How should this photo be described?
It was like pulling a tiger’s whiskers, smashing an egg against a rock, or trying to stop a chariot with one’s arm.
Simply put…
Courting disaster.
Xia Zhi’s head buzzed, her blood seemed to run backward. Her palms were sweaty. She cautiously glanced at Wen Shihan and saw that he was also looking at the oversized photo. The expression in his eyes was obscure, impossible to read.
But at this moment, Xia Zhi could confidently guess what he was thinking. He probably even had the urge to strangle her.
Yet Wen Lun seemed completely unaware of the overwhelming awkwardness between them. In a helpless tone, he said, “Mom, you were the one who insisted on hanging this family portrait. All our objections were useless.”
Xia Zhi, “……”
Wen Lun continued, “Dad objected the most. He said hanging this photo would damage his image and tried to persuade you to change it. But you refused, and even used force to suppress him.”
Xia Zhi, “……”
She did not even dare to look at Wen Shihan anymore, afraid of meeting his furious gaze.
Sweat gathered on her forehead as she silently prayed, Wen Lun, please stop talking. If you keep going, the next one to be suppressed by force will be me.
As if the heavens heard her prayer, Wen Lun really stopped.
Xia Zhi’s pounding heart finally calmed a little. Then something on the right side of the villa caught her attention. There were many certificates and medals displayed there. She walked over, crouched slightly, and leaned in to take a closer look.
All four children had their share of awards.
“First Prize in the National Mathematics Olympiad.”
Xia Zhi read softly.
“This is the award Big Brother won in the national Olympiad competition the year before last,” Wen Lun explained beside her.
Xia Zhi had never expected her eldest son to be this outstanding. Winning third place would already be impressive, yet he had taken first.
Her gaze moved to a medal beside it that read “Youth Swimming Competition Silver Medal.”
The name beneath it was Wen Lun.
Xia Zhi looked at Wen Lun in shock. “This is yours?”
Not only Xia Zhi, even the usually composed Wen Shihan fixed his gaze on Wen Lun, waiting for his answer.
Under their intense attention, Wen Lun lifted his chin proudly. “Of course.”
Her second son was just as impressive.
Xia Zhi’s gaze moved past Wen Lun’s medal and continued forward, where she saw “Children’s Piano Competition First Place” and “Children’s Dance Competition Second Place.”
“Mom, these are my awards.” Wen Yi leaned in and pointed at the piano competition first prize. “Dad and Mom went with me to the competition back then.”
Because of Wen Yi’s words, Xia Zhi and Wen Shihan’s eyes met again by coincidence. Both saw the same thought in each other’s eyes, their children were truly remarkable.
“And me.” Wen Le squeezed in excitedly, waving his hands.
Before coming to pick up their parents, their older brother had reminded them to perform well in front of their parents. Maybe it would help their lost memories return.
Wen Le pointed at a certificate standing upright. “Dad, Mom, this is my award.”
Xia Zhi and Wen Shihan both looked over.
“Children’s Hosting Star First Prize, Wen Le.”
“Dad, Mom, I am amazing, right?” Wen Le lifted his little head, eyes sparkling as he asked.
“Amazing.” Xia Zhi could not help but reach out and pat him.
All four children were truly outstanding.
But she also knew that raising children like this required an immense amount of money, as well as love and companionship.
People always said wealth does not last three generations.
But Xia Zhi thought, wealthy families invest even more in their children’s upbringing. They do not hold back when it comes to spending on them. How could wealth not last?
At that moment, Xia Zhi suddenly let go of her fear of Wen Shihan, and a shocking thought slowly surfaced in her heart.
Marrying Wen Shihan might not be so bad. At least his intelligence and looks were excellent, otherwise she would not have had four such smart and beautiful children. And his financial power was astonishing.
The moment that thought appeared, Xia Zhi nearly bit her own tongue.
Was she crazy? How could she think something so bold?
“Masters, it is time to eat,” a mechanical voice suddenly sounded.
Xia Zhi followed the sound and saw a simple, good-natured-looking robot standing in front of the kitchen. The robot was round and chubby, mainly black and white. Its eyes were big and round, blinking now and then, and beneath them was a wide smiling mouth, making it look very cute. It moved in straight lines and carried a plate of cola chicken wings in its right hand, placing it neatly on the spotless dining table.
