Chapter 151: Waiting Only for the Midnight Dreams

Shen Yanlie sat in his office, gently spinning and rocking in his executive chair. The posture looked leisurely and carefree, but only he knew that there were times when he, too, was at his wit's end.

Over the years, striding across the business world with a dominance that could blot out the sky with one hand, it had been a very long time since he had last known the taste of "worry." He had grown accustomed to indifference, accustomed to the freezing cold of everything surrounding him, or perhaps he had long grown used to those hypocritical remarks or praises. But her—only her—she always uttered sarcastic comments whenever she found him disagreeable. This feeling was something he could neither clearly define nor fully articulate...

From the very moment he first met her, he felt as though he were truly alive. Watching every step she took toward him, he felt as though she were his former self.

Sometimes, love is truly simple. It is because you find your own reflection in the other person that you love so recklessly and without reservation, wishing only that when you had been in such a state, someone could have stayed by your side just like that.

It was precisely this feeling that shaped such a beautiful illusion. In her most battered and helpless moments, he made the unhesitating choice to stand behind her.

Shen Yanlie gently placed his right index finger against his lips and rubbed them twice, looking effortlessly and irresistibly sexy.

Thinking of this, he picked up the phone and made a call.

"Execute the plan." With these four calm words settled, he hung up the phone, stood up, straightened his attire, and strode out quickly.

When Yuwen Si rushed to Hong Kong, the exhibition was already in its concluding phase. He felt extremely annoyed, and with a sense of mental collapse, he thought Chen Haoming was simply a jinx. He had finally obtained news of her, only to watch it slip away in vain. As for the next time, heaven knows when that would be.

He sighed, took out his phone, and glanced at the message he had just received. People still had to be seen, and meals still had to be eaten; he might as well grab something nearby before continuing his search.

As dusk approached, Yan Mai and Damien walked back to the hotel together. During these days, she had accompanied Damien to all the places worth visiting, which served as a way to clear her mind. However, tomorrow...

Tomorrow she could return to France. After a three-year separation, this time had passed by in a hurry once again, and she had no idea when the next fleeting encounter might be. Yan Mai felt an inexpressible sense of loss, but she clearly knew that there was nothing here worth lingering for, and she would not make any further stops.

Damien clutched his stomach, patted the distracted Yan Mai on the shoulder, and said, "I'm going to the restroom first."

Watching Damien's hurried retreating figure, Yan Mai let out a silent sigh. When she suddenly felt as though a wall had materialized right in front of her, beneath her lowered head and drooping eyelids appeared a pair of leather shoes. Her gaze traveled upward along the trouser legs, and when she finally saw the face above, she was struck speechless by the sight.

When Damien returned to the hotel lobby, Yan Mai was nowhere to be seen! Puzzled, he headed upstairs.

Yuwen Si had originally intended to fill his stomach before rushing over to the hotel where Mai Xijun was staying. But the mere thought that he had managed to get her whereabouts with such difficulty—and that in the event they missed each other once again, he would have no idea when they might meet—made it impossible for him to wait any longer. He took the direct elevator to the hotel where Mai Xijun was staying.

Of course, he also knew that she went by the name Yan Mai now.

Inside a somewhat retro tea house, even the decor leaned toward a traditional Chinese dark red, Yan Mai wore a calm expression, while Yuwen Si was desperately trying to suppress the turbulence within his heart, earnestly scrutinizing the young woman quietly sipping tea before him.

"When are you leaving?" Yuwen Si finally uttered his first sentence, his handsome face radiating gentleness and serenity.

"Tomorrow," Yan Mai replied indifferently.

From the very first moment they met until now, the two of them hadn't even made any plans or said much of anything. It seemed almost like an unspoken tacit agreement: one walked ahead, and the other faithfully followed behind, and thus they ended up in this tea house...

Yan Mai knew she could not escape, nor did she have any way to pretend she didn't know him.

Feeling slightly awkward, Yuwen Si took a second sip from his teacup, only to produce a loud gulp. Yan Mai cast a look of startled scrutiny at Yuwen Si, and saw him offer an embarrassed laugh. "Hehe, I'm hungry."

Yan Mai and Yuwen Si went to a nearby Italian pasta restaurant. Ordering only a single portion, Yan Mai quietly watched Yuwen Si eat while thinking to herself when this man had actually learned to be so utterly submissive. She had led him into the tea house without him uttering a word of refusal or clarifying his own thoughts and state of mind.

In the past, wasn't he the one most adept at bickering with her and acting against her wishes? Had his stomach not betrayed him with an uninhibited growl, would he have continued to endure his hunger while smilingly and casually accompanying her to chat and drink tea?

Yet, times had changed, and everything must have long since ceased to be what it once was.

"Aren't you going to ask why I appeared here?" Yuwen Si asked with narrowed eyes, eating with great relish.

