Chapter 107: Why Did He Call Off the Engagement

Chapter 107: Why Did He Call Off the Engagement

Guan Junshan stood silently at the sink, his face lowered, wearing a cheap floral apron stained with oil that looked absurdly out of place.

Anyone else would be one thing, but he had that face—cold and noble. When he was silent, a slight furrow of his brow could drag Lin Haoda’s hard-won rationality into a bathtub, letting the water rush over his heartbeat and breath.

In the past, Lin Haoda was always defenseless against such threats, or rather, he pretended not to notice, willingly being dragged into the whirlpool.

Even now, the Lin Haoda who had learned to say no could face Guan Junshan and say "No" and "Shouldn't," discussing the essence of love with him, but that didn’t change much. At most, it served as a reminder of how vastly different their depictions of love really were.

The love Lin Haoda wanted was more like a pursuit of a stable relationship, like a seed planted in soil with the right temperature, adequate sunlight, and sufficient rain. It didn’t need to weather great storms, only enduring companionship.

Pei Mingyi could give him that, and so could Liang Yuan in the past. Even if the outcome wasn’t perfect, at least they coexisted peacefully.

But for Guan Junshan, he was a speculator used to business. Too much stability naturally meant diminishing returns. Lin Haoda still remembered a quote from an investment guru he heard in a lecture hall during school: "To maximize returns, never put all your eggs in one basket."

Guan Junshan always had too many chips in hand. He wouldn’t give up all future possibilities for an ordinary, stubborn egg. To him, such a demand was more like an unreasonable lock-in.

Lin Haoda stood before him for a long time, then said, "You don’t have to think too long. I can answer for you too."

He didn’t finish because the next second, Guan Junshan raised his eyes to look at him. He was very tall, standing against the light. His profile was almost entirely swallowed by shadows, leaving only his eyes, faintly glowing in the dim light.

"Lin Haoda." Guan Junshan opened his mouth, calling his name: "What’s your answer?"

Lin Haoda froze, blank for two seconds, before realizing Guan Junshan was following up on his last sentence, asking how he would answer for him.

Lin Haoda let out an "Oh," then smiled, cleared his throat, and his voice became light and cautious, as if imitating someone: "We’re all adults. Some things don’t need to be clung to so clearly, drawing such fine lines."

Sure enough, after hearing that, Guan Junshan looked at him with a different expression and fell silent again.

Then he let out a muffled laugh, his voice low as he said, "Is that so?"

"This is what you think." Standing there for a moment, Guan Junshan suddenly asked Lin Haoda: "You think of me this way?"

Although his voice sounded low and dangerous, he was still smiling until the smile faded into something faint, yet he remained handsome enough to step into a frame at any moment, as if a director would yell "Cut!" in the next second, a clapperboard would snap, and they could wrap up and go home.

Before the party started, Guan Junshan left anyway.

He left in a hurry, not even changing his clothes. He only grabbed his scarf and coat from the coat rack, changed his shoes, and headed for the entrance.

Lin Haoda stayed in the kitchen, standing still from a spot invisible from the doorway. Tong Dong lifted the curtain and glanced at him, seeming to want to say something, before she went to the entrance to see Guan Junshan off.

Lin Haoda heard her polite chitchat, telling Guan Junshan to be careful on the road, without asking anything or saying much.

Guan Junshan said "Happy New Year" to her, then pushed the door open and walked out.

The door closed, and the wind chime still tinkled. The dripping from the sink finally stopped. A few strawberries slowly floated up, spun around, and sank back to the bottom.

Tong Dong came over, looking at him with concern: "Are you okay?"

"Mm." Lin Haoda’s voice was very light. The easygoing attitude from before was gone. He gave a weary smile: "Sorry."

Guan Junshan draped his coat over his arm, and again there were the long, narrow, steep stairs, circling down as if in a maze, making his head spin.

He met a man and woman on the way. They were already right in front of him before he could carelessly glance over. He had seen the man before—the one who had stopped him from chasing Lin Haoda in the heavy snow. Guan Junshan vaguely recalled for a moment, then brushed past him without any expression.

He knew this was also one of Lin Haoda’s friends at tonight’s party. So many people, men and women, one more or one less didn’t matter. In the end, he was the one pestering relentlessly, the one who was truly superfluous.

