The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife
Chapter 421 - 423. Would you marry me again?

Chapter 421: 423. Would you marry me again?

Haohao frowned, "But she really looked like Granny Jiang."

"You just said she looked like her. It’s possible for people to resemble each other, right?"

Haohao seemed to be convinced by Shen Qinglan, "Maybe you’re right, Aunt, maybe I was mistaken."

Shen Qinglan gave a slight smile, "Alright, we should head home soon."

On the other side, Chu Yunrong was discussing with Pei Yinong about which item to buy; she called Pei Yinong several times without any response, and gently pushed her shoulder. Pei Yinong came back to her senses, "Aunt, what happened?"

"I want to ask you which of these two colors is better? What were you so engrossed in thinking about?"

Pei Yinong tugged at the corner of her mouth, "I was just thinking about work. I think light blue is better..."

Shen Qinglan noticed something odd about Pei Yinong, quickly chose the clothes, and headed back.

That evening, Shen Qinglan rarely made a call to Jiang Chenxi, discussing the incident that had occurred at the mall with him. Jiang Chenxi was silent for a while before speaking, "Sister-in-law, thank you for telling me about this. I know what to do now."

"As long as you have a sense of measure in your heart," Shen Qinglan finished and hung up the phone. Love was a matter between two people; she wouldn’t interfere too much, but she didn’t mind offering a little help occasionally.

**

On Saturday, Shen Qinglan packed up her things and took Anan to the Beijing Military Region, having promised to visit Fu Hengyi today.

Anan was very happy to go out with his mother again, and Shen Junyu personally saw them off from Shen Qinglan’s place.

Throughout the journey, Anan was excited in his mother’s arms, his chubby legs swinging about. Shen Junyu saw his little nephew’s movements in the rear-view mirror and laughed, "Is Anan so happy because he knows he’s going to see Daddy?"

Shen Qinglan glanced at her son and bluntly exposed, "He just wants to go out and play." In the beginning, Fu Hengyi’s sudden absence made Anan very uncomfortable, and he would wait until late to sleep at night. But after three days, he returned to normal and couldn’t even remember who Daddy was.

Shen Junyu, upon hearing this, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Knowing that Shen Qinglan would come to the Military Region today, Fu Hengyi had been waiting at the gate early on. From afar, he saw Shen Junyu’s car; indeed, Shen Qinglan had arrived.

Shen Qinglan got out of the car, and seeing Fu Hengyi in his military uniform, a faint trace of longing surfaced in her eyes. Fu Hengyi quickly stepped forward, looked his wife up and down, and contentedly said, "Hmm, you haven’t lost weight."

Shen Qinglan chuckled. Fu Hengyi took his son from her arms. The little guy’s eyes lit up upon seeing his father and he immediately leapt into Fu Hengyi’s arms; Fu Hengyi had indeed missed him in the few days he hadn’t seen him.

Anan clung to his father’s neck, his attention quickly drawn to Fu Hengyi’s epaulets. Spotting the wheat and pentagram, his eyes shone with curiosity, and he reached out to pick at them.

His efforts were feeble, and Fu Hengyi noticed his actions but did not stop him.

Shen Qinglan wanted to stop him but was halted by a look from Fu Hengyi.

"Alright, I’ve safely delivered the person, so I’ll be going now. Lanlan, I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow," Shen Junyu said.

Shen Qinglan nodded, and Fu Hengyi spoke warmly, "Junyu, thank you."

Shen Junyu stepped forward, patted Anan’s head, "Anan, uncle is leaving."

Anan, now more interested in his father’s epaulets, ignored his uncle’s words. Shen Junyu smiled and left.

Fu Hengyi took Shen Qinglan inside, to the same family building they had lived in before. Fu Hengyi had already cleaned the apartment and soldiers helped move things in, mainly Anan’s crib.

"Thank you," Shen Qinglan expressed her gratitude.

The young man was stunned by Shen Qinglan’s beauty and blushed as he heard her thank him. He waved his hands frantically, "No need to thank, no need to thank, chief, I’ll be leaving now."

Fu Hengyi nodded, and after the man had left, he looked at Shen Qinglan with a smile, "My wife’s charm really does stand out wherever she goes."

