Chapter 25
On the way back, Zhou Wei noticed that Xie Yunli kept looking down at his phone.
It didn’t seem like he was replying to messages or handling work, just quietly looking at it, as if… waiting for something?
Could he be waiting for Wen Ran to send him a message?
Zhou Wei’s heart stirred, and he said: “Mr. Xie, I heard from Aunt Zhu that Miss Wen Ran works as an illustrator. Even though she stays home and doesn’t go out, she can still earn money on her own. She’s really excellent.”
“Is that so?”
Xie Yunli responded casually.
He did know that she took on some painting work, but he indeed hadn’t thought before that she would use this to earn money, until he saw those unforgettable paintings in the basement…
Only then did he realize that she wasn’t just someone who could paint.
She was a very excellent artist.
If those works were made public or entered in competitions, they would definitely achieve recognition.
But she had always been painting those works secretly and silently, keeping them all locked away in the basement.
Perhaps in this world, only Aunt Zhu had seen those paintings. Perhaps she had never thought of letting anyone see those paintings; she just quietly did what she liked to do.
Zhou Wei asked curiously: “Have you seen her paintings? Are they very beautiful?”
More than just beautiful.
Xie Yunli was silent for a moment and said: “She’s never shown them to me.”
He had seen them, but in a way that wasn’t permitted, so Xie Yunli didn’t say he had seen them.
Because that method was obviously cheating.
Adult lies were too common, so it didn’t matter how they were told, but lies about Wen Ran couldn’t be easily spoken.
Zhou Wei made an “oh” sound and carefully let out a breath, because he could hear that Xie Yunli’s tone just now was clearly somewhat low.
Looking at the current situation, the relationship between Xie Yunli and Wen Ran… how to put it, they simply weren’t close at all. The two of them maintained a distance that was neither near nor far, not even having normal face-to-face communication. Compared to Xie Yunli, Wen Ran was even closer to Aunt Zhu.
But between the two of them, there seemed to be an indescribable, subtle relationship.
If Wen Ran was like some small plant that had grown up in a greenhouse, then Xie Yunli was like a big tree outside that had been protecting her from wind and rain, silently staying at a place neither near nor far from her, not approaching her and not leaving her, but whenever there was any wind or rain, he would definitely spread all his branches and help her block everything without any gaps.
Zhou Wei felt like he seemed to sense that connection between Xie Yunli and Wen Ran. He also suddenly felt like he understood why Xie Yunli wanted to marry Wen Ran, and understood why Xie Yunli had always been secretive about this marital relationship to outsiders.
Who wouldn’t want to protect such a girl?
And the best way to protect her was to openly and legitimately become her indispensable family member.
Outsiders couldn’t understand this at all, and Xie Yunli didn’t need them to understand. He certainly didn’t need outsiders to over-interpret his relationship with Wen Ran and thereby create rumors that would hurt her.
After all, this society had always been one where words could be fearsome, and those chaotic voices would disturb her.
“Zhou Wei.”
Xie Yunli suddenly said: “About today’s matter…”
“Mr. Xie, rest assured, I’ll definitely keep my mouth tightly shut!”
Zhou Wei suddenly interrupted him, saying righteously: “I definitely won’t mention Miss Wen Ran’s affairs to anyone, not even if my wife asks me!”
“… Thank you for your hard work today.”
Xie Yunli said.
Zhou Wei: “Not hard work at all! Serving the boss is what I should do!”
Xie Yunli looked at him with a half-smile.
He certainly knew Zhou Wei wouldn’t gossip at the company. As his special assistant, Zhou Wei had always traveled north and south with him and knew everything he did. If Zhou Wei had been even slightly gossipy, the company would have been full of all kinds of rumors long ago.
Zhou Wei was also one of the few people who knew about his marital situation, but after all this time, there hadn’t been any wild rumors at the company, which showed that Zhou Wei indeed kept his mouth very tight.
Otherwise, Xie Yunli wouldn’t have used him for so long.
