Falling into the rain

Wen Huaixu's sharp eyes swept over, and the scar on the corner of his lip did not affect his aura in the slightest; on the contrary, it added a touch of murderous intent.

Since Chu Lingyu had seen him, he stopped wearing a mask and simply reminded her in a deep voice, "Close the door properly."

Chu Lingyu closed the door as instructed, still looking at his injury, and couldn't help but want to laugh, and he did indeed laugh out loud.

"Second brother, don't tell me you just accidentally bumped into something. I don't believe you've had any romantic entanglements lately!"

The laughter only added to Wen Huaixu's annoyance. He frowned, threw a pen at him, and said coldly, "Get to business."

Chu Lingyu caught the pen, barely managing to stop laughing, though a hint of mockery still lingered in his eyes. He replied seriously, "You guessed right, last night's news was indeed orchestrated by Aunt Wen. She must have gotten impatient because she saw that you didn't seem to care much about the marriage alliance with the Chen family."

Wen Huaixu's eyes darkened slightly, but this was within his expectations, so he didn't react.

His older brother is getting married to the woman he loves, and he is genuinely happy for him. However, he has never thought about his own marriage.

Whether his wife is fat or thin, beautiful or ugly, none of that matters to him. All he needs is a wife who can help him maintain the status quo of the Liang family.

He had no expectations for their future marriage, but last night, Yu Tingyu actually said she liked him.

Wen Huaixu still clearly remembers the restrained yet tearful look in Yu Tingyu's eyes when she said those words.

He sighed almost inaudibly.

Watching the tea leaves trapped in the air float and sink on the water's surface, unable to rise or sink, they were destined to be soaked.

He was the same; he was so choked up that he couldn't exhale or swallow his anger.

He should probably give Yu Tingyu a good scolding, use a "tough love" approach, and once he's tamed her, then coax her nicely and tell her he didn't care.

If you can't bear to blame her, you should guide her, who is just growing up and whose mind is not yet mature, onto the right path, instead of letting her make more and more mistakes.

Ironically, Wen Huaixu didn't want to implement any of them; he didn't want to see Yu Tingyu's heartbroken eyes.

Perhaps, his thoughts are not entirely honest?

Wen Huaixu was startled by his own thought.

He sat there with a serious expression, but his soul seemed to have been detached from him.

How could he have such an idea?

Yu Tingyu was only twenty years old, an age when emotions are overflowing. Perhaps because they had lived together for so many years, she had developed a dependence on him and mistakenly took it as love.

But what about him?

He's not young anymore, and he's so much older than her. No matter what, he shouldn't have those kinds of thoughts, not even for a second.

Wen Huaixu closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, stroking a cigarette and bringing it to his lips. His brows furrowed into a deep frown, and his knuckles turned slightly white from the force.

His unusual behavior was noticeable even to Chu Lingyu, who was standing to the side unaware of anything.

Chu Lingyu stopped laughing and asked him seriously, "Second Brother, what's wrong?"

Wen Huaixu himself didn't fully understand what was going on, let alone tell him.

He didn't say a word, nor did he continue smoking, letting the cigarette butt burn and fall to the ground.

After returning home, Wen Huaixu handed his suit jacket to Aunt Jing, glanced upstairs, and asked in a low voice, "Where's Xiaoyu?"

"Miss went out during the day and hasn't returned yet," Aunt Jing answered truthfully.

It seems I haven't completely lost my memory; no wonder I haven't sent him a single message today.

So now I don't know how to face him?

Wen Huaixu stood still, lost in thought.

That's good, they should both calm down.

He thought this to himself, but a voice in his heart told him that this matter could not be delayed any longer and that the two of them should have an open and honest discussion, and that if they were going to talk about it, they should talk it out clearly.

He sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette. The smoke slowly rose, obscuring the unreadable emotions in his eyes. After a long while, Wen Huaixu finally took out his phone and dialed Yu Tingyu's number.