Walking out of the stairwell, Yang Yue hadn’t driven the car back yet. Guan Junshan waited a while under the locust tree, then suddenly lost all patience, finding it dull, and ordered a ride on his phone.

The sky had become cloudy, and the light wasn’t as bright as in the afternoon. A whole mass of lead-colored rain clouds drifted over, along with the previous anticipation and joy, like an early signal for the holiday to end.

When Guan Junshan opened the car door and got in, the rain poured down from above, slapping against the windows and hood, raising a hazy mist.

Pedestrians on the street became sparse. Sitting in the car, he crossed the center of the city and saw the brand-new New Year decorations, colorful lights already lit early.

Many people holding umbrellas braved the heavy rain, in pairs or groups of three or five, joyfully taking photos with each other.

It felt like only his New Year had been cut short. Guan Junshan sat quietly in the back seat, smelling the car’s air freshener that didn’t relax him, and thought slowly, sadly, whether this should really be the end.

Not long ago, he had been confident, believing Lin Haoda had no reason not to reconcile. He clearly liked him so much, even accepting all those excessive demands and reasons, willingly just to be together.

Could this liking and love also fade with time? Guan Junshan wasn’t sure and found it hard to accept that possibility. He closed his eyes to calm down for a while before deciding to stop overthinking. He pulled out his phone, looked at work arrangements, and then called Yang Yue.

The rain that day was strange.

Thinking back later, Guan Junshan remembered that when he got into the car, it was pouring, as if the sky had collapsed in one corner, unable to hold any more water, so it just let it all out. But when he thought about it, the rain actually lasted a very short time and stopped quickly. By the time the car reached the apartment building, the rain clouds had completely drifted away, the sky cleared up, and sunlight peeked through the gaps, emitting a faint warmth.

Guan Junshan wasn’t sure if this had anything to do with him.

Though it sounded ridiculous and unlike him, while sitting in the car, he really did think: if he could hide the current Lin Haoda, who didn’t like him as much, in this heavy rain, or wait until the rain stopped to find the old Lin Haoda back, then he would rather this rain continue forever, day and night, without end.

Along with the lost love, returning to his life.

The three-day holiday ended quickly. Lin Haoda didn’t think it was a big deal, so he patiently waited another week, but still didn’t receive any contact from Guan Junshan or Yang Yue.

He had to take the initiative to send Yang Yue a message, asking: What should I do with President Guan’s coat and shirt? Should I have someone deliver them tomorrow?

During lunch break, Yang Yue called him back, explaining: "President Guan is abroad recently. There’s a game exchange exhibition, and he was notified to compete at the last minute."

Lin Haoda hummed in acknowledgment and said, "It’s nothing, I’m just reminding you."

He insisted again: "Then I’ll still send them back? Could you send me the address?"

After all, the items were expensive, and he couldn’t just roll them up and throw them somewhere. Hanging in the closet, Lin Haoda would see them every morning when he opened the door. Sometimes he’d stare and let his thoughts drift far away.

Whether out of politeness or inconvenience, Yang Yue offered: "No need to bother. On the weekend, I’ll have the driver come pick them up."

Lin Haoda couldn’t find an excuse to refuse, and guessed Guan Junshan wouldn’t come looking for him so soon, so he relented and agreed.

Saturday was a make-up workday. Lin Haoda was worried that Yang Yue, being abroad, might forget about this and have the driver come today to pick them up. So he took the initiative to send a message asking.

Yang Yue seemed busy and didn’t reply for a long time. Lin Haoda hesitated all morning before finally making a call.

"Hello." The ringtone buzzed for a long time before it was picked up. There was some noise in the background from Yang Yue’s side, as if there were cheers and celebrations. Lin Haoda held the phone close to his lips and tentatively asked: "Is now a good time?"

Yang Yue told him "Hold on" quickly, then walked to a quieter place before picking up again: "Mr. Lin, what’s the matter?"

"Nothing," Lin Haoda began to explain: "I’m not at home today. I forgot to tell you earlier. I was afraid the driver would come for nothing."

"Oh, okay." Yang Yue responded quickly, then said: "No problem. Don’t worry."

