“Why did you play that bomb card at the end? It was obvious that Old Zhou had a three-with-a-pair in his hand.”

“If I hadn’t played it, you wouldn’t have gotten away either.”

Liang Meng and Wang Zaiwu were replaying the card game as they walked out the door of the mahjong parlor.

Liang Meng’s hand hadn’t even touched the door handle of the car when she heard a “beep beep” sound not far away!

Both of them turned around at the same time.

Wang Zaiwu recognized who had come. His expression immediately darkened: “He’s looking for you.”

With that, he slipped into the driver’s seat on his own, waiting for her.

Liang Meng glanced at the all-too-familiar black Alfa Romeo in the distance, took a deep breath, and walked over reluctantly.

“Get in the car.”

Jiang Han sat inside the vehicle, commanding her in a low, deep voice.

Liang Meng hesitated for a moment, then climbed into the car — but refused to close the door.

Jiang Han caught the sharp, greasy smell of cigarette smoke on her and felt a pang of distress.

“Come home and stay.”

Jiang Han went straight to the point.

His tone was almost pleading.

Liang Meng said nothing. This question was her weak spot.

Jiang Han had come prepared and took a step back: “If you really don’t want to live in the villa, I have full-floor apartments at both Yu Ting and Cui Hu — you can pick one.”

Liang Meng still said nothing. She furrowed her brow and raised her wrist to check the time.

Jiang Han sighed.

Liang Meng was impossible to get through to. He could only prop his slender index finger against his cheek and gaze out the window.

Left with nowhere left to retreat, he ultimately took yet another step back.

“If you don’t want to live in my place, I’ll rent you somewhere. You can’t keep cramming yourself into your little assistant’s place — that’s no way to live.”

Liang Meng didn’t want to get tangled up in these things right now. She just wanted to focus on her career.

The hardships of daily life — she was willing to endure those. But the emotional hardships? She genuinely had no time or energy for those right now.

Some things don’t become clear until they’re said out loud.

So Liang Meng steeled her patience and explained to Jiang Han, once more, the reason she had to move out.

“Jiang Han, when I moved out at the time, it really was an impulse decision,” Liang Meng said. “But over the past month, living at Lin Qing’s place…”

Liang Meng resignedly set her rose-red Hermès bag down by her feet, and turned to face Jiang Han squarely.

“I feel so free!”

“Of course you feel free living at your subordinate’s place!” Jiang Han bristled with indignant anger. “You pay her salary, so naturally she greets you with a smile! She absolutely caters to you! But is that a long-term solution?”

“It’s still better than living with you and my sister!”

Liang Meng shouted, drowning out his voice.

Jiang Han froze, staring at her with disbelief.

“Jiang Han! I genuinely don’t understand it! What on earth is making you and my sister unhappy every single day? You’re so wealthy, your career is so successful. My sister is wealthy too, and successful too. But the two of you walk around every day looking weighed down by something!”

Liang Meng poured out all her frustrations at once.

“I lived in that villa. Even when neither of you did anything to me, I still felt like the air in there was suffocating. My sister lives like a Taoist nun — all mysterious and miserable! And you, Jiang Han, are like ice frozen at the bottom of a river in the dead of a northern winter, indiscriminately radiating cold to everyone around you. Even though you try your best to accommodate me, a person’s aura doesn’t lie! You’re unhappy…”

“Then what more do you want from me?!” Jiang Han’s cold energy erupted into rage at that very instant!

People only fly into a blind fury when someone hits on their weakness.

Because he had no way out.

Right now, Jiang Han had no leverage over Liang Meng at all — except to lower himself and make concessions.

Liang Meng was silenced by his outburst. She let out a long, deep sigh, picked up her bag, and got out of the car.

There was no point in talking.

There was truly no point in talking at all.

Through the windshield, the crestfallen Jiang Han watched Wang Zaiwu standing beside a brilliantly orange Lamborghini, dressed in pale white clothes.

Liang Meng’s retreating figure, dressed in vivid colors, walked gracefully toward him.

A dashing young man in fine clothes beside a prized steed, the road lined with treasure cars and blooming flowers.

And he — was merely a middle-aged man entangled in helplessness.

In anguish, Jiang Han lowered his head. His long, pale fingers could cover his forehead, but could not cover his dejection and heartbreak.

