Yearning For Warmth, Day and Night - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Wei Hue

Wei Hui ultimately relented. If it had been anyone else who made a mistake, she would’ve immediately expelled them from the Wei household. But this was Zhang Ma—someone who had accompanied her for nearly ten years. How could she truly be as indifferent as she appeared on the surface?

Ever since she brought Eleven back, she had noticed Zhang Ma’s and the other servants’ attitudes. She originally wanted to give her a chance, to see what path she would choose. Unexpectedly, she still chose the wrong one.

Wei Hui sat at the dining table, eating her breakfast with her head down. Behind her stood Pei Tian respectfully. When she finished and dabbed the corners of her lips with a napkin, she said lightly, “Send Zhang Ma back to her hometown later.”

The servants in the living room looked at each other in astonishment. Even Eleven paused while eating and looked toward Wei Hui. Seeing her expression as calm as ever and her gaze steady, she added, “Replace everyone. Pick a few quiet ones to come in.”

Pei Tian looked surprised. “Replace… everyone?”

He hadn’t been around long and didn’t know what Zhang Ma had done. Curious, he asked, “What happened with Zhang Ma?”

Wei Hui lowered her eyes. “Zhang Ma is getting old. Her memory is fading. It’s time for her to retire.”

Her words made the faces of the other servants go pale. They looked at Wei Hui with fear. Some wanted to plead to stay, but under her cold gaze, no one dared to speak. The dining room fell completely silent. Eleven simply resumed eating her breakfast.

Pei Tian no longer questioned her. “Understood. I’ll take care of it right away.”

He worked efficiently. After Wei Hui left, Zhang Ma was seen dragging her suitcase out. Some others still didn’t want to leave. Working at the Wei home was easy—the third miss barely gave orders and paid them more than other places. But no one dared plead with Wei Hui, so they turned to Pei Tian in private.

“Assistant Pei, could you ask the third miss? I’ve always been diligent.”

“Me too. I’m very careful in everything I do.”

“Assistant Pei…”

Pei Tian wore a well-fitted black suit paired with a burgundy tie. The gold tie clip glinted coldly in the sunlight. His handsome face held a warm smile, but his words were firm: “Miss Wei gave you an hour to pack. You have fifty minutes left.”

Everyone quickly scattered.

An hour later, the entire villa was deserted. Eleven stood by the flower bed. The surroundings were quiet, only the cold wind brushing past her ears. She lowered her head and walked over to the bench from last night and sat down.

Her feelings were complicated. On one hand, she hadn’t expected Zhang Ma to try and force her to leave using such tactics. On the other, she hadn’t expected Wei Hui to trust her so deeply.

From the moment Zhang Ma began to suspect her, Wei Hui hadn’t shown a single trace of doubt. Even entering her room, her attitude had remained the same. She never treated her like a thief—not even once. That thought flashed through Eleven’s mind, and a storm of emotions swelled. All her life, only her grandmother had trusted her like this. But now, she had someone else—Miss Wei.

She believed in her and treated her well. Although she had her reasons, she made those reasons clear and gave her the choice. She didn’t force her, didn’t use underhanded tactics. Even though she easily could’ve ordered her to do anything, she didn’t. She was like a true noble—placing the decision in her hands.

Back at the hospital, Eleven had assumed Wei Hui was no different from other rich men who wanted to take her home—just another person who wanted to keep her because she was pretty. Now she realized how wrong she had been. She had been completely, utterly mistaken.

Wei Hui was different from everyone else.

Just like she had told Su Ziyan—Wei Hui was kind, and wonderful.

Suddenly, she remembered the look Wei Hui gave her the first time they met. Back then, it hadn’t seemed unusual. But now, that gaze felt like a beam of radiant light, piercing through the darkness of her world and illuminating everything.

Her heart warmed instantly.

She looked down, picturing Wei Hui rushing over and pulling the necklace out of the drawer. Her body had leaned slightly forward, the cool and crisp fragrance on her skin brushing Eleven’s nose—distinct and refined, with a hint of chill.

That was the scent of the third miss.

Eleven took a deep breath, then sneezed. She rubbed her nose, looked up at the blazing sun, her beautiful eyes squinting until they stung from the brightness. Only then did she stop staring. After a moment, she stood up from the bench and went upstairs to change.

When she came back down, the living room was empty. No one was in the kitchen either. She found the remains of the pork ribs she had asked Zhang Ma to pack. After standing in the kitchen for a bit, she placed the leftover pastries from breakfast into another bag, tied both bags securely, and left.

The path outside was still empty, wind howling so fiercely she could barely stand. She carried the food and saw the stray dog lying on the ground from a distance. Its eyes darted around, ears suddenly perking up when it saw her. Maybe because she had spent the whole day with it yesterday, it became extra excited today. As soon as it spotted her, it pounced.

Caught off guard, Eleven was knocked back against a tree. She steadied herself while patting the dog’s head. “Alright, alright. Let’s eat first.”

The dog rubbed its furry head against her and licked her chin. Her white tracksuit was now stained and dirty. She stroked its head and smiled. “Look what I brought you.”

