Sorry wrong chapter was input LMAO
The auctioneer on the stage had already started introducing the next auction item, but Wen Xian down below couldn’t hear anything at all; she even wanted to slip out right now to call Shen Lingge.
Wen Xian restrained her emotions to reply to Shen Lingge’s text message, but she had developed serious suspicion about his occupation.
[Wen Xian: Gege, you wouldn’t be…]
Sitting in the 22nd floor of Mingcheng Shen Group, Shen Lingge, after seeing Wen Xian’s words, thought: could it be she’s only now guessing his identity?
But the next second, Shen Lingge’s face turned dark.
[Wen Xian: You wouldn’t be kept by someone, right?]
[Shen Lingge: ?]
[Shen Lingge: That set of jewelry belongs to me now.]
[Wen Xian: …I take it back.]
[Wen Xian: Gege, where did you get the money?]
[Shen Lingge: My boss’s money.]
[Wen Xian: Why would your boss give you money?]
[Shen Lingge: My boss said he wanted to play philanthropist today, just wanted to donate money to the foundation.]
[Wen Xian: ……]
[Wen Xian: What’s your boss’s name?]
[Shen Lingge: Chi Yanyu.]
[Shen Lingge: Do you remember yesterday, you saw that little girl at Wen Mountain?]
[Wen Xian: I remember, it was a little sister called Jiaojiao.]
[Shen Lingge: That’s his little sister, so that’s why I suddenly came back to Licheng that day. He said it’s to thank you.]
[Wen Xian: What a coincidence… but isn’t this… a bit too valuable?]
[Shen Lingge: The Chi family’s people are worth that money. Don’t overthink it, the money’s source is all proper.]
[Shen Lingge: Also, I’m not being kept.]
After ending the conversation with Shen Lingge, Wen Xian went online to search Chi Yanyu’s name. Just as Shen Lingge said, this man was extremely rich. His father was a petroleum magnate, and he also had a younger sister.
Wen Xian gradually dispelled her doubts. It seemed Shen Lingge hadn’t lied to her.
She hadn’t expected that what happened last night would still affect today’s auction. By a twist of fate, this set of Morning Star returned into her hands again.
Last night, when Wen Xian mentioned she was going to attend an auction with Qin Song today, Shen Lingge already guessed she must be going for a certain thing. Later, he looked up detailed information about this auction.
He saw that set of “Morning Star,” and also saw Xu Chuwei’s name on the guest list, so before leaving Licheng, Shen Lingge had sent someone to watch the scene, afraid Wen Xian would get bullied by someone.
Seeing that Wen Xian didn’t keep asking, Shen Lingge also didn’t say more. After all, the more one says, the more mistakes there are.
The last auction item’s previous owner was Qin Zan. What he was auctioning was one of his luxury cars, Ferrari 599 Special Edition, with the starting price only half of its original sale price.
Unexpected to Wen Xian, the ladies present were even more generous in bidding than the gentlemen. In just under a minute, the price had already soared to ten million.
Qin Song noticed the astonishment in Wen Xian’s eyes, and explained in a low voice: “My big brother is currently the most popular golden bachelor in the circle, no matter where he goes, he is always a fragrant bun.”
Wen Xian, who had just been proposed to by the fragrant bun: “……”
She turned her head and secretly glanced at Qin Zan. His expression was indifferent as he listened to the auctioneer call out prices, as if this matter had nothing to do with him at all, and the food in front of him hadn’t been touched in the slightest.
Wen Xian then looked at her own table and Qin Song’s table. Her juice was already almost finished, and Qin Song’s table was even more piled up with fruit peels.
For some reason, Wen Xian suddenly felt that Shen Lingge and Qin Zan had some hard-to-describe similarities. They both looked difficult to approach and spotlessly clean.
Wen Xian thought: fortunately Gege is my cub.
—
On this side Wen Xian had resolved something that was weighing on her mind, while on the other side, Shen Lingge was having a headache.
