Chapter 7 Overnight Stay "You'll stay here tonight."

Qiao Yunzheng and Wen Hong's breakup was indeed not very amicable.

Because of her constitution, from a young age, she was like a delicate glass dome under her father's protection, sheltered from the wind and rain, with every detail of her food, clothing, and daily necessities provided without any omissions.

Being with Wen Hong behind her parents' back was the most unconventional thing she had ever done in her life, and it was also the first time she had truly made a free choice.

Unexpectedly, the underlying nature of this one and only act of rebellion was deception and exploitation.

That same day, Qiao Yunzheng was taken back to the Qiao family home in Kuncheng by her father. They put her under surveillance, confiscated her phone, and forbade her from contacting that man privately again.

Qiao Yunzheng obediently agreed, showing no abnormality on her face. However, when she hid in her room, she would always secretly shed tears.

Cut off from the outside world, Uncle Zhang also kept quiet about it to Wen Hong, but Qiao Yunzheng felt really stifled and miserable.

So, when her parents weren't home, she borrowed her aunt's phone and dialed the number she knew by heart.

That day, she had originally arranged to go to a purple mountain near the town with Wen Hong to watch the sunset.

When the call connected, Wen Hong wasn't angry at her for standing him up without reason. He remained gentle, assuming she had stood him up again due to health reasons: "Are you feeling unwell again?"

His tone still revealed his concern for her.

"If anything happens, you must tell me, okay? It's okay if we can't go this time, there's always next time, and the time after that, and many, many more times in the future!"

Listening to his endless words of comfort, Qiao Yunzheng's tears began to fall silently.

Contrary to what others might think, Wen Hong wasn't arrogant at all. In fact, he was a very thoughtful and considerate boyfriend. He would remember her preferences and would strictly stop her when she tried to sneak a craving: "Did you check the ingredient list? Do you know you're allergic?"

It was precisely because he was so good that she felt such excruciating pain after learning that his kindness might just be a deliberate performance.

She didn't want to believe that all the previous tenderness and affection were just a deliberate act.

"Wen Hong," she called out, fighting back tears.

Despite her efforts to restrain herself, Wen Hong still keenly noticed her unusual behavior: "What's wrong? What happened?"

After a brief pause, he seemed to guess what was going on, then said to her in a seemingly casual tone, "Caught red-handed? It's okay, even an ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws eventually, and besides, your boyfriend isn't ugly..."

The more comforting words he offered, the more painful it felt to her heart, like a thorn piercing her skin. Suddenly, she interrupted him, "Wen Hong!"

Perhaps there's some misunderstanding?

He's such a good person, and she likes him so much, how could he lie to her?

Humans are strange like that; the more desperate they are, the more they want to grasp at any sliver of hope, no matter how absurd or ridiculous the reason may be, they want that faint hope to carry heavy expectations.

She thought she wanted to hear what he had to say.

She wanted to give him, and them, a chance.

She would believe him as long as he explained it to her properly.

"Do you know the Wen family of Kuncheng?" she asked, her voice thick with nasal tone, the last syllable trembling as she spoke, like the small, pitiful wish in her heart, trembling and vulnerable.

A deathly silence.

One second, two seconds...

Qiao Yunzheng had never realized before that time could be so long; every second felt like being cut by a dull knife.

After an unknown amount of time, Wen Hong finally spoke:

"I don't know him."

"Never heard of it."

Suddenly, a part of my heart collapsed, and countless cold winds rushed in from that place, chilling me to the bone.

Seemingly finally sensing the awkward atmosphere, Wen Hong paused for a moment before jokingly saying in a lighthearted tone, "Ah Zheng, you overestimate me. Who am I to dare to try and establish connections with the Wen family of Kuncheng..."

He so easily and effortlessly crushed her sincere heart into dust in his palm.

"A-Zheng?" Wen Hong finally noticed the unusual nature of her silence. "What's wrong with you?"

Qiao Yunzheng silently wiped away her tears, almost grinding her teeth to powder: "Wen Hong, let's leave it at that!"

Wen Hong was stunned: "What happened?"

Qiao Yunzheng forced herself to hold back her tears and said to him in an unfamiliar tone, "The three-month period is over. It's over between us."

"How did it end already?" Wen Hong was still a little confused, but his rapid breathing betrayed his panic. "Are you sure you're not mistaken? There are still ten days left until the hundredth day! It's not good for a child to go back on their word."

"That's enough!" Qiao Yunzheng gritted her teeth, as if she could alleviate his pain by hurting him even a little. "I can't play your game. We won't see each other again."

After saying that, she hung up the phone.

She was afraid that if she stayed even a second longer, her utterly defeated state would be discovered by the other party.

She would never give him that opportunity.

Years later, Qiao Yunzheng looked up at Wen Hong. Seeing his angry and hurt expression, and hearing the implication in his words, it seemed as if she was the one who had betrayed her promise five years ago.

"You deceived and took advantage of me first. If we're talking about morality, you have absolutely no morals," Qiao Yunzheng muttered with great spirit, though her voice was very soft.

Wen Hong looked at him as if she had heard something unbelievable, her lips moved a few times, but in the end she only said, "Forget it, I can't explain it to you."

Qiao Yunzheng originally wanted to have a good talk with Qiao Zhenhuai about his problem, but somehow the topic went completely off track and started talking about their old relationship.

Clearly, Wen Hong has lost the patience to "talk things out properly".

He stopped talking, but took a new set of toiletries from the cabinet in the entryway and stuffed it into her arms: "You'll stay here tonight."

His tone left no room for refusal.

Qiao Yunzheng was a little uncomfortable with the sudden change of topic: "We haven't talked about it yet..."

