Chapter 85: He Had Not Expected Wen Zhixia to Actually Dare to Drive

At that, Wen Zhixia was momentarily at a loss for words. She and Shen Wenyan were not so far apart in age that it truly mattered, but there was still a gap of four or five years between them. More importantly, Shen Wenyan had only just entered society, whereas she had already witnessed with her own eyes the transformation of the Guxia Group from nothing at all into the first choice of graduating students today. In her own mind, she could almost count herself as his elder.

Wen Zhixia smiled faintly. “Work hard. The Guxia Group is still fairly kind to new graduates. Get out.”

She did not continue the topic. Instead, she parked in the hospital’s temporary lot.

Shen Wenyan followed beside her with a slight, almost imperceptible stumble. Wen Zhixia glanced at him and held out a hand. “Shall I help you?”

He wanted to refuse. He was not so badly off that he could not walk. But when he saw her slender fingers and her clear, delicate features, he wavered. She was not the sort of woman whose beauty was loud and dazzling at first glance. Rather, she was like a painting with generous blank space: only after a closer look could one begin to taste her charm.

It made Shen Wenyan think of an exhibition he had once seen on the clash between Eastern and Western art. There were vivid oil paintings, richly saturated and as lifelike as solid matter, arresting the eye at once. In contrast, the ink paintings beside them seemed plain and subdued. Yet after one looked at the former a little longer, one could only say, how lifelike, how skillful. The latter, however, left a lingering aftertaste, offering different feelings from every angle and in every mood.

Wen Zhixia reminded Shen Wenyan of that ink painting that did not stun at first sight. She also reminded him of a line from the song of Immortal Melody in a Dream: graceful flesh, tender form, elegant and refined, too noble to compete with the flowers.

He took Wen Zhixia’s hand, though his palm had begun to sweat.

Strictly speaking, Shen Wenyan ought to have been of the same generation as Wen Luchuan. Seeing him, Wen Zhixia almost felt as though she were looking at her own younger brother.

Except that this younger brother seemed to be...

“Do I go back with you?”

After the wound had been bandaged, Shen Wenyan asked the question hesitantly and haltingly.

Wen Zhixia was looking at her phone and replying to messages. She did not notice, and answered casually, “Mm. I’ll take you back. Where do you live?”

“I mean...” Shen Wenyan suddenly lowered his head. Before she could react, he leaned close to her cheek and kissed her there.

Wen Zhixia’s fingers froze over her reply. Her pupils tightened slightly, and she slowly turned to look at him. His ears were red to the roots, and she lifted her brows a little. “Hm?”

Some things were like that. If the one doing it was young and clean-cut, a stolen kiss on the cheek could pass for flirtation. If it was a worldly, oily man, it was simply sexual harassment.

“I... I’m already in my internship period now, and living at school is inconvenient. I’m renting a place outside,” Shen Wenyan explained softly.

Wen Zhixia looked at the message on her phone, as though weighing something. A few seconds later, she nodded.

She really did take him to one of her own properties and gave him the key.

When the young man brought her fruit he had bought on the way and called her by name, Wen Zhixia pressed a hand to her forehead. “Call me sister.”

Shen Wenyan seemed not to hear her. He placed the washed grapes to her lips, full of youthful energy. “These are very sweet. Try one.”

Wen Zhixia was used to being fussed over by Gu Pingsheng at home. She opened her mouth automatically, but the moment she took it in, she took over with her own hand. “Mm.”

“Will you come every day from now on?” Shen Wenyan asked, one arm draped over the sofa behind her, looking as if he were half-embracing her.

After she finished chewing the grape, Wen Zhixia spoke. “You can stay here for now. Strictly speaking, I’m your senior, too, so if you need anything, you can tell me. As for... what I said about having you repay me with your body, that was only a joke. Don’t take it to heart.”

Shen Wenyan looked at her somewhat sadly. “But I really like you. From the very first glance.”

“How many girlfriends did you have in college?” Wen Zhixia asked.

“I... I didn’t have time,” Shen Wenyan said.

“I did. We’ve known each other for ten years now,” Wen Zhixia said. “And we were married.”

Though they were about to divorce any moment now.

“What you call liking someone is nothing more than curiosity about the unknown. The girls you meet at school and the women you meet in society are two entirely different kinds of people. Once you leave campus, you’ll encounter a new life, and you’ll begin new relationships...”

But before she could finish, Shen Wenyan suddenly kissed her.

Wen Zhixia managed to dodge in time, but his kiss still landed at the corner of her lips. It was only a fleeting touch, yet her brow still creased faintly.

