Chapter 83
The late autumn scenery on Juqing Road was breathtaking; the golden autumn leaves rustling down formed a painting all their own.
Shu Ci hadn’t had his fill of taking photos in the car, so he pushed Lu Wanqing to stand under a tree, fulfilling the craving he hadn’t satisfied back at the base.
Lu Wanqing indulged him, standing with both hands in his pockets.
He was used to hiding his emotions, and Shu Ci didn’t force him to do otherwise, just pushing him forward and telling him to be casual.
Shu Ci didn’t force him to look at the camera, yet Lu Wanqing looked at him the entire time.
A leaf swirled down onto Shu Ci’s shoulder. Lu Wanqing moved his fingers, intending to brush it off for him, when suddenly his own shoulder felt heavy.
Looking down, he saw Shu Ci’s fingertips had unintentionally landed on the photo.
Right on his shoulder.
Lu Wanqing pressed his lips together, his face revealing nothing, but his heart was unsettled, deeply afraid that Shu Ci would start feeling around other parts of the photo.
“Something’s on your mind.” Shu Ci stopped what he was doing and looked up.
See, Director Shu, with his insight into the human heart, had already seen through him at a glance.
Lu Wanqing sighed and looked at him honestly. “Yes, more than one thing.”
Shu Ci had stripped away all his important secret identities, yet this was the one thing he still didn’t know how to bring up.
If Shu Ci knew, there was no telling what mischievous thoughts might arise.
Shu Ci put away his phone. “Is it about Li Yi?”
He took the black crystal Li Yi had given him out of his pocket and spread it open on his palm.
On the way back, he and Lu Wanqing had gone over it and both felt the burglary was fishy.
On one hand, someone must have foreseen Li Yi’s expulsion after proposing his new theory, giving him a clue to use the crystal as a token to find Shu Ci.
On the other hand, just after Li Yi left his home, someone broke in. Lu Wanqing’s people said the place had been ransacked, though it was unclear if any valuables were missing.
“Mn.” Lu Wanqing nodded. “Li Yi has a researcher’s brain. He isn’t smooth in dealing with people and would rather pour his own earnings into research funding.”
What could anyone rob from his house?
“Could Li Yi’s research direction have touched upon someone’s interests?” He reached out, holding the crystal up to the sky, its facets shimmering with colorful light. “Could it be related to his unconventional new approach to the Disorder Syndrome?”
Once this train of thought connected, his mood for admiring the autumn scenery faded.
“You said before that the details of Shu Changze’s death weren’t made public. Could he also have been… because of researching the Disorder Syndrome?”
This topic should have been discussed back on Dragon Spine Island, but that day, just as they reached this point, Shu Ci was distracted by Lu Wanqing’s rut.
“It’s not impossible. Let’s wait and see if the two of them can find any clues from the data.”
Lu Wanqing held his hand, wrapping it around the crystal. A stone worth a fortune seemed like something he’d just picked up casually.
“The police will communicate with me if there are any investigation results. Let them stay put on the island for now. At least the defense system on Dragon Spine Island isn’t something ordinary people can breach.”
Li Yi was now considered recruited into the research institute. Since Lu Wanqing was secretly managing the institute’s affairs for He Lian, intelligence information would inevitably pass through him.
“Okay. Regarding Shu Changze, I can go back to the Shu family if necessary. Though I’m not sure I can get anything out of them.”
After speaking, Shu Ci grabbed Lu Wanqing’s collar and kissed the corner of his mouth.
“I’ve filmed plenty of dramas, but I’ve never been in a serious relationship. Maybe I’ll inevitably suffer from gains and losses, or let my imagination run wild. If you’re in a bad mood in the future, don’t hide it from me. It’s fine even if you can’t go into details.”
It was the first time Lu Wanqing had heard the word “relationship” from his mouth.
Not a marriage of compromise, nor the shackles and escape of fate, but… love and romance.
He leaned down, opened his arms, and held the person tightly in his embrace.
“Shu Ci.”
“…You’re hugging a bit too tight; I can barely make a sound.”
“Give me some time.”
He was long accustomed to keeping things inside during his long solitary journey; even when he spoke, it was after careful consideration.
Proactively revealing all his identities before him was a rare risk, but for those eyes that shone with light and were no longer empty, he went all in.
