After My Flash Marriage with the Sick Beauty, I Reached the Pinnacle of My Life - Chapter 85

Since it was already very late, after seeing Grandpa Wen off and helping him find a hotel nearby, the two of them prepared to go to sleep.

Even though she had showered before they left, the smell of the barbecue place still lingered on Xia Shishi, so she went for another wash. When she came out, she found Wen Jiao already with her eyes closed.

Could it be… she was still secretly working late into the night and hadn’t gotten enough rest?

Never mind, she’d address any concerns tomorrow after class.

Xia Shishi was truly exhausted. The moment her head hit the pillow, she fell fast asleep.

The next day, the incident where Meng Gui and Xia Shishi ran into thugs outside the school had spread throughout the university forum.

As both of them were considered popular figures on campus, the news spread quickly. By the time Xia Shishi arrived for class, many people already knew about it.

Xia Shishi chose a seat and sat down. The student in front of her hesitated several times before finally turning back and asking, “Do you know Meng Gui?”

“…” Seriously, she couldn’t even attend a class in peace, especially with the considerable resentment she felt about early morning class.

She hadn’t even had time to laze in bed with her wife, yet here she was, in class, satisfying the curiosity of her classmates.

Xia Shishi didn’t even recognize her own teachers, let alone her classmates.

She might have seen them before, but she definitely didn’t remember.

Speaking of which, she had forgotten most of her previous friends too. She didn’t know if they had tried to contact her. It didn’t matter.

Xia Shishi answered grumpily, “I don’t know, haven’t seen her.”

The student in front of her was rebuffed and sighed, confirming that Xia Shishi was indeed as difficult to deal with as the rumors suggested. They turned their head back, no longer bothering her.

But throughout the rest of the class, Xia Shishi could still feel the eyes of those around her.

She let out a long sigh.

After class, Xia Shishi quickly darted out with her books, not because she was rushing to the next class, but simply because she was worried someone else would stop her and ask if she knew Meng Gui.

Anyone but Meng Gui. She wanted to stay as far away from her as possible, an avoidance that was far more intense than her reaction to Zhou Xiaojiang.

Xia Shishi knew she couldn’t completely avoid Zhou Xiaojiang, but Meng Gui, in the original plot, was just cannon fodder.

What did it matter if she was a genius pianist? She was merely there to add another blemish to Xia Shishi’s record, allowing her to receive more criticism.

After being reborn, everything from the previous life was nullified. Now, Meng Gui’s hands were fine, and she could continue performing in the future. As long as Xia Shishi kept her distance, nothing bad would happen.

Xia Shishi ran quickly, thinking that this way she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew, or anyone who would ask her about Meng Gui.

In the end, both worries came true. She ran into President Liu, the one who had sent Hu Feiwen to guide Xia Shishi. It was also thanks to his timely arrival yesterday that a difficult situation was resolved.

Not only did Xia Shishi recognize President Liu, but the first thing he said when he saw her was, “You’re not avoiding Meng Gui, are you?”

President Liu used a joking tone, which happened to hit the nail on the head.

Xia Shishi: “…”

Xia Shishi smoothed the stray hairs from her forehead and countered, “How did you arrive so promptly yesterday?”

President Liu was just passing by to say hello to Xia Shishi. Hearing the question, he smiled and replied, “We just happened to be having a dinner party nearby, so we could rush over immediately after receiving the call.”

Xia Shishi paused after hearing that and then asked, “Who called you?”

President Liu knew what she was asking: “Not your fiancée, but your fiancée had someone call.”

Xia Shishi and Wen Jiao’s wedding wasn’t as public as their engagement party, so many still thought Wen Jiao was only her fiancée.

President Liu’s answer made Xia Shishi feel a little heavy-hearted.

“I’m about to graduate soon. When I went for my internship, I joined the Wen Group. I didn’t have high hopes, but when they heard I was from this university, they immediately agreed,” President Liu looked at Xia Shishi with a smile.

This seemed to be the first time the two of them had met face-to-face, but judging by President Liu’s reaction, he had known about Xia Shishi for a long time.

