Chapter 42
Seeking Trouble at Her Doorstep
Without any other choice, Wen Qiao could only give the chauffeur her address. Half an hour later, the black car quietly stopped at the entrance of Shuying Road.
“5 pm flight tomorrow. I’ll get someone to book the tickets for you. Make sure to reach the airport by 3 pm.”
Wen Qiao nodded. “Mm, got it.”
The man stared at her with a gaze that warned ‘If you dare to not show up…’
Wen Qiao quickly reassured him. “I’ll definitely go.”
Only then did the man let go of her hand. Wen Qiao got out of the car and with the car window half-opened, she bent over and bade him farewell with a broad smile on her face.
Fu Nanli’s lips curled slightly. The car slowly left her vision.
Wen Qiao heaved a sigh of relief.
Take his flight? To Munich? Didn’t that mean she had to stay in Munich for a day? Clearly it would be just the two of them spending time alone. How was she going to face that intrusive gaze of his?
Ugh! Why did I so shamelessly claim to be his girlfriend back then?
I feel like I’m in too deep.
Should I just… not show up and say I’m sick or something?
…
At the entrance of the Wens’ villa, the Benz had just parked and Xu Lu was about to get out of the car when Zhao Tong sent her a WeChat message. It was a Weibo screenshot. When she tapped it open, she saw that Vincent specially registered for a Weibo official account today, just so that he could upload his photo with Wen Qiao.
There was a caption written in Chinese— @Vincent: A perfect collaboration with Traditional Music Genius, Miss Wen. I’m really happy.
Xu Lu kept staring at that photo, biting her gums so hard it nearly bled.
The chauffeur turned his head. “Miss Lu, we’ve arrived.”
It took a long time before Xu Lu finally calmed herself down. She walked into the house, only to see Wen Jianmin throwing a great temper. He was hollering—
“That girl has no respect for her elders. How dare she send the court summons to my company! If that’s not bad enough, she sent during the peak hour in the morning, and the courier boy had shouted loudly in the lobby. Now there isn’t a single soul in the company who isn’t aware of that girl pressing for alimony. I’ve been utterly disgraced!”
Zhong Hui, who finally caught an opportunity to lodge a complaint, said in an aggrieved tone, “Jianmin ah, that girl Wen Qiao is truly ill-bred. Two days ago, I went to Su Yun with the intention of discussing her matters. I said it’s not easy for you either, and asked how she could demand two million yuan at one go. Guess what happened? That girl picked up a cup of scalding coffee and splashed it at me without an apology. I…”
She then broke into sobs.
This was just adding oil to fire. Wen Jianmin was so furious that he slapped the table and kicked the stool with a resounding bam!
Hurrying into the room, Xu Lu comforted her mom by the side, adding another bucket of oil to the fire. “Uncle Wen, not only did Wen Qiao ask money from you, it seems like she’s hooked up with some sleazy small-time celebrity. I guess she’s probably doing it for money.”
Wen Xuan chimed in from the side, “Dad, they’re all baddies. Big baddies. They bully Mom and Sister!”
By now, Wen Jianmin was boiling with rage. “I must give that girl a firm talking to!”
…
It was mid-July, at the height of summer, and only in the morning was there still a slight breeze. The family of three was seated in the courtyard eating their breakfast under a honey locust tree.
Wen Chi shouted to Wen Qiao, who was washing her face beside the well. “Why are you taking your sweet time? Hurry over and have some breakfast with us!”
Wen Qiao patted her face with water and haphazardly ran her hands through her hair, before walking to the dining table. Wen Mo placed a
youtiao
and a meat bun into her bowl, and also poured a bowl of soybean milk for her.
Wen Qiao stroked Wen Mo’s head. “Thank you, Xiao Mo.”
Su Yun, who had already finished her breakfast, entered the house and retrieved her canvas bag, then said to the three Wen siblings. “After you’re done eating, clean up by yourselves. I’m going to work now.”
“Mm.”
Shortly after their mother had just stepped out of the courtyard, they heard the sound of a man’s reprimanding voice. “Su Yun, is this how you teach those kids of yours? I’m extremely disappointed in you! How could you be so insatiably greedy!”
Being the first to react, Wen Chi bolted out like a shot arrow.
“Wen Jianmin, how dare you scold my mom!”
Only then did Wen Qiao realize that it was Wen Jianmin showing up to seek trouble. She quickly slipped into her slippers and rushed out.
“You rude brat! How dare you show no respect to your elders!” Overwhelmed with fury, Wen Jianmin raised a hand to give Wen Chi a slap.
- A stick of fried dough, normally eaten for breakfast