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“Is that you, Autumn Wind?” Qiu Ruolan's soft and light voice came through.
It was her!
Autumn Wind rushed out of the study, feeling flustered as if caught stealing. What should she do? If Qiu Ruolan found out she was in her study, facing the awkwardness, Autumn Wind was not willing to confront it.
She quickly turned and slipped into the nearby bathroom, standing behind the door and gasping for breath. After a light cough, she replied, “Is that you?” Then she opened the toilet door, pretending to have just finished using it.
“You're in the toilet!” Qiu Ruolan stood in front of the pink bedroom and, seeing Autumn Wind come out, whispered before retreating back to the living room.
Autumn Wind let out a quiet sigh of relief and looked at her wristwatch. “You finished work quite early today!”
Qiu Ruolan changed her shoes and sat cross-legged on the sofa. This was the first time in over six months that Autumn Wind had come to the apartment. She wanted to express her enthusiasm but ultimately suppressed it with restraint, smiling lightly. “I shot my scenes today!” She looked at Autumn Wind and asked, “Did you go to the police station?” After seeing Autumn Wind nod, she continued, “Did you see Qiu Feng? Her role got replaced!” Her tone was light but hinted that Qiu Feng had done something serious.
Autumn Wind had no words; she swallowed hard and walked onto the balcony. There were two red boxes still placed there, reminding Autumn Wind of the last time she had a falling out with Qiu Ruolan when she stormed out of the house.
As summer approached, the days grew longer. The sunlight streamed in from the west onto the balcony, casting a warm glow. Qiu Ruolan got up from the sofa and stood barefoot behind Autumn Wind. She intended to hug her from behind but extended her arms only to pull them back again, finally standing beside her. “What made you suddenly think of coming here?”
Autumn Wind smiled in response to the question, her eyebrows shaped like crescent moons.
Qiu Ruolan gazed at Autumn Wind dreamily, really wanting to hold her close like when she took her on a plane years ago.
After staring for a while, she ultimately gave up on that thought and sighed deeply. “Um... I have to attend Wang Ling's family dinner tonight. Come with me!”
Autumn Wind turned around, looking at her in confusion. Why would I go with you?
Qiu Ruolan read Autumn Wind's doubt and nodded gently with a half-smile. “Yes, it's tonight! I think Uncle Wang would be very happy! You were there when we got married!”
Autumn Wind's face stiffened. "What? Are you planning to get back together?" A strange feeling arose in her heart; was she going to have another family member?
Qiu Ruolan stared at Autumn Wind's rigid face, her lips twitching. "No, it's just a gathering. Isn't Imily bringing her boyfriend home?" Qiu Ruolan had always been very affectionate towards Wang Jiaru.
She was going to introduce her boyfriend to her father!
"Alright, I'll go with you!" Autumn Wind initially didn't want to attend the Royal Family's family dinner, as it had nothing to do with her. However, hearing that Qiu Ruolan and Wang Jiaru were bringing their boyfriends back stirred up Autumn Wind's emotions. Seriously, Qiu Feng just came into the world, and you all are so eager already.
Xiao Yuan, you really deserve a beating!
As this thought crossed her mind, Autumn Wind realized that she still felt overwhelming guilt and heartache for Qiu Feng.
Qiu Ruolan didn't expect Autumn Wind to be so agreeable. "Ah, great!" She was overjoyed and rushed back to the living room, picking up the phone and making countless calls in quick succession.
After about ten minutes, Qiu Ruolan's styling team arrived at the not-so-large apartment.
Two hours later, Autumn Wind and Qiu Ruolan stepped out of the apartment looking glamorous.
On the way down, Autumn Wind called Uncle Liu to indicate that he should head home first. Uncle Liu agreed and followed behind Qiu Ruolan's car as they left the underground parking lot.
However, Uncle Liu quickly realized that Autumn Wind and the others were headed to Wang Manor. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to return to the villa but instead closely followed behind Qiu Ruolan's car toward Wang Manor.
The appearance of Qiu Ruolan and Autumn Wind together caused quite a stir among the Royal Family. The maids standing on either side whispered among themselves, "Why are they here? Isn't it a family dinner?"
"Shh, keep quiet! We have no right to interrupt the master's guests!"
"But isn't today the day when Sister is bringing her friend back to discuss marriage? Their mother and son showing up, this counts as..."
"Did you not hear? The Master plans to remarry!"
"Ah, this is going to cause trouble again. How will the inheritance be divided?"
"Tsk tsk, if the steward hears you say that, he'll slap your mouth! They are not short on money; they are shareholders in HK!"
The chatter of the servants finally caught the attention of the steward, who shouted sternly, "Everyone shut up! What kind of behavior is this?"
The servants all lowered their heads and stopped talking.
Autumn Wind and Qiu Ruolan reached the entrance of the banquet hall, and Wang Ling finally came out to greet them. He looked quite hurried. Autumn Wind glanced over and noticed the wrinkles on his clothes, thinking to herself that this must be a new outfit. Someone who pays such attention to their appearance wouldn't allow such a mistake.
