The Cinnabar Mole of a Beijing Circle Tycoon

As dusk settled through the glass windows of the teaching building, Shen Qingyao, carrying her textbooks, walked briskly out of the school gate.

Meng Jiangyu said he would pick her up in the evening when he left home in the morning. He is always punctual, so he should be at the school gate by now.

As soon as Shen Qingyao reached the school gate, she saw Meng Jiangyu's car parked under the sycamore trees by the roadside.

She jogged over, opened the car door, and got in. A faint scent of cedar wafted towards her.

"Have you been waiting long?" Shen Qingyao placed the documents on her lap and turned to look at him.

Meng Jiangyu started the car, turning the steering wheel smoothly in his hands, his tone tinged with amusement: "Not long, I'll be there right when your get out of class ends."

Shen Qingyao fastened her seatbelt. "Let's go home. I'll play ball with you tonight!"

"Hmm, honey, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Nothing much planned, just studying at home!"

"You can study anywhere. How about we study at the company?"

"Okay." Shen Qingyao nodded. "I was just worried that I wouldn't be able to concentrate on studying when I'm home alone."

As soon as she finished speaking, her phone rang, and the words "Fang Shuning" appeared on the screen.

She answered the phone, but instead of her usual energetic tone, there was a choked voice with a heavy nasal tone: "Qingyao... Lu Linchuan and I have broken up."

Shen Qingyao's heart sank, and her voice tightened instantly: "Sister Fang, where are you? Don't cry."

"I'm at home," Fang Shuning sniffed, her voice full of bewilderment and grievance. "For eight whole years, I thought we could be together forever... I don't want to be alone. Can you stay with me tomorrow? I... I'm really so sad."

The sobbing voice on the phone struck Shen Qingyao's heart like a series of blows. She spoke softly, "Okay, I'll come with you. I'm coming to find you right now."

After hanging up the phone, the atmosphere in the carriage instantly became quiet.

Shen Qingyao turned to look at Meng Jiangyu, her eyes filled with a cautious apology: "Um... I have to stand you up... I can't play ball with you tonight, and I probably can't go to the company with you tomorrow. Sister Fang and Lu Linchuan broke up. After eight years of relationship, she's really upset right now, and I have to be with her."

Meng Jiangyu snorted, deliberately slowing down the car. His profile tightened, and his tone carried a hint of feigned grievance: "Oh, so you think I'm not as important to you as Fang Shuning?"

His obvious feigned displeasure actually relieved Shen Qingyao. "He's trying to twist the facts here!"

She leaned closer and softly tugged at his sleeve, her voice saccharine: "Oh, okay, okay, it's my fault, it's my fault. Sister Fang is terribly upset right now."

Meng Jiangyu remained silent, but he couldn't help glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing this, Shen Qingyao leaned over and quickly pecked him on the cheek, then gently shook her forehead against his shoulder: "Mr. Meng, you are a magnanimous man, don't be angry."

Upon hearing this, Meng Jiangyu finally couldn't hold back anymore. The corners of his mouth gradually curved upwards. He reached out and ruffled her hair, his expression both helpless and indulgent: "I was just joking with you. I'll take you there now."

He paused, then added sternly, "But!"

Shen Qingyao immediately perked up her ears.

"If you're going out tomorrow, wear something warm. It'll be windy, so don't catch a cold. Also, send me your location anytime."

Shen Qingyao smiled and nodded vigorously, "Yes, sir! Mr. Meng is the best!"

Meng Jiangyu slowed down the car a little: "Don't let me lose contact with you. Also, if she gets too emotional, remember to call me. I'm available anytime..."

"I know, I know, Butler Meng." Shen Qingyao interrupted him with a smile, hooking her little finger around his and shaking it.

By the time the car stopped at the entrance of Fang Shuning's residential compound, night had already fallen.

Shen Qingyao opened the car door, leaned in again, and pecked Meng Jiangyu's lips: "Bye-bye."

Meng Jiangyu watched her trot into the building, smiled helplessly, took out his phone, and sent her a message: "Remember to keep your research topics separate. Don't bring yourself into it or overthink things!"

A cute emoji quickly returned from the other end of the screen. He stared at the little icon, the curve of his lips lingering for a long time.

Shen Qingyao carried the hot milk tea she had just bought, a small bag of roasted chestnuts, and a small cake. She used the password Fang Shuning had given her to open the front door. Only a dim floor lamp was lit in the living room.

