Not long after Shen Liu was summoned away by Shen Lan, the people sent by Elder Shen arrived.
Butler Jin didn’t dare let the family bodyguards forcibly block them. While anxiously sending someone to contact Tao Ze, he tried every possible way to stall for time. But these people wouldn’t buy it, and they went straight up to the fourth floor without the slightest courtesy. The man leading them knocked the door open and spoke stiffly, “Elder General Shen wants to see you. Please come with us.”
Qin Mu was slightly taken aback, his gaze sweeping over the man in a quick assessment, pausing briefly at the man’s waist. Inside the intentionally or unintentionally opened coat, a glimpse of a brown leather holster was clearly visible.
Butler Jin forced a smile as he tried to persuade them from the side, “It’s the middle of the night and freezing outside. You should at least give Lawyer Qin some time to change his clothes, shouldn’t you? He won’t run off while he’s still inside the house. Why don’t you all come downstairs with me and have a cup of hot tea first?”
None of them moved. They stared at Qin Mu with stern, disciplined focus.
Qin Mu asked, “Where did Shen Liu go?”
Butler Jin was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead. He lowered his voice and said, “He went to his father’s place. Secretary Tao’s phone has been busy nonstop. I’ve already sent someone to contact the driver.”
Stuck in a situation with no easy way out, Qin Mu thought for a moment. Then, in a gentle tone, he asked the man leading the group, “May I go in and get a coat?”
“The Elder General is waiting. Please be quick.”
Qin Mu went back to his room, put on an overcoat, and took out his phone to send a WeChat message to ‘Call Me Brother and I’ll Give You Candy’—I’m going to meet your grandfather. After that, he opened the door and said to them, “All right, let’s go.”
The off-road jeep moved unimpeded through the night toward an unfamiliar and unknown destination, like a faintly glowing fish gliding through the pitch-black depths of the sea.
Qin Mu’s phone vibrated—it was a reply from that person.
—Call Me Brother and I’ll Give You Candy: Wait for me. I’m on my way.
After driving for about half an hour, the vehicle finally slowed as it approached a tall iron gate. By the headlights’ illumination, Qin Mu barely made out the red characters ‘Restricted Area’ and ‘Do Not Approach’ on a white background outside. In the brief flash, he also saw the pale, frozen faces of armed guards inside the sentry post, rifles in hand.
The car stopped in front of a three-story building. The exterior façade was in the 1980s style, showing its age. A tall, upright figure stood at the entrance. The group ‘escorting’ Qin Mu snapped to attention and saluted the moment they saw him.
Qin Mu hadn’t expected to run into Shen Yan here and was slightly surprised.
“I’ll take you up,” Shen Yan said. With that, the others dispersed neatly.
As soon as they stepped inside the building, the sound of jinghu1traditional Chinese bowed string instrument strings reached them. Going up to the second floor, the layered beats of the drumboard grew clearer, and the singing lines became distinct. Shen Yan led him to the reception room door and said quietly, “The Elder won’t make things difficult for you. Just answer whatever he asks.” Then he pushed the door open.
Crisp, resonant percussion and drawn-out singing flowed toward them.
“Although the great king is virtuous and kind, I cannot suppress the anger in my mind.
If Xiao Xiangru returns afraid, meeting him on a narrow path would disgrace him outright. With fury pressed down, I return home tonight…”
An elderly man sat on a rattan chair, eyes closed as he listened to the opera. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest as he quietly sang along, immersed as though he had stepped into the scene itself, entirely unaware that someone had entered. On the small table beside him, besides a speaker, sat a freshly brewed pot of tea. Steam curled from the spout of the purple clay teapot, and the air carried a faint fragrance of tea. Qin Mu did not disturb him; he simply stood quietly to the side.
Only after hearing the last syllable of “It is not that I am prejudiced, but how can I tolerate a mere boy?” did Shen Changyun open his eyes, his gaze falling on Qin Mu with a hint of coldness. Qin Mu politely lowered his head and greeted him with a soft “Elder Shen,” then said nothing more. Seeing Shen Changyun reach for his teacup, he stepped forward and lifted the pot to pour tea for him.
Shen Changyun took a sip and drawled unhurriedly, “Nothing you want to ask?”
Qin Mu set the pot down steadily on the table and answered, “No.”
