Shi Qing’s chat profile picture was a photo of the sun, and her username was [Clear Sky]. The photo was terribly taken, looking very dated—like something only the older generation would use.
Without realizing it, Shen Jiyuan took out his phone again.
In the Q-section of his contacts, he scrolled quickly and skillfully to that familiar profile picture in just a couple of seconds.
Shi Qing was now already in his friend list.
After every brief exchange, he would choose to hide the chat window without deleting the chat history. This way, the chat record was preserved but her account wouldn’t show up on his main chat list.
Shen Jiyuan checked Shi Qing’s account many times every day.
There was no chat window with Shi Qing on the chat homepage, so every time he had to find her in the contacts—it was very inconvenient. Considering how often he checked her account daily, it really deserved to be pinned at the top.
His phone was kept by a dedicated person during meetings; no one but him dared to look at it, yet he still persisted with this habit tirelessly.
Shen Jiyuan himself didn’t know what he was fixated on.
Scrolling through his phone was his private time, when his innermost true thoughts were closest to the surface.
Shi Qing often posted Moments (social media updates), with content not only about work but also plenty of food, drinks, entertainment, and restaurant check-ins.
Her life was very full and expressive. Shen Jiyuan could sense traces of her life through these photos.
Shi Qing was no longer the intangible, terrifying figment he had feared and imagined over the past few years—a nightmare—but a real, tangible person with traces to follow.
Yet even so, Shen Jiyuan felt the emptiness in his heart could not be filled, instead growing hollower. He wanted to find something, but there was no trace to find.
Just by looking at photos.
The glamorous woman in the photos could never be merged with the cruel woman who mistreated and toyed with him.
Frozen moments in photos couldn’t reveal Shi Qing’s deeper inner world.
Shen Jiyuan repeatedly looked over these photos.
One-sidedly tracing someone else’s life traces was a boring and meaningless game, with only himself affected—but he couldn’t help but look.
After seeing so many of Shi Qing’s Moments, sometimes Shen Jiyuan even felt a vague sense of overlap between their lives—he was in company meetings, or on the way to pick up Shen Shu; Shi Qing was on the other side of the city, and the photos she took, through the software, were glimpsed by him sitting in the car, scrolling on his phone.
Looking at these photos on the screen often alleviated Shen Jiyuan’s fear of Shi Qing; his heart was slowly softening.
The more he peeped, the more barren and empty his heart felt.
The photos seemed to let him touch traces of Shi Qing’s life, yet at the same time made her feel very distant—her photos, her life, had nothing to do with him.
Shen Jiyuan never liked Shi Qing’s Moments.
Shi Qing’s contact info was added on that night.
That night, his spirit was almost completely broken, and he was already despairing. To be honest, if Shi Qing had done anything to him that night, he might have gone crazy.
But when he was prepared to give up no matter what, Shi Qing brought him a bowl of plain porridge.
The warm and mild porridge entered his stomach, soothing it softly and solidly, and the sense of comfort lingered around him every time he recalled it.
Shen Jiyuan had a weak stomach, a problem caused by overworking and irregular eating, which made him prone to stomach pain whenever emotionally upset.
But Shen Jiyuan was not someone who liked to reveal his emotions or feelings. Even if uncomfortable, he would endure it silently. Few knew about his old problem.
That day, even he forgot he hadn’t eaten; actually, missing one meal wasn’t a big deal for him, but Shi Qing still noticed.
When he judged her with the worst assumptions, she cared about his health.
A complicated, indescribable feeling surged in Shen Jiyuan’s heart—maybe guilt, maybe being touched… or maybe something else.
Anyway, that night, when Shi Qing drove them home and asked to exchange contact info again, he silently took out his phone, no longer mentioning their previous agreement of “no further contact.”
It was just a contact method—no big deal…
The An family was an important partner of the Shen family; emotionally and logically, he should keep Shi Qing’s number.
If Shi Qing really wanted to do something to him, one less contact number wouldn’t stop her—she could always find a way to reach him.
Whether their agreement would be kept or broken depended entirely on Shi Qing. If she wanted to back out, could he resist?
Shen Jiyuan kept convincing himself and rationalizing his actions.
