Chapter 53: She Always Felt She Was Getting Closer To That Person

“Or maybe you just need to take some medicine and get a good night’s sleep?”

Lu Huaiyan stepped into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her, saying, “Mother has some sleeping pills.”

The bedroom door wasn’t closed, so when her phone rang, he naturally heard it.

While walking this way, he had vaguely overheard parts of her conversation — it wasn’t clear, but he caught the names “Zhao Zhicheng” and “the brewery.”

Not long ago, she had given Fang Shang a bottle of beer, asking him to check for fingerprints.

Anything related to the kidnapping case from seven years ago — anything involving Zhao Zhicheng — would always trigger a shift in her emotions.

Just now, when she had been staring at her phone with lowered eyes, Lu Huaiyan couldn’t help but think of how she had clung to him in the bathroom at Junyue, asking him to be with her.

That sickly, fragile aura that clung to her — he could still catch glimpses of it now and then in her eyes.

At her apartment in Xiangshu Alley, the nightstand had a few barely touched bottles of medication — antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds, and sleep aids.

Lu Huaiyan had checked the dates; they were prescribed about half a month ago, all imported medicine, most likely prescribed by her psychiatrist.

When she came out of the bedroom earlier, he had been out on the balcony, consulting someone about those medications over the phone.

Later, when he mentioned Uncle Mo, her mood had clearly shifted.

He had spent all morning carefully coaxing her into feeling a little better, only for someone else’s phone call to shatter that fragile peace.

Lightly brushing aside the hair falling against her cheek, Lu Huaiyan lowered his gaze to look into her eyes — those beautiful, dark eyes were looking right back at him.

There always seemed to be a layer of ashes settled at the bottom of her gaze, but if you looked closely, you’d see sparks still glowing deep within.

Jiang Se answered calmly: “I don’t need medication.”

Her voice sounded as cool and composed as usual — only a barely perceptible tension betrayed her, like a tightened spring wound another half-turn.

The loose strands of hair by her cheek were shorter than before the New Year. Lu Huaiyan tilted his head slightly, tucking the few locks behind her ear, his tone casual: “How have you been sleeping these two weeks while I was back in Beicheng?”

Jiang Se was silent for a few seconds, then said: “Not bad.”

Lu Huaiyan let out a low hum, finished fixing her hair, then asked: “Think you can still sleep? Or would you rather sleep with me first, then sleep?”

Jiang Se stared at him for a moment.

Then she lifted the quilt, sat on his lap, and looped her arms softly around his neck.

Lu Huaiyan lowered his eyes to look at her and said: “Use protection first, I’ll—”

“Lu Huaiyan,” Jiang Se interrupted, tilting her face up, one hand pressing against his chest.

She looked at him seriously and asked: “In the days before you forced Lu Jinzhong out of the board, what were you feeling?”

Lu Huaiyan paused for a moment, then answered: “Calm. Anticipation. Maybe a little excitement too. After all, it was something I’d plotted for so long — it was hard not to feel excited when it was about to come to fruition.

At that time, even though I had a high chance of winning, I was still a gambler.”

As long as you’re a gambler, until the final card is revealed, you can never be certain of victory.

Jiang Se asked him: “Were you afraid?”

“No,” Lu Huaiyan tightened his arm around her waist slightly and said calmly, “The worst that could happen was losing the round. As long as I was alive, I could always gamble again.”

Hearing this, Jiang Se blinked, stared at him quietly for a moment, then rested her face against his broad shoulder.

He was wearing a light gray wool sweater, the fabric soft to the touch, carrying faint traces of sandalwood and plum blossom scents — fragrances he had picked up earlier at Han Yin’s house.

She smelled of it too.

Jiang Se closed her eyes and asked: “You used to favor aloeswood incense — why don’t you use it anymore?”

Lu Huaiyan replied: “Because I don’t need it anymore.”

Her hand was still pressed against his chest; as he spoke, she could feel the subtle vibrations of his voice through his chest.

“How long will you stay in Tongcheng this time?” she asked.

Lu Huaiyan lifted the corners of his lips slightly, his free hand trailing gently up and down along the slender line of her back like he was soothing a kitten.

“Only a few days this time.

After the Lantern Festival, I’ll be leaving for a while — first to Harbor City, then back to Beicheng. Lu Corporation is considering a partnership with the Guan family; Grandfather hopes to finalize it this year.”

Jiang Se, comforted by his gentle caress, spoke again, her voice now tinged with drowsiness: “Mm. There’s an event at ‘Wangchuan’ on the night of the Lantern Festival.

Do you want to come?”

Lu Huaiyan’s hand paused slightly, and he asked: “Are you inviting me for a drink?”

Jiang Se said, “That day at the bar, Fu Yun drank two glasses of wine. Last night you only had one from me — I’ll make up another for you.”

Lu Huaiyan chuckled lightly: “Alright.”

“Lu Huaiyan.”

“Mm.”

“Pat me, like you did that day.”

That day, after he took her from the hospital, he had held her in his arms, gently patting her back again and again to coax her to sleep.

The man’s gaze flickered slightly, and a rare tenderness crossed his usually cold and sharp features.

The hand resting against her back soon shifted upward, and he began lightly, slowly patting along the right side of her shoulder blade — until her breathing gradually evened out and deepened.

Lu Huaiyan lowered his gaze, looking at the half of her face resting on his shoulder, and let out a nearly inaudible chuckle: “You’re quite good at acting spoiled.”

Sunlight streamed in through the wooden window of the bedroom, casting a patch of white glow.

Jiang Se slept for nearly two hours straight.

