Afternoon in Changning Alley.
The sunlight fell quietly, and everything seemed to have returned to its ordinary routine.
Su Muchen sat behind the counter, facing a tablet.
Displayed on the screen were Guichenzhai’s recent income and expenditure records, along with its supplies inventory. He had already been staring at it for nearly an hour, contemplating whether he should confirm the warehouse inventory situation with Xiao once more.
He raised his head and glanced out the window, his gaze habitually sweeping across the empty space at the entrance of the alley.
Suddenly, he stopped moving.
It was empty.
That black car was gone.
Ever since Su Muchen had arrived at Guichenzhai on his first day, that car had been parked in the same spot at the entrance of the alley.
The vehicle was inconspicuous, without any markings, parked neither too close nor too far away.
Like a covert sentry that would never disturb anyone, yet would never leave either.
It was Sheng Chengxiu’s informant, and also Sheng Chengxiu’s oppression.
As if constantly reminding him—
The Sheng Consortium was watching him.
Now, the car was gone.
While he was thinking about this, the sound of an engine came from the entrance of the alley.
A black sedan turned into Changning Alley and slowly stopped in front of Guichenzhai.
There were no markings on the vehicle.
The car door opened, and someone stepped out.
Su Muchen’s gaze did not move, but his fingers stopped on the tablet, as though someone had pressed pause.
—Sheng Chengxiu.
He was not wearing a suit today.
Instead, he wore a dark gray knitted sweater and dark trousers, looking little different from an ordinary person.
Except for the cold and distinguished air that could not be concealed, and his overwhelming presence.
Standing beside the car door, he glanced at the storefront of Guichenzhai.
Then he walked to the entrance.
He raised his hand and gently knocked twice.
Su Muchen heard it, but did not move.
Sitting behind the counter, his gaze remained fixed on the tablet, as though he were checking whether several figures were correct.
Two more knocks came.
Su Muchen continued looking down, pretending he had not heard. The tip of his pen moved across the paper as he concentrated on writing.
Sheng Chengxiu did not knock again.
He moved to the side of the door, careful not to block the entrance, and waited quietly.
Nearly ten minutes passed before Su Muchen finally put down his pen.
He knew Sheng Chengxiu would not leave.
He understood this man too well. Once he wanted to achieve something, he would remain until he accomplished it.
Su Muchen sighed, stood up, and pushed open the door.
Outside, Sheng Chengxiu was standing beside the entrance.
When he saw Su Muchen come out, he gave a slight nod, polite and restrained.
“Mr. Su,” Sheng Chengxiu said.
“Guichenzhai does not welcome you.”
Su Muchen folded his arms across his chest, his tone indifferent.
“I know,” Sheng Chengxiu said without denying it. “I came this time only to say a few words.”
Su Muchen did not respond.
Sheng Chengxiu was silent for a moment, as though organizing words he had already thought through countless times.
“I read the note you left on the island.”
Su Muchen’s gaze lingered on his face for an instant.
Then it immediately shifted back to guardedness.
“People cannot gain trust through imprisonment, nor can they win someone’s heart through restraint,” Sheng Chengxiu said, his tone calmer than ever before. “After returning to the country, I thought about many things. Those two sentences have stayed with me. So I came today not to negotiate terms. I only came to apologize.”
He placed a handbag in his hand on the long bench beside the entrance.
It was an understated medical supplies bag, without the Sheng Consortium’s logo, its appearance simple and plain.
Su Muchen glanced at the bag.
He did not touch it.
Nor did he ask about it.
“These are several of our consortium’s medical products, some consumable equipment. They’re not expensive, but their quality is stable. You can take a look. If you trust them, use them. If you don’t, throw them away.”
Sheng Chengxiu then took out a document envelope and held it out.
“And this is the result of the health examination from last time on the island. I promised I would give you a copy.”
Su Muchen did not accept it immediately.
After scrutinizing him for a moment, he finally took it.
But he did not open it on the spot.