Shen Qinglan gave him a side glance and started organizing things. When she first came here, she only had a small suitcase with a few sets of clothes. Now that they had a child, traveling meant big and small bags even if they were staying just for one night. By the time she had gotten everything sorted, Fu Hengyi had already put the child to sleep and had gone to the kitchen to cook.

Shen Qinglan rightfully waited in the living room for dinner.

After eating, Fu Hengyi cleaned up the kitchen and then left, while Shen Qinglan stayed at home, waiting for little Anan to wake up.

Anan wasn’t used to the new environment and kept frowning. After Shen Qinglan fed him, she took him outside.

Anan, with his fair and adorable looks, attracted plenty of attention in the Military Region, which was filled with burly men and rarely any children. Along the way, Anan received many gazes, most of them kindly smiles. Shen Qinglan occasionally lifted Anan’s little hand to greet everyone.

The environment of the Military Region intrigued Anan and his frown gradually turned into a smile.

Shen Qinglan took Anan to the neighboring unit where Shen Qian was stationed. Knowing that Shen Qinglan had brought his grandson to see him, Shen Qian couldn’t wait for the guards to come; he came out personally.

"Anan, have you missed Grandpa?" Shen Qian was thrilled to see Anan.

It had been a long time since Anan had seen his grandpa and he didn’t recognize him, refusing his grandpa’s request for a hug and clinging to Shen Qinglan’s neck instead.

Shen Qian calmly withdrew his hands, smiling as he said, "Just like when you were little. I remember when you were one year old, I probably hadn’t come home for three or four months. When I did, you didn’t recognize Daddy. Your mom took you to sleep that night. You absolutely refused to let me into the room, so I had to wait until you were asleep before I could sneak in."

This was the first time Shen Qinglan heard this story, and she was curious, "I wouldn’t let you into the room to sleep?"

"Yeah," Shen Qian said, laughing as he recalled the incident, "You were just starting to talk then. At home, you would call for mom, grandma, grandpa, and brother, but just wouldn’t call ’Dad’. My heart was broken then."

These were things Shen Qinglan certainly didn’t remember, but she could imagine such a scene. This was also why Fu Hengyi had insisted on returning to the Beijing Military Region originally.

"Now, in the blink of an eye, your son is so big, and Dad is getting old. In another couple of years, Dad should retire," said Shen Qian with a smile.

Shen Qinglan, holding Anan, returned with Shen Qian to his office, where other leaders were present. They all greeted Shen Qinglan warmly.

Shen Qinglan, facing these people whom she could usually only see on TV, was not intimidated at all and chatted with everyone.

By the time Fu Hengyi called Shen Qinglan, she had already been at Shen Qian’s place for quite a while. Shen Qian personally walked Shen Qinglan out to the main gate, where Fu Hengyi was already waiting.

On the way back, Shen Qinglan ran into Zhao Wei. Seeing Shen Qinglan, his eyes lit up, "You’re finally back."

Shen Qinglan looked at the expectant man in front of her, finding it hard to connect him with the boy from the past, but he was indeed the same person.

"Looking to challenge me?" Shen Qinglan raised an eyebrow at Zhao Wei.

Zhao Wei nodded, "Yes."

Fu Hengyi was exasperated. He knew this person, who was extremely fond of challenging others. The guy had even challenged him before, but he had simply ignored him.

"Sure, but not today. Tomorrow morning at eight, meet me at the playground," Shen Qinglan said indifferently.

"Okay." Zhao Wei got the answer he wanted, saluted Fu Hengyi, and then left.

"You don’t have to bother with him," Fu Hengyi said.

Shen Qinglan smiled, "It’s just a challenge. Are you really worried that he might hurt me?"

Fu Hengyi wasn’t worried about that. Shen Qinglan gazed steadily at him, and he returned her look with a puzzled expression.

"Fu Hengyi, when shall we have a competition too, not just in combat?"

"Still thinking about it?" Back when her leg was still healing, Shen Qinglan had been thinking about it. It had been so long since she last mentioned it that Fu Hengyi thought she had given up the idea.

Shen Qinglan nodded, "I’ve always remembered it."

Fu Hengyi smiled helplessly, "Next time you come, we’ll have a match."

"It’s a deal."

