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Chapter 09 — The Ex Who Just Won’t Go Away…

After their two sons had fallen asleep, Wei Jin and Xie Huaiyu sat together on the terrace, sipping wine.

Wei Jin was wearing a thin nightgown, with a blanket draped over her shoulders that her husband had just brought her. After finishing a small glass of red wine, Xie Huaiyu took her glass and poured her a little more.

Suddenly, she chuckled at a thought.

Seeing his wife smile like she was secretly amused, Xie Huaiyu couldn’t help but laugh too. “What are you thinking about?”

“Something funny came to mind,” Wei Jin said, her eyes curved in a smile. “I was just thinking, what Dasheng said at dinner today gave me this odd sense of déjà vu — and I finally remembered why.”

Xie Huaiyu clinked glasses with her and asked cooperatively, “Why?”

Wei Jin took a sip of wine and laughed. “When Wei Xun was little, my parents used to have similar conversations with him.”

Xie Huaiyu looked surprised. “Hmm? He got kissed by a girl too?”

“Who would dare? That brat was like a little bully when he was young — angelic face, devilish personality, that’s him to a T.” Wei Jin recalled her brother’s wild childhood and couldn’t help but twitch her lips. “Except for Yaoyao, no other girl dared go near him, let alone sneak a kiss. Anyone who tried would’ve been beaten into tears.”

“Yaoyao is…?” Xie Huaiyu asked curiously.

At the mention of the name, Wei Jin sighed softly. “The daughter of Changyuan Shipping’s chairman — Que Wanshu. She was the girl Wei Xun used to like, and now she’s Wei Qian’s speech therapist. Yaoyao is her nickname.”

“Oh, so it’s her,” Xie Huaiyu nodded. Of course he knew who Que Wanshu was.

That name had once turned the entire Wei household upside down. To this day, their parents and Wei Jin still didn’t dare casually bring it up in front of Wei Xun, afraid it might set him off again.

Back when they heard the name from therapist Zhang Shulan at Yun’an Hospital, Wei Jin and Xie Huaiyu had assumed it was just someone with the same name. But after digging a little deeper, they realized — it was indeed the same person.

Call it fate, perhaps?

Wei Jin didn’t go into what happened afterward but instead smiled as she talked about the past. “You know how our family has a tradition of making jade pendants for the kids, right? Not only do Wei Yong and Wei Qian have them, but so do Wei Xun and I.”

“Especially Wei Xun — he was born premature, and his health was poor when he was little, always getting sick. His original jade pendant was made from the same piece as mine, but Grandpa thought it couldn’t ward off enough evil, so he later had a new one made from top-grade mutton-fat white jade and even got a monk to bless it.”

“Mutton-fat jade is priceless. People say all the real stuff is in museums, and that’s not far from the truth. Grandpa had gotten a small piece long ago and treasured it dearly. He never would’ve used it if Wei Xun hadn’t been so sick.”

“But the strange thing is, once Wei Xun started wearing that new pendant, his health really did improve. He got sick less and less. After that, he always wore it… until one day, it just disappeared.”

Wei Jin’s tone shifted: “My parents asked where the jade went. Want to guess what he said?”

‘Gave it to my girlfriend,’” she said with a smirk.

They were at dinner, the whole family at the table, when little seven-year-old Wei Xun blurted that out.

Their parents were stunned. Wei Jin, who was mid-bite, nearly choked and had to cover her mouth, eyes wide. “You have a girlfriend??”

Wei Xun calmly glanced at his overreacting sister and nodded.

For some reason, Wei Jin could almost see disdain on that little face.

Their father, Wei Yun, was taken aback. “Girlfriend? Who is it?”

At the mention of “girlfriend,” this usually grumpy, bratty little kid broke into a smile. “It’s Yaoyao.”

Wei Yun had never heard the name before and looked to his wife, Lu Haiyue, for help.

Lu Haiyue smiled helplessly. “She’s the daughter of Que Dingming, the chairman of Changyuan Shipping. Her name’s Que Wanshu — Yaoyao’s her nickname. She and Ah Xun play together a lot.”

So just a playmate, Wei Yun thought and nodded. Seeing his son’s serious face, he decided to tease him. “Do you even know what a girlfriend means?”

He expected Wei Xun to say “a girl who’s a friend,” but instead the boy said, “It’s someone I like. When we’re grown up and ready to marry, she’ll be my wife.”

That response stunned not just the parents — even Wei Jin genuinely choked this time. “Cough! Cough cough cough!”

She couldn’t believe her ears. At sixteen, she hadn’t even had a first love yet, and here her seven-year-old brother was already finding a wife?

Wei Yun and Lu Haiyue hadn’t expected that either. But since he was just a kid, they figured he must’ve picked it up somewhere and didn’t take it seriously — just found it funny.

Lu Haiyue asked gently, “Then why did you give her your jade?”

The pendant had been specially made for him by Grandpa. He treasured it and never let anyone else touch it — not even his parents or sister. No one thought he’d just give it away.

