Huang Tianli gave her a thumbs up in shock but received a glare from Ou Xueman. “Handle them quickly.”
“YES MADAM,” Huang Tianli responded and herded the women to the corner.
Ou Xueman took out a cigarette, her trembling fingertips revealing her unsettled state. Owen lit it, sensing her disturbance over Di Xihuang’s intentions. Perhaps it was time for her to let go of her grudges. He casually mentioned, “I knew him when I was thirteen.”
Though he didn’t explicitly say who “he” was, she knew it was Di Xihuang. She took a deep drag of the cigarette, letting the tobacco numb her sensitive heart. Surrounded by smoke, she appeared hazy and fragile, concealing her emotions. Unlike before, she didn’t interrupt him, allowing him to continue.
In his embrace, she shook her head, her voice tinged with melancholy. “I have never hated him, not for eight years. This is the promise I made to my father. I will never hate him or Di Ying in this lifetime.”
Leaning against him for warmth to calm her heart, she composed herself and asked, “You knew the ST fund was in Liu Qiusi’s hands. Why didn’t you take it back?”
Owen adjusted her slightly disheveled hair and replied softly, “I couldn’t reveal my identity yet. My mother’s cause of death is still unclear. I’ve been investigating for nearly ten years and have only found some clues. The situation is complicated. Both Di Ying and Liu Qiusi are suspects, with vague connections to the Japanese Yamaguchi-gumi. If I expose my identity now, I might face danger. The car accident seven years ago that left Tong Baifu in a vegetative state in the UK also seems suspicious, especially since it occurred after he went to Japan.”
Ou Xueman’s heart tightened, anxiously gripping Owen’s sleeve. “Brother.” Her voice trembled; she feared losing him again, a pain she could not bear.
Owen tapped her head gently and reassured her, “Don’t worry, I’m not easily defeated.” He patted her hand. “I will retrieve that fund.”
It belongs to our Ou family, and father intended to give it to you as a dowry, hoping you would find a good husband and live a happy life.”
She kept shaking her head anxiously, “I don’t want money. I just want the people around me to be safe. I don’t want to lose anyone else.” Tears began to gather in her eyes.
When Di Xihuang walked into the box again, he saw her reddened eyes through the crowd of women, her black eyelashes adorned with teardrops. The unease in her eyes was like morning mist, hazy and blurred. Her slightly parted lips seemed to have spoken with Owen, and she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, appearing fragile and delicate, evoking sympathy.
Her gentleness and fragility were only revealed before Owen. To everyone else, she wore a mask of indifference. Her smiles and frowns seemed carefully etched on this mask – perfect yet lacking spirit. Even when near, reaching out to her felt like touching someone unreachable.
He was jealous of Owen, who shared secrets with her that others couldn’t, allowing for such intimacy. Like now, when Owen gently wiped away the moisture from her eyelashes, and she didn’t refuse – such tender intimacy.
If it were him, she would surely have responded with cold sarcasm.
Gradually, even glimpses of her were blocked by the figure leaning closer to Owen. Frustrated, he tried to part the crowd, realizing the distance between them was vast. He constantly tried to draw closer, but she kept moving away. Bitterness surged within him. He wanted to call out to her, but the sourness choked his throat, silencing his voice. He could only softly call her name in his heart.
Suddenly, she seemed to sense his silent call, casting a glance in his direction. At that moment, their eyes met, and he made a decision in his heart, though he was not yet aware of it.
Seeing him part the crowd and stride towards her stunned everyone and immersed her in his dominant aura, leaving her momentarily speechless. When she finally came to her senses, she found herself in his car.
Gazing at the night lights flashing past outside the window, she turned slightly to see him in the darkness. When a street lamp illuminated him, she noticed a hint of melancholy in his deep eyes. Though she intended to rebuke his rudeness, she was affected by his melancholy and merely asked softly, “Where to?”
He didn’t answer, his gaze fixed ahead.
After a long time, just when she thought he wouldn’t respond, he asked heavily, “Aren’t you angry?”
She glanced at him briefly, then looked out the window again. “What do you think?”
Silence enveloped them, but Ou Xueman recognized their destination – Victoria Peak.
She trembled slightly, noticed by Di Xihuang, who had been watching her intently. He slowly walked to her side, using all the gentleness he could muster, softly calling her name. “Xueman.”
“Hmm,” she responded faintly.
Her eyes reflected the dim lights, like starlight falling into a misty haze, rippling with layers of memories.
It was here, years ago, that she stood with the passionate emotions of a young girl, gazing into the distant lights, too shy to look at him beside her, fantasizing about romantic moments that might unfold in this quiet night.
But these were just her one-sided fantasies. Until the end, he simply stood quietly beside her, his figure profound under the street lamp, perhaps blurred by the night’s mist, with a hint of loneliness surrounding him.
She slightly lowered her eyes, letting the night wind carry away her melancholy and burying her unrealistic fantasies deep in her heart. Her gaze, dim and distant, looked at the brightly lit scene, casting a sense of desolation in her eyes.
At that moment, she didn’t notice the pair of eyes deeply watching her, drawn to her melancholy, hoping she would look back.
This quiet gaze reminded her of a similar feeling years ago, and guilt welled up in her heart. “Xueman,” he called again, this time with tenderness.
“Ah?” Ou Xueman awoke as if from a dream, meeting the eyes of the person calling her, the melancholy still evident.
Their eyes met, sparking electricity and an inexplicable heartbeat. In that instant, Di Xihuang saw her true self, pure and clear as jade water, now rippling with waves.
A fallen leaf drifted and landed in her hair. He removed the leaf, holding it in his palm. After looking at it for a moment, he spoke, “We’ve been living separately for eight years. My marriage was part of a long-planned revenge, and she was the most innocent in this grudge, the one I hurt the most. She was always pure, seeking simple peace, just like you.”
Looking into her eyes again, he noticed her suddenly pale face, the mist growing thicker around them, with only the two of them visible under the street lamp.
Ou Xueman placed her hand on her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
She would usually interrupt him, but perhaps due to the melancholy of revisiting this place, or his sadness, she listened silently.
Di Xihuang released the leaf into the air, which quickly dissolved into the darkness. “Such an ordinary, undemanding woman, I destroyed her,” he paused, then spoke with a trembling voice, “We had no feelings, but I had a responsibility. It’s this responsibility that maintained our marriage for eight years – in name only.”
Responsibility?! A nascent hope from her heart was strangled by his words, leaving disappointment.
A self-deprecating laugh escaped her lips. Why did she still harbor such unrealistic expectations? Enough. She should have awakened long ago. She decisively cut through the tangled threads, inadvertently reopening old wounds.
She lowered her head to hide her pain, adjusted her hair, and responded, “Hmm.”
In that brief moment, she armored herself again. When she looked up, he saw her distant, indifferent mask.
Di Xihuang wanted to take off her mask, let her see his heart.
