Volume One, Chapter 20: Wash Your Face with Plain Water

Faced with Zhou Huaqing’s bold declaration, Wen Yang couldn’t help but smile. “My sister may seem gentle, but she’s not someone who easily suffers.” Otherwise, she wouldn’t have held the young master of the Jiang family in her grasp for so many years, tending to him devotedly and wholeheartedly.

“You don’t care whether I suffer or not; I’m happy to,” Zhou Huaqing said with a roguish charm, hardly resembling someone accustomed to working in a government office.

Wen Yang chuckled, not taking it seriously—after all, Zhou Huaqing had said plenty of such carefree things in front of him before.

They had both watched Wen Li grow up together; there was no way a brother would marry his sister.

Wen Li’s background was the Wen family’s greatest secret—an unmentionable taboo. The tangled web behind it involved many connections and far-reaching implications. If anyone accidentally uncovered what had happened back then, the entire Wen family would be ruined.

They talked only briefly before Wen Yang received a work call about an impromptu meeting he needed to host, so he headed to the study.

Zhou Huaqing stepped out of the tea room and wandered around the courtyard several times before spotting Wen Li sunbathing in the back garden.

She sat serenely in a camping chair, clad in a pale yellow knitted dress, a one-piece style reaching her ankles. A gauzy fan covered her face, shielding her from the harsh afternoon light.

On her feet was still the pink bunny bandage from that day, adding a playful, endearing touch.

Zhou Huaqing quietly watched her for a long while.

Finally, standing on the empty grass in front of the lakeside pavilion, he bent down, picked up the cobblestones scattered on the path, and began tossing them one by one into the lake, skipping stones.

The splashing sound woke Wen Li, who furrowed her delicate brows and lowered the round fan from her face to glare teasingly at the spoilsport beside her.

Sure enough, it was Zhou Huaqing, disturbing even her nap.

Annoyed inside but composed on the surface, Wen Li asked, “Are you here to see my brother? Is he not around?”

“I already looked for him. Now I’m looking for you.”

“…What do you want with me?”

It was definitely trouble.

Holding a cobblestone in his palm, Zhou Huaqing played with it as he said, “Just to chat.”

The crisp clinking sound echoed.

Wen Li thought to herself, “Crazy,” almost cursing out loud.

Zhou Huaqing glanced at her. “Is your foot injury better?”

Sensing something was off, he looked again. “And what about your face?”

He turned sideways to look at Wen Li, his expression darkening, brows tightly knit.

Wen Li hurriedly lifted the fan she had set down, intending to cover herself, but Zhou Huaqing stepped forward quickly and held her wrist.

“Don’t move. Let me see.”

He bent down, gently lifting her chin to examine the wound on her face.

Wen Li found his action abrupt, tinged with an indescribable mix of ambiguity and dominance, so she turned her face away, avoiding his eyes.

“It’s nothing—just a minor burn.”

Her ears flushed red.

Noticing her embarrassment, Zhou Huaqing withdrew his hand and took half a step back. “You should wash your face with cold water. You’re grown up—how could you burn yourself like this?”

Half her face under his gaze was blotched with redness, nearly scorched raw. It was a blessing there was no visible scarring.

“Really something. No wonder Jiang Chen always calls you ‘Miss.’ You’re truly spoiled.”

She really didn’t take care of herself—either drinking herself to unconsciousness during her period and ending up in the hospital, or having her foot injured by broken glass, and now her face was hurt.

It was worrisome.

“From what your brother said, you’re even planning to move out. I seriously doubt your ability to take care of yourself. How on earth did you survive alone in Germany? Were you relying entirely on others?”

Was that an exaggeration?

Wen Li couldn’t stand his nagging. “None of your business.”

In truth, when Wen Li was in Germany, she did receive some help, though she still didn’t know the name or appearance of the person who helped her.

She remembered that it had been about her second month there. She was in a daze, reluctant to go out, hiding in the apartment, drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Even during the day, she kept the curtains drawn. Though she drank until unconscious, she still needed sleeping pills to fall asleep at night.

At first, only one pill, then two, then three, gradually increasing the dosage.

Once, she took too many sleeping pills and nearly lost consciousness. If no one had found her and sent her to the hospital in time, she might have died.

When she woke up in the hospital bed, eyes blurry and vision unclear, she overheard the landlady speaking fluent German to a man nearby.

At that time, Wen Li was still unfamiliar with German and only caught two phrases: “Thank God” and “I’m very sorry.”

Later, the landlady told her that the neighbor next door had noticed her apartment was silent, with no response to knocks. Concerned, they had called the landlady to check on her, and this chance intervention saved her.

After Wen Li was discharged, she wanted to thank the person who saved her, only to learn they had moved out during her hospitalization.

She asked the landlady for contact information, but the landlady couldn’t remember.

All that remained was a note taped to the door, which read: “Be brave, may you be safe.”

Wen Li treasured it to this day—it was the best gift and kindness she had received from a stranger across the ocean.

Zhou Huaqing wasn’t annoyed but smiled indulgently. “Fine, you win. Not a word more.”

Then he heard Wen Li say, “Jiang Chen and I have reconciled.”

Her tone carried the resolve of someone ready to face any consequence.

Zhou Huaqing paused for two seconds, the smile that had just appeared on his lips suddenly frozen.

But he quickly returned to normal.

Calm as still water, he said, “Congratulations in advance. I hope your wish comes true.”

Relieved deep inside, Wen Li leaned back in her camping chair, tilting her head slightly. From her angle, she could see only half of Zhou Huaqing’s profile.

He was dressed simply today—a deep gray coat paired with a lighter gray turtleneck sweater, and well-tailored black casual pants.

Sunlight bathed him, softening his usually aloof demeanor, making him unexpectedly approachable.

Zhou Huaqing turned to meet her gaze, smiling. “What? Did I accidentally burn my face with hot water too?”

“Staring so long—aren’t you afraid you might fall for me?”

“I just didn’t expect it. I thought you’d say…”

Say she was cunning, shameless, that she had Jiang Chen completely wrapped around her finger.

Tilting his head, Zhou Huaqing asked, “Say what?”

Wen Li shook her head. “Nothing.”

Since she had made her decision, what others said no longer mattered.

Zhou Huaqing, who had been focused on skipping stones, suddenly lost interest. He still held one last cobblestone in his hand.

Neither tossing it nor keeping it felt right.

Finally, he slipped it into Wen Li’s hand, tossing off a casual, “I’m off.”

As he turned, Wen Li called out, “Zhou Huaqing.”