Chapter 73

The doorbell rang several times, and the servant hurried to open the door. Upon greeting the guest with a “Young Master Wu,” the servant fell silent, lacking the usual warmth.

Wu Baiyan often visited, sometimes bringing a dessert, other times a couple of bottles of wine, or sometimes coming empty-handed. He was very familiar with the living room of Shang Mingbao’s house, almost as if it were his own. Having visited frequently, he was accustomed to waiting calmly and had become friendly with the servants, who all considered Young Master Wu a pleasant guest.

Today, however, the atmosphere felt different—oppressively tense, and no one dared to smile.

When Sophie saw him, she first showed a distressed expression and said, “What are you doing here at this time?”

This was the morning of the second day after Shang Mingbao had returned to the Upper East Side from West 56th Street. Xiang Feiran was stranded at the airport due to heavy fog, and Shang Mingbao had locked herself in her room.

Wu Baiyan raised an eyebrow and asked, “Looking for her for lunch. What’s the matter?”

With Liao Yuno distant, Wu Baiyan had become one of Shang Mingbao’s closest friends. Although they often bickered after exchanging a few words, Sophie could see that Wu Baiyan had some influence with Shang Mingbao. With no other options, Sophie briefly explained the events from last night until now, worriedly stating, “It seems they had a fight.”

Wu Baiyan listened and, with a half-smile, remarked, “Fighting is quite normal. Why are you so worried?”

Initially, Shang Mingbao only occasionally talked to him about her issues with Xiang Feiran, mostly confiding in Fang Suining and Liao Yuno. However, with Fang Suining away in Paris and Liao Yuno becoming more distant, and Wu Baiyan being a very attentive listener, she gradually shared more and more with him.

Wu Baiyan usually didn’t comment much, unlike Fang Suining and Liao Yuno, who would unconditionally criticize Xiang Feiran. Wu Baiyan mostly played the role of a good listener, offering indifferent comfort.

He hadn’t expected their relationship to last so long; it had been three years. As an observer, Wu Baiyan was more objective. Over these three years, Shang Mingbao had become increasingly entrenched, undergoing a significant transformation.

Wu Baiyan was part of Shang Mingbao’s career as a jewelry consultant. Wendy was the core, and Wu Baiyan often accompanied Shang Mingbao to events where Wendy was present, acting as her partner—gentlemanly, handsome, and witty. In Shang Mingbao’s social circle, people knew Wu Baiyan but not Xiang Feiran.

Wendy had privately asked several times about Wu Baiyan and Shang Mingbao’s progress. Wu Baiyan, smiling, told her the truth: “She has a boyfriend. I’m just a close friend.”

Wendy could tell that Wu Baiyan was different with Shang Mingbao. She advised him to seize the moment while he could, but Wu Baiyan raised his glass and said, “What’s the rush? It’s all going to end anyway. Let her be happy for as long as she can.”

Since early yesterday morning, Sophie had been on edge. Hearing Wu Baiyan making light of the situation, she glared at him and said, “If you’re just here to make things worse, you can leave now.”

Wu Baiyan, with his hands in his suit pockets, glanced up the stairs. “If not, should I go up and give it a try?”

He had never been upstairs before.

Accompanying Sophie to Shang Mingbao’s room, Wu Baiyan knocked on the door. “Shang Mingbao, don’t hide. Show me what’s going on.”

Shang Mingbao’s voice was choked with tears. “Go away.”

“Got a cold?” Wu Baiyan asked Sophie quietly. “Her voice doesn’t sound right. Call a doctor to come over.”

Sophie went to the lounge to call a doctor. When she returned, Wu Baiyan had somehow managed to get inside.

Shang Mingbao, her face made up with powder and blush, had tears on her cheeks, looking very pitiful. Wu Baiyan initially wanted to tease her, but upon seeing her first, he hesitated and asked, “What’s going on?”

