Chapter 20 The Truth "My sixth sense tells me that Wen Hong is not... "
Night seems to fall much earlier in Luyao Town than in Shencheng. As the deep blue night sky thickens, the courtyard is already fast asleep.
The light in Grandma's room was already off.
Qiao Yunzheng sat on a rattan chair in the courtyard, staring blankly at the jade hairpin that had appeared in her hand.
The jade was warm and lustrous, and the carving was exquisite. Qiao Yunzheng had seen many fine things, and she could tell at a glance that this jade hairpin was of extraordinary quality.
Grandma didn't say much about the hairpin; she simply placed it in her daughter's hair and said, "You two must take good care of each other."
She roughly understood that the jade hairpin was something like a family heirloom. After declining a few times, she couldn't resist her grandmother's insistence and had to accept it for the time being. However, she wasn't Wen Hong's real partner, and she hesitated for a moment about how to handle this treasure.
I don't know how long I sat there, but then I heard footsteps approaching.
Qiao Yunzheng didn't turn around, but simply raised the hairpin a little higher and held it up to the moonlight.
"Wow, the old lady is quite generous."
Wen Hong stood beside her with his hands in his pockets, glancing at the hairpin without seeming surprised.
Qiao Yunzheng nodded: "Grandma said that the tradition is passed down to daughters, not sons. It's no use if you're envious."
Wen Hong chuckled softly, "Qiao Yunzheng, when did you become so...tsk, I'm almost embarrassed to say it."
Qiao Yunzheng feigned surprise: "Oh? Wen Hong, you've finally admitted you're shameless."
Wen Hong felt a twitch between her brows, her face full of disgust, but she couldn't help but smile.
He casually squatted down on the ground to the side, looking up at the tall paulownia tree in front of him, whose branches were so thick that it would take two people to encircle them.
Suddenly, he recalled the scene when he first met Qiao Yunzheng.
She was well-behaved, always spoke slowly and softly, and was the kind of model child that elders would describe.
Well-behaved, sensible, and law-abiding.
She was too obedient, like a flawless piece of glass placed in front of him.
Wen Hong suddenly had a wicked idea. He was determined to provoke her and see what kind of person this so-called good girl really was.
He knew from a young age that people are always good at pretending; pragmatic people pretend to be pure, indifferent people pretend to be affectionate, and calculating people pretend to be kind...
Sure enough, her disguise was easily peeled off with almost no effort.
He climbed to the top of a tall tree, cornered her in front of the window, threw her a handful of sticky flower buds, and waited for her to shun him in disgust or angrily slam the window shut.
To his surprise, the girl neither dodged nor avoided him; instead, she excitedly reached out to take his hand. Before being caught, she winked at him slyly and quickly switched back to her obedient facade.
Just like now, slow and steady, then a fatal blow.
This is the real Qiao Yunzheng.
"Hey! Qiao Yunzheng, can you climb trees?" Wen Hong suddenly asked.
Qiao Yunzheng looked up at the dome-like tree canopy and shook her head honestly: "No."
Wen Hong, however, disregarded everything and pulled her up from the rattan chair: "How will you know if you don't try?"
Just like he said to her countless times many years ago when she hesitated: How will you know if you don't try?
So, half an hour later, with Wen Hong's help, Qiao Yunzheng sat on the branch in a very disheveled state.
But it must be admitted that the view from above is different.
The moon shines brightly above, and a gentle breeze blows softly beside me.
Qiao Yunzheng didn't feel embarrassed at all about her dirty dress and messy hair. Instead, she took a couple of deep breaths with great satisfaction.
Wen Hong was not as disheveled as she was. He was as at ease as he was back then, and even more skilled than before.
He sat beside her, his long legs bent, looking at her from the side.
Qiao Yunzheng thought that Wen Hong was just acting on a whim, leading her astray. After all, he never needed a reason to do things.
Wen Hong suddenly spoke:
"Qiao Yunzheng, how about we get married?"
"Huh?" Qiao Yunzheng was caught off guard by his sudden words.
My body swayed unexpectedly.
Wen Hong firmly supported her arm, seemingly not intending to let her go, his dark eyes staring straight at her: "I said, let's get married."
Qiao Yunzheng was terrified; her heart was pounding like a drum.
He was supporting her back and waist, leaving her no way to escape.
She could only bite the bullet and say, "Didn't we already agree on this...? I'm not that forgetful, and you don't need to remind me again."
Once she was settled, Wen Hong loosened his grip on her, lowered his eyes, and said nothing more.
He simply and casually pulled the hairpin from her body.
Then, with practiced ease, he gathered her hair, loosely tied it into a bun, and inserted the hairpin into it.
