The various situations in the capital were complex and intertwined. Even the slightest movements stirred the air, and rumors spread faster than anything else.

Being in Beijing, Xi Tang heard the rumors almost immediately. Not long after Zhao’s family’s funeral affairs were concluded, gossip circulated that something had happened with the board of directors at Zhongyuan Group.

A great mountain had suddenly collapsed, and the entire Forty-Nine City trembled slightly. Outside, some people said that the Zhao family’s grandson had been communicating improperly and was accused of abusing his power. It was said he had been taken from Zhongyuan’s office by people from the Supreme Procuratorate.

For a full two days, Xi Tang couldn’t get through on the phone. Both Zhao Pingjin’s and Shen Min’s phones were turned off.

Fang Langyi received her in the garage of their residential compound.

When the two entered the elevator, Fang Langyi’s first words were: “They’re all rumors, everything’s fine, don’t worry.”

Qingqing waited at the door. Seeing Xi Tang come in, she stretched out her arms to hug her and said, “Don’t be afraid, everything will be alright.”

Qingqing looked at Xi Tang, whose bare face remained calm, with only her eyes betraying traces of anxiety. Qingqing had her sit down on the sofa: “Auntie took the day off today, she asked Langyi to talk to you.”

She had her baby blow Xi Tang a flying kiss of love, then picked up her son who was crawling around on the floor, and took him back to the toy room. Fang Langyi poured her a cup of hot tea.

“Xiao Min specially told me last night that he can’t turn on his phone right now, and asked you not to mind,” Fang Langyi smiled and joked lightly, “Xi Tang, if something serious had really happened, we wouldn’t have had to wait for such rumors to spread.”

That one sentence made Xi Tang’s heart, which had just settled down, immediately tense up again.

Fang Langyi said, “He’s just been hospitalized for a few days of rest. When these rumors started circulating, he went back to work at the group.”

Xi Tang held the cup in her hands and gradually calmed down.

Fang Langyi briefly explained the situation to her, though many things couldn’t be discussed too deeply, firstly because Zhouzi didn’t want her to worry, and secondly because things weren’t as simple as he made them out to be. During the mid-year incident with Sun Kehu, he and Zhao Pingjin mobilized various connections on all sides. At that time, the old man was ill, so this matter was kept from him, but it couldn’t be hidden from Zhao Pingjin’s parents. Teacher Zhou had observed her son’s condition during that period. She had initially wanted to keep it from his father, but ultimately couldn’t. After his father’s secretary had dialed the Beijing number and closed the door, father and son spoke for more than ten minutes. His father was truly angry and scolded him severely, pounding the desk thunderously.

“He’s been keeping a low profile these past few years,” Xi Tang said softly. “How could this…”

“When he was reorganizing Zhongyuan internally, some of his methods were a bit harsh and he offended people. It’s inevitable,” Fang Langyi mentioned briefly.

Xi Tang asked him, “What about his wife?” Fang Langyi said, “They’ve been separated for a long time, but both sets of parents refuse to let them divorce. Yu Weimin said if Yu Xiaoxing dared to divorce, he wouldn’t give her a penny. You know, Xingzi is an only child, and the property her parents have arranged for their daughter is substantial. After hearing this, Yu Xiaoxing didn’t dare go home to make a fuss, but I’ve heard that the family might be softening their stance now, though I’m not very clear on the details.”

When Xi Tang was leaving, Fang Langyi accompanied her downstairs and remembered to tell her, “Xiao Min has been promoted recently and is extremely busy. Zhouzi needs to go abroad.”

Xi Tang raised her head to look at Fang Langyi.

“He probably wants to rest for a while.” Fang Langyi coughed awkwardly, “You should ask him yourself.”

When Xi Tang returned to her company’s hotel, Li Shu’an and her assistant Akuan were waiting in the downstairs café. “Your assistant couldn’t reach you by phone.”

Xi Tang took out her phone from her bag: “I had it on silent.”

Li Shu’an pulled out a chair for her. “Going back to Shanghai tomorrow?”

Xi Tang’s expression froze. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly shook her head: “I won’t be going back for now.”

As soon as Akuan heard this, he became anxious, flipping his hand and almost knocking over the coffee cup: “We finally signed that holiday event, Miss Ni will surely kill me!” Li Shu’an said, “Akuan, go upstairs first.”

