TIL - 39

Wen Huo didn’t watch Chen Cheng’s grand spectacle at the National Convention Center; she didn’t have time. After falling out with Chen Cheng, she no longer had to figure out how to make him fall in love with her. She had more time for her academic work, and her thesis progressed faster than usual.

Even while “playing at love” with Chen Cheng, Wen Huo never forgot her true calling; she was always studying.

Ruan Lihong watched the entire press conference. Although Chen Cheng had clarified things for Wen Huo, she wouldn’t have been exposed to the public eye if it weren’t for him. After enduring so many days of insults and being injured by him, was a casual “my student” supposed to suffice?

Throughout her life, she had traveled extensively and worked diligently, gaining experience out of necessity. But she couldn’t let it be for nothing; at the very least, she had to protect her daughter.

Given the injuries he inflicted on Wen Huo, could she just let it go?

She took the roasted beef out of the oven for Wen Huo, walked to her room, and stood at the door, knocking.

Wen Huo’s door was open, and she looked up.

Ruan Lihong walked in, placed the roasted meat on the small round table, then returned to the kitchen to bring her the freshly squeezed juice.

Wen Huo looked at the beef already cut on the plate. Ruan Lihong, aside from having dropped Wen Bing during her “obsessed” phase, was actually a very good mother. But Wen Huo couldn’t respond with passionate warmth because she wasn’t good at it.

When Ruan Lihong was practicing Falun Gong, it was precisely during Wen Huo’s character-forming years. Ruan Lihong was too preoccupied to care for her, so Wen Huo grew up wildly.

Wen Huo could put on an act for Chen Cheng, throw tantrums, and demand attention, because she knew it was all fake anyway. And when you’re paid for a job, your actions tend to be very business-like.

Of course, she knew she was immoral, but there was no rule that said one had to live life bound by societal morals.

So, with Chen Cheng, she initially had no psychological burden and felt no pangs of conscience.

But she couldn’t treat Ruan Lihong that way. Ruan Lihong was genuine; their blood relation was ironclad, and she wouldn’t pretend with her.

Thinking of Chen Cheng, she felt the places he had gripped her starting to ache again.

She lowered her head to look at her arm resting on the table; there was a bruise on her forearm, caused by Chen Cheng gripping her too hard. She looked at it for a moment, then pressed it. The pain from that day instantly flooded back to her mind.

Her almost-repaired emotions were like a domino touched, scattering everywhere.

Days of mending undone in three seconds. Truly Chen Cheng; even after they broke up, he still haunted her like a ghost, making her despise him.

She suddenly lost her appetite and pushed the plate away.

Ruan Lihong entered just as she pushed the plate. She handed her the juice. “If you’re not hungry, drink some water first.”

Wen Huo took it and forced a sip.

Ruan Lihong saw that she had been studying all day and wanted to help her change her mood, so she sat down beside her. “Is there anything else?”

Wen Huo looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

Ruan Lihong smiled. “Nothing. Let’s just chat, mother and daughter.”

Wen Huo turned to face her. “Chat about what?”

“Anything. We talk too little usually. Everything that happens to you, you just inform me about it afterward, like a notification.”

Regardless of whether Ruan Lihong wanted to hear about Chen Cheng, Wen Huo deliberately shifted the focus of the conversation from herself to her mother. “I know about you and Su He. Before I came, he must have been living here.”

Ruan Lihong raised an eyebrow, not denying it. “How did you know?”

Wen Huo said, “He’s very cunning. He left his things in many corners. I only had to walk around to see them. His behavior is like when I was a child and got a new toy—I didn’t want to share it with everyone, but I couldn’t resist showing it off, so I secretly put it in a prominent spot. Then, when someone asked, I would step forward and say, surprised, ‘How did that get here?’“

She paused, then continued, “He wants to show you off, and he wants you to make him public.”

Ruan Lihong took her hand and held it. “You’re so good at analyzing, haven’t you ever analyzed yourself?”

The topic circled back. Wen Huo fell silent.

Ruan Lihong wiped some dust from the experimental tools off Wen Huo’s face and said, “I just want to know how much you’ve been wronged.”

Wen Huo’s grievances she could digest herself. And logically speaking, she hadn’t been wronged at all; she had brought it upon herself. Emotionally, however, she couldn’t control being affected by these things.

Ruan Lihong saw she didn’t want to talk and stopped asking. “You haven’t been out for days. Shall we go out for a walk today?”

