Still Frame Chapter 60
byChapter 60 A Patch of Bruise
Who and who? Wen Jin and who? What engagement party?
Zhang Liuxin even doubted if the person in front of him was truly Zhang Jiming, or if the other party was speaking some alien language.
“Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhang, please calm down. Liuxin’s blood is flowing again, please let go first.” Levi found it difficult to handle his boss, who looked close to a mental breakdown. He quickly pulled him away, pressed him into a nearby chair, and helped adjust Zhang Liuxin’s IV drip.
“What… do you mean?” Zhang Liuxin spoke these words with difficulty, looking at Zhang Jiming in disbelief.
Zhang Jiming’s expression was one of benevolence that he had never seen before, but the wrinkles on his face were strangely contorted, which made Zhang Liuxin feel afraid. This was the first time since he grew up that he found Zhang Jiming frightening.
“It means Wen Jin has agreed to marry you. It’s still the same as we discussed before, a contract marriage. I didn’t expect the Wen family to be so eager; they decided to hold the wedding next month.”
Zhang Liuxin’s face changed drastically: “No, what exactly are you talking about? Isn’t Wen Jin Zhang Qiannan’s fiancé? What is the meaning of this?”
He felt that the world after the car accident had completely flipped, turning into something he didn’t recognize or understand.
Zhang Jiming was still immersed in ecstasy and didn’t pay attention to his tone, whether it was polite or not. He said, “Qiannan is injured now and needs a long rest, but the engagement with the Wen family is set and cannot be changed. Fortunately, the Wen family is generous enough to say Liuxin is acceptable too. Son, this is truly wonderful.”
Zhang Jiming was actually pushing him to marry Wen Jin because Zhang Qiannan had become a vegetable and couldn’t fulfill the engagement, and Wen Jin actually agreed?
Zhang Liuxin didn’t know how to describe his current mood. He felt disgusted by Zhang Jiming’s actions and perplexed by the Wen family’s decision.
What had marriage become in the eyes of these people?
It was one thing for Zhang Jiming to treat his own marriage lightly, but now he was treating his child’s marriage this way too? Moreover… he had rarely formally called him his son since childhood, yet now he was leaning over the bed, calling him “Liuxin” repeatedly.
“I can’t possibly marry Wen Jin,” Zhang Liuxin said. How could he possibly do something like marrying his brother’s fiancé in his brother’s stead?
The smile on Zhang Jiming’s face froze: “What did you say?”
Zhang Liuxin averted his gaze: “The one engaged to Wen Jin is Zhang Qiannan, not me. I have my own life to live.”
“Your own life?” Zhang Jiming laughed several times as if he had heard a ridiculous joke, then he said sharply, “What kind of life do you have? I brought you back to contribute to our family. I raised you until now, and you refuse when I ask you to get married?”
“Who is that? That’s the Wen family, that’s Wen Jin. Do you know how many people in all of Yinzhou want to marry him? Zhang Liuxin, stop being willful. You will never find a better fiancé than Wen Jin in your entire life.”
“The money, I will return it to you.”
Zhang Jiming was stunned.
“I haven’t touched a single cent of the money you transferred to me. As for the money you spent raising me, I will pay it back after I start working. I have no obligation to marry in place of Zhang Qiannan.”
Zhang Jiming was so angered by his words that he was furious: “Is this something you can decide? Work? How much is that pathetic job of yours worth? I’ll call the TV station in a minute and have them fire you.”
He hadn’t expected Zhang Jiming to be so ruthless and malicious. Zhang Liuxin knew he had the power to do it, and suddenly his leg began to hurt again, making him hunch over, cold sweat pouring down: “No, don’t.”
Zhang Jiming ignored his reaction, patted his clothes, and stood up: “Rest well these few days. Don’t look sickly at the engagement party. Levi, you watch him.”
Then he left. Zhang Liuxin closed his eyes in pain.
“Don’t strain yourself too much. Lean back and lie down for a while. Do you want more water?” Levi asked.
“So you are guarding me because you’re afraid I’ll run away? You want to hold me down and force me to get married.” Zhang Liuxin looked blankly at the man beside him. He thought this person was different from the others, but in the end, he was still Zhang Jiming’s man.
Levi pulled up a chair and sat down, telling him: “No. Where could you run off to in your condition?”
Zhang Liuxin sneered.
