Chapter 4 Fleeting Clouds

Chapter 4: Passing Clouds

There was a dead silence on the other end of the line.

Then came the sound of suppressed, sharp intakes of breath.

"And," Shen Qingci continued, "on the day your daughter was born, I gave you three months of paid maternity leave. You said it was too much, and I said..."

"Lu Lin was neglected as a child, so he was led astray." Lin Wei finished the sentence, her voice now completely altered. "It's you... it's really you..."

She choked up, her words becoming incoherent. "But... but how is this possible? Ten years ago, you... President Shen, where are you? Where are you now?!"

"I'll send you the address," Shen Qingci said.

Shen Qingci opened WeChat. A friend request from Lin Wei had already arrived.

After accepting, Lin Wei's message popped up immediately.

Lin Wei: President Shen???

President Shen: Yes.

Lin Wei: Send me your location, I'll be right there!

President Shen: [Location Shared]

Shen Qingci put his phone away and walked back to sit on the roadside bench.

Leaning his cane against his side, he bent slightly and rubbed his aching right knee.

Half an hour later, a white BMW stopped in front of him.

The window rolled down, revealing a face both familiar and strange.

It was indeed Lin Wei, but not the Lin Wei from his memory.

Ten years was too long—long enough to leave fine lines at the corners of Lin Wei's eyes, to change her hairstyle from a ponytail to a neat short cut, and to add a depth born of experience to her gaze.

She stared at Shen Qingci, her eyes growing wide, her lips trembling, unable to speak.

Shen Qingci stood up with his cane, walked to the car, and met her gaze calmly.

"Secretary Lin," he said, using the same address from ten years ago. "Long time no see."

Lin Wei's tears spilled down her cheeks.

The car was quiet, filled only with the low hum of the engine and the occasional sound of vehicles passing outside the window.

Lin Wei gripped the steering wheel, her eyes kept darting to the rearview mirror at the man in the back seat.

The streetlights played across Shen Qingci's face, which looked exactly the same as it did ten years ago.

Not an extra wrinkle, not a hint less of his sharpness, even the slight curve of his pursed lips was exactly as she remembered.

It was as if the past ten years had just been a long nap, and upon waking, nothing had changed.

But she had changed.

And Shen Qingci... was still the 27-year-old President Shen.

"President Shen," Lin Wei finally spoke, her voice dry and tight with tension. "Have you... contacted President Lu?"

After saying it, she realized the title might be wrong and quickly added, "Lu Lin, he's now the head of the Lu Group."

Shen Qingci turned his head to look out the window, his calm face reflected in the glass.

"No," he said, his tone as flat as undisturbed water. "He's doing well now. No need to disturb him."

Lin Wei's fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel.

"We were never that close to begin with," Shen Qingci continued, his hand rubbing the cane for a moment. "We just lived together for eight years, that's all."

He paused, then added four words: "Passing clouds."

Through the rearview mirror, Lin Wei saw the emotionless look in Shen Qingci's eyes—detached, as if nothing in the world could move him.

Even when speaking of the child he had raised for eight years, not a ripple crossed his face.

Lin Wei ultimately said nothing.

She thought, perhaps President Shen had always been like this.

She had worked for him for seven years and had never seen him truly lose composure over anyone.

"I may need to trouble you to help me get an ID card," Shen Qingci changed the subject, his tone matter-of-fact.

Lin Wei was stunned for a moment.

She hadn't fully processed the fact that someone who had been dead for ten years had suddenly returned. Her mind was still in chaos, but her body had already reacted instinctively: "Yes, President Shen. Please let me know what materials you need, and I'll handle it."

After saying it, she herself was stunned.

This conversation, this tone, this unthinking pattern of giving and taking orders between superior and subordinate—it was as if the intervening ten years had never existed.

As if Shen Qingci had just been away on a long business trip and had now returned, and she was still his most capable secretary.