Lin Haoda was about to ask if the driver would come tomorrow when a vague male voice squeezed into the phone’s background. First in English, then switching to Chinese, it called Yang Yue’s name, telling him to prepare to head back to the hotel.

Yang Yue’s voice seemed to move away from the receiver, but the volume was still enough for Lin Haoda to hear him shout "President Guan," telling him "the driver is already on the way."

Lin Haoda didn’t know which side of the Earth they were on for this business trip, or what time it was over there, but his mouth reacted before his brain: "Is everything going well over there...?"

"Everything is going well." Yang Yue came closer again and told him: "We can consider ourselves lucky. We just finished an annual game awards show, and Cupid won an award!" His voice pierced through the radio waves, carrying a barely concealable excitement: "It’s rare, really, Mr. Lin. The last time a game from China was nominated was five or six years ago."

Lin Haoda was stunned for a moment, then sincerely said, "Congratulations. I've played the game too—it's really well-made."

He held the phone, hesitating for a good ten seconds or so. He couldn't come up with any more words of congratulations, yet he couldn't bring himself to hang up just yet.

"Mr. Guan is nearby." Yang Yue suddenly lowered his voice, asking considerately, "Mr. Lin, is there anything you'd like to say to him in private..."

"No need." Lin Haoda refused, simply telling Yang Yue, "Please pass on my congratulations to him. You must be busy lately, so I won't take up your time."

"...Alright."

After hanging up, Lin Haoda searched on his phone for a while. Domestic platforms had probably just gotten the news as well, with only a few vague keywords, and he couldn't find any real news reports.

The news really started to blow up around four or five in the afternoon. Close to the end of the workday, most people had stopped working, either huddled in groups gossiping or scrolling through trending posts online. Keywords related to Guan Junshan winning an international game award rapidly climbed the trending charts on several major platforms.

However, in all the media reports, he was still the mysterious "Developer G." The few award ceremony photos published online all had faces obscured, only showing the confetti-strewn stage and the golden trophy.

Tong Dong celebrated in the small group chat too, excitedly forwarding a dozen or so related news articles, along with several deep-dive analyses of "Lonely Cupid"'s game content. She brought up praise she'd given over a month ago and recapped it all.

In contrast, Lin Haoda, the seasoned player who had already beaten the game, was unusually quiet, never saying a word.

This forced Tong Dong to @ him in the group, asking for his thoughts on beating the game, and Xiao Ming also chimed in with a bunch of questions, asking what a newbie should watch out for when first starting.

Lin Haoda brushed them off with vague answers, feeling guilty as he closed the chat window.

But the online celebration and revelry didn't last long. Late at night, a never-before-posted account on a well-known game forum suddenly dropped a reveal that "Developer G"'s true identity was none other than Guan Junshan, the former president of Guan's Group, a company with Hong Kong business ties. It claimed the so-called independent game had long been co-opted by capital, that the international award was bought, and that it was all part of a full marketing and packaging pipeline.

To prove this, the post didn't hesitate to dredge up the old story of the planned marriage alliance between the Guan and Jiang families. It said the engagement schedule had already been set, but because of Guan Junshan's messy private life, he was photographed by paparazzi spending the night on a yacht with another man, and the engagement fell through.

The post, thousands of words long and filled with old photos, was crafted to look credible, clearly aimed at grabbing attention.

Coinciding with the weekend, the post quickly went viral, and soon the major platforms pivoted, shifting their focus to Guan Junshan's past scandalous affairs.

In the few grainy photos from the yacht, Guan Junshan's profile was clearly recognizable. And the person in his arms, though deliberately obscured, could be roughly recognized by anyone close to Lin Haoda.

The first call came from Tong Dong. Her barrage of questions nearly overwhelmed Lin Haoda: first asking if he'd seen the trending topics, if he already knew Guan Junshan was G, then interrogating him about their past, when they got together, and whether it was true Guan Junshan had been engaged to someone else.

Lin Haoda didn't know where to start explaining. Ideally, he should contact Yang Yue first to get their stance and align their stories. But Tong Dong wasn't just anyone. Aside from the things he could keep from her—like Developer G and his previous relationship—it was all too obvious how Guan Junshan had treated him—whether he was genuinely pursuing a relationship or just messing around.