Wen Hong didn't even glance at her, and simply took her coat and said, "I have something urgent to attend to. Let's talk tomorrow."

Qiao Yunzheng wanted to resolve the situation quickly, but Wen Hong did not comply with her wishes.

She sighed helplessly and stood up: "Then I'll come again tomorrow."

Wen Hong raised an eyebrow: "Are you going back to Kunming at this hour?"

Qiao Yunzheng didn't want to argue with him about these trivial things, but under his piercing gaze, she had no choice but to admit frankly, "I'm staying at a hotel."

Wen Hong chuckled softly and reached the door in a few steps: "Lock the door tonight, I won't be coming back."

Qiao Yunzheng was still somewhat stunned until the electronic lock clicked shut.

Just like that, he left?

Anyway, she'll still be looking for him tomorrow.

Qiao Yunzheng comforted herself with these words, picked up her toiletries, and slowly walked towards her room.

Wen Hong doesn't seem to live here often. Everything in the house is new, and some household items are still wrapped in their packaging. It's as clean as a showroom, with no trace of habitation whatsoever.

Qiao Yunzheng consciously chose a smaller secondary bedroom.

I opened the wardrobe door, and sure enough, even the blankets were brand new, neatly wrapped in packaging bags and placed inside.

However, through the transparent packaging bag, Qiao Yunzheng saw two quilts folded there, one gray and one purple.

This inappropriately reminded her of the past, when Wen Hong said, "Purple suits you well."

She shook her head, banishing the jumbled thoughts from her mind, and took out the purple quilt, carefully spreading it on the bed.

After leaving her home, Wen Hong immediately slowed down.

He lit a cigarette and slowly walked towards the parking lot.

He took his phone out of his pocket, pressed the power button, and immediately a dozen or so missed calls from Wen Miao popped up on the screen.

Wen Hong frowned involuntarily, just as he was about to turn back, another phone call came in.

Wen Hong answered: "Wen Miao, you'd better have something urgent to say."

A clear, sweet little girl's voice came through the receiver: "Brother, you haven't been home in so long! I miss you so much! When are you coming back to see me?"

Wen Hong: "Speak! Who told you to call me?"

"My brother is so smart!" Wen Miao smiled ingratiatingly. "Brother, that woman surnamed Cao has been coming to our house a lot lately. Dad said you should come back when you have time so that the two families can have a formal meeting and settle your marriage plans."

"I'll hang up if there's nothing else." Wen Hong never liked hearing these things.

"Okay, okay, I'm just giving an official message. Of course, you have the legs, so as your little sister, I'm unconditionally on your side!"

After finishing his cigarette, Wen Hong's tone finally softened a bit: "I'll transfer your living expenses to your card later. If you want to come over during your vacation, call me in advance. Bye."

Yes!

Having achieved his goal, Wen Miao dutifully stood guard as an intelligence agent until the very end, before Wen Hong hung up the phone: "Hey, brother, I called you because there's something else. It seems that Dad talked to the Qiao family about a business deal a couple of days ago."

Wen Hongxin's heart skipped a beat: "Which Qiao family?"

“Which Qiao family could it be? The one in Kuncheng...the one that’s been making quite a fuss lately,” Wen Miao didn’t know much about business, so he could only dutifully repeat the news he’d heard to him verbatim. “After their leader passed away, there’s been a lot of internal strife. Apparently, because of some shareholders’ meeting next week, that old man named Qiao Zhenhuai came to beg Dad, all humble and making a big show of it!”

Wen Hong's eyes gradually turned cold: "He agreed?"

“Yeah!” Wen Miao said straightforwardly, “I know you’re not interested in these things, but I remember your ex-girlfriend’s name was something like Qiao, she was also from Kuncheng. I was worried that this matter might have something to do with her, so I thought I’d tell you as soon as possible.”

So that's how it is.

Wen Hong immediately understood the meaning behind Qiao Yunzheng's cold words to him earlier.

So she thought he had instructed the Wen family to side with Qiao Zhenhuai, and was using this to threaten her.

She really did think highly of him, just like she did five years ago.

"Okay," Wen Hong said, her whole body so cold it was almost freezing, but she spoke the softest words, coaxing a child, "Our Miaomiao is so great!"

Until Wen Miao happily hung up the phone after receiving the praise, the last bit of warmth in Wen Hong's eyes vanished, leaving only a chilling coldness.

It was late at night, and the underground parking garage was quiet, with only the emergency lights emitting a faint green glow.

As dawn broke, Wen Hong found a pile of cigarette butts lying at his feet.

He quickly tidied himself up, and just as he stepped out, he suddenly stopped, turned back, and went to his car. He opened the trunk, took out a spare jacket, changed into it, and then headed towards the elevator.

Qiao Yunzheng had thought she would feel very uncomfortable in the unfamiliar environment. Unexpectedly, she had the most restful sleep she'd had in the past two weeks. Although she still didn't understand the source of this feeling of peace.

She didn't wake up until the doorbell rang. Realizing she was at Wen Hong's house, she quickly got dressed and slipped on her slippers to open the door.

Last night's rain seemed to have thoroughly washed the sky, and early this morning, warm sunlight streamed in through the glass windows of the stairwell.

Qiao Yunzheng was not used to the sudden bright light and squinted as she looked up.

Wen Hong stood at the door, holding two insulated food containers, and looked at her with a smile: "Awake? How did you sleep?"

Qiao Yunzheng was momentarily dazed, as if time had suddenly turned back to five years ago, to the time when they first met.

There was no deception, no exploitation, and no five years of changed circumstances.

Only the initial flutter of the heart and the joy of first sight between young men and women.

A note from the author:

[Cat emoji] Another wonderful week! [Cat paw emoji]