She soon reached the rear garden, where Old Master Shen was sitting and studying a chessboard.
In the past, whenever she had finished talking with Huang Yumei, she would come to visit Old Master Shen.
After all, Grandpa was the only person in this family who treated her sincerely.
Chatting with him and watering the flowers always lifted her spirits without her even realizing it.
Shen Wanshan raised his head from the chessboard.
When he saw Shen Yanqing and his wife approaching, a kind smile spread across his white-bearded face.
“Grandpa,” Shen Yanqing said respectfully.
“You’ve been back in the country for a while now. Have you finally decided to come see this old man?”
The eighty-year-old Old Master Shen glanced sideways, pretending to be angry.
“I’ve had a lot to do with the company.”
Shen Wanshan knew which company he meant: the Wanshi Private Equity Fund Shen Yanqing had founded.
He had once thought his grandson was only playing around.
He had never expected Shen Yanqing to build a multinational business empire through his own abilities, with assets rivaling those of the century-old Shen Group.
After a moment’s hesitation, Shen Wanshan spoke.
“Find some time to come help out at the Shen Group. Sigh, sooner or later, it’ll be yours anyway.”
Shen Yanqing’s expression didn’t change. “We’ll see, Grandpa,” he replied evenly.
Never mind. If Shen Yanqing didn’t want to, Shen Wanshan couldn’t force him. His grandson had always been strong-willed.
He turned to Zheng Wanning. “Wanning, what brings you two here together today?”
In the past, Wanning had always come to see him alone. The two of them arriving together today meant they must have made up.
At the thought, his smile widened.
Zheng Wanning had no idea what Shen Wanshan was thinking. She struggled to compose herself.
She stepped forward and took his arm. “I missed you.”
“You always know just what to say, girl. Since you’re here, stay and have dinner with Grandpa.”
Over dinner, Shen Yanqing and Shen Wanshan chatted now and then about business.
Zheng Wanning kept her head down as she ate. The events of the afternoon weighed on her, and she had little appetite.
She picked at the plain rice in her bowl, taking a couple of bites.
Out of the corner of his eye, Grandpa noticed and asked with concern, “Wanning, is the food not to your taste? Why are you eating so little?”
“No, it’s delicious.”
Not wanting to worry Shen Wanshan, Zheng Wanning forced a smile.
Shen Yanqing glanced at her too, his gaze deep and heavy, glimmering with an unreadable light.
To prove she hadn’t been lying, Zheng Wanning deliberately took a few bites of the dishes.
Shen Wanshan set down his chopsticks. “I could tell as soon as you came over today that something was bothering you. Is that right?”
“Is it because of that entertainment news?”
?
Zheng Wanning was a little confused.
She really was unhappy, but what did that have to do with the entertainment news?
When she didn’t answer, Shen Wanshan assumed she had admitted it.
He struck the floor with the cane beside him and turned sternly to Shen Yanqing. “Don’t think I’m too old to know what’s going on out there.”
“Yanqing, you’ve been abroad for three years, and now that you’re back, you still haven’t settled down. You’re fooling around out there. How can you face Wanning—or the Shen family?”
Shen Yanqing lowered his eyes and pressed his lips together.
“Grandpa, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The entertainment headlines caught you holding hands with a woman! If you’re going to find another woman, fine, but she isn’t even as pretty as Wanning. Do the men in our family have such terrible taste?”
Um, Grandpa, are you helping her or making things worse for her?
Shen Yanqing rubbed the bridge of his nose. After a long pause, he had no choice but to explain.
“Grandpa, a client invited me to play golf last week. The woman fell, and I helped her up. It was just the angle.”
Shen Wanshan was hardly so easy to fool. He put on a stern expression, just as he had in his younger days.
“Wanning, do you agree with his explanation?”
She was just about to speak when Shen Yanqing shot her a warning look.
The look said, “Go on, try saying the wrong thing.”
Zheng Wanning lowered her head and avoided his gaze.
“Grandpa, I don’t know.”
Shen Yanqing’s brows drew together.
Hah. This woman was deliberately trying to get him in trouble.
For the rest of dinner, Shen Wanshan kept lecturing Shen Yanqing.
After dinner, Zheng Wanning got into Shen Yanqing’s Bentley. With Shen Wanshan watching them off, they drove away.
They sat in the back, with a wide gap between them—enough room for another person.
