In less than half an hour, that person arrived.
Wendy Fang started off beaming, unable to hold back her question: "Did Senior ask you to come? Does he have something he wants to tell me?"
Is Senior finally going to accept me?
Is he too shy to say it himself, so he sent someone to deliver the message?
Just thinking about it makes me so happy!
But after sizing Wendy Fang up and down, the person frowned slightly and said, "Miss Fang, I'm here on Mrs. Fan's orders to say hello to you."
"Mrs.?" Wendy Fang didn't react right away.
"That's Mr. Fan's mother."
"Ah!" Wendy Fang finally snapped out of it, her face instantly growing anxious.
Is this my future mother-in-law?
"Here's the thing. Mrs. Fan asked me to let you know: As Young Master Fan's junior, if you ever run into trouble or need help, you can go to him. But unless it's something urgent, please don't bother him unnecessarily." The person spoke in a stiff tone.
The words were polite, but the meaning was obvious.
Basically: Girl, have some self-respect. Stop clinging to a man who isn't yours!
Wendy Fang got the message loud and clear.
Her face instantly turned ghostly pale.
Her eyes filled with tears on the spot.
"Mrs. Fan, what does that even mean?" Wendy Fang bit her lip and asked.
"Isn't Miss Fang the one who knows best what it means?" the person replied impatiently. "Alright, message delivered, I'm heading back. Miss Fang, it's fine to stay in this house for a while, but if you linger too long, it could cause unnecessary misunderstandings. Don't you think?"
With that, the person got up and left.
Wendy Fang stood frozen, her face drained of color.
Of course not!
Wendy Fang bit her lip angrily, brooding over it.
She's not some helpless little cabbage for people to squash and squeeze however they want.
She hasn't done anything illegal!
Wendy Fang immediately pulled out her phone, wanting to complain to Winston Fan.
She typed out a message, hesitated, deleted it, then wrote a new one: "Senior, are you free to come over for dinner tonight? I have to go back to work tomorrow, and after that, I won't get to see you for a long time."
After sending the message, Wendy Fang waited for a reply.
But Wendy Fang waited and waited, and still didn't get a reply from Winston Fan.
It wasn't that Winston Fan was deliberately ignoring her—he just didn't have time to reply.
He'd been called home by Mrs. Fang and got a serious scolding.
"Tell me, what's your relationship with Wendy Fang, really?" Mrs. Fang demanded, annoyed. "Didn't you say you knew what you were doing? Today Yinuo came and told me there was no way she could be with you, and I knew something was up! It must be because you and Wendy Fang are all tangled up, and Yinuo found out! She was too polite to say it to your face, so she told me it wasn't suitable! You, you, you—you'll be the death of me!"
"Yinuo said that to you?" Winston Fan frowned, but he wasn't angry.
After all, Yinuo really was a great business partner.
"Wuling, I don't mind you having fun outside, but you need to keep things clear. You can't let other women get in the way of your marriage." Mrs. Fang tried to reason with him.
"Mom, there's no other woman," Winston Fan denied flatly. "There's nothing shady between me and Wendy Fang. I'm genuinely serious about marrying Yinuo."
"Too late! It's all too late! She's already rejected you!" Mrs. Fang grew more and more upset. "No way, Wendy Fang can't stay here. I'm going to talk to Xixi right now and have her transferred—somewhere far away. If Wendy Fang leaves, maybe Yinuo will reconsider!"
Winston Fan couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Mom, can you not be so impulsive? Wendy Fang is just a young girl, she doesn't have anyone here. Kicking her out like this is just bullying her."
"What, feeling sorry for her now?" Mrs. Fang shot Winston Fan a look.
"Alright, alright, do whatever you want." Winston Fan surrendered. "I'm heading back to the office."
As soon as he walked out the door, Winston Fan instinctively looked up at the sky. It was gloomy—rain was coming.
After this autumn rain, the cold will set in for real.
Winston Fan drove toward the office, and as he went, the rain started falling.
By the time he neared the company, the rain was pouring down.
Suddenly, a figure darted out from the side of the road.
Winston Fan slammed on the brakes, barely managing to stop in time.
"Watch where you're—Wendy Fang? What are you doing here?" Winston Fan hadn't even had a chance to get angry when he saw Wendy Fang, soaked and lost, standing in front of his car.
