Unmatched Chapter 35
byChapter 35: Belonging to Him
Interacting with people is a process of adjustment. This adjustment, in essence, means finding the “concave” and “convex” parts of the other person and fitting yourself into them.
Zhao Shuyi discovered he could control Xie Qi, and he couldn’t help but exert more control, enjoying the thrill of receiving feedback with every action.
Similarly, Xie Qi realized that bowing his head and yielding was the most effective method, and he couldn’t help but use this most effective method to communicate with Zhao Shuyi and secure benefits for himself. It was truly humiliating, but which lovesick fool, tamed by love, isn’t humiliated?
Xie Qi silently watched Zhao Shuyi, waiting for his answer.
After several days away from Fengjing City, the cold wind of this northern city was somewhat jarring. Zhao Shuyi tightened his brow—as if this, too, was part of the control—and Xie Qi’s gaze immediately trembled, as if startled by the negative emotion he displayed, before he quickly composed himself and glanced at the ground, avoiding eye contact.
Zhao Shuyi said, “It’s cold. Let’s talk about it when we get home tonight.”
Xie Qi was a little disappointed: “Is that a polite refusal?”
“No,” Zhao Shuyi glanced at him. “You just said I could treat you however I want from now on? Was that true, or were you just saying it?”
“Of course it was true.”
“Good. Then I need to observe.”
“…”
The implication was that Zhao Shuyi would decide whether to love him later based on Xie Qi’s performance. This was a very logical, yet cruel, answer.
But “cruelty” in love always carries a hint of ambiguity. Zhao Shuyi’s gaze was like a fishhook dangling an invisible bait, suggesting that as long as Xie Qi endured this trial, he could completely win his heart.
He even smiled and took a step forward: “Xie Qi, be honest with me—”
“About what?”
“How much do you actually like me right now?”
Xie Qi looked away evasively: “You don’t care anyway, why do you keep asking!”
“…”
He was willing to say such self-deprecating things just now, but he wouldn’t admit his true feelings.
“Forget it, suit yourself. I’m going to the company.” Zhao Shuyi didn’t want to endlessly chatter with him. “See you tonight.”
“Alright, see you tonight.”
After a quick farewell, Zhao Shuyi headed to work.
Ye Zhao had returned to the company earlier and messaged him, saying that Zhao Huaicheng suspected his prolonged stay in Shencheng had ulterior motives and seemed to be growing suspicious, now urging him to return for a meeting.
Zhao Shuyi ignored him.
Half an hour later, Ye Zhao messaged again, saying that Zhao Huaicheng was looking for him and waiting in the office.
Zhao Shuyi’s current office was the one Zhao Fengli had used before his death. He hadn’t changed the layout, just cleaned it up slightly before moving in. The paintings on the wall and the books in the shelves reflected his Grandfather’s taste.
Zhao Shuyi returned to the office, pushed the door open, and saw Zhao Huaicheng examining a book by the shelf. Hearing the sound, he turned around, his expression grim.
People used to say that Zhao Huaicheng looked like Zhao Shuyi’s older brother, with no noticeable generational gap. But since the Old Master passed away and the ensuing turmoil, Zhao Huaicheng seemed somewhat exhausted, and a hint of age showed on his face. Looking at him now, he finally matched his age.
“Second Uncle,” Zhao Shuyi greeted him. “You’re worrying about me just because I took a business trip. You’re overworking yourself. How is your heart condition? Are you doing well lately?”
Ignoring the veiled sarcasm, Zhao Huaicheng got straight to the point: “Shuyi, what were you doing in Shencheng?”
“Inspecting things.”
“Investigating me?”
“…”
Zhao Shuyi didn’t answer. Zhao Huaicheng, standing in front of his desk with an air of entitlement, looked more like the owner of this office than he did.
Not only had his Second Uncle aged, but his temper had also grown. When the Old Master was alive and kept him in check, he never had such an imposing presence.
Zhao Shuyi was the opposite; he used to be straightforward, defiant of heaven and earth, but now he could endure things, at least pretending to be calm.
Zhao Huaicheng showed no sign of guilt and actually came to lecture him: “Shuyi, why are you always so confused? No matter how much we compete, we should have one consensus: we are both surnamed Zhao! What is the meaning of this? Investigating others is one thing, but investigating me? What is that supposed to mean?”
Zhao Shuyi wanted to laugh.
“Do you know what people are saying outside? They say the Zhao Family turned against each other before the Old Master’s body was even cold! You want to catch me out and deliberately sabotage me!”
Zhao Shuyi said, “No, I was just on a routine business trip. People’s mouths are their own; why care what they say?”
He paused slightly, curving a smile devoid of warmth: “You’re so nervous. Could it be that Second Uncle really has something to hide that he’s afraid people will discover?”
“What could I possibly have to hide!”
Zhao Huaicheng turned his face away, as if he had been slandered. Before he could speak again, Zhao Shuyi said in a seemingly casual tone, “I was indeed just conducting a regular inspection, but coincidentally, I heard a bit of gossip over there—I don’t know if it’s true or not…”
“What gossip?”
“Someone told me that you once had a mistress in Shencheng.”
Zhao Shuyi spoke vaguely, not revealing how much he knew, but he saw Zhao Huaicheng freeze slightly: “What did you say?”
“Was she a secretary or an assistant?” Zhao Shuyi’s face darkened. “Second Uncle, what year was that? Are you still in contact? Does my mother know?”
“…”
Stunned by this barrage of questions, Zhao Huaicheng was unprepared. His expression shifted unpredictably, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to react.
Having a mistress—was that a serious matter? If it were in another family—like the Xie Family—it wouldn’t be a big deal at all.
He was over forty and publicly claimed to be single. It wasn’t unusual for him to have women outside; so what if it got out? It wasn’t even a moral stain.