After ten o’clock, in the Western restaurant downstairs at the hotel, Xi Tang remembered that this was the first time she and Li Shu’an had argued since they’d known each other. Ever since she’d met him, she had found this man to be mature, wise, and accommodating. She had always felt a family-like closeness to him. Xi Tang liked how he faced any difficult situation with a sense of composure and calmness. But at that moment, there was an uncharacteristic anger on his face. It wasn’t that he was dissatisfied with her, but rather a disappointment like hating iron for not becoming steel. He said, “Xi Tang, I won’t force you to do anything, but you need to think about it. You can’t be held back by the past forever; you need to move forward.”

Li Shu’an placed his coffee spoon on the saucer and stood up: “I ask you to think about it carefully.”

After saying this, he pushed the door open and left. Xi Tang went upstairs, opened the door, and found Akuan kneeling on the floor, taking things out of a suitcase.

Xi Tang said, “Put them back.”

Akuan said, “Huh?”

“I’m going back to Shanghai tomorrow.”

Despite Fang Langyi’s repeated assurances that everything was fine, she gradually realized the situation was amiss.

That November, at the Tokyo International Film Festival, Xi Tang was invited to attend the opening ceremony. Ni Kailun arranged for an assistant to apply for her work visa. When the assistant returned to report, Ni Kailun’s expression was terrible – Huang Xi Tang could no longer leave the country.

Ni Kailun, with a gloomy face, said: “The trouble you’ve stirred up is getting bigger and bigger. You’ve waded too deep into the water; don’t drag down the whole company.”

Xi Tang lowered her head, understanding the seriousness of the situation.

Ni Kailun came back after making a round of calls: “Fortunately, the film festival publicity materials haven’t been released. We’ll have to postpone. What a great opportunity – an international Class A film festival. Fine, you just stay quietly in the company copying documents.” After saying this, she slammed the door as she left.

Xi Tang pursed her lips, not daring to cry.

During that period, Fang Langyi happened to be on a business trip in Shanghai. His company had a photography exhibition at the Shanghai Photography Art Center, and he was the curator. That day, after finishing work, he had lunch with several gallery owners. At around three in the afternoon, the driver took him to Pudong.

Two days earlier, when he had just arrived in Shanghai, he had contacted Zhao Pingjin. Zhao Pingjin was staying at the Zhou family home in Shanghai. His grandmother and grandfather were abroad now. Since he was in Shanghai, he went to see Zhao Pingjin. When he arrived, he happened to find Zhao Pingjin arguing with Teacher Zhou in the living room.

Fang Langyi wasn’t an outsider, so he walked in and after hearing a few sentences, he understood. Zhao Pingjin wanted to drive out himself, but his mother wouldn’t allow it and insisted he take a driver. Mother and son were at an impasse.

Fang Langyi understood Teacher Zhou’s concerns. During this period, the situation in Beijing was tense, and some of the Zhou family’s overseas relatives were also anxious to transfer assets abroad. Zhao Pingjin commuted between Beijing and Shanghai, sometimes sleeping only two or three hours a day, and his ulcer had severely relapsed. He had been injured some time ago, and none of them dared to make it public. Only when the healthcare doctor discovered something wrong and reported it to Teacher Zhou did they learn that he had been concealing his physical condition from the family? Xiao Min had suffered greatly because of this; otherwise, Zhao Pingjin wouldn’t have planned to go abroad for treatment.

Fang Langyi quickly said, “I’ll drive Zhouzi out.”

Teacher Zhou reluctantly agreed.

The driver brought out the family car. Fang Langyi got into the driver’s seat. Zhao Pingjin wanted to sit in the passenger seat, but Fang Langyi said, “Come on, sit in the back and rest. Let me be your driver this time, buddy.”

Zhao Pingjin smiled and went to sit in the back seat. Fang Langyi turned the steering wheel and asked, “Where to?”

Zhao Pingjin’s expression was calm: “I have an appointment with Huang Xi Tang.”

Following the navigation in his car, Fang Langyi found that Xi Tang’s address was indeed stored there. “Is the flight ticket ready?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Since you’ve left Xiao Min in Beijing, you can’t be without someone by your side. Bring Gong Qi over.”

