Chapter 6: Concern

When Fan Xia arrived home after work and opened the door, she was greeted by a strong smell of cigarette smoke. Shoes were scattered in a mess at the entrance, and the living room was crowded with people, including not only Wen Lan Sheng’s parents but also the neighbors from before she moved to the orphanage. A group of women on the verge of retirement sat casually in the living room, chatting animatedly, sunflower seed shells and peanut husks littering the carpet.

Fan Xia frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly.

“Xia Xia, you’re back.” Wen Lan Sheng emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron, his eyes filled with both joy and unease upon seeing Fan Xia. “My mom insisted on being discharged early when she heard you had the day off. These neighbors found out about her injury and came to visit.”

Wen Lan Sheng fidgeted with his apron, afraid that she might be angry with him for not informing her in advance. In fact, he didn’t like this noisy environment either, but he couldn’t go against his parents and the enthusiastic old neighbors.

“Fan Xia, you should recognize these people. This is your Aunt Zhang, who even held you when you were little. And this is Aunt Zou, who lives in the building next to yours,” Xie Cen introduced familiarly, holding a spatula.

They were all old employees of the same state-owned factory. Once their tenure was up, they could be allocated unit housing. They were not only neighbors but also colleagues. However, Fan Xia’s mother held a higher position than them, so the house she was allocated was not the same type of tenement building as Wen Lan Sheng’s family, but more like the current commercial housing.

Ordinary employees had a separate courtyard, while those at the director level and above had another. That’s why Xie Cen mentioned that Aunt Zou was from the building next to hers.

Fan Xia nodded and smiled. “Of course I remember. Aunt Zou was still a technical backbone of the factory at that time.”

Being praised as a technical backbone made Aunt Zou’s heart bloom with joy. She joked, “I can’t believe you still remember me after all these years, hahaha! You look so much like your mother. Director Fan was the factory’s flower in her youth. When she married your father, who knows how many young men’s hearts were broken.”

“I heard from Ming Yue that Fan Xia now works at Shanhai Group? As the president’s assistant, no less. That’s a listed large company with many hospitals and sanatoriums under its umbrella. The salary and benefits must be better than our factory that’s about to collapse, right?” another aunt asked.

Xie Cen proudly waved his hand. “Oh, it’s not that great. The benefits are all taken care of, and the salary is just this many digits.”

Xie Cen made a humble gesture with his hand.

Everyone present widened their eyes, almost exclaiming in unison, “That much?”

A moment later, Aunt Zou took a drag of her cigarette and sighed, “Truly, the student has surpassed the teacher. I knew back then that Director Fan was one of the few college graduates in our factory, and I was certain that her daughter would not disappoint… If only Director Fan could see this with her own eyes.”

With those words, everyone present was transported back more than a decade.

Director Fan’s excellence was evident to all. Just a year after getting married, her husband Jie Ying gave her a lovely little daughter, Fan Xia, who was as fair as jade and snow.

Fan Xia had been smart and well-behaved since she was young, but unlike other girls, she wasn’t mischievous. Her grades were always excellent. Because she was pretty and had a good personality, the boys and girls in the family courtyard all liked to play with her.

Everyone knew in their hearts that if it weren’t for that incident, how could Director Fan’s child possibly look favorably upon the son of an ordinary little accountant like Wen Ming Yue’s Wen Lan Sheng?

He could only be described as clean and delicate, but his family background and education were nothing to brag about. How could he be worthy of Fan Xia?

“At that time, Director Fan was about to be promoted to deputy factory director, right? I remember the documents were already submitted. Who would have thought she’d be hit by a damned car and the driver fled the scene? By the time she was discovered, there wasn’t even a chance to save her. Jie Ying was also a devoted husband and followed Director Fan…” Aunt Zhang said with some sadness.

Wen Lan Sheng’s hands suddenly tightened, his gaze stiff.

“Oh right, Ming Yue, do you remember? At that time, everyone in our factory mobilized to help Director Fan find the fleeing driver, but there were no surveillance cameras. That road led out of the city, so it was like finding a needle in a haystack. We couldn’t find anything,” Aunt Zou said, patting Wen Ming Yue’s hand.

Wen Lan Sheng listened with a pounding heart, his face deathly pale.

