The Stranger’s Homeward Journey

Luo Shaoheng stopped his car under the bridge. The police cars caught up from behind and Chen Zhan was with them as well. 

Chen Zhan handled the matter with the police. He then turned his head and saw Luo Shaoheng standing by the car, his head lowered, thinking about something. Chen Zhan walked towards him and inquired about what happened. 

“I saw him just now.” Luo Shaoheng said. 

“Who?” 

“Shen Mucheng.” Luo Shaoheng said anxiously. He was scared that Chen Zhan did not believe him so he added, “I watched him enter the car just now, but I couldn’t catch up.” 

“Are you joking?” Chen Zhan frowned. 

“I’m not joking, I really saw him.” Luo Shaoheng repeated with a serious expression. 

“Then where’s he?” Chen Zhan asked. 

“I wasn’t able to catch up.” Luo Shaoheng showed a disappointed expression while saying this, as if he was blaming himself. 

Chen Zhan observed his expression and had a guess in his heart. He did not continue arguing with him and followed along with what he said, “Don’t worry, there’s still a chance next time.” 

“Really?” Luo Shaoheng’s eyes brightened up, the disappointment was completely swept away. 

“Yes.” Chen Zhan comforted him.

“He’s really awesome, I had even followed him along the way but he was still able to disappear before my eyes.”

Chen Zhan was already used to Luo Shaoheng complimenting his man as if his man was the greatest man on earth. When Luo Shaoheng’s mental condition became better, he chatted with Chen Zhan about Shen Mucheng a lot, therefore he did not doubt that Shen Mucheng is the greatest person in Luo Shaoheng’s heart. 

However, this was not Chen Zhen’s main focus at the moment, instead, it was Luo Shaoheng’s mental condition. A person who has been dead for ten years suddenly appeared, is this even possible? 

*

When Shen Mucheng returned to B City, his subordinates were already waiting in his house. After he entered the house, he went up to the study room on the second floor. Shen Yun then signalled that everyone should follow him up. 

In the study room, the subordinates reported every detail about the company’s condition. Shen Mucheng nodded, he looked at another person and asked, “What about Fourth uncle?” 

“Fourth Master met the person in charge of the logistics last Thursday, they had agreed on something. For the circulation of the cargo in Switzerland, we still could not find the exact details.” The subordinate answered. 

“Let out the news to him.” Shen Mucheng answered. 

“Boss…” That person froze. He wanted to say something, but when he saw the look in Shen Yun’s eye, he immediately stopped. He then proceeded to report, “Shen Rongchang had a conflict with the Wu family’s youngest little master over a newbie female celebrity yesterday. He ordered someone to beat him and break his leg. It is proven that he was on drugs at that time.” 

Shen Mucheng’s father had four brothers. Shen Rongchang is his fourth uncle, Shen Qiuxiong’s son. Shen Qiuxiong appeared gentle and harmless on the surface, but he actually wanted to seize the power held in Shen Mucheng’s hands. He even used filthy tricks behind the shadows. However, he had a useless son who only knew how to live a life of debauchery. 

It was really common for sons of the rich to drink, be high on drugs, and do outrageous things out of jealousy. Shen Mucheng did not even bat an eyelid when he heard the report and said emotionlessly, “Send a letter to the Wu Family tomorrow and send the person to them. Let them decide how to deal with him.” 

“Yes.” Shen Yun nodded. It was just in time for him to deal with this useless guy. 

“Is there anything else?” Shen Mucheng asked. 

“Miss He came here once the day before yesterday, she said she had something to say to you. As we needed to show respect to Old Master Jiang, we weren’t able to stop her.” the subordinate said. 

He Shuyu was arranged by Shen Mucheng’s grandfather; he had the intention of having a business marriage with the He Family. The He Family is one of the aristocratic families in B City. Although not as large as the Shen Family, it still held half of the freight logistics industry of B City. Both of the largest ports, Shi Dong and Xi Jiang, were almost occupied by them. 

Shen Yun knew Shen Mucheng disliked this kind of marriage with benefits. He noticed that he did not answer so he asked, “What did she do?” 

“She said she wanted to go to boss’ room to have a look.” The subordinate answered cautiously.

Shen Mucheng’s hand froze, he lifted his head and looked at him, “You allowed her to do so?”

That casual glance made a few subordinates sweat coldly out of fear, everyone knew that nobody could enter Shen Mucheng’s room without his permission. He quickly clarified, “Don’t worry boss! I did not!” 

Shen Mucheng lowered his head again, continued to flip the document in his hand, and said, “Prohibit her from entering other places except the living room. If she dares to go up to the second floor, throw her out of the house.”

The subordinate quickly assented. Shen Yun imagined Miss He being thrown out of the house and realized that he was looking forward to seeing such a scene. 

After the subordinates left, only Shen Mucheng and Shen Yun were in the room. Shen Yun walked to him and whispered, “Boss, do you need me to check on Fourth Master?” 

“En, deal with him yourself.” Shen Mucheng answered. 

“Yes.” 

Shen Mucheng closed the materials in his hand and handed it to him, “Arrange this well. Another thing, book a flight to Switzerland for the day after tomorrow and follow me there.”

“Yes.” Shen Yun answered. The matters in Switzerland were always managed by his brother Shen Yu, and boss won’t go unless it’s a problem that is hard to solve. Seems like the cargo is much more troublesome to handle than before, especially when Shen Qiuxiong had intentions on the branch. 

**

Before going to Switzerland, Luo Shaoheng went to the cemetery again. Coincidentally, it was the first snowfall in A City that day; a layer of fine snowflakes accumulated on the tombstone. The air was unexpectedly depressing. 

