Chapter 185: Mother's Maternal Family

Jiang Xiuxiu also followed Song Wanning's gaze and saw a tall, handsome man in a tailored suit stepping out of a car.

As soon as Wen Jingxing entered the restaurant, his gaze locked precisely onto Song Wanning, and he quickly walked over to her. "A-Ning," he called out softly.

Song Wanning stood up to meet him. "Jingxing, didn't you say you had to work overtime tonight? Why are you here already?"

"I finished my work early and figured the timing was about right to come pick you up. And this is...?" Wen Jingxing shifted his gaze to Jiang Xiuxiu.

Song Wanning explained, "She's the resident singer we met at the bar last time. She has a great voice, and I happen to want to bring some fresh talent into the company."

The talent she was bringing into the company was hardly limited to Jiang Xiuxiu alone.

According to the plot of the novel, Jian An'an originated from the entertainment industry, and she herself was a character with a significant amount of screen time. Consequently, the story inevitably touched upon events within the entertainment circle.

Naturally, this involved discovering various up-and-coming stars who were currently unknown but destined to shine brilliantly in the future.

What Song Wanning had instructed Chen Shaoyuan to do right now was to sign all these rising talents before other talent scouts could snap them up.

Looking at Wen Jingxing with bright eyes, Jiang Xiuxiu eagerly grabbed Song Wanning's hand and whispered, "Sister Wanning, is he the brother-in-law? You two look so well-matched!"

The tips of Song Wanning's ears turned slightly red as she tugged back her hand. "What brother-in-law? We aren't even married yet!"

Jiang Xiuxiu smiled. "It doesn't look far off to me."

"When did you suddenly become so nosy?"

At that moment, Wen Jingxing asked, "What are you two talking about?"

"Oh, Brother-in-law, we were just—"

Jiang Xiuxiu's remaining words were promptly muffled by Song Wanning's hand covering her mouth.

Wen Jingxing looked at Song Wanning with a playful, half-smiling expression, prompting her to quickly say, "It's getting late, Xiuxiu, you should head back now. And don't go to bars anymore in the future; it's not safe there."

Jiang Xiuxiu nodded obediently. "Okay, I promise I won't go there again."

The two parted ways there, and Song Wanning was driven back to Fanjing Gardens by Wen Jingxing.

Day twenty-three.

Today, when Song Wanning and Wen Jingxing arrived at Jingtai Residential Area together, they were immediately surrounded by a crowd of neighborhood children.

With so many kids around, simply playing a game with them would quickly fulfill the required number of times, but figuring out how to become the king of the neighborhood kids and win everyone's approval required a certain opportunity.

Just like Xu Heqian right now. Ever since the chess game began, his tightly furrowed brows had not relaxed for a single moment.

This chess match was, after all, the honor battle of his life as the children's king of the neighborhood! Therefore, he made every single move with extreme caution.

However, Wen Jingxing was not in a hurry, nor did he rush Xu Heqian.

It wasn't until noon that their chess game finally neared its end. Many of the children had already gone home for lunch, though a few still lingered to watch the outcome.

Just as the chessboard was about to be filled with pieces, an adult from the Xu family suddenly rushed over. The man grabbed the back collar of Xu Heqian's shirt, preparing to drag him away.

Xu Heqian was hoisted into the air by the man like a little chick.

He shouted loudly, "Dad! Put me down, I can walk by myself!"

"What time do you think it is, and you're still not back for lunch?" the man asked in a very stern tone.

"I'm in the middle of a high-stakes match, the game isn't finished yet... Wait a minute!" Xu Heqian twisted his head around and yelled at Wen Jingxing, "Creepy Uncle, this game doesn't count, we'll finish it this afternoon!"

Wen Jingxing smiled calmly. "No need, let's call today's match a draw."

Hearing Wen Jingxing's voice, the man finally turned around and looked over. "Young Master Wen, why on earth are you here playing with my kid...?"

