Chapter 42 A Glimpse: "I've never seen him treat anyone as well as he has to you..."

Qiao Yunzheng had to resign herself to admit just how persuasive Attorney Wen's words were. No matter how determined she was, she was always powerless to resist and surrendered under his enticements or threats.

The day we reunited at the law firm was, and so is today.

She even wondered if, five years ago, she hadn't left without saying goodbye, but instead stood in front of him and confronted him, would those five years of estrangement have remained between them?

When Wen Hong carried her luggage downstairs with her, the intense emotions that had been surging within him had vanished without a trace, as if they had simply gone upstairs to pack their luggage and nothing had happened.

Seeing that the two had finally come down, Yao Jing's gaze fell on the small suitcase Wen Hong was carrying, and she frowned: "How long will it take? How far is it from Kuncheng? Is this enough to carry?"

“That’s enough,” Wen Hong smiled humbly and warmly. “The arrangements over there have been made in advance. You only need to bring a few clothes and daily necessities.”

She paused for a moment, then added seemingly casually, "I also brought some allergy medication, so Auntie doesn't need to worry."

Hearing this, Yao Jingcai relaxed: "Didn't you say the flight was at twelve o'clock? Let's go! It's getting late. By the way, do you want Uncle Zhang to drive you?"

"No need to trouble yourself, the car is already waiting outside." Wen Hong remained calm and composed, speaking slowly and deliberately, having already made thorough preparations in advance.

His considerate and thoughtful manner was a far cry from the playboy he was rumored to be, and Yao Jing couldn't help but find him more agreeable.

Qiao Yunzheng carried only a Brilliant shoulder bag and followed behind Wen Hong, her head down, slowly walking towards the door.

As she approached the door, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and softly called out, "Mom."

Wen Hong, who was walking at the front, paused upon hearing this. He slowly turned around, his face calm and composed, as if he was waiting for Qiao Yunzheng to say something.

However, the hand gripping the suitcase handle tightened so much that the knuckles of the fingers turned white.

Qiao Yunzheng wasn't particularly attached to home; traveling for work had been a regular occurrence for her over the years. Yao Jing didn't think much of it and quickened her pace to catch up with Qiao Yunzheng: "What's wrong? Did you forget something?"

Qiao Yunzheng hesitated for a moment, her restless emotions churning in her chest, yearning to break through the soil.

She had never felt such strong and complex emotions when leaving home, wanting to tell Yao Jing that she wasn't going on a business trip or for any project.

Qiao Yunzheng knew perfectly well that the upcoming marriage was nothing more than a contract, a dry and lifeless transaction, yet she still inexplicably felt a pang of sadness and longing.

It was as if she were really about to step out of the house where she had lived for more than 20 years and embark on a different life path.

A strange longing arose amidst the melancholy.

"Actually..." The syllable left her throat, and the moment she looked up, the sunlight surrounding her was blocked by the tall figure.

Wen Hong was already standing beside her. He raised his wrist to check his watch, his tone still gentle: "We're going to be late. If there's anything you've forgotten, think about it slowly and have your assistant bring it over later."

He lowered his gaze, and in his deep eyes, there was a barely perceptible plea.

The words that were not yet spoken were pulled back by an invisible force, gently but resolutely pressed back into the depths of the heart.

"Yes, I remembered I still have an important document I haven't picked up. It's next to the lamp on the bedside table." Qiao Yunzheng finally said something against her will.

“Okay,” Yao Jing didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. “Mom will help you put it away later, and you can have someone come and pick it up later.”

Wen Hong nodded and whispered to Qiao Yunzheng, "Let's go, A-Zheng."

Wen Hong's silver Bentley was indeed parked at the gate of the courtyard.

He put the suitcase in the trunk, then opened the passenger door for Qiao Yunzheng, and as she sat down, he gently placed his hand over her head.

Finally, he spoke a few more words with Yao Jing, who was standing at the door, before steadily returning to the driver's seat and closing the car door.

Looking out the car window at the small villa where she had lived for decades, and Yao Jing standing quietly in front of the door, Qiao Yunzheng felt her suppressed emotions surge up again, and her nose inexplicably felt a little sore.

Wen Hong keenly noticed her unusual behavior.

With Yao Jing gone, he finally dropped his pretense, his lips twitching stiffly.

He seemed to have misunderstood the source of her sadness.

He moved closer to her, his long arm reaching across her to pull on the passenger seatbelt.

Because of this action, the distance between the two quickly closed, revealing the melancholy in his dark eyes to her.

