Chapter 22 Chapter 22

Shen Li finally left his car keys at home.

Originally, Wen Ying hadn't planned to open the car, but the temperature just happened to drop the most since the beginning of winter, and the number of people taking Didi and the subway increased sharply. After being late for two consecutive days because he couldn't get a taxi, Wen Ying decided not to let herself suffer any more.

In the middle of the night, Wen Ying turned the car into the intersection where the community was located, and the warm lights on both sides of the gate were already in sight.

"Driving does seem convenient," Wen Ying said. "I don't have to book a Didi in advance, and I don't have to worry about getting in danger because it's too late."

Chen Li's voice was a little tired. "That's why I had to give you a car. You often work overtime and need to run around all day. It's very inconvenient without a car. Are you almost home?"

Wen Ying said "hmm," "We're here." She drove into the residential complex. There were two vacant parking spaces where she usually parked, but one was occupied by an electric bike and the other had a pair of cones.

Seeing this, Wen Ying was too lazy to go down and move it away, so he turned and drove into the underground parking lot.

She said, "It's predicted to rain and snow tomorrow, and the glass will freeze if you leave it outside."

Shen Li asked her, "Is there any space in the basement?"

Wen Ying looked around and said, "Yes, there are a few more at the very edge."

"Is everything going well for you?" She asked Chen Li as she parked the car. "It sounds like you're not in a good condition."

Shen Li sighed, "It's really tricky. We've already been in the detention center for two days. It's just me and Lao Hou this time, and it's really a bit overwhelming."

Wen Ying was a little worried: "Your health is more important. You two should make sure to rest. When you are tired, your resistance will decrease. Health is the most important thing when you are away from home."

She parked the car and said goodnight to Shen Li: "Go to bed, I'm going home."

Chen Li didn't seem to want to hang up. "We can stay on the phone until you get home," his deep voice was particularly alluring in the quiet of the night. "It's rare for me to have free time to talk to you on the phone. Don't say goodbye to me so soon."

Wen Ying smiled and unbuckled her seatbelt. "You probably don't know how cold it's been in Minshi these past few days. Holding my phone all the way, I'm afraid my hands will be frozen to the point of numbness. And—" She emphasized, "Not only is it rare for you to have time to talk to me on the phone, it's even rarer for you to have time to rest. Chen Li, don't always think you're made of iron. If you keep holding on like this, you won't be able to endure it."

Shen Li was defeated and said with a smile: "Okay, then I'll listen to Wen Lu. Goodbye, Wen Lu, I hope to accept the job here soon and come back to celebrate your birthday with you."

"Goodbye." Wen Ying hung up the Bluetooth call, took the bag from the passenger seat, opened the door and got out of the car.

After the car lights went out, her eyes were still a little uneasy to adjust to the dim light. Wen Ying didn't often come to the underground garage, so she fished out her phone from her bag, turned on the flashlight, and carefully illuminated the road ahead.

The parking lot was completely silent, with only the crisp, "thump-thump" sound of her high heels tapping against the concrete floor. The air was filled with a dusty, slightly moldy smell, and her nose itched. After a long time of trying to hold it in, she finally let out a series of sneezes.

The sneeze was so fierce and rapid that it even brought tears to her eyes. She stopped, took out a tissue from her pocket, and wiped the mess off her face.

Just as she covered her eyes with the tissue, Wen Ying heard a hurried and deliberately light sound of footsteps approaching from behind her. She turned around hastily, and in the narrow halo of the flashlight, she saw Wen Lei's hideous and terrifying face.

------

"Excuse me, please help me keep an eye on this case," Shen Li's voice came faintly from the living room outside. "She's fine. The doctor said she has a concussion, but it's not serious. It's mainly a broken shoulder that needs to be healed."

He paused and said, "Let's see how she recovers. As long as conditions permit, I will definitely return to work as soon as possible."

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to say something about being lucky and having a long life. Chen Li sighed with emotion: "Old Hou, really, I feel scared every time I think about it these days. If the neighbor's child across the street hadn't had a high fever in the middle of the night, they wouldn't have gone to the garage at that time. If it was a little later, even twenty minutes later, I'm afraid she..."

Wen Ying subconsciously wanted to change her posture, but as soon as she moved, the stabbing pain in her shoulder and the dull pain at the back of her head made her scream in surprise.

Chen Li hung up the phone when he heard the voice, and hurriedly pushed open Wen Ying's bedroom door: "You're awake."

Wen Ying uttered a 'hmm' and said it was nothing. "I just woke up and wanted to get a glass of water. I forgot I was injured and moved my shoulder."

Chen Li slowly helped her up. Seeing his cautious expression, Wen Ying smiled and pushed him with her other arm: "My shoulder just hurts, I'm not disabled. There's no need to be so bitter and resentful."

He brought her the thermos cup on the bedside table, which still contained warm water. "Shoulder pain is no small injury. The doctor said this week is critical. If you're not careful, it could easily become dislocated."

Wen Ying tilted her head back and drank the entire glass of water. Her dry lips finally took on a full color. She felt a little apologetic: "I made you come back so suddenly, and you haven't been to work for another week."

"Don't say that," Chen Li said, his face full of relief after surviving a disaster. "You don't even know how scared I was when I received the call from my neighbor that night. Xiaoying, I was really worried that something might happen to you."

"So you can't even take care of your own health and work, and insist on taking a red-eye flight back overnight?" She shook her head. "You don't have to do this. I'm still conscious. At most, I can just hire a caregiver."