Luo Shaoheng put his hands in his pockets, he looked at the Shen Mucheng on the tombstone and said, “It’s been three years since the last snow in A City, I didn’t expect that it will suddenly snow this year after I planned to go Switzerland to look at the snowy view. Can I take it as you don’t want me to leave?” He took his hands out from his pockets and wiped off the snow on the tombstone. The cold snow melted at his fingertips, making him shiver. 

After wiping off the snow, he stood upright in front of the tombstone. He stood there for a really long time, until the guard thought that he might freeze to death and took a careful look at him. He only felt relieved when he saw he was fine, but he still advised him to go back earlier. 

As the snow became heavier, the place where Luo Shaoheng wiped earlier was now covered with another thin layer of snow. He removed the scarf wrapped around his neck, folded it into three layers and placed it on the tombstone, blocking the snowflakes that were falling. 

“I won’t be gone for too long, I’ll come back to see you again.” He left these words and left. His dark grey woolen coat elongated his thin shadow, his boots left one footprint after the other on the pathway. They were quickly covered with snowflakes once again. Other than the scarf on the tombstone, nothing could prove that he was there before. 

Luo Shaoheng did not just go to look at the snowy view in Switzerland, he had even found a place for skiing, which is Zermatt. 

Zermatt is located in the Alps, it is a famous tourist attraction that had no cars and was non-polluted. It’s also a world-class skiing location. Luo Shaoheng had been wanting to visit this town called ‘City of Glacier’ since a long time ago, but he did not have the chance.

When he reached his destination, he was not in a rush to hike the mountain, instead he stayed in the town for a few days to immerse himself in the culture. He went skiing on the third day. 

When Luo Shaoheng was plunging down at the ski area, his speed was so fast that the local accompanying him and following behind felt nervous and worried that he may fall accidentally. 

However, it was unnecessary for him to be worried. Luo Shaoheng was skilled in skiing. No matter if it was a jump or a turn, his movements were agile and experienced. They were light and graceful, attracting the gazes of the people around him.

Luo Shaoheng’s figure passed through the white snowfield, leaving two lines of skiing trails. A person not too far away removed his ski goggles and looked towards him, his eyes focusing there. 

“Cousin, what are you looking at?” A blonde youngster beside him asked. 

“Nothing.” Shen Mucheng looked on silently. 

“How long do you plan to stay here this time? Have you finished dealing with your company matters?” The youngster asked. He was Shen Mucheng’s younger cousin, Shen Jiashu. He has been living in Switzerland and had just entered university this year. He was younger than Shen Mucheng by more than ten years. 

“Don’t care too much, kid.” Shen Mucheng wore his glasses properly and left in another direction. Shen Jiashu and Shen Yun quickly followed him. 

Luo Shaoheng only cared about rushing forward, using the excitement that was stirred up to wash away the depressing emotions in his heart, but he was ignorant of the fact that he missed the chance he always wanted to grasp on.

After staying in Zermatt for a week, Luo Shaoheng then went to Zurich. Zurich was the largest city in Switzerland; it was also the richest city in Europe. As the largest financial center in Switzerland, it was bustling with people. 

Luo Shaoheng visited Lake Zurich, saw the Grossmünster1, walked past the National Museum, and lastly, he stopped at Bahnhofstrasse2. He brought his camera and took pictures of the scenery along the way; from the tallest and grandest buildings, to the smallest leaf on some branch. 

He had been to a lot of places these years and had almost finished fulfilling his promises with Shen Mucheng. He would always take pictures to keep as a souvenir. 

In the photos that he asked the passers-by to take for him, there was always a place he especially left next to himself, for the person who would never return. 

Bahnhofstrasse was the richest street in the world, it also had the name of ‘Switzerland’s Wall Street’, the largest ‘gold city’ in the world is located here. 

Luo Shaoheng did not really know much about Switzerland, so he checked the guides before visiting. He also did not have much desire to shop around, but since he was already in Switzerland, it was a must for him to take a stroll in this famous street. 

Walking along the streets filled with trees and their shades, Luo Shaoheng used his camera to occasionally take pictures of things he found interesting, sometimes it would be a chair, a vintage clock, a weird shaped signpost and … 

Luo Shaoheng’s finger that was pressing the shutter froze, he slowly zoomed in the lenses with his left hand, enlarging the person in the lens. He focused on that person’s face, with the high-grade lens, he could even see the faint scar above his eyebrow. 

— Shen Mucheng, do you wanna get rid of this scar? 

— Don’t care about it. 

— En. It’s actually quite nice, it’s manly! 

— You like it? 

— I like everything on your body. 

It might be because he missed his chance again and again; that Luo Shaoheng, who did not dare to be hopeful, hesitated. So when he met him again this time, he forgot to react and could only remain holding the camera to capture the person in the crowd through the lens.

It was like everything around him became invisible, only that man in a black coat could enter his eyes. He did not dare to get closer, he was scared that he would disappear once he stepped forward. Just like those hallucinations he had, they were crushed to pieces before he got to touch.

He just stood there in a trance, the man said goodbye to others and the person by his side helped him open the door of the car, he then bent down and sat in. 

— Don’t go. 

The words appeared in Luo Shaoheng’s heart, he had a sudden urge and shouted towards the person, “Shen Mucheng!” 

The person on the opposite side of the road stopped his actions, he lifted his head up and looked towards him.

1

Grossmünster: a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zurich, Switzerland.

2

Bahnhofstrasse: the richest street in the world.