Chapter 54: Who Remains in South China?

Wen Jianan comforted herself that it didn't matter, as courage to start over was something life never lacked.

She could simply march onto the next battlefield and fight anew.

Tan Fang was quite surprised to see Wen Jianan returning home at an hour when she should have been at work.

After asking a few questions and learning that Wen Jianan had officially resigned from Fidu, she momentarily didn't know what to say, and looked at her with a cautious expression.

She knew all too well that if it weren't for joining Fidu a few years ago, no one could predict what Wen Jianan's life would look like today.

Tan Fang was also deeply grateful to Wei Ming for lending a helping hand when Wen Jianan was at her lowest ebb, but alas, the two of them were simply not meant to be.

Oblivious to Tan Fang's worried gaze and cautious demeanor, Wen Jianan carried her belongings back to her room on her own.

She sat in her room, lost in thought.

That night, contrary to her expectations of tossing and turning, she slept remarkably well.

Reflecting on her years at Fidu, nights of sound sleep had actually been rare; she was constantly subjected to endless overtime and business trips.

And yet, not only did she leave without a glowing recommendation, but she had also almost been made the scapegoat for a massive blunder.

When she woke up the next morning, her biological clock still followed the daily routine of getting ready for work.

Wen Jianan originally intended to lie in bed a little longer, but nature called, forcing her to crawl out and head to the bathroom. Upon stepping out, she discovered both Wen Shaoru and Tan Fang were present.

The two of them seemed to have just returned from buying breakfast. The front door was still open, and Wen Jianan instantly caught sight of Cheng He following right behind them.

"Jianan," Cheng He called out gently.

Wen Shaoru and Tan Fang exchanged a glance, their eyes brimming with smiles, clearly filled with satisfaction.

Wen Jianan, however, had never expected Cheng He to show up, and stood frozen for several seconds.

"Why didn't you give me a heads-up? You traveled such a long way, you must have disrupted your work again."

By the time she said this, the group had already seated themselves around the dining table.

Wen Jianan quickly went to wash up and changed into a casual outfit. Since she no longer needed to go to work, she skipped makeup entirely.

Her features were striking to begin with; bare-faced, in Cheng He's eyes, she possessed an even more captivating beauty reminiscent of a lotus emerging from clear water.

He felt as though Wen Jianan was a book he had only just begun to open, and he longed to turn the pages one by one and savor every detail.

Naturally, he hoped Wen Jianan felt the same way about him.

Accepting a bowl of soy milk handed to her by Wen Jianan, Cheng He suppressed his fluttering emotions and smiled lightly, "If I had told you in advance, you definitely wouldn't have let me come. It doesn't matter anyway; my previous project just wrapped up, so I have free time now."

"That's wonderful! Xiao Cheng, since Nannan has time too, you can spend more days accompanying her."

Before Wen Jianan could even speak, Tan Fang eagerly answered on her behalf.

A wave of speechlessness washed over her.

Cheng He readily agreed, "Of course."

Tan Fang sized the two of them up, utterly thrilled.

Now that Wen Jianan had resigned from Fidu, Tan Fang felt that their relationship should be put on the fast track as soon as possible. Should Wen Jianan decide to follow Cheng He back to Yancheng afterward, she would raise no objections whatsoever.

After breakfast, having dispatched Wen Jianan and Cheng He to go out for a stroll and clear their minds, Tan Fang took the initiative to contact Cheng's aunt.

Upon receiving her call, Cheng's aunt beamed from ear to ear, "What a coincidence! I was just thinking of calling you these past couple of days."

"Great minds think alike."

Meanwhile, downstairs at the apartment building.

Wen Jianan and Cheng He walked side by side toward the exit of the residential complex.

A polite, measured distance was maintained between them the entire time, yet Cheng He acutely noticed that whenever he deliberately closed the gap even slightly, Wen Jianan would immediately step away to restore the distance.

"Do you really not want me here?" he suddenly asked.

