Fu Xuanliao got up very early the next day in order to pick up his parents from the airport.

Shi Meng woke up when she heard the noise, rubbed her eyes and asked, "Do you want me to come with you?"

Fu Xuanliao chuckled: "In what capacity will you go? As my daughter-in-law?"

Shi Meng, who was still a little dazed, suddenly woke up, turned over with a cold face, and turned her back to Fu Xuanliao.

While changing clothes, Fu Xuanliao reflected on his words and realized they had been a bit harsh. Remembering he still needed to help Gao Lecheng make appointments, he sighed in front of the mirror, returned to the bedroom from the dressing room, strode onto the bed, and, with his arms on either side, pressed himself against Shi Meng.

Feeling uncomfortable from the hot breath blowing on her face and neck, Shi Meng had no choice but to turn her head and look at him.

On a non-working day, Fu Xuanliao wore a simple casual outfit and didn't use hairspray to style his hair, making him look less mature and composed, but more youthful and energetic.

In a daze, Shi Meng seemed to see that boy in school uniform again, and the stiff words he was about to say softened: "What... are you doing?"

"Can't I look at you?" Fu Xuanliao raised an eyebrow. "By the way, are you free next week?"

On the way to the airport, Fu Xuanliao told Gao Lecheng over the phone that things were settled.

Gao Lecheng flattered, "Old Fu is quite capable! I thought he wouldn't make it."

Fu Xuanliao sneered: "If you've already sold your body, it would be too embarrassing if it didn't work out."

"Don't underestimate yourself like that. Our CEO Fu is not only good-looking, but also very capable. Otherwise, how could he have Young Master Shi so infatuated with him?"

The more he listened, the more uneasy he felt. Fu Xuanliao felt as if he had become a femme fatale who bewitched a king in ancient times. Frustrated, he changed the subject and asked, "Do you remember what I did on Christmas Eve of my senior year of high school?"

Gao Lecheng pondered for a moment: "Hmm, that was so long ago... I only remember that we drank together that night, and after we finished drinking you said you were going to the school. I tried to persuade you not to go because it was snowing outside, but you insisted on going."

"And then what?"

"Then I went home. We don't go to the same school or live in the same direction. Then the next day, you were as happy as an idiot, saying that you had given the gift away."

"..." Fu Xuanliao was offended by this description. "Who's stupid?"

"Haha, just kidding. What I meant was that you were especially happy the next day, your voice was all cheerful on the phone."

Fu Xuanliao was speechless. How could he not be happy to see the gift he had given out on his beloved's wrist?

But he still felt something was off, as if he had missed something. Unable to recall, Fu Xuanliao had no choice but to ask again: "Then, I didn't contact you again the night before?"

"No," Gao Lecheng said. "You ungrateful wretch, you're probably off having fun with someone else, how could you possibly remember your brother in adversity?"

After hanging up the phone, Fu Xuanliao breathed a long sigh of relief.

Yes, that's how it happened—Shi Mu ran into him drunk when she went to get the gift, took him home, fed him soup, and the two of them lay on the same bed unpacking the gift and talking a lot.

Such gentle movements and comfortable interaction—how could it be Shi Meng? If it really was Shi Meng, how did that watch end up on Shi Mu's wrist later?

After all, everyone knows that possession and destruction are instincts ingrained in Shi Meng's blood. Once it falls into his hands, he will never allow that old watch to be returned to its rightful owner.

Four years ago, Fu Xuanliao witnessed firsthand the madness of those who would destroy anything they couldn't get.

Thinking back to the raging storm that night and the dozens of bright, piercing gazes, Fu Xuanliao forced a smile through his chilling body, as if mocking himself for wasting time on such an impossible thing, or as if rejoicing that he had managed to survive under such extreme control until now, which was truly remarkable.

The roads were slippery due to the melting snow, but I rushed as fast as I could to pick up my parents who were returning home as soon as possible.

Fu Qiming was still the same as always, and upon meeting, he first asked about the company's operations with a stern face. The father and son almost got into an argument halfway through their conversation because of their different strategies for a certain project. Jiang Rong then gently interjected, "Alright, alright, you've just gotten back, take a rest first. You two can continue your conversation after dinner."

Jiang Rong had ordered a cook to cook at home. Due to traffic congestion caused by melting snow, the cook called to say she would be half an hour late. Jiang Rong went to the kitchen to see if there were any ingredients to prepare something simple.

They couldn't find any other ingredients, but they did find a bag of roasted chestnuts in the refrigerator. Judging from the brand, it was from a popular online store; Jiang Rong had seen it online before, and apparently, you often had to queue for hours to buy it.

