Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
He Miao chose to send a message rather than call, which meant the “accident” Zhang Yue encountered wasn’t urgent.
Jiang Se called He Miao: “What accident?”
Through the receiver, He Miao’s voice still carried lingering fear: “Master kept feeling someone was following her these past few days. Last night when she returned home, she heard footsteps stop outside her door and not move. She opened the door and shouted for help, wanting to seize the chance to get a photo of that person. That man tried to grab Master’s phone, and was cut by the knife she was holding.”
Confirming Zhang Yue was fine, Jiang Se’s expression loosened: “Did you call the police? Did they catch him?”
“Master and I are at the police station right now. After he got his clothes cut by Master, that person ran.” He Miao said, “The officer said that b*stard was probably here to scout the place, planning to break in or rob later.”
“Did she get a clear look at him?”
“No, he was wearing a mask and hat, coughing the whole time. Master didn’t see his face clearly. The surveillance cameras in the alleys nearby didn’t capture him either. The officer said he’s likely a repeat offender, targeting single women. It’s not like nothing like this has happened in our area.”
Jiang Se didn’t speak.
In front of her eyes flashed that moment when she was on the phone with Zhang Yue and Fu Yun glanced at her phone.
Was it a coincidence?
Fu Yun didn’t know Zhang Yue existed, nor did he know Zhao Zhicheng killed those two people because of Zhang Yue.
Otherwise he wouldn’t have told Zhang Yue not to let anyone know she recognized him.
If it wasn’t a coincidence…
Tongcheng didn’t just have Zhang Yue, there were also Jiang Chuan and Yu Shiying.
Fu Yun had been to Fuchun Street, and to “Wangchuan”.
Jiang Se stared out the window at the bright spring light and told He Miao: “Take Boss Zhang to your home and wait for me. I’ll go back to Tongcheng today.”
After hanging up with He Miao, she sat at the head of the bed, holding her phone in silence.
The phone screen was still on her chat with Lu Huaiyan.
The last message said he would come tonight.
She had answered with an “okay”.
Jiang Se put down her phone, not noticing that the instant the screen went dark, the name in the chat briefly changed to “the other party is typing…”.
Lu Huaiyan’s message wasn’t finished before he was interrupted.
The person who entered was Zhou Qing. “Young Master Lu, Old Master Lu just arrived at the hospital, he’s in Miss Guan’s ward.”
Lu Huaiyan’s fingertips paused. He turned off the screen and said calmly, “Go ask the doctor to come change Grandfather’s dressing.”
Zhou Qing agreed, and seeing the dark shadows under his eyes, asked, “Do you need me to bring you a cup of coffee?”
Lu Huaiyan rubbed his brow: “Bring me a cup of black tea, and send two coffees over to Chairman Guan and Vice Chairman Guan.”
He hadn’t slept all night, first half at the hospital, second half at the old residence, then returning to the hospital before dawn.
Last night, at the Beicheng Grand Theatre, there was a wage-arrears injury case; the suspect went in with a kitchen knife and a hammer to take revenge on his former boss.
That person was sitting right beside Old Master Lu. In the chaos, Guan Jiayi shielded Old Master Lu, and her foot bone was unfortunately smashed and fractured.
The doctor said she wouldn’t be able to dance for at least a year.
For a ballet dancer in the rising stage of her career, such a long blank period was undoubtedly a fatal blow.
Ever since Guan Jiayi entered the operating room, Guan Shaochong and Guan Shaoting had been silent the entire night.
Guan Shaochong originally wanted to take Guan Jiayi back to Hong Kong City for treatment, but Guan Jiayi insisted on staying in Beicheng.
Guan Jiayi’s parents and third brother were already on their way from Hong Kong City, and even Linda, who was all the way in the UK, had boarded a flight to Beicheng.
Lu Huaiyan had only drank half of his black tea when Lu Xingqiu pushed the door open and entered.
“Jiayi’s parents will arrive at Beicheng International Airport very soon. You go pick them up yourself.” Lu Xingqiu said, “The girl was injured because she was saving me. No matter what, our Lu family must show our sincerity.”
