"Sister, don't do this." He Haobo turned his head away shyly, trying to persuade the woman who was determined to take his private photos to give up.
Gu Yuning covered her mouth and giggled, her smile as bright as the warm March sun. She made a perfect impression, and several men of similar age passing by glanced at He Haobo with envy.
That's just because they don't know Gu Yuning's true colors.
"Don't move, what's wrong with taking a picture? I've noticed you have a kind of refined scoundrel vibe when you wear glasses. Chengcheng is even working as a model at our company, why don't you give it a try? Let me take your sample first, don't be shy, act like an eighteen-year-old boy!"
He Haobo hid even more, the pain of his suppressed childhood welling up again.
He wanted to ask himself what exactly had triggered Gu Yuning's sadistic desires, and he wanted to change it!
"Why are all these people heading that way? Xiao Haozi, let's go take a look." Gu Yuning, dressed in a black, form-fitting fishtail dress, still walked with a graceful sway, her speed no less than that of a man in leather shoes.
He Haobo reluctantly followed.
Ignoring everyone's gaze, Yu Wanran was wiping away tears, venting all her resentment after returning to China here, which also included a great deal of Wen Cheng's indifference towards her.
"Isn't this Xiao Ran?" Gu Yuning walked through the crowd. Yu Wanran had a typical academic look; even in a white dress, she couldn't hide the childishness on her face. But Gu Yuning possessed a vibrant maturity, a perfect blend of elegance and beauty, yet without being vulgar. She would be a stunning sight wherever she stood.
She would be even more charming if she were to carry a long pipe right now.
So captivated by Gu Yuning's charm, Yu Wanran forgot her sobs and called out through her tears, "Sister Yuning,"
Seeing that their ancestors had finally stopped, the parents, who were awkwardly at a loss for what to do, both turned to Gu Yuning for help.
Gu Yuning understood, and pulled Yu Wanran out of the crowd, "Tell your sister what happened?"
"Well, my parents want me to be with that old man, Wen Qi," Yu Wanran said, as if she had found someone to rely on, and dared to say anything.
Even the elegant Gu Yuning forgot the proper way to walk in high heels at this moment, twisted her ankle, and almost pulled Yu Wanran down with her. Fortunately, He Haobo caught her in time, although He Haobo's face showed the same surprise.
You're asking me what he means by "old man"?
"Bang!"
Wen Cheng was forcefully pressed against the door by Wen Qi. While the first floor was filled with lively music and dancing, the second floor was so quiet that only Wen Qi's heavy breathing could be heard.
"Brother Qi," Wen Cheng's shoulder ached, and her tone unconsciously carried a pleading tone.
The pressure on his shoulder gradually lessened, but Wen Qi's eyes still looked like he wanted to devour him. "Don't you like it when people nitpick at me?"
Wen Qi's voice was like the lowest note on a piano key, combined with the unique string sounds of the cello, making one's ears tingle.
Wen Cheng's ears turned red uncontrollably, but even though he was extremely shy, there were some things he had to say: "Don't even talk about picking and choosing, you can't even pick her. She's not good, and it's even more inappropriate for you to be standing there."
"Hmph," Wen Qi's chest heaved slightly, a low chuckle proclaiming his excellent mood, "Yes, my fault, I shouldn't have stood there listening to her."
"Your attitude in admitting your mistakes is so lax and unserious! And when she said that to you, you didn't even know how to talk back? You always manage to get a straight answer when you're arguing with me." Wen Cheng was clearly not satisfied with just a few words to Yu Wanran.
"I was just too lazy to talk to her. I had some drinks earlier, and the cold wind was just keeping me awake," Wen Qi would explain to Wen Cheng, hoping to cheer up his silly younger brother a little.
"Oh, um!"
Before Wen Cheng could finish speaking, Wen Qi leaned down and bit her lower lip. The cool woody scent mingled with the lemony aroma, and the only sound in the room seemed to be the faint sound of water.
"Happy birthday, Chengcheng," Wen Qi whispered in Wen Cheng's ear halfway through the kiss, and Wen Cheng's body immediately went limp again. Before Wen Cheng could calm down, Wen Qi once again took over Wen Cheng's lips and teeth.
The aroma of wine wafted from Qi Ge's mouth; it had to be admitted, this was the best birthday gift he had received today.
