Chapter 33 Chapter 33

Chapter 33

1

In the thick darkness, the lamp in the study cast flickering, fragmented shadows in the wind.

Mr. Chen set down a character with a firm stroke and asked without looking up, "Has anything happened in the household recently?"

Ms. Liang lowered her eyes and replied, "No, everything is as usual."

"And Xiaozhi?"

Ms. Liang paused in her ink-grinding motion.

"He has been much better. I believe he has come to understand his responsibilities. I have selected several outstanding prospects for him and plan to have him spend more time with them in the coming period," she said calmly.

Mr. Chen nodded with satisfaction.

"Character and family background are not the primary considerations. What matters most is a strong, healthy physique and the ability to conceive quickly. I see Xiaozhi has grown quite thin recently. Make sure he gets more nourishing food."

"Yes."

"How are things in the Junzi Courtyard?" Mr. Chen lifted his brush.

"Her temper is as bad as ever; she won't tolerate being wronged. However, she has become much more settled. She has likely come to terms with her situation. And also..."

Here, Ms. Liang's words hesitated slightly. She raised her eyes to look at Mr. Chen and said unhurriedly, "She still cannot let go of the Eldest Young Master in her heart."

Mr. Chen stopped his movement, leaving a dark ink blot on the paper.

A moment later, he spoke without a change in expression, "Indulge her more. As long as these small comforts can keep her pacified, give her as much money as she wants. After all, she doesn't have much longer to live."

His flat tone carried a hint of chill in the flickering lamplight of the study.

"Yes," Ms. Liang responded with an equally placid expression.

Mr. Chen put away his brush, lowered his gaze, and said, "Leave. Do not disturb me unless there is urgent business for now."

"Yes."

Ms. Liang lowered her eyes and walked out of the study.

The moment she closed the door, she raised her gaze, her eyes deep and inscrutable.

Stepping out of the courtyard gate, she stood under the lantern. The middle-aged woman approached her, unfolded a handkerchief in her hand, revealing the broken lock from the Nameless Courtyard.

She withdrew her gaze and walked away with a composed demeanor.

In the quiet study, Mr. Chen gazed absently at the characters on the desk.

Every day he wrote such a piece of calligraphy, almost by force of habit.

Sometimes, after finishing, he didn't even know what he had written, merely repeating the motion over and over.

His calligraphy was getting better and better, yet there was no one to appreciate it. These empty, showy characters seemed like soulless shells.

Suddenly, a fierce glint came into his eyes. He violently crumpled the paper on the desk, tore it, and threw it to the floor.

After this action, he slumped back into his chair, turning his head to look at the moon outside the window.

His eyes were deep and dark, like a deserted island or a lifeless sea. Above him, the four large characters "Guang Qian Yu Hou" (Bring glory to ancestors and prosperity to descendants) loomed like a massive *Five-Finger Mountain*, oppressively enveloping him.

On the other side, Lin Chenxin touched the longevity lock she was holding, feeling uneasy.

Yet Chen Gujun hadn't shown any signs of abnormality.

Thinking of this, Lin Chenxin's fingertips trembled.

*Was there really no abnormality?*

Lin Chenxin lowered her eyes, sitting motionless in the darkness.

A long time passed like this. She clenched her fingers, lay down on the bed, and pulled the quilt over her head.

—

—

Finally, good news came from Doctor Jiang.

A "volunteer" had been successfully matched.

Lin Chenxin gripped her phone tightly, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably. She tried to type for a while but couldn't form a complete sentence.

She wanted to speak, but her voice was shaking too.

In truth, her heart wasn't actually in such turmoil.

After all, she had always believed there was hope in everything.

Yet she simply couldn't control her body. Several times she opened her mouth, only for her voice to catch in her throat.

Only after taking several deep breaths was she barely able to utter a clear sentence.

"When can the surgery be performed?"

—"If things go quickly, it could be as soon as tomorrow."

She closed her eyes, pressing the phone hard against her forehead, her heart filled with gratitude.

—"Can you come tomorrow?"

Seeing this message, her expression stiffened, and a sour ache spread uncontrollably in her heart.

With difficulty, she typed a few words.

"I probably can't make it."

Doctor Jiang didn't reply.

Perhaps he didn't quite understand why she couldn't come at such a crucial moment.

All along, Doctor Jiang had never asked what she was doing or where the money came from, granting her full respect.

Maybe he surmised she had some difficulties. After a long pause, Doctor Jiang finally said, "I will contact you as soon as possible after the surgery."

Her nose stung, and her eyes grew red.

"Thank you."

Dr. Jiang reassured her, "Everything will go smoothly."

"Mm-hmm."

Wiping her eyes, Lin Chenxin collected herself.

Her sister's matter was finally resolved, lifting a heavy weight from her heart, and she couldn't help but smile.

Just then, a bank transfer suddenly came through.

Seeing the amount, her eyes darkened slightly, and she flipped her phone face down.

Turning her head, she found Chen Gujun standing at the study door, watching her—she didn't know for how long.

A shiver ran through her; for some reason, she sensed a heartbreaking sense of longing in Chen Gujun's gaze.

This emotion was so sudden that it made her heart ache.

After a good while, she took a deep breath, went over to Chen Gujun, and said with a smile, "You haven't met my younger brother and sister yet, have you?"

