Chapter 41: Once Upon a Time, There Almost Was a Wedding

Wen Jin walked out of the utility room with a blank expression on her face.

She had no idea what Sheng Yang was trying to do, nor did she care to guess anymore.

In the past, she had always been infinitely tolerant of everything about Sheng Yang.

She had unsparingly poured all her love into him.

Yet, in the end, she realized how absurdly wrong she had been.

It wasn't until she stepped out of the shop that the sunlight finally felt dazzling.

Wen Jin took a deep breath and set off in the direction of University A.

While chatting with Zhou Yicheng, she had felt a strong urge to come back and take a look.

Because of the anniversary celebrations, the gates of University A were bustling with activity.

Standing by the roadside, Wen Jin experienced a complex mixture of emotions.

Back when she was a student, her academic record had always been stellar, and she was the pride of everyone around her.

However—

Wen Jin clenched her palms into fists, then slowly relaxed them.

She had intended to leave straight away, but her phone suddenly vibrated.

An email arrived in her inbox.

It was a reply from that company in Guangzhou, inviting Wen Jin to come in for an interview.

The tension that had gripped her nerves suddenly melted away.

Fortunately.

It wasn't too late yet.

Wen Jin hesitated no longer. She only needed to spend one more day at the hospital tomorrow, so she simply changed her flight to tomorrow evening.

She dropped a message to her aunt to let her know.

Her aunt was naturally overjoyed, showering her with numerous instructions before someone snatched the phone away from her.

Cheng Yao laughed and said, "After all this time, you've finally decided to grace us with a visit?"

Cheng Yao was Wen Jin's cousin, and they had always gotten along quite well.

Wen Jin hummed an acknowledgment. "My family is all in Guangzhou, so of course I have to come back."

"So you still remember your family is in Guangzhou. I thought you were planning to stay in Beijing forever and become a member of the Sheng family."

Wen Jin's breath hitched slightly; she could hear the dissatisfaction in Cheng Yao's tone.

When she had first graduated, both her aunt and Cheng Yao had tried to persuade her to return to Guangzhou, or at the very least, go to Shenzhen.

It was her own stubbornness that had made her refuse.

Still, Cheng Yao didn't press the matter further, simply asking for her flight number and promising to pick her up at the airport tomorrow.

Because the tie she had bought previously was thrown away by Sheng Yang, Wen Jin had no choice but to buy a new gift for Cheng Yao.

The next morning, after finishing her intravenous drip at the hospital, she went straight to the shopping mall.

This time, she didn't pick a tie for Cheng Yao, but instead had her eyes on a wristwatch.

It wasn't expensive, and it was from a niche brand, but the design was exquisitely crafted.

Just as she finished paying and turned around, she caught sight of a few familiar faces.

They were all part of Sheng Yang's social circle, though Wen Jin wasn't particularly close with them.

Paying them no mind, Wen Jin walked away.

Little did she expect that this encounter would be reported back to Sheng Yang.

Lingyue was currently undergoing a bidding process, and many people in the circle were trying to curry favor with Sheng Yang.

Zhao Yimo, seizing every opportunity, was busy arranging a drinking gathering.

Someone suddenly asked Sheng Yang, "Sheng Yang, how about we place a bet?"

Sheng Yang wore a neutral expression, holding a wine glass in his hand without speaking.

The person continued, "I bet Wen Jin is probably going to start clinging to you again."

At the mention of Wen Jin's name, Sheng Yang's brows twitched slightly.

He lowered his wine glass, emotions rippling deep within his eyes.

"Is that so?" he asked softly.

"If you don't believe me, ask Qiangzi. When we were walking over just now, we saw her in the mall buying a men's watch."

The person laughed heartily upon finishing, then added, "Probably just another no-name brand. Only someone like her would bother bringing out something worth a few thousand bucks."

As soon as he said this, everyone burst into laughter.

Who didn't know that Wen Jin was merely a sparrow who had somehow stumbled into a phoenix's nest?

Zhao Yimo glanced at the group and suddenly asked Sheng Yang, "I remember when it was your birthday before, Wen Jin seemed to have given you a fountain pen."

