Duoduo, seeing Wen Xian come downstairs, immediately got out of the car and jogged to her side. She immediately noticed Wen Xian’s face did not look good. She said with concern: “Miss, what’s wrong? Was the interview not smooth?”
Wen Xian forced a smile at Duoduo: “It’s nothing, just ran into an annoying person.”
Duoduo was just about to say something when she saw that Wen Xian’s wrist was reddened in a circle, with several deep finger marks on it.
Her brows immediately knitted together.
—
From the moment Wen Xian got into the car, she didn’t say a single word. Only when the car drove into Wen Mountain did she speak in a low voice to Duoduo: “Duoduo, don’t tell him. Also, can you lend me your scarf?”
Duoduo instinctively lowered her head and glanced at the scarf tied around her neck. She took off the scarf and handed it to Wen Xian: “Miss, are you really okay?”
Wen Xian curved her lips slightly: “I’m fine.”
Wen Xian lowered her eyes and wrapped the scarf around her reddened wrist a few times and tied it. Her skin was delicate; in no time, her wrist would bruise, and then it wouldn’t be able to be hidden from Shen Lingge.
Duoduo watched Wen Xian’s movements, for a moment hesitating whether she should tell Shen Lingge or not.
In the end, she chose not to say.
By the time Wen Xian returned home, it was already nearly six o’clock. The butler, seeing her come back, instructed the kitchen to serve the dishes. After Wen Xian squatted at the doorway to pet Wen Xianxian, she went to pet Qiuqiu again.
The two little ones raised their little chins, letting her knead and rub as she pleased.
At this hour, Shen Lingge was either busy or in the gym. Wen Xian was afraid he would notice something was off, so she obediently sat in the living room waiting for dinner.
The butler saw the scarf tied around Wen Xian’s wrist. He tilted his body to glance at Duoduo; her neck was now empty.
While Wen Xian was playing with Wen Xianxian, the butler called Duoduo aside. He asked softly about the scarf. Duoduo glanced at Wen Xian and then lightly shook her head.
Shen Lingge, after finishing his shower, had just walked to the top of the stairs when he heard Wen Xianxian’s happy barking. He knew for sure that Wen Xian had come back.
He put one hand in his pocket and walked downstairs unhurriedly. When he was halfway down, little Wen Xian already heard the movement and turned back to look at him. She smiled at him: “Gege, come downstairs to eat.”
Shen Lingge walked to her side without hurry. He immediately noticed the scarf on her wrist.
He lifted his chin slightly: “What’s this?”
Wen Xian curved her eyes and shook the scarf on her hand at him: “This is a gift from Duoduo. From now on, I’ll be her most beloved little treasure. Is it pretty?”
Shen Lingge sneered: “Wen Xian, have you graduated from kindergarten?”
Wen Xian let out a light hum and turned her head to continue playing with Wen Xianxian. Qiuqiu lay to the side biting its toy ball, while Can Can was still playing in the yard outside.
Close to mealtime, Wen Xian slipped away to wash her hands.
When Shen Lingge saw her sitting down to eat while still wearing the scarf, he asked: “Wearing that even while eating?”
Wen Xian tucked the ends of the ribbon floating outside inward. She said proudly: “I even want to wear it while sleeping.”
Shen Lingge didn’t know why, but he kept feeling somewhat irritated. He lifted his eyes and glanced at Duoduo waiting on the side. Who knew that as soon as Duoduo saw him look over, she instinctively lowered her eyes.
Shen Lingge’s gaze moved downward, finally landing on Duoduo’s clasped hands.
She seemed somewhat uneasy.
He glanced again at Wen Xian. The little girl was eating the pasta in her bowl without a care, not even thinking to take the initiative to tell him how the interview went in the afternoon.
He could only pretend to ask casually: “By the way, how was the interview at Shen Group this afternoon?”
Hearing this, Wen Xian frowned slightly. She said in confusion: “Gege, I think that company is really superstitious, doesn’t really fit with the core values of socialism. I’d better not go.”
