Lin Ruohuai saw a complex, tangled mix of emotions in Shen Qi’s eyes—betrayal, disdain, annoyance, and grievance—all swirling together like a dramatic performance.
His heart skipped a beat. He wondered if his phone call had been tapped, but after a moment’s thought, he felt that was unlikely.
Unsettled, Lin Ruohuai curled his fingers, nervously picking at the fabric of his trousers. After careful consideration, he decided to slightly revise his previous excuse of “being afraid I won’t make it back in time.”
He wanted to sound rational, but the words came out with an involuntary hint of complaint: “It’s too dark around here. If I come back late, I’ll be scared.”
Shen Qi’s eyes flickered, as if coming back to life. “I’ll have someone go with you.”
Lin Ruohuai wanted to refuse, but he didn’t. He felt that if Shen Qi’s person was there, that so-called uncle wouldn’t be able to pressure him too much.
“Alright, find someone to accompany me.” Lin Ruohuai stood by his side, sorting the black and white chess pieces into their separate boxes.
One piece rolled onto the floor. As Lin Ruohuai leaned over to pick it up, a hand with long, elegant fingers swept past him. The fingertips brushed against the crystal-clear, rounded piece and placed it back in the box.
“What are you doing? I can get it. Don’t move.” Lin Ruohuai was worried he might strain his back; if that happened, he’d have more than just two legs to look after.
Shen Qi’s gaze seemed to see right through his thoughts, revealing an unidentifiable emotion. “My back is very strong.”
Lin Ruohuai squatted in front of him. “Can you do a full 180-degree bend?”
“No.”
“Then it’s not ‘very strong’.”
Shen Qi felt a splitting headache. He looked gloomily at Lin Ruohuai, who continued tidying up. Did he think Xie Yusheng could do that?
Lin Ruohuai didn’t react at all. After closing the box, he went to pour himself a glass of water. He lowered his eyes to look at the scenery outside. The curtains had been drawn back at some point, and a sliver of brilliant sunlight framed his features like a sacred portrait.
Shen Qi squinted, rolled his wheelchair over, and bumped Lin Ruohuai’s leg with his wheel. “I want a drink too.”
Lin Ruohuai turned to pour him some water, but before he was halfway there, Shen Qi closed his eyes against the stinging sunlight. “I don’t want it anymore.”
“…”
Lin Ruohuai was starting to lose patience. Big brother, stop being so difficult!
He felt a tangible sense of Shen Qi’s dislike for him again. But why? He hadn’t even contacted Xie Yusheng, nor was he causing any trouble for him.
He frowned, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught the faint, fleeting curve of a smile on Shen Qi’s lips.
“…”
Lin Ruohuai folded his arms and looked out at the vast, shimmering lake, replaying everything in his mind.
On the first night, he had been scared and dragged by Shen Qi to watch a horror movie. Every evening since, he had pushed Shen Qi out for walks. Every fear and every night he spent here was deeply imprinted with Shen Qi’s presence—yet Shen Qi never truly terrified him.
It was like a little hamster trying to scramble away, only to be easily caught and released, caught and released, over and over again.
Oh. He was just teasing him.
Did Shen Qi think he was a cat?!
As he prepared to leave, Lin Ruohuai reached for the edge of the curtain, but Shen Qi’s deep voice stopped him: “Don’t pull them. Leave it like this.”
Shen Qi wanted the sunlight to burn away the “mold” on his body, yet he didn’t move closer, remaining in the shadows as the beam of light spread across the floor.
After Lin Ruohuai left, the tea room was temporarily sealed off. Shen Qi sat with his back to the door, his back muscles lean and straight. He reached out and opened the chess box. He held the movement stiffly, but unlike previous times, he didn’t scatter the pieces across the floor in a noisy clatter of jade.
He quietly put them back in their place, as if nothing had happened.
Lin Ruohuai hadn’t expected getting from Shen Qi’s manor to the city to be such a hassle. Initially, Uncle Chen asked if he wanted to take a helicopter. Lin Ruohuai thought rich people didn’t just live comfortably; they lived extravagantly.
He waved it off, dismissive of the suggestion. Later, Uncle Chen arranged a Bentley for him—the second time he’d been in a luxury car.
As it turned out, the mountain roads were incredibly winding. It took a full hour and a half just to get out of the mountains and into the city… and that was driving fast. A slower pace would have taken two hours.
