Chun Xia didn’t react in time, but Manman quickly made the connection, feeling awkward, she lightly bit her lip.
Seeing Manman in a difficult situation, Yao Ziye couldn’t bear it and spoke for her, “Lieutenant Colonel Jiang, if you are looking to find her a doctor, you don’t have to give me the medical records.
That night, it was my brothers and me who took her to the emergency room at the hospital.”
What a misunderstanding!
The other four people lamented in their hearts.
Chun Xia withdrew her hand, fighting the urge to scratch her earlobe, wondering why she always encountered such mix-ups with these two men—as if they were fated nemeses.
At that moment, Yao Ziye was playing the third wheel to the full extent, his long eyebrows arching slightly as he said, “Lieutenant Colonel Jiang, let’s leave it at that for now.
Arrange a time to come talk to me, and then I’ll take you to the hospital to see one of my teachers who can examine Manman.”
Everyone watched as the charming and dashing Yao Ziye left, the golden light of the noonday sun sculpting his figure, tough yet gentle.
Manman’s gaze returned from following him, meeting Jiang Yan’s eyes.
Chun Xia and Mo Wenyang quickly looked away.
As Yao Ziye reached a corner, he turned around, raising his fingers to the brim of his hat.
He saw the man and woman standing under the sun, smiling at each other.
Manman’s smile was like a blooming sunflower, filled with blissful warmth.
A sourness spread through his heart: would Nannan be this happy?
Bowing his head, complex thoughts swirled in his mind.
Just as he stepped into the dormitory entrance, someone called out to him, “Mr.
Yao, there’s a call for you.”
He went over and took the receiver, hearing Lu Jun’s helpless voice, “I left something in the dormitory, can you bring it to me?”
——”The Late Hours of a Grand Wedding”——
After being rejected by Manman over the phone yesterday, Wen Haoxue was unwilling to let it go, calling Wen Mingzhu and her mother Deng Xiaoyu more than a dozen times throughout the day, but the mother and daughter steadfastly refused to answer.
Wen Haoxue had lied to Manman on the phone, saying that she didn’t manage to stay with the Wen Family as she had hoped when she came to Beijing and instead rented a place on her own.
As such, it seemed the Wen Family had become even more successful, looking down on Wen Haoxue’s family.
“I heard that your uncle, by relying on Mingzhu, has climbed the social ladder through some young master in the city,” Zhang Qiuyan had already inquired about the situation before her daughter set off for the Imperial City, “If you’re just looking for fun, you can go to Manman.
But regarding your uncle and Mingzhu, you must make a good connection with them.
If you want to stay in the city in the future, you’ll rely on your uncle and Mingzhu for support.”
After trying to call Wen Mingzhu over a hundred times in two days and getting no response, even the thick-skinned Wen Haoxue became irritated, slamming down her phone while cursing, “Go on, never pick up for the rest of your life!
Let me tell you, it’s not just you who can become a phoenix.
I can do it too!”
It was almost as if Wen Mingzhu could hear Wen Haoxue’s frustrated curses; she casually opened her phone and added the number from which Wen Haoxue, with her changed number, had called, to the blacklist again.
Deng Xiaoyu entered her daughter’s room, frowning, “Is it Haoxue again?”
“We’re busy now, and she’s not being considerate,” Wen Mingzhu sighed and shook her head regarding her sister, “I’ll go find her in a few days when we’re not so busy.”
Wen Shitong’s family currently had no time to attend to Wen Haoxue.
Since a month ago, when a middle-aged man approached Wen Mingzhu at her company claiming she resembled a long-lost daughter of a certain aunt and hoped she could help the sick aunt to recover.
For someone from a petit-bourgeois family background like Wen Mingzhu, accepting a caregiving job was unthinkable.
However, the middle-aged man told her that this was no ordinary family and if she did well, to the extent that they considered her their own daughter, she and her family would definitely climb the social ladder.
