Chapter 379: Late Chinese Valentine’s Gift
Beauty Wu wasn’t sure what was inside, but the sound proved that it wasn’t empty.
She took the delivery box and hesitated for two seconds before taking the package to an empty s.p.a.ce. She opened the package, worried that it was sulfuric acid. The entire time she opened the package, she was very careful.
The paper box was finally opened, revealing its true contents.
Inside was actually an exquisite wooden box. It was a small carved mahogany box. A beautiful rose was carved on the lid of the box, and the lock of the box was made of pure gold.
Beauty Wu stared at the box in surprise.
Could there be something else inside?
She hardened her heart and opened the box. Beauty Wu looked inside and realized that—
It was empty.
She was a little stunned.
What did this mean?
Did someone deliberately give her an empty wooden box?
Beauty Wu frowned slightly and reached out to play with the wooden box. She looked at it for a moment and suddenly thought of something.
That happened two years ago.
At that time, Qiao Jiusheng was pregnant and had yet to give birth. She was still chasing after Wei Shuyi. Qiao Jiusheng invited her to their house to play, but she went and even b.u.mped into Wei Shuyi. They sat at the coffee table in the roof of the Fang family’s house, drinking tea and chatting about the interesting things in their lives.
Each of them told a few things that they thought were interesting. When it was Wei Shuyi’s turn, he almost became a mute. Beauty Wu even laughed at him and said that he was a teacher and wouldn’t teach them on the spot. In the end, Wei Shuyi told a funny story about anatomy. It was about the twenty-fifth rib.
He said—
“According to legend, G.o.d gave Adam twenty-five ribs when he made them. Later, G.o.d saw that Adam was too lonely, so he took Adam’s twenty-fifth rib and made a woman named Eve. Men are born imperfect and incomplete. Only when they find their twenty-fifth rib can they be considered perfect.”
“Later on, the professionals who studied anatomy would give an empty box to the woman he loved deeply. This action meant that this woman was the person he loved the most and his missing broken rib. If the girl accepted the box, it meant that she was willing to marry the boy and be his twenty-fifth rib.”
At that time, Beauty Wu had even teased Wei Shuyi and asked him when she would receive his empty box.
Wei Shuyi scolded her for being shameless.
In the end, the person who had scolded her for being shameless gave her an empty box.
Beauty Wu also remembered that it was the Chinese Valentine’s Day on August 25th last year.
She had originally wanted to go on a date with Wei Shuyi that day, but Dongli Shenghua suddenly called her and asked her to go over. Wei Shuyi had said that he would prepare a surprise for her on Chinese Valentine’s Day. She had forgotten about this when she got busy. Who knew that she would only see his parcel five months later.
Was he planning to propose to her that day?
Then how dejected and sad would he have been that day?
Beauty Wu’s hand trembled as she held the empty wooden box.
This was the first time she experienced heart-wrenching pain. Her heart felt as if it had been torn open by a pair of hands. It was b.l.o.o.d.y and shocking.
If she had known that this would happen, she would not have provoked him when they first met at the bar. Beauty Wu hated herself so much. How could she bear to be sad over such a good person? He was infatuated with her, but she had trampled on him and destroyed him personally.
She really deserved to die!
Beauty Wu placed the box in her arms and hugged it tightly. It was as if she was hugging Wei Shuyi, her life-saving straw. She used so much strength that her entire body trembled.
“Brother…”
She could not help but squat on the ground and wail. “I’m sorry, Brother. I’m sorry…”
Occasionally, people who had just gotten off work would rush home to hide from the cold wind. When they saw Beauty Wu squatting on the ground and crying sadly, they would stop in their tracks. They would stop for a moment before putting on indifferent expressions and leaving.
Beauty Wu heard the music on her phone and vaguely realized that it was a call for her.
She felt that her head was very painful and heavy, especially her forehead. As she lay there, she felt like she was on a plane, and the world was spinning.
Beauty Wu reached out from the warm blanket, touched her phone, and answered vaguely.
“…h.e.l.lo.”
There was silence on the other end for two seconds.
“Are you sick?” It was Dongli Shenghua.
Beauty Wu opened her eyes and realized that the sky was already bright.
