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She could calmly say that she used to love calling him husband and that she had let him go.
That was truly soul-crcrushing.
Yan Heyu couldn’t taste the coffee.
“I came to find you today because I want to tell you something in person.”
Wen Di showed no reaction. Her phone vibrated; it was Qi Mingche: [What time are you done?]
She replied: [Done. Leaving soon.]
Yan Heyu put down his coffee cup and said, “I’ve been working on dissolving the engagement. It involves too much, not just company interests, but also my father and a few uncles and aunts. I need to ensure they’re not affected by me, so it will take a little time, but not too long. I know you’ll never forgive me in this lifetime. Once I’ve handled the engagement, I’ll spend the rest of my life atoning to you. As long as I live, I’ll atone.”
Wen Di continued looking at her phone, replying periodically.
She had said what she wanted to say and didn’t care at all what he was saying.
She remained unmoved by what she heard.
Qi Mingche replied: [I’m downstairs.]
Wen Di turned her head to look out the window.
Yan Heyu saw her absent-mindedness and picked up his coffee again.
By the window were several old locust trees, currently in bloom. Clusters of white and yellow locust flowers swayed in the wind. Through the windowpane, one could almost smell their sweet fragrance.
Yan Heyu thought she was looking at the locust trees, given she was someone who could find a reason to celebrate even roadside locust blossoms.
Wen Di saw Qi Mingche’s car, then turned to Yan Heyu and said, “Mr. Ye, please excuse me, I have something else to attend to.”
Yan Heyu had also finished saying what he wanted, and had no intention of clinging on. He said, “I’ll have my driver take you.”
“No need.” Wen Di stood up and said, “My friend is downstairs.”
Yan Heyu nodded.
So, she wasn’t looking at the locust trees earlier.
This time, they parted ways gracefully, like strangers.
Yan Heyu watched her descend the stairs. Five minutes later, she appeared at the entrance. If he wasn’t mistaken, she had just paid the bill, only for one cup of coffee.
That cup of coffee, however, she hadn’t touched.
He looked downstairs from the floor-to-ceiling window. Wen Di opened the passenger car door and got in. The driver was a man, but from his angle, he couldn’t tell who it was.
“Finished talking so quickly?” Qi Mingche didn’t rush to drive, waiting for her to buckle her seatbelt.
Wen Di put her bag in the back seat of the car and said, “The person who invited me was Yan Heyu.”
Qi Mingche nodded. After she buckled her seatbelt, he slowly drove off. “Why did he ask to meet you at this time?”
Qi Mingche’s “this time” referred to Yan Heyu being engaged to Tian Qinglu and still coming to find her.
Wen Di interpreted “this time” as Yan Heyu coming to see her at this moment. She said, “Because the locust trees are in bloom.”
Qi Mingche glanced at her. “Are you talking to me?”
Wen Di looked puzzled, “Otherwise? Is there a third person in your car?”
Qi Mingche: “I don’t understand what you mean. What does it have to do with locust trees?”
Wen Di could talk frankly about the past: “Before we broke up, when the locust trees bloomed, I would celebrate. Even if he had social engagements, he would try his best to cancel them, go back to have a big meal with me, and a gift was always a must-have.”
Qi Mingche found it new. “Why, is there some special meaning when locust trees bloom?”
“No,” Wen Di said, “I also celebrate when osmanthus flowers bloom.”
Qi Mingche: “...”
He glanced at her several times, still at a loss for words.
What a strange person.
Wen Di rested her arm on the car window, looking out at the roadside. She noticed they were on the route back to her apartment. “Weren’t you going to take me to look around?”
“I promised to take you to that old hotpot restaurant. I don’t like owing favors. Since I don’t have work right now, I’ll treat you to that meal.”
During the filming of the Mountain City episode for “As If in Shadow,” he said he would take her to eat hotpot, but it hadn’t materialized yet.
“Still have to go all the way to your grandmother’s side?”
“Yeah.”
They hadn’t even booked their flight tickets yet. Qi Mingche was even more spontaneous than her; he’d just grab his suitcase and go wherever he said.
