Font Size:
After two years, Lu Yunheng had shed his youthful air and now exuded a cold aura.
Memories drifted back to that night when Wen Shuyu faced Lu Yunheng. From applying to study abroad to confirming the decision, she had been completely kept in the dark.
After years of feelings, all she received was the statement, “We’re just classmates.”
Why did he like her yet refuse her hand, her hugs, and even turn his head away when she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him?
It was merely to avoid responsibility, leaving without any hesitation.
There would be no psychological burden.
Everything had a trace to follow; it was just that she was foolish or willing to play the fool, deceiving herself.
In the ten minutes of confrontation with Lu Yunheng, Wen Shuyu didn’t shed a single tear. She calmly spoke her final words: “Goodbye, indefinitely.”
Then she turned and walked away, crying as she went, her heart feeling like it had been ripped open. She decisively deleted and blocked all contact information for Lu Yunheng.
She forced herself not to look at their chat history, afraid of softening her heart.
Time passed for two years, as if half a century had gone by. It felt so long that Wen Shuyu could hardly remember Lu Yunheng, even forgetting the feelings she once had for him.
Yet, fate played tricks on her; he was back.
When Wen’s father met Lu Yunheng for the first time, it was always through photos before, and he couldn’t say whether he liked him or not; he just liked him because his daughter did.
However, after what happened later, he began to feel disgust towards Lu Yunheng.
If you don’t plan for the future, then don’t give people hope.
He saw Lu Yunheng and Jiang Huaiyu in the same room, and it was clear who was superior. Jiang Huaiyu’s care for Yuyu and his character were all noticed and remembered by him.
There were no mixed-up romantic entanglements; he treated Yuyu wholeheartedly.
Wen’s father, who had seen many storms, wouldn’t take Lu Yunheng seriously. He ignored him completely and said, “Director Lu, nice to see you again.”
He was speaking to Lu Jin’an, sitting in the chair, ready for an examination.
Jiang Huaiyu and Wen Shuyu stood to one side, keeping their distance from Lu Yunheng.
They pretended not to know him.
After Lu Jin’an examined him carefully, he found nothing wrong and reminded them to come back next time for an X-ray. If everything was fine, they wouldn’t need to come so often.
“Thank you, Director Lu. We’ll be on our way,” Jiang Huaiyu said, taking Wen Shuyu’s hand in his palm. “Dad, Yuyu, let’s go.”
With a simple “Dad,” he let Lu Yunheng know that their relationship was not ordinary.
Wen’s father stood up. “Goodbye, Director Lu.” He noticed the clasped hands of the two and couldn’t help but smile.
Today, they looked particularly pleasing to the eye.
Wen Shuyu was held by Jiang Huaiyu, trying to break free from his grip. Jiang Huaiyu thought Lu Yunheng was watching from behind, so when she didn’t want to hold hands, he tightened his grip even more, considering Lu Yunheng’s feelings.
In response, Wen Shuyu flipped her hand over and inserted her fingers, one by one, into the gaps between his fingers.
The two held each other’s hands tightly.
Wen Shuyu tilted her head, pretending to be sulky. “What’s wrong, President Jiang? Are you shy? Don’t you want to hold my hand?”
The rings on their ring fingers brushed against each other, reflecting dazzling light under the bright white bulbs.
Jiang Huaiyu scratched her palm gently. “No, I thought you didn’t want to.”
“Hubby, you’re the one turning the tables on me. I just think this feels more comfortable.” She could feel his long fingers and the attraction between the two rings.
Jiang Huaiyu froze for a moment, as if he had been immobilized. Opportunities for Wen Shuyu to call him “hubby” in public were rare.
He understood that she was giving him a sense of security, telling him that he was the only one in her heart.
He raised his other hand and patted her on the head.
Lu Yunheng saw them whispering to each other without a care for anyone around, and Wen Shuyu looked so happy, sweetly calling Jiang Huaiyu “hubby,” while Jiang Huaiyu even patted her head.
