Xia Liyang had a relaxed and enjoyable Lunar New Year.

Her novel had reached its main conclusion, so she no longer needed to rack her brain over the plot and only needed to write a few extras, adding sweet scenes here and there.

She also experienced what Song Jinhe meant about romance novels finishing fast; it had only been a week, yet her novel had already hit the top of the homepage rankings on Wenyu Novel Network.

On New Year’s Eve, after sharing her joy with Song Jinhe over the phone, Xia Liyang found herself thinking again about Lu Huaicheng, who had provided endless inspiration for her story.

She wondered how he’d been lately and whether there was someone new by his side.

Her thumb hesitated as she scrolled through her contacts, stopping on the name “Car Owner.”

Since she had to deal with car compensation issues previously, she hadn’t been in a rush to delete his number, and eventually, it just slipped her mind.

Actually, by now, whether they had each other’s contact information or not didn’t really matter.

After all, neither of them would reach out again.

This number, which now existed purely symbolically, seemed fine to keep around.

Just as Xia Liyang was hesitating, Xu Songnian called to her from next door, “Yang Yang, come on! The mahjong table is ready!”

“Coming, coming!” Xia Liyang quickly turned off her phone and ran over.

Every New Year’s Eve, Xia Liyang and Xia Yanxu would go to Xu Songnian’s house to play mahjong. After all, with just the two of them at home, there wasn’t much else to do besides watching the New Year’s Gala.

However, Xia Liyang wasn’t very skilled at mahjong, and her luck was average, so she often lost the most in previous years.

But this year, perhaps her luck was on her side. She won hand after hand, to the point that she was almost overwhelmed.

Usually the winner, Xia Yanxu, ended up losing the most this time.

As Xu Zhe shuffled the tiles, he joked, “Old Xia, are you using this as a sneaky way to give your daughter a red envelope?”

“My luck’s just not good this year,” Xia Yanxu chuckled.

Hearing this, Xia Liyang paused, counting her winnings with a slight realization—Xu Zhe’s words might not be entirely unfounded.

Xia Yanxu, known for his skills in mental calculation and memory during mahjong, would hardly lose so consistently.

Perhaps it was because earlier that morning, when he handed her a New Year’s envelope, she’d felt she had enough money and didn’t need to take more from him, so she’d turned it down.

Feeling a mix of emotions, Xia Liyang pressed her lips together and slowly came to understand her father’s intentions.

He must love her; his love was just deep, reserved, and at times a little bumpy.

After all, she inherited part of his character—hesitant to express her truest feelings, and sometimes her words came with a bit of a bite.

Yet, as long as there was love, no matter the disagreements or conflicts, in the end, both sides would try to understand, to give, and to reconcile.

……

As the New Year’s holiday came to a close, time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and it was suddenly the seventh day—the last day of the break.

Xu Songnian was about to head back to Jiangcheng, while Xia Liyang, still on winter break, planned to stay home until after the Lantern Festival.

In the morning, she rode with Xu Songnian to the airport and got off near the subway station close to the Agatha exhibition.

“Safe travels,” Xia Liyang said as she waved goodbye to Xu Songnian.

“See you in Jiangcheng,” he replied with a smile before raising his window.

Getting off the subway two stops later, she found that the light snow had turned into a steady fall.

She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck and, bowing her head against the snow, hurried into the exhibition hall.

The Agatha exhibit was relatively small, with only two connected rooms.

But maybe because people had to return to work the next day, the place wasn’t crowded.

Xia Liyang could easily admire the various exhibits up close, including Agatha’s manuscripts, first editions, and signed books.

While she was reading a letter manuscript encased in glass, she suddenly caught sight of a familiar tall figure standing quietly behind her in the glass’s reflection.

He wore a dark, long coat with a single-breasted suit underneath, a dark red tie below his prominent Adam’s apple, and black leather gloves.

Although the reflection blurred his defined features somewhat, she instantly recognized him.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned, meeting Lu Huaicheng’s deep, intense gaze.

“Mr. Lu? What are you doing here?” Xia Liyang’s long lashes blinked in surprise as she glanced at him in disbelief.

Snowflakes clung to his broad shoulders, and he still carried the crisp chill of the outdoors, suggesting he’d just come in from outside.

“Can’t I come to see the exhibit?” Lu Huaicheng raised an eyebrow slightly.

