Still Frame Chapter 70
byChapter 70 Viewing Goldfish
Next came the preparations for the wedding.
Wenfei Terrace was mostly renovated. Because of Zhang Liuxin’s leg injury, the entire house was made collision-proof, leading the renovation team to assume he had children living there.
“Plant a willow tree here,” Wen Jin said, standing in the backyard and pointing to a patch of ground.
The butler nodded, following the line of sight upward to a terrace—that was the Young Master’s room.
Wen Huaichuan initially forbade Wen Jin and Zhang Liuxin from marrying, but prohibition was one thing; his good son had already started planning the wedding.
Yue Yun visited Wenfei Terrace once and was surprised by the changes. She knew Wen Jin’s lifestyle, but the current Wenfei Terrace felt much softer.
“Lin, what are they doing in the garden? Why is it so loud?” Yue Yun asked, accepting a cup of black tea.
Aunt Lin answered precisely: “The Young Master ordered some flowers and plants to be planted, and an extra willow tree.”
A willow tree. Yue Yun set down her teacup, a deep meaning flashing in her eyes.
“Mom, why are you here?”
Wen Jin entered the house from outside, casually placing his trench coat aside. Yue Yun looked up, studying him carefully, realizing with a start that she might not truly know her son.
“What, now that the new house has become the wedding house, I’m not allowed to visit?”
Wen Jin sat down nearby: “No, why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“A-Zhuo, you are very thoughtful,” Yue Yun pointed to some of the auxiliary facilities installed inside the house. “I never thought marriage would change you like this.”
“Father treated you the same way,” Wen Jin said flatly.
Yue Yun instinctively wanted to give a wry smile, but remembering her son was sitting across from her, she quickly suppressed it, leaving only a lingering sense of melancholy.
“I’ve convinced your father. He will attend the engagement banquet tomorrow, but you need to soften your stance toward him. Marriage is a major life event, you don’t seriously want him to skip the wedding, do you?”
Wen Jin had originally expected neither parent to attend. Now that his mother had relented, he was already surprised.
“Mm.” Wen Jin’s gaze drifted toward the floor-to-ceiling window.
Silence fell between mother and son again. After a while, Yue Yun finally asked: “When did you decide to choose him as your spouse? A-Zhuo, your mother truly doesn’t understand you.”
She had always thought her emotionally detached son would never enter into marriage, or if he did, it would only be with someone they arranged. But now, everything seemed completely overturned. Not only did Wen Jin actively propose marriage, but he chose a young man she had never even heard of. Judging by the current situation, Wen Jin seemed extremely devoted to the boy.
“I saw him in college,” Wen Jin said.
Yue Yun asked in surprise: “Was that the first time you saw him? You wanted to marry him the first time you saw him?”
A term as romantically charged as ‘love at first sight’ was actually appearing in connection with Wen Jin.
Wen Jin was noncommittal.
Yue Yun realized her understanding of her son was far less than she imagined. At the very least, Wen Jin didn’t trust her. He had found someone he liked, even decided to marry, and only told her at the last minute.
“Mom, don’t overthink it,” Wen Jin pushed a plate of pastries toward her. Yue Yun saw they were her favorite lotus puff pastries. “I haven’t told Zhang Liuxin either. It just avoids a lot of unnecessary trouble.”
Yue Yun suddenly felt a headache coming on. Perhaps they hadn’t instilled the correct view of marriage in Wen Jin, as her marriage with her husband was far from conventional.
Just then, someone else entered. Yue Yun looked up and saw He Qing, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time. She waved to him: “Xiao Qing, come sit.”
“Aunt Yue, long time no see. I only recently returned and have been busy at home, so I didn’t have time to visit you.”
Yue Yun always found He Qing gentle, soft-spoken, and refined, and she smiled unconsciously: “Why the formalities? Are you here to see A-Zhuo today?”
Wen Jin interjected: “I asked him to help customize the wedding attire.”
Yue Yun nodded slowly, then stood up and said: “Alright, then you two chat. I’ll be going now.”
