Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The Fei family’s ancestral home perched on Hong Kong Island’s Mid-Levels.

This secluded estate, a silent witness to Fei Yuncheng’s half-century, was encircled by dense, wind-blocking avenues of trees. The winding mountain road, perpetually shaded, twisted and turned before abruptly opening to a sweeping vista.

Yet, it remained an ancient mansion.

In this humid, rainy season, relentless moss seeped from beneath weathered bluestone slabs. Beneath the courtyard’s curved eaves, decorative water vats chimed crisply with the drumming rain.

This courtyard, an anomaly amidst the local architecture, loomed like a long-entrenched specter in the drizzling gloom, shrouded in its own persistent shadow.

Silent, chilling.

Even the hurried footsteps of numerous servants scurrying through its halls only amplified the pervasive cold, seeping into one’s very bones.

This was a sensation Lu Tingchao had only recently come to know.

At the solid wood dining table, the mere three occupants seemed excessively solitary.

The head seat lay vacant, as diligent Filipino maids bustled ceaselessly between kitchen and dining room.

The summer evening breeze drifted inward through the aged, carved window frames, lifting Polina’s chestnut-brown curls to brush against Lu Tingchao’s left ear.

A newly arrived Filipino maid set down a chilled dish, carefully positioning it, then cautiously inquired, "Miss, for your after-meal dessert, shall I serve the pre-rain tea as usual?"

Fei Xiuqi: "Of course, that’s what sis—"

Polina, however, interjected: "No, bring me Black Forest mousse, and an iced latte."

Fei Xiuqi looked puzzled: "Sis? You always hated sweet things."

"That’s because Devin is here."

Polina clasped her hands on the dining table. Her fingertips were smooth and delicate, save for a thin layer of callus on the pads—a trace left by a surgeon’s scalpel.

"A Qi."

Polina’s voice was cool and detached, as if infused with ice water.

She tilted her head slightly, gazing at the high ceiling constructed from century-old solid wood beams. After a long moment, her eyes returned to Fei Xiuqi.

Polina: "A Qi, look, that beam is rotting."

Lu Tingchao instinctively followed Polina’s gaze, seeing only the lofty ceiling and the completely obscured daylight.

Polina said: "I am no longer young either."

"I raised you from childhood, and Devin is an insurmountable force casting a shadow over this city, one no one can escape."

Polina’s voice trembled slightly. She closed her eyes, then finally said, "But A Qi, I still hope that one day, we can leave this place."

Polina: "I don’t like pre-rain tea, nor these overly solid carved window lattices, the bluestone slabs that sprout green moss, or the hypocritical faces in the clinking, clanking banquet halls."

"—Just as I prefer to be called Polina, not Miss Fei."

Polina asked: "What about you, A Qi?"

The Filipino maid had long since withdrawn.

In the almost empty Chinese-style mansion, the dining room chandelier flickered like a will-o'-the-wisp, illuminating Fei Xiuqi’s bewildered face.

"Devin was the most handsome man in Hong Kong in his youth."

Polina offered a faint, almost bleak smile. "A few days ago, the girls’ votes just came out. A Qi, you are now Hong Kong’s most eligible golden bachelor too."

Polina said: "I used to be so afraid we would become like our father. A Qi, look, isn’t bloodline... a truly frightening thing?"

"I haven’t, sis."

Fei Xiuqi’s fingers on the dining table were taut, like a bowstring stretched to its breaking point.

His voice was hoarse. After a few seconds, he spoke again: "Sis..."

"You have, A Qi."

Polina shook her head. "If you still remember the principles we learned as children, then Lu Tingchao should have returned to Beicheng with Lu Doudou by now, not held captive here by you."

Fei Xiuqi looked up sharply: "I didn’t!"

Fei Xiuqi: "It’s... it’s Devin’s decision."

Polina’s deep-set eyes flashed with anger: "Is that so?"

Fei Xiuqi turned his face away, his gaze falling on Lu Tingchao, who was lowering his head, using a fork to eat dark plum cherry tomatoes.

Even at such a moment, Lu Tingchao’s expression remained innocent. He speared a cherry tomato he seemed to find particularly good, happily popped it into his mouth, and then looked up—

Meeting Fei Xiuqi’s eyes.

Then Lu Tingchao’s pretty face scrunched up from the sourness of the dark plum-soaked cherry tomato.

