Before her, a cluster of climbing roses was in full bloom, swaying in the breeze like a cloud of pale pink smoke, gathering and then dispersing into the air.
Behind her was a stream of people in office uniforms.
Wen Nuan did not look back, standing there all alone.
She had a slender, graceful figure, her softly curled hair fluttering in the wind.
Just then, a man walked up to her. "Miss Wen, all the belongings in the villa have been liquidated, and the buyer's representative has confirmed it.
We just need the seller's signature to finalize the paperwork."
Wen Nuan turned around, tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, and took the documents.
She stared at the pages, flipped through a few of them, and signed her name at the bottom.
After signing, she handed them back.
The clerk took the documents, slipped them into a file folder, and looked up at the young woman before him.
Perhaps beautiful women possessed a strange magic; though he was just doing his job, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. "Miss Wen, life is full of unpredictable changes. Please live well."
Wen Nuan offered a faint smile and nodded.
As the man turned to leave, Wen Nuan suddenly stopped him. "Officer."
"Miss Wen, is there something else?"
"I... could you ask the new owner of the villa to keep the flowers in the yard?" Even as Wen Nuan made the request, she felt it was a bit unreasonable.
The man let out a dry cough and smiled politely. "I'm sorry, but that's up to the new owner to decide.
We, as court officers, cannot interfere."
Wen Nuan smiled faintly as well.
Forget it. What was she thinking?
"I understand."
The man bid her goodbye once more and left.
Wen Nuan stood there for a moment, looked back at the high eaves of the villa, and then turned to walk slowly toward the courtyard gate.
Before she reached the exit, she noticed a black car parked just outside the iron gates.
As she glanced over, the rear window was slowly rolling up.
Then, the car started up and vanished from her sight.
Wen Nuan froze, startled.
Before she could give it another thought, her phone began to vibrate in her pocket.
"Nuan Nuan."
"Mom," she said, walking out. "It's all done... Yes, I'm taking the subway back right now.
Oh, and I passed the interview. Wenxing Translation Company notified me to report next week, and then I'll officially start working.
"
"That's good.
You must take good care of yourself.
Don't worry about me, food doesn't cost much.
You don't need to pinch pennies." Mother Wen rambled on the other end of the line.
After hanging up, Wen Nuan walked to the sidewalk outside the gate and stopped to look left and right.
The villa district was quiet.
By the side of the road, there were only two official court vehicles.
——
The next day, Wen Nuan went to the company to complete her onboarding process.
She had graduated in June with a master's degree in translation and interpretation from the French Department of Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Some time ago, she had interviewed at Wenxing, a mid-sized
Moreover, the other company was quite generous. They immediately agreed to the translation fee we quoted, making only one demand: the task had to be completed flawlessly.
They had specifically noted that their CEO would be attending this meeting.
In the elevator, Qin Lin and Zhou Yu stood in front of Wen Nuan, chatting.
“Mr. Qiu called me specifically this morning,” Qin Lin paused, then continued, “Headquarters wants us to secure a long-term business relationship this time. Actually, this task isn't difficult, and they will continue to cooperate with us in the future.
“That boss is highly capable and places a lot of value on professionalism.
“We should leverage our strengths to win them over.”
“Ugh, those science types,” Zhou Yu clicked her tongue. “Back in university, I dreaded dealing with this field the most. It's so rigid and dry.”
Qin Lin smiled. “Who actually wants to? But if you want to make money, you have to scratch their itch.”
Wen Nuan knew that although the client was happy to pay, if they weren't satisfied, they would drop them in an instant.
Whether they could get a bite of this delicious pie depended entirely on their performance today.
For some reason, she felt an inexplicable sense of nervousness and anxiety.
After they stepped out of the elevator, someone was already waiting at the door to welcome them and guide them toward the meeting room.
In the hallway, Qin Lin walked side-by-side with the staff member in front, chatting occasionally.
Zhou Yu and Wen Nuan followed behind.
Suddenly, Zhou Yu took a few quick, small steps toward her and whispered, “Xiao Wen, you take the lead this time.”
Wen Nuan was startled. “Me?”
She had originally assumed that as a new intern, she was only tagging along to observe and learn.