“…That’s not what I meant.” Xia Liyang replied, embarrassed.

She remembered that he had little interest in Agatha, buying her books only to read them to his mother.

Seeing her discomfort, Lu Huaicheng’s expression softened, and he calmly explained, “I happened to be passing by, with some time to spare, so I thought I’d take a look.”

“Oh,” Xia Liyang breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you here alone?” Lu Huaicheng’s voice was casual, as if making small talk.

“Yes.” Xia Liyang nodded, feeling a bit self-conscious, and quickly added, “Mr. Xu had some things to take care of today, so he couldn’t accompany me.”

“I see,” Lu Huaicheng’s expression turned slightly awkward. After a moment’s pause, he asked, “So you came to Beicheng for the New Year with him?”

Not finding any other excuse, Xia Liyang responded with a vague “Mm,” as she awkwardly shoved her hands into her down jacket pockets.

A hint of darkness flickered in Lu Huaicheng’s deep eyes, his usually calm voice tinged with a barely detectable tremor. “It seems your relationship is going well?”

“… It’s okay.” Xia Liyang let out an awkward laugh, her gaze drifting.

His Adam’s apple moved slightly, and he suppressed his voice as he asked faintly, “Do you have any career plans after graduation?”

Not understanding why he suddenly brought up her career plans, Xia Liyang paused, then answered truthfully, “Well, I plan to pursue a Ph.D.”

“Oh.” Lu Huaicheng’s tense expression relaxed slightly.

Although he had convinced himself to let go, for a moment just now, he was terrified of hearing her say she planned to marry Mr. Xu after graduation.

Honestly, he didn’t even know why he had come to this exhibit.

It was as if he wanted to see her, yet didn’t want to.

He wanted to see her because his long-suppressed yearning was suddenly reignited by a reminder of her, making it impossible to focus on anything else.

But he didn’t want to see her because he didn’t want to face the possibility that she had spent the New Year with Mr. Xu.

Even though they had been separated for so long, he still couldn’t bear to see her happily with another man.

Even the thought of that scene made him feel like his heart was being forcefully twisted and stomped on.

Yet he wanted to be able to sincerely wish her well.

He wanted her to have a peaceful, happy, and healthy life.

Because he couldn’t give her those things.

He had other, more important matters to attend to.

Lu Huaicheng exhaled deeply, unconsciously clenching his hand in his suit pocket.

For a while, neither of them spoke again.

The atmosphere grew slightly awkward once more.

Xia Liyang pursed her lips, trying to smile naturally as she said, “I’ve pretty much seen everything in this exhibit, so I’m going to look around inside a bit more. I’ll be on my way.”

Lu Huaicheng’s lips parted slightly, feeling as though he had countless things to say to her.

His suppressed longing.

His unrelieved pain.

His obsession that he couldn’t shake.

But in the end, he simply let out a faint “Mm,” standing stiffly in place, his heart aching as he watched her walk away.

Only when her slender figure disappeared beyond the exhibit door did he lower his head, letting out a self-mocking chuckle.

So much for just passing time.

In the end, he paid the price for his own mistakes and arrogance.

…….

After the Spring Festival, although Lu Zhiyuan was discharged, his health had not fully recovered, and he still had to rest at home as per the doctor’s advice.

So Lu Huaicheng didn’t return to Jiangcheng and instead stayed in Beicheng, taking over operations at the Junlan Group headquarters.

To investigate the connection between Li Yuan and Zhou Yuling, Lu Huaicheng refrained from interfering with the projects managed by Lu Mingyu, allowing him to continue his work.

However, he secretly assigned a few people to keep an eye on things, and he carefully reviewed every document that required his final approval, acting indifferent while silently scrutinizing them.

Though this added significantly to his workload—working late into the night and barely having weekends off—it meant he no longer had time to think about Xia Liyang.

He didn’t have to worry about running into her and reliving painful memories.

Meanwhile, he took this opportunity to persuade Lu Zhiyuan to fully entrust the group to him, retire early, and focus on his health.

After all, he had been managing the group for over two months, with everything running smoothly. The first quarter’s financial reports even showed growth, and the stock price remained stable.

However, Zhou Yuling constantly opposed him in front of Lu Zhiyuan, saying that he was still too young, unmarried, and somewhat lacking in maturity. Taking over such a vast corporation prematurely wasn’t ideal for him or the Lu family.

