There was a new message.

He casually picked it up and read it.

“Dear customer: Your top-up of 50.00 yuan on 201x-08-13 at 07:00 has been successful. Your current account balance is…”

Qi Yan frowned slightly.

This new number had been arranged by his assistant when he first returned to the country, and he had only used it for a few days. The balance was ample.

The built-in smart identification system prompted that the text message had already been transferred to the junk folder. Just as he was about to put the phone down, his assistant’s call came in.

“Mr. Qi, I’ve sent the risk assessment report you requested to your email.”

“Mm.”

The other side continued, “According to the latest news, the weakening of the U.S. dollar is established. If it continues to depreciate, it might…”

“The entire South China market is almost wiped out. Especially the export processing industry in coastal areas, which has been hit the hardest. From what I currently understand, Wangshi Company in City Z now has foreign debts as high as 1.5 billion…”

Qi Yan listened quietly, without interruption.

The hair he had just washed was still dripping water, forming a small puddle on the floor.

The assistant finished his report.

After a moment of silence from the other end…

“What is the current situation of the Ying Group?”

The Ying Group?

The assistant quickly searched for relevant information in his mind, then said after a while, “It shouldn’t be very optimistic, either.”

The voice coming from the phone was very faint. “Shouldn’t be?”

“My apologies. I’ll verify the detailed information and get back to you shortly.”

But the doubt in his heart was impossible to suppress: Why is he suddenly interested in a small company like the Ying Group?

The call ended.

Qi Yan tossed his phone onto the desk, walked out of the study, and returned to the bedroom.

The sky was overcast, the sun buried in thick, dark clouds. The light in the room was dim, creating shadows everywhere.

He slept until past five in the afternoon.

The assistant knew his schedule. The Ying Group files sent nine hours ago lay quietly in his work email. He quickly scanned them, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

The wind entered through the window, flipping the pages with a soft rustle.

His gaze suddenly shifted to the window.

The study’s floor-to-ceiling window faced a lake outside. A slender figure was framed on the grass by the lake, dressed in a white top and a red plaid skirt.

She was facing the lake, her back to him.

Her figure was fragile and silent.

Qi Yan stood up and walked to the window, lighting a cigarette. Then, he watched her.

Ruan Mian was completely unaware of the gaze fixed on her from behind. She merely stared blankly at the calm blue lake water, her thoughts seeming to sink into it as well.

Gradually, the wind grew stronger, wrapped in heat, scraping across her cheeks like a knife.

The single red ray of the setting sun in the sky was also shattered by the wind.

A water bird burst from the red light, flying low, skimming the tranquil surface of the lake. In the blink of an eye, a small silver fish was clutched in its sharp talons. It flapped its wings and flew far away, quickly disappearing from sight.

The deepening twilight spread to the surroundings.

Mosquitoes buzzed past.

Ruan Mian rubbed her leg, picked up her school bag, and turned to walk back.

Her footsteps suddenly paused.

The second-floor room of the old house not far away.

The light suddenly went out.

She only managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of a tall, slender shadow.

Was that the man? Had he been standing by the window all this time?

Ruan Mian held the strap of her school bag nervously, looking up again.

Nothing but darkness.

As if it had just been her illusion.

Ruan Mian forced a small smile, steadying her bicycle as she walked slowly home.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she heard a woman’s laughter, gentle yet jarring. She stood outside the threshold, taking a deep breath.

Then, she walked in.

“Mianmian is back, just in time for dinner.” Wang Jiaxin walked over with a smile.

Ruan Mian subconsciously took a step back.

Wang Jiaxin didn’t seem to mind. She withdrew her hand and turned to instruct the nanny, “Sister Cai, bring the food out.”

Ruan Mian generally didn’t eat much for dinner, and coupled with her lack of appetite, she picked up a few green vegetables and swallowed a few mouthfuls of rice, intending to put down her chopsticks.

A piece of sweet and sour pork ribs was suddenly placed in her bowl.

She looked up in surprise, following the pair of chopsticks.

Ying Minghui smiled at her, a shy curve of his lips.

What was the little mute doing?

“Such a good boy, already knows how to get food for your sister.” Wang Jiaxin put a chicken leg on her son’s plate. “Here, this is your reward.”

Ying Haodong’s tightly furrowed brow relaxed, revealing a look of pleased relief. “Not bad.”

When he looked at Ruan Mian, his expression darkened a few shades.

Who was she putting on that perpetually gloomy face for all day?

Just like her mother. Annoying to look at. He slowly exhaled a mouthful of foul air.

Ruan Mian did not eat the pork rib.

Yet, a sour taste lingered in her mouth, impossible to suppress. She sat at her desk flipping through her book, but the warm scene of that family of three kept stabbing at her heart. She couldn’t calm down to study.

After eating the bugs, the little creature was much livelier than before, hopping and fluttering its wings on the desk. It looked like it would be able to fly soon.