How had they developed their feelings so quickly? He had spent countless nights studying and working hard, all in hopes of returning home soon to win Wen Shuyu over.
Yet here he was, witnessing their sweet interactions.
Lu Yunheng struggled to control his emotions and turned away to take a large gulp of water to steady himself.
They clearly hadn’t kissed or hugged, but their closeness felt incredibly intimate.
It had always been like this; Wen Shuyu’s attitude toward Jiang Huaiyu hadn’t been great, but their long-standing familiarity from growing up together meant they had a lot in common.
With just a glance, Jiang Huaiyu knew what she intended to do.
Similarly, Wen Shuyu understood his every move.
A minute later, only the two of them remained in the examination room. When the next patient entered, Lu Jin’an hadn’t discerned the relationship among the four of them at all.
The sun was high in the sky, the heat intense, and the sound of cicadas filled the air.
Jiang Huaiyu went to the roadside parking space to get the car, while Wen Fu and Wen Shuyu waited in the corridor.
Left alone with his daughter, Wen Fu spoke candidly. “Yuyu.”
As soon as Wen Fu opened his mouth, Wen Shuyu knew what he wanted to say. Over the years, she had not hidden her relationship with Lu Yunheng from her parents.
She stated directly, “Dad, I know what you want to say. Don’t worry; I’m not the type to go back on my word. Besides, I don’t like Lu Yunheng anymore. You will only ever have one son-in-law in your life, and that is Jiang Huaiyu.”
She only eats the grass by her own nest, not the grass she once grazed on.
Even if she was single now, she couldn’t possibly go back, especially considering she had such a good husband.
Wen Fu nodded. “As long as you understand, let’s change hospitals next time.”
He didn’t want his daughter to be put in a difficult position.
The First Hospital of South City was the best hospital in the area, and the doctors were very familiar; there was no need for Wen Fu to be delayed because of Lu Yunheng.
Wen Shuyu wrapped her arms around Wen Fu’s. “No need for that; it’s not like he owns the hospital. What are the odds that we would run into him every day?”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you. As long as you and Huaiyu are doing well,” he said, knowing they weren’t the ones doing anything wrong.
Wen Shuyu joked, “What’s this? Have you changed your mind about him? Don’t you think he’s the one who has taken away your daughter?”
Wen Fu laughed. “Haha, you!”
After dropping Wen Fu off at home, the young couple began their respective workdays. Wen Shuyu’s car gradually became more of an ornament; Jiang Huaiyu would drive her to and from work, and when he was away on business, he would send a driver for her.
Wen Shuyu unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned over, and kissed Jiang Huaiyu. “I’m off to work now. You need to be good and not attract any attention.”
Pleased by the kiss, Jiang Huaiyu pressed the anti-peeping mode on the car’s front window, a smile curving at the corners of his lips. “Yuyu, you need to be the one to be good.”
“I’ve always been good, okay?” Wen Shuyu tried to pull away, but his large hand held her neck firmly, making it impossible to move.
“Really?” Jiang Huaiyu pressed his lips against the corner of hers, kissing her softly while gazing deeply into her eyes.
He didn’t want to let her go.
Just as things were starting to progress, her rival had returned to South City.
Beauty can be a distraction. After lingering for a while downstairs, Wen Shuyu pushed him away. “It’s swollen now; how am I supposed to face people?”
“Then hide it. I’ll keep it to myself,” he replied.
“Pervert, I’m leaving.”
“I’ll show you my perversion again tonight.”
How could she withstand his sweet talk in broad daylight? Wen Shuyu pretended to be calm. “Mr. Jiang, just focus on work and earn money to support me.”
She adjusted Jiang Huaiyu’s shirt collar, picked up her chain bag from the center console, and unlocked the car door.
