She thought— 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

If it were Shen Zhiyao walking barefoot on the floor right now, Rong Huaishen would have probably already bent down himself and put slippers on for her!

What on earth was so good about that woman Shen Zhiyao, that she could make Rong Huaishen linger on her thoughts incessantly? He could even tolerate her cuckolding him!?

He met Shen Zhiyao in Licheng that year; she was also in Licheng. Why hadn’t she met him?

Perhaps some fates are truly predestined.

No matter how many years Rong Huaishen and Shen Zhiyao went their separate ways, they were bound to end up together.

"Licheng..." Thinking of that city, Meng Fan’s mind was filled with confusion. What did she do in Licheng that year? Why could she never quite remember clearly...

Meng Fan didn’t leave the house that morning.

After lunch, Meng Fan learned that Rong Huaishen had booked a flight to Harbor City for two o’clock in the afternoon.

"Hmph, dog of a man! Pretending to be as calm as Mount Tai on the surface, but within half a day he’s scampering off to Harbor City," Meng Fan cursed, then quickly picked up her phone and booked a flight to Harbor City.

Meng Fan didn’t tell Wen Zhi her flight information.

When she arrived at Harbor City International Airport at five-thirty and was leaving the airport, Meng Fan sent a message to Wen Zhi:

[I’m in Harbor City!]

Meanwhile, Wen Zhi was leaving a hotel with Shang Hexing.

Shang Hexing had booked a restaurant for that evening, and Wen Zhi had specifically worn a new dress and dolled herself up for it.

When Wen Zhi went out with Shang Hexing, she thought he wouldn’t notice that she’d made an extra effort, but as soon as he saw her, he complimented, "Very pretty."

Wen Zhi’s eyes curved in a smile, "The dress?"

"You."

After speaking, Shang Hexing felt his phone vibrate slightly in his pocket. He took it out, glanced at it, and then furrowed his brow.

Wen Zhi: "Did something happen? If it’s important, you go ahead and deal with it, and I’ll have dinner at the hotel."

Shang Hexing handed her the phone: "See for yourself."

Ah?

Wen Zhi took the phone with a puzzled look.

She had returned her phone to Shang Hexing after he came back today, not contacting anyone afterward.

Now that Shang Hexing had given her the phone, the only person Wen Zhi could think of was Meng Fan. It must’ve been Meng Fan who sent a message to this phone.

It turned out she guessed right!

It really was Meng Fan.

Shang Hexing said displeased, "Give her a call back."

"...Oh."

At first, Wen Zhi didn’t understand why Shang Hexing looked unhappy after seeing Meng Fan’s message, but after getting on the phone with Meng Fan, she understood.

After about ten minutes.

Wen Zhi and Meng Fan were sitting in the same car, though Meng Fan was in the passenger seat, while Wen Zhi and Shang Hexing were in the back, with Chen Jinhai driving.

"Zhizhi, are you surprised to see me?"

"Let me tell you, I deliberately didn’t tell you in advance that I was coming to Harbor City just to surprise you."

"I bet you didn’t expect me to show up suddenly, haha."

Meng Fan chattered non-stop from the moment she got in the car.

Wen Zhi kept chatting with Meng Fan, but Shang Hexing remained silent the whole time, not even showing a pleasant face.

However, at that moment, Shang Hexing suddenly interjected, only his tone was cold and indifferent, "I didn’t expect it."

The smile on Meng Fan’s lips suddenly faded. She glanced at Shang Hexing’s dark expression and spoke with a nervous tone, "Uncle, actually, I came here with a purpose. You don’t have to worry that I’ll monopolize Wen Zhi all the time."

Wen Zhi suddenly coughed lightly, "Cough! Meng Fan!"

Meng Fan sulked, but seeing her uncle’s expression lighten slightly, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She turned her head and looked at the rearview mirror, changing the subject with a smile, "Zhizhi, did you have fun with your cousin in Harbor City?"

