Morning Longing for Warmth – Chapter 17
by Little PandaWei Hui
The phoenix takes flight, its wings flapping gracefully.
Wei Hui still softened her heart. If it were someone else who made a mistake, she would have immediately kicked them out of the Wei family, but this was Zhang Ma, someone who had accompanied her for nearly ten years. How could she really be as indifferent as she appeared on the surface?
From bringing Shiyi back, she saw Zhang Ma and other servants’ attitudes. She originally wanted to give her a chance, to see how she would choose, but unexpectedly, she still took the wrong path.
Wei Hui sat at the dining table, lowering her head to eat breakfast. Pei Tian stood respectfully behind her. Seeing Wei Hui finish eating and wiping the corners of her lips with a napkin, he said softly: “We’ll send Zhang Ma back to her hometown later.”
The servants in the living room looked at each other, and Shiyi also paused his breakfast-eating action, looking towards Wei Hui. Seeing her expression as usual, with calm eyes, she said: “Replace all the people, choose a few who don’t talk much to come in.”
Pei Tian looked surprised: “Replace, replace people?”
He had just arrived not long ago and didn’t know what Zhang Ma had done, so he rarely asked back: “What happened to Zhang Ma?”
Wei Hui lowered her eyes: “Zhang Ma is getting old, her memory is getting worse, she should go back to retire.”
These words made the faces of the other servants turn pale, looking at Wei Hui with fearful eyes. Some wanted to beg to stay, but facing Wei Hui’s cold gaze, no one dared to speak. The whole dining room was silent, and Shiyi continued to lower her head and eat breakfast.
Pei Tian no longer had objections: “Okay, I’ll go do it right away.”
He worked very quickly. Shiyi saw that after Wei Hui left, Zhang Ma came out dragging a suitcase. There were many who didn’t want to leave. Working in the Wei family was not only easy, but the Third Miss also spoke little and usually didn’t ask them to do any strange things. The salary they received was also much more than in other families. But they didn’t dare to beg Wei Hui directly, they could only privately beg Pei Tian.
“Assistant Pei, could you please ask Third Miss, I’m always very serious about my work.”
“Me too, I’m the most careful when working.”
“Assistant Pei…”
Pei Tian wore a sharp black suit, paired with a burgundy tie and a golden tie clip that reflected a cold glint in the sunlight. His handsome face bore a gentle smile, but his words were unquestionable: “Third Miss said to give you one hour to pack up, you have fifty minutes left.”
The crowd dispersed.
An hour later, the entire villa was empty. Shiyi stood in the flower bed, surrounded by silence, with only the sound of the cold wind blowing past her ears. She quietly lowered her head and walked to sit on the bench from last night.
Her mood was very complex. On one hand, she hadn’t expected Zhang Ma to use such methods to force her to leave. On the other hand, she was even more surprised that Wei Hui would trust her so much.
From the moment Zhang Ma suspected her, Wei Hui’s gaze never showed a hint of doubt. Even when entering her room, she maintained a normal attitude. She never treated her like a thief, not once. Shiyi had this thought flash through her mind, and her emotions became complicated. From childhood to adulthood, besides her grandmother, no one else had believed in her so unwaveringly. But now, there was Third Miss.
She trusted her, was good to her, and although she had a purpose, she openly told her about it and let her choose. Third Miss didn’t force her or use any tactics. Even though she could have ordered her to do anything, she didn’t. She was like a junzi (a person of noble character), giving her the power to choose.
When Shiyi was in the hospital, she thought Wei Hui was no different from other male masters who had taken her back, just thinking she was beautiful and wanting to keep her as a mistress. Now she realized she was wrong, terribly wrong, completely mistaken.
Wei Hui is different from others.
Just as she told Su Ziyan, she’s good, very wonderful.
Shiyi suddenly remembered Wei Hui’s gaze when she first saw her. She didn’t feel it was different before, but now she felt that gaze was like a bright light, easily cutting through her dark world and illuminating her.
Her heart suddenly warmed.
