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Chapter Seven: Shi-Nan’s Second Spring
2026/10/09 20:23
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Chapter Seven: Shi-Nan’s Second Spring
31. A Figure Heading South

It was early morning, and the sky had not yet fully brightened. When Cai Shi-Nan awoke, the first thing he noticed was the unusual silence in the house. He walked out of his room and discovered that Yi-Jun was no longer in the living room. However, a neatly folded sheet of paper had been left on the table. His heart sank. Shi-Nan reached for the letter, his fingertips trembling slightly. When he finished reading the final line, he stood frozen in place. Yi-Jun had actually misunderstood him, believing that he was willing to acknowledge Long Qing’s child in order to curry favor with the Long family and take over the company.
“That’s not what happened…” Shi-Nan clenched the letter tightly, feeling a heavy pressure in his chest. He knew very well that what he had said the previous night could easily be misunderstood, but he had never intended to marry Long Qing, much less change his destiny by taking advantage of Long Tian-Xing’s daughter. What he had never imagined was that Yi-Jun had overheard that conversation.
Shi-Nan immediately picked up the phone, only to discover that Yi-Jun’s cell phone had been switched off. He hurried to the law firm where she worked. When he arrived at the office, he learned that she had already resigned.
“Where is Lin Yi-Jun?” he asked.
The receptionist looked at him with some embarrassment. “She completed her resignation formalities this morning. It seems she was preparing to leave Taipei.”
Shi-Nan’s expression changed. “Where did she go?”
The woman shook her head. “She didn’t say.”
Shi-Nan stood at the entrance to the law firm, watching the traffic stream past on the streets of Taipei. For the first time, he had no idea where to begin looking for her. He took out the letter Yi-Jun had left behind and read it again.
“Yi-Jun, at least give me a chance to explain…”
But the only answer he received was the noisy clamor of the street.
Meanwhile, Yi-Jun had already left Taipei quietly. She had told no one where she was going and had left no contact information.
The train traveled steadily south, and the scenery outside the window gradually changed from the high-rise buildings of the city to fields and mountain ranges. Yi-Jun leaned against the window, her gaze fixed on the landscape rushing past, but she felt none of the carefree ease of a traveler. She had once believed that she understood Shi-Nan completely. Now she realized that a relationship could become so unfamiliar in the space of a single night.
After arriving in Kaohsiung, she found a job at another law firm. She told herself that since she had chosen to leave, she should reclaim her heart and devote all her energy to her career.
What she had not expected, however, was that she would encounter someone familiar after moving south.
One evening, Yi-Jun had just left the law firm and bought a drink at a nearby shop when a familiar voice suddenly called from behind her.
“Yi-Jun?”
She stopped and slowly turned around. The person standing before her was none other than Chen Jun-Sheng. They stared at each other for several seconds, and the astonishment on Jun-Sheng’s face quickly turned to delight.
“It really is you! What are you doing in Kaohsiung?”
Yi-Jun managed a faint smile. “I came here for work.”
Jun-Sheng looked at her, a trace of curiosity hidden in his eyes. “What about Shi-Nan?”
Yi-Jun’s smile immediately faded. She did not answer. Jun-Sheng quickly sensed that something was wrong.
“Did something happen between you two?”
Yi-Jun remained silent for a moment before replying quietly, “We’ve separated.”
Jun-Sheng froze. In the next instant, a barely concealed look of delight flashed through his eyes, but he quickly disguised it with an expression of concern.
“Are you all right?”
Yi-Jun lowered her head and held the drink cup in her hands. “I’m fine. I just want to start over.”
As Jun-Sheng watched her, a different kind of excitement was already stirring inside him. For all these years, he had kept Yi-Jun in his heart. When Shi-Nan was by her side, he could only conceal his feelings. Now that the two had actually separated, this might be a rare opportunity for him. He decided he would wait no longer.
“Yi-Jun, you’re all alone in Kaohsiung. If there’s anything you need help with, just let me know.”
