MMCD - 13

Apart from Lou Ning, most of the people there were fair-weather friends. Sheng Wenyan naturally hadn’t told them that she was interning at IZ.

So when they saw Shen Zai suddenly call out Sheng Wenyan’s name, they were all confused for a moment.

Sheng Wenyan was originally tipsy, but when she heard Shen Zai’s voice, she sobered up a bit and immediately stood up from her seat. “Here!”

Everyone: “...”

Shen Zai’s expression was indifferent. “Come here.”

“Okay!” Sheng Wenyan patted Lou Ning’s leg to signal her to move aside. After squeezing out from the gap, she stood unsteadily next to Shen Zai. “Mr. Shen, why haven’t you left yet?”

Shen Zai looked down at her. “I should be the one asking you that.”

Sheng Wenyan stammered, remembering the WeChat message she had sent. “Oh, because, because they insisted on me staying. I couldn’t leave...”

Everyone present: “...”

Was that true?

“But I’m going back right now. I’m going to get my car!”

She stumbled as she tried to walk away, but Shen Zai stopped her. “You want to drive in this state?”

“Oh, right...” Sheng Wenyan stopped. “I’m drunk.”

Shen Zai was a little helpless at her state, but seeing that everyone else at the table had also been drinking, he naturally wouldn’t expect anyone else to take her home. “Come with me.”

“Why?”

“I’ll take you home.” After saying that, Shen Zai looked at Shen Shuyi. “Take Yunni home safely.”

Shen Shuyi slowly nodded.

Shen Zai left, with Sheng Wenyan following him closely.

After the two of them were out of sight, the booth erupted in chaos.

“What’s going on? What’s the deal between Shen Zai and Sheng Wenyan now?”

Shen Yunni said angrily, “Don’t talk nonsense. There’s nothing going on between my uncle and her!”

“Then why is Shen Zai taking her home? He didn’t even offer to take his own niece home.”

Shen Yunni choked and tried to explain. “Sheng Wenyan is my uncle’s subordinate. She, she’s interning at his company, so it’s not weird for him to look after her.”

“A subordinate? Are you serious, Lou Ning? Sheng Wenyan is interning?”

Lou Ning: “What does it matter to you? Go home, go take people home. I’m leaving.”

“Hey, hey, don’t leave—”

Lou Ning walked away. When she passed Shen Shuyi, she patted his shoulder. “Not bad, not bad. You have a girlfriend now. That’s good.”

Shen Shuyi frowned. “What girlfriend—”

“This Miss Bai is very pretty. She’s suitable for you. Our Wenyan is not. You can’t handle her, can you?”

“...”

Lou Ning left with a cold expression, and Shen Shuyi’s face instantly darkened.

Shen Yunni didn’t notice Shen Shuyi’s expression. She tugged on him and said, “Brother, let’s go. Let’s take Sister Nianlei home first.”

________________________________________

Outside the bar, Shen Zai was holding Sheng Wenyan’s arm with one hand and reaching for his phone with the other.

Sheng Wenyan: “Mr. Shen, what are you doing? Aren’t we going?”

Shen Zai: “Calling your dad.”

“...Huh? No need.”

Shen Zai: “You’re scared now?”

Sheng Wenyan tried to grab his arm and get his phone. “Don’t call him, don’t call him! I’ll just go home quietly!”

Shen Zai, using his height advantage, kept his phone out of her reach.

“Hello.”

The phone connected. The person on the other end asked, “Shen Zai, what’s wrong?”

Shen Zai glanced at Sheng Wenyan. The latter was shaking his arm and mouthing, “Please.”

The little girl looked so pitiful, and the corner of Shen Zai’s mouth turned up slightly. He said, “I was out for a business dinner tonight, and Wenyan drank too much. I’m taking her back now. You should look after her when she gets home.”

Sheng Wenyan stopped shaking Shen Zai’s arm and looked at him in surprise.

