"Who is the person he truly wants to protect?"
Just as Yu Wan asked this question, the door of the private room was suddenly kicked open violently. The two big men who had been there before came in and said politely to Yu Wan, "Miss, the time is up. Please don't make things difficult for us."
Without waiting for a reply, they picked up Qin Yaoyao again and walked out.
Qin Yaoyao hardly put up any resistance. It seemed that she was already used to all this and had lost the will to fight back.
Resistance was futile.
"Sister Yu Wan, why do they listen to you?" Bai He looked at this scene in disbelief.
"They are my aunt's men." Yu Wan sighed, her eyes filled with worry. "I was only able to talk to her briefly just now because I'm related to Tan Mizong."
Yu Wan felt it was a pity.
She was so close, just a little bit closer, to finding out from Qin Yaoyao who the person Xiao Yanzhi wanted to protect was.
But she also knew in her heart that if she borrowed Qin Yaoyao again, it would surely alert her aunt.
For now, there was no need to offend the Zhou family just for Qin Yaoyao.
Yu Wan collected her thoughts, then turned to Bai He and said kindly, "Xiao He, you heard what Miss Qin said just now, right? She said your cousin has someone else he wants to protect."
Bai He nodded heavily. Of course, she heard it clearly, but she still didn't want to believe that the person her cousin loved deeply was not Sister Yu Wan.
"It seems that your cousin really has no feelings for me anymore. I won't force it anymore." Yu Wan smiled helplessly, looking quite relieved. "It seems that in the future, I'll have to fight against Shang Zewen on my own."
Hearing the bitterness in her words, Bai He immediately said seriously, "Sister Yu Wan, I can't just stand by and watch you jump into the fire pit again. Shang Zewen is a brute. He'll kill you!"
"Then what should I do? I have no way out."
"I'll think of a way..." Bai He frowned, her brain working at full speed to come up with a win - win solution, but in the end, she got nowhere.
"That day at the company, I could feel that Shang Zewen was obviously very afraid of A Yan."
Yu Wan said casually, "If I could marry A Yan, even if it's just a fake marriage, maybe it could scare off Shang Zewen."
"However, A Yan probably won't agree."
With her hint, Bai He's thoughts gradually became clear.
---
On a sunny weekend, Jiang Li and Sheng Shuocheng returned to Beicheng together.
Even though she had lived in Beicheng for more than twenty years, the moment the plane landed, Jiang Li still felt the overwhelming chill.
In Beicheng's autumn, although the weather looked clear, there was already a hint of winter in the wind.
It was even more so after getting off the plane. Jiang Li took a breath of cold air, and the chill went all the way from her throat to her lungs, making her completely awake.
"Cold?" Sheng Shuocheng saw her shrinking her neck and whispered to the front - seat passenger, Zhang Yi, "Zhang Yi, get a blanket."
Zhang Yi in the front - passenger seat immediately rummaged out a thin blanket and handed it to Jiang Li.
Jiang Li took it in surprise, unfolded it and covered her knees. For some reason, she felt very warm in her heart, with an indescribable feeling.
This kind of care from an elder without any impurities made her feel very warm.
"You can wrap it around you when you get out of the car later. The old house has been unoccupied for a long time and it's quite cold."
Jiang Li thanked him and gently held the blanket with both hands. Her fingers unconsciously played with the tassels on it.
The blanket seemed to be custom - made. It felt fluffy and of very high - end quality.
Sheng Shuocheng had been closing his eyes to rest. When he opened them and caught a glimpse of the small movement of her fingers, he couldn't help but smile.
A girl was still a girl. No matter how steady she pretended to be, she would still show some flaws at certain times.
Before coming, Jiang Li thought that the old house Sheng Shuocheng mentioned should be a luxurious villa. But unexpectedly, the car drove for a long time and finally arrived at an old residential area.
Jiang Li remembered that this was Xile Street, where Qiao Jinrun's parents lived.
"You know this place?" Sheng Shuocheng was very surprised.
Jiang Li explained that a friend's parents also lived here. Only then did Sheng Shuocheng nod and dispel the fleeting illusion in his mind.
The car drove further into Xile Street, turned into a small alley, and passed by Qiao Jinrun's parents' building. Jiang Li couldn't help but feel nostalgic.
How was Ruru now? Were Uncle Qiao and Aunt Qiao in good health? Did Doctor Qiao take time to come back and visit them?
It was a very warm and happy family.
When the car stopped, Jiang Li snapped out of her memories and looked out of the window.
It turned out that there were also independent villas in Xile Street. But they didn't look as luxurious as expected. They seemed to have been renovated and were in the style of small foreign - style buildings popular more than a decade ago.
"Mr. Sheng, we're here."
Jiang Li wrapped the blanket around her and got out of the car after Sheng Shuocheng. She stood in front of the house.
The walls of the villa were newly painted. There was a white wall around the yard, and the entrance was a black wrought - iron gate. There were cypress trees planted on both sides of the gate, and the leaves on the branches had turned golden.
There were some fallen leaves piled up at the door. When stepped on, they made a crunching sound.
When the iron gate opened, the sound of metal colliding with the iron chain gave an indescribable feeling.
"This villa was built later." Sheng Shuocheng said in a calm voice. "A Zhi lived here for a while, but the house was too dilapidated. This whole alley was demolished, and I bought this place."
Hearing this, Jiang Li suddenly remembered what Xiao Yanzhi had warned her before.
Once upon a time, Sheng Shuocheng had made all the people on a whole street disappear overnight for the sake of his deceased wife.
At that time, she thought it was a case of killing to cover up evidence. Now she realized what it really meant.
She couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Sheng Shuocheng looked back at her. "Let's go in."
Jiang Li immediately tightened her lips and quickly followed him in.
The inside of the villa looked very clean, not like a place that had been unoccupied. There wasn't even a layer of dust.
But an unoccupied house would be very deserted.
Jiang Li didn't take off the blanket. Zhang Yi walked over to turn on the heater and poured two glasses of water for them.
Jiang Li thought that there must have been a nanny cleaning here before. Today, knowing that Mr. Sheng was coming back, the nanny had specially left the house empty.
Otherwise, there wouldn't have been no helper at all.
Sheng Shuocheng sat on the sofa, leaned back, and sank into it. He raised his hand to rub his temples. "It's been a while since I last came back."
Jiang Li didn't say a word. Her eyes scanned the house, trying to find traces of the former mistress.
"Don't look. A Zhi never lived here."
As if he could hear what was on her mind, Sheng Shuocheng suddenly said, "This is the old site where she lived. This is the house I built for her."
He had built a house specifically for her.
Hearing this, Jiang Li felt extremely shocked in her heart.
"I thought if she came back, she would like this place. Everything was decorated according to her favorite style."
Sheng Shuocheng said in a calm tone, "If she liked it, maybe she would be willing to stay with me here for a while longer."