"Mm."

The next morning, after Shen Qinglan had finished feeding the baby, she walked to the balcony and saw Zhao Wei waiting downstairs, "Zhao Wei." Shen Qinglan called out to him, and Zhao Wei looked up, "Come up for a moment."

Shen Qinglan had called Zhao Wei up to help move the baby’s stroller. After settling the baby on one side and giving the child a pacifier, seeing that he was happily occupied, Shen Qinglan then turned to Zhao Wei.

"Shall we start?" asked Zhao Wei.

Before starting, Shen Qinglan spoke calmly, "I have one condition. If you fail the challenge this time, you can’t challenge me again for three months."

Zhao Wei agreed after a brief moment of thought.

Several months had passed and Zhao Wei’s skills had greatly improved. It took nearly twenty minutes before he went down, although Shen Qinglan had gone easy on him. Nevertheless, Zhao Wei’s progress was the main factor.

"Coming again?" Shen Qinglan looked down at Zhao Wei, who really wanted to continue, but could only lie there, panting, "If not, I’m leaving."

"Wait," Zhao Wei spoke up, a hint of confusion in his eyes, "Have we met somewhere before?" Today, when he saw Shen Qinglan’s son’s eyes, they felt familiar as if he had seen them somewhere else.

Shen Qinglan raised an eyebrow, looking at him, "You’ve already challenged me once before."

"That’s not it," Zhao Wei got up from the ground, "I mean before that."

Shen Qinglan’s eyes flickered slightly, "Then you must be mistaken. We haven’t met before."

Zhao Wei was puzzled, "Really haven’t met?"

His own words sounded more like he was talking to himself than asking a question. Shen Qinglan didn’t respond, instead pushing the stroller away. Soon, news of a woman defeating Zhao Wei spread throughout the military district. Given Zhao Wei’s notorious reputation, the fact that someone defeated this belligerent yet again, and a woman at that, sparked a great deal of excitement and curiosity about who she could be.

Shen Qinglan looked at the woman in front of her, her face expressionless, "Doctor Jiang."

Jiang Wenjing smiled, "Miss Shen, it’s been a while. I just heard that a woman defeated Zhao Wei, and I thought it might be you. Turns out it really was you."

Shen Qinglan pretended not to notice her form of address. "The speed of news spread here is really fast."

Jiang Wenjing smiled, "There aren’t many entertainment activities in the military camp, and the place is small. Any little incident becomes known to everyone. Is this your son?" she asked, looking at Anan.

Shen Qinglan nodded. "Yes, he’s three and a half months old."

"He looks a lot like Commander Fu. Very cute."

Shen Qinglan gave her thanks.

"By the way, I’m getting married at the end of the year. If you and Commander Fu have time, I hope you can come and have a drink at the wedding," Jiang Wenjing said, her face calm with a smile and a hint of relief.

"I haven’t congratulated you yet," Shen Qinglan said sincerely.

"Thank you. He’s someone my family introduced, and a doctor at the hospital. After getting to know each other for a few months, we both felt it was right and decided to get married," Jiang Wenjing explained, then added softly, "Some mountains, even though the scenery is beautiful, can only be admired from afar. I’m more suited to living on the plains."

Shen Qinglan’s lips curved up slightly. "The plains can also be vast, offering you a tolerance the mountains cannot, allowing you the freedom to run."

"Yes, thank you, Shen Qinglan. If it weren’t for your appearance, perhaps I would still not see clearly what I really want," Jiang Wenjing said bravely, her words much more direct than before.

She had always looked up at Fu Hengyi, dreaming of standing side by side with him one day, forgetting that they were not from the same world, like two parallel lines that would never meet.

"Now that you understand, it’s not too late. You haven’t missed your own happiness," Shen Qinglan said gently.

Jiang Wenjing nodded with a smile. "You’re right. Seeing you and him happy now, I’m also very happy. I’m leaving Beijing Military District Hospital next week. My fiancé is from Lin City, and my family used a bit of their influence to transfer me to a hospital there so we can work in the same place. So, we might not meet again, but I still hope you can come to my wedding."

"If I have time then, I definitely will," Shen Qinglan said. She had never been able to dislike Jiang Wenjing, perhaps because of the girl’s open-minded attitude towards emotions.