She pulled a wet tissue from the table and said nothing reproachful, only wiping the corner of her mouth. “No next time,” she said.

Shen Wenyan looked at her in disappointment, like a large dog dropping its head after being scolded. “I...”

Wen Zhixia’s phone rang. After seeing the caller ID, her fingers paused for a moment, but she still answered.

It was Gu Pingsheng calling. There was nothing substantial to the call, as though he simply wanted to talk to her.

Shen Wenyan watched Wen Zhixia on the phone, pressed his lips together, because he could tell that the man calling was very likely her husband.

He took another grape and held it to her lips. Wen Zhixia opened her mouth by reflex, and after she ate it, she glanced at him.

Shen Wenyan lowered his head as though he had not noticed at all. After she finished, he offered her another. This time, Wen Zhixia took it in her hand and put it into his mouth. Shen Wenyan smiled faintly, but the next second Wen Zhixia stood up and went to the window to continue the call.

“So, the matter with Jiebang was your doing,” Wen Zhixia said suddenly.

Gu Pingsheng did not deny it. “He’s just a pretty boy who flatters women. He can coax you today and coax someone else tomorrow. I only wanted to let you see what sort of thing he is.”

At that, Wen Zhixia let out a soft laugh, carrying a trace of irony.

She did not stay long. At most, it had been a decision made on a sudden impulse. Still, before she left, Shen Wenyan obtained her number.

He watched Wen Zhixia leave and remained standing there with an umbrella, watching her.

Through the rearview mirror, Wen Zhixia glanced back and saw Shen Wenyan making a call.

“Mr. Xu... yes, I wouldn’t dare...”

Berlin.

After the call ended, Jin Mao looked at Xu Qichen, who had fallen silent and lost in thought, and carefully set a cup of coffee before him.

“The doctor told you not to overwork yourself. Miss Wen is the sort of person who cannot stand even a grain of sand in her eye. Why must you get involved?” Jin Mao said softly.

Xu Qichen sipped his coffee. The soft turtleneck sweater in a coffee-brown tone robbed him of all sharpness, leaving only a homebound, noble composure. “Rather than let those people from Yulouchun get close to her, I might as well place someone there myself.”

Jin Mao could not see through his thoughts. “Aren’t you afraid that person might develop feelings for Miss Wen that he ought not to have?”

Xu Qichen coughed twice. “She already knows Shen Wenyan is one of my distant relatives.”

“You mean...”

“She’s very smart. If I hid it from her, she’d be angry. She doesn’t like it when people scheme against her.” Xu Qichen curved his lips and smiled.

Usually she looked like a docile deer, but when she was angry, her claws came out. Fierce as anything.

At the entrance to the hospital, Xu Qichen had already sent her a message. The replies Wen Zhixia was typing on her phone were to him. That was why she had chosen to bring Shen Wenyan home.

Xu Qichen had briefly explained Shen Wenyan’s circumstances to her: an orphan, whose parents died unexpectedly when he was young. He had lost contact with the Xu family, and by the time he was found again, he was already an adult. He was not close to the Xu family, and because the blood relation was distant, he had not benefited much from their prestige.

Xu Qichen asked Wen Zhixia to look after him for a while.

Since he had asked, she naturally would not refuse.

Lanhu Manor.

Gu Pingsheng received a call from Director Zhang, who asked when Wen Zhixia’s surgery would be arranged.

Gu Pingsheng only said to prepare as soon as possible and gave no exact answer. Director Zhang caught the implication in his tone and, after a pause, said, “...It is still best to operate sooner rather than later. Because of the earlier mistaken assumption of pregnancy, we have already lost time. Now that all the indicators show she is fit for surgery, if we drag this out too long, I’m afraid it will only lead to further complications.”

Gu Pingsheng sat in his dim study without turning on the lights, pressing at his temples.

Just as Wen Zhixia was about to arrive at Lanhu Manor, she was forced to stop by a figure suddenly rushing out. She looked at Zhao Fuhe, who had spread her arms to block the car, and slowly tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.

Then Zhao Fuhe dropped straight to her knees in front of the car.

Wen Zhixia’s eyelids twitched, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Separated by the windshield, their gazes met. Outside, the fine rain continued to fall in a steady drizzle, adding yet more drama to the scene.

Wen Zhixia’s fingers on the steering wheel shifted slightly, and the foot on the brake moved slowly.

“Senior, I’m begging you. Please agree to the surgery. Don’t make Senior Brother worry about you!” Zhao Fuhe cried out.

