Chapter 83#

Zhao Rong spent the day with Zhao Ming at the nursing home.

The Chinese New Year holidays had just ended, and the entire small town was shrouded in a sense of laziness, making it an unsuitable time to start recruiting people.

He simply let Zhou Yueqing prepare for the transfer of the medical team, while he himself waited until next month to fully start being busy.

Naturally, since he had plenty of time now, he came more often to accompany Zhao Ming.

Zhao Ming asked him if his partner had finished his work.

Zhao Rong gave a vague affirmative, thinking about whether he should bring Liang Youjun over in a couple of days and simply claim he had found a new boyfriend.

Regardless, “the first time is awkward, the second time is familiar.” Even if he changed partners, Zhao Ming probably wouldn’t think much of it.

At dusk, Zhao Rong returned to the bookstore first.

There were a few scattered customers in the store, and Liang Youjun was holding a book again, pretending to be literary. This time he was smarter and knew to switch to a collection of essays.

Before Zhao Rong could speak, Liang Youjun looked up and said to him, “Not long after you left, those two left as well. They didn’t say much else, they just asked me when you usually come to the bookstore.”

Asking when he comes to the bookstore?

Did they want to come when he was there?

Let them come. Since this person claimed he wanted to be good to him, then Zhao Rong wouldn’t refuse.

He wanted to see for himself: Young Master Qiao had always had people waiting on him hand and foot. Now that he was repeatedly claiming he was willing to do the things Zhao Rong had once done, how much could he actually achieve?

Back then, Zhao Rong had treated Qiao Nanqi as his only source of warmth, exhausting everything to get close to him. Could Qiao Nanqi do the same now?

He had even endured the existence of Lu Xingping, the “white moonlight,” for over a year. If such a thing were placed upon Qiao Nanqi, could this man bear such silent, subtle humiliation?

Zhao Rong admitted he was actually quite vengeful.

Just like when the Chen family first got into trouble and Chen Zehe came to beg him. Before, he simply had no opportunity, so his mind wasn’t on it. But once he had the opportunity, he was never one to be generous with mercy.

The more he had liked Qiao Nanqi in the past, the less he was willing to trust him now. In the end, he actually wanted to pour all the temper accumulated during those years of suppression onto this man.

Having lived two lives, he still hadn’t managed to cultivate himself into a saint.

He said to Liang Youjun, “If he comes to the bookstore, do you know how to act?”

“I’m an expert at that,” Liang Youjun understood his meaning instantly. “Faking ambiguity with others—that’s my old trade!”

Zhao Rong added, “Next time I go see my mother, come with me. She’s always asking about my partner. Anyway, she’s seen you a few times. I’ll take you along and find an excuse to fool her.”

“No problem!”

Xiao Wu hadn’t seen Qiao Nanqi smile so sincerely in a long time.

Although Qiao Nanqi would occasionally smile these days, those smiles were either tinged with bitterness or were merely polite, fake smiles used as a disguise. One could never see any genuine mirth.

Except for today. The smile wasn’t large, but a sense of warmth could be seen at a glance.

—Warmth.

To think such a word could one day be applied to Qiao Nanqi.

He even wondered if Zhao Rong had agreed to Qiao Nanqi during that brief exchange earlier.

Xiao Wu tentatively asked about Zhao Rong’s attitude, but Qiao Nanqi only replied: “He isn’t repulsed by me staying in Zhuxi.”

Was that all?

Xiao Wu wanted to ask but didn’t dare.

Qiao Nanqi was clearly in a better mood than he had been for the past six months. Seeing Xiao Wu’s expression, he even proactively said, “Yes, to me, this is already a tremendous blessing.”

Xiao Wu was suddenly speechless.

With Qiao Nanqi’s current status and wealth, whatever kind of person he wanted by his side was just a matter of a single word.

But if he wanted someone like Zhao Rong…

That was something that could be sought but not easily found.