Winston Fan got out, grabbed an umbrella from the car door, and held it over Wendy Fang's head. He frowned, "Why are you here? How did you get so drenched?"
"Senior Fan!" As soon as Wendy Fang saw Winston Fan, she threw herself into his arms, hugging his waist and sobbing, "Mrs. Fan just sent someone to warn me, told me to stay away from you. Senior Fan, I don't know what I did to make Mrs. Fan so upset. I just like you, that's all. Is it wrong to like someone? Why do they have to bully me like this?"
"What did you say? My mom sent someone to warn you?" Winston Fan rubbed his forehead, exasperated.
What kind of mess is this?
Just then, another car approached in the distance.
The car came closer, stopped, and the window rolled down to reveal Ning Shao's surprised face.
"Mr. Fan, what's going on here...?" Ning Shao looked at Winston Fan, then at the girl clinging to his waist, seeming to understand.
"Ning Shao, it's not what it looks like," Winston Fan explained instinctively.
Hearing this, Wendy Fang hugged Winston Fan even tighter, sobbing, "Senior, I know I'm not good enough for you, but I just can't help myself. Since Mrs. Fan doesn't want me near you, I guess I have to leave."
From her words, Ning Shao seemed to guess what was happening. He shook his head and said, "So, is tonight's meeting still on? By the way, Miss Yin will be here soon. If she sees this..."
Wouldn't that mean getting struck out for good?
Speak of the devil, and she appears.
The next moment, Miss Yin's Bentley screeched to a stop nearby. "Such heavy rain, you guys... Oh, sorry, did I interrupt? Is the meeting still on tonight?"
Winston Fan felt utterly miserable inside.
What a mess!
"Tonight's meeting is postponed," Winston Fan said helplessly. "Sorry for making you come out for nothing."
Ning Shao shrugged and said to Miss Yin, "Miss Yin, care to grab a drink?"
"Let's go," Miss Yin agreed cheerfully and drove off first.
After Ning Shao and Miss Yin left, Winston Fan finally said to Wendy Fang, "Alright, stop crying, will you? Look at yourself. I'll take you home. You'll catch a cold like this."
Wendy Fang finally let go, sniffling, and followed Winston Fan back to his apartment.
Wendy Fang took a hot shower, took some medicine, checked her temperature—no fever—then sat obediently in front of Winston Fan.
"Alright, what do you really want?" Winston Fan wasn't stupid—he could tell Wendy Fang was trying to force his hand tonight.
But Winston Fan was a gentleman; he couldn't bring himself to be too harsh with a young girl.
He decided tonight, he'd make things perfectly clear.
Even if things didn't work out with Miss Yin, it couldn't be because of Wendy Fang.
"Senior Fan, just scold me. I know I was wrong!" Wendy Fang hung her head, staring at her toes, mumbling.
"You know you were wrong? Then why did you do it anyway?" Winston Fan asked, his voice emotionless.
"I was selfish—I wanted to have you all to myself." Wendy Fang kept her head down, her face hidden. "I wanted you to acknowledge me. I really know I was wrong! I shouldn't have been so impulsive, not thinking things through."
"I really do like you, Senior. I don't want to leave you," Wendy Fang said. "But I don't have any other choice. Mrs. Fan sent someone to warn me, told me to leave you and move out. I couldn't even tell you how upset I was—I didn't know where you were, so I had to wait downstairs at your company. I didn't expect the rain, I just wanted to tell you everything. Senior, please don't be mad at me, okay? I really know I was wrong! You can hit me, scold me, just don't make me leave!"
Winston Fan was at a loss for words.
"Wendy Fang, I have no feelings for you." Winston Fan explained patiently, "You can like me, that's your right. But I have the right to turn you down, too."
"Senior, don't rush to reject me! I'll change, I promise!" Wendy Fang looked up, her face tear-streaked. "And if Mrs. Fan doesn't like me now, it's fine—I'll work hard to make her like me! Senior, I'll do my best!"
"It's not about trying harder or not..."
"But Miss Yin doesn't like you, and you're working hard to win her over, right? If you can try to make someone like you, why can't I?" Wendy Fang sobbed, her nose red, "Besides, you're only pursuing Miss Yin because she's suitable, but I'm chasing you because I truly like you. Why can't you understand me?"
Winston Fan let out a long sigh and said, "I'm a very filial person. So, Wendy Fang, unless you can get my mom's approval and make her like you, there's no way for us—ever. Do you understand?"