Lu Huaiyan nodded slightly, calm: “Zhou Qing has already contacted the most famous orthopedic specialists at home and abroad. Mia’s foot will definitely be cured. Once her foot heals, I will smooth things over with the Northern Ballet troupe. I won’t let her dance career be affected even the slightest bit. I will make the Guan family feel the Lu family’s gratitude toward Mia.”
“Ah Yan—”
“As for the cooperation between our Lu family and the Guan family, I will give up another portion of profit.” Lu Huaiyan said, “Don’t worry. The Lu Corporation is the best partner for the Guan family. The Guan family won’t let all projects be shelved over one incident.”
“I’ve never worried about the cooperation between the two families. Even if every single cooperation project between the Guan family and the Lu Corporation is shelved, I still wouldn’t worry!” Lu Xingqiu let out a deep sigh. “Ah Yan, you cannot measure other people’s kindness using profit. If Jiayi lost her dream because of an old man like me, I must at least try to help fulfill it.”
Last night at the old residence, Old Master Lu had already brought up this matter.
Hearing him bring it up again now, a layer of exhausted indifference appeared between Lu Huaiyan’s brows and eyes.
“That’s her kindness to you. What does it have to do with me? And what do her dreams have to do with me?” He laughed, but the laugh never reached his eyes. “If you feel guilty, you can take her as your goddaughter, your god-granddaughter, you can even give her the shares you have in the Lu Corporation. Anything is fine. You know you can’t force me.”
“Ah Yan, I’m not trying to force you. I’m just proposing a deal.” Lu Xingqiu looked at him with clear, penetrating eyes. He spoke solemnly: “You get engaged to Jiayi, and I will step down from the board of directors and hand the Lu Corporation to you in its entirety. The Guan family is powerful; with an alliance through marriage, I believe no director will oppose my decision.”
—
The heater blew quietly, the windowlight bright; a few tiny specks of dust floated in and out of the light beam.
The phone ringtone suddenly rang sharply in the quiet.
Jiang Se’s eyelashes moved; she looked at the screen.
It was Cen Li.
She answered, softly calling: “Older Brother.”
She picked up the call so readily that Cen Li was a bit surprised; his smooth, clear voice couldn’t hide his joy: “I thought you weren’t going to talk to Older Brother again. Did you see the message I just sent you?”
Her phone screen had indeed lit up a few times earlier, but Jiang Se had been lost in her own thoughts and never opened it. Now she didn’t feel like looking at it either, and asked directly: “What message?”
“Last night, Grandpa Lu and Guan Jiayi ran into an accident at the Grand Theatre. That girl’s foot was injured, we still don’t know how bad it is.” Cen Li paused. “Guo Song said she got hurt for Grandpa Lu. If she can’t dance anymore, Grandpa Lu will probably press Ah Yan’s head down and make him marry her. Sese, tell Older Brother honestly, what exactly is going on between you and Ah Yan now?”
Jiang Se looked at those few specks of dust floating in the light and said: “Is Grandpa Lu hurt?”
“No. Guan Jiayi shielded him in time. Aside from some scrapes on his shoulder from the fall, he’s fine.” Cen Li said, “I heard Grandpa Lu intends to step down from the board after the alliance between the Lu and Guan families, and let Ah Yan take over as chairman of the group. Sese, Guan Jiayi has the Guan family behind her, but you also have the Cen family. If you and Ah Yan—”
“There’s nothing between me and Lu Huaiyan. And I don’t care about anything regarding the Lu and Guan families.” Jiang Se cut him off calmly. “Older Brother, you don’t need to tell me anything about Lu Huaiyan. I’m not interested. I just want to ask you one thing, seven years ago, have you ever regretted it?”
Cen Li hadn’t expected her to bring up something from seven years ago. His voice stalled, his throat as if choking down bitter medicine.
“How could I not regret it? Sese, the thing Older Brother regrets most in this life is not bringing you back personally back then. Give Older Brother a chance to make up for it. Don’t stay angry with Older Brother anymore, all right?”