Shang Mingbao wouldn’t say, so Wu Baiyan patiently stayed with her, watching her see the doctor, drink porridge, and take medicine. After a couple of hours, she calmed down and heard on the news that the heavy fog at the airport had caused widespread flight delays. She was momentarily stunned, got up from the dining table, and watched the full news segment by the fireplace.

Her first reaction was to grab her phone. The chat with Xiang Feiran was still open, but before she could type anything, Wu Baiyan snatched it away.

“You’re so upset and still rushing to contact him?” he mocked, holding the phone up high.

“I’m not,” Shang Mingbao stood up to grab it, but he avoided her.

“I was the one who ended it—give it back to me!”

Wu Baiyan’s momentary surprise quickly vanished, and he calmly handed the phone back. “Fine, if you think that checking on him right after breaking up is what you want, go ahead.”

This remark had its effect. Shang Mingbao took the phone, remaining silent.

“If you really want to break up, do it decisively. Don’t be indecisive,” Wu Baiyan offered advice based on his experience.

“I don’t want to break up.”

“Oh,” Wu Baiyan said expressionlessly.

Shang Mingbao’s tears started flowing again. She lowered her head and said, “I just want to push him a bit.”

“Push him for what?”

“Force him… to consider marrying me.”

She was very conservative even in her dreams; she didn’t want him to marry her outright but just to start thinking about it.

Wu Baiyan chuckled briefly, his eyes filled with skepticism and inquiry. “Shang Mingbao, have you lost your mind from being in love? Are you planning to use your entire family’s future political risks as your dowry?”

Shang Mingbao retorted angrily, “You don’t understand; what you’re saying isn’t absolute.”

“Then who understands?” Wu Baiyan pressed.

“—My mother understands.”

In Shang Mingbao’s impatient and emphatic response, Wu Baiyan seemed momentarily stunned, and after a few seconds, the composed smile on his face slowly faded, replaced by a cold, calm demeanor.

“So, you’re saying that your mother knows you’re dating Xiang Feiran and she has given her approval?”

He didn’t want to hear such news, which left him feeling somewhat blunt at the finish line.

“She doesn’t know.” Shang Mingbao was too tired to explain, “Anyway, Feiran is acceptable; Mom wouldn’t lie to me or deceive me.”

“That’s impossible,” Wu Baiyan still didn’t believe it, analyzing, “Given Xiang Lianqiao’s status and position—”

“He won’t live forever!”

Wu Baiyan was stunned, looking at Shang Mingbao’s desperate face. He laughed in disbelief, “Are you pinning your hopes on his grandfather’s death?”

Shang Mingbao’s tears flowed down her cheeks as the refined, smiling face of the elderly man appeared before her eyes, causing her heartache.

“I’m just saying it will eventually come to that. I can wait… I can afford to wait.”

Once Xiang Lianqiao passed away, Xiang Feiran would lose any political background. As a man devoted to studying plants, someone who isn’t even interested in discussing international affairs, what political risk could he pose? Once he’s no longer under Xiang Lianqiao’s protection, he would inevitably be forgotten in the crowd. Isn’t that a clear, self-preserving choice?

After a few seconds of silence in the living room, Wu Baiyan spoke slowly, “So, you want to marry him, and your family has no objections.”

Shang Mingbao nodded.

“But Xiang Feiran is an anti-marriage advocate; he doesn’t agree. You’re trying to force him by breaking up.”

Not sure if it was from crying too long or embarrassment, Shang Mingbao’s cheeks turned red like a child’s.

Wu Baiyan gleaned the full answer from her youthful demeanor, his jaw tightening until it was sharply defined. “Shang Mingbao, you’re becoming more and more ambitious.”

“If he loves me, he will agree,” Shang Mingbao said innocently.

“Do you think you mean that much to him?” Wu Baiyan asked sarcastically.

“I do,” Shang Mingbao replied without hesitation.

Wu Baiyan sneered, lighting a cigarette, “So, you’re using love as a moral leverage, my dear, or should I say, elder sister?”

“Don’t mind me.”

Wu Baiyan’s lighter refused to ignite, and after a moment, he stuffed the cigarette into his pocket. “I’ll say this: if you’re so sure, then why have you been crying all night and morning?”

