During the time when Aunt Zhu was unconscious in the hospital, and after waking up, was making a fuss about being discharged immediately while being restrained by nurses, Wen Ran had gone out alone for a full hour.
Just before Xie Yunli arrived, she had actually just returned not long ago.
She had a phobia of all sudden noises. Due to her extreme environmental sensitivity and severe social barriers, she also couldn’t go to open spaces or crowded places alone.
This also meant that if no one was home to accompany her, it would be very difficult for her to seek help from outsiders in case of any emergency. She couldn’t even use the phone normally because she didn’t have her own mobile phone.
She had a psychological barrier to that thing.
Things that could make her voluntarily willing to go out had never happened since her mother’s death. So far, this situation had continued for many years.
So after Aunt Zhu heard her say this, she was completely stunned. For a moment, she even wanted to slap herself to see if she was still unconscious in the hospital and dreaming.
“Ranran, tell me quickly, where did you go?”
Wen Ran raised her hand and made a gesture.
Aunt Zhu immediately understood. It turned out Wen Ran had gone out to find the little cat.
This residential complex had a very good environment, with excellent cleaning and security facilities. Previously, stray animals were almost never seen.
However, probably because some residents in the complex had actively fed some stray cats and dogs that wandered over, the patrolling security guards now turned a blind eye to those small animals and no longer drove them away so harshly. Occasionally, they would see one or two stray cats passing by outside.
Aunt Zhu would always take some food to feed them.
Although Wen Ran had only gone out to feed stray cats in the residential complex, Aunt Zhu still felt extremely happy because at least she was willing to take the first step.
She was so happy she almost jumped up: “This is really great news, it’s really wonderful! Shall we bake cookies to celebrate today? And I’ll make your favorite pumpkin soup while we’re at it.”
Wen Ran looked at her happy face and suddenly grabbed her hand, saying: “There’s one more thing I want to tell you, Aunt Zhu, although I don’t know if this is a good thing…”
“Of course, whatever you want to say, Auntie is willing to listen. Take your time. Mr. Xie has already left, we have plenty of time, no rush…”
That evening, Xie Yunli entertained clients until midnight and arrived at the company punctually at 9:30 the next morning for a meeting.
Apart from the nearly bankrupt factory he had inherited from his father, Xie Yunli’s current achievements were actually entirely built through his own efforts.
He had gone to the south alone to start his business right after graduating from university. Two years later, when he returned, the family assets were almost gone, but he had already become the founder of a company with a hundred employees.
Looking across the entire coastal city, the company he founded couldn’t be said to be very large in scale, but over the years, whether it was the company’s scale, profits, or number of employees, everything had been continuously growing.
Last year, Xie Yunli had made bold moves again, spending a lot of money to completely renovate the old factory his father had left behind. Then, using his own company’s core technology combined with the factory to develop new products, in just one year he had turned the factory from loss to profit. Combined with the newly expanded several thousand square meters of new company space, at his current age of not yet thirty, he could already be considered quite a successful young elite.
Therefore, whether Xie Yunli was married or not was also a topic of curiosity for many people.
It was said, just said, that Xie Yunli had once mentioned being married, but why had no one ever seen his wife come to the company?
“Manager Bai, why don’t you ask indirectly?”
“Yes, Manager Bai, so many people in our company are curious about this. You’re the one who can talk to Mr. Xie best, why don’t you ask personally and satisfy our curiosity?”
As the newly promoted department manager, Bai Lin was indeed very curious about this matter.
It wasn’t just her own curiosity. Many unmarried young women in the company were also very interested in this topic. Not all of them had any thoughts about Xie Yunli himself; some were simply curious.
Of course, there were those with thoughts too, such as Bai Lin herself.
She had inquired for a long time. Some people in the company said Xie Yunli had been married for a long time but seemed to have a bad family relationship, so they had been in a state of separation. Some said he had married and divorced early on, and others said he was single and unmarried.
Even more ridiculous was the claim that he detested women and had always been a non-marriage advocate, which seemed impossible no matter how you thought about it.
In her view, Xie Yunli was either unmarried, or he had a bad relationship with the one at home who couldn’t be seen in public.
She had always wanted to find an opportunity. Coincidentally, today Xie Yunli’s business partner and longtime friend Liang Zeqi came to the company, and she happened to know this Liang Zeqi too.
When she carried coffee toward Xie Yunli’s office, many people were very much looking forward to the results she would bring back.
This would also be their company’s most curious headline gossip, bar none.
Bai Lin knocked and entered. Just as she took the first step into the office with a bright smile, she heard Liang Zeqi, who was sitting on the sofa with his back to her, say: “Speaking of which, how is your wife doing lately?”
Bai Lin’s brilliant smile that had just bloomed immediately froze on her face.
Xie Yunli looked up at her. “Manager Bai, is there something you need?”
“…Ah, nothing. It’s just that I haven’t seen Mr. Liang for a long time, so I specially came to bring him coffee.” Bai Lin casually placed the two cups of coffee on the table. Liang Zeqi smiled at her: “Congratulations on your promotion, Manager Bai. When are you treating us?”
“I’m available anytime, just depends on when you can grace us with your presence.”
