The document slipped from Su Hui’s hands, scattering across the floor. He spun and hurried out of Li Jichuan’s apartment.
He couldn’t forget Li Jichuan’s gaze—at first he couldn’t discern the meaning, only that it was piercing, making his heart race and his body ache with an inexplicable force.
In a moment of clarity, he understood.
Li Jichuan’s gaze at him was like that of a predator—at a dog.
A dog that had bitten someone he cared about. A dog whose life was in jeopardy.
A dog completely seen through, with nowhere to hide.
As the elevator descended, Su Hui’s stomach churned.
Even though Li Jichuan had shown no hostility, he already felt guilty, nauseated—like disaster had struck.
Once outside, he hurriedly called Echo, claiming he was unwell and wanted a week off.
Echo’s voice was faintly tired. “No.”
“Why not?” Su Hui panicked. “Although I promised when I joined that I rarely take leave… now I’m sick. I need to recover. Isn’t my health important?”
Echo chuckled softly. “I mean, Mr. Li instructed that all staff leave requests must be approved by him first.”
Su Hui stopped in his tracks. “When… did this happen?”
“Just now,” Echo replied. “Right about two seconds before your call came through, Mr. Li gave me the instruction.”
Su Hui’s panic intensified, his face turning pale. “I… see.”
“Then get back to work if there’s nothing else. Why are you taking so long to deliver a document?” Echo instructed from the other end.
His fingers stiffened as he struggled to hang up.
A sense of foreboding grew stronger. He gagged, unable to stop himself, and ran to the roadside greenery to dry heave.
Once he felt a little better, his phone rang again.
He grabbed it, and seeing the caller, he both sighed in relief and rolled his eyes.
“Something you need?”
On the other end, Cong Shu hesitantly asked, “Su Hui… has Su Pu married Li Jichuan?”
Hearing their names together made Su Hui’s stomach twist painfully.
“I saw them at the mall the other day. Li Jichuan told me they were married…”
“I knew Li Jichuan had married, but with Su Pu?”
“Do you think Su Pu might be… cozying up to him? They looked really harmonious, and it scared me a little…”
Frustrated, Su Hui rubbed his hair, and the nausea he’d just suppressed surged back.
“Ugh, stop playing games, can’t you tell what’s real?”
“Besides, Su Pu’s mute—how could he be cozying up in any way? The guy literally can’t do anything—sit down and be used, that’s it…”
Cong Shu and Su Hui hadn’t kept in touch for years. Life had moved on, but he hadn’t expected Su Hui still despised Su Pu so much.
“Then… that’s good,” Cong Shu exhaled in relief.
Unexpectedly, two days later, just as Cong Shu was about to completely move past the news of Su Pu and Li Jichuan’s marriage, Li Jichuan contacted him.
Cong Shu appeared at the restaurant as agreed, led to a private room.
This dinner was a solo invitation from Li Jichuan. Cong Shu felt both honored and anxious.
He thought that if Li Jichuan had gotten married after an accident, he’d settle down—but no, fun still came first.
And Cong Shu wasn’t exactly morally upright; being with Li Jichuan meant at least financial comfort.
He put on his most charming smile and slouched into the seat next to Li Jichuan.
Next, the wheelchair slid slightly away. Li Jichuan frowned. “Sit further away from me!”
Cong Shu turned pale and moved across the table.
Li Jichuan cut straight to the point.
“During the three years of high school, you were always in class with Su Pu?”
Realizing this line of questioning was about Su Pu, Cong Shu grew nervous and fidgeted.
“Yes. Su Pu got into a top class on his own. My parents paid a sponsorship fee.”
Li Jichuan nodded. “What was Su Pu like in high school?”
Cong Shu evaded the key details. “He… was pretty ordinary. Didn’t really notice him.”
“Didn’t notice?”
“Yeah,” Cong Shu nodded. “No impression.”
Li Jichuan’s gaze bored into him. Cong Shu lowered his head.
“How many years since graduation?” Li Jichuan asked.
“Uh, five or six years.”
“Someone you haven’t seen in five or six years, and you recognized him in the mall and called out his name immediately?”
Cong Shu’s expression betrayed his panic. “I… have a good memory.”
“Oh? So your memory’s good enough to instantly recognize Su Pu, yet you claim three years of high school left no impression?”
Cong Shu exhaled silently.
Li Jichuan, a man who commanded the business world, dug at his defenses with every word—Cong Shu was no match.
His mental barriers slowly crumbled.
“Did we meet in high school?” Li Jichuan asked.
Cong Shu, expecting more probing about Su Pu, was momentarily confused.
“Yes, we did,” he nodded.
“Where?”
“Uh, sometimes on the playground, sometimes in the classroom. Sometimes I watched you speak on the podium; I was the flag guard and stood near you.”
Li Jichuan raised a brow. “Nothing else?”
“Yeah… nothing else.”
Some facts were already clear, yet Li Jichuan kept asking.
“What was Su Pu like? Just tell me what you remember.”
Cong Shu sighed, brain foggy, and evaded the main points.
“He… was pretty inconspicuous. Oh, right, during lunch breaks he would sneak out, then return just before the next class. Not sure what he was doing…”
Li Jichuan pressed. “You don’t know what he was doing?”
“Uh, maybe he got into trouble with someone and avoided it during lunch,” Cong Shu shrugged.
“Do you have a graduation photo? I want to see Su Pu in high school.”
“Yes, in our class group… but he might not have been there that day.”
Afraid of further questioning, Cong Shu volunteered, “But he should appear in a group photo from the first-year sports meet. I’ll find it for you…”
A few minutes later, Cong Shu handed over his phone, showing an enlarged image of Su Pu’s face—small and pushed to the edge.
Li Jichuan studied it, covering half of Su Pu’s face with his thumb.
The vague contours from memory became concrete.
The photo was taken after the sports meet; both of Su Pu’s knees were bandaged.
That day, Li Jichuan rushed to the infirmary, hearing only that the minor injuries were lightly treated before he left.
Examining closely, the bandages were indeed hastily wrapped.
So many shadows… it was all him.
Li Jichuan clenched his fist.
So it was all you…