“Hmph.” Si Huaiyu sneered coldly.
After all these years working for the Si family, that old ghost truly intended to squeeze every last drop of usefulness from him. When he thought about the inheritance distribution—those scattered properties and petty cash—how could they compare to corporate shares?
The man hadn’t allocated a single share to him. Without shares, Si Huaiyu was no different from a professional manager working for the Si family. His current authority could be stripped away at any moment.
When it came to ruthlessness, Si Huaiyu believed he was second to none in the business world. But compared to that dead old man, he still fell short.
Considering his contributions to the conglomerate, all those years of working day and night weren’t meant to yield such meager results.
Since he wasn’t going to have it easy, then no one would!
…………
When Wen Ran returned to the room, Si Yan was already in bed.
Seeing her return, the man asked, “Where did you go?”
Wen Ran said, “I took a stroll in the backyard to help digest my food.”
After leaving Si Huaiyu, she had indeed wandered through the backyard again. Wen Ran added, “I’m going to take a shower first.”
In the shower, the system said to Wen Ran, “Si Yan looks terrible. He wouldn’t resort to domestic violence, would he?”
Wen Ran chuckled, “Zha Zha, you have such an active imagination.”
Although Si Yan was scum, he was at least human. As a young master from a wealthy family, he still had some basic decency.
“Don’t worry. Even if he did resort to violence, I wouldn’t be the target.” Wen Ran thought to herself—it was Si Huaiyu who had tempted her, so any fists wouldn’t be aimed at her. Still, Si Huaiyu’s earlier behavior had truly been a pleasant surprise.
Wen Ran had a feeling that their relationship would quickly grow closer.
By the time she finished washing up and stepped out, Si Yan was already asleep. Wen Ran tried to pull back the covers to lie down, but the man rolled over and hogged the entire blanket.
Hey! Wen Ran was both annoyed and amused. She hadn’t even complained about the Green Turtle being dirty, and he didn’t want to share the same blanket with her?
What? Saving himself for his precious little Tang Tang?
Si Yan’s pretense of sleeping was too transparent. Wen Ran wasn’t about to indulge his bad habits. She climbed onto the bed and tugged hard at the man’s arm, saying, “Honey, you’re about to fall off the bed. Don’t hurt yourself.”
Merely pulling his arm wasn’t enough to move him, so she reached up and grabbed Si Yan’s head, deliberately scratching the side of his neck with her sharp nails.
The pain made it impossible for Si Yan to keep pretending. He opened his eyes and snapped, “What are you doing? Can’t you let me sleep?”
Wen Ran immediately feigned innocence, “Did I wake you? I’m sorry, I saw you were about to fall off the edge of the bed and was worried you’d hit the floor…”
“Enough, enough. Stop talking.” Before she could finish, Si Yan cut her off and turned his back to her.
His attitude was truly awful. Wen Ran’s fists clenched. Luckily it was her—if it were the original host, being treated so coldly by her beloved would have been devastating.
After lying on his side for a while, Si Yan noticed the woman behind him had gone quiet. He began to wonder: Wen Ran was only concerned about him and hadn’t done anything wrong. Had his behavior just now been too harsh?
Just as he was thinking this, he heard movement by his side of the bed. Wen Ran seemed to have lain down. Then, her voice came from behind him, “I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
“Ding, Si Yan’s Affection points +5.”
Wen Ran’s gentle, considerate, and magnanimous attitude was something even a scumbag like Si Yan couldn’t withstand. Anyone with a conscience would feel guilty.He was the one who pretended to be asleep first, yet he gave her the cold shoulder. Si Yan didn’t turn around. Sometimes when he looked at Wen Ran, he would feel like a complete jerk.
Seeing that he hadn’t turned around but her Affection points had increased, Wen Ran knew her act was working and continued the performance.
She hugged herself, shivered, and then sneezed.
It wasn’t summer yet, and the night temperature was quite chilly. Afraid the woman might catch a cold, Si Yan finally turned around and even proactively pulled the quilt over to cover Wen Ran.
“Husband,” Wen Ran gazed at him with deep affection. Who could resist such a delicate and tender demeanor?
Si Yan recalled being pulled aside by his mother after dinner for questioning. She already knew about his affair with Ruan Tang and demanded he cut ties with her. Of course, Si Yan was unwilling, and they ended up arguing. In the end, he only verbally agreed to placate her.
Although Wen Ran wasn’t the one who exposed the matter, he couldn’t help but take his anger out on her.
The warm yellow spotlight in the room shone down on the woman’s head. This was their marital bedroom, the place Si Yan was most familiar with, and it felt incredibly warm to him.
If Ruan Tang brought him passion, then Wen Ran gave him peace of mind. Si Yan knew this woman loved him, willing to endure many grievances to continue loving him. He knew all of this yet couldn’t bring himself to treat her well.
The man raised his hand to caress Wen Ran’s cheek, and she leaned into his embrace. Her soft, tender voice murmured words of love against his chest: “A-Yan, it’s been so long since you last held me.””
Hearing this, Si Yan unconsciously tightened his embrace, thinking to himself that he was the one who should be apologizing.
His hand gently stroked Wen Ran’s back as he inhaled the fragrance of her hair. They resembled the most ordinary couple, a scene that was common during their newlywed days but had now become a rare occurrence.
………
Xu Shi’an arrived at the Si family’s old residence in the afternoon. He originally had no intention of concerning himself with Wen Ran’s affairs, but considering she was still a member of the Wen family and under his protection when out in society, if she fared too poorly, it would reflect badly on the company.
When he arrived, Wen Ran was learning flower arrangement with Si’s mother. Xu Shi’an felt particularly disdainful seeing her playing the role of the obedient daughter-in-law.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Si’s mother, he found an excuse to take Wen Ran out.
The blue-painted convertible sports car with a license plate full of consecutive 6s fully displayed the owner’s style as a wealthy young master.
Wen Ran’s hair was tousled by the wind in the passenger seat. She asked, “Where are you taking me?”
“Taking you to eat,” Xu Shi’an stepped on the accelerator, making the car go even faster.
When they arrived at their destination, Wen Ran discovered it was an open-air music restaurant located on the rooftop of the tallest building in the capital, offering a panoramic view of the entire city.
“How is it?” Xu Shi’an asked. “The scenery’s not bad, right?”
Wen Ran nodded. It was indeed quite impressive. The sunset enveloped the city above, while below, the towering buildings were all visible.
She said, “It’s truly beautiful. How did you find this place?”
Xu Shi’an laughed and said, “How long has it been since you’ve gone out?”
“Even if you don’t go out, you should at least go online, right? This restaurant is very popular and has high reservation requirements.”
“Reservations are needed?” Wen Ran said. “Then how did we get in directly?”
“Because I’m the owner,” Xu Shi’an said. “Last time I was on a business trip in Italy, there was a restaurant where the chef’s cooking was excellent. I poached him with a high salary.”