Of course, Zhou Wei was also very clear in his heart that Wen Ran’s situation definitely needed to be kept confidential.
Which company didn’t have a few employees who liked to gossip?
Where there were those who liked to gossip, there were those who liked to listen to gossip, and there were definitely those who liked to spread gossip around. Once he accidentally let something slip, some of Wen Ran’s affairs would definitely spread throughout the entire company, and who knows how many inexplicable versions would emerge.
Just like before when Bai Lin, who was still a business supervisor, often chatted with him and brought him coffee, rumors spread throughout the company that he was having an affair with Bai Lin, since everyone in the company knew he was a married man.
It wasn’t until Bai Lin angrily went to clarify herself that the ridiculous rumors stopped.
Bai Lin had actually wanted to ask him about Xie Yunli’s family situation. Of course, he hadn’t said anything, otherwise he would have been fired by his boss long ago.
So even if Xie Yunli didn’t remind him, he knew what should and shouldn’t be said.
…
Ever since bringing Kaka home, Wen Ran’s previously rigid daily routine had been broken because she spent a lot of time accompanying Kaka.
Kaka’s injuries had healed a lot, but its skin still needed daily medication, and it needed various nutritional supplements. It was too thin and still walked somewhat unsteadily.
But it loved clinging to Wen Ran. On the first night, it couldn’t sleep peacefully in the new environment and kept whimpering until Aunt Zhu brought it to Wen Ran’s room to sleep, and only then did it settle down.
Wherever Wen Ran went, it followed. Even when Wen Ran was painting, it would curl up quietly at her feet. When Wen Ran occasionally reached out to touch its fluffy head, it would happily wag its tail.
It had completely taken Wen Ran as its owner.
A few days later, Zhou Wei delivered some nutritional supplements for the puppy. Kaka heard his voice and poked its head out from the room to look at him.
Zhou Wei greeted it: “Hello Kaka cutie, how have you been lately?”
Kaka opened its mouth and wagged its tail at him.
“Oh my, so cute.”
Zhou Wei said with a smile.
Aunt Zhu said: “It’s so smart now, following Ranran everywhere, can’t be driven away.”
“By the way, Aunt Zhu.”
Zhou Wei said quietly: “The phone the boss gave Miss Wen Ran a few days ago, has she been using it?”
“I’ve seen her use it a few times to take photos of Kaka. What’s wrong?”
Zhou Wei scratched his head: “I’m just curious whether Miss Wen Ran would send messages to Mr. Xie or anything.”
Aunt Zhu narrowed her eyes and said: “You don’t mean to say that Mr. Xie has been waiting for Ranran to send him messages, do you?”
It had to be said that Aunt Zhu’s mind worked really fast. Zhou Wei hadn’t expected her to guess this point right away. She was indeed worthy of being Aunt Zhu.
Of course, Zhou Wei was also smart. Although Xie Yunli hadn’t shown anything, he could just tell that Xie Yunli must be waiting for Wen Ran to send him messages. Just last night after working overtime, he had seen Xie Yunli frowning slightly while looking at his phone — this state had continued for several days.
It would be normal for others, but for Xie Yunli, who only used his phone for work, this was abnormal.
Zhou Wei smiled awkwardly and said: “Well… we can’t really say, but I think he might be expecting Miss Wen Ran to send him messages…”
“Sigh, then his expectations might really be dashed.”
Aunt Zhu said: “Ranran is now completely focused on Kaka. When she’s not accompanying Kaka, she’s painting, and when she’s not painting, she’s accompanying Kaka. Speaking of which, who told your boss to say the phone was for recording Kaka? Our Ranran can’t think of using the phone for other things. She even told me a few days ago that the phone is for keeping on behalf of Kaka.”
Zhou Wei: “…”
Aunt Zhu smiled again and said: “Our Ranran can’t hear any subtext, and she never lies. Whatever she says is what it is. Since she said it’s Kaka’s phone, naturally she won’t use Kaka’s phone casually.”
