CHAPTER 58
Under the cover of the night, the entire city of Shencheng was shrouded in cold winds and drizzling rain.
The bad weather caused flight delays, and Wei Jiabao arrived too late. After much effort, he finally got permission to enter the building.
He could count the number of times he had been to this place on one hand, and it was always the 32nd floor. Since the butler had spoken with her on the phone, he was sure she hadn't rested yet, so he figured it wouldn't be a bother as he took the service elevator up.
He guessed Wei Zhuang was on the 33rd floor and vigorously rang the doorbell when he arrived.
Sure enough, the door opened.
Wei Zhuang stood at the entrance, looking at him with a cold expression.
Wei Jiabao stepped inside, chuckling and scratching his head. "There's no food downstairs, I'm starving! I haven't eaten all day."
He tilted his head to look at his shoulder, grinning. "The rain outside is really heavy."
As he spoke, he walked in further. "This place..."
"If you're hungry, find the butler. Go downstairs, I want to rest." she interrupted.
"Aren't you mad that I suddenly came back?" He deliberately ignored the unwelcoming tone in Wei Zhuang's voice.
Wei Jiabao was tall, even half a head taller than Wei Zhuang, but his demeanor was weak, almost like he was trying to act cute. "Don't be mad! My latest work is really good, I got praised for it and wanted to show it to you."
The UCLA [University of California, Los Angeles] Film Department is very famous, producing talents who are the backbone of the Hollywood film school system.
Wei Zhuang sent him to study, showing high expectations for him. He was very happy and wanted to take this opportunity to get closer to her.
Just as he was about to say something, his gaze suddenly paused, looking behind her.
......
He blinked hard, for a moment thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. Looking again, he saw Xiang Xiaoyuan.
Her slightly damp long hair fell over her shoulders, and although her white long-sleeved pajamas were simple, they made her captivating. She also carried the fresh scent of having just bathed.
Countless thoughts rushed into his mind, leaving him unable to form a coherent sentence, "You, you..."
He turned to Wei Zhuang in disbelief, "Seriously..."
Xiang Xiaoyuan also looked shocked. She took a step back, instinctively glancing at Wei Zhuang.
Wei Zhuang's eyes met Wei Jiabao's, and from her perspective, her expression wasn't very pleasant.
Just as Xiaoyuan was about to say something, she heard Wei Zhuang's calm voice first, as if nothing was amiss, "Xiaoyuan."
It felt as if it floated over, whispering and soothing in her ear. Wei Zhuang looked at her and said, "You go in first."
Almost simultaneously, she nodded slightly and turned away.
Despite the tense atmosphere, her mind was flooded with thoughts like 'She called my name,' 'It's the first time she's called me by my name,' and 'So this is how it feels to hear my name from her lips.'
"Wait!" Wei Jiabao's angry shout startled her again. "Explain yourself before you leave!"
"There's no need to explain anything to you." she heard Wei Zhuang reply coldly.
Xiaoyuan did not want to get involved in the affairs of the two siblings, especially since Wei Zhuang let her in. She just wanted to leave quickly and evacuate the scene.
"Why do you want her to leave?" Wei Jiabao laughed behind her, "Are you afraid she'll find out what our relationship is?"
"Hey, Xiaoyuan, I thought you had integrity, but who knew, haha," he laughed loudly, "You climbed into my mom's bed!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, it felt like a bomb had been dropped.
Xiaoyuan stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around.
Wei Jiabao tilted his chin up to look at her. Outside, the rain was pouring, and he wore an expression of anger mixed with a hint of satisfaction.
He took pleasure in making others suffer, even if he was also struggling.
He wasn't done yet. "Look at you, you still don't know? She's my biological mother!"
"Tsk tsk, you really are cunning..."
"Wei Jiabao."
Xiaoyuan looked at Wei Zhuang walking over to stand in front of her, seemingly blocking Wei Jiabao's view. Her voice remained cold and steady, with no fluctuations, "That's enough, leave."
The light fell on her shoulders, outlining her slender and gentle profile.
In a split second, it was as if something had pricked her throat. She clenched her brows in patience, turned around, and ran into the house.
Wei Jiabao didn't stop, his subsequent words hung in the air, drifting shamelessly to her ears,
"So sending me to California was to prevent me from laying hands on her, right?"
"I knew it, how could Sun Xin's information suddenly leak out? Now it makes sense..."
"When did you start fancying her? You could have told me, of course, I would let you have her!"
"She's just a woman..."
"That's enough!" Wei Zhuang said, her eyes filled with icy coldness, "I'll have someone escort you out, leave now."
"Why should I! Wei Zhuang! Your biological son is me! You send your own son off to some godforsaken place just to vent for your woman! How could you do something so heartless..."
Xiaoyuan heard every word crystal clear.
Her heart tightened with each argument, and when she heard "godforsaken place," she shook her head vigorously.
The news of Wei Jiabao going to UCLA was told to her by Zou Yirui when they were filming "Zui Xiaoyao." That school's drama and film programs were quite famous, located in Westwood, Los Angeles—how could it be a remote place? Plus, it was said that Wei Jiabao had lived most of his life abroad, studying overseas, so he was more accustomed to the outside environment than to domestic life.