Behind her lay Lanhu Manor in the misty rain.

Wen Zhixia’s lips curved faintly. She could more or less guess why Zhao Fuhe was putting on such a pitiful show, but did Zhao Fuhe’s tragic performance mean she had to play along?

Unfortunately for her, she had never liked being cast in anyone else’s supporting role.

She turned the wheel slightly and pressed the accelerator.

Even though there was not much standing water on the road, when the tires spun fast and the car swept past a person’s body, it still picked up some filthy spray.

Zhao Fuhe had never imagined that Wen Zhixia would actually dare to drive. In panic, the instinct to survive made her throw herself to the side for safety.

Her carefully chosen outfit was ruined beyond repair, and she lay in a miserable heap on the ground.

Wen Zhixia glanced at Zhao Fuhe in the rearview mirror, smoothed her long hair, and opened the car door.

Zhao Fuhe clenched her hands and slowly got to her feet. The moment Wen Zhixia stepped out, she came over again. “Senior, I know you don’t like me, but Senior Brother has done nothing wrong. Why can’t you just think of him for once? Every day, because of your illness, he can barely eat or sleep. Yet for the sake of a little discomfort in your own heart, you want to keep torturing him like this? How can you bear to hurt him so badly? If it were me...”

“Have you said enough?” Wen Zhixia cut her off in a cool voice.

Zhao Fuhe bit her lip, looking like a white lotus suffering great grievance.

“Move aside,” Wen Zhixia said, looking at the woman blocking her way. “You’re in the road.”

She had neither the leisure to listen to her heartfelt speeches nor the interest to watch her performance.

“Take it as though I’m begging you. I’m begging you to accept my marrow, all right? As long as you can put Senior Brother at ease, I’ll do anything.” Zhao Fuhe grabbed Wen Zhixia’s arm and made as if to kneel again.

At such a moment, anyone else would likely have pulled her up and prevented her from kneeling.

But Wen Zhixia deliberately stepped back, leaving her ample space to kneel.

Zhao Fuhe ground her teeth in secret, but when she saw in the corner of her eye that a tall, upright figure had already appeared, she had no choice but to go through with the act and kneel again. “Senior, I beg you, please agree to the surgery. Senior Brother truly cares about you. He’s already busy enough with work. Don’t let him worry about this anymore, all right?”

Wen Zhixia lifted a hand and looked at the ladies’ watch on her wrist. Her voice was cool and tinged with mockery. “Would you like me to time you? The weather is perfect for it. If you’re not going to kneel for half an hour, an hour, or even all night, how would that match your acting skills?”

Isn’t it always said in the entertainment world that a rain-soaked kneeling scene is the real test of an actor’s ability?

Today the heavens had truly done her a favor.

“What does President Gu think?” Wen Zhixia lifted her eyes to the tall, elegant man striding toward them and asked for his opinion.

Gu Pingsheng’s gaze swept over Zhao Fuhe kneeling on the ground. Just then Zhao Fuhe looked up as well. One was composed and elegant, the other pitiful and fragile; it was truly the stuff of an idol drama.

“Go back,” he said. “This is not your concern.”

Zhao Fuhe’s eyes were red. “But I really can’t bear to see Senior Brother go on like this. You’re already so busy with work, and now you still have to worry about these things. How can your body take it?”

Wen Zhixia listened, feeling as though a knot of anger were stuck in her throat. She lifted a foot and started toward the inner gate, so as not to hinder their tender, mutual affection.

Gu Pingsheng caught her wrist, his brows gathering, a layer of unreadable mist veiling his dark, profound eyes. “You don’t need to take her words to heart.”

Her affairs had never been a needless burden to him.

Wen Zhixia let out a cold laugh. Her clear, resonant voice slipped from between her lips. She had originally been about to hurl a sarcastic retort, but when she caught Zhao Fuhe’s eager gaze, her fingers instead caught Gu Pingsheng by the collar. Rising onto her toes, she narrowed the distance between them. “Which line are you referring to?”

Gu Pingsheng’s throat bobbed once. His dark eyes reflected her face as Wen Zhixia met his gaze, as though if his answer displeased her, she would turn and leave on the spot.

He said, “All of it.”

Wen Zhixia’s eyes shifted toward the deeply shocked Zhao Fuhe on the ground. “If Miss Zhao has nothing else to do, please return to where you belong. Otherwise, when others see you, they might think that Lanhu Manor has somehow started taking in beggars.”

Zhao Fuhe clenched her hands and slowly rose to her feet, but just as she had gotten halfway upright, she suddenly fainted to the ground.