Chapter 157: Entrusted with a Weighty Responsibility

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Amid the bustling streets, alive with the warmth and vitality of everyday life, two conspicuously out-of-place figures suddenly appeared.

Wen Jingxing’s face, in particular, seemed untouched by the mortal world, drawing sidelong glances from passersby.

With a camera crew following behind them, they attracted even more attention.

Wherever they went, everyone turned to look.

Seeing the frequent gazes cast their way, Song Wanning began to regret suggesting that they come to the market. Now they had become the center of attention.

Wen Jingxing, however, behaved as though no one else existed. He even seemed to be enjoying himself, asking Song Wanning wherever they went what kind of vegetable or fish each stall was selling.

Of course, even she, an empress who had tasted every delicacy under heaven, encountered meats and vegetables she did not recognize.

While they were shopping, a few vendors recognized Song Wanning. Not only did they refuse to charge her for the groceries, some even tried to give her extra produce for free.

Song Wanning declined every offer.

The vendors had a hard enough time making a living. How could she simply take things without paying?

Throughout the entire trip, Song Wanning was the one returning the money, because Wen Jingxing had found an excuse to transfer the cost of all the groceries to the vendors.

When Song Wanning checked her phone, she discovered that Wen Jingxing had transferred tens of thousands to her.

“Isn’t this a little too much?”

Song Wanning glanced at the transfer on her phone, then looked uncertainly at Wen Jingxing.

“No. I’ve spent more than this before.”

Song Wanning: “…”

So what if you were rich?

In the end, Song Wanning gave him a taste of how ordinary people shopped.

At first, she knew little about modern payment methods or the way people bought things. But after walking around for a while, she quickly learned by listening to the conversations of other shoppers and soon purchased a whole basket of vegetables and meat.

Afterward, she even showed off to Wen Jingxing.

“Look! All this only cost two hundred!”

Wen Jingxing watched her with amusement as she basked in her small triumph.

“Mmm. Ning is the most capable of all.”

His sudden praise made Song Wanning blush with embarrassment. She called out to Chen Shaoyuan, “Let’s hurry home. Jingxing must be hungry!”

Watching the woman retreat in flustered embarrassment, Wen Jingxing felt excellent and quickly followed after her.

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When Song Wanning returned home, she saw Aunt Li trimming flowers in the garden. Aunt Li raised her head and glanced at the increasingly fierce sun.

“Aunt Li, it’s too sunny outside. Come back and trim them this evening.”

The moment Aunt Li saw Song Wanning, her face lit up with delight. She had not seen the girl all day and had found herself missing her.

“Wanning, you and the young master are back? Have you eaten? If not, I’ll go cook something. Oh dear, look at my memory—it’s nearly three o’clock already. How could you two possibly still not have eaten…”

As she pulled Song Wanning along by the hand and chattered to herself, Aunt Li led her into the villa’s living room, leaving Wen Jingxing behind.

Wen Jingxing was quite pleased. Aunt Li had been with the Wen family since she was young. Later, after the Flourishing Scenery Gardens estate was completed, she had insisted on coming to look after him.

To him, Aunt Li was no different from an elder of the family.

Seeing that the people close to him also liked Song Wanning made him immensely happy.

Song Wanning said to Aunt Li, “I’ve already eaten, but Jingxing hasn’t. I bought some groceries, so I’ll cook for him in a little while.”

“In that case, I’ll help you.”

Before long, several home-cooked dishes, each pleasing to the eye, fragrant, and delicious, were brought to the table.

Perhaps Wen Jingxing had been hungry for too long. He ate in large mouthfuls.

Seeing how heartily he was eating, Aunt Li said to Song Wanning, who was standing beside her at the kitchen door, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen the young master eat so much.”

“Really?”

Song Wanning felt that the three dishes she had prepared were not particularly large portions. For an adult, they were just the right amount.

But Aunt Li said, “The young master doesn’t like eating.”

Song Wanning raised an eyebrow. The way Aunt Li said it made Wen Jingxing sound like a child.

“But when I ate with him before, he ate about this much.”

Aunt Li shook her head and led Song Wanning out through the kitchen’s back door.

The back door was made of wood. Beyond it stretched a long corridor covered in vines, all of them blooming with red flowers. They looked extremely similar to roses, though their color was even more vivid and delicate.

Aunt Li led her all the way to a small garden before stopping.

Song Wanning noticed that Aunt Li seemed to have touched upon a painful memory. Her expression had grown deeply melancholy.

“Wanning, the young master isn’t actually as cheerful as he appears on the surface.”

Song Wanning’s pupils contracted slightly.

That was true.

In the novel, Wen Jingxing had been extremely withdrawn. He spoke little, rarely smiled, and disliked engaging with anyone for long.

His thoughts were so deep that no one could ever tell what he was thinking.

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Yet after getting to know him herself, Song Wanning had discovered that Wen Jingxing was not sharp-tongued at all. He could even praise people.

He smiled, too—often. He had even laughed openly and cheerfully.

He was just like a normal person, nothing like the frightening figure described in the novel. Could Aunt Li be about to reveal some secret that no one else knew?!

Song Wanning kept her expression calm, pretending not to care, while inwardly she could hardly contain her wild curiosity.

“Is that so? But he seems to smile quite often. Are all those smiles fake?”

Song Wanning voiced the question that had been troubling her.

“Auntie can tell that every one of the young master’s smiles is sincere. That’s precisely why I wanted to speak with you. When you have nothing else to do, spend more time with him. He really likes being with you.”

Aunt Li spoke to Song Wanning with great earnestness, leaving her no chance to refuse.

“I know you’re a good girl, Wanning. Auntie has no other wish. I only hope that you and he can stay together in peace and safety. If that happens, I’ll be content.”

Song Wanning neither agreed nor refused.

Instead, she asked, “Then what does this have to do with him not liking to eat?”

Aunt Li said, “Actually, there was something I didn’t finish telling you last time.”

“What?”

“When Jingxing was little, he was especially close to another child. Later, for some reason, the two of them could no longer stay together. They continued corresponding by letter, though. But one day, Jingxing said that the other child had written to him and that he was going out to collect the letter. When he came home that day, Auntie saw how heartbroken he was. After that, Jingxing stopped smiling so much, and his appetite became poor as well.”

“I think that must be the knot in his heart. That’s why I’m happy whenever I see him with you, and why I want you to spend more time with him.”

Hearing Aunt Li mention the letters reminded Song Wanning of how Wen Jingxing had once spoken to her about them.

He had said that she had sent him a letter long ago. Could she have been the childhood companion with whom Wen Jingxing had once been so close?

Song Wanning had entertained that bold possibility before.

But she quickly rejected it herself.

If the original owner had truly been the person who had played so happily with Wen Jingxing as a child, then why had she come to hate him?

End of Chapter