The morning light appeared on the horizon, illuminating the coastal highway inch by inch. The warm wind dried Shen Ruozhen's wet trouser legs half-dried them, and grains of sand fell down, staining the sheepskin mat under his feet.
In fact, he didn't want to go to Manzhuang. It would be too rude to meet Bai Yongti in such an awkward state.
But Xiang Mingzhang said nothing and drove very fast. His short hair was messy and he was only wearing a single shirt and pants under his coat. One could imagine how panicked he was when he went out.
Finally, the jeep arrived at its destination in the fading morning glow.
The solemn gate was opened ahead of time, and in front of it was an endless camphor forest. Behind the quiet manor, a low mountain was looming.
Shen Ruozhen felt unfamiliar, and later realized that this was not where Bai Yongti lived, but the southern area of Manzhuang.
Amid the green forest there were horse farms, garages, and scattered houses. Shen Ruozhen had no time to determine the direction and hurriedly looked around through the car window.
The main building is a four-story pointed-roof villa with white walls and square windows. It is surrounded by lush green trees. It is larger and more imposing than the Xiang family mansion in Jingpu.
Xiang Mingzhang stopped the car and turned off the engine, saying, "We're here."
Shen Ruozhen got out of the car and followed Xiang Mingzhang up the stairs into the building. The door behind them closed, and a faint echo spread in the wide space.
Different from the elegance of the courtyard in the north area, this house is decorated with collections and curios. Everywhere you look there is a luxury and beauty that makes people dare not approach it.
The marble floor was shiny enough to reflect one's eyes, with sand left from where they had walked. Xiang Mingzhang took Shen Ruozhen to a bathroom with a shower and a sauna. Clean clothes were prepared in the closet.
Xiang Mingzhang picked out a set and placed it on the sofa stool, along with slippers, and said, "Take a shower first."
Shen Ruozhen stood there without moving and asked, "Why don't you let me go home?"
Xiang Mingzhang asked back: "Why did you go to Yaxi Bay in the middle of the night?"
Shen Ruozhen couldn't explain it clearly. He rarely acted impulsively. Last night was a hasty exception. He replied, "I just wanted to see the sea where I was rescued."
"Can you look at me now?" Xiang Mingzhang approached, "Look at me and see if I am embarrassed enough because I am going crazy because of you?"
The street lights at the seaside were dim, but they were enough for Shen Ruozhen to see Xiang Mingzhang's fear at the time. Now the windows were clean and bright, and the bloodshot eyes of Xiang Mingzhang were clearly visible.
Shen Ruozhen couldn't help but feel distressed: "Are you angry with me?"
Xiang Mingzhang was indeed angry, but it was nothing compared to his fear. He did not answer, but raised his hand to take off Shen Ruozhen's coat and said, "Take a hot bath to warm yourself up first. I'm more afraid that you will catch a cold."
Shen Ruozhen nodded and waited for Xiang Mingzhang to go out. He took off his clothes and went into the shower room. All the supplies were brand new, so it seemed that no one lived there usually.
Outside was a bedroom. When Shen Ruozhen came out of the shower, he found that the door was not closed tightly. A big pure white cat slipped in and lay on the carpet.
"Lingtuan'er." He almost forgot about it. He picked up the cat and weighed it. "You are heavy."
Xiang Mingzhang came out of another bathroom after taking a shower, holding a bottle of medicinal wine. The scene in front of him was exactly the same as the old photo, the only difference was that the man and the cat were right within his reach.
Shen Ruozhen looked up. He was wearing pajamas and slippers, while Xiang Mingzhang was neatly dressed. It was hard to tell whose house this was.
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Sit on the bed."
Shen Ruozhen's ankles were frostbitten in a river in Harbin. They became red and swollen when immersed in cold water. He sat on the bed, bent his knees, rolled up his trouser legs and said, "I can do it myself."
Xiang Mingzhang poured some medicinal wine to warm it up: "Isn't President Shen very good at putting on airs?"
Shen Ruozhen's ankles were held. Ling Tuan'er thought the potion smelled bad and jumped from his arms to the end of the bed. Her skin was rubbed until it was warm and numb. He softened and suddenly said, "It happened to me at sea."
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "In the early spring of 1945?"
"Yes, it was a spring night." Shen Ruozhen said, "I was on a boat for a safe transfer. We encountered a storm at sea in the middle of the night. The boat sank and I thought I would die in the sea. Who knew..."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "So the person rescued by Yaxi Bay was you, and you woke up in the Chu family's ward, in the 21st century?"
