In Lin City.
The March sky carried a hint of the lingering chill of early spring, still somewhat cool.
Wen Ruan sat in the back seat, the rain outside was not heavy, but occasionally, a stream of rainwater flowed down the window, forming fine, dense lines, with an indescribable artistic beauty.
She didn't look up, her slender fingers lightly tapping the screen, her willow-leaf eyebrows unconsciously furrowed.
The phone screen paused on the WeChat conversation window.
Under the label [Husband], the last message stayed at 6 in the morning, the one she sent [Qinghan, I'm up, today I'm going to the nursing home to see Grandpa, I checked the weather forecast, the weather in France is not very good these days, take care of yourself, don’t catch a cold.]
It had been ten hours.
There was still no reply.
Mr. Li looked back in the rearview mirror and saw the delicate face of the woman in the back seat, her brows slightly furrowed, thinking he was driving too fast, he asked, "Madame, do you want me to slow down a bit?"
"Huh?"
Wen Ruan was startled, came to her senses, and smiled, "No need, this speed is just right."
Mr. Li put his mind at ease and continued to drive to the Lin Family at 40 miles per hour. He had been working at the Lin Family for more than ten years, and used to be the personal driver for Mr. Lin. He had watched Wen Ruan grow up and quite liked the gentle-tempered and warm-hearted lady.
Now, he started a chat, "Madame, do you miss Mr.?"
Caught in her feelings, Wen Ruan blushed, a rare occurrence for her, she lowered her head, her cheeks slightly red, and lightly made a sound, her voice as weak as a mosquito's, "He's on a half-month business trip this time, and the weather in France hasn’t been good lately, I'm a bit worried about him."
Mr. Li smiled and said, "Since you miss Mr., just give him a call later, Mr. will be happy to know you care."
Wen Ruan tapped her finger on the phone screen and smiled helplessly. Mr. Li had guessed wrong this time.
Lin Qinghan would not be happy.
They had been married for three years, but had spent more time apart. For 365 days a year, Lin Qinghan was away on business for most of the time. Even when he returned, he spent most of the time at the company, sometimes coming home just to take a shower and change clothes, then immediately going out again.
Not seeing each other.
She could only communicate with him through WeChat and phone calls.
But the phone calls were often answered by his assistant, and there were few replies on WeChat.
She knew he was busy, and didn't dare to disturb him too much, so even if she missed him, she wouldn't keep contacting him. Looking at the phone screen again, Wen Ruan sighed softly and put her phone away.
She turned and looked out the car window.
The scenery flashed past, only raindrops fell, still streaming down the window like a small river.
Seeing her mood become low, Mr. Li didn’t speak any further, continuing to drive at this speed towards Lin Family. As they got closer to the Tanshan Villa Community, he reminded her, "Madame, we're almost home."
"Okay."
The Tanshan Villa Community had become a sought-after place for the rich in the city, those who lived here not only needed to be wealthy, but also have a certain status, otherwise they might not even be able to get in the door.
The Lin family has many industries under its name.
This is the Lin family's own industry. When it was not developed earlier, the best location was directly chosen. The car stopped at the front gate, and you could see the spacious lawn, neatly trimmed flowers and grass on both sides, and the fountain pool in front of the main entrance. It seemed even more sparkling and clear under the embellishment of the rainwater.
The car stopped.
Old Li wanted to get out of the car.
Wen Ruan stopped him, handed over a delicately packaged small gift box from her bag, and smilingly said, "I heard from Aunt Li that today is your daughter's birthday. Go back early to celebrate with her."
"This"
Old Li felt somewhat awkward, looking at the gift box, not daring to accept it.
"It's not a valuable gift, take it," Wen Ruan said and then got out of the car by herself, carrying an umbrella. She was wearing a khaki trench coat with a pair of black wide-leg pants underneath, and carefully stepping on the ground in high-heeled shoes to avoid splashing herself with rainwater. However, the wind was too strong, and her hair and clothes were still quite wet from the rain.
Aunt Li had heard the sound of the car earlier and estimated that she had returned. When she saw her coming over with the umbrella by herself, she hurriedly greeted her and asked with a frown, "Why did you get out of the car by yourself? Where's Old Li?"
"Her daughter is celebrating her birthday today, so I let him go home first," Wen Ruan replied with a raised, fair face. She looked beautiful, and the drizzle on her face added a layer of enchanting mist to her attractive features. She put away the umbrella and wiped the water droplets from her face, and was about to go inside when Aunt Li stopped her and said in a lowered voice, "Madam is having a few ladies over at home to play cards. They haven't finished yet."
