Chapter 40 Chapter 40

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Finally we exchanged secrets

Let's enter this late night romance together

—— Zhang Manzi, "Late Night Romance"

*

Wen Ying did not choose the high-speed rail again.

After finishing her conversation with Yan Huai, she bought the nearest plane ticket in the middle of the night and set foot in Minshi early the next morning.

It was a misty morning as Wen Ying walked upstairs carrying her briefcase.

She unlocked the door and entered, moving as quietly as possible for fear of waking Shen Li from his sweet dream.

The light in the house was dim, and the sturdy sycamore tree outside the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room had already sprouted tender green branches and leaves.

This old-fashioned building always gave Wen Ying an inexplicable sense of belonging, and she always found it easy to relax in such an environment. Just like at this moment, the heart that had been hanging in the air all night suddenly calmed down.

Outside the window, the tender leaves of the sycamore tree sway in the breeze, creating a gradually brighter sky, as if in this eternal and unchanging universe, there is nothing worth worrying about.

Wen Ying stood at the entrance, staring blankly for a long time before coming to her senses, putting down her bag, changing her shoes, and taking off her coat.

After the relaxation, fatigue came over me.

The turbulence of the red-eye flight and the fatigue of a sleepless night followed him closely, along with the conversation that echoed over and over in his mind. This made Wen Ying almost exhausted.

She missed Shen Li's embrace very much - Wen Ying now admitted that meeting Yan Huai yesterday was a mistake, a complete mistake. In addition to wasting time, she couldn't think of any other purpose of this conversation.

Wen Ying tiptoed and gently pushed open the bedroom door. Through the gap, she did not see Shen Li sleeping on the familiar double bed.

The bed was clean, and the dark sheets were smooth without a wrinkle or any marks left.

------

Chen Li stepped into the gate of Tongxi Temple, and Wen Ying was still standing under the wall with the prayer board hanging on it.

She had her hands in the pockets of her coat and her hair was not tied up. A few strands of her long seaweed-like hair were swaying gently in the wind.

Such a thin figure seemed to sway in the wind, blending into the red tide of the wooden prayer sign on the wall.

Shen Li walked over quickly. Wen Ying had already heard his footsteps and turned back: "You're here."

Seeing the slight redness in her eyes, Shen Li frowned and said, "Why bother coming here specially?"

Wen Ying said he was fine and asked him, "How is Grandpa? What did the doctor say?"

"High blood pressure is an old problem, but it's much more stable now. The doctor has installed equipment to monitor Grandpa 24 hours a day. He just needs to avoid any further stimulation in the next two days."

Speaking of the shock the old man had received, Wen Ying couldn't help but sigh. "There had been no news about Zheng Yongzhi before. A few days ago, I saw his latest signed article at an exchange meeting. He was one of Grandpa's most proud students. He was suddenly taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission for investigation. No wonder Grandpa couldn't bear it."

Shen Li's face was gloomy, not surprised, but with a hint of anger and guilt. "Zheng Di knew that Grandpa was old and had high blood pressure and couldn't be provoked, but she insisted on coming here to cry hysterically. I should have thought of it earlier... If I was with Grandpa at the time, he wouldn't have fainted in a moment of panic."

He had been guarding the old man all night, and now, excited, his temples began to beat rapidly. Shen Li raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, exhaled a long breath, and tried to ease his anxiety: "...Fortunately, Grandpa is fine."

Wen Ying looked at Shen Li with a distant gaze: "Shen Li, did you know about this matter involving Zheng Yongzhi?"

The fingers that were pinching the bridge of Chen Li's nose froze, and then he dropped his hands, his eyes meeting Wen Ying's.

The wind was strong in the mountains. Occasionally a gust of wind would blow, causing the wooden signs on the wall to collide with each other, making a dull sound of wood.

The wind grew stronger, and the wooden signs on the entire stone wall gradually became noisy, like the rumbling of silent thunder roaring in the ears.

"It was only a matter of time before something bad happened to him," Shen Li whispered. "I had a feeling he was taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission for investigation, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon."

Wen Ying bit her lower lip, and after a long pause she said, "Zhou Boyu. Really?"

There was a dark and gloomy look in Shen Li's eyes, making it hard to see clearly: "Maybe."

"You told Zhou Boyu that Zheng Di was the mastermind behind the scandal between us?" Wen Ying shook her head. "Chen Li, it's not worth it for you to do this for me. I might be stronger than you think, but I don't take these rumors to heart."

The wind blew a strand of hair onto Wen Ying's face.

Chen Li reached out and lifted her hair, gently tucking it behind her ear.

"I told you, Wen Ying, it's only a matter of time before Zheng Yongzhi faces this day," he sighed softly. "But once Zheng Yongzhi is investigated, Zheng Di won't be able to escape either."

"Zheng Di?" Wen Ying was a little frightened.

Shen Li nodded. "She's won many lawsuits over the years, and it's hard to say whether Zheng Yongzhi helped her. If you really look into it, I'm afraid her hands aren't too clean. Her hysteria isn't entirely about her father; it probably also stems from her own despair."

Chen Li told Zhou Boyu everything he had discussed the previous night. "I didn't tell him anything. But Wen Ying, you know Zhou Boyu better than I do. He's been in the business world for many years, wielding influence in both politics and business. Isn't there any way for him to find out the truth himself? He's only asking me to drag me into this, to make me a legitimate pretext for his actions. It's not that he's completely clueless."

"Besides, if Zhou Boyu is looking for something to hold against them, they also need something to hold against him. Even if it's not Zhou Boyu this time, it will be someone else next time. People who often walk by the river can't always keep their shoes dry."

