Chapter One Hundred and Nine: The Garden of Flourishing Scenery

In the end, it was only because Jiang Mingzhao was being far too noisy. Song Wanning complained that he talked too much, and Wen Jingxing immediately replied in the group chat with a single word: yes.

When Jian An'an heard Song Wanning say that, she asked at once, “What do you mean Jiang Mingzhao talks too much? Didn’t he even say he didn’t have time to reply to Little Sister Shen Yue? Could you be the old friend he was talking about?”

Song Wanning shrugged and admitted without the slightest hesitation, “No. He just saw the messages in the group and realized he’d miss the time to go to Jingxing’s place, so he said he’d head to Wen Jingxing’s house instead. It was that simple.”

“Really…” Jian An'an was half convinced, half doubtful.

Just now, it had clearly been Nan Yan’s phone that kept ringing. How could Jiang Mingzhao have been the one going to Wen Jingxing’s place?

Could they have some private contact after all?

And yet, none of the other three phones had rung.

Even though Jian An'an was suspicious, every word Song Wanning had said was true.

So she had no grounds to question it.

The car drove through the city center for a long time, until it passed the bustling streets and drew closer and closer to the mountains and woods.

Jian An'an asked curiously, “How much longer until we get there, Director? We’ve already been driving for so long.”

Li Weiwei replied without changing expression, “We’re already here. We just haven’t reached the main building yet.”

Jian An'an looked outside. The car had only just come through a long wooded path and up a slope into the mountain, and Li Weiwei was telling her that this was already Wen Jingxing’s home?

She said in disbelief, “Really? But this is a mountain.”

“What would I lie to you for?” After saying that, Li Weiwei turned around and said no more.

That left Jian An'an alone, her expression changing again and again from shock.

How rich would someone have to be to buy an entire mountain?

The car continued all the way to the summit amid her stunned silence.

When she saw the villa ahead of her, even its gate looking luxuriously opulent, Jian An'an’s eyes slowly widened.

The villa was three stories high, its overall palette a restrained blend of white and gold, elegant yet still revealing a touch of the owner’s flamboyance.

The courtyard was also filled with flowers. Blossoms that had long since withered at the resort were still blooming here, bright and brilliant.

Just inside the gate stood a fountain several meters wide. After circling around it, the group drove all the way to the front of the villa before stopping.

The kind of overwhelmingly grand scene she had imagined, with countless servants coming out to greet them, did not appear before Jian An'an. What stood there instead was only a very elderly man with snow-white hair, dressed in a suit, and a middle-aged woman with a slightly fuller figure.

Jian An'an frowned. For a wealthy young master like Wen Jingxing, why did he keep people like this around to care for him?

At the very least, he should have found a younger handsome guy.

Wen Jingxing spoke first. “Aunt Li, there’s nothing else here. You should head down for now.”

The middle-aged woman called Aunt Li was very well-preserved, her eyes bright, every movement full of refinement.

A loving smile appeared on her face as she nodded. “Of course, Young Master. The tea and refreshments are already prepared and placed on the table in the front hall. We’ll go down first.”

Especially after her gaze swept over Song Wanning’s face, her expression grew even gentler, as though she were looking at her own daughter.

Wen Jingxing only led the group around the first floor of the villa before turning back.

That was because Song Wanning had said, “It’s so big here, and there are so many paths. It’s as complicated as a maze. Walking around is exhausting…”

She had only muttered it quietly to Nan Yan beside her, never expecting that Wen Jingxing, who was leading the way ahead, would hear it.

“I think everyone is getting tired from walking. Let’s go rest in the front hall.”

The others: ???

Still, since Wen Jingxing had already changed direction, no one said anything. The villa was so large that they had never really intended to tour every corner anyway.

Of course, Jian An'an was the exception.

After the group rested in the front hall and then left, only the cameraman and his two assistants remained.

Song Wanning stood by the window, staring blankly at the empty courtyard.

Everyone had gone.

For the first time, she felt it deeply. Since coming here, she had always been alone. Even now, she did not even have a home of her own.

She had blacklisted everyone in the Song family on the plane just now. They certainly would not let her return to live there.

And Song Wanning did not want to go back either. None of those people were truly family to her.

Even in her previous life, trapped in a nest of enemies, she had never felt such a crushing loneliness, because back then she had someone she wanted to protect—her younger brother, forever innocent, forever pure.

Just then, someone suddenly spoke, interrupting her thoughts. “Are you thinking about something again?”

Only then did she come back to herself. What had she been daydreaming about just now?

At worst, after the show ended, she could ask Wen Jingxing for a stall spot at the resort. She believed that with business bringing in so much money in a single day, she would certainly be able to buy a house and have a home of her own in the future.

With her current relationship with Wen Jingxing, he should agree, right? After all, she had absolutely nothing in her pockets—she didn’t even have a cent.

Most of the time, imagination was beautiful, while reality was cold and hard. The original owner had no cards left in hand, so Song Wanning could only rely on herself to fight for what she wanted.

After silently cheering herself on, she raised her head to look at the newcomer.

Only then did she realize it was Wen Jingxing, and he had already changed into another set of clothes, soft home wear.

Lowering her gaze, she noticed he seemed to be holding something in his hand as well.

“Jingxing.”

Song Wanning called out to him almost instinctively.

Just now, when Wen Jingxing had seen her staring out the window with such a lonely expression, he had felt a sudden ache in his own heart. Was she thinking of her family?

After all, their relationship had been very good before. Now that she could move around freely again, everyone else was going back to visit their parents, but she had said she didn’t want to.

Was she being stubborn, when in fact she really missed them?

But some time ago, Song Wanning had clearly shown that she despised the Song family. Wen Jingxing could not quite make sense of it anymore.

“You…”

“I…”

The two of them spoke at the same time again. Song Wanning smiled first. “What were you going to say? You go first.”

“I… have something to give you. I hope you like it.”

“What is it?”

Wen Jingxing extended his hand and handed her the long dark blue box in his grasp.

She took it and opened it, discovering a silver necklace inside. The pendant seemed to be a violet pearl, translucent and bright, surrounded by glittering diamonds.

Just one look was enough to tell that the necklace was extremely precious.

Song Wanning panicked. She did not dare accept too many things from Wen Jingxing without having done anything to deserve them.

Last time it had been a house. This time it was a necklace. She did not even dare imagine what might appear next time.

“No, I can’t take this.”

“You’re worried about the price?” Wen Jingxing said. “It’s not expensive. Don’t you remember the shell you picked up that time? The pearl on this pendant was taken from inside it. As for the chain, I just asked someone to put together a random one. It wasn’t expensive.”

An art piece custom-made in a rush by an international designer after Wen Jingxing called in the middle of the night to have it commissioned.

In Wen Jingxing’s mouth, it had become something worthless.

The End.