Xia Shishi had a suspicion in her heart, but she didn’t dare confirm it.

Finally, Xia Shishi asked, “Were you guys assigned to follow me a long time ago?”

President Liu’s smile broadened, and his shoulders relaxed a bit, making him look at ease: “The young miss finally noticed.”

President Liu continued, “You used to have Qi Xue following you. To be honest, her capability to handle things was really not great. Many problems were secretly solved by us, but we couldn’t help it. After all, we were being paid.”

After learning that President Liu and Xia Shishi attended the same university, Wen Jiao instructed him to look after Xia Shishi.

Xia Shishi could only imagine how much trouble she had caused in the past.

Her personality meant she was bound to offend people. Xia Shishi never cared about it, and she initially thought Qi Xue was explaining things away behind the scenes—which was the original reason for hiring Qi Xue as a study companion.

But in reality, Qi Xue just followed her around every day, joining in the fun.

In fact, the troubles caused by offending people were all handled by President Liu, and perhaps other upperclassmen.

That’s how Xia Shishi was able to attend this university without major incident.

Wen Jiao really was something.

Xia Shishi clenched her hand in the air, grasping at nothing.

She was genuinely curious what it was about her that made Wen Jiao love her for so long and sacrifice so much.

Even her own love for Wen Jiao developed after so much close contact, even if it was one-sided and Wen Jiao hadn’t realized it.

At least she found out what a wonderful person Wen Jiao was, and how worthy she was of love.

And Wen Jiao?

They had never officially met before. In Xia Shishi’s memory, she had absolutely not seen Wen Jiao before the engagement party.

Yet Wen Jiao fell in love with her. That deep, meticulous affection was more frightening than the love of someone who had been reborn and sought to cherish her.

President Liu wouldn’t know the answer to this question. At most, he knew Wen Jiao had finally gotten engaged to Xia Shishi after years of effort, and “now,” Xia Shishi had realized Wen Jiao’s thoughtful intentions.

This was no fun at all.

Xia Shishi sniffled and said in a muffled voice, “I see.”

President Liu looked at Xia Shishi for a moment, not giving up on his initial question. He said, “Meng Gui just came to thank me and asked if I knew you. She wanted to thank you in person.”

Xia Shishi’s eyes widened sharply: “You didn’t tell her, did you?” She paused, as if that sounded too obvious.

“She already said thank you yesterday. I don’t want to get to know extra people.”

President Liu didn’t overthink it: “Considering my sponsor’s feelings, of course I didn’t say anything. I just came over to tell you about this and see what you think.”

Whether Xia Shishi wanted to get to know her or not had little to do with him.

His mission was to ensure Xia Shishi wasn’t bullied on campus.

After saying this, President Liu went about his own business. The closer it was to graduation, the busier he became.

President Liu didn’t have extra time for small talk. He even delegated tasks like showing the way to members below him.

Xia Shishi finished her classes for the day distractedly and was still absent-minded when she returned to the apartment.

Grandpa Wen was also at the apartment. He complained, “It’s really hard to rent an apartment around here.”

He had originally planned to rent a house nearby so he could visit Xia Shishi often and see his granddaughter. However, after having people inquire all day, all the nearby apartments were either rented out or owned by people who had no intention of moving.

Unable to find a suitable place, Grandpa Wen was complaining to Wen Jiao.

He was even assessing the current apartment, thinking it might be manageable to squeeze in, but that thought naturally vanished when Xia Shishi returned.

The two of them hadn’t even had a honeymoon; they couldn’t possibly add a burden.

Grandpa Wen sighed.

Wen Jiao had just finished training and was physically tired. She didn’t have the excess energy Xia Shishi had to chat with Grandpa Wen, so she could only listen to his complaints. When Xia Shishi returned, Grandpa Wen immediately turned his attention to her.

His affection for Xia Shishi was almost greater than for his own granddaughter, Wen Jiao. While he verbally complained that Xia Shishi was weak at games, he was still happy to banter with her.

“Granddaughter-in-law is back. What should we eat tonight?”

