The Man They Locked in the Storm

The night before the engagement banquet, my fiancée’s childhood friend said he had prepared a surprise for the groomtobe.

He tricked me up to the rooftop glass conservatory of the hotel, locked the door from the outside, and turned on every sprinkler.

On a rainy night in December, icecold water slammed down from above.

The conservatory was surrounded by transparent glass on all sides, and the guests downstairs held up their phones to watch me shiver miserably inside.

He smiled with vicious delight. “Isn’t Jiang Yanzhou the best at pretending to be calm?” “Tonight, let everyone see what a man who clawed his way up from some backwater place looks like when he’s frozen into begging for mercy!” My fiancée, Shen Mingtang, wore a white evening gown and a cashmere coat.

She stood behind the curtain of rain and looked at me without the slightest worry. She only frowned a little and said flatly, “Let him suffer a little.

That’ll keep him from thinking that just because he has my family backing him, he can really stand on equal footing with us.” Later, I smashed the glass and came down from the roof.

Blood ran down my legs and arms, and after I wiped the rain off my face, I called my lawyer. “Notify the board.

Pull the investment, freeze the accounts, and stop all of the Shen Group’s project payments for tomorrow morning.” “Send tonight’s video to the police.” “Illegal detention, intentional injury, invasion of privacy—don’t leave a single one out.” The door of the glass conservatory was locked from the outside.

There were transparent walls on all four sides.

The white lights overhead were blinding, and the rain mixed with the sprinkler water, like countless ice needles stabbing densely into my skin.

I reached out and yanked at the door handle, but it wouldn’t open. An electronic lock hung outside, and its screen glowed with a cold red light.

The rooftop terrace downstairs was packed with people holding champagne and wearing expensive formal clothes, like they were watching an impromptu encore performance.

Some were laughing, some were whistling, and some held their phones high, pointing the cameras at my face, which was soaked through. “This is an exciting show!” “The Shen heiress’s engagement eve really is different.” “The groomtobe locked on the roof and left out in the rain—what kind of richfamily test is this?” “Didn’t Young Master Lu say it already?

It’s a test to see if he’s worthy of entering the Shen family.” One mocking remark after another drilled into my ears through the sound of rain.

My fingers were stiff with cold as I clung to the door handle, the metal edge scraping my palm raw with pain.

Lu Wenchuan stood outside the door in a dark gray suit, holding a black umbrella. His features were handsome and refined, and his manner was gentle.

If not for the remote control in his hand, anyone would have taken him for a decent, polite man.

He waved the remote at me and said with a smile, “Brother Yanzhou, don’t look at me like that.

Everyone just wants to see how much you really love Mingtang.” Another burst of laughter erupted from the terrace.

I lifted a hand and wiped the water off my face, my voice trembling from the cold. “Lu Wenchuan, open the door!” He tilted his head. “But the game has only just started.” “We made a bet to see how long you can hold out before begging for mercy.” He took a step closer and looked at me through the glass. “Weren’t you always very good at enduring?” “You came from a small place and climbed all the way to where you are now on your own.

So inspiring.” “Then prove it to us. Prove that you deserve to be part of the Shen family!” I looked at his clean, mild face, and my heart sank little by little.

Tonight was the eve of my engagement banquet with Shen Mingtang.

The Shen family had rented out the entire mountaintop hotel, and tomorrow morning the media, business partners, and relatives would all be there.

Shen Mingtang said I had stayed with her through Shen Group’s hardest three years, and had walked with her from the daughter of the Shen family, doubted by the board, to the person who truly held the reins of the company today.

All of this was the respect I deserved.

For this engagement banquet, I had pushed aside overseas project meetings, personally confirmed every funding arrangement, and helped her fend off the trouble caused by several of the Shen family’s uncles and elders.

But now, the woman I loved was standing right there in the center of the terrace downstairs. She didn’t come up, and she didn’t tell anyone to open the door.

She just stood in the warm, bright light, coldly watching me shiver in the glass conservatory under the icy water. I shouted to her through the glass, “Shen Mingtang!