The air was so cold it felt as though a bitter wind could blow through the car.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Shen Yanqing’s question came out of nowhere. Zheng Wanning didn’t understand what he meant and turned to him. “What?”
“Heh. Zheng Wanning, since when have you become so calculating?”
“If you wanted to know something, you could’ve just asked me. Why make a whole scene like that?”
Only then did Zheng Wanning realize he meant what had happened at dinner.
She found it rather amusing.
She had never worried about it in the first place. His heart belonged to that woman; there was no room in it for anyone else. Not even she had ever gotten close to him….
She drew a deep breath and deliberately said, “That’s right. I wanted Grandpa to decide for me.”
Shen Yanqing’s expression turned cold. “Zheng Wanning, think you can do whatever you want now?”
“I don’t know if I can, but I’ve definitely grown more prickly!”
“Quite the sharp tongue. Does your law firm have to pay you extra for that?”
“Don’t trouble yourself, Young Master Shen. Your ten million a month in living expenses is generous enough. The firm doesn’t need to pay me a salary.”
Shen Yanqing tugged at his tie, sounding impatient. “Fine. Since Mrs. Shen is so capable, get home on your own. Get out.”
Xiao Chen murmured, “Young Master, this is halfway down the mountain. It’s pretty remote…”
Fine, she’d get out!
As if she wanted to sit facing him. Facing his mother was already infuriating enough; she didn’t need to put up with this bastard too.
“Xiao Chen, stop the car,” Zheng Wanning said loudly.
“She said to stop, Xiao Chen. Why haven’t you stopped?”
Shen Yanqing’s jaw tightened, his voice as icy as a blade.
Xiao Chen’s shoulders shrank in fear.
Could the eldest young master and Madam please not drag him into their argument? He was just a worker who knew nothing about what was going on.
Still, Madam certainly had a strong temper!
This was the first time he’d seen anyone dare to act so boldly in front of Young Master Shen.
The Bentley pulled over.
Angrily, Zheng Wanning opened the door, got out, then slammed the rear door shut. The movements flowed together without a pause.
A loud bang came from the car.
Shen Yanqing ground his back teeth, his expression dark and ugly.
“Why aren’t you driving? Do you want to get out too?”
Xiao Chen was too frightened to breathe loudly. He could only step on the gas and speed away.
Only after getting out did Zheng Wanning realize just how remote the place was.
The Shen family’s estate was in the most expensive part of the mountain, so how could there be a godforsaken stretch like this along the road?
The cold wind of an early autumn night howled, stirring the roadside leaves. Goose bumps rose on her skin.
She silently repeated to herself hundreds of times that Shen Yanqing was a bastard.
Only then did the frustration in her heart ease a little.
She sighed. It was hard to get a taxi here, so she could only call her best friend, Tang Rong, to come pick her up.
Tang Rong was as quick as ever.
Within half an hour, she had picked up Zheng Wanning, who was nearly frozen solid at the foot of the mountain.
After getting into the passenger seat, Wanning rubbed her arms over and over until she began to warm up.
Seeing this, Tang Rong quickly turned up the heat.
“Ningning, why are you all alone out on the road?”
Tang Rong knew what things were like between her and Shen Yanqing, so Zheng Wanning answered without much concern, “Shen Yanqing dumped me halfway here.”
“What? That bastard actually dared to do that to you! He might as well have stayed abroad. You’d be better off on your own.”
Tang Rong tried to comfort her. “Don’t be mad, don’t be mad. We women have to rely on ourselves. I say you should buy a car. I remember you used to drive, didn’t you? Then later…”
Tang Rong suddenly realized what she was saying and quickly changed tack.
“Not driving is fine too. Get a driver. You might as well spend that bastard’s money.”
Zheng Wanning clearly had no interest in the subject. She rested her forehead on one hand and looked out the window.
“Today was just an accident. If I got a driver to take me back and forth, I wouldn’t even have to go to work.”
That was true. When Zheng Wanning and Shen Yanqing married, they hadn’t announced it to the media.
Half a year after the wedding, Shen Yanqing went abroad. Apart from a few close friends, hardly anyone knew she existed.
The scenery outside the car window shifted in fragments, shadows flickering across Zheng Wanning’s face, alternately bright and dim, giving her a lonely look.
“Rongrong, do you think I should get a divorce?”