Bai Lin raised her hand to smooth her hair and said with a smile: “I just heard you mention someone’s wife… it wouldn’t be Mr. Xie’s wife, would it? We’ve been at the company for so long, but we’ve never seen her…”
“How about tonight then? I’ll book the place, you treat.”
Liang Zeqi interrupted her: “As for whether your Mr. Xie will come or not, that depends on whether I can please him later.”
Bai Lin said: “Oh my, that would really be my honor. Mr. Xie, if you have time, why don’t you come with your wife?”
Using the excuse of treating people to celebrate her recent promotion, inviting the boss to join was normal.
However, upon hearing this, Liang Zeqi’s expression changed, and he hurriedly tried to interrupt her, when he heard Xie Yunli say calmly: “Didn’t we arrange to meet with President Shen from Shangpin tonight? Are you going to stand him up?”
Bai Lin was immediately stunned. “Ah, I almost forgot. That’s right, then… then we’ll have to postpone it.”
Liang Zeqi breathed a sigh of relief. “Postpone it then. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future.”
Bai Lin also realized that Liang Zeqi was giving her an out, quickly agreed with a few words, and went out.
As soon as she left, Liang Zeqi said: “This girl usually has very high emotional intelligence when talking to clients. How did she act so foolishly just now? Ah, indeed, women become easily foolish once they fall for someone…”
Among the few people who knew of Wen Ran’s existence, not one dared to openly mention that name in front of him. Even if they did, it had to be with careful and cautious inquiry.
Liang Zeqi’s sudden mention of this topic was actually a hint for Bai Lin to hear. How could he not see Bai Lin’s little thoughts?
Unfortunately, he still underestimated Bai Lin’s determination in this regard. Having finally caught this opportunity, she couldn’t wait to immediately extract information about Xie Yunli’s family situation.
Still too hasty.
But it was understandable. After all, Xie Yunli’s family situation was really special. Outsiders really had no chance to find out about it. Even though Bai Lin had asked Liang Zeqi countless times, both directly and indirectly, he had never loosened his lips to say anything.
Xie Yunli glanced at him and said: “What do you want to say?”
“Don’t misunderstand me.”
Liang Zeqi raised his hands, indicating he was innocent. “I just wanted to give her a little hint. After all, she just got promoted. Working hard and earning more money would be better, don’t you think?”
Xie Yunli put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and said: “I went back a few days ago.”
Liang Zeqi immediately understood. “You went to see her?”
Liang Zeqi was one of the few people who knew of Wen Ran’s existence, and he also knew that Wen Ran had autism spectrum disorder, though he had never seen her in person.
“How was it?”
Liang Zeqi asked.
“Still the same as before.”
Xie Yunli paused and said: “However…”
His mind suddenly flashed to when she ran up from the basement. Her gaze was the same as before, avoidant and evasive, but unexpectedly, she had spoken up.
“However what?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking whether I should find her a professional therapist again.”
“Is Wen Ran herself willing? I remember you mentioned before that she had been hurt during previous treatments? I even specifically asked people about it. Previously, domestic research in this area was still too limited. There weren’t many formal treatment institutions, and it was even more chaotic over ten years ago. It’s understandable that her family would try anything when desperate.”
Liang Zeqi thought for a moment and said: “Perhaps what she needs more is a psychologist? Since she was forced by her family to receive autism treatment since childhood, maybe her psychological aspects need some guidance too?”
Xie Yunli said: “I’ll consider it, but I still need to consult professionals.”
Liang Zeqi nodded. Indeed, no matter what, Xie Yunli was quite responsible toward his wife, even though there were no feelings involved.
Even as a good friend, he had never been optimistic about Xie Yunli’s marriage, but it wasn’t appropriate to say anything. After all, he understood Xie Yunli’s character well. Once he made a decision, it was very difficult for others to change it.
…
“Ranran, are you ready?”
Aunt Zhu looked at Wen Ran in front of her and asked gently once again: “If you feel uncomfortable, tell me immediately. Auntie will bring you home right away.”
Wen Ran nodded. “Don’t worry, Aunt Zhu. Didn’t I often go out with Mama before? I can do it. I’m already… already not a child anymore.”
Aunt Zhu looked at her carefully.
Yes, from appearance, Wen Ran was indeed no longer a little girl. She was now twenty-four years old, and in a few months, she would be twenty-five.
However, if you looked carefully at her eyes, you could discover that those eyes were still the same as when she was little, both clear and pure, like a small flower bud protected in a greenhouse that hadn’t experienced wind and rain, really not suitable for living in the outside world.
But she actually wasn’t foolish at all.
Intellectual disability was people’s stereotypical impression of children with autism. Many people thought autism patients had poor brain development and natural defects, so they appeared dull and stupid. But actually, not every child with autism spectrum disorder displayed the same symptoms. For example, some autistic children particularly loved various sounds, while some autistic children couldn’t tolerate any degree of noise.
They had commonalities as well as many differences. Each of them had a unique self. They would also have their own hobbies and, like every ordinary person, possessed their own set of cognition about this world. It’s just that their view of this world was different from normal people.
All the things ordinary girls wanted to do, as long as Wen Ran wanted to, she could do them.
After all, she still had Aunt Zhu as her ‘bodyguard’ by her side.
Aunt Zhu, full of responsibility, took Wen Ran’s hand, pushed open the door, and led her out of this warm but closed villa.