1

Nie Xiguang had been sitting in the car for nearly ten minutes without getting out.

The driver who brought her to Shanghai to attend this charity auction was an old employee her mother had used for nearly twenty years. He treated her like an elder would and couldn’t help reminding her, “Xiguang, I think it’s about time. You need to go in.”

Xiguang knew she couldn’t delay any longer. She responded and reached out to open the car door.

This was a charity auction jointly hosted by several famous Shanghai collectors. The invitation had been sent to Jiang Yun, but she didn’t have time to come, so she sent her to attend instead.

This should have been an easy task—socialize a bit, casually bid on something, and she could leave. The problem was, as soon as the car arrived at the parking lot, she saw Lin Yusen.

Her ex-boyfriend of three months.

How could she run into him again so coincidentally?

This was the third time she’d encountered him since the breakup.

She should have anticipated this. Of course such a charity auction would invite Shengyuan. Now that Sheng Xingjie had been exiled and Lin Yusen had returned to Shengyuan headquarters, clearly positioned as the heir apparent, it was perfectly normal for him to represent Shengyuan at this event.

But she still felt somewhat hesitant.

She didn’t even know what she was being timid about. Three months ago, it was clearly he who inexplicably proposed breaking up—why should she feel guilty?

Moreover, today might be like the previous two times—although at the same venue, they wouldn’t even need to greet each other, right? She really didn’t need to worry in advance. Even if they did have to exchange greetings, it was nothing—this time she happened to have something to ask him.

After this mental preparation, Xiguang’s steps became much more determined. When she reached the venue entrance and handed her invitation to the attendant at the door, a sweet-smiling Miss Li immediately appeared to receive her. “Miss Nie, Uncle Liu was just asking about you.”

Uncle Liu was the organizer of this auction and also the most famous art collector among them.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

“Not at all. It officially starts at seven-thirty, on the third floor.” Miss Li led her upstairs. “There’s a cocktail reception on the second floor now. You’ve come from afar—you must be tired. Have something to eat later to relax.”

Xiguang nodded.

The cocktail reception on the second floor was arranged with great character. The central antique and ornate long table was laden with various exquisite pastries and beverages. Surrounding it was a circle of glass cabinets in the same style, displaying the collection items to be auctioned, allowing guests to enjoy food while appreciating the items.

Xiguang was led by Miss Li to find Uncle Liu, who then introduced her to many people. After a round of socializing and pleasantries, she finally escaped, took a few pastries, and sat in a corner.

The pastries were delicious. After eating a few bites, she began to feel somewhat distracted.

The reception venue wasn’t very large—why hadn’t she seen him yet? Had he gone up to the third floor early?

If their seats were far apart later, would today… pass perfectly without interaction again?

This seemed like something to be happy about, but somehow, she felt even less energized.

It was getting increasingly stuffy indoors. Xiguang noticed there was a terrace outside, dim and seemingly empty, so she simply stood up and walked toward it.

Pushing open the terrace door, the cool air revived her spirits. She gathered her clothes and walked a few steps inside, just looking for a place to stay when she suddenly glimpsed in the corner of the terrace, where the lights couldn’t reach, the vague outline of a person standing.

She froze instantly.

Without a closer look, she knew it was Lin Yusen.

His tall figure was half-leaning against the railing, his head slightly lowered. The terrace’s weak lighting only illuminated the area in front of him. His entire person was hidden in darkness, inexplicably giving an inscrutable feeling.

Xiguang was caught in a dilemma for a moment, unsure whether she should turn around and leave.

The person in the darkness seemed to sense her movement and looked up at her. Xiguang instinctively spoke first, “I didn’t know you were here.”

He nodded indifferently, “This isn’t my territory. Do as you please.”

As he spoke, he straightened up and stepped out of the shadows, seemingly about to leave.

He was actually going to leave?

“Wait, I have something to ask you.” Without time to think further, as they crossed paths, Xiguang hurriedly threw out the question on her mind, “Was it you who put Ma Nianyuan in prison?”

He abruptly stopped and turned his gaze to her, “Are you questioning me? Think she didn’t deserve it?”

