He Was Suppressing a Dangerous Fire

The Jincheng golf course was in the southern suburbs, but at this time of year, they could only play at an indoor golf facility.

Chu Tianqing only realized the difference when she arrived at the golf course. She hurriedly turned to look at Shen Heng, afraid he would leave if he was unhappy.

To her surprise, Shen Heng seemed to be in good spirits and asked Ye Mingchen and Qiao Ruhai to pick out clubs with him.

He really hadn't played in a long time, so he didn't mind playing indoors.

In Jincheng, people liked to go to clubs to play cards, drink, and have fun with women while entertaining clients and talking business.

In Hong Kong, however, he had accompanied his grandfather to the golf course since childhood, watching him talk business with all kinds of people while playing. He had picked up many tactics through exposure, but unfortunately, he couldn't use any of them in Jincheng.

The three men came out after choosing their clubs, and Ye Mingchen handed one to Chu Tianqing. "I picked this one for you. Now that you're here, come play with us."

Chu Tianqing hastily waved her hands. "I really don't know how. I've never played golf before."

"It's all right, I'll teach you." Ye Mingchen wouldn't take no for an answer. He pressed the club into her hands and took her over to the tee.

Qiao Ruhai walked up beside Shen Heng and remarked, "Looks like Mingchen has really fallen into the river of love. I've never seen him pay so much attention to a girl."

Shen Heng's expression was inscrutable. He didn't respond, only saying in a low voice, "Come on, let's play a round."

When Ye Mingchen said he would teach Chu Tianqing to play, an image immediately flashed through her mind of a lecher taking advantage of a beautiful woman.

To her surprise, Ye Mingchen genuinely wanted to teach her. He first had her watch a video, then demonstrated how to put force into her swing. Chu Tianqing quickly got the feel for it and successfully hit a ball.

Ye Mingchen applauded and praised her without holding back, making Chu Tianqing's heart bloom with joy.

Laughter rang out on their side, while over on the other, Shen Heng was swinging his club hard enough to send sparks flying. Qiao Ruhai cried that he couldn't keep up.

He stole a glance at Shen Heng. This time, no matter how slow on the uptake he was, he could tell something was off with him.

When Ye Mingchen had told him earlier, he'd said Ye Mingchen was overthinking it.

Things really weren't going smoothly for Shen Heng at work, or he wouldn't have asked them to come help. But these were foreseeable difficulties, and Shen Heng wasn't a fragile person.

Now Qiao Ruhai was dumbfounded. He had judged wrong. Watching Shen Heng now, he really felt that Shen Heng was suppressing a dangerous fire and was about to explode.

Shen Heng had always been a skilled player, and now he was going all out. Qiao Ruhai quickly conceded defeat.

Shen Heng didn't mind and began playing by himself.

Qiao Ruhai stepped away and sat at a table behind them. Chu Tianqing and Ye Mingchen had long since stopped playing and were sitting close together, drinking juice and chatting.

Seeing him sit down, Ye Mingchen asked in surprise, "Why are you over here? Where's A-Heng? Is he still playing?"

"I don't think he's playing golf. He's venting his temper." Qiao Ruhai covered his mouth with his hand and said in a low voice, "A-Heng really is unhappy. Xixi, how did you tell?"

Chu Tianqing slapped the table, feeling as though she'd finally found a kindred spirit. "I knew it! I wasn't imagining things! He's really been difficult to deal with lately!"

She told the two men about her dear big brother's strange behavior lately, including how he kept getting angry with her, had made friends with a strange old man, and had even gotten into a contest with a dog.

Finally, Chu Tianqing said worriedly, "I'm sure you both know about the Shen family's situation. My brother is basically here on his own, so I'm sorry to trouble you two to look after him."

Even after hearing all this, Ye Mingchen was still a little puzzled. "You mean A-Heng has lost control because things aren't going well at work?"

Chu Tianqing nodded silently.