He should have taken the helicopter.
Stepping out of the car and looking at the bustling urban infrastructure, Lin Ruohuai felt like a migrant worker coming out of the hills for a job.
Meanwhile, Shen Qi was undergoing his daily physical therapy. Wang Yisen was guiding him, recording notes: “Still no feeling in the left leg?”
Shen Qi was annoyed by the morning light filtering through the window. He frowned, his voice suppressed: “Mhm.”
After finishing the session, Shen Qi was drenched in sweat. As he sat in his wheelchair, Wang Yisen handed him a towel, only for Shen Qi to slap the back of his hand away.
The force was substantial and genuine. Wang Yisen yelped and jumped from his chair. “If you beat me to death, no one will be willing to treat you!”
Shen Qi ignored him, eyes closed. After a moment, Wang Yisen pulled out two cigarettes with his reddened hand and lit them. Shen Qi held one, the drifting smoke veiling the dark emotions in his eyes.
Wang Yisen puffed on his cigarette. “How long do you plan on keeping the younger Lin son here? He’s not professional at all and has no idea how to care for you. You’d be better off letting me find you a few professional nurses. Never mind.”
Shen Qi didn’t answer immediately. Ash fell, glowing red. His tone was unreadable: “I don’t want others.”
Wang Yisen looked at him, amused. “Why?”
“I just like the bad ones. No one is worse than him.”
Wang Yisen twitched. Big brother, you’re playing games with your own life and body. No wonder Xiao Yi was always worried; having a brother like this was truly exhausting.
By this time, Lin Ruohuai had already met the original owner’s uncle, An Jiayun. At first glance, he was an ordinary-looking handsome guy—thin, pale, and unremarkable. At least he wasn’t an eyesore; if he’d been ugly, looking at him would have felt like psychological torture.
An Jiayun smiled as he printed out the IOU. Lin Ruohuai picked it up. Originally, Lin’s mother had borrowed 850,000 from him. This wasn’t for medical bills, but to cover a deficit in a Lin Group project. Because the amount wasn’t huge, his mother had gritted her teeth and borrowed it to fill the gap.
But after two years, that 850,000 had turned into 2.3 million. Lin Ruohuai refused to accept it. “How are you calculating this interest? Even loan sharks aren’t this ruthless. It’s increased by nearly two million in two years. Why don’t you just go out and rob someone?”
An Jiayun was stunned, then blurted out: “2.3 million is pocket change for you. Even without Xie Yusheng, you have Shen Qi behind you. You’ve climbed high lately and forgotten to bring your relative along? I wasn’t bad to you in the past.”
Lin Ruohuai rested his chin on his hand. “How were you ‘not bad’? Tell me about it. I have no memory of it.”
An Jiayun’s expression soured. “Are you trying to dodge the debt?”
“Yeah, can’t you tell?”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell everyone and make it impossible for you to stay in this circle?!”
“Go ahead! Let’s see who’s more shameless.” Lin Ruohuai raised his voice even louder than his uncle’s, shouting back at him.
An Jiayun froze. He hadn’t expected this. His nephew used to be incredibly vain, preferring to suffer a loss rather than lose face. He would have rather jumped off a building than face social death.
What happened? Did he grow a new skin?
An Jiayun slammed the table. “Regardless, you must pay. My sister is gone, so you pay. It’s only natural. Don’t talk to me about logic.”
Lin Ruohuai didn’t waste words: “850,000.”
An Jiayun: “Plus an apartment.”
Lin Ruohuai’s face went cold. Anyone trying to steal his money was his enemy. “Impossible!”
“You think you can even produce 850,000? Don’t make me laugh. Don’t tell me you’re selling…” An Jiayun stopped himself from saying the word. “Forget it. You’re just borrowing from Xie Yusheng. But he’s in trouble lately, under his parents’ thumb. Who else can you beg? Shen Qi? You could crawl on your knees and he wouldn’t even look at you…”
He then softened his tone. “If I weren’t so short on cash, I wouldn’t pressure you. Either way, give me the money today, or give me the apartment.”
His tone was entitled, as if the world owed him.
Lin Ruohuai sensed something. “Did you go gambling again?”