Sheng Tianhe: “Ah? Is that so? Thank you for your trouble. When she gets home, wake up the auntie. She’ll take care of it.”

Shen Zai paused for a moment. “You’re not home?”

“I went back to Tian Jiao’s hometown with her. Thanks for taking care of Wenyan.”

Beep, beep, beep—

The call ended. Shen Zai looked at the screen and turned to tell Sheng Wenyan. But the latter had already figured it out. “My dad’s not home, is he?”

Shen Zai nodded.

Sheng Wenyan smiled. “I knew it. I haven’t seen him for days. I feel relieved now. I don’t have to be scolded when I get home~”

The girl in front of him was smiling, but the disappointment was not well hidden.

“Is your father often not home?”

“Yeah, it’s normal. He’s always focused on women. And my stepmom likes to travel everywhere, so he often travels with her.”

At this moment, Shen Zai understood a little better why Sheng Tianhe hadn’t raised Sheng Wenyan properly.

Because he probably never even tried.

“Uncle.”

Shen Yunni and Bai Nianlei also came out. Shen Yunni’s eyes were fixed on Sheng Wenyan’s hand, which was clutching Shen Zai’s arm, looking a little resentful.

Shen Zai: “Go home early.”

Shen Yunni let out a low huff. “...Okay.”

As she said that, Shen Shuyi’s car pulled up. Shen Yunni opened the door, and the two of them got in.

“Uncle, we’ll be going now,” Shen Shuyi said.

Shen Zai: “Mm.”

Before stepping on the gas, Shen Shuyi glanced at Sheng Wenyan again.

The latter was clearly a little too drunk. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes seemed to be glistening with tears. She was stunning, but a little too alluring.

Shen Shuyi’s heart suddenly felt a little heavy. He didn’t dare to look at her for too long and stepped on the gas.

Shen Shuyi’s car drove away. Before long, the driver Shen Zai had called also arrived with his car.

“Get in.”

Sheng Wenyan said, “Okay,” and got into the back seat.

On the way to the Sheng family’s house, Sheng Wenyan was quietly looking out the window. Shen Zai glanced at her a few times and thought to himself that she wasn’t so bad when she was drunk.

However, just as the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly heard the person next to him ask, “Shen Zai, did you see that girl just now?”

“What?”

He was surprised by her sudden use of his first name.

Sheng Wenyan didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with it and said, “That girl in Shen Shuyi’s car, the one in the white dress.”

Shen Zai saw that she was very drunk and didn’t want to argue with her, so he asked, “What about her?”

“Is she prettier than me?”

Shen Zai: “...”

“Is she prettier than me?”

This person, when she was drunk, always worried about these kinds of questions.

Shen Zai rubbed his temples. “I didn’t notice.”

“If you didn’t notice, then that means she’s not that pretty, right? So... why doesn’t anyone like me?” Sheng Wenyan suddenly turned her head, and tears streamed down her face.

Shen Zai was stunned for a moment. “You...”

“Why doesn’t anyone like me, wahhhhhh!” Sheng Wenyan stared at him directly and suddenly burst into tears.

Shen Zai was a little taken aback by the sudden change. After he came to his senses, the driver in the front seat had already handed him a tissue.

“Sir, do you need this?”

“Thank you.”

Shen Zai took it and handed it to Sheng Wenyan.

However, Sheng Wenyan, who had just been a well-behaved drunk, slapped his hand away. Tears flowed freely down her face, and with a great sense of grievance, she... buried her head in his lap.

Shen Zai: “...”

She was crying so hard that he could clearly feel the tears seeping through, making his pants wet.

“Why?! I’m so pretty, so why doesn’t anyone like me... The people I like don’t like me. Dad doesn’t like me. Grandpa and Grandma don’t like me. No one likes me, wahhhhhh! Why does no one care about me—”

He had originally thought that the young girl was crying from a broken heart, but as he listened, he realized that her words were not so much about love.

They were more about her family.

