She immediately thought of Shen Lingge’s abnormal mood these past two days, as well as that man who gave her red wine, and the gentle smile at the corner of his lips when he looked at her.
A chill suddenly rose up her back.
Wen Xian was afraid Shen Lingge would come out and notice her abnormality. She clicked on the message and pressed the delete button.
But even so, when Shen Lingge came out, he still noticed Wen Xian’s face looked somewhat pale. He furrowed his brows and walked to her side: “Xian Xian, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Wen Xian shook her head in a small motion: “No, I just scrolled past a horror video just now, got a scare.”
Shen Lingge’s warm palm wrapped around her hand. The chill on her body gradually faded, she unconsciously gripped him tighter.
Wen Xian shook his hand lightly: “Let’s apply medicine for you.”
There was a large area of redness and swelling on Shen Lingge’s shoulder and the side of his face. Wen Xian carefully held a cotton swab and touched his injured areas, still muttering nonstop: “You won’t allow me to play here and there, but you yourself smoke, drink, race cars, box — you play everything.”
Shen Lingge looked at her and smiled: “What do you want to play? After a few days when we move to Licheng, I’ll take you to play.”
Shen Lingge had already started preparing the matter of moving to Licheng, so he would gradually get busy these days. The affairs in Mingcheng would be handed over to Shen Rongsheng. If not for chasing after his wife, Shen Rongsheng probably wouldn’t come back to manage Shen Corporation again.
Wen Xian’s hand movements paused slightly. She lowered her gaze, trying her best to make her tone calm and natural: “Shen Lingge, I’m not going back to Licheng anymore. From now on, we’ll just live in Mingcheng.”
Shen Lingge’s body suddenly stiffened. He fixedly looked at Wen Xian, voice very light: “Xian Xian, what did you say?”
Wen Xian looked at him with her bright eyes softly, obediently repeated again: “I said we don’t have to go back to Licheng anymore. From now on, we’ll just live here. Your home is here, in the future…”
She curved her lips into a smile: “In the future, my home is here too.”
After speaking she added: “But I have to go back once to pack up some things. I’ll just go back with Duoduo.”
Shen Lingge looked at her for a moment, then suddenly reached out and tightly pulled her into his arms. Hugging the person in his embrace, he said in a low voice: “Xian Xian, I can accompany you to live in Licheng, this isn’t a troublesome thing for me.”
Wen Xian pushed him lightly, but didn’t dare use force: “You still have injuries.”
But Shen Lingge didn’t let go of her. His heart because of her words almost softened into a puddle of water.
The two of them fussed for half the day and finally finished applying the medicine. Shen Lingge casually put on a short-sleeve shirt and pulled Wen Xian to go out.
After getting in the car, Wen Xian was pressed by Shen Lingge onto the back seat and kissed for a long while. Only after being released did she pant softly, seriously saying: “Shen Lingge, I’m telling you for real, I’m not going back.”
She hugged him and softly said: “You told me before, your dad and mom are my dad and mom too. From now on, I have a home again, right?”
Shen Lingge seemed like he had been pricked by a needle, his whole body spreading dense pain. His throat was dry, hoarsely, word by word, he said: “That’s right, Xian Xian has a home.”
—
Under Wen Xian’s pleading, in the end Shen Lingge did not follow her to Licheng. He also knew Wen Xian needed her own time to say goodbye to her parents.
The day Wen Xian returned to Licheng, it was raining. At this time it was already late autumn, the fine rain threads carried a chilly coldness. She wore a light-colored cashmere coat draped over her shoulders, on her feet a pair of boots.
Duoduo held an umbrella walking beside Wen Xian.
When Wen Xian walked to the villa entrance, her steps slowed down. She raised her head and looked at the magnificent and luxurious villa in front of her.
For four years she couldn’t let go of the obsession in her heart, she had almost used up all the money Wen Tianlin left her to buy back her home.
But after that she was like a coward, not even daring to come back and take a look.
It was Shen Lingge’s appearance that gave her the courage to return to her home again.
The mountains and waters here were still as clear as before, the roses in the rose garden still as tender and dripping with color, everything before her eyes was all what she was familiar with.
But here there was no Shen Lingge, no those three little ones either.
Also no Song Mingxi.
The servants inside the villa were all busy with their own things. Wen Xian stood in the living room, silently looking at that painting.
Duoduo carefully asked: “Miss, do you want to bring this painting back to Mingcheng?”
Wen Xian lightly shook her head: “No need, just turn it over.”
In the afternoon Duoduo stayed in the villa to organize Wen Xian’s clothes, while Wen Xian prepared a bouquet and wine, then went to the cemetery. The bodyguards kept a distance of about twenty meters from her.
Because it had rained, the whole cemetery looked misty.
When Wen Xian stepped onto the steps, her pupils slightly trembled. Not far away, in front of Wen Tianlin and Chang Shuang’s tomb, there was a man standing. From her direction, she could only see his tall and slender back.
He wasn’t holding an umbrella, standing alone in the rain.
The bodyguard immediately stepped forward to stop Wen Xian: “Madam, please wait a moment.”
Wen Xian stopped her steps. She watched as the bodyguard walked cautiously towards that man. After they said two sentences, the bodyguard returned.
The bodyguard bent at the waist and said: “Madam, that gentleman said he is your mother’s friend.”
Wen Xian looked toward the tombstone. There was already a bouquet of champagne roses placed there. She pressed her lips together and softly said: “I’ll go over and take a look. You all wait here. If something happens, I’ll call you.”
Just as Wen Xian was about to walk over, suddenly a group of people came walking up from the bottom of the steps. They were all wearing black suits, and in the suit pocket was a light-colored rose flower.