An Jiayun’s facial muscles twitched. “I still remember how your mother treated me. To make me quit gambling, she locked me in a room like a dog. Now that she’s dead, it’s finally peaceful.”
Lin Ruohuai detached himself completely. “What does that have to do with me?”
“It has to do with your mother.”
“My mother is dead,” Lin Ruohuai laughed. “Holding a grudge against a dead person won’t help you live long. Careful you don’t end up in hell early—maybe you’ll get run over as soon as you step outside, you extortionist.”
People were starting to stare. Lin Ruohuai didn’t want to be a spectacle, so he told his uncle to follow him to his apartment. He left the door slightly ajar and stood his ground. “I’ll give you 850,000. No apartment, no interest. If you want to calculate it that way, my father paid for all your expenses abroad. Shall I calculate those for you?”
An Jiayun dropped the act and kicked the sofa, sending items clattering to the floor. “The deadline on the IOU is tomorrow. Consider it your lucky day that I met you today to give you one night to raise the money. I want it today. Can you give it to me?”
“If you don’t mortgage the apartment, what are you going to give me?” An Jiayun put a foot up on the coffee table. “Let’s see what you’re capable of.”
I haven’t even received my salary yet. What is this idiot screaming about? If he needs money this badly, why doesn’t he just go die?
After a long silence, An Jiayun figured his nephew was cooking up some bad idea.
Suddenly, Lin Ruohuai spoke.
When his voice was soft, it sounded sweet and harmless, so much so that An Jiayun misheard him for a moment.
“Hypothetically, if I just don’t pay the interest, what can you do to me?”
Lin Ruohuai sighed. “Oh, you’re going to sue me. I’m so scared, Uncle…”
Before he could finish, a knock at the door interrupted them. Assistant Lin, dressed in a sharp suit, smiled at Lin Ruohuai. “Mr. Lin, long time no see. Do you remember me?”
Lin Ruohuai was bewildered but nodded. “I remember. I haven’t lost my memory.”
Assistant Lin smiled and maintained a professional air. He pulled a checkbook from his pocket. “How much is owed?”
An Jiayun took his foot off the table. This man’s aura was completely out of place in this environment—he radiated an elite, somber, yet refined energy. An Jiayun wondered who this person was and why he acted so high and mighty.
Lin Ruohuai handed him the paper. His fingertips pressed so hard against the paper that they turned white; he was internally agitated. Assistant Lin noticed this and paused as he took the note.
Lin Ruohuai hated this feeling. He hated being in debt. To travel to a new world only to have to pay off debts… what kind of terrible setting was this? His family back home had been in debt; his parents had died because of it, leaving only his grandmother. They’d finally paid it off, and life still hadn’t turned out well.
He felt like biting into an ice cube.
Lin Ruohuai’s heart hung in mid-air. He looked downcast, scratching his hair as he watched Assistant Lin write a check for 850,000.
He was stunned.
He tugged at Assistant Lin’s sleeve. “Is this going to be deducted from my salary?”
Assistant Lin only smiled and didn’t answer.
An Jiayun stared at the check, his eyes burning with greed as if he were looking at a little peach tree that grew money.
Assistant Lin tilted his head. “Is there anything else?”
Remembering something, Assistant Lin looked at the mess on the floor and said professionally, “Pick it up.”
An Jiayun instinctively followed the command.
Lin Ruohuai was overwhelmed by the favor. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was Assistant Lin’s own decision or Shen Qi’s. If it was the former, how much would he have to pay back? If it was the latter, he’d have to sell his soul to repay it.
Just then, Assistant Lin pulled a phone from his coat, made a “wait a moment” gesture, spoke a few words, and walked back.
He handed the phone over. The corners of Lin Ruohuai’s eyes lifted into a vivid expression as he heard a reassuring voice.
It was a voice that sounded indifferent and unhurried, yet it carried an undertone of insight and gentleness.
“If you have any difficulties, tell Assistant Lin.”
Lin Ruohuai was dazed, unable to believe this windfall. “Anything?”
“As long as you want it.”
Lin Ruohuai blinked and covered his mouth, saying with emotion, “I didn’t expect Mr. Shen to be so good to me!”
Assistant Lin caught his clumsy acting out of the corner of his eye.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed quickly by a careless chuckle.
“Keep your eyes open. It’s not too late to realize your boyfriend is useless.”