Can I still be saved? [Transmigration] - Chapter 37.1

Although Shen Nianyun was supposed to be resting, his phone hadn’t stopped ringing.

In order to consolidate their ecosystem and resources, his company was making a move on the video platform market. They were currently in the process of acquiring Youyue Video.

While he was in the hotel attending a video conference, Wen Yanlai took the chance to call Guo Xiuhui.

The call had barely connected when Guo Xiuhui brought her an unexpected, yet predictable, piece of news.

Wen Yanlai’s delicate brows furrowed. “Fu Hanzhou came to apologize to you?”

…..

“You admitted to my grandparents that you were the one who leaked those wedding photos?” Su Yunjing’s pupils shrank slightly.

“Mhm.”

Su Yunjing was confused. “When did you talk to them?”

At dinner earlier, the way the elderly couple treated Fu Hanzhou didn’t look like they knew anything.

Fu Hanzhou’s emotions had already returned to calm. Sitting cross-legged on the bed with his hands on his knees, he was composed as an old monk in meditation.

His ink-dark lashes drooped slightly, giving him a docile air. “When you were taking a shower just now.”

Su Yunjing was stunned. He hadn’t expected Fu Hanzhou to voluntarily go to his grandparents and confess.

He’d been acting so well-behaved before, charming the elderly couple into a good mood, and now that he’d told them the truth, all that effort was wasted.

Su Yunjing sighed.

It seemed the little proud tsundere really had realized he’d been wrong.

Otherwise, with his personality, he wouldn’t have looked so pitiful just now while admitting fault.

Realized he was wrong?

Wen Yanlai scoffed.

This brat had clearly guessed that she might tell her parents the truth about the wedding day in order to drive him out, so he decided to act first.

Previously, Wen Yanlai hadn’t told her parents the truth that it was Shen Nianyun’s son who had done such a thing because she didn’t want them worrying about her marriage.

Guo Xiuhui could only sigh. She’d originally been happy that Fu Hanzhou seemed willing to accept Wen Yanlai as a stepmother and that he got along well with her family’s Cici.

But who would have thought…

“Ah, about this matter, I think….”

Before she could finish, Wen Yanlai cut her off sharply.

“I don’t care what he said to you two or how sincere he acted. The bottom line is, he cannot stay in the house. This is non-negotiable.”

Guo Xiuhui was choked by Wen Yanlai, and swallowed the words back at the tip of her tongue, looking troubled. “But I’ve already told Nianyun… what are we supposed to say to him now?”

Wen Yanlai forced her temper down. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll explain it to Cici myself. No matter what, we can’t let him be friends with Cici.”

The call was on speaker, and though Wen Yanlai’s voice wasn’t loud, the two people in the study could hear her clearly.

The silent Wen Huaishan suddenly exploded, scolding Wen Yanlai without warning.

“I was wondering why you kept giving Cici looks during dinner!” His voice grew louder with every word.

“You didn’t have the guts to do it yourself, so you made him play the bad guy. What kind of mother does that?”

Su Yunjing coughed. “Then tomorrow you can tell your dad to handle your transfer paperwork and at the same time, get him to arrange for you to board at school.”

Fu Hanzhou looked at him. “When are you going to start boarding?”

Being stared at by those dark eyes, full of expectation, made Su Yunjing hesitate. “The earliest would be next semester.”

If Fu Hanzhou had just moved into the dorms and then he immediately asked to move in too, it would look like open defiance of Wen Yanlai.

Next year he’d be in his final year of high school, and boarding for the sake of preparing for the college entrance exam would be perfectly reasonable and no one would suspect anything.

When Fu Hanzhou heard he wouldn’t be moving in until next semester, his eyes dropped and he didn’t say anything.

Seeing his mood drop, Su Yunjing picked up a desk calendar. “Look, today’s already October 24th. There’s less than three months till New Year. It’ll go by fast—just hang in there.”

Fu Hanzhou’s lashes fluttered slightly. Then he lifted his face and gave a faint smile, all traces of gloom vanished.

“I know.”

Although he responded obediently, Fu Hanzhou’s eyes did not even glance at the calendar.

