novelraw Chapter 36: Wenjing, who can't learn to refuse
Chapter 36: Wenjing, who can't learn to refuse
The brief interlude involving Longhe did not cause much of a stir in Ding Heng's life.
August arrived in the blink of an eye, and the summer heat was at its peak.
That evening, as usual, Ding Heng drove to pick up the girls and they returned to their room at the Chujiang Hotel.
During the meal, Wenjing's phone suddenly rang, and the caller ID showed "Wenshu".
"I'm taking this call."
She put down her chopsticks and walked to the sofa a little further away to answer the phone: "Hello, Xiaoshu? What's up?"
Wen Shu said coquettishly, "Second sister~ I miss you, so I called to see what you're doing?"
Wenjing pursed her lips: "What's so interesting? I just got off work and was about to eat."
"oh--"
Wen Shu drew out the melody.
Zhao Yanxi suddenly leaned over and called out with a grin, "Hey! Little Shushu! Did you miss me?"
"Sister Yan hope!"
Wen Shu's voice instantly rose: "You're here! I missed you so much!"
"Hey! How have you been lately? Behaving well?"
Zhao Yanxi naturally took over the conversation and chatted warmly with Wen Shu over the phone, from interesting things at school to the dramas they were currently watching.
Wenjing listened to her younger sister and best friend chatting happily, but she, as the older sister, couldn't get a word in edgewise, making her feel somewhat awkward.
Zhao Yanxi got so into the conversation that she took the phone from Wenjing and switched to a video call.
"Come, come, let me show you where we're staying, and what we're having for dinner today!"
Holding her phone, she walked around the spacious executive suite, then focused on the exquisitely plated dishes on the table.
"Wow! Sister Yanxi, your employee benefits are so good?"
In the video, Wen Shu stared wide-eyed in surprise.
"Of course! We have a benefactor among us!"
Zhao Yan winked playfully at Ding Heng.
Wen Shu exclaimed with envy, "Sister Yan hope, can I come to Xingcheng to visit you? I've never stayed in a five-star hotel before!"
Zhao Yanxi readily agreed: "Welcome! I'll be waiting for you, and I'll show you around..."
"Xiao Shu".
Wenjing suddenly spoke up, interrupting Zhao Yanxi.
She stood up, took her phone back from Zhao Yanxi, and asked somewhat awkwardly, "Did you call for something else?"
On the other end of the video call, Wen Shu's excited expression subsided, and she got down to business.
"Second sister, Mom and Dad are arguing again, and it's really bad. My eldest sister has locked herself in her room and is crying. Mom asked me to call you and ask you to talk to her."
Wenjing remained silent for two seconds, then nodded.
"Okay, I understand. I'll call my sister later."
After hanging up the video call, Wenjing gestured for the two to eat first, then left the room alone with her phone.
Wenjing returned about ten minutes later.
Her mood was noticeably lower than before; she picked up her chopsticks again, but had no appetite.
After a while, she looked at Ding Heng and asked softly, "Ding Heng, could you take me back to Zhuzhou tomorrow?"
"Okay, what time tomorrow morning?"
"Eight o'clock in the morning...is that okay?"
"it is good."
Ding Heng nodded in agreement without asking any further questions.
Zhao Yanxi looked at Wenjing, then at Ding Heng, and finally picked up a piece of pork rib and put it in Wenjing's bowl.
"Let's eat first, the food is getting cold."
……
The next morning, Ding Heng arrived at the hotel on time, and Wen Jing was waiting at the door.
Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she wore a simple three-piece set of a T-shirt, casual pants, and sneakers, carrying a backpack, as unassuming as ever.
She opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, her shoulders slightly hunched as always, looking rather listless.
Ding Heng handed over a paper bag: "I brought this for you, soy milk and steamed buns. Eat them while they're hot."
Wenjing took it and whispered "thank you".
Ding Heng started the car and merged into the morning rush hour traffic.
After driving for a while, he glanced at the silent Wenjing beside him and could clearly sense the girl's nervousness.
Ding Heng tentatively asked, "Returning to Zhuzhou... is there something wrong at home?"
Wenjing bit her straw, hesitated for a long time, and then answered, "I'm going back to my blind date..."
"squeak--!"
Ding Heng slammed on the brakes and came to a stop in the emergency lane.
"Blind date? You've only graduated high school! What kind of blind date are you talking about?"
Wenjing was startled by Ding Heng and quickly waved her hand to explain.
"No, it's not me going on a blind date! I'm going on one for my sister!"
"Going on a blind date in place of your sister?"
"Um……"
Wenjing lowered her head, her fingers twisting the seatbelt, and stammered out what had happened.
Yesterday, her older sister Wenwan had a big fight with her parents because her parents asked an acquaintance to arrange a blind date for Wenwan.
The man's family is fairly well-off, and he's an honest person, but he's a bit ugly, short, and older than average...
Wenwan felt disgusted and resolutely refused to go.
The parents, feeling embarrassed, gave an ultimatum in a fit of anger: if they didn't go on the blind date, they would have to move out of the house and find their own way to be independent.
So yesterday, Wenwan cried on the phone, begging her younger sister Wenjing to pretend to be her and deal with the man.
"My sister said... it's just a meal, a formality, and you just need to make it clear to the other person that you don't have feelings for them... They won't bother you because you're an acquaintance."
Wenjing's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, making Ding Heng's temples throb.
"You actually agreed to something like this? Have you lost your mind?!"
His tone was angry: "Eat? Just go through the motions?"
What if the other person really likes you? What if they ask your parents to arrange another meeting with your sister? How will you cover that up?
What will you say when your parents find out you're impersonating your sister? What will happen if the other party discovers you two sisters are working together to scam people?
This lie will only snowball, and how will you handle it in the end?
