Chapter 6: One Heart 1
The young man standing on the stairs had cold eyes, as if everything that happened here had nothing to do with him, so he seemed indifferent.
The winter was already cold, but his words were even colder than the winter. Xi Chen's expression finally changed. He pointed at Tang Ai who was standing in the living room impatiently and said to his parents, "Are you done yet? Is it fun to ask someone who has nothing to do with me like this? I have nothing to do with her. Nothing means nothing!"
Tang Ai felt cold all over, from head to toe, shivering as if she was in an ice cellar.
Are they really unrelated to each other as he said?
Twenty-four years ago, Xi Zhengfeng's young wife died of illness.
Since then, Xi Zhengfeng has not had a happy day. He has been buried in front of the computer day and night, working all the time. He loves his wife very much and misses her very much.
Three years later, Xi Zhengfeng had a young assistant, a newly graduated female college student who was full of ignorant expectations for the society and wanted to do everything to the best of her ability.
She didn't know what had happened to this young boss, she only knew that he was busy day and night, and as a young assistant, she felt a little sorry for him.
Because of the distress, the enthusiastic young assistant showed more concern for his boss. Every day he would wait until Xi Zhengfeng got off work before going home alone.
As time went by, Xi Zhengfeng discovered that she had been waiting for him to get off work. When he asked her about it, she always smiled foolishly, touched her head, and said, "No, I just happened to have unfinished work, so I left it until now."
Xi Zhengfeng didn't care, but he just couldn't believe that in one month, two months, or three months, the young assistant would have endless things to do every day.
In Xi Zhengfeng's heart, this young assistant is more considerate than any of his previous assistants. He doesn't talk much, but he works very meticulously.
Xi Zhengfeng hasn't felt this way for a long time. Since his wife passed away, his heart has never been moved by anyone.
Xi Zhengfeng was caring for this assistant, and he only paid attention to her because she was cute and kind to him. It was precisely because he only paid attention to his work and the assistant that he did not hear the gossip in the company.
And the young assistant had to bear all the gossip alone.
Once, Xi Zhengfeng went out for a social event and drank too much, so he called his assistant to drive him. The assistant had just got her driver's license and was still a new driver. She drove for a full hour to get home, which normally took half an hour.
After returning home, the young assistant took care of the drunk Xi Zhengfeng meticulously.
In a drunken stupor, Xi Zhengfeng thought he had dreamed of his wife. That night, he had sex with his assistant.
After sobering up, Xi Zhengfeng felt guilty about his behavior, but at the same time he felt sorry for his deceased wife. Therefore, he did not marry the assistant, but just bought her a house, which was considered to be a home for her.
Later, the assistant resigned because she was pregnant.
Xi Zhengfeng already had a child and didn't want his assistant to have an abortion, so he persuaded her to give birth to the child, and then they would get married.
However, after the baby was born, the assistant never woke up again.
"The young assistant is Xichen's mother." Tang Ai used a declarative sentence, not a question.
Shen Ruoyun nodded, and then continued: "Xi Chen has always known about his life experience, so he hates his father very much. Later, Xi Zhengfeng married another wife, Xie Wanqiu, who brought a daughter, Xi Shanshan. Xi Shanshan's original name was Xie Shanshan."
Tong Lin pinched her chin, thought for a moment and said, "Xi Chen and his father don't get along well, and they often quarrel. Xi Shanshan likes Xi Chen, but Chen Mei likes Xi Shanshan, and he knows that Xi Zhengfeng and his son don't get along well, so he is determined to harm Xi Chen. But from what you said, Xi Zhengfeng should like Xi Chen very much. After all, when he learned that Xi Chen's mother was pregnant, he asked her to give birth to the baby and promised to get married."
Shen Ruoyun lazily lay on the sofa, arms around his chest, and said: "You know one thing, but not the other. The relationship of the Xi family is complicated. I am just an outsider. There are some things I am not sure about, so I dare not tell you easily."
"Shen Ruoyun, do you know Xichen's current situation?" Tang Ai asked.