Thinking this, Lin Wei's nose suddenly stung.

She put on her turn signal and slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road.

A car behind honked impatiently, but she ignored it.

"President Shen..." She turned her head, tears welling up without warning. "I'm sorry, I... I just..."

She stumbled over her words, incoherent.

She talked about how Shen Qingci had picked her, a greenhorn fresh out of college, out of a pile of resumes back then.

How President Shen had personally taught her to review contracts and negotiate projects.

How the first time she messed up and hid crying in the stairwell, Shen Qingci found her, didn't scold her, and just gave her five minutes to pull herself together.

How later, when her mother fell ill, President Shen privately transferred her money and contacted the best doctors.

How she knew President Shen's heart wasn't actually cold; he just didn't like to show it.

Then she started talking about that night ten years ago.

"I was in the middle of dinner with a client when the call came." Lin Wei wiped her tears, her voice trembling. "They told me you'd been in an accident and said to rush to the hospital. I didn’t believe it… You were still holding a meeting at the company the day before…"

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to continue. "I waited at the hospital until dawn. When the doctor came out, he said… he said you didn’t make it. I just went blank—couldn’t even stand. Later, the police came to take statements and said the truck driver was drunk… But I didn’t believe it. How could it be such a coincidence…"

Shen Qingci listened quietly, his knuckles whitening slightly as he gripped his cane, yet his expression remained unchanged.

"After that, the company fell into chaos." Lin Wei went on, tears streaming uncontrollably. "The board members tried to seize power, several executives resigned, partners demanded contract terminations… I couldn’t handle it back then. I slept less than three hours a day, juggling company affairs while also…"

She suddenly stopped.

The car was filled only with her muffled crying.

"And also what?" Shen Qingci asked, his tone still flat.

Lin Wei looked up at him, her eyes red. "Also… watching over Lu Lin."

As if steeling herself, she blurted it out in one breath. "After Lu Lin learned of your death, he completely lost it. He wouldn’t eat, drink, or sleep—just sat in your study, clutching the coat you often wore. Uncle Fu and I tried to reason with him, but his eyes were so red they looked like they were bleeding. He asked me—‘Sister Lin, is my brother playing a joke on me?’"

"Later, he started experiencing hallucinations. He said he could hear you calling him, see you in the hallway. One night, he climbed to the rooftop of the company and stood by the railing. If the security guard hadn’t found him in time…"

Lin Wei’s voice grew softer. "I took him to see a psychologist. The doctor said he had severe post-traumatic stress disorder and self-destructive tendencies."

"I arranged for a caretaker for him, but I was too busy back then—overwhelmed with company matters. I simply didn’t have time to watch over him every day."

"When I finally caught a breath and went to pick him up…" She choked up. "The caretaker said he had already been taken away by the Lu family. I went to the Lu residence to ask for him, but they wouldn’t let me see him. They said Lu Lin was a direct descendant of the Lu family and it was none of an outsider's business."

She lowered her head, shoulders trembling. "Mr. Shen, I’m sorry… I didn’t take good care of Lu Lin. Please… blame me."

A long silence followed.

Only the occasional sound of passing cars outside and the stifled breathing inside the car.

Shen Qingci held his cane, his fingertip lightly tapping the smooth surface—tap.

"Lin Wei," he spoke, his voice calm and steady. "A person’s energy is limited. At that time, you couldn’t have taken care of Lu Lin in his state."

Lin Wei looked up at him through tear-blurred eyes.

"So don’t blame yourself." Shen Qingci continued, his gaze fixed on the night outside the window. "He’s doing well now, and so are you. That’s enough."

With a light, dismissive tone, he reduced her ten years of guilt and Lu Lin’s ten years of suffering to passing clouds.

Lin Wei’s tears welled up again, but this time not from guilt—rather, from a nameless sorrow.

For Lu Lin, and for this Mr. Shen before her, who seemed incapable of aching for anyone.