Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

Shang Hexing did not stop Wen Zhi from leaving, nor did he get up to see her out. He lit a cigarette and sat quietly on the sofa waiting until, a few minutes later, Chen Jinhai came in and said,

"It was Mr. Gu who came to pick up Miss Wen."

Flicking off the ash, Shang Hexing stood up, "No need to follow them anymore."

-

While driving, Gu Rang occasionally glanced at the rearview mirror, noticing that Wen Zhi was especially distracted. He couldn’t resist teasing her, "The person has left, but the heart has been left behind."

Wen Zhi ignored him and looked back at Qionglou again.

"Stop looking. My car must have driven almost a hundred meters by now," Gu Rang said with a laugh.

Wen Zhi withdrew her gaze, replying in a muffled tone, "I have good eyesight, I can see far."

Gu Rang snorted softly and fell silent.

Midway, Wen Zhi realized that they were not taking the route to the Shang family’s old house and asked Gu Rang to change the route. Gu Rang said, "Let’s go back to Baixi Manor today."

Wen Zhi shook her head, "No, I still have ..."

At a red light, Gu Rang stopped the car, turned around, and cut her off, "President Mu is at Baixi Manor today."

Just that phrase alone stuffed all of Wen Zhi’s remaining words back into her mouth.

She said no more, which was taken as consent to return to Baixi Manor.

The moment she saw Mu Yanzhou, Wen Zhi felt particularly uneasy, but she still tried to act indifferent and called out to him coolly, "Dad."

Having not seen him for a while, Mu Yanzhou looked even thinner than the last time, and his complexion had worsened.

At that moment, Mu Yanzhou was sitting with a friend of his, chatting in the Octagonal Pavilion.

From a distance, he saw Wen Zhi approaching and raised his hand to wave, calling out, "Zhizhi, over here."

Wen Zhi had already seen the figures in the Octagonal Pavilion, and she asked Gu Rang, "Who’s the person sitting across from Dad?"

Gu Rang said, "A close friend of President Mu."

Wen Zhi asked further, "Where is he from?"

Gu Rang: "Hai City."

Wen Zhi didn’t inquire any further, as she didn’t know him anyway.

She silently followed behind Gu Rang, walking toward the pavilion, when suddenly she heard someone calling her. Wen Zhi looked up, and it was her father waving to her.

As they reached the Octagonal Pavilion, Gu Rang cleared a seat for Wen Zhi next to Mu Yanzhou.

The moment she sat down, she heard Mu Yanzhou introducing her, "This is my daughter, Wen Zhi."

Wen Zhi looked up at the man across from her who was drinking tea.

He had a very handsome face with exceptionally fair skin. His hair was curly but just over his ears, neither too long nor too curly, a perfectly moderate hairstyle.

A gentle-looking face.

No aggressiveness.

And somewhat familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

Wen Zhi stared fixedly at the man, unable to take her eyes off him, until she heard her father introduce him, "Zhizhi, this is Nian Xun."

Wen Zhi was staring at the man, lost in thought, when suddenly upon hearing the name Nian Xun, her face showed disbelief: "Uncle Nian?"

"Cough...!"

The tea Nian Xun was drinking almost choked into his lungs.

He started coughing violently.

Calmly, Mu Yanzhou instructed Gu Rang, "Help him ease his breath, don’t let him choke too badly."

Gu Rang nodded, stepped forward, and patted Nian Xun on the back, trying to help him ease some.

Although Wen Zhi didn’t know what she had done wrong, she had merely called out "Uncle Nian," but seeing Nian Xun struggling to catch his breath, she dared not speak a word and watched nervously as Gu Rang helped him breathe.

Nian Xun’s fair face turned red as a liver, and after struggling for half a minute, it gradually returned to normal, finally calming down.

Gu Rang poured him a glass of warm water, "Mr. Nian, drink some warm water."

Nian Xun took the glass and took a sip.

Wen Zhi asked, "Uncle Nian, are you feeling better?"

"Pfft..." The warm water in Nian Xun’s mouth unexpectedly sprayed out.

Mu Yanzhou’s face revealed a disgusted expression, "You’re done."

This time Nian Xun wasn’t choked, his complexion had clearly improved a lot. He glanced at Mu Yanzhou, who looked disgusted, wanted to say something, then his gaze fell on the innocent and perplexed Wen Zhi, and finally he sighed and said word by word, "Don’t call me uncle!"

Wen Zhi finally understood why Nian Xun had such a big reaction.

The last time she called him uncle seemed to be when she was a child.

In fact, Nian Xun’s real age was only thirty-one. It wasn’t inappropriate for her to call him uncle when she was a child, but now it might be a bit inappropriate...

Wen Zhi was pondering what to call him appropriately.

Suddenly, she heard her dad say, "What, you want to demote your own status?"

That was addressed to Nian Xun.

Nian Xun replied, "I’m so young, so good-looking."

Mu Yanzhou, "No matter how young and good-looking you are, you are of the same generation as me."

Nian Xun pursed his lips and continued to drink water.

Wen Zhi at the side pursed her lips and stole a laugh until Mu Yanzhou called her, "Zhizhi."

Wen Zhi immediately became serious and looked towards Mu Yanzhou.

Mu Yanzhou brought up, "I’ve heard something about you and Shang Hexing recently."

Wen Zhi pursed her lips in silence, without answering.

Across from her, Nian Xun suddenly said, "Little girl, I’ve heard too."

Wen Zhi glanced at Nian Xun and continued to remain silent, without uttering a word.

Mu Yanzhou signaled for Nian Xun to shut up, then he asked Wen Zhi, "Do you really plan to be with him?"

Today, Wen Zhi had come with the intention of seeing her father for the last time, not planning to talk too much about her own affairs, so she nonchalantly brushed it off, "That’s my own business."

Mu Yanzhou gave a bitter smile, then asked, "Zhizhi, do you truly like Shang Hexing? Have you thought about spending your life with him?"

At that moment, three pairs of eyes focused solely on Wen Zhi.

Gu Rang quietly drank his tea.

Nian Xun wore a look of watching a good show.

Mu Yanzhou quietly awaited his daughter’s answer.

But Wen Zhi still chose to evade, giving the same reply, "That’s my own business."

"Stubborn."

The person calling her stubborn was Nian Xun.

Wen Zhi looked up at him, and Nian Xun clicked his tongue a few times, then turned his head to Mu Yanzhou and said, "Yanzhou, your daughter is staring at me."

Mu Yanzhou gave Nian Xun a cold look.

Nian Xun clicked his tongue again, "Like father, like daughter."

Mu Yanzhou gestured for Nian Xun to shut up, then said to Wen Zhi, "You should interact with Nian Xun more recently."

Wen Zhi looked incredulous, "Are you trying to set me up with him?"

Nian Xun laughed out loud.

Mu Yanzhou calmly said, "Nian Xun is an outstanding leader, I hope you follow him closely and learn from him, treat him as your mentor. After a while, you’ll go with him to the seaside city."

Wen Zhi listened, puzzled, "Why go to the seaside city? I won’t go."

Mu Yanzhou’s voice lowered, "I’ve already arranged everything over there in the seaside city; going there will be a new beginning for you. In the future, live there. As for Shang Hexing, I actually don’t think you two are suitable."

Wen Zhi quietly listened.

When she heard her dad say that she and Shang Hexing weren’t suitable, her heart was calmer than ever before.

Mu Yanzhou personally poured Wen Zhi a cup of black tea, "If you can part ways, then do so. You two are not suitable."