Qiao Jiuyin proudly raised her head.

  She saw Fang Yusheng’s sadness and got pleased. She reiterated, “The person I love is Fang Mu. I don’t love you. Big Brother, stop dreaming.”


  Fang Yusheng’s heart ached.

  His ten years of feelings for her were nothing but wishful thinking.

  “Good, very good!” Fang Yusheng gritted his teeth. He would never believe a woman’s words again.

  Fang Yusheng said a few words and rushed out.

  He remembered that the entrance had only three stairs. However, just as he stepped on the first step and was about to land on the second step, he suddenly tripped over something. Fang Yusheng fell to the ground at the entrance of Fang Mu’s villa.

  Fang Mu retracted his leg and leaned against the door. He coldly stared at Fang Yusheng, who was in a sorry state like a dead dog. He sneered and mocked Fang Yusheng, “Big Brother, you even took liberties with your own sister-in-law. You’re really shameless.”


  Fang Mu walked down the stairs slowly.

  He saw Fang Yusheng lying on the ground looking for his cane. Sneering, he gently picked up the cane. Then, he raised it high with a disdainful smile on his face. Fang Mu looked down at Fang Yusheng, who was lying on the ground looking for the cane, unaware that the cane was in Fang Mu’s hand.

  Fang Mu chuckled and said to Fang Yusheng, “Look at you! So what if you used to be dazzling? You’re just a blind person now.

  “Fang Yusheng, you’re just a blind man. How dare you dream of getting my woman? She’s out of your league!”


  Saying that, Fang Mu raised his arm and threw the cane into the garden.

  He stopped looking at Fang Yusheng and turned around to face Qiao Jiuyin, who was standing by the door and looking at him with a gentle smile.

  “Did he scare you?” Fang Mu stroked Qiao Jiuyin’s hair and held her hand. He smiled dotingly with worry in his eyes.

  Qiao Jiuyin leaned into his embrace and said, “Luckily, you came back in time. Big Brother…” Qiao Jiuyin indeed stopped talking, but her tone sounded like she was blaming Fang Yusheng for being a pervert.

  “Stay away from him if you see him again.”


  “Okay.”


  The two entered the house hand in hand.

  Fang Yusheng got up from the ground, his face full of tears.

  On this day, Fang Yusheng’s ten-year love affair came to an end.

  The pride that he tried his best to maintain was trampled on by Fang Mu.

  When Qi Bufan ran in, he saw Fang Yusheng standing alone in the courtyard of Fang Mu’s house. His body was covered in dust, and his slender hands looked dirty from touching the ground. Qi Bufan felt very uncomfortable seeing Fang Yusheng like this.

  “Sir…” Qi Bufan couldn’t bear to look at Fang Yusheng’s face.

  Fang Yusheng chuckled and asked Qi Bufan, “Bufan, do I look like a toad?”


  Qi Bufan’s heart ached.

  “No, Sir. Don’t listen to Fang Mu.”


  Fang Yusheng remained silent.

  He returned to his house and lived the same life as before. He ate his meals on time and slept on time. He was doing well, but his body was getting thinner day by day. Qi Bufan didn’t know how much Fang Yusheng cared about that woman called Third Girl. This time, he had suffered a heavy blow, and Qi Bufan didn’t know if he could stand up.

  Fang Yusheng became even more silent and didn’t like to go out anymore.

  Even if the Fang family had a group event, he would not participate in it.

  At the end of the year, something big happened in the Fang family.

  The news that Fang Yuqing was pregnant and had gotten an abortion spread throughout the upper-class society!

  When Aunt Jin heard about Fang Yuqing, she told Fang Yusheng everything. Aunt Jin said, “I heard that Miss Yuqing likes that boy very much. That boy even promised to marry her in the future. The youngsters couldn’t help but have a child. In the end, not only did that boy not take care of the child, he even cheated on her. Sigh…”


  Fang Yusheng sighed when he heard that. “Silly child, how could she believe a promise at this age?”


  Fang Yuqing’s reputation had been ruined. Fang Pingjue decided to marry her off to Young Master Xu to extract some of the remaining value from his daughter. Young Master Xu was a playboy. Whoever married him was doomed for life.

  Aunt Jin sighed again. “Poor Miss Yuqing. She’s such a good girl, but she was actually matched with such a person.

  Fang Yusheng didn’t say anything. He only thought:?