“You should be very clear that you can’t defy Zhang Jiming. On the contrary, marrying Wen Jin is the best choice right now. The influence of the Wen and Yue families is self-evident. In the future, you won’t have to worry about anyone in Yinzhou,” Levi paused, lowering his voice, “including your father.”
Zhang Liuxin was somewhat surprised that he would say that, but he turned his head: “Zhang Qiannan is lying in bed, eyes closed, and Zhang Jiming immediately runs to the Wen family to negotiate a marriage swap. Ha, he truly is a good father.”
Levi pretended not to hear his sarcasm: “The Zhang family’s development over the past two years is inseparable from the Wen family. You know how many collaborations came because of the engagement between the Zhang and Wen families. As soon as the news of Qiannan becoming a vegetable spread, Caliber’s stock dropped by 6%.”
“Think about it carefully. Mr. Zhang wasn’t wrong. Young Master Wen is a very perfect marriage partner. Many people in Huancheng like him, but they don’t even get a chance to meet him.”
“I’m going to buy you some food. When this bottle of water is finished, ring the bell yourself to call the nurse.”
Levi also left, but his words lingered in Zhang Liuxin’s mind.
Wen Jin was indeed a very, very perfect marriage partner, and many people liked him, including Zhang Liuxin.
The first time he saw Wen Jin at the Zhang house when he was a child, after that fleeting glimpse, Zhang Liuxin couldn’t help but start paying attention to him. Later, in adolescence, he realized he liked men, but after seeing Wen Jin, how could he possibly fall for any other man?
Later, when he formally met Wen Jin in college, the unattainable senior turned into his younger brother’s insurmountable fiancé. Through all these moments, Zhang Liuxin had always liked him, but never once did he dare to fantasize about marrying Wen Jin himself.
How did it come to this… Zhang Liuxin covered his eyes helplessly. How would Wen Jin view the Zhang family, and how would he view him? Even he himself despised himself.
He recalled the trip to Wuling, where Zhao Wan told him that Wen Jin’s parents had only met three times before getting married. He couldn’t imagine it. That rainy day, Wen Jin told him that the loving couple, seen as a match made in heaven by outsiders, were actually living separate lives. He had foolishly said it sounded like a role-playing game.
But now, was he about to become one of them? Was he about to become the kind of person he didn’t understand and despised?
Just as Levi said, like an arm can’t twist a thigh, he couldn’t defy Zhang Jiming’s will. The date for the engagement party was set. The day before his discharge, he asked Levi to take him to see Zhang Qiannan.
“I thought your relationship wasn’t good,” Levi raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Wait a moment, I’ll wheel you over to see him.”
Zhang Liuxin still couldn’t walk normally, so he had to use a wheelchair. Fortunately, there was no one else in front of Zhang Qiannan’s ward today. He recalled Ren Shuyun’s expression of deep hatred, and a pang of sadness struck his heart.
There were still some minor, unhealed scars on Zhang Qiannan’s face. He slept quietly in the hospital bed, like an exquisite, lifeless, beautiful doll.
Zhang Liuxin heard Levi say that Zhang Qiannan might wake up within half a year, or he might remain asleep like this forever.
His aggressive, sweet, and malicious younger brother was lying here. Zhang Liuxin couldn’t help but think that when Zhang Qiannan woke up and saw that he had married Wen Jin, he would be furious.
Since childhood, Zhang Liuxin had suffered a lot of oppression from Zhang Qiannan. He thought he would feel satisfied seeing Zhang Qiannan like this, but he didn’t. He was just calm, unusually calm, just like Zhang Qiannan in the hospital bed.
“Is that enough? Let’s go,” Levi urged.
“Okay.”
Up until the day of the engagement party, Zhang Liuxin still couldn’t stand up and walk. His leg seemed to be completely ruined. He told the doctor his leg hurt badly, like it was being burned by fire, but the doctor said the physiological injury to his leg had mostly recovered.
Zhang Liuxin still had to use a wheelchair. He tried to stand up, tried to walk, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t stand for long, nor could he walk with a normal posture.
The moment the door was pushed open, he wondered what Wen Jin’s reaction would be when he saw him. Did Wen Jin know he was about to have a fiancé who would be left with a disability?
It was called an engagement party, but it was just a family dinner between the two families. With the Zhang family having suffered such a major car accident, one son becoming a vegetable and the other becoming half-crippled, they couldn’t hold a grand ceremony.
