Desperate Pretense At Being Poor

Chapter 2 – Encounter

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The torrential rain did not show any signs of stopping.  On the contrary, it got heavier and heavier.

After Wen Ruan reached home, her shoulders were wet through.  She shook off the droplets of rain on the umbrella and looked up in the direction of the living room……

The Master and Madam of the Wen Family were actually at home.

It was a rare occasion for Wen Ruan’s father to finish his work in the office on time today.

At this moment, Father Wen and Mother Wen were cuddling sweetly on the sofa as they watch the latest eight o’clock program together.

“The hero and heroine finally get to meet each other, ai…….”

“He deserves it.  Since he didn’t cherish her before, the heroine shouldn’t forgive him easily.”

“Ai, he should learn from me and love my wife more.”

“You should know your limitations and at such an old age…….”

“……”

The atmosphere is just right.

The timing is just right.

It looked like her parents are in a good mood.

Wen Ruan made a calculation and felt that this should be a great opportunity for her to dissolve the marriage contract.

So she took her ritual bath then changed into her Pikachu nightgown and wrapped her wet hair with a towel.  She decided to conduct the 35th round of heart-to-heart talk with Father Wen.

“Mr.
Wen Fengchen, I want to talk to you about my engagement.”

But Father Wen seemed as though he did not hear.

“This little girl looks quite pretty.”

“I think so too.  Don’t you think she looks a bit like Ruan Ruan when she was a child?  So well-behaved.”

“Ai, do you think the hero is aware that the heroine’s child is his?  Why can’t both of them talk this over?”

Wen Ruan who was ignored took a deep breath, leaned down to pick up the remote control, and turned off the TV.

Father Wen frowned.

She sat down on the sofa and turned sideways to face Father Wen.  Then she placed her hands on her knees and showed a lawyer’s negotiating posture.

“Mr.
Wen Fengchen, as a law graduate, I want to exercise my freedom rights.”

“For example?”

“I want to cancel the marriage.”

Wen Fengchen threw her a glance.  “Not negotiable.”

“Mr.
Wen Fengchen, I’ve already thrown away the engagement ring to show my determination.”

Wen Fengchen did not seem to be bothered.  He took a sip of tea and said slowly.

“It’s useless.  I can get Assistant Zhou to order another set.”

Anyway, there’s no shortage of this small amount of money!

“……”

It is the simplest and most impolite form of solution for capitalists.

Wen Ruan decided to change her tactic and became gentler.

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“Dad, now to advocate the freedom of marriage……”

“I’m just afraid you will be deceived.  Have you forgotten that you were almost abducted by traffickers when you were in elementary school just because someone gave you a popping candy?  That Second Young Master Fu is a serious prosecutor with a good character and you’re suitably matched……..”

Probably all parents in the world have a particularly good memory of these things.

His unyielding attitude towards her firm approach made Wen Ruan decide to use her killer move.

She instantly stood up then turned around and shouted a sentence.

“Auntie Chen, help me to pack up!  I’m leaving tonight!”

“Ruan Ruan, it’s so late, where are you going?”

When Mother Wen heard, she immediately frowned and loosened her arms that were wrapped around Father Wen.

Wen Ruan gave a solemn reply.

“Running away from home!  I won’t come home as long as the marriage contract is not terminated.”

Running away from home?

As soon as the sentence was spoken, there was silence all around for a moment.

When Auntie Chen was given the order, she was stunned, looked at the master and his wife tentatively for a while, and did not dare to make a move.

Wen Fengchen picked up the teacup and drank a sip of tea slowly.

“Let her leave.  From the time she was a child until now, the longest time she ran away from home was that time when she didn’t pass her elementary school exam.  After I taught her a lesson, didn’t she run to the community park and sat on the bench for a whole day?”

Speaking up to here, he paused and seemed to have thought of something.  Then he added.  “That’s right, but that can’t be considered as a whole day because when she felt hungry after sitting halfway through, she sneaked back for a meal.”

“With this kind of backbone, where can she go?”

Wen Ruan stood up and her eyes rested on her father for a while.  However, she was not furious nor threw a tantrum as expected.

She only kept quiet for a long time before she turned around and went upstairs without a word.

When Mother Wen saw Wen Ruan leaving, she softly let out an ‘Ai’ in a worried tone.  Then as she got up to stop her daughter but instead, she was stopped by Wen Fengchen who was sitting next to her.

“You…….since the child doesn’t want to get engaged and I think that Second Young Master of the Fu Family had clearly shown his stand, isn’t it better to…….”

“What do you know?”  Wen Fengchen did not seem to be in a hurry as he slowly put down the teacup in his hand onto the table.  Then he sighed and said.

“This child had been protected too well ever since she was a child, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been unable to stand up again after that incident years ago.
Now if we don’t force her, how will she be able to venture out?”

***☆☆☆***

“So, you’re really going to run away from home?”  Qin Sushan asked on the other end of the phone.

“Right.”

