Ren Jiaoming didn’t speak; he was waiting for Fan Mo to continue.

His years of cultivated calmness made him habitually remain silent when faced with things he couldn’t process. Fan Mo, seeing Ren Jiaoming’s indifferent expression, grew somewhat angry. “Why don’t you ask me? Aren’t you curious why Chu Shangluo sent me to find you?”

Ren Jiaoming simply replied, “You tell me.”

Fan Mo sighed. “Forget it. It was just a coincidence that I ran into Chu Shangluo, and he asked me to find you.”

Ren Jiaoming’s gaze remained calm, but beneath his indifferent exterior, emotions surged. Ever since returning from the island, he had come to realize his feelings for Chu Shangluo. However, Chu Shangluo’s indifference, rejection, and mockery left him unsure of how to respond. So, for the past four days, he had focused solely on bringing down the Wen family, trying to avoid dealing with his feelings for Chu Shangluo. He was someone who had great control over his emotions, but today, perhaps due to his fever, he found himself deeply longing for Chu Shangluo. Stronger emotions, desperate to break free, surged within him.

Ren Jiaoming restrained those emotions threatening to surface, turned, and walked into the house. “Alright, I’ll thank him. Come in.”

Fan Mo hesitated. “Ge, Chu Shangluo…”

Ren Jiaoming’s headache flared, and he couldn’t bear to hear those words again. “Don’t mention him.”

He knew that every time he heard that name, the pain and longing would overwhelm him, making his emotions spiral out of control. He knew he had faltered. Over the years, everything he did, he believed to be right. But with Chu Shangluo, he had made one mistake: he should have detached himself earlier, not become so deeply entangled. If he didn’t feel anything for Chu Shangluo, then that mistake wouldn’t have affected him. But now, having slept with him, he knew that if he were to leave, it would be much harder to do so without hesitation.

But he realized that he didn’t want to let go of Chu Shangluo.

Fan Mo continued to observe Ren Jiaoming’s expression. He didn’t understand how his brother could be so indifferent to such a huge favor. Was he really unmoved by all of it? “Ge! Chu Shangluo has been helping me find you, buying me clothes, getting me delicious food. Are you really going to be this cold towards the person who helped bring us together?”

Ren Jiaoming paused, his face paling. “What?”

Fan Mo responded, “He found me! He really cares about you, so I don’t understand why you want to hurt him.”

Ren Jiaoming’s chest rose and fell slightly, the fever clouding his mind, and all the feelings he had suppressed suddenly came rushing out. How could Chu Shangluo help him find his brother? Wasn’t Chu Shangluo always stopping him from finding his brother? Had he misunderstood Chu Shangluo?

Ren Jiaoming took a deep, shaky breath. “When did Chu Shangluo find you?”

Fan Mo replied, “It’s been two or three months. Chu Shangluo said he wanted me to meet you for your birthday, to give you a big gift. He built you a villa just like the one our family used to have. I heard it cost three hundred million. I’ve never seen that much money, don’t really understand the concept of it, but I know it’s a lot. It’s money I could never make in my whole life.”

Ren Jiaoming felt as if he had been struck hard, unable to say anything. A three hundred million villa… So this was how Chu Shangluo ended up with three hundred million in debt.

Ren Jiaoming couldn’t find the words to describe how he felt right now. His thoughts were chaotic, and perhaps it was because of his fever, or maybe it was because no one had ever been so sincere with him before. No one had ever gone so far as to take on a debt of three hundred million just to give him a birthday gift.

He still remembered the day Chu Shangluo said to him, with such sincerity, that he would give him a big birthday gift. Chu Shangluo had spoken with such sparkling eyes, full of burning love. He hadn’t paid much attention to it back then. But now, knowing the cost of that gift, realizing the priceless sincerity Chu Shangluo had for him, he didn’t feel happiness from receiving this heart.

Because that heart would no longer belong to him. He had been the one to throw it away.

Ren Jiaoming’s face grew darker and darker. At that moment, he actually wished that Chu Shangluo hadn’t given him that heart. It would have made it easier to forgive himself. A sharp pain surged up in his chest, and he took a deep breath, slowly reaching out to steady himself against the wall.

He had been so confident, thinking that Chu Shangluo would forgive him sooner or later.

