Chapter 05 — You Need to Be Careful of Wei Xun’s Trap…

What had happened at Wei Xun’s birthday banquet was quickly pushed to the back of Que Wanshu’s mind. Her busy life left her no time nor interest to dig into the aftermath — even if she wanted to, she had no way to find out.

She no longer belonged to that social circle, and the only connection she still had to it was Xu Zhiyan, who would never bring up trivial gossip just to upset her.

So Que Wanshu didn’t know that after a brief buzz within the social circle about her return to Zicheng, her name had once again gone back to being treated like Lord Voldemort — something not to be mentioned.

The cause, of course, was Wei Xun.

But before that, quite a few people had actually stood up for her. Besides Xu Zhiyan and Zhao Xuanyi, many of them were her former classmates.

Que Wanshu had attended an international school with a curriculum focused on global education. Most of the students there planned to study abroad after graduation.

The school had divisions from kindergarten through high school, and Wanshu had been enrolled since kindergarten. Many in that social circle had grown up with her. They might not have been close, but they’d practically grown up together.

Que Wanshu had a good temper and treated others kindly and thoughtfully. Even though she came from a wealthy and powerful family, she never used her background to bully others — in fact, she often helped people. Because of that, most of her classmates had a very good impression of her.

Many still remembered that if the Que family hadn’t suddenly run into trouble in their senior year, Wanshu would’ve gone abroad like everyone else. Who knows — they might’ve continued as classmates overseas. But life is unpredictable.

Now that Que Wanshu had resurfaced after years of silence, many old classmates were genuinely happy to see her again.

So when a video of her singing at Wei Xun’s birthday banquet began circulating in group chats — along with mocking and jeering comments — her former classmates were outraged.

They spoke up for her, arguing with the ones making fun of her until the chats were filled with heated debate.

Some even said Wei Xun was being petty. While no one knew the exact details of their breakup, it was certainly tasteless of him to let people embarrass his ex-girlfriend at his birthday party.

One male classmate, in particular, was especially furious. He had attended the same school as Wanshu from kindergarten and once secretly had a crush on her. But because of a certain unreasonable bully always by her side, he never dared to confess.

In high school, he finally worked up the courage — encouraged by friends — to confess his feelings to his little goddess. But unfortunately, he was caught by none other than that same bully, Wei Xun. His confession letter was torn to shreds on the spot, and he almost got beaten up. The frustration was immense.

He later heard that Wanshu had scolded Wei Xun for his behavior, telling him he should respect others’ feelings no matter what. Though she still rejected him in the end, the boy had been deeply moved — it only made him feel that his affection hadn’t been misplaced.

When he found out Wanshu and Wei Xun had gotten together, he quietly cursed Wei Xun behind his back but genuinely wished her well.

That’s why he was especially angry about what had happened at the birthday banquet. Even though many years had passed and he now had a beloved partner of his own, he couldn’t stand seeing someone he had once truly liked being treated that way.

Still, he only dared to grumble privately — no way he’d confront Wei Xun directly.

After all, this was someone else’s business… and that bully hadn’t changed a bit. He wasn’t someone you wanted to cross.

The drama raged on for a while, but Wei Xun never responded.

Everyone in the Zicheng elite circle already knew that Wei Xun, the eldest young master of the Wei family, hadn’t gotten over his ex-girlfriend after being dumped. So when he ran into her again, people were very curious how he’d react.

But he remained detached, acting indifferent. His behavior at the banquet toward his long-lost ex was cold and aloof. This led to all sorts of speculations about what he was really thinking.

Some said he had finally let go when he saw her again. Others claimed he had turned love into hate and secretly hoped to see her fall apart. Still others believed this was just the beginning — that Wei Xun was about to unleash his revenge on the woman who dumped him.

The theories flew back and forth. Their love-hate story could’ve filled a novel several million words long.

Then, a few days later, people started realizing: Wei Xun hadn’t changed one bit.

The first signs came when a few of the most vocal mockers of Que Wanshu suddenly started to have really bad luck.

Most of them were typical spoiled heirs — all play, no work. While the business-savvy in the circle might gossip in private, no one would seriously risk offending someone by openly spreading dirt about a rich guy’s ex.

Did people really think no one dared mess with Wei Xun just because he had a temper and fists?

He was one of the direct heirs to the Wei family. The Wei family’s Zeyue Group might not hold up half of the country’s economy, but it was still one of the top-tier financial giants in the nation. Its industries spanned across many sectors, with collaborations involving numerous companies.

