Chapter 101: Xu Junheng and Wen Haijing's Comfort
A month later, Wen Haijing packed her meager belongings, preparing to be discharged the next day. Her cousin, Wen Xueyan, had already returned to China the day before, leaving her alone in the ward. The sky outside the window was overcast, mirroring the subtle sense of loss she felt, a feeling she herself was unwilling to acknowledge. For a whole month, that man had not appeared.
The white irises are still changed daily, silent and stubborn.
The nurse knocked and entered, her voice gentle: "Ms. Wen, you are expected to be discharged tomorrow. In addition, considering that you will need special care for your long-distance trip after surgery, we have arranged for a professional nursing assistant to accompany you back to Vancouver tomorrow. All related expenses have been settled in advance, so you can rest assured and depart on time tomorrow."
Wen Haijing was taken aback: "Was it arranged by my cousin?"
The nurse nodded slightly: "Yes. Please don't worry."
Before Wen Haijing could think much about it, her phone vibrated. It was a voice call request from her college classmate, Su Su. Wen Haijing answered, and Su Su's anxious voice came through the receiver, her logic somewhat incoherent due to her panic.
"Jingjing! What should I do? Boss Qian's wife is looking for me! She says the 60,000 yuan Boss Qian gave me, and the surgery fees from before, are their joint property. She's going to hire a lawyer to sue me and make me return it all! I... I sent most of the money home to pay for my younger siblings' tuition and to repair the house in my hometown. Where am I going to get the money now?!"
Wen Haijing's heart sank. Su Su was the girl who shared a similar impoverished background, even having a name given haphazardly by her parents. It was Su Su who had taken her to work part-time at a bar to earn money, but Wen Haijing only went once. After Xu Junheng discovered this, he forbade her from going again. Su Su's family situation was even worse; she had two younger sisters and a younger brother.
"Jingjing, has that Mr. Xu's wife contacted you? How did you deal with it?" Su Su asked.
"No," Wen Haijing answered decisively. "His wife has never contacted me."
"How is this possible?" Su Su's voice was filled with disbelief. "He gave you so much! Your tuition fees! How could his wife not know? How did you manage that?"
Wen Haijing remained silent for a few seconds. She hadn't thought about this question, and she couldn't bring herself to tell Su Su that her relationship with Xu Junheng had long since transcended a simple financial relationship, and couldn't be summarized as just "dealing with it."
Su Su started sobbing on the other end: "Boss Qian lied to me at first, saying he was single! When things got into trouble, he hid, saying his wife was powerful and I had to figure it out myself. And when I got pregnant three months ago, he only gave me 5,000 yuan for the surgery. I clearly took emergency contraception, but the instructions said there was a chance it might fail. Sigh, my mom took all the money I earned from my previous jobs, and now I can barely afford to eat. How am I going to pay back Boss Qian's wife..."
As Wen Haijing listened, a complex mix of emotions welled up within her. There was sympathy for Su Su, as well as the impact of the stark contrast.
The contrast between Mr. Qian's deception, stinginess, and shirking of responsibility and Xu Junheng's openly acknowledged marital status from the beginning, his subsequent generous financial assistance, and... his seemingly complete disappearance of "not getting entangled" is striking.
The thought made her heart skip a beat, but then a chill ran down her spine.
Su Su's experience was like a cruel mirror. Wen Haijing wondered, could Xu Junheng's wife, Lin Wanru, really be completely unaware? Or was it just the calm before the storm? What if one day Lin Wanru, like Boss Qian's wife, came knocking on her door with legal means, demanding the return of that tuition fee? She simply couldn't repay that money.
Should she borrow money from her cousin again? She already felt guilty about borrowing so much money from Wen Xueyan over the years.
After hanging up the phone, she transferred 500 yuan to Su Su as a loan so that she could solve her food problem this month.
Then, a chilling fear washed over her like a cold tide. After hesitating, she finally decided to message Xu Junheng.
She carefully chose her words and sent a message, trying to make her tone sound as simple as a question based on real concern:
"Mr. Xu, excuse me. I'd like to ask if your wife will ever seek a refund from me through legal means regarding the money you sponsored for my education?"
After sending the message, a familiar, almost instinctive survival mode automatically restarted.
Being frugal and hardworking, making the most of every penny, is a skill she has been forced to master over the years under immense economic pressure.
Her memory flashed vividly back: when she first arrived in Vancouver, the food in the school cafeteria was a luxury for her. She once spent an entire afternoon carefully comparing prices in the supermarket with a small notebook in hand.
Ultimately, she came up with the optimal solution: a slice of whole-wheat toast, a jar of the most affordable peanut butter, and a few tomatoes and lettuce. This combination could solve several days' worth of breakfasts and simple lunches, at a cost far lower than any meal in the cafeteria.
