Chapter 31: Heartbeat 31, Already married
They spoke at the same time, but gave two extreme answers.
Wen Huai was stunned by his answer and looked for his eyes. But Xu Youjing just looked away when their eyes met, lowered his eyes and made a cup of tea for himself.
The whole set of movements was so smooth and flowing that he didn't even look at her again. It was so natural that Wen Huai wondered if it was just her imagination.
he......
Are you angry?
But why?
She clearly sensed his hesitation and spoke according to his thoughts, but the result was contrary to his answer.
What does he mean?
Li Changying noticed something was wrong between the two of them, but she didn't interrupt. She found an excuse to leave, giving them room to talk.
The news on TV had ended, and the noisy advertisements playing at this time were like firecrackers, especially harsh in the huge living room.
Xu Youjing leaned over, took the remote control, pressed the mute button, and looked at her. "Why don't you take wedding photos?"
"Are you afraid of trouble, or are you afraid that I'll be trouble?"
Beneath the calm tone, there was hidden anger.
Wen Huai couldn't help but feel that he had guessed wrong, and asked tentatively: "Do you want to take a picture?"
He frowned, studied her expression, and finally leaned back in his chair. "Anything's fine."
That means I don’t want to shoot.
He was just pretending in front of grandma, or just trying to please her.
Moreover, even if you take wedding photos, there is no guarantee that they will not become a sharp sword in future quarrels.
She had witnessed this firsthand when she was a child.
She didn't want the first thing she would break when she had a conflict with Xu Youjing one day would be the wedding photo hanging on the wall that had no emotional basis and was an eyesore.
Understanding what he meant, Wen Huai nodded, forcing a smile. "Then let's not take the photos for now. I heard that wedding photos are not only troublesome, but also involve choosing a location, clothes, photographer, etc., and Dianfeng is busy launching new products lately, so we don't have time."
He lowered his eyes and listened without saying a word.
Wen Huai told him the worst possible outcome, and also told himself: "Besides, the wedding photos have been taken. What if we don't get along well and want to divorce——"
Meeting his gaze, she felt a lump in her throat and swallowed back the two words, lowering her voice: "Anyway, let's wait until things are natural, okay?"
Xu Youjing suddenly laughed, "I'll do as you say."
"Um......"
There was a choking silence, even the wind in the yard stopped, only breathing remained.
There was no quarrel and they were of the same opinion, but Wen Huai felt depressed and felt that their relationship had plummeted to a freezing point.
At this moment, she caught a glimpse of the person sitting on the sofa standing up, and she looked over.
I only saw his profile.
"It's a bit boring, I'm going out for a walk."
"good."
Watching the figure leave, Wen Huai's straight back finally bent.
Just like the shadow of bamboo within sight, it retreats inch by inch in the twilight until it disappears at the edge of the frame.
She sighed.
She clearly believed she wasn't a twisted person, but when it came to her feelings, and to Xu Youjing, there were so many things she didn't dare to ask. She was afraid that one day she would touch upon a minefield and lose even the superficial illusion.
Suddenly she felt a little regretful, wondering if she should be bolder and give it a try.
...
Greenhouse.
Li Changying hurried over after receiving the news.
Seeing Wen Huai sitting upright on the sofa, she guessed that the two had parted on bad terms and walked forward.
"Come and see if you like it."
A small velvet box appeared in front of him, and Wen Huai saw a pair of pearls lying there.
Unlike the last pair of pearl earrings, this one is more elegant and restrained.
The workmanship and gloss were both top-notch, and Wen Huai was flattered.
Li Changying knew what she was going to say and placed the larger box on her lap: "Grandma, just take it. Why are you being so formal with me?"
"I'm not being polite. I just feel like you've been so kind to me, and I... don't deserve it."
"What are you talking about?" Li Changying sighed. "Other children's marriages are decided by their parents, but Jing's situation is special. Even the proposal came from me and Teacher Wen. You're such a good child. You never asked questions, and you never complained. You're so well-behaved that it makes me feel distressed. Ultimately, it's all my fault."
