4: Chapter 4: Can you bear the consequences of all this?

Late at night, the Liu Group main residence, study.

Liu Yuyan had that bronze piece spread out before her.

Behind her, three laptop screens were lit, logged into the Liu Group internal intelligence system, a custom dark web search engine, and a global private intelligence exchange platform that required triple keys to access.

She typed the same word into the three search bars—"Kindling".

Enter.

The search progress bars finished almost simultaneously.

Three screens, three results, exactly the same: No matching records.

No historical documents, no intelligence files, no folklore.

Even the most outrageous urban legend forums had never seen this combination of characters.

Liu Yuyan stared at the small gray text on the screen, her fingertips growing cold bit by bit.

An existence that could cure terminal cancer.

An existence that could appear and disappear out of thin air under top-tier security systems.

In all the global databases, it was completely clean, as if it had never existed.

At 1:00 AM, she dialed an encrypted number.

The man awakened by the call grumbled for half a minute on the other end, but immediately shut up after realizing it was Liu Yuyan.

Chen Weinian, one of the top three appraisers of miscellaneous items in the domestic antique circle; the Liu Group spent over eight million in consulting fees on him annually.

High-definition photos of the bronze piece were sent over quickly.

Forty minutes later, the conclusion came out.

"Director Liu, this thing—"

Chen Weinian deliberated over his wording on the other end of the line, eventually abandoning euphemisms,

"The wholesale price is no more than ten yuan. The bronze blank is the most common brass on the market, the scratches were made by a sharp tool like a utility knife, and as for this layer of patina—it was soaked in tea, soaked for one night at most."

After listening, Liu Yuyan's expression did not change at all.

"Thank you for your hard work."

She hung up the phone.

She took the bronze piece back into her palm, her thumb rubbing over the engraved characters.

Twenty-four hours ago, she also wouldn't have believed that a pill could make terminal cancer vanish into thin air.

Now, that CT report was locked in her drawer, completely clean, without even a scar.

A person who could pass through walls and enter rooms, who could make golden light evaporate cancer cells, casually left behind a bronze piece that cost nine-point-nine with free shipping?

Two possibilities.

Either this bronze piece itself exceeded the understanding of existing identification methods—Chen Weinian only measured the result it "wanted" to be measured.

Or the other party simply didn't care how she identified it.

Liu Yuyan clenched the bronze piece in her palm; the metal edge pressed into her skin, causing a bit of pain.

She didn't sleep all night.

It wasn't insomnia; it was that she didn't dare to close her eyes.

Closing her eyes meant seeing those eyes.

She had read too many people's eyes in the business world—those of the powerful, the ambitious, the desperate—each pair hiding desire underneath.

Underneath that person's eyes, there was nothing.

Empty.

Not cold; cold still has a temperature to speak of.

It was burned out, everything burned out, even the ashes had gone cold.

The sky outside the window turned from deep black to dark blue, then from dark blue to the pale white of dawn.

He said, "I will come to find you tomorrow."

Tomorrow had arrived.

7:00 AM.

Elder Liu appeared in the dining room, dressed neatly, and sat down to drink porridge, his movements steady and his complexion rosy.

The person who had been lying in the ICU three days ago now held his chopsticks more steadily than Liu Yuyan.

The grandfather and granddaughter exchanged a look at the breakfast table.

Elder Liu set down his porridge bowl,

"Everyone in the residence gets a day off today. Bodyguards, servants, drivers, all withdraw."

The housekeeper was stunned.

"I am going to the company to handle matters, Yuyan will stay home."

Elder Liu rose, and as he passed Liu Yuyan, he only left behind two words.

"Keep your cool."

After speaking, he took his people and left the villa.

10:00 AM.

The entire villa was empty, with only Liu Yuyan sitting on the sofa in the living room.

A dark gray professional suit, a low ponytail, her makeup exquisite and restrained.

Having not slept all night, her sitting posture remained straight.

Sunlight spilled in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, dust motes floating slowly in the shafts of light. It was so quiet she could hear her own heartbeat.

Then, she saw it.

In the center of the living room, less than three steps away from her, the air suddenly wrinkled.

Silently.

Starting from a single point, transparent ripples spread outward in circles.

Liu Yuyan's pupils contracted sharply, and her breath hitched for half a beat.

The ripples dissipated.

A black trench coat.

A bronze half-face mask.

And those eyes she had stared at the ceiling all night and still couldn't forget.

"You are very good at keeping promises."

The voice was not loud, the tone as if saying the weather was nice today.

But Liu Yuyan heard the subtext—he knew she was the only one left in this villa.

Liu Yuyan stood up from the sofa.

The fatigue of not sleeping all night was suppressed deep in her bones, the line of her back held straight and tense.

She walked in front of Su Chen and stopped.

Then she bowed.

Not a polite slight bow, but a deep ninety-degree bow.

Her long black hair slid off her shoulders, hanging in front of her.

"Thank you again for saving my grandfather. No matter what request you make, our Liu Group is willing to accept it."

She stayed at this angle for a long time, not rising.

Su Chen looked at her lowered profile.

The corners of his mouth beneath the mask moved slightly, then were pressed back down.

"Get up."

Liu Yuyan straightened up.

"No need to thank me. I had a purpose in saving your grandfather."

Su Chen's voice was as flat as a windless lake,

"It was just mutual benefit."

The tension in Liu Yuyan's eyes eased slightly.

It was good that he wanted something.

It was only scary if he wanted nothing.

"Ten percent of the Liu Group's shares, plus one billion in cash. If you have needs, we can discuss additional amounts at any time."

The words fell.

Silence.

Su Chen didn't reply, didn't nod, didn't shake his head.

