Chapter 35: Staying too long in the Red Mark Tower will make you forget the weight of the mortal world...
Recently, on her way back to the Cheng family home, Ye Yuying has been paying close attention to her surroundings. At the slightest sign of trouble, she runs away to avoid Ge Jie's potential revenge.
However, the calm weather for several days in a row amplified her unease, as if she were in the oppressive heat before thunder rumbled.
She hadn't seen Cheng Mingdu for three days. The housekeeper said he had gone to Lincheng to take care of some important business, some formal occasions he had to attend, and they were related to his family.
She felt relieved after hearing this, as if she had gained a few more days to adjust her mindset perfectly.
Spring in Chengdu is rainy. Just as she was about to leave her house, a downpour began. Ye Yuying hurriedly took out an umbrella from her bag and walked with it. Fortunately, there was only one alleyway left, so it wouldn't cause her too much trouble.
She quickened her pace, holding up her umbrella, her shoes making a "pat-pat" sound as they stepped on the still-wet cobblestones.
The raindrops pounded on the umbrella, so densely packed it felt as if someone had overturned an entire Go board on its surface. The suppressed emotions in her heart were also exposed by this sudden downpour, leaving her feeling that the barrier she had been trying to conceal was about to crumble.
At the end of the alley is the mottled wall of an old house. It was originally slated for repair, but since it is part of a century-old wall, it was preserved to ensure safety and is now considered a protected structure.
A dark iron gate was hidden behind vines; it was familiar, yet it didn't give people a sense of security.
She used to think that this door provided her with enough protection, but now every time she sees it, she hesitates. When she reaches out to press the doorbell, she finds that her palms have been rubbed red by rain and the umbrella handle.
She stared blankly at the small patch of reddened skin, suddenly realizing that she wasn't actually afraid of Ge Jie, nor was she simply on edge out of caution. What she was truly wary of was that growing, increasingly difficult-to-conceal fluttering feeling that was creeping into her heart…
The rain was getting heavier, and the umbrella in her hand began to tilt slightly in the wind. Ye Yuying simply put the umbrella away and rushed into the porch. She was panting as she wiped the rain off her face with her sleeve. Her hair clung to her cheeks, looking a little disheveled and restless.
Springtime always makes people restless. It's a feeling that's both light and sticky, slowly swelling within the body.
The tires of the car behind her rolled over the rain, slowing down as it approached Ye Yuying.
At this time of day, there could only be one person driving through here.
Ye Yuying regretted having already put the umbrella away, which made her stop in her tracks as she was about to ring the doorbell. She froze, realizing she no longer had cover behind her.
What a strange and contradictory feeling! She desperately wanted to turn around and pretend to bump into him, to call him "brother" as usual, but the word "brother" had somehow become too hot to say. She was even a little afraid of the feeling of that deep gaze falling on her shoulder.
The car came to a stop, the engine still humming, but the rhythm of the raindrops hitting the window tightened her heart with each passing second.
She stood on the porch, soaked to the bone, her hand still hovering over the doorbell, but she hesitated to bring it down.
One second, two seconds, three seconds... She heard the sound of the car door being pushed open.
"What are you doing standing here? Why aren't you coming in?" It was Cheng Mingdu's voice, low and unhurried, like a layer of heavy clouds pressing down after the rain.
In the pouring rain, his voice seemed to sound exceptionally gentle, though it was perhaps just my imagination.
Ye Yuying looked at him with a hint of barely perceptible fear, as if her gaze had been burned by lava while looking at a volcano, and she hurriedly looked away.
He actually got off the bus.
She slowly raised her eyes, her gaze only reaching his sharp jawline at most, never daring to meet his eyes at the same level.
Looking down, you can easily see his well-defined knuckles, holding a black folding umbrella as he stands by the car door, his dark gray suit jacket soaked by the rain.
She had never truly seen Cheng Mingdu dressed so formally before. Although he usually dressed impeccably, it was mostly in white shirts, cardigans, or casual loungewear, always neat and sophisticated.
But at this moment—the perfectly tailored suit was stained a bit dark by the rain and mist, the dark color making him look exceptionally tall and imposing, his bones and figure beneath the fabric appearing as if they had been meticulously groomed.
Ye Yuying felt a sense of disorientation, as if Cheng Mingdu had changed his clothes and his aura had become stronger, making her feel a sense of oppression.
For some reason, it reminds me of freeze-frame images of adult men in many movies—silent, profound, and unapproachable.
She felt a guilty conscience, as if she could sense the gaze from the other side, a scrutinizing gaze that made her uneasy, and as always, it carried a sense of insight, as if he had been able to sense Jiang Xinxue's thoughts long ago.
"I forgot my access card." She lowered her eyes, her voice soft, as if trying to fill the long silence with an excuse.
However, the access card was at the bottom of her schoolbag, but she was always too lazy to take it out.
Cheng Mingdu stepped forward and casually moved the umbrella over her head.
Under the large black umbrella, she found herself in a quiet world, so quiet that she could clearly hear her own disordered breathing and the light white mist drifting in the cold air.
He didn't speak, but stood at a distance that wasn't too close or too far from her, holding the umbrella steadily. The sound of rain kept pattering on the umbrella, tirelessly urging something on, but it was suppressed by his deep and steady breathing.
Ye Yuying quietly turned her head, secretly glancing over at them out of the corner of her eye.
With a "beep," Cheng Mingdu reached out and swiped the door open for her, almost casually handing her the umbrella he was holding.