His liking came suddenly, his love was secret, and his endurance painful. What Shu Ci wanted wasn’t impossible for him to give; he just needed time to adapt.
No matter what, Shu Ci was the only one in the entire world, and the person who would share his secrets forever.
“Alright, take your time. Carry me back,” Shu Ci demanded willfully.
“…Carrying is fine, just don’t wiggle around.”
Lu Wanqing picked him up effortlessly and walked slowly along Juqing Road. Shu Ci leaned on his shoulder, asking sporadic questions about his childhood.
Knowing this was part of the gradual process, Lu Wanqing answered in a low voice.
After a while, they tacitly switched to asking each other questions. Having transmigrated for so long, Shu Ci finally had the chance to share his own experiences.
“Actually, there’s not much to say.”
He talked about some trivial matters on set and the wrestling between capital, then felt it was boring and spread his hands.
“The lines I deliberated over stroke by stroke, the shot inspirations that woke me up in the middle of the night—they don’t seem important. Open your eyes, and it’s either fighting for billing or undeserving people winning awards.”
Sometimes he felt like a tool. His existence, his works, were all just making wedding clothes for others [doing work that benefits others], and his reputation was just adding bricks and tiles for those artists wanting to climb into the upper class.
“Some people went to great lengths to act in my script, only to secretly complain about my bad temper… I just won’t work with them in the future.”
This vengeful look was very Shu Ci.
Lu Wanqing chuckled.
He suddenly thought, it would be great if he had the chance to know, the chance to see.
He wanted to be his most loyal movie fan.
“Why didn’t you date before?” After a while, Lu Wanqing looked at Shu Ci’s triumphant face and asked curiously.
His love and hate were straightforward and pure, which was very attractive.
“I used to think I was a career-driven person obsessed with making money.”
Shu Ci propped himself up and cupped Lu Wanqing’s face. “Later, I thought it might be because I hadn’t met a face like yours.”
“…”
From a distance, Shen Lin watched the two people walking toward him, his eyes curving.
Seeing them leaning against each other like any couple passionately in love, the nerves that had been tense these past few days finally relaxed.
He had his assistant park the car to the side while he leaned against the ivy-covered wall, waiting for them at his leisure.
He had initially worried that Shu Ci would be swept up by the situation and hurt by rumors. Now it seemed he also possessed a strong and brave heart.
Just like the Song family, just like Shi Yu.
“Huh?” Shu Ci was set down by Lu Wanqing, turning his head to meet a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. “Didn’t we agree I’d go to the old residence to find you tomorrow?”
Shen Lin’s gaze landed on Lu Wanqing, smiling faintly. “Surprise inspection.”
“Inspection for what?”
“The Committee for the Protection of Omega Rights receives distress calls all year round, saying their Alphas undergo sudden emotional shifts after losing their jobs, leading to increased potential for violence. I came to see if your partner is bullying you because he’s suspended at home.”
Shu Ci laughed. “You should be worried about whether I’m bullying him.”
If he hadn’t pushed a bit too hard during the man’s rut, Lu Wanqing would probably still be thinking about signing divorce papers with him right now.
Lu Wanqing didn’t comment. He opened the courtyard gate and said before entering, “I’ll go in and tidy up the living room first. You get a pair of slippers for Brother-in-law.”
Shu Ci agreed and took two steps before turning around to find Shen Lin standing dazed in front of the gate.
It seemed the term “Brother-in-law” had struck a chord in his heart.
Beneath Shen Lin’s gold-rimmed glasses, the corners of his usually calm and composed eyes had unknowingly turned a bit red.
Whether intentionally or not, Lu Wanqing closed the distance with Shen Lin. The Councilman, who had squeezed time out of his busy schedule, joined them for dinner in the slightly crowded dining room.
Lu Wanqing cooked personally.
Since becoming the head of the Shen family, Shen Lin hadn’t focused his energy on such domestic matters. Drinking the tea Shu Ci poured, he felt a thousand emotions.
“Putting compatibility aside, he really is one in a million.”
“My taste is good, right?” Shu Ci tossed out the water used to rinse the tea. “I now think this is the only conscientious thing the Shu family has done. I found a treasure.”
Lu Wanqing happened to bring out the last dish and glanced at him upon hearing such casual words of love.
