Silent Border
The night rain silencing the city's noise, as if pushing all the clamor outside the window. Before the last light in the conference room went out, four cold words remained on the screen: funding gap. The desk was messy, unlike his usual style, with several impromptu meeting minutes creased from repeated flipping—Chiang's terms were written very simply: bridge financing, strategic investment, and marriage alliance.
Mu Tianlang put down his pen abruptly, his knuckles pausing on the edge of the paper. He didn't speak, but his throat tightened. This was the option he least wanted to see, and also the most feasible solution at this stage. Reason was like a knife, cutting deeper with each step; emotion was like fire, burning him so intensely he dared not breathe. He knew that this knife could not be used on Hu Li.
Back in his office, he asked Xiao Zhou to clear the meeting room and put his phone on silent. Two new emails popped up on his screen: a partner bank had shortened its credit line, and two suppliers had inquired about adjusting their cycles. He put the emails into his folder, raised his hand to rub his temples, but his gaze fell on a small card on the corner of the desk—a thin card with the word "come back" written by Hu Li very steadily, like a thread that could hold him back.
He opened his notes app, typed and then deleted: "I might have to go on a long business trip," "Don't wait up for me too late," "I'm not going home tonight"... In the end, he cleared them all out. The wolf could seize every opportunity, but it didn't want to bite her.
——
Back home, the studio light was still on. As soon as the door opened, a faint smell of paint wafted out. Hu Li was sitting cross-legged on the floor, pushing a still-wet painting up; hearing the noise, she looked up at him, her eyes crinkling into a smile: "You're back?"
"Okay." He draped his coat over the back of the chair, walked over, and steadied her easel. "Don't let the edge get scratched."
She looked up at him, her eyes bright: "You seem...very quiet today."
"Something came up at the company." He said calmly, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "No rush."
She put down her palette knife, got up, wiped her palms on her apron, took a step forward, and placed her hand on his thigh, as if to remind him, "I'm here." She leaned closer and whispered, "Do you want to say something?"
He lowered his head, his gaze sweeping from her eyelashes to the corner of her mouth, then lingering. The truth welled up in his throat, but he suppressed it. He simply said, "Later."
Hu Li didn't press the matter. Like a docile yet wary little fox, she circled around him, pushed him to sit on a high stool, stood between his knees, and straightened his tie, her tone still as irreverent as ever: "President, what was your score today?"
He took her hand, pressed his fingertips against the lines of her palm, and slowly lowered it: "You're a good girl, so you get full marks."
She smiled, her eyes curving as if touched by a lamp: "Then you be good too."
He hummed in response, as if retracting something. They were very close, able to hear their breathing gradually aligning. He raised his hand and touched the back of her neck, his voice low: "I might be back a little late tomorrow."
She instinctively wrinkled her nose slightly, then quickly smoothed it out and nodded, "Then I'll leave the light on for you."
"No need to wait."
"I'll sleep, but I'll leave the light on." She smiled, her tone soft as if she were pleading, or perhaps giving him an outlet. "I know you're busy."
He looked at her, his gaze slightly darkening, and for a moment he almost blurted out—a marriage alliance.
He didn't say anything in the end. He pulled her into his arms, his lips gently brushing against the top of her head: "I'll handle it."
——
The next morning, an emergency board meeting was held at Mu's Group. The air conditioning in the meeting room seemed to have been deliberately turned down a degree, and rows of numbers on the projection screen were dropping. The legal department finished reading the terms of the external control measures, and the finance department projected the shortfall into T+30 and T+60 timeframes, finally concluding with one sentence: the window for self-rescue is extremely short.
The representative from the Chiang family was very polite, but his tone was cold: "We are willing to provide bridge financing within a week and initiate a strategic equity investment. The conditions are also very clear: deep integration with the core supply chain, at least one seat on the board of directors... In addition, for the sake of long-term stability, we suggest that a marriage alliance serve as the social support for the cooperative relationship."
The air hung heavy for three seconds. Someone cleared their throat, while someone else silently took notes. Mother Mu sat at the other end of the table, her knuckles resting on the rim of her teacup, saying nothing.
