Chapter 21 Testing the Waters: "Brother?"
Qiao Yunzheng tried to ignore the coldness in Wen Hong's eyes: "Wen Hong, I think we need to talk about this."
Wen Hong didn't even look up, leaning back lazily in her chair, and coldly squeezed out a single word: "Speak."
“Grandma gave me this because she sees me as you…” Qiao Yunzheng paused, unable to say the name for herself.
"What?" Wen Hong glanced at her.
Qiao Yunzheng changed her words and continued, "She gave me such a valuable gift because she considered me her granddaughter-in-law, but you and I both know that our relationship is not what Grandma thinks."
Wen Hong asked nonchalantly, "What? I don't quite understand. Could you explain it to me?"
Qiao Yunzheng looked at him quietly, not surprised by his sharp and awkward reaction. She asked patiently, "Wen Hong, I respect you and know I have no right to pry into your privacy, but since we're going to be husband and wife, even if it's temporary, it's better to be clear about some things. Why are you so insistent on marrying me?"
Wen Hong paused for a moment, then finally looked up at her: "What do you think?"
Qiao Yunzheng honestly stated her previous guess: "It's to get revenge on me for dumping you back then."
Her voice was very soft, and even now, bringing up the matter again, Qiao Yunzheng still felt somewhat depressed.
"Or perhaps, they're using me as a shield to refuse a business marriage..."
When Wen Hong heard the second possibility, she suddenly looked up: "A shield?"
He stared at her for a few seconds and asked, "Where did you hear all this rubbish?"
Qiao Yunzheng didn't hide anything and answered honestly, "It's the front page headline of the Kunming Evening News, I think it would be hard not to know."
Wen Hong was quite surprised to hear this answer.
Wen Hong promptly suppressed the news after it had only existed for less than two days, yet Qiao Yunzheng, far away in Shencheng, still managed to find out about it.
Wen Hong snorted coldly: "Wen Jinliang isn't that capable, so I need to marry a fake wife to deal with him in a big way."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Yunzheng pursed her lips and remained silent.
That's the first reason.
Qiao Yunzheng picked up the jade hairpin and solemnly handed it to him: "This is a very precious thing for the old man. It should not be used as a tool for trade."
She paused, watching his reaction carefully, before continuing, "It should belong to the person you truly love."
Those beautiful eyes were lowered, and thick eyelashes concealed the emotions within them.
Qiao Yunzheng's hand holding the hairpin began to sweat.
She didn't know how she hoped he would react; she only felt that at this moment, her heart was being lifted to a high mountain peak, awaiting the final verdict.
Wen Hong sat there like a petrified statue, motionless.
Qiao Yunzheng's hand remained frozen in mid-air.
Every second seemed to stretch on endlessly by the silence.
It took so long that Qiao Yunzheng's arms ached before Wen Hong finally reacted.
He chuckled abruptly twice, and when he looked up, his eyes held their usual nonchalant and unrestrained air, as if he didn't care about what was happening in front of him.
He ignored her outstretched hand, looked into her eyes, and said, "Qiao Yunzheng, didn't you say that this thing is passed down to women, not men? I don't have the fortune to touch it."
As he spoke, he took a step back.
Qiao Yunzheng was taken aback by the answer and was speechless for a moment before finally suggesting, "How about you give it back to your grandmother?"
Wen Hong looked incredulous and refused with a hint of disdain: "Why would I have that obligation? Besides, this belongs to my grandmother. Who she wants to give it to is her business. I don't have time to worry about it."
As he spoke, he stood up, pulled out a chair, and walked straight past her without lingering on the hairpin for even a moment.
Qiao Yunzheng didn't come to her senses until Wen Hong left with the documents.
The jade hairpin still lay quietly in her palm, now one with her body heat.
She withdrew her hand, and the corners of her lips curved slightly.
Suddenly, Qiao Yunzheng remembered a small incident from when she had just reunited with Wen Hong.
The cake she found by chance in the refrigerator.
It lay there properly and quietly.
She didn't know how long it had been lying there, but the day before that day happened to be her birthday.
Wen Hong practically fled from her home, and upon reaching the parking lot, carelessly tossed the documents onto the center console.
I smoked a cigarette in the car before starting it and slowly driving towards the law firm.
Almost everyone at Junyu knew that the boss was getting married, so no one thought it was strange that he hadn't come to the office for several days.
Unexpectedly, the boss suddenly appeared, and his expression was not good at all; he showed no joy at the impending good news.
The assistant, who had recently been reprimanded, trembled slightly, then braced himself and jogged over to greet him respectfully, saying, "Lawyer Wen."
Wen Hong glanced at him, vaguely remembering this impetuous assistant, and completely forgot about the previous plan to replace him.
He casually tossed the file folder in his hand to him: "Organize it and give it to me before you leave work." Then he went upstairs.
Not long after Wen Hong sat down, Song Nanchen pushed the door open and came in, the file bag in his hand looking somewhat familiar.
Wen Hong found Song Nanchen's smug expression extremely irritating and impatiently waved her hand, saying, "Get lost if you have nothing to do."
Song Nanchen slammed the file bag in his hand on his desk: "Tell me, when did Junyu switch careers to wedding planning?"
Wen Hong glanced at him sideways: "Are you sick?"
Song Nanchen couldn't help but laugh out loud, pointing to the file folder: "Take a look for yourself!"
