Recalling the years when his mother was critically ill, Qin Huai’s mood plummeted to rock bottom. Years ago, while he and Shen Yuzhi were working hard to build their careers during a period of upward momentum, his mother was suddenly diagnosed with cancer. The blow left Qin Huai unable to recover his composure for several days. Because the ownership of their assets was not in the hands of his mother, Qin Lan, she and Qin Huai were left without a single cent to their names within the Shen family after she fell ill. Fearing that Shen Yuzhi would worry, Qin Huai resolutely chose to hide the truth from him.
To this day, the image of his mother’s frail, thin figure during her illness remains burned into Qin Huai’s mind. That emaciated body had been enough to support her as she took Qin Huai to the Shen family residence. By then, Shen Chengde had already married Lin Xingxue and fathered Shen An. At first, Shen Chengde had no intention of helping with Qin Lan’s medical bills. However, the situation caused quite a stir at the time, and Shen Chengde, hindered by his own reputation, finally felt forced to step in and lend Qin Lan a sum of money. Yet, this money was not lent to the mother and son out of kindness. At the time, Lin Xingxue had somehow heard that Qin Huai had already differentiated as an Omega, and she wanted to keep him in the Shen household so they could use him later to further the Shen family’s interests. Shen Chengde chose to follow his current wife’s advice, immediately proposing that while he would provide the money, Qin Huai had to remain with the Shen family. Furthermore, they would provide a relatively better treatment environment for Qin Lan. Hearing this, Qin Huai had no choice but to agree. After all, no one else could produce such a large sum of money. This, however, meant separating from Shen Yuzhi. Qin Huai thought of him day and night, even when he was by Shen Yuzhi’s side; he could not help but space out and dwell on the situation.
“What is the matter?”
Shen Yuzhi handed a cup of iced coffee to Qin Huai. Their business had been doing quite well lately, which meant they had spent an unusually large amount of time together during this period. Qin Huai took the coffee mechanically, biting his lip in unease. His eyes held a sense of loneliness and pain that Shen Yuzhi failed to notice. After sitting down next to him, Shen Yuzhi let out a long sigh.
“Whatever is bothering you, you should tell me, shouldn’t you? Huai, you have to trust me.”
Looking at the man before him, who was dazzlingly bright, Qin Huai nodded, biting his lip. Yet, shortly after that, Qin Huai left without saying goodbye. He deleted all of Shen Yuzhi’s contact information and moved abroad with his mother for treatment.
Coming back to the present, Qin Huai leaned against the car seat and rubbed his brow. He truly owed Shen Yuzhi an apology; the mere thought of him made Qin Huai sigh involuntarily. Everything that happened was the Shen family’s fault. If it were not for Lin Xingxue’s desire for power and Shen Chengde’s infidelity, things would still be as they were, and his relationship with Shen Yuzhi would not be so strained. Thoughts churned in Qin Huai’s mind. The faces of Lin Xingxue, Shen Chengde, and Shen An, who had already married Ling Feng, all surfaced before him. This time, no matter what, Qin Huai would reclaim everything that belonged to him as the eldest son of the Shen family, and make his unfaithful father and the homewrecker receive the punishment they deserved.
Qin Huai gazed out the car window, reaching up to touch the back of his neck where the suppressant patch was still applied. He thought of Shen Yuzhi’s cold, emotionless eyes. His heart trembled, and his body began to heat up. Qin Huai could not stop himself from missing Shen Yuzhi, until he heard the driver’s voice.
“Young Master Qin, are we going to the villa?”
Seeing that Qin Huai did not speak, the driver asked politely. Qin Huai paused for a long while before coming back to his senses and answering softly, “No, go to the Shen family company.”
Because of the marriage alliance with the Ling family, the Shen Group’s stock had skyrocketed overnight. Returning to this familiar company now, Qin Huai only felt a sense of irony. Originally, all of this had belonged to his mother; now, he would need to use his own methods to reclaim it. He stepped out of the car in silence, but just as he was about to enter the main gate, he was stopped by a security guard. “Hey, hey, people who do not work for this company are not allowed in whenever they please!”
Qin Huai froze, furrowing his brows in confusion. He pointed to himself and asked, “Is this how you treat your clients?”
This made the guard suspicious. He returned to the security booth to flip through the pages on his desk, still looking uncertain. Just then, a Rolls-Royce slowly pulled up to the front of the building. The man who stepped out wore a tailored suit that accentuated his straight legs, and Qin Huai would never forget those cold eyes.
“Hanzhou.”
