Shen Yuan hated Qiao Hailou—and hated himself even more.
He had been foolishly clever, telling himself from the start that Qiao Hailou wasn’t a good person, that he shouldn’t have any expectations. Yet somehow, his heart betrayed him, and expectations had taken root anyway… How pathetic could he be?
He should have known. That old fox Qiao Hailou would never let someone he didn’t fully understand into his home. Qiao Hailou had done his homework on him, no doubt about it.
Whether it was Qiao Hailou investigating him, intentionally exposing his secrets to scare him, or even that ridiculous ten-year-marriage comment, Shen Yuan felt deeply humiliated. He tried to hold back tears while driving, but he couldn’t. He wiped his eyes repeatedly, crying all the way home.
He hadn’t been to his rented apartment in over two months. Though he’d left it tidy, neglect had left a thin layer of dust everywhere.
Shen Yuan entered and didn’t move, just stared blankly and lay down on the floor.
After lying there a while, unable to sleep and seeing how filthy it was, he got up around four in the morning and started cleaning—sweeping, mopping, washing his bedding—until past six.
After a shower and a change into clean clothes, he tied on an apron, made some noodles for breakfast, ate, and finally remembered:
All his books, notes, and assignments were still at Qiao Hailou’s place. Last night, he’d left in such a hurry he hadn’t brought a thing. Other stuff could wait, but his notebooks… he couldn’t bear to see Qiao Hailou’s face right now, it made him furious.
Fine. He’d use a new notebook for now. Later, he’d have Qiao Hailou send his books to him.
Before leaving, Shen Yuan put clothes in the washing machine and felt something in his pocket—a key on a red string. Qiao Hailou’s key.
He paused, thought for a moment, then placed it in an envelope. On the way to school, he stopped at a courier point and sent it back to Qiao Hailou’s house, choosing the fastest delivery and paying extra.
And that’s when he ran into Qiao Hailou.
Qiao Hailou was blocking the entrance to Shen Yuan’s classroom.
The weather had cooled, and Qiao Hailou was dressed in a black trench coat, black sweater, black pants, and leather boots, his expression severe. He stood there like a grim reaper, leaning slightly. Anyone passing nearby instinctively gave him a wide berth—within five meters, it felt like a vacuum.
Shen Yuan’s steps faltered for a moment, then he ignored him, walking forward as if he weren’t there.
Qiao Hailou hadn’t slept all night, worry gnawing at him. Initially, he thought Shen Yuan would eventually come back for his things, so he could wait, but the stubbornness of Shen Yuan made him panic—he might simply abandon the items in anger. Every extra minute could put Shen Yuan further away.
He couldn’t wait. It was unbearable.
He’d called multiple times, but Shen Yuan hadn’t picked up once. In frustration, he blocked him on every contact method. Before, blocking had been a little game, a minor quarrel. This time, he knew things were serious.
He went to the study, found Shen Yuan’s class schedule, figured out his first class, and left two hours early to make sure he was there first. Traffic was smooth, and he arrived over an hour before class started.
What could he do? Wait.
Finally, Shen Yuan appeared. Qiao Hailou’s eyes lit up like a dying man tasting a life-saving potion as he limped toward him.
Shen Yuan didn’t speak, didn’t glare, just kept his eyes forward, pretending Qiao Hailou wasn’t there.
Qiao Hailou would have preferred Shen Yuan angry and yelling, like before, rather than calm and ignoring him. After all this effort, he wasn’t about to let him walk by. Shen Yuan tried to sidestep, and Qiao Hailou blocked him, forcing him to face him.
Shen Yuan couldn’t bypass him. Almost late for class and trapped, he stopped and glared at Qiao Hailou, eyes blazing.
Seeing him finally willing to engage, Qiao Hailou reached out: “I’m sorry, it’s my fault, I sincerely apologize…”
Shen Yuan’s anger boiled over. That seemingly gentle, sweet talk had fooled him countless times before. Had it ever been genuine? No—it was all lies.
He gritted his teeth, refusing to speak, and slammed his new notebook into Qiao Hailou’s face with a loud smack.
Everyone froze.
They’d been circling each other in the hallway, drawing glances from passing students. Now they were actually fighting! And the one getting hit was the man who looked like a gangster boss.
Wait—wasn’t the one swinging the notebook Shen Yuan, former vice president of the student council? Wasn’t he supposed to have a good temper?
