Chapter 1: Early Summer

Summer in Xicheng always began with the fading of wisteria blossoms and the falling of sycamore fluff. In the blink of an eye, thick green shade filled the view.

May 17. Auspicious for offering sacrifices and praying for blessings; inauspicious for moving house or installing doors^[1].

In the afternoon, during an outdoor sketching session, a group of students sat lined up along the curb of Humanities Avenue. Zhou Mo set up her easel, but she had yet to make a single stroke. Her mind kept wandering to the phone in her pocket, longing for it to ring, yet fearing it at the same time. But after waiting the whole afternoon, the call she was hoping for never came.

Suddenly someone shouted, “It’s raining!” Everyone scrambled to pack away their art supplies, and she quickly shoved her brushes into her backpack as well. Right at that moment, her phone rang. Flustered, she fumbled around in her pocket to pull it out.

It was from her father, Zhou Sipei, telling her that someone in the Gu family had passed away.

Half an hour later, soaked to the skin, Zhou Mo got into her father Zhou Sipei’s car at the school gate.

Looking at her daughter, who resembled a drowned rat, her mother, Tang Shulan, wore an annoyed expression. She pulled out a spare towel kept in the car and wiped Zhou Mo’s hair. “Didn’t I tell you this morning to bring an umbrella?”

Zhou Mo turned her head away and let out a loud sneeze.

“Sipei, drive home first. Momo needs to change…”

Zhou Mo was just about to say “It’s fine,” since she was unlikely to catch a cold in midsummer, but Tang Shulan’s next words cut her off: “Her clothes are too bright. Wearing this to the Gu family won’t look proper.”

Zhou Mo froze. Hunching her shoulders, she held the towel and wiped the rain from her hair with slow, mechanical strokes.

The Gu Family Mansion in the eastern suburbs, usually somber and dead silent, was brightly lit tonight, with a steady stream of visitors coming and going. Within half an hour, Zhou Mo saw three groups of people in formal suits arrive and depart, though she had no idea what business brought them here.

The rain continued to fall, battering noisily against the floor-to-ceiling windows. Zhou Mo stood up and walked over, lifting the heavy velvet curtain by barely an inch. Gazing out into the dark night at a few distant pinpricks of fire, anxiety weighed on her heart like a heavy stone.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and checked it. Still no new messages.

Her father, Zhou Sipei, saw two guests off. Turning back and noticing Zhou Mo looking distracted, he frowned. “Your mother is in the second-floor study. Go upstairs and see if she needs help with anything.”

Zhou Mo uttered a quiet “Oh” and let the curtain fall back into place.

The Zhou and Gu families had long maintained close ties. Today, with the passing of Gu Hongsheng’s second wife, He Mi, the Zhou family naturally had to come help out.

Zhou Mo went upstairs to help her mother, Tang Shulan, copy names onto a sheet of white paper. Tang Shulan kept walking in and out, the clatter of her high heels against the floor grating on Zhou Mo’s nerves.

Suddenly, a low exclamation drifted in from outside: “He Chong is here!”

Faint sounds of scolding followed. Zhou Mo pricked up her ears to listen for a moment, but could not make out anything clear. After a second of hesitation, she set down her pen and walked toward the doorway.

The front door on the first floor stood wide open. A man was standing at the entrance, dressed all in black, looking as if he had brought the dark night in with him.

Gu Hongsheng’s eldest daughter, Gu Zhiru, blocked his way. “Please leave. The Gu family does not welcome you today.”

The man let out a laugh. “My mom died, and I can’t come?”

Gu Zhiru bristled in anger. “Watch your language!”

In the parlor to the right, a man in a suit stood up. “Excuse me, are you Mr. He Chong?”

The man in black looked over at him.

The suited man straightened his tie. “I have here the last will and testament of Ms. He Mi…”

Gu Zhiru barked, “Lawyer Liu!”

Lawyer Liu remained completely composed. “I was entrusted by Ms. He Mi to convey the contents of her will to the beneficiary. As for how it will be executed…”

Footsteps sounded from behind, and Zhou Mo glanced back. “Mom, is that man He Chong?”

Tang Shulan was coming down the stairs holding a bone china teacup. She frowned. “Mm.”

Zhou Mo had seen He Chong three times before, all in this very mansion.

The first time, He Chong was fifteen or sixteen. He had come to see He Mi, but Gu Zhiru drove him away before he could even meet her.

The second time, He Chong was twenty-two. In the dead of winter, he wore only a thin jacket and a baseball cap, a ring of bandages showing beneath the brim. He stood at the door, exchanged a few words with He Mi, took an envelope, and left.

The third time was three years ago, in the heat of summer, at Gu Hongsheng’s memorial service. The Gu family wouldn’t even let him past the gate, so he met He Mi outside the iron fence and shoved a thick envelope into her hand.

Downstairs, dripping wet, He Chong walked inside and sat down on a leather sofa in the parlor. The lawyer pulled a stack of documents from his briefcase and cleared his throat.

Tang Shulan leaned against the railing, glancing down at them. “The two thirty-million-yuan villas Gu Hongsheng gave He Mi, she left them to He Chong in her will.”

Zhou Mo was startled.

Tang Shulan scoffed. “Ridiculous, isn’t it?”

Zhou Mo shifted her gaze back without answering.

As Lawyer Liu finished reading the will, He Chong’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. Gu Zhiru, on the other hand, stood up in anger. “Buried alongside my father? What kind of joke is this! Does this will even have any legal effect?”

