“Want her personal mementos and belongings?”
Wen Jiangwu muttered to himself. He was utterly incapable of figuring out Duan Linrang’s operational logic; Wen Qi had explicitly and firmly refused to sign the agreement, so why was Duan Linrang so exceptionally eager and willing to stand on Wen Qi’s side?
He felt somewhat regretful that he hadn’t talked things over properly with Wen Qi.
Had he been able to reform and sway Wen Qi, presumably he wouldn’t be facing this predicament today.
After weighing things over repeatedly, Wen Jiangwu dug out his former wife’s personal mementos from the attic. Stooping down, he picked up the photographs scattered all over the floor; the woman in the photographs possessed exquisite facial features, bright eyes and white teeth, and a countenance that was out-and-out peerless and outstanding.
The infant cradled in the woman’s arms was none other than the present-day Wen Qi.
Wen Jiangwu couldn’t help but recall that the woman’s death seemingly could not be separated from him…
Yet so what? He had helped her preserve her youthful beauty forever, so how could she possibly harbor resentment toward him?
Feeling no shred of repentance, he tucked the photographs away inside a small cassette box. There were plenty of valuable pieces of jewelry in the attic, every single one of which bore the traces of having been worn by his former wife.
Including the diamond ring from the time of their wedding.
Wen Jiangwu’s half of that set had long since been swapped out for the wedding rings shared between himself and Lu Ning.
Finding a valuable jewelry box, he packed all the items into separate compartments—the valueless ones would be handed over to Duan Linrang, while the valuable ones could still be liquidated into funds.
“Wen Xi, come over here for a second,” Wen Jiangwu yelled out loudly.
Wen Xi, who had just been about to step out of the door, had no choice but to turn back in frustration.
“These are the personal belongings of Wen Qi’s biological mother, deliver them to this address,” Wen Jiangwu instructed. “And the urn as well, don’t let a single thing get damaged.”
Taking the items, Wen Xi acknowledged with a hum: “Are these to be taken to Older Brother?”
A vicious gaze swept across Wen Xi from Wen Jiangwu. “Mn. If any problems crop up along the way, you’ll bear the consequences yourself.”
“Y-yes, alright.”
The moment Wen Jiangwu departed, Wen Xi made a quick trip to her own room to fetch some items, then hailed a cab to the address written on the slip of paper.
However, trouble followed closely on its heels. The vehicle she was riding in hit a series of jolts along a certain stretch of the road, causing her to lose her tight grip on the urn, which rolled straight out of her embrace and into the corner of the car.
With a crisp sound of cracking, the urn shattered, and Wen Xi looked on with widened eyes as the ashes spilled across the floor of the vehicle.
Sympathetic yet finding the situation deeply ill-omened, the driver instructed Wen Xi to clean up the ashes properly, refusing by any means to continue driving her.
Clutching the broken urn, she squatted by the curb at the edge of the road, tears swirling within her eye sockets.
Compared to Wen Jiangwu’s warning that she would bear the consequences of any issues herself, she felt far more terrified of facing Wen Qi.
Anxiety and panic crawled all over her heart, leaving her spacing out in a daze for a long time, while her sobbing drew strange, curious looks from the surrounding passersby.
Just then, a woman clad in a business suit tapped Wen Xi on the shoulder. Radiating an air of elegance and intellectual charm from head to toe, the woman handed Wen Xi a tissue and asked, “Are you alright? Why are you crying here?”
Shaking her head, Wen Xi tearfully poured out her distress over messing things up.
Sheng Li squatted down, her loose hair fluttering along with the gentle breeze as she turned her profile to help Wen Xi pick up the urn. A slip of paper with the delivery address written on it had fallen out from beside the urn, and upon catching sight of the address inscribed on it—
She looked toward the girl’s tear-streaked face. “Do you know who Duan Linrang is?”
Timidly shaking her head, Wen Xi replied, “I don’t know…”
Sheng Li asked in a low voice, “Who is your father?”
Upon learning that the girl’s father was Wen Jiangwu, Sheng Li roughly guessed the identity of the girl before her. Operating with swift and decisive efficiency, within a short span of half an hour, she tracked down the nearest funeral parlor to replace the shattered urn with a brand-new one.
She also soothed Wen Xi’s emotional state: “Crying won’t solve problems, but how did a task as important as this end up being handed over to a young girl like you to coordinate?”
Innocent by nature, Wen Xi simply took things at face value at the time.
Sheng Li decided to personally accompany the girl to the Duan residence.
Even though she had no obligation whatsoever to help this girl.
Upon Sheng Li’s arrival, Duan Linrang felt a brief flicker of astonishment: “Why have you come?”
“An unexpected accident occurred,” Sheng Li stated, looking toward Wen Xi. “You should explain it to him yourself.”
With a tearful choke in her voice, Wen Xi explained the ins and outs of the matter to Duan Linrang.
Falling silent for a brief moment, Duan Linrang hadn’t anticipated that Wen Jiangwu would have overlooked him to such an audacious degree.