After Yue Yun left, He Qing said: “A-Zhuo, Aunt Yue, she seems…”
“The engagement banquet is tomorrow. She’s nervous.”
“…”
Having not spoken to Wen Jin in a while, He Qing was momentarily speechless. He asked Aunt Lin to brew him a pot of flower tea.
“Where is your fiancé? You asked me to come customize the wedding attire, but the main person isn’t here,” He Qing looked at the furnishings in the room. “A-Zhuo, do you think I’m Superman? In less than a month—you’re really putting me to the test.”
The flower tea was brought out. Wen Jin personally poured a cup and placed it in front of He Qing: “That’s why I entrusted it to you. I wouldn’t trust anyone else.”
He Qing nodded, unable to argue with him. They hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Seeing the completely refreshed Wenfei Terrace, He Qing suddenly recalled three years ago when Wen Jin abruptly told him he was taking someone to Luopu Mountain.
He never expected that time would pass so quickly, and Wen Jin was now marrying the person he took to Luopu Mountain back then.
Wen Jin gave him Zhang Liuxin’s measurements and briefly explained his requirements, concluding that it didn’t need to be too complicated, just formal.
“I’m suddenly curious about that Mr. Zhang. What kind of magic does he possess to make you so infatuated?”
“Infatuated?” Wen Jin didn’t agree with the word. He gave a slight scoff and looked at the fish tank in the living room. Inside were two new goldfish he was keeping, swimming gracefully in the water.
“No? Fine,” He Qing shrugged and put the materials away. “I’ll make sure to deliver Young Master Wen’s wedding attire before the wedding.”
Wen Jin thanked him for his trouble, then asked: “Do you know any jewelry designers?”
He Qing had wide connections in the fashion industry and knew quite a few. He asked: “What, ordering a wedding ring? Isn’t that a bit late?”
“No, a brooch. I plan to wear it at the wedding.”
He Qing sat back down on the sofa, popping a piece of pastry into his mouth. He asked what style Wen Jin wanted, though he recalled Wen Jin rarely wore brooches.
“I have a green diamond. The style should be a willow branch.”
“A green diamond,” He Qing’s eyes paused briefly. After a long moment, he spoke: “Were you the one who bought ‘Firefly’ at the Noah auction house last month?”
Wen Jin nodded.
“Truly throwing money around. And a willow branch,” He Qing rubbed his forehead. “Wen Jin, I take back what I said just now. You’re not infatuated, you seem to be a bit of a love-struck fool.”
Wen Jin politely told him: “I’ll trouble you with this.”
“Alright, I’ll send you designs later for you to choose from. I’m really looking forward to meeting that Mr. Zhang. Zi Xia is organizing a gathering these days, why don’t you bring him out for dinner?”
“The engagement banquet is tomorrow. He’s recovering from a severe car accident. We’ll gather after the wedding when his health is better.”
He Qing nodded. Before leaving, he noticed the very conspicuous glass fish tank, which was currently shimmering with a faint emerald light. Two goldfish with gilded scales were gracefully spreading their caudal fins, their red butterfly tails catching the moving shadow of their companion, like two pieces of amber light.
Before this, he had thought marriages in their circle were probably like these two ornamental goldfish—appearing deeply affectionate, but in reality, trapped inside a fish tank.
However, his brother and his friend made him realize that not everyone was like that. Even under surveillance, without freedom or privacy, people who loved each other could still thrive like fish in water.
After the engagement banquet, Wen Jin became even busier. Not only did he have to manage the wedding preparations single-handedly, but he also had school matters. Yet, he couldn’t forget the calm and lonely eyes he saw on Liuxin on the rooftop. So, after finishing his work, he arranged for a rehabilitation therapist. He had looked into Liuxin’s leg injury and believed there was still great hope for recovery.
Once everything was ready, Zhong Sixun came to ask him about the wedding ceremony details. These things should have been discussed with Zhang Liuxin, but the Zhang family’s attitude was to defer to the Wen family on everything.
