When Xu Yining avoided the topic of returning the small building, Shi Zhi realized that Xu Yining’s so-called agreement to break off the engagement was merely a stalling tactic. He was even using Grandpa Xu to emotionally hostage him.
But could Shi Zhi really disregard Grandpa Xu and their past kindness to sue the Xu family?
Just as Shi Zhi was filled with confusion and lacked an answer, he received a message from Fu Yuchu—
CH: An ex-boyfriend.
CH: A stranger with no relation.
CH: The kind of relationship where you don’t need to be soft-hearted or held hostage by morality.
CH: Understand?
Shi Zhi: “…”
Shi Zhi typed: I don’t understand.
Delete. I understand.
Too weird. Delete.
Fu Yuchu, seeing the “typing…” status flickering at the top of the chat box, simply initiated a video call.
Shi Zhi’s hand shook with fright, and he accidentally pressed “Accept.”
Once connected, he realized it was a video call rather than voice. Seeing another person’s face through a phone screen felt somewhat strange; Shi Zhi felt quite awkward.
However, he soon forgot his embarrassment—
“Are you… in your car?”
Fu Yuchu gave an “Mm.” The screen tilted slightly, revealing the streetlights outside the vehicle.
“Are you at the entrance of the complex?”
“Yes.”
Shi Zhi: “…”
“I never left,” Fu Yuchu said. “Actually, I haven’t been waiting that long.”
“It’s only been a little over an hour. The air conditioning is on, so it’s not too stuffy.”
Shi Zhi: “…Should I bring the clothes down to you now?”
Fu Yuchu tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said, “Forget it. You already spent the money; keep them to wear, if you don’t mind.”
Shi Zhi glared at him. “Then why did you just ask me to bring them down!”
The screen shook as Fu Yuchu chuckled on the other side. “Shi Zhi, the way you look right now is more authentic.
“When the video first connected, your expression looked terrible.”
Fu Yuchu asked, “Did you see the messages I sent?”
Shi Zhi gave a muffled “Mm.”
“So, were you successfully taken hostage?”
“You’re the one being taken hostage.”
Fu Yuchu said, “I guess not then.”
“What even…” Shi Zhi looked at the cold food on the dining table and said abruptly, “Fu Yuchu, thank you.”
“How are you going to thank me?”
Shi Zhi: “…”
Fu Yuchu’s eyes crinkled. He finally stopped teasing and said seriously, “When do you plan to sue?”
“You know we couldn’t reach an agreement?”
“Mm.”
Shi Zhi mimicked Fu Yuchu’s sarcastic tone: “Then you’re really something, aren’t you?”
“So, when can the ‘incredible’ me earn Mr. Shi’s legal fees?”
Shi Zhi didn’t reply immediately. After a pause, he said, “I thought you weren’t planning to take my case and wanted Lawyer Xiang to handle it.”
“Mm.” Fu Yuchu said solemnly, “As I said, I’m fickle. I don’t want anyone else taking it now.”
Shi Zhi couldn’t help but smile. Thinking of the situation before Xu Yining left, he said with annoyance, “It might be a bit difficult. I can’t get any useful evidence. Xu Yining seems to know I’d be recording; he’s quite clever.”
Fu Yuchu’s expression dropped. He said coldly, “I will help you win the lawsuit.”
Shi Zhi didn’t notice Fu Yuchu’s mood, assuming he was just being comforting. But Shi Zhi knew that nothing was absolute; he didn’t want Fu Yuchu to feel pressured, so he said, “It’s okay if we can’t win…”
“You don’t trust me?”
Shi Zhi hurriedly explained, “Of course not! I’m just preparing for the worst.”
“With me here, I won’t let you face the worst-case scenario.”
Shi Zhi opened his mouth, suddenly unsure of what to say. He felt a sudden heat, and his heartbeat began to turn irregular. He pulled out a napkin and incessantly wiped his sweaty palms.
“I… regarding the lawsuit, I have to wait a while longer,” Shi Zhi finally said.
Fu Yuchu didn’t press for a reason. He said, “Okay.”
“Grandpa Xu was kind to me. I don’t want to upset him. His health is poor; I want to wait for him…” Shi Zhi instinctively explained to the enigmatic Fu Yuchu in the dimly lit car.
“I understand,” Fu Yuchu said. “Shi Xiao Zhi, don’t worry.” He added, “Try to be happy.”
Grandpa Xu passed away on a rainy night in mid-May.
When Shi Zhi received the message from Xu Yijing, he was on the phone with Fu Yumeng discussing plans to go out sketching in a few days.
Xu Yijing’s message was very brief.
Yijing: Brother Shi Zhi, Grandpa is gone.
Shi Zhi stared at the message for a long time, unable to snap out of it. It wasn’t until Fu Yumeng shouted his name on the phone that he reacted. “Ah-Zhi, Ah-Zhi! Are you listening? How about camping by Yan Lake? There are wetlands and meadows, and I heard there are fireflies. You…”
“Yumeng.” Shi Zhi interrupted her, his voice devoid of emotion. “Grandpa Xu is gone.”
Silence fell over the line. For a moment, Shi Zhi’s world fell into a dead quiet.
“You…” After a long wait, Fu Yumeng spoke softly. “Do you want to come out for a drink?”
Shi Zhi curled his lips. At that moment, he inexplicably remembered Fu Yumeng bragging about being a regular at bars.