Sheng Chengxiu continued, “Your physical examination results indicate that your health is good. But you should still try to avoid staying up late for extended periods.” He paused briefly, his tone calm. “High levels of stress and insufficient sleep will eventually manifest in the body.”
Su Muchen: “I don’t need you to remind me.”
Sheng Chengxiu: “That’s true. You’re a doctor yourself. You understand this better than I do.”
Su Muchen did not respond.
He had indeed asked Sheng Chengxiu at the time to give him a copy of the examination report as well, but he had never expected him to actually provide it.
Su Muchen knew what kind of contents would be recorded inside, and he also knew that whatever other tests Sheng Chengxiu had secretly conducted would not be written on it.
What exactly had that blood sample been used for?
Sheng Chengxiu would not tell him everything.
“I’m truly sorry for everything I’ve done in the past. I know you can’t forgive me immediately, but I will demonstrate my sincerity and make amends. I hope that in the future, we won’t have to stand on opposing sides.”
Sheng Chengxiu spoke.
His words were utterly sincere. If Su Muchen had not experienced the previous threats, assassination attempts, and kidnapping, he might even have believed him.
Su Muchen continued looking at him coldly, his tone remaining icy.
“Sheng Chengxiu, you are indeed very intelligent, but please don’t treat people like fools.”
“I have no such intention.”
“Enough. How you think is your business. Right now, the one thing I want most from you is to stop appearing in front of me. That is the greatest sincerity you can show.”
After he finished speaking, silence fell between them.
After a moment—
“Then I have said all I came to say today,” Sheng Chengxiu said, his tone still calm. “Farewell.”
He did not wait for Su Muchen’s response.
He turned and walked back to the car, opened the door, and sat in the driver’s seat.
The car drove steadily out of Changning Alley.
As though he had truly only come to apologize and deliver the examination report.
Su Muchen stood at the entrance, looking down at the handbag and the document envelope.
He carried both items into the shop and placed them on the counter, without opening either one immediately.
Xiao had watched everything from behind the counter from beginning to end.
He had already notified the surrounding personnel to stand by. If Sheng Chengxiu dared to make any move, he would have only himself to blame.
But Sheng Chengxiu had left without taking any further action.
“Why bother talking to him?”
Xiao said.
His tone was flat, with a faint trace of displeasure.
“He was standing at the door and refusing to leave. It was affecting business,” Su Muchen said.
Xiao was silent for a moment.
“What did he say?”
“An apology. He said he remembered the words on the note, and that after returning to the country, he had thought about many things and realized he was wrong.” Su Muchen’s tone was indifferent. “He also brought medical supplies and the results of my previous physical examination.”
Xiao’s gaze fell on the handbag on the counter. He let out a laugh, but there was no amusement in it.
“You think he’ll repent?”
Su Muchen did not answer immediately.
He lowered his head and looked at the document envelope, his fingertips pausing along the edge of the seal.
“I don’t.”
He understood Sheng Chengxiu too well.
Especially after everything that had happened over the past few months, there was no way he could forget how Sheng Chengxiu had treated him.
“I’m just thinking about what scheme he’s trying to pull this time.”
Xiao looked at him, his tone returning slightly to its usual manner, though he remained wary.
“He absolutely won’t repent. He’s just using another way to approach you.”
Su Muchen raised his head and met Xiao’s gaze.
Xiao’s expression was different from usual. There was less of his habitual laziness and more of something rarely seen on his face.
Like a suppressed line of vigilance.
“Mu’an,” he said, his voice slightly lower. “Don’t lower your guard around him.”
There was no commanding tone in those words.
Yet they carried an almost pleading quality.
Su Muchen looked at him, wanting to say something.
But when he saw the worry in Xiao’s eyes, he ultimately only nodded.
“I know. Don’t worry.”
He knew Xiao would not say something like that without reason.
And he also knew Sheng Chengxiu would not give up easily.
Sheng Chengxiu had indeed only come to apologize today and had not stayed any longer.
That very “cleanliness” instead made Su Muchen even more wary.