Wen Huo had plans for the afternoon. “I have to go out this afternoon.”

Ruan Lihong didn’t ask where. “I’ll drive you.”

Wen Huo was going to Guotong Industrial. They had been calling her, asking when she could start work, saying they had already arranged everything for her. She wanted to go in person to tell them she wasn’t planning to join, as a sign of respect for a company she had always wanted to work for. “No need, the subway is fast.”

Ruan Lihong went to the entryway, got the car keys, and came back. “Just drive this one for now. I’ll take you to pick up your own car in a couple of days. Don’t say no need. You’re not used to driving now, but later, when you can’t find a driver when you want to go somewhere, you’ll be anxious. You’ve had your license for years, but you’ve barely touched a car.” Then she doubted, “Do you still know how to drive?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good then.” Ruan Lihong said, handing her the keys again. “The car doesn’t matter, but you can’t be in trouble. If you really can’t manage, I’ll drive you. I have nothing else to do anyway.”

Wen Huo knew Ruan Lihong had an investment promotion conference in the afternoon and didn’t want to delay her. “I can do it.”

Ruan Lihong’s words proved prophetic.

It turned out, Wen Huo really couldn’t.

________________________________________

Tang Junen began preparing for the auction, specifically for stones, primarily for Shen Huaiyu, and secondly to help Chen Cheng build connections. Connections, connections, how do you get them without engaging?

Of course, he also wanted to use this event to see if there were any contacts or resources he could leverage for himself.

Chen Cheng arrived. Tang Junen was also there, having just entertained Shen Huaiyu happily. Seeing Chen Cheng, he raised an eyebrow, meaning: The old man is very happy right now, if you have anything to say, say it quickly while you have the chance.

Chen Cheng said nothing. After greeting Shen Huaiyu, he entered the tea room and picked up a book Shen Huaiyu often read.

Shen Wenli and Jin Ge arrived late, but just in time for dinner.

Jin Ge, being a mother, looked for her son first upon entering. Seeing Chen Cheng reading, she didn’t disturb him.

Shen Wenli used to think Chen Cheng was his son and he had the right to educate him. After witnessing his behavior at the press conference, he realized that Chen Cheng was his son, but no longer a child.

He also wondered if he had truly made a mistake in that past matter.

He walked into the tea room and sat across from Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng put down his book. “Dad.”

Shen Wenli’s voice sounded weary. “I originally had something to tell you, but sitting here, it seems I don’t.”

Chen Cheng knew his concerns and addressed them. “I came back to give an explanation.”

If Shen Wenli’s previous sentence showed weariness, the next one revealed that he had accepted the reality of being half in the grave; he suddenly seemed much older. “Son, if you were sad because we sent Jiang Yan away, then I apologize, okay?”

Chen Cheng watched him silently.

Shen Wenli hoped Chen Cheng would be a pillar of strength, but he was his own son, and he felt heartache. “Don’t bottle it up.”

Jin Ge had told him that Chen Cheng might have psychological problems. He couldn’t sleep all night, tossing and turning, thinking about Chen Cheng’s abnormal behavior since returning to China.

He wanted to call him, but he would dial the number and then delete it, or he would dial it and immediately hang up.

He used to hear people say that if you ever stammered and hesitated when talking to your child, it meant the child no longer needed your protection. For the past two nights, he had sat on the attic’s viewing platform, reciting this sentence, sitting there all night.

His son was excellent, and seemed very wronged.

What had he experienced when he was alone? How did he become the stranger he was at the press conference?

Chen Cheng poured tea for Shen Wenli and said, “You taught me to be a good person first, before anything else, to establish oneself before establishing a career. I always remember that. The me at the press conference was real, and the me sitting here pouring tea for you is also real. I am different to everyone; a single moment of me is not the whole of me.”

Shen Wenli drank the tea Chen Cheng poured, feeling a little more at ease. He didn’t know if it was the good tea, or those two sentences, or the act of pouring tea and explaining that made him feel better.

Chen Cheng continued, “I was more curious and shocked about you and Mom sending Jiang Yan away. Later, when I learned the reason, I was relieved.”

Shen Wenli looked at him, trying to find any possibility of him lying, but there was none; he was very sincere.