Wen Ruan held the phone in place between her head and shoulder while her hands were busy cleaning her suitcase.  Then she threw out a string of inspirational remarks.

“In fact, I had this idea a long time ago.  If I want to resist, I must first stand up for my rights.”

Qin Sushan was quite moved.  “For example?”

“Quietly disappear from Tong City and while everyone is thinking I had disappeared, I will work hard in secret.  Three years later, I’ll return with a halo behind me.  At that time, I will no longer be a lady who is like a vase in the eyes of others but is someone admired by thousands of people……..”

Qin Sushan interrupted.  “Wait a minute!  Why do I have the feeling that your words are a bit familiar?”

“It’s written inside ‘Return of the Wealthy Daughter’, a novel that is quite popular recently.”

Qin Sushan was quiet for a while.  Then unable to control herself, she burst into laughter.  On the other side of the phone, she leaned back for a while then shook her head and sighed.

“But I didn’t expect that you would be called a vase.  When you were in university, your professional grades were the best.  Even Professor Su said that you will surely replace him as the most prestigious lawyer in Tong City……”

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Upon hearing this, Wen Ruan’s hands paused and did not speak.

Qin Sushan realized her mistake and said.  “……Ah, I’m sorry…….”

Three years ago, Wen Ruan had just graduated.

Based on her ability, everyone predicted that she will become a leader in the circle of lawyers.

Indeed to everyone’s expectations, the fledgling Wen Ruan won many beautiful battles in several lawsuits.

However…….

After a certain case, she resigned from her position as a lawyer and has never touched legal matters again.

“It’s fine.”

Wen Ruan smiled and shut the suitcase.  She sat cross-legged on the carpet and leaned on the edge of the bed as she said calmly.

“This time I’m going to Jiang City.”

When Qin Sushan heard this, her tone brimmed with joy.

“That’s great, Sister!  You’ve finally decided to join me!”

Since three years ago, this pair of best friends lived in different cities.

Qin Sushan works as a trainee lawyer in Jiang City while Wen Ruan as the precious daughter of the Wen Family who does not need to worry about food and clothing returned to Wen Enterprise and would occasionally go to the company to handle some general work.

“That’s not it…….a few days ago Professor Su told me he had opened a law firm and asked whether I’m willing to help him.”

“”

Wen Ruan lowered her eyes and said softly.  “And I agreed.”

Professor Su is Wen Ruan’s mentor and has always cherished the talented.  He had handed her olive branches several times and advised her not to abandon her talent just because of the incident that year.
 She should learn to let go of her stubbornness and accept this profession once more.

Three years had passed and over time many things could be smoothed out.

The proudest moment is always the time when one is standing in court.

Originally, Wen Ruan already had this thought.  Now in addition to the pressure from the marriage contract, she realized that if she keeps depending on Wen Enterprise, everyone will only acknowledge and address her as Miss Wen and not as Wen Ruan.

Therefore, she had already decided to accept Professor Su’s invitation.

On the other side of the phone, it was silent for a long time before Qin Sushan’s high-pitched screams rang out.

“Sister!  You’ve finally thought it through!  Back then, the lawsuit was originally not your fault at all!  As long as you come to Jiang City, I’ll provide you with free board and lodging!”

Perhaps it was because Wen Ruan was inexplicably depressed when the past was brought up, she seemed to show a lack of interest.

“Thank you.”

However, Qin Sushan was so moved by this rare opportunity for them to meet again after such a long time that she cried disconsolately with Wen Ruan on the phone.

“We can also ogle at pretty boys together!”

“We can also go disco dancing!”

“You can also come to my office to look at those little handsome scumbag lawyers who dressed up as gentlemen!”

Little handsome scumbags!

Wen Ruan became happier.

Her mood became better after this series of sentences.  After chatting with Qin Sushan for a while longer, she hung up the phone and booked a ticket to rush to Jiang City overnight.

The air tickets were sold out, so Wen Ruan changed her schedule and booked the earliest train ticket.

Before she left, she even bid goodbye to Wen Fengchen.

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“See you in three years.”

Wen Fengchen: “……”

 

It was 7:30 in the morning when the train arrived in Jiang City.

Wen Ruan rubbed her drowsy eyes as she got off the train dragging along her suitcase.  While standing at the entrance of the train station, she took out her mobile phone to call a taxi and look for a hotel.

The difference in the temperature between Tong City and Jiang City was quite large.

The cold wind in the morning blew and circled her neck chasing away her sleepiness and instantly woke her up.

At this moment, a rough voice rang in her ears.

“This child!  I’ve finally found you!  Hurry up and return with me!”

Before Wen Ruan could react, she felt her arm being pulled with great force by someone.  She stumbled and realized the stranger in front of her was pulling her forward.

What is going on?

“Just after graduating from high school, you stole the money from home that was for your university tuition fees to play everywhere!   And now you’re about to look for your boyfriend that you met online!  Who taught you this?!  Just watch, I’ll break your legs when we go home!”

Wen Ruan seemed to come to her senses at that moment and the sleepiness she was still feeling instantly vaporized.