Lawyer Liu pushed up his glasses. “It does. These two villas were inherited by Ms. He Mi three years ago through Old Mr. Gu’s will, and the transfer of ownership was fully completed. Ms. He has the right to dispose of her lawful property as she sees fit.”

“What right does an outsider have to take a share of our Gu family’s property?”

He Chong leaned back against the sofa with little reaction, as if Gu Zhiru’s sharp outburst wasn’t even directed at him. He lazily raised his eyes and said, “I don’t want the villas.”

Gu Zhiru was stunned.

He Chong spoke lazily. “But as for being buried together, I have to fulfill my mother’s wish.”

The expression froze on Gu Zhiru’s face. She stared at He Chong for a long moment before spitting out two words: “No way!”

He Chong held a lighter in his hand, casually flipping it back and forth. He cast a glance at Gu Zhiru. “Sixty million Yuan in exchange for a spot next to Gu Hongsheng’s grave. You’re not losing out on this deal.”

After a long pause, Gu Zhiru couldn’t hold back any longer and snapped furiously, “A matter concerning the Gu family’s reputation isn’t something that can be bought with money…”

He Chong let out a laugh, cutting her off. “What happens to your Gu family, what does that have to do with me?”

After watching the show unfold for a moment, Tang Shulan took a sip of strong tea from her china cup and repeated her earlier question: “Ridiculous, isn’t it?”

Zhou Mo pressed her lips together. “Don’t you think that’s pushing things too far?”

Tang Shulan looked up. “Hmm?”

“Even though He Mi was a second wife, Grandpa Gu still married her properly with all due ceremony. Everyone has seen for themselves how close they’ve been all these years.”

Tang Shulan looked at her, her tone still unchanged. “Do you know how many years younger He Mi was than your Grandpa Gu?”

“Twenty-five years. So what? Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching-ling^[2] were twenty-seven years apart.”

Tang Shulan was somewhat surprised, as if she hadn’t expected her daughter to offer such a high-minded argument. “When the age gap is that wide, outsiders will naturally wonder if there are ulterior motives. It’s only human nature.”

A sharp, crisp sound of something shattering suddenly echoed from downstairs. Zhou Mo and Tang Shulan immediately looked up.

Broken porcelain and spilled tea covered the floor. Gu Zhiru pointed at He Chong and cursed furiously, “I’d rather bury a dog in that plot than let He Mi be buried there!”

He Chong had kept his eyes lowered, and only now did he slowly look up.

From a distance, Zhou Mo couldn’t quite see the expression on his face, but a strange, undefinable feeling washed over her, as if the darkness of the night he brought with him had completely enveloped him. The feeling weighed oddly on her chest, and touching an unexpected nerve, she blurted out, “Wanting to keep the villa while refusing to let them be buried together… how can anyone expect to have it both ways…”

Every gaze from downstairs swept toward her all at once.

Tang Shulan snapped in a low voice, “Zhou Mo!”

Zhou Mo maintained a calm expression, only to see He Chong lift his head higher until his gaze locked with hers. In his eyes was a mixture of astonishment and a faint, subtle trace of amusement.

Before she could process it, the phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated. Zhou Mo quickly lowered her head and ran back to the study, pulling the door shut behind her before answering. “Lin Heng… did you see the letter I wrote you?”

“I saw it.”

“What are you thinking? Do you really want to break up?”

Her heart hung in her throat, weightless with anxiety. After what felt like an eternity, she finally heard Lin Heng say, “I’m sorry.”

The door suddenly burst open. Zhou Mo hastily hung up and stood up.

Standing in the doorway, Tang Shulan’s face was cold as frost, her voice sharp and leaving no room for argument. “Go downstairs and apologize to your Aunt Gu.”

Zhou Mo bit her lip. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Tang Shulan raised her voice, calling her name like a stern warning. “Zhou Mo, I’m going to count to three. One…”

That trick had never failed before, but right now, Zhou Mo felt nothing but overwhelming heartache. For the first time in her life, she defied Tang Shulan’s warning, grabbed her phone, and rushed out the door. She hurried down the stairs with heavy steps and shoved open the back door.

The argument in the drawing room was still raging; no one seemed to notice her.

Rain pattered softly, rustling against the begonia trees in the courtyard. A few streetlamps faithfully stood guard over every plant and tree, illuminating the sparse threads of falling rain. The cobblestone path was wet and slick. At the end of the courtyard near the parking area, a small overhang extended from above, providing shelter from the rain. Wind blew through the rain, yet everything around was still and quiet.

Her phone vibrated once. Zhou Mo didn’t check it, burying her face between her arms instead.

Suddenly, she heard a soft click.

Startled, Zhou Mo looked up. Someone had appeared before her without her noticing.

With that faint sound, a small flame flickered to life. He Chong shielded the wind with his hand and lit a cigarette. Moments later, blue smoke drifted into the rainy mist.

He let out a low chuckle. “It’s my mother who died. Why are you crying even harder than I am?”

Zhou Mo lowered her head again and kept quiet.

He Chong looked down at her. “Why did you speak up for me back there?”

After waiting a moment with no answer, He Chong’s gaze drifted down to a stray lock of her hair, and a thought crossed his mind: with hair this long, is it dragging on the ground?

“Hey.”

Zhou Mo raised her head and cast him an unreadable glance.

“Are you Zhou Sipei’s daughter?”