Have him open the door!” I thought at the very least she would frown.

But she only accepted the hot tea handed to her by a server with unhurried grace, her tone flat. “Yanzhou, Wenchuan just likes to have fun.” “You’re more mature than he is, and you’re steadier too.

Don’t make a fuss with him.”

At that moment, the icy water drove into my bones like knives.

I stared at her, my eyes turning red from the cold wind. “You know I’m afraid of this!” When I was fifteen, I got trapped in a collapsed old factory building.

The rain outside was pouring down hard, and water rose all the way to my waist. All around me was darkness and broken steel bars.

My father tried to push me out, but he was crushed inside by a collapsed concrete beam and never opened his eyes again.

From then on, I feared enclosed spaces, I feared the sound of water that never stopped, and I feared any rainy night I couldn’t escape from.

Over the years, I had never told anyone that casually, and only Shen Mingtang knew.

Because back then, when debt collectors had cornered the Shen family in an underground garage, she too had been locked in a car for an entire night.

When I sat with her through psychological counseling, she leaned against my shoulder and said, “Yanzhou, from now on, I’ll protect you from your fears.” But now, she stood downstairs and turned my fear into everyone’s joke.

Lu Wenchuan laughed as he added, “Brother Yanzhou, you’re a man.

Don’t be so petty.” He turned to the guests on the terrace, and his voice suddenly rose. “Everyone, tonight’s betting game officially begins.” “If he’s crying and begging Mingtang to save him within half an hour, I lose.” “If he holds out and doesn’t beg for mercy, I’ll transfer one hundred thousand to each of you.” The crowd erupted. “Young Master Lu is generous!” “Then of course we’re betting he can’t hold out.” “A man with no background really thinks wearing a custom suit can turn him into the Shen family’s soninlaw?” “Is President Shen really going to marry him?

I thought it was just for fun.” My fingertips had gone numb from the cold. Rainwater ran from my hair into my eyes, stinging so badly I could barely keep them open.

I pounded on the door hard. “Shen Mingtang, I’m saying this one last time.

Have someone open the door!” Shen Mingtang finally looked up at me, and there was no guilt in her face, only annoyance at being questioned in public. “Jiang Yanzhou, do you really have to make this so ugly?” “Wenchuan’s been spoiled since he was little.

Why are you taking him so seriously?” “Besides, aren’t you the best at handling crises?” “You can’t even handle this little thing?” I stood there for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

So, in her eyes, my fear of being locked in the rain was just a little thing.

All the crises I had shouldered for her over the past three years had become her reason for humiliating me in the end.

When Lu Wenchuan saw me laugh, his expression changed a little. He hated me looking like this.

He hated that even though I was already in such a miserable state, I still refused to bow my head.

He raised his hand and pressed the remote control, and the conservatory’s sprinkler system suddenly increased the water flow.

Colder water came pouring down on me, and my knees gave out, nearly sending me to the ground.

A wave of excited gasps immediately rose from downstairs. “He’s about to give in!” “Quick, film it.

This video is definitely going viral tomorrow.” “President Shen’s fiancé is actually pretty stubborn!” Lu Wenchuan leaned close to the glass.

He lowered his voice, and only I could hear it. “Jiang Yanzhou, stop pretending. I know this is the kind of place you fear most.” “Those are all things Mingtang told me herself.”

My heart lurched down hard. “Do you think she kept those wounds of yours a secret?” “Sorry, but when she was coaxing me to sleep, she told me everything.” “She said you were trapped when you were fifteen, so you never slept well whenever it rained.” “She said you look calm on the outside, but deep down you’re still that weak little boy who’s afraid of the dark and afraid of water.” My ears rang.

Those words were even colder than the storm. Three years with Shen Mingtang.

I had blocked boardroom coups for her, won overseas financing for her, and stayed up until four in the morning revising merger plans for her.

The night she had a stomach bleed, I stayed at the hospital with her all night.