Though Lu Zhiyuan hadn’t explicitly voiced his stance, he clearly leaned toward Zhou Yuling’s view.

He still attended every board meeting.

If he couldn’t go in person, he joined by video from home.

By early May, when his health had improved, he returned to the company, preparing to have Lu Huaicheng hand over his responsibilities back to him.

But after working overtime for two days straight, he suffered a stroke in his office and was rushed to the hospital by emergency services.

This time, after he was stabilized, the doctor warned that another episode could result in paralysis, leaving him bedridden for life.

Hearing this, Lu Zhiyuan finally stopped pushing himself and began considering retirement.

He had originally planned for Lu Mingyu to eventually take over operations at the group’s headquarters.

After all, Lu Mingyu had always lived in Beicheng, and his abilities, in his opinion, weren’t much inferior to Lu Huaicheng’s. Given a few more years of experience, he could handle the role.

And privately, he favored Lu Mingyu a bit more.

Although Lu Huaicheng appeared obedient on the surface, he sensed that Lu Huaicheng harbored resentment toward him and Zhou Yuling over Chen Wanzhen’s situation.

However, at this moment, Lu Mingyu clearly lacked the experience, whereas Lu Huaicheng had established a strong reputation within the headquarters over the past few months.

If he were to give the group to Lu Mingyu, the other board members wouldn’t agree.

Unless he delayed things further, until Lu Mingyu could stand on his own.

After a few days of consideration, Lu Zhiyuan summoned Lu Huaicheng to his side.

“Isn’t Yulin supposed to graduate and return to the country soon?” Lu Zhiyuan asked, leaning against the hospital bed, his voice still somewhat weak.

“Yes, she’s coming back next week,” Lu Huaicheng nodded.

“Perfect timing. Take the next couple of days to prepare, and go back to Jiangcheng to arrange the engagement with her,” Lu Zhiyuan said.

“…,” Lu Huaicheng was slightly taken aback, frowning. “Yulin has just returned to the country, she hasn’t even settled on a job yet. There’s no need to rush into an engagement.”

“Well, my health isn’t great. I just want to see you get married sooner so I can feel at ease handing over the company and focus on my recovery,” Lu Zhiyuan sighed.

“…Whether I get married or not has nothing to do with taking over the company, right?” Lu Huaicheng said slowly.

“The Wen family’s business in Beicheng is doing better than ours. Marrying into their family sooner would also benefit the group’s development,” Lu Zhiyuan paused, his eyes probing, “What, do you have any reservations about the engagement?”

“…No, I just think it’s a bit rushed,” Lu Huaicheng pressed his thin lips together.

“Well, you can keep acting in my place, and I’ll delay my retirement,” Lu Zhiyuan said with a hint of exhaustion. “Think it over. I’m tired and need to rest.”

“I understand. Take care,” Lu Huaicheng said, feeling conflicted as he left the hospital room and walked to the end of the corridor, looking out at the city lights.

He didn’t know why, but hearing Lu Zhiyuan finally agree to hand over the group didn’t bring him any joy.

Even though he had long accepted the idea of a marriage alliance, this wasn’t some sudden condition Lu Zhiyuan had imposed for succession.

Yet he suddenly felt a strange resistance.

Instead of feeling like he was gaining something, he felt like he was losing something.

Inevitably, the person he had tried not to think about for so long came to mind once more.

He wondered how she’d been over the past half-year, whether she was now engaged to her Mr. Xu.

At that thought, his heart involuntarily clenched.

He lowered his gaze and gave a faint, self-mocking laugh.

It turned out, just thinking of her still hurt him.

Feeling powerless, Lu Huaicheng clenched his hand at his side, his gaze darkening.

….

On Saturday, Lu Huaicheng bought a plane ticket and flew back to Jiangcheng.

After dropping off his luggage at the villa, he went directly to the high-rise behind it, taking the elevator to the top floor.

This time, he finally pushed the door open and walked in.

In the apartment that hadn’t been occupied for a long time, a thin layer of dust covered the floor.

The luxury items he had once bought for her remained untouched in the corner of the living room.

The necklace he had given her also lay quietly on the dressing table.

The diamond’s gleam was dulled by dust, no longer dazzling, yet it pierced deep into his heart.

Lu Huaicheng slowly put down the necklace and sat quietly on the edge of the bed.

He still remembered her delicate hand wrapped around his waist, her soft voice asking him to stay with her.