Grandpa Wen winked vigorously, frantically transmitting the message of barbecue. With every blink, the word “barbecue” seemed to float toward Xia Shishi.

Xia Shishi twitched her mouth. He was still thinking about barbecue? She had almost been killed because of barbecue. Now, the sight or mention of the word made her anxious. Xia Shishi decisively rejected Grandpa Wen’s hint and chose to eat a healthy meal with Wen Jiao.

Wen Jiao scrutinized Xia Shishi, seemingly having something to say, but felt uncomfortable speaking in front of Grandpa Wen.

In the end, the two of them simply started talking about company matters: “Aunt signed a new contract for the company, saving a lot of money.”

Grandpa Wen knew about this. The so-called retirement of some old men was a complete lie, an excuse. He even remembered Wen Jiao saying before that she would never cooperate with that construction company again.

“Judging by your reaction now, you don’t seem to oppose it?” Grandpa Wen’s gaze was sharp.

“Why oppose something that saves money?” Even if the outcome wasn’t good, it would be Aunt’s problem. What did it have to do with her, a patient recuperating?

Grandpa Wen nodded. That was true. What did it have to do with him, a retired old man?

Xia Shishi saw clearly that they were still so well-informed about the company’s affairs. If the company’s interests were genuinely harmed, the consequences would be severe.

On closer inspection, their shares were still in Xia Shishi’s hands.

Initially, Grandpa Wen had given his shares to Wen Jiao, allowing her to secure the position of acting director, and then, through her excellent work ability, made it so no one could find fault with her.

Finally, after getting engaged to Xia Shishi, Wen Jiao transferred the shares to Xia Shishi and resigned herself.

This grandfather and granddaughter were truly cut from the same cloth.

Even though Grandpa Wen had left the company and given up his shares, his hidden assets were still substantial, which Xia Shishi could sense.

As for Wen Jiao… shares aside, the card she gave Xia Shishi contained an amount that made Xia Shishi feel she could be a kept woman for life.

In comparison, even Fu Yunhan didn’t seem as impressive.

And he was supposed to be the male lead, honestly.

What’s the meaning of keeping a low profile? This is keeping a low profile!

Xia Shishi sat closer. She hadn’t paid attention to Fu Yunhan’s movements for some time, focusing instead on Zhou Xiaojiang.

According to the message Ye Murou had sent, Zhou Xiaojiang had been busy filming. Lately, she was trying to find a suitable time to air the drama, making her too busy to see Fu Yunhan.

And the Xia and Fu families had completely fallen out over the Qi Xue incident, making it difficult to even inquire about news.

Grandpa Wen and Wen Jiao both looked at Xia Shishi. Wen Jiao raised an eyebrow: “What are you thinking about?”

Xia Shishi scratched her head: “Hearing you talk about the company, I was just wondering if the Fu Group has made any moves. I don’t feel like Fu Yunhan is someone who would easily give up.”

Three things had currently deviated from the original plot.

First, the city’s quota was secured by Wen Jiao. Without the provocation of the engagement party, Fu Yunhan naturally had no chance to seize it.

Ji Yan, who was lurking in the R&D department, was caught red-handed and sent away by Father Xia.

Shi Cun, who was supposed to defect to Fu Yunhan, avoided its crisis by collaborating with Aunt Wen and didn’t need to seek help from Fu Yunhan’s side to recover.

With three instances that should have driven the company’s development now missing, was Fu Yunhan’s side really doing nothing?

If Zhou Xiaojiang was held back by her career ambitions, what was holding back Fu Yunhan?

Grandpa Wen scoffed: “What’s the Fu Group worth? If even that person makes my children timid, then they shouldn’t even bother competing. I’d… encourage you to start a new profile.”

He couldn’t cut his main profile and start over, so he could only urge Wen Jiao and Xia Shishi.

Xia Shishi: “Great, we can go adopt one this weekend.”

Grandpa Wen stopped her: “Don’t rush! You have to think carefully about something like this!”

“Isn’t Grandpa rushing me?”

“…I just said that casually.”

Xia Shishi looked at Grandpa Wen with a beaming smile, emphasizing her words: “Right, casually.”