My Gorgeous Wife Relies on Her Beauty to Commit Crimes - Chapter 20.2

[I’ve wandered through countless flowers without a single petal sticking to me, definitely better than an icy work machine like you.]

Lan Yiqing refused to back down.

Shen Jin teased, [Who was the one chasing after her sister all day in their youth, competing in academics and fitness, only to fail in the end and storm off abroad to photograph wild animals in frustration?]

[Let’s not bring up the past. I’ve turned over a new leaf now.]

After a few more playful exchanges, the gloom in Shen Jin’s heart lightened slightly. She hesitated before replying. [Fine, I’ll bring her along, but we’re not in that kind of relationship. Don’t scare her off.]

[Tsk, not even together yet and already being protective.]

Lan Yiqing chuckled. [Got it. Since the great Boss Shen is gracing us with her presence despite her busy schedule, I’ll make myself scarce after a quick hello, leaving you to enjoy your date.]

[Make sure to seize the opportunity!]

Shen Jin shook her head with a wry smile.

Seize what opportunity? The other person wasn’t even sincere.

She tossed her phone onto the desk, stretched, and turned around. The afternoon sunlight was dazzling, seemingly capable of dispelling all shadows yet the darkness clinging to Shen Jin only grew heavier. After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped out of her office and paused by the secretary’s desk.

“I have something to attend to this afternoon. I won’t be in the office. If anything comes up, have them contact me tomorrow.”

The secretary glanced out the window, momentarily wondering if the sun had risen from the west today. Their boss, who was never late or left early, had been arriving late and taking time off frequently lately.

Shen Jin gave her a questioning look, and the secretary quickly snapped back to attention. “Understood, Boss!”

Shen Jin didn’t call for her driver. There were cars in the company garage, but hers had been sent for cleaning, and she’d given the driver the day off. She drove to visit Old Guan. If anyone knew more about what had happened back then, it was him.

Old Guan lived on a mountain. He’d bought the entire peak, spending his days fishing, gardening, and occasionally working the land seemingly just an ordinary old man. But Shen Jin knew better.

The current development of the Shen Group owes much to his influence. Even Guan Yuehua’s initial startup capital was provided by Old Guan. He was once the director of a state-owned pharmaceutical factory. After the restructuring of state-owned enterprises, the factory disbanded, and he was laid off. But after all, he was an old factory director who had managed over a thousand people, and his commanding presence remained undiminished.

When Shen Jin arrived, Old Guan was weeding in the field, wearing a straw hat and old clothes, dressed like a farmer. Shen Jin didn’t mind dirtying the white suit he was wearing that day. He picked up a nearby hoe and silently squatted beside Old Guan to help. The two of them, one old and one young, finished weeding the entire plot and sat in the pavilion. Old Guan took off his hat to fan himself before asking, “Not busy at the company today?”

This was his way of giving Shen Jin an opening. Shen Jin replied respectfully, “I’ve finished all the company work and came to see you.”

Old Guan snorted through his nose. He reached for his thermos, and Shen Jin quickly handed it to him. After taking a sip of water, Old Guan said leisurely, “Perfect timing. I still have two more plots to weed.”

Shen Jin said nothing and silently continued working. By evening, he successfully stayed for a meal at Old Guan’s place.

Old Guan ate dinner early, and by the time they finished, it wasn’t yet dark. The two sat in the courtyard to cool off. The housekeeper brought tea and set it on the stone table. Old Guan fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan and said, “You’ve never liked coming here. Staying so long today, if you have something to say, just say it.”

Shen Jin lowered his eyes. “Do you know about what happened with the Xie family back then?”

Old Guan froze, nearly dropping the fan in his hand. He tightened his grip on it and sighed deeply after a long pause. “The Xie family, Xie Pan was a good man.”

Shen Jin’s heart tightened as he listened intently, but Old Guan didn’t elaborate. Instead, he asked, “That girl Shen Tuo brought back her name is Xie Jing, right? Is she related to the Xie family?”

Shen Jin knew this couldn’t be hidden from Old Guan. Though old, he was neither blind nor deaf, and the news would eventually reach him. Shen Jin nodded.

Old Guan seemed momentarily lost in thought. “No wonder. I thought she looked so familiar. She’s already grown so big.”

“What do you want to know?” Old Guan asked.

The matter was, after all, a scandal and not easy to discuss. Shen Jin chose his words carefully. “Today, while chatting with President Luo, he mentioned stories about my mother and father from the past. He also brought up Xu An, Aunt Xie.”

Old Guan sat in his chair, gently fanning himself. The evening had turned cool, with crickets chirping in the grass and birds occasionally fluttering from the trees, their wings rustling the branches. The courtyard was quiet, with the sound of a babbling stream flowing outside. Old Guan’s tone carried a hint of emotion.

“I remember.”

His voice took on a somber tone. “Xu An was very beautiful. In an era without celebrities, she looked like a poster from a calendar. The Xie family was in the clothing business, and she always dressed stylishly, standing out from the crowd. It wasn’t just men even women would be struck by her at first sight.”

“Guan Guan often talked about her to me, saying she envied her looks and even her fashion sense. Xu An was the living advertisement for the Xie family’s clothing line. Guan Guan couldn’t compare. Any outfit Xu An wore would instantly become the trend back then. Guan Guan and Shen Xingteng even argued over her because Shen Xingteng mocked your mother, saying even if she wore a dragon robe, she couldn’t become royalty that she was rustic and lacked the innate scholarly grace Xu An had, who carried an air of refinement naturally.”

