“You child, we didn’t say anything to you.” Wen Renhe glared at Fang Miaomiao feigning ferocity. “Strangers would think we were bullying you.”
“Father is joking,” Fang Miaomiao shook her head. “This matter is not up for discussion.”
“I am his grandmother. Everything I do is for his own good.”
If he didn’t work hard now, how could he shoulder the heavy responsibility of the Wen Group in the future? She certainly didn’t want the Wen family’s assets to remain solely in Wen Zhiyan’s hands.
“Mother, you say that as if I don’t exist. Since I am his mother now, everything about him should naturally be managed by me. I decide which kindergarten he goes to.”
“Fang Miaomiao!”
“I’m here.”
“Mother, An’an must be managed by Miaomiao.”
“On what grounds! He clearly…”
“Mother, choose your words carefully. He is my son, Wen Zhiyan’s son, and naturally belongs to Miao Miao and me.” Wen Zhiyan interrupted Ran Lian’s words with a deep voice. “Father, if you invited us over tonight just to lecture us, I don’t think we need to come so often in the future.”
“Wen Zhiyan, I am your mother.”
Wen Zhiyan looked at her without speaking.
“Alright, are you two done?” Wen Renhe rubbed his temples tiredly. “Do you have to quarrel every time you meet? You are mother and son, not enemies.”
“I’m still doing it for An’an’s good,” Ran Lian said with red eyes. “You know how people talk about An’an. I feel sorry for An’an, and I want to give An’an the best. What’s wrong with that?”
“An’an is Zhiyan’s child. Educating children is their business. Aren’t you tired thinking about so many things all day?”
“Not tired.”
“Father, Mother, it’s getting late. We’ll be leaving now.”
After speaking, Wen Zhiyan gestured for Fang Miaomiao to push him away.
“You!”
Ran Lian watched the two adults and one child leave, her body trembling with anger.
Wen Renhe shook his head without speaking.
He didn’t know why, but Ran Lian seemed to be regressing more and more. She was gentle and understanding when she was young. Now? She was calculating, implying criticism, and aggressive towards her own child.
When did his Ran Lian become someone he didn’t recognize?
“Stop making a fuss.”
“You think I’m making a fuss? Wen Renhe, do you know what you’re saying?”
“Do you really think I don’t know what you’re thinking?” Wen Renhe looked at Ran Lian calmly. “You resent me, you resent Zhiyan. Do you think we ruined you, or that Zhiyan ruined Zhi Mo?”
“Don’t mention Zhi Mo to me.” Hearing the name, Ran Lian faltered and collapsed onto the chair. “You don’t deserve to mention Zhi Mo. If Wen Zhiyan felt any guilt, he shouldn’t have gotten married. He should have spent his entire life atoning for Zhi Mo.”
“Enough.”
Wen Renhe stood up abruptly, slammed his hand on the table, and stared at Ran Lian with angry eyes. “Are you satisfied only when Zhiyan leaves us completely?”
Ran Lian flinched in fear but still said with a stiff upper lip, “Wen Zhiyan dares. He owes me, he owes Zhi Mo, he owes An’an. He hasn’t atoned for his sins. Let him try leaving the Wen Group.”
Wen Renhe looked at the resentful Ran Lian before him, a sense of emptiness washing over him.
He then shook his head, picked up his cane, and turned to leave.
Ran Lian looked at Wen Renhe’s retreating back, collapsing onto the chair with a feeling of helplessness. She regretted it. She shouldn’t have agreed to Wen Renhe’s suggestion of handing over the premature An’an to Wen Zhiyan. Now, the Wen Group was in Wen Zhiyan’s grasp, and even An’an was.
Wen Zhiyan was greedy for the Wen Group’s power, so he wanted to cripple his own An’an, preventing him from successfully inheriting the Wen Group when he grew up.
Wen Zhiyan was a jinx.
Ran Lian sat in her seat and sobbed softly.
Meanwhile.
The three returned to the apartment.
After coaxing Wen Yan’an to sleep, Fang Miaomiao pondered for a moment before taking a glass of milk and knocking on the study door.
“Come in.”
She pushed open the door, but the light was off.
The faint blue glow of the computer illuminated Wen Zhiyan’s handsome, yet slightly dejected face.
“Can we turn on the light?”
“Of course.”
Wen Zhiyan’s voice was hoarse.
She turned on the light.
He closed his eyes, unaccustomed to it, and reopened them after a moment.
“Why isn’t Miaomiao asleep yet?”
“I guessed you weren’t happy, so I wanted to see you.”
The book only mentioned that Wen Zhiyan was not favored in the Wen family, but the author offered no explanation for the reason. At first, she thought it was because the old madam Ran disliked Wen Zhiyan’s indifferent personality.
After the scene just now, she felt it might not be the case.
“I’m fine,” Wen Zhiyan shook his head. “Miaomiao, don’t be afraid. In the future, I won’t let you and An’an return to Yu Garden for unnecessary festivals.”
As for him, he was used to it.
“Do you think this is what I care about?”
Wen Zhiyan lowered his gaze and remained silent.
“It’s getting late, you should get some rest. Even though you don’t have to work tomorrow, you can sleep in.”
“Miaomiao,” Wen Zhiyan called out to Fang Miaomiao, who was about to leave, his tone carrying a hint of pleading. “Can you… stay with me for a while?”
Fang Miaomiao turned around, a smile on her lips as she looked at Wen Zhiyan. “Let’s go watch a movie.”
“Huh?”
Before Wen Zhiyan could react, he saw Fang Miaomiao walk towards him, pushing him into the living room.
“Whenever I’m in a bad mood, I watch horror movies to vent my sadness,” Fang Miaomiao said as she looked for a horror film. “At that time, I feel that there is nothing sad in the world more terrifying than watching a horror movie.”
Once you start watching a horror movie, you’re too scared to be sad.
“Found it.”
Fang Miaomiao turned on the projector, placed the movie, and then sat beside Wen Zhiyan. “I just found this. It’s the super scary kind. Thailand, for all their faults, makes excellent horror movies. They always make my hair stand on end.”
She even felt too scared to go to the bathroom.
“Miaomiao likes watching horror movies?”
“Not exactly,” Fang Miaomiao watched the projector with keen interest. “It’s emotional transfer. When your emotions are shifted to another thing, you’ll realize you don’t have the energy to be sad at all. Don’t talk, the main feature is starting.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a haunting melody began.
Fang Miaomiao involuntarily leaned closer to Wen Zhiyan.
Following the sound, the film reached its climax, with several students frantically running down a corridor.
Bang.
Bang!
The sound of a ball.
Footsteps.
And a girl’s laughter.
Fang Miaomiao swallowed and, while leaning into Wen Zhiyan, kept her eyes fixed on the projector.
“Ah!”
Fang Miaomiao trembled and instinctively buried her head against Wen Zhiyan. “Has that ghostly thing gone yet?”
Wen Zhiyan looked expressionlessly at the projector, where a little girl was using her own head as a ball. “It’s still there.”
“What kind of terrifying scene is it?”
“A little girl in a red dress.”
“That’s it?” Fang Miaomiao asked skeptically.
“Mhm.”
Fang Miaomiao peeked out. The scene on the projector was so terrifying that she almost jumped off the sofa.