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Wen Zhihan briefly explained Wen Yu’s new situation to Shao Cixin.
Wen Yu was now under house arrest and reflecting on her mistakes behind closed doors. Wen Xingyun did not allow her to have any contact with the outside world.
Wen Zhihan felt that this was not enough. After she discussed it with her parents, they agreed to let her discipline her wrong-headed little sister and teach her to step back from the cliff’s edge to become a good person in the future.
So Wen Zhihan decided to send Wen Yu out of the city to work and begin her new life as an employed woman. This way, she could fix her temper somewhere far away from Shao Cixin’s sights.
For someone like Wen Yu, it was important not to give her too much attention. Otherwise, you would only encourage her arrogance.
Therefore, taking away everything she had and leaving her to fend for herself was the best punishment.
Wen Zhihan didn’t hesitate to tell Shao Cixin the role she played in Wen Yu’s fate.
This was just who she was. She had no mercy for anyone who possessed no sense of propriety and committed wrongful acts.
By demonstrating her values, she also wanted to let Shao Cixin understand her better.
Shao Cixin listened to Wen Zhihan while gazing down at the dark red divorce certificate in her hands. She had once hoped so much to get a marriage certificate with Wen Yu, but in the blink of an eye, she found herself looking forward to a divorce certificate instead.
Life really was too unpredictable. It played so many tricks on people.
But what Shao Cixin least expected was Wen Zhihan.
This gentle-natured older sister had shown her kindness since the beginning, and even now she was protecting her and giving her justice—along with explanations.
The Wen family truly did not prioritize their family members over all else.
Raising her eyes, Shao Cixin looked at Wen Zhihan and whispered softly, “Thank you.”
She couldn’t remember how many times she had told Wen Zhihan “Thank you,” but she really wanted to say these two words from the bottom of her heart.
Thousands and thousands of words, all written with the characters for “thank you.”
Wen Zhihan said gently, “You’re always thanking me.”
“Because, right now, I only want to say those two words to you.” Shao Cixin smiled, “Unless…You wait for me to get better, and I’ll show my thanks with my actions?”
“Actions?”
“Yeah.”
“For example?”
“Invite you out to eat, buy you gifts, and so on…”
“That’s it?”
“I can only think of these examples right now. If you feel like it’s not enough, I’ll think of something else. But no matter what I come up with, I can only do it after I get better. Unless you want me to get out of bed wrapped in my bandages and go out to eat with you right now?”
Wen Zhihan chuckled. Her fingertips twitched, wanting to caress Shao Cixin’s face like a close lover. But she couldn’t. In the end, she restrained herself and put her hand on Shao Cixin’s head instead, stroking it gently.
“Of course not. I hope our Cixin will get better soon so that she can do whatever she wants and go wherever she wants.”
In reality, whether it be eating together or giving gifts, it was acceptable as long as it was Shao Cixin. If it was just the two of them, and if the gift was handpicked by Shao Cixin, what was not good about that?
People couldn’t be too greedy. The relationship between herself and Shao Cixin needed to progress slowly.
When Shao Cixin heard Wen Zhihan’s response, she couldn’t help but raise her hand to grab Wen Zhihan’s sleeve and look at her expectantly.
“Jiejie, when I was in a coma, you told me that you would help me chase my dream again when I woke up. Were you telling the truth? Do you think I can go back to acting?”
Wen Zhihan saw the light of desire in Shao Cixin’s eyes.
She gently took Shao Cixin’s slender fingers and quietly clasped their hands together. As she attempted to convey a sense of security and trust into their palms, she asked with gentle eyes, “Why can’t you? As long as you want to, every minute and every second is a good time for you to set sail again.”
Shao Cixin’s eyes widened, and she smiled brightly, as bright as a flower.
Wen Zhihan was right. It was never too late to pursue your dreams.
Her opinion of Wen Zhihan became even better.
If Wen Yu could start a feud with such a good person, it must be because of her problems, not Wen Zhihan’s!
Everything that happened to her today, it was all deserved!
Shao Cixin was relieved and turned to look at the clear sky outside the window.