Shi Zhi remembered that day: Fu Yumeng was in high heels, legs crossed, clicking her newly done, flamboyantly colored nails. She spoke with the tone of a seasoned veteran: “The bar scene? I go all the time. You know ‘First Encounter’, right? The most famous bar in Ancheng—I’m a regular there. Let me tell you, when you go to a bar, you must have cash. You can pay for drinks online, but tips are best in cash. The amount doesn’t matter; what matters is the feeling when you toss the cash out. The feeling, you understand?”
Shi Zhi had been very envious at the time: “Yumeng, you’re so cool.”
“You know me, it’s a small case,” Fu Yumeng had said. “I’ll take you there sometime.”
Shi Zhi gave a very light laugh. Fu Yumeng was a liar; she was a one-drink-wonder, yet she claimed to be a bar regular. Shi Zhi was the one who had actually been to bars.
Shi Zhi’s thoughts wandered aimlessly.
“Ah-Zhi, are you okay?” Fu Yumeng asked worriedly when Shi Zhi didn’t speak for a long while.
“Yumeng.” Shi Zhi listened to the rain outside and spoke to himself, “I feel… I feel a bit sad.”
Shi Zhi didn’t let Fu Yumeng come over to accompany him. He hung up the phone and sat curled up on the floor by the sofa, staring blankly at Xu Yijing’s message. Eventually, a new message appeared.
Yijing: Grandpa had something he wanted me to give to you.
Just as Shi Zhi was about to reply, Xu Yijing retracted the message and sent a new one: 【Brother Shi Zhi, will you come to see Grandpa off?】
Shi Zhi seemed to see Xu Yijing’s struggle. He knew she was torn.
The rain outside was too loud, a noise that irritated the heart.
Shi Zhi thought of a rainy night nine years ago. He had just celebrated his 14th birthday. On an ordinary day, he finished his painting class and waited, as usual, for his father to pick him up.
But that day, he didn’t wait for his father. Instead, his painting teacher told him his parents had been in a car accident.
Shi Zhi, who grew up surrounded by love, was so willful back then. Ignoring the dissuasion of passersby and teachers, he insisted on finding his parents. Going home was no good, going to the hospital was no good he had to go to the crash site.
It was as if only if he were there, their family could be complete.
Summer often brought torrential rain, and the roads were heavily flooded that day; cars couldn’t move at all. Shi Zhi cried and begged for a long time, but no one had a way to take him.
Finally, as Shi Zhi tried to walk through the thigh-deep water, Grandpa Xu appeared pushing a bicycle. He gave Shi Zhi a ride—sometimes carrying him, sometimes pushing him—allowing Shi Zhi to catch the ambulance and see his parents for the last time.
Later…
Shi Zhi stared out at the rainy night, his gaze hollow. A long, long time later, he buried his head in his knees.
Xu Yijing eventually met Shi Zhi alone, the day before Grandpa Xu’s funeral.
“Brother Shi Zhi, I’m sorry.” In a café with soft music, Xu Yijing kept her head bowed like a child who had made a mistake.
Looking at Xu Yijing, Shi Zhi remembered the scene of their first meeting.
Shi Zhi was exactly three years older than Xu Yijing. When he first started dating Xu Yining, Xu Yijing was still in high school. That day, he and Xu Yining went to her school to deliver something. Xu Yijing, in her oversized uniform, took the items expressionlessly and turned to leave. Just before going back inside, she ran back and whispered to Shi Zhi: “I know about your relationship with Xu Yining. He’s not a great person, he’s a total fake. You’d better…”
Xu Yining, returning from buying water, heard the last half and said with a smile, “Better what? Hurry and go to class.”
Xu Yijing rolled her eyes and left.
At that time, Shi Zhi thought Xu Yijing was just showing a sister’s possessiveness toward her brother. He thought their sibling relationship was wonderful; Shi Zhi didn’t have siblings like that.
The Xu Yijing of three years ago was kind, and the Xu Yijing of today was still kind.
“Thank you, Yijing.”
Xu Yijing bit her lip and shook her head, her voice muffled: “Grandpa was calling for you before he passed. He told you not to keep dwelling on the past. Back then, he would have helped anyone; it was just a small effort, not worth you remembering for a lifetime.” As she spoke, she pulled out an envelope and handed it to Shi Zhi: “Inside is a recording pen and… the promissory notes Grandpa forced my parents to write.”
Shi Zhi stared at her in a daze.
“Brother Shi Zhi, I’m sorry. I hesitated over whether to give these to you as Grandpa instructed.” Xu Yijing lowered her head and said, “I was afraid you’d use them against my family. No matter what, they are my relatives, my home.”
Xu Yijing forced a slight smile and said, “But then I remembered what Grandpa said—one should only enjoy the fortune they are capable of, and people shouldn’t be greedy for things that don’t belong to them. Besides, Xu Yining is the one who wronged you.”
“Brother Shi Zhi, did you know? I always thought you were a bit slow—you only just found out about Xu Yining’s affair.” Xu Yijing said, “I actually dislike him quite a bit; I’ve disliked him since I was little, even though he’s my brother. So, when you first started dating him, I disliked you too. I thought your taste was terrible—it was such a waste of your face.”
Shi Zhi smiled slightly and said nothing.
“But later I realized, Xu Yining is best at faking it. He’s fooled many people, so it’s normal you were fooled too. Before we moved to Ancheng, our family had a puppy. A client’s child liked it, so Mom promised to give the puppy to him. But before it could be given away, the puppy died.”
“But Xu Yining doesn’t even like puppies.”
“Before Grandpa passed, he had an argument with Xu Yining. I vaguely heard them mention the small building.”
“Brother Shi Zhi, we are returning to Xi County tomorrow. Grandpa said a falling leaf returns to its roots; he’s going to accompany Grandma.”