Although the butler had already told him in advance that his mother would be waiting for him at the Shen residence, he hadn’t expected she wouldn’t come alone; she also brought along a woman. Shen Lingge recognized that woman at just one glance.
She was the woman in the photo Chi Yanyu had shown him this morning.
When she saw her son return, Song Mingxi leaned close to Jiang Xinwan’s ear and whispered: “Wanwan, this is my son Shen Lingge, don’t you think he looks quite good? If in the future you two have fate to be together, the babies you’ll have will definitely be even better-looking.”
Jiang Xinwan couldn’t help blushing. She raised her head and carefully glanced at that handsome and abstinent-looking man at the doorway, “Auntie Song, does Brother Shen know we’re meeting today?”
Because Shen Lingge’s expression was cold, as if he wasn’t interested in her.
Hearing this, the smile on Song Mingxi’s face didn’t change. She patted Jiang Xinwan’s hand, “Of course he knows. Lingge, come here, Mom will introduce you. This is your Uncle Jiang’s daughter, she just graduated and returned to the country this year.”
“The one Mom mentioned to you a few days ago, Jiang Xinwan.”
After saying that, Song Mingxi winked at Shen Lingge, hinting for him to give her some face in front of others.
The corner of Shen Lingge’s mouth twitched slightly. He cooperatively walked over and sat down on the sofa opposite them, nodding slightly: “Hello, I am Shen Lingge.”
Jiang Xinwan looked at him and smiled a little: “Brother Shen.”
Shen Lingge endured his impatience and listened for a while. When he heard Song Mingxi say to take this woman out to play, Shen Lingge finally couldn’t bear it anymore. He opened his mouth in a light voice: “Mom, I still have a meeting this afternoon.”
Song Mingxi immediately glared at him.
Shen Lingge raised his eyebrows slightly, took out his phone, and sent a message to his mom.
[Shen Lingge: I have a girlfriend.]
After sending, Shen Lingge stood up and shook his phone at Song Mingxi, then he turned and said to the butler beside him: “Prepare the car, go back to the company.”
The butler bent slightly: “Yes, young master.”
At this time, Song Mingxi still hadn’t looked at her phone. She complained toward the butler: “You just indulge him.”
The butler smiled.
After speaking, Song Mingxi finally took out her phone to take a look, and that one glance gave her a fright.
She couldn’t help exclaiming. Jiang Xinwan next to her immediately asked: “Auntie Ming, what’s wrong?”
At this moment Song Mingxi’s feelings were complicated. She suppressed her urge to scream and said to Jiang Xinwan: “Wanwan, wait here for a moment. Butler, go prepare afternoon tea for Miss Jiang.”
“Yes, Madam.” The butler bent slightly toward Jiang Xinwan, “Miss Jiang, please wait a moment.”
Song Mingxi had already disregarded her image, lifting her skirt and trotting outside. By the time she chased to the entrance, she found that her son still hadn’t gotten into the car; instead, he was leaning against the car door, playing with his phone while waiting for her.
Song Mingxi’s face was full of suspicion, “Are you lying to Mom?”
Of course Shen Lingge was lying to Song Mingxi, but from Wen Xian’s perspective, he wasn’t lying at all. After all, the first thing Wen Xian said when she met him was: from now on, you’re my boyfriend.
So he answered with an unchanged expression: “No.”
Song Mingxi testedly asked: “Is she good-looking? Is Wanwan good-looking, or is she good-looking? Can you show Mom a photo?”
Sometimes Shen Lingge really couldn’t figure out how his mom’s brain worked. She didn’t care about anything else, yet fixated on whether the girl was good-looking or not.
He nodded: “Good-looking, better-looking than your Miss Jiang. No photo.”
Hearing this, Song Mingxi slapped Shen Lingge’s shoulder with one palm: “You’re lying to Mom again!”
Shen Lingge frowned slightly in thought, then found a video from his phone showing Zanzan gnawing on vegetable leaves. “Mom, this is the rabbit my girlfriend gave me.”