She narrowed her eyes and stared at her phone for a long time before realizing that it was already 8: 40 am. Usually, she would appear at Dongli Shenghua’s house at 8 pm sharp. She had not seen him today. Dongli Shenghua was worried that something had happened to her on the way here, so he called to check on her.
Beauty Wu placed her hand on her heavy head and felt her throat ache.
“Mr. Dongli, I want to take a day off, okay? I’ll have to trouble Brother Pan today…”
“Rest well.”
Before he could finish, Dongli Shenghua hung up.
Beauty Wu turned off her phone and continued to curl into the blanket. Soon, she fell asleep again.
When the doorbell rang, Beauty Wu thought that she was hallucinating.
She turned around and quickly lost consciousness.
Ding Dong—
Ding Dong—
The doorbell didn’t stop ringing. It rang several times.
Beauty Wu lifted the blanket on her body and sat up straight. She listened for a while and confirmed that the doorbell was ringing before getting out of bed.
Putting on her slippers, Beauty Wu took a step forward and fell.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly and fell onto the bed.
It seemed like she was seriously ill this time…
She got up and stood quietly for a moment before slowly walking to the door.
“Who is it?”
She stood behind the door and did not open it immediately.
Outside the door, a cold and calm man’s voice sounded. “It’s me, Miss Wu.”
Beauty Wu was stunned.
“And me!” The childish voice was Dongli Ao.
Both father and son were here.
Beauty Wu opened the door and was surprised to see the two of them outside.
Dongli Shenghua led Dongli Ao into the house. Once the door was closed, he reached over and placed his hand on Beauty Wu’s forehead. “You have a high fever. Your face is still very red. Go lie down. I’ll call a doctor.” It was good to be rich. They had private doctors.
Beauty Wu was in no mood to argue with them, so she returned to her room and fell asleep.
Dongli Ao knocked on the door. Beauty Wu said in a hoa.r.s.e voice, “Come in.”
The little person walked in with a cup of warm water in his hand.
“The doctor will be here soon. Daddy asked me to give you a cup of warm water.” The little fellow placed the cup on the bedside table and started to size up Beauty Wu’s bedroom curiously.
Beauty Wu glanced at him and narrowed her eyes.
Beauty Wu fell asleep unknowingly. When she woke up again, she was woken up by the doctor.
“Clamp it properly.” The doctor placed the thermometer under her armpit.
Beauty Wu tightened her arms. In a few minutes, the doctor took the thermometer and looked at it. He said to Dongli Shenghua behind him, “39.6 degrees celsius.”
“Wipe her body more, especially her neck, collarbone, and arms…”
After explaining the stupid method of lowering her temperature, the doctor prescribed a few more medications for Beauty Wu.
He came and left quickly.
Dongli Shenghua supervised Beauty Wu as she drank the medicine. Then, he personally fetched a basin of warm water and pretended to wipe her body. Beauty Wu refused to let him do so. She struggled to get up and leaned against the headboard. “No, I’ll do it myself. Thank you.”
Dongli Shenghua said, “I really don’t mind.”
Beauty Wu did not have the strength. If she had the strength, she would have rolled her eyes.
“I mind,” she said tightly.
“…Alright.”
Beauty Wu wiped her body and lay on the bed. She heard the two people outside causing a huge commotion. She hoped that they would not tear down her house. With this thought in mind, Beauty Wu fell asleep again.
After scooping the porridge from the pot in a bowl, Dongli Shenghua said to Dongli Ao, who was causing trouble in the kitchen, “Go wake her up.”
“…Oh.”
Dongli Ao ran to her room and to the bed. He pushed Beauty Wu’s legs with his hand. “Miss Wu, wake up. It’s time to eat.”
Beauty Wu woke up and walked to the dining room with her head propped up.
She was stunned when she saw the porridge.
“Who made it?”
Upon hearing this, Dongli Shenghua asked her, “Do you think Xiao Ao knows how to make porridge?”
Dongli Ao naturally could not.
That was Dongli Shenghua.
This was even more surprising.