She pulled Chen Gujun to sit beside her, showing him her phone, her tone filled with happiness and nostalgia.

"This is my brother, Lin Chen'an. He used to be so skinny, but now he's plump. He's fair and chubby, really cute, isn't he?"

Her eyes curved into smiles as she swiped to the next photo.

"This is my sister, Lin Chenyi. She's ill, so she doesn't look too well, but she'll get better soon. Once she's better, she'll be able to go to school and make friends like everyone else."

By the end, her voice had softened considerably, her eyes sparkling with hope for the future.

Soon, she perked up again, pressed the phone into Chen Gujun's hands, and looked at him with a beaming smile. "They're twins, a boy and a girl. Don't they look so alike?"

When talking about her younger siblings, the light in Lin Chenxin's eyes was especially dazzling.

Chen Gujun shifted his gaze from Lin Chenxin's face and looked down at the photos on the phone.

Two newborn babies, wrinkled and red like little monkeys.

Lin Chenxin cupped her face, full of emotion. "So adorable, aren't they?"

Chen Gujun remained silent for a moment, not contradicting her.

Even though he couldn't see what was so adorable about these two monkeys who hadn't even opened their eyes yet.

"Quick, look at the next photo."

Chen Gujun reached out, trying to copy Lin Chenxin by swiping on the screen, but it didn't work. He tapped it, somehow exiting the photo. Puzzled, he tapped twice more, his sharp, long nails making a "click" sound, and the screen suddenly went black, reflecting his slightly stunned face.

Lin Chenxin laughed beside him. He pressed his lips together, handed the phone back to her, and refused to touch it again.

Lin Chenxin couldn't stop laughing.

She pushed the phone back into Chen Gujun's hands, unlocked it for him, and taught him how to use it.

With Lin Chenxin guiding his hand, Chen Gujun tapped clumsily on the screen like a child.

By accident, he tapped the camera app. Chen Gujun's pupils contracted in shock, and he immediately turned his head away.

A moment later, he heard Lin Chenxin's calm voice.

"Done."

He looked over and saw a photo album filled to the brim.

Lin Chenxin's expression was perfectly normal, as if nothing had just happened.

His expression softened slightly as he looked at a photo of the family of three. In it, Lin Chenxin appeared to be just starting elementary school, her face round and her eyes sparkling as she looked ahead.

Chen Gujun scrutinized it very carefully, leaning closer and closer, as if trying to see every detail.

Lin Chenxin couldn't help but laugh.

She helped zoom in on the screen, not shy at all, and said proudly, "She's very pretty, isn't she?"

Chen Gujun looked back at her and nodded.

"You're very pretty now too," he said.

Lin Chenxin smiled, the light in her eyes still the same as when she was a child.

"You look a lot like your parents," Chen Gujun said softly.

Lin Chenxin's eyes curved into smiles. "Yeah, ever since I was little, people have praised me, saying I inherited all the best traits from my mom and dad."

There was nostalgia in her eyes, but not too much heart-wrenching grief.

It wasn't that she had completely come to terms with her parents' passing.

Rather, she had grown up and understood that excessive pain served no purpose.

More importantly, she always remembered how deeply her parents had loved her.

That love had settled in her heart, giving her the courage to face reality instead of letting her cowardly sink into sorrow.

There were many photos, but Chen Gujun preferred looking at Lin Chenxin.

He was surprised that Lin Chenxin as a baby looked exactly like those two red, wrinkled monkeys.

Lin Chenxin was laughing inwardly.

Chen Gujun holding the phone was like an old-fashioned relic who had never seen the world, his expressions richer than all the days combined.

Looking at the photos on the phone, her eyes also filled with nostalgia, gradually softening.

Many of these photos were ones she had collected from her parents.

She would keep them forever, planning to fill an entire photo album with them one day.

"Move over a bit."

She nudged Chen Gujun inward, sat in front of him, and took his hand to teach him how to zoom in and out.

Chen Gujun stiffly leaned against the back of the chair, not daring to move.

He stared intently at Lin Chenxin's face. After a long while, he slowly sat up straight, assuming a posture that encircled Lin Chenxin, holding her in his arms.

Lin Chenxin held his hand, tapping on the photos while smiling and saying, "Look, this is a photo of me with my brother and sister."

His chest pressed against Lin Chenxin's back. Breathing in the fragrance of her hair, he gently rested his chin on top of her head. The filled embrace seemed to fill his entire heart.

In this place untouched by sunlight, he and Lin Chenxin browsed the photo album, looking at their vibrant past together.

Suddenly, Lin Chenxin lowered her eyelashes slightly and said, "Let's take a photo together."

His expression stilled.

"Okay." Lin Chenxin prompted softly.

There was a moment of silence.

He let out a soft sigh, closed his eyes, said nothing, and offered no objection.

With a soft "click," he opened his eyes. The phone had already been put away, and he didn't see himself in the photo.

Lin Chenxin gave a light, cheerful laugh.

"My younger siblings would definitely like you very much."

At that moment, his heart swelled with warmth.

He swallowed hard, and finally couldn't help but lower his head, planting a gentle, restrained kiss on the top of her hair while tightening his grip on their intertwined fingers.