The only exception was the wedding vows. Zhong Sixun initially thought Wen Jin wouldn’t like such a cliché procedure, but unexpectedly, he asked her with interest what couples usually said at weddings.
“It’s usually something like this.” Fortunately, Zhong Sixun was accustomed to preparing for contingencies and showed him the prepared wedding vows.
Wen Jin took his glasses and read them carefully, asking her: “Is this sentence the most common one?”
In poverty or wealth, in good times or bad, in sickness or in health, I will love you and cherish you forever.
“Yes.”
Wen Jin picked up a fountain pen and crossed out the first three phrases. Poverty, bad times, and sickness would not be problems standing between him and Zhang Liuxin.
Zhong Sixun’s eyelids twitched, wondering what Young Master Wen was thinking now. Then, she watched as Wen Jin continued writing below—”I will be eternally faithful to you.” The handwriting was strong and vigorous, as if carved in stone.
Wen Jin capped his pen and casually placed the document aside. Zhong Sixun noticed a book on the bookshelf behind him that hadn’t been there before. Its color scheme was extremely jarring and shouldn’t, by rights, appear on the shelf of her boss, who had OCD.
“Bring me the guest list.”
Wen Jin’s voice pulled her thoughts back. Zhong Sixun showed him the list: “This is the list provided by Chairman Wen. The Governor will also be attending.”
In the entire Silver State, the only person whose wedding could draw the Governor was probably the heir of the Wen family.
Wen Jin merely glanced at it, showing little interest. The list was only one page long, as too many important figures were attending, naturally raising the threshold for guests. However, Wen Jin didn’t recognize most of the names and wondered if Zhang Liuxin would be nervous seeing so many strangers.
“Also, regarding Mr. Zhang’s mother, whom you asked me to investigate…” Zhong Sixun’s tone became hesitant. Wen Jin just looked up at her, and he roughly knew what she was about to say.
“Mrs. Chen passed away ten years ago.”
Wen Jin frowned. Zhang Liuxin’s mother’s surname was Chen. This surname must have been chosen by Zhang Jiming because his mother was from Bernlin State.
A wedding naturally required parents. Zhang Jiming could not be counted as a father, so Wen Jin had wanted to find Liuxin’s mother. Otherwise, if there was no one familiar at the wedding, Wen Jin didn’t want to see the lonely and fragile expression Liuxin wore in his sleep.
“Where did she pass away?”
“In Bernlin State, in a small town called Doguin. Mrs. Chen died because pneumonia did not receive timely treatment.”
Wen Jin saw that Zhong Sixun looked like she had more to say, so he asked: “What is it?”
“I also found out that Mrs. Chen had already bought a plane ticket to Silver State at the time. I suspect she wanted to see Mr. Zhang, but she didn’t survive that winter.”
A wife abandoned by her husband, a mother forcibly separated from her child, passed away silently, resting thousands of miles away from her flesh and blood.
Wen Jin: “Does Zhang Liuxin know?”
Zhong Sixun shook her head: “He shouldn’t. As far as I know, the Zhang family completely cut off contact with Mrs. Chen. Mr. Zhang had little say in the Zhang family… and he was young at the time, so he probably couldn’t go look for his mother.”
Speaking of this, she felt some sympathy for Mr. Zhang, whom she had only met a few times.
“Should we tell Mr. Zhang?” Zhong Sixun asked.
So, on that night in the hospital, was Liuxin enduring the pain and shedding tears in his dream while thinking of the mother he hadn’t seen in so long?
“Not for now. Seal the information. Don’t let anyone mention this in front of him.”
“Understood. Is there anything else?”
Wen Jin propped his forehead, looking slightly fatigued, and closed his eyes: “No.”
But just as Zhong Sixun reached the study door, Wen Jin’s voice came from behind her, lower than usual: “Sixun, check if there are any newspapers or magazines in Bernlin State that cover Silver State news.”
“After Liuxin and I are married, use my personal account to arrange for a report to be published.”
He just wanted his mother-in-law to be able to see Liuxin’s wedding.