Chapter 70
Saturday was bright and sunny.
At noon, the sunlight was beautiful. It filtered through the hospital’s bare ginkgo trees, scattering flecks of light across Wen Yan’s shoulders.
She had just finished her morning outpatient clinic and stepped out of the hospital with a light, brisk stride.
She rented an electric scooter at the entrance and rode home at full speed through the warm winter sun.
When she pushed open the door, low voices drifted from the living room, mingled with a kitten’s soft, babyish mew.
Wen Yan peeked inside and saw Aiwen taking brushes out of a large silver makeup case, while several assistants were carefully organizing pressed suits.
They seemed to have just arrived.
Jin Zijin was sitting on the armrest of the sofa, bent over to tease the black-and-white rice-ball fluff on the floor.
“You’re back?” Jin Zijin looked up at the sound. The light from the window happened to sweep across her profile, making her eyes gleam clear and bright.
“Mm.”
Wen Yan changed her shoes, walked over to her, and naturally bent down to kiss her cheek.
Little Honey immediately gave up on Jin Zijin’s fingers, turned around to rub against Wen Yan’s ankle, its tail held straight up.
“Dr. Wen came back just in time,” Aiwen said with a smile as she stood. “The styling is ready; we can start now.”
Wen Yan nodded and let her gaze fall on the suits that had been carefully pressed.
Following her line of sight, Aiwen smiled and explained, “We’re still going with President Jin’s suggestion. The occasion is fairly formal today, so everything we prepared is a suit.”
“These two sets were rushed over earlier by Liang Auntie’s people and custom-made. The fabric and cut are both especially good.”
As she said that, her eyes kept drifting toward Little Honey.
Not just hers; the whole styling team couldn’t hide their curiosity.
They were all old hands under Jin Zijin, having followed her since she first took over Hengxing to handle her styling. They knew this boss’s habits all too well.
President Jin had always kept furry little animals at arm’s length. She thought they shed, were troublesome, and would disrupt her meticulous order.
But now, this cat had not only entered the house, it was rolling around brazenly by her feet.
Little Honey seemed to sense everyone’s attention. It stopped rubbing against Wen Yan, tilted its round little head, and blinked its big amber eyes.
A moment later, it sprang lightly into the air and landed with perfect accuracy on Jin Zijin’s joined knees.
The living room fell silent for half a second.
Jin Zijin lowered her eyes to look at the warm, fluffy little thing in her lap, her gaze full of gentle amusement.
Little Honey stepped on her legs a few times, found a comfortable spot, curled into a round little ball, and let out a satisfied purring rumble deep in its throat.
It even lifted one front paw and lightly rested it on the wrist of Jin Zijin’s hand holding her phone.
Jin Zijin smiled. She looked at that fluffy little head for several seconds, then extended the index finger of her right hand and scratched the cat under the chin.
Little Honey immediately tipped its head up, narrowed its eyes, and rubbed against her finger; its purring grew louder.
Aiwen’s eyes widened, and the powder puff in her hand nearly fell to the floor.
The assistants behind her exchanged shocked looks and silently mouthed, "My God."
So love really could change a person.
Aiwen marveled inwardly. Even someone like President Jin, once she fell in love, could because of love embrace the whole world and carefully hold things she used to never touch.
The power of dopamine was terrifying.
It could make a woman who never gave an inch at the negotiating table lower her gaze right now, using fingers that usually handled billion-yuan contracts to scratch a cat’s chin.
This world was too magical.
Of course, she only dared think that to herself.
Aiwen quickly recovered her professional smile and cleared her throat. “President Jin, Dr. Wen, then... shall we begin?”
“Sure.” Jin Zijin finally looked up and gave Little Honey’s rear a light pat. “Go on; find your mama.”
The kitten meowed unwillingly, jumped off her lap, and rubbed over to Wen Yan’s feet again.
——————
Aiwen had already done Wen Yan’s styling several times, so she was very familiar with her.