Qi Mingche had his assistant book the plane tickets, then told Wen Di, “I’ll drop you off at your apartment to pack. You’ll only stay one night and come back tomorrow, so you don’t need to bring much.”
Thousands of miles, just for one hotpot meal.
Qi Mingche’s assistant only managed to book tickets for 10 PM. It was still early.
After dropping Wen Di off at her apartment, he planned to go explore elsewhere.
Wen Di invited him upstairs for coffee. He had owned the apartment all this time and never visited once, and as a tenant, she felt a bit out of line.
Qi Mingche asked, “Do you want some time to tidy up the house before I come in?”
“No need, I have a live-in auntie. It’s very tidy.” After breaking up with Yan Heyu, she told Aunt Cui not to come anymore. Her mother, worried she couldn’t take care of herself, found her a familiar auntie.
The auntie was skilled with her hands and enjoyed knitting.
Upon arriving home, the auntie put down her work and made them coffee.
Wen Di planned to show Qi Mingche around. He was the landlord, yet he was acting like a tenant.
Qi Mingche had no intention of going to other rooms. “If it’s convenient, I only need to see the study.” He planned to redecorate the study once he got the apartment, changing it into a workspace.
The study was empty. The books she had kept there were already packed and sent to her parents’ residence in Beijing. She used the study rarely; mostly Yan Heyu used to work overtime there.
“Feel free to look around. Besides the bookshelves and desk, there’s nothing in there.”
Qi Mingche went to the study, and Wen Di returned to the bedroom to pack her luggage.
She opened a wardrobe, where her summer clothes hung sparsely.
This wardrobe used to be specifically for Yan Heyu’s clothes. Later, it remained empty, so she casually put some of her clothes inside.
Stopping her thoughts, she pulled open the suitcase and put clothes inside.
She only brought two outfits and quickly packed. Wen Di carried her suitcase to the living room, where Qi Mingche was sitting, drinking coffee, intently watching the auntie do handicrafts, and even chatting with her.
A few minutes earlier, he had placed an order with the auntie, asking her to knit him an ornament. The “As If in Shadow” production team had designed cartoon characters for the eight guests, and he asked the auntie to knit it according to a picture. It didn’t matter if it looked exactly like it.
On the coffee table in front of Qi Mingche were two folders. Seeing Wen Di come out, he pointed at the folders: “They were left in the study. See if they’re important.”
They were Zhongyue Group’s folders. She had seen them when she was organizing her books before and had planned to send them to Assistant Kang, but then she got busy with filming and completely forgot about it.
Wen Di instructed the auntie to send the items to Assistant Kang later. She wrote Kang Bo’s phone number for the auntie.
Traveling with Qi Mingche was a pleasant experience; he was simply a relaxing person to be around.
On the plane, Wen Di chatted with him, “Is being a ‘sea king’ very exciting?”
Qi Mingche asked the flight attendant for two ice creams, two different flavors. Wen Di thought he was going to give her one and was about to refuse, saying she didn’t eat them. But he tore them open, one in each hand, biting into each alternately.
After two bites of ice cream, he finally answered Wen Di’s earlier question, saying, “I’m not a ‘sea king.’ Being a ‘sea king’ means raising fish, and I’m lazy.”
Wen Di propped her forehead. “Then how did you ‘make waves’?”
Qi Mingche said casually, “I make my home everywhere.”
Wen Di: “...”
Breaking the fresh and refined image of the playboy she had written about.
They arrived at the hotel in Mountain City at 3 AM.
Wen Di had slept in the car and wasn’t sleepy now. She took a shower and opened the window to enjoy the night view. Mountain City was often rainy, and it was raining again now.
The weather wasn’t cold this season, so Wen Di kept the window open.
Her second aunt was abroad and had posted on her Moments. Wen Di liked the post.
Her second aunt messaged her privately: [Darling, why aren’t you asleep yet? Don’t you want good skin anymore?]
Wen Di told her second aunt that she had just arrived in Mountain City and wasn’t sleepy.
Her second aunt thought carefully, then very assertively: [Weren’t you still in Beijing last night?]
