Chapter 83. "Don't listen to him."...
It's quite a coincidence.
There are so many people in this world, yet we managed to meet three times in less than two months.
Zhou Xian sat down in the seat next to her, still holding a cup of iced coffee in his hand. "Thank you for finding Jinyuan that day."
He started with that sentence, seemingly assuming she had no recollection of him.
Wen Xue was slightly taken aback, but quickly recovered and gave a polite but awkward smile: "That's good."
The sunlight outside the cabin made her slightly pale face look flawless, and even though a few strands of black hair clung to her delicate neck, she didn't look disheveled, making Zhou Xian look at her several times involuntarily.
"You're going back to Hwaseong too?"
Zhou Xian asked calmly. Whether it was his clothes or his age, he had a student-like air that made people feel at ease.
Normally, Wenxue might have cheered him up and chatted with him.
After all, if you manage to bump into someone three times, strangers don't seem so unfamiliar anymore.
But she was preoccupied with He Yan's affairs and couldn't even maintain basic social etiquette. Her eyes were unfocused, and she had no intention of chatting with him or giving him any instructions. She just nodded absentmindedly as a reply.
Zhou Xian seemed completely oblivious and continued, "I'm also going back to Huacheng to see my family."
Wen Xue forced a smile, then looked down at her phone.
It wasn't time for takeoff yet. Although she guessed that Wu Yuejiang would send the flight information to He Yan, she still took a picture of her boarding pass and sent it to him.
She didn't say anything else for the time being.
Zhou Xian, who was sitting next to her, had been silently observing and scrutinizing her. He simply took off both of his earphones, casually put them in his pocket, and sat there leisurely.
Wen Xue accepted the orange juice offered by the flight attendant and sipped it slowly.
She was engrossed in her own world and completely oblivious to Zhou Xian's gaze when suddenly her phone rang. It was Nana calling.
Before she was asked to turn off her phone, she quickly answered it, and speaking softly to avoid disturbing other passengers, "Hello."
Nana shouted, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming over? I saw your dog at the company!"
Wen Xue smiled and said, "Okay, I'll ask Brother Yuejiang to take care of him for a few days. If you have time, take Shitou out for a walk."
Where did you go?!
“Huacheng,” she said, “I’ll be back no later than Monday; I have classes.”
Nana understood immediately upon hearing this, "You're going to find Brother Yan, right?"
Wen Xue hummed in agreement, but her eyes inadvertently met those of Zhou Xian beside her. Thinking she had disturbed him, she looked apologetic and said softly to Nana on the other end of the line, "We're about to take off. Let's talk after we land."
End the call.
Seeing that he was still staring at her, she whispered, "I'm sorry."
Zhou Xian couldn't help but chuckle. He turned his neck to show her what was behind him: a middle-aged man in a suit was talking loudly on his phone, each word getting louder than the last.
He said, "Compare him?"
Wen Xue understood his unspoken message and couldn't help but smile.
After this little incident, the subsequent casual conversation proceeded naturally, but both remained mindful of boundaries, avoiding any private topics. He knew she had gone to Huacheng to visit her family, and she learned from him that he was going home to visit his mother.
The cabin was dimly lit during the flight.
Zhou Xian leaned back casually, not closing his eyes to rest like the other passengers, but gazing thoughtfully at Wen Xue beside him.
Wenxue was exhausted. After eating and drinking, she covered herself with a blanket and rested.
She was too tired and fell asleep with worry for He Yan. Her dream was bizarre and fantastical. At first, it was He Heng, but later it was all He Yan.
Zhou Xian looked at her.
Until tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks.
His eyes flickered slightly. He was never curious about the joys and sorrows of unimportant people, but strangely, at this moment he found himself interested in her dream. What did she dream about that made her so sad?
…
The plane landed at Hwaseong Airport on time.
As he got up, Zhou Xian asked Wen Xue in a friendly manner where she was going and whether she needed him to give her a ride.
Wen Xue declined without hesitation: "My family will come to pick me up, thank you."
He seemed to have asked casually, and when rejected, he didn't press the matter. He smiled at her and walked out of the cabin without looking back. The family driver was already waiting in the parking lot. He got in the car, and the door closed automatically. All the Zhou family's cars had been modified, with blacked-out bulletproof windows. The car drove towards the exit, passing a black sedan.
Zhou Xian lowered his eyes, holding his phone in one hand, and sent a message: 【Check someone】
The reply came quickly: [Who?]
He typed casually: "The person sitting next to me on today's flight."
Encountering each other three times in a row, Zhou Xian didn't see any such thing as fate in his dictionary; he could only think of conspiracy. However... whether it was a coincidence or premeditated, he had to admit that it was all quite interesting.
Bang--
The black sedan stopped, He Yan turned off the engine, got out of the car, closed the door, and strode toward the elevator. His expression was cold and his steps were hurried. When Wu Yuejiang called him, he was talking business with several business partners while playing golf. His phone was on silent, and he had no time to pay attention.
By the time he finally had time to check his phone, a long time had passed.
He didn't have time to ask Lao Wu why Wen Xue had suddenly come to Huacheng. He drove to the airport and almost sped off.
Wen Xue had very little luggage and hadn't checked any. If this were really a vacation, she would be so relaxed, but her mood was quite gloomy. She randomly found a restaurant in the airport and sat down. This was the scene that He Yan saw when he came looking for her.