He gently embraced both mother and daughter in turn, warmly welcoming them inside.
He gazed affectionately at Qiu Ruolan, occasionally making eye contact with Autumn Wind. That overly sentimental gaze made Autumn Wind feel uncomfortable all over, so she stood up and said she needed to go to the toilet, hurrying away.
Autumn Wind declined the maid's offer to guide her and began wandering alone through the large villa. After turning a few corners, she unexpectedly found herself in Wang Ling's dressing room. The door was half ajar, and the servants were busy inside.
Low whispers could be heard again. "The Master is acting strangely today; he changed clothes several times and ended up wearing the one that was delivered last night without being ironed!" said a young voice.
"You don't know? This outfit is exactly the same as the one he wore when he registered his last marriage!" replied an older maid who had been with the Royal Family for a long time.
"Oh really? But isn't today when Sister is bringing her fiancé back to meet the Master?" asked the young voice again.
“Shh, let's not discuss this. If the master hears, he will get angry!”
The boyfriends that Wang Jiaru has had, aside from her first love Qiu Hai when she was sixteen, barely satisfy Wang Ling. The others have all been rejected by Wang Ling, including Yao Guanghao and Wolf Cub. The one that made Wang Ling the angriest was Xiao Yuan.
However, just a few days ago, Wang Jiaru was spotted with Xiao Yuan again, which nearly drove Wang Ling mad! She even went so far as to change her will.
Autumn Wind wandered around the villa for a while, went from the cloakroom to the toilet, and then circled back from the other end. She noticed a storage room and curiously leaned in, only to see a maid in an apron busy at work. The maid was clearly in a dilemma, holding a large box but having no space to set it down.
Autumn Wind pushed the door open. “Need any help?”
“I do!” the maid replied but then paused as she recognized Autumn Wind. “No, it's fine, Sister Qiu!”
“It’s okay!” Autumn Wind adjusted her dress and extended her arm to take the box. Wow, it was really heavy! Autumn Wind exerted herself to lift the box and set it down with a thud.
“Thank you so much, Sister Qiu!” The maid was very grateful. She had worked for the Royal Family for many years and had never received such treatment from Wang Jiaru. Just helping out without ridicule in such situations was already a blessing; if Wang Jiaru didn’t mock her, it would be like burning incense in gratitude. “Sister Qiu, it’s very dirty in here; you should hurry outside!”
Autumn Wind shook her head and curiously looked at the cardboard box she had just placed on the ground. It turned out to be filled with picture frames. “What are these?”
“They're my sister's photos from over the years!”
So these were Wang Jiaru's belongings. Autumn Wind suddenly remembered that when Qiu Ruolan and Wang Ling returned here after their wedding, she had indeed sneaked into a room filled with picture frames. Before she could see what was inside them, she was pulled out by Qiu Mowen. It seemed that the room she entered back then must have belonged to Wang Jiaru. Her delicate fingers lightly brushed over the thin layer of dust on one of the frames.
Gently applying some force, she tried to pick one up but accidentally lifted two frames instead. Holding them up, she quietly gazed at the images on them—two students looking close together; they seemed like childhood sweethearts. The maid shifted slightly and saw what Autumn Wind was looking at. “This is a photo of my sister from middle school!”
So this is what Wang Jiaru looked like back then! Autumn Wind pointed at the boy beside Wang Jiaru who wore black glasses. “And who is this person?”
"Is it Young Master Kris! He is the current chairman of HK!" The Maid squinted her eyes and carefully examined him, then said, "That's right, it's Young Master Kris. Look, look, he has a mole on his forehead and another on the tip of his nose! The picture isn't very clear!"
Autumn Wind had heard about Qiu Hai and Wang Jiaru's past from Yu's gossip. Hearing the Maid say this made Autumn Wind chuckle. She knew about the mole on Qiu Hai's forehead, but the one on his nose? She had never noticed that!
Autumn Wind picked up another frame, which also contained Qiu Hai and Wang Jiaru. Qiu Hai was holding chopsticks in his right hand, counting beans in a bowl one by one, while Wang Jiaru was intently watching Qiu Hai's actions.
"See, see, I wasn't wrong!" The Maid raised her tone. "I thought I remembered it wrong. Besides the mole on his nose, Young Master Kris has a scar on his shoulder that was supposedly caused by his sister scalding him with hot water! Very few people know about it because I was the one who handled it back then!" Her voice couldn't hide her pride.
"Really!" Autumn Wind laughed, not expecting Qiu Hai to have such a troubled fate! She must ask him about it when she gets back.
The butler of the Royal Family hurried over. "Qiu, Sister Qiu, the banquet is about to start. What are you doing here?"
Autumn Wind put down the frame, smiled slightly, and followed the butler straight to the hall. Images of young Qiu Hai flashed before her eyes; something felt off, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was!
Autumn Wind rushed to Qiu Ruolan's side just as she had caught her breath when Wang Jiaru's car stopped at the entrance.
As the Maid greeted them, Wang Jiaru walked in with a man beside her, gracefully approaching Wang Ling. Autumn Wind glanced sideways at the man...
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