Chapter 24 Facing "Wen Hong, did you lie to me back then?"...
Wen Miao's current intelligence was no longer enough to keep her entertained for the rest of the night. With snot and tears streaming down her face, she drifted off to sleep.
Wen Hong turned around and stood in front of Qiao Yunzheng. He looked down at her and continued in a sarcastic tone: "Qiao Yunzheng, tell me, what do you know about her?"
At this distance, Qiao Yunzheng could only see his slightly bobbing Adam's apple and the slightly mocking, malicious smile on his lips.
At this moment, Qiao Yunzheng felt that even if someone told her that tomorrow was the end of the world, it wouldn't be any more absurd than this.
"You...are you speaking human language?"
Qiao Yunzheng swore that she had no intention of mocking or insulting him; she genuinely felt as if she had just heard a string of unfamiliar language carrying a sense of species isolation.
Wen Hong clearly couldn't understand her and questioned her with dissatisfaction, "What? You still don't want to admit it?"
The rights and wrongs of the past cannot be clearly explained in just a few words.
Qiao Yunzheng took a deep breath to calm her chaotic thoughts and kindly reminded him, "Can you please have some professionalism? Don't make baseless accusations."
Wen Hong was very dissatisfied with her stubborn denial. He held up one finger: "First, did you sleep with me?"
Even though such a thing had actually happened, Qiao Yunzheng was still shocked to hear him say it so casually: "You, you, you..."
"What about me? What about me?" Wen Hong looked aggrieved. "You've already done it, so why can't people say anything?"
Qiao Yunzheng felt as if she were being scalded, whether from anger or embarrassment.
Wen Hong held up another finger and continued her accusation: "Secondly, did you initiate the breakup?"
Speaking of this, Qiao Yunzheng was not going to be passive anymore and spoke first: "It was clearly you who deceived me first."
Wen Hong remained unfazed: "I only want the result. Just tell me, yes or no?"
Qiao Yunzheng gritted her teeth: "Yes!"
Wen Hong said with aggrieved expression, "Thirdly, are you going to disappear?"
Now, Qiao Yunzheng was completely speechless.
Shortly after the breakup, she cut off all contact with the outside world for two years.
After staying in Luyao Town for a period of time, Qiao Yunzheng, whose condition was improving, rapidly lost weight in the two months after returning to Kunming. She suffered from frequent illnesses and even developed shortness of breath. Conventional medications could only suppress the symptoms when they flared up, treating the symptoms but not the root cause.
Her father was very worried about her condition, so he found a well-known traditional Chinese medicine doctor.
They didn't quite understand the terms in traditional Chinese medicine, such as "where evil gathers, the qi must be deficient," but they generally understood that her restlessness had created a hole in her already weak foundation, further damaging her vital energy.
Therefore, the Qiao family attributed all of this to the dissolute young master of the Wen family, and became even more vigilant in guarding their contact, even sending Qiao Yunzheng abroad to hire a professional medical team for treatment.
For two years, Qiao Yunzheng lived a muddled life in a foreign land, and it wasn't much better than when she was in China.
For Qiao Yunzheng, who was in her early twenties at the time, the first pain in her life came suddenly and intensely, pulling and tormenting her every day.
It is so profound and unforgettable, it is like burning in one's heart.
Later, when her father had an accident, she hurriedly returned to China.
What she saw was her father, whose face was completely disfigured, lying in the intensive care unit.
He could no longer sternly reprimand her willful tantrums, nor could he shield her from the wind and rain. The once-majestic father could only lie amidst the dense network of medical instruments, his trembling hands caressing her face:
"Dad is sorry."
"Our A-Zheng is probably going to suffer."
Heaven showed no mercy to this poor girl.
With the father's passing, the Qiao family business collapsed like a edifice, rife with internal power struggles...
One incident after another came crashing down, all pressing down on those thin shoulders.
From feeling lost and helpless when no one was around, to hitting walls everywhere and figuring things out little by little, my body, which I hadn't paid much attention to, gradually got better.
Generally speaking, with mental support, one can get through the difficult times.
In busy days, memories become less important.
She no longer thought about Wen Hong frequently, but only occasionally paid attention to the Wen family's activities.
With the support of powerful backers, the Wen family rose in status day by day, and their power began to ebb and flow with the Qiao family. However, the Wen family's son never appeared in the public eye again.
Qiao Yunzheng moved her lips, but she couldn't bring herself to recount all the hardships she had endured over the past few years. She could only vaguely say, "I've just been a bit busy..."
Seeing that she had no way to refute it, Wen Hong concluded definitively: "So, when I said you toyed with my feelings, how did I wrong you?"
Qiao Yunzheng rarely wins debates with Wen Hong.
Even so, she still wanted to find out the details.
Su Ran is right. A person, especially someone like Wen Hong, wouldn't be foolish enough to waste so much of his time playing pranks on someone insignificant.
The separation from Wen Hong was like a thorn lying deep in her heart. She always subconsciously avoided it, not wanting to think about it or touch it, afraid that if she accidentally opened it, the bloody truth would be unbearable for her.
But today, she made a decision.
