The continuous rainy weather finally lifted.
Late autumn had arrived. On both sides of the asphalt road, plane trees shed their leaves in waves. The curled yellow leaves scattered across crosswalks and roadside paths, occasionally crushed beneath passing pedestrians and cars with a crackling sound.
At dawn, faint morning light slipped through the curtains stirred by the wind from the floor-to-ceiling window.
On the large, soft bed inside, warmed by heating, the person buried in the blankets slept with his cheeks flushed. His messy hair lay against the pillow. Feeling hot, he squinted sleepily and tugged the blanket downward. His long, straight legs stretched out for cool air, revealing his right ankle adorned with three anklets.
The same silver chains, threaded with reddish-brown beads, deep blue gems, and crystal-clear droplets delicately wrapped around the pale, slender ankle. Like deep-green vines, the faint blue veins climbed beneath the skin, carrying a soft, sweet fragrance from deep within the flesh.
Ye Ran hadn’t slept well. In his dream, someone was wildly chasing him. He kept running and looking back, only to realize he was being pursued by a fanged hellhound.
Its pupils were pitch-black, its fangs flashing cold light. It was more than half a head taller than him. Its fur was slick and shiny, running with the presence of a lion hunting on the plains.
Ye Ran jolted in terror. Sweat coated his entire body. A sudden sense of falling jerked him awake from the nightmare. Panting hard, drenched in sweat, he clutched the blanket and sat up. After a long while, he tiredly glanced around.
The sticky feeling on his body made him uncomfortable.
He got out of bed barefoot, stepping onto the gray-brown wool carpet. The anklet beads shifted with gravity, lightly brushing his skin. Once warmed by body heat, they only produced a faint clink when he walked and didn’t affect movement otherwise.
Ye Ran ignored them and went straight into the bathroom to shower.
By the time he finished, Chen Ma was already calling him for breakfast downstairs.
He towel-dried his damp hair and went downstairs.
…
The first floor was filled with the sounds of cooking.
Chen Ma was in the kitchen preparing breakfast: seafood congee, crystal shrimp dumplings, fried dough sticks, small wontons; an entire table’s worth of delicate and delicious dishes.
Shen Shi sat on the couch, flipping through a folder. Sunlight poured through the window behind him, illuminating him. He wore a light brown vest over a shirt, long legs crossed casually. His build was solid and powerful, the well-pressed shirt outlining clean lines.
When he heard footsteps on the stairs, he looked up and casually picked up the tablet beside him. “Ranran, come here.”
Ye Ran, wearing slippers, felt irritable and deflated. After debating for a moment on the stairs, he still walked over and sat beside him.
Shen Shi glanced at him with a smile, unhurried. He pulled Ye Ran into his chest and slowly went through the day’s financial news with him.
Gentle sunlight fell across the sofa, drawing long angled shadows of the two of them.
On the tablet, the news anchor diligently explained recent financial trends, with market graphs displayed behind her.
“In the past month, the financial market has remained stable. Mingcheng Food Enterprise (the Cheng family) has hit a new low, while Huating Co. continues to rise…”
Ye Ran’s body stiffened a little. He turned back unnaturally to look outside.
In the garden, Old Li was expanding the vegetable patch. Chen Ma came out carrying dishes. She took one look at the two of them, then withdrew her gaze like it was the most ordinary thing, smiling so widely her cheeks trembled.
Shen Shi patted his lower back, calling back his attention, then explained in a low voice the professional terms the host had mentioned. Ye Ran listened in a fog, but still tried hard to absorb the new knowledge. Starting a week ago, Shen Shi had suddenly developed a hobby of playing teacher, every morning he would explain the business trends of several major corporations in the capital.
Ye Ran listened quietly. Whenever he didn’t understand something, he asked. Shen Shi was patient, explaining again and again without the slightest irritation, even using the Shen Corporation and the Ye Corporation as comparisons.