“It’s fine, I’ll be leaving in a couple of days.”

The car passed over the elevated highway onto Pudong Avenue. After crossing Yangpu Bridge, Zhao Pingjin gradually fell silent, and Fang Langyi stopped talking too. The Mercedes used by the Zhou family in Shanghai had a spacious, quiet cabin. The car glided silently through the Yangpu District’s big loop line. Fang Langyi stopped the car at the entrance of the residential complex where Huang Xi Tang lived. The security guard registered them as visitors. The two men were unusually patient today, sitting quietly in the car, waiting for the security guard to use the intercom to call the property manager’s front desk. The homeowner answered the call herself, said a few words and the security guard let them through. Fang Langyi drove the car into a temporary parking space in the garage.

Fang Langyi pulled the handbrake, turned off the engine, and said, “Is this it?” Zhao Pingjin still didn’t speak.

Fang Langyi felt something was wrong. He glanced at the rearview mirror. He hadn’t turned on the car’s interior light, and Zhao Pingjin’s face was hidden in the darkness, his expression unclear.

Fang Langyi unbuckled his seatbelt, supported his hand on the seat, and turned around, calling out, “Zhouzi?” As Fang Langyi turned, he saw that Zhao Pingjin’s eyes were already red.

Fang Langyi was startled for a moment, then turned back around, sitting in the driver’s seat looking forward without saying anything. From Fang Langyi’s perspective, he should have broken down long ago. Fang Langyi had never imagined he could hold on until this moment, surprisingly lasting until the final moment before seeing Huang Xi Tang. Not to mention how great the impact of losing his grandfather was on him, but for the children of their generation, with their parents busy working, they all grew up living with their grandparents and had very deep feelings for them. Yet, they weren’t from ordinary families—when someone passed away, countless matters needed to be dealt with urgently and not a single mistake could be made. All emotions had to be suppressed inside. Other families might have one or two people to share the burden; while normally Xiao Min was indeed his right hand, for major matters like a funeral, Shen Min was, after all, separated by a layer of blood relations. Zhao Pindong had not been in the country for many years and couldn’t untangle many of the people and affairs in Beijing. His father couldn’t leave his post for too long, so all matters, big and small, had to be handled by Zhao Pingjin alone with taut nerves. He probably didn’t even have a chance to have a good cry. Fang Langyi remembered when his grandfather passed away, his brother was the same way, keeping a straight face throughout. More than a month later, his older brother called him from Shenyang; a forty-year-old man crying like a child on the phone. Looking at Zhao Pingjin, Fang Langyi knew that his body and spirit had been pushed to the extreme. Recently, Huang Xi Tang had been going in and out of Guosheng Hutong with Li Shu’an and that little girl from Li Shu’an’s family, appearing as intimate as a family of three in front of him. With his proud nature that couldn’t tolerate even a grain of sand in his eye, he had not caused Huang Xi Tang the slightest trouble. Fang Langyi didn’t know what was going on in his heart. He had been constantly worried that prolonged emotional suppression was not good for his health at all.

Fang Langyi sat in the front of the car, not looking back at him, just talking to him: “Hold on, you’ve been able to endure so much. What’s the point of collapsing now?”

Zhao Pingjin tilted his head back, with a throat full of bitterness. His Adam’s apple and entire shoulders kept trembling. All the way here, he had tried to forcefully suppress his emotions, but found he couldn’t control them at all. Just hearing her voice on the security intercom made him break down. He choked up, his breathing disordered, his voice broken. It took Fang Langyi quite a while to hear what he said: “You know why I didn’t let the driver take me? I knew I couldn’t handle it.”

Fang Langyi got out of the car, opened the back door, and sat down beside him: “What is this? Acting like it’s an eternal farewell?”

Zhao Pingjin turned his face slightly, tears streaming down.

Fang Langyi felt terrible inside. He raised his hand and gripped his shoulder: “Pull yourself together.”

The man’s voice was cool and low, with a hint of crying: “Langyi, I truly love her.”

Fang Langyi’s hand pressed firmly on his shoulder, trying to transmit some strength to him: “Hang in there a little longer. Xi Tang loves you so much.”

Zhao Pingjin shook his head. In earlier years, he knew she loved him, but now, he couldn’t be sure anymore.