Wen Di smiled: [Yes, to eat hotpot.]
[Just for a hotpot meal, no other work?]
[No.]
Her second aunt sighed: [You never used to go to such trouble. We always air-shipped things to you.]
She wouldn’t have before.
Now she would.
If not for someone accompanying her, she probably wouldn’t go to such trouble either.
Her second aunt asked: [With Qi Mingche?]
Wen Di was curious: [Auntie, how did you know?]
Her second aunt said: [You two often have meals together. The whole internet knows.]
Finally, her second aunt urged her to go to sleep quickly, adding: [That’s good.]
She wondered what her second aunt meant by “that’s good.”
________________________________________
The next afternoon, Kang Bo was finally free to unwrap the packages he had received over the past two days after finishing his current work. One of the packages had an unfamiliar sender, but the return address was a courier station near Wen Di’s apartment.
He quickly opened it. There were two folders inside.
Before reporting to Yan Heyu, Kang Bo called the number left on the express package. An auntie answered.
After inquiring, he learned it was Wen Di’s intention. He then took the two folders to Yan Heyu.
Yan Heyu heard a knock on the door and said, “Come in.”
He was on the phone, telling his mother, “Tell Heyan to eat an extra portion for me.”
“It’s your birthday. What kind of sense does it make for your sister to eat for you? Heyan said she wanted to celebrate your birthday.”
In previous birthdays, he always spent them with Wen Di and didn’t celebrate at home.
It was rare for Heyan to have some conscience. Yan Heyu motioned for Assistant Kang to sit, then said into the phone, “Got it.”
“Then try to come back early.”
“Mhm.”
“What is it?” He ended the call and asked Assistant Kang.
Kang Bo placed the two folders on the desk. “Miss Wen had them sent. They arrived yesterday just before closing time.” He had just returned from a business trip today and missed opening the package immediately.
Yan Heyu opened the folder, thinking it was the important documents he had left on the top shelf of the filing cabinet.
He opened the folder, and it wasn’t the one he left. Inside were project materials from several years ago. These materials were currently public and had no commercial value whatsoever.
Yan Heyu put the documents back into the folder. “What else did Wen Di say?”
“Miss Wen didn’t say anything. She just asked the auntie to send the express package. She thought they were important documents.”
Yan Heyu gestured to Assistant Kang: “Reply to her with a message, thanking her.”
Assistant Kang, having learned his lesson from last time, didn’t act on his own accord. Instead, he handed his phone to Yan Heyu, giving his boss the chance to express thanks.
Yan Heyu: “...”
In Assistant Kang’s eyes, he was becoming more and more pitiful. “You can’t even type ‘thank you’?”
This time, it was Kang Bo who awkwardly took his phone back.
Yan Heyu’s phone rang; it was the housekeeper.
The housekeeper rarely disturbed him during work hours, unless there was an emergency at home.
He answered the call, and the housekeeper said, “I received a gift box from the luxury watch flagship store. They said Miss Wen arranged for it to be delivered today.”
The recipient was the housekeeper’s name, but it was definitely for Yan Heyu, and today was a special day.
Yan Heyu knew this was probably not a gift from Wen Di now, but he still couldn’t wait to see it. “Leave it there. I’ll go back when I’m done.”
He had another meeting soon. He told Assistant Kang to postpone it until tomorrow morning.
At 4:30 PM, Yan Heyu left the company.
The housekeeper seemed to know he would return early. When he arrived home, coffee was already brewed and placed on the coffee table.
Seeing the logo on the gift box, he could almost certainly determine it was a gift Wen Di had pre-ordered.
Yan Heyu opened the gift box. Inside was also a card.
It was Wen Di’s handwriting:
Husband, Happy Birthday. I have a lot of work this year, so I don’t know if I’ll be by your side on your birthday. Whether I am or not, it won’t affect my love for you.
I won’t write any other mushy words~
If I have work that day, remember to put my pillow on top of yours when you wake up. On your birthday, I have to be the biggest too.
— Your Wen Di
Yan Heyu looked at the date of the signature: February. It was the day he and she went to the transaction center to add her name to his villa’s property deed.
