Chapter 38

Li Rongxiu's eyes lit up, and he could not help smiling. "I've known you for so long, but I rarely see you wearing white. It looks good on you. Makes you look a few years younger."

Hearing Li Rongxiu's unrestrained praise, Shen Yujun curled his lips in a very good mood. Yet when Li Rongxiu said he looked younger, he unconsciously gave a faint, bitter smile. He poured Li Rongxiu a glass of juice, pushed the menu over, and said, "Order."

Li Rongxiu waved with a smile, turned and named several dishes to the waiter, then dismissed him with a gesture. Only then did he turn back and say, "Why did you book a couples' private room? Doesn't it feel strange for two grown men to sit here?"

Autumn Water House took its name from the ancient phrase "gazing through autumn waters." Its private rooms were elegantly decorated and compact, usually chosen by couples dining together. When Li Rongxiu came here with friends, he generally chose grander private rooms like the Golden Throne Hall. This was his first time in Autumn Water House.

At that, Shen Yujun glanced at Li Rongxiu and said evenly, "There are only two of us. Why book such a large room? It would feel too empty."

"That's true." Li Rongxiu pictured the scene Shen Yujun described and smiled. After a pause, he added, "But you didn't have to book a couples' room. Wouldn't any business room have done?"

"It's crowded at lunchtime. All the business rooms were taken, and this couples' room was the only one left. I even had to call in a favor to reserve it." Shen Yujun did not want to dwell on the topic and deliberately provoked him. "Why are you making such a fuss? It's only a private room. You care this much, could it be that you—"

"What about me?" Li Rongxiu interrupted irritably. He raised his glass and drained the juice in one gulp, then got straight to the point. "Didn't you say you wanted to discuss something with me? What is it?"

Just as Shen Yujun was about to speak, a waiter knocked lightly on the door and came in to serve the dishes. Shen Yujun waited until the waiter had finished and left before saying, "There is something I can't make up my mind about, so I wanted someone to discuss it with."

After a brief pause, Shen Yujun said, "If someone had the chance to gain greater wealth and a higher status, but the price was giving up everything he currently had—including familiar surroundings, familiar people, and the career he had built over many years—and starting over from scratch, do you think that deal would be worth it?"

While Shen Yujun spoke, Li Rongxiu elegantly yet swiftly finished nearly half a bowl of rice, poured himself another glass of juice, and drank it. Only after his starving stomach finally felt the slightest bit full did he narrow his eyes in satisfaction. He casually said, "You're talking about yourself, aren't you? What bad thing are you planning now? Looks like you're leaving Wancheng this time? For how long?"

Watching Li Rongxiu answer while his eyes remained fixed on the food, Shen Yujun laughed inwardly. His heart felt strangely relaxed and soft. Yet he was still unaccustomed to laying bare all his secrets to another person. So he did not answer Li Rongxiu directly, instead saying, "I don't know whether I should choose to leave. This choice is very important. It may change the course of my life. So I want to hear your opinion."

The opinion of someone who had no interests tied to his and was completely an outsider.

By then, Li Rongxiu had already finished the entire bowl of rice. Shen Yujun looked at him in surprise. Li Rongxiu had somehow ended the battle so quickly with movements elegant to the bone, without giving anyone the slightest impression of wolfing his food down. Back when Shen Yujun had lived with the Shen family, he often heard them privately disparage the Li family as uncultured nouveau riche. But looking at Li Rongxiu's every movement now, then thinking of every member of the Li family he had met, Shen Yujun had no right to judge whether the Li family was nouveau riche or not. But as for their upbringing...

At that thought, Shen Yujun suddenly froze. Then he frowned thoughtfully.

Li Rongxiu did not notice the subtle shift in Shen Yujun's thoughts. He merely spread his hands helplessly and said seriously, "I really can't give you much advice on this question. I'm not you, so I don't know what would be best for you. But if it were me, I definitely wouldn't give up my family and friends, leave the place I knew, and struggle in some unfamiliar place... Besides, I probably would never face a problem like that."

At least in the nearly thirty years of his previous life, apart from studying abroad during university and traveling, Li Rongxiu had hardly ever left Wancheng.

Shen Yujun came back to himself and smiled at Li Rongxiu. "You're right. You wouldn't leave Wancheng because your family is here, your friends are here, and everything you have is here. But me... there probably isn't anything in this place that I can't give up."

Hearing that, Li Rongxiu reached out and patted Shen Yujun on the shoulder. He did not know how to comfort Shen Yujun, because he simply was not someone good at comforting others. And someone like Shen Yujun had always disdained comfort and sympathy from others. He had only been calmly stating the facts.

Li Rongxiu looked at Shen Yujun's resolute face and smiled faintly. In truth, Shen Yujun did not need his advice. He had always known what he wanted. But recalling his previous life, Li Rongxiu realized that he had no memory of anyone named Shen Yujun. After thinking it over, he still reminded him, "No matter where you're going, remember to protect yourself. And... if you feel lonely, you can call me."

"Of course. We're friends!" Shen Yujun replied with a smile. He raised his glass to clink it against Li Rongxiu's, then drained the juice in one gulp.

For the next two months or so, Li Rongxiu never saw Shen Yujun again. It was as though the man had never existed, or had simply vanished from the world. Li Rongxiu occasionally called Shen Yujun, but his phone was always off. He did not know whether Shen Yujun had left Wancheng or simply did not want to answer. When he casually asked Li Jiuying about Shen Yujun, Li Jiuying said he had received the same treatment as Li Rongxiu—actually, his situation was even worse. At least before disappearing, Shen Yujun had specifically met with Li Rongxiu.