"Are you really that unwilling to marry me?"

He took her hesitation before leaving as a sign of wavering commitment to the marriage. He chuckled self-deprecatingly, "But Qiao Yunzheng, once the decision is made, there's no going back. Now, no matter how unwilling you are, you can't do it."

With a crisp "click," the seatbelt was pushed into the buckle, forming the predetermined curve.

Qiao Yunzheng stared at him blankly, wanting to explain, but he was no longer looking at her.

The car started and sped along the winding road.

Soon, the white gable of the Qiao residence disappeared into the green forest.

Wen Hong didn't say another word the whole way.

The air conditioning inside the car was on full blast.

Qiao Yunzheng pressed her head against the car window, slowly processing the turbulent emotions surging within her. Only after calming down a little did she belatedly realize that she was cold.

She was wearing a sleeveless white dress and unconsciously changed her posture to crossing her arms.

Su Ran's phone rang abruptly at that moment, breaking the eerie silence: "Qiao Qiao, are you in Kunming?"

Since that less-than-pleasant gathering, Su Ran hadn't contacted Qiao Yunzheng for a long time, fearing that she would be implicated by her brother Su Chen and be dealt with swiftly by Wen Hong.

Qiao Yunzheng glanced at Wen Hong out of the corner of her eye, seemingly unconcerned about who she was talking to on the phone.

Hearing Su Ran's energetic voice, Qiao Yunzheng felt as if she had finally seen a ray of light through the dark clouds, and her lips curved into a barely perceptible smile: "Yes."

"Okay, I'll come find you!" A rustling sound could be heard on the other end of the phone.

Qiao Yunzheng chuckled: "However, I have to leave soon."

"Ah..." Su Ran drew out the last syllable, clearly extremely dissatisfied, "Why are you always so busy? Are you busy dating your little wolf dog and don't have time to pay attention to me..."

Upon hearing the word "wolfhound," Qiao Yunzheng's heart skipped a beat, and she felt inexplicably guilty.

Just then, a man's arm came into view.

Qiao Yunzheng shuddered. When she looked up, she saw Wen Hong simply reach out and turn up the temperature in the passenger seat.

Seeing her sudden reaction, he raised an eyebrow and glanced over.

Su Ran was unaware of the delicate state the two were in, assuming they were still as sweet and affectionate as when they last met. She teased in a drawn-out tone, "To be honest, aside from looking a bit intimidating, your Wen Hong is top-notch in every other way. That waist, those legs, that face, tsk..." She even exaggeratedly sucked in her saliva, "...in that area, isn't it..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qiao Yunzheng decisively hung up the phone, choosing to force her into silence.

Out of the corner of her eye, Wen Hong still wore that indifferent expression, seemingly not having heard their conversation.

Just as Qiao Yunzheng quietly breathed a sigh of relief, Wen Hong, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "That Su Ran..." He seemed to have put a lot of effort into remembering the name, "Your friend, is she named Su Ran?"

Qiao Yunzheng gave a guilty "hmm".

Wen Hongcai continued, "Do you want to invite her along?"

"No need," Qiao Yunzheng refused without thinking, her mind preoccupied with not wanting Su Ran, that big yellow girl, to have another chance to meet Wen Hong.

As for what he meant by "calling," she no longer had the brain cells to think about it.

The warmth that had just risen on Wen Hong's face vanished once again.

Qiao Yunzheng didn't sense anything was wrong and tried to break the sudden silence by asking, "Where are we going?"

She knew nothing about Wen Hong's next plans, and was even unsure whether the flight he mentioned actually existed.

Wen Hong continued gazing into the distance: "Shencheng."

Shencheng, a place without family entanglements or heavy burdens. In that city, he was just Lawyer Wen, and she was just an ordinary visitor who came because of his reputation.

After the plane landed, a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses came to pick him up.

Qiao Yunzheng had some impression of this person. She had seen this big boy outside Junyu's office when she went to see Wen Hong before.

What made him so memorable, besides the lingering naiveté of his student days, was his thick rural accent. She still remembers the way he nervously called her "Miss Cao."

The assistant eagerly took the suitcase from Wen Hong's hands: "Lawyer Wen, everything has been arranged according to your wishes. I guarantee there won't be any problems the day after tomorrow."

He speaks fluent Mandarin, and confidence shines behind his thick glasses.

In just a few days, this change truly surprised Qiao Yunzheng.

"Hmm," Wen Hong responded casually, not finding anything amiss.

