Chapter 59: It Was All Destined by Fate

Tan Rong glanced at Tan Fang, who stood there with her mouth agape and her eyes red, and then walked away awkwardly.

Tan Fang immediately grabbed Wen Jianan's hand, every single word she uttered filled with a mother's deep affection and parting advice.

"Once you arrive in Yancheng, be sure to send messages home often. Your stomach and digestion aren't good—don't get so caught up in work that you lose track of time and forget to eat..."

"And, whatever you do, don't try to bear everything on your own. If you need help, just reach out to Xiao Cheng..."

She rambled on for a good ten minutes before Wen Jianan interrupted her with a wry, helpless smile.

"All right, Mom, I need to go inside now."

Wen Jianan gave her a hug. "You and Dad take good care of yourselves at home, and if anything comes up, make sure to let me know right away."

She released Tan Fang, grabbed her suitcase, and turned to walk inside.

For this trip to Yancheng, Wen Jianan had only brought a single suitcase; everything else had already been packed and shipped via logistics.

The airplane pierced through the layers of clouds and finally landed in Yancheng amidst a low, droning roar.

Wen Jianan pulled her suitcase out into the arrival hall, where Cheng He was already waiting for her.

"Jianan!"

Wen Jianan walked over, and Cheng He effortlessly took the suitcase from her hand.

"You must be hungry. Let's go get something to eat first, and then I'll take you to the apartment."

Wen Jianan nodded and followed him toward the parking lot.

As soon as the car drove out of the parking lot, the intense afternoon sunlight suddenly spilled down. With the car windows rolled down, a breeze carrying a touch of summer heat rushed in, making Wen Jianan feel a sudden sense of familiarity.

After all these years apart, she realized she still preferred Yancheng and felt much more at home here.

"What would you like to eat?"

Wen Jianan was tilting her head back, welcoming the baptism of the summer breeze, when Cheng He suddenly asked from the driver's seat.

Without missing a beat, Wen Jianan blurted out, "Hot pot."

"Sounds good."

Cheng He drove straight to the hot pot restaurant where they had first met.

Standing at the entrance, Wen Jianan's expression turned calm and profound.

"Let's go in."

Cheng He parked the car and walked over, naturally taking Wen Jianan's hand.

By the time Wen Jianan registered what was happening, he had already pulled her along for a few steps.

A waiter stepped forward to guide them, and Cheng He specifically requested a table upstairs, leading her up the stairs.

The rush hour for dining had already passed, so it wasn't very crowded. The table Cheng He wanted was still vacant, and he gently led Wen Jianan to sit down.

The waiter handed them the menu, and after consulting Wen Jianan's preferences, Cheng He placed the order.

Once the waiter walked away, Cheng He asked with a smile, "Do you still remember this table?"

Wen Jianan let out a soft hum of acknowledgment.

Returning here after more than three months, she couldn't quite describe the complicated emotions swirling in her heart. Only one phrase popped into her mind:

Some things are simply destined by fate.

Cheng He wanted to reminisce about the past with her, but seeing her lackluster and indifferent expression, he had no choice but to bite his tongue and drop the subject.

The dishes were served, and Cheng He said softly, "You must be exhausted, right? Once we finish eating, I'll take you right back to rest."

Wen Jianan was indeed dead tired—the kind of tired where she didn't even want to spare another word.

She ate in silence, and after filling her stomach, she was driven by Cheng He to a residential compound.

The moment she laid eyes on the compound, Wen Jianan's pupils sharply contracted.

She frowned, her face registering something far beyond mere astonishment—it was aversion and resistance.

Cheng He, who had been talking to her all the way, immediately noticed her abnormal reaction.

"What's wrong? Do you not like this neighborhood? It's not far from Oumei, so your daily commute won't be too tiring. I spent quite a while picking this place out before finally deciding on it."

Wen Jianan knew he had put in a lot of effort. She had originally intended to find a place on her own, but Cheng He insisted on taking full charge.

Seeing how thoughtful he was, Tan Fang had practically forced Wen Jianan to listen to him.

