Jiang Man had just woken from her slumber. The haze of alcohol had not yet faded, leaving her completely dazed.
The man’s fingertip still rested on her lips, and his rubbing motion felt a bit uncomfortable.
“Whose name were you calling, Manman? Hmm?” He curved his lips into an unpredictable expression. “Answer me.”
Jiang Man did not know. She could not remember at all.
“I don’t know,” she murmured.
The lighting in the room was poor, making it difficult for Jiang Man to see him clearly. As she gazed into his eyes, she could only discern a dense gloom over his brow, his countenance terrifyingly dark.
Jiang Man felt a sense of danger. At the same time, it felt very unfamiliar.
She thought of a stormy night shrouded in dark clouds, damp, oppressive, and suffocating. Although the person in front of her still possessed the familiar face she saw every day, she could not find a single trace of his usual gentle and courteous demeanor.
“Are you, Qi Zhicheng?” she asked softly.
Thinking she might just be heavily intoxicated, she raised her hand to touch the person before her, trying to confirm if he was real.
Qi Zhicheng caught her fingers and held them in his hand. “Do you know who Qi Zhicheng is?”
“I know.”
“Who is he?”
Jiang Man blinked sluggishly. “I am married to him.”
“Yes, we are married. We are husband and wife.” He squeezed her hand, tighter and tighter. “Therefore, your eyes and your heart cannot hold any other man, even in your dreams, do you understand?”
The alcohol made Jiang Man’s head heavy and dizzy, leaving her with almost no ability to think. She nodded blankly.
Qi Zhicheng was finally satisfied. He released her and softened his tone. “What did you just dream about?” He stroked her face. “You looked very sad and frightened in your dream.”
“You must have dreamed of something terrible.”
“This person made you sad, how detestable.”
He stroked her head, his fingers running through her hair. “Alright, you are awake now. I am here. The person who upset you in your dream will never be able to touch you again. There is only me here, and I will stay with you.”
Jiang Man’s temples throbed with pain. In her semi-conscious state, she looked at him and managed to squeeze a single word from her throat, “Okay.”
She quickly fell asleep. Qi Zhicheng sat by the bedside, maintaining this posture for a long time. He did not feel the slightest bit sleepy, merely staring expressionlessly at his sleeping wife.
foul, dark emotions swelled within him.
Why was the name Chen Min always lingering like an un-dispersed ghost, standing between him and her? Why did she forget everything related to him from the past four years, yet fail to forget Chen Min alone?
He knew her feelings for Chen Min. He had known them as early as four years ago.
If their first encounter could be described as him merely taking a bit of notice of her, then during their second meeting at Bernard’s celebratory banquet, he had developed a genuine interest. By the third time, when he went to see her perform in the ballet La Sylphide, he knew he wanted to possess her.
Knowing that she liked the Muse rose, a variety specially cultivated by the Ecuadorian Flower Association that was actually meant only for exhibition use in the local flower museum, he bought the exclusive supply rights for the Muse rose. Every day, he dispatched a private plane to air-transport the freshest stems directly to her.
That day, his car waited outside the theater’s rehearsal hall building. On the seat beside him lay a large bouquet of Muse red roses.
Traffic was busy on Broadway in New York, with a constant stream of vehicles. Special shops selling performance costumes and sheet music could be seen along the street. On the side street, a black sedan was hidden by the curb, completely inconspicuous. Not far away, people carrying musical instruments or wearing dance bags walked past from time to time.
Qi Zhicheng finished smoking a cigarette and finally spotted that familiar, slender figure emerging from the crowd. He stubbed out the cigarette and was just about to push the door open to get out of the car when he saw the girl bloom into a happy smile, jogging toward the pedestrian crossing diagonally opposite.
He looked in that direction. A tall young man was standing there. A large suitcase stood beside him, showing that he had evidently rushed here straight from the airport.
The man likewise wore a wide smile, opening his arms to catch the girl as she threw herself at him. The girl tilted her head and chattered about something, and the man nodded, reaching out to rub her hair.
Qi Zhicheng found the sight glaring. The stubbed-out cigarette butt was crushed again and again in the ashtray.
Later, he had someone investigate the man. The man was Jiang Man’s legal brother, though they shared no blood relation.
