Zhu Jingwei was startled, staring blankly at Situ Cheng for a moment before stammering, "I...I wasn't concerned about her! No matter what, I'm the lady of the house...Well, we have to show hospitality, we can't let others think our family is impolite!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Situ Cheng laughed, but still followed his wife's words and continued, "You are a lady from a distinguished family, with an extraordinary background. You must have the demeanor of a noble family and cannot stoop to the level of a little girl like Song Wan!"
Zhu Jingwei rolled her eyes at him and then burst out laughing.
Situ Cheng put his arm around her and led her to sit down on the sofa. He then went around to the back of the sofa and massaged her shoulders.
"I know you're just being stubborn! Actually, you welcome this Miss Song more than anyone else."
"No, that's not true." Zhu Jingwei stubbornly denied it. "I don't think much of her. How could she be worthy of Zhao Jiang?"
"You old woman..."
“I know about what happened between them back then!” Zhu Jingwei turned around and looked at him. “This girl only followed Zhao Jiang for money. Later, she got pregnant and miscarried, so she pretended to be crazy and clung to Zhao Jiang!”
"A woman's crying, tantrums, and threats of suicide always work on men!" Zhu Jingwei scoffed. "That's why she has Zhao Jiang firmly under her thumb now! Am I right?"
Situ Cheng glanced helplessly at his wife, pouted, and remained silent.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this!" He changed the subject, conjuring up a scroll of freshly written calligraphy as if by magic. "Here, give me your feedback!"
Zhu Jingwei smiled and gladly accepted it. Upon opening it, she saw a newly written couplet; the characters were beautiful, but unlike Situ Cheng's usual vigorous and powerful writing.
She paused for a moment, then said softly, "This seems a bit different from your usual style. Have you learned a new font?"
Situ Cheng smiled mysteriously, "Just tell me how well it's written?"
"Hmm...it's quite good." Zhu Jingwei said earnestly, "It's neat and elegant, with a certain strength in your strokes. However, I can tell you're not very familiar with this style of calligraphy. Were you nervous while writing it?"
"Haha, old lady, you have a sharp eye! Your comment is spot on!" Situ Cheng laughed heartily. "But I didn't write it."
"What?"
"It was written by Zhao Jiang's young wife!" Situ Cheng exclaimed in admiration. "She hasn't been practicing calligraphy for very long, so it's quite remarkable that she can write like this! I also think she has a lot of talent..."
"Ha, I knew it!" Zhu Jingwei sneered, her expression immediately changing. "This is not your style at all; every stroke of your pen looks petty!"
"Hey, didn't we just agree on that?"
Zhu Jingwei pursed her lips, tossed the words aside, and turned her face away.
"Wife," Situ Cheng said gently, "don't judge people with prejudice!"
Zhu Jingwei remained silent for a long time before saying, "I... I just have an extreme aversion to women who would act like they're going to die for a man."
Situ Cheng understood his wife's thoughts. Xu Yanqing's death was a wound in Zhu Jingwei's heart for the rest of her life.
It is said that teaching a disciple can lead to the master's starvation, but Zhu Jingwei has always been generous in passing on all her knowledge to Xu Yanqing and using her connections to pave the way for him.
Everything she did was in the hope that Xu Yanqing could shine in the literary world.
When Zhu Jingwei heard that Xu Yanqing was pregnant out of wedlock with He Cangwu's child and had given up the opportunity to study at a prestigious university abroad, she was furious and even announced that she was severing her master-disciple relationship with her.
But Situ Cheng knew that it was because she was disappointed in him.
"Yan Qing ruined her promising future for He Cangwu back then!" Even now, Zhu Jingwei's eyes still well up with tears when she talks about it. "I arranged that study abroad opportunity for her. Once she went abroad, she could not only study at a prestigious university, but also work with several internationally renowned screenwriters. When she returned after completing her studies, everything would be different... She really let me down!"
"But I..." Zhu Jingwei said, tears falling down her face, "I was too cruel to her. Why did I have to hurt my own student? I should have gone to see her. When she needed me the most, when she was most helpless, I wasn't there for her... I'm not a good teacher!"
"Don't say that." Situ Cheng patted her shoulder. "You've already been very good to her."
"If she hadn't been held back by her love life, her status in the literary world would be no lower than Duan Jinrong's!"
"Yes!" Situ Cheng smiled. "How could a student trained by you, the great writer Zhu, lose to Duan Jinrong?"
“Of course!” Zhu Jingwei straightened up. “Any one of my students is better than Duan Jinrong! Ha, he’s written a few nonsensical novels and actually thinks he’s an author?”
"How is it 'nonsensical'?" Situ Cheng teased her deliberately. "Her suspense series has reached its ninth book, right? It's selling quite well!"
"Then why not continue publishing?" Zhu Jingwei narrowed her eyes slightly. "Is it because there are too many logical flaws, making it impossible to reconcile with her own arguments? In my opinion, she might have a ghostwriter behind her! What good stuff could she possibly write..."
Situ Cheng covered his face, feeling utterly helpless.
The connections between people are wonderful. Just like Zhu Jingwei, she disliked Duan Jinrong ever since he published his first book.
Perhaps it was just the mutual disdain among intellectuals, or perhaps it was because she was Xu Yanqing's rival in love.
"By the way, speaking of Duan Jinrong..." He quickly changed the subject, "The He family sent an invitation today."
"What invitation? I'm not going!"
"The He family is hosting a banquet this weekend to celebrate the successful collaboration between He Cangwu and Xiao Liran, the owner of SL."
"oh?"
"You don't know yet, do you?" Situ Cheng smiled. "He Cangwu invested in a movie that is adapted from Song Wan's novel. Song Wan is a writer at Xiao Liran's company and will also be the screenwriter for this movie."
“Really…” Zhu Jingwei frowned. “Why is He Cangwu suddenly interested in this industry? Besides, is Song Wan, a new writer, worth him investing so much in? Could he be thinking something?”
Situ Cheng was taken aback. "What did you say?"
"He Cangwu is no good!" Zhu Jingwei said, somewhat agitated. "First he harmed Yan Qing, and now this old man is trying to make a move on my nephew's wife? He's dreaming!"
“Uh…” Situ Cheng was dumbfounded.
"No way!" Zhu Jingwei stood up abruptly. "I have to go to this banquet! I can't let that old bastard get close to my nephew's wife..."
"I said, where are you going?" Situ Cheng stood there, stunned.
Zhu Jingwei turned to look at him, a slight smile playing on her lips.
Of course, she went to pick out a suitable outfit for the banquet!
Situ Cheng let out a long sigh, his expression complicated... If he remembered correctly, he had just said "I'm not going" without hesitation, and just a few hours ago he was finding fault with Song Wan. Now he was actually going to be her protector!
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