Chapter 52

Chapter 52 - 52 051 Long time no see Xie Shang Chapter 52: 051: Long time no see, Xie Shang Chapter 52: 051: Long time no see, Xie Shang Yan Cong was not the type to talk behind someone’s back; he bluntly said while the person had barely left, “That guy from the basketball team, I’ve played with him, he has poor sportsmanship and doesn’t deserve you.”

In Yan Cong’s standards, out of a hundred men, at least ninety-nine didn’t deserve Wen Changling. Wen Changling was like a fairy, and ordinary mortals were not her match.

“How come you’re at school?”

It had been a long time since Yan Cong attended school.

“I came to withdraw.” He asked, “How much longer will you be?”

“Can’t say for sure.”

The physical examination was supposed to have a set schedule, but the students were dragging their feet, which could lead to delays.

Yan Cong pulled up a chair and sat down next to Wen Changling, not disturbing her any further as he buried his head in his game. He wasn’t very focused on the game, occasionally looking up to glance at Wen Changling’s strands of hair, zoning out, daydreaming.

He died over and over again in the game.

Finally, Wen Changling finished her task, and Yan Cong walked with her to leave. The hospital had shuttle buses, but he didn’t want to take one; last time he and Wen Changling took the bus, she got a little carsick.

“Changling,” Yan Cong didn’t like to beat around the bush and was very direct with people he was close to, “drive me back.”

“What about Mr. Ho?”

Grandpa Yan didn’t feel comfortable with Yan Cong going out alone; Mr. Ho was the driver Grandpa Yan had hired for Yan Cong.

“I told him to go back first.” He only acted this way with his grandpa and Wen Changling, showing his softer side to get what he wanted, “Drive me.”

“I don’t have a car to take you.”

Yan Cong said, “I’ll gift you a car.” Then he stubbornly insisted, “Take a taxi to drive me back.”

Wen Changling agreed and went to bid farewell to Jiahui. Vehicles from the outside were not allowed into the campus, so they’d have to walk a bit to catch a taxi. Yan Cong followed her like an obedient shadow, quietly tagging along behind.

Playing hockey required one to not be too skinny; Yan Cong could no longer play hockey.

There were cars as soon as they exited the school gate.

After getting into the car, Yan Cong was browsing on his phone when he suddenly asked Wen Changling, “What kind of car do you like?”

He was looking at cars.

He didn’t have a driving license himself and usually just rode a motorcycle.

Wen Changling declined, “I don’t need one.”

Yan Cong’s spending habits were familiar to her, known to be quite vengeful. If not for his grandpa’s disagreement, he’d want to acquire Dihong. Grandpa Yan had said then, “You think Dihong is a corner store that you can just take over whenever you want?

Do you think the management are idiots, that they would sell it to you?”

“Then we’ll find a way.”

“Find what way?”

“Illegal ways.” He had thought about it seriously, “Drag its reputation through the mud, and get it for a cheap price.”

Grandpa Yan: “...”

Grandpa Yan understood his grandson; he might really do it.

“Don’t you care about your uncle’s welfare?” Yan Cong’s uncle had a mutually beneficial relationship with Dihong.

Yan Cong kept quiet.

It seemed he planned to disregard it.

Blowing his beard, Grandpa Yan got so angry he said, “Forget about it. I will never split my fortune with you, you wastrel.”

Yan Cong didn’t believe it.

Yan Cong scrolled a car brand’s page from top to bottom. “You don’t recognize routes; there’s navigation in the car.” He showed Wen Changling, “Which one do you like?”

Wen Changling firmly refused, “Don’t buy it.”

If she didn’t choose, he would buy them all.

Yan Cong didn’t ask her again and continued scrolling on his own.

The car windows were shut, the air conditioning turned on, and it was very quiet inside the car. The head nurse sent out a new notice in the group chat, regarding the duty roster, and Wen Changling read through each message.

Jiahui sent a message to complain that a colleague who often went on blind dates was nagging Dr. Jhiang again. Wen Changling occasionally replied briefly to show she was reading the messages but didn’t join in the gossip.

Something fell; it was Yan Cong’s phone.

It was only then that Wen Changling realized, his eyes were closed.

“Yan Cong.”

There was no response.

Wen Changling gently pushed him, “Yan Cong.”

“Yan Cong.”

Wen Changling couldn’t wake him.

No matter how she called, she couldn’t wake him.

Panicked, she said, “Driver, to the hospital, quickly to the hospital!”

The driver was startled as well, “What’s the matter?”

Without the mindset to explain, Wen Changling urged, “Driver, please go faster.”

The driver promptly floored the gas pedal, speeding up. Wen Changling grabbed her phone to contact the head nurse for help.

The car moved so fast it shook violently, making it hard for her to see the words on the screen any longer.

“Changling.”

Wen Changling stopped all her movements, dumbfounded, looking up.

Yan Cong had woken up, his eyes slightly red as he looked at her, “I was just asleep. I woke up when I heard you calling me.” He reached out to touch her eyes, his hand hovering in mid-air before stopping again.

None of those men were good enough for Wen Changling, and even less so was he. That’s why he would never like Wen Changling, he absolutely wouldn’t.

Wen Changling turned her head away to look out the window.

“I’ll take you to the hospital.”

*****

The next time Wen Changling saw Xie Shang was three days later in front of a pawnshop. The atmosphere between them had turned strange, and she didn’t know whether to greet him or how to do it.

So, in a clichéd manner, she greeted him, “Long time no see.”

“Seven days. It hasn’t been that long.”

Wen Changling asked about recent events, as one would with a normal friend, “Have you been to Lileitu?”

Xie Shang had dyed his hair back to its original color. His features were naturally fine, and the return to his natural hair color made him look even more like a graceful gentleman from a distinguished family of olden times.

He was the son of a householder, bewitching the city, charming its citizens.

Standing there, Xie Shang seemed like a character stepped right out of a book.

He nodded, “Hmm, I went to Lileitu.”

He also visited the Red Wine Estate he had been to with Wen Changling before, where the owner was a friend he met years earlier playing Underwater World.

The friend asked him, “Why didn’t the lady who came with you last time come with you?”

The friend still remembered Wen Changling.

Xie Shang countered, “Why should I come with her?”

He Dongzhou said that drinking wine at night could aid in sleep.

Xie Shang drank, not just a little but quite a lot.

The friend sat down to drink with him, “Isn’t she your lover? You looked at her very differently.”