After saying goodbye to Jiang Wenjing, Shen Qinglan took Anan around the area before heading back. She had thought she would meet Sister-in-law Zhang this time, but Fu Hengyi had told her that Sister-in-law Zhang had gone back to her parents’ home as her father was unwell. Before leaving, her father, still worried about his runaway daughter, prompted her to return with her two children.

Shen Qinglan had originally planned to eat in the canteen at noon, but Fu Hengyi came back, cooked for her, and stayed to eat with her before escorting her and her son to the gate of the military area. "Qinglan, I’m sorry I haven’t had time to keep you company this time."

He had just arrived in Beijing Military Region and was immediately given a task, along with handing over duties, he had been extremely busy and had not been able to spend time with Shen Qinglan and their child.

Shen Qinglan was not concerned about it. "I and Anan have already seen you, that’s enough. Next time we come, just make it up to us."

Fu Hengyi stepped forward and gave Shen Qinglan a hug. "Okay."

"Enough, you two. It’s not a life-or-death farewell, need it be so clingy and difficult to part? Fu Hengyi, you’re still in uniform, at least mind your image," Shen Junyu, who came to pick them up, could hardly stand the couple’s public display of affection and couldn’t help but speak out.

Shen Qinglan stepped back from Fu Hengyi’s embrace and got directly into the car. Shen Junyu had intended to say goodbye to Fu Hengyi, but he only received a cold glance. Shen Junyu touched his nose. Well, he had indeed done it on purpose.

Fu Hengyi watched until Shen Qinglan’s car completely disappeared around the corner before he turned back to enter the military region.

**

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of September.

During this time, Shen Junyu was very busy, often coming back in the middle of the night and leaving early in the morning. Wen Xiyao could hardly find much chance to be alone with him. Every time she asked Shen Junyu, he just said that he was busy with work. Calling his assistant, the assistant also said he was busy with work.

This made Wen Xiyao worried. Not that she was worried about Shen Junyu having another woman, but worried that such intense work would be too much for his body. So Wen Xiyao, who never cooked before, cooked late-night snacks for Shen Junyu every night, keeping them warm in the pot so that he could eat when he got back.

Although the taste wasn’t very good, Shen Junyu would definitely appreciate his wife’s intention and ate the late-night snack all up.

And such days continued for about half a month.

On a weekend morning, after Shen Qinglan got up early and fed her son, she handed him over to Chu Yunrong and then left the house.

"Qinglan, why have you brought me here?" Wen Xiyao looked at the styling center in front of her, asking in confusion.

"You’ll know soon," Shen Qinglan said teasingly.

"Is it some event that requires dressing up so grandly?" Wen Xiyao observed Shen Qinglan who had changed into a gown, the confusion in her eyes deepening.

Shen Qinglan smiled without a word, seated Wen Xiyao in a chair, and told the makeup artist, "Start, please."

The makeup artist nodded with a smile and began to apply makeup on Wen Xiyao’s face, eventually styling her hair into a beautiful updo.

"Qinglan, what on earth are you plotting?"

"Sister-in-law, don’t ask anything, I won’t tell you anyway. You’ll find out when you get there. Go change your clothes first," Shen Qinglan pushed Wen Xiyao into the dressing room.

Wen Xiyao, looking at the clothes inside, was momentarily stunned, "Qinglan."

From outside, Shen Qinglan said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, hurry up and change. Otherwise, we’ll be late."

Wen Xiyao, looking at the understated yet luxurious wedding dress in front of her and covering her mouth, couldn’t react for a moment. Recalling Shen Qinglan’s mysterious expression, she vaguely guessed what was happening.

It took a while before Wen Xiyao emerged from the dressing room. When Shen Qinglan saw her, she snapped her fingers, "OK, we need to go now, or we’ll really be late."

Sitting in the car, Wen Xiyao looked at the wedding dress she was wearing and nervously asked Shen Qinglan, "Qinglan, where is your brother?"

"Sister-in-law, haven’t you guessed already?"

Wen Xiyao covered her mouth, wanting to say something but suddenly found herself at a loss for words, remaining dazed until the car stopped in front of the church.

Shen Qinglan got out of the car and opened the door to the back seat, "Sister-in-law, please get out."