Fei Xiuqi felt as if his heart had been soaked in piercingly cold water, only to be taken out and plunged into a vat of saccharine syrup.

This saccharine syrup was cheap, superficial, and easily attainable.

But it was indeed sweet and intoxicating.

Fei Xiuqi forced himself to look away.

He took a breath and said slowly: "Sis, if he leaves Hong Kong and returns to Beicheng, who will he go to? Zhuang Ji, or Mo Lingnan?"

Fei Xiuqi asked: "Will they be better than here?"

Fei Xiuqi: "You also know Chao Chao has no capacity for independent living. He is a rose spoiled by pampering, only able to survive in a sterile environment. Every aspect of his life—clothing, food, housing, travel—is built with money..."

Polina: "Then have you asked him?"

Polina’s tone was sharp: "Or rather, A Qi, would you prefer him to be confined here by Father, raised within this mansion?"

Polina: "Is it to satisfy Father, or to satisfy your own selfish desires?"

Fei Xiuqi: "I..."

Polina sneered: "A Qi, I watched you grow up. Let me guess—you can’t defeat Father, and neither can I."

Polina: "You’re just thinking that if Father isn’t around, Lu Tingchao might still be yours. Isn’t that right?"

Fei Xiuqi’s face suddenly turned ashen. He clutched the metal fork on the plate tightly and, after a long silence, ultimately failed to speak.

"This is truly disgusting."

Polina’s Mandarin was far superior to Fei Xiuqi’s, perhaps even more fluent than Fei Yuncheng’s, making her choice of words seem even harsher.

The tall, captivating woman rose to her feet.

She was no longer wearing the windbreaker from her afternoon travels but had changed into a sky-blue qipao. Her more Western features and waist-length curls swayed with an indescribable charm as she moved.

The click-clack of Polina’s high heels echoed across the meticulously maintained hardwood floor.

She walked past the dining table, past the sideboard, and approached the half-open window.

Tonight, it was raining in Hong Kong.

Polina’s intense gaze pierced through the carved window frame. Outside, a bluestone slab was washed clean by the rain, while several koi fish swam tirelessly back and forth in an ornamental pot, like a journey with no end.

"Seventeen years ago, this place was soaked in blood."

Polina turned back and pointed at Fei Xiuqi. "A Qi, do you remember?"

Fei Xiuqi’s expression froze. "...I know."

Polina said softly, "Actually, they were an innocent couple. They just wanted to earn a little money. They were poorly educated, and the smugglers told them it was ordinary flour—they believed it."

"What flour?"

Lu Tingchao turned his head curiously, taking a few steps forward until he could see the courtyard outside the window.

Lu Doudou toddled out of the little castle he had built for himself in the corner, took the plate of dark plum cherry tomatoes from Lu Tingchao's hand, and placed it back on the table. "That's the one, Chao Chao."

Lu Tingchao: "Which one is that... ah... ah? Oh..."

Lu Tingchao shrank his neck, speaking timidly and quietly, "Holy crap, Sister Polina, your dad was involved in that too?"

A smile curled at the corner of Polina’s lips.

She walked back in her high heels, reached out, and gently rubbed Lu Tingchao’s soft, pale chin, carefully wiping away a tiny drop of moisture at the corner of his mouth. "Chao Chao, back then, Hong Kong hadn't even been returned for long."

The rain outside grew heavier.

Polina’s fingertips, cool as the rain, brushed against Lu Tingchao’s skin, sending a slight shiver through him.

Fei Xiuqi finally said, "...I remember."

"No, you actually don't, A Qi."

Polina’s faint gaze swept over Fei Xiuqi, who was still seated at the dining table, before returning to the rain outside. "Two runs per truck, from Kowloon to the New Territories. They worked all day, only taking a twenty-minute break in between."

"That was when the wife went to pick out a birthday cake for their daughter."

Polina’s voice grew distant yet clear amidst the faint sound of rain. "It was a huge shipment... twenty full vehicles, just enough to buy the most expensive cream cake in the shop at the shop then."

Fei Xiuqi: "Sis!"

Polina stretched out her hand, her slender fingertips dampened by the rain, the droplets silently tracing their lines before falling to the ground.

"A Qi, we were very young back then. We stood upstairs and accidentally witnessed it."

