Wen Li had only meant to give her father a heads-up.
She was about to smooth things over when Wen Xiyue set down his bowl, his expression turning serious.
“Lili, be straight with me.” He looked at his daughter, his gaze earnest. “Has Ji Zongting done something to wrong you? Does he have a woman on the side? Or… has he laid a hand on you?”
Wen Li blinked, then shook her head quickly. “No, no. He hasn’t done anything.”
“Then he doesn’t treat you well?” Wen Xiyue pressed.
Wen Li ducked her head, guilt prickling at her. “That’s… not it either. He treats me fine.”
In her last life, Ji Zongting really had treated her fine.
Food, clothing, daily needs, nothing was ever lacking. A driver when she went out, a housekeeper when she came home. He never fooled around outside or put her in an embarrassing position. His supplementary card was hers to swipe as she pleased.
But it was hard to call it good, either. Cold, distant, all business. He treated her not like a wife but like a business partner in a marriage contract.
Not that there was anything wrong with that.
But Wen Li had been doted on by her family since she was small. A child raised in love understood deeply what love was. And so she understood, just as clearly, that he didn’t love her.
Wen Xiyue studied his daughter for a long moment, then slowly let out a breath. He straightened up, his tone solemn. “Lili, remember this. If Ji Zongting ever does something to wrong you, then no matter how rich or powerful the Ji family is, your father will stand behind you in a divorce. The Wen family doesn’t have much, but my daughter doesn’t have to swallow mistreatment. That’s my bottom line.”
Wen Li’s nose stung. She nearly burst into tears.
She quickly ducked her head and pretended to shovel rice into her mouth, swallowing the ache back down.
“Dad, I’m really fine.” She looked up and gave Wen Xiyue a smile, changing the subject. “Oh, right. How about we go to the hospital tomorrow and get full physicals together? Just think of it as keeping me company.”
“You silly girl. Why the sudden checkup?” Wen Xiyue looked baffled.
“I just want to.” Wen Li wheedled. “You come too, Dad. Full physicals, the whole package, no skipping anything. And we’ll do it once a year from now on.”
Wen Xiyue couldn’t argue with his daughter. He agreed with a laugh.
Early the next morning, Wen Li dragged Wen Xiyue out the door. She hadn’t even drunk a sip of water. After all, a physical required an empty stomach.
The car pulled through the gates of a private hospital.
Wen Xiyue looked up at the imposing facade and the gilded logo, and couldn’t help clicking his tongue. “Why here? Just registering at a place like this has to cost several hundred, doesn’t it?”
Wen Li’s expression didn’t change. “The Ji family holds shares. Family members get it free.”
That wasn’t quite true. It wasn’t that the Ji family held shares. The entire hospital belonged to the Ji Group. In her last life, on the few occasions she’d come in for a checkup, the director had come out to receive her personally, practically ready to enshrine her.
Sure enough, the two of them had barely stepped into the lobby when the director came jogging out to greet them, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, his manner so respectful it bordered on nervous.
“Madam Ji, what brings you here in person? If you needed anything, you could have just made a call. We offer at-home service…”
“No need to trouble yourself. I’m just here to bring my father for a routine checkup.” Wen Li smiled faintly.
Wen Li was actually rather curious herself. She and Ji Zongting had only been married three days, and they hadn’t even held a wedding. How did these people recognize her as Madam Ji? Had Ji Zongting shown her photo to his staff?
The director agreed to everything, personally leading the way and accompanying them the entire time. Every test went through the VIP fast track. They didn’t have to line up for anything.
Bloodwork, ultrasound, CT, MRI… The whole battery of tests was done in under two hours.
The results came back fast, too.
Wen Li’s own health was absurdly good. Every metric fell within the standard range. For the sake of that face of hers, she had always kept a regular schedule and eaten healthily every day. She’d never had so much as a single pimple growing up.
Wen Xiyue’s results were less optimistic. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, the full set of three highs. Fatty liver, carotid plaque, arrhythmia. The report was covered in dense red arrows. Just looking at it made her heart clench.
The doctor pushed up his glasses and spoke with weight. “Mr. Wen, your body needs proper care. If you keep pushing yourself like this, within three years your risk of stroke will be very high.”
Wen Li’s heart twisted hard.
Three years.
In her last life, her father’s stroke had come exactly three years later, matching the doctor’s prediction to the day.
“Dad, you heard him, right?” Wen Li held the report, her face stern. “The doctor said it. No more overworking.”
Wen Xiyue laughed awkwardly. “It’s not that serious. Just a few minor issues…”
“Minor issues turn into major ones if you drag them out.” Wen Li cut him off, her tone brooking no argument. “Starting today, I’m taking over the company. You rest at home.”
Wen Xiyue froze. “What did you say?”
“I said I’m going to work at the company.”
Wen Li took her father’s arm and looked at him earnestly.
“Dad, you’ve been carrying the company alone all these years. It’s been too hard on you. I’m married now. I can’t spend my whole life at home as an idle rich wife. Hand the company to me. Let me share the burden.”
Wen Xiyue wanted to say more, but one look from his daughter shut him up. He agreed with an awkward laugh.
But the expression on his face was unmistakably happy. His daughter had grown up. She knew how to share his burdens now. What could be more gratifying to a father?
In truth, Wen Li had a different calculation running in her head.
In her last life, she’d believed Ji Zongting liked obedient women, so she’d dutifully played Madam Ji at home for five years and left the company for her father to shoulder alone. After her father collapsed, the company had been handed to a professional manager. It hadn’t collapsed, but it had never thrived either.
This time, she was going to build a career.
She had finally figured it out. Depending on a man was worse than depending on herself. Once she had her own career and her own footing, then even if she divorced, she could live beautifully. Buy whatever she wanted, do whatever she wanted.
Besides, she had five extra years on everyone else. Qingxin Entertainment was in film and television investment and talent management. And in that industry, the most valuable thing was an information gap.
Which films would blow up, which actors would crash and burn, which projects were bottomless pits. She, a woman back from five years in the future, knew it all inside out.
With that foresight, she refused to believe she couldn’t build the company into something big.
As for what Ji Zongting thought? She didn’t care.
Didn’t he like an obedient Madam Ji? Then she’d show him the opposite.
The more displeased he was, the better. Ideally, she’d annoy him so thoroughly that he couldn’t stand it and slammed the divorce papers down in front of her himself.
Across the ocean, in a top-floor office of a skyscraper in the country of M, the city’s nightscape glittered outside the window like a river of stars.
Ji Zongting was reviewing a thick merger proposal, his brows slightly drawn, his expression indifferent.
His assistant Chen Ping entered quietly, bowing. “Mr. Ji, word came in from home. Madam went to the hospital today.”
Ji Zongting’s fingers paused on the page. He looked up, his voice giving nothing away. “Something happened to her?”
“No,” Chen Ping hurried to explain. “Madam is in good health. She went with Mr. Wen for a full physical examination.”
Ji Zongting was silent for a moment. He lowered his eyes, his gaze returning to the documents, and gave the order in a flat tone. “When the results come out, send me the report.”
“Yes, sir.”