Yi-Jun looked up at him and nodded politely.
“Thank you.”
Jun-Sheng smiled.
From that day on, he began appearing frequently in Yi-Jun’s life. After work, he would find an excuse to invite her to dinner. When she worked overtime, he would bring her a meal. When the weather turned cold, he would remind her to take an extra jacket. His attentiveness was direct and unmistakable.
Of course, Yi-Jun could sense his intentions. Sometimes, when she watched Jun-Sheng smiling as he pulled out a chair for her at a restaurant, she felt little emotional response. She had only just emerged from the pain of a broken relationship and was not ready to accept someone else into her life.
Jun-Sheng, however, believed that since an opportunity had finally presented itself, he could not afford to let it slip away again.
What he did not know was that although Yi-Jun had left Shi-Nan, the person she truly could not let go of was still the man who had disappointed her but remained so deeply lodged in her heart. And this unexpected reunion would once again entangle the fates of all three of them.
32. Lost Love
On the day Long Qing went into labor, the sky over Taipei was exceptionally gloomy. Outside the hospital delivery room, Long Tian-Xing paced back and forth anxiously, his hands clasped tightly in front of him. The hurried footsteps of medical staff could be heard constantly from inside the delivery room, occasionally accompanied by Long Qing’s cries of pain.
Minute after minute passed, but the baby still could not be delivered safely. When the doctor emerged from the delivery room, his expression was grave.
“Miss Long’s condition is not good. We must intervene immediately.”
Long Tian-Xing’s face turned pale. He quickly asked, “Can both the mother and the baby be saved?”
The doctor did not answer immediately. He only said, “We will do everything we can.”
Inside the delivery room, Long Qing was already exhausted. She knew the seriousness of her condition, and she knew that the father of her child was no longer alive. Yet when the doctor asked whether she was willing to give up the baby, she shook her head with all the strength she had left.
“The baby must live.”
The medical staff looked at her. Long Qing gasped for breath, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
“This is what I owe him…and the only way I can atone for my sins.”
She knew that she had made many selfish and impulsive choices in the past, and she also knew that her father had endured too much pain because of her. If the baby could survive, she was willing to bear any consequences.
Eventually, the baby was born. But Long Qing never made it out of the delivery room.
When the doctor announced that she had died from complications during childbirth, Long Tian-Xing stood motionless. He stared at the tightly closed door of the delivery room, his lips trembling slightly, unable to utter a single word.
Only when a nurse emerged carrying the baby did he slowly reach out his hands. The tiny life lay quietly in its swaddling clothes, completely unaware that its birth had taken a mother away and left a grandfather without his daughter.
Long Tian-Xing looked down at the baby, and at last his tears fell.
“Qing’er…”
The moment he uttered her name, he could no longer control his emotions.
His daughter’s death dealt him a devastating blow. In the past, he had devoted all his energy to the company and had always believed that as long as he possessed sufficient ability, he could arrange everything for his family. Only at the end did he realize that some of life’s upheavals could not be undone, no matter how much money or power one possessed.
Not long afterward, Long Tian-Xing decided to retire. He summoned Cai Shi-Nan to his office. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the blinds, falling across the documents and the company seal on the desk. Long Tian-Xing sat in his chair, his hair even grayer than before.
“Shi-Nan, I want to retire.”
Shi-Nan was taken aback. “General Manager, surely you’re not at the point where you have to let go of the company completely?”
Long Tian-Xing shook his head. “When you grow old, you should know when it’s time to hand over your position.”
He looked at Shi-Nan, a greater sense of trust in his eyes.
“I can rest easy leaving this company in your hands.”
Shi-Nan remained silent for a moment before nodding solemnly. “I’ll make sure it runs well.”
Long Tian-Xing reached out and patted him on the shoulder. “I believe in you.”