Chen Min was the son of the Jiang family’s driver. His father had drowned when he was ten years old, and Mr. Jiang had taken him in, though they never went through formal adoption procedures. The two of them could be said to have grown up together, sharing deep affection.
The next time he saw Chen Min was at a domestic business cocktail party. Jiang Rongbai had attended the banquet with his family, and Chen Min was also present.
Amidst the glitz and glamour, glasses were raised and toasts were exchanged. Qi Zhicheng had little interest in the party itself, his gaze remaining fixed on Jiang Man the entire time, which allowed him to catch every subtle expression on her face.
He discovered that her eyes constantly followed that man. Whether the man briefly left his seat or bowed his head to exchange pleasantries with others, she followed him from a short distance, stealing a glance every now and then. That kind of admiring look was something he had never seen her direct toward him.
A sudden wave of irritation surged in his chest.
He saw the man say something to her, then step behind her, his fingers weaving through the hair draped over her back to carefully tie it with a hair ribbon. The girl smiled silently, her earlobes flushing crimson.
Their intimacy annoyed him greatly. He drank a glass of wine on his own. Though the cold liquid entered his throat, it did not soothe the irritation in his heart at all. Before the party ended, he left early.
After getting into the car, Qi Zhicheng loosened his necktie. Just as he was about to instruct the driver to start the car, the car window was lightly tapped twice.
He rolled down the window and squinted at her. “Miss Jiang, why are you here?”
Perhaps because she had just jogged over, her voice carried a slight breathlessness. “Zane, I wanted to find you earlier at the venue, but you were always surrounded by so many people, I couldn’t find an opportunity to speak with you.”
Hearing this, Qi Zhicheng’s mood cleared up a bit, and a touch of pleasure arose in his heart. His fingers tapped lightly against the car window. “Looking for me for something?”
“Yes. I wanted to tell you, please do not have people send me flowers anymore.”
The pleasure that had just arisen was instantly drenched in cold water, and the man’s gaze grew cold, inch by inch.
Yet the girl seemed completely unaware and continued, “I told the delivery person several times before to stop sending them, but he simply won’t listen to me and keeps delivering them to the theater every day. I could only come to find you.”
He remained expressionless, his voice cold. “Don’t you like the Muse rose? Why refuse it?”
“I know the flowers delivered to me every day are flown in by a private plane, trip after trip. The freight cost for the charter flight far exceeds the value of the roses themselves. This is too valuable for me, and I truly cannot bear it.”
Qi Zhicheng narrowed his eyes. “You don’t need to pay, and you don’t have to bear anything.”
“No, actually, my colleagues have been gossiping a lot because of these flowers recently, causing me quite a bit of trouble.” She murmured an explanation. “They all think you are pursuing me.”
Qi Zhicheng smiled. “I am indeed pursuing you.”
The girl froze.
“Otherwise, what did you think I was doing?” He curled his lips in self-deprecation. “Sending flowers every day because I have nothing better to do?”
“Zane, I thought we were just friends,” she said softly. “And, I already have someone I like.”
“Who?” Qi Zhicheng pretended to ponder for a moment. “The one who tied your hair at the banquet?”
“No, he isn’t!” Her face flushed red, completely out of embarrassment from having her secret heart exposed. “This is my private business, you don’t need to know!”
Qi Zhicheng took in her panic completely, his gaze sweeping across her face inch by inch with blatant scrutiny. After a long while, he offered a flat, emotionless sound.
“Fine, I understand.” He smiled, his tone impossible to read. “I won’t send them anymore.”
The window rolled up, and the car sped away, leaving dust in its wake.
Inside the car, Qi Zhicheng watched the girl’s figure shrink in the rearview mirror until it was swallowed by the night and vanished. The fingers on his lap clenched, his tightly gripped knuckles already turning white.
Waking up from the hangover, Jiang Man felt her head throbbing slightly. After resting for a moment, she freshened up and went downstairs.
In the dining room, the servant had already prepared breakfast, and Qi Zhicheng was sitting by the table.
She walked over and sat down, only then seeing that he held a red apple in his hand, lowering his head to carefully peel it. The paring knife was held in his hand, moving slowly and precisely across the skin. He peeled it with extreme focus, as if driven by an obsession, the long peel remaining unbroken as it coiled into a circle on the table.