Polina spoke slowly, "Back then, you held my hand and said they were pitiful. You said when you grew up, you would never do such things."

Fei Xiuqi stood up abruptly. "Sis, this is different!"

"Why is it different?"

Polina stared directly into Fei Xiuqi’s eyes. "Disregarding morality, extinguishing humanity, all for selfish desires—Fei Xiuqi, isn't that exactly what this is?"

Fei Xiuqi: "I..."

But Polina cut him off. "That couple’s daughter works in Professor Borui’an’s lab as a junior assistant."

Fei Xiuqi was stunned. "Wasn't she sent to an orphanage by Devin..."

"Yes."

Polina opened her hand, catching a handful of rainwater in her palm. "But one day, we should also do what we ought to do."

Polina turned her head and asked Fei Xiuqi, "Do you know why I didn’t let her work in my own lab?"

Lu Tingchao peered in. "Why?"

Polina used her other hand, the one untouched by the rain, to gently stroke Lu Tingchao’s soft hair. "Because she said she hates me."

Fei Xiuqi exclaimed in shock, "You told her about that incident?"

"Yes."

Polina turned around. "A Qi, Devin was indeed the most formidable figure in our childhood, but I don't want to live like this anymore."

Polina withdrew her hand from the window frame and dried the moisture with a handkerchief. "Tomorrow, I'm returning to the lab in Central Asia. When I go, I'm taking Chao Chao with me."

"I disagree!"

Fei Xiuqi stepped forward, reaching out to pull Lu Tingchao back.

Polina raised her eyebrows, revealing a hint of the Fei family’s characteristic arrogance and intensity. "This is a notice, not a request."

Polina walked upstairs in her high heels, pausing slightly at the wooden stair railing to glance back. "A Qi, until you learn to grow up, you will never surpass Father."

As Polina’s figure grew increasingly distant up the stairs,

Fei Xiuqi seemed to remember something and suddenly rushed forward a few steps. "What about you, Sis? Devin left the country temporarily, but he hasn't been away for this long in ages. Does it have something to do with you?!"

The sound of her high heels faded silently into the carpet at the end of the hallway.

After a long pause,

Polina’s voice came from above. "A Qi, it's time for Chao Chao to rest."

*

Ever since Fei Yuncheng left, Lu Tingchao had been shamelessly staying in Lu Doudou’s room.

Not for any particular reason—mainly because he didn't want to see Fei Xiuqi every night.

Plus, Lu Doudou’s room had plenty of toys.

Even though Lu Doudou wasn't interested in them, Lu Tingchao absolutely loved playing with them.

Just like every other day,

Lu Tingchao and Lu Doudou quickly finished their bath. Lu Doudou expertly picked out a book from the shelf and opened it, while Lu Tingchao unceremoniously sprawled on the wool carpet, engaging in a battle of wits with Lu Doudou’s vast collection of toys.

The air conditioning was just right. After playing for a while, Lu Tingchao mumbled sleepily, "Doudou?"

Lu Doudou was already asleep.

Under the soft, warm glow of the light, the child's face looked peaceful. Rubbing his tired eyes, Lu Tingchao leaned against the edge of the bed and suddenly noticed that Lu Doudou’s cheekbones looked just like Zhuang Ji's.

It felt like forever since he had left Zhuang Ji.

Lu Tingchao recalled what Polina had told him when Lu Doudou first came into the world, just as he was waking up—that his body had been affected during the process, and he couldn’t have more children in the future.

He was totally fine with that.

He still remembered thinking exactly that at the time.

He and Zhuang Ji had spent their youth together, then gone their separate ways.

And that was that.

Lu Tingchao was never one to admit fault. Even now, he never saw anything wrong with what he did.

Including the fact that Polina was taking him somewhere tomorrow.

He had no idea where Polina planned to take him.

Lu Tingchao rarely made decisions for himself. Most of the time, he simply went with the flow—as a child, his grandfather decided for him, later it was Zhuang Ji, then Mo Lingnan, and Fei Yuncheng.

But no matter where he ended up, anything had to be better than now.

Rubbing his eyes, Lu Tingchao casually pulled the blanket over Lu Doudou on the bed and prepared to sleep.

"Creak—"

Just then, the door was pushed open from the outside.

Lu Tingchao jumped, startled, debating between bolting out the window or putting up a feeble resistance, when he heard Fei Xiuqi’s voice.

