Chapter 25: The Engagement

The door had barely been pushed open a crack when a force suddenly pushed it back shut.

When Mother Qu tried to open the door again, she found it had been locked from the inside.

"Chen Su!" she called out, her face deathly pale as she knocked. "Are you home?"

There was no response from within.

Fuming, Mother Qu pulled out her phone to call Chen Su, but Qu Bonan’s call came through first.

On the other end of the line, Qu Bonan’s voice sounded hoarse. "Mother, is that your car at the entrance of the Xiyuan residential complex?"

Mother Qu was taken aback. "Are you nearby?"

"Yes," Qu Bonan replied, sitting on the sofa in his living room, his head leaning back against the cushion, his voice trembling with hoarseness. "Su Su left some things behind when she moved, so I’m dropping them off for her. Where are you?"

Mother Qu hesitated for half a second. "Wait for me downstairs. I’m coming to find you."

She hung up, lingered for a moment at Chen Su’s door, and then turned to leave.

Inside the apartment, Qu Bonan ended his call and gripped Chen Su’s small chin with his prominent, vein-mapped fingers.

"Are you part kitten? Why are your teeth so sharp?"

Chen Su refused to let him be satisfied so easily, so she deliberately clenched her teeth.

Qu Bonan let out a muffled groan. "Su Su, take it easy."

Chen Su sneered, climbed directly onto his lap, and kissed his lips in a daze.

During this time, Mother Qu called again, but Qu Bonan did not answer.

When it was finally over, Qu Bonan held Chen Su in his arms as if soothing a kitten, gently stroking her spine.

"Such a good girl," he whispered, kissing her soft hair. "Get some rest. I’ll come to see you again next time, okay?"

Chen Su wanted to say there would be no next time. But the words died on her lips; she knew that even if she said it, Qu Bonan wouldn’t believe her.

"Oh," she said. "Are you leaving now?"

She looked up at the window. "It looks like it’s about to rain."

The weather in early spring in Hong Kong was fickle; it had been cloudy during the day, but the wind had started to pick up as night fell. They had been so lost in each other that they hadn’t noticed.

Under normal circumstances, Qu Bonan would have stayed with Chen Su at this hour.

Chen Su watched as Qu Bonan straightened his clothes and kissed her forehead, dotingly saying, "Mother is still waiting downstairs. I’ll come back as soon as I’ve handled things, alright?"

He picked up his jacket and walked toward the door.

Suddenly, a clap of thunder echoed.

Chen Su’s slender, pale fingers fearfully grabbed Qu Bonan’s sleeve. Her voice was muffled as she said, "Brother, can you stay with me? It’s thundering outside, and I’m afraid of the dark."

Chen Su always kept the lights on in her room because of a traumatic kidnapping she had experienced during her middle school years. Qu Bonan knew this.

He was silent for two seconds. "I’ll be back soon."

Qu Bonan pulled his hand away and left.

The vast room instantly returned to silence, leaving behind only the lingering, decadent, and heavy scent of desire.

Chen Su ran barefoot to the balcony, her knee hitting the coffee table on the way, making her wince in pain. She bit her lip, suppressing the ache, and looked out the window.

Downstairs, Qu Bonan circled half the complex, exited through a side gate, and got into Mother Qu’s car.

Mother Qu, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to glance at him. "Was your phone off?"

Qu Bonan murmured an acknowledgment. "I was waiting nearby and ran into an old acquaintance, so we talked about some work."

He rubbed his temples, closed his eyes, and leaned back into the seat.

Reflected in the rearview mirror, Mother Qu’s gaze fell on the red mark on the side of Qu Bonan’s neck.

"Bonan," she began, "for all these years, to avoid the blind dates I arranged, you always said you were waiting for Zhiwei to come back. Now that she’s back, if you think the time is right, why don't you two set a date for the wedding?"

She paused, then added, "Since Su Su is also getting engaged to Mingyu, you might as well do it together."

Qu Bonan kept his eyes closed, remaining silent.

Mother Qu knew he had heard her. "Don't play deaf with me. Four years ago, when I said I wanted Su Su to go abroad, you had the same attitude. After holding back for so long, you finally claimed you liked Shen Zhiwei. Now that she’s back, you’re giving me this lukewarm response."

"Don't tell me you lied to your mother four years ago just to keep Su Su from going abroad."

"You decide."

Qu Bonan opened his eyes, his gaze behind his glasses calm and cold. "Anything works for me."

Mother Qu was slightly dissatisfied with her son’s attitude, but upon reflection, he had always been headstrong, and she rarely had a say in his affairs anyway. His agreement to marry could be considered a gesture of respect toward her as his mother.