“No, but…”

Before Xiguang could express her vague meaning, Lin Yusen had already given her a definite answer.

“Of course it was me. Perhaps she didn’t deserve it, but Xiguang, can’t you see?” Lin Yusen said gently, “I was venting my anger.”

He still called her Xiguang.

Nie Xiguang’s mind was shaken by this extremely gentle utterance of “Xiguang.” She asked in confusion, following his words, “Venting anger about what?”

“Venting anger because of her, she made me act after the fact, made my girlfriend hesitate.”

“I didn’t hesitate!”

Nie Xiguang blurted out.

She couldn’t help explaining again, “I was just very shocked, just somewhat regretful, but I never thought about breaking up with you to be with him.”

Just a few months ago, somehow Zhuang Xu discovered that she and Lin Yusen weren’t together yet on New Year’s Day. He actually intercepted her downstairs at her Shanghai residence, questioned her, and demanded she break up with Lin Yusen.

She immediately refused him.

“You may not understand me—once I decide to be with someone, I absolutely won’t be unfaithful. If he doesn’t fail me, I won’t fail him.” That was how firmly she had answered him at the time.

But Zhuang Xu’s smile was very mocking, “If you won’t, you won’t. Why make vows and swear oaths?”

His gaze passed over her, smiling at someone behind her. Her heart jumped in alarm, and she immediately turned around. Lin Yusen was standing not far away.

Zhuang Xu looked at Lin Yusen, “Congratulations. For you, she has a sense of responsibility.”

“Sense of responsibility.” Zhuang Xu smiled and repeated these three words, looking at Lin Yusen with an almost arrogant gaze, “If you don’t bring up breaking up, she never will.”

“You’re talking nonsense!” she angrily refuted him.

And Lin Yusen had been very calm at the time, even only saying four words to him, “You just realized?”

The matter had clearly passed like that. Afterward, she made special efforts to do well as a girlfriend should, but Lin Yusen asked her, “Xiguang, why do you always want to compensate me? Why do you feel you’ve wronged me?”

Did she?

While her mind was confused, Lin Yusen chuckled lightly, “Done asking?”

“Then it’s my turn to ask you.”

A trace of anticipation actually rose in Xiguang’s heart, “What do you want to ask?”

“I remember you don’t like attending such banquets.” His voice was light and calm, “But this is the third time we’ve run into each other these past few months. Why? To see me?”

Xiguang had never explored the reason for her recent enthusiasm in attending various events. Suddenly asked so directly by him, she had an epiphany while also feeling the awkwardness of being seen through.

She denied it with the hastiness of someone trying to cover up, “No, of course not.”

“Is that so? Then I overthought it. Goodbye.”

He nodded casually, stepped back, and left the terrace with utmost decisiveness.

Xiguang stood there stunned, hardly able to believe he had just left like that.

After quite a while, she heard footsteps again. She turned around somewhat hopefully, but it was a server who came to notify her, “Miss Nie, the auction is about to begin. You may enter now.”

Most of the auction guests had already taken their seats. Xiguang was led by the server to her seat. Just as she sat down, she saw Lin Yusen’s sharply suited back in the front right.

He was chatting with the woman beside him.

Xiguang recognized this woman—she had met her at other occasions before. She was the daughter of a family with longstanding ties to the Sheng family, and she vaguely remembered her surname was Wu.

They were clearly chatting well. Miss Wu had been smiling pleasantly the whole time.

Xiguang bit her lip slightly and lowered her head to flip through the auction catalog.

Soon the auction began.

Xiguang felt somewhat restless and distracted. She planned to casually bid on something, complete her task, and leave early, so she raised her paddle at the second auction item.

It was a pigeon egg-sized luminous pearl. The whole “luminous pearl” thing was mostly a gimmick, but it did indeed emit fluorescence when the lights were turned off. The starting price was two hundred thousand.

Unexpectedly, someone raised their paddle at the same time as her, and it happened to be that Miss Wu.

The auctioneer was Uncle Liu himself, and the atmosphere and process were relatively casual. Seeing two people raise their paddles simultaneously, he immediately became excited.