Fang Langyi understood. With his departure, the domestic situation unclear, and the return date unknown, not to mention his poor health, he could neither ask her to wait for him nor take her with him.

With his leaving, there was nothing he could control anymore.

Fang Langyi said, “She’s waiting for you upstairs. Control yourself.”

Xi Tang stood in the living room, waiting for quite a while before the doorbell finally rang.

Xi Tang opened the door to see Zhao Pingjin standing at her doorstep, wearing a round-neck white shirt and a navy blue cashmere sweater. His eyes were red from exhaustion, with large, bluish-gray patches under his eyelids. Because of his fair skin, his haggard appearance was even more striking. He had also lost a lot of weight; he had been through too many ups and downs lately.

Zhao Pingjin sat down on the sofa and told her, “I’m leaving on tomorrow night’s flight, first to Los Angeles. I might not be back for a while.”

Xi Tang poured him tea, warm red tea with milk added. Zhao Pingjin surveyed her home. The wall opposite was painted light gray, with beige sofas and wooden furniture. A stack of scripts and manuscript paper rested on the coffee table, while outerwear and hats were piled on a dark pink armchair. The utensils and floor were very clean, with just the right amount of pleasant disarray. After all these years, no matter how big or small, simple or spacious her home was, the atmosphere of her living space remained familiar. He had bought this house but never had a chance to visit even once.

The two sat in the living room for a while, rarely having such a quiet moment together.

Xi Tang gathered all her courage to ask, “Can I come to America to see you?” She waited for a very long time, but Zhao Pingjin never answered.

Xi Tang smiled, tears welling up in her eyes, but she quickly contained them, not showing much disappointment. She knew what kind of person he was—Xi Tang understood him better than he understood himself.

Zhao Pingjin’s voice was very calm: “I can’t hold you back.”

Xi Tang smiled: “I know, you’re still bothered by that incident.”

Zhao Pingjin put down his teacup and stood up: “I’m leaving.”

Xi Tang said, “I’ll see you out.”

Xi Tang pressed the elevator button for him. The two stood in the stairwell, watching the red numbers jump up one by one from below, like a countdown to the end of a century. He suddenly said, “Xi Tang, may I hug you?” Xi Tang only had time to raise her head in surprise before Zhao Pingjin abruptly stretched out his arms, turned sideways, pulled her in, and held her tightly in his embrace.

The elevator door opened beside them, then closed again.

Xi Tang’s face pressed against his chest, smelling his scent—the quiet, cool fragrance of wood. His heart was beating too violently.

The last thing Xi Tang remembered was that before the elevator door closed, Zhao Pingjin stood in the car facing her, with a long neck and a stern expression. His gaze, fixed on her, was unfathomably deep. The moment the elevator door closed, the man’s last glance toward her suddenly lowered, the shadow cast by his lowered eyelashes hiding his gaze, which contained countless emotions she couldn’t comprehend.

In the elevator, his handsome face flashed in the light for a moment, then disappeared.

Fang Langyi didn’t wait long downstairs. Half an hour later, Zhao Pingjin came down. His expression had returned to calm. He got into the car and said, “Let’s go back.”

Fang Langyi started the car and drove out of the residential compound. Zhao Pingjin rested his hand on the car window, supporting his head, slightly lowered, without saying a word.

Fang Langyi looked ahead at the road conditions and, concerned, called out: “Zhouzi?”

Zhao Pingjin answered, “I’m fine.”

“Given her current status, you shouldn’t worry too much.”

“If something happens to her, Xiao Min will come.”

“Don’t make arrangements like you’re leaving your children behind. I’ll keep an eye on things for you. Once you’ve rested well, hurry back to me.”

Zhao Pingjin smiled silently. He didn’t speak again.

Fang Langyi drove the car into the villa’s courtyard.

A severe pain came from his stomach. Fearfully, he slowly got out of the car, barely managing to stand up. Then he coughed lightly, and a bloody taste surged up from his throat. Knowing he wasn’t well, Zhao Pingjin took out a handkerchief and covered the corner of his lips. His vision blurred a bit, and he swayed. He reached out to steady himself on the car door but couldn’t hold on, and fell backward.

Fang Langyi called out from the other side: “Zhouzhu!”

People inside the house heard the commotion and ran out of the living room. The driver held his body, but he had already lost consciousness.

