Chapter 4#
Love at First Sight#
Maocheng, at 32 degrees north latitude, sat on the edge of the temperate deciduous broadleaf forest belt. The street trees within the city proper, unable to withstand the crisp autumn winds, had all turned into a flutter of yellowing leaves.
Of course, climate was a human construct; it couldn’t be drawn with precise boundaries.
Maocheng had its falling leaves, but it also had evergreens—especially in the relatively humid Nanshan District, where banyan trees covered the hillsides in year-round green.
The leaf on Zhen Ye’s person had probably slipped into his collar by accident while he was visiting graves in Nanshan.
As for the pheromones the leaf had picked up…
Zhen Ye thought about it. “On the way here, the bus had no seats. It was packed, and people kept deliberately pressing up against me. It must have gotten on me then.”
The old lady’s nose was sharp; she still felt something was off and muttered, “This pheromone… smells like a pretty high rank… it’s like I’ve smelled it somewhere before…”
She was still racking her brain, trying to figure out which year, which day, where she’d encountered a similar scent. Just then, a nurse walked in and switched on the hemodialysis machine.
“Patient in bed 28, Zhen Yuzhen, dialysis.”
The old lady had no choice but to drop the thought. She slowly rolled up her sleeve and turned her head away, letting out an “aiyo” as the needle went in.
Zhen Ye watched the filter lines being connected and felt as if his own heart had been pricked.
His grandmother looked spirited enough, but her kidney disease was actually quite severe. Without a transplant, it could become life-threatening.
Given her age, the attending physician had recommended regenerative medicine—cultivating a new kidney from her own cells and then transplanting it.
This would not only speed up recovery but also eliminate the risk of fatal rejection, making it safer for an elderly patient.
However, this technology was currently only mastered by Rongsen Biotech under the Rong Group, and it would cost at least a million.
Grandmother was unwilling to spend that much and had instead chosen to wait in line for a donor kidney.
Her turn had finally come this week. As long as the payment was made by next Monday, the surgery could proceed.
The old lady had a positive outlook, believing her good fortune would see her safely through the operation.
In her youth, she’d been a pampered rich young lady. Later she married Zhen Ye’s grandfather, and their marriage was loving and happy, blessed with a son and a daughter. Except for her son not amounting to much, her whole life had gone smoothly as she wished.
Compared to her son, Zhen Yuzhen doted on her daughter more. Unwilling to see her marry away, she’d agreed to let the then-penniless He Yusheng marry into the Zhen family.
But then her daughter fell ill and died young, leaving only Zhen Ye behind. Transferring her love to the child, Zhen Yuzhen spoiled Zhen Ye terribly.
Zhen Yuzhen had wanted to take Zhen Ye in to raise, but unfortunately the Zhen family’s influence had waned by then, while He Yusheng had suddenly grown rich through business.
The two families fought it out in court, and in the end the judge awarded custody to the biological father. Zhen Yuzhen had no choice but to let it go.
Even so, little Zhen Ye had maintained his old habits, sneaking off to Zhen Yuzhen’s place every week. Whether He Yusheng caught him and scolded him, or resorted to corporal punishment, nothing could stop him.
Because by then, he was already old enough to understand. He knew that once a stepmother entered the picture, his biological father became a stepfather in all but name. Apart from his grandmother, no one in that house would care about him anymore.
At this moment, Zhen Yuzhen’s face was full of affection, and she couldn’t help but smile as she reminisced:
“I remember when you were in elementary school, you’d always sneak over behind your mom’s back. You’d toss your backpack onto the sofa and pester Grandma to put on cartoons for you.”
“Your favorite was that… what was it, The Magic Vine. Aiyo, you had to watch it every single week. If I tried to change it to something else, you’d throw a fit.”
Zhen Ye smiled too. He remembered that. Grandma had even bought him a Magic Vine backpack. The pattern was garish—loud enough to hurt the eyes—but when he brought it to school, his classmates had envied him for a good while.
“Later on, you got so into it that you said you wanted to marry the banyan tree on the mountain, just like the prince in the cartoon, becoming a bride for the monster vines. Oh, it gave me such a laugh.” Zhen Yuzhen chuckled.
Zhen Ye: “Huh?”
He was stunned. Marrying an old banyan tree as a bride or something?
Had something that absurd really happened?