Aunt Zhang said, “Old Zou, you forgot. At that time, Ming Yue was back in her hometown celebrating Jing Jing’s birthday. She wasn’t at the factory.”

“Oh, I forgot. Look at my poor memory.” Aunt Zou tapped her forehead and laughed.

Wen Ming Yue laughed heartily. “Old Zou, you’re getting senile.”

“Lan Sheng, what’s wrong?” Fan Xia walked up behind Wen Lan Sheng and spoke softly.

Wen Lan Sheng jolted, nearly dropping the cold dish in his hands. He stammered nervously, “N-nothing.”

He frantically tried to conceal his emotions, not daring to meet Fan Xia’s eyes, afraid that she would see through him. He placed the cold dish on the table and said, “Aunties, Mom, come eat. Don’t talk about those sad things from the past.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right.” The others only then remembered that Fan Xia was still there. Discussing her late parents in front of their child was indeed inappropriate. They could only use smiles to mask the awkwardness.

Although Wen Lan Sheng, both in the past and present, was not worthy of Fan Xia, during the time Fan Xia was in the orphanage, it was Wen Lan Sheng who secretly brought her food, stationery, and other things.

Fan Xia used to be so pampered. Jie Ying would prepare a variety of dishes for her every day. But after entering the orphanage, let alone meat dishes, even having enough to eat was a problem. At that time, the orphanage was very chaotically managed. Many children not only went hungry but also suffered beatings. Many couldn’t endure it and secretly ran away, preferring to wander and beg rather than return to the orphanage.

Wen Lan Sheng’s actions could be considered true affection shown in times of hardship, so it wasn’t hard to understand why Fan Xia chose him.

It was better to tear down ten temples than to destroy a marriage, especially when both parties were willing. They had no reason to say anything. They just felt it was a bit of a pity. If only Director Fan hadn’t met with misfortune.

The group sat at the table, looking at the appetizing dishes. Aunt Zou laughed and said, “These dishes were all made by Lan Sheng and your father, right? Lan Sheng is really skilled. Fan Xia is lucky!”

Wen Lan Sheng laughed in agreement, nervously pulling Fan Xia to sit down. He whispered in her ear, “I didn’t know the aunties would suddenly bring up Director Fan. Don’t be too sad.”

“It’s okay. It’s been so many years, I’ve already let it go.” Fan Xia smiled, her deep eyes glinting with an indecipherable meaning.

Hearing Fan Xia say this, Wen Lan Sheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. He laughed, “I learned a few new dishes today. Taste them and see how I did.”

“Anything you make is delicious.” Fan Xia spoke softly and gently.

“Don’t tease me. You haven’t even tasted it yet.” Wen Lan Sheng’s tone was slightly pouting. Fan Xia’s gentle words undoubtedly eased the heart he had been clenching, and he even had the mood to take a photo of the food to post on social media.

Amid the clinking of wine glasses, someone suddenly asked, “Fan Xia, you’re now the president’s assistant, staying by the side of Shanhai Group’s president. You must see the group’s upper management every day, right?”

Fan Xia took a sip of juice and said, “Yes, why?”

The person gave a meaningful look and asked mysteriously, “Then you must know a lot of inside information about the group, right?”

“Aunt Zhang, what exactly do you want to ask?” Fan Xia inquired.

Aunt Zhang clicked her tongue and said, “Just inside information about your group’s stocks, investments, and such! We ordinary small investors don’t know, but the upper management of your group must be clear. If you could just reveal a little to us, let us small investors also earn a hundred or eighty thousand.”

Fan Xia feigned slight surprise. “Aunt Zhang, you dabble in stocks?”

Aunt Zhang laughed, “A few of us, including your future mother-in-law, all do. Anyway, we’re about to retire and have nothing to do. We have some spare cash and thought that rather than letting it rot in the bank, we might as well use it to earn some tuition money for our granddaughters and ease the burden on our daughters.”

Fan Xia glanced at Wen Ming Yue casually and hesitated for a moment before saying, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, aunties. It’s just that I’ve only been at the company for a few days and really don’t know any inside information. Even if I did know, I couldn’t say anything. The company has strict rules. If I leaked it, I’d lose this job.”