“Mr. Jiang, it’s Wan Heng on the phone, pressing us about the contract…”

At that moment, the secretary in the front seat cut in at the worst possible time.

“They’re really being very urgent about it. They said if we can’t give them a definitive answer today, they’ll go sell to someone else.”

A blow that piled misery upon misery.

Jiang Han, exhausted in body and spirit, slumped back limply in his seat…

The entire way back, Liang Meng didn’t say a word.

Wang Zaiwu, seeing she was in low spirits, did his best to joke and cheer her up.

“What shall we eat tonight? Hot pot, barbecue, or Japanese food?”

Liang Meng said nothing.

Wang Zaiwu turned the steering wheel and continued: “Or how about a foot massage? The foot massage place has free snacks…”

“I want to go back and check on my sister.”

Liang Meng interrupted him in a very quiet voice.

Wang Zaiwu was baffled. The steering wheel wavered left and right in his hands — so where exactly were they going?

Today, the sudden sight of Jiang Han had made Liang Meng feel that he had aged a great deal.

The old him, at thirty-eight by the Chinese count, used to look like he was thirty. But today’s him looked every bit of his thirty-eight years — sunken eyes, a face etched with fatigue.

Liang Meng suddenly thought of her sister, Liang Xing. She herself had been moved out for over a month now, and her sister had been keeping a low profile as well, barely making any moves.

Liang Xing had sent Liang Meng a few WeChat messages and transferred some money, and Liang Meng had not responded to any of them.

At Longquan, her sister’s presence had also become almost invisible — and that made Liang Meng feel even more unsettled.

No — she had to go back and check on her sister.

“Head to Tan Shan Villa,” Liang Meng instructed Wang Zaiwu.

Wang Zaiwu noticed the gravity in Liang Meng’s expression and didn’t ask any more questions, pressing the accelerator and dutifully playing chauffeur.

“Wait, this isn’t right — you should have turned left here. Didn’t you put on the navigation?”

Near the villa complex, Liang Meng suddenly realized Wang Zaiwu had taken the wrong turn.

But Wang Zaiwu said: “Come on! You haven’t been home in over a month — you’re going to show up empty-handed? Turn right and there’s a flower shop. Honestly!”

Liang Meng hadn’t thought of it, but Wang Zaiwu had.

When it came to keeping women happy and providing emotional comfort, he really was an expert.

Liang Meng cradled a bouquet of fresh flowers — a mix of blue, white, and soft lavender — and walked into the familiar courtyard.

She had only been gone a little over a month, yet this place, which she knew so intimately, somehow felt like it had become a stranger.

She tilted her head up and looked. The dark green curtains on the second floor were still drawn.

She couldn’t catch sight of her sister on the first look.

Liang Xing was upstairs on the second-floor terrace, doing yoga by herself. Seeing Liang Meng suddenly come back, she was very surprised.

Before her pose was even finished, Liang Xing hurried to stand up — and immediately pulled a ligament. She quickly suppressed the pained expression on her face.

“Sit.”

Liang Xing rose, tossed a towel over her shoulder, and as if nothing had happened, took Liang Meng by the arm and led her to sit in the shade of the patio umbrella.

“Sis.”

Liang Meng suddenly felt her heart racing, and a wave of guilt welled up.

She had just run away from home like that, leaving her sister alone in the villa.

Even with Jiang Han looking after things, she really had no idea how her sister was actually doing.

The two sisters sat in awkward silence for a long while, until Liang Meng finally broke it with small talk: “Sis, how come you haven’t been coming to Longquan lately? Is it because of me…?”

To her surprise, Liang Xing answered in a way completely out of character: “I haven’t been going to Longquan because you’re doing very well there.”

“What?!”

Liang Meng couldn’t process it for a moment.

Was this really the same sister who used to want to have her hand in everything Liang Meng did?

The sudden affirmation and praise left Liang Meng at a complete loss.

“During the days you’ve been away from home, I’ve done a lot of thinking too.” Liang Xing stood up and turned to look out at the courtyard. “Xiao Meng, you’ve grown up. It’s time for your sister to step back…”

“Sis! That’s not what I meant!” Liang Meng rushed to explain.

But —

Liang Xing had her own way of doing things.

She cut Liang Meng off directly: “I hold 35% of Longquan, Jiang Han holds 30%, you have 15%, and the minority shareholders hold 20%.”