"Go in yourself, I'll go park in the underground garage."
Ye Yuying reached out and took the umbrella. Her fingers touched the lingering warmth of the umbrella handle, and her fingertips brushed against the back of his hand. She flinched as if she had been electrocuted, but still steadied herself and replied, "Okay."
Before Cheng Mingdu could speak, she quickly left.
The movement of entering the door was noticeably quick, as if fleeing or seeking shelter from the rain, but it was anything but ordinary.
The gate clicked shut behind her, the iron gate separating Cheng Mingdu's rain-soaked clothes from the warmth in her heart.
She folded the umbrella and placed it by the attic door. After changing her wet shoes, she went upstairs. But at the door of the room, she clutched her wet sleeve with one hand, adjusting her breathing, as if the warm breath of his words still lingered in her ear.
She bit her lip, staring blankly at the pair of sneakers she had taken off by the door. After a long while, she took a deep breath, took off her coat, and went inside.
The room was quiet, the clock ticking away, each second magnified. She felt as if she were walking on unfamiliar yet familiar ground, step by step into the room, yet she felt like she didn't belong anywhere.
For some reason, an idea suddenly popped into my head—
If she weren't a "stepsister," if that status didn't exist...
She shook her head, as if that would shake off the absurd idea.
She reminded herself that if Cheng Mingdu weren't her "stepsister," she would never have met him in her life, and even if she did, they would never have been able to communicate.
Everything has its own cause and effect.
In the middle of the night, Ye Yuying went to the lounge for dinner as usual. Since Cheng Mingdu left, she could take care of her own dinner. Although she couldn't make it taste the same as Cheng Mingdu's, it was still enough to fill her stomach.
After all, she couldn't eat properly under Jiang Xinxue's watchful eye. Under those unseen warning glances, she lost her appetite and sometimes even felt a tightness in her chest and a slight urge to vomit.
Let's give her a little more time alone; it's one of the few moments she can relax during the day.
There was an extra cheesecake in the fridge today. Although there was no sticker on it, it was an unspoken understanding between the two of them. The two shelves where the rice balls were placed were implicitly reserved for her.
This wasn't the first time Cheng Mingdu had fed her desserts since he returned. Once, he explained to himself that many friends would bring some snacks when they met him, but he didn't like them, so he put them all in her refrigerator and let her choose what she liked.
She was supposed to be having dinner at the bar tonight, but she noticed a figure moving around at the other end of the courtyard out of the corner of her eye, and guessed that Cheng Mingdu might be preparing to go downstairs to get water.
She grabbed two rice balls, gently closed the refrigerator door, and immediately left the lounge as if fleeing.
So much so that when Cheng Mingdu's figure appeared at the end of the corridor, he only caught a glimpse of her back.
He paused in his steps.
The motion-sensor light at the entrance to the rest area hadn't been turned off yet, and a faint light spilled out from the half-open door, leaving a light, warm hue on the floor tiles.
Cheng Mingdu's brow twitched almost imperceptibly. He glanced down at his unopened water bottle, then turned back and, unusually, switched to a bottle of grapefruit juice.
He stood in front of the beverage cooler for a while, as if confirming something, or perhaps weighing some kind of decision. Then he turned and went back to his room.
He returned early during the day, and before leaving, several friends asked him:
"Why are you in such a hurry to go back? There's a workshop tomorrow with your Stanford alumnus, who just quit his job at Google and came back to China. Aren't you going to come and meet him?"
Cheng Mingdu's gaze fell on a screenshot of a meeting invitation in the group chat. The background was a cold white, with several rows of names arranged in an alternating pattern, and his name was clearly written in the last column.
He paused for two seconds, then didn't reply, simply saying in a very indifferent tone, "I'm busy."
On the other end of the line, a friend continued to press, "Cheng Shen, judging from your behavior, we almost thought you had secretly gotten married behind our backs. Is there anyone at home waiting for you?"
"Are you bored? All you can do is spout garbage data." He replied without any emotion.
Finally, an insider appeared, nudging the person next to him with his elbow, and said meaningfully, "A whirlwind marriage is impossible. There's just a child at home who needs someone to take care of him."
A surprised voice rang out, followed by a deliberately teasing remark: "An illegitimate child?"
"She's a troublesome younger sister; we have to call her parents every other day."
The man understood immediately and half-jokingly exclaimed, "Wow, Cheng Shen, you're amazing! You're so busy that you have to come back to China and then be forced to act as a student's parent. You're quite the all-rounder. She doesn't even care about her own mother, but you're cleaning up her mess."
Cheng Mingdu, who was leaning against the side of the corridor, paused slightly upon hearing these words, his fingertips hovering in mid-air, remaining motionless for a long time.
Someone else answered for him, "He's just occasionally overflowing with sympathy. He's destined to be a bloodsucker capitalist anyway, so he might as well accumulate some good karma."
Cheng Mingdu didn't intend to respond. He simply withdrew his hand from the windowsill, as if he were also taking back his sarcastic remark. He didn't even raise his eyebrows or eyes.
His voice was very soft, yet it interrupted all the laughter with a single sentence.
“Sometimes, when you stay in a high tower for too long, you forget the importance of the human world. You should also open your eyes and look at all living beings.”
The room full of academic elites and scions of prominent families fell silent after hearing this emotionless remark.
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Author's Note: 50 red envelopes! [Cat emoji]
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