Zhuang Xu was dressed in a suit, his expression stern and cold. Already tall, he walked so quickly it was as if a gust of wind followed him, exuding an intimidating aura as though he were coming to apprehend a fugitive. If Li Shanqing had any strength left, he would have already fled.
Fortunately, Zhuang Xu was not like Li Shanqing. When Li Shanqing got angry, he truly disregarded all manners and decorum. Zhuang Xu, despite his imposing presence, only stood still after stopping in front of them. He didn’t speak immediately; instead, he inexplicably gave the man a cold, two-second stare, making the man somewhat uneasy, before asking Li Shanqing, “What are you doing here?”
Li Shanqing was about to explain when he suddenly caught a whiff of an overpoweringly strong perfume, mixed with a hint of alcohol. The perfume wasn’t unpleasant, but it was too intense. Before he could even open his mouth, he sneezed, then sneezed again.
He took a few steps back, frowning and waving his hand in front of his face to clear the air. In doing so, he deftly changed the subject, accusing Zhuang Xu, “What perfume did you spray? It’s so strong!” Then, turning the tables, he added, “I haven’t seen you in months, and you’re trying to kill me like this!”
Zhuang Xu, clearly unprepared for this reaction, glanced back at the people who had come with him, all of whom were watching them. He then gave the man another inexplicable look before grabbing Li Shanqing’s arm and leading him toward a room off the corridor. “Come with me first.”
The pull was gentle, but after such a long time apart, not only did Zhuang Xu fail to catch up properly, his attitude was surprisingly hostile. This encounter would later become one of the pieces of evidence in the rumors that Li Shanqing had harassed Zhuang Xu, something Li Shanqing never could have anticipated.
Once inside the room, Zhuang Xu turned on the light and left the door slightly ajar. Li Shanqing, overwhelmed by the scent again, sneezed twice more and hurriedly walked further into the room to escape Zhuang Xu’s fragrance. When he reached the far end of the room, about five or six meters away from Zhuang Xu, he turned back and pointed accusingly. “What are you doing, spraying so much perfume for no reason!”
The room appeared to be a small, rarely used reception area, with a white carpet, a sofa, and a few paintings on the walls. The warm-toned lighting cast a soft glow on Zhuang Xu, softening his otherwise unapproachable demeanor.
“…Don’t talk nonsense. I didn’t use perfume,” Zhuang Xu said with a hint of impatience, as if he wanted to step closer to speak with Li Shanqing. Li Shanqing immediately stopped him. “Stay there! Don’t come closer, keep your distance!”
Zhuang Xu stopped moving forward. For a brief moment, Li Shanqing thought he saw a flicker of confusion in Zhuang Xu’s expression, but it quickly vanished, replaced by an indescribable, heavy gaze that seemed subdued.
After a few seconds, Zhuang Xu spoke again. “It’s not my perfume. It’s someone else’s.”
Li Shanqing’s instincts told him something was off. He immediately asked, “Who’s ‘someone else’?”
Zhuang Xu looked at him, his voice lowering slightly. “Miss Zhao, from the event organizers. I originally only planned for Mr. Zhou to attend, but she brought a driver to pick us up at the hotel. The scent you’re talking about is probably from her car. I just got out, so it might be a bit strong.”
As he spoke, he inched a few steps closer to Li Shanqing. Since the movement was slight, Li Shanqing let it slide, especially because he had a more pressing question that demanded an immediate answer. “Why did she come to pick you up?”
For some reason, hearing Zhuang Xu talk about someone he didn’t know and events he wasn’t aware of made Li Shanqing feel displeased. He pressed further, “What’s going on? Are you two flirting or something?”
“I don’t know,” Zhuang Xu replied, surprisingly vague, before turning the question back on him. “Why did you come to Licheng? You can fly now?”
Li Shanqing noticed Zhuang Xu creeping forward again, clearly not being honest about staying put. He was about to stop him, but hearing Zhuang Xu neither deny the flirting nor dismiss the plane comment made him furious. He snapped, “What plane? I came by car! Six hours and forty-five minutes. And it’s all because you wouldn’t come see me, so I had to come find you. And what about you? All you do is spray perfume and choke me.”
“I told you, I didn’t spray perfume,” Zhuang Xu said, now standing just two or three meters away. Perhaps mindful of Li Shanqing’s condition, he didn’t come any closer.
Maybe, as Zhuang Xu had said, the scent was just something he’d picked up from the car, and it had dissipated somewhat, no longer as overpowering. But Li Shanqing’s body was sensitive, and he still felt uncomfortable. His lips pursed, his brows furrowed, and he couldn’t breathe easily. He wanted to step aside.