Shen Yuan wanted to hit him again, but since this was school, he just threw the book, turned, and walked off. Blocking him from entering the classroom? Fine. Today, he’d skip class.
Qiao Hailou limped after him: “You’re skipping class?”
Shen Yuan ignored him, taking advantage of his faster legs to walk ahead. A dull thump sounded behind him, and his heart clenched. He finally looked back.
Sure enough—Qiao Hailou had fallen.
That idiot, leg still injured, still chasing him. He deserved it! Shen Yuan winced but approached anyway. Coldly: “You’re chasing people before your bones have healed? Don’t you worry about breaking them again? This time, I won’t take care of you. Get up.”
Qiao Hailou, finally hearing him speak—even in anger—felt a flicker of relief: “Ah Ben…”
Shen Yuan had calmed down. He had been pouting, thinking about skipping class, but now he reconsidered. Why should he sacrifice his own interests for Qiao Hailou? Not worth it.
He pulled him up, and before Qiao Hailou could speak, he said in disgust:
“I told you before, don’t meet me in places like this. Are you trying to kill me? Or trying to use our relationship to control me? Go ahead, expose it. That’s all you’ve got.”
“We’re going to break up eventually anyway. I’d rather cut my losses. I won’t wait ten years for you. Whoever wants to wait can wait—find someone willing.
“Since you’re here, yesterday I left in a hurry. Pack my books in my bag and send them to me. The rest of my clothes and stuff? Throw them out. Handle me like any other one of your past lovers.”
Qiao Hailou panicked: “I don’t treat you like them, Ah Ben. Let me explain—”
Shen Yuan stepped back, laughing bitterly: “Explain? What for? To make up pretty lies to trick me? I won’t believe you anymore. Don’t call me ‘Ah Ben,’ Qiao Hailou. I’m not close enough to you for that. That’s my family nickname—you have no right to use it. It makes me sick.”
Qiao Hailou wanted to explain, but Shen Yuan was right. What he had said last night was his true feeling; now he just wanted to get Shen Yuan back. The future remained uncertain.
Just as Qiao Hailou opened his mouth, the class bell rang. Startled, he watched Shen Yuan rush past him into the classroom.
His throat felt bitter. He didn’t move. He stayed outside, waiting through the class, standing as if being punished, until Shen Yuan finished. His other leg, uninjured, had grown uncomfortable from standing so long.
Qiao Hailou felt lost. He couldn’t give a marriage promise easily, and the ten-year compromise he had made already felt enormous. He’d had many lovers over thirty-seven years, but never had he mentioned marriage. Why had Shen Yuan slipped out of his control? Just a kid, and yet so unpredictable.
And yet… he couldn’t stop worrying about him.
Did keeping Shen Yuan really mean marrying him right now? That… that was too much. Qiao Hailou hadn’t wanted to get married; this was supposed to be just for fun. How did it suddenly leap straight to marriage?
He had been willing to even consider marriage, yet Shen Yuan was still angry—because ten years was too long?
Ten years… yeah, that was far too long. Maybe eight years? Seven? Didn’t they say about the seven-year itch? If you could survive seven years, that was already a milestone.
Sigh… fine, five years. His company’s plans were made in five-year increments anyway…
Ordinary couples usually dated for at least two or three years before marriage. At minimum… two years, no less.
The only thing Qiao Hailou really felt guilty about was frightening Shen Yuan with his secrets yesterday. Sure, it got the desired effect—but seeing Shen Yuan trembling like that, he felt heartbroken. It had been so ungentlemanly, so thoughtless. How could he have lost his mind and done something so cruel? He needed to apologize properly.
He planned his words, rehearsed what he’d say, waiting for Shen Yuan to finish class so he could beg for forgiveness.
When Shen Yuan came out, he saw Qiao Hailou still waiting at the classroom door and rolled his eyes.
Qiao Hailou grabbed him, lowering his posture and softening his voice: “I shouldn’t have scared you yesterday. When your father came looking for you, I worried he might hurt you, so I investigated… found out some… personal things about you. I won’t tell anyone. Yesterday, I let my anger get the better of me and spoke nonsense. You can hit me, scold me if you want.”
“Ten years… Ten years was too long. That’s my fault. How long do you think we should date before marriage?” Qiao Hailou tried to hedge, originally wanting to say eight years, but ended up blurting, “Seven… seven years? What do you think?”
Shen Yuan laughed—really laughed. “Your Majesty, you just cut three years off. Should I kneel and shout long live, thank you?”