  Fang Yusheng rubbed his hands, wondering if he should put in a good word for Fang Yuqing. That girl had a good relationship with him, and Aunt Xu probably couldn’t bear to see her marry that awful guy just like that.

  However, everyone underestimated Fang Yuqing’s personality.

  Fang Yusheng changed his clothes to go to the main building to plead for Fang Yuqing. However, as he walked down the stairs, he heard a heart-wrenching scream from the main building.

  Fang Yusheng stopped in his tracks.

  Suddenly, Aunt Jin stumbled into the house. As she ran, she shouted at Fang Yusheng, “Young Master Yusheng! Miss Yuqing committed suicide!”


  Fang Yusheng stood on the stairs as his body swayed.

  “Miss Yuqing slit her wrists and committed suicide!

  “Her mother fainted too!”


  Fang Yuqing had slit her wrist and committed suicide!

  According to the servants at the main building, they had gone to deliver food to Fang Yuqing this afternoon. However, no one opened the door when they knocked. When Xu Pingfei felt that something was wrong and asked someone to open her room, she realized that Fang Yuqing was already dead. It was said that Fang Yuqing was lying in the bathtub. The water in the bathtub was red, and her pale face was exposed in the blood-red water. Xu Pingfei had fainted on the spot.

  Fang Yusheng came back to his senses and softly asked, “How, how did this happen…”


  Aunt Jin said, “I heard that it was Miss Yuqing who rejected the marriage. Then, I don’t know who came up with a rotten idea for Old Master. They said that Miss Yuqing had to do the deed with Young Master Xu, then there’d be no need to worry about her disagreeing.”


  Fang Yusheng remained silent.

  Fang Yuqing died. She was only 17 years old when she died.

  According to Binjiang City’s customs, people weren’t allowed to hold funerals of children under the age of 18 at home. Fang Yuqing’s body was dragged to be cremated. Then, she was placed in a funeral parlor for two days before she was buried.

  Fang Yusheng did not attend her funeral.

  Instead, he made a trip to Song Mountain Shaolin Monastery in Henan and invited the masters there to help Fang Yuqing transcend. After returning, he took a bath, then personally copied the Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sutra for her.

  Fang Yuqing’s death cast a shadow over the Fang family.

  Xu Pingfei could not accept the fact that her daughter had passed away. She became resentful and infatuated. She would often cry as she ate at the dining table. Occasionally, when she saw a girl who looked similar to her daughter’s age and back view on the streets, she would go crazy and wail.

  Fang Pingjue also felt guilty. His wife’s spirit had become abnormal, and he finally knew how to repent.

  He started to rest every two or three days, giving up his authority and transferring the company to Fang Mu; he wholeheartedly accompanied Xu Pingfei.

  Fang Yu’an had completely given up on Fang Pingjue because of his younger sister’s death. He even said that he would cut off all ties with Fang Pingjue, and from now on, he would not spend a single cent from the Fang family.

  On New Year’s Eve that year, three spots were missing on the table. One belonged to Fang Yuqing, one belonged to Fang Yu’an, and the last belonged to Fang Yusheng. Fang Yuqing was dead, Fang Yu’an had left home and never returned, and Fang Yusheng stayed in his own house and celebrated New Year with Qi Bufan.

  In the blink of an eye, winter passed and spring arrived.

  ***

  On this day, the sun brightly shone. Fang Yusheng was standing in front of the vegetable garden, wearing a loose white silk shirt. The wind blew at his clothes, and the sleeves of his shirt fluttered in the wind. His handsome figure appeared especially thin. Aunt Jin kept talking to him, saying that the cucumbers were about to bloom, and the chilies were about to sprout…


  At this moment, Qi Bufan received a call and said to Fang Yusheng, “Second Young Mistress has given birth.”


  Fang Yusheng’s expression changed.

  “Oh.”


  “She gave birth to two boys.”


  “Is that so?”


  Fang Yusheng’s heart had long died. Now that he heard this news, he didn’t feel anything.

  Fang Mu and Qiao Jiuyin’s boys were named Fang Shan and Fang Chun. The birth of a new life finally broke the silent and sorrowful atmosphere of the Fang family for more than a month. During the children’s 100-day banquet, Fang Yusheng finally left the house and attended the ceremony.

  He gave the two children a jade ruyi each.

  Qiao Jiuyin softly thanked him.