Sheng Yang's fingertips tightened slightly. He said calmly, "Really? I forgot."

"It's normal for you to forget. The things she gives are indeed unpresentable."

Sheng Yang didn't say anything more.

His eyes were devoid of even the faintest trace of emotion, as cold and bottomless as still water.

A moment later, he stood up directly. "I have things to do, I'm leaving."

Watching his receding figure, Zhao Yimo suddenly blurted out, "You aren't going to look for Wen Jin, are you?"

Sheng Yang paused in his tracks. "You're overthinking it."

Wen Jin was nothing more than an unwanted burden clinging to the Sheng family.

She was hardly worth him going out of his way to find her.

Sheng Yang headed straight back to the company, where Lingyue had a mountain of affairs to deal with.

Seeing him return, his assistant promptly placed several files in front of him: "President Sheng, these are the documents that require your signature."

Sheng Yang nodded, took the pen from the assistant's hand, and prepared to sign the papers.

However, the fountain pen seemed to be broken, refusing to dispense any ink.

The assistant hurriedly said, "I'll go get you another—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Sheng Yang cut him off.

With casual indifference, he said, "No need."

"But—"

The assistant wanted to say more, only to see Sheng Yang pull a fountain pen out of his desk drawer.

Only—

Although that pen had been kept in pristine condition, one could tell at a glance that it was merely an inexpensive, mass-market brand.

It completely contradicted all of Sheng Yang's usual habits.

Unable to hide his astonishment, the assistant clearly remembered that President Sheng was extremely meticulous about such things.

It wasn't until Sheng Yang lifted his gaze and asked, "Anything else?"

that the assistant snapped back to reality. "You have a meeting in Guangzhou next week."

Sheng Yang was silent for a moment, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the desk. "Cancel it."

-

Wen Jin's flight was scheduled for the evening, and Qiaoqiao accompanied her to the airport.

"Although I'm so reluctant to see you go, the thought that you'll finally stop wasting all your talent here makes me genuinely happy for you."

Wen Jin smiled. "Don't be so dramatic. I'm just going for an interview; what if they don't want me and I have to come crawling back?"

Qiaoqiao scoffed playfully. "My girl is so brilliant that unless the boss of that company is blind, you're bound to succeed!"

Wen Jin said her warm goodbyes to Qiaoqiao and walked through security.

Tomorrow was Monday, and her appointment with the company's hiring manager was scheduled for the morning.

The moment the plane took off, Wen Jin looked out at the dark evening sky outside the window.

Her heart felt a profound sense of peace she had never known before.

Perhaps she simply wasn't suited to staying in Beijing after all.

-

On Monday morning, Wen Jin went straight to the company for her interview.

The interviewer was extremely satisfied with her resume, but asked curiously, "I'm quite curious why Miss Wen, as a top graduate from University A, chose to become a wedding planner after graduation?"

Wen Jin was silent for a moment before replying, "Because I once almost had a wedding of my own."

The HR manager raised an eyebrow. "Why 'almost'?"

Wen Jin answered with candid honesty, without hiding anything: "Because I was deceived."

Weren't the years she spent with Sheng Yang just like an exceptionally clumsy and pathetic deception—?

The HR manager gave her a sympathetic look, then extended a hand. "Very well, Miss Wen, you may go home and wait for your onboarding notification. We very much look forward to working with you."

Meanwhile, back in Beijing.

Zhao Yimo came to Lingyue to find Sheng Yang.

With an arched eyebrow, he began, "I seem to remember you were supposed to fly to Guangzhou today. I heard you specifically canceled it—was there something important?"

Sheng Yang lifted his eyelashes. His mood had been foul over the past few days, a brewing storm constantly swirling in the depths of his eyes.

Unfazed by the danger, Zhao Yimo smiled and pressed on, "Could it be that you're afraid Wen Jin won't be able to find you, so you're deliberately waiting here for her?"

"Still, I'm quite curious to see how she plans to throw herself at you this time. Surely she won't just bring you another cheap watch, right?"

-

"This is a gift I bought for my cousin." Wen Jin handed the box containing the wristwatch to Cheng Yao.