However, Li Shanqing was observant and could tell that moving away might upset the physically insensitive but emotionally sensitive Zhuang Xu. So, he politely asked, “Could you step back another meter?”
Such a friendly request, yet the sensitive Zhuang Xu failed to appreciate Li Shanqing’s good intentions. He looked at Li Shanqing, paused, and said, “Li Shanqing, if you want to see me, don’t keep躲ing.”
Zhuang Xu’s tone was inexplicably low, as if Li Shanqing had done something wrong, and he was now imposing this entirely unfair rule for their meeting. Li Shanqing, eloquent as he was, could have explained that his health limitations forced him to keep his distance. But looking into Zhuang Xu’s eyes, he didn’t say it, nor could he move away.
Zhuang Xu took two more steps closer, as if testing Li Shanqing’s limits. Li Shanqing, enduring the pungent smell, held back sneezes and coughs until tears welled in his eyes. Only then did Zhuang Xu stop and ask, “You still haven’t said why you came to Licheng.”
“I came to find you,” Li Shanqing said, unsure if Zhuang Xu was genuinely clueless or pretending to be. “We haven’t seen each other in seven months. You wouldn’t come to me, so I had to come to you.”
“…Why do you insist on seeing me?” Zhuang Xu’s voice carried a trace of helplessness.
The distance between Zhuang Xu and Li Shanqing allowed Li Shanqing to see him clearly, from his neatly styled hair to his impeccably pressed suit, his sharp and handsome features, and his eyes that, when fixed on someone, made them feel he was earnest and gentle. Zhuang Xu’s appearance hadn’t changed much—he was still striking, tall, lean, polite, and reserved. Yet, in Li Shanqing’s heart, he felt unfamiliar, and he blamed it on Zhuang Xu’s constant absence.
The Zhuang Xu who would visit Li Shanqing and stay by his side in the hospital was the same Zhuang Xu who now avoided him. This man was harder to understand than the most complex equation.
Li Shanqing had thought that coming to Licheng required only impulse and endurance for the journey. He’d assumed that once he saw Zhuang Xu, they’d bicker and laugh as they always had, and everything would be happy like before. Now, he realized that wasn’t the case—Zhuang Xu genuinely didn’t seem to want to see him.
Li Shanqing felt confused and hurt. Maybe it would be easier if he didn’t care so much about Zhuang Xu, but that was hard to do. If only emotions between people could be equal, like if Li Shanqing’s 50-milliliter test tube of feelings could pour 15 milliliters into Zhuang Xu’s 20-milliliter test tube, leaving them both with 35 milliliters. How simple that would be.
Or perhaps Li Shanqing could pour out 30 milliliters to match Zhuang Xu’s 20, but he didn’t know how.
In his heart, Zhuang Xu was as important to him as his parents, grandparents, and Mary.
At that moment, there was a soft knock on the slightly ajar door, and Zhuang Xu turned to look. A beautiful girl peeked in, locking eyes with Li Shanqing. She hesitated briefly before saying to Zhuang Xu, “Zhuang Xu, they said you were here. Is something wrong?”
“No,” Zhuang Xu replied. “Sorry, we’re dealing with some personal matters and need to borrow your room.”
The girl looked puzzled but graciously shook her head and smiled at him. “Then you guys carry on.” She even closed the door for them.
“That’s the Miss Zhao I mentioned,” Zhuang Xu said abruptly to Li Shanqing.
Li Shanqing let out a soft “mm,” still melancholic over the imbalance in their emotions. Unbeknownst to him, Zhuang Xu was now standing right in front of him.
Perhaps he’d grown accustomed to it, but the scent now lingered faintly at the tip of Li Shanqing’s nose, no longer as harsh. He widened his eyes, looking at Zhuang Xu’s cold, close-up gaze, his heartbeat inexplicably quickening, torn between distress and sorrow. He wished Zhuang Xu wanted to see him as much as he wanted to see Zhuang Xu.
They stood in silence for a moment before Li Shanqing spoke. “You don’t even care how exhausting my car ride was. Even if you don’t want to see me, you don’t have to make it so obvious.”
Zhuang Xu looked at him for a few seconds, perhaps finally grasping Li Shanqing’s efforts, and said something human. “Was it tiring?” His tone wasn’t exactly warm, but it was better than his earlier rejection of everything.
“Of course, we got stuck in traffic four times,” Li Shanqing emphasized, then complained, “I don’t even know how I’ll get back. I really don’t want to take the car again. Maybe I’ll walk back and die of exhaustion on the way.”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Zhuang Xu said softly, lowering his head slightly. “You came today? I didn’t see you mention it in your messages.”