He briefly explained, confirming most of the questions, telling Tong Dong not to worry and not to spread things around. As soon as he hung up, Jiang Tianyi called.

It was very late, but Jiang Tianyi's tone was still patient. After confirming that Lin Haoda hadn't been able to reach Guan Junshan, she told him, "I plan to issue a statement soon, on behalf of the Jiang family and myself, to explain what happened with the engagement."

"After the celebratory dinner, Jun Shan and Tang Chen are both unreachable for now—they probably had a lot to drink." She comforted him over the phone. "Don't worry too much."

Lin Haoda opened his mouth, but in the end, he held back all those irrelevant explanations.

He thought for a moment and cautiously asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"

"No rush." Jiang Tianyi laughed softly. "Right now, a lot of people might try to dig you up, so it's more important for you to protect yourself."

They chatted for a while longer, mostly about the wording in the statement regarding the previous engagement. Jiang Tianyi respected his opinion, asking if anything made him uncomfortable and if he'd like to discuss revisions.

Before hanging up, Lin Haoda couldn't help asking, "Who would do something like this? Could it be Guan Yongyue again?"

Jiang Tianyi sighed and denied it, saying, "No. Back then, Jun Shan voluntarily gave up everything in Guan's. Guan Yongyue was already very unhappy about that. When he found out Jun Shan refused to marry and have children, that was basically the last shred of value Jun Shan had to him."

Hearing this now, Lin Haoda found it hard to believe: "How can a father be like that? His own son is just a poker chip in his eyes."

Jiang Tianyi gave a bitter laugh, saying, "And more than that. Back then, Guan Yongyue even used Jun Shan's mother's treatment plan to force him to break up with you."

Lin Haoda was standing on the balcony talking to her. He suddenly drew in a breath of cold air, which made his throat tickle, and he couldn't help coughing twice.

"...Sorry." Jiang Tianyi realized and lowered her voice. "I shouldn't have told you this."

"It's okay." Lin Haoda barely suppressed the tears that sprang up, saying hoarsely, "I... I never knew."

"It's not a good thing, anyway." Jiang Tianyi comforted him like this. "Jun Shan himself doesn't like to talk about it."

"His mother..." Lin Haoda hesitated, carefully asking, "How is she now? I haven't heard anything about her for a long time."

"Mm." Jiang Tianyi told him, "She was sent abroad for treatment. She's stable now, but she hasn't regained consciousness."

Lin Haoda was silent for a few seconds, overcome by a heavy feeling like regret and sorrow.

The sliding window was open a crack, and a cold draft seeped through the crack, quickly chilling his cheeks and fingers.

Lin Haoda heard his own voice, cold, like a touch of transparent water, slowly sinking into the empty night.

Because rationally, he knew he was obsessing over meaningless past events, his voice lacking confidence as he asked: "Why did Guan Junshan cancel his engagement with you at that time?"

At midnight, Jiang Tianyi and the Yunjiang Group jointly published a statement. It briefly mentioned the alliance two years ago. From Jiang Tianyi's perspective, it was "an ill-advised business decision not worth continuing." She said that if not for Guan Junshan giving up many of his own interests and doing his utmost to make it happen, the world today would only have "an unhappy couple who don't love each other."

To most people, Guan Junshan was just a vague symbol, representing a silver spoon background, an enviable status, and a success that reached the peak in one step. But behind all that envy was his life of being manipulated by his family, unable to break free; the regret of not being able to freely choose his true love; and the helplessness of being unable to defend himself against the fierce doubts and speculations today.

The statement was tactful and restrained, not clarifying other parts. It simply used the perspective of a friend close to Guan Junshan to wash away some of the malicious speculation about him.

Finally, Jiang Tianyi also told everyone that she now has a true love. Perhaps, like Sifenny in "Lonely Cupid," who has to go through all the bad endings to reach the truth, love is always the simplest, and yet the most deceptive.

Because of this highly polished statement, public opinion took a small turn that night. However, most people still remained onlookers, planning to wait and see how the subsequent story would unfold.

Until noon the next day, on the largest domestic social platform, a small account with a default gray avatar passed identity verification, signed as "Developer G." Without any response or explanation, it suddenly dropped a link.