A hint of amusement flickered in the old man’s eyes. He said lightly, “Then just wait,” and closed his eyes again to listen to the opera. Qin Mu continued standing, his gaze fixed on the door left slightly ajar.
Time seemed stretched thin by rising steam and the lingering, lilting melody—turning into a hazy, unreal maze. From countless moments across different ages and appearances, Shen Liu seemed to walk toward him again and again, swelling his heart with a faint ache.
Qin Mu realized he couldn’t stop himself from thinking of him and when that person truly appeared before his eyes, he instead felt a strange, unreal daze.
The green-painted wooden door slammed against the wall with an ill-timed bang. Cloaked in a black coat, Shen Liu looked like a vampire stepping out of the night—immaculately dressed, yet radiating unrestrained arrogance and wildness, his whole body carrying a bloodthirsty fury, as if he could snap someone’s neck in the next second.
He saw Qin Mu at first glance.
Their eyes met.
Qin Mu’s gaze was steady and calm, like a tranquil sea beneath the moon, quietly washing over the shore, smoothing away every wound and trace of ruin. Shen Liu remembered that look—many years ago, Qin Mu had looked at him the same way, choosing without hesitation to abandon everything and leave with him.
Suddenly, as if a warm breeze had risen out of thin air, all the dense, suffocating loneliness and violence inside him was effortlessly blown apart.
Shen Liu regained his composure. He closed his eyes briefly in guilt, and when he opened them again, the cold sharpness had already returned. He shrugged off his coat and tossed it onto the sofa, saying to Shen Changyun, “If you wanted to see me, a phone call would have been enough. Why bother going through all this trouble?”
“Raise a bird, and once its wings grow strong, it won’t be happy to fly back after being let out. So you have to find a rope to tie it with.” Shen Changyun glanced at him, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “It seems this rope was chosen quite accurately.”
“That’s a bit hurtful. You raised me yourself—you know my temperament best. I’ve always been obedient.” Shen Liu walked over, rolled up his sleeves, and lifted the teapot from the small table to refill the cup.
They stood very close. The scent on the man—Darjeeling tea mixed with the cold night air—quietly enveloped Qin Mu’s senses. The faint brush of their sleeves felt like a soft squirrel’s tail sweeping lightly across his heart. The gesture carried a kind of reassurance, as if saying, ‘I’m right here beside you’.
The heart Qin Mu had been holding aloft finally settled, landing steadily back into his chest.
Shen Liu said unhurriedly, “It’s been a while since you and I saw each other, Grandpa. Since you’re not sleepy, why don’t we have a proper chat tonight? As for irrelevant people, it’s best they step out. What do you say?”
Shen Changyun narrowed his eyes behind his teacup, looking at the two of them with interest. Then he said, “Ah Yan, keep Lawyer Qin company outside.”
Shen Yan responded and came in. Qin Mu glanced lightly at Shen Liu, then left.
Shen Yan took him to the tearoom and asked, “What tea would you like?”
“No need,” Qin Mu said.
Shen Yan poured him a cup of plain water, sat down, and said, “I didn’t expect to see you again.”
“Neither did I.” Qin Mu rubbed the cup, warmth finally seeping into his palms.
After two lines of what barely qualified as small talk, they fell silent at the same time. Shen Yan was sparing with words; Qin Mu simply didn’t want to speak.
After a quiet while, Shen Yan suddenly said, “Back then, it was Shen Liu who told me to persuade you to leave. It was to protect you.”
Hearing that, Qin Mu let out a small laugh. “I thought I already knew most of the things I was ‘supposed to know but didn’t.’ I didn’t expect there were still more.” He lifted his eyes and looked directly at him. “Since you were going to hide it from me back then, you should have hidden it flawlessly and taken it to the grave. Why rush to reveal it now?”
Shen Yan said, “He has never been able to forget you all these years.”
“So you’re hoping we’ll rekindle our old feelings.” Qin Mu’s voice carried mockery. “Makes sense. That way, this rope would actually be useful.”
Shen Yan’s brow twitched.