However, Wen Jianan's gaze drifted toward the opposite side of the compound. There stood the magnificent, sweeping characters of "Scenic Garden" right at the entrance of the residential complex.

The apartment Cheng He had found happened to be directly facing the marital home Wen Jianan had once shared with Liang Yuxiu.

Words of refusal stuck in her throat, and she had no idea how to phrase them properly.

She and Cheng He were already engaged; she shouldn't bring up matters related to the past, lest it make him feel uncomfortable.

Besides, this was an apartment Cheng He had searched for over a long period. She couldn't bring herself to dismiss his kind intentions.

After turning it over in her mind several times, Wen Jianan finally managed, "It's not that. But with a location like this, the rent shouldn't be cheap, right?"

"As long as you live comfortably, nothing else matters."

Assuming she liked the place and was merely worried about the rent, Cheng He added, "I've already paid a full year's rent in advance, so you can just settle in with peace of mind."

Hearing this, Wen Jianan knew that canceling the lease and looking elsewhere was completely out of the question. She immediately pulled out her phone.

"How much was it? I'll transfer the money to you."

"There's no need for that."

Cheng He's brow furrowed, his expression turning serious. "I've said it many times before—we don't need to split hairs over these little things between us. Besides, I'm your fiancé now; taking care of you and doing things for you is only right. Unless, of course, you don't really consider me your fiancé in your heart."

"I..." Wen Jianan parted her lips, her defensive words halting on her tongue.

In the end, she had no choice but to let Cheng He have his way.

Cheng He drove the car into the underground parking lot of the compound, and they took the elevator straight from the parking garage up to the ninth floor.

The apartment Cheng He rented was 902, a finely decorated unit with windows facing both north and south. It was clean, bright, and breezy, instantly bringing a sense of relaxation to anyone who stepped inside.

It made Wen Jianan all the more certain that he had indeed poured genuine effort into this.

Although she could have found a place on her own, she certainly wouldn't have found anything this nice. She felt both touched by Cheng He's thoughtfulness and burdened by a faint sense of pressure.

He was exceptionally good to her and took meticulous care of her, yet she felt utterly incapable of returning that devotion in kind.

"Thank you," she found herself saying, repeating the words over and over.

Acting as if he hadn't heard her, Cheng He walked over to the living room and pointed toward a corner. "I also went and picked up all the delivery boxes you shipped ahead of time. They're all right here. Take a look and see if anything is missing."

Wen Jianan glanced over the stack briefly and nodded.

"Thank you. You've really worked hard for my sake."

With a helpless sigh, Cheng He stepped closer, fixing his deep gaze directly on Wen Jianan. "If you really want to thank me, then... could you grant me a request?"

Unexplained panic fluttered in Wen Jianan's chest.

She instinctively averted her gaze, desperately searching for any topic to escape the moment, but before she could, Cheng He grabbed her hand unceremoniously and pulled her into his arms.

"Just give me a hug." Cheng He rested his chin on the top of her head, a profound sense of contentment saturating his voice. "We've been together for so long, and yet we've never had a genuine, formal embrace."

Wen Jianan remained stiff in his embrace, unaware that she herself had just let out a quiet sigh of relief.

She allowed him to hold her for a short while, and only when the awkwardness became entirely unbearable did she gently push him away.

"All right, maybe you should head back now? I want to unpack and rest for a bit."

She had to report to work at Oumei tomorrow, so she had to use today to roughly organize both the apartment and her own belongings.

Fortunately, Cheng He had already hired a cleaning crew to scrub the place down; the only things left to sort out were Wen Jianan's personal items.

Cheng He wanted to stay and help, but Wen Jianan, dreading a repeat of that awkward intimacy, managed to shoo him away with a few brief sentences.

Once the door clicked shut, Wen Jianan pressed her back against it and took several deep, steadying breaths.

She then walked over to the balcony. Lifting her eyes, she found that from this exact angle, she had a direct view of the former marital home she had shared with Liang Yuxiu.

Wen Jianan bit her lower lip, a deep, sorrowful darkness shadowing her eyes.