Dawn and Dusk
The Xie Group headquarters stood in the heart of the financial district, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. Amid steel and concrete, it loomed like a coiled dragon, perpetually standing at the very pinnacle of the world of wealth and power.
A young man in a well-tailored suit waited by the roadside, his refined appearance exuding the air of a consummate professional. He waited until the Rolls-Royce pulled up in front of the entrance.
“Good afternoon, Madam.” Secretary Su stepped forward with an umbrella.
It was the umbrella President Xie had sternly reminded him to bring downstairs just now, specifically to shade Madam from the sun.
Although…
Secretary Su tilted his head toward the sky. It was only a few steps from the roadside to the lobby. If she walked quickly enough, the sun couldn’t possibly catch up with her.
The moment Rong Ci stepped out of the car, the heat rushed toward her, making her vision slightly hazy. “I feel very uneasy.”
From the driver sent to pick her up, to the bodyguards escorting her, to the secretary waiting for her, there hadn’t been a single stretch of the journey without someone around her.
What was this supposed to mean?
Was he picking up his wife or escorting a criminal?
Didn’t Xie Xunzhao even have the most basic marital trust in her?
Fine. Even if there was no trust between husband and wife…
Surely there was still some brother and sister?
And if there wasn’t even that…
Rong Ci didn’t dare imagine what Xie Xunzhao’s current anger level was. Her expression grew increasingly grave as her mind raced.
By the time they were through the company’s main doors, she had finally made a decision—strike first: “What’s the difference between him escorting me and escorting a criminal?”
Secretary Su folded the umbrella and explained, “There is still a difference.”
Rong Ci shot him a sidelong look. “Where’s the difference?”
Secretary Su answered with a straight face, “Criminals are transported in prison vans. You’re riding in a luxury car worth tens of millions…”
Rong Ci: “?”
Her first attack had failed.
Secretary Su pressed the elevator button and coughed lightly. “This way, please.”
They reached the executive floor without a hitch.
The moment the elevator doors opened, Rong Ci’s gaze fell on the black door at the far end. She unconsciously pressed her lips together.
Her footsteps slowed, and she glanced sideways to ask Secretary Su again, “How’s President Xie mood today?”
To make sure Secretary Su understood, she added, “If rage is 1 and happiness is 100, on a scale of 1 to 100, where is he right now?”
Secretary Su hesitated. “Hard to say.”
Rong Ci gave up. “Why are you so tight-lipped? Did you eat glue before coming in? No wonder your mouth looks a little strange.”
Secretary Su said helplessly, “President Xie told me not to gossip with you. Please don’t put me in a difficult position.”
“Fine, don’t tell me, then.” Rong Ci waited until he wasn’t paying attention before changing tack again. “So, is he this autocratic and dictatorial at work too?”
Secretary Su instinctively replied, “…Yes—ah, no.”
He had nearly fallen for Madam’s trap!
Secretary Su firmly reminded himself: Silence is golden.
If he kept talking, his bonus would be docked!
Five minutes later, they stood outside the half-open door.
Secretary Su suddenly lowered his voice. “Madam, good luck.”
Rong Ci forced herself to remain calm. “Secretary Su, your expression makes it look like you’re watching me walk into a crematorium.”
They looked at each other.
The next second—
“Rong Mumu, come in.” Xie Xunzhao’s voice suddenly rang out.
Cold.
Familiar.
Rong Ci’s body reacted faster than her mind, obeying the command unconsciously, which showed just how much authority Xie Xunzhao had held over her since childhood.
The moment Rong Ci entered, she saw the tall, broad-shouldered figure seated behind the desk.
Xie Xunzhao was wearing a perfectly tailored satin shirt, an immaculate minimalist white with no tie. His long fingers held a silver-and-black fountain pen, making him look like an immovable snow-capped mountain.
Rong Ci’s first thought: Not the proper suit he’d been wearing when he left this morning.
He looked even more otherworldly.
Her second thought: It’s working hours. Why is he dressed this beautifully? Who is he trying to seduce?
Seeing her still standing dazed at the door, Xie Xunzhao lifted his eyes and swept her with a glance. “Go to the lounge and let Dr. Meng examine you.”
Xie Xunzhao wasn’t going to settle the score with her?
Was he saving some kind of ultimate move for later?
Meeting his gaze, Rong Ci blinked once, very lightly. “Oh.”
Whenever she felt guilty, she became exceptionally obedient.
Meng Lingzhou was Rong Ci’s attending physician.
The Meng family was a medical dynasty, with several of their ancestors having served as imperial physicians. In Meng Lingzhou’s generation, he had gone beyond traditional Chinese medicine and spent years studying Western medicine abroad. After returning to China, he had even learned the Taishu Pulse method from Grandmaster Yici.
He had expertise spanning Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and esoteric medical practices. Before even turning thirty, his reputation had already spread throughout the medical world, earning him a reputation as an all-around prodigy.
Those who sought his treatment were invariably wealthy or powerful. Yet he cared little for fame or fortune and only accepted patients he deemed destined to meet him.