"Chao Chao."

Perhaps because it was nighttime, Fei Xiuqi’s voice sounded low, with a rough, husky quality.

He didn’t turn on the main light but held an octagonal lantern instead, its faint glow barely illuminating a small area.

Lu Tingchao found the scene rather eerie, his eyes widening as he stared. "Fei Xiuqi, what are you doing?"

It was unclear whether Fei Xiuqi had been asleep or not. He was still wearing the light-colored shirt from dinner, and his casual pants looked perfectly pressed on him.

From this angle, it wasn’t hard to see why he’d inherited Fei Yuncheng’s title of Hong Kong’s top heartthrob.

Fei Xiuqi walked softly into the bedroom, lantern in hand.

With every step he took, Lu Tingchao retreated. "You, you, you…"

Lu Tingchao finally backed up against the bed. Trembling, he pointed a slender, pale finger at Fei Xiuqi. "You’re not here to elope with me in the middle of the night, are you?!"

Fei Xiuqi: "…"

In the flickering lantern light, Fei Xiuqi’s expression seemed to shift slightly, if only for a moment.

He asked softly, "What if I am?"

Fei Xiuqi continued, "Chao Chao, I may not be as wealthy as my father, but I can take care of you. Let’s go abroad, okay?"

"No!"

Lu Tingchao refused without hesitation. "You’ve only been in the industry for a few years—how much money could you have saved? I’m expensive to keep, and I don’t want to live a hard life!"

Fei Xiuqi gazed intently at Lu Tingchao, not blinking.

After being stared at for a while, Lu Tingchao finally felt a creeping sense of dread and realized his response might have been kinda rude.

He quickly tried to backtrack, "Ah, well, it’s not just about the money. You see, I’m a parent now. I shouldn’t just leave. I need to stay and work hard to provide—"

Fei Xiuqi said softly, "I’ll give you all my money, Chao Chao. Every penny in my name."

Fei Xiuqi: "Let’s go abroad and get married, okay?"

Lu Tingchao: "…"

Lu Tingchao looked bewildered for a moment, racking his brain before finally coming up with another excuse. "But if we get married, wouldn’t the money you give me become joint property?"

Fei Xiuqi replied, "Then I’ll sign an asset transfer agreement, get it notarized—whatever it takes."

Fei Xiuqi: "Be with me, Chao Chao."

Lu Tingchao: "Ah…"

But Lu Tingchao didn’t want to go abroad.

For one, he couldn’t stand a long-haul flight, even in first class. He also didn’t like foreign food—there’d be no street snacks he loved, none of his favorite junk food.

People abroad were all so big and burly, making him feel even smaller and more vulnerable.

Most importantly, Lu Tingchao had already been trapped once in Hong Kong.

He turned the problem over and over in his mind but couldn’t find a perfect answer. Frustrated, his delicate features scrunched into a frown.

Reflected in Fei Xiuqi’s gaze.

And then Fei Xiuqi suddenly understood—love truly was bitter.

In all his years of smooth sailing, he had never understood why someone could be heartbroken because of someone, why separation could feel like life or death.

Wherever Fei Xiuqi went, people flocked to him, an endless stream of admirers.

But unfortunately, among all of them, the one he truly loved was not there.

At the heartbreaking age of twenty-two, he had fallen in love by chance with someone—who did not love him back, not even a little.

Fei Xiuqi closed his eyes and realized tears had fallen.

Embarrassed, he wiped them away. In the flickering light, the person he loved wasn’t even paying attention to him at a moment like this.

Lu Tingchao was still deep in thought, racking his brain for a polite way to dodge this.

"Chao Chao."

When Fei Xiuqi said those two words in Mandarin, there was an unusually tender, lingering quality in his tone.

Lost in thought, Lu Tingchao looked up: "Huh?"

Fei Xiuqi's voice was like the last glimmer of a dying lamp: "Was there ever a moment, even just a second, when you felt something for me?"

Lu Tingchao: "Oh..."

Lu Doudou was still sleeping soundly on the bed.

Outside the window was the post-rain nighttime darkness.

Lu Tingchao awkwardly rubbed his nose and replied honestly, "...I don’t usually get crushes."

"Understood."

Fei Xiuqi’s pale face curved into a faint smile. "Chao Chao, you're usually just waiting."

Like a toxic flower blooming on the edge of a cliff.

