Volume One, Chapter 11: Too Shallow—This Affection Cannot Withstand Scrutiny

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At dawn, the city’s first street-washing truck rumbled past the apartment building, broadcasting “Goodbye, We Are Strangers Again,” one of Ye Wu’s favorite songs.

A thread of morning light spilled into the bedroom as the curtains drifted in the breeze.

Zhou Jinghuai was no longer beside her.

He had not forced her the night before. He had merely woken several times during the night and kissed her again and again…

He seemed to have been holding himself back for a long time. Amid those hazy kisses, Ye Wu thought she heard him murmur, “A-Wu, let’s start over.”

Start over…

Those four words from Zhou Jinghuai held an irresistible allure for Ye Wu. But the hardships of the past had left her frightened, and the stormy look on his face that night at the Hidden Lodge had frightened her as well. She was afraid that, in the end, it would all prove to be no more than a dream.

After that, Zhou Jinghuai came for three or four days in a row.

Nothing special happened. He came only in the dead of night, ate a bowl of noodles, and held her while he slept. They did not sleep together. He would leave before she awoke, lingering with her like lovers who had only just met.

Later, Zhou Jinghuai stopped coming.

He did not call Ye Wu, and Ye Wu did not call him. She was busy making arrangements to open her studio. She wanted to begin with a small gallery and, eventually, move into art auctions.

She did remain in contact with Mrs. Chen. After hearing her plans, Mrs. Chen praised her. “Mrs. Zhou, you are truly capable.”

Ye Wu did not tell Mrs. Chen about the private affairs between husband and wife. Everything between her and Zhou Jinghuai remained unsettled, and it would be unwise to make a public announcement.

The days passed one after another.

Before she knew it, late autumn had arrived, and the fallen leaves had withered to gold.

That day, Ye Wu received a call from the housekeeper. Her voice was urgent. “Grandmother took a fall by accident. She’s been taken to Renxin Hospital. Miss Ye, please come quickly.”

Ye Wu had been discussing the lease of a storefront at the time. The moment she received the call, she hurried to the hospital.

To Ye Wu, nothing mattered more than her grandmother.

It had been a bitterly cold winter that year.

Five-year-old Ye Wu had been so thin and emaciated from hunger that she trembled all over as she wandered the streets. Her grandmother had taken her home, tucked her into a warm bed, and spent a month nursing her back to health before she managed to put on two pounds.

The two of them had depended on each other for survival. Her grandmother had endured countless hardships to raise her.

After Ye Wu married and became financially capable, she bought her grandmother a large house and hired two women to care for her.

…

Half an hour later, Ye Wu arrived at the hospital. Fortunately, her grandmother had only sprained a muscle.

Only then did Ye Wu finally relax.

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She crouched beside her grandmother’s hospital bed, stroked her silver hair, and said softly, “I’m going to take care of the rest of the admission paperwork.”

Beside them, Aunt Hao praised Ye Wu to the old woman. “Miss Ye is so capable! This is the finest room in the entire hospital. The moment the director saw Miss Ye, he personally arranged it for her.”

Her grandmother smiled until her eyes narrowed. “Our A-Wu is the most capable girl in the world.”

Ye Wu stroked her grandmother’s silver hair once more, then rose and left.

The VIP wing of the hospital consisted of two small, historic Western-style buildings. Between them lay a beautifully landscaped garden, and in the late-autumn weather, the maple trees blazed like fire.

Ye Wu could not help looking twice—

Then, in the next instant, her gaze froze.

At the far end of the corridor, Zhou Jinghuai emerged carrying Bai Qianqian, with Bai Chunan and his wife following behind. The four of them came out one after another. Bai Qianqian leaned against Zhou Jinghuai’s shoulder, looking frail and delicate, while her husband, Zhou Jinghuai, gazed at her with undisguised tenderness.

Ye Wu watched almost mechanically. She was looking at the scoundrel who had held her in the darkness and promised to start over with her, yet in the blink of an eye was publicly carrying another woman around, utterly unconcerned about the gossip it would provoke.