Xiao Wu originally thought that since their master was so happy and had inquired about Zhao Rong’s usual schedule, he would immediately start “showing his moves” in Zhuxi.

To his surprise, the first thing Qiao Nanqi did was immediately buy a plane ticket back to Yangcheng.

Qiao Nanqi first went to the company to handle the mess left by his sudden departure. He then delegated most of the processes that previously required his personal review to Xia Yuantu and his cousin Qiao Ruoye, and selected a group of people willing to follow him to Zhuxi.

After finishing these tasks, he immediately arranged for the cats, instructing people to transport them to Zhuxi safely and intact.

Afterward, he took Xiao Wu and personally began packing his clothes and daily necessities at home.

Xiao Wu suggested, “Sir, why don’t I buy these for you locally once the house in Zhuxi is ready? Otherwise, you’ll have to pack again when you return to Yangcheng.”

“Just buy some spares here in Yangcheng,” Qiao Nanqi refused his suggestion. “I’m taking all of these with me.”

Not only did he refuse, but while packing by hand, he asked about the details of every piece of clothing, every tie, every small accessory… asking Xiao Wu when they were bought and where Zhao Rong had bought them.

Xiao Wu thought Qiao Nanqi wanted to reminisce about the time he spent with Zhao Rong.

So he specifically recalled the times when he was responsible for communicating with Zhao Rong to purchase these things—the things Zhao Rong had said about Qiao Nanqi, or his thoughts and feelings when buying the clothes.

However, after Qiao Nanqi heard where his focus was, he said, “I don’t need to know those things. You only need to tell me how much effort he put in to do these things, how much time he spent, and what kind of trouble he encountered.”

“I don’t want to reminisce about how much he loved me before. I want to learn how to be better to him.”

Xiao Wu was slightly stunned.

Thinking back to how Zhao Rong was when he was still by Qiao Nanqi’s side, for a moment, he felt that the current Qiao Nanqi was remarkably similar to the Zhao Rong of that time.

It turned out that when a person like Qiao Nanqi became gentle, it could range from spending a fortune to engraving every tiny detail into his heart.

Although Qiao Nanqi’s house was large, he never had much extra expenditure in his private life. The things he used daily were actually quite limited, and they were all packed within a day.

His occasional hobbies in the past were merely things used by prominent families to appear cultured—paintings, piano music, antique appreciation, and the like. These were for social interaction and weren’t things Qiao Nanqi truly liked, so he didn’t pack a single one.

He only took the cats, packed the clothes and items Zhao Rong had bought for him, and brought the books from the study.

Clearly, he intended to make his residence in Zhuxi his primary home and treat his hometown of Yangcheng as a temporary stay.

There were many things to do, but Qiao Nanqi did them quickly. After being back for two days, he bought a plane ticket to return to Zhuxi overnight.

The last time he went to Zhuxi, he was incredibly swift. Upon learning Zhao Rong’s whereabouts, he left without explaining anything, leaving Xia Yuantu and the others unable to react.

This time, he arranged everything properly. Xia Yuantu naturally knew he was leaving and came to the airport with Lu Xingping to see him off.

Lu Xingping arrived very casually, draped in a large padded coat with the zipper open, revealing a pajama shirt underneath—Qiao Nanqi had bought the ticket so suddenly that Xia Yuantu had called him out at the last minute.

Despite coming out in such a hurry, he was still wearing that wedding ring.

Qiao Nanqi glanced at it and said, quite displeased, “Why are you still wearing that?”

“The other one is buried in her grave, so of course I’m wearing this one.” Lu Xingping raised his hand and touched the ring on his finger. “Or would you like to chop off my finger, Nanqi?”

“To be honest,” Qiao Nanqi’s eyes darkened, “I actually thought about it.”

Xia Yuantu was taken aback by the gore and rolled his eyes at both of his childhood friends.