He remembered her thick, long lashes fluttering, her eyes pitiful as she said she couldn’t bear to waste the ginger soup he had made.

He remembered her in a white dress, smiling brightly, asking him which hat looked better on her.

Every detail of this room, every memory of her that he had tried so hard to forget, was engraved in his mind.

His heart tightened further, and an overwhelming wave of suffocation nearly consumed him.

He abruptly stood up and once again fled from this place.

Perhaps what he needed to do wasn’t just get rid of her things in the room.

He should probably sell the place entirely.

Lost in his thoughts, Lu Huaicheng didn’t want to go home. Dressed in a thin shirt with his hands in his pockets, he walked aimlessly along the riverbank.

The early summer evening breeze still carried a bit of chill, but the riverside had already come alive with various outdoor events.

As he passed by a poster for an outdoor film festival featuring a familiar actor, he paused slightly and looked more closely.

He saw it was the last film in the Before series that he and Xia Liyang had watched together: Before Midnight.

Back then, she had said, “When will we watch the rest together? We should see it through to the end!”

See it through to the end.

The wind lifted the hem of his shirt and ruffled his dark hair.

With a deep gaze, Lu Huaicheng stared at the poster for a long time before finally walking to the ticket counter to buy a ticket for the midnight showing the next evening.

…

Since returning to Jiangcheng after the New Year, Xia Liyang had barely had a moment to rest.

Her novel had been signed for publication, as well as a radio drama and comic adaptation.

Recently, a film company even approached her about adapting the story into a TV series.

So, she was either busy coordinating with people or editing for the publisher.

And soon, her debut romance novel would earn more than her previous best-seller, Temptation And Punishment.

Though busy, she found joy in her work.

After finally submitting the final draft to her publisher, a sore and tired Xia Liyang decided to take a walk by the river.

She thought about how quickly time had passed. This time last year, she was still working part-time at Lu Huaicheng’s place, trying every day to figure out his thoughts and how to win his heart.

Now, they were strangers with nothing to do with each other.

She even suspected he had settled down in Beicheng.

For over half a year, she hadn’t seen the lights in his villa turned on again.

Although she no longer had to worry about the awkwardness of running into him, she felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

The evening breeze by the river was gentle.

The glow of the setting sun shimmered on the water, dyeing half the sky a warm red.

The lively summer activities drew Xia Liyang in.

She walked past one market stall after another, finally stopping in front of a promotional poster for an outdoor film festival.

Before Midnight?

Wasn’t this the movie she had missed watching with Lu Huaicheng before?

But the screening time was a bit off—why was it scheduled so close to midnight?

Was it an artistic choice to correspond with the movie’s title?

Xia Liyang couldn’t help but smile wryly, yet she stood in front of the poster for quite a while.

Perhaps it was her obsessive-compulsive tendency, but she felt that the whole series was incomplete without watching this film.

Or maybe she wanted to give a proper conclusion to her past with him.

In the end, she stepped up the stairs to the ticket booth and bought a ticket for the midnight screening that night.

She worried that watching a romantic art film in the dead of night might put her to sleep, making her a laughingstock in front of everyone around her.

So she went home and took a two-hour nap first.

By 9 PM, she changed into a comfortable linen shirt dress, slipped on her canvas shoes, and stepped out the door, feeling refreshed.

At first, she thought that such an unusual time on a Monday night would mean that not many people would show up for the film.

To her surprise, the area in front of the screen was already filled with couples.

She couldn’t help but regret her decision to join this hustle and bustle.

But since she was already there, she might as well make the best of it and not waste the trip.

Xia Liyang glanced at the movie ticket in her hand and found a seat in the aisle in the third-to-last row.

By the time the show was about to start, the seats were nearly full except for the empty spot next to her.

Watching the couples chatting in the front row, Xia Liyang felt an impulse to leave, but she could only lower her head and scroll through her phone.

Better not to see them.

When the lights around them dimmed, someone finally stopped next to her, seemingly trying to take the empty seat beside her.

Xia Liyang instinctively pulled her legs back, preparing to give way.

However, the tall figure beside her remained still for quite a while.

Xia Liyang frowned slightly, feeling a bit impatient as she lifted her gaze.

To her surprise, it was Lu Huaicheng, dressed in a white shirt and black pants, his deep features striking as he stood there, holding a movie ticket in a daze.