“Yeah. I didn’t think you’d even look at my messages,” Li Shanqing couldn’t help but mock. Fearing he’d upset the sensitive Zhuang Xu, he quickly added, “I mean, you’re so great, taking time out of your busy schedule to read my boring texts.”
He hoped he wasn’t mistaken, but he thought he saw a fleeting hint of amusement in Zhuang Xu’s eyes. Zhuang Xu didn’t respond to that, instead asking, “I saw you talking to the youngest son of the Bolegard family earlier. Do you know him? He’s not a good person—you’d better stay away from him.”
“He came up to talk to me. Probably thought I was doing drugs or something,” Li Shanqing said dismissively. He looked up at Zhuang Xu, noticing he didn’t seem as distant now, and couldn’t help adding, “Forget about him, Zhuang Xu. It wasn’t easy for me to come find you. Can you please stop discouraging me?”
Seeing Zhuang Xu didn’t respond, Li Shanqing reached out to tug at him, wanting to shake his shoulders but only managing his arm. Unable to get an answer, he leaned closer, enduring the lingering perfume scent, coughing as he rested his head on Zhuang Xu’s shoulder and gave him a brief hug.
Li Shanqing had always loved hugs since he was a child, believing they were a sign of mutual affection. As an adult, few people hugged him anymore, so he seized this chance to share a warm moment with Zhuang Xu.
“Don’t you miss me even a little?” Li Shanqing mumbled into Zhuang Xu’s shoulder, his voice heavy with emotion and sadness. “I thought we were always happy when we were together.” Before he could finish, Zhuang Xu pushed him away by the shoulders.
Zhuang Xu’s grip was oddly strong, though he didn’t push him far—just enough to separate their bodies. Startled by the sudden move, Li Shanqing looked up and saw Zhuang Xu’s face, which looked almost grim.
—It was just a hug; was it really that bad? Li Shanqing was puzzled. He remembered they’d hugged before, and Zhuang Xu hadn’t reacted so strongly. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
After a two-second pause, Zhuang Xu spoke first. “Don’t take the car back to Fancheng. The chairman of our partner has two private planes. I can borrow one. Whatever standards or medical personnel you need, just send me the details, and I’ll have my secretary arrange it.”
His gaze was deep and heavy, his actions and words contradictory, making him utterly incomprehensible to Li Shanqing. But since Zhuang Xu was willing to be kind, Li Shanqing accepted without hesitation, happily saying, “Great!” He couldn’t resist grabbing Zhuang Xu and shaking him. “How many days are you staying in Licheng? Can I hang out with you more?”
“I’m not here to have fun,” Zhuang Xu declined.
Li Shanqing’s face fell, and he sighed. Zhuang Xu seemed to hesitate, his lips moving slightly before he said in a low voice, “I’ll try to spend time with you tomorrow.”
Zhuang Xu’s voice was clear and articulate, a stark contrast to Li Shanqing’s hoarse one, exuding rationality and steadiness. It was likable and dependable.
With their minor conflict resolved, Li Shanqing, always curious about Zhuang Xu’s affairs, asked about everything—from his relationship with the event organizers to his hotel, the banquet venue, and how long he’d been in Miss Zhao’s car to pick up such a strong scent.
Had he been in a relationship in the past six months? Why did he always ignore Li Shanqing’s messages? Zhuang Xu seemed a bit exasperated by the barrage of questions, outright ignoring some.
But he didn’t immediately suggest leaving the room. They talked for a while, and when Li Shanqing got tired of standing, he plopped down on the sofa.
After spending over half an hour together, Zhuang Xu got a call from Zhou Kaiqi and said he had to go. Li Shanqing checked his phone and noticed Lu Zhengming had sent several messages and called multiple times, but he’d missed them because his phone was on silent.
As they left the room, the corridor seemed inexplicably more crowded than when they’d entered. Li Shanqing and Zhuang Xu parted ways since Zhuang Xu wouldn’t let him follow. Li Shanqing called Lu Zhengming back.
Lu Zhengming came to find Li Shanqing, accompanied by two of his friends. He looked somewhat worried but didn’t scold Li Shanqing. Instead, he asked with the concern of an elder, “What’s this I heard about you and Zhuang Xu having an unpleasant encounter?”
“Unpleasant? We were just catching up. Mr. Zhuang used to be my mom’s client, you know,” Li Shanqing said, unwilling to share Zhuang Xu’s private matters and brushing it off casually. When Lu Zhengming tried to ask more, Li Shanqing played dumb and didn’t answer.
Little did he know that this offhand remark would later be twisted into a widely circulated rumor, confidently cited as evidence that Noah Lee had blackmailed Zhuang Xu with gratitude and morality.