A barrage of questions came down on Wenjing, leaving her speechless. She lowered her head even further, almost shrinking into her seat.
Seeing Wenjing start to habitually avoid and retreat again, Ding Heng's anger intensified.
He commanded in a stern voice, "Take out your phone."
Wenjing obediently took her phone out of her bag: "And then?"
Call your sister.
"W-What are you doing?"
"Let her figure it out herself. Just tell her you have work today and can't go."
Wenjing gripped her phone tightly, her fingers clenching, her lips trembling as she spoke.
"But...she's my sister...she begged me like that..."
"If she truly considered you her sister, she wouldn't have let you do something so outrageous!"
Ding Heng interrupted Wen Jing, his tone stern.
Wenjing was so frightened that she stood there dumbfounded.
This was the first time she had ever seen Ding Heng so angry.
It wasn't the usual feigned anger, teasing or joking with her, but a genuine outpouring of rage!
Before Wenjing could react, Ding Heng snatched her phone, quickly unlocked it, found the contact person whose name was "Big Sister," and dialed the number.
Wenjing exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? How did you know my phone password...?"
"I immediately guessed it was a birthday combination between you and Zhao Yanxi."
Ding Heng didn't even look up.
The voice request rang for more than ten seconds before being answered, and a woman's voice, clearly not fully awake and full of impatience, came from the other end.
"What's wrong, Wenjing? Don't you know I need to sleep during the day? What are you making so much noise so early in the morning!"
Ding Heng took a deep breath, his voice suddenly rising, making no attempt to hide his anger.
"Stop sleeping! Get up!"
Wen Wan was stunned by Ding Heng's shout and it took her a while to ask.
"Who...who are you? Where's Wenjing?"
Who I am is not important!
Ding Heng said in a cold tone, "I am now officially informing you that you are responsible for handling today's blind date yourself. Wenjing will not lie to anyone for you."
"Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to speak for her? Let my sister talk to me!"
Wenwan's voice also became shrill.
"Your sister? You still know she's your sister?"
Ding Heng sneered: "A useless older sister who has no job, no income, stays at home sponging off her parents, failed both the postgraduate entrance exam and the civil service exam, and only knows how to hide and cry when her parents pressure her to get married, and then pushes the trouble onto her just-turned-sister to take the fall, has the nerve to keep talking about 'my sister'?"
Why should Wenjing bother to smooth things over for you? She just graduated from high school and took a summer job to earn her tuition. She also has to take time out of her schedule to go back and deal with the mess you don't even dare to face.
As her older sister, what can you do besides upset her and make her take the blame for you?
"You...you're talking nonsense! It's none of your business how my family operates! Where's Wenjing? Let her answer the phone! Let's see if she dares to disobey me!"
Wen Wan was clearly hit where it hurt, and she threw a tantrum in a fit of rage.
"Why wouldn't you dare!"
Ding Heng said firmly, "I'm telling you this: not just today, but in the future, don't even think about letting Wenjing do anything for you!"
If you have any sense of responsibility as an older sister, then figure out how to handle your own problems, you useless piece of trash!
After saying that, he didn't give Wenwan a chance to yell anymore, directly hung up the voice call, and threw the phone back to Wenjing, who was still in a daze.
The carriage fell silent instantly.
Wenjing held the still-warm phone, and for some reason, a sense of relief welled up inside her, as if a huge burden had been lifted from her back.
Even if Ding Heng just insulted her own sister!
After a while, Wenjing prepared to apologize.
"I'm sorry..."
"Stop saying sorry all the time."
Ding Heng interrupted her, saying, "Besides, why are you apologizing to me for this?"
"But... I sense you're very angry."
"I'm not angry!"
"Oh……"
Wenjing lowered her head, unbuckled her seatbelt, and carefully leaned forward, bringing her fair and delicate face close to Ding Heng's, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.
Ding Heng was taken aback: "What are you doing?"
Wenjing stammered, "If you... if you're still angry, then punish me. Rub my face... rub it until you feel better."
She knew that Ding Heng liked to rub her face, and although she was shy when he rubbed her face in the past, she gradually got used to it.
This was also the only way he could appease Ding Heng at the moment.
Ding Heng looked at the girl who had come up to him to "ask for punishment," and his anger dissipated almost instantly, leaving him both amused and exasperated.
"Alright, but..."
He deliberately drew out his words, as if implying something: "What I want to rub today isn't your face."
Wenjing asked blankly, "What is that?"
Ding Heng lowered his gaze slightly, smiling without saying a word.
Wenjing was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, her face flushed red, and she said in a barely audible voice, "Fine, fine, as long as it makes you feel better."
Ding Heng suppressed a laugh, pretending not to hear clearly: "What do you mean, 'go for what'?"
Wenjing straightened her chest, her voice trembling, "I said... as long as it makes you feel better, I'll rub... rub anywhere!"
After saying that, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength, closed her eyes, and waited for the "punishment" to come.
She could vaguely feel Ding Heng's hand reaching out, its warmth making her heart pound so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest.
Then, the hand didn't land anywhere she expected, but gently placed on her head and rubbed it.
"Silly girl."
Ding Heng said indulgently, "You need to learn to say no in the future, and stop agreeing to everything people ask for."
A warm touch came from above her head, and Wenjing suddenly opened her eyes, meeting Ding Heng's gaze that was close to hers.
In an instant... a surge of emotions, including discomfort, grievance, and bitterness, rushed into my heart.
She lowered her head, and her shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably.
Ding Heng pulled out a few tissues and stuffed them into Wen Jing's hand.
"Relax, take a day off and get some rest."
Wenjing gripped the tissue tightly, nodded, then shook her head.
The suppressed, faint sobs were exceptionally clear in the quiet carriage…