“Jiang Yan didn’t like me; he didn’t like women. He would have liked someone else even if he left me.” Chen Cheng explained to Shen Wenli, “After he went to America, he fell in love, then got injured, and, in a fit of despair, had a child with a Catholic woman.”

Catholics don’t allow abortions. Shen Wenli understood. “So Yiyi is that child...”

Chen Cheng nodded. “Jiang Yan suffered from ALS, motor neuron disease, the same illness as his father, so naturally, he had a similar fate. He had no feelings for Yiyi’s biological mother and couldn’t be with her, so he had to raise Yiyi alone. He didn’t know how long he would live; every doctor had a different opinion, so he found me and entrusted Yiyi to me.”

Shen Wenli listened as if to a story. These young people were truly willful and audacious.

Chen Cheng confessed to Shen Wenli, “The surrogate mother we found for Han Bailu was carrying the child of a friend of mine who holds an important position in a relevant department. His wife had severe depression, and he couldn’t let his wife give birth, so he wanted to find a surrogate. But due to his significant social influence, and surrogacy being against moral principles, he didn’t want it to be known, so he leveraged a favor from me, planning to use my name publicly.”

“How was that done?”

“My agreement with my friend was that the surrogacy documents and contract would state that the child in the surrogate’s womb was mine and Han Bailu’s. Once the child was born, they would take it, and I would have my own explanation to deal with Han Bailu and anyone who knew about our surrogacy. But just as the surrogate was about to give birth, Jiang Yan gave me Yiyi. All my previous explanations became unnecessary; Yiyi perfectly filled that void, making everything seem reasonable.”

Shen Wenli understood. In other words, the child born by the surrogate was someone else’s. Chen Cheng merely told Han Bailu it was theirs. After the birth, the child was taken away by others, and Yiyi was brought to him, a complete deception.

These young people, utterly absurd!

Shen Wenli had mentally prepared himself, but even after hearing it all, he still felt upset. Was this treating human lives as a game? “You are too absurd.”

Chen Cheng knew Shen Wenli would react this way. “In the past, marriages were arranged by matchmakers, and newlyweds didn’t know each other before marriage. Now, many people have slept together without any outcome. Society progresses, times evolve. You can’t look at people today with the eyes of the past. Born in different eras, people do things suitable for their era. This is also a principle you taught me, and I think it applies here.”

Shen Wenli was convinced, as expected. Having seen his masterful strategizing at the press conference, his being persuaded seemed unsurprising.

Now that Yiyi’s identity was clear, Shen Wenli and Jin Ge wouldn’t have any objections to the child, but, “What about yourself? Do you plan to raise someone else’s child your whole life?”

Shen Wenli knew Chen Cheng probably wouldn’t like hearing that, and that his adopting Yiyi might be a way of avoiding marriage, but he had to say it.

Chen Cheng fell silent. Jin Ge came to call them for dinner, and the topic didn’t continue.

At the dinner table, Tang Junen said that a piece of raw jade would be delivered later and asked Chen Cheng to accompany his grandfather in appraising it.

Shen Huaiyu glanced at Chen Cheng and said, “Him? He has no time to look at stones with me. He’s busy, a busy man, always on the go.”

Chen Cheng smiled faintly. “Today, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just stay with you.”

Shen Huaiyu had heard about Chen Cheng’s press conference. Unlike Shen Wenli, who was an academic and more bound by rules, he had been a soldier from a young age, through thick and thin. He could tolerate many things, and he also trusted his grandson’s character, so he didn’t worry. “You have a knack for fooling me with your words. My eyes aren’t good, and my ears aren’t sharp, but my mind isn’t slow.”

Tang Junen answered for Chen Cheng, “If he can’t do it, Grandpa and I will break his legs so he can’t even leave the house anymore.”

Shen Huaiyu thought this was a good idea and clapped his hands. “Let’s do that then.”

Just as he finished speaking, Chen Cheng’s phone rang.

Tang Junen thought it wouldn’t be such a coincidence, but it was. Chen Cheng came back after the call, looking very unusual. He said to Shen Huaiyu, “Grandpa, I owe you this leg for now. When I come back, you can take both; I won’t say a word.”

Tang Junen saw he was in a hurry. He rarely acted this way and instinctively stood up. “What’s wrong?”

Chen Cheng didn’t say. He didn’t even mind Shen Huaiyu’s and Shen Wenli’s displeasure and left in a hurry.

Guotong Industrial had called to say Wen Huo had been in a car accident.