The buzz on Weibo was quickly suppressed again.
Shen Shuangjian didn't usually pay attention to these things, and besides, Shen Sixian had previously deleted Weibo and Toutiao apps from all his devices, so unless someone specifically told him, Shen Shuangjian would never have known.
After the winter solstice, the two returned to their home outside the Shen Residence.
Shen Shuangjian doesn't usually like to go out, especially in winter when people who are sensitive to the cold feel even colder. So, even if Shen Sixian wants to see someone, it's usually him who comes over, not Shen Shuangjian goes back.
Life was peaceful and quiet, and because of Shen Shuangjian, the cooperation between the Xie and Shen families gradually increased.
However, most of the key work on the collaborative projects was handed over to Shen Sixian, Xie Jinghui simply made excuses about his incompetence and stayed at home with a clear conscience.
Aside from going to the company two or three times a week, Xie Jinghui spends most of his time at home with Shen Shuangjian.
Moreover, even when Xie Jinghui went to the company, he would go in the morning and return shortly after noon.
However, Xie Jinghui would return to the Xie Residence every one or two weeks. The last few times, Shen Shuangjian that he was afraid of the cold and was very unwilling to move, so even if Xie Jinghui wanted to take him along, he couldn't.
But today the weather was unusually nice, and Shen Shuangjian cooped up at home for many days, Xie Jinghui to let him see some sunshine, so he coaxed and pampered her and brought her out.
The Xie Residence is located in a more remote area than the Shen Residence and is further from the city center. Unlike the classical and luxurious Shen Residence, the Xie Residence is more like the ancestral home of a traditional Chinese family.
The house is vast, with waterside pavilions, towering courtyards, and seemingly endless walls.
Shen Shuangjian here before, she naturally felt a sense of unfamiliarity. Unfamiliar places often make Shen Shuangjian tense and uneasy.
Xie Jinghui's window was a rocking chair made of yellow wood. He opened the window but turned to look at Shen Shuangjian.
" Zhizhi, come here."
Shen Shuangjian led to sit on the rocking chair by him, and through Xie Jinghui's unobstructed view, she Shen Shuangjian a withered, towering pear tree in the courtyard outside the window.
Xie Jinghui leaned against the window, holding onto the rocking chair, gazing tenderly at the pear tree outside.
Xie Jinghui spoke up, "Before my grandmother passed away, she always wanted to see this pear tree bloom."
His gaze was deep, filled with a rare emotion and a profound sense of timelessness. "But to this day, it has not blossomed."
Shen Shuangjian was not a very eloquent person. He didn't know how to say nice or appropriate things, nor did he know how to say sweet words that would make people happy.
Therefore, even knowing that Xie Jinghui was feeling emotional, Shen Shuangjian could only remain silent.
"When my grandmother passed away, I lied to her, saying that even if it was just to see the pear tree bloom, I had to live on, and when I saw the tree in full bloom and the garden full of spring colors, I should go and tell her."
Xie Jinghui lowered his eyes slightly as he spoke, as if he were thinking of something helpless.
"But I later learned that the pear tree's roots had long been rotten, making it difficult for it to bloom. So, before my grandfather passed away, he kept complaining that she had lied to him."
Xie Jinghui lowered his head, chuckled softly, and shook his head.
"My grandmother also told me that when I grow up, if I meet someone I like, I must remember to bring them to her and let her see me."
Xie Jinghui slowly opened his hand, revealing a sapphire blue ring in his palm. The ring was very similar in style to the one he was wearing; it was made from a sapphire cut from Xie Jinghui's ring and then polished and set.
"My parents are useless, and my grandmother was unwilling to give them the ring. She said that even if a heartless person wears a thousand-pound pendant, it will be difficult for them to keep their heart."
The grandmother always disapproved of the marriage between a young couple who had drifted apart in their youth, so when the child was young, she gave the ring to herself.
Back then, Xie Jinghui didn't understand what it meant to be a heartless person. And after growing up, Xie Jinghui, who felt he had perfectly inherited his parents' bad habits and cold-bloodedness, understood even less.
He understood what heartlessness meant, but he didn't understand why his grandmother had given it to him.
What was the reason, what justification, that made the grandmother feel she hadn't inherited her parents' coldness and indifference?
What exactly is it that makes me think he's someone I can entrust with my life?
Xie Jinghui sometimes thinks about it and occasionally makes a self-deprecating joke, but he's just gotten used to wearing the ring for so long that he can't take it off.
This question happened so long ago that Xie Jinghui gradually forgot about it.
Until one day, he suddenly realized that when he Shen Shuangjian, he would unconsciously twist and rub the ring on his hand.
At first, it was a long-standing habit, but later it became something I would do whenever I was lost in thought because of Shen Shuangjian's matter.
It was because of this that Xie Jinghui suddenly remembered something he had completely forgotten from his childhood.
He remembered his grandmother saying that when he was little, he saw his grandfather holding her hand as they walked. Even though she was so small, she smiled so gently.
It was at that moment that Xie Jinghui suddenly understood.
When you turn the ring, what you really want to give away is never the ring itself.
It's not my own restless heart that's the problem.
Xie Jinghui slowly squatted down, kneeling on the left side of the rocking chair. He held Shen Shuangjian 'Shen Shuangjian hand and slowly slipped the ring, which had become much smaller, onto her finger.
"It suits you very well."
Xie Jinghui while, and finally, gently placed a kiss on her lips.
"Grandma was right. Even a cold-hearted person, when they meet someone they truly like, will feel like they're weighed down by a thousand pounds, and they'll never be able to escape it."
Xie Jinghui slowly curled his lips into a smile. He raised his eyes, only to meet Shen Shuangjian somewhat bewildered.
Then Xie Jinghui realized that he had never told Shen Shuangjian what liking someone really meant.
The noble and aloof white peony, loved by many throughout its life, yet it also indulges in self-pity, pursuing a love that is both illusory and fleeting.
Why did Shen Shuangjian develop such a personality? Even Xie Jinghui, who has been with him for a long time, may not be able to see the most unknown side of Shen Shuangjian.
He was like a narcissus admiring its own beauty in a murky lake, unable to see its own beauty and never looking up at the world outside of itself.
He pursued love based on hearsay and illusion, yet remained blind to true love.
He is proud, fragile, immersed in his own world, yet tender and innocent; he is naive and easily deceived, yet wary and vigilant.
The real Shen Shuangjian both cold-hearted and passionate.
He has too much tenderness and too many buried emotions, yet he is stingy with them and unwilling to give them away.
To this day, Xie Jinghui still doesn't know whether Shen Shuangjian likes him or not.
But Xie Jinghui hadn't thought about this question for a long time.
It wasn't that he thought it wasn't important, but Xie Jinghui suddenly realized that such an obscure and difficult topic might be worth his life to explain.