At this moment, the world seemed particularly bright and brilliant.
Then she lowered her gaze, and her smile froze.
Wait! When did their fingers intertwine?!
She remembered that she was the one who took the initiative to grab Wen Zhihan’s hand, and then she began talking to Wen Zhihan without paying attention to anything else.
She thought about it again, and she was shocked.
—Help, I’m not the one who dishonestly did it, right? Wen Zhihan won’t think I’m a vagrant, right?!
She felt embarrassed and raised her eyes to look out the window again, then pretended to be nonchalant as she released Wen Zhihan’s hand little by little.
As long as she covered it up well, the embarrassment wouldn’t catch up with either of them!
Wen Zhihan watched Shao Cixin let go of her hand, her movement filled with unconcealed embarrassment as if she didn’t realize it was Wen Zhihan who initiated it at all.
“The weather is really nice today.” Shao Cixin changed the subject with a serious expression.
“En, it’s very nice,” Wen Zhihan responded gently, as if nothing had happened.
Shao Cixin began to walk.
She hadn’t used her legs for a long time, and if they didn’t hurt whenever she pulled them, she would’ve believed she’d been amputated.
The doctor said that from now on she could increase the amount of time she spent out of bed, begin doing rehabilitation training, and slowly recover her body step by step. Afterward, she could finally leave the hospital.
Although that day was still far away, Shao Cixin felt reinvigorated now that she had a goal.
Accompanied by her parents or the hospital staff, she would actively carry out the rehabilitation therapy every day.
Wen Xingyun and his wife would also occasionally visit her.
But the person from the Wen family who visited the most was Wen Zhihan.
Shao Cixin didn’t put much thought into it.
Wen Zhihan was a good person, and it was possible that she felt guilty for her own sister’s actions. Plus, Shao Cixin had just encountered a truly tragic car accident, and she appeared quite pitiful. So, as a result, Wen Zhihan always visited her and treated her with kindness.
Shao Cixin thought, This is the herald of empathy and justice, Wen Zhihan!
Wen Zhihan visited again. She didn’t work on the weekends, so she came to accompany Shao Cixin for her rehabilitation training.
Shao Cixin leaned on Wen Zhihan and moved slowly in the large ward.
Whenever she accidentally pulled a wound, her expression shifted, but she didn’t complain about the pain and focused on carrying out her rehabilitation.
She couldn’t be lazy. She still needed to go out and explore the world, and she still wanted to be able to run and jump!
Wen Zhihan always paid attention to Shao Cixin’s footsteps in fear that something unexpected would happen.
As soon as Shao Cixin raised her gaze, she saw Wen Zhihan’s lowered eyes, which were completely focused on her.
She couldn’t help but feel startled.
This was the first time she saw Wen Zhihan so up close.
She saw the high bridge of her nose, the blue eyes that glowed like gems, and the skin that looked like it could be affected by a single blow. Wen Zhihan’s side profile was smooth, delicate, and flawless.
So beautiful, Shao Cixin sighed in her heart.
She had always liked beautiful things, along with beautiful people. If she were asked to rank everyone’s appearances, she would definitely rank Wen Zhihan number one.
Wen Yu couldn’t even compare.
Although Wen Yu was also very beautiful, she was still not as beautiful as Wen Zhihan. Yet not only was Wen Zhihan better than Wen Yu in appearance, but she also possessed extraordinary benevolence along with a mature and steady temperament.
Wen Zhihan was a well-deserved big beauty!
When Wen Zhihan looked up, she found Shao Cixin staring at her.
She parted her lips and asked, “What are you looking at?”
The words fell softly into Shao Cixin’s ear.
Then Wen Zhihan saw Shao Cixin slowly curve her charming peach blossom eyes. “Jiejie, you are so beautiful, more beautiful than anyone else I’ve ever seen.”
The person hidden in her heart was right next to her, and she suddenly complimented her with a dazzling smile. Wen Zhihan instantly became flustered. The tips of her crystal-white ears were quickly dyed red.
After high school, she had never heard Shao Cixin praise her so excessively.