Shang Mingbao was stunned by his question and, after a while, resignedly replied, “We’ve never fought, and he’s back in the country; I can’t bear to part with him.”

Wu Baiyan looked at her for a few seconds and then calmed down. “No, you must have already tested him once, and he rejected you. In other words, his anti-marriage stance is genuine, and you’re fighting his ideology with your love.”

Struck by the truth of his words, Shang Mingbao suddenly let down all her defenses.

“Will he agree?” she sought affirmation from an outsider.

“Of course, he will,” Wu Baiyan said with a slight smile, his posture and expression subtly relaxing. He shrugged slightly, “If he truly loves you, he will agree. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he? Isn’t it just because he doesn’t love you enough? If he really loves you, he should put you first in everything, making principles and life views meaningless in the face of true love.”

Shang Mingbao was stunned by his sweeping statements, and before she could think deeply, Wu Baiyan continued, “If he won’t compromise for you, then he doesn’t love you enough. As long as he loves you, he will accommodate you unconditionally. So I believe—”

He paused, looking into Shang Mingbao’s eyes, with a smirk, “He will definitely agree.”

Shang Mingbao had never realized that he could be so eloquent and insightful.

If she had heard these words before, she might have argued, but now, she unconditionally agreed with every word. This was exactly what she wanted to hear, and Wu Baiyan said it for her. She felt reassured and comforted.

The anxiety and guilt that had been swirling inside her seemed to settle, and even her posture on the sofa relaxed a bit.

Confident in her victory, she didn’t contact Xiang Feiran in the following days. She continued with her regular meals, attended classes, posted updates, and carried on with her career.

She missed him very much.

But he was someone who didn’t post updates, and once silent, he left no trace of his presence.

Shang Mingbao had nowhere to look for him and kept reopening the photos in her phone. Every Christmas, New Year’s, and countless candid shots.

Her boyfriend was very handsome, and she eagerly wanted to show him to Wen Youyi, to hear her praise him and give her a surprise. Haha, you wanted to introduce him to Second Sister, but it turns out he’s mine, right?

After class, Wu Baiyan continued to accompany her to two club dinners, taking her out for drives, drinking, watching Yankees games, visiting the Met’s new exhibition, and accompanying her to the geological museum and auction houses to view colorful jewels.

He asked Shang Mingbao to choose a prominent main stone for his future girlfriend, with an unlimited budget, the bigger, the better.

“The main stone isn’t always better if it’s bigger, unless your girlfriend is from the Middle East or India,” she joked, “The key is the design, setting, and overall feel.”

In front of the black velvet tray, Wu Baiyan watched her profile holding a magnifying glass and said, “You decide.”

Shang Mingbao eventually chose a million-dollar pink diamond for him. Although Wu Baiyan’s budget was not that high, he still paid the deposit first and made the final payment two days later. Shang Mingbao charged a service fee of ten percent and gave him a 40% discount. Wu Baiyan threw the diamond to her and said, “Finish helping me by designing a ring, the price is negotiable.”

Shang Mingbao hastily caught it and said, “I’m busy before the new year.”

“That’s fine, just keep it for now,” Wu Baiyan said nonchalantly, “Just remember if you can.”

Shang Mingbao then temporarily kept it for him. She now viewed these gemstones with a detached perspective, no longer feeling the intense desire to claim them for herself as she once did.

Amidst this busy and fulfilling schedule, Thursday arrived.

Xiang Feiran hadn’t sent a single word. Her confidence in a favorable outcome was diminishing day by day, replaced by a growing sense of panic.

She dreamed every night of falling off cliffs, the sensation of weightlessness so real it jolted her awake.

In unresolved situations, one desperately seeks something that can provide certainty.

Shang Mingbao asked Sophie if Feiran’s brother would make concessions. Sophie initially remained silent, but after repeated questioning, she reluctantly said that he would eventually. When she asked Wu Baiyan, Wu Baiyan advised her to stay calm and maintain her posture.

