Chapter 54

Back then, those kids were only around ten years old.

Sneaking out of the residential compound to play, they ran into a fortune teller in a narrow alley. The old man wore a thin, waxed mustache, walked with a slight limp, and stopped them, insisting on reading their faces.

The old man said that out of the four or five boys, Lin Sheng would be the most successful because of his proud spirit; he certainly wouldn't be willing to lag behind anyone. But he would also have the most miserable life, precisely because his spirit was too arrogant for anyone to keep in check—a life destined for solitude.

He also said Lin Sheng had an introverted and extreme personality, prone to going astray. He would either turn out exceptionally good or exceptionally bad, and needed careful guidance.

Before the old man could even finish speaking, Lin Sheng overturned his fortune-telling stall.

—"My fate doesn't need your reading!"

A young boy of around ten, with delicate red lips and white teeth, who had looked quiet just a moment before, suddenly erupted and startled the old man. As the old man gathered his belongings, he muttered with bitter resentment: "Look at that. The wolf's nature hidden beneath your sheepskin."

"Hmph." Chu Yuefei still couldn't help laughing whenever he thought back on it. "Oh right, was that old man dragged away for 'education' because you had Uncle Zheng do it?"

Lin Sheng lowered his eyelids, expressionless. "Don't remember. Probably..."

Chu Yuefei was thoroughly amused.

The rumor in the narrow alley was that the fortune teller had been hauled off for ideological re-education due to mass reports of promoting feudal superstition.

Heh, if that old man had known that the fortune-telling boy was the "little crown prince" of the residential compound, he probably would have rather died than say those ominous things.

He was just unlucky. Out of everyone, he had to cross paths with Lin Sheng.

Besides, Lin Sheng rarely lost his temper, but that particular time happened to be around Chinese New Year, and he was in a terribly foul mood. Chu Yuefei just happened to walk right into the line of fire.

A lonely person hates nothing more than being reminded of their solitude.

Didn't he know whether he was lonely or not? Did he need someone else to point it out?

Chen Xia and the others were playing dice now, and a female singer had taken the stage in the bar, crooning an old, melancholic song. The atmosphere shifted from restless to deeply blue.

On New Year's Eve, no ordinary people frequented bars. They were either wildly chaotic or profoundly lonely.

The moment the singing started, Chu Yuefei recognized it instantly—wasn't this the song of Best Actress Zhou Xinyu? His expression flickered, and he cast a cautious glance at Lin Sheng. The person sitting beside him, however, remained completely calm.

"Your mother... didn't come this year either?"

Lin Sheng glanced at him. "You sure talk a lot."

Hearing this, Chu Yuefei understood immediately. He slapped his own mouth lightly and dropped the subject. "How is the old commander's health these days?"

"Much better."

"Good to hear that he's recovering. That generation is getting old after all; they're not as robust as they used to be in their youth. Sigh, when I went to see my grandfather yesterday, his hair was almost completely white. In a few more years, he'll be eighty."

Lin Sheng remained silent, obviously lacking any desire to chat. Chu Yuefei looked at him, knowing what was on his mind, and let out a quiet sigh inward. Why else did the saying go that every family has a scripture that's hard to chant?

Zhou Xinyu was immensely famous, an international-grade Best Actress in the entertainment industry, yet she had always been dogged by the scandal of having a child out of wedlock. Over the years, she had vehemently denied it, claiming she had no son.

While the unmarried motherhood was false, the son was very real. She had simply divorced before re-entering the entertainment circle and skyrocketing to fame.

A divorce still sounded unappealing and made it hard to land leading female roles, so this past chapter of her life had been sealed away in dust.

Some years ago, she married a Hong Kong businessman and started a new family, making that period of her life seem like a story from another lifetime. It was completely severed.

Chen Xia turned around just in time to catch Chu Yuefei's cue, leaving the rest of the group to come over and drink with Lin Sheng.

So, it wasn't without reason that Lin Sheng possessed such a detached and aloof personality.

Despite the early morning hour, the group was still lively.

Lin Sheng walked over to the corridor window to get some fresh air.

His WeChat chimed. He took out his phone and checked it. It was a New Year greeting sent by an elder from a family friend.

It wasn't the person he had momentarily hoped for.

He smiled faintly and briefly.

Casually, he tucked his phone away. With a trace of weariness in his gaze, vast and calm, he exhaled a puff of smoke.

-

The pitch-black room was dead quiet.

The figure in the bed tossed and turned, lying on their side facing the window. Xu Xieyi opened her eyes, glowing faintly in the dark, and for the umpteenth time, she reached out to grab her phone from the bedside table and lit up the screen.

The tiny square of light reflected the girl's delicate, palm-sized face. Her large eyes were slightly red.

She was already intimately familiar with Lin Sheng's WeChat interface.

Clearly, in the past, she could send him messages casually and with complete ease.

Yet now, she felt a little... afraid to do so.

--

After the third day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Dajiang and Chen Huiping began bustling around to return to Tibet.

Xu Xieyi would stay on the mountain for another week or two, until the start of the new school term.

The liveliness of the residential compound only made the Lin residence feel all the more desolate.

It was evident that Dujuan hadn't enjoyed a pleasant New Year either; she spent her time at home applying sheet masks, brewing health teas, and at most playing mahjong with acquaintances. There was a sense of emptiness to it all.