After Xi Tang finished filming “Autumn Outing,” she appeared on Jiang Songxue’s talk show “Songxue’s Friends.”

During the nearly two years of silence, Huang Xi Tang had guest-starred in a few roles in two or three TV shows, performed in a stage play, edited a film, and wrote lyrics for two songs for A Yuan under a pen name, but none of these entered the mainstream spotlight. Her agent and company gradually grew anxious, but only Xi Tang enjoyed this period.

Near the end of summer in the second year, she finally got a good script and took on the role of Director Liu Zhitong’s “Autumn Outing.”

This film was an art film with modest investment and production. After its release, the box office response was mediocre, with good reviews circulating only on film websites like IMDB. However, through this film, Huang Xi Tang caught the attention of Director Wang Panhua with her performance. As for the artistic achievements Wang Panhua later brought her, those were much later matters.

That year, when Xi Tang returned from Hong Kong, she only remembered that it was early winter in Beijing when the “Songxue’s Friends” production team sent an interview invitation to her agency. The talk show host, Jiang Songxue, was a veteran media personality with a legendary background. She was a Beijing native with Manchu ancestry. Her mother was one of Beijing’s most famous ballet dancers in the early years, and her stepfather was a renowned diplomat. She was a socialite, a famous princess in Beijing circles, surrounded by celebrities from a young age. Jiang Songxue had acted in some dramas in her earlier years but didn’t leave many memorable roles. It was said that her demands for treatment and living conditions on set were extremely high, causing many directors to avoid casting her in films with harsh conditions. Later, she transitioned to hosting talk shows. For her first episode, she invited Gong Li, and the show became an instant hit. The talk show had been running for nearly ten years. Jiang Songxue was approaching forty but remained beautiful, and her love life was still a mystery. She had extremely deep connections in the circle, and many big names were willing to appear on her show. Many explosive pieces of news from the entertainment industry were first revealed on her program. Each time an artist appeared on her show, it would generate extremely high topic popularity after broadcasting.

Xi Tang had seen her in private, and she was completely different from her on-camera persona, but this didn’t prevent her from becoming someone that various stars in the entertainment circle competed to befriend.

Ni Kailun personally accompanied Huang Xi Tang to the TV station to go through the show’s process. While reviewing the interview outline, Jiang Songxue came to the TV station for a meeting and pushed open the door of the guest lounge: “Xi Tang, I told the producer I wanted you to come, you know.”

Xi Tang immediately stood up when she saw her and quickly smiled, saying, “Thank you, Sister Songxue.”

Jiang Songxue pointed to the program flow chart on the table: “Not a single question is allowed to be deleted.”

Ni Kailun remained seated on the sofa, smiling and responding, “Oh my, Miss Jiang, please have mercy.”

Xi Tang took the interview outline back to the hotel.

The next evening, when Xi Tang entered the recording venue, she was mentally prepared for the sensitive questions she would face, including the changes she had experienced, also due to the sensitivity of the people and topics involved. When the ratings for that interview came out, it ranked second for the year, with the top spot going to the episode featuring Zheng Youtong with his newly-wed wife, actress Wu Meici.

In the program, Jiang Songxue didn’t discuss much about the changes from early last year, but instead made a feint and turned to her emotional matters.

Jiang Songxue was probably one of the few people in the circle who had seen Xi Tang dating. That time, she asked, and Xi Tang answered.

After the program recording was finished, it was almost midnight. Xi Tang walked out of the TV station and stood on Beijing’s late-night street, taking a deep breath of the cold, crisp air, with a burning dust smell rising in her nostrils. The driver’s car was late. Xi Tang tightened the trench coat on her body. Her jeans were capri-length, and she wore high heels with bare ankles. She lit a cigarette, looking at this golden city with its flowing lights.

Last month, she had bought a house near Olympic Forest Park. She had finally returned to Beijing.

Two weeks ago, Xi Tang was applying makeup backstage at a Beijing film release event when Ni Kailun came in and said, “I heard Zhao Pingjin is back.”

Xi Tang was drawing her eyebrows and her hand paused for a second at these words, but she didn’t say anything.

She turned and handed the eyebrow pencil to the makeup artist.

Gao Jiyi stopped the car at the entrance of the hutong.