The old lady tapped the tip of his nose and teased, “You don’t remember, do you, sweetheart? Back then, your mom liked to take you hiking. One time, you ran off, and before anyone knew it, you were lost. We were scared out of our wits—we searched the whole mountain with flashlights for three days and three nights.”
“We finally found you, and this little scamp of ours was curled up asleep in a hollow in the banyan tree’s roots, cheeks all rosy, not a scratch on you. Not long after that, you became obsessed with that Magic Vine of yours.”
Zhen Ye: ?
…How did he have absolutely no memory of ever getting lost?
And for three whole days, at that!
Could it be that he was so young back in elementary school that he’d been scared into losing the memory?
Zhen Ye was about to ask for more details when someone came into the ward.
It was his maternal uncle, Zhen Hongming, bringing the old lady her dinner.
Seeing his nephew, Zhen Hongming greeted him with a beaming smile: “Xiao Ye’s here. I heard you moved out of your dad’s house. Where are you staying now?”
Zhen Ye glanced at him, his posture shifting from relaxed to hands in his pockets—a subtle bodily shift that betrayed wariness.
He didn’t give a street name, just vaguely named a district. “Moved to the Lower City.”
“Isn’t the Lower City noisy?”
Zhen Ye nodded calmly. “It’s fine.”
Seeing that he clearly didn’t want to talk more, Zhen Hongming smiled and dropped the subject.
It wasn’t that Zhen Ye lacked family feeling or was being tight-lipped about his business. It was that his impression of Zhen Hongming really wasn’t good.
Zhen Hongming was a gambler.
After their grandfather passed away, Grandmother’s family had still owned a small business. But within three years, Zhen Hongming had gambled it all away.
One night of squandering money like water at a Macau casino, and by the time he saw daylight again, he’d lost the family fortune.
Although in recent years, Grandmother had kept a tight leash on Zhen Hongming, and he hadn’t relapsed, his current job was at a private club, rubbing shoulders with all sorts of shady characters day in and day out. Naturally, he’d picked up a habit of visiting prostitutes along the way.
Drinking, eating, whoring, gambling—all five vices, fully loaded. Zhen Ye was terrified that his uncle might drop a bombshell one day and drag his grandmother down with him.
The ward fell into silence.
Seeing the mood turn awkward, the old lady quickly said, “Sweetheart, you should head home early. It’s gotten dark out, and it’s raining. Hard to catch a ride.”
It was indeed getting late.
Zhen Ye agreed with a “okay.” Before leaving, he gave a nod to Zhen Hongming, then bent down at the bedside and promised his grandmother, “Your surgery is the day after tomorrow. I’ll definitely be here with you.”
“Good, good. Our little rabbit is the one who dotes on Grandma the most.”
Zhen Yuzhen tousled his soft hair a couple of times before reluctantly letting him go.
Zhen Ye went downstairs and walked against the wind toward the bus stop near the hospital.
His body, which had just been warmed in the temperature-controlled ward, was now stiff and numb after being soaked by the cold wind and rain.
Quite a few people were waiting for the bus. Most stood with their heads down and necks tucked, sheltering from the wind as they played on their phones.
Suddenly, a roar of an engine tore through the street. Someone let out a “whoa!” and everyone looked up to see the car speeding past.
A pure white Porsche 911 coasted gracefully through the rain curtain, then slowed and turned into the parking lot of Nanshan Hospital.
The light that came on at the rear of the car let Zhen Ye see the license plate at a glance.
It was his half-brother on his father’s side—He Junhua.
Why would He Junhua be at the hospital? Could He Yusheng have had another heart attack?
Zhen Ye averted his gaze and watched the bus pulling into the stop, his expression calm and flat.
Besides, even if He Yusheng died, what had that to do with him?
·
He Junhua rushed into the cardiology department and grabbed a nurse, asking urgently, “Which room is He Yusheng in? How is he?”
“He’s in the CCU. He’s been stabilized, but he can’t have visitors yet.”
Following the nurse’s direction, He Junhua ran all the way there and saw Zhong Liyun at the door of the cardiac care unit.
He Junhua called out, “Mom!” Zhong Liyun’s perfectly made-up face turned, and her features immediately relaxed into a smile. “Junhua, did you eat at school?”
“I did, Mom.” He Junhua looked toward the observation window, asking nervously, “Has Dad woken up yet?”
“The doctor says it’ll be a few more hours.”
Thinking of how his father had just bought him a new car for his birthday last month and was now lying in there unconscious, He Junhua felt miserable.