The dial tone sounded, but after a series of buzzing sounds, the call was automatically disconnected.

Yu Tingyu did not answer.

-

As darkness fell, the shadows of distant trees disappeared into the darkness.

Yu Tingyu leaned against the window, watching the sunset descend, turning from white to black.

She had stayed at Shen Sihe's house before, so Shen's parents didn't notice anything amiss and treated her well, letting her stay at their house for a few more days.

"Tingyu, come here and dry your hair. If you get sick, Brother Huaixu will definitely blame me."

Shen Sihe, holding a hairdryer, waved to Yu Tingyu and said that she was used to it and didn't realize for a moment that something was wrong.

It wasn't until she saw Yu Tingyu pout that she suddenly remembered what she had just said. She slapped her mouth and smiled ingratiatingly, "Don't mention him, don't mention him."

Yu Tingyu smiled, a slight twitch of her lips.

It's not that we can't mention it.

Hearing that name inevitably pulls her back into those unpleasant memories.

Yes, she characterized last night's events as embarrassing.

Embarrassed, embarrassed, and lacking in decorum.

She pulled her robe tighter, walked over to Shen Sihe, and took the hairdryer. Her face in the mirror was as pale as a sheet of paper.

Shen Sihe had just sat down to look at her phone when she suddenly froze—a missed call from a few minutes ago was clearly visible on the screen.

Caller: Wen Huaixu.

She quickly patted Yu Tingyu's waist and said in a flustered tone, "Tingyu, why did Brother Huaixu call me?"

Yu Tingyu was taken aback, stopped the hair dryer, and looked at the phone that she was handed over.

"Didn't Brother Huaixu call you?"

"...I turned off my phone."

Yu Tingyu admitted that she was just trying to escape from the situation. Rather than being overly sensitive to the slightest disturbance, she preferred to avoid seeing or hearing about it.

But given the current situation, she had no choice but to open it and take a look.

Upon opening it, the screen was instantly filled with six missed call notifications.

All of them came from Wen Huaixu, starting an hour ago, one call after another, the most recent one being just five minutes ago.

Yu Tingyu's breath hitched for a moment, and she closed her eyes in despair.

Suddenly, Shen Sihe screamed again, her phone feeling like a hot potato in her hand. "What should I do? What should I do? Brother Huaixu is calling again! Should I answer it?"

The ringing of the bell at that moment was like a death knell, each ring more urgent than the last, just like Yu Tingyu's heartbeat.

She pinched the back of her hand hard; the pain kept her awake. After a few seconds, she finally spoke: "Take it."

We always have to face it.

Shen Sihe glanced at her expression, gritted her teeth, and accepted the offer, her fawning voice ringing out, "Brother Huaixu..."

"Yes, yes, Tingyu is with me, so don't worry."

"Huh? Let her answer the phone..."

Shen Sihe swallowed nervously, and she quickly gave Yu Tingyu a meaningful look.

Yu Tingyu couldn't hear Wen Huaixu's voice, but she could more or less guess his tone. She bit her lip, steeled her heart, and took the phone, though her fingers were still trembling slightly.

She took a breath, trying to sound calm, and asked in a casual tone, "Brother?"

The way she called out "brother" lacked conviction. Yu Tingyu felt the room was so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat, which was as loud as a drumbeat.

Waiting for the person on the other end to speak is like waiting for a verdict.

But the next second she heard not Wen Huaixu's questioning, but an extremely ordinary sentence: "Aren't you going home yet?"

Yu Tingyu felt her lips and tongue were dry. She paused, then said, "I..."

"Go downstairs."

Before Yu Tingyu could even say "I'll be sleeping at Sihe's house tonight," she suddenly heard his two words.

"Huh?" She paused for a moment, then there was a knock at the door. The Shen family's housekeeper reminded them, "Miss, Miss Yu, Second Young Master Wen is here. He's having tea with Director Shen in the living room."