Human trafficking in broad daylight?

Moreover, do I look like I’ve just graduated from high school?

Wen Ruan stopped and raised her voice to call for help from the people around her.

“Please help me to call the police!  He is a human trafficker!”

As soon as Wen Ruan finished speaking, a man and a woman walked over.  It seemed the two people had long prepared for this and made arrangements to work in collusion with the human trafficker.  While they blocked her way, they also tried to drown out her voice.

“We have been looking for you for such a long time!  Why are you so insensible?!”

“Ai, you should hurry home!  Your mother’s eyes are red from crying at home.  Even as your auntie, I can’t bear it anymore.”

“You make others worry and your father worked so hard for many years just to raise you!”

When passersby saw the situation, they came up and asked.  “Do you know this girl’s name?”

However, the human trafficker was not intimated, and instead, he shouted.  “Why would I not know my daughter’s name?  Her name is Wen Ruan!  Wen for gentle and the Ruan is written together with the ‘ear’ character!”

(Wen Ruan’s name in Chinese is written as ~ 温阮.  Wen means gentle in Chinese and the next character Ruan is formed with two characters.  The main character is元 and the side character is called the ‘ear’ character.)

As he spoke, he reached out his hand and snatched the ticket that Wen Ruan was holding.  Covering the corner of the ticket where the ID number was located, he showed the ticket to the passersby.

“Come and take a look!  The name is correct!”

Wen Ruan showed a slight frown.

It seemed these people had been monitoring her for a long time and it was not known when they had peeked at her ticket.

When the passersby saw the name and also noticed that the human trafficker was quite righteous, they murmured and retreated a few steps.

Without the people’s intervention, the group of human traffickers was able to easily drag Wen Ruan’s small body forward.

Wen Ruan sighed.

In fact, she was not in too much of a panic.

The reason was that when this group of human traffickers picked her as their target, they did not expect that ever since she started elementary school, the hobby class Wen Ruan had been registered with was the karate class.

That’s right.

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Wen Fengchen’s philosophy in educating his daughter has always been…….if others bully you, you can knock his head with a pink metal spade.

And that was how he had developed Wen Ruan’s prickly character.

However, to send a girl who was just a little over 1.6 meters to learn karate, except for Wen Fengchen, this father, it’s afraid that no other parent would have such an idea.

Wen Ruan steadied her body then raised her head to glance at the three people around her and said softly.  “The highest sentence for the crime of trafficking in women and children is the death penalty.  You have to be prepared mentally.”

“This child, you’re talking…….”

“I mean the three of you……”  Wen Ruan chuckled lightly and narrowed her eyes.  It seemed she was about to make her move.

But before she could take action, she suddenly heard a cold male voice behind her.

“Stop.”

Like an ice blade covered with layers of frost, just that single word gave one a feeling of indisputable coercion.  The slightly cold voice was like fine wine spreading in her ears.

The next second, a hand with prominent knuckles grabbed the shoulder of the infamous human trafficker who was pushing Wen Ruan.

Before the human trafficker could react, he was thrown over a shoulder and landed on the ground.  As a result, he knocked the back of his head on the ground which produced a loud sound.

The corners of Fu Zhihuan’s clothes fluttered and his movements were firm and piercingly cold.

He straightened up, adjusted his collar casually, and looked down at Wen Ruan.

“Call the police.”

His voice was cold and his appearance was fresh and clear.

His whole body from head to toe and even the hair on his head seemed to give out a hormonal feeling!

Suddenly Wen Ruan’s heart was bumping around like a restless deer.

This man is so handsome!

Wen Ruan’s family is liberal so usually, a lot of celebrities will attend the various parties held, and the chances of meeting handsome men are aplenty.

However, she can pat her chest and guarantee that if all the handsome men she usually sees are gathered together, they could not even measure up to half the appearance of the man in front of her.

When the human trafficker became aware of the situation he unconsciously loosened his hold on Wen Ruan’s wrist.

Seizing the chance, she broke away and staggered a few steps back.

Fu Zhihuan frowned slightly and stepped forward.  He raised his hand to support Wen Ruan’s back and lightly moved her to stand in front of him.

The distance between them instantly narrowed.

The surrounding air immediately became heated up.

Wen Ruan lifted her head and met Fu Zhihuan’s eyes.

It was as if a ray of light had dispersed the mist in the night.  The two people’s gazes met and the surroundings were surprisingly quiet at this moment.

Only the sounds of their hearts beating could be heard.

Fu Zhihuan released his hand, lifted his eyelids, and let out a chuckle from his chest that was full of charisma.

“Are you steady on your feet now?”

There was a buzzing sound in Wen Ruan’s head and her heart was pounding.  Fu Zhihuan’s chuckle whirled and replayed in her mind and it seemed to be echoing endlessly.

At this moment, there were only a few words in her heart……..

~ Second Young Master Fu!  You can get lost!

~ I will certainly be in a love relationship!

~ With this handsome man in front of me!