When several of the Shen family’s uncles framed her for moving assets, I found the gap in the accounts and pulled her out of the swamp.

She once held me and said gently, “Yanzhou, without you, there would be no me today. When I take back the Shen family, I’ll marry you.” I thought that was a promise.

Turns out, to her, I was just a useful tool. A man who would work his life away for her with just a little tenderness.

Lu Wenchuan tapped on the glass. “Brother Yanzhou, don’t blame me.

I just want to make you see where you stand.” He looked up at Shen Mingtang, and his voice suddenly softened. “Mingtang, you won’t blame me, will you?” Shen Mingtang put down her teacup and said lightly, “Don’t go too far.” Lu Wenchuan immediately pouted in grievance. “How is that too far?

You clearly promised me you’d make me happy tonight.” “You also said the engagement was just a stopgap!” I stared in shock at Shen Mingtang. “Is that true?” Shen Mingtang frowned.

She probably hadn’t expected Lu Wenchuan to slip up like that in front of everyone.

But very quickly, she resumed that lofty calm again. “Since you heard it, I don’t need to hide it from you.” I was soaked through from head to toe, standing in the freezing water as I looked at her. “So tomorrow’s engagement banquet is fake too?” She said flatly, “It isn’t fake.

It’s only an engagement, not a marriage license.” “Jiang Yanzhou, you should know that marriage in the Shen family can’t be based on feelings alone.” “Wenchuan has the Lu family behind him.

He’s the one most suited to stand beside me.” My nails dug into my palm. “Then what am I?” At last, a hint of impatience surfaced in Shen Mingtang’s eyes. “Do you really have to ask it so ugly?” “For these past three years, I haven’t treated you badly!

You wanted a position, so I gave you the vice president seat.

You wanted respect, and who in the Shen Group dared not call you President Jiang?” “As for marriage, I can’t give that to you, and I don’t need to lie to you for the rest of your life.” She spoke calmly, as if everything I had given her over three years was only worth a vice president title.

Lu Wenchuan smiled and leaned against her. “Brother Yanzhou, you should learn to be content.” “You have no background, no family, and your parents are both gone.

Getting this far with Mingtang is already like your ancestors’ graves are smoking.” Someone nearby chimed in. “Exactly.” “If President Shen really married him, where would the Shen family put its face?” “What good is ability when richfamily marriages are about where you come from?” “Jiang Yanzhou should wake up too.

At most, he’s the hero who helped President Shen rise to power.

How can a hero become the empress?” I looked at those people who had once bowed and scraped to me in the conference room. When they respected me, they called me President Jiang.

Now that they saw Shen Mingtang wasn’t protecting me, they immediately changed their faces.

A man in a white suit smiled and raised his phone. “President Jiang, want me to take a photo for you to remember this by?” “After all, by tomorrow, the person standing next to President Shen might be Young Master Lu.” “Tonight’s look of yours also counts as your last time being the main character.” I didn’t say anything else.

When people hurt this much, they actually become clearheaded. I lifted my hand to my left wrist, and the watch was still there. It wasn’t an ordinary watch.

Three months ago, I noticed something was wrong with the Shen Group’s internal accounts, so I had my security team build me an emergency device.

As long as I pressed the crown three times in a row, it would automatically locate me and send alerts to my lawyer, my assistant, and my private security team.

Shen Mingtang didn’t know that. She had always thought I had given all my cards to her.

But she forgot that a person who crawled out of ruins would never truly hand over his life to anyone.

I lowered my head and pretended the rain had choked me, then raised a hand to cover my wrist. One time. Two times. Three times. The watch vibrated faintly. The signal had been sent.

Lu Wenchuan thought I was done for, and his eyes lit up. “Mingtang, is he about to cry?

I knew he couldn’t keep it up for long.” He took out his phone and pointed it at me. “Come on, Brother Yanzhou, say ‘I was wrong’ to the camera.” “As long as you admit you’re not good enough for Mingtang, I’ll open the door.” I looked up at him. “Lu Wenchuan, are you sure you want to keep going?” He froze for a second, then snorted in contempt. “We’re already this far, and you’re still threatening me?” “Jiang Yanzhou, you don’t really think you’re still the President Jiang everyone feared in the Shen Group, do you?” “Your position was given to you by Mingtang.

