Wen Xian rarely had such relaxed times. These past years, she had always been forcing herself to grow up, forcing herself to stay busy. Besides attending classes, she would be doing part-time work. She had almost never rested.
It wasn’t until this year that she finally slowed down her pace. Two days ago, Chang Ligu called again, asking her to go work at the Chang family’s company.
It wasn’t that Wen Xian hadn’t considered agreeing to her uncle. Her only concern was that the Chang family’s company was in Mingcheng.
She didn’t want to leave Licheng, didn’t want to leave her father and mother behind here.
Wen Xian didn’t have any relatives in Licheng. Her maternal grandfather and grandmother had moved to Mingcheng along with Chang Ligu four years ago. They seemed to want to escape the pain of Chang Shuang’s departure as well.
And Wen Xian’s paternal grandfather and grandmother had both passed away one after the other when she was young. After Wen family went bankrupt, her uncles and aunts all fled abroad, afraid of being implicated by the Wen family.
Over the years, there was only her left.
The first thing Wen Xian did after waking up this morning was refuse Chang Ligu. She still chose to stay in Licheng.
Seeing her attitude firm, Chang Ligu sighed and no longer forced her.
For Wen Xian, there was still good news recently.
Her younger male cousin Chang Shang’s college entrance examination results were not bad. He had applied for Licheng University and would come to Licheng in September.
This counted as the only meaningful thing in her days of boring life recently.
While Wen Xian was feeling relaxed, eating refreshing watermelon, over on Qin Zan’s side, he also received a call from the person in charge of the studio. The person in charge told him Wen Xian had not contacted them for a full five days already. When they went to ask, they were told she was temporarily not taking any orders.
After Qin Zan learned this news, he did not directly go to find Wen Xian, but instead went to find Qin Song.
When Qin Song received Qin Zan’s call, he was at the racetrack watching a competition. He came down from the noisy stands and found a quiet corner to take Qin Zan’s call.
Qin Song wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Big brother?”
Qin Zan gave a sound of acknowledgment: “For the two-day weekend cruise banquet, did you invite Xian Xian?”
Qin Song said aggrievedly, “Xian Xian isn’t paying attention to me at all. I already told her last week, she has no intention of coming.”
Qin Zan: “Got it.”
After saying that, Qin Zan hung up the phone. Qin Song stared blankly at his phone for a moment. Although his big brother didn’t say anything, he still felt as if he got scolded again.
—
7:00 p.m.
Wen Xian had just finished showering and was sprawled on the sofa playing dead when she received a text message from Qin Zan. She stared at the phone screen for a while, momentarily not knowing how to respond to Qin Zan.
[Qin Zan: Xian Xian, I’m downstairs at your apartment building.]
While she was still tangled up, Qin Zan’s next message followed right after.
[Qin Zan: There’s a cruise banquet on the weekend. It’s all people from within the circle. This is the best timing for you and Qin Song to break off the engagement.]
Seeing this message, Wen Xian immediately sat up from the sofa.
Ever since she learned why Qin Huai was unwilling to agree to her and Qin Song breaking off the engagement, she had been thinking about finding a chance to make Qin Huai unable to interfere with her decision.
Obviously, directly going to the Qin family and asking Qin Huai to agree was not feasible.
She had thought about approaching Qin Song’s mother. After all, Qin Song’s mother wasn’t too satisfied with her status as the future daughter-in-law. But even so, Qin Song’s mother also couldn’t disobey Qin Huai’s orders.
What Qin Zan said wasn’t wrong. An occasion filled with people from within the circle was indeed the best timing for her and Qin Song to break off the engagement.
Just one night, and this news would spread across the whole of Licheng. By then, even if Qin Huai disagreed, he couldn’t force Wen Xian to marry Qin Song.
But Wen Xian needed a reason. For the moment, she couldn’t think of one.
After all, regarding Qin Song and Xu Chuwei’s matter, she had no evidence. As long as Qin Song stubbornly insisted that there was nothing between him and Xu Chuwei, she would have no way.
She looked at this message for a long time before going back to her room, changing into a set of clothes, hugging Qiuqiu, and going downstairs. Before going downstairs, she also sent Shen Lingge a text message just in case something unexpected happened.
Yu quietly hid in her pocket.
Qin Zan’s car was parked downstairs, right where the management office could see. Seeing this, Wen Xian let out a breath of relief.
Wen Xian walked to the side of his car and knocked on the car window.
After a moment, the window rolled down. Qin Zan’s slightly indifferent face appeared in front of her. He glanced at Qiuqiu in her arms: “Get in the car, we’ll talk.”
After getting in the car, Wen Xian obediently greeted: “Qin Gege.”
The car interior was very silent.
Wen Xian turned her head and glanced at Qin Zan. He was looking straight ahead, not knowing what he was thinking about, also not knowing if he heard her speak.
The cramped and narrow space inside the car made her feel a little nervous.
After a while, Qin Zan’s deep voice sounded: “Don’t want to marry me?”
Wen Xian: “……”
Wen Xian hesitated for a moment, but still chose to speak the truth: “I want to marry the person I love, and who loves me too.”
Qin Zan’s gaze fell on her little face, all written with sincerity. His always calm and rational brain was a little messy at this moment; he wasn’t quite clear about what exactly he wanted.
He frowned, “Who do you love?”
Wen Xian pressed her lips, “At the moment, there isn’t someone I love yet, but there is someone I’m working hard for.”
Qin Zan looked at her with a face showing he was easy to reason with, “Can’t you change to another one?”
Wen Xian: “……It’s not very convenient.”
After all, it’s her cub.