She asked everyone she could think of, except Fang Suining.

It was Friday.

During a class break, she overheard classmates discussing where to see ginkgo trees and thought of him again. It was really frustrating that, from now on, every one of the 370,000 plant species in the world would be linked to him.

Her phone, which was face down, vibrated.

Shang Mingbao put down her sketch pen and picked up the phone, her palms already sweating.

The first message from Xiang Feiran was a greeting: “I’ve thought it over.”

Shang Mingbao didn’t blink, and in that blank second, she thought of nothing.

Since the chat window was open, the phone stopped vibrating, and she saw the following messages.

“You were right, this is enough.”

“Good luck, Shang Mingbao.”

A classmate next to her heard a strange sound, like laughter that seemed like crying. The discussion about ginkgo trees stopped, and they turned to look at her, falling silent.

She trembled violently, having typed only a few words before the phone clattered onto the marble steps of the classroom.

“I’m fine, really fine…” She shook her head, crouching down to reach for the phone that had slid to the front row. A classmate picked it up and handed it to her.

She forced a smile, “Thank you.”

Her eyes were clear and bright with tears.

“Are you really… okay?” an Irish classmate asked.

Shang Mingbao quickly wiped her tears from her cheeks and maintained a smile, “Really okay.”

Xiang Feiran, didn’t a fourth WeChat message come?

She looked down, her tears blurring the chat window.

There was really nothing else.

The person who said she was okay, gathered all her things from the desk and crammed them into a canvas bag, making a noise that caused everyone around her to stop talking and look up at her.

Shang Mingbao stood up, repeatedly apologizing as she left the classroom.

What does “this is enough” mean? As she dialed the phone, the car horn sounded sharply like a dash, and she barely stopped at the curb. The towering skyscrapers, the fluttering purple school flags, and the roaring tires on the asphalt road blended into a dizzying chaos.

With a loud cry, Shang Mingbao clung to a streetlight and vomited uncontrollably.

The taste in her mouth wasn’t bile but the heavy rust flavor. It felt like she had swallowed a rusty metal shard, cutting her tongue and throat, making her mouth taste like fresh blood.

Finally, the international call went through; Xiang Feiran would not avoid it.

She spoke, crying loudly like a wronged child who finally found an adult. She cried, asked, and begged him to make things right: “Why? Feiran, why?”

She had forgotten that the adult she wanted to rely on was the one who made her feel wronged.

Xiang Feiran’s voice on the other end was calm, and his breathing steady: “I’ve thought it through. This is better for both of us.”

“It’s not good for me, not good at all,” Shang Mingbao wiped her tears hastily, not caring about her dirty hands, “I don’t want it. I was just saying things out of anger. I don’t want it. Forget it, I don’t want it…”

In her confusion, memories suddenly flashed through her mind like lightning. Her eyes brightened: “Christmas Eve! On Christmas Eve, you promised me that only I could decide when it ends. I’m the one who can propose the end—” She gasped for air, “You can’t go back on your word…”

“Babe.” Xiang Feiran called her name and paused for a long time.

His breath was so faintly hurried that it seemed like a hallucination: “I’ve been thinking clearly these past few days. You are someone who is going to get married, and I can’t give you the outcome you want. We were destined for this day. I used to think about it too, and like you, when things were at their happiest and best, I would think about this and say enough. But I’m really greedy, I keep avoiding it. I kept thinking you’re still young, your family hasn’t arranged a marriage partner for you yet, there’s still time. Now I realize, this was just an excuse I made up, a self-deception because I couldn’t let go.”

He calmly exposed his inner thoughts.

“What you said that day was very true. No matter how wholeheartedly I give, what I can offer is negligible, something that can be satisfied by hiring a few workers. I never expected to be with you for a lifetime. Hearing you say that, I suddenly felt relieved.”

At this point, Xiang Feiran paused for a moment, gripping the window ledge tightly. The aluminum track was sharp, leaving a heart-wrenching pain in his palm.