Waiting for prey to grow curious, approach, take a light sniff, get hooked, and then end up battered, bruised, and bleeding.

Lu Tingchao looked confused: "Wait for what?"

But Fei Xiuqi didn’t respond.

He bent down, carefully and gently scooped up Lu Doudou, blanket and all, and reached out his other hand to Lu Tingchao: "Let’s go."

Lu Tingchao shrank back, too afraid to take it, and whispered timidly, "Go where?... I don’t want to go abroad..."

"But you wanted to return to Beicheng?"

Fei Xiuqi reached out and grasped Lu Tingchao’s delicate fingers. "I’ll take you back."

Lu Tingchao went still for a moment but still hesitated: "But..."

Lu Tingchao bit his lower lip: "But Sister Polina said she’d take me away tomorrow. Fei Xiuqi, I..."

The octagonal lantern placed nearby barely lit the path ahead.

Fei Xiuqi turned back: "You trust her that much?"

Lu Tingchao blurted out, "Who else would I trust?"

In the darkness.

Fei Xiuqi let out a low laugh.

His voice was low as he said slowly, "Chao Chao, I want you. Devin wants you."

"Sister carries the Fei blood. You think she doesn’t want you?"

Lu Tingchao froze.

"Sister usually stays in Central Asia."

Fei Xiuqi leaned closer, his breath warm against Lu Tingchao’s ear. "BB, do you know anything about that place?"

His warm breath fanned against Lu Tingchao’s ear, and he instinctively tried to step back, but Fei Xiuqi pulled him close.

"Sister has the largest human performance lab in all of Asia there."

Fei Xiuqi reached out and wiped the cold sweat that had unknowingly formed on Lu Tingchao’s forehead. "You managed to make me betray Devin, you left Mo Lingnan spellbound, you’ve kept Zhuang Ji searching for you with increasing manpower even now..."

Fei Xiuqi kissed Lu Tingchao’s forehead: "Aren’t you afraid Sister might change you into something... strange?"

Lu Tingchao shuddered, a cold dread settling deep in his bones.

"Let’s go."

Fei Xiuqi took Lu Tingchao’s hand once more and led him down the stairs step by step, through the main hall.

The bright moon, as if washed by the rain, shone brilliantly, making the mansion’s shadows seem even deeper.

Fei Xiuqi led Lu Tingchao through several archways, responding a few times to the greetings from the night guards. The sound of their footsteps echoed across the empty floor, slowly instilling a sense of dread.

Lu Tingchao instinctively clutched Fei Xiuqi’s hand tighter, his voice trembling: "But... what if Sister Polina sees us?"

Lu Tingchao stumbled, and Fei Xiuqi caught him with one arm.

"She’s asleep."

Fei Xiuqi’s hand steadying Lu Tingchao’s slender waist. "Don’t be afraid, Chao Chao."

Lu Tingchao held his breath: "But won’t Sister Polina wake up?"

"Not tonight."

Fei Xiuqi took Lu Tingchao’s hand again. "It’s alright, we’re nearly there."

From the courtyard, they went backward, passing through the guest hall and study, then circling around a large reception room until they reached the backyard garden.

Lu Tingchao had only been here once before—it was a thick grove of desert roses.

At this moment, under the quiet, low lamps casting a cold light, the desert roses, washed by the pouring rain, were in vibrant, full bloom.

The thorns of the desert roses were tough and prickly.

Yet Fei Xiuqi reached in and tore out the most beautiful rose from the grove, his hand bleeding as he offered it to Lu Tingchao.

Blood dripped down, seeping into the rose’s petals, making it appear even more eerily enchanting.

"I love you."

Fei Xiuqi said.

Lu Tingchao: "..."

Chao Chao doesn’t love you.

Lu Tingchao pressed his lips together, unsure whether he should politely accept the rose, yet feeling uneasy about the blood on it.

As he hesitated.

From the other side of the path in the desert rose grove came another hoarse voice.

"Lu Tingchao, come to me."

The voice was all too familiar.

Lu Tingchao paused, looking in the direction of the voice—

At the edge of the desert rose grove, a door that had always been closed was now wide open.

The heavy rain had long since tapered off into a light drizzle, dripping steadily from the winding gravel path into the soil nearby.

A tall, handsome man stood at the end of the path, holding a long black-ribbed umbrella with one hand.