He just stood there.

The wall clock in the living room ticked clearly.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Three seconds, five seconds, seven seconds.

Liu Yuyan's mind began to race,

Was she too direct? Was one billion like pocket money to him?

Or had she displayed the merchant side of herself too obviously, displeasing him?

Cold sweat oozed from her forehead.

It slid down her temple, into her collar, dripping into her cleavage...

"I do not need your money."

Su Chen turned his head to look out the window, as if looking at a very distant place.

"There is an old house in the western suburbs, under the Liu Group's name. I need that place."

Liu Yuyan was stunned for a moment.

An old house?

A three-courtyard residence left by the Liu ancestors, abandoned over twenty years ago, so remote that even the GPS would lead you astray twice.

"That place has been abandoned for many years; I can arrange something for you in the city—"

"I only need that place."

Su Chen interrupted her, his tone unchanged.

Liu Yuyan shut her mouth.

An abandoned old house, market value less than two million.

One billion plus shares were rejected, and he only wanted a dilapidated courtyard?

It didn't make sense.

But her grandfather's words pressed in her ears—whatever conditions he sets, agree first.

"Fine. The old house is yours."

She paused.

"Of course, the ten percent shares and one billion in funds mentioned earlier will also be—"

Before she could finish.

Liu Yuyan's knees went weak for a moment.

A sense of oppression poured down from the person in front of her—not killing intent, not anger,

But a kind of pure, dry, immense impatience.

Just like throwing small pebbles repeatedly at a sleeping dragon.

"Do not let there be a next time."

The voice was still so flat.

"I said, I do not need your money."

The oppression disappeared.

It arrived like a collapsing mountain and receded like a tide.

Only then did Liu Yuyan realize she hadn't been breathing.

When the air rushed into her lungs, her chest trembled.

Her heart pounded against her ribs.

The shirt on her back was already soaked, sticking to her spine.

A thought popped into her mind—just now, he wasn't even angry.

"...Yes. I will take you there now."

Liu Yuyan drove herself.

The black Audi Q7 drove out of the villa, heading towards the suburbs along the western city expressway. The drive took one hour.

Throughout the journey, Su Chen sat in the passenger seat. His eyes behind the mask watched the scenery receding outside the window, not saying a word.

Liu Yuyan gripped the steering wheel, occasionally glancing over, but each time only seeing the outline of that half-mask.

There was only the navigation voice prompt in the car.

Silence, but not awkwardness.

It was a silence of "he doesn't need to speak, and you don't dare to make a sound."

At the end of the dirt road, the old house appeared.

Blue bricks and gray tiles, with flying eaves and upturned corners.

The roof had collapsed halfway, vines crawled all over the courtyard walls, and waist-high wild grass grew in the cracks of the stone steps.

Su Chen got out of the car and stood in front of the old house.

Motionless.

Liu Yuyan followed him out and saw his eyes.

Inside them was something she couldn't describe.

Not memories.

Heavier than memories.

Like a person standing in the place where they buried their lifelong best friend, saying nothing, but the weight of that gaze made the air sink.

It wasn't his first time here.

This thought surfaced in Liu Yuyan's heart, and then she was startled by it—this courtyard had been abandoned for over twenty years, how could he have been here?

The two walked along the moss-covered stone path, through the front courtyard and the middle courtyard, to the wooden door of the innermost room.

Su Chen stopped.

Liu Yuyan also stopped.

She stared at this mottled old door, and some images suddenly flashed through her mind.

Summer.

Father holding her in the courtyard, chasing dragonflies.

Mother sitting under the pomegranate tree, laughing.

Grandfather writing in the main hall.

Everyone was there at that time.

Su Chen's voice pulled her back.

"This is it. You have handed this place over to me, and we are even."

Liu Yuyan hesitated for a moment,

"You gave us medicine that can cure cancer, yet only in exchange for an abandoned old house. We are undeserving of this."

Su Chen shook his head.

"This is not just an old house."

He turned around, his gaze behind the mask meeting hers directly.

"I know you are strong-willed. Having experienced everything last night, you are full of desire to explore the elixir and my abilities. But behind all of this—"

He paused.

"Can you bear it?"

Liu Yuyan felt a chill down her back.

Her thoughts, calculations, curiosity, and the bit of ambition hidden beneath her professional smile were all turned inside out by those eyes, laid out to bake in the sun.

Su Chen didn't wait for her to answer.

"Go back. Whenever you are sure you want to know the truth behind all of this, take that bronze piece and come here to find me."

After speaking, he pushed the door open and entered.

The old wooden door slowly closed in front of her, kicking up a layer of aged dust.

Liu Yuyan stood in front of the door.

Her lips parted, countless questions blocked in her throat, not one coming out.

The evening light stretched her shadow long, casting it onto the mottled courtyard wall.

She stood there for a long time.

Just as she was about to turn around—

A very faint sigh came from the other side of the door.

Very light, very low, as if deliberately suppressed.

Old and weary.

Like a person who had carried something too heavy for too long, finally, when no one was looking, letting go for a moment.

That sigh drilled into Liu Yuyan's ears.

Her feet were nailed to the spot.

Her hand raised, and the moment her fingertips touched the door panel, she stopped again.

He said—whenever you are sure, come again.

She was not yet sure.

Liu Yuyan withdrew her hand and turned around.

She got into the car and started the engine.

The bronze piece stayed quietly in her shirt pocket, pressed against her heart.

During the one-hour drive back to the villa from the western suburbs, she turned off the car music, turned off the navigation voice, and didn't even turn on the air conditioning.

The car was so quiet that only the sound of the engine remained.

And in her mind, repeating over and over, was only that one sigh.