Shao Cixin was surprised when she saw Wen Zhihan’s ears turn red.
Wow, wow, look at this, she even blushed after a single compliment about her good looks! So it turns out our President Wen is so pure?!
It was too cute!
“Your ears are red,” Shao Cixin joked. She even raised her finger to point.
Wen Zhihan looked away. She controlled her emotions and changed the topic with embarrassment, “Watch where you’re going.”
She actually wanted to change the topic.
Shao Cixin felt like she discovered a new world, and her smile grew even wider. “President Wen, you are so cute. Cute and beautiful~”
Wen Zhihan was silent for a brief moment, but then she resigned herself to her fate. She didn’t plan on hiding her reactions anymore.
Why hide from Shao Cixin?
After all, shouldn’t she work harder to accept Shao Cixin’s compliments and give her the impression that she, Wen Zhihan, was worthy of being liked?
So she looked directly into Shao Cixin’s eyes, smiled helplessly, and said fondly, “Our Cixin is also very cute and beautiful.”
Shao Cixin was shocked that Wen Zhihan teased her back. Then she raised her eyebrows and said with a smile, “That’s right, I’m also very cute and beautiful.”
“We’re both cute and beautiful!”
Wen Zhihan saw that Shao Cixin was so optimistic and breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though Shao Cixin could only stay in the hospital right now, her soul and mind were still free and untethered, and she acted happier than she did when she was still married to Wen Yu.
This was enough.
Wen Zhihan was already very fulfilled knowing that Shao Cixin hadn’t been beaten down by the car accident and could still live a bright life.
“Cixin,” Wen Zhihan said softly, “I’ve already asked some of the directors who worked with you in the past, and they all said that as long as you wanted to come back, they would still be willing to work with you.”
When her favorite topic was brought up, Shao Cixin immediately stopped, raised her eyes, and looked over at Wen Zhihan.
“You asked?” she said. “Did they really say that?”
Wen Zhihan nodded firmly.
Shao Cixin was over the moon. Then she calmed down and confirmed again with a hint of hesitation, “They really said that?
“You didn’t spend money to buy them off, right?”
She got married, had a car accident, and was hospitalized. If you add all these factors together, she’d already been out of the industry for over two years.
This period of time was enough to cultivate several upcoming talents. Which director would really wait for her, a person who didn’t turn in any new developments?
Shao Cixin was already prepared to work a long time for her comeback…
Seeing her lack of confidence, Wen Zhihan couldn’t help but smile and raised her fingers to help Shao Cixin pull up her hair. “Our Cixin really doesn’t believe me?
“These words came straight out of the directors’ mouths. I didn’t spend half a penny.”
“They thought you had a lot of potential in the industry, expressed regret about your retirement, and were very happy to hear that you might be coming back.”
Hearing this, Shao Cixin became happy again.
She didn’t anticipate these directors to have such high expectations for her.
She, Shao Cixin, wasn’t too bad after all!
Wen Zhihan couldn’t help but ask, “Cixin, why did you stop acting in the first place?”
She vividly remembered how much Shao Cixin loved acting, so why did Shao Cixin quit the industry just because she got married? After all, it wasn’t like marriage hindered her ability to perform.
Shao Cixin turned around and began walking slowly again. She said casually, “It was my choice.
“Wen Yu didn’t want a partner who was in this industry, and our Shao family needed Guanglan’s help. I didn’t want to ruin our arrangement because of my career, so I chose to quit acting and marry her.
“Fortunately, my decision really helped my dad. Otherwise, I would seriously regret it.”
A marriage built on wish fulfillment was already unfortunate enough. If even her initial sacrifice became meaningless, then her life would be too miserable.
She could only find joy in suffering, and she was thankful that the heavens were still kind enough to give her this one respite.
But her words made someone else feel extremely ashamed.
“I’m sorry,” Wen Zhihan said.
Her original intention in arranging this marriage was to make everyone satisfied. She wanted to give Shao Cixin happiness and help the Shao family, all in one swing. But she didn’t expect that it would involve so many conditions and even indirectly make Shao Cixin give up the career she loved so much.
