Yearning For Warmth, Day and Night - Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Girlfriend
The Wei family and the Shen family had always been intertwined. When Wei Changyuan was still alive, the two families were frequent visitors, otherwise, there wouldn’t have been the arranged marriage between Wei Hui and Shen Hao. Even after Wei Changyuan’s death, and Wei Tian was entirely controlled by Wei Hui, the ties with the Shen family were largely severed. However, to outsiders, the relationship between the two families remained profound, which was why the Du family had always been outsiders for so many years.
Previously, Wei Hui didn’t care about external perceptions, nor did she care whether to cooperate with the Du family, because she could handle everything herself.
However, Luo Zhouping’s return broke this balance, forcing her to rely on the Du family’s influence.
She knew what the Du family’s unspoken grievance was. Ever since the Shen family got involved in the unfinished building project, many people said it was a betrothal gift from the Shen family to the Wei family, a gesture of goodwill towards her. There were even rumors that she and Shen Hao were getting engaged. It was clear who spread these rumors. She knew that she couldn’t come to the Du family without sincerity, so she brought Eleven.
She explicitly told everyone that she now had someone by her side, and it wasn’t Shen Hao.
Du Yuehan, as intelligent as he was, would surely understand Wei Hui’s intentions. He smiled as he entered the living room, ten years older, and looked very mature in his suit and tie: “CEO Wei, long time no see.”
The last time they met was at a New Year’s banquet, and a year had passed in a blink. Wei Hui nodded: “CEO Du.”
Old Master Du twisted his waist: “Oh, my body is getting worse every year. I’m old, and after sitting for a while, I want to move. You two chat, I’m going for a walk.”
He then looked at Eleven: “Little friend, do you mind accompanying an old man like me for a stroll?”
Eleven’s heart had been racing and her head buzzing because Wei Hui was holding her hand. Now, hearing the Old Master’s words, she didn’t react for a moment, just staring at him blankly. Wei Hui tightened her grip on Eleven’s hand and smiled: “Of course, she doesn’t mind.”
“Eleven, accompany Grandpa Du for a walk nearby.”
She said, releasing Eleven and gesturing with her eyes for her to follow Old Master Du. Eleven met her gaze, and her chaotic heartbeat strangely calmed down. Those eyes had a calming effect, allowing her to briefly forget her identity and disregard rules, only wanting to listen to her words. Eleven withdrew her hand, her palm already damp with sweat. She softly said, “Mr. Du.”
“Oh—” Old Master Du smiled: “Why so formal? San’er calls me Grandpa, you call me Grandpa too.”
Eleven glanced at Wei Hui, saw her nod slightly, and felt even calmer inside. She obediently called out, “Grandpa Du.”
Her voice was clear and crisp, like an orioles emerging from the valley, pleasant and moving. Old Master Du was very pleased: “I’m taking her.”
“You two can come over after you’re done chatting.”
Eleven glanced at Wei Hui, saw her gaze was calm, and her head tilted slightly. She understood: “Grandpa Du, I’ll accompany you for a walk outside.”
“This child.” Old Master Du chuckled: “So well-behaved.”
“If Yue Ming were half as obedient as you, I’d be happy.”
Yue Ming? Yue Ming? Why was that name so familiar? Eleven only remembered as she walked with the old man to the door that the person who had chatted with her at the banquet before was indeed named Du Yue Ming.
Could she be—
“Grandpa!” Just as Eleven sorted out the relationship, she heard a voice. She looked up and saw a woman a few meters away, wearing a trench coat and sunglasses, carrying a beige bag, and walking towards them in seven or eight-centimeter heels. Her long hair was blown by the wind, revealing exquisitely made-up features, still bright and eccentric.
After Du Yue Ming got out of the car, she saw a young girl standing beside the Old Master. She was pretty and well-behaved, precisely the Eleven she had seen at the Shen family banquet that day. She quickly took two steps forward, handed her bag to the butler, and stood in front of the Old Master, smiling: “What a coincidence, why are you at my house?”
The Old Master looked at the two: “You know each other?”
Du Yue Ming said to the Old Master: “CEO Wei brought her to the Shen family banquet last time.”
She said, winking at Eleven, and said ambiguously, “Right, Eleven, we chatted for a long time.”
Eleven met her enthusiastic gaze and smiled: “Mm.”
The Old Master saw Du Yue Ming acting this way and lost his temper: “Enough, don’t bring your outside antics into the house. Since you know she’s San’er’s person, you need to rein yourself in.”
“Always acting crazy and without proper form, I don’t know when you’ll achieve anything.”
“Look at San’er, she’s been in charge of Wei Tian for so many years, and there haven’t been any major problems. The company is even…”
Du Yue Ming secretly rolled her eyes, then hugged the Old Master, whining playfully, “Oh, Grandpa, I have a brother, don’t I? If you keep talking, my ears will get calluses.”
The Old Master loved and hated her, shaking his head helplessly.
The Du family had wanted a girl since his generation, but his three brothers had no daughters. Later, he had Du Yue Ming’s father, and then several more sons. So, by Du Yue Ming’s generation, it had become an obsession; they just wanted a soft, gentle little girl. Du Yue Ming’s birth was truly like being showered with stars, held in their mouths for fear of melting, held in their hands for fear of breaking. At one point, some even joked that the Du and Wei families were like ‘twin lotuses’ because they were the same age and held similar positions in their respective families, which led to this jest. Although it was a joke, Du Yue Ming had never suffered any grievances from childhood onwards, given whatever she wanted. Even if it were stars from the sky, her family would find ways to get them for her. Yet, despite all this, she fell in love with a girl.
