Chapter 15: How to Break Up?
The morning sun shone upon all of Huajiang, accompanied by a gentle spring breeze. A black SUV drove into an alley in the wealthy district of the South City, stopping before a vermilion gate.
This was the Shi family residence.
As the car door opened, the heavy gate was pulled wide. The large residence featured a traditional Suzhou-style layout with three courtyards. Beside the white-gray mud walls, ancient trees reached toward the sky, and the roof tiles were vermilion.
Passing through a series of archways, one could see a rockery in the back garden, with water cascading down into a pond where gold and red crucian carp swam back and forth.
“Young Master, the Master requests your presence.”
Shi He had once lived here for ten years.
The old butler led Shi He to the study. The assistant waited at the door, expecting to take the luggage and drive his boss to school after he finished. Just now in the car, the boss had suddenly said he wouldn’t be staying at the apartment anymore.
The Shi residence was permeated year-round with a bizarre sense of silence, making the Shi family members seem less like people and more like ghosts.
Shi He stepped over the threshold, his cold, sharp black eyes lifting to look indifferently at the old man inside who was currently copying scriptures.
The room was filled with the scent of sandalwood.
The old man had white hair and stood at a red sandalwood table writing without lifting his head, giving off a heavy sense of pressure.
If one observed closely, they would notice that the hand he used to write was unsteady and trembling—an aftereffect of a cerebral hemorrhage.
“Is the business in Country M finished?”
This attitude was worse than that toward a stranger.
Shi He: “It’s finished.”
The old man put down the brush, and the old butler immediately handed over another document from the side. The old man wiped the ink from his fingers, still cold. “This project—you go and lead Shi An in doing it.”
Shi An was one of the Shi family’s collateral branches and could be considered Shi He’s older brother.
“I won’t lead him.”
After these words were spoken, a porcelain-white Hetian jade ink dish was thrown directly at Shi He, and the wound on his forehead instantly began to drip blood.
“What right do you have not to lead him? The Shi family isn’t yours yet.”
Shi He actually curled his lips. His sickly, gloomy eyes stared at him unmovingly as his fingertip rubbed the flowing blood. He replied with a smile, “Grandfather, even if I throw my things away, it’s impossible for me to give them to anyone.”
“Don’t forget, you were the one who begged me to come and manage the Shi family.”
“Even if the Shi family falls in my hands, it’s still mine.”
Three years ago, when Old Master Shi was discharged after a brain hemorrhage, Shi He—who was still a student—was urgently called back to the hospital to take over the teetering Shi family.
“What sin did I commit to have a grandson like you?”
Old Master Shi supported himself against the corner of the table. In those clouded eyes, the emotion was actually hatred, as if Shi He weren’t his grandson but a life-claiming evil spirit.
“The person I told you to go to for a marriage alliance—you won’t go see them.”
“I finally found a doctor, yet you won’t even go for a consultation. Do you want to be deaf for the rest of your life? If I had known, I wouldn’t have sent you abroad back then; you’ve been raised wild all these years. Are you worthy of your parents? Are you worthy of the Shi family’s cultivation of you?”
A string of curses was spat out.
Old Master Shi began to cough.
“What do you want me to do? Do you want me to turn the Shi family into something even stronger than it was ten years ago, or do you want me to hand the Shi family over to your ideal, obedient, and stable heir, or do you want me to pay with my life for my parents?”
Shi He’s eyes seemed even darker. His pale, handsome features showed irony, giving off an eerie feeling. He stepped out with his long legs, scanning the decorations around the study. His slender knuckles pressed against a painting hanging on the wall and tore it straight open.
Rows of yellow talismans were hidden behind the painting.
On the wooden chair before him, a statue made of pure gold bore the year-round greedy prayers of humans.
“You think I killed my parents.”
“You think I shouldn’t be alive.”
Following the sound of porcelain shattering against the floor…
Shi He leaned down and picked up a piece of broken porcelain. “Many years ago, I didn’t understand why you treated me like this. There were many times I wanted to die.”
He stepped forward and walked to the old master, picking up the Rebirth Sutras that were copied daily and tossing them into the air.
Such a thick stack would be burned in the ancestral hall every month to convey mourning and pray for rebirth.
“I won’t go for treatment; this is my punishment for myself.”
The only survivor had spent ten years alone with his scars.
Shi He casually tossed them into the air, blood sliding down his brow. No one could see his pain.
“Grandfather, if I am at fault, you have your own retribution.”
No one knew how the ten-year-old boy had grown used to facing a silent world and the physical pain that would recur from time to time.
Shi He stopped at the door. He turned back, looking at the sixty-year-old man. “Don’t call me back again, and don’t make me hate the Shi family any more.”
At the door, the assistant anxiously supported Shi He. “Boss, why are you injured again?”
He habitually pulled out a small first-aid pack of iodine cotton swabs and bandages; out of three visits, he would be injured at least once.
Shi He shook his head and took the gauze to press against his forehead, his emotions very thin. “I’m fine. Let’s go get the things.”
“Are you really planning to stay at the school?”
The Gu residence was next to the Shi residence. Yesterday when Shi He returned to the country, Gu Xici’s car had picked him up, and all his luggage was left at the Gu house.
Four years ago, when Shi He returned to the country, he only stayed at the Shi residence for a week before quickly moving out.
When Special Assistant Chu was recruited, Shi He had already been living in the apartment for a long time. Even if it was far from the school, he would return every night to work as usual.
The sudden change in lifestyle was a bit unexpected.
“I have someone I want to accompany.”
At the door of the Gu residence, an Alpha wearing black-rimmed glasses walked out pulling a suitcase. Even in casual clothes, he gave off a sense of aloofness that was hard to approach.
“Here.”
The assistant pulled the suitcase over. Gu Xici looked at the blood droplets on Shi He’s collar. He frowned and pulled out his phone. “Wait a moment; I’ll have someone get medicine.”
“No need; Assistant Chu brought medicine.”
Shi He waved his hand and left.
Soon after, a car stopped at the door of the Gu residence. Gu Xici reached out to help his mother out. “You’re late; Shi He just left.”
The beautiful lady sighed. “This child—he doesn’t even come home for a meal after returning to the country.”
She opened her wallet and directly took out a card to stuff into Gu Xici’s hand. “Son, when you have time, take Xiao He out to play more with Wen Song. He’s only twenty; by month, he’s the youngest among you. I treat all of you like my own sons.”
Gu Xici took it. “I know, Mother.”
What he didn’t say was that Shi He was currently in a relationship and was even moving into the school dormitory; he likely wouldn’t have time to come out and play with them.
…
At 12:00 PM, Shi He arrived at Huajiang University’s Academic Affairs Office.
He had changed into a softer style of clothing—a simple white hoodie paired with light blue trousers to weaken the cold feeling—and came early to cancel his leave.
In front of the office door, students passed by and stopped, standing guard behind the glass window in the hallway.
Shi He of the Finance Department is back.
When an S-grade Alpha appears, both Alphas and Omegas will notice; it’s an instinct.
the Beta counselor took the leave slip and spoke with Shi He for a while, telling him to remember to make up classes. “By the way, your dormitory fees have been paid all along, and the dorm is still empty for you.”
“Do you want your roommate’s contact info?”
Shi He took the key, his cold eyes pitch-black. “Thank you, Teacher. I’ll contact him myself.”
Suddenly contacting Ruan Zhimian would only scare him.
He wasn’t in a hurry.
…
Just at this moment, Huajiang University’s relationship consultation section and gossip section simultaneously gained a new post. University students who were lying around in their dorms climbed up, tapping their phone screens to watch the excitement.
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