It was all her fault…
Shao Cixin was puzzled. “Why are you apologizing to me? In my opinion, you’re the benefactor who saved our Shao family. I can’t even wait to thank you.”
Wen Zhihan frowned. She blamed herself even more. “But I didn’t know Wen Yu would ask such excessive demands of you.”
If she had found out earlier and realized sooner that Wen Yu didn’t like Shao Cixin, maybe none of the things that happened today would’ve happened, and Shao Cixin wouldn’t have suffered so much.
Shao Cixin gazed at Wen Zhihan. After a moment, she slowly raised her hands, opened her arms, and took the initiative to embrace Wen Zhihan for the first time.
“Jiejie, don’t blame yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “This was Wen Yu’s request, not yours. You never forced me to do anything. On the contrary, I want to thank you. At least you gave me, someone who knows nothing about business, a chance to save the Shao family.”
Her tone was optimistic.
She didn’t want to feel unhappy all the time, nor did she want to make the people around her feel unhappy all the time.
This marriage was indeed unfortunate, but at least it helped the Shao family. Besides, everything was already over. She had successfully divorced and regained her freedom. A new life was waiting for her, and she still had plenty of opportunities.
There was nothing to be unhappy about.
She gently patted Wen Zhihan’s back and comforted warmly, “Everything is getting better for me.”
“Cixin…” Wen Zhihan murmured softly.
She couldn’t have expected it. She couldn’t have expected that the person who was hurt the most could still reach out and comfort others—like a little sun.
Wen Zhihan tenderly hugged this little sun, her movements gentle and full of care.
“Your future will be better. It will be.”
—I promise.
Shao Cixin already understood Wen Zhihan’s tenderness and kindness.
She suddenly remembered those words Wen Zhihan spoke to her as she accompanied her to the hospital.
A future where she could start again, and a past so embarrassing that it made her want to curl her toes.
That’s right, the past…
Shao Cixin immediately became extremely curious about something that happened a long time ago—
In high school, did she really bother Wen Zhihan to the point where she wrote a page full of her name as retaliation?
It didn’t feel like Wen Zhihan held a grudge against her…
If she held a grudge, how could she be so good to her? Something didn’t seem right?
Shao Cixin thought to herself for a while, then she licked her lips and prepared to bring up her dark history to someone else for the first time.
She cautiously tried, “Wen Zhihan.”
“En?”
“I want to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“It’s just…did I really make you mad in high school?”
“What?”
Wen Zhihan frowned, not following Shao Cixin’s thoughts.
The two of them were still hugging each other, and she couldn’t see Shao Cixin’s expression.
Shao Cixin rested her chin on Wen Zhihan’s shoulder. Then she raised her hand and rubbed the tip of her nose in embarrassment. “You wrote down a whole page of my name.
“But I remembered that I was actually quite honest at this time, and I hadn’t committed any crimes. So why did you, a member of the Disciplinary Inspection Committee, write a whole page of my name? There’s no reason for it…”
She was genuinely confused.
And now she was doing her younger self a favor by beating the drum and expressing her old grievances.
Wen Zhihan was stunned beyond belief.
Even after going over the new information in her mind, she still couldn’t believe it, and she said hesitantly, “You thought I was writing down your name for inspection?”
Shao Cixin said confidently, “Obviously!”
Wen Zhihan: “…”
She thought it was a confession, but Shao Cixin thought it was a note going straight to the Political and Educational Affairs Office.
She really didn’t expect there to be such a communication error.
It turned out that Shao Cixin didn’t reject her at all.
Realizing this, Wen Zhihan’s mood suddenly improved, and she gained more courage.
This time, she couldn’t confess her love in such a subtle way.
But right now, her priority was to help Shao Cixin regain her health. The rest would come later.
“Let’s go.” She supported Shao Cixin. “Continue walking.”
Seeing that Wen Zhihan didn’t answer her question, Shao Cixin couldn’t help but ask, “So did you?”
Wen Zhihan smiled. “No. It’s okay if you just think I’m practicing my calligraphy.”