One day, six months later, a wedding invitation arrived for Shi-Nan. He opened the envelope, and the moment he saw the names printed on the invitation, he froze.
Groom: Chen Jun-Sheng.
Bride: Lin Yi-Jun.
Shi-Nan’s hand stopped in midair. The room was quiet, with only the occasional sound of traffic coming from outside the window. He stared at the two familiar names for a long time, feeling as though something heavy were pressing down on his chest.
So Yi-Jun had ultimately chosen Jun-Sheng after all. And of all people, it had to be the man who had once shared a dormitory room with him and knew more than anyone else about the history of his relationship with Yi-Jun.
Shi-Nan gave a bitter smile. Fate certainly had a cruel sense of humor at times.
He could have chosen not to attend. In the end, however, he put on a formal suit and arrived at the wedding on time.
The wedding banquet hall was brightly lit. Guests moved among the tables as laughter and words of congratulations rose and fell around them. Shi-Nan sat in a corner, watching Yi-Jun in her wedding dress. The girl who had once studied with him in the library and made a promise with him beside the Dongshan River now stood beside another man.
Yi-Jun spotted him from a distance, and her expression immediately changed with surprise. Their eyes met across the crowd. For an instant, a complicated emotion flashed through her gaze.
Shi-Nan merely offered her a faint smile and raised his wineglass in greeting.
When the wedding reached the toasting portion, Jun-Sheng approached him. He wore the smile of a bridegroom, yet could not help studying Shi-Nan’s expression.
“Shi-Nan, thank you for coming to our wedding today.”
Shi-Nan looked at him in silence for several seconds before finally raising his glass.
“I wish you both happiness.”
Jun-Sheng was slightly taken aback. He had assumed that Shi-Nan would at least try to embarrass him, but the other man remained unexpectedly calm.
“Thank you.”
The two wineglasses clinked gently. The clear sound reached Shi-Nan’s ears, yet it seemed very distant to him.
Standing not far away, Yi-Jun watched Shi-Nan’s retreating figure and suddenly felt an indescribable ache in her heart. She did not know what he was thinking at that moment. Shi-Nan did not turn around either.
He simply drained his glass.
By the time he left the banquet, night had fallen. Shi-Nan walked alone along the street outside the hotel. The evening breeze brushed against the hem of his suit. He stopped and looked up at the city lights.
He had once believed that if he worked hard enough, he could obtain the life he wanted. But love was not an examination. There was no formula guaranteeing success through effort, nor was there an answer that could be secured simply by refusing to give up.
From that day forward, he stopped devoting his thoughts to romantic relationships. He poured all his time into the company, handling business during the day and studying the market and management at night. When the company needed to expand, he personally met with clients. When staff training was needed, he developed the procedures himself.
The young man who had once worked hard at his studies for the sake of love gradually became a man who devoted his entire life to his career.
Someone once asked him, “Shi-Nan, why don’t you find yourself a girlfriend?”
He merely smiled faintly. “I’m not interested in that right now.”
Only he knew that it was not simply a matter of having no interest. He had quietly locked away the heart that had once been willing to believe in love.
Some people, after leaving your life, do not stop you from moving forward. They simply teach you that from then on, you must travel farther on your own.
33. Starting Over with Her Daughter
Married life did not turn out to be as peaceful as Lin Yi-Jun had once imagined. A few years later, she gave birth to a daughter and named her Chen Xin.
On the day the baby was born, Yi-Jun sat on her hospital bed holding her swaddled daughter. Looking down at the sleeping infant’s little face, she finally smiled for the first time in a long while.
“Xin-Xin, Mommy will take good care of you from now on.”
She gently touched her daughter’s tiny hand and thought that as long as the family could live in peace, there would be no need to dwell on everything that had happened in the past.
But Chen Jun-Sheng did not change after starting a family. His womanizing habits, which had been evident before marriage, remained just as strong afterward. He was out socializing every few days, and the women around him changed one after another.
