Chapter 4: What Exactly Do You Feel About Wen Ruan?
He Yanci staying silent was fine, but the moment he spoke, Old Master He’s anger flared up.
What Old Master He despised the most was He Yanci’s pretentious businessman demeanor—so fake, so insincere!
Leaning on his cane, Old Master He came downstairs, shot a look of disdain at He Yanci, and scoffed, “You’ve picked up every single one of those ridiculous outside habits! What kind of behavior is this?”
“Yes, it’s all my fault.” He Yanci readily admitted his mistake, handing the tea pet in his hand to the butler beside the old man and naturally taking on the role of supporting him.
But Old Master He, still fuming, brushed He Yanci off and strode over to the main seat in the sofa area with surprisingly agile steps. Even as he sat down, he turned back to glare at He Yanci angrily. “If it wasn’t your fault, then whose was it? If it hadn’t been for your Grandpa Wen taking a knife for this old man, do you think you and your whole generation would even be here today? And now, letting you marry the Wen family’s girl is such a grievance to you?”
Father He cleared his throat lightly. Clearly, when Old Master He said “your whole generation,” he was including their own as well.
Overcome with emotion, Old Master He coughed several times, making everyone in the room tense up.
The first few coughs were real, but the latter ones were obviously exaggerated—deliberately meant for someone to hear.
Of course, He Yanci knew the old man’s tricks. He smiled calmly and said, “Grandpa, don’t get angry. Your health is the most important thing. Look, you wanted me to meet her, and I did. You wanted me to cooperate, and I did my best.”
Bringing up the meeting was a mistake—it was like throwing oil on Old Master He’s fiery temper.
“You dare mention that meeting to me?!” He banged his cane on the ground. “He Yanci, you’d better explain to me in full detail—what exactly happened between you and that Wen girl tonight? What did I tell you on the phone, and what did you actually do?”
He Yanci maintained his composed smile. “What did I do?”
He had carefully looked after the little girl for more than an hour and even personally sent her off.
What did he do wrong?
“Hmph! You still have the nerve to ask! That Wen girl came home with red-rimmed eyes. If I hadn’t made a call to the Wen family, were you just going to let this whole thing go unnoticed?”
She cried?
He Yanci’s brows furrowed slightly.
Did she still cry the same way she did as a child? Red nose, flushed little face—crying so hard she couldn’t catch her breath?
Her damp, curled lashes clinging together, looking pitiful as she called him “Brother Yanci”?
If he ignored her, she would sulk and turn her head away.
She had to be coaxed patiently before she would finally break into a smile and ask for a hug.
Old Master He shot him a sharp look. “Speak up. What nonsense did you say to her?”
Heh. What could he have said? That little girl had always been spoiled.
Who knew where she had been wronged this time—how was it his fault?
Seeing He Yanci’s indifferent attitude, Old Master He grew even more enraged. “Don’t give me that innocent look! Others may not know you, but do you think I don’t? Did you leave that girl alone somewhere while you ran off to work overtime at the office? I’m telling you, you have to marry that Wen girl! I had you meet her early so you two could get used to each other’s ways and start adjusting. Once she marries into our family, she’s my precious granddaughter-in-law. If you dare mistreat her or make her suffer, you’ll have to answer to me first!”
“...” He Yanci.
But Old Master He wasn’t done. He continued scolding He Yanci for over an hour, mostly blaming him for his lack of manners and scheming nature.
By the time Old Master He finally ran out of steam, the butler had to step in with words of comfort to calm him down.
Before heading upstairs, Old Master He even reminded He’s parents to have a serious talk with their son, throwing in a “a child’s misbehavior is the parents’ fault” lecture for good measure.
What could He’s parents say?
In the end, they just asked about his work, inquiring about the progress of his latest projects.
Their son had built his career without relying on any family connections and was doing well. As parents, of course, they were proud.
Besides, no parent truly wants to scold their child—especially when he rarely came home and had just endured a long lecture from Old Master He. How could they bear to criticize him further?
Instead, they just told him it was getting late and that he should rest.
Watching He Yanci’s tall figure disappear at the staircase, Song Yanhua sighed. “The old man is really pushing this. The two of them clearly have no such feelings, yet he insists on forcing them together. How are they supposed to live like that? And that Wen girl isn’t in great health—she can’t be angered or spoken to harshly. If they start having conflicts, things could go very wrong.”
What if something serious happened?
Just thinking about two people without feelings forced into marriage made Song Yanhua feel suffocated.
“The Wen girl was a premature baby, so she’s frailer, but it’s not a serious issue. She’s been nursed well over the years. Given how difficult her birth was—Min Qing being a high-risk pregnancy back then—it’s already a blessing that she survived,” He’s father said.
Song Yanhua sighed again. “It’s not that I dislike Wen Ruan—I just think this arrangement is unfair to both of them. Besides, with her weak health, who knows if she can even have children? We only have Yanci as our son, so of course, I have to think about these things.”
“You’re overthinking.” He’s father reassured her. “You know our son. If he truly doesn’t want this, he’ll find a way to smooth things over. He won’t let us worry.”
Hearing this, Song Yanhua’s frustration eased slightly. “I’ll have to find a chance to ask him about his thoughts. But listen, He Lao’er—let me make this clear. If Yanci is really unwilling and the old man still forces this, I won’t care about keeping up appearances between the two families.”
He Yanci still had unfinished work, so after returning to his room, he went straight to his study to continue working. Just as he sat down, a message popped up on his phone.
From Wen Ruan.
【Mr. He, I’ve arrived home. Thank you for your hospitality tonight.】
He Yanci raised an eyebrow and chuckled. A belated safety check-in?
He glanced at the time—12:30 AM.
He replied: 【2G network?】
Wen Ruan had been discussing script ideas with Fu Jingbai and got inspired, typing away for two hours. When she finally stopped and saw the time, it was already past midnight.
Oops.
She had even turned off the lights while working—otherwise, her mom would have long stormed in to drag her to bed.
Unplugging her charging phone, she saw He Yanci’s message from five minutes ago.
2G network?
What the heck?
Scrolling up, she was horrified to see a message she had sent him earlier.
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
That safety check-in message—she had meant to send it at 9:30 PM! How did it just get sent now?!
What kind of time lag was this?!
She nearly collapsed.
After much hesitation, she decided to explain.
【Sorry, I actually got home much earlier. I just forgot to send it. Just a late update.】
He Yanci chuckled.
【Can you take a call?】
A call? At this hour?
Was he going to discuss what they hadn’t settled earlier?
Might as well deal with it now.
She replied: 【Sure.】
The moment she sent it, He Yanci’s call came through.
Wen Ruan answered, her voice soft. “Mr. He, what can I do for you?”