It Started With a Kiss: Leng Shao's Beloved Wife

Heartbreak: Suspicion grows

The cold notification from the hospital was like a thunderclap, shattering the last shred of Wu Xinyan's fortitude. The muffled words on the phone—"Grandma... critically ill... come quickly..."—ringed in her ears, and the world seemed to crumble before her eyes. She stumbled back a few steps, her face as pale as paper.

The concerned voices of her colleagues sounded distant and distorted to her. She mechanically repeated, "I have to go to the hospital...Grandma...", grabbed her bag and stumbled out of the office.

As the taxi weaved through the city's traffic, Wu Xinyan clutched her phone tightly, her knuckles turning white. She wished it were just a nightmare, that when she woke up, her grandmother's kind smile would still warm her.

Arriving at the hospital, she rushed to the ward, only to find her grandmother lying quietly on the bed, covered with a white sheet. The doctor sadly told her that her grandmother had passed away peacefully.

Wu Xinyan knelt beside the bed, tears silently falling onto the cold floor. Grandma was her only relative in this world, and now, she was gone too.

In the evening, Luo Yichen returned home, but Wu Xinyan was nowhere to be found. He called her, but no one answered. An inexplicable unease washed over him.

At this time, Assistant Lin called, "Mr. Luo, Miss Su... She seems to be very ill and keeps calling your name..." Assistant Lin's voice was a little anxious and hesitant.

Luo Yichen frowned. He knew Su Jiuai's methods, but thinking of her pale face, he couldn't just sit back and watch. He told the driver to prepare the car and drove to the hotel where Su Jiuai was staying.

Pushing open the door of the hotel room, Luo Yichen saw Su Jiuai lying weakly on the bed, her face pale and tears in the corners of her eyes. Seeing him come in, Su Jiuai struggled to get up, but fell back on the bed weakly, calling out "Yichen..."

Luo Yichen walked to the bedside and asked with concern: "How are you?"

Su Jiuai grabbed his hand, tears streaming down her face, "Yichen, I feel so bad... I thought I would never see you again..."

Luo Yichen patted the back of her hand gently and comforted her: "Don't talk nonsense, you will be fine."

This scene happened to be seen by Wu Xinyan who was following. She stood at the door, watching Luo Yichen gently comforting Su Jiuai, her heart aching. She bit her lip tightly to prevent herself from making any sound, turned around and left silently.

After Luo Yichen sent his old love Su to the hospital for a checkup, he returned home and still couldn't find Wu Xinyan. He called her again, but no one answered. He began to panic, a sense of foreboding looming.

He walked into the study and saw a folded piece of paper on the desk. He picked up the paper and slowly unfolded it.

"Yi Chen, grandma is gone..."

The note seemed light, yet it felt like a thousand pounds, weighing down Luo Yichen's heart. Grandma's passing, Xinyan's disappearance—everything weighed heavily on his mind. He slumped in his chair, covering his face with his hands, and took a deep breath.

He immediately drove to the Wu family's old house, which was empty and filled with sadness. He found Wu Xinyan, curled up in her grandmother's favorite rocking chair, her eyes red and swollen, and her expression dazed.

"Xinyan..." Luo Yichen called softly, walked to her side and held her in his arms.

Wu Xinyan didn't struggle, but just leaned quietly in his arms, tears flowing silently. Luo Yichen hugged her tightly, feeling her body trembling, his heart filled with guilt and heartache.

For the next few days, Luo Yichen stayed by Wu Xinyan's side, handling her grandmother's funeral. After the funeral, Wu Xinyan was still in a low mood and made frequent mistakes at work.

That day, Mr. Luo came to the company and saw Wu Xinyan's absent-minded work state, his brows furrowed. He called Luo Yichen to the office and said in a serious tone: "Yichen, Xinyan's recent state has been very bad. If this continues, it will affect the company's work efficiency."

Luo Yichen knew what the old man was referring to, and he explained: "Grandpa, Xinyan has been through a lot recently. Grandma's death was a big blow to her. Give her some time, she will get better."

"Time?" Old Master Luo snorted coldly, "Yichen, the business world is like a battlefield. There's no time to waste. Look at Xinyan now. How can she look like the wife of the president of the Luo Group? I heard that Miss Su recently returned to China, and she's been thinking about you all the time..."

Luo Yichen's face darkened and he interrupted the old man, "Grandpa, Miss Su and I are a thing of the past. I am Xinyan's husband now."

Mr. Luo looked at him deeply, said nothing more, turned around and left the office.

Luo Yichen returned to his office and saw Wu Xinyan standing by the window in a daze. He walked over and gently put his arm around her shoulders, "Xinyan, are you okay?"

Wu Xinyan turned around, tears welling in her eyes, "Yi Chen, am I useless? I can't do anything right..."

Luo Yichen wiped away her tears distressedly, "Don't talk nonsense, you're doing very well. It's just that too many things have happened recently, and you need some time to adjust."

At this moment, Wu Xinyan's eyes fell on a handkerchief on Luo Yichen's desk. She was very familiar with the embroidery on the handkerchief. It was the style that Su Jiuai often used.

She picked up the handkerchief and asked in a trembling voice, "Yi Chen, whose handkerchief is this?"

Luo Yichen glanced at the handkerchief and explained, "Oh, this is... I brought it back by accident. I might have left it in the car."

Wu Xinyan looked at his flickering eyes and her heart sank. She had chosen to believe him, but at this moment, she felt like a fool.

She clutched her handkerchief tightly, turned around and left the office, leaving Luo Yichen standing there alone with a complicated look in his eyes.

Wu Xinyan returned to her office, threw the handkerchief into the trash, and couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on. This marriage, this relationship, seemed to be full of cracks...