"I'm worried," he said, his eyes filled with gnashing resentment. "I didn't expect Wen Lei to be so cruel. He had murderous intentions towards you. If it weren't for the neighbors who happened to see you, do you think you'd still be alive? I only hate myself for not being able to predict it in advance. I knew you had destroyed Wen Lei's last wish, and given his personality, he would never let it go. But I still left you and went on a business trip..."

Shen Li's voice was almost trembling, his eyes red, and he raised his hand to stroke Wen Ying's soft long hair: "I dare not think about it, I really dare not think about it. Fortunately, you are okay, otherwise I really don't know what I should do."

Wen Ying was silent for a long time before she said to Shen Li, "Wen Cong has called me many times in the past two days..."

Shen Li's voice suddenly became stern: "You answered it?!"

Wen Ying shook her head. "Of course not. I blocked her number a long time ago, and I only discovered it after looking through the interception records. Later, she changed her number and texted me. Please, have mercy on me."

Shen Li sneered: "Have mercy? Why can't she persuade her father not to act so stubbornly?"

Wen Ying asked him, "Based on your experience, what would Wen Lei's judgment be?"

Shen Liqingjia's face was filled with coldness at the moment: "Based on the facts, his crime actually has a wide range of scope. It can be considered intentional injury or attempted murder. The specific sentencing requires a detailed analysis of the confession and the chain of evidence provided by the police."

His eyes were a little complicated: "What kind of result do you hope for?"

Wen Ying could see Shen Li's worry and told him firmly, "Of course I'll punish him more severely. I'm not that chaste. I can't say 'forgiveness' to someone who first wanted my money and then my life." She looked at him with a smile in her eyes. "I'm glad you didn't tell me to be more magnanimous. Even if the rest of the Wen family calls me an ungrateful person, I have nothing to fear. There's no point in reasoning with a bunch of wolves and tigers. A hunting rifle is the only way to silence them."

Chen Li lowered his head and laughed, his shoulders shaking constantly: "I knew I couldn't mess with you. Wen Lu is very sharp-tongued and really makes people afraid when they hear his words."

Wen Ying tried to move her left arm and found that the pain was much less than in the previous few days.

"You're going to work tomorrow?" she said. "I just hurt my left shoulder, everything else is fine."

Chen Li saw that her complexion was indeed normal, and much rosier than the pale face she had been when she was injured, so he nodded in agreement.

Wen Ying was also thinking about Zhou Boyu's lawsuit, so she sent a WeChat message to Yao Fangzhou asking him to help move the materials home.

Yao Fangzhou was utterly shocked, sending a series of exclamation marks: "That's too bad, Wen Lu... You're seriously injured! Are you back to work so soon?"

Wen Ying thought he was talking too much: "If you don't want to help me move, forget it."

Yao Fangzhou quickly dispelled the accusation, "I'm not unwilling to help. I simply admire Wen Lu's professionalism. I'm sure Zhou Boyu must be very grateful to have you as his attorney. After all, there's no one more dedicated than you in Min City."

He quickly added, "No, I forgot. I only know one other person as dedicated as you—your family's Mr. Shen. Birds of a feather flock together."

Wen Ying sent him a bomb emoticon, telling him to shut up and stop making noise.

Shen Li's workload had piled up, leaving Wen Ying's recovery time somewhat quiet, almost boring. Fortunately, she didn't have time to be bored. With Zhou Boyu's case nearing its final hearing, Wen Ying had gradually encroached on Shen Li's study, with piles of materials covering most of the floor.

Zhou Boyu called Wen Ying every day under the pretext of caring about the progress of his lawsuit. He seemed to be abroad again these days. The calls always came at night, and melodious classical music always came from the receiver.

Wen Ying took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Mr. Zhou, I can assure you that the second trial will definitely get you what you want. You don't have to bother following up every day like this."

Zhou Boyu seemed to be in a good mood today, and his voice was much lighter. "I'm not bothering to follow up on the progress of the lawsuit, but I'm genuinely concerned about Wen Lu's recovery."

Wen Ying was helpless: "If you really want this case to end well, and if you really want me to be well, please don't pursue me so relentlessly. At least give me some breathing space."

Zhou Boyu laughed heartily, making Wen Ying feel uneasy. "What's wrong, Mr. Zhou? Why do I feel like you're acting a little strange today?"

Zhou Boyu stopped laughing and asked her, "Did Wen Lu check his social media? Or the trending news?"

Wen Ying felt even more puzzled, and she answered honestly, "No, the second trial is coming up soon, and I really don't have the energy or time to read those fragmented messages."

Zhou Boyu laughed again: "Then I won't bother you. If you want to relax after work, you can also read today's news."

Wen Ying had no idea what he was up to. After she hung up the phone, before she could open any social media app, Yu Jiaran's WeChat messages came at her like a barrage of bombs.

Wen Ying clicked on Yu Jiaran's chat box, which was filled with several screenshots of WeChat Moments and Weibo posts. The pictures and texts inside were exactly the same.

The woman in the first photo has long hair hanging down and a pair of slender, straight legs revealed under her camel-hair coat. She is slowly walking down the spiral staircase in the dim and gorgeous lights of the opera house.

In the second photo, the woman has walked down the stairs. In the narrow elevator hall, the man next to her is looking at her slightly sideways, their shoulders are close together, and the woman's wide coat cuffs are tightly attached to the man's expensive handmade suit.

The lighting is dim and the atmosphere is extremely affectionate. This is what anyone can see in the photo.

The captions of the pictures are almost the same - Zhou Boyu, the head of Bosheng Group, announced his divorce and had a secret meeting with a beautiful lawyer to spend the night together.

Yes, the people in the picture are not others, but Wen Ying and Zhou Boyu.

Her hands were hot and her back was covered in cold sweat.

.