Chapter 16 Return Home "Qiao Yunzheng, I'm back."

Perhaps she had unconsciously gotten used to having someone around, because Qiao Yunzheng was having trouble sleeping.

The phone was lit up, displaying a photo of the fiancée that the Wen family had officially announced.

The words Wen Hong had spoken in the parking lot that night echoed in her ears: "Qiao Yunzheng, let's get married."

In recent days, Qiao Yunzheng had never delved into Wen Hong's motives for doing this. She naturally assumed that it was his way of getting revenge on her, which was indeed in line with his style of doing things.

Looking back now, there might be another possibility.

Wen Hong has never been one to obediently follow arrangements. His proposal to marry her was partly a form of revenge, but it was also likely a form of resistance against the arranged marriage she was born out of dissatisfaction with her family.

In these business families, marriage has always been the most stable and reliable means to maximize and sustain profits; this is commonplace.

Back then, the Wen family used Wen Hong to get close to the Qiao family; now they may use a marriage alliance to win over the Cao family.

But it's clear that Wen Hong is probably not happy about the Cao family's affairs, otherwise he wouldn't have dragged Wen Hong into this mess.

So what about back then? In his approach to her, amidst all the deception, was there even a tiny bit of genuine feeling or reluctance?

Qiao Yunzheng stared at the photo of the Cao family's daughter, unable to describe her feelings.

While I was tossing and turning, I suddenly heard some noise coming from the living room.

Qiao Yunzheng was surprised. Wen Hong had only been gone for half a day, so it shouldn't be him at this time.

She immediately became alert, her whole body tense. She glanced around, grabbed a baseball bat from beside the wardrobe, tiptoed to the door, and gently turned the doorknob.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any security problems in such a high-end residential area, but the huge house was empty, with only Qiao Yunzheng there, so she couldn't help but have wild thoughts.

The living room was dark. Qiao Yunzheng stood close to the door, opened it a crack, and stared in the direction of the entrance.

The beeping sound of the password being entered was particularly loud in the night.

As the mechanical female voice announced "Incorrect password" repeatedly, Qiao Yunzheng's heart leaped into her throat.

Just as I was wondering whether I should lock the door and call the police, the door finally clicked open.

Then, the living room lights came on.

The first thing that catches the eye is a head of striking wine-red long hair.

She is a petite girl.

She seemed unaware that there was another person in the house, and was busy arranging her luggage, taking off her coat, and changing her shoes.

The girl looked quite young, and judging from her calm and composed demeanor, she didn't seem like a bad person.

Qiao Yunzheng felt a little relieved.

Having never handled such an unexpected situation before, she hesitated for a moment before walking into the living room and softly greeting the girl who had just entered: "Hi..."

The girl was clearly startled, her whole body trembling. When she saw the baseball bat Qiao Yunzheng was holding, her eyes filled with terror: "Who are you?"

Qiao Yunzheng didn't know how to introduce herself, but in order to make herself seem less strange for appearing here in the middle of the night, she said, almost unconsciously, "I'm Wen Hong's girlfriend."

Anyway, he's not here, so there's no need to worry about him hearing or being subjected to his sarcastic remarks.

The girl paused noticeably for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up.

She practically jumped over, looked Qiao Yunzheng up and down several times with a serious expression, her eyes sparkling: "My brother finally has a girlfriend!"

The girl seemed quite pleased with Qiao Yunzheng. After sincerely praising her, she naturally changed her address: "Hello, sister-in-law. My name is Wen Miao. I'm a university student in the next city. I'm here to visit for a few days during my vacation..."

As he spoke, he craned his neck and looked around, "Huh? Where's my brother?"

“He said he had an urgent matter and had to go out for two days…” Qiao Yunzheng didn’t know Wen Hong’s specific schedule, so she could only change the subject to ease the awkwardness, “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something? I’ll make you something.”

Wen Miao nodded: "Okay!"

A few minutes later, Qiao Yunzheng stood in front of the kitchen counter, paused for a few seconds, and then changed her mind: "Um, Wen Miao, how about instant noodles?"

This is the only meal Qiao Yunzheng knows how to cook, if cooking instant noodles counts as a meal.

Wen Miao didn't have the spoiled habits of those wealthy heiresses; on the contrary, she was very warm and easy to talk to. A few minutes later, she sat down at the table with a steaming bowl of instant noodles and began to eat.

Qiao Yunzheng breathed a slight sigh of relief, sat down opposite her, and took out a tissue to dry her hands.

Then, out of sheer boredom, I turned on my phone screen.

The screen remains stuck on that photo.

Just as Qiao Yunzheng was about to exit the photo session, Wen Miao had already looked over.

"Huh? Sister-in-law, you know Cao Yi?" She had noodles in her mouth and her eyes were full of surprise.

Qiao Yunzheng shook her head: "I don't know her, it's just that," she thought for a moment, then, omitting Su Ran, said, "I saw it on the news."

As the eldest daughter of the Wen family, Wen Miao was naturally aware of the relationship between Cao Yi and the Qiao family. However, she was a typical "brother-obsessed" person, and no matter who she was, it wouldn't matter if her brother didn't like it.