Shen Ruozhen will always remember the moment he opened his eyes and said, "I saw you when I woke up."
The first person he met during this period of time and space was Xiang Mingzhang, and it was also Xiang Mingzhang who discovered his identity.
When he fell into the sea, he couldn't grab anything, but in the early morning on the shore, the water was only up to his knees, and Xiang Mingzhang grabbed him like a madman.
That spring night was a dividing point. His previous life had become a dream, and in his future life here, he was fortunate to have a man named Xiang Mingzhang who cared about him.
Shen Ruozhen asked: "Mr. Xiang, have you calmed down?"
Xiang Mingzhang took a tissue and wiped his hands: "What if it doesn't disappear?"
Shen Ruozhen said: "You can scold me to vent your anger."
Xiang Mingzhang said, "Tsk, Master Shen is so precious, let me scold you."
Shen Ruozhen laughed: "Then what do you want to do?"
Xiang Mingzhang is not a childish person. Children need to vent, and adults need to solve problems. He left his unstable emotions on the coastal highway and regained his composure at this moment: "I have something to do. Can you stay in Manzhuang for a few days?"
Shen Ruozhen never thought: "My family doesn't know I'm out there."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "I will send someone to tell Mrs. Chu."
Shen Ruozhen asked: "Do you want to lock me up?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "If you could sleep well at the Chu family, you wouldn't run out in the middle of the night. I want you to relax."
Shen Ruozhen's weakness was exposed, but it was not enough to make him show weakness. Xiang Mingzhang said, "We raise cats together, so just treat it as a companion for Ling Tuan'er."
Such an arrogant person has to use a cat as an excuse. Shen Ruozhen recalled that in the previous office, Xiang Mingzhang hugged him and said, "Don't go anywhere." His identity and background made the other party extremely insecure.
He didn't know what he could do, so he agreed: "I'll stay here for three days."
"Okay." Xiang Mingzhang was relieved for the moment and lifted the goose down quilt on the bed. "After a night of tossing and turning, let's have some sleep."
Shen Ruozhen was physically and mentally exhausted, so he relaxed and fell asleep quickly.
Xiang Mingzhang quietly left the room, and a man in a suit was waiting for him in the corridor. His surname was Zhao, and he was in charge of the general affairs of the South District of Manzhuang.
Xiang Mingzhang seldom came here, let alone brought anyone with him. He walked out and said, "Ask the kitchen to prepare some food. Something light. He might be hungry when he wakes up."
Manager Zhao said, "I understand, Mr. Xiang."
Manager Zhao pushed open the door of the villa and said, "Mr. Xiang, don't worry."
Xiang Mingzhang stepped down the stairs and saw a business car parked on the ramp. Old Xiang Yue’s general assistant came immediately after receiving the notice.
Xiang Mingzhang glanced at a window, bent down to sit in the car, and said, "Let's contact Hangzhou again."
The cooperation between the two parties was basically finalized, and only the contract was left. The general assistant said, "Okay, are there any details that need to be changed?"
Xiang Mingzhang thought: "Tell Yao Jingcheng that we will give him three more points."
In business, we will not give up profits for nothing. The general assistant asked: "Then what conditions should we add?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Don't worry, he knows what he is doing, and we can talk about the rest when we meet."
The car drove away, and only the spire of the villa remained in sight. When Xiang Mingzhang chased to Harbin, he said that he would be able to find Shen Ruozhen no matter where he was.
He originally thought that there were only mountains and seas between heaven and earth. Who knew that time and space could change, and a life and death encounter could send a living person to another world.
Will Shen Ruozhen be stolen again
Xiang Mingzhang didn't dare to assume and didn't like to worry about gains and losses, so he had to think of some ways to deal with it.
In the bedroom, Shen Ruozhen slept soundly until the afternoon, with his furry little body lying at his feet. When he woke up, he found that Xiang Mingzhang was gone.
The house was too big and Shen Ruozhen didn't know where to go when he came out of the room. Manager Zhao appeared in time, introduced himself and asked him if he wanted to eat something.
Shen Ruozhen didn't want to eat, and there was nothing he wanted to do. He wandered around the villa with the cat. It was so quiet, and his mind was at peace. He was finally able to sort out his complicated thoughts.
Apart from appearance, there are too many differences between him and "Chu Shichen". Xiang Mingzhang must have become suspicious before discovering his identity.
