Halfway there, Qiao Kexin tried several times to strike up a conversation with Wenyan.
But each attempt was blocked with a cheerful response from Wenyan, "I can't be distracted while driving."
As they arrived at the doorstep of Qiao Kexin's stepfather's villa, Qiao Kexin visibly tensed.
Seeing her like this, Wenyan couldn't help but shake her head inwardly.
If she felt so uncomfortable in this house, why didn't she leave after graduating from university? Instead, she spent her time giving the original host bad advice, attempting to derive a sense of superiority from her.
What was the point of a sense of superiority achieved through scheming and pressing down on others? The path most suited for oneself should always be walked with one's own feet.
Wenyan had no desire to go inside and deal with her family, so she took the initiative to say, "Kexin, I'll wait here for you. I won't go in with you. Just bring the things directly to me."
Qiao Kexin breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, then wait here for me. I'll be right back."
Wenyan nodded, and soon a light turned on in a room on the third floor of the villa across the street.
But it took Qiao Kexin quite some time to return.
"Have you been waiting long, Yanyan? When I was coming down, my stepfather saw the bag in my hands. He asked me what it was, and I chatted with him for a bit, which delayed me. Here's your bag."
"Hmm, let me check if everything is there," Wenyan said as she took the bag from Qiao Kexin's hands.
After finishing speaking, she also took out from the car the empty bag she had bought just today.
Seeing her meticulously transferring items while checking, Qiao Kexin's expression immediately soured.
"Yanyan, you're really thorough in checking. When you bought the bag, you said it had a good capacity. You couldn't have bought it specifically for these items, right? Don't worry, the bag I used to carry the items can be given to you. You don't have to go through all this trouble."
Finally, Wenyan finished checking the last item. She quickly zipped up the bag, turned to face Qiao Kexin squarely, and was devoid of the previous naïvely sweet appearance.
"Qiao Kexin, you weren't mocking me just now, were you?"
"What do you mean, Wenyan? You were the one who didn't trust me first."
"Trust? You have the nerve to mention that word. Qiao Kexin, just because I was once easy to deceive doesn't mean I'll always be a fool. I have my moments of clarity. You know very well why you approached me.
Today, I'll make things clear with you. I don't want to be friends with someone with malicious intentions, who eagerly awaits my misfortune. Now that I've taken back what I lent you, I won't bother with the rest. We are through.
I will delete and block your phone number and WeChat, and I won't contact you again. Please don't try to contact me either."
After speaking, Wenyan threw the empty bag at Qiao Kexin.
Qiao Kexin knew something was off with Wenyan today, but she had not expected her to break ties with her.
"No way!" Qiao Kexin grabbed Wenyan's hand.
"I told my stepfather that you were waiting outside for me. No matter what, you're still the adopted daughter of the Shen family, and you bear the Shen surname to outsiders. He asked me to invite you in for tea and a chat. You can break off our friendship if you want, but you must first come in and greet my stepfather! You can't leave me without face!"
"Are you crazy, Qiao Kexin!" Wenyan looked at her in disbelief, "I'm already breaking off ties with you; I don't care about your face. Let go."
"I won't let go!"
"You won't, huh? Fine."
Wenyan pulled out her phone from her pocket and, holding it sideways, forcefully smacked it against Qiao Kexin's hand.
To say it didn't hurt would be a lie. Qiao Kexin could bear the first hit, but by the second and third, she couldn't stand it anymore and reflexively let go of Wenyan.
She covered her hand, glaring fiercely at Wenyan through gritted teeth: "You'll regret this!"
Wenyan frowned and glanced at her, "Take some medicine for it!"
Inside the villa.
A father and son with ill intentions were talking.
"Dad, Shen Wenyan is just the Shen family's adopted daughter. Why did you invite her in? If I'm going to make contact, I should approach the Shen family's real daughter."
"As if the Shen family's real daughter would even give you the time of day! Put on a good show when the person arrives."
"Fine, no need to show off anymore. Look outside; she's already driven off. This Qiao Kexin is so useless, can't even bring someone inside. Keeping her around is as pointless as keeping a dog."