“Xiguang and Nana bid almost simultaneously, but Xiguang seemed slightly earlier. So Nana, will you raise the bid?”

Miss Wu smiled slightly and raised her paddle again.

“Two hundred fifty thousand.”

Xiguang’s nature was not to compete with others, but first, this was a charity auction, so a higher price didn’t matter. Second, she was now representing her parents—if someone competed and she gave up, it would seem too weak. So she raised her paddle again.

“Three hundred thousand!”

It continued this way until six hundred thousand.

Xiguang felt it was about enough and planned to give up. Uncle Liu asked twice, and Xiguang shook her head slightly to indicate she wouldn’t raise the price further. Just as the hammer was about to fall, the young man to Xiguang’s right who had been silent suddenly raised his hand.

Uncle Liu said excitedly, “Now a new bidder has appeared, our Mr. He—six hundred fifty thousand. Nana, will you still raise?”

Xiguang looked somewhat surprised at Mr. He to her right, but unexpectedly caught his smiling gaze. He looked at her and said politely, “Miss Nie seems to really like this pearl. If I’m fortunate enough to win it, I hope you’ll allow me to give it to you.”

Huh?

What was this situation? Xiguang was baffled. She had only just met this Mr. He at the cocktail reception on the second floor—they were merely introduced by Uncle Lin, exchanged names, and nodded at each other. How could he want to give her such an expensive gift?!

This absolutely could not be accepted. Xiguang thought she might as well bid on it herself, then casually say something about a family task or something to refuse him?

The new competitor clearly made Miss Wu hesitate. Xiguang made up her mind and was about to raise her paddle when the next second she heard Uncle Liu’s even more exalted voice.

“Seven hundred thousand!”

“Mr. Lin has bid seven hundred thousand!”

Mr. Lin?

Lin Yusen?!

Xiguang’s hand froze instantly. She abruptly looked toward Lin Yusen’s back, but only saw Miss Wu’s suddenly delighted eyes looking at him.

Xiguang suddenly felt somewhat ridiculous.

Especially remembering how she had hurriedly explained to him on the terrace earlier made her feel even more embarrassed.

“Eight hundred thousand.”

The new bid startled Xiguang awake. Uncle Liu’s tone grew increasingly exalted, “Mr. He has gone straight to eight hundred thousand! Is there more…”

“One million.” Lin Yusen said.

Mr. He’s expression visibly became serious because he already sensed Lin Yusen was determined to win.

Xiguang was afraid he would still compete and quickly said, “Mr. He, thank you for your kindness, but it’s not necessary. Actually, I don’t like it that much—I just thought the box was pretty.”

She forced a joke, then paused and said, “If I really liked it, I wouldn’t give up.”

Xiguang casually bid on something and returned to Wuxi that very night. After traveling back and forth all day, she was originally very exhausted, but after washing up and lying in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

The abrupt ringtone of her phone yanked her thoughts back from mid-air. Xiguang reached for her phone and glanced at it casually, then sat up instantly.

The caller ID showed “Driver Xiao Wang.”

This was Lin Yusen’s driver. She had saved the number for convenience when they were dating, and hadn’t deliberately deleted it after breaking up.

Why would he call her in the middle of the night?

A full ten-plus seconds passed before Xiguang pressed answer. Xiao Wang’s somewhat honest voice sounded, “Miss Nie, you’re not asleep yet, right? Sorry to disturb you. Director Lin asked me to deliver something to you.”

Nie Xiguang thought of something but didn’t quite dare believe it. Her heart pounded violently. She quickly jumped out of bed, threw on a coat, and ran downstairs.

Xiao Wang was already waiting downstairs.

But only Xiao Wang was there.

She couldn’t say whether it was disappointment or something else as she steadied her somewhat rapid breathing.

“Miss Nie.” Xiao Wang handed her the paper bag he was carrying. Xiguang looked at the charity auction logo printed on the bag and didn’t move for a long time.

The guess had been confirmed, but she still asked, “What is this?”

“I don’t know about that.” Xiao Wang shook his head, “Director Lin asked me to deliver it. I must deliver it into your hands. Miss Nie, now that you’ve received it, I’ll head back.”