“Yeah.”

He Chong grinned. “By seniority, shouldn’t you be calling me ‘Uncle’?”

Zhou Mo froze for a second, then hung her head again. She dug out a pebble from the grass by her feet and scratched it aimlessly twice against the concrete. “Are you out of your mind? Claiming relatives out of nowhere.”

He Chong raised an eyebrow, ignoring her fiery reaction. He squatted down beside her and took a drag of his cigarette.

Zhou Mo asked quietly, “What do you plan to do? About the joint burial… Aunt Gu won’t agree to it. She cares too much about saving face.”

Twenty-five years ago, fifty-nine-year-old Gu Hongsheng met twenty-four-year-old He Mi. This stepmother-to-be was younger than Gu Zhiru herself, so Gu Zhiru was naturally displeased. What embarrassed her even more was that He Mi already had a three-year-old son. Yet despite the tears and protests of his children and grandchildren, Gu Hongsheng brushed aside all opposition and took He Mi as his wife. What followed was more than twenty years of constant turmoil.

“I’ve got sixty million in my hands. I’ll just drag it out with them.”

“The Gu family runs a huge business. Sixty million isn’t that much.”

He Chong chuckled. “Worrying about an outsider like me? You’ve offended someone yourself and are currently ‘on the run.'”

Bringing it up only made Zhou Mo feel even more annoyed. The pebble slipped from her hand, bounced twice, and fell into the grass.

The rain suddenly poured harder.

He Chong stood up. “Go back and apologize. You’re young, so they won’t hold it against you.”

“Why should I apologize?” Her tone was sharp.

He Chong chuckled softly with the cigarette between his lips. “What good does it do you to stick your neck out for an outsider?”

“You people are so shallow, weighing everything by what you get out of it.”

She stood up abruptly from the ground, threw out those words, and ran into the curtain of rain, hurrying back toward the house along the cobblestone path.

Watching her retreating figure, He Chong gave a slight smile. He fished his car keys from his pocket and strode off into the rain, cigarette still between his teeth.

Tang Shulan had long since run out of patience. The moment she saw Zhou Mo rush in through the back door, she immediately stood up from the sofa. “Zhou Mo.”

Zhou Mo froze in her tracks.

Tang Shulan gestured for her to come over. “Come here and apologize to Aunt Gu.”

Gu Zhiru stepped in to smooth things over. “Shulan, alright, alright. Children speak without thinking…”

“Sister Ru, she’s twenty years old. She’s an adult. If she says something wrong, she has to bear the consequences.”

Zhou Mo bit her lip. “Did I say something wrong?”

Tang Shulan’s face turned dark as still water. “Zhou Mo, do not push your mother’s limits.”

Zhou Mo bit her lower lip so hard she nearly broke the skin, but down inside, she was afraid. She knew full well that locking horns with Tang Shulan would get her nowhere. After a tense standoff, she finally turned to Gu Zhiru with a wooden expression. “I’m sorry.”

Tang Shulan frowned. “The older you get, the fewer manners you have.”

Zhou Mo lowered her head. Sorrow and resentment welled up inside her, and she felt deep contempt for her own weakness.

In her home, her parents held absolute authority. From major life goals down to her daily food and clothing, they planned everything out for her, leaving not a shred of room for negotiation. Besides, she simply lacked the courage to challenge their authority.

The next day, He Mi’s memorial service was held at the funeral home in the northern suburbs. Zhou Mo was dragged along by her parents to attend as well.

The funeral had been arranged in haste and simplicity. Few mourners arrived, the atmosphere was bleak, and there were hardly even a few wreaths.

As noon approached, Zhou Mo discreetly shifted her weight onto her toes to relieve her aching heels after standing for so long. Looking up casually, she caught sight of a dazzling streak of red piercing through the grey rain.

Suspecting it was an illusion, Zhou Mo peered closer. As the red drew nearer, the dark figure blurred by the rain and mist gradually came into focus.

A white shirt, a black suit, and a bouquet of vivid red roses cradled in his arms.

It was He Chong.

Seeing He Chong appear, the crowd immediately lowered their voices to whisper. Everyone knew to bring white chrysanthemums to a funeral home, but no one had ever heard of bringing red roses.

He Chong walked over, placed the roses from his arms in front of the large portrait, took three sticks of incense from a staff member to insert into the burner, and bowed to the photograph. The roses were like a burst of flame, standing out vividly among the piles of yellow and white chrysanthemums, making the face of the deceased in the portrait seem a shade brighter.

With her bright eyes and elegant posture, He Mi was truly top-tier when it came to looks. It was no wonder Gu Hongsheng had favored and sheltered her so fiercely in life.

He Chong’s demeanor could hardly be called respectful. He exchanged a brief look with the smiling face in the portrait, then stepped up to Gu Zhiru, the same casual, slightly devil-may-care smile resting on his face. “Have you made up your mind?”

Mindful of the setting, Gu Zhiru held her tongue and remained silent.

He Chong merely smirked. “Take your time. I have plenty of patience. Whenever you decide, you can exchange the grave plot for cash.”

When the service ended, a light drizzle was still falling.

He Chong stepped under the eaves to light a cigarette. Watching the members of the Gu family step out of the hall, he caught sight of a slender figure in the group. He had intended to offer her a word of thanks, but on second thought, he let it go.

As if sensing something, the young girl who had already stepped down the stairs suddenly turned her head back.

