CHAPTER 340: CHAPTER 328: A MAN’S HEARTACHE ALSO SHEDS TEARS

Previously, the two of them had always ordered food from outside restaurants. Neither Xiao Liu nor Ji Wei was good at cooking, but today Ji Wei suddenly said she wanted mushroom soup and asked Xiao Liu to make it. After Xiao Liu painstakingly made the soup, Ji Wei took a sip, threw the spoon, and cursed her as useless, saying that even the soup tasted terrible.

Xiao Liu held back her feelings and called a restaurant to order some soup. When she brought it to Ji Wei, she accidentally scalded her. Ji Wei, already furious, became even angrier and smashed quite a few things.

"Be more careful in the future." Looking at her red, swollen hand, Ji Wei stopped smashing things but her anger was unabated: "Do you know how expensive the insurance on my hand is? How can you be so clumsy in doing everything?"

"You came over to take the bowl. I didn’t expect you couldn’t hold it steadily." Xiao Liu wiped her tears from the corners of her eyes, feeling both wronged and resentful, yet unable to do anything.

Ji Wei was becoming increasingly hard to please. If not for the past favors she owed, she would have wanted to leave right now.

Seeing the tears on her face, Ji Wei’s tone softened: "Forget it, clean up and go to sleep." She said while taking out a card from her bag: "It’s been a while since you sent money home, hasn’t it? Here’s fifty thousand yuan, send it tomorrow."

Several times she wanted to call Li Qiu but held back, afraid of inadvertently revealing her whereabouts. However, she hadn’t been able to gather any news from Leng Yan, which made her extremely anxious. It had been two months now, and she often suffered from the distress of early pregnancy, feeling extremely depressed. Often she unconsciously took out her frustration on Xiao Liu.

But truth be told, she really didn’t want Xiao Liu to leave. At this moment, she didn’t want any extra complications, so she could only occasionally offer some money as compensation afterwards.

**

In T City, Li Qiu saw Leng Yan’s number displayed on her phone and sighed helplessly.

She had always loved her son deeply but never expected that her stubbornness would cause him to lose his happiness, and she regretted it immensely.

"Yan." Li Qiu’s voice was filled with deep apology: "Ji Wei still hasn’t called. Rest assured, as soon as she does, Mom will let you know."

Now she truly regretted it, but Ji Wei simply wasn’t calling.

Leng Yan hung up the phone and rubbed his temples harshly.

His people had yet to find Ji Wei, and for the sake of the Leng Family’s reputation, he couldn’t involve the police in this matter. Even Li Qiu had no leads. He truly couldn’t bear it anymore.

And then there was Wen Nuan...

Whenever he thought of this name, his heart ached. He used work to numb himself daily, leaving the company in the dead of night. The extreme loneliness he felt would repeatedly overwhelm him with such pain that it was difficult to breathe.

Many times, he intentionally created opportunities to encounter Wen Qingyan, thereby finding out things about her. He knew she was on a business trip for MT’s branch, but which city exactly was still unknown. He couldn’t exactly ask Wen Qingyan directly about Nuannuan’s whereabouts, could he?

If Wen Qingyan learned of his matters with Ji Wei, he would undoubtedly be heartbroken and resentful, making the chance of Wen Nuan returning to him even slimmer.

Nuannuan, have you truly decided not to want me anymore?

This question arose in his heart as Leng Yan clutched the two pieces of paper that looked like waste to others yet were indescribably precious to him—the "Marriage Certificate"—with two tears quietly rolling down his eyes. He wiped them gently, suddenly wanting to have a good cry.

From an early age, he adhered to the principle that a man doesn’t easily shed tears. Even when someone insulted him as a fatherless bastard, he would get into a fight with them, but never would he shed a tear.

It was because once, he returned home, cried to Li Qiu that someone had insulted him, and fell asleep crying—only to see Li Qiu’s swollen eyes the next day...

Since then, he buried his tears deep inside. Only today, due to the woman he loved, did he shed tears again.

In his memories of that time, aside from Li Qiu, Ji Wei treated him the best. The once kind girl brought many beautiful memories to their single-parent family. Because of this, he used to treat Ji Wei with utmost care...

Ha!

Leng Yan let out a bitter laugh. She left three years ago and now she’s back. He thought he had regained happiness, but then the one he loved deeply, and who loved him back, Nuannuan, left him...

Nuannuan... Leng Yan murmured as a sharp pain twisted in his stomach again.

**

"Nuannuan, what should we make for dinner tonight?" Tan Qing pulled Wen Nuan towards the supermarket as soon as they got off work and, seeing some fresh sea bass, suggested, "How about steaming some sea bass? I’m leaving tomorrow, consider it a farewell dinner for me."

It had been three days since he’d come, and the matters in E City were settled yesterday, yet Tan Qing still lingered, unwilling to leave. Having dinner at Wen Nuan’s place became an essential "ritual" for him each night.

"Sure, you pick the fish and have the attendant clean it. I’ll go grab some soy sauce for steaming fish." Seeing Tan Qing eyeing the fish with his mouth almost watering, Wen Nuan couldn’t help but laugh: "Wipe your drool first, but don’t get your hopes too high for tonight’s dish."

She knew Tan Qing loved fish, especially when it was steamed. But honestly speaking, she had only ever seen Sister Ping make it and had never tried it herself. It seemed like she’d have to look up the recipe online once back home.

Because it was Friday, the weekend was approaching, and the supermarket was much more crowded than usual, Wen Nuan smiled serenely. Actually, this was nice too; blending into the crowd often helped mask a lot of loneliness.

Approaching the soy sauce shelf, a flash of dark blue suddenly flickered before her eyes, catching her attention.

Short-haired Ji Wei?

A pair of dark blue sunglasses covered most of her face, and her dress was a casual dark blue, loosely belted in the middle with a light brown wide belt, white flat sandals on her feet. The minimalist attire, coupled with her lively short hair, made her look particularly clean. On her fair neck was a small peony tattoo, done in ink colors, very fitting to her aura.

At that moment, she was turned sideways, reaching for something. Wen Nuan’s lips curved into a slight smile. No wonder she left such an impression on colleagues, leading them to give her the apt nickname "Short-haired Ji Wei."

Indeed, they were very similar!

If not for her short hair and the tattoo on her neck, she would almost believe it truly was Ji Wei.

However, almost everyone who knew Ji Wei also knew one thing: Ji Wei would never have short hair, nor would she get a tattoo. But given this supermarket’s proximity to their residential area, it seemed this "Short-haired Ji Wei" really lived close by.

Should I tell my colleagues and let them come take a look?

She laughed self-deprecatingly as she went to grab the soy sauce for steaming fish. Suddenly, someone squeezed past her, nearly knocking her over. She frowned slightly, as her assailant didn’t even apologize and walked straight to the "Short-haired Ji Wei," making the soy sauce in Wen Nuan’s hand almost slip from her grasp.

Xiao Liu!

Ji Wei’s assistant, Xiao Liu!

With Xiao Liu here, could it be that the "Short-haired Ji Wei" earlier was indeed...?