Shao Cixin: “?”
She was dumbfounded.
Then she said, “I think the Disciplinary Inspection Committee should be prohibited from practicing calligraphy in their disciplinary notebooks.”
Shao Cixin’s body was recovering more and more each day.
She was also getting closer and closer to Wen Zhihan every day.
The longer she got along with Wen Zhihan, the more she believed that Wen Zhihan was a gentle and kind person—with a touch of cute innocence.
She liked her very much.
Thanks to their many interactions, she gradually became desensitized to Wen Zhihan’s kindness and finally stopped being so polite to her.
Wen Zhihan often visited her.
In a way, this represented the Wen family’s feelings, and it made Shao Heng and his wife relieved.
The little sister was not good, but thankfully the older sister wasn’t the same way. Wen Zhihan could make people feel at ease.
Wen Zhihan also made Shao Cixin happy. Shao Cixin was willing to see her, and Lu Lan could safely leave the two of them alone.
There was nothing wrong with an older sister and a little sister chatting with each other, and it could even help Shao Cixin regulate her emotions.
Eventually, Lu Lan even came to care about Wen Zhihan’s social life.
After sending Wen Zhihan away, Lu Lan returned to the ward.
Shao Cixin was lying on the hospital bed, eating the apple Wen Zhihan had just peeled for her.
It was very sweet and crispy. Delicious and full of juice.
“Mom, want a bit? It’s so sweet.” Shao Cixin generously extended the apple in her hand. “I’ll cut half of it for you.”
Lu Lan pushed her hand back. “Mom doesn’t want to eat. You eat more. The doctor said you needed to eat more fruit.”
Then she looked at the apple in Shao Cixin’s hand. “Zhihan is so considerate. Does she have someone she likes?”
Shao Cixin also glanced at the apple in her hand. Then she slowly took a bite. “Ai-ya, Mom, don’t worry. Jiejie is not short of people chasing after her. If she wanted to talk about it, she would’ve talked about it a long time ago.
“You don’t know, but when I was in high school, I often saw people stopping Wen Zhihan and confessing to her when she was walking on the street.”
Lu Lan smiled and poured Shao Cixin a glass of water. “Well, of course. Wen Zhihan is so beautiful, after all.”
She put the glass of water on the table beside Shao Cixin and sat down gently to help Shao Cixin tuck the arm blanket around her legs.
Lu Lan couldn’t help but sigh softly. “I just hope she can find a good family…”
To not meet unkind people, to not live in pain, and to be happy all the time—this was what all elders hoped for their children.
“Mom…” Shao Cixin said coquettishly, “Don’t worry, she can’t have worse taste than me.”
Lu Lan frowned slightly. “Mom isn’t saying that you have bad taste in people…”
“I just do,” Shao Cixin said frankly, “This is a fact. We can’t deny it by hiding it, so let’s just say it openly. Your daughter’s mental capacity isn’t so fragile.”
Lu Lan took Shao Cixin’s hand and said seriously, “It’s not your fault, Xin Xin.
“Sometimes, you just can’t generalize a person’s behavior before they get married and after they get married. It’s impossible to ask everyone to keep their eyes open before marriage, and then blame the person who gets hurt for not seeing clearly if it goes wrong.
“This kind of mentality is wrong.
“The other person is inherently bad, so why does it have anything to do with us?”
Lu Lan’s sincere advice made sense to Shao Cixin.
She nodded obediently and said, “Okay, I understand.”
“Good girl.”
Lu Lan patted her face.
“After you finish eating the apple, we can go downstairs for a walk and get some fresh air.”
“Okay!”
There was a large lawn behind the hospital, and the vegetation was excellent.
Shao Cixin took Lu Lan’s arm and slowly walked along the path.
There was no wind or snow today. The balmy sun shined down on the earth and warmed the body. Shao Cixin raised her face to feel the sunshine and let out a comfortable sigh.
Whenever she saw familiar patients on the road, she raised her hand in greeting.
Not far away, there sat a girl named Xingxing. She had just undergone surgery and was recuperating in the hospital. Not only that, but she was also very cute and knew Shao Cixin very well.