-
After returning to her apartment, Wenyan immediately blocked all of Qiao Kexin's contact information, and was too lazy to sort through the items she had taken back for the time being.
Right now, all she wanted to do was to take a hot shower and lie down comfortably in bed.
But no sooner had she applied her facial mask than her phone's ringtone started to blare.
Picking up her phone, she saw it was Su Yang calling.
"Hello, Mom. Why are you calling me at this time? Haven't you done your washing up yet?"
"No, not yet. What were you doing Yanyan? Why didn't you answer my calls earlier? I called several times."
"Oh, I was taking a bath and blow-drying my hair. It took almost over an hour, and the hairdryer was so loud I couldn't hear anything. Is there something you needed from me, Mom?"
"I was just wondering if you were coming home tonight. It's already dark and there was no sign of you, nor any calls or messages."
Wenyan couldn't help but smile as she considered saying she had mentioned that morning that she probably wouldn't be coming home that evening.
However, after a moment's thought, she decided not to say so. Her foster mother was showing concern for her, and she couldn't bear to sadden her.
Besides, she was still spending the Shen Family's money. She couldn't act like an ungrateful wretch.
"It's my fault. I know I was wrong, Mom. I'll make sure to tell you in advance next time if I'm not coming home. I'm staying at the apartment tonight, it's very safe."
"That's good to hear. As a girl, you shouldn't be wandering around alone at night, you know?"
"I know. Oh, by the way, Mom..." Wenyan paused for a moment before asking, "Did big brother come home tonight?"
"No. Why, do you need something from him?"
Wenyan knew that saying 'no' would sound strange, so she simply made up a story: "Sort of. I chatted with an old classmate today and he wanted to see big brother for some business."
"Oh, you should just contact your big brother directly then. You are siblings, there's no need to be so distant. Actually, Shen Yuan is a good kid with a warm heart underneath his cold exterior. If you spend more time with him, you'll see. It's just that you two seldom have the chance to communicate. You're both young; you really should hang out more often when you have free time."
Listening to Su Yang's voice on the phone, Wenyan could sense her mood becoming despondent due to the poor relationship among her children.
The whole family would have disbanded long ago if it weren't for her, the mother, holding it together. Left to Shen Yuan and his sons alone, they would have scattered to the winds a hundred and eighty times over.
It's a universal truth: a parent's love knows no bounds. Not wanting to add to Su Yang's already low spirits, Wenyan agreed to her suggestion.
"Alright, Mom. I'll find a chance."
"Mm, you should rest early too. It's getting late, and I should go to wash up as well."
"Alright, Mom. Good night, Mom."
Wenyan suddenly sweetly called out 'Mom' twice. At the other end of the line, Su Yang was instantly moved to tears.
Although 'Mom' and 'Mommy' mean the same thing, none of the children had called Su Yang 'Mommy' since they grew up.
The repetitive word 'Mommy' seemed to be reserved for innocent young children, representing the most intimate years between a mother and her child. Hearing this term after more than a decade, Su Yang felt a mix of sadness and gratitude.
This left Shen Yuan, sitting beside her, utterly at a loss for what to do: "What's wrong with you? Why are you crying?"
"Honey," Su Yang sniffed, leaning on Shen Yuan's shoulder, "Yanyan has really grown up; you did the right thing by bringing her home back then."
"Sigh," Shen Yuan let out a sigh, "Speaking of children, Zhirou is really giving me a headache."
"What's wrong? Is it something at work?"
"Exactly. I meant for her to start from the ground up, but she seems reluctant to accept that, impatient. She showed attitude to her direct boss on her very first day of work."
"Ah? Didn't I talk to her before she went to the company? Well, we just have to teach her slowly; maybe she'll get used to it after a while."
-
Meanwhile, Wenyan had finally made it to bed.
She had little hope for a response from the production crew, considering the timing, but she checked her email anyway.
To her surprise, she had actually received a notification from the production crew -- she passed the open audition!!