Fang Shuning was curled up on the sofa, hugging a pillow, her eyes swollen like walnuts, and a stack of old photos were spread out on the coffee table.

Hearing the noise, she looked up, but didn't say anything. She simply moved aside to make room for Shen Qingyao.

Shen Qingyao handed her the hot milk tea, then peeled a warm chestnut and put it to her lips, saying softly, "It's freshly roasted, sweet."

Fang Shuning didn't eat, her eyes reddened again. She picked up a photo, rubbing it between her fingertips, her voice hoarse: "Look, this was taken the day we got together."

In the photo, Lu Linchuan smiles broadly, tilting his head to nuzzle Fang Shuning's head, his youthful spirit and joy barely concealed.

"We were so good together back then," Fang Shuning said, her voice choked with emotion. "In winter, his hands were always warm, and he would put my hands in his pockets."

She paused, tears falling onto the photo, blurring the image: "I thought life would continue like this forever."

"He remembers all my preferences and knows all my grievances!"

"I thought we..."

Shen Qingyao didn't say anything, but simply put her arm around her shoulder and let her cry in her arms.

The living room was quiet, save for Fang Shuning's suppressed sobs and the occasional whistling of the wind outside the window.

"He said he couldn't do anything." Fang Shuning sniffed, her voice full of confusion. "He doesn't want me anymore. Qingyao, am I not good enough? Is he tired of me?"

"No," Shen Qingyao interrupted her, her voice gentle yet firm, "You're fine."

She wiped away Fang Shuning's tears: "None of you did anything wrong, it's just fate playing tricks on us."

Fang Shuning remained silent for a long time, so long that Shen Qingyao thought she had fallen asleep, before she heard her speak in a muffled voice: "I can't bear to part with him. I always feel that as long as I try harder, his family will accept me."

"But her family didn't respect me at all. No matter how hard I tried, it was useless!"

Shen Qingyao gently patted her back, her eyes moist.

She paused, looking at the photos on the coffee table that recorded her youth and love, and said softly, "Sister Fang, don't get stuck in the past. Life goes on."

The gentle glow of the floor lamp enveloped the two of them. In Shen Qingyao's arms, Fang Shuning finally broke down in tears, no longer holding back her emotions.

We weep for the past, we weep for that relationship that ended without a trace.

The night outside the window grew darker and darker. Shen Qingyao held her in her arms, occasionally bending down to gently pat her back.

Fang Shuning cried until her voice was hoarse before she sobbed as she pulled a bank card from under her pillow. Her fingers trembled so badly that she almost couldn't hold the card.

"He gave it to me." Her voice was dry and hoarse, as if it had been sanded. "He said the money in this card was enough for me to buy a big house and live a carefree life."

"Qingyao, what do you think he means by this? Does he think that eight years of relationship can be bought off with this money?"

Shen Qingyao looked at the thin card, and her heart ached. "He probably just wants you to be happy!"

"His grandparents are getting old and can't take it anymore." Fang Shuning buried her face in Shen Qingyao's neck, tears soaking a patch of her clothes again. "His grandmother held his hand and cried, saying that all she ever hoped for in her life was for him to find a girl of equal social standing and live a stable life."

"He went to see him, right?" Shen Qingyao asked softly.

Fang Shuning nodded, her shoulders shaking even more violently: "I saw the new WeChat friends he added on his phone!"

"I asked him why, and he said he couldn't give me a future, that dragging me along was holding me back."

"He clearly didn't want to let go either." She suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with shattered light. "When he broke up with me that day, he was so resolute. Qingyao, how could he be so heartless?"

Shen Qingyao hugged her tighter, gently stroking her hair with her hand, saying nothing, just staying by her side.

"He's not heartless, he's just desperate. On one side is his family who raised him, and on the other is me, whom he's loved for eight years. Choosing either side will hurt him." Fang Shuning clutched the bank card, her knuckles turning white.

The floor lamp in the living room was still on, its warm yellow light illuminating the old photos on the coffee table. The boys and girls in the photos were smiling brightly, as if they would never have any worries.

The wind outside picked up, making the window rattle loudly.

Shen Qingyao picked up a small cake from the table, scooped out a spoonful, and held it to Fang Shuning's lips: "Try it, it's strawberry flavored, and sweet."

Fang Shuning opened her mouth, the sweetness of the cake melting on her tongue, but she couldn't suppress the sourness surging in her heart.

Tears fell again, landing on the cake and leaving a small wet patch.

"Qingyao, I really... can't bear to part with her."