The group had only taken a few steps when suddenly dozens of people rushed towards them, scrambling to get to the exit.

The assistant reacted quickly and stepped in front of Qiao Yunzheng.

Even so, a girl passing by swept her selfie stick at an angle, about to hit Qiao Yunzheng in the face.

Wen Hong frowned, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into his arms.

Qiao Yunzheng's face was pressed against Wen Hong's chest, and the selfie stick quickly swept past her hair. The girl didn't even notice this little incident and rushed over while shouting a name.

The assistant watched all this with a cold sweat breaking out on his back. After the crowd passed, he wiped his forehead in fear.

Wen Hong maintained his half-embracing posture, frowning as he glanced back towards the exit.

The assistant understood immediately, tiptoed to take a look, and said, "It seems to be a minor celebrity who's been quite popular lately, she's been making headlines a lot."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yunzheng also peeked out to look.

In the crowd, surrounded by a wall of security guards, stood a fully armed man, his face completely concealed.

The man was tall and fair-skinned, wearing a baseball cap and a mask that covered most of his face, revealing only a pair of handsome, almond-shaped eyes.

She was engrossed in watching when a large hand gently patted her head.

Qiao Yunzheng then realized something was wrong, and quickly took a step back and stood up straight, but glanced at the lively area again.

"Let's go." A hand suddenly reached out and skillfully and naturally took Qiao Yunzheng's hand.

She then came to her senses and was led away from the crowd by Wen Hong.

The car drove out of the parking lot and merged into the congested traffic of the evening rush hour.

The familiar street scene gradually receded before my eyes, but the way ahead was not the way back to my residence.

Qiao Yunzheng looked at Wen Hong beside her with some confusion: "Aren't we going straight home? Where are we going?"

She wasn't very familiar with Shencheng, and when she said "going home," she meant the large apartment in Wenhong where she used to live.

Upon hearing this, Wen Hong paused for a moment, her tense nerves soothed by the casual remark "go home," and her expression softened considerably.

The assistant was focused on driving, seemingly oblivious to everything, but not hearing Wen Hong's reply, he hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.

He explained dutifully, "In Shencheng, Wen Lu owns three properties. After careful consideration, we selected one of them, a villa in the suburbs, and decorated it according to Wen Lu's requirements. It will be the location for Miss Qiao's wedding the day after tomorrow. You... didn't know?"

Upon hearing the words "the day after tomorrow" and "getting married," Qiao Yunzheng slowly opened her eyes wide.

She suddenly remembered her words, "Let's get married right away," and she never expected it would actually happen so soon.

Qiao Yunzheng looked at Wen Hong, who was standing silently beside her.

He just kept his eyes down, seemingly not hearing what his assistant said. He hadn't let go of her hand since they got off at the airport.

He acted as if he had finally found some new and wonderful treasure, holding her hand in his palm and playing with it over and over, without any intention of explaining himself.

The assistant became a little nervous due to the sudden silence, gripped the steering wheel tightly, and became extremely alert: "If Miss Qiao has any other ideas, please let me know, and I will arrange it immediately."

Qiao Yunzheng then snapped out of her daze and smiled at her assistant, "Okay."

The car wound its way up a road and arrived at a cluster of villas on the outskirts of Shencheng. It then turned straight into a courtyard with its gate wide open.

The two-story ivory-white villa, when viewed from a distance, does indeed bear some resemblance to the Qiao residence.

The car was turned off, and the assistant adjusted his glasses and turned around: "You can take a look first."

Wen Hong didn't get out of the car immediately; he seemed to have finally had enough fun and let go of her hand.

He lowered his head and unexpectedly kissed Qiao Yunzheng on the forehead, as naturally as any loving couple would:

“I have some things to take care of at the law firm, so I’ll head over there first and come back to you tonight,” he said, glancing at his assistant. “If you need anything, just ask Chen Ce.”

Qiao Yunzheng then learned that the cautious assistant, who dared not make a single misstep, was named Chen Ce.

Faced with the intimate behavior of the two, Chen Ce wisely lowered his eyes and pretended not to see anything.

Even so, Qiao Yunzheng was still a little embarrassed, especially when he said "I'll see you tonight" in front of others, which made her cheeks burn uncontrollably.

After Wen Hong drove away, Qiao Yunzheng and Chen Ce breathed a long sigh of relief almost at the same time. Then, they looked at each other and couldn't help but find it a little funny.

