Ji Yuzhe's mood was good.
Uncle Jia didn't need to ask why. He'd served the young master long enough to read the signs. The way Ji Yuzhe's shoulders sat lower. The way he didn't reach for the whiskey decanter the moment he walked in.
Instead, he settled into his favorite armchair by the window.
Massive window. Floor to ceiling. Not that Ji Yuzhe could see it anymore. But he remembered. The way the city lights used to reflect off the glass. The way the rain streaked down on stormy nights.
Now he just heard the rain. Felt the cold from the glass if he leaned close enough.
Uncle Jia poured tea without being asked. Fragrant. Oolong. The young master's preferred way to unwind.
"Thank you, Uncle."
His voice came out low. Gravelly. The kind of voice that made people stop talking and listen.
Ji Yuzhe sipped the tea. Warmth spread through his chest. Down his arms. Into his fingers.
"You seem pleased today, young master."
Uncle Jia's voice had a careful curiosity to it. Light. Like he was testing the edges of something fragile.
Ji Yuzhe's lips twitched. Almost a smile.
"Suyin. She's changed."
He didn't hear how his own voice sounded when he said her name. The way it softened. The way the gravel smoothed out into something almost gentle.
But Uncle Jia heard it.
"I heard her wedding to Ji Hanjun was delayed." The old butler's tone shifted. More direct now. "Maybe that has something to do with it? Do you think she already knows your brother is cheating on her?"
Your brother.
Ji Yuzhe's jaw clenched.
The tea cup didn't move. His hands were steady. But his jaw—that was a different story.
Ji Hanjun. His younger brother. The man who probably courted Feng Suyin just because he knew. Because he knew Ji Yuzhe loved her. Had loved her for years. Silent. Watching. Never saying a word.
And Ji Hanjun had taken her anyway.
Not because he wanted her. Because he wanted to win.
Ji Yuzhe's gaze drifted toward the window. Not that he could see anything. But the direction helped. Helped him pretend he was looking at something other than the darkness behind his own eyelids.
He had watched Feng Suyin from afar for so long. Admired her in silence. He couldn't deny the pull he felt toward her—the way his chest tightened when she walked into a room, the way his pulse picked up when she spoke.
But he never dared to claim her.
Uncle Jia watched his young master's face. The subtle shift in his expression. The way his fingers tightened around the tea cup.
"Perhaps this delay is a blessing in disguise, young master." Uncle Jia's voice was soft. Careful. "It may allow Miss Feng to see things clearly. Make the right choice for herself."
Ji Yuzhe nodded slowly.
He had noticed Feng Suyin's change during their recent interactions. Something was different. Sharper. More aware. But he knew better than to believe someone could change their feelings overnight.
She said she would break ties with his brother.
He wanted to believe her.
But Feng Suyin wasn't impulsive. She didn't do things her family would disapprove of. She played by the rules. Always had.
Still.
A flicker of hope ignited in his chest. Small. Stubborn. Something he had kept suppressed for years.
What if?
Uncle Jia saw it. The subtle shift in his young master's demeanor. The way his breathing changed—just slightly. The way his shoulders relaxed a fraction of an inch.
Ji Yuzhe had faced countless challenges without flinching. Business deals. Family betrayals. The accident that took his sight.
But matters of the heart?
That was a different battlefield entirely.
He had loved Feng Suyin for years. Never told her. Buried his feelings so deep he almost forgot they were there.
Almost.
Now, with her wedding hanging in the air—delayed, uncertain—his heart dared to dream.
His mind told him not to.
His heart didn't listen.
"Will you accept Dr. Zhang's offer?" Uncle Jia asked. "The apprenticeship?"
Since the accident, Ji Yuzhe had spent most of his time in this chair. Nursing a drink. Sitting by the window. Thinking about her. The accident had taken his sight, but it hadn't taken her out of his head.
He had been reluctant about Dr. Zhang's offer at first. Pride, maybe. Or fear.
But this might be his only chance.
"I already agreed." His voice was flat. Resolute. "No point regretting a decision once it's made."
His medical condition was his top priority. He knew that.
He couldn't protect Feng Suyin if he couldn't even see.
Other people wouldn't understand. Why he would throw everything away for her. Why he would risk a dangerous surgery. Why he would become some other doctor's apprentice like a fresh medical student.
Ji Yuzhe didn't care what they understood.
He sipped his tea. The warmth soothed his frayed nerves.
He thought about her face. He couldn't see it anymore—not clearly—but he remembered. The curve of her jaw. The way her eyes crinkled when she smiled. That unspoken sadness she carried behind her expressions.
He wanted to erase that sadness.
He didn't know if he could. But he wanted to.
Over the years, he had learned to decipher her voice. The tiny shifts in her tone. The breath she took before lying. The pause before she said something real.
Feng Suyin was strong. Faced her challenges head-on. Grace and determination, even when the world was burning around her.
He admired her for that.
Even if it meant she would never be his.
But now—something had changed. For her to delay the wedding. To defy the Feng family. To even consider breaking things off with Ji Hanjun.
If his brother hurt her—
Ji Yuzhe's grip on the tea cup tightened.
He wouldn't let Ji Hanjun get away with it.
He knew how to play the same games as anyone. And if Feng Suyin had decided to part with his brother, there was no reason for Ji Yuzhe to hold back anymore.
Uncle Jia cleared away the tea set. Quietly. Respectfully.
The clock ticked on the wall.
Ji Yuzhe sat in silence. Lost in his thoughts. The steady beat of the clock matched his heart.
Regaining his sight was the first step.
Then?
Then he would win her. Or he would die trying.
He heard Uncle Jia excuse himself. The soft click of the door.
Alone now.
Ji Yuzhe turned his head toward the window again. Felt the cold from the glass on his cheek.
He wondered what she was doing at this very moment.
Was she thinking about Ji Hanjun?
Or was she, somewhere deep down, thinking about him?
He didn't know.
But he intended to find out.