In the café.
Qi Yan looked at Tang Qingru sitting across from her. She stood up and reached out to remove the glasses from his nose.
Tang Qingru hadn’t expected her to take off his glasses at all. It wasn’t until he saw the glasses in her hand that he realized what had happened.
Qi Yan sat back down. “You look much better without glasses.”
She placed the glasses on the table and picked up her coffee to take a sip.
Despite the added milk and sugar, the coffee still tasted bitterly bitter.
Tang Qingru watched her. She had matured a lot compared to three years ago. He still remembered clearly—three years ago, she had just celebrated her 20th birthday.
The very next morning, she had rushed to his house with her household register, saying she wanted to marry him.
It seemed like right after that day, she went abroad. She said she would definitely forget him.
“Aren’t you going to ask me anything?” It was Qi Yan who broke the silence first.
Tang Qingru dug his nails hard into his palm, forcing his voice to remain calm and steady. “No.”
Qi Yan looked at him, her eyes reddening uncontrollably. “Tang Qingru, I’m still not as heartless as you. You’ve been living freely, but I’ve been bearing all that pain.”
Under the table, Tang Qingru clenched his hands tightly. He instinctively reached to adjust his glasses, but when his fingers touched the bridge of his nose, he remembered—she had already taken them away.
Seeing Qi Yan’s pained expression, Tang Qingru hid the emotions in his eyes. “Time changes everything. Besides, it’s been three years already. People can’t stay in the same place forever.”
Her heart felt as if it had been stabbed by thousands of knives. Tears she could no longer hold back streamed down her face.
Suddenly, she laughed—the same laugh she had when she got into her dream university, when she ran to him immediately to share the news and confess her feelings.
She wiped her tears away. “Yeah, you’ve forgotten everything from the past. But I’m still stuck there. Maybe I’ll be stuck forever on that day when you shut me out with my household register in hand.”
Tang Qingru sighed. “The gap between us is too wide. Besides, we had a teacher-student relationship.”
“Bullshit!” Qi Yan snapped angrily. “Bullshit teacher-student relationship! You just tutored me for a few months—what kind of teacher-student relationship is that?”
The café had just opened and was still empty. Tang Qingru’s heart leaped into his throat.
He was afraid the past would repeat itself. He didn’t want to ruin her.
Tears continued to fall from Qi Yan’s eyes, blurring her vision.
She couldn’t accept it—she truly couldn’t. They had made promises back then. How could everything that happened be erased by one piece of news?
Had he really forgotten everything between them? Hadn’t he promised her that if she got into her dream university, he would be with her?
Why? Why did he abandon her?
Qi Yan had thought that by cutting him off for three years, she would forget. But she was wrong. She was still the same as before—the moment she heard his name, memories would flood back like a tide, tormenting her unbearably.
She clutched the fabric over her chest tightly, as if that could ease the pain radiating from her heart.
Tang Qingru watched her silently, but his fingers had turned white from how hard he was clenching them, struggling to keep his emotions in check.
She was young and didn’t know better, but he couldn’t follow her in being unreasonable.
Qi Yan just stared at her like that, then suddenly stood up, leaned down, and kissed her lips.
Though it was just a brief touch, Tang Qingru still froze in place, even forgetting her instinctive reactions.
Qi Yan’s voice choked with emotion as he said, “Doesn’t your heart feel anything at all?”
Tang Qingru clenched her jaw tightly, slowly uttering two words, “Nothing.”
She stood up, put on her glasses, and without looking at him said, “I have matters to attend to. I’m leaving now. In the future… we’d better not see each other anymore.”
Tang Qingru left, leaving Qi Yan standing there alone, just like when he had shut her out all those years ago – leaving her completely alone.
A long time passed, so long that Qi Yan began to feel chilled throughout her body. She wiped away her tears and left the café as well.
Perhaps her return had been a mistake from the start. She should have stayed abroad for her entire life.
Watching her drive away, Tang Qingru emerged from the corner.
His eyes were red-rimmed now, and as her car completely disappeared from view, his tears blurred his vision.
They should never have met in the first place.
In a daze, he returned home and shut himself in his room.
On the desk in his room stood Qi Yan’s photograph. Tang Qingru broke down, squatting on the floor.
Had these past three years been any easier for him? If not for relying on these photos, he might have already…
Heaven plays cruel tricks on people.
……………
Rose Garden.
Qu Xiao heard from Aunt Mei that Gu Yan’s face only needed a boiled egg applied to it and didn’t require medication.
Qu Xiao went downstairs to get an egg, then returned to the room.
Gu Yan lay with her head on his lap as he gently applied the egg to her face.
Looking up at him from below, Gu Yan thought his jawline was perfect. No, actually, there wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t perfect.
She couldn’t help asking, “Uncle Qu, I’m really fine. If you have things to do, you should go back to the company.”
Qu Xiao shook his head. “It’s fine. Company matters have all been handled. I’ll stay home with you today.”
Gu Yan made a soft sound of acknowledgment, then leaned against his leg and closed her eyes to sleep.