It was already very late, and he still had to rush back. Xiguang couldn’t delay any longer and reached out to take the bag.

Back in the bedroom, Nie Xiguang sat before the vanity, staring at the bag on the table for a long time before taking out the contents—as expected, it was a wooden jewelry box. The somewhat special color made Xiguang recognize it at a glance—it was the box containing that luminous pearl.

She suppressed her heartbeat and gently opened the box, but the next second, she was completely stunned.

This was actually an empty box.

Inside was completely empty—nothing at all.

Xiguang was confused for a while, even looking inside the paper bag, before confirming that Lin Yusen had really sent someone to deliver an empty box to her in the middle of the night.

In an instant, anger surged up. What was this—toying with people in the middle of the night?!

She couldn’t hold back any longer. She picked up her phone and called Lin Yusen.

The call was answered almost immediately.

Xiguang blurted out, “What do you mean by sending me an empty box?”

“You received it?” The voice on the other end seemed calm and breezy, “I originally wanted to give you the pearl along with it, but I couldn’t bear to part with it.”

Couldn’t bear to? Couldn’t bear to give it to her? Then who would he give it to?

Xiguang thought of Miss Wu sitting beside him, thought of the delighted look in Miss Wu’s eyes when Lin Yusen bid.

Could it be that he gave the luminous pearl to Miss Wu and then sent her an empty box to mock her?

Because she said the box was pretty?

This terrifying speculation made Xiguang feel suffocated. Her fingers trembled involuntarily. She knew she’d better not ask—wasn’t the answer already obvious? But almost masochistically, she wanted to hear him say it himself.

“So what? Are you bidding on one thing but giving it to two people?”

“Two people? Who else do you think I would give it to?” Lin Yusen seemed somewhat astonished, then chuckled lightly and said, “I kept her for myself.”

Xiguang was stunned.

“Right now she’s in my palm.” His voice was low, “Xiguang, she glows.”

Xiguang froze holding the phone, unable to say anything. After a moment, a beep came from the receiver—once again, he had hung up first.

Nie Xiguang jolted awake and sat up in bed.

2

Lin Yusen was awakened by a pillow being thrown at him.

Even though Dr. Lin was usually incomparably clever, he was somewhat bewildered in the instant he woke up.

He sat up, turned on the light, and grabbed the pillow in confusion, seeing his wife angrily reproaching him, “You actually broke up with me!”

This time it only took him one second to react, “What did you dream about?”

Although Dr. Lin usually focused on academics, he was energetic and had very diverse knowledge. Naturally, he had seen online anecdotes about wives who dreamed their husbands cheated and angrily beat their husbands upon waking.

He didn’t expect it would happen to him.

He immediately became intrigued, grabbing his wife’s hand and pressing her, “You dreamed we broke up? And I was the one who proposed it? For what reason? Were my reasons sufficient?”

Why was he so excited? As for what reason?

Uh…

This dream was rather clear—so clear that Xiguang felt a bit embarrassed. How strange—they’d been married for several years already, yet she still dreamed about that episode from their university days. This really didn’t make much sense.

But at this moment, the key was to be righteous and confident. Xiguang huffed, “Even if your reasons were sufficient, does that mean you could propose breaking up?”

“You’re right.” His wife’s unreasonableness had a certain logic to it. Lin Yusen skillfully affirmed his wife, then applied his research spirit to analyze layer by layer, “You said ‘breaking up’ not ‘divorce,’ so the time in the dream was before we got married?”

Nie Xiguang: “…”

She couldn’t let him continue analyzing like this. Xiguang cleverly skipped this part and guided him to focus on something else, “It’s a dream—how could there be a reason for breaking up? There was only the plot of you being unreasonable.”

Lin Yusen was indeed diverted, “How did I act unreasonably? Tell me about it.”

“In the dream, I went to a charity auction and you went too, then you were all indifferent to me.” Xiguang roughly described the dream, emphatically embellishing his wicked behavior, “Then during the auction segment, you sat in front of me and very inconsiderately kept chatting with the young lady next to you—extremely disruptive. Most outrageous was when I liked a luminous pearl and wanted to bid on it, you actually threw down one million and snatched it from me.”

