Chapter 003: What Is Uncle Really Here For...?

This is asking the horse to run while forbidding it to eat grass.

With clear annoyance, Wen Ni shook off the man’s hand, breaking free from his grip.

“Zhou Linchuan, what exactly is our relationship? What gives you the right to control me?”

The name Zhou Linchuan seemed to calm Zhou Mingfan instantly.

He retorted with forced logic, “My brother just died, and you couldn’t wait to cuckold him? Wen Ni, can you face my brother with a clear conscience?”

Wen Ni frowned, amber eyes brimming with curiosity. “Is your Zhou family looking to erect a chastity arch in my honor?”

“You—” Zhou Mingfan sputtered.

Her voice was cold and distant. “Get out!”

Zhou Mingfan’s gaze swept heavily over Wen Ni’s shoulder, like a husband catching his wife in the act.

His eyes grew dark and menacing as he stared at her. “You’d best behave yourself. Otherwise, I won’t let you off.”

Then, as if to justify himself, he added guiltily, “For my brother’s sake.”

Wen Ni sneered.

As Zhou Mingfan stepped out the door, his gaze suddenly met Zhou Jingyi’s from the gallery above.

A jolt of nerves seized Zhou Mingfan; his throat tightened. “U-Uncle…”

Zhou Jingyi nodded slowly, then, unfazed, withdrew his gaze. Long-legged and broad-shouldered, he strode downstairs as if nothing had happened.

Zhou Mingfan’s heart was uneasy. His fifth uncle wasn’t one to gossip—surely he wouldn’t mention that he’d just come from Wen Ni’s room? Otherwise, Xue Ning would certainly be angry.

He slapped his forehead in frustration. How could he have gone to the wrong room!

But the question remained: who had left the kiss marks on Wen Ni’s shoulder? It was still his own funeral downstairs, yet Wen Ni was already eager to make him a cuckold.

The day before the accident, she had even blushed, promising a surprise for his return. He’d assumed she wanted to finally be husband and wife in the truest sense, which he resisted; after all, he didn’t love her. But to keep Wen Ni from suspecting, for Linchuan and Xue Ning’s sake, he had to make sacrifices. That was also why he went wingsuit flying to relax.

He pressed his fingers to his temples. What could possibly drive a woman who was loving and gentle with him only seven days ago to start fooling around with another man while his body was still lying in state?

There was no answer.

The only explanation that made sense was that Wen Ni had always been a fickle, unfaithful woman.

At this thought, anger blazed in Zhou Mingfan’s chest, the shame of betrayal making his heart tremble. Even if, from now on, he could only appear before the world as Zhou Linchuan, he would still force Wen Ni to remain a widow for his sake. He couldn’t accept any other man by her side.

His phone rang. It was Shen Xue Ning. He hurried to answer, “Baby, I’m on my way.”

At ten o’clock that morning, “Zhou Mingfan” was buried.

Wen Ni chased after the urn, her cries hoarse and heart-wrenching. “Zhou Mingfan, how could you die so young? Zhou Mingfan, how could you do this to me? Zhou Mingfan, you got what you deserved—how am I supposed to go on? Zhou Mingfan, you wretched—”

Standing beside her, Zhou Mingfan was speechless.

His anger only grew. She bore another man’s kiss marks yet wailed over his ashes. How had he never realized her acting skills were so masterful?

As the urn passed through the old house’s gates, Wen Ni dropped to her knees with a thud, sobbing, “Zhou Mingfan, may your journey to the underworld be a peaceful one!”

A chill ran down Zhou Mingfan’s spine; the very air around him seemed to grow colder.

In the living room, the Zhou family’s matriarch wept as she spoke to the old master. “Wen Ni is a good child. We mustn’t treat her unfairly.”

He grunted in response, heavy-hearted.

Burying a child was a pain that cut to the bone. In just seven days, the elderly couple seemed to have aged seven years.

Later that afternoon, Wen Ni’s friend brought a suitcase, saying it was Zhou Mingfan’s belongings from before his death, and delivered it directly to her room.

All the while, Zhou Mingfan watched the suitcase ascend the stairs, frowning.

His belongings? Since when did he have possessions kept outside?

At dinner, the butler called Wen Ni three times, yet she did not appear. He had no choice but to report this to the old master.

At the dinner table, the old lady sighed. “Wen Ni is a good girl—loyal and loving. Our Mingfan had no luck. This can’t go on; what if she develops psychological problems…”

She seemed to think of something.

Her gaze, intense and burning, turned to Zhou Jingyi. “That Shen boy you grew up with—Qinglan—isn’t he a renowned psychiatrist now? Please arrange for him to come and see Wen Ni.”

Zhou Jingyi was silent.

She frowned. “Fifth, did you hear me?”

He considered a moment, replying in a cool, detached voice, “It’s troublesome. Let her go to the psychiatric hospital herself.”

The old lady was displeased. “Let me be clear: as long as Wen Ni wants to stay, she will always be our family’s daughter-in-law. Mingfan is gone, but you must all care for this poor child.”

Zhou Jingyi glanced up at Zhou Mingfan.

A shiver ran down Zhou Mingfan’s spine; his body went rigid.

With a thump of her chopsticks, the old lady exclaimed, “Are all of you so heartless?”

The old master looked at his angry wife, then at his youngest son. “Don’t upset your mother.”

Zhou Jingyi’s fingers fidgeted. “Yes.”

He wished to have nothing more to do with Wen Ni, but his mother’s health had been poor ever since she gave birth to him at an advanced age. He could only comply.

That afternoon, Zhou Jingyi brought the psychiatrist.

Shen Qinglan wore a cream-colored sweater and light tan trousers—a relaxed, homey outfit. His peach blossom eyes glimmered with charm as he followed Zhou Jingyi. “I’ve heard some things. This girl was betrayed by Zhou Linchuan’s runaway marriage. Finally, she found someone she truly liked, only to lose him early. Clinically, people like her are highly susceptible to depression.”

Zhou Jingyi said nothing.

At the door, Shen Qinglan added, “She’s quite pitiful.”

Zhou Jingyi raised his hand and knocked.

Wen Ni opened the door. Seeing them, she lowered her gaze and tugged lightly at Zhou Jingyi’s sleeve. “Uncle, what have you come… to do?”

She bit off the word “do” with particular clarity.

Zhou Jingyi immediately seized her wrist, his eyes warning her to behave.

From the side, Shen Qinglan said, “The old lady was worried you’d be lonely and sent us to chat with you.”

With an outsider present, Wen Ni tensed, quickly withdrawing her hand and glancing past Zhou Jingyi’s shoulder. “Young Master Shen?”

She invited him in.

As Shen Qinglan stepped into Wen Ni’s room, his nostrils flared. “What’s that incense?”

Wen Ni replied calmly, “Star anise and pig’s trotters.”

Shen Qinglan was at a loss for words.