She could not help wondering: How deeply must one love someone to disregard all rumors?

Ye Wu did not want to look any longer. She turned to leave, but Bai Qianqian’s coquettish voice rang out behind her.

“Mrs. Zhou.”

Ye Wu turned back and looked at the adulterous pair.

Bai Qianqian tightened her arms around Zhou Jinghuai’s neck and called sweetly again, “Mrs. Zhou, there’s nothing going on between Zhou Jinghuai and me! I’m feeling unwell, so he carried me.”

Before Ye Wu could reply, Mrs. Bai said with polite detachment, “You must be Jinghuai’s wife. Qianqian and Jinghuai grew up together. He’s merely taking a little extra care of her. Surely you don’t mind?”

Ye Wu looked toward Zhou Jinghuai.

Her husband still had his arms around the young woman and showed no intention of letting go. He merely drew his brows together slightly.

Ye Wu had no interest in fighting over a man. She was simply disgusted by the Bai mother and daughter, and gave a cold laugh. “Mrs. Bai, if your daughter and Zhou Jinghuai are carrying on behind closed doors, you should be content to enjoy yourselves in private. Why come out and disgust everyone else? Whether I mind is unimportant. What matters is whether your daughter minds that Zhou Jinghuai is a secondhand man.”

Mrs. Bai flew into a rage and blurted out, “No wonder an orphan has no upbringing.”

“Aunt Bai!”

Zhou Jinghuai’s low voice cut her off. Though young, he possessed an intimidating authority that needed no anger to make itself felt. Mrs. Bai fell silent at once.

Zhou Jinghuai set Bai Qianqian down and came over to seize Ye Wu by the wrist. “I’ll explain everything to you later.”

Ye Wu gently shook him off.

Looking at him, she said with biting sarcasm, “What is there left to explain? Zhou Jinghuai, let’s leave each other a little dignity and some room to retreat. What is there between us that still needs explaining?”

Bai Chunan tried to smooth things over. “It’s all just a misunderstanding.”

“Is that so?”

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Ye Wu turned to Bai Chunan. “Can you guarantee that your daughter will never associate with Zhou Jinghuai again?”

For a moment, Bai Chunan hesitated.

Mrs. Bai cut in sharply, “Miss Ye, the mistress is the one who is unloved!”

Bai Chunan shouted at his wife, silencing her.

Ye Wu had no desire to entangle herself with such despicable people. She said only to Zhou Jinghuai, “Think it over carefully. If you sign the papers sooner, you can give the woman you love a proper title.”

She turned and walked away without the slightest trace of reluctance.

Life was too fragile to be squandered again and again.

Behind her, Zhou Jinghuai stood beneath a canopy of red maples, silently watching her retreating figure. His eyes were deep and unreadable, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

…

That evening, on the hospital rooftop—

The sunset spread across the sky, and crimson clouds drifted with the wind, dazzling and magnificent.

Leaning against the railing, Ye Wu gazed out over the entire city of Jing, thinking about every step she would take in the future. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she did not notice the steady footsteps approaching from behind.

Ye Wu turned around and found Gu Jiuci standing there.

Under her gaze, Gu Jiuci came to her side and, imitating her, rested his hands against the rusted railing. After a while, he turned his head to look at her lovely profile and asked softly, “Because of Zhou Jinghuai?”

Ye Wu did not answer.

Gu Jiuci did not mind. He turned back toward the sunset, his voice low and measured. “It was perfectly natural that you liked him back then. Among all of us, Jinghuai was the most outstanding. Even when he was very young, he already knew exactly what he wanted. I thought I was ruthless enough, but I never expected Zhou Jinghuai to be even more ruthless.”

“He is ruthless not only toward others, but toward himself as well.”

…

After speaking, Gu Jiuci turned his head and quietly studied Ye Wu.

The setting sun was dazzling. The tip of her straight, delicate nose was faintly red, as though she had been crying.

Gu Jiuci’s Adam’s apple moved slightly.