She had discovered that Wen Yan was easily distracted by brushes and would tense up while being made up.
To help her relax, Aiwen had deliberately tried to chat with her over the past two sessions.
Her hands were very light, and while applying makeup, she spoke softly: “Everything I’m using on you today is from the skin-care makeup line, so even when you take it off tonight, it won’t burden your skin.”
“The lipstick is a bean-paste shade; it suits your temperament very well.”
Wen Yan gave a quiet “mm,” her expression relaxing a little as she began shifting her attention to other things.
Behind her, Jin Zijin was giving Xu Ming low-voiced instructions about the evening banquet’s details, occasionally interrupted by a few small whines from Little Honey.
“President Jin is in a very good mood today,” Aiwen said softly, amusement in her voice. “When we came just now, she specifically told us that although today’s occasion is grand, Dr. Wen doesn’t like heavy makeup, so we must make it look natural.”
The corners of Wen Yan’s lips curved slightly. She didn’t speak, but warmth welled in her heart.
About an hour later, both of them were done and standing in front of the full-length mirror the assistants had brought over.
The mirror reflected two tall, slender figures.
Wen Yan looked at herself first.
She was wearing an off-white single-breasted suit with an extremely simple silhouette. The fabric was soft yet crisp, with a moonlit, warm sheen.
She wasn’t wearing her hair loose; instead, she had tied her long hair into a neat ponytail at the back of her head, revealing the elegant line of her neck.
Her makeup was so light it was almost invisible, with only a thin layer of powder and a touch of lip balm. Her clean, scholarly air had been brought out just right.
Like a piece of lamb-fat jade warmed by time; gentle, translucent, and calm as still water flowing deep.
But she looked expensive, like pure upper-class elegance.
Not bad; she should be able to stand beside Jin Zijin.
That was what Wen Yan was thinking when she turned her gaze to Jin Zijin.
Jin Zijin beside her was wearing a dark black double-breasted suit with a sharp silhouette.
The fabric was top-grade Italian wool blended with silk; in the light, it gave off a deep, oceanic luster, making her seem especially unfathomable.
The shoulders were cut as sharply as a knife, while the waist was tailored with exquisite precision, outlining a slender frame that nevertheless concealed strength.
She wasn’t wearing a tie; the top two buttons of her shirt were casually left undone. Her long hair was loosely draped over her shoulders, with a few stray strands falling by her cheeks, lending her already radiant face a touch of lazy aggression.
Just looking at her, one could not help but think of the line: "A proud and upright prince, towering and serene as a mountain by a deep pool."
Such an aura.
Wen Yan looked at Jin Zijin in the mirror and silently praised her.
Then all of a sudden, something else came to mind, and a flash of realization crossed her eyes.
Thinking carefully, whether it was daily work or attending events, most of the clothes Jin Zijin wore were exquisitely tailored suits.
During this period, Wen Yan had seen her in dark gray, navy, and charcoal black; she had seen her pair them with shirts, turtlenecks, and even seen the languid look of her casually draping her suit jacket over her shoulders, wearing only a white T-shirt underneath.
Looking at it this way, compared with gowns and high heels, Jin Zijin actually preferred suits and thick-heeled leather shoes.
But when they had first met, what Jin Zijin wore most often in front of her were gowns.
There were burgundy velvet long dresses, the hems blooming like roses.
There were also dark green, diamond-studded backless gowns that shimmered brilliantly under the lights.
And there was the silver-white fishtail dress that made her look like a goddess emerging from the deep sea.
No matter which dress Jin Zijin wore, she was breathtakingly beautiful; beautiful enough that Wen Yan could not look away.
But at this moment, looking at the suit-clad Jin Zijin in the mirror, standing there with her full aura unleashed, Wen Yan suddenly understood something.
Those gowns; those carefully crafted looks that differed from her everyday self, so exquisitely polished—perhaps all of them had, from the very beginning, been Jin Zijin’s way of showing herself to the fullest before Wen Yan.