When he walked into the courtyard of the Zhao family in Guosheng Hutong, the nanny greeted him at the door: “Young Master Gao, please come in for some tea.”

Gao Jiyi kicked off his shoes to change them, looking around for someone: “What’s Zhouzi doing?”

The nanny smiled politely: “He’s changing clothes.”

Gao Jiyi chattered away: “What’s the big deal? Is it necessary? Am I an outsider? Now that I’m here, does he have to dress up?” As he spoke, he was about to go upstairs himself. The nanny didn’t dare stop him. Fortunately, Zhao Pingjin’s voice came down from the stairs at that moment: “Old Gao, come up.”

Gao Jiyi went upstairs. Zhao Pingjin was making tea, sitting on the sofa in the living room. When Gao Jiyi walked over, he carefully observed his complexion. His shirt was crisp and clean. Although he looked pale, he also seemed a bit more energetic. Zhao Pingjin had been in the United States for more than a year. Gao Jiyi had seen him once during that time when his condition was very poor and he had lost so much weight that he was barely recognizable. Now, looking at him, he seemed more complete.

Gao Jiyi sat down and said, “What are you dawdling around for, kid?” Zhao Pingjin leaned back on the sofa and said wearily, “I’ve been lying in bed all day, just changing clothes.”

Gao Jiyi asked with concern, “Since you’re back, Langyi and I wanted to come over. We called and heard you were still at Xiehe Hospital. Now that you’re home, how are you feeling?” Zhao Pingjin answered casually, “Fine, nothing serious.”

“Are you still going to work?”

“Yes, I go for a while in the morning. Sometimes I come back to rest in the afternoon. If there’s something urgent, my assistant will come over.”

Zhao Pingjin handed him tea: “How’s your little boy?” Last month, Gao Jiyi’s son fell near a slide in their residential compound and broke his hand. His wife blamed his mother and the nanny for not watching the child properly. His mother felt extremely wronged, the child cried all night in pain, and the whole family was in distress.

Gao Jiyi waved his hand: “Hey, don’t mention it. The bone is healing well, otherwise my mother would have to apologize to my wife with her neck on the line. The women in my family just cause too much trouble.”

Zhao Pingjin smiled.

Gao Jiyi asked him: “What are your plans now that you’re back?”

Zhao Pingjin maintained the same lazy, casual demeanor, without much formality: “What plans? Just work well and serve the country and people, that’s all.”

Gao Jiyi looked at him: “At the last alumni gathering I attended, a junior schoolmate told me—I can’t remember which year he was from, probably an undergraduate classmate of yours—that he saw Xingzi having coffee with a returnee from Xiang at the China World Trade Center.”

Zhao Pingjin’s face still held a thin smile: “Isn’t that good?”

Gao Jiyi had also asked Fang Langyi privately. When Zhao Pingjin left, Langyi had accompanied him in Shanghai. As for career matters, they didn’t care much about that. Before going to America, he had installed Shen Min in a position. There were many at Zhongyuan with designs on power, but his father-in-law, Yu Weimin, remained firmly fixed in the board of directors, and others dared not act rashly. Shen Min had fully learned from Zhao Pingjin over the years, governing as instructed, and certainly wouldn’t make major mistakes. Besides, those above would naturally protect the Zhao family, because the Zhao family was connected to the overseas Chinese Zhou family, with roots too deep to be shaken.

But later, Yu Xiaoxing gradually became prominent again in Beijing. When Gao Jiyi inquired further, he learned that the two had signed divorce papers in the first month after Zhao Pingjin went abroad. Such a marriage, which had promising futures for both families, had thus directly disappeared from the network of connections in this circle.

Gao Jiyi became anxious: “Don’t be like that, don’t act like you’ve seen through all worldly matters, okay? Zhouzi, do you not want to live anymore?” Zhao Pingjin supported himself on the sofa and answered irritably, “I’m living just fine, who says I don’t want to live?” However, his habitual temper also lacked some spirit, and he couldn’t raise his voice, seeming to lack energy.

Gao Jiyi got angry when he heard this: “Why did you come back? How long has it been since your surgery? There’s a pile of messy affairs in Beijing. If you came back, could you rest properly? Get well first, then come back.”

Zhao Pingjin smiled at him: “Once winter comes if I don’t breathe in a bit of smog, I don’t feel right.”