The Rong and Xie families were about the only people bold enough to treat him like their personal checkup doctor.
Xie Xunzhao’s lounge was equipped with medical examination equipment for regular use. After examining Rong Ci, Meng Lingzhou took her pulse as well.
He clicked his tongue softly, then suddenly closed his eyes. “Something’s wrong. Something’s very wrong.”
“It feels like a pearl rolling across a plate. You’re pregnant.”
“Wait.”
Rong Ci said quietly, “You’re taking my pulse from my palm.”
Meng Lingzhou moved his fingertips slightly higher, his expression completely unchanged. “The Red Phoenix Star has stirred. An auspicious sign.”
“Little ancestor, your destined partner has finally revealed himself!”
Xie Xunzhao stood by the door and said calmly, “I asked you to give her a checkup, not tell her fortune.”
“…”
Once it was confirmed that Rong Ci was fine, Xie Xunzhao knocked on the doorframe again. “Secretary Su, see him out.”
Meng Lingzhou’s expression changed instantly. “I’m damn busy! You dragged me all the way here just to check whether she got heatstroke! Xie Xunzhao, I think you’re the one who needs an examination—to see if there’s something wrong with your brain!”
“It’s people like you, family members, who indulge patients without thinking, who cause all these cases of medical-resource abuse!”
Secretary Su hurriedly covered his mouth and hauled him outside; only after they left the room did he whisper, “Dr. Meng, say a little less. Can’t you tell President Xie is in a terrible mood today?”
“Besides, President Xie hired you as Madam’s personal physician. How does that count as abusing medical resources?”
Meng Lingzhou: “…”
If he had known that the eighty million yuan annual retainer was buying him a life stripped of all freedom and carefree enjoyment, he would never have let money knock him senseless.
What kind of normal family behaved like this?
A few drops of rain and they called a doctor?
A bruise and they called a doctor?
A sip of water from another brand and they called a doctor!
After fuming for a while, Meng Lingzhou thought about the fact that it was Xie Xunzhao who treated Rong Ci like a priceless piece of fragile porcelain, and suddenly, it didn’t seem strange at all.
He slung an arm around Secretary Su’s shoulder like they were old buddies. “By the way, that string of prayer beads of his—doesn’t he normally keep it hidden away? How did he bring himself to wear it out?”
Secretary Su answered matter-of-factly, “President Xie’s jacket got dirty.”
The prayer beads had been made by Grandmaster Yici. They were meant to ward off misfortune and keep Rong Ci safe, but they had to be personally nurtured by her destined person.
So ever since he was five, Xie Xunzhao had carried them with him everywhere, never letting them leave his side, and absolutely never allowing anyone else to touch them.
They were even ranked number one on the secretary department’s list of President Xie’s taboos.
However, …
Secretary Su’s expression tightened slightly.
Two years ago, there was an incident. A former personal assistant had knowingly touched the prayer beads.
At the busiest time of Xie Xunzhao’s schedule, he had personally taken them to Cibei Temple to be cleansed and blessed by incense, then personally copied one hundred volumes of scripture for them to be consecrated. It had taken a full 365 days for them to be purified.
They had originally been intended as a gift for Rong Ci on her twentieth birthday. It could only be delayed by another year.
After that incident, Xie Xunzhao never allowed the beads to leave his sight again.
Thinking about what had happened to that assistant, Secretary Su shuddered. “In short, don’t get any ideas!”
Meng Lingzhou did covet them very much. After all, they were a treasure infused with Grandmaster Yici’s boundless Buddhist cultivation, but he wasn’t stupid. How could he possibly fight Xie Xunzhao for them?
Especially when the treasure was meant for Rong Ci. Wouldn’t Xie Xunzhao’s possessiveness be even worse?
Meng Lingzhou raised both hands in surrender. “Who would dare?”
—
The president’s office was spacious, especially with only the two of them left inside. It was so quiet that even speaking seemed capable of producing an echo.
Xie Xunzhao poured a glass of water for her. It was the brand of water Rong Ci drank, kept here specifically for her. Even though she might not come here more than a few times in an entire year.
Rong Ci sat on the guest sofa with her knees together, looking exceptionally well-behaved as she accepted the glass. “Thank you, Big Brother.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Finish that, then come over and write your self-criticism.”
“Five thousand words.”
Xie Xunzhao returned to his chair and continued handling the documents before him, speaking without even looking up.
The abundant afternoon light poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, coating him in a sacred golden outline, while Rong Ci felt she was watching the Grim Reaper descend upon the world.
Rong Ci’s hand froze.
Rong Ci was stunned.
Rong Ci was devastated.
“Five thousand words?!” It obliterated what remained of her rationality.
“Big Brother, be reasonable. What earth-shattering crime did I commit to deserve a punishment like this?” Rong Ci planted her hands on his desk and leaned forward slightly, preparing to argue her case, and leaned forward slightly.
Her eyes met Xie Xunzhao’s deep gaze.
She suddenly stopped.
