Chapter 51 Chapter 51 Extra 1
Zhou Shiye first met Wen Yu at the Zhou family's old house.
The old man brought her back, saying she was a descendant of an old friend, and asked him and his brother Zhou Yingchen to take good care of her.
Wen Yu, dressed in a simple dress, stood in the magnificent hall, her head bowed and eyes downcast, looking so frail that she seemed like she could be blown away by a gust of wind.
Zhou Shiye sneered inwardly, wondering which poor, remote place the old man had picked up.
It looks boring and troublesome.
Especially their timid demeanor, as if the Zhou family were some kind of den of dragons and tigers, which was unsettling to look at.
Zhou Shiye deliberately walked quickly past Wen Yu, and as expected, Wen Yu was so frightened that she stepped back.
Zhou Shiye ignored Wen Yu until one rainy night.
When he returned from his social engagements, his car drove into the courtyard, its headlights sweeping across the glass conservatory in the corner of the garden.
The rain was heavy that night, pounding against the glass.
Then, Zhou Shiye saw Wen Yu in the flower room.
The girl, dressed in a simple white nightgown, sat under the dim light, a drawing board in front of her, painting.
Rainwater meandered along the glass, blurring the outside world and Wen Yu's figure.
But the girl's hand gripping the paintbrush tightly, and the intense colors on the canvas under the dim light, are clearly visible.
In an instant, it felt as if something had struck Zhou Shiye's heart.
It turned out that Wen Yu was not the fragile vase he had imagined.
She may appear delicate, but she possesses a silent resilience.
The car lights went out, and Zhou Shiye sat in the dark car, looking at Wen Yu for a long time through the rain.
For the first time, Zhou Shiye felt that this poor little thing was quite interesting; the way she painted was inexplicably captivating.
Curiosity is the beginning of being ensnared.
Zhou Shiye gradually began to pay attention to Wen Yu without realizing it.
Watching her eat quietly, watching her hide in the corner of the study to read, watching her secretly keep a few dying plants on the abandoned terrace.
Wen Yu rarely smiled, but once when cherry blossoms were fluttering in the air, her eyes suddenly lit up, making people even more eager to see her smile.
Zhou Shiye's heart skipped a beat.
So, at a family gathering, Wen Yu was verbally abused by several relatives. Her face turned pale, and she ran alone to the cherry blossom tree in the backyard. Zhou Shiye followed her.
Seeing Wen Yu's slightly trembling shoulders, Zhou Shiye hugged her from behind as if possessed.
"Don't be afraid,"
Zhou Shiye's voice was hoarse and urgent: "From now on, I will protect you."
Wen Yu was flustered and struggled violently, pushing Zhou Shiye away with all her might like a frightened bird.
"Let go, Zhou Shiye, let me go."
Wen Yu's voice was choked with sobs, and her eyes were filled with fear and rejection.
Zhou Shiye was taken aback.
From childhood to adulthood, he has never failed to get whatever he wanted.
Women are the same; which one of them doesn't actively try to get close to him?
How dare Wen Yu refuse Zhou Shiye?
Overwhelmed by rage and a sense of humiliation, Zhou Shiye stared at the girl in front of him with a fierce look in his eyes. He slammed his fist into the tree trunk next to him, and with a muffled thud, warm liquid flowed down between Zhou Shiye's fingers.
It's blood.
"You're rejecting me?"
Wen Yu flinched in fright, her face turning even paler, and she looked at Zhou Shiye as if he were a madman.
Yes, Zhou Shiye has gone mad.
He became abnormal from the moment he became interested in Wen Yu.
That unpleasant parting was like a thorn stuck in Zhou Shiye's heart.
He became even more active around Wen Yu, treating her well in his own way.
Zhou Shiye gave Wen Yu expensive art supplies and took her to what he considered fun places.
He forcibly intervened in Wen Yu's life, disregarding her wishes.
Zhou Shiye knew that Wen Yu was afraid of him, but so what?
What he feared was that Wen Yu completely disregarded him, Zhou Shiye.
So even though he saw the fear in Wen Yu's eyes, even though once Wen Yu was so frightened that she hid in the rain and was soaked all night, and had a high fever the next day, Zhou Shiye never thought of giving up.
Strangely, after the three-day, three-night high fever, when Zhou Shiye tried to hug Wen Yu again, she did not resist fiercely this time.
She simply let Zhou Shiye hold her stiffly, like a soulless puppet.
Even so, Zhou Shiye felt a huge, twisted sense of satisfaction welling up inside him.
Zhou Shiye held Wen Yu in his arms, feeling the cool warmth emanating from her slender body, and was as happy as a child who had received a long-awaited toy.
However, she wouldn't allow him to openly express his feelings for her, and she didn't want anyone to know that he liked her.
Zhou Shiye agreed.
He was terrified, terrified that she would leave him.
Then one day, she really disappeared.
Zhou Shiye frantically searched for Wen Yu.
During those days without Wen Yu, Zhou Shi felt like he was living a life worse than death.
After finally finding her, Wen Yu found that Shen Jinhuai was now by her side.
He is no longer allowed to approach.
Zhou Shiye has completely lost his mind.
He was willing to hurt himself just to get Wen Yu to look at him.
But so what?
Wen Yu still chose to remain in Chenjinhuai.
On what grounds?
What makes him capable of sinking Jin Huai?