Wen Miao knew exactly what Cao Yi meant to Qiao Yunzheng, and alarm bells rang in her mind. She quickly said, "Sister-in-law, please don't misunderstand. That news was all made up. These days, many media people will do anything to get clicks. Besides, it was Cao Yi who kept trying to get close to my brother, and he ignored her completely!" She blinked her bright eyes, her face full of sincerity. "My brother only likes you!"

As he spoke, he nodded very solemnly.

Qiao Yunzheng was almost amused by her reaction. This little girl, who had just entered the door and didn't even know him yet, had already solemnly pledged her loyalty to her brother in the time it took to eat a bowl of noodles.

After finishing her meal, Qiao Yunzheng put the dishes in the dishwasher, found a new set of pink bedding, and after thinking for a moment, asked Wen Miao, "Is it okay if you sleep in that room?"

She was referring to Wen Hong's room at the end of the corridor.

There are quite a few rooms in the house, but no one has lived there for a long time, so things are not complete. There are only a few hours left before dawn, so there is no need to spend time making changes.

Only the secondary bedroom she was staying in and the master bedroom Wen Hong was available for immediate occupancy.

To everyone's surprise, Wen Miao immediately shook her head vigorously upon hearing her words: "No, no, no, I wouldn't dare, I'd be eaten..."

Qiao Yunzheng was completely confused: "What do you mean?"

Wen Miao shuddered, as if she could already see Wen Hong's terrifying face: "No one can touch my brother's things! Especially his bedroom, absolutely no one can touch it. Once, our new cleaning lady didn't know and went in to clean the room without permission. My brother was furious, threw everything he could throw away, and fired the cleaning lady..."

Qiao Yunzheng's forehead twitched: "He probably has mysophobia, right?"

Wen Miao pouted, "No way! He's just too possessive. No one is allowed to touch a single thing that's his, no matter who you are... I'm scared..."

After saying that, she took her small suitcase and went to the second bedroom on her own.

After tossing and turning for half the night, Qiao Yunzheng finally felt sleepy.

I yawned, slowly made my way to the hallway, and was about to turn off the living room light when I heard the sound of a lock being opened outside the door.

I probably won't be able to sleep tonight.

This time, the door was opened quickly.

Wen Hong had agreed to return in two days.

Qiao Yunzheng was somewhat stunned: "Wen Hong? Didn't you say you'd be back in two days?"

It's only been half a day.

After saying that, he realized his tone was a bit stiff, so he added, "Didn't it get done?"

Wen Hong remained silent and did not respond.

He kept his eyes down, without taking off his coat, and walked straight toward Qiao Yunzheng.

Qiao Yunzheng was taken aback, clearly sensing his unusual behavior.

He seemed to emanate a heavy sadness, which enveloped his entire being.

Wen Hong has always been unrestrained and flamboyant, even arrogant; he rarely has such negative emotions.

Qiao Yunzheng stood still and didn't say anything more, just staring straight at him.

He probably encountered something beyond his capacity to cope with.

No matter how capable he is, he is still just a young man under thirty.

Wen Hong walked very, very slowly.

It took him a long time to walk a distance of just over ten meters. It felt as if his legs were weighed down by a huge boulder, and every step was incredibly difficult.

Finally, he walked up to her.

His toes stopped not far from her.

At such close range, Qiao Yunzheng could only see his neck.

His prominent Adam's apple slid up and down twice.

Just when Qiao Yunzheng thought he was about to say something.

Wen Hong suddenly opened his arms and hugged her.

His movements were very light, as if he were afraid that he might crush her if he used even the slightest force.

He came through the night, carrying the stars and the early morning wind, and embraced her in his arms.

Qiao Yunzheng didn't resist or move; she just quietly let him hold her.

His chin rested on the crook of her neck, carrying a slight coolness.

Qiao Yunzheng blinked gently.

Something inside me seemed to have quietly shattered, leaving a subtle, lingering sour feeling.

A very, very long time.

Just when Qiao Yunzheng thought Wen Hong wouldn't speak again, Wen Hong's deep voice rang out:

"Qiao Yunzheng, I'm back."

Since their reunion, this was almost the first time Wen Hong had spoken to her in such a gentle voice, and Qiao Yunzheng felt a lump in her throat for no reason: "Mm."

Qiao Yunzheng didn't know how long his strange emotions would last, nor how long she would be held by him like this. She remembered that Wen Miao was still here and wanted to tell Wen Hong, but she didn't know how to start.

A moment later, Wen Miao seemed to finally hear the noise and rushed out of the room. She was shocked and curious to see her brother holding her beautiful sister-in-law tightly.

Wen Hong also heard the commotion and glanced over with an unfriendly look.

Wen Miao shrank back, instantly transforming into a docile lucky cat, and gave Wen Hong a fawning smile: "Brother, I'm on vacation, so I came to visit you..."

Wen Hong looked her up and down, his brows furrowing slightly: "What's wrong with your hair? What kind of mess is that?"

Seeing him reprimanding his sister so seriously, Qiao Yunzheng felt a little uncomfortable and almost subconsciously retorted, "Weren't you the same way back then?"

Author's Note: Thank you "Sunshine" for the support! It's given me a huge boost of motivation~ Love you [heart]