Xiao said nothing further.
He pushed the handbag Sheng Chengxiu had brought aside, as though it were a bag of biological waste.
Then he picked up the document envelope and checked its contents.
The examination report was ordinary, similar to one produced by a regular medical institution, and all the results indicated normal health.
But Xiao stared at it for a long time.
“All of this needs to be disposed of.”
As he spoke, Xiao took everything Sheng Chengxiu had brought and carried it to the rear courtyard to destroy.
Su Muchen watched his back.
His mind continued to ponder:
What exactly could he do to make Sheng Chengxiu give up on the Door and him?
He had thought about this question for a long time. There were many answers, but he rejected them one by one.
Because Sheng Chengxiu could not possibly give up on the Door.
Su Muchen had a habit of regularly following news related to the Sheng Consortium. He knew that recently, the Sheng Consortium’s stock price had declined, with tens of billions evaporating from its market value.
These matters had caused an uproar online.
There was no way Sheng Chengxiu had been unaffected.
And the most serious incident had occurred during the period when he himself had been kidnapped.
He remembered something Xiao had once said:
“Sheng Chengxiu probably doesn’t have time to look for you.”
Clearly, Xiao had been involved in these matters.
Or perhaps, he was the one who had orchestrated them.
Yet today, Sheng Chengxiu had appeared before him as though nothing had happened.
Like a white ghost that clung relentlessly to him.
Looking out the window, Su Muchen continued thinking:
“Sheng Chengxiu took his blood. Even if it was only one milliliter, he has access to the most advanced medical research center.”
“Sheng Chengxiu learned about the connection between him and the Door, which was why he had directly targeted him.”
“Then… no matter what he does, Sheng Chengxiu will continue coming.”
“Unless…”
“…the Door closes. Or he is no longer here?”
At this thought, Su Muchen rejected the idea himself.
Because he understood it very clearly.
As long as the Door still existed.
As long as he was still alive.
Sheng Chengxiu would never stop. He would never give up.
He changed his line of thinking again.
“Since I can’t make him give up, then I can only make it so that he… has no way to come anymore.”
Upon reaching this thought, Su Muchen suddenly froze and stopped himself.
His heartbeat involuntarily quickened.
He… was actually thinking about something like this.
Thinking about how to make the other party “have no way to come anymore.”
At the same time, he thought of Xiao Yu, and Xiao, and their cold gazes.
Perhaps they had considered more than once how to make Sheng Chengxiu disappear.
For someone like Sheng Chengxiu, the greatest way to stop him was not persuasion or reform.
It was to completely dismantle his ability to control the situation.
To utterly erase this person in a certain sense.
This matter could no longer be resolved peacefully.
Some people could only be restrained and defeated. Otherwise, they would never stop.
He seemed to finally understand something Xiao had once said:
“—If you possess the resolve to kill someone with your own hands, then you can open the Door.”
Xiao Yu could open the Door precisely because he carried countless lives upon his shoulders. Some people had died by his hand, while others waited for him to save them.
And he did not possess that kind of awareness—the awareness that others might die because of him.
But he had merely transferred these responsibilities onto others.
His hands were indeed still clean, but the people beside him had to bear those burdens for him.
Could he still claim that his hands were clean?
At that moment, he sensed some faint movement coming from the rear room.
He thought Xiao Yu had arrived.
He went to the rear room to check, but Xiao Yu was nowhere to be seen.
That faint vibration seemed to be coming from the Door.
He placed his hand against the door panel, but aside from the vibration, he could feel nothing else.
Xiao finished dealing with the garbage and walked in from the rear courtyard. Seeing Su Muchen with his hand against the door panel, he asked,
“What is it?”
“This Door seemed to be vibrating just now.”
After hearing this, Xiao immediately walked over and pressed his hand against the door as well.
It was indeed vibrating.
Very lightly.
After a while, Xiao withdrew his hand and said calmly, “It’s fine. It seems to be in a good mood today.”
“…?”