She lowered her eyes, and the image of Wei Hui taking quick steps to grab the necklace from the drawer appeared before her. Her body half-tilted, a cool fragrance sprinkled under her nose, like the mutual surroundings, wrapped with a bit of coldness, unique and distinctive.
This is the Third Miss’s scent.
Shiyi sniffed and suddenly sneezed. She rubbed her nose tip and looked at the proud sun hanging in the sky. Her beautiful eyes squinted, staring until her eyes were sore before giving up. After a while, she got up from the long bench and went back to her room to change clothes.
When she came downstairs again, the living room was empty, and no one was in the kitchen. Shiyi found the remains of the ribs she had asked Zhang Ma to pack in the corner. She stood in the kitchen for a short while, then used another bag to pack the unfinished pastries from the morning. Only after tying both bags did she walk out of the kitchen.
The small path was still deserted, with howling cold wind making her unstable. Shiyi, carrying the food, saw the stray dog lying on the ground from afar. Its eyes looked left and right, then suddenly its ears perked up and looked at her. Perhaps because it had spent the whole day with her yesterday, the stray dog was particularly enthusiastic today. Seeing Shiyi, it pounced on her. Shiyi hadn’t expected it to be so excited and was pushed against the tree behind her. With her back against the tree trunk, she patted the dog’s head and gently exclaimed, “Alright, let’s eat first.”
The dog still nuzzled her with its fluffy head, licking her chin with its tongue. Her milk-white sportswear was smudged gray-yellow. Shiyi rubbed its head, “Look what I brought you.”
She opened her bag like she was showing off a treasure, first taking out part of the pastries she hadn’t finished in the morning, then dividing a small portion of the ribs’ bones. While waiting for the dog to eat, she poured some mineral water into a bowl she had picked up on the road. The stray dog wolfed down the food, then looked expectantly at the other food in her hand. Shiyi shook her head, “No, this is for your lunch, and this is for dinner.”
After she finished speaking, she saw the stray dog still looking at her with pitiful eyes, its mouth open and panting, its bright tongue sticking out. She looked down and finally said, “Last piece!”
The dog’s “woof” made her laugh.
After eating, Shiyi leaned against a tree trunk. The dog beside her chose a sunny spot to lie down, occasionally reaching out its paw to hook Shiyi’s clothes and making whimpering sounds, as if wanting Shiyi to play with it. Shiyi had never kept a dog before and had no experience. Seeing the dog like this, she said in confusion, “What’s wrong with you?”
Her pretty face scrunched up: “Is the rope too tight? Should I loosen it a bit for you?”
The response was two barks. After Shiyi loosened it a bit, she patted its head: “Should I give you a name?”
“I’m called Shiyi, so you’ll be Shi’er (twelve).”
“Is that okay?”
The dog nuzzled her chin, seeming to respond to her. Shiyi’s eyes crinkled with a smile: “Shi’er.”
“Woof!”
Under the winter sunlight, a person and a dog leaned against a tree. Shiyi looked up, gazing at the sunlight through the gaps in the leaves, and said softly: “Shi’er, what do you think Third Miss is doing now?”
“She’s probably working, she’s so busy.”
Shiyi rubbed the dog’s head: “Why do you think she wanted to make a deal with me?”
The Third Miss they were talking about sneezed. Pei Tian, who was reporting work beside her, asked with concern: “Third Miss, is your cold from last time not fully recovered? Do you want to go back and rest earlier tonight?”
Wei Hui waved her hand: “No need.”
“Is there any news from Luo Zhouping’s side?”
Pei Tian lowered his head: “He hasn’t made any further moves, but he went to the Shen family yesterday.”
“Did he meet Shen Hao?”
Pei Tian shook his head: “Not really. I heard Mr. Shen has been on a business trip these two days, he’s abroad.”
Wei Hui’s fingers tapped on the table, and after a pause, she said: “Try not to let them meet before I go to the Du family.”
Pei Tian respectfully said: “Understood.”
“There’s one more thing…” As he said this, his star-like eyes showed a confused expression. Wei Hui glanced at him: “What is it?”
Pei Tian said: “While investigating Vice President Luo, I found that he recently met someone.”