Chen Ce pushed up his glasses, looking a bit more relaxed. As he introduced the decorations, he led Qiao Yunzheng inside: "Miss Qiao, please take a look at these arrangements and see if they suit your taste."

Especially the phrase "Miss Qiao," which was pronounced particularly clearly.

Qiao Yunzheng finally couldn't help but look at him: "I remember, we met at Junyu before."

“Yes,” Chen Ce said, scratching his head sheepishly, “When I first met you, I had only been working at Junyu for a short time.”

Qiao Yunzheng was even more surprised: "So you're taking some kind of Mandarin proficiency test?" Otherwise, she really couldn't understand what reason could have made such a big boy with a strong rural accent change so much in such a short period of time.

Hearing her question, Chen Ce blushed: "You don't know, I was scolded terribly by Lawyer Wen for calling you by the wrong name, and I was even fined half a month's salary."

Unexpectedly, there was such an inside story. Qiao Yunzheng asked in surprise, "Because of me?"

“That’s right,” Chen Ce chuckled sheepishly. “For this reason, the law firm hired a Mandarin teacher and even included pronunciation practice in the monthly performance evaluation. Because of this, I’m getting a lot of flak from my colleagues who joined the firm at the same time.”

Qiao Yunzheng sympathized with their tragic plight, but also felt somewhat guilty: "To be honest, it's my fault for dragging you down with me."

Unexpectedly, Chen Ce shook his head vigorously: "Attorney Wen said that for us lawyers, eloquence is a very important part of the assessment. It's my own problem, not your fault or Attorney Wen's fault."

Recalling Wen Hong's reaction that day, Chen Ce's heart stirred, and he looked at Qiao Yunzheng with a sincere expression: "On your first day at the law firm, Attorney Wen had already finished his inspection work and was on his way back to headquarters. But when he heard you were here, he decided to turn back. At that time, Attorney Wen was always staring blankly at his phone. Every time I went in to report on my work, he would ask me if anyone had come specifically to see him. However, I didn't know that he was waiting for you. By some twist of fate, you wasted two days of your trip."

Qiao Yunzheng listened quietly, but her heart was in turmoil.

It was the same thing, but what she knew and what others told her seemed to be completely different.

She remembered that when she met the lawyer, Wen, whom she had been waiting for for two days, he didn't give her a good look. When she questioned him angrily, he didn't offer any explanation and instead retorted indifferently, "It's fair and just to make Miss Qiao come back a couple more times."

So, that's really the truth?

Chen Ce glanced at Qiao Yunzheng's face and continued, "Wen Lu looks fierce, but I've never seen him treat anyone as well as he has to you." As he spoke, he seemed to realize something and quickly changed his words, "Wen Lu is actually a super nice person. I finally managed to squeeze into Junyu and then caused trouble. I thought I definitely wouldn't pass my internship. Unexpectedly, Wen Lu was just a bit fierce. Apart from fining me half a month's internship salary, he didn't fire me."

He squinted and smiled: "They even gave me a significant raise after I became a full-time employee!"

This was the first time Qiao Yunzheng had heard about Wen Hong's character from someone else, and a strange, sour feeling quietly welled up in her heart.

Chen Ce led her inside.

Qiao Yunzheng stood in the entryway, stunned.

Everything in sight, from the layout to the furniture arrangement, follows the style of the Qiao residence.

She stared blankly, almost speechless.

Chen Ce nervously rubbed his hands: "After all, we haven't actually seen what Miss Qiao's hometown looks like. We just arranged it according to Wen Lu's requirements, and the time was a bit rushed..."

He seemed afraid that Qiao Yunzheng would be dissatisfied.

Qiao Yunzheng suddenly interrupted him and asked, "Does he have something very important to do tonight?"

Chen Ce's heart skipped a beat, misinterpreting her abrupt question as something else. He quickly explained, "It's because Attorney Wen hasn't been to the office for a long time. There's some backlog of work that needs to be dealt with urgently. She'll be back as soon as she's done. It wasn't intentional that I left you behind..."

However, his words "I'm done with this" kept Qiao Yunzheng waiting until 1 a.m.

When the doorbell rang, Qiao Yunzheng rushed to open the door and saw Wen Hong being carried on Song Nanchen's shoulders.

He reeked of alcohol, but the moment he saw Qiao Yunzheng, a light suddenly shone in his misty eyes.

Author's Note: Thank you so much "Sunshine" for the nutrient solution! Mwah!

Suddenly I realized that this book means far more to me than the text itself. No matter what you do, mindset is always the most important thing! Keep going!