At the Liang Family’s Winter Solstice Banquet, they had specially invited a Western-style Pastry Chef, who had just baked some of the latest trendy Butter Rice Cake.
Tu Yumei carried a plate up to the Liang Family Third Floor, intending to serve Zong Xiansheng.
But she saw Zong Xiansheng standing by the railing, saying something, and then heading straight towards the guest restroom—right at the entrance stood He Doctor.
The approaching figure nearly brushed up against the person at the door, the space behind her ear and neck.
Tu Yumei, seeing this, hurriedly turned and went back downstairs.
The water at the sink was running loudly.
Zong Chi seemed to have startled Mrs. Liang quite a bit, but he had no intention of explaining anything.
Not even the half-burned cigarette he’d just put out in his hand.
He Dongli, ever steady and unruffled, watched as Zong Chi twisted the faucet shut right in front of her.
He apologized, “Sorry, there’s no ashtray.”
His voice was so soft it almost caressed her forehead.
He Dongli glanced at him, but still said nothing.
The smoker tossed his cigarette into the trash can and continued at his own pace, “I don’t think I’ve changed much. You, as a doctor, still work on the front lines with all your health and determination. There’s no reason for you to pretend not to recognize me when we meet.”
“Mm.”
He Dongli finally responded.
Just now, when he walked straight toward her, even with He Dongli’s usual composure, she had no choice but to step back.
At this moment, Zong Chi stood squarely in the doorway, blocking her path.
He nodded, about to say something, when his phone rang in his suit pocket.
Without even looking at it, he pressed it off.
The other party called again; Zong Chi clicked his tongue and hung up once more.
The third time it rang, He Dongli gestured to him, “You go ahead, I have friends waiting for me downstairs.”
Zong Chi showed her his screen, as if to say something, but didn’t explain.
Then, right in front of her, he answered the call, not waiting for the person on the other end to speak before snapping, “I’ll call you back. You’d better have something earth-shattering to say.”
They were childhood friends, the sort who’d always gotten into trouble together.
Lin Jiaoyu was still chattering away on the other end, but Zong Chi hung up coldly.
Like beads scattered from a broken string, the conversation was hard to piece together…
He Dongli admitted to herself—she was intentionally avoiding him.
She was never one to bury her head in the sand, but she didn’t want to have to explain her relationship or past interactions with the man in front of her to anyone, especially not in front of a crowd.
Fortunately, Zong Chi seemed to understand her—or maybe he was just used to always getting his way.
He was the sort who only ever received explanations, never gave them.
He slipped his phone back into his pocket, seamlessly continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened, “Lin Jiaoyu interrupted just now. What were you saying?”
He Dongli simply calmed herself, “I said, ‘Mm.’”
Zong Chi sneered, leaning down a bit to ask, “‘Mm’ what? I don’t understand.”
He Dongli didn’t mind clarifying, “You said you haven’t changed much, and I said I’m perfectly fine, not the type to get amnesia. There’s no need to be so petty and pretend not to know each other. So I said, ‘Mm.’”
This time, Zong Chi laughed heartily, his head tilting back, before he quickly regained his composure.
He commented, “You still have that habit of embellishing things, old classmate.”
He Dongli heard that word and felt a sense of relief in her heart.
Yes, this was best.
Overhead, a row of recessed lights shone down.
Taking advantage of his height, Zong Chi openly and thoroughly sized her up, his gaze lingering on her, especially her lips, carefully painted with lipstick, and the redness at her earlobes from a metal allergy.
He pointed at her ear from a distance, “What happened there?”
He Dongli awkwardly touched her earlobe.
This pair of Pearl Earrings was a gift from her good friend Jiang Xingyuan.
She didn’t know Dongli was allergic to metal, and He Dongli herself hadn’t worn gold jewelry for years.
Only when she was heading out today did she honestly tell Xingyuan, but decided to wear them anyway, thinking maybe after so many years, she’d no longer be allergic.
Jiang Xingyuan teased Dongli, “That doesn’t sound like something a Materialist Warrior would say.”