He Chong gave a faint smile and raised his cigarette to salute her.

Her gaze lingered for a moment before she turned away and walked off into the distance with the others.

With the grave issue unresolved, He Mi’s ashes had to be temporarily stored at the funeral home after cremation. A tiny niche costing eight thousand Yuan contained her photograph, crammed together with a dense grid of other small compartments.

He Chong brought another bouquet of roses when he went to see her, smiling at the person in the portrait. “Well, you suffered plenty of grievances while you were alive anyway, so a little longer won’t hurt. Great achievers don’t fret over minor inconveniences^[3]. Stay here for now, and later I’ll take you to be buried alongside that old man.”

After the funeral, rain continued to fall for several days, finally clearing up on Monday.

That afternoon, He Chong received a call from Han Yu, who said someone had come looking for him to race. Having quit racing long ago, he told Han Yu to turn them down directly, or throw money at the problem if a simple refusal didn’t work.

Han Yu felt immensely aggrieved. “You think someone like that cares about my pocket change? Do you really have no idea what kind of big shot would come looking to pull you out of retirement?”

And so, He Chong had no choice but to head over to see what was going on.

Arriving at the bar, He Chong walked upstairs and pushed the door open, finding a room full of people glaring like hungry hawks. Han Yu was cowering in a corner like a lamb waiting for the slaughter.

“Old He, you finally showed up!” Han Yu hurried forward to greet him.

He Chong scanned the room and instantly recognized the man sitting right in the middle: Sun Qi, known to everyone as “Young Master Sun.” Among the second-generation wealthy crowd in Xicheng, there was a group dubbed the “Four Young Masters of Xicheng^[4],” and Young Master Sun was one of them.

He Chong smiled. “What brings Young Master Sun to our humble dive bar?”

Sun Qi stood up, offered He Chong a cigarette, and gave a polite smile. “Well, I couldn’t reach you, Brother Chong, so I had no choice but to come looking for you on your turf.”

“I’ve had some family business to deal with lately. My apologies, Young Master Sun.”

Sun Qi chuckled. “If there’s anything I can help with, just say the word.”

He Chong cast a glance at him, that unreadable smile still lingering on his face. “I doubt I can trouble you with that. Someone in the family died.”

Sun Qi choked on his words, completely caught off guard, and managed to squeeze out a “My condolences” only after a long pause.

With the pleasantries out of the way, the two sat down opposite each other. He Chong lit his cigarette, tossed the lighter onto the coffee table, and leaned back into an easy, relaxed posture, smiling as he looked at Sun Qi. “I hear Young Master Sun wants to bring me out of retirement?”

“I put something on the line in a bet with someone. I don’t trust those kids on the racing team, so I wanted to ask a veteran like you to step in.”

He Chong chuckled. “I’m already at the ripe old age of twenty-eight, and I haven’t raced in years. My condition gets worse by the year. If you care this much about the wager, Young Master Sun, you’d better find someone more reliable.”

Sun Qi pondered for a moment, then smiled. “If it’s inconvenient for you to race, Brother Chong, I won’t force it. But I do have a favor to ask, and you must agree.”

He Chong had a subtle hunch. He grinned and said, “Out with it.”

“I just got a few new cars. Interested, Brother Chong?”

He Chong realized right away that everything before had just been a smokescreen; this was his real move. Smiling, he neither declined nor accepted right away. “I’ll have to see the cars first before I know if I can take the job.”

“You definitely can. For you, it’s child’s play. An Audi R8, bump the horsepower up a bit, say to a thousand.”

He Chong laughed. “You flatter me too much. Set a time, Young Master Sun, and I’ll go take a look at the car first.”

With the deal settled, He Chong finally saw his visitor off.

Han Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but then grew a little worried again. “Are we really taking this on?”

“Can we afford not to? With Sun Qi’s status, he could shut down this dump of a bar with the snap of his fingers.”

Han Yu said, “It’s your dump of a bar, too.”

He Chong grabbed the beer bottle sitting on the table, poured half a glass, gulped it down, and set the empty glass back down. Just as he was about to leave, a server came over to report that a customer was dead drunk, all by herself, couldn’t be woken up, and didn’t seem to have a phone with her.

Han Yu asked, “Did she pay the bill?”

“Paid.”

“Then throw her out.”

The server looked a bit hesitant. “It’s a girl.”

Han Yu’s attitude instantly flipped. “Oh my, a girl drinking alone at a bar? She must have hit a rough patch. Let me take a look.”

He Chong shot him a look of utter disdain.

The server led them over. Downstairs, slumped over a table in the corner, was a figure whose hair hung loose, completely obscuring her face. She wore a simple, elegant white dress, the kind that belonged in a pure, innocent campus romance novel. By no stretch of the imagination did her outfit look like someone who frequented bars.

Han Yu walked over and nudged her shoulder. “Miss? Miss…”

After nudging her for a while without any reaction, Han Yu instructed the server to help her up and carry her to the lounge upstairs.

He Chong’s disdain deepened. “As a bar owner, leading the charge on picking up passed-out girls^[5], have you no shame?”

Han Yu immediately fired back, “Watch your mouth! I’m showing chivalry and serving our patrons! Did I say anything would happen once we take her upstairs? No! I, Han Yu, am a man of upright integrity. I won’t lay a single hair on her!”

Meanwhile, the server had already hauled up the dead-drunk girl. He Chong glanced at her face through the messy hair and suddenly reached out to stop them. “Wait.”

