He Died

The sedan sped down the road, streetlights streaming past in a line.

Tong Zhao sat in the back seat, his shoulder growing sore under the weight of the groaning Shi Ruohe.

He stole a glance at Shu Sizhuo in the driver's seat. After they got in the car, Shu Sizhuo had asked him for Shi Ruohe's address and said nothing more.

The car was eerily quiet.

Hidden in the shadows of the back seat, Tong Zhao let his gaze roam freely over Shu Sizhuo, no longer afraid to look him in the eye or study him as he had been earlier.

Shu Sizhuo...

Shu Sizhuo's hair was a little longer than it had been when he was nineteen, but it was still just as black.

Shu Sizhuo's features had become more defined, sharp and austere.

Shu Sizhuo's gaze had grown deeper, and he seemed less inclined to smile than he had been at nineteen.

Eight years was indeed a long time, enough to forge a strikingly handsome young man into a man with a brooding air.

In fact, after Tong Zhao transmigrated here this time, the first thing he did was look for Shu Sizhuo. He had wanted to see Shu Sizhuo from afar, just once.

He had waited outside the Shu Group headquarters for two days without catching so much as a glimpse of Shu Sizhuo's car. Only after he stopped an employee who was hurrying to work while eating a hamburger did he learn that Shu Sizhuo had recently gone abroad on a business trip.

Tong Zhao was gazing absentmindedly at Shu Sizhuo in the rearview mirror when Shu Sizhuo suddenly shifted his eyes and met his gaze.

Tong Zhao's heart skipped a beat. He looked away, then felt he was being too obvious, so he looked back and smiled at Shu Sizhuo.

Shu Sizhuo seemed to smile too. He turned his eyes back to the road. "Tong Zhao?"

Tong Zhao was startled for a moment. "Mm."

"How old are you?"

Tong Zhao was taken aback again. "Twenty-four."

"Twenty-four..." Shu Sizhuo murmured softly, while Tong Zhao inexplicably began to feel nervous.

Shu Sizhuo's gaze swept over him in the rearview mirror again, a fleeting but weighty glance. "You look a lot like someone I used to know."

Tong Zhao's heart was pounding so hard he could barely breathe. His fingers tightened slightly against the seat, but he put on an embarrassed smile. "Really? I guess I have a pretty ordinary face. A few days ago, the cleaning lady at my company said I looked like one of her son's classmates. Hahaha..."

Shu Sizhuo didn't laugh. Tong Zhao's head felt a little dizzy, though he didn't know if it was because he had been drinking, and he couldn't help asking, "So, where is this old acquaintance of yours?"

Shu Sizhuo's eyes darkened.

"He died."

The car fell silent in an instant.

Tong Zhao sobered up considerably.

Right. He had died. How could he have asked that without thinking?

He was the one who had hurt Shu Sizhuo, and now he was the one reopening old wounds. He wanted to slap himself to death.

Still, there had been no particular emotion in the words "he died." As far as Shu Sizhuo was concerned, he had been dead for eight years. Even if it was a scar, it had already faded.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked..." Tong Zhao said quietly.

"It's all right."

Neither spoke after that, and the atmosphere grew awkward. Tong Zhao could only turn to look out the window.

Shi Ruohe woke from an uncomfortable sleep and stared at the unfamiliar car interior in confusion.

Just then, the sedan reached its destination: the entrance to an old residential complex in the old part of town.

"I'll take him inside," Tong Zhao said to Shu Sizhuo.

Shu Sizhuo turned his head slightly and murmured, "Mm. I'll wait for you."

Tong Zhao wanted to say there was no need to wait, that he could take a taxi back later. But when he looked up at the deserted road outside the window, he decided against it. Getting a taxi here was hardly any easier than at the Bamboo Green Pavilion.

"Sorry for the trouble, then. I'll be right out." Tong Zhao patted Shi Ruohe, who was still dazed. "Shi Ruohe, come on."