"Then it’s settled," she said. "I’ll find a good time and pick an auspicious date."

"Mm," Qu Bonan replied perfunctorily. "Then I’ll trouble you to go to the effort, Mother."

After that, there was no more sound in the car.

Qu Bonan looked out the window; the rain, accompanied by thunder, slammed against the glass, heavy and rapid. It had been nearly a decade since Hong Kong had seen such a downpour.

Halfway there, he suddenly spoke up. "Mother, I just remembered there’s something at the company that needs my attention. I have to go back."

Mother Qu frowned. "It’s raining this hard; what could be so urgent that you have to go to the office in the middle of the night?"

"There’s a project at Huanyu that’s being pushed quite urgently."

"I don't want to hear about projects," Mother Qu retorted, frowning. "Your father knew early on that there would be a massive storm, so he finished his work at the branch office ahead of schedule and came back specifically to see you. No matter how busy work is, can it be more important than your father?"

Qu Bonan took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I understand."

He looked out the window, a sense of unease gnawing at him. It felt as if, if he didn't return to the Xiyuan complex tonight, he would miss something vital.

At that moment, Qu Bonan did not realize what it was he would lose that night.

...

Chen Su watched the car pull away, standing blankly on the balcony for a long time before returning to the living room.

She sat alone on the sofa and lit a cigarette, but the knot of melancholy in her heart did not dissipate; instead, it intensified.

Outside, the thunder rumbled, feeling like a needle pricking her scalp, causing a dull ache in her temples. The symptoms she hadn't experienced in a long time had returned.

That night was the heaviest rainfall Hong Kong had seen in three years.

Chen Su smoked three packs of cigarettes, but Qu Bonan never returned. Eventually, the thunder no longer frightened her; it only served as a sharp, piercing irritation. She curled herself into a ball, like a cat reacting to stress.

Meanwhile, the Qu family home was brightly lit.

Qu’s father watched Qu Bonan, who was playing chess with him but clearly distracted, and set down his piece with a faint smile. "You haven't been at peace during my absence."

In his youth, Qu’s father had been ruthless, having done more than his fair share of dirty deeds. Now that he was older, he had turned to Buddhism.

Qu Bonan watched his father rolling a string of prayer beads, his heart reflecting the same restless motion.

He set down his chess piece. "Father, I have to go out."

His father chuckled, looking down at the board. "You have a sixty percent chance of winning this game. If you leave now, it’s equivalent to admitting defeat."

He was talking about chess, but the meaning behind it was clear.

Qu Bonan paused, then turned back to the board and placed a white piece.

"It’s late. You should get some sleep."

Qu Bonan picked up his jacket and left the study.

His father looked at the board, where his own black pieces were surrounded by white ones, with no way to escape. He laughed suddenly. "This brat, he’s a bit like I was when I was young."

"Butler."

The butler stepped forward. "Yes, sir."

Qu’s father rose. "Find some time to prepare. It’s time to put Su Su’s engagement to the Song boy on the schedule."

"Yes," the butler replied, then hesitated. "But sir, the eldest young master doesn't seem to approve of the marriage between the second young lady and the Song heir."

Qu’s father rubbed his prayer beads. "It is precisely because he doesn't approve that we must do it quickly."

He was afraid that if it dragged on any longer, things would spiral out of control.

The butler bowed. "I will go prepare."

As Qu Bonan left the study, he headed for the stairs but saw Mother Qu sitting on the sofa. And beside her sat Shen Zhiwei.

...

By the time the sky was beginning to turn gray, Chen Su had finished her last cigarette. She hugged a whiskey bottle, sitting dazed on the carpet beside the sofa.

After some time, her phone rang.

She picked it up and took a look. It was a message from Shen Zhiwei: [Don't wait. He won't be coming back, because he is with me now.]

Attached was a photo of her and Qu Bonan, their fingers tightly interlaced.

Chen Su knew those hands like the back of her own. Because he had once run them over every inch of her skin, over and over again.

She suddenly flared into a rage and threw the phone as far as she could. It hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

At that moment, Qu Bonan was hiding in the study, trying to escape his mother’s nagging and Shen Zhiwei’s pestering.

It was past five o'clock when the rain outside intensified, turning into a deluge.

Qu Bonan closed his laptop, suppressed the turbulent restlessness in his heart, and headed straight for the Xiyuan complex.

As soon as he reached the entrance, he didn't even wait to park properly before rushing upstairs through the rain.

He knocked, but there was no answer.

He immediately called the property management to open the door. The moment it swung open, he froze.