Qin Huai’s lips trembled as he called out that familiar name, but he was met only with a fleeting glance from Shen Yuzhi. This time, however, the guard did not block him at all and instead greeted him with unusual enthusiasm.
“Young Master Shen, welcome!”
Qin Huai stared blankly at the familiar back. It was only after Shen Yuzhi had walked away that he collected his thoughts and sighed. After all, he had been so heartless in leaving Shen Yuzhi behind all those years ago; he understood why Shen Yuzhi would be so cold toward him now.
“Young Master Qin, Mr. Shen wants you to come along.”
Caught off guard by the bodyguard beside Shen Yuzhi, Qin Huai felt a bit dazed. He nodded and, not daring to be slow, hurried to catch up with Shen Yuzhi. Shen Yuzhi was a head taller than Qin Huai, and his pace was much faster; Qin Huai struggled to keep up, and before even reaching the elevator, he was already out of breath.
“Young Master Qin looks very tired.”
Hearing Shen Yuzhi’s mocking tone from above made Qin Huai uncomfortable; his face flushed red, and he leaned against the elevator railing, unsure of what to say.
“Hmm, I did not sleep well last night.”
His stammered reply only made him feel more embarrassed. Shen Yuzhi let out a soft sneer, and the pheromones he released inadvertently caused Qin Huai to pant even more heavily. The atmosphere in the elevator became intensely ambiguous. The smell of high-mountain pine and snow filled the air, making Qin Huai feel dizzy and lightheaded. Just as his legs were about to give out, the elevator doors opened.
“Let us go, Young Master Qin.”
Seeing that the elevator was on the 25th floor, Qin Huai was confused. This was not the executive floor; why were they here? Strangely, since Shen Yuzhi wanted him to follow, Qin Huai followed aimlessly, as if he had lost the ability to think, not knowing what he was meant to do.
“Mr. Shen, you came here for what?”
Qin Huai had not been to the Shen Group in a long time, and he frowned at the unfamiliar layout. Shen Yuzhi did not give him a clear answer and continued to stride forward. As they passed various workstations, people cast strange looks at them, making Qin Huai wonder about his own appearance; he unexpectedly caught a whiff of a rich scent of pine and snow. He immediately took off his coat and draped it over his arm, following Shen Yuzhi into the conference room.
Inside the room sat Shen Chengde, the very man he had argued with at the house earlier. Shen Chengde had not expected Qin Huai to appear and squinted his eyes in suspicion, but since the meeting was about to begin, he could not speak and simply sat back in his seat, glaring at Qin Huai the entire time. Because Shen Yuzhi was present, everyone at the table was exceptionally reserved, leaving Qin Huai unable to determine the purpose of the meeting or what they were discussing. However, a few keywords filtered through: acquisition and shares. While Shen Yuzhi’s name was not explicitly mentioned, the entire room seemed to revolve around him.
Seeing that Shen Yuzhi remained silent, Qin Huai did not dare to speak and simply sat there, tapping his phone and observing everyone’s expressions. Just then, his phone, which rarely rang, made a dinging sound. Qin Huai put it on silent and checked the message: it was from Song Zhe.
Little Huai, I have great news for you! Guess what it is!
Looking at the exclamation points, Qin Huai could not help but smile. Whatever the good news was, this friend had helped him so much that he did not know how to repay him. Before he could reply, however, Shen Yuzhi snatched the phone from his hand and tucked it into Qin Huai’s pocket.
“We are in a meeting, Young Master Qin; please be serious.” Shen Yuzhi’s reprimand caused everyone to look at Qin Huai. He felt his face burning and sat up straight, facing their scrutiny. The meeting was exceptionally long, making Qin Huai feel drowsy. However, he could guess most of the content without needing to listen to what the old men were saying.
By the time the meeting ended, it was already dark outside. Qin Huai stood up to stretch and watched as everyone left. In the vast conference room, only he and Shen Yuzhi were left. Before Shen Yuzhi could say anything, Qin Huai felt the atmosphere was strange. He immediately said, “Mr. Shen, it is getting late. I should go back; I will see you in a few days.”
After all, he had been sneaked out by Song Zhe. Although the Song family and the Shen family were unlikely to have a conflict, facing Shen Yuzhi alone made his heart pound. Under Shen Yuzhi’s cold, icy gaze, Qin Huai fled the conference room and hurried toward the elevator.
Even after sitting in the car, his heart was still racing. He took two deep, helpless breaths and turned his head to look at the neon lights of the night city outside the window, his mind filled with nothing but Shen Yuzhi’s cold, frost-covered face.