“Of course, I adore my daughter Yuehua, but I have to admit, while she excels in business, she falls short of Xu An in looks and education. Xu An comes from a scholarly family with excellent upbringing, and as a teacher, she speaks more elegantly than your mother. Even though your mother later changed her temperament, with such a gem already present, people still called her a ‘tigress.'”

“Later, your mother fell ill, and Shen Xingteng was no good.”

At this point, Old Guan sighed deeply. “Back then, people didn’t even consider divorce. Even if life was unbearable, they gritted their teeth and carried on.”

After hesitating, Old Guan continued, “Your mother and Xu An were once friends. When your mother was sick and Shen Xingteng was fooling around outside, she didn’t have many friends left. Because of the business ties between our families, she grew closer to Xu An. She once told me that Xu An was better than her own husband.”

Shen Jin frowned.

Was it really as she suspected? Did her adoptive father harbor ill intentions toward Xu An, leading to the conflict between Xu An and Xie Pan, and ultimately causing the car crash that sent them both plunging off the mountain road?

Seeing Shen Jin’s expression, Old Guan pondered for a long while before speaking. “Your mother left some belongings with me. If you’re interested, you can go to her room on the second floor and take a look.”

With that, Old Guan closed his eyes to rest, appearing too weary to say more.

Mosquito-repellent incense burned in the courtyard, its smoke curling upward. Shen Jin gestured to the caretaker to drape a light blanket over Old Guan before heading upstairs to her adoptive mother’s room.

Guan Yuehua hadn’t had much formal education. Though she was the factory director’s daughter, she started working in the factory after middle school. Hardworking and resilient, with a loud voice, she co-founded the Shen Family Garment Factory with her husband, Shen Xingteng.

The room held old photos of her adoptive mother. Guan Yuehua had a stern, plain appearance, her expression serious in the pictures. In one photo, she stared at the camera, dressed in work clothes, her brow furrowed as if weighed down by unspoken troubles. Beside her, Shen Xingteng grinned, his hair slicked back, clad in a leather jacket and shoes, holding a briefcase looking as if he belonged to a different era altogether.

More photos hung on the wall. Shen Jin’s gaze swept over them until it froze on a faded color photograph. In it stood two women: Guan Yuehua, her hair permed and makeup done, wearing a pretty dress, stood beside a beautiful woman, her eyes fixed on her companion, her face radiant with joy.

The other woman was none other than Xu An, whom Shen Jin had met as a child.

Even in the photo, Xu An was stunning. Dressed in fashionable attire that wouldn’t look out of place today, she held a bag and smiled softly at the camera.

The image captured a moment of serenity, the two women frozen in vibrant hues.

Shen Jin had never seen her adoptive mother look so happy. With Shen Xingteng, she was always stern; with her children, her smiles were slightly warmer. But most of the time, she seemed lifeless, like an old woman resigned to her fate, drifting through the world like a ghost.

Shen Jin had assumed her mother simply disliked her father. Now, staring at the photo of Guan Yuehua and Xu An, a lightning-bolt thought struck her.

Could her mother have been in love with Xu An?!

The idea was so shocking that Shen Jin gasped, momentarily at a loss.

She wandered around her foster mother’s room for a while, then moved through the rest of the house.

The items in the room looked just as they had when she was a child, virtually unchanged. The vanity mirror and comb her mother had used still sat in their places on the dressing table. Even the bedding on the bed had grown old with time. The desk by the window remained as well Shen Jin had once done her homework at that very desk.

She approached and saw that the surface had been kept clean, even adorned with a fresh bouquet of flowers. It must have been Old Guan who had arranged for them to be placed there, filling the emptiness of the room.

Shen Jin casually pulled open a drawer. The contents inside were neatly organized. She picked up a notebook at random and flipped through it, finding her mother’s handwriting still preserved on the pages, notes on household expenses and other small reminders, things she hadn’t wanted to forget.

Looking at these things, it was as if her mother were still alive, as if she might walk in at any moment to jot down the trivialities of daily life.

Shen Jin set it aside and reached for the blue hardcover notebook next to it. As she picked it up, she suddenly sensed something unusual this notebook was locked, secured with a combination lock, the kind that had been popular among young girls back then.

She tried a few combinations but couldn’t open it. Setting it aside, she glanced at the other items in the room. Aside from the photographs on the wall, there was no trace of Xu An left here.

Her gaze returned to the blue notebook. After a moment of hesitation, she took it with her and left the room.

Night had already fallen, and Shen Jin didn’t linger. She bid farewell to Old Guan, who was sitting in the living room watching TV. He glanced at her and said, “I was too harsh with my words last time. Since she’s a child of the Xie family, treat her well. That brat Shen Tuo isn’t worthy of a Xie girl anyway.”

Shen Jin froze for a moment before nodding.

Old Guan waved her off. “Go on.”

She didn’t overstay her welcome and drove home.

The entire way, her mind was restless, her eyes repeatedly drawn to the blue notebook on the passenger seat. She had a strong feeling that it held many secrets, ones that might unravel the questions plaguing her now.

When she arrived home, the house was brightly lit, unlike the usual darkness that greeted her. The moment her car stopped, someone rushed out, Shen Tuo’s aunt, Shen Juanfeng.

Shen Juanfeng shouted at the top of her lungs, “Shen Jin, how could you do this? Even if Shen Tuo isn’t your biological son, he’s under your name now! He’s supposed to take care of you in your old age! If you treat him like this, aren’t you afraid he’ll abandon you later?”

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