Fu Xuanliao is usually busy with work, so this obviously wasn't something he bought. While tidying up the room, Jiang Rong found that Fu Xuanliao's room was much tidier than she had imagined. Although the desk was still messy, at least the blankets on the bed were laid out, and the clothes weren't scattered around. Even the worn robes were neatly folded at the head of the bed.

A woman's intuition is always accurate. After dinner, while Fu Qiming went downstairs for a walk, Jiang Rong pulled her son to sit on the sofa and asked, "Xuan Liao, has anyone come to our house?"

“Yes,” Fu Xuanliao replied, “Gao Lecheng has come to visit twice.”

Under his mother's all-knowing gaze, Fu Xuanliao gave in: "Besides him, there are others."

Jiang Rong didn't press the matter. After a brief pause, she tentatively asked, "Is it Xiao Meng?"

Fu Xuanliao pursed his lips and remained silent, his complexion visibly worsening.

This was an implicit agreement. Jiang Rong glanced at the obvious bite wound on the corner of his lip and said knowingly, "I suppose it's no one else."

The deal with the Shi family was a taboo topic in the Fu family, and no one was willing to mention it normally. But Jiang Rong had returned this time to deal with this matter and remove the thorn in the hearts of the whole family, so after much consideration, she still wanted to ask clearly first: "So what are your thoughts on Xiao Meng now?"

"What thoughts could I possibly have about him?" Fu Xuanliao replied without hesitation. "I'd be trying to avoid him as much as possible."

Jiang Rong nodded: "Then your father and I will go to the Shi family to negotiate with them without worry."

Upon hearing the word "negotiation," Fu Xuanliao paused for a moment.

"Let's wait a bit longer." After a moment's thought, he said, "The cooperation project with the Shi family has just started. What if it gets involved..."

Jiang Rong had already thought it through and replied, "This matter will inevitably affect the relationship between our two families, but Shi's family is not unreasonable. We just need to show our sincerity in our cooperation." Her eyes were full of heartache as she looked at her son. "Your father and I have been through half our lives together. What good is making more money? Nothing is more important than your happiness."

After a moment of silence, Fu Xuanliao suddenly chuckled: "Happiness, joy?"

He hadn't thought about those two vague and ethereal words for four whole years. From the moment he signed that shameful contract, he lost the right to pursue happiness.

He could only passively accept whatever was told to him, and go wherever he was told to go. He didn't care whether he was happy or not; life went on as usual, and that was the only way he could live.

Jiang Rong felt guilty towards her son, which gave her the confidence to bring up the past again: "You are still young and have plenty of time to start a new relationship. Since you don't like Xiao Meng, you don't need to force yourself to associate with him after the contract is terminated."

This was supposed to be the thing Fu Xuanliao had been dreaming of for the past four years, but hearing it from his mother, he didn't feel the relief he had imagined.

For no apparent reason, he thought of the bag of roasted chestnuts, the ice cream at the amusement park, the many kisses mixed with pain and the taste of rust, and the bright eyes in Shi Meng's eyes when she looked at him.

These fragments came unexpectedly, and in his panic, Fu Xuanliao even began to wonder if he had Stockholm syndrome and had been driven into a masochistic state by that madman Shi Meng.

Fu Xuanliao grabbed a handful of hair to shake off his jumbled thoughts and stood up.

"In my opinion, the Shi family isn't so easy to talk to. Let's talk about this later." He picked up his coat and put it on. "I'm going out for a walk. If I don't show up soon, Old Fu will probably lose his temper again."

Jiang Rong also stood up, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end she only saw Fu Xuanliao to the door, watched him get on the elevator, and then sighed softly.

It is said that a timely snowfall promises a bountiful harvest, and once it snows, the Spring Festival is just around the corner.

After much coordination and repeated changes to the schedule, the four busy people finally managed to get together on the eve of New Year's Day and traveled in two cars to Gao Lecheng's newly opened resort in the suburbs.

On the way, Meng kept her head down, fiddling with her phone, chatting with someone. Fu Xuanliao, who was driving, yawned several times and, trying to stay awake, made conversation: "Didn't you used to dislike using your phone?"

Shi Meng then raised his head and looked at the driver's seat: "You said it yourself, it was in the past."

Fu Xuanliao choked a little, his anger rising at the look in Fu Xuanliao's eyes, which made him feel like he was an idiot. He was no longer sleepy, but he almost bit his teeth to pieces.

Actually, Shi Meng wasn't ignoring him on purpose; he had just added Sun Yanfeng on WeChat, and the other person was talking about something.