The entire Du family at the time couldn’t accept this fact. His son and daughter-in-law made Du Yue Ming go on endless blind dates, find boyfriends, exhausting every trick, resulting in mutual harm. Finally, he was the one who spoke up.
If she liked girls, then she liked girls, let her be. As long as she felt happy, that was enough. What was life for, if not happiness?
However, even though he thought that way, actually seeing it with his own eyes still made him feel uneasy. So, he moved abroad with his wife and son. Abroad had an advantage; it was more open. Seeing same-s3x couples more often, he now felt it wasn’t such a big deal. That’s why he had been returning to China more frequently in recent years. When he was in a good mood, he would even ask Du Yue Ming if she had taken a liking to any girl, suggesting they get married abroad directly.
But this child couldn’t settle down, so when he saw Du Yue Ming, he truly felt a surge of anger, yet he couldn’t bear to scold her. Finally, he waved his hand: “I’m not going to bother with you anymore.”
He spoke in annoyance, but Du Yue Ming clung to him stubbornly: “Grandpa.”
“When I say I’m not bothering with you, I’m not bothering with you.”
“Bother with me, bother with me, I’ll go to my brother’s company tomorrow.”
Eleven couldn’t help but feel a little envious watching Du Yue Ming chat with the Old Master. This was what a family should be like, how wonderful.
She wondered if the Third Miss also spoiled her family?
But she didn’t seem to have seen anyone else from the Wei family.
Eleven’s thoughts scattered. The two of them accompanied the old man for a walk around the flower bed. When the Old Master wanted to rest, he asked Du Yue Ming to continue walking with Eleven. Eleven had originally wanted to stay with the Old Master, but Du Yue Ming suddenly grabbed her wrist: “Come on, I’ll show you over there.”
Eleven smiled apologetically at the Old Master and followed Du Yue Ming to another part of the flower bed. There was nothing new there. She was wondering what to look at when she heard Du Yue Ming ask, “So you and Third Miss are really good now?”
“Hey! I could tell last time, don’t try to fool me.”
Eleven was dumbfounded and didn’t know how to answer. Du Yue Ming continued, “So you still haven’t answered my question from last time, is she good in bed?”
Finally asking the question that had been scratching at her heart and lungs, Du Yue Ming’s face was a mix of anticipation and gossip. Eleven opened her mouth but didn’t answer. Du Yue Ming patted her shoulder: “Sister, this isn’t just a question I want to know; it’s what the entire group wants to know!”
She said this while taking out her phone. Eleven saw a group chat on her phone with messages constantly popping up. She quickly caught a glimpse of “Third Miss” and, seeing Du Yue Ming still looking at her, Eleven shook her head: “I don’t know.”
Du Yue Ming furrowed her delicate brows: “You don’t know? I get it, that means she’s not good.”
Eleven couldn’t stand hearing anyone say bad things about the Third Miss, and hastily said, “No!”
Du Yue Ming nodded: “Then that means she’s good.”
“Also…” Eleven’s ‘also’ got stuck in her throat, so she simply lowered her head, no longer paying attention to Du Yue Ming.
Du Yue Ming teased her until she was amused, then smiled: “Oh, right, you still haven’t given me your contact information from last time. Let’s hang out sometime, okay? The Third Miss wouldn’t keep you so tightly guarded that she wouldn’t even let you out, would she?”
She was purely satisfying her own curiosity, eager to know what it was like for that ‘Goddess’ to be in a relationship. This was the daily gossip in their circle, and now that they had the actual person involved, they had to pry for details.
Eleven wasn’t very good at refusing people, especially Du Yue Ming. Although she wasn’t smart, she could tell that the Third Miss had a purpose for coming to the Du family today, and it was absolutely crucial not to offend Du Yue Ming. Thinking this, she took out her phone from her handbag. Du Yue Ming asked, “What’s the number?”
Eleven shook her head: “I don’t know.”
Du Yue Ming looked at her sideways, took her phone, rapidly typed in a string of numbers, and dialed. Music played. She said to Eleven, “This is my number. Let’s hang out sometime when you’re free.”
Eleven: “Mm.”
After inputting the number, Du Yue Ming asked, “Do you have WeChat?”
Eleven shook her head again, looking down at her phone, and heard Du Yue Ming say, “Just this one, tap it open.”
She obediently opened WeChat, entered the number, and after quite a bit of fuss, finally logged into her WeChat account. Du Yue Ming laughed and said, “Why are you like someone from ancient times? Did you time travel?”
The blunt words made Eleven feel a little embarrassed, her pretty face slightly flushed. Du Yue Ming saw her expression and tutted twice in her heart. She was truly beautiful. Her shy and timid look made one want to—
She quickly averted her gaze and said to Eleven, “I’ll add you to a group chat.”
“They’re all my sisters.”
Eleven softly hummed, saw the screen flash, apparently entering a group, and then a flurry of flower emojis.
— “Oh, a little sister has joined?”
— “Is she Yue Ming’s new love?”
— “I don’t think so, little sister, say something.”
— “What little sister? Maybe she’s older than you all?”
— “Then big sister it is!”
Eleven held her phone, unsure how to reply. She looked at Du Yue Ming, a little bewildered, and saw Du Yue Ming take her phone, rapidly type, send the message, and then hand the phone back to her. Eleven looked down and saw the message that had just been sent.
— “Hello everyone, I’m Wei Hui’s girlfriend.”