She walked to the window, looking at the endless stream of cars downstairs, her heart was at a loss. Suddenly, she saw a familiar car parked in front of the company, and Su Jiuai got out of the car with a meaningful smile on her face... Wu Xinyan's heart sank suddenly. Su Jiuai walked into the Luo's Building in high heels. She was deliberately dressed low-key today, but it could not hide her elegant temperament. She walked straight to the front desk and gave her name. The receptionist immediately led her respectfully to the president's office. When Luo Yichen saw her, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. "Why are you here?"

Su Jiuai smiled faintly and placed an exquisite gift box on his desk. "Long time no see. Just a small gift, nothing to show your respect." Without waiting for Luo Yichen's response, she sat down on the sofa in his office, her posture natural, as if this was her territory.

That evening, the Luo Group hosted a charity dinner. Su Jiuai attended as a special guest, radiant in a red dress, drawing everyone's attention. Throughout the dinner, she frequently made overtures toward Luo Yichen, adjusting his tie and whispering to him in a familiar, almost unconcerned manner. While Luo Yichen appeared slightly uncomfortable, he didn't explicitly reject her advances. This scene was captured by a reporter lurking at the banquet and made headlines the next day in major entertainment news outlets.

Wu Xinyan saw the news on her way to work. The eye-catching headline read, "President Luo Rekindles Old Love? Acting Intimately with Mysterious Woman." The accompanying photo showed a photo of Su Jiuai and Luo Yichen posing intimately at a dinner party. Her hands trembled, and she nearly dropped her phone. In the photo, Luo Yichen didn't look at Su Jiuai, but he didn't push her away either. A wave of betrayal washed over her, nearly suffocating her.

She pushed open the office door, grabbed her bag and rushed out. She wanted to find Su Jiuai and get to the bottom of it!

Su Jiuai was enjoying today's news in her studio with a smug smile on her face. When she heard a knock on the door, she thought it was Luo Yichen and quickly got up to open the door, only to see Wu Xinyan standing at the door with an angry face.

"What are you doing here?" Su Jiuai asked with a contemptuous tone and a hint of provocation.

Wu Xinyan suppressed the anger in her heart and said, "I want to talk to you."

"There's nothing to talk about between us." Su Jiuai folded her arms and sneered, "You should go talk to your husband."

Wu Xinyan was about to speak when a figure blocked her path. It was Assistant Lin, Su's ex-lover's assistant. With his arms folded across his chest, he regarded Wu Xinyan with disdain and spoke sarcastically, "Ms. Wu, our President Su is very busy and doesn't have time to play house with you. I advise you to leave quickly if you have the guts to do so. Don't humiliate yourself."

Wu Xinyan felt a surge of humiliation in her heart. She gritted her teeth and glared at Assistant Lin, "You..."

Assistant Lin smiled contemptuously, "What? Still want to take action? I advise you not to, otherwise you will be the only one who suffers." She deliberately raised her voice to attract the attention of other people in the studio. Everyone cast curious glances at her and whispered.

Wu Xinyan took a deep breath and suppressed her anger. She knew there was no point in arguing with them. She glanced coldly at Su Jiuai and Assistant Lin, turned and left, but stopped at the door and said in a cold tone, "Su Jiuai, we'll see."

She left the studio, her steps stumbling, the world spinning. The evening sun shone on her, but she felt no warmth at all… She pulled out her phone and dialed Luo Yichen. A cold, robotic female voice came from the other end: "Sorry, the number you dialed is powered off…"

The sun was setting, its golden afterglow streaming through the French windows into the empty living room, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Wu Xinyan curled up on the sofa, like a wounded kitten, staring blankly at the gradually darkening sky outside. Luo Yichen had been coming home later and later these days, sometimes even staying out all night. Every time she called, she heard a cold, robotic female voice: "Sorry, the number you dialed is powered off..."

She mechanically picked up the framed photo from the table, her fingertips gently caressing the smiling faces of the two people in the photo. In the photo, they were nestled by the sea, Luo Yichen gently holding her shoulders, his eyes filled with love. It had been taken on their first wedding anniversary trip to Bali. The happiness of that time seemed like yesterday, yet now it felt like an unattainable dream.

She recalled the first time Luo Yichen brought her home to meet Grandpa Luo. His dignified gaze lingered over her, his tone cold, "Are you Wu Xinyan?" She nodded nervously. Luo Yichen held her hand and gave her an encouraging look. "Grandpa, I like her," Luo Yichen said firmly, leaving no room for doubt. The old man gave her a deep look, then said nothing.

In the days that followed, although Mr. Luo remained indifferent to her, Luo Yichen's caring and loving care gradually melted the ice in her heart. He would personally drive to pick her up when she worked overtime late at night; he would remember what she liked and disliked to eat; he would give her a carefully prepared gift on her birthday... She thought they would live happily like this forever, but unexpectedly, the appearance of Su Jiuai broke it all.

Tears blurred her vision, and the smile in the photo became distorted. She hugged the photo frame tightly, letting the tears flow freely. The sudden ringing of her phone startled her. She hurriedly wiped away her tears, picked up the phone, and saw the name "Luo Yichen" on the screen, and her heart suddenly sank.

"Hello..." Her voice was hoarse and trembling.

"I'm downstairs." Luo Yichen's voice sounded a little tired.

Wu Xinyan took a deep breath and tried to calm her tone, "Oh."

She put down her phone and walked to the window. She saw Luo Yichen's car parked downstairs. He got out, his slender figure casting a lonely shadow under the streetlight. She watched him walk into the building and then disappear from her sight.

She slowly turned around and walked towards the door, wanting to greet him. However, when she opened the door, she saw not Luo Yichen, but... Old Master Luo.