Ye Mingchen spoke cautiously. "But from what I know of him, a challenge would only fire him up. Besides, the difficulties here in Jincheng are just because he was parachuted in and hasn't adjusted yet. Give him a little more time, and he can simply strip those directors of their power."

Qiao Ruhai had been wavering to begin with, and now he agreed with Ye Mingchen. "You have a point. I don't think those little problems at work are really problems either."

Chu Tianqing was puzzled. "If it's not work, what else could it be?"

In life, weren't things divided into business and personal matters?

If it wasn't work, could it be family? That made even less sense.

She'd been very well-behaved lately, hadn't she? She hadn't clashed with the true young lady, and she'd even gone home to visit Ms. Jiang and Papa Shen, taking on part of his filial duties for him.

The three fell silent. Then inspiration struck Qiao Ruhai. "Could it be because of a woman? Is he secretly in love with someone?"

Ye Mingchen's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Could it be because of Fang Ke?"

Fang Ke was Shen Heng's personal assistant. Her great-aunt was an old servant of the Shen family and was highly valued by Old Madam Shen.

After Shen Heng started university, he wanted to live independently outside the family home for a while. Old Madam Shen wanted to find someone to take care of his daily needs, and the old servant recommended her grandniece, Fang Ke.

Fang Ke was attending nursing school at the time and didn't have a particularly demanding class schedule, so she took the job of managing Shen Heng's daily life.

Later, they graduated in the same year, and Fang Ke officially became Shen Heng's personal assistant. She followed him all the way from Hong Kong to Jincheng; they were practically inseparable.

The more Ye Mingchen thought about it, the more reasonable his guess seemed. "Fang Ke comes from an ordinary family, and her education is even less impressive. She does look decent, but overall, there's a huge gulf between her and the Shen family. Old Madam Shen would never agree to A-Heng marrying her. Could he be troubled by that?"

Chu Tianqing was astonished. So this was a story about the heir to a wealthy family and Cinderella.

Thinking of how Old Madam Shen had dealt with Jiang Youyi, she couldn't help shuddering and mourning silently for Cinderella.

Even a famous actress hadn't been good enough, so surely a servant's grandniece had even less chance.

Was tragedy going to repeat itself generation after generation? Was this some kind of wealthy-family curse?

The three exchanged glances, and all fell silent.

If that was the case, none of them could offer Shen Heng any comfort. They could only let him come to terms with it himself.

Shen Heng suddenly spoke. "What are you doing? Did you come all this way just to sit around in a daze?"

Chu Tianqing looked up at him. The temperature inside the facility was kept at twenty-two degrees, yet Shen Heng had played until he was drenched in sweat. Strands of hair hung down against his temples, and against his fair skin, they gave him an added touch of tragic beauty.

"Brother," Chu Tianqing said, her voice gentler out of sympathy, "are you thirsty? What would you like to drink? I'll buy it for you."

Shen Heng sat down gracefully and put his club aside. "Electrolyte water, thank you. I'd like to play another round. If you're not interested, go have fun somewhere else."

Ye Mingchen quickly shook his head. "No, I'll play a round with you. I'll risk my life to keep a gentleman company."

Shen Heng wiped the sweat from his forehead with a tissue. At those words, he raised his eyes and studied his two friends closely. Why did they seem so strange?

Chu Tianqing returned with the water and respectfully handed it to Shen Heng.

Shen Heng glanced at her and thought she was acting strangely too.

Ye Mingchen played a round with Shen Heng, and by the time they finished, it was noon. They ate at the facility.

This sort of attentiveness became even more obvious over lunch. Shen Heng's eyes swept around the table before settling on Shen Xixi.

When it came to the source of all this, it had to be her.

She was the one who had invited him to play golf, saying it was so they could unwind. Shen Heng had thought she wanted to see Ye Mingchen but was too embarrassed to spend time alone with him, so she'd dragged them along.

Now it seemed he'd been wrong. It was as though he could smell a conspiracy.

After lunch, Chu Tianqing went to the restroom. As she came out, a dark figure flashed before her eyes. Shen Heng grabbed her arm and pushed her into an empty lounge.