When she saw that Shao Cixin had come down for a walk with Lu Lan, she raised her hand and greeted them warmly, “Sister Cixin, Aunt Lu!”
The mother-daughter duo saw that she was alone and walked over to chat with her.
“Where’s your brother?” Lu Lan asked.
“I’m hungry, so he went to buy me some food,” Xingxing said obediently.
Lu Lan nodded.
Xingxing turned to look at Shao Cixin and asked curiously, “I thought I saw President Wen today. Why didn’t she come down with you?”
“Oh, she came, but then she left,” Shao Cixin explained.
Xingxing said, “So that’s what happened…”
Shao Cixin saw that something was off with the other girl and asked bluntly, “What, are you looking for her or something?”
Xingxing knew that Shao Cixin realized it, so she didn’t hide the truth.
“It’s not a big deal. It’s just that my brother, he…likes President Wen.”
Shao Cixin and Lu Lan looked at each other.
“He was too embarrassed to confess, so I wanted to help him ask: Does President Wen have a boyfriend?” Xingxing continued. “Is there even a small possibility that she would be interested in meeting my brother?”
After speaking, she looked at Shao Cixin nervously.
Shao Cixin had met Xingxing’s brother, a successful and handsome man.
As for whether Wen Zhihan would be interested, she didn’t know.
But she didn’t mind asking for Xingxing, since she had nothing to do in the hospital anyway.
Shao Cixin smiled and said, “En, I’ll help you ask later.”
That weekend, Wen Zhihan came over bringing fruits for Shao Cixin.
She was peeling apples for Shao Cixin as she listened to her talk about all the interesting things she had heard while chatting with patients in the past few days, but she didn’t expect that the topic would suddenly circle around to her.
“Someone likes you,” Shao Cixin told her bluntly, “He’s a man. He has a successful career, and he’s quite handsome. He doesn’t dare confess to you, so his sister asked me to help ask if you’re interested in meeting him.”
She added, “You know what I like. If I say he’s handsome, then he’s definitely handsome.”
Wen Zhihan listened silently. Then she put the peeled apple in Shao Cixin’s hand without much of a reaction.
“No, please refuse him for me.”
Shao Cixin asked curiously, “Why?”
Wen Zhihan said calmly, “Because I don’t like men.”
Shao Cixin immediately understood, “Oh, so it turns out you also like women.”
Wen Zhihan raised her eyes and looked at her.
That’s right. Not only did she like girls, but the girl she liked was even trying to set her up with others.
Then Shao Cixin suddenly approached her and asked with eyes full of curiosity, “What kind of girl do you like? I’ll help you note them down next time.”
Wen Zhihan watched Shao Cixin quietly.
She suddenly felt confused.
Did Shao Cixin not understand any of her actions in the past few months?
Was she so dense when it came to romance?
She wanted to know the answer.
She was so curious that she wanted to open her mouth and ask.
So she did.
She said seriously, “Cixin, have you ever thought about why I come to see you so often?”
The sudden question stunned Shao Cixin for a moment. Then she carefully guessed, “You encountered troubles in the outside world, so you need a peaceful place to relax?”
Wen Zhihan: “…?”
Shao Cixin realized that she guessed wrong, so she immediately changed her answer and said passionately, “Because we’re family, and we’re as close as real sisters!”
Wen Zhihan: “…”
“You guessed wrong.”
They’d already reached this point, so there was no reason to hide it anymore.
Wen Zhihan held Shao Cixin’s gaze, her blue eyes brimming with affection. Her tone became gentle as she spoke with a quiet conviction.
“Cixin, I’ve never regarded you as my sister, and I don’t want to be your sister. Do you understand?”
An unexpected confession slipped into the air. Even a fool could understand what it meant.
Shao Cixin was stunned for a moment. She looked at Wen Zhihan blankly, then her eyes widened in astonishment.
Ah?!
The person Wen Zhihan liked, it was actually her???
The author (热到昏厥) has something to say:
Haha, didn’t expect it, did you? She confessed.
