Ten Rules to Bind Her Heart - Chapter 59
Xia Zhiyao’s gaze swept over the silent, solid-wood collection crates.
Each one was thick and sturdy, stamped with its own identification number. Everything about them was meticulously organized.
Inside every crate lay a rare and valuable treasure—perhaps a century-old antique, perhaps a masterpiece of the highest order.
And there seemed to be tens of thousands of such crates here, arranged in orderly rows that stretched into the darkness, with no end in sight.
After taking in the scene before her, Xia Zhiyao hesitated for a moment before finally mustering the courage to ask, “Mr. Shen, are all these things just kept here?”
Shen Yu looked calmly at her. “Some are. Others require discreet, high-security delivery.”
“High-security delivery?”
Confusion filled her eyes. She clearly did not understand what that meant.
Shen Yu looked away. “Things haven’t been very peaceful around here lately.”
Her heart tightened. “Do people try to rob you?”
He said nothing, tacitly confirming her guess.
Xia Zhiyao murmured, “Why can’t those people just be kinder? Why do they have to steal what belongs to someone else? Don’t they know it’s against the law?”
Shen Yu smiled. There was no mockery in his eyes, nor did he fault her for her naivety.
“Kindness has never been a virtue. It is a privilege of those who hold power.”
“To be kind, you must first possess enough leverage to make the other side fear you.”
“Otherwise, all you can do is kneel on the ground and beg your enemies to show you kindness.”
Beg her enemies to be kind…
Xia Zhiyao suddenly remembered her parents kneeling in the mud that day, kowtowing as they pleaded for mercy.
She remembered herself locked inside a cage, inspected and selected like livestock.
If not for Shen Yu…
If this man of absolute power had not appeared, her worthless kindness could not have saved her parents, much less herself.
In this chaotic land, her kindness was not worth a damn.
She stared at him blankly.
Shen Yu was not deliberately exerting his usual oppressive presence, yet the aura of absolute rationality and authority around him made submission feel instinctive.
This law of the jungle—the survival of the fittest—shattered everything she had believed about life for the past nineteen years.
Her heart pounded, and even the depths of her soul seemed to tremble.
For the first time, she was truly and profoundly awed by him.
Shen Yu did not appear to expect this little flower raised in a greenhouse to attain instant enlightenment.
Having said his piece, he withdrew his gaze. Paying no further attention to her stunned expression, he turned toward a heavy alloy door at the far end of the warehouse.
“Keep up.”
Xia Zhiyao came back to herself, drew a deep breath, and hurried after him.
At the door, Shen Yu pressed his palm against the scanner.
Beep.
The dual iris-and-palm verification cleared. With a heavy hiss of compressed air, the door slowly slid open.
An ultramodern private gallery appeared before Xia Zhiyao.
It could not have been more different from the rugged space outside.
Soft spotlights illuminated black velvet display stands. The air was kept at a constant temperature and humidity, and the room was extraordinarily quiet.
Exquisite glass cases lined the walls.
It looked like a museum—a private museum belonging to Shen Yu alone.
The room was a striking display of both taste and power.
Every object here came from his personal collection. Most had been gathered from around the world and transported under security arrangements he had personally overseen.
Xia Zhiyao’s eyes lit up at once.
Though she knew little of their monetary value, she could appreciate the singular beauty of every piece. Their forms, materials, and craftsmanship all possessed an exquisite refinement.
The most eye-catching item was a custom-made, nineteenth-century European royal mantel clock of solid silver and sapphire.
Its body was wrought entirely from silver, with twelve small sapphires set into the face as hour markers. A rose motif, intricately engraved by hand, adorned the center of the dial; even the creases of every petal were clearly visible. A panel of natural mother-of-pearl was inlaid along its side, lending the piece all the refinement and dignity of royalty.
It had clearly been carefully maintained for decades. A touch of the wood revealed a fine, mellow warmth.
“This place is…”
She unconsciously softened her breathing, afraid to disturb its quiet grandeur.
“My private collection.”
Shen Yu walked to an inconspicuous display case, opened it, and took out an object no larger than his palm.
It was a nineteenth-century Swiss pocket watch made of solid gold and set with an emerald.
The case was fashioned from eighteen-karat gold, its surface engraved with restrained geometric lines. A precisely cut natural emerald, deep and translucent in color, sat in the cover, surrounded by a ring of tiny diamonds—luxurious without being ostentatious.
Small and exquisite, the watch felt unexpectedly substantial in the hand. Its cover opened and closed smoothly. Within was a mother-of-pearl dial with rose-gold hands and a minuscule maker’s mark, every detail testifying to the artisan’s skill.
“These are all mine. I bought this one from a private collector in Switzerland years ago. It took considerable effort. Specialists escorted it in secret throughout the journey, even through a dedicated customs channel. Every acquisition document is complete and aboveboard.”
Shen Yu weighed it in his palm, then turned and held it out to her.
“Take it.”
Having learned from experience, Xia Zhiyao received it carefully in both hands.
It was heavy, the solid gold cool against her skin, and the cover opened with a crisp, clean click. Through it, she could even glimpse the intricate gears inside.
The stately simplicity of its design, the flawless union of gemstone and gold—it was a true masterpiece.
“It was specially made by one of Switzerland’s finest watchmaking ateliers in the nineteenth century. Fewer than fifty survive.”
Shen Yu continued in an unhurried voice, “The movement was built entirely by master craftsmen. Even after all these years, it still keeps precise time. Watches like this were once carried exclusively by the European nobility.”
Xia Zhiyao gently stroked it, then carefully opened the cover again. Wonder and delight shone in her eyes as she studied the precise machinery within.
Shen Yu leaned against the edge of a nearby table, his long legs loosely crossed and both hands in his pockets. A glimmer of interest surfaced in his eyes as he watched her cradle the watch, reluctant to put it down.
“You like mechanical things?”
Xia Zhiyao paused, then nodded a little bashfully.
“I never knew much about them before, but now… I think they’re fascinating.”
