She could hardly believe her eyes, had she not seen it herself.
The patriarch of the powerful Xiao family standing before her looked exactly like the man who had once kidnapped her!
Wen Tingxue would never forget that day.
She stood alone in the pouring rain, facing the man who had abducted her, and said,
"You want me, so there's no need to keep them. I'll go with you."
The man tilted his head. "Do you think you're in a position to negotiate with us?"
"And another thing," the man said, his gaze penetrating, "Stop with the thoughts, young lady. Let them call the police? Am I that stupid?"
The man took a drag from his cigarette. "When it's all over, they'll leave. You might not."
"Hello?"
Wen Tingxue frowned, a hint of hesitation in her expression.
The next moment, Han Xianyun and Xie Jinyi emerged from the small courtyard.
"What's going on here?"
Han Xianyun spoke calmly, but his dangerous gaze was fixed on Xiao Zhen.
Xiao Zhen smiled innocently. "I was about to ask the same thing, Fourth Master. Has your sister taken a liking to me? She's been staring at me ever since I arrived."
He turned his head, and Xie Jinyi, who had been watching with amusement, immediately darkened her expression.
Wen Tingxue caught the shift in her mood, her curiosity piqued even further.
Even Xie Jinyi had never met him.
The news reports never showed his face either.
So mysterious, was he hiding something, or was it an absurd coincidence?
"What? Are you looking for a replacement?"
Han Xianyun teased Wen Tingxue.
Wen Tingxue shrugged nonchalantly and said, "How could that be? It's just that Mr. Xiao looks very much like a friend."
Han Xianyun: "How much?"
"Very much so, almost identical."
"Oh?"
Perhaps thinking it was a coincidence.
Everyone around them looked over, chattering and asking questions.
Even Xiao Zhen himself smiled and said, "Such a coincidence. Miss Wen, would you care to reveal his name?"
"He..."
It's over.
They had sent Xiao Zhen's own brother to jail.
The feud was immense.
No wonder he had been looking at her with such scrutiny earlier.
"Don't worry, you're the seventh young lady of the Han family now. He wouldn't dare to harm you easily."
Xie Jinyi patted her shoulder reassuringly.
The gesture, made in a friendly manner, startled Wen Tingxue.
Xie Jinyi had acted without thinking.
Afterward, she also seemed lost in thought.
Suddenly, the two of them didn't know how to interact.
Fu Yushen smiled gently, "Alright."
"Are you sure?"
He agreed so readily, making Wen Tingxue suspicious.
Fu Yushen played with the plain band on his little finger and calmly dropped another bombshell.
"Yu Wenli and I knew each other a long time ago."
"Impossible!"
Wen Tingxue denied it without hesitation.
Fu Yushen raised his eyes and chuckled.
"On the day we first met, Yu Wenli was nearby. If you don't believe me, you can ask him yourself."
He spoke with certainty.
Wen Tingxue frowned uneasily. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Fu Yushen: "You and I are friends in the same trench. Why would I lie to you?"
His answer addressed her first question.
Fu Yushen's words muddled Wen Tingxue's thoughts, and she impatiently urged him on.
"Enough nonsense, hurry up and tell me!"
Fu Yushen raised an eyebrow and slowly recounted a scandalous gossip from years ago.
Yan Jun and Xu Shoucheng were childhood sweethearts. They entered the entertainment industry together, one a rising star, the other a breakthrough director.
There were many rumors about the two of them, but they never responded. It wasn't until Xu Shoucheng got married that Yan Jun officially denied their relationship, claiming they were "just friends."
However, the following year, paparazzi caught photos of them in a hotel room. At that time, Xu Shoucheng was in a transitional period of his career. His wife, his then-girlfriend, had a powerful background and could provide him with the greatest support.
To protect his career, Xu Shoucheng publicly severed ties with Yan Jun, promising no further contact.
Three months later, Yan Jun discovered she was pregnant.
When she contacted Xu Shoucheng, he suggested an abortion.
After all, the timing of the child's arrival was indeed inconvenient.
Both of them were in the ascendant phase of their careers, and a single misstep could lead to complete ruin.
Xu Shoucheng was unwilling to take the risk, nor did he want to give up the fame and status he could easily attain.
Yan Jun had initially intended to have an abortion as well.
But, in the end, she was still a mother.
On the day of the surgery, she couldn't bring herself to go through with it.
Finally, under the guise of going abroad to film, she gave birth to the child.
By the time Xu Shoucheng learned the truth, the child had already become a daughter of the Fu family.
That is, Fu Zhiyi.
In fact, Yan Jun regretted her decision as soon as the child was born.
Because the child was evidence.
Once it was made public, she would be labeled a homewrecker, someone everyone would condemn.
Even though the night they spent together was an accident.
Xu Shoucheng had been drunk and accidentally walked into her room, and they had had relations while both were intoxicated.
Admittedly, they had liked each other once.
But that was in the past.
When Xu Shoucheng decided to get married, Yan Jun had made it very clear.
"If you want to use her to climb higher, then we'll be strangers from now on."
Therefore, when sober, Yan Jun would absolutely not have gotten entangled with him.
But the absurd had already happened.
And she had stubbornly decided to keep the child.
The only solution now was to give the child an identity.
An identity that no one would dare to investigate too closely.
After much deliberation, Yan Jun approached the patriarch of the Fu family.
The patriarch of the Fu family was deeply in love with Yan Jun, so much so that he was willing to raise the child for her.
Later, by chance, she met the patriarch of the Han family.
They developed feelings over time.
The day before they decided to get married.
Yan Jun maintained absolute honesty and told him about the child.
The patriarch of the Han family took a day to ponder and said he could accept it.
He also said that he could bring the child back at the appropriate time.
But the Han family was in quite a state of chaos back then.
It was so chaotic that Han Xianyun's life might not have been safe.
Yan Jun naturally dared not act rashly.
By the time everything settled down, Fu Zhiyi had passed away.
From then on, this child became a constant worry for Yan Jun.
Han Xianyun knew about this.
That was why he treated Wen Tingxue so well.
After hearing the entire story, Wen Tingxue found it absurd and laughable.
"So, from beginning to end, I was just a pawn on your chessboard, wasn't I?"
She looked at him, her expression incredulous. "From becoming a professor, to guiding me to participate in the art exhibition, and then to me being attacked by the public, it was all meticulously planned by you, wasn't it?"