Now it was Han Yu’s turn to look at him with contempt. “Oh, see how pretty she is? Creepy now, aren’t you? Tempted, aren’t you…”

“Shutting your mouth won’t kill you.” He Chong took a step forward and gently brushed away the hair covering her cheek. “I know her.”

“Who is she?”

He Chong smirked. “My niece.”

Han Yu scoffed, “Bullshit. You’re a lonely bachelor, where would you get a niece? Besides, how old is she and how old are you? How could you have a niece this old?”

“Believe it or not.” He Chong took her directly from the server, easily slinging her over his shoulder while taking care to avoid the cigarette dangling between his lips. “I’m taking her with me.”

“Hey! What are you taking her for?”

He Chong said, “As a hostage.”

When they reached the parking lot, He Chong set her down and reached into his pocket for his car keys. Leaning against the car, her body immediately slid straight down. He Chong didn’t bother stopping her; only after opening the door did he haul up the girl, who was now sitting flat on her butt on the ground, and stuff her into the back seat.

He drove south, heading straight for his garage. Once off the main highway, the route turned into a rough suburban county road, where the car periodically rolled through shallow, muddy puddles.

Amid the rough ride, He Chong suddenly heard a gagging sound from behind. He slammed on the brakes. “Don’t you dare throw up in my car!”

“Bleaaah!”

He Chong: “…”

He quickly rolled down the window, popped the door open, jumped out, and dragged her from the back seat. Propping her against a utility pole by the roadside, he thoughtfully pulled her hair back out of the way, then stepped far back to light a cigarette.

Standing a distance away, He Chong waited until it seemed she had finished heaving to her heart’s content. Only then did he amble over to the car, grab a bottle of water, unscrew the cap, and shove it into her hand.

She rinsed her mouth, seeming slightly more coherent, and looked up at him in confusion. “Who are you?”

He Chong said, “Your daddy^[6].”

Having finally dragged her back to the second floor of the garage, he initially intended to dump her onto the couch. On second thought, considering she was a girl after all, he showed a bit of mercy and surrendered his single bed to her. The moment her head hit the pillow, she fell fast asleep, reeking all over.

He Chong didn’t bother cleaning her up. Having no urge to sleep himself, he went downstairs, hooked up a plastic hose, cleared out everything from the back seat, and washed the car.

After bustling about for over half an hour until the car was washed clean inside and out, he finally returned to the second floor.

The person on the bed was sleeping like a log, unlikely to wake even if lightning struck the house. He Chong stood by the bedside looking at her for a moment. In the end, he went to the bathroom, wrung out a washcloth, and wiped down her face and hands before setting a bottle of water on the nightstand.

After finishing this full suite of “services,” He Chong was almost touched by his own thoughtfulness.

Zhou Mo slept soundly that night, but woke up with a splitting headache and ringing in her ears. Only then did the events of the previous night slowly trickle back to her. Alarmed, she yanked back the blanket to check herself. Fortunately, her clothes were intact, though they reeked of something sour and foul.

Zhou Mo got out of bed and wandered around the place, trying to figure out where she was. The living room was enormous yet practically empty: a single sofa, a television, and a rod nailed near the window hanging a few articles of men’s clothing. Aside from that, there was nothing else.

Zhou Mo opened the window and looked outside.

Outside was a vast concrete yard packed with numerous parked cars. Scattered across the ground were tires, car hoods, jacks, high-pressure water hoses, and various other equipment. Looking further off, there was only a sparse row of buildings with no recognizable landmarks.

Zhou Mo called out, “Is anyone here?”

She searched every room, but found no one.

Zhou Mo prepared to wash up before going downstairs to ask around on the street. However, there wasn’t even shampoo in the bathroom, only a single bar of soap. She couldn’t help thinking that whoever lived here led a rather bleak existence.

After making do with a quick shower and wash using the soap, she put her dirty clothes back on. Once tidied up, Zhou Mo exited the bathroom and headed toward the main door of the living room.

The moment she pulled it open, she caught sight of a tall silhouette standing right at the entrance, blocking the doorway like a wall.

Zhou Mo’s heart nearly stopped. It took her quite a while to catch her breath, and when she looked up, she froze. “…He Chong?”

He Chong was holding a bag. He looked down at her and asked, “You’re awake?”

“Where is this?”

“My place.”

“How did I…”

He Chong smiled. “You got kidnapped by me.”

Zhou Mo’s first instinct was to step back. It was only after she retreated into the room that she remembered this was He Chong’s home. Wasn’t that just walking right into the tiger’s den of her own accord?

As she took a step back, He Chong took a step forward.

Zhou Mo immediately raised her voice. “What are you trying to do?!”

He Chong gave her a complicated look.

“You… aren’t you…”

“Can I trade you to the Gu family for that burial plot? If I could, I really would kidnap you.”

“No.” Zhou Mo sounded dejected. “It’d probably be more practical to trade me to my dad for some money.”

“How much could I get?”

“Three million? Five million? I don’t know…”

He Chong chuckled. He hadn’t expected the girl to actually discuss her value as a hostage with him in all seriousness.

“You’re way too cheap. Isn’t the Zhou family supposed to be rich?”

Zhou Mo said, “Even if he’s rich, that’s my dad’s money. He wouldn’t want to part with it.”

“Aren’t you his daughter?”

Zhou Mo remained noncommittal. She glanced down and spotted the bag he was holding.