The more Ye Ran listened, the more confused he became. He vaguely sensed that after the recent engagement with the Cheng family, the Ye Corporation’s stock fluctuations seemed off.
But Shen Shi glossed over that part so lightly that Ye Ran subconsciously felt it wasn’t a big issue after all.
The morning mini-lesson finally ended with Chen Ma’s call.
“Ranran, Young Master, time to eat!”
Old Li also came in from the back door. His white gloves had become black, full of mud, but his face was beaming. He walked over to tell Ye Ran that they would be going to buy seeds in the afternoon.
The garden was divided in half, one side for vegetables and the other for flowers. Next spring they would build a glass greenhouse to separate the two completely.
Ye Ran was very interested and asked, “What vegetables are we planting?”
Old Li replied, “Some radish and cabbage. It’s cold now, so we can only plant frost-resistant ones.”
“Then I’ll go with you.”
Since he had nothing to do that afternoon and wanted to see the seed market, Ye Ran spoke without thinking. As soon as he did, Shen Shi, beside him, lifted his eyes. His expression was faint, undecided.
Ye Ran felt a chill spread from his ankle under that light, casual glance.
He knew what Shen Shi was thinking. He also knew what that indifferent, almost careless attitude meant. But still, he couldn’t help feeling deeply mocked.
Ever since his first escape when Shen Shi dragged him back from the airport, Ye Ran had persevered, trained harder, and in just half a month strengthened himself enough to attempt another escape on a rainy night. He had made it through security and was about to board the plane. But when he looked up, he saw Shen Shi not far away, calmly watching him.
The man was travel-worn and looked tired. Dozens of black-clad bodyguards stood behind him. When he saw Ye Ran notice him, he rose slowly, brushed the rain off his clothes, cold air swirling around him like a storm but his gaze on Ye Ran was gentle and amused.
After bringing the dispirited Ye Ran back home, Shen Shi didn’t get angry. Just like the first time, he calmly and firmly fastened a second anklet on Ye Ran’s ankle.
The sapphire-blue anklet was precious and gorgeous. Under the sunlight, it was like a deep ocean abyss, its shifting blue like flowing seawater, linked by a thin silver chain, shimmering against his white ankle, reflecting softly against the reddish-brown bead.
Uneasy and furious, Ye Ran hugged his pillow and cried miserably into it, cheeks flushed from the heat. In the end, Shen Shi, helpless after watching him for a long time, pulled him out from the covers and kissed him until he was dizzy and disoriented.
His twenty-plus years of innocent life were gone, never to return.
Ye Ran forced himself to recover, laying low for a week. One day during daylight, he walked right out of the Ye house as if nothing were wrong, then immediately ran toward the train station. He planned to take a train to Haicheng first, then transfer to a flight there.
This time he even disguised himself successfully as a plain, forgettable passerby. But when he sat on the train and ended up face-to-face with Shen Shi again, he could only be speechless and overwhelmingly defeated.
That escape bought him nothing except a third anklet, this one studded with diamonds.
Thinking of these past events, Ye Ran fell silent. Under Shen Shi’s gaze, he expressionlessly took a sip of seafood porridge. The delicious shrimp filled his mouth. He heard Chen Ma nagging them to wear more layers. Despite the sun, the temperature had dropped to five or six degrees. Flu season was here, and she worried someone in the house would fall ill.
Ye Ran responded softly. Soon it was almost eight, and the faint sound of a car horn came from outside, Xu Wen had arrived.
Shen Shi set down his utensils and stood. His schedule was still busy today. After saying a few words to Chen Ma, he donned his coat and headed out.
Before leaving, he cast a barely noticeable glance at Ye Ran. Burdened with thoughts, Ye Ran pressed his lips together. When he met Shen Shi’s eyes, his fingers tightened on his chopsticks, and he rose to send him off.
One behind the other, their silhouettes disappeared around the corner.
One wore a suit, the other soft loungewear. Though they differed by half a head in height, the sight of them together was inexplicably harmonious.
