Chapter 137: Shen Xian Enters the Game Himself

From the corner of the window, Zhou Wan watched Shen Xian turn away without a word, then saw Meng Yanzhou pressing the doorbell.

She flung the door open in a rage and shouted, "Meng Yanzhou, are you sick? What are you doing here in the middle of the night!"

At the same time, she rushed out into the pouring rain, intending to chase after Shen Xian. But when Qingqing began to cry inside the house, she stomped her foot and retreated back indoors.

Meng Yanzhou frowned at Zhou Wan. "What, as a friend, am I not even entitled to come and see you?"

He tried to enter, but Zhou Wan blocked his path. "Get out!"

"Mommy!" Qingqing walked out barefoot, tears still clinging to her cheeks, clearly startled awake from a nightmare.

Zhou Wan picked her up, heart aching, and coaxed her, "Don't cry, Qingqing. What's wrong?"

Qingqing rubbed her eyes and looked at Meng Yanzhou. "Daddy?" She then shook her head. "Not Daddy. I want Daddy."

Clutching Qingqing, Zhou Wan looked coldly at Meng Yanzhou. "Meng Yanzhou, let me tell you this: from today on, don't come here again. I already have a child with him!"

Meng Yanzhou looked at the child resting on her shoulder, then glanced into the house—there was no man present. The rumors were true; Zhou Wan had conceived the child after a drunken night, and no one knew who the father was.

At this thought, Meng Yanzhou spoke with agitation, "Wanwan, I know how it is. I can be her father; I can give her a father's love. Won't you give me a chance?"

He truly loved Zhou Wan. Since childhood, he had intended to marry her. He was no pampered playboy like Qi Zhengqing; he was a man of substance, an expert in semiconductors. At thirteen, he was hailed as a prodigy, entering the University of Science and Technology of China's gifted youth program to study semiconductor technology. Three years ago, he went to Nanman to develop photolithography machines. He had locked himself in a laboratory for three years, finally achieving success. At only twenty-six, he had already become a top engineer in the field. The first thing he did upon leaving the lab was to return to find Zhou Wan.

People are destined to be haunted for a lifetime by what they could not obtain in their youth. He did not care about Zhou Wan's past; he was willing to accept her as she was, because she was the woman he had always wanted to marry.

"Meng Yanzhou, go home. If this continues, we won't even be able to be friends." Zhou Wan shook her head, her expression icy, her eyes devoid of any emotion.

Hearing this, Meng Yanzhou’s eyes turned red, and his entire body trembled. Marrying Zhou Wan had been his dream since he could remember—a goal spanning twenty years. Was he to lose her after all?

"If you still want to be friends, then go back," Zhou Wan said, her mood restless. Cracks had already appeared in her relationship with Shen Xian, and tonight’s incident had brought their connection to a freezing point.

"We can still be friends?" Meng Yanzhou’s eyes lit up. As long as they remained friends, there was a chance. He refused to believe he couldn't move this glacier.

Zhou Wan closed the door without a word. Standing outside, Meng Yanzhou sighed heavily and drove away.

As he left the apartment complex, he saw Shen Xian walking through the cold wind and slanting rain. He thought Shen Xian looked as lonely as a stray dog—just like himself.

Shen Xian was drenched, not bothering with an umbrella, letting the wind and rain lash against him. Meng Yanzhou slowed his car, filmed a video of Shen Xian’s retreating figure, and posted it to his social media with the caption: "Like this brother here, my heart is cold and disillusioned."

Shen Xian kept walking, his hair matted with rain, his cheeks streaming with water. Compared to the physical cold, the chill in his heart felt bone-deep. Her first love had visited her in the middle of the night, and she had opened the door for him... Thinking of her attitude toward him, everything seemed clear now.

"Simps are doomed; scumbags live forever."
"Why did I fall into this trap again?"
"Weren't the lessons from Lin Zhixia and Liu Ruyun enough?"

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Shen Xian’s mouth. He was mocking himself, as well as his life and his love. My life is already miserable enough; who would have thought my love life would be too?

He looked up at the sky. "Heaven, I have never done a single bad thing in my life. Why treat me this way?"

He recalled his childhood, being chased by others who mocked him for "selling his soul for a steamed bun," his grandfather dying by his side as he cried in terror all night, his teenage years spent being interrogated by the police, and his high school and college years being looked down upon by his roommates.

"Heaven, when will you let me go?"
"No, this isn't Heaven's fault. I brought this on myself."

Shen Xian closed his eyes; his face was wet, and he could not tell if it was tears or rain. When he opened them again, his gaze was a hollow gray.

From this moment on, he would be a man who no longer harbored illusions about love.

***

Back home, Shen Xian took a hot shower and climbed into bed, finally succumbing to a fever. He curled up under his covers, his body temperature rising to an alarming degree, and fell into a delirious sleep—so exhausted that he didn't even have the strength to charge his phone when it automatically powered down.

Throughout the night, he drifted between sleep and wakefulness, haunted by dreams. He dreamed of his time with Zhou Wan, only for her to turn cold and abandon him; then he dreamed of marrying her, only for her to walk away. It was a relentless cycle. A heavy weight pressed upon his heart, leaving him in a state of constant inner turmoil.

Thirst drove him to struggle out of bed to pour a glass of water and plug in his phone, before sinking back into a heavy slumber.

While he slept, the internet was in an uproar. The trending news continued to ferment, sweeping across half the country, with netizens in distant provinces catching wind of the story.

"Sisters, this kind of man is so disappointing!"
"I actually feel sorry for the owner of the breeding farm."
"Sometimes you just run into the wrong person, what can you do?"

When Shen Xian woke up, it was already three in the afternoon. He remained weak and continued to cycle through fevers. He glanced at the news and, suppressing his discomfort, began to write a press release.

[Shocking: The man in the video is none other than Shen Xian!]
[Do you remember Shen Xian? Liu Ruyun's boyfriend, the gold-medal producer from three years ago!]
[Shocking! Three years ago, gold-medal producer Shen Xian sold out his friends for money!]

After finishing the draft, Shen Xian sent it to Peach Baby: "Teacher Tao, sorry to trouble you, but please help me publish these three stories. In return, I can write a song for you."

This time, Peach Baby did not refuse. She replied with an "OK" emoji and added: "Teacher Postman, I would like to meet you to discuss the new song."

Just as Shen Xian agreed, the doorbell rang. Looking through the peephole, he saw a man in military uniform standing outside—a young man, looking to be in his thirties.

Shen Xian knew who it was. He opened the door. "Come in."

He caught a glimpse of the insignia: the rank of lieutenant colonel.