The fact that this birthday gift could still be delivered as promised probably meant she had forgotten about it.
He put away the card, took off his watch, and put on the new one she sent.
His sister called him. Yan Heyu came back to his senses and answered.
Yan Heyan asked him when he would be home; their mother was preparing to cook.
“I’ll be right back.” He sat in the living room for a while longer. The coffee table was still as it was when Wen Di left home, full of Wen Di’s belongings.
The housekeeper came over at the opportune moment, asking if he wanted to dine at home tonight.
“No, I’m going back to the old residence.”
Back at the old residence, Yan Heyu went to the kitchen to find his mother. His mother only cooked on his and his sister’s birthdays.
“Mom.”
Ye Minqiong turned to look. “Your father is busy. He won’t be back today.”
She turned back, continuing to unskillfully wield the spatula.
Yan Heyu was long accustomed to it; his father had generally been absent from his and his sister’s birthdays since childhood.
Ye Minqiong mentioned, “These past few months, your company has collaborated on quite a few projects with the Tian family.” She had heard of at least three.
Yan Heyu: “Mhm.”
He didn’t say anything more, not wanting to displease his mother today.
He had given concessions on all three projects to the Tian family, intending to dissolve the engagement.
This was just the financial aspect; other matters were still being sorted out.
The cost was substantial, and the lost future profits were immeasurable.
This was something he would never have done before meeting Wen Di.
“Heyu, let’s discuss something.”
“Go ahead.”
Ye Minqiong turned off the stove and looked at her son. “How about you ask Qinglu to come over too? More people, more lively. You were a scoundrel during the engagement, not even wearing the ring.”
“Mom, today I don’t want to say anything that would make you unhappy.”
Ye Minqiong understood, no longer forcing it; a forced melon isn’t sweet. “There are two more dishes. Go watch TV; that ‘As If in Shadow’ show is pretty good. I didn’t expect Wen Di to be so humorous.”
Yan Heyu didn’t go to the living room. He wasn’t interested in “As If in Shadow.” He now fully understood Jiang Chengyu’s feelings; whenever he watched Shen Tang’s TV shows, he only listened to the audio, not watching the visuals.
He found an apron. “I’ll help you wash the vegetables.”
Ye Minqiong mocked her son, “Finally growing up.”
Yan Heyu: “...”
He put on the apron.
Ye Minqiong scrutinized her son. “Can you handle it? Don’t just make things worse.”
He said, “I’ve cooked before. I can make soup.”
“Oh.” Ye Minqiong rarely inquired about her son’s private life. Among his girlfriends, she only knew Jiang Yunxing, and that was because they lived in the same compound; she had seen them on dates before.
“Did you cook for Jiang Yunxing?”
“No. My ex-girlfriend.”
“Then it seems you liked her very much. Why did you break up?”
Yan Heyu pretended not to hear, turning on the faucet.
His phone rang; it was Kang Bo.
A project was starting next week, and Kang Bo couldn’t find the relevant documents, so he had to bother Yan Heyu. “Mr. Yan, those documents are with you, right?”
“Mhm. They’re at her place.”
On the top shelf of the filing cabinet in Wen Di’s apartment.
He told Assistant Kang, “I’ll go pick them up tonight.”
________________________________________
At 10 PM, Wen Di and Qi Mingche still hadn’t eaten. They had just rushed back from the airport.
The auntie had gone back to her room to rest, leaving the outside area to them.
The two had been running around since last night and hadn’t managed to eat hotpot. Today, they went to the hotpot restaurant in Mountain City, but unfortunately, a sign on the door said “Under Renovation, Reopening June 6th.”
Qi Mingche laughed for a long time, wanting to take her to find another hotpot restaurant. She didn’t care much for hotpot, and with the heavy rain, she really didn’t want to walk anymore, so they ate light stir-fried dishes nearby.
They took an evening flight back.
Qi Mingche had OCD and wouldn’t feel comfortable until he had hotpot. So after landing in Beijing, on the way back, he bought hotpot base and ingredients, saying he’d prepare it himself.
“I’ll go again on June 6th.”