This thought brought Ruan Mian a little comfort.

After playing with it for a while, a layer of sweat broke out on her, making her feel sticky and uncomfortable. She prepared to go take a shower.

Half an hour later, Ruan Mian emerged with a head of damp, long hair. There was no hairdryer in her room, so she had to go downstairs to get one. As she passed the master bedroom on the second floor, she suddenly heard a quarrel leaking out from under the door crack.

She stopped.

“Go to some damn special needs school?! If my friends find out, where do I put my face…”

The woman also shouted back, “Do you think I want this?! But your son is a mute! Think about how many people we’ve begged and how many schools we’ve contacted in the past?”

Her voice gradually turned into a sob. “He cries whenever he hears about going to school now, and he has nightmares at night…”

A head suddenly peeked out from the staircase landing, startling Ruan Mian.

She saw the little mute squatting on the floor, his mouth downturned, looking at her with a wronged expression, two pockets of tears welling up in his eyes.

With one blink, the tears rolled out.

He looked utterly pitiful.

Ruan Mian couldn’t tell what she was feeling at the moment.

Should she feel happy?

It didn’t seem so, not at all.

But she didn’t feel sad either.

In this family, she was probably considered an outsider anyway.

She took the hairdryer back to her room, but over the whooshing sound of the air, Ruan Mian kept thinking of those tear-filled eyes.

They were too familiar.

She didn’t want to admit it, but the little mute indeed had a pair of eyes that were almost identical to hers.

Nine o’clock at night.

The night concealed a surge of hot wind, the air dry and heavy.

The air conditioning in the study, like the windows, was fully open.

The man rarely looked at the new message he had received a minute ago twice.

He accurately picked out a few key pieces of information…

High School Z’s communication system, Yellow Rainstorm Warning, class suspended tomorrow.

“Qi?”

Someone was calling him from the open video conference on the computer screen.

“You zoned out just now.”

Qi Yan smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying. “Let’s continue.”

The lengthy meeting ended close to midnight. He turned off the computer, took a file from the drawer, opened it, and quickly found the contact information section.

It confirmed his earlier suspicion.

In that case, those two seemingly inexplicable text messages could also be explained.

Suddenly, thunder and lightning erupted outside. The dark night became as bright as day, and a heavy rain began to fall shortly after.

Qi Yan stood with his hands behind his back by the window.

Tree shadows swayed.

Light flickered across his sharply defined face. In the alternating brightness and darkness, half of his profile was submerged in shadow.

Another clap of thunder exploded.

Ruan Mian woke up with a start from her dream.

The rain had stopped, but the wind was still strong, making the curtains billow up and fall.

She quickly got up and closed the window.

Somehow, she thought of the handsome man standing by the window. His dark, deep eyes were quiet and clear, yet impossible to see into their depths.

Grandpa Wang said he was the owner of the house, but why had she seemingly never seen him before?

Also, who exactly was he?

Why did even her arrogant father have to fawn and smile at him?

She couldn’t find an answer to any of the questions.

Ruan Mian was getting sleepy again and fell back asleep with her head turned to the side.

She woke up the next morning, a little after six. There was no thunder or rain, but the sky was gloomy, like the black night had yet to wake up.

She turned on her bedside phone. The text message inbox was still empty. After staring at it for a while, she got up, washed, and rode her bicycle to school on time.

There were only a few boarding students in the classroom.

Seeing her enter, they were surprised. “Why did you come?”

“Didn’t your parents get the notice?”

Ruan Mian shook her head. “What notice?”

“The one the homeroom teacher sent out yesterday, an emergency notice.”

Someone else added, “Yellow Rainstorm Warning. Classes are suspended today.”

Just then, the homeroom teacher rushed in through the front door, clutching a stack of papers. He saw Ruan Mian standing there and abruptly stopped.

He quickly realized the situation. “Didn’t you receive the class suspension notice?”

Ruan Mian nodded.

“Hurry home before the rain starts again,” he emphasized. “Be absolutely careful on the way.”

Then he scanned the entire classroom. “Why is someone missing? Who else hasn’t arrived?”

“Me!” Pan Tingting entered from the back door, rubbing her sleepy eyes and raising her hand.

He shot her a stern look and said, “I have to go to a meeting later. All of you stay here and study quietly. No running around. Class monitor, maintain order…”

The homeroom teacher finished his hurried instructions and left.

“Why did you come?”

Ruan Mian whispered, “I didn’t know class was suspended today.”

“Tingting, I don’t think the phone credit was topped up yesterday.”

“No way,” Pan Tingting checked her phone again. “It shows the deduction was successful here!”

“Did you call customer service?”

“Couldn’t get through.”

“That’s strange?” Pan Tingting said. “Why don’t you go to the service hall and ask what’s going on?”

She tore open a packet of sunflower seeds, muttering as she cracked them, “They said there’d be a big rainstorm, but the sun is about to come out now. Guess it’s not going to happen.”