Hearing this, Jiang Se pulled open the cabinet, took out that block of wood from the tin box, and closed her fingers around it lightly.
“Mm, I’m not angry anymore.”
The next available flight back to Tongcheng was at 7:15 that night.
After booking the ticket, Jiang Se went into the cloakroom to change. When she walked past the row of wardrobes on the right, her steps paused, and she looked over.
It was a row of neatly hung men’s dress shirts.
That man always liked leaving traces of himself here, openly and deliberately.
Making her get used to his presence, preferably to the point where every blink of her eyes would think of him.
A few days ago, Guo Qian even asked her: at what point does your thing with Lu Huaiyan count as being over?
Now it was.
He had never owed her anything. Jiang Se hated others owing her, and she hated owing others.
She didn’t need anyone making sacrifices for her.
The Lu Corporation wasn’t his yet.
After fighting alone for nine years to reach this point, all he needed was a marriage alliance with the Guan family to fully take control of the Lu Corporation.
Such a marriage was not a loss at all.
He should walk the path he chose to its very end, and she would walk hers to its end.
Before leaving Xinhe Residence, she sent Lu Huaiyan a message:【Our journey ends here. Goodbye.】
After sending the message, Jiang Se picked up her luggage and headed to the airport.
Boarding time was six thirty. Jiang Se stepped onto the plane just in time.
Sometimes, the fate between people is quite strange.
Standing at the cabin entrance to greet her was the beautiful flight attendant she had met last September, only this time she didn’t glance toward first class. Almost as soon as Jiang Se walked in, she smiled and said: “Welcome aboard.”
Her gaze touched Jiang Se’s face; her beautiful eyes widened slightly, likely recognizing her.
Jiang Se’s seat was in the first row on the left. The ticket had been booked in a hurry, and the seat was randomly assigned by the system.
Sitting down, she vaguely recalled that last year Lu Huaiyan had been in this same seat, casting a cold, distant glance at her.
The boarding gate counter had already begun broadcasting the final boarding announcement.
Outside the window, the evening light shifted; planes continuously took off from the runway.
Jiang Se took out her phone. Seven-oh-five.
Lu Huaiyan hadn’t replied.
Jiang Se opened her chat with He Miao without much emotion and began typing.
She had barely typed two characters when the light above her suddenly dimmed.
Her fingers paused. Something flashed through her mind, and she slowly lifted her eyelashes.
Her gaze collided directly with a pair of deep, dark eyes.
In the narrow aisle, the man wore a perfectly pressed, dark suit; his backlit face was deep and cold, expression unreadable, only the taut jawline betraying a hint of thought.
“We need to talk.” Lu Huaiyan stared at her, speaking evenly, without hurry. “Do you want to talk here, or downstairs?”
Jiang Se pressed her lips together and said: “Lu Huaiyan, I’m going back to Tongcheng. The plane is about to take off.”
His Adam’s apple slowly descended. “Two options. Either we talk here, finish, and then you leave. Or we go downstairs to talk, and I’ll send you on a private jet. Choose one.”
Time had already passed seven-ten.
The boarding announcement switched from “final boarding” to “flight delayed.”
The cabin, previously a bit noisy, became instantly quiet after he arrived.
About ten pairs of eyes were glued to them, curious, shocked.
His attitude was exceptionally firm.
After a brief confrontation, Jiang Se put her phone back in her pocket and stood: “Downstairs. I’ll reschedule to the next flight.”
The two of them left the cabin under the utterly astonished gaze of the flight attendant.
She naturally remembered that man just now, the young master of the Lu Group. No one in first class didn’t recognize him.
She also remembered the girl; her looks and aura so outstanding it was hard to forget.
Last year, these two had been strangers on the same flight. Who would have known that half a year later, they would be so entangled that he would personally come to intercept someone on the plane?
The car stopped just outside the airport hall. Zhou Qing, seeing that Lu Huaiyan had indeed caught up with her, immediately got out from the driver’s seat, opened the rear door, and after they got in, carefully closed it and walked to the front of the car to wait.