If it hadn’t been for two annoying fingers constantly toying with her earlobe, she probably could have slept even longer.

When she woke up, her brain was still foggy.

Irritated from being woken, she blindly lifted her hand and slapped at the hand playing with her ear — a crisp “slap!” rang out.

In response, she heard a low chuckle: “If the young miss doesn’t wake up soon, my shoulder’s going to fall off.”

Jiang Se cracked open her eyes, the first thing she saw was the pale white curve of his throat.

At some point, the man had shifted positions, moving from the edge of the bed to the headboard, now propped up against two stacked pillows.

Her hand was still resting on his chest, and her whole body was draped over him like a koala clinging to a tree.

As Jiang Se slowly came to her senses, she pushed herself up with a hand against his chest and asked groggily: “What time is it?”

Lu Huaiyan said: “Twelve o’clock. Time to head over to Mother’s place for lunch. After we eat, I’ll take you home.”

While speaking, he rubbed his stiff neck, pinched the soft flesh at her cheek lightly, and teased: “Still quite grumpy after waking up.”

“…”

The two of them tidied up briefly and headed over to Han Yin’s place for lunch.

After the meal, Lu Huaiyan drove her back to Xiangshu Alley, all the way to her doorstep.

“I’ll leave the suitcase with you. Just a few changes of clothes and some toiletries inside,” he said as he gently pinched her fingers and looked at her.

“I’ll come over after I finish work tonight?”

Lu Corporation’s two projects in Tongcheng were officially resuming construction the next day — he would probably be tied up until late at night.

Jiang Se nodded slightly, then went inside to fetch a spare key from the entryway and handed it to him, saying: “If I’m asleep when you get here, let yourself in quietly. And you’re not allowed to wake me up.”

Lu Huaiyan was still holding the door when he heard that.

He clicked his tongue and said: “With a temper like yours after waking up, who would dare?”

Saying so, he grabbed her wrist, pulled her over, planted a kiss on her lips, and only then took the key and left.

After the man left, Jiang Se unbuttoned her coat and slowly walked into the bedroom.

Everywhere she passed, there were traces of him.

Gloves by the entrance, his coat draped over the back of the sofa, his toothbrush and used towel in the bathroom, and the suitcase he had left by her bedside.

It had only been one night, yet his presence seemed to have filled every corner of her home.

Jiang Se grabbed the suitcase handle and wheeled it over to the window.

As she passed the nightstand, her steps faltered, and she turned her head to look at the bottles of medicine sitting there.

That morning at Hanshan Temple, he had specifically asked if she wanted to take sleeping pills…

Was it because he had seen these medicines?

Jiang Se lowered her eyelashes, withdrew her hand from the suitcase handle, and instead picked up the bottle of pills from the nightstand, slowly unscrewing the cap. Then she poured all the pills into the toilet and flushed them away.

She would have to get a new prescription.

—

The next day was the ninth day of the Lunar New Year.

Many bars on Fuchun Street had started reopening for business.

After a few days of quiet, the banks of the Fuchun River were gradually returning to their usual lively bustle.

Three days later, Jiang Se received a call from Fang Shang.

He told her that the beer can only had her and Zhang Yue’s fingerprints on it.

She wasn’t particularly disappointed.

It had been eight years since then, and Zhang Yue had often taken the can out and wiped it repeatedly.

Even if there had been any traces left, they would have long since been erased by time.

Besides, considering that person’s meticulous nature, it was unlikely they would have left any traces on the beer bottle in the first place.

Her decision to have Fang Shang check for fingerprints had just been a shot in the dark.

On the phone, Fang Shang asked:

“Miss Jiang, is there anything else you need me to do? Young Master Lu has instructed me to follow your orders from now on.”

For some reason, hearing that, Jiang Se suddenly thought of the kiss the man had left on her lips that morning.

These days, he had been staying over at her place every night — usually arriving after dark and leaving before dawn.

Jiang Se looked at the shards of sunlight scattered across the balcony floor and asked casually: “Young Master Lu said you’re a local of Tongcheng. Do you have people you can rely on in Rongcheng?”

Fang Shang chuckled: “Of course. Don’t worry, Miss Jiang — I may not be good at much else, but I do have plenty of friends.”

Jiang Se smiled faintly and gave a soft “mm” of acknowledgment.

She stood up and walked to the study, opened her computer, and while doing so said to Fang Shang: “Then I’ll trouble you to make a trip to Rongcheng. Ten years ago, there was a murder case there — A foreign trade company boss and an employee were killed during a business trip at a hotel.

To this day, I still haven’t been able to find out who it was that arranged the meeting with them.”

“You want me to find that person?”

“Yes.

I once investigated the case. 

The boss’s wife said that before leaving for the trip, he had been in an unusually good mood — he told her that if he closed this big deal, he would buy her a new car.

But despite such a major transaction, there wasn’t a single record of any written communication with the supposed buyer on his computer or phone.

Because of this, his wife even suspected that he wasn’t actually going out to negotiate a deal — but to meet a lover.”

Jiang Se opened a folder on her computer and sent the documents to Fang Shang, speaking unhurriedly: “Whether it was a buyer or a lover, I want to find out who it was.”

Zhang Yue had said that before Zhao Zhicheng committed murder, he specifically sought help from a friend.

The person who arranged for the boss to go out was likely sent by that friend — or could even have been the friend himself.

Fifteen years ago, there had been an “accident” at a brewery in Bo County: the boss had drowned.

Twelve years ago, when Zhang Yue met Zhao Zhicheng, he was already using a fake name and only paid in cash whenever he went out.

If Zhao Zhicheng really was that brewery worker, Zhao Zhi…

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