Hmm, at the end of materialism lies Metaphysics.
He Dongli didn’t intend to explain the whole story behind these earrings and her own muddled affections, so she knowingly broke her own rules.
She knew full well the allergy was lifelong.
She knew.
Zong Chi stood in front of her, as if waiting for her to say something.
He Dongli didn’t reply, didn’t explain, nor did she offer any greetings or accountability after so many years apart.
“I still have friends waiting for me downstairs,” she said lightly.
“Liang Jianxing, your blind date?” he stated, half as a question.
He Dongli admitted without hesitation, “Yes. I came today because my teacher asked me to go on a blind date.”
Zong Chi nodded calmly, then, after a moment, said in an objective, outsider’s tone, “His family isn’t right for you. He isn’t right for you either.”
He Dongli thought to herself, truly, people change after time apart.
The old Zong Chi would never have said something so measured.
Back then, he would only demand, “If you don’t want to, who could force you? Who would dare!”
“Thank you.”
“What?”
He Dongli didn’t mind elaborating, “Thank you for your advice.”
She looked up and met his eyes.
Zong Chi’s chest rose and fell calmly.
They stood just one step apart, neither looking away.
From the second floor stairwell came a burst of noise—
Liang Jianxing’s voice.
He was leading Chen Xiangyang upstairs, along with his current girlfriend, Li Anni.
He Dongli heard Chen Xiangyang’s familiar, easygoing tone, and for a moment, she wanted to escape.
Her gaze faltered first, and she said softly, “Excuse me,” glancing at a certain someone blocking the door like a mountain.
He didn’t move.
When He Dongli looked up at him a second time, she couldn’t help but recall that snowy villa at Sangtian Road, where she tried to leave, only for Zong Chi to do the same—let her go with his words, but the next moment, he’d cross the room and pry her hand off the doorknob…
“Zong Chi, you bastard, you shameless, vile man! You’ve never truly loved anyone. Your so-called love is just me obeying you unconditionally. You never respected my mother, or me. You’re just like the rest of them. In your eyes, women are nothing but sacrifices for men’s loyalty, pretty accessories to stand by your side…Let me go!”
“Fine, I don’t love you. That’s why I spent those years watching you, guarding you, so humble. Yes, I don’t love you. I just want you to obey me, unconditionally! He Dongli, who gave you the courage to provoke me? If you want me to stay, I’ll stay. If you want me to leave, I’ll leave? No way!”
That day, exhausted in body and mind, He Dongli slapped Zong Chi.
He laughed like a madman as he pulled her into his arms: “See? The moment you cry, my heart softens…”
Even now, at this moment, He Dongli’s resentment from that year’s Spring Festival hadn’t faded much.
Now, she didn’t even dare to provoke him, not here at the Liang Family’s house.
If he lost control, no one could stop him.
She couldn’t afford that.
He Dongli wanted to find an opportunity to slip past him.
But she’d underestimated Zong Chi’s build and the advantage he had from years of training with a Private Coach, Swimming Team practices, and professional Oxygen Restriction Mask drills.
Trying to go up against him was like the sacrifice round in Tian Ji Horse Racing.
For all her dissatisfaction with him over the years, she’d still sincerely praised him for being easy to feed, which was why he’d developed such a good physique.
Back in ninth grade, Zong Chi was never a picky eater.
That was what He Dongli’s mother valued most about him—he’d eat whatever he was given, never made a fuss, unlike some children from status-conscious families.
Cooking for him was fun and motivating, because even on his diet days, he’d break the rules for a bite just to say something nice to Yu Xiaohan.
Of course, that was then.
When Yu Xiaohan praised someone, she did it wholeheartedly, but when she was dissatisfied, she truly meant it—
“What’s the use of a man being good-looking? With that temper of his, always demanding things, turning hostile in a flash, does he really think someone raised their daughter just for him? The surname Zong really fits, like an ancestor—Zong.”
