95 Mr. Xu went to Vancouver (1)
(The ending of the main story is an OE for President Xu, a slight BE. Please read with caution if you mind.)
Vancouver in early December is like a light watercolor painting soaked in moisture.
On the UBC campus, the trees remain lush and green, and the Christmas lights adorning the branches are lit up early at dusk.
Wen Haijing had just come out of the library. She was wearing a light oatmeal-colored double-faced cashmere coat, with the belt tied loosely at the back, outlining her slender waist.
This coat, along with the crimson cashmere scarf around her neck, was a gift from her cousin Wen Xueyan and brother-in-law Cheng Boyan when they last visited her in Vancouver. At this moment, it felt like a warm flame surrounding her fair and beautiful face.
Those clear eyes that Xu Junheng had once remembered were now slightly weary from days of studying, yet they remained clear and bright, like a mountain forest after the rain, radiating a tranquil and gentle light.
Her phone vibrated in her palm. She tapped it, and the numbers and that familiar name that appeared on the screen made her heart skip a beat.
2000 Canadian dollars. P.S.: "Buy yourself a Christmas present."
Immediately following, his messages came in quick succession: "Don't come back for Chinese New Year or Christmas. Your parents came to the company to cause trouble a few days ago, and Wen Xueyan might have told you. Your brother hasn't even saved up the down payment for his house yet, so it's best to avoid them. Focus on your studies, and if you get good grades at the end of the semester, I'll give you another 2000 Canadian dollars scholarship."
In fact, Wen Dongping and his wife did consider going to Canada to "capture" their daughter. In their narrow-minded view, they believed that even abroad, they could force their daughter to come out by throwing tantrums, just like they did in their hometown village.
However, reality hit them hard at first: the visa. Faced with a mountain of application forms entirely in English, the couple was stunned. Even after finally finding someone to translate them, they were utterly overwhelmed by the requirements for "proof of assets" and "stable income."
They found the Xu Group.
"Call Xu Junheng out here!" Wen Dongping said, hands on his hips. "If he doesn't come out, we'll tell everyone how this CEO Xu played around with female college students, got them pregnant, and then didn't care!"
Wang Suying chimed in shrill voices, "Yes! Let him be utterly disgraced! And our daughter, don't think she'll be safe just because she's run away abroad! We're her parents, she can run to the ends of the earth and still have to support us! No money?"
In Wang Suying's eyes, her daughter's reputation seemed to have become nothing more than a tool for her to get money.
But she forgot that Xu Junheng was never a soft-hearted person, and he didn't care about his reputation as a womanizer.
Just as the security personnel were about to step forward to stop them, a cold voice rang out:
"Who gave you the audacity to act so presumptuously here?"
Xu Junheng stood there, dressed in a sharp black suit. His eyes were sinister.
Wen Dongping was taken aback by his fierce aura: "President Xu, we don't want to cause trouble either, as long as..."
"Just money?" Xu Junheng interrupted him. "Or do you want to go abroad and continue to leech off her?"
With each question he posed, he took a step closer. Forced to retreat, Wen Dongping shouted, his voice trembling with fear, "What...what do you want? We are Wen Haijing's parents! Her brother wants to buy a house, so she should contribute! Her brother is our only son; how can you bear to see him without a wedding home!"
Even though Wen Haijing went through so much suffering, her parents still only felt sorry for their son.
"Father and Mother?" Xu Junheng's voice was filled with overwhelming anger and disgust. "You dare to utter those two words?"
He suddenly raised his hand and made an extremely swift gesture.
The security guards nearby immediately stepped forward.
“Listen,” Xu Junheng walked up to Wen Dongping, who was being restrained, leaned down slightly, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “You know in your hearts that the reason we didn’t touch you before was because of someone else.”
He paused. "Now, she's out. If you dare associate her name with your filthy thoughts again, if you dare try to bother her again..."
His voice carried a chilling calm: "I don't mind making you disappear completely. I mean what I say."
After saying that, he straightened up and coldly uttered a few words to the security guard: "Throw him out."
*
As Wen Haijing looked at the message and saw that 2,000 Canadian dollars had been deposited into her account, a wave of emotion and guilt washed over her. A strong impulse drove her to want to hear his voice immediately and to say thank you to him in person.
Even just hearing his indifferent tone.
She made the video call request almost without thinking.
Soon, the screen went dark, displaying the message "The other party has rejected."
At that moment, when Xu Junheng saw her video request pop up, his heart skipped a beat. His thumb almost touched the green answer button; he wanted to see her, to see if the "sea" he had carefully treasured in his heart was still shimmering under the foreign sky.