And now, he knew that Chu Shangluo would never forgive him.

Fan Mo was about to continue speaking but noticed that his brother’s expression had changed. His cold face had drained of color. Fan Mo recalled how, when he had hugged Ren Jiaoming earlier, his body temperature had been very high, but his hands were cold, and his breathing was labored, occasionally accompanied by a cough. Fan Mo immediately reached out to touch Ren Jiaoming’s forehead and was shocked by how hot it was. “You! How high is your fever?”

Fan Mo quickly helped the weak Ren Jiaoming inside, then ran to the kitchen to get him a glass of water. Ren Jiaoming held the glass but didn’t drink, his eyes still lowered, seemingly lost in thought. Fan Mo sat opposite him and said, “I should make you some ginger tea, but your house is too big, and I can’t find anything. Do you have any cold medicine? I’ll go get it for you, and if you don’t have any, I’ll buy it for you.”

Ren Jiaoming’s fingers trembled slightly. A long time ago, when he had a cold, someone had bought him cold medicine, made him ginger tea, but he had thrown the medicine away and never even touched the tea. Now, he wanted it, but he couldn’t have it.

He gripped the water cup tightly, his voice low. “Tell me more about you and Chu Shangluo.”

Fan Mo had been very angry, but seeing his brother in such discomfort, his anger slowly dissipated, replaced by a sense of sadness. “The first time I met Mr. Chu was on the Yu family’s island. I was fishing, and he saw my birthmark. After that, he found me and told me about you. But he didn’t let me find you at that time. He said he wanted to give you a birthday gift. Then he had a house built for us, exactly like the one from our old home. He asked me to supervise the construction. He’s obviously a busy person, but he kept coming to check on the site. He even went around collecting furniture from our old house.” Fan Mo glanced at some of the old furniture in the living room. “He kept searching for it, for a long time. He only found three or five pieces. I told him to stop, but he said you really valued the things from the old house, so he wanted to find them for you, to give you a home.”

Ren Jiaoming’s hand shook, and hot water spilled out, scalding his skin and reddening it. Fan Mo hurriedly handed him some paper towels, but Ren Jiaoming’s gaze remained fixed on the carved wooden soft couch on the second floor.

Fan Mo was a bit confused and concerned. “Ge? Are you okay?”

Ren Jiaoming withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes. Chu Shangluo had once wanted to sit on that soft couch for a while, but he hadn’t allowed him to. The high fever muddled his thoughts, and memories of all the times he had let down Chu Shangluo’s sincerity kept flooding in. He often wondered, if he could go back to that time, would things have been different if he had just gone along with Chu Shangluo’s wishes and let him sit on the couch a little longer? Would Chu Shangluo have been happy then? Now that he had wanted to give the carved couch to Chu Shangluo, would Chu Shangluo still want it?

Ren Jiaoming fell silent again.

Fan Mo had already realized that his brother was a man of few words, so he didn’t expect him to respond. It seemed like he had opened a floodgate and continued speaking on his own:

“I’ve never really studied much. Mr. Chu said I was good at drawing, so he paid for me to go to an art class, but now Mr. Chu doesn’t have money anymore, so he can’t send me to the art class. I don’t really care if I don’t study, but he even sold his car, and now he has to ride an old electric bike around the whole city! A proud CEO like him, how can he ride an electric bike and sleep in a cold little hut!”

Ren Jiaoming’s finger joints turned white from gripping the edge too tightly, and he closed his eyes briefly. His feverish mind kept drifting. Chu Shangluo was someone who didn’t take care of himself, had bad habits, and if his living conditions weren’t good, he would fall ill more easily. He needed someone to take care of him, someone to love him. And that person who should love Chu Shangluo… was someone he had already been given a chance to be, but he hadn’t taken it.

Ren Jiaoming had never felt such dull pain spreading through his body from every part of him.

Fan Mo continued: “Ge, do you know that there are so many people around Mr. Chu who like him? Do you really want Mr. Chu to be with someone else?” A surge of possessiveness gripped Ren Jiaoming, whose emotions were unstable. He couldn’t accept the idea of Chu Shangluo being with anyone else. The people around Chu Shangluo could only be him.