“Sis…”

Faced with Liang Xing’s sudden seriousness, Liang Meng felt a chill run down her spine with a sharp, knife-like clarity.

A reunion of two sisters after a month apart, and there were no tearful embraces, no heartfelt confessions — only cold calculations of their respective shareholdings.

“I’m tired,” Liang Xing said, turning around, her face pale. “So I want to cash out my 35% stake and enjoy life.”

“Sis!!”

Liang Meng shot to her feet, then sat back down in alarm.

She had been completely blindsided by this!

This was nothing like what Liang Xing had always told her, from the time they were small.

Liang Xing had always said: Longquan was something she was watching over on Liang Meng’s behalf, and those 35% shares would be transferred to Liang Meng when she grew up — making her not just the CEO, but the true power behind Longquan.

So what was this about “cashing out”?

Even if it wasn’t entirely unreasonable, Liang Meng’s mind couldn’t make the turn fast enough — she couldn’t accept it!

This was the very first thing she’d been hit with upon coming to see her sister for the first time in over a month since running away from home.

“Sis… but…”

Liang Meng was incoherent.

But Liang Xing’s thoughts were perfectly clear.

She coolly lifted the towel from her shoulder and sat back down.

“Xiao Meng, listen to me first,” Liang Xing said. “I’ve given ten years to Longquan as well. This is what I’m owed — that’s fair, isn’t it?”

“Sis! It’s fair! It’s not that I care about the money…”

Liang Meng argued for her life!

“I’m not against you cashing out! I just…”

What Liang Meng feared most was losing control of Longquan.

Having the control in her sister’s hands wasn’t a problem — she had never imagined Liang Xing would actually sell her Longquan shares.

And yet her sister was about to tap-dance right on top of her landmine.

At present, Liang Xing’s and Liang Meng’s combined stakes made the two sisters the single largest block of shareholders in Longquan.

But once Liang Xing cashed out, Liang Meng’s 15% wouldn’t even be able to hold its own against the minority shareholders.

Her sister was living just fine — how had she suddenly undergone a genetic mutation and decided to throw a grenade?

“I know what you’re worried about.”

A sister knows her sister best.

“Isn’t there still Jiang Han? Xiao Meng, when you add up your shares and his, you’re still Longquan’s largest shareholder.”

“But, Sis…”

Before Liang Meng could say anything more, Liang Xing had already stood up and gone inside the villa.

On her way out, she cradled the flowers and left with one final sentence: “Whatever happens to Longquan, Tan Shan will always be yours. Come back and stay whenever you like.”

And with that, she left Liang Meng standing on the terrace, utterly dumbfounded.

Liang Meng felt a prickling sensation behind her eyes.

At that moment, she had only one thought: she wondered whether her life might have been easier if she’d had a mother.

On the way back, Liang Meng couldn’t stop the tears from blurring her vision.

Wang Zaiwu tried to console her, though his timing left much to be desired: “What’s the big deal if she cashes out? If she can cash out, so can you! Longquan’s share price is so high right now, and you have 15% too — that’s a solid 300 million! With 300 million, you could go have fun anywhere in the world. Why put yourself through this?”

“You don’t understand,” Liang Meng said, fiercely wiping her tears.

“What do you mean I don’t understand?” Wang Zaiwu was getting agitated too. “Don’t you go to work to earn money? You’ve got the money now, so why are you… why are you crying?”

Seeing Liang Meng in tears, Wang Zaiwu was suddenly at a complete loss.

Once the mind falls into chaos, the mouth starts losing control.

“Not to say anything, but Liang Meng, what kind of person is your sister? You haven’t been home for over a month, and you go out of the kindness of your heart to check on her, and the first thing she hits you with is that she wants to sell her shares! I heard long ago that she’s not your biological family, and now looking at it — sure enough, without a blood tie, you just can’t rely on someone!”

“Shut your mouth! Stop the car up ahead!”

Liang Meng stormed out of the car in a fit of anger, and walked alone into the evening darkness.

Wang Zaiwu’s car was parked by the roadside. The bright yellow headlights flickered on and off. He stood with his hands on his hips, watching Liang Meng’s distant figure, and for the first time, he felt anger at something he was powerless to change.

The turbulence of emotion had brought him back to life — but being alive came with pain.

And caring made the pain even worse.