A glimmer of something obscure flickered across Ah Huai’s face before he returned to his usual calm, smiling expression. “Ah Huai does not understand what you mean by that, Song Gongzi.”
A spring breeze blew, causing Song Yue’s robes to flutter. He squinted toward the withered tree trunk in the courtyard, wondering how, after enduring the biting winter, it had managed to stubbornly sprout new buds in the place where the light hit.
“You and Fu Huaizhi are too similar—not just in those eyes, but in the essence that those eyes reveal. Ah Huai, you know that Fu Huaizhi only cared for him initially because of the Su family’s power, but as time went on, he only sought a result. It is just a pity that the result was not what he desired, and you happened to appear at precisely that moment.”
Su Ce looked up at Song Yue with an air of innocence: “Song Gongzi, is this advice intended for Ah Huai? But Ah Huai is not Fu Gongzi, and the young master has also shown Ah Huai the kindness of rebirth.”
“Is this the method you use to repay the kindness he showed you? I do not care what your motives or your thoughts are; I only hope you tuck away those sordid intentions of yours. Otherwise, there are millions in this world who could replace you.” Song Yue paused, then added: “Although A-Ce may appear reckless and unruly on the surface, he is not—”
As Ah Huai listened to Song Yue’s earnest, cautionary words, the smile on his face gradually sharpened with a cold glint, and a sense of annoyance grew within him.
At that moment, the sound of Su Ce smashing things inside the room interrupted whatever else Song Yue was about to say.
The two exchanged a look.
“Ah Huai, go inside and check on the Young Master first.”
Song Yue finally sighed and walked out of the courtyard.
Ah Huai watched Song Yue’s retreating back, his gaze turning instantly somber. Song Yue was a fool; how could he know that he did understand Su Ce? But why should he bother explaining anything to Song Yue? After all, from the beginning to the end, all he wanted was Su Ce’s entire being.
After Ah Huai left the room, Su Ce suddenly felt parched. He tried to shift his body on the bed, only to lose his balance and tumble onto the floor.
He gasped, suppressing the pain as he rose to pour himself a cup of cold tea. As he drank, fragments of their interaction the night before flashed through his mind.
The more Su Ce thought, the angrier he became.
Why was he the one lying beneath Ah Huai!
Suddenly, a shift in his perspective occurred, and an inexplicable sensation bubbled up from within.
No wonder Ah Huai served him with such dedication; when had he ever had an attendant serve him for three months? Moreover, the face he had never once seen in the Zuisheng Pavilion had appeared only after Fu Huaizhi became engaged. Not only did he appear, but he had also timed the delivery of the pendant Su Ce had never forgotten—this was all simply too coincidental.
The coincidences were so numerous that Su Ce finally realized the truth: Ah Huai was not a simple person.
Ah Huai’s humility, his submissiveness, and the ruthlessness toward others that Su Ce had deliberately ignored were all magnified in Su Ce’s mind in this instant.
What, then, was Ah Huai’s motive for approaching him? Why did everyone—his father, his stepmother, Fu Huaizhi, and now even Ah Huai—come to him with different agendas? Everyone approached him only to use him.
In this moment, disgust and hatred wrapped tightly around Su Ce’s heart with a hemp rope, then tore it apart. His previously empty stomach began to cramp abnormally, forcing him to curl into a ball, tears streaming down his face unconsciously and helplessly.
The door was pushed open.
Ah Huai called to him anxiously.
Su Ce hunched over, lifting his bewildered eyes. Ah Huai’s familiar face suddenly felt like that of a stranger, causing his vision to black out as he collapsed onto the floor.
When Su Ce woke up again, it was already night. The room had been cleaned, and the charcoal in the heater was burning a bright red, yet Ah Huai was nowhere to be found.
He was used to seeing Ah Huai whenever he woke, and now, left alone in the vast room, Su Ce could not help but feel a touch of loss.
He thought with self-mockery that habit truly was a terrifying thing.
Su Ce sighed, and the moment he lifted the quilt, he saw Ah Huai walking in with a food box.
“Young Master, are you awake?”
Su Ce scoffed, retorting: “If I remained fainted, wouldn’t that just give you another opportunity?”
Ah Huai was clearly stunned by Su Ce’s words, a flash of disappointment crossing his face.
Su Ce looked at him, a mocking smile tugging at his lips, his voice cold as ice: “Take your things and get out.”
“Young Master, you haven’t eaten all day.”
“Even if I died, it would have nothing to do with you.”
“Young Master, you will not die.” Ah Huai stood stubbornly before Su Ce, as if he did not understand the words.
Every time Su Ce thought of Ah Huai’s actions—even if it were merely his own narrow-minded speculation—he knew he could no longer trust him. Especially after the banquet the night before, where Zuo Yu had dared to drug him right in front of Ah Huai, letting Ah Huai take advantage of him.
Who knew? Now that they were alone, what if Ah Huai was cut from the same cloth as Zuo Yu?
Su Ce dared not gamble.
But he could teach a lesson to someone as presumptuous as Ah Huai.
