The will to survive, nurtured in a honey pot
"When I tell you to run, you run."
When Jin Yanzhi said this, the two had already climbed to the top of the mountain with great difficulty.
The tour leader pointed to a dilapidated shack, turned his head to reveal a mouthful of white teeth, and invited them to come in and sit down. It was wet and cold on the mountain because of the rain. After entering the shack, they found an uncle holding pliers, fiddling with the firewood on the ground, while watching the new guests.
The freshly sliced matsutake mushrooms on the table released a delightful aroma between his teeth. He glanced at the guy who had relaxed and was focused on eating. Still incredibly nervous, he quickly ate two slices, then picked up the thickest stick in his line of sight and stuck it into the torch.
If there were real danger today, he hoped that he would be the one to set the house on fire to buy time, and that the woman beside him, who was warming herself by the fire with her small hands, would be able to run out safely and live a good life.
This plan was both grand and heartbreaking. Lin Zhen'er also regretted that she couldn't cooperate well with her newlywed husband, who had grown up in a wealthy family and whose family fortune had been eyed by wolves and tigers for many years, and who had never risked his life.
As she was heading down the mountain, she discovered several plump matsutake mushrooms among the thick layer of pine needles on the ground and was digging them up enthusiastically. Suddenly, a large hand shoved her down the mountain path from behind, followed by a loud, energetic shout. What followed was a rather embarrassing scene: she tumbled a few times down the slope, fell to the roadside, and lost her shoe.
The leader following behind them paused for a few seconds before walking onto the road to pick up her shoe. The old man who hurriedly caught up from behind opened his dark red hand, revealing something shiny inside, still dazzling in the rain:
"Young man, you've lost your watch."
The woman, enduring the sharp pain in her ankle, struggled to her feet. Looking at her husband's flushed face and the nearly collapsed ocean-view penthouse, she gasped. The opulent royal oak trees, their branches gleaming against the grey sky, shimmered with a decadent glow. Thankfully, it was all a misunderstanding.
At the foot of the mountain, visible not far away, several burly men in professional climbing gear had already appeared. Those men must be the security team that Boss Jin, who had made all the preparations, had arranged sometime ago.
The person who fell was about to grab the leader's hand to get up when he was lifted into the air by a huge force. Before he could react, he was already being carried on Jin Zixiao's shoulder.
Although this domineering CEO rarely has the opportunity to walk on such mountain roads, his good habit of exercising over the years and his height of 1.9 meters still allow him to move with ease in this situation. The bodyguards who caught up with him and the team leader who had just been suspected both watched this scene of marital affection without saying a word.
Lin Zhen'er bit her lip in embarrassment. Although she was a romance novelist, it didn't mean she really wanted to experience such an idol drama plot.
"How do I look? Am I handsome?"
The man who carried his wife into the car had a slightly flushed face, but he couldn't tell if it was from the exhaustion of the rugged mountain road or the excitement of displaying his astonishing strength by carrying his wife down the mountain in one go. After all, Jin Zixiao was a very unpredictable person…
"I thought you were fearless, but I never expected you to be afraid that the team leader would kill us today."
The guy who was full of boundless energy just a minute ago, looking like he could uproot trees on a mountain, started acting cute as soon as he got in the car. He buried his head in her shoulder, panting and whining without answering her questions. The woman, trying not to laugh, could only turn her face to stare out the window.
The return journey was much faster than the outward journey because the rain had stopped. As a result, the newlywed Mrs. Jin was finally able to see the luxurious decor of her hotel before dark. She walked past the pool landscape paved with cloud-patterned black marble at the entrance, with scented candles lit on both sides of the pool in a pleasing arrangement, and the scent was also very special. People who were exhausted from the ordeal on the mountain were able to relax in such an environment.
"These are mushrooms my wife picked this morning. Let's ask the kitchen to make some for dinner."
Jin Yanzhi handed her the basket and pulled her into the elevator. Their room should have the best view in the hotel; a whole wall of translucent Brazilian stone stood on the floor in the entrance hall, silently proclaiming the cost of the room.
After taking a shower, sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window surrounded by the sea view, drinking sweet soup, the person next to them seemed to truly relax.
“When I was little, there were several mountains on the edge of Xijiang town. My classmates’ fathers would take them to the mountains to play on weekends. They picked mushrooms and chestnuts, and in the summer they would have picnics by the stream. I never went. I always pretended that I didn’t like climbing mountains.”
But I actually really wanted to go. Even though the weather wasn't good today, I guess my wish came true.
The tangerine peel and red bean paste in her mouth was so smooth that she couldn't taste any grains, but Lin Zhen'er's voice had a strong conflict with that sweetness, so bitter that it made her throat feel tight.
She was always ashamed to mention her memories of that man to anyone, carefully protecting her fragile pride for so many years. She didn't want anyone to know that the person who should have loved her from birth was someone who never showed her even the slightest bit of warmth in her memory.
But for some reason, today on the muddy mountain road, the moment that man, whose net worth was many times greater than hers, let her go first.
An unprecedented sense of security and warmth suddenly swept over her heart. The young tycoon who always appeared aloof and indifferent on the news pages completely forgot the heavy weights on the scales of worldly justice at this moment. He was just a husband who wholeheartedly wanted to protect his wife, just like every woman's dream.