Shi Ruohe's home was on the first floor of unit one, immediately to the left after entering the building. Tong Zhao took the keys from his pocket and quietly opened the door.

The living room was pitch-black. Tong Zhao didn't turn on the light, instead leading Shi Ruohe quietly toward the bedroom. When Shi Ruohe accidentally kicked a stool, Tong Zhao anxiously shushed him. "Careful. Don't wake your grandpa."

Shi Ruohe nodded.

Tong Zhao finally got him into bed and was about to leave when Shi Ruohe caught hold of the hem of his clothes.

Moonlight shone through the window. Shi Ruohe's eyes were bright, and he seemed much more sober. He asked in alarm, "Tong Zhao, was the person who just drove us back President Shu?"

"Mm, it was President Shu."

Shi Ruohe was stunned.

"President Shu saw that we couldn't get a taxi and that you were so drunk, so he was kind enough to drive us back. All right, get some sleep. I'm going home too." Tong Zhao said a few words to reassure Shi Ruohe before turning to leave.

Afraid of keeping Shu Sizhuo waiting, Tong Zhao ran as fast as he could. He had drunk even more than Shi Ruohe that night, and his head swam so much that he nearly fell.

The black Porsche waited quietly by the roadside, its window open. Shu Sizhuo was smoking. The lines of his profile were handsome and smooth, his skin a cool, pale white. Amid the drifting smoke, he looked somewhat lonely and forlorn.

Tong Zhao slowed his steps, staring at Shu Sizhuo's profile.

As he drew closer, Tong Zhao looked away and was about to open the rear door when he realized that, with Shu Sizhuo driving, sitting alone in the back would make it seem as though he were treating him like a chauffeur.

Shu Sizhuo put out his cigarette and said casually, "Sit in the front."

Tong Zhao withdrew his hand and opened the front passenger door.

Shu Sizhuo started the car and asked him, "Where do you live?"

"The Splendid Residential Complex."

"I'm going to my apartment in the city too," Shu Sizhuo said. "Would you mind if I stopped by the old house to pick something up on the way?"

Tong Zhao didn't know about the apartment in the city, but he was very familiar with the old house. He smiled. "I don't mind."

The old villa was in a remote location, with a stretch of mountain road to travel, but it wasn't far from Shi Ruohe's home, about half an hour's drive.

Tong Zhao watched the scenery outside the window grow increasingly familiar, waves of heartache washing over him. He had traveled this road countless times with the nineteen-year-old Shu Sizhuo; one could even say they had traveled it for a whole year.

Shu Sizhuo glanced at him, turbulent undercurrents hidden in the depths of his eyes.

A sea of trees swayed outside the window, and a lake lay in the distance, calm and vast in the night.

As the sedan climbed a slightly steep stretch of road, there was a bang. The car tilted, then came to an abrupt halt.

Startled, Tong Zhao turned back and exchanged a look with Shu Sizhuo, then unbuckled his seat belt and hurried out of the car.

Tong Zhao swept his phone's flashlight over the ground, then crouched down for a closer look. Frowning, he announced, "President Shu, you have a flat tire. There are nails all over the ground here."

Shu Sizhuo opened the door, got out, and strolled over to take a look. "Mm, it's flat," he said regretfully. "We can't go into the city tonight."

"Huh?" Tong Zhao looked up at him.

"If you don't mind, let's spend the night at the old house." Shu Sizhuo straightened and smiled slightly.

Tong Zhao was taken aback. He turned to look. The old house was just ahead, standing vast and solitary among the barren mountains, exactly as he remembered it.

Tong Zhao wanted to ask if there wasn't another car at the old house.

But he swallowed the words.

Even if there was another car, why should Shu Sizhuo have to switch cars just to drive him home?

Besides, Tong Zhao was secretly delighted that this accident meant he would spend the night with Shu Sizhuo.

He hadn't deliberately approached Shu Sizhuo. Everything had been an accident.

He was just staying the night and taking a look at the familiar old house. That was all.