Beauty Wu picked up her spoon and ate a mouthful of light porridge. Her mouth was very dry, but her heart was a little warm. What Dongli Shenghua did was indeed despicable, but today, he was a little warm to Beauty Wu. Even though Beauty Wu was a little touched, she said, “Don’t think that I’ll marry you just because you made me a bowl of porridge.” To her, she was already Wei Shuyi’s wife.
Dongli Shenghua snorted and ignored her.
He walked to the living room to take a look and suddenly asked, “Is this your brother?” He looked at the photo of the photo of the youth hanging on the wall.
Beauty Wu nodded.
“He looks a little like you.”
“You said it yourself. He’s my brother.”
Dongli Shenghua retracted his gaze and walked around her house again. Finally, his gaze landed on a large photo alb.u.m under the television cabinet. “Can I look at it?”
Beauty Wu glanced at him and nodded when she saw him staring at the photo alb.u.m.
“Sure.”
Dongli Shenghua picked up the photo alb.u.m and sat on the sofa. He crossed his long legs and sat elegantly.
Dongli Ao also sat beside him. He helped Dongli Shenghua hold the photo alb.u.m. His eyes darted around curiously. Dongli Shenghua opened the photo alb.u.m and saw a family photo. Beauty Wu, who was in the photo, looked to be only ten years old.
Beside her was her younger brother, Wu Jiacheng. Behind him were her parents and grandfather. Her grandmother had pa.s.sed away a long time ago.
At this moment, Beauty Wu did not look like Wu Nabing, but her father, Wu Heqing, looked like Wu Nabing.
Dongli Shenghua stared at Wu Heqing’s face a few more times.
This family photo was taken very well, except that it lacked Wu Nabing.
Opening the next photo, there was a photo of Beauty Wu and Wu Jiacheng.
After that, there were three to four photos of her and her brother.
After flipping through six pages, there were finally changes.
The photos became older. In the photos, Beauty Wu was only five or six years old. She was standing together with a young girl that was fifteen or sixteen years old. Behind the two of them was a large field of Nanohana. Beauty Wu was wearing a red dress, and the young girl was wearing a yellow suspender dress.
The girl had long hair that fell to her shoulders, fair skin, and a beautiful figure. She had a bright smile that was unique to her age.
In an instant, Dongli Shenghua seemed to have returned to the first time he saw Wu Nabing.
At that time, she was only 18 years old. She was two years older than the girl in the photo. Her appearance did not change much, but because she had been wandering and struggling for a period of time, she was more mature than the girl in the photo.
Dongli Shenghua looked at the 16-year-old Wu Nabing. His heart ached and his eyes felt bitter.
His lips moved a few times before he softly shouted to Dongli Ao beside him, “Xiao Ao, come, look at her.”
Dongli Ao looked at her in surprise. “Who is this? Is it Miss Wu?”
“It’s Mom.”
Dongli Ao was stunned.
He looked at the young girl in the photo in disbelief and almost greedily. “Why would Mom’s photo appear in Miss Wu’s house?” The child’s tone was filled with disbelief.
Dongli Ao was not stupid.
After asking, he guessed the reason.
“They’re relatives?”
“Yeah.”
“Are they sisters?”
“Mom is Miss Wu’s aunt.”
Dongli Ao thought about it carefully for a moment and figured out the relations.h.i.+p before saying, “Then Miss Wu is my… sister.” His tone was m.u.f.fled, as if he had been deceived and refused to accept this fact.
“Yes, she’s your sister.”
“Then she can’t be my mother anymore.”
Dongli Shenghua glanced at Dongli Ao but did not speak.
As long as he wanted her, she could be Dongli Ao’s mother regardless of whether she was related to Wu Nabing.
However, as he continued to look at the photos, he started to hesitate when he saw how much Wu Nabing cared for Beauty Wu.
He could defile Beauty Wu as he wished, but he could not defile Nabing’s niece as he wished.
He finished looking at the photos and felt heavy-hearted.
Beauty Wu had already finished her porridge. When she returned to her room to rest, she pa.s.sed by the two of them and said to Dongli Shenghua, “You can take away her photos.”
Dongli Shenghua was a little surprised and moved.
“Can I?”
“Take them. I’m the only one left in this family anyway. There’s no point in keeping them.”