“This matter will ultimately depend on your older brother,” Duan Linrang said with a cold, detached attitude.
He immediately went to look for Wen Qi.
Sheng Li took a seat on the opposite side of the sofa while the girl stood nervously in place. “Come over and sit down,” Sheng Li said. “Judging by your relationship as older brother and sister, he surely won’t do anything to you.”
With her gaze cast downward in desolation, Wen Xi didn’t dare accept Sheng Li’s kindness; after all, Sheng Li had already helped her immensely.
On the other side, upon learning that Duan Linrang had helped him retrieve the personal belongings belonging to his mother, Wen Qi repeatedly asked whether it was true or false in sheer astonishment.
“It’s true,” Duan Linrang said. Hesitating for a fraction of a second, he was on the verge of informing Wen Qi that a slight twist had occurred midway while the urn was being delivered.
Before the words could leave his lips, Wen Qi abruptly reached out and pulled him into a tight embrace.
Duan Linrang’s hands froze mid-air; the person in his arms had actually burst into tears. Wen Qi whispered that he had never been able to get his mother’s belongings back, and that Lu Ning had used this to threaten him for the longest time.
His mother was his sole remaining attachment within the Wen family.
This served as one of the primary reasons he had never completely cut ties and broken cleanly with the Wen family.
“I know,” Duan Linrang gently stroked the top of Wen Qi’s head, aching terribly for him as he reached out to wipe away Wen Qi’s tears.
He had already reviewed the surveillance footage and bystander perspectives from the day of the incident. If Lu Ning hadn’t used Wen Qi’s mother as leverage to threaten him, he figured that no matter how unmanageable Wen Qi could be, he wouldn’t have raised a hand against Lu Ning.
“Listen to me, Qiqi,” Duan Linrang stroked Wen Qi’s cheek, recounting the entire series of events that had transpired.
Initially startled, Wen Qi asked with reddened eye rims, “Was it Wen Xi who came to deliver them?”
“I didn’t ask for her name.”
Duan Linrang’s rough palms shifted toward Wen Qi’s waist, his voice growing husky: “Lunging forward so abruptly like that, doesn’t it hurt?”
Denying it instantly, Wen Qi replied, “Not painful, I just couldn’t control myself…” Only then did he snap back to awareness, realizing the posture of their tight embrace.
Hurriedly pulling Duan Linrang by the hand toward the front foyer, Wen Qi wanted to verify things for himself.
Upon confirming it was indeed Wen Xi, Wen Qi let out a breath of relief.
Wen Xi walked forward toward Wen Qi.
Tears welling up in her eyes once more, she choked out, “I’m sorry, Older Brother. I didn’t mean to… I didn’t know things would turn out like that…”
Comforting her, Wen Qi said, “It’s not your fault, stop crying.”
Choking back sobs, Wen Xi said, “I know Older Brother won’t blame me, but I can’t forgive myself. Older Brother, you can yell at me all you want and I won’t talk back, otherwise Dad’s going to yell at me the moment I get back anyway.”
“…” Mimicking the way Duan Linrang had patted his head earlier, Wen Qi gently ruffled the top of Wen Xi’s head.
“How could I ever yell at you? Don’t tell Wen Jiangwu, and he won’t blame you, understand? Say nothing about this.”
Inviting Sheng Li into the study to discuss the contract renewal for their two companies’ business cooperation, Duan Linrang left the two of them alone in the front hall.
Wiping away her tears, Wen Xi reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of cash.
“You’ve rarely had a stable living arrangement ever since leaving home. I earned some money doing part-time gigs outside of school; there’s about five thousand here, take it to use for emergencies.”
Wen Qi flatly refused.
“I don’t need these.” Wen Qi confessed openly that he was getting along quite well. Standing from his perspective to view their mutual situations, Wen Xi was a young girl, making her survival within the Wen family even more difficult.
Wen Qi suddenly deeply regretted lacking a decent job, finding himself unable to even pull out any cash to spare.
“But—” Wen Xi still wanted to sweet-talk him into accepting her money.
Cutting her off, Wen Qi said, “Don’t worry about me, focus more on taking care of yourself. Back when I was living at home, I could still endure all of Wen Jiangwu’s insults and scoldings, but now that I’m gone, he’ll definitely take it out on you. Protect yourself first.”
Every single word carried dense, suffocating care.
Internal conflict stirred within Wen Xi to think Wen Qi had actually been looking out for her all along.
Smiling faintly, Wen Qi said, “In short, take good care of yourself. Keep today’s matter a secret from Wen Jiangwu; this money is what you earned yourself, keep it to pave a fallback path for your own future.”
Biting her lower lip, she lowered her head obediently: “Alright, thank you, Older Brother.”
Just then, Duan Linrang and Sheng Li concluded their discussion.