Wen Zhi stole a glance at Shang Hexing beside her and saw that he was resting with his eyes closed. She lowered her voice to respond, "It was okay."

Meng Fan kept asking, "What did you guys go out and do?"

Wen Zhi really wanted to tell Meng Fan to stop asking, to ask her in private and she would tell her everything, but with Shang Hexing right beside her, she really felt uneasy.

"Didn’t your cousin take you out to have fun?" Meng Fan’s voice rose a few decibels.

Wen Zhi: (￣▽￣)"

The driver, Chen Jinhai, was trying hard not to laugh.

Shang Hexing opened his eyes, his expression as calm as water, and without any ripples in his gaze, he reminded, "Meng Fan, you’re talking too much."

Meng Fan stretched her neck, "Oh, come on, cousin, I’m just curious."

Shang Hexing: "Being too curious isn’t always a good thing."

Meng Fan: "..."

Forget it, better to keep this mouth closed for now. Cousin was already unhappy that she came to Harbor City and disturbed his time with Wen Zhi. It was better to make herself less noticeable.

They arrived at the reserved restaurant.

The dinner was quite lively that night, mainly because Meng Fan was talkative, Chen Jinhai was good at responding, Wen Zhi was happy by the side, and Shang Hexing still maintained the image of an elder, almost not joining in on non-essential topics, but always paying attention to Wen Zhi’s actions.

Of course, Wen Zhi could feel the special way Shang Hexing treated her.

Because it was very obvious.

It was so obvious that even Meng Fan couldn’t take it anymore and teased, "Cousin, are you taking care of Zhizhi as a senior family member, or in some other capacity?"

Meng Fan swore that she was only making a joke.

But she didn’t realize that her remark hit right on the sensitive spot!

Shang Hexing was displeased because of the issue of status that prevented him from getting what he wanted, and Meng Fan had unwittingly struck right on the nerve. His expression turned sour as he asked in a grave tone, "Did you have a fight with Huaishen?"

This time it was Meng Fan’s turn for her expression to freeze suddenly.

Shang Hexing’s words sharpened with each sentence: "If I’m not mistaken, Huaishen must have come to Harbor City, but he went to see another woman. Meng Fan, aren’t you worried about your marriage? Don’t you want to try to maintain it?"

Meng Fan: "..."

Seeing Meng Fan’s expression, Shang Hexing was satisfied and curved his lips into a smile.

Wen Zhi tugged at the sleeve of Shang Hexing’s arm, "Stop it."

Shang Hexing casually replied, "She’s too sensitive."

Wen Zhi: "..."

Meng Fan laughed angrily, asking with a sullen face, "Cousin, are you making fun of me?"

Shang Hexing looked at Meng Fan, "Don’t you have your own position? With the Han Family backing you up and the Shang Family as your support, if you need to catch a cheater, just do it. Why demean yourself."

"Then I want Zhizhi to go with me," declared Meng Fan on the spot.

Wen Zhi immediately agreed, "Okay, I’ll go with you."

Shang Hexing turned his head to look at Wen Zhi, "You’re going to join in the excitement?"

What kind of thing is that to say? Meng Fan’s issues are serious; you can’t label it as joining in for excitement.

Wen Zhi was about to object when Meng Fan from across the table said, "Never mind, I’ll go by myself. I want to know what exactly is the relationship between Shen Zhiyao and that man, because he looks familiar to me."

Wen Zhi was stunned for a moment, "Ah? Which man?"

Meng Fan had been keeping this to herself and hadn’t mentioned a word to Wen Zhi.

It was the man Shen Zhiyao was arm in arm with in the photo. When Meng Fan saw the photo, she was puzzled.

Because the man Shen Zhiyao was with seemed familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before, but she just couldn’t remember.

Meng Fan raised her hand to press on her temple, "So strange, I feel like I have a terrible memory, like I’ve almost forgotten many things from the year I visited Licheng."

As she finished speaking.

Wen Zhi’s expression suddenly tightened.