You Should’ve Said Earlier that you’re Such a Little Flirt! - Chapter 20

The vehicle traveled over the flat road surface. The night was silent, and no one spoke.

Upon reaching their destination, the car came to a halt at the entrance of the cemetery.

Xu Qingqiong was the first to unbuckle her seatbelt and step out. After taking a couple of steps, she noticed Lin Konglu hadn’t followed. She stopped in her tracks, stood still, and turned back to look at her with a silent, pleading gaze.

Lin Konglu dithered for a moment before finally unbuckling her seatbelt and exiting the car.

She hadn’t gotten out initially because she assumed Xu Qingqiong likely wouldn’t want her there. After all, when they met Auntie Chun earlier, Lin Konglu had denied their relationship and acted quite dismissive, maintaining an air of “avoidance at all costs.”

She naturally assumed that this time, Xu Qingqiong wouldn’t want her to see her grandmother either.

As Lin Konglu stepped forward to stand beside her, Xu Qingqiong immediately reached out and grabbed her sleeve, as if terrified she might leave.

Lin Konglu’s heart softened at the small, animal-like display of attachment. She suddenly realized that there was no other time Xu Qingqiong needed her more than right now.

She gently pulled her sleeve from Xu Qingqiong’s grasp and instead took her hand, holding it in return.

Side by side, the two walked up the hill.

The burial plot had been prepared long ago because Grandmother had been ill for a very long time.

Grandmother hadn’t been one for superstitions or talk of ghosts and gods; to her, death was simply the end. There had been no consultation with feng shui masters and no deliberate selection of a prestigious spot—it was just a very ordinary grave.

A small, deep-black tombstone stood in the corner, inconspicuous among many others.

Standing before the headstone, Lin Konglu bowed deeply and respectfully placed the bouquet of flowers she had just bought at the base.

There were already several flowers there, including a fresh bouquet, suggesting someone had visited in the past few days.

Unlike the other graves, the color of this tombstone was still new, not yet faded by long-term exposure to the elements. The presence of fresh flowers proved that someone was still memorializing her.

In contrast, other tombstones had grown old, their inscriptions blurred by the erosion of wind and sand, the spaces before them empty and long forgotten in the daily silence.

Many years from now, as the world changed, those tombstones would be toppled, and not a single trace would remain.

Lin Konglu stared at the three characters carved into the stone—Xu Jiawei—and suddenly remembered a saying: Death is not the end; being forgotten is the end.

Lin Konglu had a deep impression of her. In her memory, she was an elegant old lady who treated everyone with great kindness.

Back then, Lin Konglu had felt her care on more than one occasion.

Tolerance, tenderness, steadfastness, and principle—these traits didn’t just influence Xu Qingqiong; they subtly influenced everyone around her.

The adults Lin Konglu had been exposed to back then were either irresponsible, unfaithful, or steeped in debauchery. They weren’t just “bad” people; they were “rotten” people.

So, when she first met Grandmother Xu, she was stunned. She was surprised to learn that adults in this world weren’t all like the ones she knew—that there were also good, gentle adults.

But she also knew she could never become such a person.

The genes flowing through her and the wretched environment surrounding her ensured that she would learn despicability and lying long before she ever learned kindness and gentleness.

Xu Qingqiong was her polar opposite, carrying on those ancestral traits; beneath her seemingly hard exterior lay a core of warmth and tolerance.

It suddenly clicked for Lin Konglu why Xu Qingqiong was so determined to keep total control of the art museum in her own hands.

As long as the Jiawei Art Museum existed, the name Xu Jiawei would never be forgotten.

If the museum fell into Ye Jianguo’s hands, even in the slightest degree, it would be a desecration.

Snapping back to the present, she found Xu Qingqiong kneeling before the tombstone. She gave a heavy kowtow and whispered, “Grandmother.”

Lin Konglu knew she needed to release her emotions. Not wanting to disturb her, she took a step back to give her space.

Then she heard her say: “This is my friend, Lin Konglu.”

As expected, Lin Konglu turned her back and walked a few meters away, intentionally staying out of earshot for whatever came next.

In the three months since her return, Xu Qingqiong had only visited this place once—right after she arrived back in the country. But she hadn’t stayed long; it was a hurried visit.

It felt like a form of self-deception—as if by not looking at this tombstone, Grandmother was still here, having never left.

Xu Qingqiong wiped the dust off the stone, her palm pressed against the cold, black surface.

She felt a profound sense of aimlessness, like an ant trapped in a maze, not knowing what to do.

Standing in the distance, Lin Konglu kept her eyes on her. Her phone vibrated with two messages from Bafue: “Sister Lin, the books have all been organized.”

“There’s another matter, it’s a bit difficult to explain over text. Is it convenient to talk on the phone?”

Lin Konglu glanced at Xu Qingqiong out of the corner of her eye and replied: “Not convenient now. Wait until I get back.”

Bafue: “Understood.”

On the other side, Wen Lanjing calmly poured a glass of hot water for Ye Jianguo, unable to resist glancing up toward the study on the second floor.

Ye Jianguo was currently in a state of suppressed rage. Having been slapped twice and cursed out, he was now sprawled on the sofa like a lord, one leg crossed over the other.

However, he had no way to vent his anger on anyone else. Lin Konglu’s driver was still there watching him—a tall, muscular man who looked like he could knock him out with one punch. The driver sat on a nearby sofa, glaring at him with an unfriendly expression.

