Ning Weiying nodded. She was indeed tired—she hadn’t slept well last night.
Setting down her cup, Ning Weiying was just about to get up when Wen Yu scooped her into his arms, startling her into wrapping her arms around his neck.
Wen Moci watched his brother and sister-in-law disappear into the bedroom, then bolted. A gentleman’s revenge is never too late—his brother probably wouldn’t hold a grudge against him, but he’d rather run first and apologize later.
Wen Moci had barely made it out the door when someone hoisted him up.
“Hey, Yan-ge, put me down! My brother’s going to kill me!” Wen Moci flailed against him.
Chen Yan was puzzled himself. Out of nowhere, the boss had told him that if he saw the young master heading out, he should lock him in the study. He didn’t dare disobey orders, so he could only do as he was told.
“Yan-ge, I’m begging you, let me down. Can you bear to watch me get beaten to death?” Wen Moci hung upside down over his shoulder, arms dangling. He’d stopped struggling altogether—there was no way he could outmatch his brother’s men, so he might as well save his energy.
“Young master, just settle down for a bit.” Chen Yan carried him up to the study on the second floor and locked the door. Wen Moci sat cross-legged on the floor, the back of his head thunking against the wall as he stared at the ceiling with a look of utter despair. The study door had a fingerprint lock, and only Wen Yu and Chen Yan had access. No one else could get in.
In the next room—
“Get some sleep first. By the time you wake up, it’ll be time for lunch.” Wen Yu set her down on the bed and tucked the blanket around her. He was about to get up when he paused, sitting back down to look at her. “Anything you can’t eat?”
Ning Weiying lay obediently in bed. “No, I’m not picky. But I don’t eat cilantro.” She blinked her eyes.
Wen Yu felt his heart grow warm under her gaze. He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “Sleep well.” With that, he stood and walked out.
Ning Weiying’s hand, resting on the blanket, twitched slightly before falling limp. Watching his retreating figure, she felt restless and troubled. Was she really making the right choice in marrying him? Would he truly come to love her? Or was this just… a game to him?
The more she thought, the more her head ached. She gave up thinking altogether and pulled the blanket up over her head—but the tears fell silently anyway.
Wen Yu went to the study. Hearing the door open, Wen Moci scrambled to his feet. Wen Yu walked in, crossed his legs, and settled into the executive chair behind the desk. He folded his hands on his lap, leaned back, and looked at the standing Wen Moci in silence.
“Brother, I—I’ll talk,” Wen Moci stammered, his voice trembling. It was scariest when his brother said nothing at all.
“It’s, uh, it’s like this. Freshman year of high school, I was playing a game with my friends, and I lost. The forfeit was to confess to my sister-in-law. I figured, what if she said yes? So… so I went.” Wen Moci was nearly in tears by the end. He stole a glance at his brother and saw his dark, grim face—his heart sank even further.
“Why her of all people?” And a game? Why didn’t he just play himself to death? Wen Yu asked in a low, heavy voice, his expression so dark it was terrifying, his gaze as if he wanted to kill the person in front of him.
“Sister-in-law was on the school’s honor roll at the time, and she was the school beauty. Everyone in the school knew her. She had tons of admirers. Bro~, I was wrong. Besides, I only slipped a love letter into her stuff—I never even talked to her.” Wen Moci looked at his brother with a pitiful expression, hoping for mercy.
“Did your sister-in-law date anyone in high school?” Wen Yu asked. So his little treasure had been that popular. He’d have to keep a closer eye on her from now on.
“Huh?” Wen Moci clearly hadn’t reacted in time.
“Oh, that, no, I heard from them that the sister-in-law was quite popular at first, but they said she’s hard to get along with and doesn’t talk much, so she didn’t have many friends around her, let alone a boyfriend.” After saying this, Wen Moci silently complained on his sister-in-law’s behalf—really, he was about to marry her, why ask about this now? Wen Moci pursed his lips.
Wen Yu furrowed his brows upon hearing this and asked again, “What else? How was she at school?”
“How was she? Let me think.” Wen Moci scratched his head and actually gave it some thought. “Seems like the sister-in-law almost never ate in the cafeteria. I didn’t see her there more than a few times, and even then she was always alone. We weren’t in the same grade either, so I couldn’t see her in the teaching building. That’s about all I know. Hey, bro, why are you asking all this? Did something happen to the sister-in-law?” Wen Moci looked at Wen Yu with confusion.