Seeing him smile like that and speak sarcastically, Qiao Hailou’s anxiety grew wild again. He didn’t dare mention five or six years. Flustered, he stammered, “T-t-two years, at least. Most people date for at least two years before marriage.”
“Marriage isn’t like buying vegetables at the market! And you’re haggling? Did I say I was going to marry you?” Shen Yuan found the whole thing absurd. He refused to continue talking to Qiao Hailou. “No need. I’ve said it—I’ll treat you like any of your previous lovers. I’m ungrateful; you don’t need to force yourself. I’ll remember your help and repay it when I can.”
“But from now on… let’s not interact privately anymore.”
“Qiao Hailou, your leg isn’t healed yet. Stop standing outside my classroom. No matter how long you stand, I won’t come back. Don’t worsen your injury—don’t leave yourself with a lifelong problem. Stand if you must, but it’s not embarrassing for me. I don’t have a big company to run, I can afford to wait. Can you?”
“Things are like this; let’s handle them cleanly and neatly. We weren’t that close anyway.”
“Move, I’ve got the next class.”
Shen Yuan left.
Qiao Hailou stayed, standing there for a long time before finally leaving.
After they’d gone, Wang Ziqin, who had intended to find Shen Yuan, saw them talking from afar. Even without hearing the words, he could tell from their expressions that it had been a fight.
They argued so seriously that Wang Ziqin lowered his cap, pretending to pass by, and overheard a snippet:
“…From now on, we won’t see each other anymore.”
He froze, ecstatic.
He knew it! Shen Yuan had finally dumped that immoral old man! Hahaha!
Shen Yuan didn’t know any of this. He spent the whole day in a daze. In class, he focused on the lessons, but it was as if his emotions had been stripped from his body. He went through the motions of life and learning numbly.
After school, he stopped at a nearby supermarket to buy onions and beef, planning to make Japanese-style beef rice bowls for dinner.
Back home, the rice cooker gurgled, filling the air with the scent of cooking rice.
Shen Yuan tied on his apron and chopped onions, tears streaming from the sting, falling continuously. He sniffed and let out a long sigh.
After leaving Shen Yuan’s school, Qiao Hailou went to the office, handled essential work, and delegated the rest to his subordinates. He felt drained.
To Bai Lu, he said, “I want to free up the next two days. Cancel all previously scheduled dinners, just say I’m busy.”
Bai Lu noticed his mood was off, but didn’t ask: “Okay.”
Suddenly, Qiao Hailou remembered something: “Wait.”
“What?” Bai Lu asked.
“Didn’t I have a dinner with Li Chen?”
“Yes, scheduled for next Tuesday.”
Qiao Hailou was silent a moment. “Cancel the others. Keep that one.”
At the end of the workday, Bai Lu asked, “Is Shen Yuan not coming today?”
A pang hit Qiao Hailou’s heart. “I’ll go home myself today.”
He added half-heartedly, “It’s nearly finals, and he’s busy with competitions and studies. He probably can’t make it these days.”
Driving home, he had no plan. Should he really pack Shen Yuan’s things to send back? That would be like officially agreeing to break up…
No. Impossible.
For the first time, his apartment felt eerily quiet.
Just him.
The flowers in the vase had been cut by Shen Yuan from the garden two days ago. The blue glass in the bathroom belonged to Shen Yuan. In the study, his sketchbook lay on the desk, pencil still tucked in. Qiao Hailou opened it to see a new design half-finished… It was as if the owner might come back any moment to continue.
Then Qiao Hailou’s phone rang.
An unfamiliar number. Could it be Shen Yuan? He answered. The voice on the other end was strange: “Hello, I’m from SF Express. Are you home? You have a local delivery.”
“I’m home,” Qiao Hailou replied.
Ten minutes later, the courier arrived. Qiao Hailou signed. The sender was… “Shen Yuan.”
Nervously, he opened the package. Inside was just an envelope, containing a small object—a key. He lifted it into his palm.
A key on a red string.
He froze.
It was his house key—the one he had given Shen Yuan.
Qiao Hailou suddenly remembered the first time he’d noticed Shen Yuan wearing the key around his neck. He had teased him: “Are you a latchkey kid, wearing your key on a string? Hahaha.”
Shen Yuan had clutched it tightly, cheeks red. “It’s valuable… I’m afraid I’d lose it.”
Now… Shen Yuan didn’t care about losing it.
He didn’t want it anymore.