Mu Tianlang gripped his pen tightly, his voice cold and steady: "Cooperation can be discussed, conditions can be discussed, deadlines can be discussed. Marriage is not within the scope of discussion."
The representative from the Jiang family smiled, as if politely backing down: "We understand Mr. Mu's concerns. However, in the current market environment, a stable narrative is beneficial to everyone. If you have a solution that can reassure investors, we would welcome it."
The meeting descended into a stalemate. The performance-based agreement, preferred shares, board seats, and asset preservation were all debated back and forth. The final agreement was: the Mu family would provide an equivalent alternative within forty-eight hours; the Jiang family would postpone the marriage proposal but not withdraw it.
As the meeting adjourned, rain began to fall outside the window. The floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the corridor, like a cold mirror, reflected everyone's faces even more faintly. He stood by the window, his knuckles fidgeting in his pocket, as if he wanted to crush something—but then he let go.
——
Back in his office, Xiao Zhou handed over the latest schedule: "3 PM, finance team meeting; 4:30 PM, supplier video conference; 6 PM, reserved communication window with Jiang's Group. And..." He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice, "Madam asked me to tell you to go home tonight."
He hummed in agreement and didn't ask any further questions. After closing the door, he quickly jotted down the key points:
[Cash Flow] Prioritize core business, reduce costs, and establish buyback protection.
[Financing] Convertible bonds + performance-based agreement; or preferred shares + seat.
[Statement] No response to rumors; company secretary will issue a written statement.
He wrote quickly, like pushing a knife forward. When he reached the last line, he stopped. His fingertips rested on the paper, but he didn't write anything. He thought of the last time she said, "I'll sleep, but I'll leave the light on," the barely audible trailing syllable.
He swiped to her chat window again. The cursor blinked twice. He typed: "Meeting tonight," "Don't wait for me," "Won't be home late"—and then deleted them all. Finally, he left only four words: Sleep well.
——
Night pressed down, layer by layer. As usual, he turned his work machine to silent mode and didn't play any music on his way home. When he entered the door, a warm yellow light shone in the living room, just as she had said—it was left on.
Hu Li got up from the sofa, draped a thin blanket over herself, and walked to him on the wooden floor. She reached out and straightened his collar, her eyes clear and innocent, and said softly, "It's late, are you tired?"
"It's late." He took her hand, palm to palm, his fingertips gently pressing along her knuckles twice, as if to reassure her that everything was alright, or perhaps to ask for some strength from her. "It's alright." He paused, then lowered his hand even further: "It's good to have seen you."
She looked up at him, a faint smile on her face, and clenched her fingers back: "No need to say anything, I understand. Go take a shower, I'll heat up some soup."
"No need." He pressed down on the back of her hand, his fingertips slowly moving downwards, as if soothing a fox that had just retracted its paw. "Sit with me for a while."
She nodded and sat obediently beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. Neither of them spoke, only the ticking of the second hand of the clock on the wall could be heard. He suddenly turned his head, his lips brushing against her hair, like a light, almost weightless touch.
"I'm here," she said.
He hummed in agreement. The word remained unspoken. He knew that once he spoke, he would thrust her into the eye of the storm. And he was the wolf, the wolf who shelters from the wind.
——
Late at night, he poured himself half a glass of water in his study, leaned against his desk, and replied to Jiang's email:
"Deliver an alternative solution within 48 hours. The marriage alliance is not within the scope of this discussion. If a social narrative is needed to support it, board seats, performance-based clauses, and long-term contract guarantees can be used. Please review."
The moment he pressed the send button, he let out a long breath. The rain outside intensified; he reached out and closed the window tightly before returning to the living room. She was already asleep, curled up in a corner of the sofa, the thin blanket having slipped down to her waist. He went over and pulled the blanket up, and as he knelt down, his gaze fell on her face—quiet, clean, like the only shore he wanted to hold onto amidst all the winds of life.
He placed a barely audible kiss on her forehead, his voice so soft it only reached his own ear: "Wait until I get past this hurdle."
As he stood up, his phone lit up with a message from his mother: "Come home tomorrow."
He glanced at it for two seconds, then his fingertips sank, and he put the message away. The wolf sheathed its teeth and concealed its wounds, turning its back on the wind tunnel as it walked inside.
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