Seeing that Ren Jiaoming hadn’t reacted, Fan Mo sighed with red eyes: “Forget it, it’s too late to change anything. I’m just really sad. But, Ge, when Mr. Chu told me he was building a house for you, I was really happy. I thought I finally had a home. But now… it’s gone.”

Ren Jiaoming’s heart gave a painful jolt, and his muddled thoughts suddenly became clear. Without hesitation, he stood up and walked toward the door, disregarding his high fever.

“Ge, where are you going? You’re still sick…”

Fan Mo looked at Ren Jiaoming’s wavering figure and shut his mouth. He suddenly understood. His brother wasn’t the heartless person that Lu Wen had described. It seemed that he really did care about Mr. Chu.

Ren Jiaoming stumbled into the car, pressed the gas pedal, and sped off into the distance. The normally careful and calm person was now completely lost in a state of agitation, speeding recklessly. His head was still foggy from the fever, but now he didn’t want to wait. He had planned to deal with the Wen family before going to see Chu Shangluo, but now he couldn’t wait any longer. Throwing all the consequences, rationality, and restraint aside, he just wanted to see Chu Shangluo.

He had never had such an intense urge to rush toward someone. He had lost his family when he was a teenager, and his life had been nothing but hatred since. The concepts of home and love had long since become blurry for him. Yet, he had still deceived himself into creating a home. This cold home had been the only comfort in his life. Now, someone truly wanted to give him a home, to give him love, but he had destroyed it all.

Ren Jiaoming took a deep breath and pressed the accelerator all the way down again.

As evening approached, Chu Shangluo had just returned after meeting with Chen Tianyun’s lover.

To put it simply, the purpose of the visit was that he couldn’t take the Chen Tianyun apartment complex at a 60% discount without explaining himself. Otherwise, Chen Tianyun would become upset, causing trouble every few days, which would make him uncomfortable as well. So, he took the initiative to explain to Chen Tianyun’s lover that he and Chen Tianyun were just good buddies. Once the lover was appeased, Chen Tianyun was as well, and the apartment complex was secured. However, the building complex had limited housing, and not all members of the Chu family could move in. He still needed to find somewhere else to live.

When Chu Shangluo, smoking a cigarette, parked his old electric bike in front of the villa he had built for Ren Jiaoming, Chu Zong and Lin Zhi, covered in dust, walked out. This villa was very large, and it couldn’t be sold quickly, so Chu Shangluo decided not to sell it. The location was good, and a new commercial district was about to be built nearby. Chu Shangluo planned to transform the property into a large fruit and vegetable market. When the crops in the fields were ready, they would have a place to sell them. Lin Zhi and Chu Zong were in charge of the renovation. The interior walls had been knocked down, and the swimming pool in front of the villa was turned into a seafood farming pond. After some proper decoration, the new market would have its own unique character. However, the luxurious appearance of the villa made it hard to imagine it as a market, especially the exterior wall bricks, which Chu Shangluo had personally selected from a building material factory. Each brick was very expensive. In the past, he hadn’t cared much about such small expenses, but now that he was penniless, it pained him to think about destroying those jade-quality bricks. However, despite the pain, he still planned to demolish everything so that he wouldn’t be bothered by it anymore.

At this moment, Chu Shangluo was already very irritated. Every time he saw the villa, he felt stupid. After all the effort, he had spent three hundred million to build a market?

Chu Zong walked over to Chu Shangluo and said, “Cousin, why are you here? Didn’t you say you didn’t want to come?”

Chu Shangluo, smoking his cigarette, glanced at Chu Zong. “Just because I don’t want to come doesn’t mean I can’t. I’m here because I need something.”

“If you need something, you could just call. Don’t go through all this trouble. It’s too far,” Chu Zong said, looking at Chu Shangluo, who was cold from riding the bike for too long. He continued, “Cousin, it’s late autumn now. Why are you still wearing a thin shirt and running around? Aren’t you cold? Why isn’t Lu Wen with you, keeping an eye on you?”

“Why do I need you all to look at what I’m wearing every day?” Chu Shangluo exhaled a puff of smoke. “It’s no big deal. I’m tough, and I’ll be fine. Enough talk. I found a place to live. The ten-day deadline is almost up. Have the Chu family members who have children studying in Beijing move in first. If there are still spots, let the older members move in. They’re old, so don’t let them be troubled.”

