Volume 1, Chapter 24: You ache for me, don't you?

While everyone else on social media was posting photos of their post-college entrance exam travels, Shu Wan stayed curled up in her apartment, restless and irritable, spending the entire day painting.

In the afternoon, she took a nap. In a hazy state, she heard the clatter of pots and pans from the kitchen. Thinking Meng Huaijin had returned, she excitedly got out of bed and opened the door, only to find Chen Zhong.

"Grandpa Chen, are you cooking tonight?" she asked, both surprised and disappointed.

"I’m afraid I’ll be the one cooking for you from now on," Chen Zhong said, looking back. "With happy news on the horizon, Director Meng has moved back to the old family estate."

The girl stood as if struck by lightning, unable to process the words for a long time.

He truly was heartless and resolute...

Perhaps because she had already seen his most ruthless side and heard his cruelest words, Shu Wan, though heartbroken, remained relatively calm and rational, not shedding a single tear. Since she had dared to give her heart to Director Meng Huaijin, she had to be prepared to endure the impact of that infatuation—whether it was destructive, unrequited, or a yearning that consumed her... she would have to accept it all.

"Oh, right, Director Meng said you should continue attending the dance class you took last year." Chen Zhong then pulled out a plane ticket. "If you don’t want to go to the dance studio, here is a ticket to the Maldives. Director Meng said you could stay there until the semester starts."

Shu Wan was so angry she laughed.

The older the ginger, the spicier it gets. What a brilliant scheme. Why stop at the start of the semester? She should just stay until he and Liang Jie had children of their own.

She certainly would not go to the Maldives!

Instead, she went to the dance studio. There, she met a girl named Guan Yulin, the niece of her grandmother and Meng Huaijin’s cousin.

"So, that makes me a generation older than you? What should you call me?" Guan Yulin asked with a grin while they were stretching.

The girl was sweet-natured and easy to get along with. She was the same age as Shu Wan and had also just finished her exams, though she was an art student.

"Should I call you... Auntie?" Shu Wan replied with a smile. "My status in the Meng family is already low enough. Everyone I meet is either an uncle or an aunt; some are even in elementary school, and I have to dutifully call them 'little uncle.' You’re no different."

Friendship between girls is a mysterious thing. Sharing a trip to the restroom, liking the same book or celebrity, or having a mutual dislike for something—any of these could build a bond.

Shu Wan went to the studio for three consecutive days and learned that Guan Yulin was staying at her aunt’s house—the Meng estate—for the summer, which made her deeply envious.

"Does my uncle come home every night?" Shu Wan asked, fishing for information.

"He comes home right after work every day," Guan Yulin said. "It’s made my aunt incredibly happy."

Shu Wan thought of that handsome face and drifted off for a moment. "Does Miss Jiang go there too?"

"Occasionally," Guan Yulin revealed. "Mostly to go shopping or play cards with my aunt."

"Don't she and my uncle go out together? After all, they’re about to get engaged."

"I don't know much about the business of the couple. But I think Cousin Huaijin and Sister Jiang Jie will be the type of couple who treat each other with the respect of guests—like my parents or my aunt and uncle."

Treating each other with the respect of guests... but didn't that still involve having children, carrying on the family line, and sleeping together every night?

This terrifying thought was like a fire burning in Shu Wan’s heart; after a gust of wind, it only burned brighter.

During a break, a scream suddenly echoed from the lounge—it was Guan Yulin’s voice. Shu Wan ran over to find her sitting on the floor, clutching her ankle in agony.

"What’s wrong? Did you sprain it?" Shu Wan bent down to help her.

"I wasn't paying attention and slipped," Guan Yulin said, using Shu Wan's support to stand on one foot.

"Do you need to call your family, or should we go to the hospital?" Shu Wan helped her walk slowly toward the door.

The girl wasn't one to fuss. "Let’s not contact them yet. Just accompany me to the hospital. If it's nothing serious, there's no need to disturb my parents. They’re busy enough as it is."

Shu Wan took a taxi to the hospital, where a colleague of Dr. Zhou performed an examination. There was no bone damage, just soft tissue injury. It would likely swell for a few days, but applying medicine at home would suffice.

"Can you take me back to the Meng estate?" Guan Yulin pleaded pitifully.

As a friend, Shu Wan would have done it anyway, especially since it was a place where she could see *him*.

In the car, Guan Yulin continued, "I probably won't be able to dance until the results come out. Shu Wan, I wish you lived at your grandfather’s house; then we could gossip together."

She hadn't been willing before, but now, of course, Shu Wan was. The opportunity was right in front of her; how could she let it slip? Meng Huaijin wanted to nip her love in the bud and cut off her hopes, but he didn't realize that this would only make her feelings grow like a wildfire. She was bewitched, her heart ablaze, and she didn't want to give up just yet.

That day, when Shu Wan’s grandmother saw her niece with a sprained ankle and realized Shu Wan was the one who had brought her back, she was momentarily stunned. Then, Guan Yulin lavished praise on Shu Wan in front of her aunt and mentioned wanting Shu Wan to stay and keep her company.