Su Muchen was utterly speechless.
This Door actually had emotions.
And how exactly had Xiao determined that?
Jingle—
Suddenly, a clear copper bell rang from the front hall.
Su Muchen went to the front hall.
He saw a young woman standing at the entrance.
She appeared to be in her twenties, with long, smooth hair draped over her shoulders. She wore a light apricot-colored dress with an off-white knitted cardigan over it. Her demeanor was gentle, and her features were clean and refined.
Su Muchen froze for a moment.
Young customers rarely came here.
He felt as though he had seen her somewhere before, but for the moment, he could not remember where.
The woman smiled slightly. She did not walk inside, merely standing by the entrance as she asked softly, “Excuse me, is the owner of this shop, Mr. Su, here?”
“…I’m him. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Someone introduced me here,” she said naturally and calmly. “He said you accept old items. I have a family heirloom antique and would like you to take a look at it.”
Su Muchen breathed a sigh of relief and invited her inside.
He glanced at her from beside the counter.
She was standing in front of the display shelves, not touching the items casually, merely looking at them quietly, her posture composed.
“Please have a seat. I’ll go get something.”
She nodded and sat down in the chair by the window.
Xiao sat in a chair at the corner of the counter, his head lowered as he scrolled through his tablet, his expression as loose and relaxed as usual.
When Su Muchen returned to the front hall, he began conversing with the woman.
She took out a wooden box containing a piece of jade. Its age did not appear to be particularly old, and the craftsmanship was fairly delicate.
Su Muchen accepted the jade piece, put on gloves, and examined it before shining a flashlight over it.
He was merely going through the motions.
It was to maintain Guichenzhai’s outward image as a shop that accepted old objects, but in reality, he had no expertise in antiques whatsoever.
If he decided to accept it, he would have to hand it over to Xiao for appraisal.
The woman watched quietly. When he put down the jade piece, she asked,
“Mr. Su, how long have you been running this shop?”
“About a few months,” Su Muchen replied casually.
“Running it alone must be difficult, right?” she said gently.
“It’s all right,” Su Muchen said. “I have a shop assistant as well.”
“And what do you usually do?” she continued asking. “I heard you studied medicine before. Will you work at a hospital in the future? Or are you planning to focus entirely on the shop?”
Su Muchen’s fingers stopped at the edge of the jade piece.
Studying medicine.
His future career.
What he usually did.
These questions were beginning to sound less and less like something someone who had come to appraise antiques would ask.
He raised his head and saw her tilting her head slightly, a gentle and expectant smile at the corners of her lips.
He finally realized something.
And remembered why this person had seemed somewhat familiar.
He recalled the family meeting at Jiyuan a while ago, when the elders had used a slideshow to discuss his life and listed twelve candidates.
This woman was Candidate Number Two, Chen Zhixia.
At the time, he had only found it absurd.
But now, a living person was sitting across from him, asking what he usually did and whether running a shop alone was tiring.
Su Muchen placed the jade item back into its box, closed it, and said, “I’m afraid I can’t accept this piece of jade for now. I suggest you find a specialized jade shop and have them take a look. They should be able to give you a more accurate appraisal.”
The woman froze slightly, then smiled, as though she had not understood that he was asking her to leave.
“That’s all right. There’s no rush.”
“The main issue is that we’re currently renovating the warehouse, so the space is rather messy,” Su Muchen said. “Perhaps another day, once we’ve finished organizing things, if you’re still interested, you can give us a call beforehand to confirm.”
His manner was polite and his tone gentle, but he left no room for negotiation.
The woman looked at him for a while before finally standing up. She put the wooden box back into her bag, then turned toward the entrance.
She paused at the door and looked back.
“Then… Mr. Su, if you have time another day, perhaps we could have a meal together?”
“I’m rather busy lately and don’t really have much time,” Su Muchen said sincerely. “Thank you for making the trip here.”
The woman said nothing more. She pushed open the door and walked out.
The copper bell rang once, and the door closed behind her.
