Ever since Marcus’s father passed away, his mother had ignored him, casually dumping him on his uncle to raise.

As it happened, Meng Yuwen’s family could not have children of their own, so his aunt treated him very well, raising him as her own son.

It was then that he understood that not all parents were as irresponsible as his own.

He witnessed the deep affection between his uncle and aunt; they loved each other and shared a life of mutual support.

The Meng family’s group was not so massive at the beginning, but through the joint efforts of Meng Yuwen and his wife, they grasped opportunities in new industries amidst the torrent of the times, gradually occupying a place in the market, and their business flourished and grew ever larger.

Marcus was rebellious by nature and was always unwilling to follow their teachings.

He felt he didn't belong to this family; whenever he stole back home, he was chased away by his biological mother, who cared nothing for him and only knew how to play outside.

As a child, he imitated his mother, often sneaking out in the dead of night to race cars with friends and party all night long.

It seemed this was the correct way to be—life should be as carefree as his mother’s, not strictly disciplined as his aunt said.

When his uncle found out, he was incredibly stern.

Every time he came home, he was met with the punishment of family law, but these experiences only made him more defiant.

Marcus believed their ideas were outdated and that they didn't understand what true love was.

Even though the two of them were so busy that they arranged a family dinner every week, it was just a superficial gesture; in reality, they were preoccupied with work and rarely returned home.

By junior high, he only came home once every six months, and sometimes he wouldn't even answer his aunt's calls.

He only knew how to run away blindly.

On the day of his junior high graduation, he and his friends were at the airport preparing for their graduation trip.

Just then, Marcus’s phone rang; it was a call from Meng Yuwen.

His uncle, usually so dignified, had a voice revealing an unprecedented sense of age.

"Come back to see your aunt; she is not going to make it."

Marcus’s brain felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer; all his reason collapsed in an instant.

He rushed home like a madman, stormed into the house, and ran straight to his aunt's bedside, seeing her emaciated and unable to even speak clearly.

His aunt was ill, and he had only learned of this news on her deathbed.

In the end, his aunt didn't even have time to say a word to him; she just used her last bit of strength to look at him, and then she left forever.

They had had a huge argument.

Marcus hated himself deeply and also resented Meng Yuwen for not telling him the truth sooner.

They had been estranged for five years.

During those five years, Marcus had no goals and no direction; his life was a blur.

The only person accompanying him was a girl named Jiang Ruoxiao.

Jiang Ruoxiao was lively, cheerful, spoiled, and willful; she dared to ignore Marcus’s status as the crown prince in front of everyone.

Marcus looked at her, a smile tugging at his lips, and decided to tease this girl.

Wherever Jiang Ruoxiao was, Marcus would appear; if anyone bullied her, he would step up to handle it.

Gradually, people in the circle began to joke that Marcus was Jiang Ruoxiao’s "simp," but he didn't care at all.

Yet, every time the festivities ended, he still felt empty night after night, with nothing in his heart.

Until one day, Marcus accidentally discovered that Jiang Ruoxiao had actually fallen in love with his cousin, Meng Ci.

A woman named Clara was his cousin’s fiancée, and Jiang Ruoxiao had no way to take Clara’s place and marry Meng Ci.

Marcus had protected Jiang Ruoxiao for so many years and had habitually cleared obstacles for her.

It was just a woman, he thought; how hard could it be?

When he received Clara’s profile, the first thing he saw was a photo of Clara with her head down, concentrating on arranging flowers.

Although the photo was blurry, one could still see from her thick eyelashes and gentle temperament that she was a very pure person.

This reminded him of his aunt in his memories.

Marcus agreed quickly.

He would take this task on, and he would take the initiative to approach Clara.

Clara liked to go to parks and zoos, and Marcus followed her there too.

He confidently believed that with his status, Clara would definitely take the initiative to approach him once she saw him; after all, the background check indicated that Meng Ci didn't like her.

However, Marcus appeared by Clara’s side many times, even sitting on the same bench, yet she didn't cast a single glance at him.

Marcus once again rejected a girl who wanted to exchange WeChat contacts; he looked at that figure with astonishment, his competitive fire ignited.

What was so great about these useless flowers and plants? He, a nearly 1.9-meter-tall man, was standing right here.

She didn't even look at him; this woman was truly a freak!

Chapter 20

For months, he almost completely forgot about Jiang Ruoxiao’s existence.

It was as if she had never appeared in his life.

His thoughts were occupied day after day by the goal of how to approach Clara; he racked his brains, yet he never succeeded as he wished.

As time passed, he began to gradually grow accustomed to watching over this girl, and his restless heart unexpectedly calmed down.

One day, a butterfly lightly landed on Marcus’s fingertip.

He was stunned and didn't dare to move for a long time, as if he had turned into a stiff stone, frozen in place.

He was terrified that if he made the slightest movement, he would startle this fragile butterfly and make it fly away.

It was a leaf butterfly; it was beautiful and exquisite, gently washing its face on his fingertip.

Suddenly, his aunt’s past words surfaced in Marcus’s mind. He remembered that when he was a child, he cried because he was hurt, and his aunt held him, gently applying medicine, coaxing him with soft whispers.

"Marcus, be good. You haven't grown up yet; your heart isn't settled, and you don't know what around you is good or bad. Sometimes, learning too fast and being too smart actually makes it easy to make mistakes..."

Young Marcus wiped away his tears and retorted unconvinced.

"Everyone praises me for being smart and doing things right; how could I possibly be wrong!"

His aunt sighed helplessly and gently stroked his head.

"You are indeed very smart, but you are too impatient. Only by slowing down can you find the happiness that truly belongs to you."

Marcus stared blankly at the butterfly on his fingertip. Suddenly, he understood the meaning of slowing down that his aunt had spoken of.

He seemed to hear the sounds of the world and felt that the world was not as cold and boring as he had imagined, but hidden with much goodness unknown to many—only by stopping his pace could he discover it.

The last look his aunt gave him was not one of blame, but a reminder of what he should and should not do.

The butterfly suddenly fluttered its wings and turned in a different direction; a faint scent of flowers drifted over, awakening Marcus from his contemplation.

For months, Clara had ignored him, but just then, she was standing beside him, looking at the butterfly in his hand in surprise.

Marcus stared blankly at her clear and transparent eyes, his heart feeling hollow; he was deeply touched by her gaze, and it scared him so much that even the butterfly flew away.

It was also because of this close contact that he saw Clara wearing a hearing aid in her ear, and only then did he realize that she was actually hearing-impaired.

Her world was silent.

Later, Marcus found excuses to go out with her.

Going to see flowers and plants—he had originally thought this would be a very boring thing.

But he unexpectedly discovered that it made him feel incredibly relaxed; unknowingly, he fell into a deep sleep amidst the birdsong and the breeze.

Since his aunt passed away, Marcus had suffered from insomnia every night, often needing to drink until he was dead drunk to fall asleep.

However, in those days of accompanying Clara, he felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.

That was until Jiang Ruoxiao came to him, questioning him angrily.

"They are getting engaged soon; do you have any way to stop it?"

Marcus felt a sting in his heart; thinking of Meng Ci about to get engaged to Clara, he felt displeased.