Shen Zai had met Sheng Tianhe when he was studying abroad a long time ago. He was only seventeen at the time, and Sheng Tianhe was still with Sheng Wenyan’s biological mother, Li Xiaopan.

Although there was an age gap, Shen Zai was mature and had a lot of ideas for his young age, so he got along well with the couple at the time.

Perhaps because women were more thoughtful and understood how to care for a boy who was not quite a man, he had a better relationship with Li Xiaopan than with Sheng Tianhe.

When he had a big fight with his father and his family cut off his allowance, Li Xiaopan was the first to notice and helped him. Later, she also helped him unconditionally by lending him his first startup capital.

It could be said that his relationship with the Sheng couple at the time was better than with his own family.

Later, Li Xiaopan passed away. That year, he specifically returned to the country to attend the funeral.

That was the first time he had seen Li Xiaopan’s daughter, who was studying in the country, with his own eyes. Li Xiaopan had shown him photos before, always boasting that her daughter was very beautiful.

At the funeral that year, Sheng Wenyan was twelve years old, wearing a black dress and black leather shoes, kneeling in front of the altar. She was crying so hard that she couldn’t even kneel steadily.

The memory was still vivid in his mind.

After attending the funeral, he returned to the United States.

Later, Sheng Tianhe would occasionally come to the United States for business, and the two would meet. But they talked less and less about Li Xiaopan because Sheng Tianhe later found a new girlfriend.

After that, Shen Zai was busy with his own career and didn’t contact Sheng Tianhe much. It wasn’t until the last two years that he returned to the country.

In fact, he had made a promise regarding Sheng Wenyan.

At that time, Li Xiaopan said that she would let her daughter come to the United States for college in the future and asked him to take good care of her and teach her.

Li Xiaopan was a benefactor to him, and she was almost like a big sister, so he naturally agreed.

He just didn’t expect that she wouldn’t live to see her daughter go to college.

Sheng Wenyan naturally didn’t come to the United States for college later, but he subconsciously remembered the promise. So when Sheng Tianhe brought it up, he let her come to IZ and gave her special attention.

“Who told you that no one loves you?” She was crying so hard, which reminded Shen Zai of the little girl at the funeral that year, and he felt a sense of compassion.

Sheng Wenyan was rubbing against his leg, and her tears and foundation were smudging all over. But she no longer cared and sobbed, “No one loves me. My dad only loves my stepmom. My grandparents only love the grandson in my stepmom’s belly who doesn’t even exist yet...”

“Someone loves you.”

“...What?”

“Your mom loved you very much.”

Sheng Wenyan was stunned. Her crying stopped, but only for a few seconds. She then began to wail even louder. “My mom didn’t love me! She was always being talked about because she couldn’t have a son... She definitely didn’t love me, so she left me so early—”

Shen Zai sighed softly and helped her up from his lap. When he spoke again, his voice was unusually gentle. “Your mom missed you very much. I know this.”

“What do you know...”

“I’ve seen it. She never thought you were any worse than a boy. She said you were very smart and thoughtful. She was very happy whenever she talked about you.”

“...Really?”

“Do I need to lie to you about this? You should know that I had a good relationship with your parents in the past.”

Sheng Wenyan stared at him blankly, tears still hanging on her eyelashes, about to fall.

Shen Zai looked at the mess on his pants and the person in front of him with her makeup completely smeared. He let out a helpless laugh. “Sheng Wenyan, even though she’s gone, you have to remember that she loved you. So don’t say that no one has ever loved you.”

“...”

“Alright, wipe your tears. You’re a grown-up. Aren’t you embarrassed to be crying like this?”

Shen Zai pulled out a few tissues and held them out to her, but Sheng Wenyan didn’t take them. She looked at him quietly for a few seconds, lowered her eyes, and suddenly buried her head back in his lap.

Shen Zai thought she was going to continue crying loudly, but when he looked down, he saw that she was just lying there quietly, shedding silent tears.

“I know,” she said in a very small voice.