She was flaunting her charm.
Like a peacock spreading its tail.
Realizing this, Wen Yan couldn’t help but curve her lips.
She turned her head to look at the person beside her. Jin Zijin was focused on the reflection of the two of them in the mirror; sensing her gaze, she turned back as well.
“What are you smiling at?” Jin Zijin raised a brow.
“Nothing.” Wen Yan shook her head, but the smile in her eyes deepened. “I just think... you look really good today.”
Jin Zijin seemed to freeze for a moment at the sudden compliment.
Then she laughed softly and tucked a stray lock of hair behind Wen Yan’s ear. “You look good too.”
Her voice was very low, carrying an intimacy only the two of them could understand: “Let’s go, my Dr. Wen.”
——————
They took an extended Rolls-Royce to Hengxing Science and Technology Park, where the annual banquet was being held.
Hengxing Science and Technology Park sat in the suburbs, sprawling across a wide area. The buildings had a futuristic feel; the main structure was silver-gray, gleaming coldly under the clear winter sky.
The annual banquet was being held in the park’s central gymnasium.
It had been completely transformed. The dome was a massive circular LED screen, and at the moment it was simulating a deep, dazzling galaxy, with stars slowly drifting and occasional shooting stars streaking across.
The stage was extremely minimalist and modern, its lines crisp and clean, with a holographic light curtain behind it where data streams constantly changed.
Below the stage, the guest seating looked like a Spring Festival Gala venue.
Hundreds of huge round banquet tables fanned out around the stage, each decorated with exquisite ice sculptures and flowers.
Most eye-catching of all were the tabletops themselves; beneath the transparent special material, faint pale blue light bands could be seen slowly flowing.
That was Hengxing’s independently developed constant-temperature system, ensuring that the dishes remained at the perfect temperature.
Around the venue, every few meters stood a silver-gray security robot.
They looked humanlike, with deep blue sensing lights flashing on their heads as they stood silently in place.
Like mute sentries from the future, they made the whole venue feel grand, yet filled it with a kind of high-tech dreamlike quality.
The moment the two of them stepped into the venue, waves of sound and light crashed over them.
Elegance, perfume, and clinking glasses; it practically gathered half the business circle here.
When Jin Zijin led Wen Yan in through the entrance, the laughter and conversation in the area near the door seemed to be pressed on pause by an invisible hand.
The next second, greetings burst out from all sides:
“President Jin!”
“President Jin’s here!”
“President Jin’s here?”
“Good evening, President Jin!”
Respectful, enthusiastic, and with obvious caution.
Jin Zijin smiled and nodded. “Good evening, everyone.”
As she responded, she looped her arm through Wen Yan’s and walked forward.
The crowd parted in a flurry, opening a path.
The greetings echoed through the hall, and after glancing over Jin Zijin, everyone’s eyes inevitably settled on Wen Yan by her side.
Jin Zijin had never brought a female companion to any public event.
That was an ironclad rule everyone in the business circle knew.
So who was this?
With such a clean, outstanding temperament; was she some rising business elite? Or a sports star?
And Jin Zijin was still holding her hand, with a posture that practically announced it to the world.
Who was she?
Did anyone know her?
Countless guesses flowed through silent exchanges of glances.
Wen Yan could clearly feel the weight of those looks; probing, measuring, curious, and perhaps even ill-intentioned.
She unconsciously straightened her back, trying to make herself seem a little better.
“Don’t mind them too much.”
Jin Zijin turned her head and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, the corner of her lips even carrying a smile: “Let them look.”
“You’re my properly married wife; everyone should know that.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Wen Yan saw the way she looked as if she couldn’t wait to announce it to the whole world, and couldn’t help laughing silently.
After walking for quite a while, they finally entered the core circle.
Ahead, the crowd parted slightly, and Old Master Wang, accompanied by Wang Manyu and Wang Jinyu, came over with a cane in hand, smiling broadly.