  At that time, Fang Yusheng was thinking that if Ah Sheng had not forgotten about him, and if she married him, would they also have these two cute babies?

  Just thinking about it made Fang Yusheng feel happy, so happy that his heart ached.

  He sadly turned around. When he left, Fang Mu and Qiao Jiuyin’s laughter could be heard behind him.

  He walked out of the hotel and met Xu Pingfei at the corner of the building. When Xu Pingfei saw Fang Yusheng, she wanted to laugh but couldn’t. She said, “Such a vicious woman actually gave her children such names.”


  Fang Yusheng could tell that she was referring to the Second Young Mistress.

  He stopped in his tracks and stood beside Xu Pingfei. The two of them leaned against the wall. Fang Yusheng asked Xu Pingfei, “How is she vicious?”


  Xu Pingfei sneered. “Who do you think gave that rotten idea to the child’s father?”


  Fang Yusheng was stunned.

  After pondering for a moment, he finally understood what she meant.

  Xu Pingfei was saying that the person who gave Fang Pingjue a bad idea to make Fang Yuqing do the deed with Young Master Xu was Qiao Jiuyin! Fang Yusheng felt strange. “Why would she do such a thing…”


  “Ha!”


  Xu Pingfei sarcastically snorted. “Young Master Xu was planning to collaborate with the Fang Corporation, and Fang Mu kept in contact with him. It’s probably because Young Master Xu had some requests to get our Qingqing. That vicious woman actually came up with such a sinister plan…” Xu Pingfei started crying again.

  At first, she cried rather repressively. The more she cried, the sadder she became. Then she began to wail.

  Fang Yusheng knew that she was going to have a seizure again, so he left first.

  He walked out of the hotel and got into his car, frowning deeply.

  When Fang Yusheng recalled the bowl of century eggs porridge that “Qiao Jiusheng” had scooped for him last year, he realized that what Xu Pingfei had said was probably true. If not for all the evidence pointing to “Qiao Jiusheng” being the girl from back then, Fang Yusheng would not have believed that the person he had loved all these years was so ruthless.

  “Bufan.”


  “Yeah?”


  Fang Yusheng asked him, “If you find out that the person you’ve always loved isn’t the person you think she is, or even that she’s so different from what you think she is, what will you do?”


  Knowing that Fang Yusheng was referring to the Second Young Mistress, Qi Bufan gave it some thought and solemnly said, “If you find out that, then don’t love her anymore.” Qi Bufan paused and added, “Just treat it as if you fed her to a dog for ten years.”


  Fang Yusheng chuckled.

  “Of course.”


  For a moment, he seemed to see through everything.

  He still loved Qiao Jiusheng, but he loved that silly and sweet girl from back then, not this vicious woman who was full of thoughts.

  Initially, he had been worried about Qiao Jiusheng and could not bear to deal with Fang Mu. But now, he could.

  ***

  Not long after, Ji Yinbing and Yan Nuo got into a conflict, and Yinbing had a miscarriage. She came to Binjiang City and stayed in the small building for a while. It was a way for her to relax and also to take care of her body after the miscarriage. Ji Yinbing stayed in the small building for a month. Before she left, she told Fang Yusheng, “I have a 60% chance of curing your eyes.”


  Fang Yusheng was moved.

  Ji Yinbing continued, “An, it’s too wasteful for a person like you to spend your entire life in this small building. Come to America to look for me, I’ll help you treat your eyes. You can settle this rotten debt with the Fang family, then live with us.” Ji Yinbing said this because she had already sensed Fang Yusheng’s distaste for his world.

  She was very worried about Fang Yusheng.

  Fang Yusheng was moved by her words, but he still could not find the true meaning of life.

  To him, life was not something to be happy about, but something dispensable.

  Fang Yusheng didn’t agree to Ji Yinbing’s request, but he didn’t reject her either.

  ***

  One day, Qi Bufan suddenly brought a piece of news. He said, “I found that Fang Mu rests on the 18th of every month and goes to a villa in the forest. So, a few days ago, I went to investigate it personally. Guess what I found.”


  “Yeah?”


  “Fang Mu imprisoned a person called Cheng Ke. This Cheng Ke is a pedophile. I guess Fang Mu was played by him before…”


  Fang Yusheng felt disgusted.

  It wasn’t because he pitied Fang Mu, but because Cheng Ke disgusted him.