He wanted to kiss him, but Shen Lin was there.
Only Alphas could understand each other’s emotions. Shen Lin glanced at Lu Wanqing, shaking his head with a light sigh. “Eat. The sooner we finish, the sooner we talk business. I won’t disturb you for long.”
Shu Ci and Lu Wanqing exchanged a glance.
For someone as busy as Shen Lin to come over specially, it certainly wasn’t a small matter. They said no more and focused on eating.
After dinner, Shen Lin took out a report and handed it to Shu Ci.
“I mentioned on the phone that I’m preparing to reopen the case of the shipwreck. The captain who was temporarily replaced back then, and the person responsible for the maintenance of the Shen Corporation’s cruise ship, both died under suspicious circumstances.”
Shu Ci understood. “Silenced?”
Shen Lin nodded. “Among the people rescued from that trading market this time, we found the widow of a maintenance worker.”
To make people work for them wholeheartedly, the Gu and Chen alliance controlled their wives and children, ensuring the cruise ship would sink successfully without rescue.
“I just got the testimony today.”
Lu Wanqing took the paper and glanced at it. “Instructed by the Chen family, aiming to fake an accident to murder Song Zhiyuan… This isn’t enough. At most, it will make Gu Yan sacrifice the Chen family. He won’t admit to this ‘framing’ just because they were running mates at the time.”
“But this matter can indirectly prove that Gu Lanzhu wasn’t the principal offender of the trading market.” Shu Ci pointed to the year. “How old was he back then?”
Shen Lin silently took a pocket watch from his pocket and laid it open on the table. “This was Shi Yu’s.”
Shu Ci nodded to show he remembered. Back then, after he and Lu Wanqing went on a rampage killing mutated creatures, Yu Xingxing had found this pocket watch and Song Zhiyuan’s pinky ring in the wreckage slime.
Lu Wanqing raised his eyelids. “I told them to only study the residual liquid. It shouldn’t be damaged, right?”
“No.” Shen Lin opened the pocket watch. “But there’s a recording device inside.”
A metal dial, elegant gears—he had custom-made it for Song Shiyu.
He picked the materials himself; he drew the internal design by hand.
With a twist of the hidden clasp inside, it could record at least half an hour of content.
“I don’t know if it was because it was encased in that creature’s slime, but it wasn’t damaged by water or anything else.”
A shadow was cast under Shen Lin’s eyes. He skillfully manipulated the knob, fiddling with it twice. The pocket watch clicked, then slowly began playing the recording.
In the background, the faint noise of a crowd could be heard. Panicked cries transported them back to that stormy night many years ago.
Song Shiyu’s trembling voice came through: “Dad, hurry, let’s go up to the deck now. Maybe we can hold on until rescue comes.”
“Put the life jacket on little brother properly.”
“…”
Stumbling as they ran toward the upper deck, suddenly, rushing seawater knocked the father and daughter down. Before they could get up, a pair of hands pushed them into a cabin and locked the door from the outside.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Song. Councilman Gu kidnapped my daughter and child. For their future, I can only perish together with you…”
“I have no choice.”
The subsequent recording was the gurgling sound of water; Song Shiyu’s whimpers and gasps became faint.
Shen Lin’s fingertips resting on the pocket watch trembled. This was the second time he heard it, and the second time he lost control.
On the day they parted, they were in the middle of a fight and hadn’t said a word to each other. But he had secretly taken her pocket watch and recorded a monologue inside.
If she had turned on the recording, it would have completely overwritten his words.
So, she hadn’t heard the apology he had mulled over for a long time but hadn’t seriously set aside his pride to give.
He said, You’ll never meet an Alpha as outstanding as me who also reflects and admits mistakes.
He said, Song Shiyu, feel at ease marrying me. I promise I will never make you angry again in this lifetime.
He said, Future Madam of the Shen family, are you willing to consider me?
…But there was no future, and no forever.
In her life, she didn’t get the public acknowledgment of her identity as Song Zhiyuan’s daughter, nor did she see him become the head of the Shen family. What else could he do?
Mist rose in Shen Lin’s eyes as he took off his glasses and looked at Shu Ci.
“I swear that making public your relationship and identity with the Song family involves no calculations of interest. This is just my personal request.”
To give the little girl he failed to protect the home she longed for the most.
Recommended Reads
