back as she left, secretly thinking to himself—
This woman… still as sharp-tongued as ever.
__________
Lin Qing returned to the table, and the waiter had already brought out all the dishes.
She’d ordered a plate of creamy shrimp pasta. Holding the knife and fork, she twirled some noodles and took a bite.
As she thought about the scene earlier—Song Shuyao crying and Fu Sinian chasing after her—she felt a strange, indescribable emotion inside.
Even though last night had been an accident, getting involved with someone else’s boyfriend was still, at the end of the day, morally wrong.
“Why so quiet after coming back from the restroom?”
Lin Qing replied, “Ran into Fu Sinian just now—we had a bit of a spat.”
Tang Yining gave a little “Ah,” then laughed. “You two still haven’t buried the hatchet? It’s been years.”
“It’s not really about forgiving or not. There was never a big falling-out between us to begin with. It’s just… every time I see him, I get this uncomfortable feeling.”
“Well, yeah. Back in junior and senior high, he always outperformed you. If it were me, I wouldn’t be happy seeing him either.”
“Ugh, don’t bring up the past. It’s such a downer.”
Thinking about her teenage years, Lin Qing’s expression darkened.
Su Yi quickly changed the subject. “Okay, okay, let’s eat. After this, we’re hitting up a KTV! No more thinking about depressing stuff.”
Lin Qing nodded. “Sounds good.”
After leaving the western restaurant, the only one who hadn’t been drinking—Tang Yining—took the wheel and drove Lin Qing and Su Yi to their next fun destination: Xinghai Tower in the city center.
Since tomorrow was the weekend, both the firm and the law office would be closed. No work. Plus, today was Lin Qing’s birthday, so the three of them planned to enjoy the night to the fullest.
“The falling maple leaves resemble longing,
I light a candle to warm the late-autumn days.
The aurora brushes the edge of the sky,
The northern wind carries the memory of your face.
I burn my love into fallen leaves,
Yet I can’t bring back that warm and familiar face…”
In the KTV room, Jay Chou’s “Maple” began to play softly.
Su Yi sang aloud, her voice carrying a trace of melancholy.
Noticing the sadness on her face, Tang Yining nudged Lin Qing’s arm. “Hey, you think she’s still not over her last relationship? She’s been singing love songs all night.”
Lin Qing popped a few peanuts into her mouth, then said in a low voice, “That was eight years. An eight-year relationship. If it were you, could you just act like it never happened?”
“True, eight years is brutal,” Tang Yining muttered, “That scumbag.”
Su Yi suddenly turned her head and pointed at Tang Yining. “Yining! What are you mumbling over there?!”
“N-nothing…”
Lin Qing quickly grabbed the mic from Su Yi and queued up Wang Sulong’s “A Smile Overturns a City.”
“What the hell? I was just getting into it!”
Lin Qing said, “Why keep singing those sad songs? You’re singing away your own good luck. Try something cheerful.”
“I always casually tell you my wishes,
And give you looks full of a thousand unspoken words.
In this world, there’s always someone busy chasing treasure…”
Wang Sulong’s upbeat melody filled the room.
__________
By the time they came out of the KTV, it was already 11 p.m. Lin Qing and Su Yi had both had quite a bit to drink—especially Su Yi, who was so drunk she could barely walk.
Tang Yining helped Su Yi into the front passenger seat.
Then she drove the two of them away.
Lin Qing checked her phone and saw over a dozen missed calls—all from her grandmother.
She hadn’t noticed any of them earlier while singing.
She quickly called back.
The call connected.
“Hello, Grandma,” Lin Qing said.
Old Madam Lin laughed on the other end of the line. “Qingqing, you finally answered Grandma’s call!”
“Sorry, Grandma, I didn’t see the missed calls just now.”
“No problem, no problem,” Old Madam Lin said affectionately. “Grandma prepared a gift for you—happy birthday! When are you coming home? Grandma misses you.”
Lin Qing glanced at the time and said, “Grandma, I’ll head over now.”
Jinxiuyuan (Splendid Manor) was less than ten minutes away. Since her grandma had called, Lin Qing agreed without much thought.
Old Madam Lin immediately sounded delighted. “Great! Grandma will be waiting for you. Be careful on the road.”
“Got it.”
After hanging up, Lin Qing said to Tang Yining, who was driving, “Yining, I’m going back to Jinxiuyuan tonight. Just drop me off at the intersection on Changning Street.”
“Jinxiuyuan?” Tang Yining was puzzled. “I thought you couldn’t stand that scumbag dad of yours. What made you decide to go back now?”
“It wasn’t that scumbag who called—it was my grandma. She asked me to come home. Said it’s my birthday and she misses me.”
“Ohhh, if your grandma called, then yeah, you should definitely go back.”
________
Ten minutes later, the car drove into Changning Street.
Lin Qing glanced at Su Yi, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, dazed and unable to keep her eyes open from all the alcohol. She turned to Tang Yining and said, “Sorry to trouble you with taking Su Yi home.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she gets back safe and sound.”
“Drive safe, be careful on the road.”
“Got it. You too—stay safe.”
Lin Qing watched the white BMW drive off from the intersection, then turned and walked into the Jinxiuyuan estate.
Jinxiuyuan was a villa community, with each home designed in a completely different style. Some imitated traditional Chinese architecture, others followed European or American designs, and a few were built as modern Japanese-style flat houses.
Tall trees were neatly lined on both sides of the road. The leafy canopy cast shadows across the ground as a cool breeze swept through.
