Chapter 2 Current Situation

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye. Ling Shen had transformed from a young, naive boy into the head of the Ling Group, a powerful figure in the business world and a rising star in the new generation of business.

Most people outside describe him as arrogant, cold, and unapproachable. He seems to be shrouded in a layer of coldness that keeps strangers away. He is even more decisive and ruthless at the negotiating table, never showing any mercy to his opponents.

However, all these cold labels were completely invalid in front of Jiang Yi. In Jiang Yi's eyes, Ling Shen had never changed, and the gentleness and patience that belonged to him had never diminished in the past ten years.

Ever since Jiang Yi woke up ten years ago, Ling Shen, who used to be indifferent to him, has become responsive to all his requests. As long as it is something he wants, Ling Shen will go to mountains and seas to get it for him.

Jiang Yi didn't understand it before, but everyone else in the Jiang family did. This was Ling Shen's way of repaying a favor. Even though Jiang Yi was initially unaccustomed to this sudden kindness, even feeling somewhat lost, Ling Shen's selfless dedication, like the gentle and silent spring rain, gradually seeped into his life, making him addicted and unable to extricate himself.

Jiang Yi knew in his heart that he was merely impersonating someone else's identity. All he did was to carry Ling Shen back to the room from someone else's hands.

But this misplaced favor allowed him to obtain everything others envied. Knowing that all this was but a mirage, a bubble built on error, he greedily enjoyed it, never once considering confessing the truth to Ling Shen.

Time flies. In the past ten years, everyone in the circle has tacitly acknowledged the special position that Jiang Yi holds in Ling Shen's heart. They all say that Jiang Yi is Ling Shen's bottom line and no one can touch it.

Faced with all kinds of speculation and misunderstandings about their relationship from the outside world, Ling Shen never explained, but just smiled faintly. That smile contained a gentleness and pampering that others could not understand.

Ling Shen had grown accustomed to Jiang Yi's presence after ten years of companionship. Traces of Jiang Yi were everywhere in his life: his favorite pillow always sat on the sofa in the living room, his favorite drinks filled the refrigerator, and even his office drawers were filled with Jiang Yi's scribbles.

Although there has never been a clear commitment between the two, nor is there an intimate relationship in the secular sense, but because Jiang Yi said "I don't like too many strangers around me", Ling Shen has no other close people around him except Jiang Yi.

He turned down all unnecessary social engagements, rejected all advances from both the opposite and same sex, and confined his world to Jiang Yi.

But Jiang Yi's mentality has quietly changed in this day-to-day life. He enjoys the convenience and glory brought by Ling Shen's identity. With Ling Shen's connections, he is like a fish in water in the social circle, and everything he wants is within his reach.

But at the same time, he began to tire of this overprotective bondage. Ling Shen's gaze was constantly on him, and his whereabouts and friendships seemed to be under Ling Shen's control. He felt like a bird trapped in an ornate cage: though well-fed and well-clothed, it had lost the right to fly freely.

The inner conflict grew day by day, finally erupting on a rainy night. Jiang Yi looked out the window at the world blurred by the rain, and his thoughts became more and more firm. He wrote a note with only a few numbers on it: "I'm going to study abroad, don't worry."

The moment the door was gently closed, it was as if two worlds were separated. When Ling Shen heard the news, his eyes were filled with a loss and confusion he had never seen before.

But he was not angry, nor did he pursue her. He just quietly put away the note, keeping the promise he had made to Jiang Yi over the years, and waited quietly there, as if he believed that Jiang Yi was only away temporarily and would come back one day.

At the same time, on the other side of the city, Su Nian has also become the owner of a bookstore.

The bookstore is hidden in an alley shaded by plane trees. A bronze bell hangs from the maroon wooden sign, tinkling softly in the wind. Pushing open the carved glass door, a warm yellow light immediately envelops everyone who enters.

The wall is divided into staggered message areas, covered with yellowed sticky notes and watercolor graffiti - someone wrote in pencil "I finished reading my first novel here", and there are also childish children's drawings with crooked drawings of a bookstore owner wearing glasses.

On the walnut bookshelf are placed bookmarks made by Su Nian herself. The edges of the ginkgo leaf-shaped cardboard are hot-stamped with gold, and different poems are written in small regular script on the back.

The old record player in the corner often plays Chopin's nocturnes, mixed with the rich aroma of coffee brewed by an Italian moka pot, which can warm the entire space in winter.

Regular customers all know that there are special rules here: on the third weekend of every month, Su Nian will use Jingdezhen white porcelain cups to make hand-brewed coffee and pair it with freshly baked croissants; if it is a rainy night, you can also eat his homemade osmanthus wine.

Those female students with ponytails always like to lean over the cashier to chat. They find that the boss always has the second button of his shirt buttoned properly, and his eyelashes cast fan-shaped shadows under his eyes when he speaks.

"Teacher Su, can I play the guzheng music for the next reading club?" The girl with twin ponytails handed over the music sheet with a red face. The corner of the paper pinched by her fingertips was wrinkled by sweat.

When Su Nian took it, he deliberately put a bookmark under it and said in a gentle voice, "I'll reserve the seat by the window for you next Wednesday evening." Such conversations were repeated every day until dusk swept over the bookshelf, and then he would turn the "Open" sign to "Closed".

At midnight, after the daytime bustle faded from the bookstore, Su Nian would carry a dark green blanket to the rooftop terrace. The same whiskey always sat on the cast iron table, with water droplets condensing on the glass's walls, snaking down the icy ridges. With her sleeves rolled up, the scars on her arms were particularly visible under the light.

The moonlight passed through the ivy hanging from the clothesline, casting mottled shadows on the faded photo - in the photo, Chen Ran was wearing a washed-out white shirt, his arm draped over Su Nian's shoulder, and behind him was the playground dyed orange by the setting sun.

"The magnolias are blooming early again this year." Su Nian used his thumb to repeatedly trace the corners of the smiling eyes of the person in the photo, and the spicy taste of whiskey mixed with salty tears rolled into his throat.

For ten years, some people were trapped in the dense forest, while others continued to move forward alone in pain.