“Zijin, Yanyan, you’re finally here,” Old Master Wang said in a loud voice, with the kind of enthusiasm that tried to shorten the distance between people. “We were just saying we were waiting for you two.”
Jin Zijin stopped, gave a slight nod, and was perfectly polite; her tone, however, remained flat as ever. “Old Master, Uncle, Mom.”
Her arm was still linked with Wen Yan’s, and she even drew Wen Yan half a step closer to her side.
Wen Yan followed and greeted them softly: “Grandpa, Uncle, Mom.”
Wang Manyu wore a smile plastered across her face, her gaze circling over the two of them.
In the end, it landed on Jin Zijin, and her tone was full of just-right admiration: “Zijin, this outfit today is really imposing.”
“I’d long heard that the Jin family’s private tailors make the best custom suits, but only after seeing it with my own eyes today did I understand what it means for the clothes to bring out the person.”
“This cut, this fabric; only a figure and temperament like yours can carry it.”
As she said that, her gaze shifted to Wen Yan, and her smile deepened a little more: “Yanyan looks good in this too. It’s rare to see you dressed so properly; you match Zijin especially well.”
“When you two stand together, you’re really easy on the eyes.”
Wen Yan’s brows twitched at that.
She was definitely going to send this line to her brother and tell him properly about it; her mother had achieved enlightenment and could actually speak like a human being now.
Amazing.
Wang Jinyu, standing beside them, also hurried to echo her, his tone a little too warm: “Yes, yes, my sister is right.”
“Zijin, I’m not just praising you, but your taste really is beyond words. Just look at the venue setup, the tech feel, the level of it all...”
“I was just telling Old Master earlier that the way we set up our own business events compared to this is practically child’s play. It really is you; you’ve got the capital, the people, the fresh ideas.”
He paused, then lowered his voice with a somewhat ingratiating air. “I heard the entire venue’s intelligent system was independently developed by Hengxing?”
“Unbelievable, truly unbelievable.”
“When you have time, could you let us come take a look and learn a little too? Pick up some experience, you know!”
Jin Zijin kept a faint curve at the corner of her mouth, her tone light. “You flatter me, Uncle. The annual banquet’s setup is all thanks to the team below; I merely gave them a direction.”
With that single, casual sentence, she neatly pushed back Wang Jinyu’s attempt to curry favor.
At this moment, Old Master Wang looked at Wen Yan and spoke in a kindly tone, carrying deliberate concern: “Yanyan, last time on your birthday, your grandpa specially prepared to celebrate with you, but you said work was busy.”
“New Year’s Day is coming soon. Can you two find time to come home for a meal? A family reunion, all together, what do you say?”
At his words, Jin Zijin lowered her eyelashes. When she looked up again, her eyes were calm and cool.
She didn’t look at Old Master Wang, only lightly rubbed Wen Yan’s hand and said in a flat voice, “Unfortunate timing, Old Master. Yanyan and I already made plans for New Year’s Day; we’re going to Switzerland to see the snow.”
“A reunion dinner...” She paused, then swept her gaze over the three people before her, finally settling on the sparkling brilliance of the hall. “Today, everyone’s here, the atmosphere is good; let’s just count it as having already eaten.”
Old Master Wang’s smile stiffened for a moment.
A trace of barely noticeable gloom flashed in his eyes, but he quickly recovered his amiable expression and nodded repeatedly. “Good, good, good. Young people have their own plans. Fine, as long as you’re happy.”
Just then, Jin Zijin lifted her eyes toward the distance. Ye Jianlan was walking over with several Health Commission leaders.
She immediately tightened her hold on Wen Yan and gave the Wang family a slight nod. “Excuse us, my friend is here.”
With that, without waiting for any response, Jin Zijin turned and left.
The three Wang family members were left standing where they were, their smiles still frozen on their faces.
Watching the two of them leave without the slightest hesitation, Wang Jinyu immediately leaned toward the old master’s ear and muttered in a displeased low voice, “Dad, look at that! Does that look like someone who has Yanyan in her heart?”
