This was outright flirtation.
Qin Mu stiffened his face and said sternly, “Do you need me to explain Article 238 of the Criminal Law to you?”
Shen Liu chuckled lightly. “Given the eight shrimp dumplings, charging me with unlawful detention doesn’t seem quite right, does it? Why not call it management without cause?” He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got something to take care of. See you tonight.” As he spoke, he raised his hand and patted Qin Mu on the head.
It was a subconscious gesture—his hand moved with practiced ease, and only afterward did his mind slowly come to realization that it was ‘inappropriate’. Shen Liu’s hand paused as he realised Qin Mu hadn’t dodged.
The sudden sense of familiarity threw Qin Mu off. The hand resting atop his head was warm and gentle, just like in the past, making him forget to react.
It was as if someone had hit the pause button. Both of them froze.
The next second, Qin Mu slapped Shen Liu’s hand away. Shen Liu rubbed his wrist where he had been hit, now reddened, and said with a laugh, “Wait for me, and we’ll have dinner together tonight.”
Once Shen Liu left, Qin Mu let out a muffled breath. He closed his eyes, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. If one looked closely, you could see a faint blush creeping up his ears, entirely at odds with his stern expression.
Dealing with Shen Liu was truly exhausting.
Qin Mu was normally calm and composed. He thought carefully before he spoke and made plans before he acted, going through each day steady and unshaken, like a clay Buddha statue—an unmoving observer of others’ joys and sorrows. But this time, for Teacher Xiao’s case, he had acted on impulse for once, only to immediately run into Shen Liu, this monstrous whirlwind who abided by no rules, refused to be reasoned with, and stirred up trouble in his otherwise tranquil world, wrecking his self-discipline.
Now the files were gone and he himself was detained—what was he supposed to do next?
Escape?
This was Shen Liu’s base of operations. He had already seen the layers of checkpoints on his way in. Surveillance cameras were everywhere, even in the corners of the courtyard. Not to mention the people inside… Qin Mu recalled the group who had escorted him last night. Judging by their coordination and reaction time, they had likely undergone professional training. There were probably more like them in the house. The whole villa was essentially an iron fortress—he wouldn’t be able to fly out even if he had wings.
Besides, his computer and files still hadn’t been recovered.
Now, with his personal freedom restricted and his job effectively lost, Lawyer Qin was stuck in a dilemma, racking his brain for a solution when he caught sight of a familiar face at the entrance of the dining room. As he racked his brain for a way out, he caught a glimpse of a familiar face at the dining room entrance.
It was the guide from last night.
“Good morning,” the man greeted him with a smile. “Things were a bit rushed last night, so I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. I’m Tao Ze, President Shen’s personal secretary.”
“Qin Mu.” Qin Mu extended his hand for a handshake.
“President Shen specifically instructed me to make sure you’re well taken care of. If you need anything at all, feel free to let me know.”
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, “Show me around.”
“Sure. Let’s start from the basement and work our way up.” Tao Ze led him toward the elevator.
As a lawyer specialising in financial cases, Qin Mu often dealt with the wealthy and powerful and had been invited to more than a few luxury homes. But only after walking through Shen Liu’s lair did he realise after Wang Kai came Shi Chong1both were prominent politician in Jin Dynasty, and they were one another’s rival—there was always a higher mountain. When it came to extravagance, there was no such thing as the ultimate.
This big house that looked ‘nothing special’ from the outside, had a display of the owner’s aesthetic taste and fresh creativity inside, all while maintaining peak functionality and human-centric design in both its layout and its finer details.
The second basement level was a garage. The first basement housed a heated indoor swimming pool, a Korean-style sauna, a spa room, and a small wine cellar. The first floor was a reception area with both Chinese and Western kitchens and a bar. The second floor contained a multi-purpose activity room, guest bedrooms, a mahjong room, and a gym, with two large trees growing in the atrium. The third floor’s study was enormous, connected to a meeting lounge, and included a small home theater on the side.
As they walked, Tao Ze said, “If you need a personal trainer or a mahjong partner, I can arrange that for you.” He stopped at the stairs leading to the fourth floor. “The fourth floor and above are President Shen’s private quarters. Other than a few designated housekeepers, no one is allowed access—not even me. So this is as far as I can take you.”
Qin Mu was taken aback. “Isn’t the fourth floor the guest room?”
“It’s President Shen’s master bedroom,” Tao Ze replied with a smile.
Qin Mu: “…”
What was wrong with Shen Liu, seriously? In such a massive house, he insisted on making him sleep in his own bedroom?
Qin Mu asked, “Where did he sleep last night?”
“The small bedroom at the end of the third floor.”
Alright then. That ‘small’ bedroom couldn’t be all that small anyway. Since he was the guest, he would follow the host’s arrangement—he didn’t really mind.
“Did he place any restrictions on where I can go?” Qin Mu changed his wording, making his question more direct. “Is there anywhere in this house that I’m not allowed to access?”
“No,” Tao Ze replied. “President Shen said, as long as you don’t leave the compound, you can go anywhere you like. Those were his exact words.”
At that, Qin Mu actually felt a bit disappointed. Shen Liu hadn’t restricted his movements—which meant his luggage wasn’t in this house. He was still thinking about what to do next when he heard Tao Ze carefully ask, “Lawyer Qin, may I borrow a few minutes of your time?”
“Hm?”