“It’s nothing.” Wen Yu shook his head. “Just asking casually.”
“Oh.” He felt like his brother was implying something more.
“Well then, bro, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head out first.”
Wen Yu nodded, and Wen Moci turned and ran off.
“Wait.” Wen Yu called him back. “Where are you running off to with that suitcase?”
“Isn’t it because I was afraid you’d ask me about this? I wanted to go lie low for a while.”
“Go where?” He didn’t have a single cent on him—was he going to sleep on the street?
“Zhou Yi’s place.”
“You hang out with him all day—can’t you learn something good from him?” His little brother spent all his time with a top student and somehow managed to turn himself into a bottom-of-the-class slacker. He didn’t even know what to say to him.
“You’re not going anywhere. Stay home and study.” He was already a senior in high school and still couldn’t focus. His parents were really too carefree—he was in his final year and still in the mood to play around.
It wasn’t that Wen Yu didn’t want to let him have fun, but he couldn’t spoil him too much. It was only after he got to know Zhou Yi that he loosened the reins a bit—at least Zhou Yi wouldn’t take him to shady places.
“Oh.” Wen Moci looked obedient on the surface but was cursing his brother out in his heart, lowering his head and clutching the hem of his T-shirt.
“What are you standing there for? Go back to your room.” Wen Yu snapped at him.
“Oh.” Wen Moci felt wronged again. His brother yelled at him again. Ugh, so unfair. Wen Yu wished he could slap himself twice—what was wrong with this brother of his, acting like such an idiot?
He walked downstairs to the entryway, picked up his little suitcase, and headed back to his room.
“Hold on. Don’t study yet—come help me out.” Wen Yu walked out of the study and called him back.
“Help with what?” When had he ever helped his brother with anything?
“Cooking.” Wen Yu didn’t even look at him, already heading downstairs to prepare the meal. It was almost dinner time—he couldn’t let her go hungry.
“Oh.”
Wen Yu didn’t like having other people in his house. He had moved out to live on his own since high school, and after graduating from university, he took over the company. At that time, Wen Moci insisted on living with Wen Yu no matter what, and no amount of persuasion worked. That was when Wen Moci was in his rebellious phase, so Wen Yu just went along with it—after all, it was a big house and he was living alone anyway. One more person didn’t matter, and it would put their parents’ minds at ease.
It wasn’t until after he arrived that Wen Yu understood what that look in their mother’s eyes meant when she sent him over. All he could say was, youth, huh. Not only did he have to keep an eye on him, but he also had to cook for him. The kid got into fights left and right at school, and eventually Wen Yu just stopped caring—as long as he didn’t starve to death, it was fine.
Wen Moci put down his suitcase and went to the kitchen. “Bro, what should I do?”
“Wash the vegetables.” That was about all he could handle—as long as he didn’t make things worse.
Wen Yu made four dishes and a soup, after all, there were three people eating.
“I’ll go call your sister-in-law. You scoop out the rice.” Wen Yu untied his apron and went upstairs to the bedroom.
“Oh.” Wen Moci obediently went to scoop the rice. Tsk tsk tsk—his brother had never once called him to eat. He’d always just cook and eat by himself, not caring about Wen Moci at all. Several times, Wen Moci had come downstairs ready to eat only to find leftover food. Eventually, he learned to be smarter—whenever Wen Yu was cooking in the kitchen, he’d wait at the dining table so he could eat the food while it was still hot.
Wen Yu opened the bedroom door and saw Ning Weiying still sleeping. He walked over, sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked at her. Then he leaned down, scooped her up, and settled her onto his lap. “Baby, time to wake up.” He gently patted her little face, but suddenly noticed the damp marks on the pillow. His heart jolted, though he quickly composed himself.
“Mmm~” Ning Weiying blinked her eyes open and saw Wen Yu’s face magnified before her. She couldn’t help leaning in to nuzzle against him—an instinctive act of dependence. It felt like she hadn’t slept this well in a long time. When her face brushed against his, Wen Yu’s heart skipped a beat, then began pounding hard.
Feeling the softness against his cheek, Wen Yu couldn’t resist turning his head to plant a kiss on her delicate face. “Awake now, sweetheart?” He looked down at the treasure in his arms, unable to get enough of the sight.
Ning Weiying nodded, slid off his lap, and let him take her hand as they headed downstairs.