He knew Lu Xingping’s words always carried a bit of a provocative edge, so he immediately pulled the conversation back and asked Qiao Nanqi, “How long do you plan to go for this time?”

“Permanently.”

“You’re not coming back!?”

“I’ll come back if there’s something to do.”

Xia Yuantu was beyond surprised. “Zhao Rong gave in?”

“No.”

“Then you…”

Qiao Nanqi said nothing, but his silence expressed his determination.

Xia Yuantu could only say, “I’ll try my best to look after the company. But your cousin—you were the one keeping him down before, so he didn’t dare move. Now I might not be able to control him. If something really happens, you’ll have to rush back.”

Lu Xingping’s brow twitched as he adjusted his glasses. “You’re not advising him to let go anymore?”

“What’s there to advise? Without Zhao Rong, Old Qiao is likely to stay single for the rest of his life anyway.”

At least now there was something to hope for. Even if that hope could never be reached in this lifetime, at least it gave some meaning to living.

Qiao Nanqi was right in front of them, so he didn’t say it directly, but clearly, all three of them were well aware of it.

Before going through security, Lu Xingping suddenly said, “Nanqi.”

Qiao Nanqi stopped.

“Let’s talk privately.” Lu Xingping pointed to the VIP lounge they had just walked out of.

Qiao Nanqi’s expression remained unchanged, his gaze deep, but he still walked away with Lu Xingping.

Xiao Wu checked the time and wanted to go over to remind them, but Xia Yuantu held him back.

“It’s about to take off,” he said.

“What’s the hurry?” Xia Yuantu was nonchalant. “The two of them haven’t had a proper conversation since that wedding. It’s rare for them to talk, so let them. If they really miss it, they can just charter a flight. Yangcheng to Zhuxi isn’t far. Even the furthest places can be reached in a day. What’s there to be afraid of?”

Inside the lounge.

“After you’ve completely settled down in Zhuxi, find a new psychological counselor.” Lu Xingping became unusually serious. “In truth, I’ve never really been your psychiatrist because we have a friendship. I can’t provide guidance on decisions for you; I can only accompany you to talk on an emotional level.”

“It’s just that before, you didn’t want to trust anyone and wouldn’t proactively open up your heart, so finding someone else was useless. You’re also very capable of self-restraint, so since you wouldn’t actually cross any lines, I didn’t say anything.”

“I don’t need it anymore.”

Qiao Nanqi said flatly.

“I’m better,” he said decisively. “These past two days, I haven’t even had nightmares. When I woke up these two mornings, I would think I was still in a dream, that it was the start of some nightmare. But after fully waking up, I discovered that I actually hadn’t dreamed at all.”

It might be because Zhao Rong had given him a lifeline.

Although this lifeline hadn’t pulled him up, it let him know that there was a vast world ahead.

He couldn’t be with Zhao Rong anymore, and the way Zhao Rong had loved him most would only exist in the past, but he could watch the person he loved be happy for the rest of his life.

He would stay by Zhao Rong’s side, asking for nothing, and would never again bring any pain or misfortune to Zhao Rong.

He still had a thin piece of “forever” that he could hold in his hand.

Qiao Nanqi asserted, “You and Yuantu can rest assured. If there’s truly a problem, I won’t hide it. He wouldn’t be happy if a useless person who only brings trouble and problems stayed by his side.”

He could no longer bring suffering to Zhao Rong.

“Then I’ll just state my position—no matter when, if you want to tell Zhao Rong about your previous condition, you can always ask me or Yuantu to relay it.”

“Tell him for what? To make him soften his heart?” Qiao Nanqi shook his head—he couldn’t do such a thing. “Anyway, he won’t accept me anymore. Whether he knows or not makes no difference. With Zhao Rong’s personality, knowing would only give him a burden.”

Lu Xingping was silent for a while before saying, “Contact us promptly if anything happens.”

The two didn’t talk for long. When they walked out of the lounge, there was still time for security.