However, reason prevailed, like a bucket of ice water poured over her head. In what capacity did he answer the phone? His former employer? His creditor? Or perhaps... a man who, in her most desperate moment, failed to offer genuine protection, even tacitly approving of that transaction, leaving a gray mark on her youth?
The more Xu Junheng liked her, the less he could accept that unpleasant beginning. Whenever he thought about not wearing a condom the second time, he felt extremely regretful.
He hardened his heart and pressed the red "reject" button.
That evening, his wife, Lin Wanru, pushed open the door and came in. She was wearing a well-tailored pearl white suit and her makeup was exquisite.
She gently placed a document on the desk.
"Consider signing the divorce agreement," she said calmly. "I will have custody of the children, you will pay child support, and you will have visitation rights. This is the most dignified solution I can offer, and it will be the least harmful option for us, especially for the children."
Xu Junheng's gaze fell on the deep night outside the window. He did not try to salvage the situation, but remained silent.
Looking at him like this, Lin Wanru's lips curled into an extremely bitter smile.
"You know what?" she said slowly, "Actually, I know you're a scumbag, and I can accept your physical infidelity. In this industry, casual flings are very common. Before, even if you didn't come home at night, had all sorts of scandals, and even if those messy women would call me from time to time to show off, I didn't really care."
She took a step forward. "Because I know that while your body may wander among women, your heart and your interests, at least to some extent, are still anchored in this home. Those women are nothing but fleeting moments. Over the years, I've had several boyfriends."
Her tone suddenly changed: "But what I can't accept right now is that your heart has left me."
Her gaze was fixed on him. "Ever since that girl named Wen Haijing went abroad, you've changed. You no longer stay out all night, and you've even reduced your social engagements significantly. My phone has also become so quiet that those protest calls haven't rang at all."
"Isn't it better not to cheat?" Xu Junheng's tone carried a surprise he himself was unaware of.
“You come home on time, you’re well-behaved. But I can’t feel you anymore, Xu Junheng.” Her voice betrayed a long-suppressed pain. “Your heart isn’t here anymore. Has that girl flown away, flown to the other side of the ocean? You’re here in front of me, but your soul is gone.”
“The already thin bond between us, which was maintained by mutual interests, has not been repaired in the past six months, but rather… sharply diminished until it disappeared completely. I feel I can’t hold on any longer.”
Xu Junheng originally thought that he would forget Wen Haijing soon.
But three months ago, he learned some shocking news. His business partner, Mr. Zhang, had killed his mistress in a fit of rage after she blackmailed him for 30 million yuan with information about business bribery, ultimately leading to his imprisonment.
He suddenly remembered that evening, in the apartment he rented for Wen Haijing, when he had just finished a sensitive phone call with a high-ranking leader and turned around to meet her quiet gaze.
He felt that, given her desperate situation at the time, driven to desperation by her family, she could have easily left behind some evidence as a "protective shield" if she had the intention. Mr. Zhang's case is like a cruel mirror, reflecting the abyss that human nature can slide into when entangled in interests.
However, she never made any exorbitant demands. Even when she needed the funds most for her studies abroad, she only cautiously requested tuition and basic living expenses, and even carefully planned a work-study program overseas.
After witnessing the scheming of Mr. Zhang's mistress, he saw more clearly the true nature of Wen Haijing, which was buried deep beneath her predicament. She may have been forced to learn some tricks, but deep down she always held onto a bottom line, as well as an unspeakable but real reluctance and... true feelings towards him.
The next day, in the law firm, a legal relationship that had lasted for several years came to an end.
In the week leading up to Christmas, an almost obsessive impulse overwhelmed all reason.
He drove to the city's most prestigious jewelry store and, in the soft light of dawn, personally selected a diamond ring. The main diamond was cut to perfection, surrounded by tiny sapphires, like stars around the moon, or like the starlight that shimmered in her tearful eyes in his memory.
He imagined the ring on her slender finger.
He booked the earliest direct flight to Vancouver. He was going to see her, as a free agent, to make a desperate confession, or perhaps, to say goodbye.
As a man, he missed her eyes, her body, and the way she bloomed like a flower beneath him.
After a flight of more than ten hours, traversing clouds and day and night, Xu Junheng felt a surge of energy as he set foot on Vancouver soil. He remembered asking for her class schedule under the pretext of inquiring about her studies, and knew clearly that she had a class that afternoon, ending around dusk.
UBC's campus is nestled between mountains and the sea, and the sunset views are breathtaking. Xu Junheng wore a black cashmere overcoat over a dark gray three-piece suit, his tie perfectly tied, exuding the aura of a mature businessman with an air of prestige and authority. In his coat pocket was the velvet box containing the diamond ring.
He chose to stop beside a tree near her dormitory building, adorned with colorful lights, its shadow partially obscuring his tall figure in the twilight.