She can give it to you, and she can take it back.” I slowly straightened up. “Then ask her whether the Shen Group can still take my position back now.” A trace of gloom flashed in Shen Mingtang’s eyes. “Jiang Yanzhou, what do you mean?” I looked at her through the rain. “What I mean is, you’d better pray I’m fine tonight, because if I’m not, then tomorrow there won’t be an engagement banquet for the Shen Group—only a liquidation meeting.” The crowd burst into laughter again, thinking I was just talking tough.

Lu Wenchuan laughed so hard he bent over. “A liquidation meeting? Liquidate who?

The Shen family?” “Jiang Yanzhou, are you frozen stupid?” Shen Mingtang’s face darkened. “Enough.” “Jiang Yanzhou, don’t make yourself out to be that important.” “The projects in your hands, at the end of the day, all belong to the Shen Group.

The connections you have were also made on the Shen Group’s platform.” “Without the Shen Group, you’re nothing.” I looked at her.

The last bit of pain in my heart burned to ash at that moment too. “Fine, Shen Mingtang.

Then let’s see tomorrow.” “Without whom, exactly, is really nothing.” Lu Wenchuan didn’t like the look in my eyes.

He wanted to see me cry, wanted to see me beg for mercy, wanted to see me lose my dignity in front of everyone. But I didn’t.

And so the smile on his face slowly disappeared. “Jiang Yanzhou, you’re pretty stubborn.” He handed the umbrella to someone beside him and personally walked to the electronic lock. “Since you refuse to admit you’re wrong, then let’s make it harder.” He pressed another button, and the automatic blackout curtains around the conservatory suddenly dropped.

The thick black drapes slowly covered the transparent glass. The light was cut off, and my breathing instantly became chaotic. Enclosed space. Darkness. The sound of water.

All three things came crashing down at once. My vision went dark.

Lu Wenchuan stood outside the door and looked at me through the last crack. “Didn’t you say you were going to liquidate us?” “Come on, get out of there first!” The curtains fell completely, and the conservatory was plunged into darkness, with only the overhead white lights flickering on and off like a malfunction.

The water still kept falling, each splash sounding like the rain leaking through the old factory building.

It felt like I could hear my father calling me again. “Yanzhou, crawl out.” “Don’t look back.” I bit down hard on my lower lip, and the taste of blood spread through my mouth.

I couldn’t fall. Not now, at least. There were still people outside waiting to laugh at me. Shen Mingtang was still standing there, waiting for me to lower my head and admit defeat.

I groped my way toward the corner. Inside the conservatory stood a decorative wroughtiron flower rack. I used all my strength to lift it and slammed it hard against the glass door.

The first hit only left a crack in the glass. The people outside jumped in fright. Someone shouted, “Is he crazy?” “That’s bulletproof glass.

He can’t smash it!” “Jiang Yanzhou, stop struggling. Isn’t it better to just admit you were wrong?” I didn’t stop. A second hit. A third.

My wrist was shaken numb, the web between my thumb and index finger split open, and blood mixed with rainwater dripped to the ground.

The cracks in the glass spread thicker and thicker.

Lu Wenchuan finally panicked and slapped the door while shouting, “Jiang Yanzhou, don’t do anything stupid!” “If that glass breaks, you’ll get hurt.” I let out a cold laugh. “Now you’re afraid I’ll get hurt?” Lu Wenchuan’s face went pale, and he looked back at Shen Mingtang. “Mingtang, he’s really going to smash the door.” Shen Mingtang frowned hard. “Jiang Yanzhou, stop!

You’ll only make this uglier.” I swung the flower rack and smashed it down again. With a loud bang, a corner of the glass door finally broke open. Cold wind rushed in.

I lifted my foot and kicked viciously at the crack.