And Wei Xun wasn’t just some idle rich kid — he was an Ivy League graduate, a director at Zeyue Group. He served as CEO of Zeyue Electronics and Zeyue Energy, both massively valued companies with highly promising futures. More importantly, he was notorious for being vengeful, calculating, and ruthless. You’d have to be crazy to provoke him over some gossip.

When those rich brats either suffered personal setbacks or saw their family businesses take hits — only to get harshly reprimanded by their elders — everyone finally realized: Wei Xun hadn’t let it go. He was just waiting to take them all down in one go.

Of course, a few still hadn’t learned their lesson. At a charity gala, a group of them gathered and started cursing Wei Xun.

“He acts like this whole city revolves around him! What, we’re not even allowed to talk anymore? I say it anyway! Like I’m scared of him!”

The others quickly echoed him, “Yeah, seriously!”

The ringleader had just been punished by his father a few days ago, nearly had his bank cards cut off. Still angry, he got carried away when he heard the others backing him.

“And did we lie? His ex singing at his birthday party was ridiculous—”

He didn’t even get to finish the sentence.

A hand tapped his shoulder.

Startled, he froze. His friends’ faces had gone pale as if they’d seen a ghost. They stared behind him in horror.

His heart skipped a beat.

The hand tapped him again.

Knowing he couldn’t avoid it, he slowly turned around with a stiff face — and met the icy gaze of Wei Xun.

“X-Xun… Brother Xun…” he was practically in tears. Wasn’t Wei Xun supposed to not show up tonight?

“What’s with the stunned face?” Wei Xun smiled — but his eyes were as cold as a knife slicing to the bone. “Keep talking.”

The guy who’d been so bold just moments ago immediately began to plead, “Brother Xun, I was wrong! I’ll never do it again—”

“Oh, I think you’re plenty brave,” Wei Xun said casually, taking a step forward. He towered over him, looked him in the eye, and reached out.

Under the terrified stare of the man, he gently smoothed the front of his shirt and said lightly:

“If I hear her name come out of your mouth again… I’ll make sure your dad sends you to Africa to farm. I’m sure he’d be very willing to trade a useless son for a contract with Zeyue Foods.”

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This person’s family runs a cocoa business, with cocoa farms in many African countries.

“Remember—one word you hear, one year you plant.” Wei Xun let go of his hand, his tone light and casual: “Ah, and if I hear it from someone else, I’ll count that against you too. So you’d better keep everyone else’s mouths shut.”

The rich second-gen nearly fell to his knees in panic. On the verge of tears, he said, “Xun-ge, how are other people’s mouths my problem—”

Wei Xun laughed. He raised his hand and patted the guy on the shoulder. It wasn’t a hard hit, but the man’s legs still buckled, stumbling a few steps back.

If his friends hadn’t quickly grabbed him, he might’ve collapsed awkwardly to the ground.

“Exactly,” Wei Xun said. The smile had already vanished from his lips, leaving behind only those dark eyes—so chilling they seemed like a ghost crawling out of hell to claim a soul. “What others say—what the hell does that have to do with you?”

With those words, he left with a cold face. The rest stood frozen, exchanging fearful glances, wishing they could travel back to the moment before someone gossiped about Que Wanshu.

That entire scene was witnessed by Xu Zhiyan, who had just arrived at the venue.

She gave a soft scoff. As Wei Xun passed by her with a blank expression, she muttered, “Putting on an act.”

Sure enough, Wei Xun stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.

Others feared him—Xu Zhiyan did not. She met his cold gaze head-on, eyes wide, and said, “Don’t act like you’re being all protective. Don’t think that’ll make me say nice things about you to Yaoyao.”

Wei Xun replied, “Why would I care what she thinks of me?”

Xu Zhiyan was stunned. Before she could react, he said coldly, “You’ve got it all wrong. She’s the one who wronged me—not the other way around.”

“She’s the one who lied to me, who dumped me, who tried to end things with just a text message and showed no responsibility toward the relationship.”

Wei Xun’s expression was dark, though his voice remained calm: “So why shouldn’t I hate her? Why can’t I want revenge? Just because her family went bankrupt, her parents got into trouble, I’m supposed to be understanding about everything? Not allowed to have resentment or grievances? Hah. That’s rich.”