"Traveling, on a business trip, just passing by..." But Yan Mai actually felt none of those were likely. Yuwen Si wouldn't be so bored as to randomly appear right in front of her. Although she felt puzzled, facts were facts; coincidences in this world required a certain reasoning, and the coincidence between her and him could not have formed so cleverly.

"What if I told you I originally came to see the exhibition, but accidentally missed it?" Yuwen Si beamed with a smile and took a sip of water. He had just been devouring his food wildly; now that the remaining time had come, it was time to subject her to a rigorous interrogation.

"Of course you can~" Yan Mai said with effortless nonchalance, prompting Yuwen Si to straighten his posture.

"Actually, I just wanted to come and see you. How have you been all these years, little Mai?" Yuwen Si reined in his past wildness and unruliness, shedding his arrogance, yet remaining an extraordinary man.

Yan Mai nodded. "Mm, not bad."

The two exchanged polite pleasantries like old friends, after which they lapsed into silence once more. Lacking the sharp-tongued remarks from Miss Mai ringing in his ears, Yuwen Si truly felt that these past few years had been rather lonely.

Although he had always lived such a lifestyle in the past, appearing quite carefree, for some unknown reason, ever since he met her, he had begun to perceive all sorts of feelings he had never experienced before.

"Can you stay a little longer?" Yuwen Si nodded along and finally let the words in the bottom of his heart slip out. Perhaps he didn't truly expect her to stay in China, but if he missed her, he could simply go to France to find her.

"Probably not. It's already settled; I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Oh..." Yuwen Si still felt a trace of disappointment, yet he didn't know what else to say. Besides, this wasn't a matter for him to urge her to stay. Although certain feelings in his heart already felt quite crucial to him, years had passed, and he was still unable to properly analyze what kind of thoughts and attitude he actually held toward her.

Perhaps, back then, his "tolerance" toward her was merely because she was Shen Yanlie's woman at the time. If she hadn't appeared in his world with such a significant identity, he wouldn't have spared her a single glance, and might even have felt disdain. Furthermore, he had never liked women who were somewhat aloof and spoke as harshly as she did.

He didn't know who had given her the key to unlock the citadel of his heart, leaving him still entangled in a knot of complex and intertwined emotions, with no end in sight...

After dropping Yan Mai off at the hotel, Yuwen Si watched her enter the lobby and board the elevator. He followed her inside, but not wanting her to leak his presence, he managed to book a room in the same hotel out of her sight. At the very least, when she left, he could catch another glimpse of her—perhaps by then, his state of mind would be sorted out.

Early the next morning, Yan Mai was awakened by the doorbell. It was the person in charge of organizing the exhibition, who told Yan Mai in fluent French that today's schedule had changed and instructed her to pack her luggage and get ready to leave. Yan Mai thought of asking where they were going, but the person in charge merely smiled and shook her head, indicating it was a secret.

Upon arriving at the airport, Yan Mai finally realized that they were not returning to France, nor were they heading to any other foreign country, but rather returning to a certain city on the Chinese mainland—a city that had once been the place where she lived for over twenty years...

She still remembered how, over three years ago, the staff at the compulsory rehabilitation center told her that because Chen Xuemin had failed rehabilitation and suffered from mental instability and abnormalities, it had triggered a myocardial infarction resulting in her death. With the suddenness of the incident, compounded by the sudden loss of her child, that city was likely already a place of deep sorrow for her.

She wasn't particularly eager to return; only in the dead of night, in her dreams, did she dare to secretly return for a glance, only to wake up and find her pillow soaked with tears.

Damien had already walked to the ticket inspection gate when he noticed that Yan Mai was still lingering far behind. He shouted out to her, "Mai-Mai, hurry up!"

When Yan Mai raised her head again, her eye sockets were slightly damp, yet she still took step after step to catch up with the group.

Believing he had woken up early in the morning, Yuwen Si checked his watch, splashed some water on his face, and headed outside. He wanted to watch her leave from a place where she couldn't see him, making sure she wouldn't discover him—this could be considered a little secret kept safely within his heart.

In the hotel lobby's waiting area, Yuwen Si sat in a rather inconspicuous spot, yet one from which he could clearly see everything outside. However, ten minutes passed... twenty minutes passed...

Half an hour passed...

What was going on? Yuwen Si checked the wall clock again. It was the right time; logically speaking, she should be getting ready to head to the airport for her flight back to France. Why hadn't he caught sight of her figure at all?

Yuwen Si decided to wait a little longer with patience, but the wait dragged on for another half an hour. By now, the flight to France would have already taken off and been missed, yet there was still no sign of her. Anxious, Yuwen Si strode out of the waiting area. He had never imagined he could be so remarkably patient, waiting for her for such a long time...