Under the night sky, moonlight spilled down, casting a silvery glow on the ground that swayed gently in the breeze. The entire neighborhood was wrapped in a kind of quiet softness.
This was the home where Lin Qing had grown up. But after her parents divorced and she moved out with her mother, she rarely came back except during holidays.
The villa area covered more than 20,000 square meters but only housed eight families—each one a powerful figure in Nancheng’s business world.
A chilly wind blew past, and Lin Qing pulled her trench coat tighter around her.
A few magnolia petals drifted down onto her shoulder. She gently brushed them off with her hand, and they fluttered to the ground.
When she looked up, she saw the magnolia tree above the villa wall. In this April weather, the magnolias were in full, blazing bloom.
If she remembered correctly, that tree was planted by Fu Sinian’s father.
Fu Sinian’s father had loved his wife dearly. Knowing she liked magnolias, he had personally planted two of them in the family garden.
She remembered when she was around six or seven years old—back when their two families were still on good terms—her mother had once brought her to visit the Fu residence. The sight of those magnolias in full bloom had left quite an impression.
She walked a few more steps but froze near the Fu residence gate.
A familiar silver Porsche was parked outside.
She recognized it—it was the car Fu Sinian often drove.
Did he come back to the old house tonight?
Surely I’m not about to run into him twice in one night.
And sure enough, just a few steps later, she saw the man standing on the other side of the car.
He was half-leaning against the front of the car, a cigarette between his lips. With a click, the lighter in his hand sparked to life. He lowered his head slightly, lit the cigarette, the tiny flame flickering, and exhaled a cloud of white smoke.
His whole movement—lighting up—was smooth and practiced.
Hearing footsteps, Fu Sinian turned his head and saw Lin Qing a few paces away.
A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
“You’re staying at the Lin house tonight?”
“Yeah.”
Looking at the man in front of her, Lin Qing suddenly remembered what Shen Xiao had said—that it was Fu Sinian who called the police during the courthouse incident.
Whether she liked it or not, she owed him one.
She stopped walking and turned to him. “About this morning—thanks for calling the police.”
As soon as the words fell, Fu Sinian’s hand holding the cigarette paused slightly.
Hearing a thank you from her—that was rare.
“Just happened to be passing by. No big deal.”
Silence settled over them.
Once again, they had nothing left to say.
Lin Qing had no desire to continue interacting with Fu Sinian and kept walking forward.
But Fu Sinian suddenly spoke again, “Lin Qing, let’s talk.”
Lin Qing sounded a little impatient. “Talk about what? I already gave you the 2.5 million. Let’s just pretend nothing ever happened between us.”
Fu Sinian said, “Don’t you want to know who was really behind that night—who was trying to harm us?”
Lin Qing paused slightly.
His words reminded her:
The person who drugged them could’ve been a colleague of hers, or perhaps an enemy of the Lin family in business.
It really was something worth getting to the bottom of.
She turned around. “Go on then, who was it?”
“I suspect… someone from the Fu family.”
“From the Fu family? Who?”
“The chairman of Dongxin.”
“Your uncle?”
“That’s right.”
Lin Qing frowned. “Why would your uncle try to drug you for no reason?”
“You haven’t heard what happened at the board meeting three years ago?”
Lin Qing shook her head.
Fu Sinian glanced at the villa, where the lights on the second floor were still on, then said, “Let’s talk somewhere else.”
He stubbed out his cigarette and followed Lin Qing toward the other side of the villa complex.
As he spoke, Lin Qing slowly pieced the story together.
It turned out that Fu Sinian’s uncle, Fu Yiwei, wasn’t actually the biological son of Old Master Fu. He was the child of Old Master Fu’s younger brother. Years ago, Old Master Fu had sent his brother on a work trip, and tragedy struck—a car accident that killed both husband and wife. Out of guilt, believing it was his fault the child became an orphan at six, Old Master Fu adopted Fu Yiwei.
But no one had expected that Fu Yiwei would grow up harboring deep resentment. He blamed Old Master Fu for his parents’ deaths. Three years ago, while Old Master Fu was seriously ill and unconscious, Fu Yiwei staged a coup at the board meeting and nearly brought Ruifeng to ruin. After he was ousted, he went on to found Dongxin Corporation.
Lin Qing speculated, “So he drugged you to get revenge? To embarrass you in front of everyone?”
“He wanted to sabotage the arranged marriage between the Fu and Song families—ruin the match my grandfather had worked so hard to set up—and turn the Fu family into enemies of the Song family.”
Lin Qing glanced at him. “Your family sure is full of schemers.”
“Including me?”
“Of course including you,” she blurted out.
Then realizing she may have gone too far, she quickly added, “You should go back. I’m almost home.”
Just ahead was her house.
Now that she understood what happened, there was no reason to keep standing there with Fu Sinian.
Fu Sinian kept his gaze on her.
The evening breeze carried the faint fragrance of magnolia.
He was momentarily dazed.
The girl in front of him had been drinking—standing so close, he could smell the strong scent of alcohol on her. A rosy flush had crept up her cheeks, like ripe red apples. As he looked at her, he realized for the first time that she was actually quite beautiful. Her skin was fair, her cheekbones soft and feminine, her large eyes bright and expressive. The tip of her delicate nose tilted up slightly, and her entire face had a subtle but striking stubbornness to it.
He thought of that night—how she had been drunk and drugged, clinging to him, whispering sweet nothings as if she couldn’t let go.
Then, almost involuntarily, he said—
“Lin Qing, the Fu–Song engagement… has been canceled.”
“W-what?!” Lin Qing froze in place, thinking she must’ve misheard.