“Oh.” He Chong lifted it up and shoved it into her arms. “For you.”

“What’s this?”

“Aren’t you going to eat breakfast? Change your clothes?”

Zhou Mo clutched the bag tightly, on guard. “Change at your place?”

He Chong didn’t even look at her as he turned and walked away.

Besides breakfast, the bag contained clothes: a T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts, both plain and hopelessly frumpy. Zhou Mo had no choice. She changed into them, pulled two steaming meat buns out of the bag, and stuffed her dirty clothes inside. Her hair was still damp, and the clothes were a size too big for her. In all her life, she had never been in such a miserable state.

Zhou Mo went downstairs while biting into a bun and called out, “He Chong!”

Hearing faint voices from the adjacent workshop, she walked inside to take a look. Auto parts were scattered all over the floor, and the air reeked of pungent engine oil, but there was no sign of anyone.

Zhou Mo called out again, “He Chong.”

“Stop shouting. You sound like you’re summoning a ghost^[7].”

Zhou Mo followed the sound of his voice and finally noticed a person lying on his back underneath a jacked-up car. He was wearing khaki work pants, and only half of his legs were visible, which was why she hadn’t seen him at first glance.

Zhou Mo walked over, squatted down, and lowered her head to look under the car, but she couldn’t see anything. So she walked around to the other side, and as soon as she squatted down, she saw the top of He Chong’s head.

“Hey.”

He Chong didn’t answer, using a wrench to slowly unbolt a part from the chassis.

Zhou Mo finished chewing her mouthful of bun before speaking. “So you fix cars. Does this job…” She carefully chose her words. “…not pay very well?”

“It’s alright.”

Zhou Mo thought to herself, The apartment upstairs is practically bare walls, and he can’t even afford a bottle of shampoo. How could that be considered ‘alright’? But then again, men generally care about saving face.

“Have you always been a mechanic?”

“Just these past two years.”

“Then what did you do before?” She had heard plenty of rumors, especially the one claiming He Chong had “died in a car crash,” which people recounted in vivid detail.

He Chong paused. “Are you running a background check^[8] on me?”

“I’m curious. Can’t you tell me?”

He Chong gave it a thought and realized there was nothing he couldn’t share. “Served in the military, ran a business, raced cars… whatever made money.”

Zhou Mo thought again about how, after knocking around for so many years, he was still this poor, and a surge of pity washed over her. “Besides fixing cars, can you do anything else?”

“I can do anything except good deeds. Move.”

Zhou Mo froze.

“Move back. You’re blocking me.”

Zhou Mo hastily took a step back.

“Further back.”

Zhou Mo backed up four or five steps, only to see He Chong press his hands against the chassis and spring forward, sliding himself out from under the car. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, his bare bronze skin glistening with sweat. Based on her fifteen years of experience drawing, his frame and muscles were exceptionally well-proportioned, good enough to be pulled straight in to serve as a model.

Zhou Mo’s face grew a little hot. She turned her eyes away and took another bite of her bun, pretending not to notice.

He Chong glanced at her, watching her cheeks puff out as she chewed on the bun with tiny hamster-like bites. He chuckled. “Are you still in school?”

“In college.”

“Life must be pretty tough for you at school, huh?”

Zhou Mo was somewhat baffled.

“At the rate you eat, can you finish before the cafeteria closes?” He Chong walked over to a lathe on the side, holding the disassembled part to compare it against another.

Zhou Mo paid it no mind. “Chewing slowly is a healthy habit.”

He Chong took the part and slid back under the car. Seeing that he didn’t seem likely to come back out anytime soon, Zhou Mo shuffled over again while holding her bun.

“Why are you still hanging around my place?”

Zhou Mo fell silent for a moment, finishing a bite of her bun before saying, “I don’t want to go back.”

“Running away from home? Aren’t you a bit old for that? You didn’t bring a phone, so hurry back before your family calls the police.”

Zhou Mo froze, hurriedly reaching to feel her pockets, before remembering she had already changed her clothes.

“Stop checking. You really don’t have it on you, or the bartender would’ve called your parents to pick you up ages ago.”

“I’m an adult. I don’t need parental supervision.”

“Oh?”

Zhou Mo was thoroughly annoyed by his skeptical tone. “If I were a minor, would I have been able to get into a bar?”

“Hard to say. It’s not like fake IDs are hard to come by these days.”

Zhou Mo didn’t want to argue with him. Finishing off the rest of the bun, she clapped her hands clean and asked, “Can I stay here with you for one more day?”

“Sure. What rate are we talking?”

“What?” Zhou Mo found herself completely unable to follow his train of thought.

“Treat this like a rental. What rate are you paying me for rent?”

Zhou Mo was astonished. “You’re charging rent for this dump?”

He Chong chuckled. “Times are tough.”

Zhou Mo thought about it, and it made sense. The man was so hard up that taking advantage of him really wouldn’t be right. After considering it for a moment, she asked, “Five hundred a day?”

“…”

Zhou Mo rubbed her nose. “Is that too little? Definitely too little… How about… a thousand?”

“Do you even know what a five-star hotel charges?”

“No. Whenever we go on trips, my dad books the rooms.”

Speechless, He Chong told her to move aside, crawled out from under the car, and walked over to the sink in the workshop. He pumped some soap, washed the engine oil off his hands, and pulled on a shirt.

Zhou Mo followed him over to wash her hands too. He Chong looked down at her. “Your name is ‘Weekend’?”