After staring at her for a while, Qin Zan decided to get to the main point: “Tomorrow morning I’ll come pick you up. The matters on the ship I’ll arrange properly. After two days, you’ll be able to cancel the engagement with Qin Song.”
After saying that, Qin Zan once again asked: “Really not considering changing to another person?”
Wen Xian pinched Qiuqiu’s paw to give herself courage. Qin Zan’s aura always carried a faint pressure. The nervousness she felt when first getting into the car hadn’t been dispersed, but had only gotten heavier.
She tried her best to make her tone sound calm: “For now, not considering.”
Qin Zan lightly sighed, giving a low instruction: “Tomorrow, remember to bring clothes and some necessary items. Everything else is on the ship. I’ll have someone prepare Qiuqiu’s things and cat food.”
After Wen Xian softly said thank you, she got out of the car. But Qin Zan still hadn’t left.
She had intended to go over and tell him to go back early, but the phone in her pocket kept vibrating. She had no choice but to answer it first. As soon as the call connected, Shen Lingge’s cold voice came through: “Wen Xian, why didn’t you reply to my message?”
Wen Xian quietly explained: “In the car, it wasn’t convenient.”
Shen Lingge: “You’re still in Qin Zan’s car now?”
Wen Xian glanced at the Maybach parked under the night sky, “Got out already, about to go upstairs.”
Shen Lingge spoke in a tone not allowing her to refuse: “You immediately go upstairs now.”
Wen Xian responded, then ran into the building in a flash. After entering the elevator, she honestly said: “Gege, I’m in the elevator going home now.”
Sitting in the driver’s seat, Qin Zan quietly watched Wen Xian through the car window. When she took out her phone, her mood obviously relaxed, and the expression on her face looked very obedient.
Completely different from her nervous appearance in the car.
Qin Zan knew, this was the real Wen Xian.
Only when he could no longer see Wen Xian’s figure did Qin Zan slowly start the car. The black Maybach gradually disappeared into the dark, once again heading into the long stream of traffic.
—
Licheng Garden Apartment.
Wen Xian frowned her little face, listening to Shen Lingge scolding her: “Wen Xian, do you know what time it is now? Qin Zan just said something like that to you and you still dared to go meet him alone in his car?”
Wen Xian quietly mumbled: “There was Qiuqiu too, I was holding it and went together.”
Shen Lingge’s voice paused, then he got even angrier: “Wen Xian, can’t you let me worry a little less? Can’t things be said in the daytime? If it’s really urgent, can’t it be said on the phone?”
Wen Xian pouted, not answering.
Only when there was no sound from the other end did Shen Lingge force himself to calm his tone a little: “I’m emphasizing your safety problem to you. You living alone is already not safe.”
His jaw muscles tightened slightly: “You… you’re not allowed to cry.”
Wen Xian’s voice was very small, just like a kitten meowing: “I’m not crying.”
Hearing Wen Xian’s voice as usual, Shen Lingge finally let out a breath of relief. He changed the topic: “What did Qin Zan say to you?”
Wen Xian sullenly told Shen Lingge what Qin Zan had said to her. This time, she left out the part about what Qin Zan had asked her before, only mentioning that tomorrow and the day after, she would be staying on the cruise ship for two days.
Shen Lingge could more or less guess what Qin Zan wanted to do on the ship. His younger brother really wasn’t showing any mercy.
And all of this, was it for Wen Xian?
Because Wen Xian wanted to cancel her engagement with Qin Song, so he helped her.
But what was the reason behind it?
Wen Xian’s earlier words floated through his mind again. The reason Qin Zan asked Wen Xian whether she wanted to change to a different fiancé was already very clear—Qin Zan liked Wen Xian.
So Qin Zan wasn’t just doing it for Wen Xian, but also for himself.
Shen Lingge frowned, and reminded her: “If in these two days you run into anything you can’t handle, just summon me over, just… just like the last two times, remember that?”
Wen Xian muttered quietly: “I don’t want to.”
Shen Lingge: “?”
Wen Xian feeling wronged: “You were fierce to me.”
Shen Lingge helplessly: “I wasn’t fierce to you, I was seriously reasoning with you. Next time, I don’t want to see you alone with a man in a space like that at night again—unless your relationship is very close and intimate.”
“Even if it’s an acquaintance, it’s still dangerous.”
Wen Xian drooped her little head and responded: “I know, but at night I still sleep with you in an 80 square meter space.”
The corner of Shen Lingge’s forehead twitched slightly. Now he completely understood Chi Yanyu’s feeling when lecturing Chi Jiaojiao.
You can’t hit, you can’t scold, in the end, you still have to coax her.
Shen Lingge: “It’s enough if you remember. If there’s a next time, even Qiuqiu I’ll confiscate.”
Wen Xian: “……”
Qiuqiu: What’s it got to do with me?
But anyway, after some back and forth, Wen Xian agreed not to be so reckless in the future. Someone like Qin Song, who had things he wanted, would still have scruples, but someone like Qin Zan, with such deep thoughts, Shen Lingge found it hard to guess what he would do.
Only after hanging up did Shen Lingge notice Chi Yanyu beside him, leaning lazily against the railing with a faint smile on his lips, gaze ambiguous: “Ge, who were you calling?”
Shen Lingge glanced at him but didn’t say anything.
Chi Yanyu didn’t mind that he didn’t answer. He threw an arm around Shen Lingge’s shoulders and pulled him toward the private room: “It’s rare for you to come out and gather with us once. Whatever it is, talk about it later.”
Shen Lingge expressionlessly thought: matters concerning the kid at home—ten thousand times more urgent.
—
Author’s note: The male lead and female lead are each other’s parent figures. 🙂