Wen Hong impatiently twisted open the seal, and what was revealed inside looked extremely familiar—it was the wedding planning proposal he had been working on these past few days.
But he clearly remembered that he took the file bag containing the case information with him when he left home.
Wen Hong rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, and put the file bag into the drawer.
“Be more lenient with your subordinates, otherwise, who would want to work for a tyrant?” Song Nanchen teased him.
Wen Hong didn't take it seriously and chuckled lightly: "There are only three reasons why people can't be retained, and coincidentally, the one you mentioned is not one of them."
Song Nanchen: "Tell me about it?"
Wen Hong slowly extended her finger: "First, the money hasn't arrived; second, the money hasn't arrived; third, the money still hasn't arrived."
Song Nanchen was shocked by his fallacies and absurdities, and laughed and scolded: "You evil capitalists, you've been pickled in the stench of money, haven't you?"
Wen Hong shook his head: "Otherwise, what do you think everyone is working so hard for? Just to get a piece of the pie in the sky?"
Song Nanchen was completely speechless and gave Wen Hong a thumbs up.
He showed no sign of leaving, and sat down on the sofa opposite him: "Tell me! What's bothering you?"
Wen Hong raised an eyebrow: "It's none of my business with you. After all, we're not on the same starting line."
Song Nanchen chuckled, "You don't need to brag about your wife all the time. Everyone else may not know, but I do. You've never even stepped inside the bedroom! You're just being cheeky!"
Song Nanchen was well aware of Wen Hong's background.
Although Wen Hong and Qiao Yunzheng live under the same roof, they still sleep in separate rooms. Wen Hong even gave up the master bedroom, willingly sleeping in the standard bed in the second bedroom despite his 1.9-meter height.
"You know nothing!" Wen Hong said angrily, hurling a document at Song Nanchen, who deftly dodged it.
Seeing Wen Hong's discomfiture, Song Nanchen was in a good mood and then got to the point: "I wanted to ask on behalf of Lili, how did your engagement banquet go?"
Because Song Nanchen and Shen Qingli had something come up at the last minute and had told Wen Hong in advance that they wouldn't be attending his engagement party, the exact details are still unclear.
Wen Hong crossed his legs: "Nothing's done."
"Didn't you do it?!" Song Nanchen exclaimed in surprise. "Then what was the point of all that publicizing it?"
Wen Hong rested her chin on her hand, thought for a moment, and replied, "To give you kids from the newbie village a chance to be envious."
Even Song Nanchen, who was usually mature and composed, couldn't help but swear at this moment: "Damn it."
Wen Hong added, "But don't be sad. I'm planning to throw a party in a couple of days, which will be a formal way for your sister-in-law to meet you. Bring that pear with you then."
Wen Hong stayed at the law firm for two days without returning, so Qiao Yunzheng only found out about the party two days later.
After that conversation, Qiao Yunzheng could clearly sense that Wen Hong was intentionally avoiding her.
Qiao Yunzheng was much calmer than him, and would even tease him with a mischievous grin.
Su Chen probably learned about Qiao Yunzheng's upcoming marriage from his younger sister, Su Ran, and called specifically to ask about it.
Qiao Yunzheng was busy boiling water with one hand and holding the phone with the other: "Yes, Ranran didn't lie."
Su Chen: "Xiao Zheng, I've never heard you mention this before. Why are you getting married all of a sudden?"
Qiao Yunzheng put a spoonful of honey into her water glass and stood in front of the tea machine waiting for the water to boil: "Actually, it wasn't very sudden; it was something I thought about carefully."
Su Chen paused for a few seconds, as if gathering his courage, before saying, "Xiao Zheng, I know you're only putting yourself through this because of the Qiao family. If that's why you got married, then I..."
“Brother Chen,” Qiao Yunzheng suddenly interrupted him. After many years, she called him brother again, wanting to show that she had always regarded him as a brother. “I know you are worried about me, but it’s really not what you think.”
Qiao Yunzheng unconsciously fiddled with the digital display showing the water temperature with her fingertips. As the number continued to climb, the kettle made a slight boiling sound.
With a crisp "click," a cup was abruptly placed on the bar counter in front of Qiao Yunzheng.
She was still listening intently to Su Chen when she instinctively turned her head to look, only to meet Wen Hong's dark eyes.
"I want one too," Wen Hong said calmly.
The arrogant yet slightly cheeky voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it was precisely the voice on the other end of the phone that Su Chen heard.
The conversation was abruptly interrupted and ended just like that.
“Okay,” Qiao Yunzheng put her phone in her pocket and asked him, “What would you like to drink? Tea? Or honey water?”
Wen Hong suddenly asked, "Brother Chen? Childhood sweetheart?"
Qiao Yunzheng showed no embarrassment at being caught, and nodded frankly: "Yes."
The water temperature jumped to 100 degrees Celsius, and all the subtle sounds stopped in an instant.
Wen Hong walked past Qiao Yunzheng, picked up the kettle, and poured water into Qiao Yunzheng's cup first, asking casually, "What did you say?"
Qiao Yunzheng stared at his profile and said in a calm tone, "He said that if I want to get married, I can contact him."
Author's note: Thank you to my darlings "Sunshine", "National Mental Hospital", and "Fat Mermaid" for the nutrient solution they provided!
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone! Remember to eat mooncakes! Love you all! Mwah!
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