Others might also be suspicious.
Xiang Mingzhang can find him, and others may be able to find him too, but Xiang Mingzhang is willing to trust him unconditionally, but others may not.
Shen Ruozhen couldn't imagine what he would have to face if his true identity was exposed in front of the Chu family and his colleagues. This was the worry that weighed on his heart after his identity was revealed yesterday.
So he impulsively ran to the beach, looking back the way he had come, trying to figure out where to go.
Unfortunately, it failed and instead scared Xiang Mingzhang.
Shen Ruozhen shook his head and sighed. He happened to pass by the study, which was double-height and had walls full of books. He carefully scanned every row of bookshelves and found a martial arts novel with a label of Xiang Yue Library on the spine.
I guess Xiang Mingzhang borrowed something one year and forgot to pay it back. How could a CEO like him do such a thing
Shen Ruozhen picked up two books and spent the night on the sofa. The next morning, he had breakfast under the caring gaze of Manager Zhao.
Xiang Mingzhang was not lying. Ling Tuaner had a special room and there was a photo of it on the wall. It was really exaggerated.
Shen Ruozhen walked around the deserted house. There was a piano in the living room. Xiang Mingzhang had played Tchaikovsky's "Elegy" in his car. Maybe he could play it
The study on the second floor smells strongly of ink and is equipped with all the four treasures of the study. It contains calligraphy works written by Xiang Mingzhang, some mounted and some discarded. After appreciating them, Shen Ruozhen conducted a probability statistics and concluded that Xiang Mingzhang preferred Xin Qiji.
There was a room full of DVDs and LPs, mostly war movies and operas.
There are two boxes of spare stomach ulcer medicine, a cabinet full of coffee beans, and a temperature-controlled wine cellar in the basement.
Shen Ruozhen visited dozens of houses but did not see a single photo of Xiang Mingzhang and his family. Ming Yongti clearly lived in the north of the manor, but it seemed as if they were separated by thousands of miles.
He remembered Duan Hao's joke, saying that Manzhuang was Xiang Mingzhang's place of retreat.
At that time, Shen Ruozhen thought it was a free and easy paradise, but now he felt that it was more like an exquisite cage that made people feel lonely.
On the third day, the air was humid and stuffy, so Shen Ruozhen left the villa to get some fresh air. There were camphor trees everywhere, and he soon didn't know where he was.
Hearing the sound of gurgling water, Shen Ruozhen walked to the lakeside. On the east bank, there was a large Metasequoia forest in front of him.
Old Zhang from the Forest Protection Department was about to change shifts, so he came over as usual. He was a little surprised to see Shen Ruozhen. When he heard that there were guests at Manzhuang these two days, he took the initiative to say hello.
Shen Ruozhen asked: "Why are these Metasequoia trees not as tall as other trees?"
Lao Zhang replied: "It was just planted in the first half of the year."
Shen Ruozhen recalled the scenes in the first half of the year and walked back. The sunset came earlier than usual and the sky darkened.
In front of the villa, a car just drove up and stalled. Xiang Mingzhang got out of the car. He kept his promise and came back at dusk on the third day.
Shen Ruozhen stopped walking. After three days of not seeing each other, he couldn't think of a suitable opening line. He followed his heart and asked, "When was the Metasequoia by the lake planted?"
Xiang Mingzhang was stunned for a moment and said, "I just came back from a business trip to Nanjing."
Shen Ruozhen asked: "Why?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "The Metasequoia forest in Xuanwu Lake Park is very beautiful."
Shen Ruozhen said: "The duck boats in Xuanwu Lake are also very beautiful, why not get one?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "I was afraid of scaring the fish in the lake."
Shen Ruozhen was speechless for a moment. He didn't know what answer he should get.
Xiang Mingzhang walked towards him: "I went to Hangzhou."
It was Hangzhou again. Shen Ruozhen vaguely guessed, "Have you finished what you wanted to do?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Not yet, it will be finished tonight."
Shen Ruozhen was puzzled, and Xiang Mingzhang added, "I brought you a gift. Your birthday is over this fall, but I don't have the patience to wait until next year to give it to you."
The driver took the things down, which was an old double-decker wooden box.
Shen Ruozhen felt that he looked familiar. He was stunned for a moment and then suddenly remembered. He was shocked: "How could it be..."
At this time, Xiang Mingzhang replied delayedly: "I guess when I took the photo of you in the Metasequoia forest, I couldn't help but be moved."
(End of this chapter)