Chu Zong hesitated for a moment. “Okay, but I’m worried some people might be unhappy. After all, it’s not easy for the younger generation either.”

“How difficult could it be for them? They’re all strong and healthy. This is settled. If anyone finds it hard, they can come talk to me about it.” Seeing that Chu Shangluo was so firm, Chu Zong stopped second-guessing. “Alright, you decide.”

Chu Shangluo added, “In the next few days, you’ll need to focus on their moving. I’ll come by often to supervise the construction here. As for the remaining people, have them prepare to go back to the county to live.”

After speaking, he irritably took another drag from his cigarette. He really couldn’t find any other place to stay. Not only was the deadline for the relocation office approaching, but he also hadn’t received any notification from Yu Family about the collaboration they had discussed. Today was the fourth day, and it seemed like Yu Family wasn’t planning to cooperate with him after all.

Chu Shangluo felt a bit irritated, as everything that was going wrong seemed to pile up at this very moment, leaving him feeling overwhelmed. He was simply exhausted.

Chu Zong watched Chu Shangluo with a troubled expression. He repeatedly rubbed the dust on his hands, unsure how to comfort him. Over the past period, he had seen many different sides of Chu Shangluo. In the past, Chu Shangluo had been a decisive and unstoppable figure in his eyes, someone who could overcome anything. He had admired him, believing that one should live boldly and fearlessly, just like Chu Shangluo. However, when the Chu family encountered difficulties, Chu Zong saw Chu Shangluo sitting alone in the fields, silently smoking one cigarette after another. His usually straight back, once unseen by anyone, would now slump when no one was around. It was then that he understood that Chu Shangluo wasn’t invincible. He was human, and he too could break down. But for the sake of the Chu family, for those who supported him, he had to remain strong.

There were times when Chu Zong saw Chu Shangluo’s lonely and despondent figure from behind and wanted to tell him that it was okay not to be strong. Anyone could falter, even Chu Shangluo. But every time he tried to say something, he would look into Chu Shangluo’s proud eyes and find himself speechless. He knew that Chu Shangluo would never accept such words; it would destroy his pride. Besides, if Chu Shangluo wasn’t strong, if he collapsed, what would happen to the Chu family? Who could bear the weight? Chu Zong thought, no one could. So, he had a selfish side. He enjoyed the privileges of Chu Shangluo’s protection, living under his shelter. He couldn’t say such things, even though they were heartfelt. Because of that selfishness, it would seem hypocritical.

“Hey, what are you zoning out for? I called you several times!” Chu Shangluo kicked Chu Zong lightly. “What are you thinking? Your eyes are wide open. Did you hear what I just said?”

“Ah… I heard. It was about arranging a place for the Chu family to live. I’ll handle it for you,” Chu Zong replied quickly.

Chu Shangluo flicked the ash from his cigarette, helplessly saying, “You clearly didn’t hear what I just said.”

Chu Zong scratched his head. “Sorry, cousin, I didn’t hear…”

Chu Shangluo didn’t like repeating himself. He took a deep breath to adjust his mood and said, “I’m not giving the electric bike back to your dad. I’m keeping it.”

“Go ahead and use it, cousin. Use it however you want. It’s fine,” Chu Zong responded.

“Hmm.” Chu Shangluo pulled out his phone from his pocket as it suddenly vibrated. Looking at the number on the screen, he said, “Your dad’s legs aren’t too good. I bought him a new one and sent it over. It wasn’t expensive, just a cheap one for him to get by with.”

Chu Zong was taken aback and quickly said, “No need for that. Why buy a new one? He—”

Chu Shangluo raised his hand to signal for silence and answered the phone. He spoke indifferently, “Dad, what’s up?”

Meanwhile, not far from the villa, a black car sped to a stop. The car door was forcefully pushed open, and Ren Jiaoming hurriedly got out.

But when he saw the villa in front of him, he couldn’t help but stagger for a moment.

It was clear from how much effort Chu Shangluo had put into restoring it to this extent. Ren Jiaoming clutched his chest, struggling to breathe, as a sharp pain spread throughout his limbs. He stood there, his hands and feet cold as ice.