When Gao Jiyi left, he caught the Zhao family’s healthcare doctor, Dr. Fu, who had come to work in the afternoon, in the courtyard.

Dr. Fu was so worried that his hair had turned white: “We’re using the best medicine, but his condition still shows no improvement.”

“His body’s absorption is particularly poor now. He needs to rest in bed for more than half the day, and he still has no energy.”

“Is he eating on time?”

“Of course, how could he not eat? A bunch of nannies and doctors are watching over him, but he vomits more than he keeps down.”

Gao Jiyi left Guosheng Hutong, picked up his phone, and called Fang Langyi: “Second brother, arrange to meet Huang Xi Tang.”

The next afternoon, Xi Tang met Fang Langyi at a café by the Back Lake, feeling a bit surprised. She had come after receiving Fang Langyi’s call. Usually, in private settings, she rarely met with Gao Jiyi.

Fang Langyi didn’t beat around the bush. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he explained his purpose.

After listening, Xi Tang shook her head and directly refused: “Brother Langyi, this isn’t appropriate.”

A few people sat down and talked for a while. Seeing that Fang Langyi had no other business, Xi Tang stood up to leave.

Seeing that he couldn’t detain her, Fang Langyi had no choice but to follow her out. Xi Tang pressed her car key. Fang Langyi walked over and blocked her car door, urgently saying, “Do you think he doesn’t want you? He’s been desperately trying to recover just to come back sooner. Xi Tang, you can’t be like this.”

In the nearly ten years Zhao Pingjin had known her, Fang Langyi had consistently maintained silence regarding their relationship matters. He occasionally served as Zhao Pingjin’s listener, but when it came to anything that would truly interfere with their relationship, he never participated. In fact, not just with Zhao Pingjin, but with any of his childhood friends, he would never strategize about their emotional issues. He understood that relationships were ultimately between two people, but this time, it wasn’t just Old Gao meddling; even he couldn’t hold back.

After hearing this, Xi Tang was silent for a moment, then still gently shook her head.

Fang Langyi reluctantly let go. Xi Tang got into her car, started the engine, turned the car around, and drove out of the parking space beside the café. At that moment, a black Buick suddenly rushed out from behind, cutting in diagonally before quickly braking, trapping Xi Tang’s car tightly against the side of the narrow road. Gao Jiyi stuck his head out of the window: “Sorry, but you need to come with me.”

Xi Tang rolled down her window and looked at him expressionlessly.

Gao Jiyi shouted at her: “Xi Tang, don’t be so heartless. His whole life is riding on you.”

Xi Tang gripped the steering wheel tightly, and pursed her lips, feeling somewhat irritated. At that moment, she suddenly remembered Li Shu’an’s face. That time, she had also been this irritated, and Li Shu’an had seriously told her: “Xi Tang, think it through. You can’t have everything.”

Xi Tang looked at him, and suddenly her heart became clear.

“I’ve thought it through,” she put her hand on the back of his hand.

Li Shu’an reached out and flicked her nose: “Let’s go pick up Xinxin from school, then go buy groceries. I’ll make sweet and sour ribs for you two, okay?” They both smiled.

Xi Tang raised her hand to shift into reverse, carefully watching the rearview mirror. There was another car parked behind hers, so she only backed up a short distance. Xi Tang shifted gears and stepped hard on the accelerator. The car instantly accelerated and crashed into Gao Jiyi’s car with a bang, creating a gap. She continued to back up.

Gao Jiyi roared: “Huang Xi Tang! Are you crazy?!” After two seconds, there was another violent crash. People at the outdoor café tables all turned to look. Fang Langyi stood to the side, anxiously shouting: “Old Gao, hurry up and move! Let her out!” Gao Jiyi pushed open his car door and jumped out, watching Huang Xi Tang’s white sedan wobble and roar away. He walked around to the side of the car and looked at the large patch of paint scraped off near the front light, then at Fang Langyi’s helpless face, and cursed angrily: “This crazy woman’s heart is as hard as the bronze ox horns at the Summer Palace.”

Fang Langyi suddenly said: “I heard she’s with Shu’an now.”

Gao Jiyi was stunned, paused for two seconds, and then suddenly, with a gloomy face, kicked the tire viciously.