He sneered. “I hold grudges. I always get even. If she’s got the guts, she better stay in Yi’an and never come back. Since she came back…”

He didn’t finish that last sentence, but the vicious look in his eyes made it clear that whatever he didn’t say wouldn’t be pleasant.

After parting ways with Wei Xun, Xu Zhiyan immediately messaged Que Wanshu with a warning:

“Yaoyao! Don’t go to any quiet places alone these days. Go straight home after work. If it’s late, don’t go out. Best to travel with someone—and be on alert for shady-looking strangers… You know what, just move in with me for now!”

Que Wanshu: “?”

Que Wanshu: “Did some creep show up near my place?”

Xu Zhiyan: “It’s Wei Xun! I think he’s out for revenge! He just made some seriously threatening comments. Be careful—he might throw a sack over your head!”

Que Wanshu: “…”

She thought, even if Wei Xun really wanted revenge, surely he wouldn’t go so far as to hire someone to stalk her or literally throw a sack over her head, right?

–

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of October.

At the weekly meeting, one of Director Wu’s resident doctors reported a recent case involving bilateral cochlear implant surgery.

The case involved a 1-year-8-month-old child with profound bilateral hearing loss caused by an OTOF gene mutation. OTOF is one of the most common genes associated with congenital sensorineural hearing loss. The otoferlin protein it encodes is primarily found in inner hair cells and is involved in synaptic transmission to the auditory nerve. Mutations affect the function of this protein, resulting in hearing loss.

Clinically, these patients often present with auditory neuropathy, which can show fluctuating hearing and a wide range of severity—from moderate to profound. Due to the nature of the condition, otoacoustic emission test results can appear normal, allowing them to pass newborn hearing screening undetected.

This was the case here. The baby passed his newborn screening, so his family didn’t suspect hearing issues. It wasn’t until he grew older that the family and the nanny noticed his lack of response to sound and his delayed speech development. Further hearing tests and genetic screening eventually confirmed he had an OTOF mutation, with likely profound hearing loss.

At 13 months old, he began using hearing aids and undergoing auditory rehabilitation training, but results were poor. He was later referred to Yun’an Hospital, where Director Wu assessed him, and at 17 months old, he underwent bilateral cochlear implant surgery.

Now, one month post-surgery, his wounds have healed well, and he is adapting well to the implants. His family has noticed an increased response to sounds.

Next, he will begin post-operative auditory rehabilitation at Yun’an Hospital, with Que Wanshu as his therapist.

After the resident concluded the report, Director Wu discussed the case and the planned rehab program with Que Wanshu before ending the meeting.

Afterward, Zheng Luli came over to gossip with Que Wanshu: “I heard the case you took on is our hospital’s super VIP. Rumor has it he’s the young master of a big corporation.”

Que Wanshu glanced at her and chuckled. “Where’d you hear that rumor?”

Zheng Luli said, “It’s all over the VIP ward! They say when he had his surgery, his family booked five premium VIP rooms, and the security was super tight. Clearly not an ordinary family.”

Que Wanshu fell into thought.

Zheng Luli patted her on the shoulder and warned, “VIP patients are tricky. Trickier still are their families. Be careful, and if anything unexpected happens, call Ms. Zhang immediately. The seniors will back you up.”

Que Wanshu smiled. “Got it.”

On the day of the young master’s first rehab session, Que Wanshu had just set up the therapy room when she received a call from the VIP reception room:

“Hello, Therapist Que. I’m Lin from the International Medical Department. A patient has an auditory rehab session scheduled at 3 PM today. The patient and his guardian are already outside the speech and hearing center.”

Que Wanshu replied, “Okay, I’ll go meet them right away.”

At the center entrance, she scanned her badge to unlock the door and saw a man standing a short distance away, pushing a stroller and talking to a woman in a suit—likely the patient and his guardian.

Que Wanshu quickly walked over. The staff member named Lin noticed her first and said to the man, “The therapist is here.”

Just then, the man turned around, his indifferent gaze locking onto hers.

“……”

Que Wanshu froze in place.

Specialist Lin didn’t notice her strange reaction. She approached with the patient’s file and introduced, “Hello, Therapist Que. I’m Lin, the staff member who contacted you earlier. This is Wei Qian, the child scheduled for today’s auditory rehab session. The guardian accompanying him is his father.”

Que Wanshu stood stunned, staring blankly at the man behind the stroller—Wei Xun, who was looking at her with a blank expression.

…Father?

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