At first, Yi-Jun confronted him. Eventually, she fell silent, and her heart gradually grew cold.
One night, Jun-Sheng came home late again, reeking of alcohol. Yi-Jun sat waiting for him in the living room, where only one lamp was lit on the table.
“Where have you been this time?”
Jun-Sheng took off his coat and replied casually, “Just a get-together with friends. You don’t have to question me about everything every day.”
Yi-Jun looked at him, her eyes filled with disappointment.
“I’m your wife. I just hope you’ll remember that you have a family now.”
Jun-Sheng frowned without answering, then turned and walked into the bedroom.
Yi-Jun remained seated, slowly clasping her hands together. She had once believed that marriage would at least give her a stable home. Only now did she understand that marriage could not change certain people’s fundamental nature.
Later, Jun-Sheng even became involved with a woman who had underworld connections. When Yi-Jun found out, she pleaded with him to stay away.
“Jun-Sheng, those people are not someone we can afford to provoke. You need to break things off with that woman right away.”
Jun-Sheng, however, dismissed her concerns and even laughed.
“You’re overthinking it. I know where to draw the line.”
Yi-Jun watched him walk away, her uneasiness growing heavier by the day.
No one imagined that this would be the last time he ever said those words to her.
Not long afterward, Jun-Sheng became embroiled in a deadly conflict involving the woman and underworld figures, and he was killed.
When the news reached the Chen family, the entire family was thrown into shock.
Holding her daughter, Chen Xin, Yi-Jun stood outside the funeral hall, her face pale. She could never have imagined that the man who had once entered into marriage with her would ultimately leave this world in such a way.
Before her grief had even subsided, accusations from the Chen family began to pour in.
“You were his wife. You couldn’t even keep your own husband under control.”
“Our Chen family still doesn’t have a grandson. What will happen to the family line?”
Each remark pierced Yi-Jun’s ears. She held her daughter tightly, her fingertips turning pale.
Chen Xin gazed at her mother with innocent eyes, completely unaware of what the adults’ arguments meant. Yi-Jun did not argue back. It was not because she agreed with what they said, but because she no longer had the strength to defend herself.
Suddenly, she understood that no matter how hard she tried, she would always remain an outsider in this family.
That night, she sat alone in her room, packing her daughter’s clothes. Her little girl was already asleep, and the only sound in the room was her soft breathing. Yi-Jun looked at Chen Xin’s sleeping face, and at last her tears began to fall.
“Xin-Xin, Mommy is taking you away from here.”
She knew she could not allow her daughter to continue growing up in such an environment.
The next day, she left the Chen family with Chen Xin and returned to Taipei.
When she set foot on the streets of Taipei again, Yi-Jun did not look back. She knew she had lost a marriage and a man she had once believed would accompany her through the rest of her life. But she still had her daughter, as well as her professional skills.
After returning to Taipei, she threw herself back into the legal profession and opened her own law firm. The office was small, and the furnishings were simple, but every desk and every document represented her determination to rebuild her life.
During the day, she handled cases and accompanied her clients to court. In the evening, she returned home to help her daughter with her studies.
Sometimes, when work kept her until late at night, she would push open the front door, exhausted, only to have her daughter run over and throw her arms around her.
“Mommy, you’re home.”
Yi-Jun crouched down and gathered her daughter into her arms.
“Yes, Mommy’s home.”
At that moment, all her exhaustion seemed to disappear.
She knew she had no way back, nor did she need one. She could not choose her marriage over again, but she could choose the path her daughter would take in the future, and she could choose what to do with the rest of her own life.
She no longer expected anyone else to shelter her from life’s storms. From then on, she would rely on her own hands to raise her daughter and rebuild her life.
A woman’s true rebirth does not mean forgetting the wounds she has suffered. It means having the courage, even while those wounds remain, to lead her child toward tomorrow.