Qin Mu continued mildly, “Shen Liu took it upon himself to ignite a war and forced the Shen family into a position where they had no choice but to fight. As a chess piece, he’s already out of control. But the Shen family can’t handle him—because he holds the economic lifelines, grips the weaknesses and selfish interests of many people, and now commands vast connections and supporters. With the Zhao family circling nearby, moving against him now would cause massive internal damage. The Shen family can’t afford a two-front confrontation. But letting him act freely is also risky—the entire family has become a bargaining chip in his hands; one wrong move, and everything could collapse. At such a critical moment, the best method is to grab hold of something that can restrain him and prevent him from doing anything desperate. Funny enough, Elder General Shen came to me. Why was he so certain I could restrain Shen Liu?” He paused, his dark eyes fixed on Shen Yan. “Someone must have told him something. This informant knew my past with Shen Liu, our relationship, why Shen Liu was fighting the Zhao family, and that he would surely compromise for my sake. Did I guess correctly?”
Shen Yan sat straight, silent. His hand had unconsciously tightened. He hadn’t expected Qin Mu to have already pieced the whole situation together. Such sharp insight left him unprepared.
Qin Mu’s lips held a faint, cool smile tinged with mockery. “Let’s guess again why he did it. Maybe it was out of absolute loyalty, choosing to forever stand by the Elder’s side. Maybe it was driven by self-interest, turning his back on his brother at the critical moment. Or maybe it was because his footing in the military was still unstable and he needed to rely on the Elder’s power, unwilling to let the family’s centre of authority fall elsewhere. So he kept testing and prodding me, hoping I’d rekindle old feelings and tie Shen Liu down tightly. Right?”
Shen Yan closed his eyes briefly. “Think what you want—I don’t care. I couldn’t stand by and watch him destroy the Shen family for you, just like I couldn’t stand by and watch you destroy him back then.”
Qin Mu let out an exasperated laugh. “For his own good, for the good of the Shen family—using this kind of banner to cover up personal selfishness really never goes out of style. Claiming noble motives while scheming in the shadows, opposing him yet choosing this exact moment to take a stand—doesn’t that make you feel even a little guilty? Shen Liu once told me his family was pretty terrifying, that sometimes he couldn’t tell what was real. I thought he was exaggerating back then. Now it just feels heartbreaking.”
He set the cup down on the tea table, a suffocating coldness spreading through his eyes. “Shen Liu would back down for my sake, but I will never let him retreat until there’s nowhere left to retreat. Now it’s your turn to guess; if this rope breaks, what do you think he’ll do?”
Shen Yan’s pupils contracted sharply.
Just then, the door opened, and the man they had been talking about walked in with quick steps. Shen Yan rose immediately, unconsciously avoiding his gaze.
“Yan ge, Grandpa wants Qin Mu to stay here for a while. Please help me keep an eye on him.” Shen Liu mentioned nothing about the betrayal, as if he knew nothing about it.
“…Alright.” Flustered, Shen Yan excused himself quickly. “You two talk. I’ll go arrange a room for him.”
Soon, only the two of them remained in the tearoom.
Shen Liu looked at Qin Mu, his throat clogged with words—so many of them, yet he didn’t know where to begin. In the end, he only said quietly, “I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for?” Qin Mu lifted his face and met his eyes. “For changing the place you’re keeping me locked up, or for including me in your plans from the very beginning?”
Qin Mu wasn’t stupid. He could see that Shen Liu’s so-called ‘banquet’ had been held to draw in allies. Designing the event so Qin Mu would attend, deliberately revealing their relationship—such unnecessary actions weren’t spur-of-the-moment actions.
Shen Liu had been testing him. Testing the reliability of those allies through him. Who would stand on his side unconditionally, and who would turn around and report to the Shen family elders?
Perhaps even then, Shen Liu had already been suspicious of Shen Yan’s loyalties or perhaps he had planned all along to hand Qin Mu over to the Elder General through Shen Yan. Because only then would the Elder General feel certain he held Shen Liu’s weak point, making him more willing to hand over power. After all, in a family like this, a controllable hostage was far more reassuring than some vague emotional tie…
What else was hidden in this web of calculations?
Qin Mu didn’t want to think anymore.
He was tired.
Shen Liu didn’t try to argue. He said gently, “Staying here is safer than staying with me. I’ll come for you soon. I promise.”
“I’m tired of hearing the word ‘sorry.’” Qin Mu closed his eyes in exhaustion. “Shen Liu, if you’re truly sorry, then don’t appear in front of me again.”
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