“Awake?” He glanced up at her and stopped his movements.
Jiang Man nodded, picking up a spoon to take a sip of the millet porridge. The table was filled with various Chinese pastries. Ever since she told the servants before that she did not like light meals, salads and avocados had never appeared at breakfast again.
“Thank you for taking care of me last night,” Jiang Man said, looking up.
She could not remember clearly what happened after she got drunk yesterday. She only recalled that after having dinner at her parents’ place, Qi Zhicheng came to fetch her home, and later he seemed to have accompanied her by the bedside all night.
“Does your body still feel uncomfortable?”
“It is alright.”
“Your alcohol tolerance is poor. It is best not to drink too much in the future, as it makes your body suffer.”
“Yes, I do not drink often. Yesterday was only because I was with my parents that I drank a bit more.”
Qi Zhicheng held the paring knife, sliced a small piece of apple, and handed it over. “Taste it.”
Jiang Man reached out to take it, wanting to say she could do it herself, but Qi Zhicheng had already brought the apple piece to her lips. She froze for a moment, then followed his intention, opening her mouth slightly to take the piece of apple into her mouth.
After chewing and swallowing, she said, “I can’t remember last night very well after getting drunk. Did I cause you any trouble?”
She remembered that she sometimes lost her manners after drinking. Once, because she was drunk, she had broken an inkstone her father liked very much, and her father had been unhappy about it for quite a long time.
“No, the servant put you to sleep after giving you a bath.”
Before Jiang Man could speak, a second piece of apple was brought to her lips. She ate it again. Then came the third piece.
She ate somewhat mechanically, a faint feeling rising in her heart that Qi Zhicheng was acting a bit strange, though she could not pinpoint what was wrong.
When the fourth piece of apple was offered, Jiang Man lightly turned her head to avoid it. “No more, thank you, I cannot eat any more.”
“Alright.”
Qi Zhicheng smiled faintly. With a twist of the knife’s tip, it stabbed straight into the remaining half of the apple. The flesh split apart. He casually tossed the apple into the trash can beside the table, then unhurriedly took a towel to wipe his fingers clean.
The phone rang. Qi Zhicheng glanced at the caller ID, answered the call, and said, “Speak.”
The other side said something.
“Understood,” he said expressionlessly. “Have them wait.”
Hanging up the phone, he turned to Jiang Man beside him, smiling as he gently instructed, “The company has some matters to attend to, I must head over now. Take your time eating, and take care of yourself.”
“Yes,” Jiang Man nodded.
Qi Zhicheng picked up his suit jacket and left.
The dining room fell silent. Jiang Man finished the rest of her breakfast in small bites, then stood up to get ready for the dance troupe.
As she passed the trash can, she instinctively glanced inside and froze. The trash can was filled with a pile of peeled apples. Every single one was just like the one from moments ago, chopped to pieces, filling the bin to the brim.
Tang Jiewen lifted his fingertips from the piano keys and pressed them down again, the classical melody flowing slowly within the private room.
He had been working as a resident pianist at this private club for three years now. He graduated from a top domestic music conservatory and had won gold medals in several competitions. Upon graduation back then, he had been full of pride, believing that with his skills, he could surely forge a path in the music industry.
However, reality dealt him a harsh blow. He could not secure a spot in an orchestra, and the fees from private teaching were not enough to make a living. After drifting for nearly a year, he finally secured this position as a resident pianist.
Although playing the piano here could not be considered a glamorous profession, the salary was highly generous. More importantly, here, he could catch a glimpse of a corner of high society, witnessing what wealth and power looked like.
The average spending at this private club was shockingly high. The patrons who came were either business tycoons or members of prominent families. Just like the group of guests before him, the main seat was occupied by an import-export trade tycoon, a frequent figure on financial news. Just last week, that man had given him a tip of tens of thousands.
While playing the piano, Tang Jiewen kept an eye on the expressions of the people at the table. In their line of work, observing people’s expressions was the most important skill. In truth, not many people really understood the piano, and the guests who came here to spend money did not do so to listen to piano music. His piano playing merely added a touch of elegance to these business dinners, nothing more. But if he made the guests happy, he could receive handsome tips.