“Not even a shred of face for us in front of so many people! If you ask me, it’s all because Yanyan is a girl and can’t have children. Sigh, as expected, women just can’t be relied on...”
He turned to Wang Manyu and shot her a look. “Sis, do you think Yanyan girl is really any good?”
“If we’d known Jin Zijin liked women, we should’ve let Yuchen try back then. At least she had a clever mind and quick wits; maybe she could have... ”
“Shut up!”
Old Master Wang suddenly hissed and drove his cane hard into the carpet.
He shot Wang Jinyu a sharp glare, then glared fiercely at the embarrassed Wang Manyu.
“Idiot! If she truly didn’t care about Yanyan, she wouldn’t have left us even this little bit of face today!”
The old man’s chest rose and fell, his voice pressed low but each word ground out through his teeth: “I’ve told you all to behave yourselves and be a little nicer to Yanyan. You all treated it like hot air!”
“Now look; that girl is protecting her own wife. She knows our family hasn’t treated Yanyan well, so she’s deliberately using this chance to warn us!”
He turned to Wang Manyu, his tone leaving no room for argument: “I checked already. Zijin has people sending food to Yanyan every single day in all kinds of different ways; she’s meticulous and thoughtful.”
“You, starting tomorrow, get up early every day and personally bring Yanyan breakfast!”
“And stop with that dead-looking stepmother face of yours. Hear me?”
Being scolded in public, Wang Manyu’s face alternated red and white, but she didn’t dare object; she could only lower her head and force out a sound from her throat. “...Yes, I know.”
Wang Jinyu still wanted to say something, but was pushed back by one look from the old master.
“And you,” the old man stared at his son, his tone icy, “watch your mouth.”
“If I hear you say some stupid nonsense like ‘women can’t be relied on’ again, you can get out of the company. Don’t even think about getting another cent.”
——————
Wen Yan and Jin Zijin didn’t care about this little episode. The two of them soon held hands and walked over to Ye Jianlan.
“Director Ye, thank you for making time to come.” The cold distance from earlier on Jin Zijin’s face was gone without a trace, replaced by a familiar, sincere smile.
Ye Jianlan smiled as she shook hands with her, then let her gaze land on Wen Yan and teased, “Dr. Wen, we meet again.”
“Today, the two of you really complement each other. You’re very well matched~”
Only then did Wen Yan realize that Ye Jianlan’s position was actually so high-ranking.
She paused in slight surprise, then quickly smiled and nodded. “Director Ye, you flatter me.”
The two of them accompanied Ye Jianlan and several leaders in conversation for a while before Jin Zijin led them to meet Hengxing Group’s core executives.
When introducing Wen Yan to these people, Jin Zijin was no longer so formal and simply said, “This is Wen Yan. You’ve met her at our wedding; she’s my wife.”
“A doctor in orthopedics at the affiliated hospital of Peking University. Go ahead and put a face to the name.”
The executives were all seasoned professionals; they immediately smiled and congratulated her.
“Hello, Dr. Wen.”
“Nice to see you again, Dr. Wen.”
“I was wondering what kind of beauty could make our President Jin fall at first sight. Just one glance at the wedding was enough to show her style... and now seeing her clearly under the lights... tsk tsk... ”
“Indeed, what a wonderful person.”
Qiu Jiaoyue, the PR director, was a beautiful, generous woman and wasted no time in praising Wen Yan generously.
Wen Yan felt a little embarrassed and gave a shy smile in response.
The group chatted and laughed, and Zhou Jinzhi, the director in charge of medical device R&D, let his gaze linger on Wen Yan’s face for a moment longer. He felt that this young Mrs. Jin looked oddly familiar.
Hengxing had always cooperated with Peking University; perhaps she was someone he had seen somewhere before.
He quietly made a mental note: affiliated with Peking University, orthopedics; later he’d have to look carefully and find out which expert she was.
