Chapter 30 The Pillow

Chapter 30

Shen Qingci had a poor night's sleep.

He woke up at first light.

After washing up and heading downstairs, Uncle Fu was working in the garden.

The morning light was faint, and a thin mist still lingered.

The garden was filled with the rich scent of earth and a faint fragrance of flowers.

Uncle Fu was hunched over, carefully trimming the yellowed, withered leaves.

Hearing footsteps, the old man straightened up. Seeing Shen Qingci, his face broke into a gentle smile.

"Up so early today, sir? Did you not rest well?"

Shen Qingci gave a soft 'Mm' and made his way over to the flower bed, leaning on his cane.

The morning dew soaked the cuffs of his trousers, and a familiar ache throbbed from the old injury on his right leg.

"Is it because of Mr. Lu?" Uncle Fu asked softly.

Shen Qingci nodded but said nothing.

The morning breeze blew past, carrying a chill.

His voice sounded particularly clear and detached in the quiet of the early morning: "I want to teach him properly, but I don't know how."

He spoke softly, almost to himself.

Uncle Fu put down the gardening shears, straightened up, and looked at Shen Qingci affectionately.

"Sir," Uncle Fu began slowly, "Over these past ten years, too many things have changed. Everyone has changed except you."

He paused, his gaze shifting toward the villa: "If we really think about it, perhaps the only thing that hasn't changed is Mr. Lu's feelings for you."

Shen Qingci looked at Uncle Fu, a questioning look in his eyes.

Uncle Fu sighed, his voice tinged with a hint of heartache: "To be honest, if you hadn't come back, I was truly worried. Worried that Mr. Lu might one day follow you."

Shen Qingci was stunned.

He looked at Uncle Fu, his usually calm and impassive eyes now filled with confusion.

"Uncle Fu," he said in a low voice, "You know, the Shen family doesn't talk about feelings."

"So I can't understand Lu Lin. I don't understand... why someone would fall apart after another person left."

Uncle Fu looked at him and remained silent for a long time.

Then he asked a question: "Sir, what do you think of Mr. Lu?"

"He's good, very obedient, except for lately."

Uncle Fu shook his head: "That's only in front of you."

Shen Qingci pressed his lips together. He knew about this and found it quite normal. After all, he was practically half a father to Lu Lin. It was normal for a wolf cub to retract its fangs in front of its father.

"Sir, if one day Mr. Lu were to leave forever..."

Shen Qingci interrupted him: "He won't. I will protect him. That won't happen."

Uncle Fu fell silent. Shen Qingci was domineering, even a bit arrogant. He sighed and changed the subject: "What Mr. Lu fears most right now is perhaps that you might suddenly leave one day, or disappear again."

Shen Qingci frowned and said, "I will leave one day. I have my own life, my own career. I can't look after him forever."

"Then have you considered," Uncle Fu waited for Shen Qingci to finish before speaking softly, "adding one person to your life?"

Shen Qingci stood still, looking at Uncle Fu, the confusion in his eyes deepening.

Add one person?

What did that mean?

---

Shen Qingci ate breakfast absent-mindedly.

He sat at the dining table, ate the breakfast Lu Lin had prepared, and then had a car take him straight from the villa.

He needed to work.

There were several important collaborations to discuss today. Qingye Company was in its early stages, and a thousand details demanded his attention.

But along the way, his mind was filled with the things Uncle Fu had said.

Shen Qingci leaned back in the seat, closed his eyes, and raised a hand to massage his throbbing temples.

He always felt that the decision to take in Lu Lin for two years back then was a mistake.

After all, he didn't understand matters of feelings either.

The education Shen Qingci received from childhood did not include such things.

The Shen family cultivated heirs, rulers, elites who could be decisive and ruthless in the business world.

They learned negotiation skills, risk control, and how to stay clear-headed amidst complex interests.

But they did not learn about love.

They did not learn about dependence.

They did not learn how to share a life with another person.

So now, facing Lu Lin, Shen Qingci was like a traveler holding the wrong map. He clearly wanted to reach the destination but kept getting lost.

If it really couldn't be solved, he would just set it aside for now. Perhaps one day, looking back, he would know the answer.

Thinking this way, Shen Qingci threw all his thoughts into his work.

In the CEO's office, piles of documents needing his attention covered the desk.

Lin Wei knocked and entered. Seeing the faint dark circles under his eyes, she hesitated before speaking up to persuade him: "President Shen, you don't seem to have rested well. How about we handle part of it today and leave the rest for tomorrow..."

"No need," Shen Qingci interrupted her, picking up a document and continuing to read.

His work efficiency had always been high.

Once he immersed himself in work, the problems troubling him would be temporarily set aside.

He would become intensely focused, extremely rational, like a precision machine.

Lin Wei stood nearby, watching Shen Qingci process documents at a rapid clip. She felt immense admiration, yet also sensed that Shen Qingci seemed to be using work to numb himself.

From nine in the morning until nine at night, Shen Qingci barely stepped out of his office.

At noon, Lin Wei ordered in lunch. He took a few hurried bites before continuing to work.

In the afternoon, he drank three cups of coffee, and in the evening, he attended to three video conferences.

By the time he finally lifted his head from the documents, it was already past midnight.

Outside the window, the city lights still burned brightly.

Most employees in the office building had already left for the day, with only a few offices still lit.

Shen Qingci leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment.

A familiar ache throbbed in his right leg.

He stood up, using his cane for support, and walked to the window, gazing out at the still night outside.

In his mind, the questions temporarily suppressed by work resurfaced.

Shen Qingci frowned.

He wanted to return to the villa.

But he also felt that going back now would only make things worse.

Shen Qingci turned around and glanced at the pile of documents still on his desk.

He rubbed his temples and decided not to go back tonight, planning to return only after finishing his work.

---

Meanwhile, at the villa.

Lu Lin sat in the dining room, facing a table of long-cold dinner.

He hadn't touched a bite.

He waited from seven in the evening until nine, from nine until eleven, from eleven until one in the morning...

Shen Qingci didn't return.

Not a single phone call either.

Lu Lin's eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the door, as if trying to bore a hole through it.

Under the table, Lu Lin clenched his fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

He wanted to call.

To send a message.

To ask, "Brother, when are you coming back?"

To apologize for his behavior over the past few days, to beg him not to abandon him.

Lu Lin looked at the empty dining room and suddenly felt that Zhou Jin's method was utterly useless.

Ten years.

The person he had fantasized about returning countless times had finally come back.

Yet, because of his own foolish tests, he had driven a wedge between them.

Lu Lin shot to his feet.

The chair legs scraped against the floor with a harsh sound.

He rushed upstairs, burst into Shen Qingci's bedroom, and leaned against the wall to sit down. He didn't dare mess up Shen Qingci's room, so he stayed there like that for a long time.

Until the sky outside began to lighten, and the morning glow seeped through the gaps in the curtains, spilling over him.

Only then did he slowly lift his head.

Then, as if finally regaining his soul, he stood up.

He walked to Shen Qingci's bed, picked up the pillow Shen Qingci often used, and clutched it to his chest.

Lu Lin buried his face in the pillow, took a deep breath, and then, still clutching the pillow, turned and walked out of the bedroom.

As he went downstairs, Uncle Fu was already up, preparing breakfast for Lu Lin.

Seeing Lu Lin, the old man was taken aback:

"Mr. Lu, you're..."

"I'm going to the company," Lu Lin said, his voice hoarse and strained.

Uncle Fu glanced at the pillow in his arms, hesitating to speak further.

In the end, he only said, "Take care on your way."

Lu Lin nodded, hugged the pillow tightly, and strode out of the villa.