The night dragged on, and Li Changying told Wen Huai the whole story of Xu Youjing's parents.
Back then, when the Xu family was framed, their cash flow was insufficient, and they were on the verge of bankruptcy, it was the Qiao family who came to their rescue. The Qiao family's only request was that the third son of the Xu family marry the eldest daughter of the Qiao family.
At the time, Xu Laosan had a girlfriend he had been dating for eight years, and Qiao's daughter was not single either. However, due to the huge disparity in their social status, the two were held back from starting families by their families.
For the sake of the company, Li Changying had no choice but to give up her children's happiness, agree to the marriage with the Qiao family, and personally separate the two pairs of children.
After the marriage, the Xu family rebounded, leveraging their capital to stage a remarkable comeback, and their company flourished. Meanwhile, the Qiao family's fortunes declined significantly. Qiao Da and Xu San, still harboring resentment towards their families over their breakups, remained estranged from each other after their marriage, never sharing the same bed.
If this continued, the Qiao family's father, worried that the marriage with the Xu family would be invalid, approached Li Changying. After the two discussed it, they demanded that they conceive within a year and give birth to a child before they would be free. As long as the two remained married, they would not interfere with anything else.
That’s why Xu Youjing came into being.
As soon as he was born, Qiao Da and Xu San immediately went their separate ways, one settling in the United States, the other living in Switzerland. The most tacit understanding between the two was how cruel they were to their child.
"Xiao Ai, grandma knows what kind of environment you grew up in. I'm not saying this to make amends for Ajing. I just think you two had similar childhoods and can understand each other. You're still young. If Ajing does something wrong, feel free to tell grandma. If you have any concerns, grandma will take care of it for you."
"The matter of weddings and wedding photos is..."
"We discussed this, grandma. Ah Jing doesn't want me to be wronged, and I don't want to delay him because of these things now, so we have different opinions. We just agreed on this."
Li Changying's gaze lingered on her face, but he didn't say anything more and nodded in agreement.
At this time, the housekeeper, Uncle Li, came in quickly from outside, "Old Madam, the third wife is back."
-
Wen Huai had not seen Qiao Wanzhen, who had not returned to China for more than ten years, and Xu Youjing had no intention of meeting his mother, so the two drove away from the old house.
After arriving at the detached house, she found that there was another car following behind her, driven by Uncle Li.
"This is--"
Uncle Li withdrew his gaze from behind Wen Huai and said with a smile, "The old lady specifically asked for this. Knowing that these are the fruits you like to eat, she brought the freshest ingredients and asked Xiao Ping to cook them for you."
Wen Huai did not suspect anything and after thanking him, he found that Xu Youjing had come down from the main carriage at some point.
Unable to find him, Uncle Li told her to go back to her room and that he would be the one to handle it. Unable to resist, she could only thank him before leaving.
Before leaving, she noticed that Uncle Li was holding his waist while he had people unloading the truck, and she silently looked away.
The old lady brought more than just those things. In addition, there were several boxes of jewelry of different sizes, which had already been placed in Wen Huai's room. This was what she saw when she returned to the room.
This time she didn't say any polite words like the previous two times. Instead, she took a photo and sent it to him, saying that she liked it very much.
Having nothing else to do in the evening, she went back to her room to wash up. During this time, Aunt Ping came to knock on the door and asked if she wanted some fruit. Wen Huai thought it would be a shame to disappoint her grandmother, so she agreed to go downstairs later.
When she got to the first floor, she only saw Aunt Ping busy in the kitchen, and she was stunned.
She thought Aunt Ping would invite Xu Youjing to eat together.
Aunt Ping saw the person standing there in a daze. How could she not know what she was thinking? She explained: "A Jing is on the phone in the yard. He asked you to eat first and not wait for him."
Only then did she see the person outside the window with his back to her.
After returning from the old house, she and Xu Youjing exchanged no more than five sentences. She wondered if Qiao Wanzhen's return made him in a bad mood.