Wherever he was, she truly felt secure.
Watching her close her eyes, Qu Xiao softened his movements. Looking at the person in his arms, he leaned down and gently kissed her injured lip.
“No one will be able to hurt you from now on.”
………
Meanwhile, the Xu Corporation was suffering a devastating blow. Their tax evasion had been exposed, and the company was immediately sealed off.
Just as they were trying to pull strings, a person suddenly fell in front of the Xu family’s gate.
When Xu Shou went to check, he discovered it was his son and nearly fainted on the spot.
Xu Tao was pale from excessive blood loss, one of his arms was mangled beyond recognition, and his entire body was covered in blood.
Xu Shou picked up Xu Tao, shouting, “Who? Who dared to do this to my son?”
Just then, Mrs. Xu heard the commotion and came out. At the sight, she immediately fainted.
Xu Shou quickly had someone drive them to the hospital.
On the way to the hospital, his phone suddenly rang.
Seeing it was an unknown number, he answered to hear a cold voice on the other end.
“Keep your son in check. If he touches someone he shouldn’t again next time, it won’t be just losing an arm and company bankruptcy that he’ll face.”
Hearing the icy voice, Xu Tao couldn’t help but ask, “Who are you?”
The other end merely uttered two cold words: “Qu Xiao.”
Upon hearing these two words, only one thought echoed in Xu Tao’s mind:
The Xu Family was completely finished.
………
Qu Family Old Mansion.
Old Master Qu was trimming a potted plant in the garden when Qu Bai got out of his car and walked toward him.
“Grandfather.”
Old Master Qu acknowledged him with a sound, then asked curiously, “Xiao Bai, why are you off work so early today?”
Qu Bai took the scissors from his hand and snipped the excess branch he had been about to cut. “Work wasn’t busy today, and Qu Xiao wasn’t at the company, so we didn’t hold the evening meeting.”
“Not at the company?” Old Master Qu expressed surprise. “He practically lives at the company twenty-four hours a day. How could he not be there now?”
Suddenly thinking of something, Old Master Qu let out a cold laugh. “It seems even the most capable men can’t resist falling for a woman.”
Qu Bai smiled, then suddenly recalled some news he had just heard. He turned to look at Old Master Qu, frowning as he said, “Grandfather, have you heard about the Xu Corporation’s bankruptcy? The eldest son of the Xu Family even had his arm broken—he’s practically finished now.”
Old Master Qu’s brows furrowed. “The Xu Family? Is this related to Qu Xiao? Or perhaps… was it his doing?”
Qu Bai set down the scissors and sat beside him, his own brow creased. “My people investigated—it seems it was indeed his doing. I just don’t understand why he suddenly targeted the Xu Family. Could it simply be because of Xu Tao’s past relationship with Gu Yan?”
Old Master Qu’s frown deepened. “Don’t trouble yourself with such matters. The fall of the Xu Family might not be a bad thing. Consider it him clearing obstacles from your path.”
Qu Bai smiled at him. Qu Xiao, do you see? No matter how capable you are, in the end, everything in the Qu Family will belong to me.
What do you have to compete with me? What qualifications do you have to challenge me? You’re nothing but a stepping stone for me.
Bolstered by the old master’s words, Qu Bai was in high spirits. After having dinner with his grandfather, he called up his friends and headed to Imperial Glory.
Although it was Qu Xiao’s establishment, as the Second Young Master of the Qu Family, no one stopped him from entering—though he still had to pay.
Surrounded by a crowd of glamorous women, Qu Bai curled his lips into a smile. “Have fun on me tonight.”
The private room erupted instantly. “Second Young Master Qu is mighty!”
Qu Xiao stubbed out his cigarette and lounged lazily on the sofa, with a woman on each arm.
Just then, Tian Ren leaned toward him. “Xiao Bai, guess who I just saw.”
Qu Xiao pushed the two women aside and frowned at him. “Who did you see?”
Tian Ren smiled mysteriously. “I saw Liang Yueran. But something seemed off about her—looked like she’d been drugged. When I came in, I saw her heading toward the restroom with two thugs following her. She’s in for a rough night tonight.”
Liang Yueran?
Qu Bai’s brow furrowed. This was Qu Xiao’s territory—how could anyone dare to target Liang Yueran here?
If they did, there were only two possibilities: either they didn’t know her identity, or someone behind the scenes was trying to set her up.
He initially intended to adopt a “not my business” attitude, but after sitting for a moment, he suddenly stood up. “Keep playing, everyone. I need to step out for a moment.”
Tian Ren muttered under his breath, “Why is he in such a hurry to go there? Could it be to rescue a damsel in distress? That doesn’t seem right.”
Meanwhile, in the restroom.
Liang Yueran felt extremely unwell. She had originally intended to sneak out for some fun, but after just one drink, she began to feel strange.
Her bag and phone had been left in the car. She thought it best to find a staff member, explain who she was, and ask them to take her to a resting area so she could call her cousin.
She splashed cold water on her face and stepped out of the women’s restroom, only to find two men blocking her path at the entrance.