After discussing the matter with her parents at home and despite being skeptical, Wen Shitong made further inquiries and learned that the Lu Family, which had summoned his daughter to take care of Mrs.
Lu, was quite influential in the Imperial City.
Having mixed in society for so many years, Wen Shitong only lacked a high-ranking official or noble in his relatives to give him a leg up.
Unlike in other countries, in China, one cannot get by without reliable connections in the officialdom.
With an attitude of giving it a try, Wen Mingzhu went to the Lu Family and spent her days keeping Mrs.
Lu company, talking for a while each day.
Her task was not at all burdensome.
She took the middle-aged man’s advice and devoted herself to her work.
Over time, Mrs.
Lu proved to be gentle and kind towards her, and even others close to Mrs.
Lu treated her with courtesy.
Benefits followed one after another.
One of the ladies close to Mrs.
Lu introduced her to a young and talented man for a blind date.
He had just passed the exam for a good position in the Imperial City, named Li Zhenwei, handsome in appearance, and his parents were elites from Wen Family’s hometown.
After tasting the sweetness of their connection with the Lu Family, the Wen Family realized they must seize this opportunity with the Lu Family.
Just last week, Mrs.
Lu told Wen Mingzhu that her eldest son would be returning from school today and wanted to meet her.
Apparently, this eldest son of the Lu Family is the pillar of the Lu Family, commanding absolute authority.
His words are final, and even Mr.
and Mrs.
Lu have to listen to him.
So far, the only person from the Lu Family Wen Mingzhu had been able to meet was Mrs.
Lu, who suffered from melancholia.
Only by passing this test with the Lu Family’s eldest son could she truly earn her pass to the Lu Family, and go on to meet Mrs.
Lu’s husband Mr.
Lu and the other members of the Lu Family.
It could be said that today was a crucial act in the play.
Before leaving, Wen Mingzhu took out and inspected the Jade Pendant inside her collar again and again.
According to the middle-aged man, this Jade Pendant was exactly like the one worn by the long-lost daughter of the Lu Family.
But neither she nor her parents could remember how she had come by the Jade Pendant; it must have happened when she was very young.
“Let’s go, Mingzhu, your dad is waiting in the car downstairs,” said Deng Xiaoyu, more nervous than her daughter, with the family’s future hinging on this appointment.
Wen Mingzhu took a deep breath and went downstairs with her mother.
Her parents accompanied her to the sanatorium where Mrs.
Lu was undergoing regular psychological treatment, which also served as the main meeting place for her and Mrs.
Lu.
As for entering the Lu Family’s large residence, she had no chance at the current stage.
Taking the elevator to Mrs.
Lu’s treatment floor, the elevator doors opened and she walked out to see two men standing quietly in the hallway, one with a cold and handsome face, the other gracefully attractive—like a painting, dazzling her eyes and causing her to be transfixed, her heart pounding and cheeks flushing.
Suddenly seeing a young woman appear in this quiet hallway, Yao Ziye immediately realized that this was the girl the Lu Family intended to acknowledge as “Nannan.” His narrow eyes slanted over and saw the woman with a melon-seed face slightly made up, dressed in a skirt with a graceful figure, more beautiful than Manman.
Though beautiful, he couldn’t muster any feeling for her.
Unlike Manman, at just one glance, her sparkling eyes had firmly captivated him.
Feeling the gaze of the two men on her, Wen Mingzhu modestly lowered her head and adopted the demure demeanor of a well-bred young lady.
Just this pretentious gesture made Yao Ziye frown slightly, pressing down his hat brim, “I’m leaving first.”
He strode past Wen Mingzhu, and as she turned to look at him, she felt he was far more handsome and stylish than Li Zhenwei, wondering who he was and what his relationship was to the Lu Family.
As she turned her head to gaze at Yao Ziye, Lu Jun’s eyes, sharp as a knife, followed her intently.