Wen Lan Sheng quickly defended Fan Xia, saying, “Aunties, let’s eat. You’re all old neighbors who haven’t seen each other in a long time. Let’s just catch up and not discuss those things.”

The others also sensed that Fan Xia had no intention of revealing inside information, so they had no choice but to drop the subject.

However, throughout the entire process, Wen Ming Yue silently drank baijiu, rarely speaking.

Wen Lan Sheng picked dishes for Fan Xia while refreshing his social media feed, checking for new comments and likes. He didn’t used to like posting on social media, but ever since he got together with Fan Xia, he was no different from those house husbands immersed in family happiness, wanting to record their blissful life at all times.

Seeing that the comments section was full of people saying Wen Lan Sheng was showing off his affection and flaunting his happiness, Wen Lan Sheng smiled silently, pursing his lips.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. A familiar, glaring ID that quickly liked and then unliked a post caught his attention.

Rong Xiu put down his phone, his fingertips wreathed in smoke. The strong tobacco scent wafted up from the dim bar counter, the hazy light unable to illuminate his gloomy brows and eyes.

Chen Yu Ze laughed bluntly, “Peeping at someone else’s wife’s social media and getting caught, huh?”

Rong Xiu took a drag of his cigarette, his gaze cold and thin. He repeated the same words as yesterday, “They’re not married yet, just boyfriend and girlfriend. She’s not a wife.”

Chen Yu Ze shook his head helplessly. “Does deluding yourself make you feel better? Even if they’re not married now, they will be in a few months. You can’t just stick your foot in, right? Last night proved it. Miss Fan Xia is an upright person, devoted to her partner.”

Rong Xiu tapped the cigarette ash with his fingertips, his narrow, indifferent eyes revealing cold displeasure. “She’s unhappy.”

Chen Yu Ze was slightly stunned, baffled by his irrelevant response. “What did you say?”

Rong Xiu glanced at the photo on his phone. “She’s unhappy in the photo.”

“Huh? Really?” Chen Yu Ze picked up the phone to look at the photo and blurted out, “Fan Xia isn’t even in the photo. He’s showing off food…”

Chen Yu Ze enlarged the photo and carefully observed it. He finally discovered a pair of jade-like slender hands in the corner of the photo. Chen Yu Ze almost instantly recognized them as Fan Xia’s hands based on just a glance.

Last night’s fleeting glimpse had been stunning enough. He inadvertently caught sight of Fan Xia’s hands, which were smooth and delicate, looking as if they had been pulled out of water, fair and clean, in stark contrast to the visibly aged hands of the others in the photo.

But how could one tell Fan Xia’s current mood just from a pair of hands, without any facial expressions?

Rong Xiu’s fingertips touched the screen where Fan Xia’s hands were, his voice low. “She only makes this gesture when she’s extremely, extremely unhappy.”

It was a very subtle, almost childish action of using her thumbnail to scratch the pad of her index finger. But Rong Xiu knew that for the always gentle and composed Fan Xia, it was a rare emotional outburst.

Rong Xiu didn’t know what the Wen family had done to make the usually good-tempered Fan Xia so angry.

Moreover, he didn’t know how Wen Lan Sheng, as Fan Xia’s childhood sweetheart and lover, failed to notice her little gesture and still posted on social media with a clear conscience, flaunting his so-called happiness to satisfy his sneer-worthy pride.

Rong Xiu wanted to call her, but Chen Yu Ze stopped him, shaking his head solemnly. “Rong Xiu, you really can’t go on like this. If Fan Xia were a fickle and promiscuous person, I wouldn’t say anything. But she’s truly devoted to her fiancé. You can’t destroy her fiancé’s happiness!”

“…But she’s unhappy.” Rong Xiu’s tone was bitter.

“If she’s unhappy, it’s her fiancé’s job to comfort her, not yours. Rong Xiu, be clear about your identity!” Chen Yu Ze advised earnestly.

Rong Xiu extinguished his cigarette, his narrow eyes staring directly at Chen Yu Ze, sharp and imposing. “If Wen Lan Sheng knew, he wouldn’t be shamelessly posting on social media… Since he can’t care about Fan Xia, I’ll care for her in his place. He should thank me.”

Chen Yu Ze opened his mouth but was rendered speechless.