"Don't worry too much. Yujun's abilities are nowhere near as poor as he makes them seem. At any rate, I'm not worried that anyone in the Empire could hurt him," Li Jiuying finally reassured him.

But what if it was outside the Empire? Recalling his uncle's earlier request, Li Rongxiu suspiciously sought out Li Bingru. He wanted to know whether Shen Yujun's strange behavior had anything to do with the woman named Judy whom Li Bingru was looking for. In the end, his uncle merely smiled and patted Li Rongxiu's head, brushing him off. "Don't worry. I guarantee your friend will be fine."

Faced with his uncle's solemn assurance, Li Rongxiu, who had always trusted his family without reservation, naturally did not question it further. And what happened next left him with no mind to care about Shen Yujun's whereabouts.

Because the auction for the Chi family's shipyard and various industrial real estate holdings, which the Chi family had dragged out for so long, had finally begun.

As the "chief culprit" behind the Chi family's downfall, Li Rongxiu naturally had to accompany his family to this auction. It had nothing to do with kicking someone when they were down. It was simply that the film Above the Elite, which Li Rongxiu had invested in, had wrapped perfectly after more than two months of hard filming. Next came post-production and the second nationwide promotional campaign.

Since the first promotion for Above the Elite had been the charity fundraising event held after the Chi family's shipyard caused marine pollution, the publicity department of Li Meihua Film and Television Company believed that attending this auction hosted by the Chi family would bring even better publicity to the film. Thus, not only would Li Rongxiu attend the auction with the Li family, but Zhou Ruixin and the other investors would also bring several of the film's main actresses. First, to promote the movie, and second... naturally, to back up their friend and slap some faces.

As for whose faces they intended to slap, naturally it was Chi Junrui and Shen Manyao, the "pregnant-before-marriage" couple who had "resolutely abandoned wealth and privilege for true love." Although in the more than half year since the Li and Shen families broke off the engagement, gossip about Chi Junrui relentlessly pursuing Yao Pingting only to be repeatedly rejected had already slapped Shen Manyao's face hard with the facts. But Li Rongxiu's companions still felt that was not enough. Far from enough.

As the leading actress of Above the Elite, Yang Lin had gotten a small taste of the lavish lifestyle of Wancheng's so-called upper class during filming. Fragrant clothes and shadowed hair, glittering jewels, luxury cars and mansions, one cocktail party after another, the pursuit of camera flashes... Yang Lin envied that kind of life and did everything she could to attain it. But she had not expected this day to come so quickly.

Looking at the exquisitely made-up, elegant girl in the mirror, Yang Lin excitedly curled her lips. Her bright, watery eyes shone even more brilliantly with excitement. That radiance held her hopes and fantasies for the future. Then she shyly pursed her lips, pinched the hem of her beige gauze dress, walked out of the dressing room, and smiled at Li Rongxiu, who sat on the sofa listlessly flipping through a newspaper. "What do you think? Is this one okay?"

Resting his chin on one hand, Li Rongxiu gave Yang Lin a careless glance and said casually, "Not bad. It suits you. Take this one."

After saying that, Li Rongxiu beckoned to the store manager standing nearby and instructed with a smile, "Pick out suitable jewelry and shoes for her, and arrange an appropriate hairstyle. Bring her back once everything is done... Make it quick. It all has to be ready before six this evening."

Then Li Rongxiu said to Yang Lin, "If you're hungry, order takeout. We'll go straight to the auction later. There may be a cocktail party after the auction, so you won't have time to eat."

Having never experienced anything like this, Yang Lin nodded repeatedly. Just as she was about to thank Li Rongxiu and praise his gentlemanly manners, a ringing phone interrupted her.

Li Rongxiu lowered his head to look at the caller ID and gestured for the manager to take Yang Lin away. Yang Lin looked wistfully at Li Rongxiu, who had shown little interest in her from beginning to end, and bit her lip in disappointment.

Li Rongxiu answered the call, and Xin Mengmeng's voice came clearly through the receiver. "So? That little star looks pretty good once she's dressed up, doesn't she?"

Li Rongxiu smiled faintly. "You're all bored out of your minds, aren't you? Then come keep me company. Picking an outfit takes an hour, doing hair takes another hour. Why are girls always so troublesome?"

"Hey, can you show even a little gentlemanly manners? Besides, as long as the result is beautiful, a little waiting is worthwhile. Aren't we doing all this for you?" Xin Mengmeng snorted, gestured to her hairstylist, made several requests, then continued lecturing Li Rongxiu. "We just want certain people to understand that the appeal of wealthy families lies in their ability to turn Cinderella into a princess. The horror of fallen families, meanwhile, is that they turn princesses into Cinderella. Think about it: two women with completely different opportunities appear in the same place, and because of the same factor, the one who originally lay in the dust can be cherished in the palm of someone's hand, while the one who was once cherished must fall into the dust. Believe me... no woman could bear that kind of treatment."

Li Rongxiu pursed his lips noncommittally. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Shen Manyao isn't that kind of woman."

Otherwise, Shen Manyao in his previous life would not have waited more than a decade for a single promise from Chi Junrui. Besides, when he had met Shen Manyao in this life, he did not think someone as proud as her would entertain such boring thoughts—rather than hiding in a corner and wallowing in self-pity, she would be better off preparing for what lay ahead and actively seizing what she wanted. That was the Shen Manyao he remembered.