Xu Xieyi also felt rather strange about that never-before-seen godfather. For some reason, he hardly ever seemed to return here, leaving Dujuan all alone in this massive house. It seemed... their affection was rather distant.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, the warm sun pushed temperatures close to 15 degrees Celsius, prompting Dujuan to invite Xu Xieyi for a walk around the compound.

The neighborhood was quite large, occupying half a mountainside.

The buildings were sparsely spaced, so there were many areas Xu Xieyi was seeing for the first time.

"Xu Xieyi?"

Someone called out from behind. She and Dujuan turned around together.

In the soft, warm sunlight, a teenage boy came running out from the entrance of the green-mesh tennis court, holding a basketball in his hand.

Xu Xieyi stiffened slightly. "Xu Muzhou."

Although she had long known they lived in the same neighborhood, this was their first time running into each other.

Xu Muzhou jogged over, wearing only athletic pants and a cotton T-shirt, his temples dotted with sweat as he smiled cheerfully. "Out for a walk?"

"Mhm."

"And this must be your godmother?"

Dujuan had been observing him all along. After receiving Xu Xieyi's affirmative nod, Xu Muzhou smiled and said, "Hello, Auntie. I'm Xu Xieyi's classmate, Xu Muzhou. We met at the stone pot fish restaurant a few days ago."

As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily drifted back to Xu Xieyi.

Xu Xieyi lowered her eyes.

Obviously, both of them recalled the kiss on New Year's Eve. The boy's eyes were burning with warmth, while Xu Xieyi felt a vague, inexplicable sense of unease and resistance, causing her to instinctively take a step back.

The three of them chatted briefly, exchanged house numbers, and then Dujuan and Xu Xieyi headed back home.

They chatted as they pushed open the front door.

"That boy seems quite cheerful."

"Mhm."

Xu Xieyi lowered her head to change her shoes.

Dujuan recalled past events and smiled. "Your Brother Lin was also great at playing basketball back then. So many girls used to like him, sending him jerseys and sneakers. Everyone thought your brother would get married very early on."

Nanny Zhang walked over. "Ma'am, Lin Sheng is back."

This sentence caught both of them off guard.

After a moment of astonishment, Dujuan asked, "Why is he back?"

"Seems like he needed to pick up some things. Isn't he about to go abroad again soon?"

Dujuan sat in the living room, reading the newspaper and drinking tea while waiting for Lin Sheng to come downstairs. On the neighboring sofa, Xu Xieyi looked rather restrained.

Rhythmic, low footsteps echoed down the staircase, feeling like beats striking against her heart.

Her chest began to flutter.

"A-Sheng, come sit. Right on time, Sister Xieyi is also back. Before you head abroad, chat with her about filling out her college entrance exam applications. Who knows when you two will see each other next."

The man coming down the stairs wore a black sweater and trousers, his only accessory being a watch.

His attire was simple, yet possessed an indescribable harmony and texture.

His gaze swept over.

Xu Xieyi secretly took a breath through her nose, placed her hands neatly on her knees, and fought to calm her chaotic heartbeat.

The man's gaze brushed over the person beside her, then landed directly on her.

"Alright."

His voice was slightly low. "I'm not busy today."

Xu Xieyi held her breath, not daring to release it. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the man walking over, placing his square leather briefcase to the side, and sitting down on the sofa at a short distance from her.

"That's just wonderful. Nanny Zhang, Nanny Zhang, brew a cup of coffee for A-Sheng."

Dujuan was fond of Xu Xieyi and had always kept this matter in mind, her attitude toward Lin Sheng noticeably warmer than usual.

Nanny Zhang's voice acknowledging the request drifted over from the kitchen.

As the three of them sat on the sofa, Xu Xieyi's fingers twisted together under her sleeves. "Thank you, Brother Lin..."

Lin Sheng leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and lifted his eyelids upon hearing the gratitude. Beneath his dense lashes, his pupils were pitch-black, the whites of his eyes very pale.

Unable to withstand that kind of gaze, Xu Xieyi instinctively averted her eyes.

After a couple of seconds, he replied to her with formal detachment: "You're welcome."

Failing to notice this subtle tension, Dujuan reached out to take Xu Xieyi's hand. "If you don't know what major to pick, just properly ask your Brother Lin. A-Sheng, analyze English at Shen University for your sister—tell her whether it's a good major and what the employment prospects are like."

Lin Sheng shifted his gaze away from Xu Xieyi, appearing completely normal and without any abnormality.

Xu Xieyi let out a slight sigh of relief.

"English is mediocre; it doesn't have much of an advantage, nor does it have any obvious disadvantages," Lin Sheng said in a flat tone. "The scope of employment is broad, and salaries are ordinary. Of course, every major has its elites; you can't generalize."

His words were concise and to the point. Remembering something, Dujuan turned back to Xu Xieyi and said, "Oh, by the way, that male classmate you ran into earlier is also testing into Shen University. Is he majoring in English too? The two of you can exchange notes."

Xu Xieyi was startled for a moment, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Lin Sheng looking over.

He still wore that indifferent look, except his brows were pressed lower, his gaze turning somewhat sharp:

"You two are planning to go to the same university?"