The Cinnabar Mole of a Beijing Circle Tycoon

Fang Shuning, who hadn't slept all night, finally couldn't hold on any longer. With tears in her eyes, she fell asleep on the sofa.

The sun gradually climbed higher outside the window, casting dappled light and shadow on the floor through the sheer curtains.

Fang Shuning rested her cheek against her arm, her shoulders trembling slightly, and the teardrops on her eyelashes glistened in the sunlight.

Shen Qingyao walked over quietly, carefully helped her up her limp body, and half-carried, half-supported her as they walked towards the bedroom.

Fang Shuning's forehead rested against her neck, warm tears soaking her collar, and she mumbled that name: "Linchuan..."

Shen Qingyao felt a pang of heartache and gently coaxed, "Sweetie, go to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up."

She settled the person on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and then squatted by the bedside to wipe away the tears that kept overflowing from the corners of her eyes, her eyes full of heartache.

After settling Fang Shuning in, Shen Qingyao quietly closed the door and walked to the balcony in the living room.

The afternoon breeze carried a hint of heat as she took out her phone, swiped her finger across the screen, and tapped the pinned contact.

The phone was answered after two rings, and Meng Jiangyu's familiar deep voice came from the other end: "Baby, what brings you to call me now?"

Shen Qingyao leaned against the cold railing, her voice softening, carrying a hint of barely perceptible fatigue: "I just managed to coax Sister Fang to sleep. She cried all night, and her eyes are still swollen like walnuts."

She paused, her tone now tinged with concern, "Ayu, are you at the company?"

Meng Jiangyu chuckled softly, the weariness in his voice lessening: "Mmm."

"that……"

He seemed to have guessed what she was thinking and took the initiative to speak, "You want to ask about Lu Linchuan?"

Shen Qingyao hummed in agreement, lowering her voice as if afraid of waking the person in the bedroom: "Is he really that heartless? He just lets go like that?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Meng Jiangyu's voice deepened, tinged with helplessness: "He drank so much last night that he had a stomach hemorrhage, and he's in the hospital now."

Shen Qingyao frowned, her tone full of confusion, "If you can't bear to part with it, then let's face it together."

"He has his difficulties," Meng Jiangyu sighed.

"Do you scumbags just love the idea of ​​a 'hateful sea and passionate sky'?"

"Let's stick to the facts, no group attacks!" Meng Jiangyu took a sip of coffee. "Honey, this situation between them is a dead end!"

"Isn't there any other way?!"

"If Lu Linchuan hadn't gone to such lengths to clear her father's name, they probably really would have gotten married!"

Everyone has to pay the price for their choices!

She sighed softly, "It's better to have a short, sharp pain than a long, drawn-out one."

"As things stand now, a cooperation between the two companies worth tens of billions is a done deal."

"My darling, in the weighing of absolute interests, love is as light as a feather on a scale!"

Fang Shuning slept very restlessly, with soft, mumbling sounds coming from her bedroom.

Her brows were tightly furrowed, the red marks at the corners of her eyes had not yet faded, her eyelashes trembled like butterflies fluttering their wings under her eyelids, and she murmured fragmented sentences over and over again.

"Linchuan...don't go..." She suddenly gripped the bedsheet beneath her, her knuckles turning white, her voice trembling with tears, "You said you'd stay with me for life...you lied..."

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a bright spot on her tear-streaked face.

Hearing the noise, Shen Qingyao hung up the phone, immediately walked to the bedroom door, and gently pushed it open to go inside.

Shen Qingyao walked quietly to the bedside and reached out to smooth her furrowed brows. Just as her fingertips touched the center of her brow, her wrist was unconsciously gripped.

"Don't go..." Fang Shuning's voice was thick with nasal tone.

Shen Qingyao squatted down, gently patting the back of her hand with her other hand, her voice extremely soft and gentle: "I won't leave."

The touch on her fingertips was real warmth, and Fang Shuning suddenly opened her eyes, thinking that Lu Linchuan had returned.

"Qingyao!" She opened her mouth, her voice trembling uncontrollably, "He really doesn't want me anymore..."

All the grievances and resentment that had been weighing on my heart finally burst forth the moment I woke up from the dream.

She let go, curled up and hugged her knees, her shoulders trembling violently, her sobs muffled in her arms, like a wounded little animal, even her choked sobs carrying a broken pain.

Shen Qingyao felt extremely distressed and quickly sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to pull her into her arms and gently patting her back.

In the end, she didn't tell her that Lu Linchuan had drunk so much that he had a stomach hemorrhage and ended up in the hospital.

After crying her fill, Fang Shuning slowly lifted her head from Shen Qingyao's embrace. Her eyes were terribly red, but she had gained a calm that showed she was ready to give up.

Looking at the home filled with traces of their life together, Fang Shuning felt as if something was clenching her heart, making it hard to breathe, yet strangely, she also felt a surge of courage to sever ties with the past.

She spoke slowly, her voice still a little hoarse, but unusually firm: "Qingyao, I want to leave."

Shen Qingyao was taken aback: "Leave? Where to?"

"It's too cold up north, I want to go to the south." Fang Shuning smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Let's go to Dali in Yunnan. I've heard the wind is gentle, the clouds are low, and life there is slow-paced. I want to leave Beijing for a while, to leave this place where his shadow is everywhere."

"I'll rent a small courtyard over there, plant some flowers, and bask in the sun. Maybe...maybe I can slowly forget." She looked at Shen Qingyao, her voice very soft, as if she were talking to the air, or as if she were encouraging herself.

Shen Qingyao looked at her but didn't try to persuade her to stay.

Some wounds need to be moved to a different place to slowly scab over.

She hugged Fang Shuning: "Okay, I support you. If you need someone to talk to, just call me anytime, and I'll fly over to be with you."

Fang Shuning felt a lump in her throat, nodded vigorously, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

This vast city of Beijing, once filled with her and Lu Linchuan's days and nights, has now become the place she most wants to escape from.

-

The street scene outside the car window rushed past, and Fang Shuning, resting her chin on her hand, gazed out the window, her vision blurred.

Shen Qingyao held her hand, saying very little the whole way, only repeatedly reminding her at check-in: "Remember to let me know you've arrived safely in Dali. Tell me anytime if anything happens, don't try to tough it out."

Fang Shuning nodded and gave a faint smile: "Don't worry, I'm not a child."

The two hugged at the security checkpoint.

Shen Qingyao's eyes reddened, but Fang Shuning didn't shed a tear. She just patted her back and said, "Come on, I'll bring you some flower cakes when I get back."

After saying that, she picked up her small bag, turned around, and walked towards the boarding gate. "Goodbye, Beijing!"

She walked quickly and steadily, without looking back even for a second, as if she would be held back by the memories of this city if she slowed down even a second.

She didn't see that behind a pillar in the waiting area not far away, Lu Linchuan, dressed in a hospital gown, was looking at her with a pale face.

His gaze was fixed on Fang Shuning's back as he watched her walk into the crowd until she was no longer visible.

The dull pain in his chest came in waves, like countless needles pricking him, so painful that he could barely stand.

Meng Jiangyu stood beside him, patted him on the shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Achuan, let's part ways amicably."

Lu Linchuan closed his eyes, and hot tears overflowed, splashing onto the cold floor tiles.