Fog Returns to the Capital

Chapter 121 I don’t know

A group of people had appeared on the bluestone steps not far away. They were all dressed in suits and had an extraordinary air about them.

But Li Wu's gaze immediately fell on the leader.

Although he was the youngest among them, he possessed the most composed demeanor, exuding a subtle yet imposing presence despite his understated nature. He dressed modestly in a simple long black coat, his tall, elegant figure radiating a refined and aloof air.

Caught off guard.

Li Wu's heart stopped for a moment.

She never expected to see Zhou Jinghuai again.

Their eye contact lasted less than a second before Zhou Jinghuai glanced at the man beside her and averted his gaze without lingering.

Step into the misty rain.

The bodyguards standing on either side of the steps immediately opened a pure black jade umbrella for him.

Others followed suit.

That moment.

Li Wu breathed a sigh of relief, and her heart, which had stopped beating, started beating again. Looking at the cigarette she had subconsciously extinguished, she couldn't help but feel a little self-deprecating.

He said it himself, that they were even.

So many years have passed, he must have let it go long ago.

Yan Xuting looked in the direction Li Wu had just been looking, but only managed to catch a glimpse of the group's backs.

He asked casually, "Someone you know?"

"do not know."

Li Wu replied quickly, almost subconsciously refuting him.

But don't want to.

She just finished speaking.

The man walking in front of the crowd suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The people behind him also stopped, looking at the man with confusion, and asked cautiously and respectfully, "...Chairman?"

The man didn't respond and simply walked away.

……

That very night, Li Wu had a nightmare.

But when she was woken up by the pain, she had long forgotten what she had dreamt about.

Perhaps it was the damp weather of the past few days, coupled with the rain that fell in the middle of the night, that caused the old injury on Li Wu's shoulder to start hurting again. When she woke up, her face was pale and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Li Wu hurriedly took the last two painkillers from the bedside table and swallowed them without even drinking water.

She sat on the carpet, hugging her shoulders for a while, until the intermittent pain gradually subsided.

The cold white light fell on her, making her face appear bloodless and as pale as snow.

After being woken up in pain in the middle of the night, Li Wu was unable to fall back asleep.

She just sat there, hugging her knees, curled up on the carpet, lost in thought.

I listened to the rain outside gradually subside until it stopped.

The first rays of dawn shone through the gaps in the curtains, casting a hazy glow on her exceptionally thin and fragile body.

……

After returning to China, Li Wu spent the time at the research institute.

Over the years, she has become increasingly withdrawn and reluctant to make new friends. She often spends entire days alone in the lab. Usually, others are the ones who initiate contact with her.

But Li Wu herself quite likes this kind of life.

If it weren't for Yan Xuting taking Li Wu on trips whenever he had time, gradually covering most of the globe, Li Wu herself might have forgotten that in the very beginning, her dream was to earn lots and lots of money, then retire and travel the world.

That noon, Li Wu unexpectedly received a call from Shen Yichen.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

Shen Yichen asked her on the other end of the phone, "What, you're treating me like a stranger now that you're back in Beijing? So all those times I went to see you were for nothing, huh? In the end, we're not even friends."

Li Wu felt slightly embarrassed and didn't know how to reply for a moment. In the end, she could only say that she had been busy lately and hadn't had time to contact him yet.

During the years she was abroad, Shen Yichen visited her many times. Even when she spent the first Lunar New Year there, Shen Yichen specially flew over on the first day of the new year to have dinner with her.

Even when she later won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress, it was Shen Yichen, a friend in the industry, who accepted the award on her behalf.

However, in recent years, Shen Yichen has moved behind the scenes and basically no longer acts. His investments are also very broad, including not only basic film and entertainment, but also real estate, finance, hotels, the internet, artificial intelligence, and other major fields.

When Li Wu travels, about a third of the hotels he stays at are among his chain brands.

but……

"How did you know I was back?"

“I not only know you’re back, I also know you came back with your boyfriend.”

Shen Yichen's gentle voice carried a smile, with a hint of meaning, "That day, when I passed by Chang'an Avenue, I saw you sitting in the passenger seat of his car."

Li Wu paused slightly.

Before she could respond, Shen Yichen changed the subject, asked her some trivial questions, and then hung up the phone.

……

The meeting was scheduled for the evening of the following day at a Chinese restaurant near the Liwu Research Institute.

Because of the short distance, Li Wu arrived first.

Thinking of Shen Yichen's usual habits, Li Wu specially requested a private room.

She sent the private room number to Shen Yichen, but perhaps because he was driving, he didn't reply.

A few minutes before the agreed time, the door to the private room was pushed open from the outside.

"You came--"

When Li Wu saw the person standing at the door of the private room, she stopped talking abruptly.

It's Zhou Jinghuai.

Unlike the distant view of that day, his features were now much clearer.

His deep-set eyes and high-bridged nose made his face even more strikingly handsome. He looked much the same as he had seven years ago, except for his aura. He was now stern and unsmiling, exuding an even greater air of authority that made people hesitant to approach him.

There was a moment or two of dead silence.

Shen Yichen, who was following behind Zhou Jinghuai, quickly spoke up to ease the atmosphere, "We just happened to run into each other on the way, and since we all knew each other, we decided to have a meal together."

Li Wuqing looked at Shen Yichen with her clear, bright eyes.

He clearly didn't believe what he said about just happening to run into someone.

"It's true..." Shen Yichen laughed it off, "We did bump into each other on the road and chatted for a bit. It just so happens to be lunchtime, and it's more fun to eat together with more people..."

Li Wu looked at him silently.

"..."

Shen Yichen's voice unconsciously became much softer. Finally, he coughed and turned to invite Zhou Jinghuai to sit down.

Li Wu looked up at the man walking towards her against the light.

Like a dream illusion, slowly walking into reality.

"Miss Li may not recognize me."

Zhou Jinghuai extended a hand to her in a handshake gesture, his voice low and gentle, "Zhou Jinghuai."