Lin Konglu’s assistant had also brought two people to pack things in the study, and they completely ignored him.

Ye Jianguo felt incredibly stifled and disgruntled. He could only take it out on Wen Lanjing, bossing her around. He took a sip of water, accidentally scolded himself, and immediately spat the water onto the floor with a total lack of decorum, cursing: “F*ck, do you have no eyes? Are you trying to kill me with water this hot?”

Wen Lanjing was somewhat accustomed to his volatility; he had been this way ever since they got married. She had no choice but to immediately take the cup away and replace it with lukewarm water.

Suddenly, Ye Jianguo reached his hand inside her clothes, his touch restless and invasive. Wen Lanjing felt a surge of anxiety and couldn’t help but flinch away, mindful of the others in the house.

The driver was still right there, watching.

“What are you hiding for?” Ye Jianguo gave a sudden, coarse chuckle, his expression appearing somewhat excited. He said crudely, “Wife, it’s only right that I get to do whatever I want.”

He lowered his voice, leaning into her ear. “What’s wrong? Or are you planning to run off with that guy?”

Wen Lanjing immediately shook her head in denial. “No,” she whispered, terrified that Ye Jianguo would spiral into another fit of madness.

She deeply regretted her choices. She and Ye Jianguo had only been married for a few months, but she hadn’t expected his personality to change so drastically. When he was pursuing her, he had pretended to be refined, gentle, and elegant.

Once married, his true nature was exposed: moody, pathologically proud, and prone to violent outbursts over the slightest inconvenience.

At the time, Xu Qingqiong’s grandmother had warned her, but she hadn’t listened. Now, she lived every day in a state of profound regret.

Likely sensing something was wrong, the driver frowned and looked over. Her entire body went rigid, and she didn’t dare move for a second. This only made Ye Jianguo more brazen; his rough palm continued to probe further down.

She couldn’t help but let out a sharp scream.

Hearing the sound, the driver stood up from the sofa and walked toward them with a look of suspicion.

Ye Jianguo showed no intention of reining in his actions.

Unable to take it anymore, Wen Lanjing tried to struggle. Ye Jianguo’s face suddenly contorted; he reached out and delivered a heavy slap to her face, snarling crudely, “You fcking btch! Stop acting!”

Wen Lanjing fell to the floor, clutching her reddened cheek. Her hair was a mess, but she didn’t fight back, thinking he would stop now.

However, Ye Jianguo had been suppressing a mountain of frustration all day and had finally found an outlet. He intended to vent his rage on her and had no intention of stopping; he grabbed her hair with brute force, trying to drag her up.

Pained by the tugging, Wen Lanjing instinctively tried to fight back, but she was physically outmatched, which only enraged him further.

The driver stepped in with two quick strides, flipped him onto the floor, and delivered a punch straight to a vital spot.

“Who the f*ck are you? Mind your own busi—” Ye Jianguo couldn’t withstand the blow. Before he could finish his string of curses, he blacked out.

The driver, finding him too filthy to touch further, tossed him aside onto the floor. Turning to see Wen Lanjing still on the ground with her clothes disheveled, he took a couple of steps back to give her space. Unable to bear the sight, he said, “You should go change your clothes.”

Wen Lanjing sat there dazed. Looking through her tangled hair at Ye Jianguo lying sprawled out on the floor, she couldn’t help but shudder. She stood up, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

Xu Qingqiong’s eyes were tightly shut, her eyelashes damp with moisture. Her arms were wrapped around Lin Konglu’s waist, her head buried in Lin’s chest. She had finally fallen asleep.

After returning from the cemetery, the sheer intensity of her emotions had finally given way to a moment of temporary relief.

Lin Konglu held her, mirroring Xu’s previous actions by gently stroking her spine to comfort her.

She had noticed before that Xu Qingqiong was very thin, but now, with her pointed chin buried in the quilt and her eyes swollen from crying, it felt as if a piece of Lin’s heart was caving in.

She reached out and rubbed the reddened corners of Xu’s eyes, knowing this vulnerability was fleeting. When Xu woke up tomorrow, she would likely be stubborn to a fault again, feeling embarrassed and refusing to cry in front of her.

Lin Konglu watched her quietly under the glow of the lamp for a long time.

Suddenly remembering the message Bafue had sent earlier, she decided to place the call.

Bafue answered quickly, her voice coming through the receiver: “This afternoon, Ms. Wen came to see me privately.”

Lin Konglu’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Unlike Xu Qingqiong, Lin Konglu felt no lack of hostility or suspicion toward Wen Lanjing. She believed that anyone who could marry Ye Jianguo must be “two of a kind” with him, and therefore required vigilance.

Bafue continued, “She said she wants to talk to you and Ms. Xu.”

Bafue had found Wen Lanjing’s attitude strange at the time—somewhat evasive yet probing.

Because of this, she hadn’t agreed immediately, only saying she would ask.

Seeing that Bafue hadn’t taken the matter to heart, Wen Lanjing had gone upstairs to find her a second time. This time, there were fresh wounds on her face. She had glanced around to ensure no one was watching before revealing her true purpose.

Bafue’s voice carried a hint of confusion as she added, “She said she has some videos in her possession that you might need.”

Lin Konglu paused. She looked down at Xu Qingqiong to confirm she was still fast asleep before asking, “What kind of videos?”

Barfu replied, “Surveillance footage.”

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