Chapter 301 He Surrendered (1/2)

It’s common for life to be filled with ups and downs—mostly downs.

One would never only navigate downstream or settle things down using one’s own strength. It happens a lot when one fails to get something or finish some task. Life is naturally full of regrets and pity. But life is meaningful when both good and bad exist.

Nobody could be sure that the choice they make at present is right or wrong, but they have to make that choice at some point. Life is about making choices, one after another, and until the end, you get a final score.

Qin Sheng locked himself in the study. Every time he had to make a choice, he would just stay alone and think it over quietly until he made it. That was also what was happening today.

A bottle of Chinese white wine, a pack of cigarettes, and a song that he would never tire of listening to…

Qin Sheng just absorbed himself in smoking, drinking, listening, and gradually deep thinking. Time went by from 10 to 12, and then to two o’clock. The pros and cons were having a fierce fight in his brain.

If he refused, then the result might be declaring war with Yan Chaozong, or escaping from this battleground with Lin Su, but he was not sure whether Chang Baji and other people would follow him to leave. If so, he would lose all the efforts he had made in Hangzhou, and the Lin family would also look down upon him after that.

If he surrendered, the only price he would pay would be his dignity, which, however, was what he cherished the most, both now and before. And then, he would be sneered at by Yan Chaozong and many other people, and would make some people disappointed. But he could remain in Hangzhou, rather than start another wandering life. If he was lucky enough, he would develop his own business and achieve success here several years later.

For most people, this was quite an easy choice. But for Qin Sheng, it was really difficult. He was afraid that this surrender would just be a starting point, and he would become even more cowardly after that. He was afraid that he would lose his ego.

However, there was only one choice in actuality.

In other words, he didn’t make the choice, but the choice made him.

The wine and cigarettes were finished, leaving the song repeating. Qin Sheng fell asleep, leaning in the chair. In his dream, he was still a young child. His grandfather sat under a big locust tree’s shadow to enjoy the coolness and he had leisure time to play in the yard, caring and worrying about nothing.

It seemed that every time Qin Sheng ran into some difficulty or obstacle, he would dream about his grandfather.

Children are eager to grow up, dreaming that they could become somebody at that time. But when they really become adults, they want to go back to their childhood. They will finally realize that the world they had been dreaming of was not a wonderland, but a sad place filled with worries and cares.

At dawn, Qin Sheng opened his eyes and found his phone. He finally sent a message to Yan Chaozong, saying: “You decide the place and time.”

He surrendered.

For the whole day, Qin Sheng turned off the phone, and locked himself in the study. He didn’t contact anyone, and ate nothing. He just let smoking and drinking totally corrupt him. He used to be sure that he would never become a coward, who lowered his head and gave in to his enemy. But now, he had no choice but to kneel down and apologize to Yan Chaozong. How could he go there?

In the Amanfayun Hotel, Yan Chaozong woke up in the early morning, and then saw the message from Qin Sheng. He burst out laughing, feeling wildly joyful. The beautiful young lady who lay beside him was woken up by his sound. She came to Hangzhou from Shanghai last night because Yan Chaozong felt lonely and empty here.

“Hahaha! I thought you were a tough person. I thought that Lin Su had chosen a powerful man. But now, you surrender! You’re just so-so, Qin Sheng!” Yan Chaozong shouted out with exhilaration.

The young lady asked confusedly, “Honey, what’s wrong?”

“It’s all right, just keep sleeping,” Yan Chaozong said to comfort her as he patted her back. Then, he put on his clothes and got up.

After that, Yan Chaozong skipped washing his face and couldn’t wait to call Qu Huanxi to inform him of this news. Qu Huanxi drank all night alone and got totally drunk. He didn’t wake up until Yan Chaozong gave him a call.

Qu Huanxi was suffering from a headache caused by a hangover, so he just picked up the phone without noticing who called and asked, “Hello?”

“This is Yan Chaozong,” Yan Chaozong said straightly.

Qu Huanxi became a little bit sober then and he asked, “Oh? Master Yan, what can I do for you?”

“He said ‘yes.’ You can start your preparation now. The time is set for noon, the day after tomorrow. We’ll talk about the place later.” Yan Chaozong directly told him his plan with no nonsense.

Qu Huanxi hesitated a little. He always liked this kind of occasion, especially humiliating others. But today, he got no excited feelings because the woman he loved most was going to marry. He found that nothing was intriguing to him now. Qu Huanxi was absent-minded and answered in a low voice, “Got it. I’ll make it.”

Then he hung up the phone and fell asleep again. He was just not in the mood, which happened to everyone sometimes.

This was man—always chasing after what he didn’t deserve to own and never cherishing what he did own. But if Qu Huanxi got that woman, he, considering his characters, would feel tired very soon after. The root of his sadness was from the fact that he exactly failed to get that woman.

No man can accept the sense of failure.

Qin Sheng turned off his phone. Nothing happened until Cao Da was going to talk about something with Qin Sheng at noon. Cao Da was willing to help Qin Sheng, but failed to get in touch with him. Cao Da then called Chang Baji, but he didn’t know where Qin Sheng was either. In fact, nobody could find him.

The only thing Chang Baji could do was to get in touch with Lin Su. Nobody had contacted Qin Sheng today, and Lin Su was the final possibility for them. But Lin Su didn’t go back to the Golden Coast yesterday, she left The One to go to the company this morning. She was thinking about resigning because her Second Uncle said that he wanted her to take charge of the Lins’ business in Hangzhou. It was ridiculous that the Lin family excluded Lin Su, a very capable daughter, so that she had to work for others. And people would look down upon the Lins.

Lin Su told Chang Baji that she didn’t go home these two days. Chang Baji was worried that Qin Sheng might be in danger. Lin Su also realized that something might have happened and she asked Chang Baji about it. Chang Baji told her that Qin Sheng’s phone was off and nobody was able to contact him.