Without saying a word, Jiang Huaiyu’s Adam’s apple moved as he suddenly pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her sweet lips, prying her mouth open and savoring the fragrance within.
With a smile on his lips, he closed his eyes, and Wen Shuyu instinctively placed her hands on his shoulders, responding to his kiss.
In front of the office building bustling with people, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, spilling into the car and spying on this embarrassing scene.
Breathless, the air thickened inside the car as the blood surged through his body. Before losing control, Jiang Huaiyu released Wen Shuyu.
“My freshly applied lipstick smudged,” Wen Shuyu said, touching up her lipstick in the mirror. She grabbed her bag and prepared to leave; if she didn’t hurry, she might not make it to work today.
Before she walked out, she reminded Jiang Huaiyu, “Don’t forget to wipe your mouth.”
Jiang Huaiyu wiped his lips, as if he could still feel Wen Shuyu’s warmth lingering there, and picked up a tissue to clean himself.
He watched as Wen Shuyu entered the lobby of the office building, then pressed down on the gas pedal and drove onto the main road.
As soon as Wen Shuyu stepped into the office, she tossed her bag onto the sofa and downed a glass of iced water.
Trying to cool her heated feelings, she fanned herself with her hand, already sweating on her back. The air conditioning wasn’t working well today, and she would have to ask the property management to check it out.
Meng Man walked in and teased her, noticing her standing beneath the air vent, “Oh my, who is it that doesn’t want to come to work? Luckily, the area downstairs isn’t a no-parking zone.”
Wen Shuyu turned around and asked, “Did you all see?”
She silently calculated that next time, she would have to park in the underground garage.
Meng Man replied, “No, it’s just that this car is too familiar.”
With a car worth millions parked downstairs, who wouldn’t take a second look?
“Good that you didn’t see,” Wen Shuyu steadied her breathing and sat back down in her chair, returning to her files.
She noticed a red “1” in her WeChat contacts, and her heart skipped a beat. She already had a guess and clicked to check. Sure enough, it was Lu Yunheng.
She rejected the request directly, providing no reason, and quickly deleted the message.
Wen Shuyu spent the entire day wrapping up her previous cases and starting on new work.
She automatically filtered out any thoughts about Lu Yunheng.
In the afternoon, Fu Qingzi called her out for afternoon tea, saying, “Wen Xiaoyu, I’m treating you to afternoon tea, come quickly.”
Wen Shuyu pushed it to the evening, replying, “Xiaozizi, I have to work. I’ll accompany you tonight, be good.”
Fu Qingzi responded, “Okay, you said it.”
They were both rich second-generation kids, and Fu Qingzi didn’t understand Wen Shuyu—wasn’t it better to just be a slacker? Working was exhausting.
Oh well, society needed people like them who were willing to contribute.
As for her, she was fine just being a hands-off manager.
Cheng Xianzhi passed by her and mentioned that they could sue Liangshi Technology for defamation, and there was hope for them to revisit Nan’an Town, with repeated assurances that no accidents would occur.
After discussing, they decided to choose a date for the visit.
As Wen Shuyu was about to finish work, she remembered she needed to report her plans, so she sent a WeChat message to test the waters: “Hubby, kiss.gif.”
Jiang Huaixu opened the notification in the lower right corner of his computer. The fact that she called him “hubby” and sent a kissing emoji could only mean trouble.
“Wife, what’s up?”
Wen Shuyu turned her chair, contemplating how to phrase her message. “I’m going to bail on you tonight. Xiaozizi invited me out to dinner, so I might be back a bit late. Boohoo.”
Jiang Huaixu replied, “Go ahead, I’ll pick you up when you’re done. Just don’t drink too much.”
If she didn’t drink, she probably wouldn’t listen to him.
Wen Shuyu responded, “You’re the best, sending heart emojis, love you! gif.”
Even though it was just a love emoji, Jiang Huaixu genuinely felt happy and replied with text: “Love you, wife.”