Mrs. Meng couldn't refuse her niece and agreed reluctantly, though her words were impeccably polite: "My dear girl, do you even need to ask? Shu Wan is already a granddaughter of the Meng family; we’d be delighted to have her."

Finally, she added with a thin, insincere smile, "Stay as long as you like. It just so happens you can attend your uncle and aunt’s engagement banquet next month."

In the past, Shu Wan would never have easily agreed to stay in someone else’s home, not even if they had begged her. But now... it didn't matter. She smiled politely at the woman. "Thank you, Grandmother."

Shu Wan stayed in the same guest room she had used during the New Year, right across from Meng Huaijin’s. She was both expectant and apprehensive.

However, at dinner, Meng Huaijin was nowhere to be seen. He didn't come home. It wasn't until after nine o'clock that she heard the sound of a car parking. At that time, Shu Wan and Guan Yulin were playing the piano in the second-floor music room.

A short while later, Mrs. Meng began asking if he had eaten. Shu Wan kept her heart focused downstairs, listening intently, but she heard no other voice; he seemed to have said nothing.

Ten minutes later, familiar footsteps sounded on the stairs—he was coming up. Shu Wan grew flustered, her heart racing so hard she hit two wrong notes in a row.

"Guan Yulin, have you been stealing lessons lately? Your piano skills are improving."

Before the man even appeared, his deep, magnetic voice reached them. The next moment, Shu Wan met eyes with Meng Huaijin as he walked in. Guan Yulin had just gone to the restroom, leaving her alone in the room.

His gaze swept over her. Meng Huaijin said nothing, his eyes as dark and heavy as the sky before a torrential downpour.

"Uncle," Shu Wan called out softly. Her gaze didn't waver, and she didn't explain why she was there. He wouldn't believe her anyway, and since her intentions weren't pure to begin with, there was no need for explanations.

Withdrawing his gaze, Meng Huaijin gave a faint "Hmm," and turned to walk into his room, his expression devoid of waves, joy, or anger.

Shu Wan had forgotten what note to play next. His coldness and calm were worse than the time in the KTV room when he had scolded and threatened her. That had at least been turbulent, fierce, vivid, and searing—striking straight at the heart.

This was different. It was as if the year of closeness and warmth they had shared had never happened. It was exactly like the day he had come to pick her up from the Shu mansion—sharp, intimidating, and distant, as if they were merely acquaintances who barely knew each other.

She felt her heart crack like glass. Even though it was only a crisp, faint sound, the pain was so sharp she couldn't breathe for several seconds. Before Guan Yulin returned from the restroom, she fled back to her room in a state of disarray.

The summer weather was fickle. That night, there was not only a fierce storm but also terrifying thunder and lightning. Shu Wan had been afraid of storms since childhood, and after witnessing her parents’ suicide, it had left an indelible psychological shadow.

Moreover, the old Meng estate had lush greenery, with some branches even reaching past her windowsill. With every roll of thunder and gust of wind, the dense branches twisted and tapped against the window like ghosts, creating a rustling sound that made her ears ring—each strike feeling like an electric current piercing her nerves.

Shu Wan sat on her pristine bed, her gaze blankly fixed on the lightning outside and the billowing curtains. Her face was pale, and she sat as if frozen by a spell, a beautiful shell stripped of its soul. For a moment, she felt she might die from this instinctive terror.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open from the outside. With a "click," the wall switch was flipped, instantly lighting up the room. The girl squinted to adjust, then mechanically turned her head to see Meng Huaijin standing by the door, dressed in pajamas yet looking incomparably handsome.

The man stood tall and still, watching her blank, hollow, bloodless face, his eyes deep and bottomless. After a long while, he walked over to the window, closed the shutters that had been blown open by the wind, and drew the curtains with a sharp slide.

Turning around, Meng Huaijin examined the girl at close range. Her face was clean, devoid of tears, but her hands were clenched into tight fists. He didn't need to guess to know her nails were digging into her palms.

She used to be so terrified by the slightest disturbance that she would burst into tears. Now, she had grown "resilient"—so terrified that she would rather pinch her own palms than shed a tear or call out for help.

The man’s brow furrowed repeatedly. Finally, he bent down, pried her tightly clenched fingers open one by one, and wiped the blood seeping from her palms with a wet tissue. Seeing the wounds weren't deep, he found a bandage in the drawer and applied it for her.

After finishing, he said in a low, commanding voice, "Sleep, Shu Wan."

Shu Wan’s clear, almond-shaped eyes blinked, her gaze lingering on him. The man’s expression remained cold, devoid of warmth.

But in that instant, the storm seemed to cease abruptly. The moon broke through the dark clouds, flooding the room and casting light upon his handsome, icy features, making it impossible for her to look away.

After a long while, Shu Wan whispered, "Uncle, you do care about me, don't you?"