Su Ce’s expression was cold: “Leave the food, you may go.”
Ah Huai knew Su Ce was ordering him out. He did not understand why Su Ce was treating him this way, but he obeyed and walked out of the room.
Su Ce was pleased with Ah Huai’s compliance. The moment the door closed, he locked it from the inside.
Only then did he open the food box Ah Huai had brought. The white porridge inside was still steaming. Feeling uneasy, he took a new silver hairpin from his jewelry box and inserted it into the food. Seeing no reaction from the hairpin, he picked up the spoon and began to eat in small bites.
Though the early spring night air was not as biting as the depth of winter, Ah Huai was wearing only a thin outer garment, sitting outside the room with his arms wrapped around himself, leaning against the door.
Damp, cold air surrounded Ah Huai. As his limbs grew stiff and his head became groggy, a pair of golden-threaded walking shoes appeared before his eyes.
He was momentarily astonished; who could be coming to see Su Ce at this hour?
The person patted his shoulder in advance, bowing with a look of respect: “May I ask if you are the young master called Ah Huai?”
Ah Huai looked up to see a man with a wrinkled face, somewhat advanced in age, speaking with respect. He gave a soft “Hmm” in acknowledgement.
Only then did the visitor state his purpose: “My master has heard that Master Ah Huai has excellent culinary skills and wishes to meet you. Please, follow me.”
Seeing the look of reverence on the man’s face when he mentioned his master, Ah Huai guessed at his identity and asked with suspicion: “Who are you?”
“Who this servant is does not matter, but if you do not come with me now, I fear my master will be angry, and your life will become difficult.”
Ah Huai was displeased at being threatened, and seeing the man glance at the tightly closed door behind him, he said: “You are a reasonable person; my master is simply inviting you to have a cup of tea.”
The two did not speak loudly, just enough for Su Ce inside to hear clearly.
Yet, that tightly closed door was not opened.
Su Ce had thought Ah Huai would not follow a stranger, but the next instant, he realized that the tiny shadow on the ground before the door was gradually growing into a normal silhouette. After a long silence, he heard Ah Huai say: “Young Master, Ah Huai will be right back.”
Under Su Ce’s incredulous gaze, the sound of their retreating footsteps echoed in his ears.
He knew it. Any benefit he couldn’t get from him, Ah Huai would soon seek from others.
Everyone was the same! When they needed him, they would ignore their conscience and shamelessly chat and laugh with him. When they didn’t need him, they would cast him aside without a second thought.
He was nothing but a ladder for those people to climb higher.
Disdained on one side, utilized on the other.
Su Ce threw his spoon into the bowl, and feeling it wasn’t enough to vent his anger, he lifted his hand to knock the bowl of cold porridge onto the floor. He climbed onto the bed and, in a fit of irritation, drifted into a deep sleep.
In his dream, he returned to his childhood once again.
Back when he was being raised in the Suzhou villa, the children at the academy all mocked him for being a wild child whose mother was dead and father didn’t want him. Su Ce suffered many injustices because of this, and the academy teacher only looked on from afar without intervening.
Perhaps this had been his life for too long; whenever he attended the study, whether Su Ce climbed over the academy walls to wander the streets or climbed trees to steal bird eggs, no one would ask a single question.
Until one day, he didn’t know why, but the academy steward found him on the street. The look in his eyes was one of astonishment and fear.
Not only did he buy him new clothes, but he also treated him to a full meal, before hesitating and asking: “Su Ce, do you like school?”
Su Ce, holding a greasy chicken leg in one hand at the time, looked at the steward and shook his head fiercely.
The steward seemed relieved as he said to Su Ce: “Then later, if anyone asks you, you just say that you don’t like the serious atmosphere of the academy, which is why you climbed over the wall.”
Su Ce did not speak, only looking at the steward with a blank expression.
When Su Ce, now fed and satisfied, returned to the academy gate, the steward was all smiles, taking his hand familiarly across the threshold to walk directly toward a person he had never seen before. Su Ce instantly understood why the steward had asked him that earlier, and why he was acting so strangely today.
“This is Su Ce, Young Master Su,” the steward introduced fawningly to the eunuch in the high seat.
The eunuch put down his teacup, looked up and down at the Su Ce—who was so thin that his eyes seemed exceptionally large—and beckoned to him: “Child, come here.”
Su Ce stood dumbly in place, not taking a single step toward the eunuch.
Yet, the man was not impatient, showing a sincere smile and repeating himself.
The steward secretly tightened his grip on Su Ce and gave him a look.
Only then did Su Ce snap back to reality, lowering his head to release his hand from the steward’s red-marked grip, and stepped forward.
“Good child, you have suffered for so many years here. Now your father wants to bring you into the capital; are you willing?”
Su Ce had long since ceased wanting to stay here and suffer humiliation; he nodded immediately and asked: “If I go to the capital, will there be endless chicken legs?”
The eunuch laughed: “In the capital, naturally, you can eat whatever you wish…”
The scene before him changed in an instant.
Inside the boundless darkness of a dilapidated temple, he felt his hand being gripped back by a warm palm.