Song Jinnan leaned against the door frame, teasing, “Yo yo yo, so mushy. Just sending a WeChat to your wife and your smile is stretching all the way to your ears.”
Jiang Huaixu tossed a plush toy at him. “What do you want?”
Song Jinnan caught it and said, “Let’s grab a few drinks tonight. I have something to ask you.”
“Okay.” Jiang Huaixu picked up his suit jacket from the sofa and headed out.
As luck would have it, they split into two groups: Fu Qingzi took his wife, while he was called away by Song Jinnan.
The famous bar street in Nancheng was also home to a variety of delicious foods.
Fu Qingzi found a barbecue restaurant and waited in a private room for Wen Shuyu.
When she saw someone walk in, she handed over a paper box, saying, “Babe, I got you something good.”
“What is it?” Wen Shuyu asked, eager to open it, but Fu Qingzi stopped her.
Fu Qingzi feigned mystery. “It’s a bag; you can open it when we get back.”
“Thanks, I won’t stand on ceremony then.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Wen Shuyu called the waiter and ordered a low-alcohol fruit wine, noticing that Fu Qingzi seemed preoccupied and didn’t dare to let her order anything stronger.
After a few glasses of pink fruit wine, Fu Qingzi spoke up, “It’s Song Jinnan. He said he wants to pursue me, but I don’t know what to do.”
Even though it was clearly over, he still had the nerve to say he wanted to pursue her.
Wen Shuyu took a few sips of her drink, careful not to overdo it since her alcohol tolerance wasn’t great.
She quietly listened to Fu Qingzi’s story.
“That day, after the issues at his company were resolved, we went out for dinner. I told him it was over, and he agreed. But just a couple of days later, he showed up at my house saying he wanted to pursue me. The last time we went to a wedding, he even ran to the beach to find me. I really don’t know what he’s thinking!”
Wen Shuyu picked up a piece of meat and fed it to Fu Qingzi, saying, “Let him pursue you; experience what it’s like to be pursued.”
Fu Qingzi chewed for a moment and asked, “Isn’t that being a bit heartless?”
In her understanding, one shouldn’t play hard to get or keep someone hanging—it’s either yes or no.
“If you don’t let him pursue you, will he really stop?” Fu Qingzi shook her head, and Wen Shuyu continued, “Then what’s the point? Besides, you like him, so why worry about it?”
It seemed to make sense.
Wen Shuyu drank another glass of wine. “Don’t respond to those you don’t like; it’s different for those you do.”
Fu Qingzi took a sip and asked, “How did Jiang Huaixu pursue you?”
“He didn’t,” Wen Shuyu replied, her heart aching at the thought.
At the same time, in the bar next door, Song Jinnan asked Jiang Huaixu, “How did you pursue Wen Shuyu?”
He was looking for advice since it was his first time trying to pursue someone.
Jiang Huaiyu said indifferently, “I didn’t pursue her.”
He thought he had found a strategist, but in reality, the other party had taken a shortcut by getting a marriage certificate directly, securing a legitimate position without needing to pursue anyone.
Jiang Huaiyu took a sip of plain water. “I was just about to pursue her.”
He had no idea what kind of games they were playing in their marriage.
Two buttons of Jiang Huaiyu’s shirt were undone, exposing his porcelain-white neck and collarbone, which added an air of both nobility and restraint.
From time to time, girls would come over to flirt with him, but he would use his tried-and-true rejection line: “I’m married and very much in love with my wife.”
In the end, Jiang Huaiyu kept his phone screen always on, placing the photo of their marriage certificate on the table.
This would eliminate any future troubles.
Song Jinnan quietly noted this down. The key was that when the two of them went out, no one approached him, and he didn’t have a marriage certificate either.
He needed to find a way to get a certificate first.
If he followed Jiang Huaiyu’s example, then everything would be easier once it was legal.