Suddenly, the church doors opened, and the sound of a wedding march started, with Shen Junyu’s figure appearing in Wen Xiyao’s line of sight.

He walked towards Wen Xiyao, each step slow yet resolute, as if it was only a moment and yet as if it had been an entire century. Wen Xiyao stared intently at the tall figure without blinking.

Shen Qinglan stepped aside for Shen Junyu, who walked up to the car, held out his hand to Wen Xiyao, "I’ve always regretted not giving you a perfect wedding. Now, I want to make up for it. I want you to think of only beautiful memories when you think of me. Will you give me the chance to marry you again?"

His voice was gentle, filled with endless affection.

Wen Xiyao looked at the large hand in front of her, seeing the distinct bones and the strong fingers. Her vision began to blur as she gently placed her hand in his, "I will."

As the music started, Shen Qinglan stood beside Fu Hengyi, watching the couple walk into the church before they too entered through a side door and took their seats.

There weren’t many people in the church, but all who should be there were present. Shen Qinglan sat below, watching the couple solemnly taking their vows, her eyes tender. Fu Hengyi noticed her gaze and spoke softly, "Let’s have a Western-style wedding too, sometime."

Shen Qinglan gave Fu Hengyi a speechless look and lowered her voice, "We are fine as we are now, we don’t need it."

Shen Junyu wanted to give Wen Xiyao a perfect, flawless wedding, hence he planned this one since there were no regrets to make up for in their previous wedding.

Fu Hengyi just smiled, saying nothing.

Yu Xiaoxuan and Han Yi were also seated below. Yu Xiaoxuan’s belly was already large, and the news of her pregnancy was known to the public; her fans sent her many blessings.

"Han Yi, when we’re eighty years old, give me a wedding too," Yu Xiaoxuan said with a smile.

Han Yi held her hand, "No need to wait until we’re eighty, I can give you one whenever you want."

"No, let’s wait until our seventieth wedding anniversary to hold another one."

Han Yi raised an eyebrow, teasing her, "By then we’ll both be old; I won’t be handsome and you won’t be pretty. What if the wedding photos don’t turn out well?"

"Being old is fine. When we’re grey and old, we can reminisce in the church about the storms we weathered together. Just thinking about it feels romantic. This is what it means to grow old together," Yu Xiaoxuan said with anticipation in her voice.

Han Yi doted on her with a smile, "Alright, come our seventieth wedding anniversary, I’ll throw you a grand wedding."

"When did you start planning this wedding?" Wen Xiyao softly asked Shen Junyu after the ceremony.

"It’s been a month, but I only really started putting things together in the past half month." Every detail of this wedding was personally designed and arranged by Shen Junyu.

"So you’ve been busy with this for the past half month?"

"Yes," Shen Junyu nodded, "I wanted to surprise you so I didn’t tell you. Although it’s not as grand, I personally arranged everything here. Do you like it?"

Wen Xiyao nodded vigorously, "I like it, I really like it. Thank you, Shen Junyu, for adding another splendid memory to our lives."

Shen Junyu looked at the sparkle in Wen Xiyao’s eyes and gently stroked her cheek, "Silly girl, are you moved by this? I want to replace all the unhappy memories in your mind with joyful ones."

Wen Xiyao’s tears finally couldn’t be held back after Shen Junyu’s heartfelt declaration. He smiled as he wiped her tears away, "If you cry any more, you’ll become the world’s ugliest bride."

"Can’t you say something nicer?" Wen Xiyao rolled her eyes.

"Even if you became the world’s ugliest bride, you would still be the woman in my heart, my only bride," he said, a sentence that successfully made Wen Xiyao blush.

Wen Xiyao and Shen Junyu came down and looked at her parents and brother, "Dad, Mom, brother, you all knew? Was I the only one who didn’t know?"

Wen Sixian laughed, "You’re wronging your second brother; I only found out about this last night. Junyu had only invited us to an important wedding. We thought it was a relative’s wedding in the Shen Family. We did not know until we arrived that it was your and Junyu’s."

Uncle Wen looked lovingly at his daughter, "Junyu wanted to surprise you, so he asked us to keep it a secret."