Zhao Huaicheng was silent for a few seconds, attempting a look of composure, but it quickly crumbled. He coughed to mask his guilt and stepped out from behind the desk: “How many years ago was that? Why bring it up now? The people below are just gossiping, and you believe them!”
Zhao Shuyi admired his shamelessness: “I just want to know if my mother knows.”
“She doesn’t need to know.”
“Fine. She had better think so herself.”
“…” Zhao Huaicheng choked. “What do you mean? Are you threatening me with this kind of thing? Is it necessary to make such a fuss?”
“‘Make a fuss’?” Zhao Shuyi sneered. “She abandoned her own son for you, and this is how you treat her?”
This sentence seemed to hit a nerve with Zhao Huaicheng: “How did I treat her? Haven’t I been good enough to her?!”
He walked up to Zhao Shuyi, glaring angrily: “You think too simply of your mother! She’s not some foolish woman sacrificing herself for love! Do you know how many times I had to beg her, coaxing and pleading, before she agreed to help me? It was only because I have no children—the inheritance after my death can only go to you!”
Zhao Shuyi was stunned.
Zhao Huaicheng didn’t want to lose control, but it was difficult to restrain himself when the conversation reached this point: “She is a mother and has a son to consider, but what about me? I deserve to have nothing, only revolving around her and watching her mood!
“…”
Bluffing, full of lies, and self-righteous.
Zhao Shuyi scoffed: “No matter what, she gave you the shares. I haven’t even said anything, and yet you’re blaming her… Second Uncle, I once thought you truly loved her, and I even blamed myself, wondering if I was in the way and delaying you two. Now it seems that wasn’t the case.”
“I don’t love her?! I’m practically her grandson!”
The more guilty a person is, the louder they speak. Zhao Huaicheng was furious: “For all these years, I’ve been placating her and catering to her, but she wears a mournful face every day. The poor relationship between you and your mother is all my fault? I owe her?”
“Otherwise? Do I owe her?”
“…”
Zhao Huaicheng sneered: “Yes, it’s me. It’s all me.”
He suddenly stopped, belatedly realizing that arguing with Zhao Shuyi was meaningless—half the Zhao Family was dead, and no one was left to judge them.
“I owe her, I owe your Grandfather, I owe my Elder Brother, I owe my mother, I owe Chaoyang Group—”
Zhao Huaicheng lowered his voice as he spoke, forcefully knocking on the desk, his sharp gaze fixed on Zhao Shuyi: “But I certainly don’t owe you!”
He seemed to hate Zhao Shuyi intensely, his eyes filled with an indescribable resentment, as if Zhao Shuyi’s existence was the greatest mistake in the world, his inescapable bad luck.
Zhao Shuyi was speechless. He watched him have a fit, seemingly with more to say, but he was already too agitated and had to stop.
“Forget it, there’s no point in saying all this.” Zhao Huaicheng walked to the door. “You don’t need to say anything about this matter. I will tell your mother myself.”
With that, he slammed the door and left.
Zhao Shuyi was momentarily speechless. Putting morality aside, he used to think his Second Uncle was the closest thing to a “normal person” in the family. Now it seemed he was also neurotic; he hadn’t even exposed the full truth, and just mentioning “mistress” stimulated him this much.
—Most people surnamed Zhao are probably mentally unstable.
In comparison, Zhao Shuyi, who only took sleeping pills, seemed relatively better off.
However, Zhao Shuyi didn’t only have sleep issues. In fact, familiar doctors had long suggested he see a psychiatrist for a proper diagnosis and treatment. But Zhao Shuyi didn’t want to go, believing it was unnecessary.
Perhaps he was a bit averse to seeking medical help. In his view, mental illness was akin to metaphysics; if you took it too seriously, it would cause trouble, but if you ignored it, life went on just the same.
What was certain was that as long as he avoided contact with his family, Zhao Shuyi could maintain emotional stability.
Unfortunately, friends could be cut off, and relationships could end, but blood ties were not a choice, nor could they be severed or avoided.
Zhao Shuyi stayed in the office until closing time, involuntarily replaying the conversation in his mind.
His Second Uncle said he had to beg Qin Zhi for a long time, coaxing and pleading, before she agreed to help him…
His thoughts drifted, and his old problem resurfaced. Zhao Shuyi suddenly wondered, if he had also begged Qin Zhi back then, would she have changed her mind and sided with him?
Was the terrible relationship between mother and son entirely Qin Zhi’s fault?
He had never expressed his need for his mother. Even when he was young and kept awake all night by nightmares, he never knocked on Qin Zhi’s door to ask for comfort.
—He never learned to fight for things.
But thinking this way, the familiar sense of disgust returned.
“Needing to be loved” was an inferior emotion from incomplete human evolution. Asking him to actively seek love was worse than killing him.
Zhao Shuyi only needed things that truly belonged to him: things he didn’t have to fight for and wouldn’t lose, things that would be his no matter what happened.
Zhao Shuyi tried his best to stabilize his emotions and worked two extra hours. It wasn’t that he had too much work to leave, but mainly that he wanted to be alone for a little longer.
He delayed leaving, and Xie Qi relentlessly messaged him, urging him to come home.
First, he asked: “Have you eaten dinner?”
Then he asked: “What time will you be done? I can pick you up on my way home.”
Immediately after, he tried to cover his tracks: “If it’s too late, it won’t be on my way, so I’ll leave first.”
Zhao Shuyi deliberately didn’t reply. Half an hour later, Xie Qi sent a fourth message: “I’m downstairs at your company. I’m going to get angry if you don’t reply.”
“…”
Zhao Shuyi smiled silently, finally showing mercy and typing a line: “Coming. Just finished work.”