Summer had arrived. On this summer night, the wind howled, the rain poured, and thunder and lightning raged.
Wei Chen sat bolt upright in bed, startled awake. Sweat covered his face and body. In his hazy mind, the last image lingering was of a person's face – covered in blood, eyes vacant, yet with a faint, gentle smile on its lips.
It was a face that could be called terrifying, yet Wei Chen felt no fear. He only felt waves of piercing pain emanating from where his heart was, causing him to curl up involuntarily. But even that couldn't alleviate the ache.
"Chen Li..." Wei Chen murmured the name of the person from his dream, the pain in his heart intensifying. And it was this intensifying pain that told Wei Chen he was alive, no longer the cold, lifeless body on that hospital bed, devoid of all consciousness.
Perhaps it was the strength of his resentment, or perhaps fate took pity on him, allowing him to wake up five years in the past. At this time, he had not yet married Chen Li. For Chen Li's life, it was a time before anything had begun to change.
By midnight, the wind and rain finally ceased. But Wei Chen tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He eventually got out of bed, not bothering to turn on the light, letting himself melt into the darkness. He let the memories from five years in the future lash him once more. Even if it left him flayed and bruised, he didn't care.
...
In the blink of an eye, the night passed, and the sky brightened. Wei Chen had sat quietly in the darkness for another entire night.
Today was the Dragon Boat Festival. According to the Wei family tradition, they were to spend it at the Wei family's ancestral home. Wei Chen changed his clothes and drove back.
The Wei family's ancestral home, located in the suburbs of Magic City (Shanghai), was over a hundred years old. Currently residing there was the head of the Wei family, Wei Chen's grandfather.
The Wei family was a prominent clan in China, its genealogy traceable back to the Tang Dynasty. The great catastrophe after the founding of the nation forced the entire family to go abroad. When the domestic situation began to improve, the Weis returned, seizing the opportunities presented by the reform and opening-up, quickly re-establishing themselves in Magic City. By now, the Wei family was one of the city's major powers.
It was already past three in the afternoon when Wei Chen arrived at the Magic City ancestral home from the imperial capital (Beijing). Most of the Wei family members had already returned, making the old residence lively and bustling.
Wei Chen had been intelligent since childhood, and being the eldest son of the main branch, carrying a hint of the "eldest legitimate son" status, he naturally attracted the most attention. As soon as he entered the house, everyone, young and old, turned their gaze upon him. However, they soon averted their eyes automatically. Wei Chen had underdeveloped facial nerves since he was young – a bit of a "poker face," as some would say. Raised personally by the old master, he had somewhat inherited the old man's aura. Although his features were handsome, he also possessed a natural, imposing威严 (wēiyán - dignity/authority) that could intimidate without him even trying.
In the past, things were a bit better; Wei Chen would at least show a hint of warmth in his eyes when meeting acquaintances. But recently, no one knew what had gotten into him. His gaze had turned icy cold, like a sharp blade. While it pushed everyone away, it also made them somewhat fearful to approach. Some even whispered privately that Wei Chen was becoming more and more like the old master.
Wei Chen walked straight ahead, ignoring the crowd, and went directly upstairs to his grandfather's study. At this time of day, the old master was almost certainly there.
Wei Chen knocked, and after receiving a response from inside, he opened the door and entered. The old master, holding a coarse brush, was inscribing freely on xuan paper. He didn't even look up as Wei Chen entered.
"Grandfather, I've thought it over carefully. I am willing to marry Chen Li." Wei Chen lowered his eyes, concealing the myriad emotions flickering within them, and spoke.