Wow, this robot is so cute.
Wen Yu stood beside her and introduced, “This is our household robot, Xiao Pang.”
Xia Zhi nodded in understanding.
She was not surprised at all that the Wen family used a household robot. Even twenty years ago, such robots had already been developed and available. They were just very expensive, so ordinary families could not afford them and their adoption rate was low.
But with the Wen family’s wealth, even twenty years ago owning one would have been effortless, let alone now.
By this time, dusk had fallen, and it was dinner time.
After returning from the hospital, everyone was already starving.
Wen Le trotted to the dining table on his short legs. Standing on tiptoe, he reached out his small hand toward the cola chicken wings. Suddenly, a large hand appeared out of nowhere and slapped his hand with a “smack.” Wen Lun’s lazy voice sounded, “Wash your hands before eating.”
Wen Le made a big funny face at Wen Lun. “Second brother is mean.”
“Mean or not, you still have to wash your hands.”
Wen Le pouted, but for the sake of eating the chicken wings, he obediently went to wash his hands.
Xiao Pang brought out all the dishes from the kitchen one by one and arranged them neatly on the table. Xia Zhi noticed that every plate was aligned perfectly in a straight line. She immediately knew this robot must have a severe case of obsessive neatness.
After placing all the dishes, Xiao Pang walked straight to the head seat at the table and pulled out the chair. Xia Zhi thought it would invite Wen Shihan to sit, but instead it turned toward her and said in a lively tone, “Master, please sit.”
Xia Zhi, “……”
Xiao Pang, are you sure you did not call the wrong person?
Seeing Xia Zhi not moving, Xiao Pang rolled over and gently placed its mechanical arms on her back, pushing her toward the head seat.
As she got closer and closer, Xia Zhi’s heart tightened.
Her boss was right there. If she just sat boldly in the head seat like this, was she trying to shorten her own life?
Summoning all her strength, Xia Zhi managed to stop just in time beside the seat. She extended one arm toward it and said sincerely to Wen Shihan, “Boss, please sit.”
“Mom, why are you still calling Dad boss? Are you playing role play with him again?” Wen Yi asked in her soft childish voice.
Xia Zhi, “……”
Kids should not be so curious, okay?
And what do you mean by again?
Did she often play role play with Wen Shihan before?
Xia Zhi quickly cut off that dangerous train of thought, not daring to think further.
Wen Shihan glanced at her, then under her hopeful gaze, calmly sat down in the head seat. At that moment, a relieved sigh seemed to echo above her head.
For some reason, Wen Shihan felt like laughing.
Everyone took their seats, and the meal proceeded in a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere. Wen Le and Wen Yi chatted nonstop, amusing everyone and making the mood lively.
After dinner, Xia Zhi continued wandering around the villa, curiously observing everything inside. Her steps came to a halt at a certain spot.
There stood a massive cylindrical container, as tall as a person, filled with countless red booklets. On the covers were golden words, “Property Ownership Certificate.”
These were… property deeds?
Xia Zhi had never bought a house before, but she had seen others’ certificates. They looked like this.
But…
Looking at the pile of countless property certificates in the tall container, Xia Zhi guessed they must be props. She turned to Wen Yu and asked, “Who put these props here?”
“Mom, you did,” Wen Yu replied, then caught on to her wording and repeated in confusion, “Props?”
“Yes, aren’t these all props?”
“No.”
Wen Yu’s next words made Xia Zhi’s soul tremble. “They are all real.”
Xia Zhi’s pupils shook violently. “!!”
Wen Yu explained calmly, “Mom, you said your dream was to become a landlord, so whenever you had extra money, you bought buildings all over the world. These certificates are what you accumulated over the years. You deliberately put them here in a visible place to motivate yourself to buy more buildings and become an even bigger landlord.”
Xia Zhi, “!!”
Her voice trembled as she asked, “How many property certificates are there here?”
Wen Yu slowly raised three fingers.
“Three hundred units?”
Oh my god, she owned that many properties.
“Wrong.”
“??”
“Not three hundred units, three hundred buildings.”
“!!!”