She clenched her fists to quell the unease in her heart.
She moved her toes forward a little bit, until they touched.
Then, she looked up and stared into those dark eyes: "Wen Hong, did you lie to me back then?"
The nonchalance in Wen Hong's eyes disappeared, and he looked back at her seriously: "Yes."
Her heart was lifted to a high mountain peak, then plummeted at an alarming speed; the sudden feeling of weightlessness was almost unbearable for Qiao Yunzheng.
She had anticipated this possibility; she had already mentally prepared herself for it.
Yet, my eyes still couldn't help but well up with heat.
Even though she tried hard to control herself, her nose still stung and she couldn't stop her lips from turning down.
Tears still rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Her vision blurred rapidly, making it impossible for her to make out the person in front of her. She could only hear what sounded like a very low sigh.
“Back then, you asked me if I was a child of the Wen family, and I said no,” Wen Hong said softly. “On that point, I lied to you.”
"That's all."
Qiao Yunzheng was startled and suddenly looked up at him.
Her tears still clung to her long, curled eyelashes, making her look so pitiful that one couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
Wen Hong reached out and gently stroked her eyes: "There are many things I can't explain, but," he gently took one of her hands, slowly unfolded her clenched fist, and then placed her open palm on his chest, "whether it's warm or cold here, you have to see for yourself."
Qiao Yunzheng was almost convinced. So, all these years, she had wronged him?
Before Qiao Yunzheng could recover from the huge shock, her phone rang at an inopportune moment.
The atmosphere was suddenly broken, and she felt somewhat belatedly at a loss.
She hurriedly pulled her hand away from his and wiped away her tears haphazardly, only then realizing that it was already three in the morning.
Qiao Yunzheng frowned when she saw Uncle Zhang's number.
At this time, unless it's something very urgent, Uncle Zhang wouldn't easily disturb her.
She quickly pressed the answer button, but before she could speak, she heard an anxious voice on the other end: "Xiaozheng! Where are you?"
Qiao Yunzheng subconsciously turned her back and whispered, "Uncle Zhang, is something the matter so late?"
Uncle Zhang paused noticeably, as if hesitating for a moment, before saying, "Your mother isn't doing too well... Why don't you come back and visit her?"
Qiao Yunzheng's heart sank suddenly.
Back then, it was the same phone call. By the time she rushed back to China, her father was already lying in the hospital's emergency room, and her mother had long since fainted from crying. Before she could even ask what had happened or feel sad, a huge stack of critical condition notices was thrown at her, demanding that she sign them.
When she saw her father again, he was almost unrecognizable, his whole body wrapped in gauze, with only his eyes visible.
"What's wrong with her? She's been perfectly fine all along." Qiao Yunzheng herself didn't realize that her voice was trembling.
Uncle Zhang quickly comforted her, "Xiao Zheng, don't be nervous! She's not... she just missed you and wanted you to come back and see her..."
Despite what Uncle Zhang said, Qiao Yunzheng was still very worried.
The earliest flight back to Kunming takes five hours, so she decided to drive back immediately.
Wen Hong didn't say anything, but quickly went back to the bedroom to get a few sets of clothes to change into, and also packed Qiao Yunzheng's daily cosmetics and first-aid kit into a large suitcase.
In less than half an hour, he was back in the living room: "Let's go!"
Qiao Yunzheng looked at the suitcase he was holding: "Are you going?"
Wen Hong shrugged: "Otherwise what? Do you expect me to just watch you drive home through the night?"
After what just happened, Qiao Yunzheng felt even more guilty and asked worriedly, "So you're not going to the law firm?"
"Tch!" Wen Hong shrugged indifferently. "I came here just to... take a stroll. My work is all at headquarters, so it won't interfere with anything. Besides, I have Song Nanchen too!"
He had already reached the entrance, picked up Qiao Yunzheng's coat, and turned back to wave at her: "Come here!"
Qiao Yunzheng obediently walked over, mechanically following instructions, letting him drape her coat over her shoulders.
"Put it on, it'll be cold sleeping in the car later."
There are very few cars on the highway in the early morning; the drive only takes four hours.
When they arrived in Kunming, it was only eight o'clock in the morning.
The car slowly stopped downstairs at Qiao Yunzheng's house.
Qiao Yunzheng glanced upstairs and, seeing nothing amiss, felt a little relieved.
Turning to look at Wen Hong, whose face showed obvious signs of fatigue despite his intense concentration throughout the journey, he pretended to be relaxed, his hands loosely resting on the steering wheel: "Let's get on!"
Qiao Yunzheng hesitated for a moment, then said, "Come up with me!"
Wen Hong paused, glanced at the direction of the Qiao family's window, and shook her head: "Maybe another time! I think Auntie probably doesn't want to see me right now."
Qiao Yunzheng didn't want to force him, so she just told him to wait a moment while she went upstairs to see what was going on.
As soon as he entered, Yao Jing pulled him into the room and closed the door.
Yao Jing looked furious and pointed at Wen Hong's car outside the window, asking, "Who did you come back with?"
Author's Note: Ding! Thank you for the nutrient solution, Wuli "Sunshine"! Glug glug~
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