“Mm.”

“Why not ‘Monday’?”

Zhou Mo rolled her eyes at him. “It’s Mo as in jasmine.”

He Chong chuckled. “Did you get chewed out when you got home that day?”

Mentioning it only made Zhou Mo angry all over again. That day, when she got home, her father, Zhou Sipei, had banished her to the studio to reflect on her actions, only letting her out after a full twelve hours.

Reading her expression, He Chong got the picture. “Don’t stick your neck out for me like that again. Look at me, I didn’t lose a thing, while you…”

Zhou Mo cut him off. “Next time, even if you beg me, I won’t help you.”

After a moment, Zhou Mo glanced at him. “Since Aunt Gu refused to let them be buried together, has He… has your mother been buried yet?”

“Nope,” He Chong said with a grin. “The funeral home has those little lockers that only cost eight thousand Yuan to rent. I deposited her ashes there for now.”

“Isn’t that…”

“Those destined for great things shouldn’t fuss over minor details.”

Zhou Mo was amused by him. “Why did you bring roses that day?”

“Nobody says you have to bring chrysanthemums to a funeral. My mom was pretty vain and vulgar. Of all flowers, she only liked roses, and the pricier they were, the better.”

His smile was a bit devil-may-care, yet his eyes were deep and bright. Looking into them gave her the strange feeling that he could peer straight into her soul. It was just like the rose she had seen through the misty rain that day, blazing like fire, suddenly stirring an indefinable restlessness deep within her.

“Roses suited her quite well.”

“Is that so…” He Chong smiled. “Do you think her name sounds nice?”

“It’s lovely. He Mi, like ‘Consort Mi left her pillow for the talent of King Wei^[9].'”

“She changed it herself. In fact, before she married the old man, Gu Hongsheng, that wasn’t her name.”

“What was it then?”

“He Guihua^[10].”

Zhou Mo burst out laughing. “You’re teasing me, right?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

Zhou Mo looked up at him, unable to catch a single trace of sorrow on his face. He had been willing to give up a villa worth sixty million Yuan just to secure a legitimate standing for He Mi. Was a man like him foolish, or simply pure-hearted?

Just then, He Chong’s phone rang with a blaring ringtone: “As the sun sets over the western hills, red clouds fly, the soldiers shoot their targets and return to camp, return to camp…”

He Chong glanced at the screen. It was Han Yu calling.

Han Yu sounded frantic, as if his eyebrows were on fire. “Lao He, where on earth did you take that girl? Bring her back to me right now in one piece! Her parents are here looking for her, saying if they don’t see her soon, they’re calling the police to report a kidnapping!”

The sun outside beat down relentlessly. Only now did Zhou Mo realize with a shock that it was already nearly noon.

He Chong’s vehicle was parked right in the center of the lot, a very old Jeep, though kept spotlessly clean, without a speck of dust on the windows.

Zhou Mo opened the passenger door, slipped inside, and sat down on the leather seat. The next second, she squealed “Ah!” and bounced right back up. Turning her head, she saw He Chong, who had just inserted the car key, looking at her with an indescribable expression.

He Chong gloated. “Hot, isn’t it?”

“Scorching.”

“Couldn’t you wait until I ran the air conditioning for a bit before sitting down?”

Zhou Mo felt aggrieved. The family cars that usually chauffeured her around were warm in winter and cool in summer the moment she stepped inside. She had never experienced anything like this in her life.

The two of them stood under the blazing sun, waiting for the interior to cool down. Seeing her squinting against the harsh light, her fair, delicate skin practically glowing white, He Chong opened the back door, fished out a black umbrella, and handed it to her.

Taken aback by the unexpected kindness, Zhou Mo hastily said, “Thank you.”

He Chong lit a cigarette, reached a hand into the driver’s side to test the temperature, and asked, “Why did you go drinking at a bar all by yourself? Heartbroken?”

He didn’t hear a word out of her.

He Chong raised his eyes to look. Zhou Mo’s gaze was cast downward, her expression subdued.

Hey, I actually guessed right.

He Chong laughed aloud. “You should thank me. Good thing I was there, or you would’ve been in deep trouble last night.”

“Wasn’t that supposed to be a quiet lounge bar? I specifically asked my classmate, and she told me quiet bars don’t have shady stuff going on. She even said this place just opened, was cheap, and gave me the address herself.”

“Weren’t you afraid someone would pick you up like a corpse?”

“‘Pick up a corpse’? What does that mean?”

Now He Chong was truly rendered speechless.

Feeling embarrassed, Zhou Mo explained in a small voice, “It was my first time going to a bar.”

He Chong was mildly surprised. “Twenty years old and you’ve never even been to a bar?”

Zhou Mo didn’t answer. Lowering her umbrella slightly, she copied He Chong and reached in to check the air inside. “Can we get in now?”

He Chong glanced at her, pulled open the door, and said, “Get in.”

It was still hot inside, especially the leather seats, which felt like a steamer the moment she sat down. A layer of sweat broke out across Zhou Mo’s back, and she adjusted the air vent to blow directly at her.

He Chong unconsciously glanced over at her. Her hair was half-dry now, long and smooth, cascading down the front of her T-shirt, with the wet ends leaving a soaked patch around her waist. He looked away, put out his cigarette, released the handbrake, and started the car.

The road was in disrepair, pitted with potholes carved out by overloaded heavy trucks. Small buildings no higher than four stories lined the route, while in the distance, green fields rolled in endless waves.