Qiao Yunzheng lowered her eyes, and the rustling of leaves around her disappeared instantly, leaving only the rumbling of her chest.
Wen Hong's voice rang in my ears: "Let me explain to you. This is my intention as the offeror to make an offer to you."
Qiao Yunzheng had been in the business world for several years, so she naturally understood what he meant.
However, Wen Hong is the first person to propose in such a fresh and unconventional way.
His words calmed Qiao Yunzheng down a bit, and she replied in a very serious tone, "Didn't the offeree already accept the offer?"
Wen Hong shook his head, his dark eyes sparkling: "Today counts. From today onwards, you, Qiao Yunzheng, are my fiancée, Wen Hong."
There was no teasing or mockery, but he said it to her in a very serious manner.
Qiao Yunzheng suddenly remembered that year, under a clear sky like this, in the place closest to the sky, he said, "Hey, good boy, want to be my friend?"
She suddenly realized: this was what Wen Hong had been insisting on all along, the so-called engagement.
At night, Qiao Yunzheng tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
She sat up and sent a message to Su Ran.
After she briefly summarized her past with Wen Hong, she indeed received a large bunch of green plants from Su Ran.
Qiao Yunzheng apologized sincerely and coaxed him in a low voice for a while before finally getting to the point: "Ranran, what do you think he was after?"
Su Ran shook her head: "Qiao Qiao, I think your proposition is wrong from the start, it's a false proposition!"
Qiao Yunzheng was even more confused by what she said: "What do you mean?"
Su Ran: "Look at him, who is Wen Hong? He's the eldest son of the Wen family, a famous lawyer! Even if his reputation is bad, with any of his status, what kind of girl can't he have? He waited five years just to get revenge on you for dumping him back then?"
Qiao Yunzheng corrected her: "What do you mean by waiting bitterly? It just means I happened to fall into his hands again, understand?"
Su Ran rolled her eyes: "Yes, yes, yes, just as you said, that lawyer Song just happened to be unable to take Qiao's case, so he recommended him to you. And just happened to be the famous lawyer Wen, who took your case without a second thought. And just happened to use his Wen family connections to easily deal with your heartless uncle. And just happened to take you on a trip back to your old haunts and propose to you on the way. Tsk tsk tsk, Qiao Qiao, listen to this yourself, is this reasonable?"
This was the first time Qiao Yunzheng had examined the recent series of events from an outsider's perspective. She tried her best to refute them, but found that she couldn't seem to find any reason to do so.
Regardless of motives, what Su Ran said was indeed true.
Seeing that she was speechless, Su Ran delivered another blow: "Anyway, Qiao Qiao, my sixth sense tells me that Wen Hong has never let you go."
Every word coming through the receiver was like a muffled thunderclap hitting Qiao Yunzheng's heart.
"And what about you, Qiaoqiao?" Su Ran pressed on.
Qiao Yunzheng was still in a daze: "What?"
"What are your true feelings for him? Is it just for the sake of business cooperation? Or do you still care about him even a little bit?"
Qiao Yunzheng answered truthfully: "From the very beginning when he proposed a contract marriage to me, I treated him like a client."
She wasn't lying; she consistently maintained a cooperative attitude, never crossing any boundaries, and their feelings couldn't be purer.
Su Ran said, "Let me put it another way. If it were someone else... say, lawyer Song Nanchen, if he made the same request as Wen Hong, asking you to be his wife for three months as a bargaining chip to secure the future of the Qiao family, would you agree?"
Qiao Yunzheng was completely speechless.
She probably wouldn't agree.
"I need to think about it some more..."
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Yunzheng received no answer and became even more agitated.
Her gaze fell on the jade hairpin lying quietly on the dressing table, and an idea came to her mind.
The next day, Wen Hong took Qiao Yunzheng back to Shencheng.
Throughout the journey, Qiao Yunzheng kept replaying in her mind what Su Ran had said yesterday.
That idea had been on my mind for a long time, until I got off the plane and went home.
After packing her luggage, Qiao Yunzheng sat down at the dining table with her head down.
Sure enough, Wen Hong's footsteps approached shortly afterward.
He sat down beside her, glanced at her, still wearing that arrogant look that said, "It's not that I wanted to ask, it's just that your face is so sour," and asked, "What? Have you lost your soul in Jiangcheng?"
Qiao Yunzheng placed the jade hairpin she had been clutching on the table, looked up at him, carefully observing his expression, and said, word by word, "Wen Hong, I can't accept this."
The playfulness and arrogance in his eyes vanished instantly, as if a gust of cold wind had swept over them: "What?"
Author's Note: Thank you to "National Mental Hospitals" for the landmines! Thank you to "Sunshine" and "National Mental Hospitals" for the nutrient solution!
Mwah! [Sprinkling flowers]
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