After recovering somewhat, Wen Cheng happily embraced him, wanting to possess everything Qi Ge had.
"What?" Yu Wanran couldn't believe her ears.
"What do you think?" Mrs. Yu was completely exasperated. She couldn't say this in public, so she could only vent outside. "President Wen wasn't waiting for you beforehand; he was sobering up! And your graduate advisor, whom you said was strict? That's President Wen's classmate! He studied economics and management in college, but abandoned business for history in graduate school—the youngest graduate advisor in your university! What do you think I called you over for? This favor isn't huge, it's all because of your cousin! I really am! Sigh!"
Madam Yu stomped her feet in anger! She kept quiet for the sake of her daughter's last bit of face. Her father was still dealing with people at the banquet, afraid that his daughter would be ridiculed for being labeled an ordinary woman.
Yu Wanran looked completely bewildered.
Gu Yuning was speechless. Aunt Yu was her mother's cousin and had indeed mentioned this to her, but she had been too busy to remember. This silly cousin of hers was still the same as when she was a child, with such poor comprehension.
"Putting everything else aside, take your cousin for example. She's not even with President Wen, so what are you getting involved in? And you're asking why Wen Cheng treats you this way, saying her brother is old! My goodness! Enough said. I've already changed your plane ticket; come over tomorrow and apologize!" Mrs. Yu was exasperated.
Yu Wanran never expected, "Professor Qi and Wen Qi are classmates?"
"Yeah, the latest game from Wen's was even based on a script outline written by Professor Qi," added He Haobo, a fanboy.
Yu Wanran was completely petrified.
The most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me has happened!
Author's Note:
Good night~
Chapter 111 The Brothers' Authority
A few tears still clung to Yu Wanran's eyes, making her look like she was about to cry but couldn't. Her nose was red, and the distress and frustration on her face had vanished, replaced by a look of utter bewilderment.
The night breeze was slightly cool, but it felt bone-chillingly cold on Yu Wanran!
Gu Yuning didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
He Haobo looked at Yu Wanran as if she were some kind of freak.
"How can there be a woman in this world as confident as you?" He Haobo couldn't help but speak the truth.
Yu Wanran sniffed, overwhelmed by desperate embarrassment and shame, almost losing her mind. She was about to burst into tears.
"Ranran, it's alright, Auntie. You don't need to worry too much. I'll talk to President Wen about this and apologize. He's not the kind of person who holds grudges," Gu Yuning reassured her, while rolling her eyes at He Haobo, who was speaking the absolute truth.
He Haobo pretended not to see it and looked away.
Actually, what Gu Yuning really meant was: she should talk to Wen Cheng about this, and whether it would turn out well or not depended on his attitude. Otherwise, given Wen Cheng's personality, well, Gu Yuning had only heard that her aunt had a simple-minded daughter, but she never imagined that she could be this simple-minded!
Gu Yuning sighed, took out a magnolia-scented tissue from her delicate black pearl pouch, and handed it to Yu Wanran. Yu Wanran sniffled deeply, and after a long pause, said, "Could I... go apologize to them now? I feel so guilty."
Gu Yuning's brow twitched. That was certainly unnecessary.
"Were you talking to President Wen just now, or was Wen Cheng there too?" Gu Yuning asked, focusing on the key questions.
Yu Wanran looked like she couldn't bear to recall it, but she still had to continue answering, "Wen Cheng was there just now, and I think he must have heard that sentence, which is why he was so angry."
Which sentence?
Yu Wanran hesitated for a moment, trying to recall something useful from her blank mind, and slowly said, "I talked to Wen Qi, and he didn't understand what I meant? He's twenty-seven years old and still doesn't have a girlfriend, why is that?"
This time, Mrs. Yu burst into tears. A hundred of her family's assets couldn't even amount to one-tenth of President Wen's! What a spendthrift!
The usually quiet courtyard was bustling with activity today.
It took Wen Cheng a while to recover before he leaned against the balcony of the room to dissipate the heat. Several buttons on his shirt were undone, revealing his fair neck and slender collarbone, which trembled slightly in the cold air.
A pair of large, well-defined hands reached out from behind, grabbed Wen Cheng's open collar without a word, and then buttoned it up one by one.
"It's hot," Wen Cheng said, looking up. Her simple complaint took on a completely different meaning when heard by Wen Qi.