34. Reunion and Misplaced Love
One Saturday morning, several years later, sunlight filtered through the treetops on the school campus, while the sounds of children running and playing drifted from the playground. Cai Shi-Nan, dressed in a neat shirt, walked through the school gate alone. Today was the parent-teacher meeting for his son, Long Xiang. Ever since Long Qing’s death, he had taken on both the father’s and the mother’s roles. His company kept him busy every day, so he could only leave his son in the care of a nanny. Sometimes, when he returned home late at night after working overtime, he would find his son already asleep, and a sense of guilt would rise within him.
He walked to the classroom door and was about to ask where he should sit when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
“Shi-Nan?”
He stopped and turned around. At the other end of the corridor stood a woman in an elegant suit, holding several documents and looking at him with astonishment.
Their eyes met, and Shi-Nan stood stunned for several seconds.
“Mei-Lan?”
After years apart, Chen Mei-Lan had grown from the young woman she had once been into a mature and composed school administrator. Time had changed her appearance, but not those familiar eyes.
Mei-Lan walked a few steps toward him and smiled. “I never imagined I would run into you here.”
Shi-Nan smiled as well. “Neither did I.”
They stood in the corridor exchanging greetings and talking about their lives over the years. Mei-Lan had married long ago and had a family of her own, while Shi-Nan was raising his son, Long Xiang, by himself.
When they talked about their children, Mei-Lan looked at Shi-Nan. “Shi-Nan, it hasn’t been easy raising a child alone all these years.”
Shi-Nan glanced down at Long Xiang, who was playing with his classmates inside the classroom, and replied calmly, “He’s still young. I can’t focus only on work.”
Mei-Lan pondered for a moment before suddenly asking, “Have you ever thought about finding someone to keep you and your son company?”
Shi-Nan was slightly taken aback. “You mean…getting married?”
“I’m not saying you have to get married right away.” Mei-Lan smiled. “It’s just that a child needs a mother, and you need someone to help take care of the household, too. Actually, I have a colleague who is a very good person. I could introduce you to her.”
Shi-Nan had intended to decline politely, but as he watched Long Xiang’s lively figure, he found himself wavering. All these years, he had devoted his energy entirely to his work and his son. He had indeed given little serious thought to his own romantic life.
“Her name is Zhao Fen-Fang,” Mei-Lan said. “She’s rather serious and conscientious, and she’s very patient with children. I think the two of you could get to know each other.”
Shi-Nan nodded. “Then I’ll leave it to you.”
A few days later, Mei-Lan arranged for Shi-Nan to meet Zhao Fen-Fang. Fen-Fang was a woman who did things by the book. She was well-spoken and took her work very seriously. At their first meeting, she frankly told Shi-Nan, “If we do eventually build a family together, I’ll be rather strict about the child’s education.”
Shi-Nan did not object. “Long Xiang does need someone to discipline him.”
He believed that as long as they sincerely cared for the child, they might gradually build a new family together.
However, he overlooked one thing: Long Xiang did not like this “Auntie Zhao” who had suddenly appeared in his life.
After their first meeting, when they returned home, Long Xiang frowned and asked, “Dad, is she going to keep coming to our house from now on?”
Shi-Nan looked at his son and tried to explain patiently. “Auntie Zhao is a friend of mine. She cares about you.”
Long Xiang curled his lip. “I don’t want her telling me what to do.”
Shi-Nan frowned slightly. “Long Xiang, I want you to be polite to Auntie Zhao.”
Long Xiang did not answer. He simply turned his head away.
From that day on, he did everything he could to drive Zhao Fen-Fang away.
The first time Fen-Fang visited their home, she had just placed the fruit she had bought on the table when Long Xiang deliberately knocked the fruit plate over.
“Oops! I didn’t mean to.”
Although he claimed it had been an accident, he secretly watched Fen-Fang’s reaction.
Fen-Fang picked up a cleaning cloth and began gathering the fruit, frowning as she said, “Long Xiang, when you do something wrong, you have to take responsibility. You can’t keep saying it was an accident every time.”