“Where are we?”

“South of the city. Yannan Town.”

“Does Xicheng have a place like this?”

By now, He Chong was no longer surprised by the rich, pampered girl’s reactions. “With the way you live, you’ve probably never even stepped outside the Zhou family mansion.”

It was meant as sarcasm, but Zhou Mo replied listlessly, “Pretty much.”

Just then, “As the sun sets over the western hills, red clouds fly” blared again. The tires jolted over a bump as He Chong answered the phone, grumping, “What is it now?”

“Master Chong, have you brought her back yet? They’re really going to call the cops…”

“I’m still in Yannan, twenty kilometers away! Do you expect me to fly back?”

Han Yu sounded ready to cry. “Your little niece is right beside you, isn’t she? Give her the phone and let her reassure her old man first…”

He Chong handed his phone to Zhou Mo. “Take this and let your parents know you’re safe.”

Zhou Mo took his phone, once again thoroughly surprised. It was already 2016, yet he was still using a non-smart feature phone? His financial situation truly was worrying.

“Hello…”

The moment Tang Shulan heard her voice, she demanded coldly, “Zhou Mo, where are you?”

The bold confidence Zhou Mo had shown when storming into the bar alone last night instantly evaporated. “On the road,” she answered nervously.

“Who are you with?”

“A friend.”

“Where did you meet this friend? At a bar?”

“No…”

“Zhou Mo, I am deeply disappointed in you.”

Zhou Mo timidly offered a soft “I’m sorry.”

“Who are you with, exactly?”

The sound quality on He Chong’s feature phone was pretty poor. With the volume turned all the way up, even without speakerphone, the voice on the other end was crystal clear.

Hearing Tang Shulan’s sharp question, He Chong chuckled softly, thinking he was probably about to offend someone again.

He turned to look at Zhou Mo. Her eyes were downcast and her face was flushed; she looked as though she might burst into tears at any second. Driven by some impulse he couldn’t quite name, he reached over and snatched the phone. “She’s with me.”

“Who are you?”

“He Chong.”

The voice on the other end suddenly spiked in volume. “He Chong, what are you trying to do? Was the Gu family’s sixty million not enough to satisfy your appetite?”

“What does the Gu family’s sixty million have to do with your Zhou family?”

Tang Shulan said coldly, “I’m warning you, stay away from Zhou Mo. She is…”

“What could I possibly want from her?”

Tang Shulan tried to argue further, but He Chong cut her off sharply. “I didn’t kidnap your daughter, and neither did my brother. Do us a favor and stop standing around making a scene at the bar, disrupting my brother’s business. I’m bringing her back to you right now. We’re already on the way, so what’s the rush?” With that, he decisively hung up.

He turned to look at Zhou Mo again. “Was it so hard to just say I was right beside you? Why lie?”

“You’ve already made an enemy of the Gu family…”

He Chong was stunned for a moment, but then he chuckled. “You can barely protect yourself, yet you’re worrying about whether I make enemies? Why do you love meddling so much?”

“Aren’t you meddling too?”

He Chong was left utterly speechless by her retort. He turned to look ahead. “Sit tight. I’m speeding up.”

When He Chong said he was speeding up, he meant it. The battered old Jeep thundered down the pitted county road, rattling loudly as if the hood might fly off at any moment.

Zhou Mo was jolted around so hard she could barely stay in her seat. She quickly grabbed the handle above her door. “Slow down!”

He Chong laughed. “If I slow down, they’ll think I killed the hostage.”

After a bumpy ride, he finally delivered her safely to “2046”.

Tang Shulan and Zhou Sipei stood at the entrance of the bar like two door gods^[11]. When they saw Zhou Mo step out of the passenger seat wearing a tacky, flashy magenta T-shirt, their faces turned grim. They immediately rushed forward, grabbed her arm, and hauled her to their side.

They paused for a moment, expecting He Chong to step out as well, but instead heard the engine roar as if the car were about to drive off.

Zhou Sipei quickly called out to stop him. “He Chong.”

He Chong smiled. “What can I do for you?”

“About you abducting my daughter…”

“Dad, He Chong didn’t abduct me. I…”

Tang Shulan yanked her back forcefully. “Shut up!”

Seeing he wasn’t going to get away right away, He Chong simply lit a cigarette. Taking a drag, he smiled and asked, “How old is your daughter? Abduction?”

“Whatever grievance you have with the Gu family, don’t drag my Zhou family into it…”

“Is it really that hard to stick to the facts?” He Chong interrupted. “Is there a required course for rich people called 《Being Unreasonable》? Why don’t you ask Zhou Mo yourself if I abducted her?”

Tang Shulan said, “Zhou Mo is simple-minded…”

“She’s twenty, not two. You think she’d just walk off with me over a couple of pieces of candy?”

Only then did Tang Shulan turn her gaze to Zhou Mo. “Momo, explain yourself. What on earth is going on here?”

Zhou Mo kept her head down and merely asked, “Can I go home now?”

After a tense standoff, Zhou Sipei flicked his sleeve^[12], saying angrily, “The older you get, the less obedient you become!”

Seeing Zhou Mo still standing there motionless, Tang Shulan grabbed her arm. “Let’s go home. We’ll discuss this in detail.”

Through the haze of smoke, He Chong watched Zhou Mo being pulled away. The two in front walked quickly, and she stumbled along, barely able to keep up.