But Wei Xun suddenly lowered his head and said softly, “She got sick. Grandpa said the pendant could protect kids from getting sick. So I gave it to her, hoping she’ll get better soon.”

Wei Jin: “…”

She hadn’t expected her brother to be a pure-hearted romantic!

By the end of the story, Xie Huaiyu was also smiling. “Really didn’t expect that from Ah Xun.”

What the Wei family didn’t expect was that what they thought was childish talk actually ran deep. Wei Xun had been serious — to a degree that startled everyone around him.

Xie Huaiyu recalled how Wei Xun had acted after coming home from the hospital earlier and mentioned it to Wei Jin. Before they could discuss it further, Wei Jin received a message from her brother.

She opened it — a 40-minute audio recording.

Wei Xun: “Recording from the therapy session.”

Wei Xun: “Next class, she wants you and Xie Huaiyu to attend.”

Wei Xun: “And bring the nanny.”

There were no emojis or stickers, but for some reason, Wei Jin could feel the gritted teeth behind the words.

Thinking of what her husband said about Wei Xun’s strange mood after returning from the hospital, Wei Jin immediately understood.

She handed the phone to Xie Huaiyu with a raised eyebrow. “Case closed.”

––

Friday.

Que Wanshu had just returned home after work and finished dinner when she got a call from Xu Zhiyan.

“Babe, you home? Look out your window.”

Que Wanshu, puzzled, walked over, opened the window, and saw a pale pink Ferrari parked down the alley below her apartment. Her best friend was standing next to it in a short skirt, smiling up at her.

At the same time, her cheerful voice came through the phone: “Yaoyao, come down! Let’s go have some fun!”

Xu Zhiyan had just gotten back from a business trip to Japan and another to Singapore. As soon as she arrived in Zicheng, she drove over to pick up Que Wanshu for a vacation.

Her family owned a luxury hotel chain, with branches across the country and even in Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. They’d just opened a new hot spring resort on Yunshan Mountain near Zicheng, called Yunshan Guanzhi. It had just opened, and not even she had been there yet — so she wanted to go with her bestie.

It was already mid-November, and the maples on Yunshan were turning red-orange. It wasn’t peak season yet, but the misty autumn scenery was still beautiful.

As the hotel heiress, Xu Zhiyan booked the best rooms and had them try every extra service.

Now, the two had just finished a hot spring bath and were lying on separate massage beds enjoying one-on-one massages, chatting nonstop.

“Huh? Your department director is the son-in-law of the Yun’an Group?” Xu Zhiyan asked in surprise.

“Allegedly. Still an unconfirmed rumor,” Que Wanshu corrected. “Did you see him at any family gathering?”

Xu Zhiyan was preparing for her upcoming wedding — to Zhang Luyang, the eldest son of the Yun’an Group chairman. If the rumor was true, Director Wu would be her fiancé’s uncle-in-law.

She thought for a moment. “I didn’t really pay attention to him. Just remember he wore glasses and looked pretty refined.”

Glasses? Refined?

That matched. If not for his nagging personality, Director Wu did look like a gentle old man.

So maybe the rumor was true.

Que Wanshu didn’t dwell on it and asked about her friend’s wedding prep. “How’s it going?”

Xu Zhiyan forced a smile. “Don’t ask. The guy’s always MIA — I feel like I’m planning a solo wedding.”

Without waiting for questions, she vented about her workaholic fiancé who was always away.

Their marriage was arranged — they’d only met three times before deciding to wed.

Though it was a business marriage, Xu Zhiyan still took the wedding seriously and wanted everything to be perfect. Unfortunately, her fiancé’s constant absence and indifferent responses were driving her mad.

Que Wanshu joined her in ranting and then hesitated. “Does your family really insist on this arranged marriage?”

Arranged marriages were common in elite circles — sometimes for power, sometimes just for status. While love marriages existed, many people married simply for convenience.

Open marriages were also not unusual.

Wanshu wasn’t sure what Zhiyan really wanted — she just felt sorry for her.

Maybe she’d been away from that world too long, or maybe it was just her nature, but Que Wanshu couldn’t imagine marrying someone without love. If she didn’t find someone she truly wanted to spend her life with, she’d rather stay single.

She thought her best friend felt the same — until Zhiyan shrugged. “If not him, it’d be someone else. I’ve long stopped dreaming about fairytale love.”

How many marriages in this world were really about soulmates? Most were just partnerships.

Que Wanshu opened her mouth to respond — but then Zhiyan suddenly changed the subject.

“Oh right, didn’t you say Wei Jin’s youngest son had surgery at Yun’an Hospital and you’d be handling his auditory therapy? Have you met them yet?”

“Well…” Que Wanshu glanced at her and hesitated, then carefully recounted everything that had happened in Wei Qian’s first session.

As expected, Zhiyan exploded the moment she heard it.

“Wei Xun again?! Why won’t that guy just stay gone?!”