This was something Wen Xian had forced him to film at noon, saying that from now on he had to send her a video of Zanzan every day, afraid that he’d raise Zanzan to death.
Shen Lingge felt that he was purely asking for trouble.
Song Mingxi stared at this black-and-white little ball gnawing on leaves for a full minute, still feeling it wasn’t enough, but she still didn’t believe it: “How do you prove this is from your girlfriend?”
Shen Lingge had already known his mom wouldn’t be that easy to fool, so he opened the voice message Wen Xian had sent him.
A moment later, Song Mingxi heard the sweet, bright voice belonging to a young girl coming from the phone. She said: “Gege, you must take good care of Zanzan, or else don’t come home.”
After listening, Song Mingxi immediately covered her mouth. She said excitedly: “She calls you gege? How sweet!”
Shen Lingge: “……”
He slowly and unhurriedly put his phone away. “Now do you believe it? So don’t bring women over anymore. If she gets upset and leaves, your son won’t have a girlfriend anymore.”
Song Mingxi quickly nodded: “Mom definitely won’t bring them anymore in the future, I’ll make things clear with Miss Jiang. Then, when can you bring your girlfriend home for Mom to see?”
Shen Lingge’s movements paused, his voice slightly deepened: “When the time is right.”
This was just a delaying tactic from Shen Lingge. For now, his relationship with Wen Xian was rather complicated. He was very clear that in this complicated relationship, there wasn’t actually a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.
He hadn’t yet figured out how Wen Xian summoned him over, but judging by their current interaction pattern, Shen Lingge was more inclined to treat Wen Xian as a younger sister.
What’s more, she was still a pitiful little thing with a tragic background.
Having figured this out, Shen Lingge said something to Song Mingxi, then got in the car. The first thing he did after getting in was send a message to Chi Yanyu, asking him how he raised his younger sister.
Because lately, Wen Xian was making him very worried. Qin Song hadn’t been resolved yet, and now another Qin Zan had popped up.
Shen Lingge pressed his brow with a headache.
—
After the auction ended, there was still a banquet. Almost no one left before the banquet, since everyone knew that the evening banquet was the real highlight tonight.
But there were exceptions.
Wen Xian didn’t attend the evening banquet. This kind of business-oriented banquet, she hadn’t attended much even before, let alone now. Qin Zan had the driver take her home; tonight was the Qin family’s main event, so both he and Qin Song couldn’t leave.
Not long after Wen Xian returned home, she received that set of jewelry sent by the organizers.
She sat cross-legged on the sofa, looking at that exquisite and dazzling set of jewelry inside the box. She gently stroked the cool gemstones; their brilliance had not dimmed even with the passing of time.
But the people from the past were already no longer there.
Wen Xian did not look for long. She placed this set of jewelry into the bedroom’s safe.
She did not cook again, but instead reheated the breakfast Shen Lingge had sent over in the morning. In the past, Wen Tianlin had taught her: food cannot be wasted. This was something Wen Xian had always done very well.
But for some reason, at this moment, Wen Xian sitting alone at the dining table felt a bit lonely.
It had already been two years since she last felt this way.
And she also knew why there was such a change—because Shen Lingge was no longer here. On nights in the past, they would sit at the dining table eating together or eat late-night snacks in the living room.
Now, there was only her.
Wen Xian let out a light sigh. For her, this was a bad habit.
—
Afternoon.
Wen Xian hugged a watermelon, blowing the cool air conditioner while sitting cross-legged on the sofa, happily watching a movie. The blackout curtains blocked out all the blazing sunlight outside, leaving only a faint light reflected on the floor.
Yu was bored, jumping around and playing on Qiuqiu’s cat climbing frame.
She had already been slumped at home for five days. These five days, she did absolutely nothing—did not go out, did not take on translation work.
She was just happily on vacation together with Qiuqiu.
That’s right, vacationing at home.