He spoke these words with endless tenderness: “The love I gave you can be filled by a few workers, and that’s fine.”

If three aren’t enough, then ask for five.

If five aren’t enough, then ask for ten.

Ask for as many as needed. In short, there will always be enough eventually.

Previously, he had some wild fantasies, never imagining a lifetime, but dreaming that his love, fought for with all his might, could leave a small ripple in her life. Later, during her long life, in moments of boredom while having afternoon tea or watching a gardener tend to plants, she might recall fragments of him. If those fragments could emit a faint light, it would be the completeness of his life.

Now he realizes it was a wild fantasy. For some reason, he feels it’s fine, as it suggests her life will be far better than he ever imagined.

She would always be a princess, never tainted by his dust.

When Wu Baiyan arrived, he didn’t know how long Shang Mingbao had been sitting by the roadside.

She, such a beautiful person, sat on the dirty curb, inhaling exhaust fumes. She wasn’t crying, just staring into space, seemingly lost in thought.

Wu Baiyan got out of the car, grabbed her arm, and angrily scolded her: “What the hell are you—”

“Take me to the airport.”

Wu Baiyan was caught off guard by her words, breathing heavily: “Shang Mingbao, is it really necessary?”

“Is it too much to ask him for a face-to-face breakup?” Shang Mingbao wiped her dirty hands over her face and hair. “If he looks at me and still says we should break up, then I’ll accept it, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay!” Wu Baiyan nearly roared.

“Our beginning had such a sense of ceremony. A breakup should have some ceremony too, don’t you think?” Shang Mingbao murmured.

“Even if you go, he’s still an anti-marriage type. What’s the point?”

“Do you know? I’m only 23. None of my older siblings are married. My second sister, older sister, and older brother are all over thirty, and they aren’t rushing to get married. Does that mean—”

In a mix of anger and shock, Wu Baiyan heard her ask, “Does that mean getting married isn’t really a good thing? I was too eager. I’m still young and can’t fully understand such a complex issue. Why am I forcing him now? Maybe… maybe by the time I’m twenty-six or twenty-seven, I might also become an anti-marriage person, and that would be just right, right? I was too hasty.” She nodded, “My older brother always says, ‘Haste makes waste.’ I should—”

When Wu Baiyan pulled her into an embrace, Shang Mingbao was momentarily stunned before gently trying to pull away: “Don’t do this. Just take me to the airport.”

If it weren’t for not wanting Sophie to know, she wouldn’t have asked Wu Baiyan for help.

“Shang Mingbao, why do you like him so much?”

The voice above her head was filled with all the hidden bitterness.

“Hmm.” Shang Mingbao responded, closing her eyes, “It’s like that. He loves me like this too.”

“He doesn’t love you. You said so yourself. Have you forgotten? He won’t even compromise on this principle for you!” He grabbed her shoulders, looking fierce.

“But it doesn’t feel right,” Shang Mingbao said with a wavering calm, unsure if she was self-deceiving or genuinely reasoning: “If I asked him to kill someone for me, would not doing it mean he doesn’t love me? If I asked him to destroy an experimental sample because I really dislike one of his colleagues, would not helping me destroy it mean he doesn’t love me? Is that the logic? I don’t think so. Isn’t it a principle to not break the law, a principle to not violate conduct, and a principle to not want to get married?”

Wu Baiyan ground his teeth and nodded, “Fine, you’re clever and forgiving. You’re so goddamn charitable!”

Shang Mingbao was roughly shoved into the sports car by him, and the door slammed shut with a loud bang.

Another loud bang followed as a gust of wind blew, making her hair, which was covered in exhaust fumes, flutter.

Wu Baiyan fastened his seatbelt and said coldly, “Two choices: One, I take you home now, and you calm down there for five days. If after five days you still want to find him, I’ll hire a private jet for you without question.”

“Two, swear to me now that you, Shang Mingbao, will only stay with him until you’re twenty-eight. If he still hasn’t changed at all for you, you walk away without a word. Deal?”

“Choose.”