"Don't flirt with them casually, there are plenty of people downstairs," Wen Qi said with a fake seriousness that made Wen Cheng grit her teeth in annoyance.
"Why didn't you mention there were many people down there when you kissed me just now?" You old beast!
Wen Qi planted a kiss on Wen Cheng's hair, "It was uncontrollable. You have to allow your boyfriend to make mistakes."
Haha, you get to decide whether it's flirting or making mistakes!
Wen Cheng was fuming, but in this quiet atmosphere, her temper subsided quickly. The balcony here didn't face the main entrance directly; it opened to the side. Not far away, a house had an entire wall covered in roses. The dark petals looked like splashes of high-end paint, and under the warm glow of the streetlights, it resembled an oil painting. Wen Cheng gazed intently at the flowers in the distance.
When he was incredibly busy, he had a wish: to find a beautiful place, buy a comfortable rocking chair, and do absolutely nothing but gaze at the distant scenery all day long. When he got tired, he would sleep, and when he woke up, he would stretch and feel relaxed and carefree.
Wen Qi held his hand tightly, and Wen Cheng squeezed it back. He didn't want to go down and deal with those boring people at all.
Just as Wen Cheng was about to say something,
"What's bulging in your pocket?" Wen Qi suddenly asked.
Wen Cheng was taken aback. He had completely forgotten about those things; he'd forgotten to take them out when he came up.
Reaching in, he pulled out more than twenty business cards, a few of which fell out. Wen Qi bent down to pick them up and examined them one by one.
"Quite a few entertainment companies, um, game companies, huh? Isn't this company in the livestock business? Why are they giving you their business cards?" Wen Qi's gaze stopped.
Wen Cheng peeked over and chuckled to herself, "They want to discuss the sustainable development of the next generation of dairy cows with me!"
The air froze for a few seconds before Wen Qi gradually came to his senses.
“Development is fine, but we still need to ask him if he can bring his family. This is a strict rule. Otherwise, you should tell him that even if he doesn't bring his family, you can't control whether his dairy farm can continue to operate.”
Wen Cheng burst out laughing.
Before he could even enjoy his moment, a hand reached out and said, "Give me the rest of your business cards; you don't need them."
Wen Cheng handed it over obediently. Indeed, he found it troublesome. At the same time, he liked the feeling of being controlled by Wen Qi. Of course, he couldn't tell Wen Qi this little thought, otherwise he would go too far!
"Wen Qi, where's my birthday present?" Wen Cheng suddenly remembered this.
Wen Qi didn't answer directly, but simply asked, "Do you want to go out?"
"I want to!" Although he was very grateful for his father's kindness, he really didn't like this kind of environment, including this kind of birthday celebration for others to see.
"Let's go then, through the side door," Wen Qi said, taking Wen Cheng's hand.
"What if Mom and Dad ask?" Wen Cheng hesitated.
"You just need to tell me if you want to go out or not," Wen Qi said earnestly.
Wen Cheng was stunned for a moment, then made up her mind. She had dared to agree to be with Wen Qi back then, so why should she be a coward now!
"Yes, Wen Qi, I want to go with you!"
When Wen Cheng said this, his eyes were shining. Normally, he seemed indifferent to most things, but this showed how seriously he took this matter.
Wen Qi responded by kissing Wen Cheng's cheek, then pulled him away from where he stood.
Filled with a strange sense of escaping, Wen Cheng's heart pounded the entire way. Even when everyone was chatting amongst themselves in the lobby, and only a few glances occasionally landed on her before quickly looking away, Wen Cheng felt a deep-seated sense that her "elopement" had been witnessed by everyone.
This feeling forced him to lower his head, unable to look people in the eye. The side door required crossing the living room to reach a small side door, and Wen Cheng was most afraid of running into his parents along the way. Several times, when he hurriedly looked up, he mistakenly thought he was seeing his parents.
Wen Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the side door.
Her heart was still pounding, and the hand she hadn't dared to hold before was now itching to do so again. Just as the curly-haired girl was about to have an idea and reach out her hand...
"Mom and Dad are in the yard, they can't see us through the side gate," Wen Yunyi's voice rang out from around the corner. Wen Cheng looked up and met Wen Yunyi's gaze directly.
The person holding Wen Yunyi's hand is Wen Cheng's future "sister-in-law".