…..

The sound from the speakerphone wasn’t loud, but still clearly reached everyone in the study. Guo Xiuhui hurried to glance toward the doorway.

“Can’t you keep it down? Are you afraid the two kids can’t hear you?” She glared at Wen Huaishan.

Wen Huaishan gave a heavy snort, but when he spoke again his voice had dropped.

His tone was still hard to hide his anger, and he yelled at Guo Xiuhui,“Something happens and you make the kid take the blame. Did you even ask her why those two suddenly became friends?”

“In all these years, running around making movies, has she ever cared about the child?”

Seeing Wen Huaishan becoming more and more unreasonable, Guo Xiuhui lost her temper as well. “And you call yourself a father?”

“I’m the one who raised these two kids from birth. Have you ever cared? Ever stepped in? When I gave birth you weren’t there. When our eldest had an accident, you weren’t there either.”

Guo Xiuhui turned her face away and said with a sob, “How dare you yell now? “

Wen Huaishan has a special job and is not at home all year round.

When Wen Yanlai’s older brother had his car accident, he’d been away on assignment and didn’t make it back in time.

It was only after that accident that Wen Huaishan requested a transfer back home.

That incident was still the greatest regret of his life, and having Guo Xiuhui bring it up now left him silent as he walked out of the study.

Guo Xiuhui wiped her eyes and said into the phone, “Don’t be mad at your dad, he’s just like that.”

The moment Wen Huaishan stepped out, he saw Su Yunjing in the living room getting a glass of water. He froze.

The bathroom light was on, and the sound of running water drifted out from time to time.

“Xiao Fu’s in the shower?” Wen Huaishan asked.

Su Yunjing felt that his voice was a little strange—low and heavy, as if coming from deep in his chest.

There was no light on in the living room, and the light coming through the bathroom dimly illuminated the contours of the facial features, but the facial expression was not very clear.

Su Yunjing couldn’t see Wen Huaishan’s expression clearly, but didn’t think much of it. He just hummed in acknowledgment.

After getting his water, Su Yunjing didn’t immediately head back to his room, because he felt that Wen Huaishan seemed to have something to say to him.

There was a strange silence for a long time before Wen Huaishan asked, “Did your aunt talk to you?”

Though the question wasn’t explicit, Su Yunjing understood. “She did. I also talked to Fu Hanzhou—he’s going to board at school once he transfers.”

Wen Huaishan’s mouth moved, but in the end he just said, dryly, “You did very well.”

Wen Yanlai’s intention was simple: she wanted Su Yunjing to refuse Fu Hanzhou’s move-in right in front of Shen Nianyun.

But don’t slap a smiling face.

The atmosphere of dinner was so harmonious. If Su Yunjing suddenly stood up and told Shen Nianyun directly that he did not agree to live with Fu Hanzhou, it would definitely make the atmosphere awkward.

So he ignored Wen Yanlai’s meaningful glances and decided to talk to Fu Hanzhou in private, persuading him to board instead.

That way, Wen Yanlai would get what she wanted, and their relationship wouldn’t be strained.

Just because Su Yunjing personally sympathized with Fu Hanzhou didn’t mean he’d persuade others to forgive him.

He respected Wen Yanlai’s decision.

Wen Huaishan sounded tired, his voice suddenly much older and weaker. “It’s late. Go get some sleep.”

“You too, Grandpa,” Su Yunjing said, carrying his water back to his room.

When Guo Xiuhui came out after finishing her call, she found Wen Huaishan sitting alone on the sofa.

In the darkness, he sat there like a sculpture, unmoving.

Her nose was sore, she felt her words earlier might have been a bit too harsh, but she couldn’t bring herself to apologize.

Her voice was still a little stiff and blunt. “What are you doing sitting here? Come to bed.”

Then she turned and went into the bedroom first.

It was a long while before Wen Huaishan followed.

Guo Xiuhui was making the bed and didn’t speak to him. When she saw he still had no intention of starting the conversation, she couldn’t help herself.

“What are you thinking?” She was referring to Fu Hanzhou’s matter.

