Chapter 25: Doubt

After a brief conversation, Ji Ming was called away by his cousin, who eagerly invited Wen Ya to join them. However, Wen Ya declined with a polite smile.

The Ji family was gathered to celebrate the birthday together. Why should she, an outsider, intrude? Otherwise, she might never clear her name, even if she jumped into the Yellow River.

Wen Ya found a quiet corner and relaxed. Suddenly, a man sat down beside her. She glanced at him—he was handsome, well-dressed, and had a gentle demeanor.

“Wen Ya?”

“Yes, and you are?” Wen Ya searched her memory but couldn’t recall ever meeting him.

“Chu Xinghe,” the man introduced himself with a warm smile and a soft voice that made him instantly approachable.

Chu Xinghe? If Wen Ya hadn’t been trained to stay composed, she might have gasped. What kind of party was this? The second male lead had actually appeared. If the female lead showed up, all the key characters from the novel would be here.

However, the original novel described the second male lead as a shadowy figure, controlling much of the underground forces. In simpler terms, he was a gang leader. The book didn’t detail his appearance much, only mentioning that he was cold and ruthless to everyone except the heroine. Seeing his gentle appearance now, Wen Ya began to doubt if this was the same Chu Xinghe.

“Miss Wen, I’m curious. If you didn’t like Gu Chengze, why did you pursue him so intensely and even scratch Bai Yunzhu’s face for him?”

He looked like a scholar, spoke softly, and had a gentle demeanor, but his words were sharp.

“What does that have to do with you?” Wen Ya turned to face him and asked.

The original novel was a typical CEO romance, with the world revolving around the male and female leads. It had many plot holes and lacked logic. However, after Wen Ya transmigrated into the story, she found the world had been magically fleshed out, and many illogical situations were fixed. For example, the Chu Xinghe before her seemed to have some influence, but he definitely didn’t have the overwhelming power described in the book. At least, the Wen family wasn’t afraid of him.

“I just want to know the truth about what happened back then,” Chu Xinghe said seriously. After investigating Wen Ya recently, he found she wasn’t the person the rumors made her out to be.

“Are you also one of Bai Yunzhu’s admirers?” Wen Ya asked with interest. Didn’t he like Xu Qingqing?

After the original Wen Ya was sent abroad by Wen Qihua, she wasn’t fully aware of Bai Yunzhu’s situation. Later, she learned from Wen’s mother that a large sum of money had gone missing, and the Bai family sold their property and moved abroad with Bai Yunzhu.

Bai Yunzhu was like the campus version of the heroine. She was beautiful, though not as elegant as Wen Ya. Her pure and innocent charm appealed to male classmates who hadn’t yet entered society. She was often called the “first love face.”

Gu Chengze, Wu Xianrang, and now Chu Xinghe—all of them had admired Bai Yunzhu.

One odd thing was that these men, who once liked Bai Yunzhu, later fell for Xu Qingqing. Wen Ya thought about it and realized many of Xu Qingqing’s mannerisms resembled Bai Yunzhu’s. Was Bai Yunzhu their “white moonlight”?

“She was my goddess in high school, but unfortunately, her face was ruined,” Chu Xinghe admitted openly. “I used to hate you, but after looking into things, it seems you weren’t really to blame.”

“I explained the matter of Bai Yunzhu very clearly back then, but no one believed me, so I gave up and admitted it was me. After so many years, all the evidence is gone, and you still believe it?” Wen Ya looked at Chu Xinghe with a smile. So, do these people really like Xu Qingqing, or do they treat her as a substitute for Bai Yunzhu?

Hearing this, Chu Xinghe nodded, “I believe it.”

“It wasn’t me. I did ask someone to block Bai Yunzhu. I just wanted to beat her up to warn her not to get close to Gu Chengze. Someone else scratched her face.” Wen Ya raised her eyebrows. Although she wasn’t afraid of Chu Xinghe, it was troublesome to be on guard against a gang leader all day. “I suspect it was Wang Chenxi. You can look for her lackeys and maybe find out the truth.”

After getting the answer, Chu Xinghe left satisfied, while Wen Ya fell into deep thought.

In the original novel, the Wen family went bankrupt due to betrayal by shareholders and senior management, but Wen Ma and Wen Ya still had many assets under their names. Why did they lose everything and end up working in a brothel?

Because it wasn’t explained in detail, Wen Ya didn’t know the reason, but now she suspected Bai Yunzhu.

Gu Chengze is a big businessman, the second male lead is a gang boss, and the third male lead is a lawyer. If these people joined forces to deal with the original body…

Wen Ya took a deep breath. It made sense why the original body ended up like that.

…………

After the banquet, Mr. Ji looked around and asked, “Where’s Ji Ming?”