Wen Xian stopped her steps, letting this densely packed group of people pass first.
At this moment, her and the bodyguards’ line of sight were all blocked by the crowd. No one noticed that in front of Wen Tianlin and Chang Shuang’s tomb, there was already a different person standing.
He was wearing the same black coat as the man just now, had the same hairstyle, and his height was about the same.
Only, on his hand there was an extra gemstone ring.
After the crowd dispersed, Wen Xian then stepped across the path and slowly walked toward the tomb. As she walked closer, she finally, through the hazy rain threads, saw the face of that man.
Wen Xian was stunned.
Xie Lin turned his head slightly and glanced at the girl frozen in place. His gaze lingered over her brows and eyes, and after a moment he spoke in a gentle voice: “A few days ago, did I scare you?”
“Xian Xian, I am your mother’s friend.”
Chang Shuang’s friend?
Wen Xian could not find any information about this man in her memory. She restrained herself from turning around and walking away, asking: “How did you know my mother?”
After hearing Wen Xian’s words, Xie Lin gradually sank into memories. He withdrew his gaze and looked toward the cold tombstone where Chang Shuang was. She was smiling gently, her eyes carrying the softness he was familiar with.
The year he went to Licheng, his father’s position was transferred. The relationships within the circle were intricate and complicated, so his father made the decision for him and enrolled him in Licheng University.
He still remembered clearly the day he met Chang Shuang. That day, there was a citywide blackout in Licheng, and his roommate Chang Ligu was urging them to tidy up the dormitory because his older sister was coming to bring them food.
The dormitory was lit by faint candlelight.
He heard another roommate ask Chang Ligu: “Ligu, how come I’ve never heard you had an older sister? How old is your sister?”
Chang Ligu smiled: “My sister is just one year older than me. She’s studying at the art college a few blocks away. I live at school, my sister goes home every day. Since there’s a blackout at noon today, she said she cooked food and would bring it over.”
The roommate asked curiously: “Is your sister good-looking?”
Chang Ligu slapped him on the shoulder: “What are you saying? Good-looking or not, she’s still my sister.”
At that time, Xie Lin was cynical, followed by countless girls, but he didn’t fancy any of them. In his eyes, those women were all extremely fake.
Until he saw Chang Shuang.
After Chang Ligu went downstairs to pick up Chang Shuang, he came in first carrying heavy lunch boxes. The girl behind him first probed her head inside for a glance, and a pair of bright eyes happened to meet his.
Xie Lin was hidden in the dark. Chang Shuang could only see a blurry figure.
But Xie Lin, borrowing the candlelight, saw Chang Shuang’s eyes clearly. In those clear eyes was softness and careful caution. Not long after, he heard her clear and sweet voice ring out: “Hello everyone, I’m Chang Ligu’s older sister. My name is Chang Shuang.”
At that moment, Xie Lin just stared dazedly at Chang Shuang. His heartbeat grew faster.
It seemed as if he had seen an angel.
Outside the window, the first snow of Licheng was falling.
Just like that, Xie Lin pestered Chang Shuang for four whole years. At first, Chang Shuang would still pay attention to him, but later on, after realizing she couldn’t reject him no matter what, she simply stopped acknowledging him. He wasn’t angry either, running to the art college right after class.
At that time, many people thought he was Chang Shuang’s boyfriend.
But that kind of situation only lasted until he was about to graduate from university. His father suddenly had someone take him back to Mingcheng, only saying a few simple words before wanting to send him abroad.
Xie Lin naturally couldn’t agree. The father and son quarreled for two days before Xie Lin was forcibly put on a plane.
During those three years, Xie Lin couldn’t return to the country. There were always people watching him, and he had no way to contact Chang Shuang. His parents would still deposit money into his account on time every month. With a blocked-up breath in his chest, he stiffly refused to contact them.
Until three years later, when the people watching him finally left, Xie Lin immediately bought a plane ticket to return to the country.
But what greeted him was the news of his parents’ deaths. Three years prior, after his parents were imprisoned, they had committed suicide. Yet in his memory, things were still frozen at those three years of quarreling with his parents.
Xie Lin became completely lost.
So he went to find Chang Shuang, but Chang Ligu told him that Chang Shuang was already married.
That year, Xie Lin felt like he had been abandoned by the whole world. He hid in the shadows watching Chang Shuang held by Wen Tianlin’s hand. The smile on her face was still so clean, but in her eyes, there was already someone else.
Xie Lin’s eyes turned red as he stared at Chang Shuang, his mouth full of the taste of iron and rust. In the end, he punched the wall hard.
Xie Lin pulled himself out from those unbearable memories, he only said in a light voice: “I met your mother during university. You look very much like her, so that night I used the excuse of delivering wine to come see you. I wanted to confirm whether I saw wrong or not.”
He turned his head again and asked: “Do you like the horse I gave you? That day I saw you looking at that little horse. Your mother also loved these small animals.”
Wen Xian lowered her eyes, she did not respond.
And at this moment, the bodyguards not far away also noticed something was wrong, they immediately rushed over here.
Xie Lin lightly laughed once: “Your little boyfriend is very nervous about you. You don’t have to be afraid, I won’t hurt you. It’s a pity, looks like today we can only talk until here.”
He looked into her eyes: “We’ll meet again if fate allows, Xian Xian.”
After saying this, Xie Lin turned around and left.
Leaving only Wen Xian alone in front of the tombstone, the rushing over bodyguards immediately apologized: “Sorry, Madam, it was our carelessness.”
Wen Xian shook her head, then she walked to the tombstone, silently gazing at those two cold stone tablets.
At this moment the rain fell a bit heavier.
And far away in Mingcheng, Shen Lingge also received the message sent by the bodyguards.