"What's his current situation? I guess he's been locked up at home by his father. He always disobeys his father, and his father has no choice but to lock him up." Shen Ruoyun said.
Tang Ai leaned forward and asked, "Can you take me to see him?"
Shen Ruoyun was startled and immediately sat up from the sofa and asked, "You want to see Xichen? Please, his whole family is here, they won't let you see him."
"How do you know if you don't try? Shen Ruoyun, I'm very worried about him now." Tang Ai stood up, her eyes full of requests. Although Shen Ruoyun knew that this would not work, he couldn't bear to refuse her when he saw Tang Ai's look.
In the end, Shen Ruoyun agreed to take Tang Ai to the Xi family.
They went there during the day. The Xi family's house was a large, independent villa surrounded by a retro European-style black fence covered with purple bougainvillea. This scene reminded Tang Ai of the male lead's house in an idol drama, exactly the same.
Standing outside the gate, Tang Ai felt a little nervous.
Shen Ruoyun rang the doorbell, and the butler in black uniform opened the door. When the butler saw Shen Ruoyun, he bowed slightly and said, "Master Shen, you are here."
"I brought a friend to see Master Xi. Where is Master Xi?" Shen Ruoyun hooked his arm around Tang Ai's shoulder and asked the housekeeper.
The housekeeper smiled apologetically and said, "Master Shen, the master has ordered that Master Xi cannot see anyone else for the time being."
"Am I considered an outsider?" Shen Ruoyun pointed at himself and questioned the housekeeper.
The housekeeper bowed repeatedly and said, "Young Master Shen, please don't embarrass me. If Young Master Shen comes in for tea, I will naturally instruct the Xi family to entertain you well. But if you are here to see Master Xi, I'm sorry, please go back."
"You..." Shen Ruoyun was embarrassed for a moment, so he propped up the iron door with his hands and shouted loudly inside, "Master Xi! Come out! Your grandfather Shen Ruoyun is here to see you!"
"Who is making so much noise outside?" At this moment, a clear scolding voice came from not far away. When Shen Ruoyun heard it, he quickly smiled like a wilted wolf, drooping his ears, "Hey, Shanshan, Shanshan is me."
Xi Shanshan walked out from behind the iron gate, wearing a princess-like home dress. She glanced at Shen Ruoyun coldly, and finally fixed her eyes on Tang Ai: "Why are you here too?"
"I met her on the way and brought her here." Shen Ruoyun chuckled.
"I didn't talk to you." Xi Shanshan rolled her eyes at Shen Ruoyun and turned to ask Tang Ai, "Are you here to see my brother?"
“Shanshan…”
"Yes." Tang Ai answered firmly, looking into Xi Shanshan's eyes without backing down at all.
Shen Ruoyun kept his mouth shut, watching the vague tension between the two girls.
"Ha!" Xi Shanshan couldn't help but sneer and said, "You are quite honest, but you don't even look at who you are. Are you qualified to stand at the door of the Xi family, enter the threshold of the Xi family, and meet the people of the Xi family?"
"I just want to see if he's okay." Tang Ai lowered her eyes and said softly.
"Huh?" Xi Shanshan opened her eyes wide, as if she had heard something funny. She looked at Shen Ruoyun, but pointed at Tang Ai, and laughed sarcastically, "Did I hear you right? This outsider actually wants to see my brother is doing well? Please, Tang Ai!" She slowly shifted her gaze to Tang Ai, crossed her arms over her chest, and her expression became impatient, "I beg you to stop dreaming about turning a wild chicken into a phoenix all day long, okay? What is your relationship with my brother? You actually came to my house to find him. Do you think you are boyfriend and girlfriend? You are too funny. Everything the Xi family has, everything my brother has, is something you, Tang Ai, can't get even if you work hard all your life! You are not worthy of my brother, so stop standing here daydreaming! Go back!"
"Shanshan." Shen Ruoyun rushed to stand in front of Tang Ai, frowning slightly, "You are going too far."