How could his father, who had doted on him so much since he was a child, suddenly become so fragile?
“Why did Dad have a sudden attack? Wasn’t he keeping it under control with medication?”
The hallway was full of people coming and going, and some things weren’t meant to be said out in the open. Zhong Liyun gave a meaningful look, and He Junhua immediately caught on. The mother and son went downstairs to a secluded spot in the parking lot.
“It’s the company. The capital chain snapped. Your father got so angry he couldn’t think straight.” Zhong Liyun sighed.
He Junhua frowned, puzzled. “But didn’t Uncle Chen say they’d help us? Did they go back on their word? Didn’t we already agree—as long as Brother Zhen Ye married over, they’d help?”
Zhong Liyun let out a cold laugh. “Zhen Ye refuses to marry. We told him we’d pay off his debts, but he’s still so unreasonable. He doesn’t think of this family at all.”
A trace of disbelief crossed He Junhua’s fair, delicate face. “How can my brother be so selfish? My dad is his dad too. He’s so cold-hearted.”
“Besides,” He Junhua recalled earnestly, “marrying that elder grandpa from the Chen family isn’t so bad, is it? I remember he’s very kind. He even gave me candy when I was little.”
At that, he couldn’t help but feel a little resentful toward Zhen Ye, letting out a petulant huff:
“If I were my brother, I’d marry him without a second thought. I’d do anything to help Mom and Dad get through this.”
Hearing such innocent, warm-hearted words, Zhong Liyun smiled and pulled He Junhua into a doting embrace:
“Silly treasure, Mama’s satisfied just knowing you feel that way. How could I ever let you marry some nasty old man in his seventies? A fine, outstanding omega like our Junjun is meant for the alpha head of a major conglomerate—”
Someone like the Rong family, for instance.
Seeing the meaningful smile on his mother’s face, He Junhua flushed bright red and said shyly, “Mom, I know what you’re going to say. Please, don’t. The fact that I like Uncle Rong—don’t you dare tell Dad. He’ll start teasing me again.”
Half a year ago, at an important banquet in their social circle, He Junhua had seen the head of the Rong family, Rong Yu, who rarely appeared in public.
He Junhua had fallen in love with the distinguished Rong Yu at first sight.
From that day on, he’d lost interest in food and sleep, and could no longer look at any other alpha.
Zhong Liyun was delighted by this. After all, the Rong Group was a giant in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, with global annual revenue exceeding 600 billion. If He Junhua married into that family, it would mean endless glory and riches.
As mother and son were whispering to each other, they suddenly saw a man enter from the parking lot entrance and walk over to an older-model BMW nearby.
Zhong Liyun glanced over, and the man happened to look back at her. On a second look—turns out he was someone she knew.
That incorrigible gambling addict from the Zhen family, Zhen Hongming.
Zhong Liyun’s eyes rolled, and a smile suddenly appeared on her face as she called out, “Brother Zhen? What a coincidence. It’s been years, hasn’t it?”
Zhen Hongming had a weakness: when he saw a beautiful woman, he couldn’t walk straight. Zhong Liyun dressed with an air of luxury and retained her charms—clearly in that category.
He immediately sidled over, grinning. “Got to be five or six years, right? Last time was when I brought Zhen Ye back to your place.”
Zhong Liyun smiled. “Brother Zhen here on business?”
“Nah. The old lady’s in the hospital. I’m just bringing her dinner.”
He was quite pleased that she kept calling him “Brother Zhen.”
But Zhong Liyun got what she wanted, and her expression cooled in an instant. She wrapped up the conversation in a few sentences. “Junjun and I still have things to do. We’ll be going.”
“Yeah, sure.” Zhen Hongming rubbed his nose, feeling a little brushed off.
After going back upstairs, Zhong Liyun immediately took out her phone and called an acquaintance at the hospital:
“Xiao Liu? There’s something I need your help with. Can you look into something for me? Find out what illness old Mrs. Zhen, Zhen Yuzhen, has.”
A moment later, He Junhua heard her repeat a phrase into the phone:
“Oh, uremia.”
After hanging up, Zhong Liyun said in a seemingly offhand manner, “The Zhen family needs a kidney transplant. That should mean they’re just waiting for a time when they need money.”
Thinking of that Zhen Ye who refused to bow his head, a glint of shrewd calculation flashed through her eyes.