Chen Ma didn’t overthink it. She simply felt that in recent days, Shen Shi and Ye Ran’s relationship had been getting better and better. Several times, Ye Ran had been taken to the company by Shen Shi, kept under his watchful eye.
She was pleased by this and even called Mother Shen a few times to share the good news.
But Mother Shen, who always cared deeply about the two boys, had barely said a few sentences before hurriedly hanging up. The background noise was chaotic, doctors and nurses in white coats rushing by.
Ten minutes later, Ye Ran came back inside.
The Bentley parked outside slowly started and drove steadily toward the Shen Corporation.
Hearing the movement, Chen Ma lifted her head. Ye Ran was just turning into the hallway. Compared to earlier, his lips were slightly darker, his clear black eyes tinged red, his lashes lowered like dark feathers. Looking worn out, he finished the remaining porridge and went upstairs.
She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but something about his steps seemed to shimmer faintly.
The thought passed quickly. She didn’t dwell on it and headed to the seafood market with Old Li to buy shrimp.
Shrimp was Ye Ran’s favorite. She planned to make boiled prawns and chicken soup for lunch.
…
The morning passed quickly.
Lunch was abundant for all three. Old Li couldn’t stop thinking about buying seeds. Ye Ran didn’t nap and left the house with him, just as excited.
Before leaving, he lowered his gaze and answered a call, his voice soft: “Hello? Ah Yu… Oh, an art exhibit? Overseas… I might not have time. I’ll ask my former teacher later…”
Old Li, about to start the car, heard everything.
“An art exhibit? Wow, that’s impressive.”
Ye Ran got in, rubbing his thumb over his phone. “It’s okay. If I have time, I’ll go.”
“Can’t miss something like that.” Old Li started driving slowly out of the villa area. He drove cautiously. “This new car feels completely different, really luxurious.”
Ye Ran blinked. “New car?”
“Yep,” Old Li said. “From inside you can’t tell, but outside, the license plate and model, totally different.”
Ye Ran wasn’t sensitive to cars; to him they all looked mostly the same.
Curious, he glanced around the interior. He did notice small differences. When his eyes drifted to the window, he suddenly caught sight of a figure: a thin, skeletal-looking man, deep-set eyes, standing in the shadow of the villa area, head lowered as if examining something.
A jolt of familiarity struck his heart.
Before he could frown, Old Li received a call. Shen Shi’s voice came through: “Old Li, you two went out?”
“Yes, President Shen. I’m taking the young master to buy seeds,” Old Li replied.
Ye Ran’s heart tightened. He straightened, waiting for Shen Shi’s response. After a long moment, Shen Shi chuckled. His voice, through the Bluetooth speaker, was lower and more helpless than usual: “Be safe.”
“Ranran,” he added unhurriedly, as though he knew Ye Ran was listening, “don’t wander too far.”
Ye Ran’s eyelid twitched. His throat felt dry. He took a deep breath and answered as naturally as he could:
“Got it.”
…
The afternoon market wasn’t crowded.
Both Ye Ran and Old Li were dressed plainly, in padded jackets and pants. The air was thick with mixed smells, chicks being sold, fertilizer, and produce. Old Li navigated easily and soon brought Ye Ran to a seed vendor.
Ye Ran crouched down as well, quietly observing his surroundings.
He wasn’t sure whether Shen Shi had assigned bodyguards to watch him, but if they really were watching, they wouldn’t have let him reach the train last time, not twice. And lately, after acting completely defeated and compliant for weeks, maybe Shen Shi had relaxed his guard.
After strolling around the market twice, Ye Ran kept scanning the crowd. Not seeing any familiar faces, he finally relaxed a little. His hand tightened around the ID in his pocket. Then he took another call.
The crowd was noisy.
Vendors shouted in loud, accented voices. Old Li only vaguely heard Ye Ran’s urgent tone, as if something had happened. When he turned back, Ye Ran had just ended the call.