"How could that be?" Wen Jianan's expression remained serene, so serene that it lacked even a trace of superfluous emotion. "I'm just worried that this will affect your work. Besides, Xiaofeng's condition still requires someone to look after him. Coming all the way here and leaving him in the sole care of a nanny—isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

This was indeed a persuasive and hard-to-refute reason.

Cheng He nodded, "You don't need to worry about that; I've already instructed my family members to go over and take care of him."

Wen Jianan said nothing more.

Stepping out of the complex, the two walked toward the intersection. Across the street lay a park, and Wen Jianan suggested taking a walk over there.

Cheng He agreed. As they crossed the street, he reached out to shield Wen Jianan. From a distance, it looked as though he was affectionately pulling her into his embrace, while Wen Jianan offered no resistance.

At least, that was how it appeared to Liang Yuxiu.

He had learned of Wen Jianan's departure from Fidu last night, along with a rough outline of the events that transpired. However, pressing matters in a neighboring city had kept him occupied; as soon as he finished, he drove through the night to arrive here, only to be delayed further by taking a wrong turn on the road.

Having finally managed to reach the intersection near Wen Jianan's home, he was greeted by the sight of her and Cheng He locked in an intimate embrace.

Liang Yuxiu's grip on the steering wheel tightened, his brow furrowed deeply, the emotions swirling in his eyes as thick and unyielding as undiluted ink.

The interior of the car felt frozen, as if even the air had ceased to flow.

Until Jiang Wenfei's phone call broke the silence.

Liang Yuxiu glanced at the screen, reluctant to answer, yet she persisted with the tenacity of someone determined to get her way, demanding his attention.

Liang Yuxiu pressed his thin lips into a tight line and accepted the call.

Jiang Wenfei's cheerful, coquettish voice carried an obvious upward inflection, "Axiu, how much longer will your business take? There are so many details for the engagement banquet, and I'm waiting for you to come back so we can discuss them together."

"I've already told you, you can make the decisions. I have no objections," Liang Yuxiu said coldly, the impatience in his tone practically bleeding through the phone.

Yet Jiang Wenfei seemed utterly oblivious to it.

"How can that be? An engagement concerns both of us; what does it mean if I make all the decisions alone? Anyway, I'll wait for you. If you still aren't back in a couple of days, I'll just come down to Huanan to find you."

A subtle threat underlined Jiang Wenfei's words.

She knew who was currently in Huanan.

She also knew that Liang Yuxiu hadn't gone there to meet anyone in particular, otherwise she would have already rushed over.

The moment the information leak scandal broke, she had probed Liang Yuxiu, and it was he who insisted on investigating the matter to the very end.

Though her suspicions weren't completely allayed, Liang Yuxiu's resolute stance had satisfied her nonetheless.

As long as Liang Yuxiu wasn't shielding Wen Jianan, everything was fine.

Once she and Liang Yuxiu were engaged and subsequently married, everything would fall neatly into place.

The name Wen Jianan was merely a mundane, insignificant interlude in her extraordinary life with Liang Yuxiu.

Upon entering the park, Wen Jianan and Cheng He found a shaded pavilion and sat down.

Noticing Cheng He opening and closing his mouth as if hesitating to speak several times, she took the initiative to break the ice: "You came here because of my resignation, didn't you?"

Cheng He smiled awkwardly, "Nothing escapes your notice."

"Well? What are your plans for the future? Or do you intend to take a break for a while?"

It was summer now, and the sun was already scorching high in the morning. Even the slightest exertion left one sweltering.

Wen Jianan casually picked up a large fallen leaf from the ground and used it to fan herself.

After a moment of thought, she replied, "I haven't had the chance to think about it yet. I'll let you know once I've figured it out."

"All right, then I'll wait for you."

The remark carried a certain ambiguity, which Wen Jianan chose not to address directly.

She offered a faint smile, keeping to herself the fact that several companies had already reached out to her, though she had yet to decide whether to accept their offers.