Chapter 6 — The One Who Once Was My Light

They wanted to collaborate with us to develop an intelligent rehabilitation robot, a direction that happened to be my specialized domain. My assistant looked at me and asked, "Doctor, shall I schedule a meeting with them for you?"

"Yes, please do," I nodded.

Business is business, and personal matters are personal; I draw a clear line between the two. The meeting was set for Friday afternoon. When I stepped into the conference room, Lu Nian was already there. He sat at the head of the table, dressed in a meticulously tailored suit with his hair neatly combed without a single stray strand. Upon seeing me, a flicker of light crossed his eyes, though he regained his composure almost instantly.

"Hello, Dr. Shen," he stood up, extending a hand toward me.

I simply nodded, declining to shake his hand. "Hello, Director Lu."

I took a seat directly opposite him, and the meeting commenced. His team presented the proposal. I listened intently, occasionally interjecting with a few questions. My inquiries were not only highly professional but also razor-sharp, leaving his team somewhat overwhelmed. Ultimately, Lu Nian had to step in and answer my questions himself. He demonstrated a profound understanding of both the project and the market, delivering answers that were both precise and forward-thinking. I had to concede that he was an exceptionally brilliant leader. As the meeting drew to a close, he spoke up:

"Dr. Shen, to celebrate our preliminary consensus on this partnership, I have booked a table at a hotel for this evening. Would you grant me the honor of your company?"

"There is no need," I refused decisively. "I have other plans tonight."

"Is that so?" He gazed at me. "Then allow me to drive you home."

"Unnecessary, I drove myself."

With that, I gathered my laptop and walked out of the conference room, acutely aware that his gaze followed me all the way to the exit.

The collaborative project officially commenced, leading to more frequent interactions between Lu Nian and me. We held project meetings once a week. Most of the time, our discussions remained strictly professional, though he occasionally attempted to branch out into other topics.

"How have you been living abroad all these years?"

"Very well."

"Did you ever feel homesick?"

"Not particularly."

"You... do you have a boyfriend yet?"

"Director Lu, does this question have any bearing on our project?"

Thwarted by my response, he offered a bitter smile. "No."

"Then let us stick to discussing work."

He looked at me with a complex expression in his eyes. "Shen Ninh, must you maintain such a freezing distance from me?"

"We are business partners now. I believe maintaining an appropriate boundary is beneficial for both sides."

He said nothing more. The project progressed smoothly, and the first generation of our rehabilitation robot prototype was assembled in record time. During the testing phase, however, a minor glitch occurred. A mechanical arm suffered a programming error and suddenly spun out of control, hurtling directly toward me. I was deep into data adjustment at the moment and paid it no heed. It was Lu Nian who lunged forward, shoving me out of the way. The robotic arm slammed heavily into his back, eliciting a muffled groan from him. Panic ensued among everyone present, and we rushed him to the hospital immediately. The doctor assured us that fortunately, the impact was not severe, resulting only in severe soft-tissue bruising along his spine, which would heal with adequate rest.

I stood by the doorway of the hospital room, watching him lie motionlessly upon the bed. His complexion was pallid, his eyes firmly shut, and an indescribable emotion churned within my chest. He had saved me; I now owed him a debt of gratitude. During his hospital stay, I visited him several times, always strictly in the capacity of the project leader. I briefed him on the project's progress and discussed our subsequent plans. He consistently listened with undivided attention before offering his insights.

On one occasion, after I finished reporting on the work and prepared to leave, he called out to me. "Shen Ninh."

"Yes?"

"Could you... stay with me for a little while?"

I hesitated for a moment before finally sitting back down. A profound silence settled over the hospital room.

"Do you still remember?" he suddenly broke the silence. "When we were children, you loved climbing trees the most. There was once when you fell from a branch and broke your leg, ending up in a hospital just like this one."

I remembered.

"Back then, I came to your bedside every single day, telling you stories and peeling apples for you."

"When you complained that the hospital food was unpalatable, I secretly ran home to have the housekeeper cook delicious meals for you, and then smuggled them in."

He chuckled softly at the memory. "Back then, you were so attached to me. If I failed to visit for even a single day, you would refuse to eat."

I remained silent. I had deluded myself into thinking those distant memories had faded into oblivion, yet they were still deeply etched into the fabric of my mind.

"Shen Ninh, I know I was wrong—wrong to an unforgivable degree." His voice dropped into a low, somber register. "I destroyed your trust, and I destroyed everything we shared. I spent countless years trying to make amends, doing what I believed was right. I dragged every single one of your enemies down into the abyss, naively thinking that would bring you back to me."

"Yet, I realized I was mistaken. No matter what I did, the past could never be retrieved."

"That day in the snow, when you returned the prosthetic hand to me, I already knew. Everything I had done was merely an attempt to move myself."

He gazed at me, his eye sockets flushing red. "When I saved you, it was not to bind you with a debt of gratitude. It was merely... an instinctive reaction. I could not bear to stand by and watch you suffer even the slightest harm ever again."