Seeing Shen Junyu, thinking of how he had silently arranged everything, Wen Xiyao felt a wave of emotion.

"Sister-in-law, are you happy?" Shen Qinglan asked Wen Xiyao while they were changing clothes.

Wen Xiyao nodded, "Happy, Qinglan, this is the happiest moment of my twenty-eight years of life, bar none."

Shen Qinglan looked at the serious expression in the reflection of Wen Xiyao, "Seeing you and my brother happy makes me really glad." She didn’t have many wishes, but one was hoping that her friends around her could all be happy and joyful.

In the evening, instead of going home, Shen Junyu drove Wen Xiyao to a hotel. Wen Xiyao looked out the window, "Aren’t we going home?"

Shen Junyu chuckled, "Today is our wedding night, naturally we can’t go home."

The car stopped, and Shen Junyu led Wen Xiyao to the hotel room. Standing at the door, Shen Junyu gently said, "Close your eyes."

"Is there another surprise?"

"Be good, close your eyes."

Wen Xiyao was curious about how much Shen Junyu had prepared, and obediently closed her eyes. Shen Junyu took Wen Xiyao’s hand and walked into the room, reminding her occasionally to watch her step to prevent her from tripping.

"Alright, open your eyes now."

Wen Xiyao opened her eyes to find the room filled with balloons, each different in color and shape, and each bearing a message. She let go of Shen Junyu’s hand and picked up a white balloon—[Meeting you was the most beautiful accident of my life].

She then picked up a pink balloon—[Met you at thirty, from now onward together, may we still hold each other’s hands while walking under the sunset at ninety.]

Wen Xiyao picked up balloon after balloon, each containing a romantic phrase. The handwriting on each one was familiar to her, telling her that Shen Junyu had personally prepared them. The room was filled with a light fragrance of flowers.

By the time Wen Xiyao had finished reading all the balloons, two hours had passed, and Shen Junyu had been standing quietly to one side, watching her.

Wen Xiyao walked over to Shen Junyu, lightly hugged his waist, "Shen Junyu, I think I must have done many good deeds in my past life to have met you in this one. Would it be too greedy of me to want to be with you in our next life as well?"

Shen Junyu smiled, "I allow you to be greedy."

He lifted Wen Xiyao’s chin, forcing her to look into his eyes, "Wen Xiyao, in this lifetime you are mine, and in the next, and the one after that, you are still mine. You are greedy, but I want to be even greedier than you."

"Alright, then it’s settled, we’ll be together in the next life, and the life after that too."

This night was destined to be gentle as water.

**

After Wen Xiyao’s wedding, Wen Bingchuan and his wife decided to stay in Beijing for a few days, while Wen Sixian and Wen Sihan returned to Hai City.

One day, Shen Qinglan received a call from Wen Bingchuan, "Qinglan, I want to ask where Du Honghai’s grave is, I want to visit him."

Shen Qinglan gave him the address, "We never found his body, so I just erected a gravestone for him. He’s buried alongside his wife."

"That’s enough, if Honghai knew, he would be consoled," Wen Bingchuan said softly; he had never imagined that things would turn out this way.

"Uncle Wen, do you need me to accompany you?"

"No need, I’ll go alone."

The next day, Wen Bingchuan drove by himself to the cemetery Shen Qinglan had mentioned. Halfway there, he encountered someone completely wrapped in a thick coat, wearing a hat and a mask, hurrying along with unrecognizable features.

Wen Bingchuan gave the person a glance before quickly averting his gaze, arriving at Du Honghai and Mrs. Du’s graves, "Honghai, I didn’t expect that our next meeting would be separated by life and death. I never thought you would choose to end your own life. Your decision surprised me; when I heard the news of your suicide, I couldn’t recover for a long time, and countless times during the night, I wondered, did I somehow make the wrong decision? If I had chosen to help you, could you have avoided this dead end..."

Wen Bingchuan stayed in the cemetery for a long time, talking to Du Honghai’s gravestone. Before the issues with Du Nan arose, he and Du Honghai were indeed close friends, almost like brothers, and their personal bond was very deep. But it was precisely because of an unresolved romantic involvement between their children that the two families grew apart, eventually leading to the tragedy of the Du Family.