Halfway through the performance, the door to the private room was tapped twice. The club manager entered.
The manager hurried over to the piano, bent down, and whispered in his ear, “A guest upstairs specifically requested you to go over and play the piano. Go now.”
The music stopped. Tang Jiewen found himself in a difficult position. He was currently serving this table of major clients, and according to the rules, he could not leave midway. Moreover, these guests held noble status. What if replacing the pianist midway caused dissatisfaction?
“Manager, but I am still working here…”
“Don’t worry about this side,” the manager quickly interrupted him. “I will handle this side.”
Tang Jiewen was startled. To make the manager so nervous, even at the risk of offending this tycoon, the identity of the guest upstairs must be extremely distinguished.
Arriving at the third-floor private room, Tang Jiewen deliberately adjusted his appearance before carefully pushing the door open to enter.
Passing the hollowed-out screen, he looked up and was instantly stunned. The man sitting in the main seat was the very same one who had come yesterday. Yesterday, in this exact private room, he had been called to play the piano, but he was stopped halfway through.
He remembered this man saying that he disliked the piano. It was not that Tang Jiewen had an unforgettable memory, but rather that the aura of nobility surrounding this man was too striking, appearing completely innate. Even though he had seen many high-ranking officials and wealthy nobles at this club, he had never met anyone with such an extraordinary temperament. With just one glance, he could never forget him.
The natural pressure of authority made him unconsciously hold his breath.
“Sir.”
The man at the table was nonchalantly using his chopsticks to pick up a small piece of bamboo shoot. He placed it in his mouth to chew slowly, never raising his head.
It was not the season for eating bamboo shoots, but with this man, it seemed completely ordinary, as if no matter how rare a thing was, it was only natural for him to have it, as if it belonged to him by birth.
Tang Jiewen stood for a few seconds. Seeing that the man did not speak, he prepared to walk over to the piano to play. Just as he moved a step, the man called him out.
“Come and sit down.”
Tang Jiewen was taken aback. Not daring to ask further questions, he followed the instruction and walked over to the chair opposite the man, sitting down stiffly. He naturally did not dare to touch the chopsticks, and his body only occupied a small portion of the front of the wide seat.
“Graduated from the music conservatory?”
“Yes, sir,” Tang Jiewen hurriedly replied.
“At what age did you start learning the piano?”
“Six.”
“I heard you won quite a few awards.”
“I won some awards in domestic and international competitions in the past, mostly events I participated in during my student years,” Tang Jiewen answered truthfully, the confusion in his heart growing deeper. Yesterday, this man clearly said he loathed the piano the most, yet today he specifically called him over and asked about piano matters, which was truly unusual.
Qi Zhicheng picked up his wine glass and took a sip, asking casually, “Where is Mr. Tang from?”
“My hometown is Xicheng.”
“Oh, a water town south of the Yangtze River, the scenery is quite nice.” Qi Zhicheng turned the dish of braised pork with bamboo shoots in front of him. “I heard the bamboo shoots there are a major specialty.”
Although the man’s tone sounded like casual chatter, Tang Jiewen did not dare to relax, carefully weighing his words for every sentence.
“Yes, Xicheng’s bamboo shoots are the most famous. It is just that bamboo shoots in this season are actually rare. Any available ones are high-quality stocks specially preserved by farmers, requiring extra effort to harvest and transport. They are hard to find in ordinary places.”
Seeing that the wine glass next to the man was running low, Tang Jiewen very smartly stepped over to pour wine for him, saying pleasingly, “Only someone of your status can taste such fresh and authentic Xicheng bamboo shoots.”
After pouring the wine, he very eagerly handed over a hot towel.
Qi Zhicheng glanced at him, took the towel flatly, and unhurriedly wiped his fingers. Then, he casually tossed the towel onto the table.
When he spoke again, a hint of frivolity was added to his words, “Mr. Tang is very considerate. Is it true that all of you who play the piano are particularly good at serving people?”
Tang Jiewen’s heart tightened at the question, a bit of awkwardness surfacing. “Sir, you must be joking.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “I am merely accustomed to paying more attention to the needs of those around me, and I do not act this way toward everyone.”