Su Muchen stood where he was in silence for several seconds before speaking.
“This was arranged by Su Huaishan, wasn’t it?”
Xiao raised his head from the tablet.
“Mm.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Su Muchen turned to look at him.
“I wanted to see when you’d figure it out.”
Xiao’s tone was leisurely, like an observer—
The kind who was there to watch the show.
Su Muchen was speechless.
Xiao put down the tablet and tilted his head slightly, a hint of amusement playing at the corners of his lips.
“She seems pretty good. Really not considering it?”
“No,” Su Muchen said. “I’m just the owner of a run-down little shop. I wouldn’t get along with a wealthy heiress.”
“Mm. The owner of a run-down little shop with a massive amount of gold hidden in an underground warehouse.”
There was a hint of teasing in Xiao’s voice.
Su Muchen glared at him.
He could tell Xiao was merely trying to tease him, and his eyes carried a warning that clearly said, “That’s enough.”
Xiao did not continue.
He sat up a little straighter, the smile on his face fading somewhat.
“There is something I want to ask you.”
“What?”
“What exactly do you think about Xiao Yuan?”
Su Muchen’s hand stopped at the edge of the counter.
He did not answer immediately.
Xiao did not look away. He simply watched him quietly.
Waiting for an answer he already knew, but wanted to hear from Su Muchen himself.
“Just now, when you told that young lady that you were ‘rather busy and didn’t really have time,’ your tone was polite yet distant, as though you were handling an official matter,” Xiao said evenly. “But with Xiao Yuan, you worry about whether he’s taken his medicine, whether he’s sleeping well, whether he’ll get injured in the Northern Frontier. You leave the lights on for him, prepare supplies for him, and draft recovery plans for him. You wouldn’t be able to do any of these things for the young lady just now.”
Su Muchen shifted his gaze away, letting it fall to the edge of the counter.
“We’re just in a doctor-patient relationship.”
“Mm. And also a shop owner and customer relationship?”
“Yes.”
“And friends?”
Su Muchen was silent for a while before saying quietly, “…I suppose so.”
Xiao did not immediately respond. He merely looked at him.
Then he put down the tablet and crooked his finger at him.
“Come here for a moment.”
Su Muchen did not understand, but walked forward two steps.
Xiao reached out and gently pulled him into his arms. The movement was light, restrained, and polite.
But Su Muchen’s body instantly stiffened.
In less than a second, he broke free and stepped backward, his tone carrying a trace of panic.
“What are you doing?!”
Xiao was not thrown off by his reaction. He merely raised both hands slightly in a gesture of surrender.
“You see? You accept Xiao Yuan hugging you, but you can’t accept me hugging you.” He paused. “Isn’t that obvious enough?”
That day at Guichenzhai, he had seen everything clearly.
When Xiao Yuan hugged Su Muchen, Su Muchen had not struggled.
Not only had he not struggled, he had even voluntarily lingered for a moment longer beside Xiao Yuan’s shoulder.
Su Muchen was not the sort of person who could openly engage in overly intimate physical contact with others.
He was accustomed to coming and going alone. He even deliberately maintained a certain distance from people in his daily life, rarely allowing physical contact.
But Xiao Yuan had broken through that layer of protection.
Su Muchen’s expression flickered.
“That time with Xiao Yuan was… a different situation.”
“What situation?” Xiao raised an eyebrow at him, as though waiting for him to continue defending himself.
“He thought something had happened to me. He was worried about me. We’re not like what you think.” Su Muchen spoke slightly faster than usual. “…He’s Prince Su, the future emperor. Once he becomes emperor, he’ll still have to marry an empress and take concubines. I’m not interested in sharing one person with so many others.”
The instant the words left his mouth, Su Muchen realized what he had said.
His voice tightened slightly over the final few words, like a string suddenly pulled taut.
He stood there in silence for a moment.
The weight of those words settled onto his shoulders and slowly pressed downward.
He had known for a long time where that threshold lay. He had simply never been willing to look directly at it.
