Everyone urged her to live well with Huo Tingyun, and even she herself had entertained the thought of settling down with him.
Fortunately, reality delivered a harsh slap to her face.
It woke her up in time.
"Su Qi, what does everything I've done for you mean nothing in your eyes?!"
"What have you done for me?! Huo Tingyun, what do your endless string of 'white moonlight' women mean to me?!"
Su Qi was too enraged to argue with him any further. Mustering all her strength, she shook off his hand and stormed out.
Outside the office door, several secretaries stood up in unison as Su Qi emerged, watching her leave with a hint of trepidation.
As she sat in the elevator, Su Qi's limbs felt as if they had been drained of strength. Weak and limp, she collapsed onto the floor.
Her phone vibrated, again and again. Su Qi took out her phone, opened it, and saw the caller ID: Xu Linchuan.
Su Qi intended to hang up, but at the last moment before it stopped vibrating, she answered.
"Linchuan..."
"How have you been lately?"
From the other end, the man's voice carried a discernible, subtle weariness.
Su Qi pursed her lips. "And you?"
"I've been quite busy lately, almost finished. I heard Huo Tingyun found a girl..."
Su Qi couldn't help but let out a laugh, a mix of amusement and self-mockery. "Your news is certainly well-informed."
"I just heard, is it true?"
Xu Linchuan hung up, his phone clutched in his hand. After a long moment, he made another call, while his other hand reached for a razor.
Standing before the mirror, he had been swamped with work due to Xu Linyun's situation, with many tasks in his department and numerous surgeries awaiting him, leaving him no time to distinguish day from night.
He hadn't even had time to groom his stubble.
Now that things were mostly settled, it was time to take a break.
The razor glided down his chin, lathered with foam. He slowly moved the razor along his jawline. His phone rang a few times, and then the call was connected.
"Tingyun, have you found her?"
"Yes, I have."
"Congratulations, your little rose is back by your side."
He paused, Xu Linchuan's voice deepening slightly.
"Are you sure the girl you found is your little rose?"
"Of course. She hasn't changed at all from my memory of her childhood. She's still the same girl, innocent, pure, lively, and adorable. She can answer all my questions fluently. She's the girl I've been searching for all these years."
"Is that so..."
Xu Linchuan's hand tightened slightly, accidentally nicking the skin on his chin. A thin line of blood quickly seeped through the lather, a crimson mark.
"Bring her out sometime. I'd like to meet this little rose and see who she is, the one who has occupied your heart for so many years, dominating almost your entire life."
From Huo Tingyun's thirteenth year to his twenty-eighth, a span of nearly fifteen years.
Huo Tingyun had never forgotten this first love.
After hanging up, Xu Linchuan shaved off all his beard, then used a pristine white tissue to wipe away the cut. The tissue was quickly saturated with bright red blood.
On the white tissue, a vibrant streak of red was strikingly conspicuous.
Evening, seaside restaurant.
When Xu Linchuan arrived, the establishment had been privately booked. At a window seat sat Huo Tingyun, accompanied by a woman Xu Linchuan had never seen before.
The woman was dressed very plainly. Her style of dress, as well as her demeanor, at first glance, strongly resembled Su Qi from back then.
Xu Linchuan took a distant glance, almost mistaking the woman for Su Qi.
He paused, momentarily stunned, before walking over.
"Tingyun, this must be the legendary Miss Li?"
Xu Linchuan's gaze fell upon Li Caiyi without reservation.
"Hello, my name is Li Caiyi. You must be Linchuan, Dr. Xu, whom Tingyun mentioned?"
Li Caiyi smiled shyly and then leaned into Huo Tingyun's embrace.
Even her way of acting coy was identical to Su Qi's from back then.
However, no matter how similar, she could never replace Su Qi.
Su Qi was a unique existence, a very special woman.
Even if this woman was deliberately mimicking Su Qi's youthful appearance, it was merely a clumsy imitation.
Xu Linchuan's brow furrowed imperceptibly as he looked at Huo Tingyun. "Tingyun..."
He hadn't expected Huo Tingyun to find such a fake.
It seemed Huo Tingyun was quite taken with this imposter.
After a while into the dinner, Huo Tingyun went to the restroom. Xu Linchuan stopped cutting his steak and stared intently at Li Caiyi beside him.
Li Caiyi widened her innocent eyes and touched her face. "What is it? Is there something on my face?"
Xu Linchuan didn't rush to speak. Instead, he took a napkin, meticulously wiped his mouth, then picked up his glass of red wine and took a shallow sip, swirling the stemmed glass.
"Have you heard a story, Miss Li?"
"What story?"
"In ancient times, there was a peerless beauty named Xi Shi. She suffered from a heart condition, so she would always clutch her chest and frown. She was so pitiable. Later, a woman named Dong Shi saw Xi Shi's pitiable state and, learning from Xi Shi, also clutched her chest and feigned pain. From this, an idiom arose: Dong Shi's imitation!"
"Really?" Li Caiyi's eyes widened, her expression one of innocent naivete. "What an interesting story!"
Xu Linchuan stared at Li Caiyi, his brow furrowed. The man's usually gentle and refined face showed no trace of tenderness, only scrutiny and interrogation.
"Li Caiyi, I don't know who sent you here, but you are merely a fake. If there wasn't a misunderstanding between Tingyun and Su Qi, you wouldn't be by Huo Tingyun's side."
"Mr. Xu, why do you say that? I have no ill intentions. I just want to be with my first love, that's all."
"Your first love? Miss Li, you might have a delusion!" Xu Linchuan slammed down his steak knife, staring directly at Li Caiyi, marveling at the woman's exquisite acting skills.
"You were never Huo Tingyun's first love. I don't know who sent you to Huo Tingyun's side, but I won't object if you want to impersonate Huo Tingyun's white moonlight. However, if you dare to do anything that harms Su Qi, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
He admitted he had his own selfish motives.
But if the woman before him dared to try and harm Su Qi, he wouldn't hesitate to be merciless.
As Xu Linchuan spoke, Li Caiyi maintained an expression of confusion and innocence. "Mr. Xu, what are you talking about? I don't understand..."
Xu Linchuan raised an eyebrow and let out a cold sneer.