“Uncle Li, I need to head out,” Ye Ran said. “It’s the art exhibit I mentioned. My former teacher wants me to come back to the university for details.”
“Okay, I’ll get the car and take you.” Old Li turned to leave.
Ye Ran quickly stopped him. “No need, Uncle Li. Driving this car is too conspicuous. It’s just a short conversation. Please continue shopping.”
“I saw a bus earlier that goes straight to Beijing University. Anyway, I’m heading out, bye Uncle Li.” Ye Ran waved, pulled on a mask and baseball cap, then slipped into the crowd.
Old Li let out an “Eh—” and almost chased after him, but when he saw several hidden bodyguards follow immediately, he relaxed.
…
Ye Ran had no idea what Old Li was thinking.
He had prepared this escape carefully. The safest place was always the one no one suspected. He was going to take the bus straight to the south airport, fly to Haicheng, then on to New Zealand.
Over the past month, he had grown increasingly familiar with Shen Shi’s warmth, his kisses, and even on rare occasions when Shen Shi kissed him breathless and then held him in his arms, gently patting his back, he would feel a fleeting illusion of tenderness.
That illusion was like an alarm bell ringing right beside his ear, shocking him to the core.
Compared to Shen Shi, he was inexperienced, fragile, with a narrow social circle and even his family background was inferior. He had no idea what Shen Shi truly felt for him. Amusement? Interest? Something else? His herbivore-like sixth sense filled him with fear. From Shen Shi, he sensed something scorching, something overwhelming, an emotion too intense for him to look at directly.
He and Shen Shi were both men, their parents had been friends for many years, and in reality there were obstacles everywhere. One wrong move would end up hurting many people. Ye Ran didn’t understand Shen Shi’s thoughts, but he had already decided to cut the knot cleanly, sever this relationship that shouldn’t exist.
His mind was filled with messy thoughts. By the time the bus stopped, two hours had passed.
Before getting off, Ye Ran’s heartbeat reached its limit. He was terrified it would be like before, getting off only to find a line of black-clad bodyguards, and standing before them, tall and elegant, smiling at him… Shen Shi.
The sky was clear, the sun high.
He got off the bus. Everything was calm. Ye Ran didn’t see anyone who shouldn’t be there.
His tightly strung nerves did not ease at all. Chengnan Airport wasn’t as bustling as the capital’s airport. It looked much simpler. People came and went at the entrance, and in the wide square there were vendors selling things, enthusiastic and attentive.
Several aunties passed by him, carrying sacks likely filled with food and supplies for their relatives. They chatted in heavy dialects, faces full of smiles, eyes shining with yearning for the capital.
In the distance, a family of three waved to them. Relatives reunited at last, embracing each other excitedly.
Ye Ran missed his father in New Zealand all the more.
For the past month, Mother Shen often updated him about his father, but always through videos and text. He wanted to see his father in person.
On this trip to New Zealand, he was determined to stay by his father’s side. Only when his father woke up would he consider coming back.
He arrived at the airport neither early nor late. Once he stepped inside, he subtly lifted his guard, put on his mask, and cautiously examined the surroundings. Having been caught at the airport twice by Shen Shi, he was close to developing PTSD about this place.
Crowds surged. Several flights had delays, and a flood of people poured out, voices turning noisy and chaotic. Shadows blurred everything; he couldn’t see clearly.
Various sounds rushed all at once into his ears. Nervous, Ye Ran backed away repeatedly until he reached a corner. Only then did he relax a little, clutching his freshly printed boarding pass as he observed the area.
The waiting time for boarding was short yet felt endlessly long.
As boarding approached, his heartbeat quickened to a frantic pace. At the moment his phone rang, his mind buzzed blankly, and he looked around in panic, terrified of seeing that familiar face.