Long Xiang curled his lip and said nothing.
The second time, when she reminded him to do his homework, he deliberately hid his workbook. The third time, he even waited until Fen-Fang was not looking and hid the car keys she had left on the table.
Fen-Fang endured his behavior again and again. But the more seriously she tried to discipline him, the more strongly Long Xiang rejected her. Caught between them, Shi-Nan grew increasingly exhausted.
One evening, Long Xiang had another argument with Fen-Fang over his homework.
“I don’t want her to be my mother!” Long Xiang stood in the middle of the living room, his eyes red as he shouted.
Shi-Nan’s expression darkened. “Long Xiang!”
Startled by his father’s voice, Long Xiang nevertheless pressed his lips together stubbornly.
“Mom is already gone. I don’t need another mother!”
Those words silenced Shi-Nan instantly. He looked at his son, feeling a sharp pain in his heart. He finally realized that behind all the mischief and resistance lay something more than simple dislike. It was his son’s longing for his deceased mother, as well as his fear that his father might remarry.
Yet at that moment, Shi-Nan still did not know how to comfort a child who had lost his mother.
Standing nearby, Zhao Fen-Fang understood, too. As she looked at Long Xiang’s stubborn face, the reproach in her eyes gradually gave way to helplessness. She suddenly realized that no matter how hard she tried, she could hardly replace the mother who occupied a place in the child’s heart.
A few days later, Fen-Fang took the initiative and asked Shi-Nan to meet her. Afternoon sunlight fell between them in the café, and the coffee on the table had gradually grown cold. Fen-Fang held her cup in both hands and remained silent for a long time before finally looking up.
“Shi-Nan, I think we should call it quits.”
Shi-Nan was taken aback. “Why?”
She gave a bitter smile. “Long Xiang won’t accept me, and I don’t want to keep putting you and your son in a difficult position.”
Shi-Nan fell silent.
Fen-Fang looked at him, her voice much calmer now. “I originally thought that if I sincerely treated him well, he would gradually accept me. But now I understand that some places in a person’s heart cannot be taken by someone else simply through hard work.”
Shi-Nan lowered his head and gently rubbed his fingers against his coffee cup.
“Fen-Fang, I’m sorry.”
Fen-Fang shook her head. “You have nothing to apologize for. You simply have a child who needs you.”
With that, she stood up and picked up the handbag hanging on the back of her chair.
Shi-Nan looked up and watched her walk away, his heart filled with conflicting emotions. He had thought that starting a new relationship required nothing more than two people willing to give it a try. Only now did he understand that a man raising a child faced something far more complicated than a choice between two hearts.
Love could begin with two people, but a family had never belonged to just two.
35. Shi-Nan’s Second Spring
More than ten years later, Taipei’s skyline had changed dramatically. Among the towering skyscrapers, the headquarters of the group founded by Cai Shi-Nan stood in the heart of the business district. Starting with a security services business and a securities company, the group had gradually expanded into electronics and technology, construction, biochemistry, and other industries through years of strategic planning and management.
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows of his presidential office, Shi-Nan looked down at the endless stream of traffic below. Documents awaiting his approval were piled on his desk, and the clock on the wall was approaching nine in the evening.
His secretary knocked and entered.
“President Cai, I’ve organized the last document for today.”
Shi-Nan took the document and quickly flipped through several pages. “Just leave it here. I’ll continue reviewing it tomorrow morning.”
After his secretary left, the office fell silent again. Shi-Nan leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead.
As his career flourished, he acquired more and more, yet he also became increasingly accustomed to living alone. Many years earlier, he had lost sleep over love and forced himself to smile at a wedding. By now, those people and events had long since become memories.
He had thought he had grown accustomed to loneliness. What he had not expected was that his son, Long Xiang, would begin worrying about him.
By then, Long Xiang was a student in the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering at National Taiwan University.