"Honghai, now that you’re gone, rest well. I’ll take care of Du Nan for you."

Wen Bingchuan sighed. At this point, with Du Honghai’s death, all the past grievances had dissipated. The Du Family was now left with only Du Nan, and if he had realized his mistake, Wen Bingchuan didn’t want to press him further.

On the way back, Wen Bingchuan once again encountered the same person at the foot of the mountain. He was dressed the same as when they first met, only this time he held a bunch of white chrysanthemums.

The man seemed to glance at Wen Bingchuan and then head up the mountain. This time, he walked very slowly, but Wen Bingchuan didn’t notice that after he left, the man took a deep look at his retreating figure.

After leaving this place, Wen Bingchuan originally intended to visit Du Nan at the mental hospital, but halfway there, he received a call from Shen Qian, so he redirected to the Shen Family instead.

In the living room of the Shen Family, Mrs. Wen and Chu Yunrong were playing with Anan. A thick mat was placed on the floor where Anan lay, lifting his head to watch Mrs. Wen and Chu Yunrong, glanced a few times, then lowered his head to play with his wave drum.

Fang Tong had asked Shen Qinglan to paint a picture a few days ago. Shen Qinglan hadn’t started yet, but today, feeling inspired, she left her son with Chu Yunrong and went into the studio.

Now, Anan occasionally not seeing Shen Qinglan didn’t cry ceaselessly. Others could also help take care of the child, which greatly relieved Shen Qinglan.

When Shen Qinglan came out of the studio, Anan was still playing with the wave drum. Seeing his mother, he immediately dropped the drum and reached out. Shen Qinglan didn’t reach out to hold him, and Anan looked at his mother for a while. Seeing she didn’t come to hold him, his little eyebrows knitted, seemingly puzzled, but they soon smoothed out as he smiled at Shen Qinglan.

"Ah, Anan, that’s cheating, wooing your mother with your cuteness," Wen Xiyao joked as she witnessed this, laughing. Unfortunately, Anan, being young, didn’t understand the concept of wooing, and just continued to smile at Shen Qinglan.

Shen Qinglan was melted by her son’s smile and reached out to pick him up. Anan nestled into her chest, telling Shen Qinglan that he was hungry. "Mom, I’ll take Anan back first."

"Okay, go ahead."

Wen Bingchuan and Shen Qian finished catching up in the study and went to look for Shen Qinglan, only to find out she had already left.

"Dad, what did you need Qinglan for?" Wen Xiyao was curious.

Wen Bingchuan had no intention of hiding it from his daughter and shared his thoughts about releasing Du Nan. Wen Xiyao responded indifferently, "Dad, if it’s about that, you don’t need to talk to Qinglan. She won’t agree. Du Nan is now insane, completely unreasonable. It’s hard to predict what he might do."

Wen Bingchuan frowned. "Has he really become like this?"

"Dad, I know you feel guilty about Uncle Du, but we haven’t done anything wrong. I feel sorry about Uncle Du’s situation too, but regarding Du Nan, even if Qinglan agrees to let him out, I still wouldn’t agree."

After the incident with Du Honghai, Wen Xiyao had once visited Du Nan. Although she didn’t meet him face to face and Du Nan didn’t see her either, she witnessed how he cruelly killed a cat that had accidentally entered his room. She couldn’t forget the smile at the corner of Du Nan’s mouth or his sinister and terrifying eyes.

Such a person was no longer the Du Nan she knew and made Wen Xiyao worried.

It might seem selfish or cruel, but she cherished her current life and didn’t want anyone to disrupt it.

Wen Bingchuan sighed deeply upon hearing this. "Alright, let’s do as you say." If Du Nan really was a dangerous person, perhaps it was safer for him to remain confined.

"Dad, let’s take you and mom around Beijing tomorrow," Wen Xiyao changed the subject.

Wen Bingchuan waved his hand. "No need, your mom and I are leaving tomorrow."

Wen Xiyao frowned. "Leaving so soon?"

"Your mom and I have joined a tour group to Country T, which starts tomorrow. We were always busy with work when we were young and didn’t spend much time with each other. Now that we are older and still able to travel, we want to see more of the world."

"Then tomorrow, Jun Yu and I will take you to the airport."

"Okay."