“I should have… given it to you?”

“Yes, gave it to me.” Xiguang ground her teeth, “Gave me a box and kept the pearl for yourself!”

“Mm.” Lin Yusen considered this, “In the dream, this… fellow has quite some tactics. Doing this after breaking up, his purpose…”

“You.”

“What?”

“You.” Xiguang emphasized.

“…” Lin Yusen obediently took the blame, “My purpose was most likely to retreat in order to advance.”

“That being said, my ultimate goal was still to get our Miss Nie, so Xiguang, why did I in the dream propose breaking up?”

Nie Xiguang: “…”

Wait, how did he circle back to this?

But recalling the rational, even somewhat cold and unfamiliar Lin Yusen in the dream, she also became curious.

She silently lay back on the bed, conveniently pulling Lin Yusen back beside her, leaning against him and asking, “Yusen, if, a long, long time ago, when we just got together, I was a bit unsteady, a bit hesitant, what would you do?”

Lin Yusen immediately understood. He was somewhat surprised but smiled and said very certainly, “You never were.”

“So certain?” Xiguang was almost indignant.

“I have basic judgment.” His palm gently caressed her bright eyes.

These eyes, when looking at him, always sparkled with flowing light, rippling with joyful and bright radiance. How could this make him doubt, make him unsteady?

“But what if?”

“What if.” Lin Yusen sighed. It seemed she wouldn’t sleep unless she got an answer.

He helplessly embraced her, thought for a moment and said, “My girlfriend is a sincere, kind, intelligent, and gentle girl. For such a girl, I don’t think any tactics would apply. If she didn’t like me enough for a while, I would also win her over honorably, not torture her.”

“Moreover, how would I dare take that risk, using complete loss as the wager?”

Nie Xiguang looked at him with sparkling eyes. She didn’t tell him that although she’d been acting lively and playful after waking up, the oppressive, suffocating feeling from the dream seemed to have brought some of itself into reality, hovering over her heart without dispersing.

Until this moment.

The slight shadow in her heart was finally completely driven away. A warm feeling once again filled every corner of her body.

She leaned close and kissed him on the lips, then declared with satisfaction, “Sleep!”

Lin Yusen: “…”

He silently reached out and turned off the light.

However, after only one minute of quiet, she tugged at his pajama sleeve again.

“Yusen.”

“Mm?”

“Although this dream was a mess, there’s one thing that was actually quite good.”

“What?”

“You see, although we temporarily broke up in the dream, we’d definitely get back together in the end, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then I would have that luminous pearl and that pretty box! You bid on it—in the end wouldn’t it be mine? Both the pearl and the box are quite pretty. Too bad it was a dream!”

Xiguang began to express her regret earnestly and sincerely.

After a while, she came up with a new question, “Are luminous pearls fluorescent stones? Would they have radiation? The price seemed a bit expensive too? Though for a charity auction it doesn’t matter…”

Lin Yusen: “…Forget it, don’t sleep.”

He reached out with his long arm and lifted her onto himself with one hand. Xiguang let out a brief cry of surprise, then was instantly silenced.

In the gap between being held down and kissed forcefully, Xiguang struggled to create a sliver of space to plead her case, “Wait, what’s your reason… I only said a few words. Tonight’s quota is already used up!”

She was panting.

Lin Yusen turned over and trapped her beneath him, seriously answering her, “Disruptive.”

Nie Xiguang: “…”

Who was disrupting whom?!

Nie Xiguang, exhausted, finally fell into deep sleep again. In the darkness, Lin Yusen gazed at her, without sleepiness for a long time. He hadn’t told her that actually, some years ago, he had heard about such a charity auction from his grandfather.

How could Xiguang dream of it?

Perhaps she had heard her mother-in-law mention it?

This dream had quite strange aspects. Lin Yusen pondered for a long while and ultimately gave up investigating.

After all, it wasn’t important.

What was important was that at this very moment, this glowing pearl was with him, in his arms.

——End of With Light