Meanwhile, Wen Shuyu looked at Fu Qingzi, who was resting her head on the table, and gently stroked her hair, suddenly laughing a little at the inexplicable relationship between the two of them.
In the first half of their lives, they fought more than anyone else, yet now they gather more than anyone else.
In fact, they see each other even more often than she does with Shen Ruoying, and their conversations run deeper. Yingying has complained to her countless times, saying that she has fallen out of favor.
As the music started, the lyrics played: “I hope the person I love is healthy, has a kind personality, and can embrace my little stubbornness with his big hands.”
The ringtone changed to a sweet little love song after the Ferris wheel.
Wen Shuyu took her phone out of her bag; it was a call from Jiang Huaiyu. She answered, “Jiang Huaiyu, come pick me up and also call Song Jinnan to pick up Qingzi. Give him a chance to show off.”
If Fu Qingzi didn’t like Song Jinnan or didn’t want to give him a chance, she definitely wouldn’t invite her to dinner.
Her voice was soft and sweet, floating like a cloud, and Jiang Huaiyu could tell she had drunk too much. “Okay, I’ll be there soon.”
He told Song Jinnan, “Let’s go together; your future girlfriend has also drunk too much.”
The two of them went to the bar and didn’t touch a drop of alcohol, while the two girls went to eat barbecue and got completely wasted.
Wen Shuyu went to the bathroom and encountered Lu Yunheng in the hallway.
He wouldn’t leave her alone.
Lu Yunheng blocked her path and greeted her, “What a coincidence, Yuyu, why didn’t you accept my WeChat request?”
Wen Shuyu felt a jolt of sobriety, and coldly replied, “I don’t want to accept it, and don’t call me Yuyu; you’re not worthy.”
Lu Yunheng stood in the middle of the path, “Aren’t we still friends?”
“We’re just classmates.” Wen Shuyu echoed his previous words back to him, adding, “We’re not friends.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jiang Huaiyu behind her, quickly sidestepping Lu Yunheng and running to wrap her arms around Jiang Huaiyu’s waist, looking up at him and saying, “Honey, you’re here! My head hurts so much.”
Jiang Huaiyu caught Wen Shuyu, raising his gaze to see Lu Yunheng. The eyes of the two men met in the air, sparks flying.
Then he looked down at the woman in his arms, her cheeks slightly flushed and her eyes dreamy. “I’m here to take you home and brought you flowers.”
His tone was gentle and indulgent as he presented her with a bouquet of pink lychee roses wrapped in kraft paper.
“So fragrant, you’re so nice.”
Whether she was intentionally putting on a show or trying to demonstrate to Lu Yunheng that she was doing well, Jiang Huaiyu bore it silently, willingly becoming her tool.
Song Jinnan admired him sincerely; the two had come out together, but when did he buy the flowers?
Afterward, he stepped out to the nearby flower shop and bought the last bouquet of red roses. He wanted to buy champagne roses, but they were sold out.
The black Cullinan sped down the streets of Nan City late at night. Wen Shuyu looked out the window; it wasn’t the way home but the road leading to the outskirts.
Holding the flowers, she leaned down to sniff them. “Where are we going?”
The scent of the roses mingled with the cedar scent on Jiang Huaiyu, making it pleasant.
Jiang Huaiyu turned to glance at her. Her expression was as usual, not as he had imagined. “I’m taking you to see the stars; you can take a nap first.”
Wen Shuyu obediently closed her eyes and fell asleep, waking up to find the car parked on a platform halfway up the mountain.
She realized she had been moved to the back seat at some point.
“What are you doing?” Jiang Huaiyu’s face leaned in close to hers, his pupils dark and profound.
Jiang Huaiyu nibbled on her earlobe. “What do you think, dear?”
Caught off guard, she trembled all over, already having an answer in her heart as she clutched the edge of her clothing.
“Of course, we’re going to ‘eat fish’ in the car.”