Like presenting a treasure, she opened the bag and took out part of the leftover pastries, then a small portion of the rib bones. While the dog gobbled down the food, she poured mineral water into a bowl she had picked up along the way. After the dog finished eating, it looked at her with pleading eyes.

“Nope,” she said. “That’s for your lunch. And that’s for dinner.”

The dog kept staring, mouth open, tongue hanging out.

She sighed. “Fine. One last piece.”

The bark that followed made her laugh.

Afterward, Eleven leaned against the tree while the dog lay in a sunny spot nearby. Every so often it pawed at her clothes, whining, trying to get her to play. Eleven had never raised a dog before and had no experience. Watching its behavior, she asked blankly, “What’s wrong? Is the leash too tight? I’ll loosen it a bit.”

The dog barked again.

After adjusting the leash, she patted its head. “Should I give you a name? I’m called Eleven. Then you’ll be Twelve.”

“How’s that sound?”

The dog nuzzled her chin, seemingly responding. Her eyes crinkled with joy. “Twelve.”

“Woof!”

Under the winter sunlight, a girl and a dog leaned against a tree. Eleven looked up, through the gaps between the leaves, watching the sunlight flicker through. She asked softly, “Twelve, what do you think the third miss is doing now?”

“She must be working. She’s so busy.”

Eleven rubbed the dog’s head. “Why do you think she made that deal with me?”

At that moment, the third miss who had been mentioned sneezed. Assistant Pei, reporting on work beside her, asked with concern, “Miss Wei, could it be that cold you had isn’t fully cured? Would you like to go home early tonight?”

Wei Hui waved him off. “No need.”

“Any news on Luo Zhouping?”

Pei Tian replied, “He hasn’t made a move yet. But he visited the Shen family yesterday.”

“He saw Shen Hao?”

Pei Tian shook his head. “No. President Shen is out of the country on a business trip.”

Wei Hui tapped her finger on the desk, then said, “Before I visit the Du family, make sure they don’t meet.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“There’s one more thing…” Pei Tian looked hesitant. Wei Hui turned to him. “What is it?”

“When I was looking into Vice President Luo, I found that he recently met with someone.”

Under her questioning gaze, Pei Tian continued, “Special Assistant Qiao.”

“Special Assistant Qiao?” Wei Hui frowned. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Wei Hui’s expression darkened.

Qiao was a government official. What would Luo Zhouping want with him? If it was about the stalled housing project, the government couldn’t and wouldn’t intervene. That meant he must be up to something else. Thinking about it, she ordered, “Keep a close eye on his movements.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After dealing with work, Wei Hui glanced at her phone and asked, “Have the replacements been found?”

Pei Tian closed the folder. “I followed your instructions. Do you want to review them personally?”

Having just dismissed Zhang Ma that morning, Wei Hui felt mentally exhausted and didn’t want to bother. “You handle it.”

“Have them come tomorrow.”

“Understood. If there’s nothing else, I’ll step out now.”

As he was leaving, Wei Hui suddenly asked, “That child—is she still at the villa?”

She hadn’t said much to Eleven after the Zhang Ma incident. Even though she had given her the choice to come and go freely, Wei Hui wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. After all, it had taken her a whole month to find someone she was satisfied with. And now, Eleven also knew about her illness. Letting her leave at this point wasn’t wise.

That’s why she asked.

Pei Tian never quite understood why Wei Hui brought Eleven home or treated her like a guest. But she never explained her decisions, so he only answered respectfully, “She wasn’t outside when I left. Maybe she’s in her room.”

“I see. You may go.”

After Pei Tian left and closed the office door, Wei Hui sat at her desk. She had only gotten halfway through the documents. She put down her pen and rubbed her finger against her lips. A few minutes later, she picked up her phone and sent a message.

Eleven was playing with the dog when she suddenly heard a chime. Recognizing the ringtone, she quickly pulled out her phone. Wei Hui had sent a message: Zhang Ma is gone. I asked Pei Tian to bring you lunch.

Her fingers hovered, then typed a reply using pinyin, not very fluently: Thank you, Miss Wei. I can cook for myself.

Wei Hui saw the message and felt her earlier irritation ease. She didn’t reply, only set the phone down and returned to her work.

Eleven, on the other hand, gripped her phone tightly. She kept checking the screen every few minutes, distracted even while playing with the dog. Half an hour later, she accepted that Wei Hui wouldn’t respond.

Two messages appeared side by side on her phone, both from the same name. Seeing that name, Eleven immediately pictured Wei Hui’s beautiful face, her expression cool and aloof.

She murmured silently in her heart: Wei…

Wei what?

She bit her lip, realizing she didn’t recognize the character. Leaning against the tree with the dog softly snoring beside her, she shyly used the search function to look up the second character in Wei Hui’s name. The annotation read: [huì] — the sound of birds flying.

Next to the explanation was a phrase: The phoenix soars, hui-hui its feathers fluttering.

Wei Hui. Wei Hui. Eleven repeated the name in her heart and thought—it was the most beautiful name she’d ever heard.