With a professional smile, Tao Ze pulled out an iPad tucked under his arm and raised a stylus. “To better organize your daily life, I need to understand your personal preferences. What flavors do you like? Are there any ingredients you avoid? Any preferences when it comes to clothing? Do you like cotton, or some other material? What about colors? What brands of clothes and shoes do you usually wear? What’s your general size? Underwear? What temperature and humidity do you find most comfortable…”
Qin Mu: “…”
The people who worked for Shen Liu were just as difficult as Shen Liu himself. After finally making it through the barrage of questions from this overly attentive personal assistant, Qin Mu felt like hornets had just swarmed him—his head buzzing, ears still ringing.
It was only when he returned to the fourth floor that peace returned. Just before pushing open the door, he noticed a band of light at his feet.
The gentle light spread across the floor like a soft, dense velvet carpet, guiding him toward the end of the corridor.
He didn’t know when the rain had stopped. Wispy clouds meandered lazily in the sky, half-concealing the bashful sunlight. Compared to K City’s lingering and drizzly rain, J City’s showers were more like heartless men—arriving in haste, leaving just as quickly.
Outside the hallway was a glass conservatory. Though it was already late autumn, the space was lush with plants. Vines had climbed the trellises all the way to the ceiling, casting dappled, shifting shadows in the filtered light. At the center, there was even a small vegetable plot. The small chili peppers had already ripened, like mischievous children hiding behind leaves, secretly poking out their red little heads.
Qin Mu crouched down, plucked a small chili, and examined it for a moment before taking a bite. The fiery sting instantly numbed his tongue, then exploded in his mouth, swiftly charging down his throat and up to his scalp. Sweat broke out in an instant. Even his tear ducts were triggered, moistening the corners of his eyes.
Qin Mu gave a wry smile and thought: What variety is this?
Then added: Good thing I only took a small bite.
He swallowed the fiery heat, drew in a couple of deep breaths to ease the burn, and turned his head to see a hanging chair. The spot seemed carefully chosen—the sunlight was just right, warm but not blinding. A shelf nearby held a copy of Common Vegetable Growing Techniques from an agricultural publisher, along with a notebook. He picked them up and flipped through them, unable to stop a small smile from forming.
There were notes and underlines in the book. Shen Liu’s bold and sweeping handwriting was sandwiched between lines of printed text, looking oddly restrained.
These chilies were actually grown by him.
From the records in the notebook, he had also planted greens, pumpkins, potatoes, and eggplants. He’d carefully documented the temperatures, humidity levels, germination times and even included his own little tips.
Was this just a way to kill time, or…?
Qin Mu closed the book, as if trying to shut away the absurd thought forming in his mind. But his brain betrayed him, pressing play on its own. Rusted gears creaked to life, clicking together in motion, slowly opening the sealed gates of memory.
The stars were flowing, and they were wrapped in each other’s arms, talking about a future they knew nothing about—
“Blockhead, what kind of life do you want to live?”
“A simple countryside life. A small vegetable patch, self-sufficient. Harvesting in autumn, storing in winter. No need to deal with people. Just pick vegetables when you feel like eating. What about you?”
“I want to live the life you want.”
“…So cheesy.”
The youth’s smile was like an arrow piercing through the sky and driving deep into the rusted seal. The rust of the years cracked a little, and fragments of broken memories surged forth from the fissures like a flutter of butterflies, completely shattering the seal. From the depths of a dark abyss, a colossal beast let out a sky-shaking roar, revealing its fierce and grotesque face.
Qin Mu closed his eyes. Through the sliver between his eyelids, the sunlight painted a lingering streak of red.
Chu Yu had once said that Xu Ye was the love of his life.
Fang Mingyan had once said that he would hold Zhuo Yue’s hand until death parted them.
To be able to find someone among millions who truly understands and loves you, and to grow old together—what an extraordinary stroke of luck.
But for Qin Mu, perhaps his luck had already run out the moment he met Shen Liu. It came too early and left too soon, leaving him with no choice but to surrender to fate as it let go of his hand.
The name ‘Shen Liu’ became a knot in his heart that was impossible to untangle, to cut, or to erase. All he could do was lock it away with forgetfulness and pretend it had never existed.
He met Shen Liu when he was seventeen, a second-year student at K University’s affiliated high school.
Like all high schoolers, seventeen-year-old Qin Mu’s daily duties were to go to school on time and finish his homework diligently—a life that was plain and ordinary. His grades were good and he ranked within the top ten in his year. He was the kind of child parents bragged about, teachers favored, and others envied as the ‘model student’.
The affiliated school was prestigious, and to maintain its high university acceptance rate, it gathered top students and enforced strict discipline. But a school was no monastery, and kids that age were already well into adolescence—curious about things their parents wouldn’t discuss and teachers wouldn’t teach, learning by whatever means they could. Boys passed around p0rn videos in secret, ‘learning from experience’. while girls huddled together, gossiping and ‘exploring relationships’. Young love sprouted vigorously right under the teachers’ noses, lush and thriving.
But Qin Mu lost his way in that spring-blown meadow.
He gradually realised that he was developing feelings—something like ‘liking’—but that arrow of affection landed crookedly… on a boy.
The boy’s name was Han Zhang. He was their class sports committee rep and played a mean game of basketball.
———
Article 238: Crime of Unlawful Detention
Whoever unlawfully detains another person or deprives another of their personal freedom by other means shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights. If the circumstances involve beating or humiliation, the punishment shall be increased accordingly. (Omitted thereafter)
T/N:
The Blockhead(木頭 Mu Tou) seemed to refer to Qin Mu and was his nickname from Shen Liu, so I guess the dream of growing vegetables and eating them as they want seemed to be Qin Mu’s dream that Shen Liu ended up doing
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