Chen Ru said she didn’t need looking after, but when Wen Ying called Wen Dongrong, she objected. However, with her sprained ankle, she wasn’t as agile as Wen Ying, who quickly darted to the balcony to make the call.
“Shu Lu pushed your mum down, and she’s hurt?”
“Yeah, Dad, you don’t doubt it, do you? Mum wouldn’t lie about something like this—”
Through the glass door of the balcony, Chen Ru was straining to listen. If Wen Dongrong so much as said “I don’t believe it,” what awaited him would surely be a divorce petition!
At this critical moment, whether it was an overwhelming survival instinct or years of marital bond, Wen Dongrong didn’t have time to question how Chen Ru got injured. His concern was her condition, cutting off Wen Ying’s rambling to ask:
“Forget how she fell for now. Did your mum hit her head? Has she had a scan at the hospital?”
Even Wen Ying had forgotten about this. She cracked open the balcony door: “Mum, Dad’s asking if you’ve had a scan?”
“Just a scrape, what’s the point of a scan? I know my own body!”
Slam.
Wen Ying pushed the door shut again. “No scan. I’ll take Mum to the hospital now.”
“Can you get your mum to listen?”
Wen Dongrong’s question hit deep. Wen Ying thought of Chen Ru’s stubbornness and felt a headache coming on.
Once Chen Ru made up her mind, not even ten oxen could sway her. Wen Ying figured the moment she opened her mouth, Chen Ru would have a barrage of retorts ready.
“Well—”
“Well, what? Stay put at home. I’m coming to Rongcheng right away.”
Wen Dongrong didn’t give Wen Ying a chance to argue and hung up.
Coming to Rongcheng now? It’d be the middle of the night by the time he arrived, wouldn’t it?
Wen Ying chuckled. A couple who’d lived together for over a decade—how could there be no feelings? Old Wen still knew how to care, so it seemed the odds of her becoming a single-parent kid had dropped a bit.
When Wen Ying returned to the living room, keeping her head down and staying silent, Chen Ru folded her arms and sneered, “Told you not to call, but you didn’t listen. What’s the point now?”
Wen Ying stifled a laugh. “I think it was worth it. Dad said he’s coming to Rongcheng right away. Sure, he’s protective of Shu Lu’s family, but he cares about you more.”
Chen Ru looked embarrassed, managing only a curt “Who needs him here?” before storming off to her room and slamming the door.
Wen Ying sat on the sofa, laughing.
She’d figured out how to handle her mum by now. Chen Ru was tough on the outside but soft inside, unable to resist a bit of coaxing.
As for her dad… well, it depended on Old Wen’s performance!
Wen Ying figured she probably wouldn’t have to cancel on Xie Qian tomorrow. Not that she was unfilial, putting friends before her mum, but with Wen Dongrong rushing over overnight, there was no way he’d head back just as fast.
The couple had been in a cold war for so long, and Chen Ru’s injury was a perfect chance for them to reconcile. If Comrade Old Wen didn’t want to end up alone, he’d seize this opportunity to step up.
If Wen Ying stuck around, she’d just be a third wheel.
But it was too early to be optimistic. She’d have to see how things played out. If Old Wen kept being stubborn, they’d likely start arguing the moment they met.
Wen Ying leaned back on the sofa.
What exactly was Zhao Dong up to?
Getting Shu Guobing to mess with her wasn’t enough, and now that Shu Guobing was caught, was Zhao Dong planning to use Shu Lu?
Shu Lu was a year younger than her. Unlike Wen Ying, a reborn soul with an old cucumber painted young, Shu Lu was genuinely fifteen in both body and mind… well, maybe mentally a couple of years older. Girls matured earlier than boys, with sharper minds, and Shu Lu was a standout among her peers. If she weren’t so clever, she wouldn’t have overcome her toxic family in her past life and played a bad hand well.