Liang Jianxing was planning to take Chen General and his girlfriend to the study to meet Zong Xiansheng, but didn’t expect to run into him at the guest restroom.
Zong Chi stood alone at the restroom door, as if he’d just come out.
He didn’t look too pleased, apparently having waited for someone.
Li Anni had only met Zong Chi twice before, and exchanged less than three sentences with him.
She knew he was Old Chen’s business partner, and that Old Chen and Zong Chi were close, especially since Zong Chi came from a prominent family.
The more deep-rooted a family, the more checks and balances there were.
Among the Chinese community, Li Anni had heard of the Zong Family—say what you will, a family that’s lasted generations must have something worth respecting, whether it’s character or vision.
Zong Chi had always been reserved in social settings, rarely making small talk or flattering the female companions brought by partners or business friends.
He seemed used to a life of privilege, immune to flattery.
Li Anni could tell he was meticulous—a man like Old Chen would have fewer worries with such a boss.
Chen Xiangyang, about to leave, had just been stood up.
Zong Chi stood at the restroom door, one hand in his pocket, the other tracing the wood grain on the doorframe, unmoving and unapproachable.
He questioned Chen Xiangyang first, “You’re the one who wanted to come, and you dragged me here, but now you’ve vanished.”
Chen Xiangyang, ever the sly fox, reached out to tug Zong Chi along, but Zong Chi shot him a glare and he immediately gave up, mumbling about family matters.
Li Anni wasn’t afraid of airing dirty laundry.
Partly, she wanted to use Zong Xiansheng to warn Old Chen, and partly, she wanted to test if Zong Xiansheng knew anything.
After all, when it came to affairs of the heart, men always liked to cover for each other.
So, Li Anni summarized the situation with remarkable conciseness: Old Chen had secretly taken money out, not through any official or private accounts, but directly, to help out his first love’s family.
Li Anni, with a mix of grievance and skillful persuasion, asked Zong Xiansheng to judge fairly: “What woman could accept a man doing this? If he’s not feeling guilty, why not just transfer the money openly? I’m not that petty—she was there for you when you started your business. As the saying goes, ‘A wife who shared your hardships should never be cast aside.’ No one can replace her contribution—I get that.”
Li Anni was hinting that Old Chen’s feelings were long past their expiration date.
The other woman had never invested in Old Chen’s business in any official way, so this money was nothing but a shady handout, and she would only continue to speculate and misinterpret it.
Chen Xiangyang, knowing he was in the wrong, slapped his forehead in frustration and begged his girlfriend to stop.
Why wouldn’t she let it go?
But Li Anni wouldn’t listen.
She was determined to get it off her chest: “Then tell me—why all the secrecy? Is it that all men can’t forget their first love, their white moonlight?”
Zong Chi suddenly interjected, “How much did he give?”
Li Anni reported a number.
Zong Chi, looking annoyed as if clearing a battlefield, replied, “That little? Not worth it.”
Li Anni stared angrily at Zong Xiansheng.
Zong Chi continued, “For that amount, calling her Chen Xiangyang’s white moonlight is a loss.”
Liang Jianxing, standing to the side, couldn’t help but laugh.
Li Anni had hoped Zong Xiansheng would act as an impartial judge, but his words only stirred things up.
In an instant, her impression of him shattered.
She was about to say something…
When suddenly, someone slipped out from behind Zong Xiansheng—a girl who looked like she’d used all her strength to break free.
She was cold and sharp, but her eyes were full of feeling.
Rather than conventional beauty, she had a striking, bone-deep elegance.
Only, her appearance was a little…
Her hair, down to her collar, was slightly messy and untidy.
He Dongli stepped out, nodding politely to them as she did, “Sorry to interrupt, please continue.”
Even though Chen Xiangyang was used to Zong Chi’s antics, he was still startled, eyes widening as he pointed at Dongli, but before he could greet her, she’d already gone downstairs.
He had no choice but to turn and point at Zong Chi.
Because of Dongli’s appearance just now, her ears still noticeably red…
Chen Xiangyang quickly asked, “Wait, what did you just do?”