Wei Jiabao was quite emotional, not holding back his words, and he looked much stronger than Wei Zhuang. Even though her mind was in turmoil, she couldn't help but worry about Wei Zhuang.
But her own identity was a bit awkward and unclear. The affairs between the siblings... the mother-son relationship, she didn't want to get involved in, and it seemed that Wei Zhuang felt the same way...
Suddenly, there was a loud crash outside, followed by the shattering sound of broken glass, stealing away her attention.
Xiaoyuan jumped up and rushed outside in a hurry.
Wei Jiabao had thrown a chair at the glass door and kicked over the coffee table. His eyes were red, and he was venting all his frustration. "I thought you valued me and wanted to nurture me, but it turns out you're just venting for your little lover! Wei Zhuang, you're truly something—heartless and ruthless!"
"Now you want to drive me away! Ha! Right! You even forbid me to return to the country! So, you are exiling me! You're so admirable! Since that's the case! Why did you give birth to me in the first place! What did I do wrong! Why do you treat me like this!"
He picked up another chair to smash, from Xiaoyuan's perspective, Wei Zhuang's position would definitely be affected, she anxiously shouted, "Stop!"
The ground was covered in shards of glass, and it was a complete mess. Xiaoyuan's brow twitched, her heart racing as buried memories began to resurface. She clenched her fists tightly, fighting against the flood of memories.
"If you have something to say, say it nicely..."
"What's it to you?" Wei Jiabao snapped. As he swung his arm, a nearby vase toppled over. He kicked it, and it shattered against the wall.
Xiaoyuan flinched and took a step back.
Wei Jiabao looked at her with disdainful eyes, mixed with jealousy, "What right do you have..."
He casually grabbed a decoration, raised it, Xiaoyuan's face turned pale, thinking he was going to throw it. The next second, Wei Zhuang grabbed his arm and flung him backward, causing his tall figure to stumble.
"Have you had enough?"
In Xiaoyuan's memory, she had never seen Wei Zhuang's words laced with such intense emotion—extremely cold, like a chilling tide that brought desolation and fear.
Xiaoyuan's heart trembled, staring blankly at Wei Zhuang, momentarily unable to speak.
Wei Jiabao stared at her in shock, clearly steady on his feet, yet he collapsed in an instant, his tall figure crouching down, wailing loudly, as if he had been holding it in for too long, and seeing Xiaoyuan tonight was the final straw that broke him.
Xiaoyuan paused, her face showing reluctance, she went to look at Wei Zhuang, when she saw him, her heart trembled suddenly, as if it had been singed by flames.
Wei Zhuang didn't say anything, just stood there, the warm light inside the house illuminating her features, but without any warmth.
"You could have kept me from knowing you were the one who gave birth to me! I was very happy, truly happy, everyone loved me, except for you, but it didn't matter, you were just my 'sister'...
"Then one day, I found out that my deceased 'father' wasn't my real father but my grandfather, my 'brother' isn't my brother, my sister is..."
"Letting you know was never in my plans." Wei Zhuang said calmly.
This tone further provoked Wei Jiabao, he sneered, "Of course, you never wanted to acknowledge my existence!"
......
This was not a topic she could intervene in, and she had heard enough. Xiaoyuan felt confused about her own emotions, she didn't know whether to stay or leave. Everything exceeded her understanding and ability to handle.
"I always thought that aside from work, there was nothing in this world for you to care about. I came to the company to learn as soon as I graduated, you were interested in film and television, so I started making movies, but you never cared..."
Wei Jiabao wiped away tears as he spoke, looking very disheveled.
The sense of guilt in Xiaoyuan's heart grew stronger. She had seen his slick, cunning, calculating, and aggressive side, but she had never seen him in such a vulnerable state.
Before today, like most outsiders who were unaware of the truth, she had always thought that Wei Jiabao was the illegitimate son of the Wei family's patriarch and that he was Wei Zhuang's useless, spoiled brother.
But...
It turned out his story was like this.
Xiaoyuan slowly focused her gaze on Wei Zhuang.
She held onto her own warmth, her fragrance, her words to herself, everything about her still lingering.
But at this moment, she felt that everything about Wei Zhuang had become distant and thin.
"You're a Wei. Tonghua will be yours. You don't need to do anything for my sake."
Wei Jiabao's cries suddenly faltered.
Xiaoyuan let out a slow breath and turned her face away. She didn't notice that after saying this, Wei Zhuang's eyes had turned toward her, but in an instant, her gaze withdrew.
"I can only give you this, I don't have anything else."
Wei Jiabao wiped his face, stood up, shrugged his shoulders, chuckled self-deprecatingly, shook his head, "..."
His eyes were dark with tears, but there was a smile at the corners of his mouth. "Thank you, President Wei, for teaching me this lesson. I've learned a lot!"
He took a couple of steps away but then turned back, looking at Xiaoyuan this time. "Good luck." His expression didn't convey blessing, it felt more like a curse.
He slammed the door and left, the thunder outside echoing as he walked away.
The awkwardness didn't fade with time. Instead, it expanded, accompanied by strangeness and a sense of isolation.
Perhaps tonight was supposed to be a wonderful evening, but the sudden turn of events and harsh reality had completely dampened Xiaoyuan's spirits.
The light spilled like water between them, reflecting the chaos and disorder in the room. Everything that had just happened had drawn a sharp, ugly line between them.
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