Day Three: No Thoughts

Page 1/3

The dessert shop still played a light, easy English tune.

Today was clear and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky.

The driver’s task today remained the same: to chauffeur his employer’s girlfriend out and about. His phone buzzed with a message that she had finished afternoon tea with friends. Standing beside the car, he finally saw her emerge from the shop.

Si Nian had just finished afternoon tea and noticed the driver waiting respectfully nearby.

She was dazed and distracted, nearly tripping over the threshold without noticing. Jiang Yihan caught her just in time to prevent her from falling. He sighed silently and decided to escort her straight into the car.

The driver opened the door.

Si Nian sat somewhat blankly in the back seat.

She said a muddled goodbye to Jiang Yihan. After a while, she heard the driver calling her again.

He was turning back to ask if she was heading back to Mingjing Mansion. Judging by his tone, he had asked several times already.

“Oh? Oh.” Si Nian snapped back to reality and gave the driver a reply. The Rolls-Royce started quietly. She rolled down the window halfway. The cool evening breeze brushed her cheek, a refreshing chill that gradually brought her back to reality.

She pressed her lips tightly, recalling the sharp words Jiang Yihan had spoken in the dessert shop—

Lu Shuyan was going to break up with her.

Finally, Lu Shuyan was going to break up.

Those words filled her mind without space to breathe. Si Nian gripped her phone tightly, and after confirming countless times that this was real, she felt her entire body tremble. Every cell seemed to cheer and boil with excitement.

For so long, she had nearly lost all sense, instinctively holding no hope.

Indeed, Lu Shuyan’s recent attitude toward her—their unstable state—was exactly the prelude any man showed before wanting to break up.

Her phone diary showed: today marked 1,713 days of waiting for Lu Shuyan’s breakup settlement.

Si Nian almost teared up at the sight of those 1,713 days.

For 1,713 days, she had diligently played the devoted girlfriend role, to the point where her mental state nearly broke down. She had given so much inside and out. Now, at last, Lu Shuyan wanted to break up, and she could finally retire with honor.

Thinking of her breakup settlement made her excited again, but she noticed the driver’s gaze on her once more. She hastily composed herself.

Si Nian took a deep breath in her seat.

She told herself not to get too excited, to quietly wait for that day like always. But she wondered what Lu Shuyan was thinking—if he really intended to break up, would it be next quarter, next month, or next week?

She instinctively opened her calendar, but before she could calculate, her phone vibrated softly with a message notification.

From the contact named “Shuyan”:

“What do you want for dinner tonight?”

“Si Nian, I have something I want to talk to you about.”

“Tonight.”

Si Nian’s phone slipped from her palm with a soft clatter.

…

At the same time, in the evening, the setting sun blazed like fire.

Most office workers in the CBD were still busy preparing for overtime. Rongsheng Tower stood proudly in the heart of the financial district—a building thousands of workers scrambled to enter. Now, under the sunset, it reflected a solemn and austere glow.

On the 26th floor.

After a full day of meetings, the CEO’s office was the last to remain lit. Everyone else had left, leaving the office deserted except for the CEO’s room still in work mode.

Zhao Chao held several documents at the CEO’s office door. After knocking and receiving a reply, he entered.

Today, Lu Shuyan had stayed after work to handle some private matters.

“President Lu,” Zhao Chao said as he entered, neatly placing the documents, already verified by lawyers, in front of Lu Shuyan.

Lu Shuyan had just put down his phone and looked at the documents Zhao Chao brought.

They were all property transfer agreements.

Zhao Chao waited quietly.

Lu Shuyan briefly skimmed through the transfer agreements. After confirming everything was correct, he signed his name on the principal party’s signature line. Then he put the agreements aside and picked up a blank cheque Zhao Chao had brought in.

Zhao Chao’s eyes were drawn to that blank cheque.

He saw Lu Shuyan ponder over it for a few seconds, then lift his pen and begin writing from the top margin, starting with the unit “hundred million.”

Three nines in a row.

The cheque’s final amount was 999 million.

Though mentally prepared, Zhao Chao could not hide his shock at seeing the number Lu Shuyan wrote with his own hand.

Because those seemingly thin sheets of paper represented cash of 999 million, the penthouse at Mingjing Mansion valued at no less than 500,000 per square meter, a garden villa in the suburbs of city B that could not be bought with money alone, and a seaside vacation villa in a southern coastal city with private waters.

All these assets were ultimately transferred to the same name on the receiving party’s side:

Si Nian.

Zhao Chao had expected the amount on the cheque to be high, but not to the maximum limit.

It made him recall that ever-present young lady who followed Lu Shuyan around, whose greatest trait was her obedient and sensible nature, and who shyly called him “Assistant Zhao” whenever they met.

Zhao Chao fell silent.