Xi Shanshan was stunned, and looked at Shen Ruoyun with eyes wide open in disbelief, and asked: "Are you okay, Shen Ruoyun? You actually speak for her? Ha! Don't you like me? Okay, I'll give you a chance now. If you drive her away and cut off contact with her, I will let you chase me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings became extremely quiet.
Tang Ai felt that Shen Ruoyun's back was filled with deep anger. He was holding back his violent breathing, his breath getting louder and louder. Shen Ruoyun stood in front of her and said to Xi Shanshan in a low voice, "Shanshan, I will pretend that I didn't hear what you said just now. I hope you remember that if you like someone, no matter how humble your love is, he still has self-esteem. I may not take your attitude towards me today to heart, but Xichen will not take your attitude towards Tang Ai to heart. Remember, Xichen will definitely not take it to heart."
At that time, Tang Ai still didn't know why Shen Ruoyun emphasized the word "Xi Chen" so much in his words.
After hearing the name, Xi Shanshan did not say another word. Instead, she rubbed her other arm with her hands and glanced away.
Shen Ruoyun no longer stood at the door to try to persuade Xi Shanshan. Instead, he grabbed Tang Ai's arm and took her away: "Let's go."
Tang Ai was led by Shen Ruoyun to the end of the bougainvillea. Then, Shen Ruoyun let go of her hand, wiped her hair back with his hand, and finally showed obvious anger on his face.
Tang Ai felt a little guilty. She looked back at the bougainvillea and said to Shen Ruoyun, "I'm sorry."
Shen Ruoyun shook his head, suppressed his unhappiness, and said, "I'll help you think of another way."
"No need." Tang Ai shook her head and slowly turned her head away, her eyes feeling sore.
She was worried about Xi Chen, very worried, but she didn't want to involve Shen Ruoyun. If she wanted to see Xi Chen again, she would just have to find a way on her own.
Suddenly, a slap gently hit Tang Ai's head. Tang Ai shrank her neck, covering the painful area and staring at Shen Ruoyun.
Shen Ruoyun scolded her: "What are you thinking about? Am I so vulnerable? Besides, not only are you worried about Xichen, I am also worried about Xichen. If I help you meet him, I am also helping myself, okay?"
Tang Ai frowned and said with some resentment: "You help me so much, if you didn't like Xi Shanshan, I would have mistakenly thought you liked me."
"What's in your head? I'm helping you purely out of moral obligation! Xi Shanshan is much more important than you." Shen Ruoyun poked Tang Ai's forehead and said something. Tang Ai dodged and covered her forehead with her hands, trying to laugh.
"Let's go, let's call Tonglin to work out a solution together tonight. Let's go." Shen Ruoyun grabbed Tang Ai's arm in annoyance and took her to school.
In fact, probably only Shen Ruoyun knows.
He helped Tang Ai so much just for one person.
Someone he once promised, promised him that he would do his best to protect her.
When Xi Shanshan retreated, she told the housekeeper to close the door and not to let in anyone other than the Xi family.
Soon, she walked back to the villa and saw Xi Chen standing at the corner of the stairs on the second floor. He was standing by the window, and through the sparse green vines, he could see the scene at the iron gate of the fence clearly.
"Brother." Xi Shanshan called him, but he pretended not to hear.
Xi Shanshan walked over and stood side by side with him. She looked through the gaps in the vines and landed on the iron gate. She asked, "Did you see everything just now?"
"What did you just say?" Xi Chen asked coldly.
Xi Shanshan held Xi Chen's arm and said disapprovingly, "What else can I say? Of course I'll kick them both out."
Xi Chen quickly withdrew his hand, turned around and walked upstairs.
His attitude made Xi Shanshan very unhappy. She chased him and shouted, "Brother! Brother! Why are you treating me like this for a stranger? Don't forget that I am the person closest to you!"
Xi Chen did not stop. Xi Shanshan was wearing high heels and her steps were relatively small. When she was about to lose him, she stamped her feet in frustration and screamed, "Xi Feng!"