“Yes, this is a great opportunity to practice. Don't miss out,” Zhou Yu winked at her.
Zhou Yu had been working at Wenxing for three years. If everything went smoothly, Qin Lin would be promoted to director, and she would be promoted to European team leader.
Her performance metrics were basically up to standard; the only thing she lacked was a high-level conference to pad her resume. Therefore, at present, any ordinary tasks that couldn't add luster to her CV were passed along.
Wen Nuan had no objections. As a newcomer, any opportunity was a good one.
A small meeting like this was well within her capabilities, so she agreed.
Overjoyed, Zhou Yu nudged her arm hard. “Don't you dare change your mind.”
The three of them were temporarily shown into a small lounge outside the meeting room.
Taking advantage of the free time, Wen Nuan went online to search for the boss of this company.
During the downtime before the meeting, there might be a chance to chat with the client. If the internet revealed any of this boss's random hobbies, she could use that knowledge to strike up a conversation and leave a good impression.
Zhiyuan Technology.
She opened Baidu, only to find that there was no introduction of the founder, only a general overview of the company's business and scale.
She glanced through it. It was indeed a tech company with a wide reach, focusing on the planning, launching, design, testing, maintenance, and R&D of internet software.
In addition to its own industrial chain, it also had foreign investment and business operations both domestically and abroad.
She exited that page and scrolled down to the related news items.
Suddenly, she spotted a comment under a news report about the company's expansion: “Oh my god, Zhiyuan's boss is so...”
Because of the character limit, the next word wasn't displayed on the page, so she clicked on it.
She couldn't connect to the Wi-Fi here, so she was using her own mobile data, which was a bit slow.
The webpage was loading...
At that moment, the doorknob of the meeting room turned, and the door cracked open.
An employee stepped into view, pushing open the double dark-brown wooden doors.
Wen Nuan and Qin Lin stood up, their hands hanging by their sides, while the screen of her phone was still loading...
Then she saw the person standing there. As the doors swung fully open, his face and the text on her phone screen became clear at the exact same time.
Ji Linshen.
Wen Nuan froze.
"This is President Ji of Zhiyuan," the assistant introduced.
Qin Lin stepped forward quickly and greeted him politely.
Then, turning around, he introduced, "These are two of our company's interpreters, Zhou Yu and Wen Nuan.
Wen Nuan will be the interpreter for this meeting."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes naturally turned toward her.
But Wen Nuan remained rooted to the spot, her entire body stiff. Her lips parted slightly, but she couldn't make a sound.
She could only stare mechanically at the face of the man before her—a face deeply etched into her memory.
Indeed, so much had changed.
His once-slender frame had filled out into a mature, commanding build, and his features had grown sharp and defined.
His aura was no longer the arrogance of his youth; tempered by the years, it was now restrained and unreadable, any trace of ruthlessness tightly suppressed.
She stared at him.
His ink-black eyes were incredibly calm, betraying no unusual emotion.
Yet, his gaze filled her with an inexplicable sense of panic.
Compounded by the vast difference in their social status, this panic morphed into a wave of helplessness that instantly washed over her.
Standing beside her, Qin Lin frowned in dissatisfaction.
This was a major client whom the company highly valued, which was why he had personally brought his team.
He had brought Wen Nuan along because of her impressive resume, wanting to give her some hands-on experience.
Just moments ago, Zhou Yu had briefed her on the plan, and she had agreed to it.
Yet now, in front of this prominent figure, she was just standing there like a statue.
Qin Lin frowned and nudged her.
But Wen Nuan didn't react at all, still completely lost in her own thoughts.
Ji Linshen—this person, this name, this face—had not been a part of her life for a very long time.
Jolted from the depths of her memories, a sudden panic seized her.
How would he feel upon seeing her? Did he no longer recognize her, or had he completely forgotten about the Wen family?
A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, and countless speculations flashed by in an instant.
The room fell quiet due to Wen Nuan's silence.
Ji Linshen stood before her without moving, and because of that, no one else dared to budge.
Then, his brow smoothed, and he took the initiative to extend his hand toward her, breaking the tension:
"Hello, Miss Wen."
~~~~~~~~~~~.