Zhou Wei covered his forehead and sighed: “What can we do about this?”
“Yes, what can we do?”
Aunt Zhu said while sweeping: “I’m getting old too. Usually I just make calls and send messages. I don’t know about all those phone functions. Even if Ranran asked me, I couldn’t teach her. Sigh, I don’t know who would have the patience to teach Ranran how to use a phone.”
Zhou Wei slapped his thigh: “That’s right.”
The two were looking at each other and nodding meaningfully when suddenly Kaka pushed the door crack open and ran out from inside, followed by Wen Ran who also pushed the door open and walked out.
Seeing Zhou Wei, she seemed somewhat at a loss, grasping her clothes with both hands and rubbing them, as if she wanted to say something.
Zhou Wei quickly greeted her: “Good afternoon, Miss Wen Ran.”
Actually, he really wanted to call Wen Ran “madam,” but he was worried that Wen Ran would be even more uncomfortable with such a title.
“You… hello.”
Wen Ran seemed somewhat nervous. When she was nervous, her pronunciation became even less clear, so she could only use all her strength to stammer intermittently: “I want… I want to ask about something.”
Seeing her so nervous, Zhou Wei couldn’t help but feel nervous along with her: “Whatever you want to ask, just ask. Take your time. I’m not in a hurry to leave.”
Kaka circled around Wen Ran’s feet a few times, then curiously went to sniff Zhou Wei. Obviously, it still remembered Zhou Wei. If it were a stranger, it wouldn’t approach so easily.
Wen Ran’s gaze always followed Kaka, but her mind was thinking about something else.
“I want to ask… Xie Yunli, is he… is he okay? Is work very busy? Has he… mm, has he been eating well?”
Zhou Wei suddenly understood — she was concerned about Xie Yunli!
Now he immediately perked up and said seriously: “Mr. Xie’s work is indeed always very busy. After all, he’s always been building his career on his own. It’s normal for him to occasionally be so busy that he doesn’t eat meals on time. But his health is still good. He occasionally goes jogging and works out, it’s just that he stays up late quite often…”
Wen Ran nodded. She digested Zhou Wei’s answer for a while and said: “Then… then how should I… should I thank him? He saved Kaka… and gave me and Kaka… so many gifts.”
Zhou Wei smiled: “If you have this thoughtfulness, Mr. Xie will definitely be very happy to know.”
Wen Ran was confused for a while.
Expressing gratitude was also such a difficult thing for her to do.
Zhou Wei said: “Miss Wen Ran, are you getting used to your new phone? It’s this year’s new model with many new functions. It’s not very easy to use at first, is it?”
Wen Ran said: “Taking photos of Kaka, I can do that. I can take photos.”
She paused, her expression becoming downcast: “Other things… I’m not very good at.”
That was indeed the first phone she had ever owned. She didn’t know how to use social media apps, and there wasn’t anything she wanted to play with. Those various apps weren’t exactly hard for her to understand, but she wasn’t very good at using them either.
Because for her, a phone wasn’t a necessity but something she habitually wanted to stay away from.
Originally, the news of her mother’s death and her father’s departure had both been conveyed to her through phones, so she really disliked the sound of phones ringing.
She was afraid of that sound, and even more afraid of human voices coming from it.
She was afraid of people talking to her, especially strangers she didn’t know. Even when people close to her spoke to her, she would sometimes feel nervous and at a loss.
All of this was beyond her control.
Seeing Wen Ran’s downcast expression, Aunt Zhu glanced at Zhou Wei, who quickly tried to remedy the situation: “Actually, we use phones the same way, taking photos and sending messages and such. There’s nothing else really, hehehe…”
After laughing dryly for a while, he had another inspiration: “Mr. Xie is also very concerned about Kaka, but he’s been too busy these past few days to come see it. How about you send the photos you took to Mr. Xie to see, so he can know how cute Kaka has become…”