Then, he saw her.
Wen Haijing walked side by side with a boy wearing a navy blue duffle coat. She tilted her head slightly to listen to him speak, a gentle, faint smile playing on her lips.
He could almost hear the sound of his inner world crumbling. Look, this is the world she should have. No forced transactions, no exploitative families, only knowledge, the laughter of peers, and open and honest affection.
Just as he was being consumed by a mix of immense loss, Wen Haijing caught his presence out of the corner of her eye.
She stopped in her tracks, her smile freezing instantly, replaced by incredulous astonishment. She almost immediately jogged towards him.
She looked up at him. "How...did you get here?"
The boy followed, his smile bright and open.
Xu Junheng's gaze swept over Wen Haijing's cheeks, slightly flushed from running, and landed on the young, energetic boy behind her. He felt all his impulses and desires seem so hidden in the face of this harmonious picture of youth.
He didn't even give Wen Haijing a chance to speak again before turning to the boy and saying, "I'm Wen Haijing's relative, her cousin. I'm in Vancouver on a business trip and stopped by to see her. Where are you from? What do your parents do?"
He emphasized the words "cousin" and "relative" with extreme force, as if he were using the sharpest knife to personally sever all his unwanted thoughts.
The boy suddenly realized what was happening and immediately bowed politely with a sincere smile: "Hello, cousin! My name is Chen Ran. My grandfather is Chen Yiming, who runs a business in China. My parents teach at Nanjiang University. They are..." His introduction was neither humble nor arrogant, showing great manners.
“My cousin is a good girl,” Xu Junheng’s gaze quickly shifted from Wen Haijing to Chen Ran’s young and earnest face. “Treat her well.”
"Please don't worry! But I'm still trying to win Jingjing over, and I haven't succeeded yet after two months." Chen Ran's eyes were clear and firm.
Xu Junheng forced a smile, trying to make it look like a genuine smile: "I have something to do, I'll be going now. You guys chat." He pressed the diamond ring box, which was almost warm from his palm, back into his pocket, and back into the abyss of despair.
Wen Haijing stood there, stunned. Cousin? On the way? He traveled halfway around the world just to say something like that? Her clear eyes were clouded with immense confusion and unfathomable pain.
Xu Junheng quickly took a taxi back to the hotel. Based on the information he had just received, he promptly arranged for his assistant to investigate Chen Ran. Chen Ran did seem very upright, but he still wanted to investigate him to put his mind at ease.
Because he remembered the hurt her ex-boyfriend, Lai Chi-fung, had caused her.
In the months following Wen Haijing's departure abroad, he used every legal resource at his disposal, personally oversaw every court hearing preparation, and kept a close eye on the legal team to collect the strongest evidence, turning what might have been a mere administrative detention case into a serious criminal offense.
Ultimately, Lai Chi-fung was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including intentional assault. When the news arrived, Hui Chun-heng simply gave a curt "hmm."
He couldn't bear the physical and emotional trauma for her, nor could he openly protect her as her lover. He could only seek a belated and silent justice for her in the shadows.
This is how he later loved her—ruthless and resolute, yet buried deep underground, like magma beneath a stubborn rock, scalding, fiery, and forever without light.
After arriving at the hotel and getting out of the car, he walked alone along the river for a while.
A Chinese person was singing an old song called "Star" to a live stream camera by the roadside. The lyrics touched his heart: "Having traversed thorns and bitterness, I found peace; having crossed desolate fields, my feet are covered in mud..."
He felt that this song was very much like the path Wen Haijing had walked.
Xu Junheng didn't understand why Li Zhifeng was able to become Wen Haijing's boyfriend.
Later, he realized that when people are at their lowest point, they are like drowning people clinging to a piece of driftwood. They don't have the energy to think things through carefully and tend to lower their standards, accepting relationships that are not a good match.
At that time, Wen Haijing was overwhelmed by the pressures of her family of origin and cornered by life. A simple act of kindness from Li Zhifeng was enough for her to mistakenly believe it was salvation. She couldn't see any better possibilities, not because she lacked vision, but because the hardships of survival had blurred her eyes.
As he walked, he took out the ring box and wondered whether he should throw the ring into the river.
Welcome all readers and fans to leave comments and vote! Thank you for your support.
I want to see more!
Thank you for your message.
Is this the end of Hai Jing's story? I really want to see them together; it seems Hai Jing still cares a lot about Xu Junheng.
Thank you for your comment. One more chapter of their side story and it will be completely over. The original outline for them had a pure tragic ending, but I've tried to revise it to make it a little warmer.
Looking forward to it! Hopefully it will be warmer~
Okay, thank you for reading.
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