The taste is monotonous, but the money saved is real.
Later, as she became more familiar with the environment, she would occasionally allow herself to splurge a little, such as buying discounted chicken to improve her meals, or going to a budget restaurant for a special set meal after completing an important project, and even going to Uniqlo to buy new clothes.
"I don't need to buy clothes for now, I have enough for now," she thought to herself. "As for food, I can go back to the previous routine." She mentally made a new shopping list, with each option accompanied by a strict price ceiling.
A long-lost, tense sense of crisis surged into my heart once again.
Meanwhile, Xu Junheng, who was chairing a high-level meeting, felt his phone vibrate in his suit pocket. After seeing the sender, he immediately requested a five-minute pause in the meeting.
He walked to the window, and an indescribable excitement instantly dispelled the fatigue of the past few days.
Wen Haijing sent him a message!
However, when he quickly clicked on it and saw the content of the message, his enthusiasm was suddenly extinguished as if doused with ice water.
It wasn't the problem itself, but rather the information it revealed—that she still believed he and Lin Wanru were husband and wife, and that she was still placing herself in an insecure shadow, potentially facing repercussions from the "original wife." She was even afraid of it.
When have I, Xu Junheng, ever had to consider other people's feelings when I give things away? Especially since it was given to you, Wen Haijing. I'm too busy feeling sorry for you to allow other women to ask you for it back.
A subtle pang of heartache welled up in Xu Junheng's heart.
For a month, he had refrained from disturbing her, only checking in on her well-being through the most indirect means. Now, the message she sent him was merely a question filled with unease and distance.
His long, slender fingers hovered over the phone keypad.
As her fingertips touched the paper, words flowed out: "Jingjing, you don't need to worry about the problems you mentioned at all. I was so happy to see your message. I miss you so much. I think about you every day, how you're recovering, whether you're eating on time, and I want you to never have to worry or be afraid of anything again. I want..."
The fingertips paused, and the words "I want to hug you, I want to kiss you passionately, and tell you in person that I will take care of everything" almost leaped off the screen.
But the next second, he suddenly closed his eyes.
These surging longings and almost bursting possessiveness are not solace for her at this moment, but only a heavier burden and another form of entanglement.
What she needed was not his passionate outpouring of emotion, but a definite answer that would put her at ease, a promise that would eliminate her worries.
Xu Junheng quickly calmed himself down and replied to the past, without any unnecessary words, only wanting to eliminate her anxiety as soon as possible: "Jingjing, absolutely not. Don't worry."
These few words were the most direct reassurance he could give her.
Wen Haijing breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the message.
Her previous worries were instantly replaced by a warm yet heavy feeling. She looked at the iris again; the petals seemed to shimmer faintly in the afternoon light.
*
A week later, in the evening, in a tastefully decorated Chinese restaurant in Vancouver, the lights were soft. Wen Haijing sat next to Chen Ran, opposite his parents, Professor Chen Guimo and Professor Li Ningchu.
Wen Haijing wore a simple beige knit sweater, her long hair was softly draped over her shoulders, and she wore light makeup. She still looked somewhat pale from recovering from a serious illness, but her eyes were bright.
Wen Haijing initially refused again, but Chen Ran repeatedly assured her that he wouldn't put pressure on her and that she should just consider it a chance to meet fellow countrymen and make more friends.
The meal went very smoothly at first.
Professor Chen was refined and witty. He was mainly concerned about his son's adjustment at UBC, and also inquired about Wen Haijing's major and studies.
Professor Li, on the other hand, appeared more intellectual and capable. When the conversation inadvertently turned to the chemical engineering courses that Wen Haijing had taken, the female scholar, who was quite famous in the field of chemical engineering in China, had a slight spark in her eyes.
Li Ningchu raised a question from the chemical engineering field, speaking in a purely academic tone with encouragement.
Wen Haijing was slightly surprised, but quickly regained her composure. After a moment's thought, she clearly and concisely articulated the core points of a course paper she had written some time ago, combined with cutting-edge literature she had recently read. She didn't try to show off; her words were even somewhat cautious, but her logic was impeccable.
As Professor Li listened, his initially gentle expression gradually became serious, and he occasionally asked about one or two details.
After listening, Professor Li looked at Wen Haijing with more appreciation in her eyes. "Your speculation on the influence of catalyst surface modification has something in common with a phenomenon our team recently encountered. It's very rare for an undergraduate to have such insight and literature review ability." She turned to her son and smiled, "Xiao Ran, your friend has great potential in academia."
Wen Haijing's ears burned slightly, and she said in a low voice, "Professor Li, you flatter me. I only saw a little bit of the surface."
The atmosphere was temporarily harmonious and warm.
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Chen is like a warm little sun, but President Xu is also very kind.
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