Under Wei Hui’s questioning gaze, Pei Tian continued: “Assistant Qiao.”
“Assistant Qiao?” Wei Hui asked back: “Are you sure?”
Pei Tian: “I’m sure.”
Wei Hui’s face darkened slightly.
Assistant Qiao is someone from the government, what is Luo Zhouping meeting him for? If it’s about the renovation of unfinished buildings, the government can’t and won’t interfere, so he must be meeting Assistant Qiao for something else. Thinking of this, Wei Hui said: “Pay more attention to his movements.”
Pei Tian agreed: “Alright.”
After giving instructions on official business, Wei Hui lowered her head and glanced at her phone, asking: “By the way, have you found the person?”
Pei Tian closed the document: “Everything has been done according to your instructions. Do you need to take a look yourself?”
Having just sent Zhang Ma off this morning, Wei Hui didn’t have much energy to look personally now. She said to Pei Tian: “You arrange it.”
“Have them come over tomorrow.”
Pei Tian lowered his head: “Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
Wei Hui lightly hmm-ed, then suddenly said: “That child, is she still in the villa?”
After the incident with Zhang Ma this morning, she hadn’t said another word to Shiyi. Although she had given Shiyi the freedom to come and go as she pleased, or even leave, she had spent a month searching and finally found someone satisfactory, so she really didn’t want to let her go. Moreover, Shiyi now knew about her illness, so letting her leave at this time wouldn’t be a wise move.
That’s why she asked this extra question.
Pei Tian never quite understood why Wei Hui wanted to bring Shiyi back, and even treat her like a guest, but Wei Hui never explained her decisions to him. So when he heard the question, he just respectfully replied: “When I went over, I didn’t see her. Perhaps she’s in her room.”
Wei Hui lowered her eyes: “I see. You may go.”
Pei Tian closed the office door as he left. Wei Hui sat at her desk, having read half of the documents. She put down her signing pen, rubbed her index finger against the corner of her lip, and a few minutes later, she took out her phone and sent a message.
Shiyi was playing with the dog when she suddenly heard a brief music sound from her phone, the same as she had heard before. She immediately took the phone out of her pocket, opened it, and saw a message from Wei Hui: “Zhang Ma isn’t here, I’ll have Pei Tian bring you lunch.”
Her finger tapped on the screen, replying with unfamiliar pinyin (a system for writing Chinese using the Latin alphabet): “Thank you, Third Miss, I can cook for myself.”
The reply came much faster than last time. When Wei Hui saw her response, the frustration in her heart dissipated a bit. She didn’t reply again, just put the phone on the table and went back to reading documents.
Not knowing if she would reply again, Shiyi held the phone tightly, glancing at the screen from time to time. She would play with the dog for two minutes, then get distracted and check her phone. After half an hour, she was sure Wei Hui wouldn’t reply anymore.
The phone screen was lit up, showing two messages side by side, both displaying the same name. Seeing this name, Shiyi’s mind conjured up Wei Hui’s beautiful face, with a cold and indifferent expression. She silently recited in her heart: Wei…
Wei what?
Shiyi bit her lip, realizing she didn’t recognize this character. She leaned against the tree trunk, with the dog snoring softly beside her. Feeling a bit shy, she used the search function she had just learned to write in Wei Hui’s second character, and then saw the explanation that came up: [huì], the sound of birds flying.
She lowered her head and saw a phrase next to this explanation: “The phoenix takes flight, its wings flapping gracefully.” (This is a line from the ancient Chinese poem “Phoenix” in the Classic of Poetry. It describes the beautiful flight of a phoenix, with “hui” being an onomatopoeia for the sound and appearance of its fluttering feathers.)
Wei Hui, Wei Hui. Shiyi recited in her heart, feeling that this name sounded extremely beautiful.
The author has something to say:
Wei Hui: Yesterday you praised my handwriting as beautiful, and said I look good. Today you’re praising my name as beautiful-sounding. What will you praise about me tomorrow?
Shiyi: What do you want to hear?
Wei Hui: I want to hear everything.
Shiyi: ……
0 Comments