“I’ve been acting crazy today, did I scare you? This kind of weather always reminds me of the day Jiang Chengxu left, it was raining just as hard. So you were pretending you didn’t like climbing mountains, but I was genuinely scared. But it’s okay, as long as you like it, we can go again in the future.”
The man standing before the floor-to-ceiling window gazed at the darkening sea, its surface churning with menacing waves under the heavy twilight, and sighed heavily. So many years had passed, yet he still couldn't forget that face, that vibrant and handsome young man.
Many years ago, on that rainy evening, the boy who sat by the mountain road waiting for him never returned. Today, when the scene was repeated, he didn't even think twice before giving the only chance to escape to the person he cared about most in his heart.
If the torrential rain and the shadows of the trees represent a sin from which there is no survival, Lin Zhen'er, as long as you can escape alive, that's all that matters. This was the thought that kept repeating in his mind throughout the afternoon, filled with tension and worry, never wavering for a second.
“In families like ours, it’s normal to resort to any underhanded tricks in the struggle to inherit all the businesses. I investigated Chengxu’s case for many years afterward, but I couldn’t find any clues. But I just can’t believe that he would say he would wait for me and then inexplicably run off to a hillside several kilometers away and die of hypothermia.”
Back then, both siblings were top students at school, yet they were both very well-behaved. Before my father passed away, he was extremely protective of me; he was my only friend.
The rain, which had stopped, suddenly started again. Large raindrops streamed down the window, forming lines that plunged into the unfathomable sea, only to be swallowed up by the dark, endless surface. A pointed chin rested on his shoulder, and the woman who had been sitting embraced him from behind. Her long, thick eyelashes fluttered gently, and a comforting aura enveloped him with the gesture.
More than a decade ago, the two teenagers were under immense pressure from their mother, desperately learning various skills in an attempt to win a smile from their wealthy partner. At that time, they were each other's only solace, and the Jiang family, due to their considerable wealth, became the only place they could easily afford to eat at during their middle school years.
The place was very safe in the eyes of the parents, but in the boy's eyes, the happiest time was the short time he could spend playing with the two siblings in the room after each meal. They played games, read comics, and shared all the troubles of adolescence. They thought they could grow up together, but no one expected that in the end, only the two of them would be left.
"Jiang Chengjing..."
Lin Zhen'er's curiosity surged, but she swallowed it back in the end. She wanted to ask if that woman, who always stood tall like a fighting rooster, even when no one was around, and whose hair couldn't be out of place, was once just a bright-smiling, innocent, and romantic girl.
"Chengxu's death was a huge blow to her. Her mother also blamed the death of her son on the fact that she sprained her ankle that day and I went to take her down the mountain."
Not long after, their mother passed away. From then on, Jiang Chengjing changed completely. He went from being timid and cowardly who never fought for anything to someone who fought for everything and never let himself off the hook.
But Zhen'er, do you know? They look so alike, especially their dimples when they smile... they're practically identical.
I know his sister isn't him, but when I look at that face, I always think of him. The only remaining trace of him in this world that's close to him is Jiang Chengjing.
The man's voice held a suppressed sob and a repressed longing. He didn't turn around to look at himself, remaining stiffly standing and staring at the scenery outside that had long been swallowed by the night, letting the warm yellow lights downstairs illuminate the empty garden, motionless.
So those news stories might actually be true. The person who had stopped asking questions replayed the events in their mind: the wealthy family Jiang Chengjing married into had a notorious playboy; from being photographed together in a car to getting married and having a child, it seemed like less than six months had passed.
The scheming female lead who once dominated half of entertainment news by getting pregnant has such deep scars etched in her heart.
Even an ordinary person like her knows this news, so the Jiang family couldn't possibly be unaware of it. That arrogant woman, who usually acts so haughtily, must have felt something in her heart after seeing all the nightclub paparazzi photos and scandalous affairs she's witnessed over the years. She was once a phoenix on a branch, but now she has to swallow her pride in private to maintain her arrogance in public. I wonder if the other party thinks it's worth it.
"Her husband is a notorious playboy in our circle. Any family that cares about their daughter would not want to go through with this marriage, since everyone here is well-off."
But her mother and younger brother had both passed away, so she had no one to rely on. She met him hastily, got pregnant hastily, and married him quickly. No one in her family ever stopped her. Now, the Jiang family members are wary of her husband's family's power, but they all laugh behind her back, saying that her marriage is only in name.
I always wonder, if Chengxu were still here, would he be heartbroken to see his only sister like this…?
Jin Yanzhi took a breath and didn't say anything more. The person behind him hugged him tightly without making a sound. The two of them held each other tightly until the phone on the table vibrated several times before they both turned their eyes to look at it.
The message on the screen surprised them both. It was sent by the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, who had sent an invitation to her birthday party, asking the couple to attend a week later.
"Let's go, we still have time."
The woman's eyes shone like stars under the light. She keenly sensed her husband's hesitation and embarrassment and offered to go instead. Although that woman made things difficult for me at every turn, I could tolerate it because her closest relative was your dearest friend.
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