Besides, even if he didn’t want to add her, he had to consider Shen Shu. Shen Shu’s personality was like his—once decided on something, very stubborn. What if he sneaked out again to find Shi Qing? Better to keep control in his hands.
After that day, Shen Jiyuan also seriously talked to Shen Shu.
Shen Shu indeed found his way to Shi Qing’s house on his own. He did so simply because he felt a strange closeness to Shi Qing and wanted more contact with her.
A child’s feelings are direct, intense, and irrational—he liked Shi Qing at first sight.
When Shen Jiyuan took Shen Shu home and stopped him from contacting Shi Qing for a while, Shen Shu often hid away and cried secretly, which made Shen Jiyuan angry and frustrated.
In the end, Shen Jiyuan compromised.
If Shen Shu loved being close to Shi Qing, let him—Shi Qing should take responsibility for him.
Shen Shu lacked a mature female figure for guidance, and by all accounts, Shi Qing had the ability and wisdom to take on that role, so having her accompany Shen Shu was only beneficial.
For the child’s growth, he could turn a blind eye.
But wanting him to show a good attitude toward Shi Qing was absolutely impossible.
So one day, at the dining table, Shen Jiyuan coldly hinted to Shen Shu that he was busy and couldn’t take him to the botanical garden to play, so Shen Shu should find someone else.
He knew Shen Shu secretly kept Shi Qing’s contact info.
Sure enough, once told, Shen Shu happily ran to his room to send messages. Shen Jiyuan didn’t interfere and worked hard all day.
The worried situation never happened. Shi Qing did not contact him, nor did she suddenly appear with the child.
When he got home, Shen Shu was already there happily eating ice cream.
When asked, Shen Shu said Shi Qing had sent him home but only to the doorstep, didn’t get out, and left after watching him enter.
He didn’t know how Shi Qing convinced the child, but Shen Shu no longer called her “Mommy” and now called her “Aunt An.”
Shen Jiyuan felt a strange annoyance hearing that—maybe because it sounded too affectionate.
After going back to his room, he thought about it for a long time, then opened the chat window and sent a message.
[Thank you for today.]
Just these few words. He pondered carefully over the wording, trying to sound cold and avoid any misunderstanding.
Shi Qing replied quickly.
[It’s nothing, you’re welcome.]
[Shen Shu is very obedient; I like him a lot. If he wants to go out again next time and you don’t have time, come find me. Don’t hesitate.]
After a while, she sent another message.
[If you have anything, you can also find me.]
The child is one thing, but what relationship did he have with her?
To reach out to her?
Only because of the child was he contacting her—
Shen Jiyuan slammed his phone on the table, his ears reddening with anger, fingers trembling slightly.
A few minutes later, he picked up the phone again, opened Shi Qing’s Moments, and saw some photos she took today at the botanical garden.
From that day on, this subtle relationship, bridged by the child, continued.
Shen Shu’s holiday ended; he had to go to kindergarten.
Shen Jiyuan had always done his best to raise the child, personally picking him up and dropping him off, but sometimes his busy work made it hard to manage.
Originally, at times like this, the driver would pick him up, but now Shen Shu would look for Shi Qing at these times, and Shen Jiyuan completely didn’t care.
The messages exchanged between him and Shi Qing on the phone were all about Shen Shu—she took the child out to play, sent him home, and would message him to report.
Shen Jiyuan always deliberately replied very briefly, showing a cold and indifferent attitude.
Sometimes they would run into each other, but even if Shen Jiyuan sat in the passenger seat next to Shi Qing, he wouldn’t speak to her.
When Shi Qing waited at a red light, she glanced at his profile.
Shen Jiyuan’s short black hair was neatly styled, his expensive suit exuded an aura of restraint, and the pale wrist visible under his cuff, with faint veins showing, was quite attractive.
Watching him, Shen Jiyuan suddenly propped his face with his hand, turning his face toward the window. His thin lips were tightly pressed, cold as ice with a hint of irritation—who it was directed at, no one knew.
Shi Qing smiled slightly and casually withdrew her gaze.
After the repeated pickups and drop-offs, even the kindergarten teachers knew Shen Shu had an “Aunt An.” There were rumors in the Shen company saying that An Corporation’s CEO Shi Qing was pursuing young Master Shen.
Shen Jiyuan acted as if he had never heard any of these rumors.
Now, this situation wasn’t so bad.