Without meaning to, her mind returned to—
The year she was in her first year of high school, the school held a summer sports meet.
Normally, she wouldn’t have participated in something like that, but her classmates had been so enthusiastic. After thinking it over, Rong Ci decided that the stands were shaded, and her health had been much better at the time. She hadn’t been sick for six whole months.
Rong Ci took a gamble.
She lost.
And she lost badly.
Fortunately, Xie Xunzhao happened to be back home on vacation and was able to pick her up from school.
When he heard that she had collapsed on the field, his heart stopped. She had been admitted to the ICU that very day.
Even now, Rong Ci could still clearly recall what Xie Xunzhao had looked like when she woke up.
The boy who had always been sharp and composed had looked at her with so many suppressed emotions in his eyes. It was as though the Milky Way had poured from the heavens, mountains had collapsed in a flash flood, and a long-foreseen avalanche had finally arrived.
Even now, recalling it again after several years, Rong Ci’s mind suddenly went blank, and she forgot what she had been about to say—
Xie Xunzhao knew Rong Ci too well to think she must have remembered that incident. His long fingers slowly traced the pattern on his fountain pen. The forceful coldness he had displayed earlier disappeared completely.
Very softly, he called her, “Mumu.”
The man’s low, gentle voice flowed into her ears. He was still calling her by her childhood nickname.
She knew perfectly well that this man was more calculating than a sieve had holes, even knowing nine times out of ten he was acting. Yet Rong Ci still couldn’t help covering her suddenly heated ears.
“All right, all right, I’ll write it, okay!”
He did this every time. He knew perfectly well that she was the type who responded to softness but not force.
Xie Xunzhao immediately changed his expression and pushed paper and a pen toward her, his tone turning cold again. “Five thousand words. Not one word less.”
Rong Ci puffed out her cheeks and leaned closer across the desk, bargaining with him. “Don’t push your luck just because you’re favored…”
“I’ll only write one thousand words.”
“Ah, no. Five hundred.”
“Forget it. How about three hundred?”
Her face was only inches away from his, almost brushing his nose. Her misty eyes were filled with pleading. She was pretending.
Xie Xunzhao swallowed slowly and calmly said two words. “Three thousand.”
After a one-second pause, he added, “No punctuation.”
Rong Ci clenched her fists. “…Heartless capitalist!”
The heartless capitalist’s one remaining shred of kindness was pulling out a chair for her. “Sit and write.”
The corners of Rong Ci’s lips lifted as she forced a stiff smile. “You’re so kind.”
…
With plenty of experience, Rong Ci wrote three large characters at the top of the page:
SELF-CRITICISM
Then she fell into deep thought. Her fountain pen unconsciously prodded beneath her chin. Her skin was delicate, and before long it left an obvious red mark.
“Dear Big Brother,”
“I really shouldn’t have sneaked out in such high temperatures today. It was harmful to my health and did me no good whatsoever. I sincerely admit my mistake.”
“Of course, my mistake can only account for ten percent. The other ninety percent should be blamed on the weather forecast! When I left the house, the app clearly showed that the forecast high, rounded to the nearest whole number, wouldn’t exceed 30°C!”
“I was also deceived by an app that falsely reported the weather. I admit that I was foolish enough to believe it.”
“I’m going to make Dad acquire the company! I like its little dress-up avatar…”
“As the head of the Xie Group, President Xie is surely the fairest and most righteous man in the world. Therefore, according to the severity of my offense, I only need to write 300 words!”
“President Xie didn’t say anything, so I’m taking that as agreement!”
“Could you really bear to watch me cry?”
After finishing, she drew a little bird lying on the ground crying at the far right of the page.
A few minutes later, Rong Ci secretly glanced at Xie Xunzhao sitting beside her. She couldn’t help thinking: The way they were sitting like this… it almost felt like they were high-school deskmates.
The man’s profile was cold and sharply defined, his expression calm and indifferent as he rapidly flipped through the documents page by page. His reading speed was astonishing—he could take in ten lines at a glance. And he could still multitask.
“Finished?”
Rong Ci carefully pushed the paper toward him. “More or less.”
In reality: Not even close.
She had prepared an entire stack of paper and written only one sheet.
Xie Xunzhao set down his documents and read through her self-criticism word by word. After enjoying it thoroughly, he used the fountain pen he normally used to sign contracts and wrote comments after each sentence.
1. Cross out “Big Brother,” change to “Husband.”
2. Since you admit your mistake, explain your corrective plan in detail.
3. Which math teacher taught you that this is how rounding works?
4. Your eyes are very bright.
5. If you like it, I’ll acquire it.
6. I’m not fair. I have selfish motives.
7. Objection noted. Keep writing.
8. I like watching you cry.
Beside the little bird lying on the ground and crying, Xie Xunzhao drew another little bird with tears in its eyes, writing its self-criticism. With only a few strokes, he rendered it vividly.
Its expression and bearing were exactly the same as Rong Ci’s while she had been writing her self-criticism.
—Mumu is very well-behaved when she smiles. She’s even more well-behaved when she cries.