“He said he was seeing a friend off,” Ji’s mother replied with a knowing smile.

“What friend? I think he went to see his girlfriend,” Ji Yue teased.

“The girl from the Wen family?” Mr. Ji recalled Wen Ya’s performance at the banquet and smiled. “She’s a good child.”

As for Wen Ya, when they saw the news, they looked into her background. They found out that the rumors about her and Ji Ming were just for work, and everyone felt sorry for them.

Ji Ming had never dated anyone in all these years, and it seemed like he would die alone. Suddenly, there were rumors about him and a woman, so the family was naturally curious. As for Wen Ya breaking off the engagement, it wasn’t her fault. If two people aren’t compatible, why not break up? As long as her character was good, the Ji family had no issues.

When Ji Ming returned, his mother asked, “Why are you back so soon? You should have taken her to her doorstep.”

“She brought a driver. Next time,” Ji Ming said, clearly in a good mood.

“Are you sure?” his mother asked again.

“Yeah,” Ji Ming nodded.

Mother Ji didn’t say much, only advising, “Since you’ve decided, treat her well and don’t always look so stern.”

Wen Ya collapsed on her bed, exhausted. She felt like attending the banquet was like fighting a battle. She had never been so tired before.

“Did anything happen today? Did you celebrate Mr. Ji’s birthday?” Aunt Wen brought in a bowl of bird’s nest. “Drink this first to fill your stomach. Aunt Wang is cooking noodles for you.”

“Nothing much. I just went to celebrate Mr. Ji’s birthday. But attending such banquets is too tiring. I’m exhausted physically and mentally. Next time, I’d rather skip such events,” Wen Ya complained.

To attend the banquet, she had to start preparing in the morning. To look good in her dress, she couldn’t eat much. At the event, there were only desserts and drinks, no proper food, and she felt like a showpiece. Whoever wants to go to such banquets can go.

“What are you talking about? This was Mr. Ji’s party! You need to attend more social events. Do you think being a chairman is easy?” Mother Wen glanced at her and asked Wen Ya to write a summary after dinner. “This is an important lesson. Give it to me when you’re done. I’ll check it.”

Wen Ya’s face turned pale, feeling a wave of pressure.

Mother Wen laughed, “Child, some banquets can be skipped, but some can’t. If you get married in the future, there will be even more events to attend.” She prepared bathwater for Wen Ya and talked to her about the young talents in South City, asking if she had met anyone she liked.

“Mom, I just broke off the engagement. I’m not thinking about this now,” Wen Ya replied, feeling it was too early to consider marriage.

Mother Wen was just making conversation. She and Father Wen were open-minded and let her decide her own path.

On the weekend, Wen Ya took a break and went to the mall to relax. Unexpectedly, she ran into Wang Chenxi. Could this be fate?

“Hey! Isn’t this our Chairman Wen? Why are you shopping alone?” Wang Chenxi said with a sweet smile, holding Zhang Sheng’s arm.

Wen Ya narrowed her eyes, sensing a jab at her being single after breaking off the engagement.

“How can I be as lucky as you? I don’t have the luxury of not working and still having money to spend, nor do I have such an excellent fiancé,” Wen Ya replied, nodding at Zhang Sheng.

Wang Chenxi gritted her teeth, knowing Wen Ya was mocking her for being idle and having an arranged marriage.

“Chenxi is lucky. You don’t have this blessing. Why the sarcasm?” He Peiyu, who was with Wang Chenxi, chimed in.

“Wang Chenxi, you’re really interesting. You even bring a dog on your date. But if you have a dog, keep it on a leash. If it bites someone, you won’t be able to afford the compensation,” Wen Ya said with a smile.

She had seen many sycophants, but never one this extreme.

“Wen Ya, who are you calling a dog?” He Peiyu’s face turned red with anger.

“Oh, the dog is barking again,” Wen Ya glanced at her and stepped closer, forcing her to step back. “If you’re a dog, be a good one. Good dogs… don’t block the way.” Since He Peiyu accused her of having ulterior motives, she might as well live up to the accusation.

“You…” He Peiyu was so angry she couldn’t speak.

“Wen Ya, don’t go too far. When beating a dog, you should consider its owner first!” Wang Chenxi, standing nearby, was deep in thought. This Wen Ya seemed like a completely different person after her trip.

“It’s not me calling you a dog; it’s your master who said that,” Wen Ya shrugged helplessly.

“Miss Wen has quite a sharp tongue,” Zhang Sheng remarked with a smile.

“Just showing off a little in front of Lawyer Zhang,” Wen Ya replied, turning to him. “When you have time, teach Chenxi some legal knowledge. It’ll do her good. I have other things to do, so I’ll take my leave now. Goodbye, everyone.”