She was lost in thought, having ordered an iced lemon tea, her fingers unconsciously tracing circles on the water droplets on the cup.
He Yan stopped in his tracks.
He stood a few steps away, staring intently at her.
She was lost in thought and didn't immediately notice his arrival.
Perhaps he had been staring at her for too long, his gaze too intense. She seemed to sense something, and looked up, meeting his deep eyes. Her breath caught in her throat, and she belatedly realized that her impulsive decision to come to Huacheng was indeed too rash…
She instinctively stood up, nearly knocking over the cup.
There weren't many customers in the shop; they were sitting in twos and threes, and they all noticed the young couple.
The men are tall and upright, while the women are slender and graceful.
Anyone who saw it would think it was a scene of a long-awaited reunion.
"Want some?" This was the first thing Wen Xue said as He Yan walked over. She wasn't thirsty at all; this iced lemon tea was originally ordered for him. She had tried all sorts of drinks on the plane, which made the young man next to her laugh a few times.
"Um."
Although he sat down, his eyes never left her face for a second.
Wen Xue noticed that he was dressed in a sporty style, so she asked, "Are you... very busy today?"
"I'm done with work." He Yan didn't like using a straw, so he pushed it aside, picked up his cup, and drank half of it in one gulp. "My friends invited me to play golf, but we've already finished."
Wen Xue's heart tightened, and she almost couldn't help but ask him if the friend he mentioned was Zhou Zhan.
Fortunately, she remained rational; this was a public place.
She didn't want a third person to hear their conversation.
Although she didn't know exactly what had happened, she instinctively wanted to protect him. She didn't even tell Si Yi what she had heard from Lin Baizhou.
She lowered her gaze slightly and gave a soft "oh".
"Let's go back to the hotel first."
After finishing the remaining half cup, He Yan stood up and said.
Wen Xue followed.
The two left the restaurant side by side. The airport was bustling with people, and she was clearly out of sorts. He Yan put his arm around her shoulder to prevent her from being bumped into. The two didn't speak a word the whole way, and silently arrived at the parking lot, where they stood in front of their car.
Wen Xue finally turned her head and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
He chuckled, "It was borrowed from a friend."
She asked, bewildered, "Which friend?"
As He Yan opened the passenger door for her to get in, he replied, "Cui Ye, I mentioned it to you before."
Wen Xue breathed a sigh of relief.
She remembered Cui Ye; it was he who connected He Yan with an overseas Chinese in the United States, who she now heard was the trading company's biggest client.
It doesn't matter who it is, as long as it's not Zhou Zhan.
That's what she thought.
…
From the airport to the hotel, He Yan didn't ask her why she came to Huacheng, and she didn't mention Zhou Zhan either. After the great shock, He Yan was in a good mood about her arrival; she could sense it. He pointed out the buildings along the way to her.
Unbeknownst to her, a message from Wu Yuejiang lay on his phone: "Your little sister misses you, right?"
He Yan wasn't unaware that Lao Wu was mostly talking nonsense.
Based on his understanding of Wen Xue, he knew that her hasty arrival must be for something important.
But... he was still happy.
He Yan booked another room, on the same floor as him, but not next to his. When they reached the room door, he stopped and asked, "Are you hungry?"
Wen Xue shook her head.
She hadn't come to Huacheng just for a meal. Thinking of this, she looked up at him and said, "I have something I want to ask you. Shall we go inside and talk?"
He Yan paused slightly, nodded in agreement, and stepped into the room.
Not feeling safe, she peeked out through the door into the corridor, and once she was sure no one was there, she immediately closed the door.
sneaking.
Anyone who didn't know better would think they were up to something bad.
He Yan smiled silently, his heart finally at ease. As long as she wasn't going to leave him, nothing else mattered to him.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the French windows onto the dark carpet, making the whole room bright and air-conditioned. As soon as the door closed, Wen Xue, who had been holding back since last night, looked around. Even though it was just her and He Yan in the room, she still lowered her voice and asked, "Do you have a lot of contact with that Zhou Zhan? Do you see him often?"
Almost instantly, He Yan frowned.
Very few people knew about her relationship with Zhou Zhan. Even Lao Wu kept it a secret from her. How did she find out?
He didn't want her to know a single thing about the Zhou family or what he was doing now. Ideally, she wouldn't even know that Zhou Xian existed in the world once everything had settled down.
Wen Xue waited for his answer.
He asked in a deep voice, "Who told you that?"
Upon hearing this, the expression on her face froze.
His lack of direct denial is tantamount to admission.
“Weiwei’s brother,” she confessed softly, “we ran into him yesterday. He said he and Zhou Zhan were alumni, and he saw you get into Zhou Zhan’s car in Huacheng, so he was a little worried…”
He said that things are not very peaceful inside Wanbo right now, and if you get too close to Zhou Zhan, you may get into trouble.
He also said—
Lin Baizhou?
He Yan's expression gradually turned expressionless. So, Lin Baizhou appeared in front of her again last night? What did they talk about, and how long did they talk?
A nameless anger surged within him. He couldn't tell if it was because Lin Baizhou had revealed what he most wanted to hide, or because they had been in contact again when he wasn't looking.
He watched her mouth open and close with a somber expression.
When did Lin Baizhou become "he" in her mouth? When did she and Lin Baizhou become "we"?
For a moment, a layer of frost seemed to cover his face, and he interrupted her with a tense voice: "Don't listen to him."
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