Xu Lang looked at Young Master Wen with a peculiar expression. But the moment his gaze brushed past Song Wanning standing beside him, the words froze in his throat, and his grip on his son loosened completely.

Fortunately, Xu Heqian managed to steady himself just in time to avoid falling flat on his face. "Dad, how could you do that?!"

Xu Heqian protested, but Xu Lang's mind was now completely blank. *Song Wanning? Goodness, she looks so much like my younger sister, they could be cut from the exact same mold.*

Lifting her gaze, Song Wanning found it rather odd to see Xu Lang staring at her in such a daze.

Wen Jingxing, however, understood the situation completely and explained to her, "He is your uncle. You met him when you were little."

"Oh... Is that so? I forgot."

Song Wanning's smile faltered for a moment. The instant she laid eyes on Xu Lang, a dull ache suddenly flared up in her head, though it was quite tolerable.

She felt the person before her was vaguely familiar, yet she couldn't quite remember where she had seen him.

After a long period of stunned silence, Xu Lang finally spoke, "It's just as well that you're here. Tell your father to stop wasting his effort trying to find me. The Xu family will not get involved in the affairs of the Song family."

Enduring the lingering ache in her head, Song Wanning replied, "He is no longer my father. Whatever he wants to do is none of my concern."

Xu Lang looked noticeably surprised. "Then you're no longer living at the Song residence?"

He had always disliked that selfish wretch Song Zijiang, yet his foolish sister had been utterly bewitched by the man and followed him wholeheartedly. Not only did she fail to enjoy a single day of happiness, but she had also passed away prematurely from illness.

Recently, he had heard rumors that the Song family had gone bankrupt, a piece of news that actually brought Xu Lang a certain degree of satisfaction. Later on, Song Zijiang had borrowed money from everywhere to cover his debts, and had even tried hitting up Xu Lang for a loan.

Naturally, Xu Lang had flatly refused.

Song Zijiang had then used Song Wanning as leverage, claiming that if he ran out of money, Song Wanning would be forced to suffer. After all, she was the biological daughter of Xu Lang's own sister, and how could he, as a brother-in-law, turn a blind eye to her plight?

Xu Lang had indeed felt a twinge of pity and considered helping Song Zijiang. But as Song Zijiang's harassment continued, Xu Lang grew thoroughly annoyed. Just around that time, he happened to catch trending searches online regarding Song Wanning, which made it seem like his young niece was living a carefree life after all.

Consequently, Xu Lang had simply blocked Song Zijiang on all platforms.

Who would have thought that today he would hear Song Wanning herself state that she had nothing more to do with Song Zijiang?

That shameless scoundrel Song Zijiang had actually used Song Wanning as a mere excuse to scam him out of money.

In truth, Xu Lang wasn't particularly fond of Song Wanning either, largely due to hating the father through his resentment of the son—or rather, hating Song Zijiang. Yet ironically, the original owner of the body had always been terrified of him.

When Xu Xiangling died, Xu Lang had wanted to take Song Wanning in and raise her in the Xu household, but Song Zijiang had spun some sort of nonsense to coax Song Wanning into refusing. Furthermore, the girl would burst into tears the moment she laid eyes on him. Having no other choice, Xu Lang had simply avoided them both.

Yet he hadn't reckoned on Song Zijiang being shameless enough to drag Song Wanning along to visit the Xu residence year after year.

Song Wanning nodded, implicitly confirming Xu Lang's assumption.

Xu Lang asked again, "Then where are you living now? Don't tell me that man with the surname Song has left you out on the street?"

Song Wanning thought about it. Although she was currently staying at the Wen family estate, it was strictly because of the variety show. Once the recording ended, she would undoubtedly have to leave Fanjing Gardens.

That meant she would indeed be left without a place to stay.

While she still owned that small cabin by the resort, Song Zijiang had never truly cared whether she lived or died.

Therefore, she nodded frankly and acknowledged it without hesitation.

"You wait right here! Where is that bastard right now? I'm going over to settle accounts with him immediately!"

Judging by his tone, did Xu Lang mean to exact revenge on her behalf?