Guichenzhai fell silent.
Xiao did not laugh at him or continue pressing him with words.
He simply watched quietly.
Su Muchen stood there, his expression uncertain.
He wanted to say something, but discovered that he could not find the right words.
Because what he had just said was indeed a concern that had always existed in his heart, one he had never admitted before.
“If you don’t want that, why don’t you maintain an appropriate distance?” Xiao asked, his tone slowing slightly. “There won’t be only the two of you in your relationship with Xiao Yuan.”
Su Muchen did not answer.
Xiao continued, “Da Sheng is different from here. The rules are different, and so are the values. Since Xiao Yuan wants to become an emperor, he will inevitably be bound by those rules. Once you go to Da Sheng, you’ll know how difficult it is to survive there. Your reputation has already spread there, and there will be people who see you as a thorn in their side and want to eliminate you. And Xiao Yuan won’t be able to watch over and protect you every moment of every day.”
Su Muchen remained silent.
He wanted to argue, but found that he had no way to refute him.
Every word Xiao said was something he had considered before, but had never been willing to acknowledge directly.
He had fallen for someone he should not have fallen for.
He had neither admitted it nor denied it.
He had simply maintained a vague distance, believing that they could continue walking forward like this forever.
But what about the future?
He had no intention of accepting the blind-date arrangements made by the Su family, but neither did he intend to cross that threshold.
He was stuck in the middle like this, unable to make up his mind.
Xiao did not urge him. He simply waited quietly.
Su Muchen lowered his head.
“…I know.”
He knew that what he was doing was not right, but he simply could not bring himself to ignore Xiao Yuan.
“Mu’an, I’m not deliberately opposing the two of you,” Xiao said. “I’m just telling you to think it through carefully. You don’t necessarily have to accept the candidates the old man arranged, but you can have other choices.”
Su Muchen raised his head, as though that sentence had lightly pricked him.
Without thinking, he blurted out, “Are you also afraid that I’ll run off with someone else? Afraid that the direct bloodline of the Su family will end?”
“No,” Xiao said.
“Then what is it?” Su Muchen continued asking without thinking. “And what about you and Xia Lanshi?”
The instant the words left his mouth, he regretted them.
He looked up and saw a fleeting trace of hurt pass through Xiao’s eyes.
It disappeared quickly, suppressed beneath the surface.
But Su Muchen had still seen it.
He remembered something Xiao had once said:
“There is no way to take the person you like out for a drive.”
He had said it so casually at the time.
But looking back now, Su Muchen finally realized the weight hidden beneath those words.
He remembered the inscription on the pocket watch and the pair of glasses that had been carefully crafted.
Everything Xiao had done for Xia Lanshi had bypassed language and landed directly in places that could be touched.
He had long since noticed that Xia Lanshi was special to Xiao, but had never spoken of it.
And now, he had used something neither of them had ever spoken about to retaliate against someone who was trying to advise him.
Su Muchen lowered his head.
“…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up.”
He knew Xiao was only offering a kind reminder without any ill intent, yet he had still struck back with the most hurtful words.
He felt like someone who, unable to refute the other person’s argument, had chosen to flip the table instead.
Xiao was silent for a while before curving his lips into a smile, though there was a trace of bitterness in it.
“It’s fine. You didn’t say anything wrong.”
Indeed, he had no standing to criticize Su Muchen.
Because he himself was also allowing himself to sink deeper.
Using distance to remain close, using letters to maintain contact, using those words that would never be spoken aloud to keep himself in a position where he could neither move forward nor retreat.
The two of them remained silent for a while.
Then they sighed at the same time.
“I’m going to brew a pot of coffee and calm down.”
Xiao said.
He turned and walked toward the back kitchen, his footsteps somewhat slower than usual.
Su Muchen wanted to say that coffee wasn’t meant for calming down, but at that moment, he no longer had the energy to make fun of him.
They had both fallen for people they should not have fallen for.
It was difficult to deal with, and impossible to sort out.