—This is your mom's cat, isn't it cute?

Then she sent a photo. It showed a black and white cat with one black and one white spot around its eyes. Compared to the trash can next to it, it looked quite plump and round.

Shi Meng replied with an "Mm," and Sun Yanfeng immediately asked him if he was willing to raise the child.

—Your mother signed up for a tour group, and I also hope she can travel more, as long as you help support her for two months.

Shi Meng stared at the words on the screen, lost in thought, recalling the cat he had seen at Teacher Sun's house, rubbing against his trouser leg and staring back at him with its wide, glassy eyes.

Just as he was thinking this, Shi Meng was pulled back to his senses by a sudden stop. As his body lurched forward, his phone slipped from his hand and fell onto his lap.

Picking up her phone and turning the screen back on, Shi Meng saw that the "hmm" that had been lying in the chat box, hesitating whether to send it or not, had already been sent. She turned her head and glared at Fu Xuanliao, as if questioning him about why he had suddenly stopped.

"We're here." Fu Xuanliao raised his chin, his self-assured demeanor tinged with a hint of smug satisfaction at having gotten his revenge. "What are you standing there for? Get out of the car!"

The Gao family acquired a piece of land that wasn't cheap. The area is surrounded by beautiful mountains and clear waters, and pine forests. Although it is located in a remote area, it is not uncommon for tourists to come here.

During the New Year's Day holiday, the hotel was packed with guests. When Fu Xuanliao and Gao Lecheng were registering at the front desk, Fu Xuanliao asked, puzzled, "Do you need to register to check in at your own hotel?"

"Hmm, our hotel has strict check-in procedures and security management to ensure the safety of our guests' lives and property." Gao Lecheng took Fu Xuanliao's ID card from his hand and handed it to the receptionist while asking, "You and your partner, one room should be enough, right?"

“I have no objection to reserving two rooms for you,” Fu Xuanliao said.

"That makes it sound like I'm stingy," Gao Lecheng chuckled. "We only have one room. What kind of old married couple would live apart?"

Fu Xuanliao was too lazy to argue with him, so he turned around and leaned against the marble table, looking at the people strolling by the fountain outside the hotel lobby.

To be precise, it was two people; Shi Meng called on his agent, Jiang Xue.

Fu Xuanliao hadn't had much contact with this woman before, only hearing that she was about his age. Today, they officially met, but before he could even introduce himself, the woman rolled her eyes and turned away, looking disdainful of him, leaving Fu Xuanliao completely bewildered.

Looking at them now, Shi Meng was more eye-catching than the other man. He was wearing the same white down jacket he wore at the mall last time. His legs, encased in jeans, were slender and long. The hood covered his fair and delicate face, and if you looked closely, he seemed to be smiling with his eyes crinkling.

"What are you looking at?" Gao Lecheng waved his five fingers in front of his eyes.

Fu Xuanliao looked away in surprise and coughed lightly: "I think your taste is getting worse and worse. That woman is not suitable for you."

Gao Lecheng followed the direction he had been looking and saw Jiang Xue smiling with a flirtatious air: "I also predicted back then that you and Shi Meng were not a good match, but now aren't you two getting along very well?"

Fu Xuanliao exclaimed in surprise: "Which eye of yours saw that he and I were getting along very well?"

Gao Lecheng said leisurely, "Both eyes saw it."

Fu Xuanliao didn't believe him, but he was also annoyed by his words and found it hard not to take them to heart.

To prove that "it's great" was pure nonsense, he looked toward the fountain again.

From a distance, Shi Meng took a parasol from Jiang Xue, opened it, held it above his head, and then slowly walked into the center of the fountain.

The sky is high and the clouds are vast, the spring water is clear and sparkling. An umbrella traces an arc on its surface. A person who dislikes rain but is named Rain stands there, looking up to find the source of the light. Through the curtain of water, the soft lines of his profile seem to be soaked in a layer of translucent white glaze, blending into the scene of a painting.

Only when he reached for his phone in his pocket did Fu Xuanliao suddenly come to his senses and realize that he had subconsciously wanted to take a picture of the scene.

Cursing under his breath, Fu Xuanliao quickly turned his back.

Gao Lecheng took the three room keys, puzzled: "What's wrong?"

Looking out the floor-to-ceiling window at the view, he understood and immediately took out his phone and switched to camera mode.

Before he could press the shutter button, his phone was suddenly snatched away by the person next to him.

"What's so interesting about filming this?" Fu Xuanliao said irritably, his face darkening. "It looks like a mushroom getting soaked in the rain."