SWG Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Evening—

Xiao Wenyu ambled into the kitchen with a cup of washed grapes. She leaned her head against the doorframe, silhouetted against the dim yellow light, watching the person cooking. Her eyes blinked, and a thin layer of tears welled up.

Her hair had faded a bit, now closer to gray, casually clipped back with a duckbill clip. Her fair neck disappeared into an unbuttoned black shirt. Her lower half…

It would be better if she wasn’t wearing baggy shorts.

Xiao Wenyu silently shifted her gaze, focusing only on the upper half.

Later, Xiao Yanyue had talked to her a lot more, but this visit wasn’t primarily about discussing Ruan Shengyi. Although she tried her best to say many good things, the conversation was temporarily set aside.

After all, this time, she was here to talk about the Lin family, to talk about the people who had reached into their home.

*

Li Wan once again left work early. Once she was completely gone, Xiao Yanyue put down her bag, took out a passbook from inside, and said in a low voice, “I’m here to reconcile accounts with you.”

Xiao Wenyu’s heart leaped. “Is it… the Lin family?”

Xiao Yanyue nodded. “A woman claiming to be named Zhuge called, asking how much money and items both sets of parents contributed when you got married.”

“I’m sorry, Mom, I…” The hand holding the water glass eventually drooped, her eyes downcast and dim.

She hadn’t expected this matter to be so complicated. If she had been more patient and hadn’t answered that call, perhaps it wouldn’t have become so complex. Now, it had even alarmed her family, and she had to recall that unpleasant past.

But how could Xiao Yanyue blame her? She reached out and gently pressed the back of her hand. “It’s okay. If you keep this up, Mom will regret not being firm enough back then.”

Xiao Wenyu was puzzled. “Not firm enough about what?”

“Firmly not letting you pursue art, study design, or take the path of photography. That way, maybe none of this would have happened later, hmm? After all, your grades were good enough to get you into a pretty good university even without art. Smile.”

Xiao Wenyu curled her lips, forcing a smile.

Xiao Yanyue softened her gaze and patted her head again. “You’re going to be a mother now, too. Just remember to learn from the path you’ve taken. I think that boss is a good person. I support… your other mom doesn’t.”

“Ah?” Xiao Wenyu was taken aback. “Why?”

Xiao Yanyue wouldn’t say that she supported it because she thought the person who was still working hard late at night to make her daughter happy was very good. And Zhao Wen actually supported it too, but she was even more of a protective mom and wouldn’t budge. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been the one to come this time.

She blinked. “It’s a secret.”

Xiao Wenyu: “…”

Xiao Yanyue spread out several passbooks and cards. “This is all of our family’s assets. Come on, let’s reconcile these accounts. After all, my brain isn’t very good anymore. Let’s match them up. We’ll return every extra penny, and make sure we separate clearly from that family.”

“There won’t be a single extra penny.” Xiao Wenyu’s voice was calm as she picked up a passbook to shield her slightly reddened eyes.

It was all her fault.

Although Xiao Yanyue comforted her like that, the truth was it was all her fault. It was her stubbornness, her wrong path, that brought these unnecessary twists and turns into the two old people’s peaceful retirement.

She could only repeat in her heart, there won’t be a single extra penny. She was honest and upright, with a clear conscience.

Xiao Yanyue tapped her forehead. “Why are you holding it so close? It’s bad for your eyes.”

“It’s okay.” Xiao Wenyu rubbed the corner of her eye. “I’m fine.”

“Okay, I thought you were going to say something else. I thought my other mom was here, saying something heartless.”

Xiao Wenyu smiled. “Of course not. After all, we still need to ask the best mathematician in the family to come for this kind of thing.”

“That’s right~” The big cat strutted proudly.

*

Of course, there were no problems with the accounts. Xiao Yanyue’s visit was just to tell her that the family knew about this matter, and also to tell her not to worry about the family, that everything was fine at home, and not to be afraid of these things.

But how could Xiao Wenyu not be afraid?

Zhuge Jing only said that she wouldn’t use what shouldn’t be used, but everything else was her tool. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed Lin Simu to spread rumors, dragging their entire family into it.

She dragged their family in. Who would be dragged in next?

Would it be this boss who was obviously very close to her?

She knew that people who manipulated capital were usually devoid of emotion, but Zhuge Jing’s methods still made her admire them from the bottom of her heart.

Dragging others in so effortlessly, perhaps even more people would continue to be dragged in.

Maybe, her Little Flower Fairy boss might be dragged in.

Ruan Shengyi tilted her head to look at her, her gaze falling on the cup of grapes. “Want to eat.”

Xiao Wenyu smiled, leaned over to feed her, leaning against the counter, her gaze softening.

Ruan Shengyi came over to get seasoning, but noticed something strange. So, she wrapped her arms around her, drew closer, and asked suspiciously, “Why are your eyes red?”

Xiao Wenyu patted her shoulder. “The food is going to burn.”

Ruan Shengyi stubbornly asked, “Don’t worry, I just added some hot water. It won’t burn. Why are your eyes red?”

The woman seemed to suddenly realize something, rubbing the end of her eyes. “It’s nothing. I was staring at the light for too long. It’s a little irritating.”