Bidding farewell to Wen Qi, Wen Xi departed in the company of Sheng Li. Walking outside the gates of the Duan estate, Wen Xi bowed deeply: “Thank you for your help, I have no way to repay you, I just hope you can leave a contact number so I can have a chance to repay you”
“No need,” Sheng Li’s lips curved upward slightly. “It’s nothing worth mentioning.”
Speechless for a moment, Wen Xi experienced a flash of inspiration. Retrieving that bundle of cash, she handed it toward Sheng Li and said, “Please be sure to accept this money.”
Lowering her gaze, Sheng Li reached out to cup Wen Xi’s chilled hand. “You’re still a student, aren’t you? The Wen family is no longer what it used to be, having this money on hand will always give you something to fall back on.”
Gazing at the extraordinary woman whose gentle tone resonated softly, Wen Xi asked, “May I ask… what your name is?”
“Sheng Li.”
Silently reciting Sheng Li’s name in her heart, Wen Xi watched as Sheng Li brushed her dark hair aside; this breathtakingly gorgeous woman seemed to send ripples of gentle waves echoing across Wen Xi’s youthful, immature soul.
“I have things to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first. President Duan mentioned that Ding Tong will drive you back later, see you if we have the chance.”
“Mn, see you… if we have the chance.” Wen Xi waved goodbye.
Sheng Li smiled casually and effortlessly: “Next time don’t cry all by yourself anymore, it’s rare to ever run into someone like me.”
“Mn…” Watching Sheng Li’s car drive away, Wen Xi thought that it truly was difficult to stumble upon an understanding older sister like Sheng Li.
Dropping her head, while waiting for Ding Tong, she turned around to look back at the vast, castle-like villa. Could Wen Qi’s current state be considered living under Duan Linrang’s protection?
Ding Tong called out in a soft voice, “Miss Wen, please get in the car.”
The drive back to the Wen estate took a full hour.
Dropping Wen Xi off at the Wen household, Ding Tong said, “President Duan instructed me to convey two matters to you after seeing you home safely.
First, the minor episode regarding the personal mementos will not be held against Miss Wen, but neither can it go completely unaccounted for. As for who is taking responsibility for it, Miss Wen does not need to inquire further.
Second, in order to avoid affecting your relationship with Young Master Wen, President Duan asked me to reveal a truth to you: the reason Young Master Wen laid hands on Mrs. Lu was because Mrs. Lu threatened Young Master Wen using his deceased mother. Please do not hold a grudge against Young Master Wen.”
Saying everything that needed to be said, Ding Tong left Wen Xi standing frozen in place all by herself.
Why on earth would her mother threaten Wen Qi using the deceased?
Why…
What other secrets were hidden within the Wen family that she remained unaware of?
Or perhaps… could the death of Wen Qi’s mother be connected to someone?
Turning her head, the chilling winter wind washed over her entire body, and the tear stains rekindled a sharp pain blown by the harsh gusts.
Stepping inside her home, she was instantly greeted by Wen Jiangwu’s rolling eyes.
“Did the trip go smoothly?”
Wen Xi acknowledged with a hum: “Smoothly.”
“Did you see Wen Qi?”
Stiffening, Wen Xi shook her head: “No.”
“Alright, go to the hospital and check on how your mom is doing.” Lighting a cigarette, Wen Jiangwu figured that since the personal mementos had been delivered over, he shouldn’t push his luck any further by making things difficult for them.
“Mn.”
Holding her mother’s personal belongings, Wen Qi felt a mix of emotional relief and sorrow.
He finally no longer had to look at the Wen family’s faces to get things done.
Opening that dilapidated cassette box, inside lay the photographs left behind by his mother alongside various miscellaneous trinkets.
Affixed inside the box was a portrait photograph of his mother. Stroking the photograph gently, his mother’s bright, piercing eyes were infinitely tender, as though they were gazing right back at an eighteen-year-old Wen Qi.
A “reunion” that had been parted from for many years.
Leaning against the door frame, Duan Linrang witnessed every single action of Wen Qi’s.
Noticing Wen Qi’s shoulders trembling, Duan Linrang walked over, wrapping his arms tightly around Wen Qi’s trembling body from behind.
Turning around, Wen Qi buried himself straight into Duan Linrang’s embrace, murmuring softly as he addressed him as Older Brother.
“Don’t cry, Qiqi.” Duan Linrang soothed his emotions.
Wen Qi possessed only one emotional knot in his heart: his mother.
Now that his mother had “escaped” from that household that had trapped her for a lifetime, he ought to smile brightly on his mother’s behalf.
As evening approached, the tree leaves rustled and swayed alongside the blowing twilight wind. Leaving his work aside, Duan Linrang personally coaxed Wen Qi to sleep through the night.
Drifting deep into slumberland, Duan Linrang carried the cassette box out of the bedroom.
Pulling out those photographs, when had he also begun the habit of dwelling upon objects to reminisce about people?
He spoke to himself in a quiet murmur: “Auntie, leave the task of taking care of Qiqi to me. With him by my side, I believe you too can rest at ease.”