Because of Wen Ying’s rebirth, some things had changed this time around. The biggest impact on Shu Lu was losing the support of Wen Ying’s family. The two families had already fallen out, and tonight Shu Lu had pushed Chen Ru, causing her injury. If things escalated to this point and Wen Dongrong still supported Shu Lu in the future—arranging jobs or matchmaking—then he’d be the city’s number-one saint!
Wen Dongrong was no saint. He had a strong need to control even his own daughter. In the past life, he was good to Shu Lu because she obeyed him, always compliant and following his arrangements.
This time, Shu Lu’s life trajectory had shifted. Without Wen Ying’s family’s support, she’d latched onto Zhao Dong.
Zhao Dong was far wealthier than Wen Ying’s family. Sending someone to study abroad? With his resources, that was a piece of cake.
In the past life, Wen Dongrong and Chen Ru’s support for Shu Lu’s education and settling down was a bond of family. Now, Shu Lu was dealing with Zhao Dong, a profit-driven businessman with no familial ties. To gain his “help,” Shu Lu would have to pay a steep price. Wen Ying’s immediate guess was that Zhao Dong would exploit the fact that Shu Lu attended the same school as her and Xie Qian.
Given recent events and Shu Lu’s personality, she probably despised Wen Ying’s family. Tonight’s incident—pushing Chen Ru—proved her mindset.
Was it just Cai Youlun and Shu Lu at Jinjiang Hotel tonight, or was Zhao Dong there too?
If Zhao Dong was there, something Wen Ying didn’t know about must have happened.
After all, Zhao Dong used to stay behind the scenes, directing Cai Youlun to deal with the Shu family, seemingly careful not to provoke Xie Qian.
So why wasn’t Zhao Dong worried about overstepping and upsetting Xie Qian now?
Wen Ying hesitated for a while before texting Xie Qian:
“Have you run into trouble lately? Zhao Dong’s been making a lot of moves, like he’s not afraid of you noticing.”
Before Xie Qian could reply, she added: “I want to help you, and myself. We can’t keep hiding things and fighting separately!”
…
“Xie Qian?”
Mid-conversation, Xie Qian suddenly looked down at his phone. Jiang Youjia thought he’d said something wrong and felt a bit uneasy:
“I’ve told you everything I know. Zhao Dong claims his family’s some scholarly lineage, supposedly with an ancestor who was a Hanlin scholar. After returning to China, he’s targeted the cultural tourism sector. The Rongcheng government offered a franchise for a big amusement park, and Zhao Dong tried to bid but lost. Now he’s investing in hotels.”
Xie Qian put away his phone.
That Wen Hamster was sharp, picking up on Zhao Dong’s odd behaviour so quickly.
Why wasn’t Zhao Dong afraid of him anymore? Because he’d found a real backer.
Knowing that this so-called “Young Master Xie” wasn’t favoured by Xie Jinghu, Zhao Dong naturally had fewer reservations.
Xie Qian’s mind wandered, wondering how to explain this to Wen Ying.
To clarify Zhao Dong’s change, he’d have to talk about the Xie family’s messy affairs—dirty laundry he didn’t want even Wen Ying to know.
But Wen Ying was right. If they kept secrets from each other, Zhao Dong could pick them off one by one.
“Why did Zhao Dong lose the bid? Was it a lack of strength or not enough connections?”
Xie Qian, multitasking, still zeroed in on the key point.
Jiang Youjia chuckled. “Bit of both, really. A big amusement park isn’t easy to build. Zhao Dong may be an overseas Chinese businessman, but he’s nowhere near the likes of Disney. The Rongcheng government welcomes his investment in other areas, but when he pitched the park, he couldn’t pass the financial vetting. Why do you think he came back to China? I heard he offended someone abroad and had to return. Plus, his connections in Rongcheng aren’t great. Without solid assets to back him, banks won’t give him big loans. With those two factors combined, he was bound to lose the bid!”