He sat down next to Zhang Jiming. Ren Shuyun, of course, hadn’t come; she was still at the hospital watching over her child. The Wen family, however, had come—not only Wen Jin’s parents but also Minister Yue.
The person who usually only appeared on the news channel was now in front of him. Zhang Liuxin’s already sweaty hands became even stiffer.
It wasn’t until some noise sounded beside him that he managed to pull back his gaze and saw Wen Jin.
Wen Jin was flawless at all times. Today, he was also wearing a suit, formal like the unveiling ceremony, carrying his usual cold aloofness. No emotion could be seen on his face. Zhang Liuxin didn’t know what he thought about this engagement with a changed protagonist.
The necessary agreements had already been signed. Zhang Liuxin learned that this marriage was truly a performance. How they interacted and what image they presented to the public were all arranged step by step. Everyone looked so matter-of-fact that it made Zhang Liuxin, who didn’t understand, seem too naive.
Minister Yue asked when his leg would recover, noting that the wedding couldn’t also be held in a wheelchair. Zhang Liuxin then realized that this imposing elder, accustomed to high positions, looked at him with a slight hint of contempt. This expression made him inexplicably sad, perhaps because the person was a close elder of Wen Jin. A heavy sorrow welled up in his heart.
Seeing him silent and dazed, Zhang Jiming took over the conversation, saying that Liuxin was severely weakened by the car accident and his leg needed good recovery, but they shouldn’t worry; he would soon be running and jumping as before.
Zhang Jiming certainly dared to speak. Zhang Liuxin curved his lips in a bland, perfunctory smile. Just yesterday, Zhang Jiming had been cursing him, asking what was wrong with him, why he walked so ugly, like a cripple who couldn’t even stand up.
After dinner, they seemed to have more business to discuss, so Zhang Liuxin asked Levi to wheel him out for some fresh air. Levi, as if afraid he would escape or do something rash, stood beside him without moving.
“This railing is so high, I can’t even climb over to jump off in my current state,” Zhang Liuxin laughed self-deprecatingly. “I saw you touch your cigarette case several times just now. Go have one.”
After Levi left, Zhang Liuxin sat in the wheelchair, staring blankly, looking at the prosperous night view of Huancheng, and also at the hazy stars obscured by the lights.
Footsteps sounded behind him again. He snapped back to attention: “You finished smoking so quickly…”
A black suit, a tall and slender figure, a faint, cold fragrance. Zhang Liuxin froze. It was Wen Jin.
“Young Master Wen.”
This became his first interaction with Wen Jin since learning about the engagement. Wen Jin still carried a subtle scent of red wine. Zhang Liuxin recalled that at the table just now, the other man hadn’t eaten much, constantly holding his wine glass.
Wen Jin must be depressed too, with his fiancé having changed to him.
“Hmm, what are you doing?”
Perhaps the night was too deep, or perhaps Wen Jin had been drinking, but Zhang Liuxin actually heard a hint of warmth in his rich voice.
“I’m… looking at the night view,” Zhang Liuxin replied. Because Wen Jin was standing and he was sitting in a wheelchair, a turn of his head would be too obvious, so he could only sneak a glance at the other man’s beautiful jawline with his peripheral vision.
“Where are your things? The Zhang house, or the apartment?”
Zhang Liuxin didn’t immediately understand what the other party meant and subconsciously replied: “The apartment.”
“Find a day to move to Wenfeitai. The rooms there have already been prepared.”
Wenfeitai… Did Wen Jin mean he wanted him to move in and live with him at his house?
“The agreement stipulated that we would live together in Wenfeitai. The security and environment there are the best, and I don’t like overly noisy places.”
So it was an arrangement in the agreement. Zhang Liuxin wasn’t very clear on the details and only understood after Wen Jin explained it. At the same time, there was an unnamed sense of loss in his heart, which he consciously buried once he realized it.
“Okay,” Zhang Liuxin couldn’t gauge Wen Jin’s emotions, so he could only say, “I apologize for the future inconvenience.”
Wen Jin raised an eyebrow in surprise, finally turning his head and looking down at him: “Isn’t that what marriage is like? What inconvenience?”
That was true. Marriage was like this, even if their marriage was unconventional, even if their marriage was fake, even if they didn’t love each other.