Su Qi's hand rested on the stone table, her arm trembling slightly.
She took several deep breaths, still unable to fully process the shock.
Sheng Yuchen was so much like Huo Qingrang.
He seemed gentle but was actually quite opinionated.
Huo Tingyun was not like Huo Qingrang, nor like Qin Xue, because Huo Tingyun was not Huo Qingrang's child at all.
Did Uncle Huo know?
Perhaps he had harbored suspicions!
But he felt too indebted to Qin Xue, so he never thoroughly investigated.
They say the world of the wealthy is as deep as the sea, and Su Qi was experiencing its intricate complexities for the first time.
After a long while, she regained her senses, stood up, and planned to leave, intending to return another day.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and Qin Xue and Qin Ruhui walked out side by side.
Seeing Su Qi's back, Qin Xue immediately let go of Qin Ruhui's arm, creating a distance between them.
Su Qi paused for a moment before slowly turning around. Seeing Qin Xue and Qin Ruhui, she smiled and said, "Good evening, Aunt Qin. I didn't expect Mr. Qin to be here too. Have you had dinner, Aunt Qin? I brought you some winter clothes because I was worried you'd be cold."
"You child, you didn't let me know you were coming. Mr. Qin is my brother-in-law; he came to see me specifically when he arrived in Shenzhen... Ruhui, you should go first. Su, you come, I want to talk to you for a bit."
Qin Xue gave Qin Ruhui a strained smile and then waved at Su Qi.
Su Qi ignored Qin Ruhui's scrutinizing gaze, feigning ignorance and innocence, and walked towards Qin Xue with a naive smile.
"Aunt Qin, I'll have dinner with you."
"Alright, let's go inside and talk."
Qin Xue pulled Su Qi into the elegant room.
Qin Ruhui stood in place, staring at the back of Su Qi's head until the two of them left. After a long while, he finally moved and headed towards the outside of the temple.
Qin Ruhui thought that Su Qi, being such a sharp girl, had waited outside the courtyard for so long. Hearing footsteps, she deliberately paused before turning around. He suspected she might have seen or guessed something, or perhaps he was being overly cautious. Qin Ruhui got into the car and sternly instructed the driver to start.
Su Qi sat in Qin Xue's room for a while, drank some tea, and then had a simple temple dinner with Qin Xue. The food was plain but clean and nutritious. Su Qi ate a little and then left the temple, driving back to the Huo residence.
"Miss Su, you're back. Young Master has already gone to bed. Would you like to see him?"
The butler came out to open the car door for Su Qi. Su Qi paused at the mention, glanced at the main door, pursed her lips, and nodded, "Yes!"
After taking a bath, Su Qi pushed open Huo Tingyun's bedroom door.
The man seemed to be truly asleep, his breathing even. His emotions had stabilized considerably during this time; he was eating, and he no longer threw things.
The night light was on, casting a soft, warm yellow glow that filled the room, not brightly, but hazily. Outside the opened window, the bright moonlight fell on the white bedsheet. Su Qi even softened her footsteps, afraid of disturbing this peaceful scene.
"Who..."
Su Qi stood by the bed. Before she could get a good look at the sleeping man, he suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils were vacant, unfocused, and stared directly at Su Qi.
Su Qi was startled but then remembered that Huo Tingyun was blind. What was she afraid of?
Her eyes darted, and Su Qi casually said, "I'm Caiyi, Tingyun Gege. Are you alright? I was worried about you, so I came to see you. Did I disturb your rest?"
Su Qi took a step back, about to leave, when her wrist was suddenly gripped. The man had raised his hand and caught her wrist.
"The butler said you went out."
The man's voice was as cold as ever.
In the dim light of the night lamp, Su Qi looked closely at the man before her and realized she felt like she was meeting him for the first time.
Su Qi's heart surged. She tried to suppress the turmoil within her before speaking, "Little Prince, do you still remember your little rose?"
Su Qi spoke each word deliberately, her pronunciation clear and her voice not loud, but distinct, so the man could hear every word clearly.
As her words fell, she felt the man's body tremble.
"You... you remembered?"
"Of course, how could I forget? I will always remember that summer, our meeting."
The feelings of youth were pure and beautiful, like friendship, and like nascent, ignorant love.
She didn't understand what love or feelings were, only that he was her little prince, and she wanted to be the rose he protected.
She couldn't remember many things from her childhood clearly, but only that boy had left all the memories in her life.
She clearly remembered the words they had spoken, the things they had done, every word etched in her memory.
In just two months, it felt as if they had known each other for a lifetime, as if they had known each other for twenty years. She was so happy that she even forgot who she was.
"I thought you didn't remember clearly anymore... The first time I saw you, I asked you, and you always answered vaguely. I thought you didn't remember very well. I didn't expect you to still remember."
The man's voice trembled slightly. Even though he couldn't see, Su Qi felt as if she could clearly sense the emotions in his eyes.
"The person you've been searching for all these years, the person you thought was Xu Linyun, is me... right?"
Su Qi was on the verge of tears, her voice thick with emotion.
"It's you, of course, it's you."
This feeling couldn't be wrong.
Even if his eyes couldn't see, his heart could still feel.
The girl before him was the girl he had met in the back garden.
Li Caiyi was his little rose.
When he had first found Li Caiyi, he had even thought his feelings were mistaken; it didn't feel like the same feeling from back then.
"Yes, it's me, it's me. I've been looking for you for so, so long..."
But why was it Huo Tingyun?
Anyone else would have been fine, but why Huo Tingyun?
After the man fell asleep again, Su Qi tried to pull her hand out of his.
But his grip was so firm that she couldn't get her hand free.
It took a great deal of effort to pull her hand out of his.
Her wrist was already marked with a red imprint from his grasp.
The man wasn't using excessive force, but his grip was too tight, and it still left a mark.
Su Qi rubbed her sore wrist, left the room, and returned to her own bedroom. She wasn't picky about where she slept, but she didn't sleep well. The next morning, she was awakened by a servant knocking on her door.
Su Qi groggily opened her eyes, washed her face haphazardly, and went to open the door.
"What is it?"
She was still half-asleep.
"Miss Su, Young Master is awake. He's calling your name and insists that you see him."
Glancing at the time, it was only six o'clock. Why had the man woken up so early?
"I know, just a moment."
Su Qi quickly tidied herself up, changed into a long dress, put on a cardigan, and then walked out of her room.
Huo Tingyun's bedroom door was open. The man was sitting in a wheelchair, with several servants standing nearby, trying to persuade him to eat breakfast. He sat by the window, the morning sunlight and breeze falling on him as if sprinkled with golden dust. His eyes were unfocused, which paradoxically softened the sharp edges and coldness of his chiseled face.