Shen Lingge: ?
He put down the knife and fork in his hand: “Superstitious?”
Wen Xian nodded: “Yes. As soon as I went in, that interviewer told me I was hired. I asked him why, and he actually told me their group president instructed them to hire anyone with the surname Wen.”
She said with a face full of certainty: “Don’t you think that’s kind of sick?”
Shen Lingge: “……”
He pressed his fingers to his brow in frustration. He really had given instructions to find some reason to hire Wen Xian, but he hadn’t expected them to be this careless, even pulling out something like ‘surname Wen’.
His gaze darkened slightly: “What do you think?”
Wen Xian blinked her eyes: “I think I might as well go to that Port company. The work schedule is more flexible, and the salary is higher too.”
Shen Lingge: …damn it.
After a brief silence, Shen Lingge said: “Would you be willing to go to Mingcheng with me?”
Wen Xian looked up at him in surprise. She almost didn’t hesitate at all before rejecting him: “I want to stay in Licheng. I’m not going anywhere.”
Shen Lingge knew the reason why Wen Xian insisted on staying here wasn’t just because her home was here. It was also because her father and mother were both here. This was her bottom line.
Shen Lingge had no other way and could only say: “Then go to Shen Group. At least I can still look after you.”
Wen Xian gloomily shook her head: “I don’t want to go.”
Shen Lingge frowned. What exactly happened during the interview this afternoon?
Shen Lingge didn’t ask again. After Wen Xian finished eating and went upstairs, he asked the butler to keep Duoduo behind.
Duoduo glanced at Shen Lingge uneasily. She was tangled up inside, wondering if Shen Lingge asked about Wen Xian, should she say it or not.
Shen Lingge didn’t beat around the bush: “What happened during her interview?”
Hearing this, Duoduo quietly let out a breath of relief. As long as it wasn’t about the scarf, that was good. She shook her head: “Miss told us to wait downstairs for her. After getting in the car, she didn’t say anything either.”
Shen Lingge nodded: “Go keep her company.”
Duoduo quickly jogged upstairs.
—
Study room.
Shen Lingge sat in front of the desk watching the video sent from Shen Group. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he watched the video of the corridor. During the one and a half hours waiting, Wen Xian had been peeling and eating candy the whole time.
Finishing one piece, she stuffed in another. For that whole hour, the little girl’s mouth didn’t stop moving.
The people next to her were all secretly watching her.
When he saw one of the women in green clothes, Shen Lingge’s expression darkened slightly. Maybe she herself hadn’t realized just how twisted the look on her own face was. She seemed to have specifically targeted Wen Xian.
After watching the interview video, the footage shifted back to the corridor again.
Wen Xian knew that woman.
The moment Shen Lingge saw that woman grabbing Wen Xian’s wrist, he immediately thought of the scarf wrapped around Wen Xian’s hand. It was clear the woman was using a lot of strength—Wen Xian struggled for a while but didn’t break free.
He didn’t know what that woman said, but Wen Xian slapped her.
Seeing this, Shen Lingge went to pull up Feng Qingying’s information. He only skimmed over it briefly. Upon seeing that she and Wen Xian were just university classmates, he directly instructed Shen Group to put her on the blacklist.
Shen Lingge didn’t immediately go find Wen Xian but patiently waited until her usual bedtime before going over to her.
At this time, Duoduo and the others had already gone to rest. In the main building, only he and she were left, along with the three little furry creatures.
In front of Wen Xian’s white room door, there was still a small sign hanging, apparently something she wrote as a child, using pink crayon to write a few crooked words: Palace of Little Princess Xian Xian.
Below was also a piece of childish-looking little snowflake.
Shen Lingge reached out and lightly stroked that little snowflake, smiling faintly in a way that was almost imperceptible, before knocking on the door.
Not too light, not too heavy—just three knocks.