Indeed, when trying to get something from a man, the best lever is his guilt and sympathy.

Especially when that man is already generous.

Lu Shuyan signed the cheque and put away his pen.

He glanced at Zhao Chao, who seemed lost in thought, and motioned that he could leave for the day.

Zhao Chao quickly gathered all the signed documents and left the office.

Silence fell again.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the evening glow was as beautiful as a painting.

Page 2/3

Lu Shuyan sat alone in his office chair, gazing at the sunset. He recalled Si Nian’s message on his phone—tonight, she wanted a romantic candlelit dinner while enjoying the night view.

His fingers tapped lightly as he calculated how long they had known each other.

From the semester he came to C University as an exchange student, through graduation, to when he took over Rongsheng, nearly five years had passed.

They had been together for almost five years.

In those five years, they never had any discord. Si Nian was always gentle and caring—innocent to a fault when they first met, then like a clingy little creature constantly by his side. She understood everything, never pretentious or awkward. While his friends often struggled to keep their girlfriends happy, he never had to worry about such matters.

So Lu Shuyan knew that he was being cruel now.

Perhaps it was age, or the growing pressure and busyness since taking over Rongsheng, but at some point, a voice began to emerge in his heart.

He and Si Nian might not make it to the end.

He knew they had always been good, and Si Nian was flawless, but he gradually felt they could not last.

Especially since he had fully transitioned from the naive student days when they met to now, as Rongsheng’s president with no opposition on the board.

Yet Si Nian seemed unchanged.

She was still as innocent and obedient, sometimes timid, unwilling to do even time-filling work or engage with the outside world. She quietly lived in her own ivory tower. Only when unavoidable social events arose would she peek out briefly, then quickly retreat to her safe zone.

The distance between them seemed to grow wider.

That voice reached its peak today when Si Nian, as usual, stood before him to tie his tie.

At that moment, Lu Shuyan clearly realized he no longer looked forward to each day—Si Nian tying his tie like this and sending him off to work at the door.

The end of a relationship need not be hysterical.

Lu Shuyan was never one to drag things out.

He had spent the whole day hesitating whether to tell her next week, next month, or next quarter. But when the outcome was decided, delaying only brought exhaustion.

His gaze shifted to the cheque he had just signed.

So all he could do was try to compensate as best as possible, hoping that after their separation, at least Si Nian would have good material conditions.

…

Mingjing Mansion.

The walk-in closet was a mess.

Si Nian came back and tried on every dress she had this quarter. Then she remembered Lu Shuyan’s message about wanting to “talk” tonight, and a smile crept onto her lips as she silently cheered.

Everything seemed almost unreal in its happiness.

After 1,713 days of nearly losing hope, things had suddenly turned around.

Just as she realized Lu Shuyan might want to break up, the message about wanting to talk came.

They weren’t the type of couple to talk about everything casually. If Lu Shuyan wanted to talk, it had to be about breaking up.

She had been wondering if it would be next week or next month, but Lu Shuyan was even swifter than she imagined—it was tonight, today. She had learned this was a cliffhanger breakup.

Si Nian thought “cliffhanger breakup” wasn’t such a bad thing.

She smiled mischievously as she picked out clothes. Usually, her style was delicate but provincial, trying hard to maintain the image of a refined little lady, often embracing the tacky wholeheartedly. Since this might be the last day, she wanted to dress well enough to be seen.

In the end, she chose a simple, basic white dress with a clean cut from the pile of tacky but refined options.

After changing, she looked in the mirror and recalled the looks from Gao Xinyu and her clique at the birthday party, scoffing softly.

She had modeled with three hundred outfits a day while those fake friends were still playing house.

Hands on her hips, she raised an eyebrow at her reflection, thinking that having endured five years of tacky clothes and being mocked behind her back by wealthy socialites, Lu Shuyan’s breakup settlement tonight couldn’t be less than eight figures.

If less than eighty million, she’d go down with him.

Thinking of “going down together” made her laugh aloud.

She sprayed on a perfume named “Freedom,” picked up her bag, and set off for the famous French restaurant known for its night views. Each step felt like a victorious player heading to claim her MVP prize.

The Rolls-Royce’s glossy black paint gleamed unusually alluring tonight.

Si Nian arrived to find Lu Shuyan already there.

Led by a waiter, she entered the VIP room where the dazzling city lights stretched outside. Lu Shuyan was already seated at the table.

It wasn’t their first time dining at this restaurant.

Lu Shuyan looked up when Si Nian arrived a little late.

He noticed something different about her tonight.

Though he couldn’t say exactly what, since he never paid attention to girls’ fashion, he felt she seemed brighter, livelier than usual.

Si Nian smiled warmly as she sat opposite him.

The waiter brought two menus. Si Nian casually flipped through hers, then looked up and blinked curiously.