After everyone had been introduced, they took their seats at the main table.
Delicate dishes were brought to the constant-temperature table in a stream, a fusion of East and West, plated like works of art.
As the host, Jin Zijin stood and raised her glass to give a speech.
She didn’t speak at length; she simply thanked all the employees for a year of hard work, thanked their partners for their trust, and wished everyone smooth sailing and good health in the year ahead as they moved toward the stars together.
Once she finished, the whole hall raised their glasses, and applause and music rang out together.
The stage lights shifted, and Hengxing’s independently developed AI virtual idol, Xing Lan, took the stage, bringing a sci-fi dance performance that combined holographic projection and real-time motion capture.
The light and shadow were dazzling, the technology feel overflowing.
Next came a performance by a professional orchestra, then a song by a collaborating celebrity.
The lottery segment pushed the atmosphere to its peak.
The prizes ranged from the latest Hengxing smart home products to a top-spec sedan from its new energy subsidiary, so generous it was almost absurd.
Wen Yan had been smiling the whole time, clapping so much that her palms turned red.
The lottery numbers stopped scrolling on the big screen, and the number for the second prize matched the number on her admission ticket.
The robot host on stage announced in a precise electronic voice, “Congratulations. Table A01 in Area A, Ms. Wen Yan, has won one Hengxing New Energy commuter car!”
A spotlight hit her.
Wen Yan froze and blinked, turning to look at Jin Zijin as if to confirm it.
Jin Zijin also froze for a moment, then laughed, reaching out to wrap an arm around her shoulders. Leaning close to her ear, her warm breath brushed Wen Yan’s ear as she murmured, “Dr. Wen, your luck is really good~”
Only then did Wen Yan come back to her senses. Little by little, her eyes lit up like they had fallen into scattered starlight.
Soon, a staff member brought a silver car key to her.
Wen Yan took the smoothly designed key, and the moment her fingertips touched the cool metal, she belatedly realized that she had really won.
——————
The annual banquet ended amid the final burst of brilliant “electronic fireworks.”
The two of them got in the car and left the venue, heading back home.
Wen Yan leaned against the seatback, still holding the new car key in her hand and turning it over to look at it again and again.
The key was designed very simply, with a matte metallic sheen and a small piece of deep-blue glass inlaid at the end, printed with the Hengxing logo.
“What’s wrong?” Jin Zijin leaned over, wrapped an arm around her waist, and rested her chin lightly on Wen Yan’s shoulder. “Still thinking about that car?”
“Mm.” Wen Yan answered, her voice carrying a dazed, dreamlike floatiness. “It just feels so unreal. This is the second time I’ve won such a big prize.”
Jin Zijin chuckled and kissed her earlobe. “When was the first time? How come I didn’t know?”
Wen Yan tilted her head. In the dim light of the car, her eyes sparkled brightly.
She leaned closer to Jin Zijin, warm breath brushing the other woman’s cheek as she smiled and said, “The first time... was when I married you.”
She paused, and soft ripples of light spread through her eyes.
“Before that, I always felt like I might be some miserable nobody casually abandoned by fate.”
“But after meeting you, I realized that the joke fate played on me was to wrap up the biggest luck of all and deliver it right in front of me in the most unexpected way.”
“From that day on,” she looked into Jin Zijin’s eyes, speaking word by word, “I really became a lucky person.”
Jin Zijin listened quietly, her heart teased over and over again, itchy and swollen.
She let out a low laugh and gently tapped Wen Yan’s nose with her finger. “You little fool.”
Her voice was hoarse and tender, like aged wine: “The thing that made you win the prize was never fate.”
“It was me.”
“It was always me.”
Jin Zijin tilted her head slightly and lifted a hand to point to the corner of her lips. Her gaze drifted in the dim light, irresistibly seductive: “Hurry up and kiss your ‘exclusive fate.’”
Wen Yan smiled and, without hesitation, bent down to kiss her lips.