Xia Yuantu’s eyes darted between them, observing, but he didn’t say anything.

Before going in, Qiao Nanqi turned back and said to Lu Xingping, “Thank you.”

It was unclear what exactly he was thanking him for.

It seemed there was much to thank him for, but out of a thousand words, there was only a single “thank you.”

After returning to Zhuxi, Qiao Nanqi told Xiao Wu to sleep first while he hired some domestic workers to help him pack and organize the apartment he had bought in Zhao Rong’s residential complex overnight.

By the time everything was sorted out, dawn was approaching.

Qiao Nanqi didn’t sleep.

Liang Youjun had told him that day that Zhao Rong’s routine was very good. Every day at dawn, he would stroll to the bookstore to sit for a while, read some books first, and then buy something to eat from the breakfast stalls.

Qiao Nanqi personally went to the market to buy groceries. While it was still early morning, he prepared a few light, healthy dishes to serve as breakfast for Zhao Rong.

He was too tired.

While boiling the soup, in a moment of inattention, the boiling water spilled directly onto the back of his hand.

Qiao Nanqi clenched his teeth hard, not even uttering a cry of pain. He just frowned and immediately ran cold water over the burn and applied medicine.

When Xiao Wu came to help him deliver these things, he looked at his reddened hand, hesitating to speak.

Qiao Nanqi glanced at him. “Speak if you have something to say.”

This was clearly a sign that he wouldn’t be blamed, so Xiao Wu boldly asked, “Sir, why don’t you deliver it yourself?”

Qiao Nanqi knew the reason for Xiao Wu’s proposal, but he still shook his head and only told Xiao Wu to return after delivering it.

Having finished all this, he finally let exhaustion take over, covered himself with a blanket, and closed his eyes to rest on the sofa.

He thought that after Zhao Rong finished breakfast and Xiao Wu packed everything up and returned, it would take some time.

To his surprise, Qiao Nanqi hadn’t even fully fallen asleep when Xiao Wu returned.

—The breakfast was completely untouched.

Qiao Nanqi’s heart skipped a beat. With a hoarse voice, he asked, “Does he not like these things anymore?”

Xiao Wu recalled what happened after he took the breakfast to the bookstore and really didn’t know how to speak.

He discovered for the first time that when someone like Zhao Rong, who was so gentle in his conduct that not a trace of hostility could be found, spoke words of rejection calmly, it could pierce the heart like that.

He was actually a bit afraid to say it, but Qiao Nanqi was clearly waiting, so he had to.

Xiao Wu steeled himself and said, “No, Mr. Zhao said the winter melon soup smells very fragrant and is exactly what he likes. But… but…”

“—But Liang Youjun doesn’t like this kind of watery breakfast and he likes to eat with Liang Youjun so they won’t eat it but thank you for the kindness anyway!” Xiao Wu finished in one breath without stopping, feeling like his life was being taken away by this sentence.

If even he felt this way, how much more so for Qiao Nanqi?

After finishing, he looked up slightly, waiting tremblingly for Qiao Nanqi’s reaction.

But Qiao Nanqi had no violent reaction.

He just lowered his head, glanced at the untouched breakfast in Xiao Wu’s hand, slowly closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, swallowing some unknown emotion.

After several consecutive days of fatigue, his face was so haggard that it was impossible to tell if his paleness was due to exhaustion or Zhao Rong’s words.

After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes, took the breakfast basket, and said to him, “Go ask one more time. If they don’t mind waiting a bit, could they tell me what else they’d like to eat besides these.”

“Sir…”

“Go quickly. Zhao Rong’s stomach is bad; he can’t go hungry.”

“O-okay…”

Outside, the morning sun was rising, the clouds were drifting, the years were peaceful, and the coming and going of people was full of life.

Their master, however, was in an empty house, taking the items out of the breakfast basket and placing them methodically on the stove to keep warm, waiting for him to bring back an answer that, no matter what, wouldn’t be a good one.