“Shuyan,” she asked, “you said you wanted to talk to me tonight. What is it?”

Lu Shuyan paused, hand still on the menu.

Then, looking at her seemingly innocent face, he smiled and said, “Let’s eat first.”

“Oh.” Si Nian hadn’t expected Lu Shuyan to be so formal about a breakup.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, the city’s lights sparkled.

Tonight’s main courses were black truffle foie gras risotto and sirloin steak.

The waiter turned off all the lights. White candles flickered gently on silver candelabras, creating the most romantic atmosphere for a candlelit dinner.

Yet Si Nian couldn’t taste a thing.

It was impossible to eat as if nothing was wrong. She mechanically cut a piece of steak and was about to take a bite when she heard her name:

“Si Nian.”

She tensed and her hand shook.

Lu Shuyan had planned to start with something else.

Page 3/3

But as soon as he spoke, the steak on Si Nian’s fork slipped off, rolling from her chest down to the skirt and finally falling onto the carpet.

Si Nian looked down, seeing the stain left by the steak sauce on her white dress.

Lu Shuyan was momentarily speechless.

Si Nian twitched her expression, then said, “I’ll go to the restroom to clean this up.”

Lu Shuyan could only nod in response: “Okay.”

Si Nian got up and left for the restroom.

Only Lu Shuyan remained in the room.

The candle flames burned silently, their soft reflections shimmering on the glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Lu Shuyan focused on the gentle flames. He didn’t know how Si Nian would react when he said what he had to say tonight, until suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing of a phone.

Si Nian’s phone was ringing.

Her dress had no pockets, and she hadn’t brought her phone with her.

Lu Shuyan looked at the persistently ringing phone. He had intended to wait for Si Nian to return to answer it, but the ringtone was relentless. After some hesitation, he glanced at the door and then picked up.

The number was unfamiliar.

“Hello?”

The other side was asking if he wanted to buy health supplements that promised cures for late-stage cancer.

Lu Shuyan hung up immediately upon realizing it was a sales call.

As he hung up, he glanced at Si Nian’s phone screen, intending to check the time. The phone had facial recognition and unlocked with a swipe.

Lu Shuyan had never been interested in looking at his girlfriend’s phone.

He had no desire to pry into her private matters, but as the phone unlocked, he noticed several unread WeChat messages.

Among the unread messages, one happened to mention “Lu Shuyan” by name.

It all seemed so coincidental.

For the first time, compelled by some strange impulse, Lu Shuyan opened the chat containing his name.

…

Si Nian busied herself in the restroom for a while.

The waiter brought her a stain remover pen. After much effort, the stain on her dress faded to nearly invisible, leaving only faint marks that were hard to detect.

She also took the opportunity to use the restroom.

Standing before the mirror, she took several deep breaths to calm herself, eyes shining with the resolve of a warrior.

This was perhaps the most important night of her twenty-four years.

After tonight, she would clock out, withdraw, and ascend to the pinnacle of her life.

She forcibly suppressed the smile curving her lips.

Then she left the restroom. Led by the waiter, she returned to the room and opened the door. Lu Shuyan was still seated, enveloped in the gentle candlelight.

Si Nian sat down again opposite him.

She smoothed her skirt. Most of the food on the table had cooled and she had no appetite. She noticed the wine glass in front of Lu Shuyan was empty.

Lu Shuyan saw that her dress was clean again.

His gaze slowly lifted to meet the beautiful face with its perpetual sweet smile.

Si Nian inexplicably felt that Lu Shuyan seemed different from when they had gone out.

But she couldn’t say exactly what was different. Her palms grew clammy with sweat. Remembering the ultimate purpose of tonight, she had nearly finished her meal. Seeing Lu Shuyan silently staring at her, she chose to speak first.

“Shuyan, can you tell me now what it is you want to talk about?”

Lu Shuyan looked at her as she spoke.

It was the same as when they first met—gentle, clear, quiet, never willful.

Despite the limitations of her background, she had always tried her best before him.

Lu Shuyan had thought he understood everything.

Until suddenly, it all seemed like a total joke.

In just a few minutes, everything turned upside down.

The matter was so absurd that he could hardly believe that one day, he would be toyed with by a young woman from humble origins who had barely seen the world.

His fingers tightened around the silver cutlery.

Si Nian, still smiling with all eight teeth showing, increasingly felt a chill down her spine.

Lu Shuyan remained silent, watching her.

Si Nian’s smile muscles stiffened.

The quieter the room became, the colder her back felt. A mysterious breeze flickered the candle flames.

She gradually sensed something was wrong.

Just as tension reached its breaking point, the chilling silence was finally broken.

Lu Shuyan, looking at the beautiful face frozen in a smile, spoke calmly with pupils as dark as an unfathomable abyss:

“Si Nian,”

“We’re getting married.”