Warm lips touched the corners of her eyes. The person who gave a light kiss lowered her voice and said, “Then let’s buy something good for your eyes to eat tomorrow. Your work is really hard on your eyes. Such beautiful eyes really need to be taken care of.”

Their gazes met, the silence so profound that the breathing of the stove could be clearly heard.

Xiao Wenyu turned her head away and said softly, “The food is really going to burn.”

Ruan Shengyi turned back, saying gently, “You go out and wait for me. It’s smoky in here.”

Xiao Wenyu agreed, but didn’t move.

She was a little greedy. She wanted to find a win-win situation. She wanted to find a way to prevent her extremely exhausted boss from being dragged in.

What to do.

She tilted her head, slightly lost in thought.

What should she do to avoid making a mistake?

At the dinner table, Xiao Wenyu tried her best to hide her lack of enthusiasm, but after forcing down a few bites, her body strongly resisted her continuing to eat. She had to put down her chopsticks and sighed.

Ruan Shengyi followed her and put down her chopsticks, frowning and asking, “Is the food not to your liking tonight? Is it too salty, or a little sticky?”

Xiao Wenyu shook her head, pursed her lips, and tentatively said, “Boss Ruan, I might… have to go home for a couple of days.”

“…”

Xiao Wenyu didn’t dare to look at her, but this decision was the best way she could think of to protect her from being dragged into this vortex after careful consideration.

She cherished this person, so she didn’t want any more negative news to affect her.

Ruan Shengyi smiled. “Going home is going home. Why are you acting like we’re breaking up? Your aunt came to see you. She must miss you and wants you to go home and keep her company.”

“Didn’t you say before that she had a lot of conflicts with you because of Anqi? It’s not easy for her to soften up, so of course you should go back. Should I take you in a while? But you have to eat quickly, too. You can’t not eat the food I made just because you’re going home, right? And also…”

Ruan Shengyi spoke more and more, but her eyes became more and more moist. By the end, her voice was trembling.

If it was just going home for two days, why would she have to tell her so solemnly?

Ruan Shengyi tried her best to suppress her emotions, but ultimately failed. She trembled as she squeezed her chopsticks, saying in a trembling voice, “You definitely won’t not come back, right?”

This was the last sentence she had just said, but she was still smiling. Now she trembled, restrained herself for a moment, and finally said it again, turning into what it was now.

Xiao Wenyu was stunned.

Her lips trembled, and she stumbled, “I…I’m sorry, why…” Crying?

She wanted to help this person wipe away the redness at the end of her eyes, but the woman resisted her. She had only just gotten up, and the person was already leaning against the wall, looking like she was about to run away.

She was refusing her approach.

Xiao Wenyu stiffly withdrew her hand and said softly, “I’m just going back for two days, you…you don’t…”

The fatigue and emotions that had been suppressed for many days rushed together at this moment. Ruan Shengyi leaned back halfway, and tears really welled up.

She didn’t even realize it.

How could this be happening?!

Xiao Wenyu was surprised, grabbed a few tissues, ignored her avoidance, sat down beside her, and gently wiped the tears from her face.

She said helplessly, “I’m really just going home for two days, it’s nothing, don’t be like this, like we’re breaking up.”

“It’s like this again.” Ruan Shengyi threw off her hand, pushed away the chair, walked out, and gritted her teeth, “It’s like this again, haha.”

“What?”

“You’re all like this, carrying all the pressure on your own, pushing yourselves until you can’t push anymore, until you collapse, and you still have to say to the people who care about you that you’re okay.”

She tugged at her shirt and laughed. “Okay?”

“Xiao Wenyu, do you know that your emotional state has been extremely bad for the past two days? You know that?”

The person being yelled at was stunned for a moment, her mind hadn’t caught up yet, but the other person had already continued her words, laughing again, her voice becoming a little hoarse.

“Your dark circles are a shade darker. You’re always absent-minded during the day, and you were spacing out when I was cooking just now. Do you think I can’t see that faint sadness?”

It was clearly an angry roar, but the surging love within still made Xiao Wenyu seem petrified. Her eyes had already turned red. She opened her mouth, but only three words remained: “Boss Ruan…”

“Don’t call me that!” Boss Ruan exploded. “Have you realized your mistake? You’re not allowed to call me that until you do!”

Xiao Wenyu: “…”

She chuckled, leaned back in the chair, and looked at this person. “Okay, you said I don’t let you share, but have you let me share some?”

“Haven’t your dark circles gotten darker? You’re so tired that you don’t even want me to be there with you to share some of the burden. You have to drive back and forth between Chuncheng and Beishi every day. Have you ever thought that I would want to help, even if it’s just to take care of things here for you?”

Her voice was soft and cool, the infinite anger brewing and burning under this shallow and low voice, seeming to be on the verge of overturning this calm surface and stirring up a thousand layers of waves, drowning everyone.

But the person who was feeling wronged didn’t hear it. She only wanted to argue back, and sneered, “Is all my hard work useful?”

“I even hollowed out my own heart. I hollowed it out until it was bloody. I dissected those pasts that I didn’t even dare to touch and showed them to you, just wanting to make you a little happier, wanting you to trust me a little more, wanting you to rely on me a little more. But the way I do this…”

She hit the wall, making a loud bang, covering the last self-deprecating sentence—

“Is it useful?”