Madam Lin Xiue, Mr. Lin's daughter, was also Lin Qinghan's aunt. She had been living here since her divorce with her husband a year ago, due to Lin Qinghan's frequent absence from home. Occasionally, she would invite a few friends over to play cards and chat at home.
She seemed more like the mistress of the house than Lin Qinghan's wife.
Wen Ruan nodded without saying anything, and when she went inside, she happened to overhear what those people inside were saying about her—
"Has your wife gone to the sanatorium again today? She's beautiful and well-behaved. She's always been busy taking care of Grandfather during his stay at the sanatorium."
Combining with the sound of shuffling cards, there was a somewhat mocking and self-righteous tone, "What's the use of being obedient? My grandfather just hopes for a grandson, but she's always pampered with food and drink and yet there is no movement in her stomach."
"It's thanks to me being her aunt. If she was my daughter-in-law, I would definitely take someone to the hospital to have her checked, in case she has any hidden illness."
The others knew that she didn't like Wen Ruan, so they exchanged glances and chimed in, "It's been three years since she married Mr. Lin, and her stomach still has no movement. Perhaps there's a real problem, so it's better to treat it early."
But then the conversation took a different turn.
"Speaking of which, why did Mr. Lin choose her? She's not particularly outstanding in terms of looks, and her family background"
"There are so many famous ladies in the city, how did she end up with him?"
Aunt Li couldn't bear to listen anymore, and her face turned red with anger.
Wen Ruan, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind. Over the past three years, she had heard these words many times, and she had become numb to them. She lowered her eyes, changed into a comfortable pair of home shoes, wrapped her somewhat wet hair behind her ears, and went inside.
"Oh!"
One of the women sitting there saw her and her face changed, feeling somewhat embarrassed as she awkwardly called out, "Madam Lin is back."
The others looked over when they heard the sound and, seeing her return, also looked somewhat embarrassed, carefully calling out, "Madam Lin."
It was one thing to talk behind someone's back, but it was another thing to be overheard by the person you were talking about.
Wen Ruan smiled as if she hadn't heard their previous remarks, greeted them, and then looked at Aunt Lin Xiue and said, "Aunt."
"Mm."
Aunt Lin Xiue's face also looked somewhat unfriendly.
Wen Ruan didn't say anything more, nodded at them, and then went straight upstairs. As she was going upstairs, she heard the people downstairs quietly discussing, "Did she hear that?"
"I don't know." Then they started talking about wrapping things up.
She paid it no mind.
When she returned to her room and changed into comfortable clothes, she looked at her phone. Lin Qinghan still hadn't replied. Thinking about what those people had said earlier, she tapped the screen with a hint of helplessness in her smile.
She rarely saw Lin Qinghan.
She did want to have a child, but
"Madam, Madam Lin is asking for you to come down," a maid's voice came from outside.
Wen Ruan responded.
When she went downstairs, everyone had indeed left. The card table had been removed, and Mrs. Lin, wearing designer clothes, sat on the sofa, holding a teacup that Wen Ruan had brought back from France two years ago. She lifted her chin when she saw her coming over and spoke in a very haughty tone, "Sit."
Wen Ruan obediently sat down and remained silent.
Seeing her like this, Aunt Lin Xiue's eyebrows furrowed even more. Not being able to bear children was one thing, but being as expressionless as a log - no wonder Qinghan was disinterested in coming back home for days or weeks.
She put down the teacup and began, "I called you down here to tell you something. Miss Su will be coming to stay at the house for a few days. Prepare a guest room and clean it."
Miss Su?
Wen Ruan was taken aback, thinking of a person, and asked, "Su Lanlan?"
Seeing Aunt Lin Xiue nod, she finally showed some different emotions on her usually gentle face, and her voice became a bit softer, "Aunt, Miss Su has her own house in the city, and she is also a public figure in the entertainment industry. If she comes to the house as a guest for dinner, of course, I will be welcoming, but if she's living in the house and coming and going, it will inevitably cause gossip."
Aunt Lin Xiue had never heard such a refusal from Wen Ruan before.
She was suddenly at a loss for words, and when she snapped back to reality, her face immediately turned unpleasant, "Even if she's staying at the house for a few days, what gossip is there to talk about? Wen Ruan, although you're Qinghan's wife, you still don't have a say in this house."