Wen Di didn’t want to bother anymore. “You go.” She joked, “Pack me a portion then.”
She found an apron and prepared the hotpot ingredients. Only a few green vegetables needed blanching; the others could go directly into the pot.
Qi Mingche brought his laptop upstairs. A friend asked him to help edit a set of photos, asking him to finish them by 10:30 PM. He opened his computer and worked on the island counter. “Put the vegetables there. I’ll wash them when I’m done. Cook the meatballs first.”
Wen Di didn’t mind. “Washing a little bit of greens won’t tire me out.” She truly wasn’t good at other chores.
“Just put them there.” Qi Mingche turned off the faucet, not letting her wash.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
She wondered who it could be so late.
She thought it might be Yan Heyu, but then dismissed it as impossible.
“I’ll go check.” She wiped her hands and went to open the door.
Walking to the entrance, looking at the person on the screen, Wen Di was momentarily transported back to the night she changed the password and locked him out, the night he also wore a black shirt.
She thought that after she had made it so clear to him that night, he wouldn’t come looking for her again.
“Wen Di.” He knocked on the door. “I’m here to pick up a document. I need it next week.”
Wen Di considered for a few seconds, then opened the door for him.
Seeing her wearing an apron, Yan Heyu couldn’t help but be surprised. “You haven’t eaten yet?”
Wen Di didn’t answer directly, but asked, “What document?”
Until this moment, Yan Heyu didn’t know there was anyone else in the house.
He said, “It’s in the right filing cabinet, on the top shelf. I didn’t need it at the time, so I didn’t take it with me.”
The right filing cabinet was for his exclusive use, containing important documents, and it had a combination lock.
She thought he had taken all the important documents that night. Even if he hadn’t taken everything then, three months had passed. If they were truly important commercial documents, he would have surely had Assistant Kang come retrieve them earlier, so she hadn’t bothered to check.
Wen Di generously said, “Then wait here. I’ll get it for you.”
Yan Heyu said, “The filing cabinet password is the one you know. It hasn’t changed.”
She was about to close the door, but he blocked it with his hand. “I’ll just stay at the doorway.”
Wen Di looked at him. “If I left the door open and didn’t close it, you’d think I was deliberately letting you see something.”
Yan Heyu didn’t understand, but his hand was still on the doorknob.
Wen Di ignored him, not wanting to waste time. She turned back to the study to find the documents.
Yan Heyu hesitated slightly, then chose to step into the foyer, closed the door, but didn’t go further inside, standing in the foyer to wait for Wen Di.
“Who is it?” A male voice came from the kitchen island.
Wen Di replied, “It’s Mr. Yan. Didn’t you find two documents yesterday? He just remembered there were other documents left here.”
Yan Heyu heard a somewhat familiar voice. He took a few steps forward, turned his head to look towards the kitchen, and saw a laptop on the island counter, and Qi Mingche sitting behind the computer.
On the dining table next to him were many plates. He couldn’t see what was in them, and there was also an electric hotpot on the table.
So she was preparing hotpot ingredients, while Qi Mingche sat there looking at his computer.
“Wen Di,” Yan Heyu called her, “If it’s inconvenient, I can have Assistant Kang come pick it up tomorrow.”
Wen Di didn’t turn her head, “It’s not inconvenient at all.” She entered the study.
There were three folders in total. She also checked the other shelves; they were all empty.
She came out holding the folders.
Yan Heyu consciously stepped outside the door, waiting for her explanation.
Wen Di handed him the documents, showing no intention of speaking, and was about to close the door.
Yan Heyu broke the silence, “Is Qi Mingche pursuing you?” He concluded directly, “You two aren’t a good match.”
He gestured to the apron on her. “We were together for three years, I wore it myself. When would I ever let you wear it? Even if I had work, I’d wait until I was done and wash the vegetables myself, I wouldn’t let your hands get wet.”
Wen Di said, “How do you know he isn’t?”
Yan Heyu looked at her steadily, then finally said, “It’s my birthday today. I received the gift you sent. Thank you.”
Wen Di: “Don’t thank me. Thank Wen Di from that time.”
Then the door closed.
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