One weekend evening, father and son were eating dinner at home. Long Xiang put down his chopsticks and looked at his father, who was sitting across from him.
“Dad, have you ever thought about who will keep you company when you get old?”
Shi-Nan looked up and smiled faintly. “I’m doing fine right now, aren’t I? Besides, having you is enough for me.”
“I don’t want you to put all your hopes on me.” Long Xiang frowned, his tone serious. “I’ll have a family of my own someday. You can’t spend your entire life alone.”
Shi-Nan was taken aback, then smiled. “You can barely keep up with your own schoolwork, and now you’re starting to plan your father’s life?”
“Since you won’t make any plans yourself, I have to help you make them,” Long Xiang replied, flashing a triumphant smile.
Looking at his son’s expression, Shi-Nan shook his head helplessly. “And how exactly do you plan to do that?”
Long Xiang did not answer immediately. Instead, he took out a brochure for a matchmaking event organized by a matchmaking agency.
“Go check this out this weekend.”
Shi-Nan took the brochure, his brow immediately furrowing. “A matchmaking event?”
“Exactly.”
“What would I go there for?”
“To meet people, of course.”
Shi-Nan could not help laughing. “Wouldn’t it be strange for someone my age to attend a matchmaking event?”
Long Xiang answered with complete seriousness. “People nowadays value maturity, ability, and financial stability. You have so much going for you. What are you afraid of?”
Shi-Nan looked at his son and remained silent for a long moment. He knew Long Xiang was not joking. His son genuinely wanted him to have a woman by his side.
“All right,” Shi-Nan finally agreed with a nod. “I’ll go and see what it’s like.”
The following weekend, the matchmaking event was held in a hotel banquet hall. Soft lighting illuminated the neatly arranged tables and chairs, and numerous men and women sat around the room. Some chatted enthusiastically, others nervously straightened their clothes, while still others lowered their heads and scrolled through their phones to hide their anxiety.
Shi-Nan entered the hall wearing a dark suit. He had come mainly to humor his son and had little expectation of the event. Years of working in business had given him a calm, composed presence that made him stand out even when seated among a crowd.
Halfway through the event, a woman was guided by a staff member to the seat opposite him.
“Mr. Cai?”
Shi-Nan looked up.
The woman appeared to be in her thirties. She wore a sharply tailored suit, her long hair falling over her shoulders, and her makeup was understated and elegant. She made no deliberate effort to appear overly friendly, simply extending her hand with a composed smile.
“My name is Zhang Xiu-Yi.”
“Cai Shi-Nan.”
They shook hands briefly and then let go.
Xiu-Yi looked at him and smiled. “I heard you’ve been running your own business for many years.”
“That’s more or less right.”
“What kind of business are you in?”
Shi-Nan briefly described the range of industries in which his group operated. Xiu-Yi listened attentively, and a hint of interest gradually appeared in her eyes.
“I had no idea you were involved in so many different things.”
Shi-Nan smiled. “It’s simply what the work requires.”
Xiu-Yi lifted her teacup and took a small sip.
“With such a busy work schedule, you probably don’t have many opportunities to meet women in your everyday life, do you?”
Shi-Nan was momentarily surprised. The question was direct, but he did not find it offensive. After a brief pause, he replied, “Not many, that’s true.”
Xiu-Yi looked him in the eyes and suddenly smiled.
“Then coming here today probably wasn’t your own idea, was it?”
Shi-Nan smiled, too. “My son arranged it for me.”
They both burst out laughing.
For the first time in many years, Shi-Nan did not deliberately guard himself against the woman sitting across from him. Yet after the laughter subsided, he still maintained a certain distance in his heart.
Having traveled more than halfway through life, he no longer believed that love would unfold according to his plans. But he did not know that the woman named Zhang Xiu-Yi sitting before him would eventually become part of his life.
At a certain age, the truly difficult thing is not getting to know someone new, but learning to believe again that your own heart is still capable of loving someone.
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