“Oh?” Qi Zhicheng raised his brow slightly. “So it depends on the person?”
“Yes.”
“That is interesting. Then Mr. Tang might as well tell me, what kind of person can make you pay special attention?”
“It would be, someone important to me, someone I care about, or someone I love. Only toward these people would I willingly put in extra effort to pay attention.”
Qi Zhicheng slammed his chopsticks onto the table expressionlessly, making a sharp clattering sound.
Tang Jiewen did not know which sentence had angered the man, so he shrank his neck and did not dare to make a sound.
The private room remained silent for a short while before the man at the head of the table finally spoke, coldly dropping three words, “Go play piano.”
Tang Jiewen felt as if he had been granted a grand pardon, quickly walking over to sit before the piano. Speaking with such a man was actually terrifying, every word requiring repeated consideration, leaving him trembling with fear the entire time, afraid that any mistake would bring disaster upon him. By comparison, sitting in front of the piano now made him feel much more relaxed.
However, he did not dare to relax completely. While playing, he would occasionally use his peripheral vision to steal a glance at the main seat.
The man was leaning against the back of the chair with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed straight on him. That deep, unreadable look made him feel unaccountably anxious.
A sense of bewilderment gradually rose in Tang Jiewen’s mind. In the conversation with the man just now, there was clearly a hidden hostility. But where this hostility came from, he could not understand. Today was only their second meeting.
He suddenly realized that it seemed to be right after he said the words about someone he cared about and loved that the man’s expression abruptly turned sour.
Tang Jiewen could not help but recall the two girlfriends he had in the past. Both were met during his school days, their backgrounds fully known, and their family circumstances were ordinary. After graduation, one returned to her hometown, and the other stayed locally to work as a teacher. They were ordinary people through and through, making it impossible to be connected to a figure like this. Moreover, given the man’s status and position, he probably would not even give ordinary people a chance to cross paths with him.
As he was thinking, a pair of hands suddenly appeared in his line of sight, pressing heavily onto the lower register keys of the piano.
A prolonged, piercing noise vibrated, making his eardrums ache.
Tang Jiewen abruptly stopped playing, his whole body trembling in shock as he instinctively looked up.
The man looked down at him, condescending and imperious.
“A mere actor who only knows how to play the piano, you think you are worthy of competing with me?”
Tang Jiewen stared into the man’s dark, sinister eyes, realizing the truth a moment too late. The man in front of him had never been looking at him. He was looking through him to see someone else. And the hostility from just now was entirely directed toward that person.
A chill crawled up his spine, and Tang Jiewen’s eyelashes fluttered. Having played the piano at this club for three years, he had seen plenty of such moody tycoons and had long mastered the rules of survival.
He curved his lips, revealing a gentle smile, his tone carrying a deliberate humility and obedience.
“You are absolutely right, sir. I am just someone who plays the piano to earn a living, so how could I have the qualifications to compete for anything? You are right, I am not worthy, not worthy at all to compete with you.”
Qi Zhicheng let out a light sneer. That nauseating, cultured smile was exactly the same as Chen Min’s. However, hearing these words brought a touch of pleasure to his ears.
“At least you have some self-awareness.”
With that said, he turned and walked back to sit at the main seat, casually pulling out a checkbook from the side and scribbling a few strokes. Holding the check between his fingertips with his elbow propped on the table, he said, “Repeat that sentence just now.”
“Keep going until I tell you to stop.”
Before his words finished, his fingers loosened, and the check drifted lightly to the floor.
Tang Jiewen lowered his head to look, his entire body freezing the moment his gaze brushed against the numbers on the check. That figure was an amount he could not earn even if he worked for several years without eating or drinking.
After his shock passed, Tang Jiewen’s throat swallowed hard, and he immediately began to repeat the words.
“I am not worthy, I am not worthy to compete with you, I am not worthy, I am not worthy to compete with you, I am not worthy, I am not worthy to compete with you, I am not worthy, I am not worthy to compete with you, I am not worthy, I am not worthy to compete with you…”
Only the mechanical repetitions remained in the private room.
Qi Zhicheng watched him with great interest. After a long while, he burst into a delighted laugh, his shoulders shaking with his amusement.