Wen Ying felt a chill run down her spine. "Perhaps I've always thought too simply of him. Zhou Boyu was able to bring down a deputy director of the Justice Bureau, a rising political star, in just one night," she gasped in amazement. "It seems he's truly polite and restrained towards me."

Chen Li couldn't help laughing. "Why? Regret it?" He shook his head pretentiously. "Perhaps it's not too late for you to call him and tell him you regret it. Zhou Boyu would be happy to see you 'turn back'."

Wen Ying couldn't help but reach out to hit Chen Li's chest, but he grabbed her hand and pulled it into his arms.

"It's useless even if you regret it," he put his lips to Wen Ying's ear, "I will never let you go in this life."

Wen Ying lay quietly in Shen Li's arms. After a while, she suddenly raised her head and pushed him away.

"I have something to tell you, too. But once you know it, I'm afraid you'll blame me for acting on my own."

"What?" Shen Li asked.

Wen Ying said, "I delayed my return for a day because Yan Huai asked me to meet him alone. He just said on the phone that he had something important to discuss in detail and asked me not to tell anyone yet, so I didn't tell you at the time."

She counted off the conditions Yan Huai had promised and the price he had offered, one by one, and shrugged, "I have to apologize to you and Yao Fangzhou first. I rejected Yan Huai's conditions on your behalf without consulting either of you."

Chen Li crossed his arms and looked at Wen Ying with a playful look: "Let me hear how you rejected Yan Huai."

Wen Ying puffed out her chest like a proud cat. "He insisted I come back and ask you and Yao Fangzhou for your opinions before rejecting him. But I didn't want to ask, and I didn't think it was necessary, so I stood up and told him four words."

Shen Li raised his eyebrows: "Which four words?"

"Foolish—mind—delusional—ideas."

Shen Li couldn't help laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Wen Ying curled her lips. "These four words were the only things that came to my mind at the time. I couldn't think of any other plausible reasons."

Shen Li smiled and shook his head: "I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at Yan Huai. I really want to see with my own eyes what kind of expression Yan Huai had on his face at that time."

"You're not angry? You don't blame me for acting on my own?"

"Why would I be angry? Wen Ying, what kind of person am I in your heart?"

Wen Ying chuckled bitterly. "Either you're a senior partner at Zhongsheng—with a salary 30% higher than other senior partners. Or, you have the backing of Zhongsheng, the most powerful law firm. No matter how you look at it, it seems like a pie in the sky. Isn't it a pity that the ripe duck flew away?"

Chen Li reached out to ruffle her hair. "Every pie has a price already secretly marked on it. Every cooked duck requires an unbearable price to be exchanged. Wen Ying, you were right to refuse. The word 'wishful thinking' sums it up perfectly. There may be many people like Zheng Yongzhi in this circle who walk in the gray area, but I am not Zheng Yongzhi, and I will never become Zheng Yongzhi."

Wen Ying thought of Yao Fangzhou: "But Yao Fangzhou, a miser, might not think so. I'm really afraid he'll blame me for blocking his path to wealth."

"Although Yao Fangzhou may seem unreliable on the surface, he's actually a good person, a good person in the common sense," Shen Li said. "You're going it alone, and since you're partners, you should trust each other wholeheartedly. If it was Yao Fangzhou talking to Yan Huai, I believe he would have refused on your behalf without hesitation."

Wen Ying nodded thoughtfully: "I hope you are right."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Ying's phone rang.

She took it out of her pocket and saw that the person calling was not someone else, but Yao Fangzhou.

Wen Ying was helpless: "Does he have clairvoyance or super hearing? He called me right after I mentioned him. He's really haunting me."

She pressed the answer button and said only "Senior Brother", and then the receiver came with the rapid crackling sound of Yao Fangzhou setting off firecrackers.

Chen Li gradually walked to the foot of the stone wall and stood where Wen Ying had just stood, looking at the rows of wooden prayer plaques.

Each wooden plaque is inscribed with the most earnest wishes and expectations, which are the simplest and most direct hopes and desires in people's hearts.

The wind picked up again, blowing away the layers of crowded wooden signs.

The corner of a wooden sign was exposed at the nearest position, and the writing on it was clear and familiar.

It was just a fleeting moment, and Shen Li immediately reached out to push away the blocking wooden sign and accurately grasped the wooden sign.

After clearing away the obstruction, the words on the wooden sign now appeared clearly before Shen Li's eyes——

When I sink my eyes into yours

I glimpsed the deep dawn

I see the ancient yesterday

Seeing everything I can't understand

I feel the universe is flowing

Between your eyes and me

The handwriting on the wooden sign was familiar, and the strokes were extremely sharp, not like those written by the soft hands of a girl.

It is said that handwriting reflects the character of the writer, but this gentle girl writes sharp and powerful words.

On a sultry afternoon during the summer vacation more than ten years ago, the smiling face of the young girl Wen Ying seemed to still linger in Shen Li's eyes.

In the stuffy study, beads of sweat formed on the girl's forehead. She held up the large characters she had written and presented them to him like a treasure, her smile bright and dazzling. "Look, is my writing good?!"

Shen Li turned his head, and the bright smile of the girl in his memory and the bright smile of the woman in front of him gradually merged.

Wen Ying smiled and shook her phone. "You're right. Yan Huai also met with Yao Fangzhou privately, and Yao Fangzhou also rejected his conditions and requests without hesitation."

His eyes gradually sank into hers.

Shen Li laughed and stretched out his arms to Wen Ying.

Wen Ying walked over quickly and immersed herself in his warm and reassuring embrace.

"Shen Li."

"Um?"

"Do you love me?"

"Very much."

"How long will you love me?"

"A long, long time."

"Really?"

"Of course. Wen Ying, I will always love you. You can confirm this with me again and again."

(End of text)