What pained Zhou Shiye even more was that he had to admit that Wen Yu was the happiest and best Wen Yu when she was with Shen Jinhuai.
Zhou Shiye gave up.
He chose to exile himself.
The glaciers of Northern Europe remain unchanged for millennia, and the darkness of the polar night stretches endlessly.
Here, personal loves, hates, and grudges are as insignificant as dust.
Zhou Shiye picked up his camera again and, in the frigid temperatures of tens of degrees below zero, captured the moment an iceberg collapsed, recorded the magnificent changes of the aurora borealis, and tracked the lonely footprints of polar bears on the ice field.
Zhou Shiye transformed all his madness, pain, and resentment into the driving force for his creations.
His works are austere and rational, filled with reverence for nature and life.
Time possesses immense power.
Zhou Shiye established a foundation to devote his energy to more meaningful things.
He would think of Wen Yu, her stubborn figure in the flower room on a rainy night, the terrified look in her eyes when she rejected him, and the pathetic joy he felt when Wen Yu briefly compromised.
But those images slowly faded away, like old photographs, and were stored away in some corner of Zhou Shiye's memory.
Later, Zhou Shiye heard that Wen Yu was doing very well, with a successful career and a happy family.
Zhou Shiye was very calm.
Perhaps, this is the best ending.
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When the grandfather brought a girl named Wenyu back to the Zhou family, Zhou Yingshen was finalizing a multi-billion dollar cooperation deal with the European branch in a video conference.
After the meeting ended, Zhou Yingchen picked up his phone and listened to Chen Xu's report: "Wen Yu, the granddaughter of Old Madam Wen, is an orphan. She has a quiet personality and was personally taken back to the old house by the old man."
Zhou Yingchen gave a faint "hmm".
The first formal meeting was at a family dinner at the Zhou family home.
Wen Yu sat at the end of the long table, dressed in a custom-made gown, looking reserved, uneasy, and out of place with everything around her.
Zhou Yingchen habitually makes a quick assessment: the background is simple, but the current situation is fragile.
It's just a parasitic plant that needs someone to shelter it from the wind and rain.
Until Zhou Yingchen discovered that his willful younger brother's gaze towards Wen Yu was filled with naked possessiveness.
This is dangerous.
Therefore, Zhou Yingchen began to pay attention to Wen Yu.
He observed that when Wen Yu was being harassed by others at the banquet, her knuckles turned slightly white, yet she maintained a polite smile.
But when she faces the canvas, a burning light ignites in her eyes.
It turns out she wasn't just a pretty face.
Beneath its seemingly fragile exterior lies astonishing resilience, a stubbornness that allows it to bloom even amidst ruins.
Not long after, an accident occurred.
Startled by Zhou Shiye's frantic declaration of love, Wen Yu, soaking wet, stumbled into Zhou Yingchen's study area like a little rabbit.
The fear and panic in the girl's eyes instantly shattered Zhou Yingchen's pride in his self-control.
He handed Wen Yu a glass of hot whiskey, watching as her hand trembled violently as she held the glass.
At that moment, all notions of family responsibility and risk management vanished.
Zhou Yingchen kissed Wen Yu as if possessed, his movements hurried and rough.
Wen Yu was terrified and struggled desperately.
However, the disparity in strength is enormous.
Afterwards, Wen Yu curled up in the corner of the sofa, so fragile she seemed ready to break at any moment.
After that day, Zhou Yingchen went on a business trip.
When I got back, I heard that Wen Yu had a high fever that lasted for three days and three nights.
Upon seeing Wen Yu again, Zhou Yingchen realized that he could no longer live without her.
The good news is that Wen Yu is no longer resisting as fiercely as she did the first time.
Although she pleaded with him in a broken voice not to tell anyone.
From then on, Zhou Yingchen fell into the cage he had woven for himself.
In public, he is the cold and rational head of the Zhou family.
In the shadows, where no one knew, Zhou Ying was captivated by Wen Yu's brief moments of docility in his arms.
But then, Wen Yu disappeared.
Zhou Yingchen mobilized all the resources of the Zhou family, both overt and covert, like a fanatical madman, reviewing every detail over and over again, sparing no expense to find Wen Yu.
Finally, Zhou Yingchen discovered Wen Yu's whereabouts.
He orchestrated a commercial strangulation targeting Shen Jinhuai's core industries. His objectives were clear, his methods ruthless, and he completely disregarded the enormous costs the Zhou family would have to pay.
Even if it results in mutual destruction, even if it might cripple the Zhou family, Zhou Yingchen will force Shen Jinhuai to give up.
He wanted Wen Yu to understand that no matter where she ran away to, she could only return to Zhou Yingchen's side.
Even if it means using chains, he will lock her back into his world.
But it's no use.
Wen Yu didn't care what he had sacrificed, nor did she care about him at all.
Zhou Yingchen lost.
He ceased all hostility toward Shen Jinhuai and all efforts to pave the way for Wen Yu, and devoted all his energy back to the operation of the Zhou family.
Zhou Yingchen became even more ruthless, numbing his already battered heart with even more intense work every day.
Zhou Yingchen took even better care of that potted plant, fertilizing, watering, and pruning it as if it were a rare treasure.
The green plants gradually regained their vitality, sprouting new, glossy green leaves that grew even better than when they were in Wen Yu's care.
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