With Shi Qing’s companionship, Shen Shu was clearly happier every day, and Shen Jiyuan felt much more relaxed.
At work, Shen Jiyuan would also meet Shi Qing; their positions made it impossible to avoid all encounters, so it was better to accept it calmly. Things felt more natural this way.
The cooperation between the Shen and An companies was also progressing smoothly; everything seemed to be moving in a good direction.
But Shen Jiyuan still wanted to keep his distance from Shi Qing.
He still felt fear in his heart, knowing clearly that this woman could, whenever she wanted, stir up his life completely.
For someone who had a clear plan for the future and extremely strong self-control, who could not tolerate any derailment, this was the hardest thing to accept.
But Shi Qing was not difficult to communicate with.
After picking Shen Shu up and bringing him home, Shi Qing didn’t touch him again or do anything excessive; they maintained a decent distance.
Sometimes, Shen Jiyuan felt Shi Qing might actually be a reasonable person to talk to.
A few years ago, it was mostly his own fault—he had wanted to be with Shi Qing… but mistakes happened afterward.
If things hadn’t started that way at the beginning, maybe now they really could have…
Shen Jiyuan stopped thinking.
Now, he just wanted to maintain the status quo, not break the balance—just keep going like this, no interference, occasional intersections, but ultimately just familiar strangers.
This balance lasted for half a year.
Then one ordinary day, Shen Shu made a gift for Shi Qing and wanted to give it to her personally.
Shen Shu called Shi Qing, but she apologized and said she was a bit busy today attending a banquet at a hotel and would be done late; she would come pick it up tomorrow.
Shen Shu was very disappointed.
It was nearly evening, and Shen Jiyuan happened to have gotten off work and come home. He helped Shen Shu pack the gift and listened to the whole phone call.
Seeing Shen Shu listless, he hesitated a long time and finally suggested he would deliver the gift himself.
In fact, the moment he said this, Shen Jiyuan regretted it, but Shen Shu immediately brightened up and urged him to hurry, wanting to record Shi Qing’s reaction to the gift and tell him.
Helpless, Shen Jiyuan went to his room to change clothes, didn’t call the driver, and drove himself to the hotel where Shi Qing was attending the banquet.
When he arrived, the banquet had not yet finished. He parked by the roadside, hesitated for a moment, then sent Shi Qing a brief message.
Seconds after sending, the phone immediately beeped—it was Shi Qing’s reply:
“Got it, wait for me, I’m coming right away.”
Shen Jiyuan felt as if his phone had burned him. Looking at these simple words, panic suddenly surged in his heart, and for some reason his face turned hot.
He harshly stuffed his phone in his pocket—out of sight, out of mind.
After a while, Shi Qing appeared in front of the hotel.
She wore a burgundy evening gown and light makeup, looking especially eye-catching in the night. She quickly came to the car, opened the door, and sat in the passenger seat.
She brought the outdoor breeze and the strong scent of wine and perfume, strongly present as she sat beside him.
“The gift Shen Shu gave you is in the back seat.”
Shen Jiyuan’s tone was cold, “Call him back tonight after you’re done; he’s really looking forward to your reaction.”
Shi Qing softly responded with a “Mm.”
Hearing her voice, Shen Jiyuan’s heartbeat skipped a beat. Her tone was languid, with a rising tail, somewhat different from usual.
“Have you been drinking?”
“Not much.”
Shen Jiyuan turned to look at Shi Qing. She was clearly tipsy, lazily leaning in the passenger seat, her dark eyes even deeper in the night.
Shen Jiyuan gripped the steering wheel tightly, his face tense. “How will you get home later?”
“I’ll call a driver.”
“…I’ll take you. It’s on the way.”
He thought he was being polite and thoughtful, but Shi Qing suddenly fell silent. The car was quiet for over ten seconds before she suddenly called his name:
“Shen Jiyuan.”
She propped herself up and moved closer to him.
She touched his glasses, her fingertip sliding from the frame to his ear, then took off his glasses—a gesture as suggestive as it could be.
They were too close; the smell of red wine and strong female perfume wafted over.
Shen Jiyuan was startled and immediately said, “Don’t do this!”
But he only weakly resisted when she took off his glasses.
Then Shi Qing cupped the back of his head and kissed him.