She looked away, put a piece of kiwi in her mouth, picked up her phone and opened an app at random.
I was watching idly when Lu Miaomiao's message popped up at the top of the page.
It was a picture, and then I received her voice message of more than 20 seconds: "Ahhh! Wan Yanshi has made his relationship public. What should I do if my CP is dead, Ai Bao! They're dead! This is the first CP I've ever been a fan of. Damn, the Chinese entertainment industry actually taught me a hard lesson!!"
Wen Huai frowned after hearing this.
It wasn't because she was interested, but because Lu Miaomiao's tone was too miserable and she was really very sad.
The screenshot she sent.
The trending search was about actor Wan Yanshi's public relationship. Following closely behind were terms like "Wan Yanshi and Qiao Mian are dead," "Wan Yanshi and his wife's long-term relationship has ended," and "Wan Yanshi is responsible."
It almost occupied the top 15 of the hot search list.
Wen Huai is not a fan of celebrities, so he doesn't quite understand the twists and turns involved. Fortunately, Lu Miaomiao's next explanation came in:
"The costume drama starring Qiao Mian and Wan Yanshi became a hit some time ago. They were very active in promoting the show before it aired, attracting many CP fans. After the show ended, the two of them didn't avoid seeing each other like others did, and they even participated in many activities and business together. Didn't you see the look in Wan Yanshi's eyes when they were together? His love was almost overflowing! But today, it was revealed that Wan Yanshi had been secretly married to his wife for several years. They both graduated from the Film Academy and were together in college. I originally thought it was fake and he was controlling the comments in the square, but he was a man and admitted it directly! What the hell, isn't this deceiving me and the fans! He treats me like a Japanese!"
"Wan Yanshi and Qiao Mian are both attending Fashion Week abroad right now. A few days ago, they attended the same brand event together and even sat next to each other! Holy shit, I was going crazy. And it's only been a few days. I'm so impressed."
Wen Huai lost his desire to eat the kiwi fruit and quickly swallowed it, comforting her: "It's okay, there will be new couples for you."
Then, don’t forget to transfer money to her and write: [Go buy your favorite cupcake, it’s my treat.]
Lu Miaomiao quickly replied: "Woo woo woo, love you Aibao! Who else but you would treat me like a child!"
The next second, transfer and receive.
Wen Huai curled his lips.
This is not sad.
Lu Miaomiao continued to express her emotions: [Many fans are overwhelmed, including me! From now on, I will be Qiao Mian's career fan!]
She was still furious, typing several times faster than usual: [I'm telling you, this also reflects that when looking for a partner, you must find someone you know well. Don't let the husband you've loved for a long time end up being someone else's husband.]
Wen Huai: "..."
She turned her gaze to the people in the yard.
...
In the courtyard.
Xu Youjing's clothes were thin, and his body had long been soaked by the cold wind, but the person on the other end showed no sign of ending.
What happened tonight already made him depressed, and at this moment, his patience was almost exhausted.
He said coldly, "You're all in Paris, why can't you fly over and see it for yourself?"
The other party was silent. Xu Youjing glanced at the changing numbers on the screen and knew that he was being stubborn again. Feeling helpless, he became angry.
"Are you going to keep her in the dark about what you've done for her?"
"I--"
"Since you like to stay behind the scenes so much, why not start from business and study directing? Who knows, you might even get a chance to work with your big star."
The wind grew stronger and the night became completely dark, obscuring not even a ray of light from the horizon.
Xie Songbai's sigh also brought out Xu Youjing's unhappiness in his heart.
He completely lost his patience.
An extremely cold voice, transmitted through the receiver, reached the other side of the ocean:
"I already have a family, it's not convenient for me to talk to other women."
"Hang up."
“…”
..
In the house.
Wen Huai, who was peeking, saw Xu Youjing put away his phone, and he subconsciously looked away, stuffing a few pieces of kiwi fruit into his mouth as if to cover up his mistake. But when he saw no movement from the corner of his eye, he quietly moved away again.
It would have been fine if I hadn't looked, but when I did, our eyes met.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