After a moment, he heard Wen Xian’s voice from inside: “You open the door yourself and come in!”
The door wasn’t locked.
After Shen Lingge opened the door and went in, he looked for Wen Xian’s figure, but there was no one on the luxurious big bed—only a lazy cat sprawled in the middle of the bed.
He glanced around. She was in the walk-in closet.
Shen Lingge walked to the closet door, silently looking at Wen Xian, who was almost buried under the pile of clothes, only two hands and one head bouncing outside; the rest was all hidden inside the pile of clothes.
He paused for a moment and asked: “What are you doing?”
Wen Xian spared some attention to glare at him: “You have the nerve to ask me what I’m doing? Where did these clothes come from? Do you know this is really wasting money? The clothes I have now are enough for me to wear.”
Wen Xian had just finished showering and went looking for pajamas when she discovered her walk-in closet had been completely filled with the latest models from all kinds of luxury brands. Besides clothes, there were countless bags and shoes.
Without exception, all were the newest models—even global limited editions.
She honestly had every reason to reasonably suspect that Shen Lingge had figured out the use of Yu in private and secretly sketched all of this out behind her back.
Shen Lingge didn’t understand these things. These were all handled by the butler and Duoduo.
So he answered honestly: “It wasn’t me. Not me. I don’t know.”
Wen Xian: ?
Wen Xian looked at him suspiciously: “How much did you spend hiring this team?”
Shen Lingge: “……”
What was the appropriate amount to say?
Shen Lingge lightly coughed and immediately pushed the blame onto Chi Yan and the others: “It was Mr. Chi who found them for me. He said the money is deducted from my salary. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Wen Xian’s eyes widened as she questioned: “Are you selling yourself to him for life?”
Shen Lingge thought for a moment, hesitated, and answered: “…One or two years?”
Upon hearing this, Wen Xian didn’t care about the clothes anymore. She struggled out of the pile of clothes, grabbed Shen Lingge’s hand to pull herself up, and then immediately grabbed his collar. With a slight force, she pressed Shen Lingge against the wall.
She tilted her face up and spoke fiercely: “You must be lying to me! If you don’t honestly tell me today where this money came from, I’ll… I’ll cry right in front of you!”
Shen Lingge: “……”
Actually, Shen Lingge knew this matter couldn’t be hidden forever. Last time, he had even directly told her that he himself was Shen Lingge, and then Wen Xian told him to get lost.
Shen Lingge rubbed his brow: “Let go of me first, I’ll talk to you properly.”
Wen Xian: “I won’t!”
Shen Lingge lightly sighed. He reached out and held Wen Xian’s injured wrist. The moment he touched her, she instinctively shrank back a little.
Then the little girl immediately guiltily withdrew her hand.
Shen Lingge raised his hand and lightly tapped on the bruised spot, asking in a low voice: “Does it hurt?”
Wen Xian looked at him without speaking.
The two of them stared at each other for thirty seconds.
Wen Xian obediently handed her hand over to Shen Lingge. Shen Lingge lowered his eyes and slowly, gently unwrapped the scarf tied around her wrist, circle by circle. His movements were light and tender.
Wen Xian’s face started heating up again. She even wanted to shake off Shen Lingge’s hand.
His fingertips didn’t feel like they were simply touching her skin; it was more like they were faintly brushing across her heart. She felt her whole person becoming strange.
Wen Xian couldn’t help but softly say: “Gege, are you done?”
Shen Lingge lifted his eyes and glanced at her: “Does it hurt?”
Wen Xian bit her lip, not knowing how to describe the feeling. She simply lowered her head and said nothing.
Shen Lingge thought she wasn’t speaking because it hurt. He held her hand and slowly walked toward the door: “I’ll take you downstairs to put some ice on it. Wrap it in a towel and apply it, it won’t hurt.”
Wen Xian’s ears felt like they were burning up.
Hurt, hurt, hurt—she wasn’t hurt at all.
It was her heart that felt like it was burning.