Ruan Mian looked out too. There was a patch of white light in the sky, slightly dazzling. She said goodbye to Pan Tingting, put on her school bag, and headed downstairs.

About half an hour later, the sun had fully emerged, looking like a fiery red persimmon.

Ruan Mian stood at the entrance of the service hall.

Perhaps because it was still early, there weren’t many people inside. Two staff members were chatting. As she approached the counter, they looked up.

Ruan Mian briefly explained her problem.

The short-haired girl quickly asked, “How long has this number been out of service?”

Her mother had been using this phone before, so Ruan Mian couldn’t give an exact date, only a rough estimate.

“It should have expired. Tell me the number, and I’ll check it for you.”

Ruan Mian recited the string of digits and asked softly, “If it really has expired, how can I get the original number back?”

The other girl smiled. “That’s easy. Just bring your ID card to reissue it.”

Ruan Mian’s heart was violently gripped, an unexpected pain piercing through her.

ID card?

Her mother no longer had an ID card. It had been officially canceled two months ago.

“However, there is one scenario,” the short-haired girl sighed before Ruan Mian could speak, “You won’t be able to get it back.”

“Why?!” Ruan Mian urgently pressed.

“The number has already been repurchased by someone else.”

She explained, “If a number expires for three months, our company reclaims it and puts it back into use.”

“Is there really no way to get it back?”

“This…”

Mobile numbers are purchased under real names. Would anyone be willing to give their number to a stranger?

Ruan Mian’s eyes completely darkened.

Like a bright moon sinking to the bottom of the sea.

Walking out of the service hall, the sun overhead was blazing, and the heat rushed at her, but she was covered in a cold sweat.

Her bicycle was lying on the ground. She picked it up and sat on it.

Just after riding for a short distance, dark clouds swallowed the entire sun, and the world seemed to change color in an instant.

The heavy rain poured down.

People on the street scattered like ants.

A fruit vendor desperately pushed his cart, but it hit a corner, and a box of apples tumbled out, rolling all over the ground.

The raindrops pitter-pattered, chasing people down. He didn’t even stop to pick them up; gritting his teeth, he quickly pushed the fruit cart and ran.

Ruan Mian stood under a jewelry store awning to shelter from the rain. An apple, washed by the rainwater, rolled to her feet. She bent down to pick it up.

A store clerk came out, glanced at her, saw she was a schoolgirl, and turned back inside.

The wind was very cold. The rain was torrential, and the whole city began to blur.

The thunder shook people’s ears.

Her school uniform skirt was splashed with water. She was shivering all over, hugging her arms, and sneezing.

Without warning, a flash of lightning struck down. The road surface seemed to jump with clusters of faint blue light, burning and stretching to the end…

Ruan Mian was terrified. She pressed herself tightly against the wall, huddled in the corner.

The rain fell relentlessly. It wasn’t until her legs were almost numb that it finally showed signs of pausing slightly.

The dark clouds were heavy, still hanging low, and the lightning continued to flicker.

Several people sheltering across the street quickly ran off, taking advantage of the brief lull.

Ruan Mian folded her umbrella, tossed it into the bike basket, and mounted her bicycle.

The wind pushed her back.

Her white figure slowly moved through a landscape of dark gray and moist green, gradually blurring.

“Boom!“

The clouds were torn open, and a gust of wind-driven rain splashed directly onto her face. The bicycle was pushed and swayed violently. Ruan Mian couldn’t hold the handlebars and had to jump off.

Before she could even open her umbrella, the heavy rain surged forward again. She was drenched from head to toe, looking utterly miserable.

Ruan Mian stood in the pouring rain, momentarily helpless.

Her eyes stung. When she touched them, the rainwater was hot.

She struggled to open her eyes and looked around. It was an open area; there was nowhere to hide.

At this moment, there was no choice but to continue forward.

A tremendous CRASH, a tree not far away was uprooted by the wind, splashing a large amount of dark yellow water.

The scene she witnessed firsthand was too shocking. Ruan Mian stood still, reeling.

She felt like she was struck by a paralyzing spell, standing dumbfounded as the rain battered her.

Suddenly, a horn blared. A black Cayenne slowly pulled up by the roadside.

The car window rolled down.

Ruan Mian’s eyes widened.

She stared unblinkingly at the face that was not unfamiliar.

The man looked back at her, their gazes gently colliding through the curtain of rain.

The whole world seemed to stand still.

“Get in.”

His voice was cold and low, but Ruan Mian heard him clearly. However, she didn’t understand what he meant.

She stood there, looking bewildered.

Qi Yan habitually frowned.

Seeing her slightly red-rimmed eyes, her frightened and soft expression, he softened his tone. “Get in the car. I’ll take you home.”

NOTES

New chapters will be added every Sunday. If you’d like more chapters, you can support the novel by buying a coffee; each coffee unlocks one extra chapter.