Lu Huaiyan held Jiang Se’s wrist. She tugged a few times but couldn’t pull it free, frowning: “Lu Huaiyan, let go.”
Lu Huaiyan ignored her words; the pressure of his fingers increased even more than before.
“Explain, what do you mean by ‘this journey ends here’?” the man said coldly. “What do you mean goodbye?”
Jiang Se quietly looked out the window: “Literally. We agreed back then that we’d only take one journey together. Now the journey is over, we should end it.”
No sooner had the words fallen than a sudden surge of strength gripped her wrist. Her waist tightened, and she was pressed onto his leg.
The man’s dark, intense gaze bore down on her. Coldly, he asked: “Even throwing away garbage needs a reason. Tell me, what did I do that makes you want to end this journey?”
The rear partition had long been raised. The black windows blocked most of the light.
The car interior felt even darker, more cramped.
His arms bound her; their bodies pressed close, so close that even their heartbeats seemed impossible to hide.
His aura loomed over her.
Jiang Se struggled to get down from his leg, but the strength difference was too great. Lu Huaiyan, face cold, twisted her hands behind her back. Not a trace of slackened expression.
“Let go of me!”
“First, speak clearly.”
Her temper flared. She took a deep, steady breath, raised a graceful smile, and said: “I never touch what belongs to someone else, nor do I like meaningless entanglements. I want us to part amicably. Clear enough?”
“Belongs to someone else?” Lu Huaiyan sounded like he’d heard a joke. He gritted his teeth and laughed: “Tell me, whose room did I stay in before? Whose bed did I sleep in? Who did I see every day?”
His lips brushed against her ear, each word measured: “Wasn’t it all you, Jiang Se? The mark of your teeth is still on my shoulder. What, now you don’t even touch what belongs to you?”
His breath was hot, his voice restrained, carrying the storm of coming anger.
Hearing him mention the bite on his shoulder, Jiang Se suddenly remembered the bloody mark on his shoulder, remembered the music they had played that night, and the words he had said while walking toward her: “I’ll be your left hand.”
The sharp sting in her bones vanished instantly; her anger dissipated, vanished without a trace.
She no longer struggled.
Her eyelashes lowered quietly, her voice calm: “I won’t marry you. And you will marry someday. We agreed: when one of us gets engaged, or likes someone else, or no longer wants to continue, it ends.”
The car interior fell into deathly silence.
After a moment, Lu Huaiyan’s deep voice said: “Who told you about my dealings with the Guan family? Cen Li, Guo Qian, or your aunt?”
He sneered: “Jiang Se, I never considered marrying Guan Jiayi. You know that better than anyone.”
“Even if not the Guan family, there would be other families. Ending now is the best time for both of us. I really don’t want to continue. Can’t we part amicably?” Jiang Se said softly. “I should go. Let go.”
She spoke as lightly as spring wind, ending a relationship as casually as plucking a flower or leaf.
Lu Huaiyan’s chest tightened painfully.
Knowing she always yields to soft, not hard, he shut his eyes tightly. He breathed several times before opening them again, lifted his neck, pressed his forehead to hers, and said in a steady voice, one sentence at a time: “Don’t rush to say it’s over yet. Let’s both calm down. When you return to Beicheng, we’ll sit down and talk properly.”
After he spoke, the strength in his hands loosened, undoing the restraint on her.
Jiang Se did not respond. She got off his lap and went to pull the inner lock of the car door.
Dim, yellowish light surged through the cracked seam. With no hesitation, she pushed open the door to get out of the car, her wrist was caught again.
A very light grip.
Familiar fingertips, slightly rough, softly rested on her pulse.
Jiang Se’s body stiffened. She thought he was going to drag her back into the car.
But he only held her lightly for a moment, then released her.
“The private jet has been prepared for you. Let Zhou Qing take you there. I can’t leave Grandfather’s side for now. When you’re back in Beicheng, let me know, and I’ll come find you.”