He answered the unknown number. The other end was silent for a few seconds. Just as his apprehension peaked, a gentle woman’s voice sounded:
“Hello, may I ask if you’re the owner of the number ending in 2345? Our company is giving back to old users. For only 399 a month, you can enjoy ninety minutes of call time…”
Ye Ran: “…”
His heart dropped heavily. His lips pressed into a deep red, sweat sticking his dark hair to his temples. It felt like he had escaped a catastrophe like surviving a disaster. His eyelashes trembled; his voice came out hoarse and soft: “No, thank you.”
Still distracted while on the phone, he heard the boarding announcement over the speakers.
The flight he had waited nearly an hour and a half for had finally arrived on time.
Ye Ran gripped his ID tightly as he followed the long queue step by step up the stairs, walking into the cabin while the cool afternoon breeze brushed against him.
By the time he snapped out of his blank thoughts, the plane had already taken off.
White clouds floated outside the window. The sky was clear and blue.
Majestic buildings shrank to ant-sized specks scattered across the vast earth.
Only now did his sweat-soaked back begin to relax.
He slumped weakly against the seat, eyes unfocused. Even though he was flying in the sky, it felt like a heavy stone in his heart had finally landed.
…He escaped.
The warm silver chain around his ankle coiled slowly, like winding vines against his fair skin—constantly reminding him of Shen Shi’s existence.
…He escaped right under Shen Shi’s eyes.
This harrowing day finally ended at 10 p.m., after Ye Ran boarded the international flight to New Zealand.
Right before turning off his phone, Ye Ran sent Old Li a message:
—Uncle Li, the art exhibition is being held in New Zealand. My teacher and I flew there together, so no need to worry about me.
—Goodbye.
…
At this moment.
Shen Corporation.
Inside the chairman’s office, with no lights on.
Xu Wen stood quietly in the corner. Anna and Chen Tianming, the two aides who had been sent out on assignment, also arrived at the same time. The three stood with heads lowered, glancing covertly at the man seated in the boss chair.
Nighttime in the capital was lively and vibrant, filled with neon lights.
The neon flickered softly across the floor-to-ceiling window, blending with the bright moonlight as it spilled over the man standing by the window.
Shen Shi leaned slightly against the desk, gaze lowered. His aura was as composed and cold as ever. He held his phone, the dim glow outlining his features. His eyes were dark, his tall frame slightly bent like a beast lurking in the darkness, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Finally, the message from the other end reported that everything had gone smoothly.
There was also a photo of Ye Ran asleep on the plane.
In the picture, Ye Ran was wrapped in a blanket, exhausted, head resting against the seat. His brows were faintly furrowed; he didn’t seem to be sleeping well. His lips were pressed together, obedient and listless, like he might open his eyes at any second and stare at Shen Shi with those lost, watery eyes… before slowly withdrawing them.
Performing a perfect “out of sight, out of mind.”
Shen Shi’s expression remained unchanged, but his thumb brushed gently across the screen. In the tense silence as Xu Wen and the others held their breath, he finally spoke: “Where is Cheng Jiaming.”
“Still lingering around the Ye residence,” Xu Wen replied.
Shen Shi gave a light sound, indifferent. “Grab him. The Cheng family goes to trial the day after tomorrow. Bring him there.”
“Yes,” Xu Wen said. “And Mr. Ye…?”
A faint smile tugged at Shen Shi’s lips. Thinking of the month-long battle of wits between him and Ye Ran, his tone softened slightly: “Don’t let him know.”
“I don’t want any of this reaching his ears.”
All the filth and rot hidden behind the facade of marriage alliances—
Ye Ran shouldn’t have to bear them.
As for Cheng Jiaming…
Shen Shi’s eyes turned colder as he recalled what the bodyguards had confiscated from Cheng Jiaming today.
Before the waters of the capital were stirred into complete chaos, getting Ye Ran far away was the best choice.
The suffering and grievances Ye Ran endured over those two months—
Shen Shi would reclaim them one by one, personally.
Author’s Note: Beginning the wrap-up.
Okay okay, childhood-friends childhood-friends, I’ll figure out how to write it.
