"I heard... you're going to marry Elena?"
Ethan Jiang's fingers paused their silent movement. He raised his eyes, meeting Adrian Jiang's gaze directly.
He didn't deny it.
Or rather, there was no need to deny it.
"Yes."
Hearing that single confirmation from his brother's own lips, Adrian's brows furrowed at once. The words spilled out of him before he could stop them.
"But... you and Elena barely know each other. There's no affection between you. How can you marry her?"
"Adrian," Ethan looked at him, his voice as calm as ever, steady as stone.
"When it comes to alliances and marriage, responsibility matters more than emotion."
Adrian paled. "So you're marrying Elena... just out of responsibility?"
It reminded him of years ago—how his brother had once shown an earnest desire for a career in medicine. But when the Jiang family demanded an heir, a successor, Ethan didn't hesitate. He gave up the path of research without a word of complaint.
Adrian couldn't quite put into words how that made him feel.
All these years, not once had Ethan expressed any regret for turning away from his passion.
And Adrian knew better than anyone: once Ethan married Elena, whether they ever developed feelings or not, Ethan would never speak of divorce. Not in this lifetime.
"To sacrifice a lifetime of marriage for a family alliance... won't you ever regret it?"
His question came out sounding absurd, almost childlike.
Ethan didn't answer. Instead, he looked back at him, voice quiet and pointed:
"You spent two years resisting this marriage. Do you regret it now?"
Adrian closed his eyes.
Memories surfaced unbidden—how, over those two years, his relationship with Elena had grown cold and distant. How she remained unaffected even when other women appeared around him, her gaze forever calm, without a ripple of emotion.
His fingers tightened to the point of turning white. The air in his lungs seemed laced with ice, the chill slowly seeping into his chest.
Still, his voice remained composed.
"... I don't regret it."
Ethan looked away and said nothing more.
As he ascended the stairs, he left behind only a single remark:
"Then follow through with the choice you've made."
"As for the engagement between the two families—from this moment forward, it will no longer bind you."
His footsteps faded gradually into the distance.
The light at the top of the staircase flickered—bright, then dim.
Adrian was left alone in the hall.
The wall clock ticked past midnight.
Outside the windows, the dense darkness of night seeped through the thick glass, soaking the room with a cold, weighty silence.
The next day.
After spending the entire day in the lab and finishing up her research papers, Elena Shen returned to her apartment building under a sky that had long since turned dark.
Most of the residents had already had dinner and were out walking their dogs.
One household on the first floor kept a large golden retriever. Its owner was a corporate manager from a nearby firm—too busy to walk her dog during the day, so she always brought it out at night for fresh air.
Although Elena didn't have many classes, she was pursuing a double degree. Between endless papers and lab work, she rarely returned from Huai University before nightfall.
After a few run-ins, she and her downstairs neighbor had grown somewhat familiar with each other.
The golden retriever was affectionate and always ran up to her, tail wagging wildly.
Elena had always liked animals, though she didn't have the time to keep one herself.
But running into that friendly golden retriever from time to time allowed her to indulge in the occasional scratch behind the ears or a good pat on its fluffy tail.
As usual, she gave the golden retriever a few firm ruffles on the head, laughed with its owner, and headed upstairs.
The curve at her lips remained faintly curved—until the elevator doors slid open, and she saw who was waiting.
Adrian Jiang was leaning against the wall, cigarette between his fingers.
When he heard the elevator ding, he lifted his gaze.
The soft, amber light of the hallway's motion sensor bulb illuminated them both, and their eyes met through the fading swirls of smoke.
Elena hadn't expected Adrian to show up here.
For a long time now, neither of them had reached out. It had become a kind of silent agreement.
The hallway reeked of cigarette smoke. Elena's eyes dropped—at her feet lay a small pile of cigarette butts.
The elevator gave a soft "ding," preparing to close.
Elena looked away and stepped out.
Just as she was about to speak, Adrian stubbed out his cigarette, gaze locking onto her, his voice breaking the silence first.