After thirty-plus years of marriage, they had that much tacit understanding. Wen Huaishan’s face was grim. “Xiao Ci already told him to leave.”

Even though he’d scolded Wen Yanlai earlier, in his heart, he still leaned toward her side.

When Wen Yanlai, just twenty years old, came home pregnant, Wen Huaishan was so angry that he slapped her twice.

He was an extremely traditional man, he couldn’t accept his daughter getting pregnant out of wedlock. When he’d asked who the father was, she refused to say.

In a fit of rage, he slapped Wen Yanlai twice.

He’d rarely ever hit this daughter since she was little, doting on her throughout her life.

Precisely because of that, Wen Yanlai had been deeply aggrieved, refusing to speak a word to him for years.

At that stage, she was already far along, and it was too late to end the pregnancy. On the day she gave birth, Wen Huaishan didn’t even go to the hospital.

Guo Xiuhui and Wen Yanlai’s elder brother had taken turns secretly going to take care of her behind his back.

In truth, Wen Huaishan had known all along, he’d simply chosen not to expose it.

This secret had been like a ticking time bomb for their family.

Now it had finally gone off. On the wedding day, Wen Huaishan had been furious and humiliated, feeling his face had been utterly lost.

Yet when he saw his daughter in such a flustered, embarrassed state, the father in him had wanted to tear apart whoever had ruined her wedding.

Even though she had indeed made a mistake first, giving someone leverage to humiliate her in such a way. She was still his daughter.

No matter how grave the mistake, a parent would still stand by their child.

Now that the culprit himself had voluntarily admitted his wrongs, Wen Huaishan was a little unsure how to feel.

Especially after what Fu Hanzhou had said that evening—those words had sat uncomfortably in his chest ever since.

So when Wen Yanlai made that phone call earlier, his temper had boiled over. But the moment it did, he regretted it.

Guo Xiuhui had been sighing to herself all night. She didn’t have a clear idea of what to do, but after hearing his words, she still felt it was inappropriate.

They discussed it back and forth, but in the end came to no conclusion.

…..

The next day, Friday, happened to be Wen Yanlai’s birthday.

In the morning, Shen Nianyun helped Fu Hanzhou complete his transfer procedures, and at noon, the family celebrated her birthday together.

Other than Shen Nianyun, who had no idea what was going on, everyone else sat at the table with their own hidden thoughts.

After last night’s outburst, Wen Huaishan felt guilty toward his daughter, but didn’t know how to mend things.

The father and daughter barely exchanged glances during the meal.

Wen Yanlai, furious that Fu Hanzhou had been causing trouble and insisting on staying at her house, ignored him the entire time.

Now that Guo Xiuhui and Wen Huaishan knew he was the one who had wrecked the wedding, felt a bit resentful and weren’t as close as they had been the day before.

Seeing Wen Yanlai’s poor mood, Su Yunjing assumed she’d slept badly and thought it was because he hadn’t rejected Fu Hanzhou at the dinner table like she wanted. He was already planning how to explain.

Fu Hanzhou, on the other hand, was a bit annoyed that Su Yunjing couldn’t move into the dorm with him right away.

The relationships among them were tangled into a knot, but they all still had to maintain the appearance of harmony.

Thanks to everyone’s efforts, the atmosphere appeared harmonious and warm.

After the most awkward birthday meal in history, Shen Nianyun, still busy with work, left for the airport.

Given the circumstances, Fu Hanzhou couldn’t stay either, so he left with Shen Nianyun.

Their destinations were different: one headed back to Beijing, the other to negotiate the acquisition.

Wen Yanlai also seemed busy, her phone ringing every few minutes.

When Su Yunjing went to explain things to her, he happened to overhear her snapping into her phone.

“I’ve told you so many times—stop accepting these kinds of interviews for me… So what if it’s for the movie’s publicity?”

“Am I the only lead in the movie? You think without me the box office will drop by a hundred million?”

“You’re the one who promised them, not me.”

“Yes, I told you to handle these promo events, but I didn’t say you should accept every single one.”

“You’ve been working with me for years—do I have to teach you everything?”

Realizing she was in the middle of work and already irritated, Su Yunjing didn’t dare approach.