BSG - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
After walking the dog, they went their separate ways home, one heading east, the other west.
Yun Youqing returned home, changed into her pajamas, and hugged her notebook, getting into bed to call Tao Fangran.
"You two are getting along really well," Tao Fangran remarked over the phone. "Even if you can't be girlfriends, being friends is good, too."
Thinking of Shen Wenxin, Yun Youqing couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, being friends is also great. Better than nothing at all." She picked up a pencil and began sketching aimlessly on the paper. "Ranran, tell me about her. Tell me what you know." Shen Wenxin was so wonderful; she wanted to know more about her.
Tao Fangran's musing voice came through. "Mmm, let me think..."
The family business was inherited by her older sister, Tao Lezhi. All business activities were handled by her sister; Tao Fangran had no involvement because her ambitions lay elsewhere. Naturally, not participating meant she knew little. What she did know was from overhearing things in the past. She didn't even know as much as that person she found so annoying... Annoying person...
"Ah, right! The Shen family has a sworn enemy. The Lu family, that ShengTian Capital, the one in investment. I heard Shen Wenxin and Lu Yunshu have been at odds since childhood."
Yun Youqing smelled gossip. "Why? Is there some deep blood feud between the families?"
Tao Fangran said, "Dunno."
Yun Youqing: "?" Yun Youqing: "What about Sister Lezhi?"
Tao Fangran: "My sister doesn't know, either."
Yun Youqing understood. Her investigative heart was extinguished with great regret. "Anything else?"
"Anything else... Oh, she was adopted through a family arrangement."
"Huh?"
"Shen Minghai is actually her uncle. She was formally adopted by him."
"Why would she need to be adopted if everything was fine?"
"Seems like it's because Shen Minghai couldn't have children. He's a bit traditional and wanted a child of his own, someone who could inherit the family business."
"Oh, I see..."
The fact that Shen Wenxin wasn't Shen Minghai's biological daughter was known by most people in their circle. Not really a secret; the Shen family hadn't particularly hidden it.
Yun Youqing inexplicably felt a pang of sympathy for Shen Wenxin. "So she was forced to be separated from her birth parents? She must have been sad..."
"No," Tao Fangran's voice was light. "It was just a formality. She's still perfectly fine with her own mom and dad. The Shen family relationships are very harmonious."
Yun Youqing immediately stopped feeling sorry. Harmonious family? No problem, then. Good, another tidbit learned about Shen Wenxin!
She halted her moving pencil and looked down at the paper. Greyish strokes on the white surface outlined a simple figure, lacking specific features. The seemingly chaotic yet orderly lines formed flying strands of hair and the contours of a coat lifted by the wind.
—Shen Wenxin. Standing in the light, bathed in the night breeze. The Shen Wenxin who told her to be herself and didn't resist her closeness. The Shen Wenxin who was willing to pick up her conversational cues and joke along with her. Shen Wenxin was truly wonderful.
Yun Youqing propped her head and gazed at the drawing. As she gazed, her eyes gently curved.—Next time, I'll dare to flirt with the pretty older sister again.
Not long after Shen Wenxin arrived home, she received a video call from her stepmother. The image jumped onto the screen. Jin Hanshuang was sitting on the sofa, looking at the camera.
Noticing Shen Wenxin was still in outdoor clothes, she couldn't help but ask, "Hmm? Are you heading out or just getting back?"
"Just got back," Shen Wenxin said. "Went for a walk with a friend and walked the dog."
Jin Hanshuang asked casually, "Which friend?"
Shen Wenxin: "The one you guessed so accurately."
Jin Hanshuang immediately understood, a smile curving her lips. "Miss Yun, huh. So, does she still like you?"
"From the looks of it, yes." Shen Wenxin propped her phone on the kitchen island counter and poured herself a glass of water. "She says heart palpitations can't be controlled, so she plans to just like me for now and gradually let it go later."
"That's tough on her," Jin Hanshuang shook her head sympathetically. She could understand how difficult it was to be forced to let go of someone. But fate was something you couldn't really force. "Is it affecting your friendship?"
"No."
"Are you troubled by it?"
Shen Wenxin thought for a moment, then picked up her glass. "Nothing troubling about it." Yun Youqing's liking her didn't cause her any distress. If Yun Youqing made her uncomfortable, she would have turned and left long ago. Why would she have met her so many times?
On the screen, Jin Hanshuang was propping her chin with her hand, head tilted, as if observing her. After a moment, her eyes curved. "Seems like you two get along very well, huh."
"Quite well." Shen Wenxin put down her water glass with a smile. "She's a very... interesting person." Interesting way of speaking, interesting way of thinking, even her way of self-regulation was interesting. The whole person was interesting.
Jin Hanshuang smiled. "Happy is good." She added, "Let me see Xiaoba. I miss our little dog baby." She was away traveling, so Xiaoba was being looked after by Shen Wenxin during this time.
Shen Wenxin bent down and scooped up the furry little creature following at her feet, holding it up to the camera. The moment Xiaoba saw Jin Hanshuang on the phone, it wagged its tail, excitedly trying to get closer, even letting out a couple of barks, as if asking where mom had gone.
Jin Hanshuang soothed it through the screen. "Missing Mommy? Xiaoba, be good. Mommy will be home in a few days, and I'll bring you yummy treats." She didn't forget her daughter, either. "I'll bring something for you, too."
Shen Wenxin chuckled softly. "Okay."
At that moment, another woman's voice came from the screen. "Hanshuang." Then, a beautiful woman with her hair up, wearing pajamas, walked into the frame. She bent down and kissed the top of Jin Hanshuang's head. "You can go take a bath now." It was none other than the legendary Lu Yunshu, the one Shen Wenxin had been at odds with since childhood.
Jin Hanshuang's brows and eyes curved gently, her reply soft. "Okay~" She turned to Shen Wenxin. "I'll go shower now. You two chat."
Shen Wenxin nodded. Jin Hanshuang left, leaving Lu Yunshu and Shen Wenxin facing each other through the screen. Oh, and a little dog. The little dog was also happy to see Lu Yunshu, barking twice and constantly sniffling at Shen Wenxin's phone, as if wanting Lu Yunshu to come out and play.
Lu Yunshu smiled at the little dog, telling it to be good, then looked back at Shen Wenxin. The two nemesis stared at each other.
A few seconds later—
Lu Yunshu: "In love?"
Shen Wenxin: "Does it look like it?"
Lu Yunshu: "No."
Shen Wenxin: "Then why ask nonsense?"
Lu Yunshu: "Showing concern for you."
Shen Wenxin laughed. "Should I thank President Lu?"
Lu Yunshu, unperturbed: "No need to be overly grateful. It's what I should do."
Shen Wenxin gave her an eye roll. Lu Yunshu very naturally ignored it, speaking with composure. "It's okay," Lu Yunshu said. Expressionless, yet her tone was incredibly motherly. Like genuine sincerity, or perhaps sarcasm. "It's perfectly fine if you never date anyone and just live your life alone. Whatever decisions you make, Mother will always support you."
Shen Wenxin: "..." Shen Wenxin: "Get lost." She hung up the video call.
A nemesis becoming her stepmother's girlfriend was definitely not a good thing!
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