The Wife Who Defended Him

When Wen Xi woke up, it was already past nine in the morning of the next day.

She hadn’t set an alarm on her phone, and Ji Lingling hadn’t come to wake her either.

The sound of thunder outside the window had startled her awake.

She sat up all at once, rubbed her eyes to clear her head, and then realized she was lying on the large bed in the second-floor bedroom.

Yesterday she had been kneeling with Jiang Jibai in the ancestral hall.

So why was she in bed now?

“Jiang Jibai?”

She called out a few times, but no one answered inside the bedroom.

Wen Xi got out of bed and walked out of the room.

Leaning against the corridor railing, she glanced outside.

The weather wasn’t good.

The sky was gloomy and dark.

After the thunder rolled past, a light drizzle began falling from the sky.

She watched the rain for a moment before suddenly coming to her senses.

Today was the **seventh day** since they had arrived in Sicheng.

It was also the memorial day of Jiang Jibai’s mother, Zou Jiaya.

Which meant Jiang Jibai and the others must have gone to the cemetery to pay respects.

Wen Xi immediately went back inside and checked the time on her phone.

Her face instantly fell.

It was already almost ten in the morning.

When visiting elders’ graves, people usually left very early.

At this hour, they had probably already finished the ceremony on the mountain.

Wen Xi rubbed her head in frustration.

For a moment she blamed herself for sleeping too deeply.

The next moment she complained that Jiang Jibai hadn’t woken her up to visit his mother’s grave with him.

She quickly dialed Jiang Jibai’s number.

She didn’t know where Zou Jiaya’s grave was located.

She wanted to catch the tail end of the memorial ceremony if she could.

At the very least, it would show respect for Jiang Jibai’s mother.

The phone rang for a long time.

No one answered.

Maybe he had left his phone in the car.

Wen Xi then called Ji Lingling.

She tried several times.

Still no answer.

She placed her final hope on Zou Jiayun.

But after hearing the mechanical female voice say—

“Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable…”

Wen Xi gave up.

Holding her phone, she went downstairs, grabbed an umbrella, and walked around the entire residence.

She wanted to find one of the housemaids working for the Zou family and ask for the location of the cemetery.

But the mansion was completely empty.

Most likely everyone had followed Jiang Jibai and Chen Zhangyu to the cemetery.

Wen Xi returned to the second-floor bedroom, tossed her phone aside, and collapsed weakly onto the bed.

There was nothing she could do.

Wen Xi didn’t know anyone in Sicheng.

She couldn’t find anyone to help her locate Zou Jiaya’s grave.

She couldn’t exactly search every cemetery in Sicheng online and visit them one by one.

The city was huge.

There were countless cemeteries.

It would probably take her two whole days to find the right one.

And she didn’t even know whether Zou Jiaya’s grave was located in a public cemetery or in a private burial ground purchased by the Zou family.

After a moment, Wen Xi suddenly sat up again.

She grabbed her phone and called Wen Junru.

Wen Junru answered.

“Dad,” Wen Xi said directly, speaking quickly.

“Do you know how to contact Shen Yi from the Shen family in Sicheng?”

Wen Junru sounded puzzled.

“Shen Yi? Why do you want his phone number?”

“I need it for something urgent,” Wen Xi said.

“Please just give it to me if you have it.”

“It’s really important.”

“I don’t have his number myself,” Wen Junru replied.

“But I can ask around. Wait a moment.”

“Okay, please try to get it quickly, Dad. Thank you.”

“Alright.”

The call ended.

Wen Xi sat on the bed holding her phone, waiting for her father’s reply.

Five minutes later, Wen Junru sent a photo through WeChat.

Wen Junru: “This is the number I managed to get.

But I’ve never had business dealings with him. I’ve heard he’s fairly approachable, but be careful when you contact him.

He has a lot of influence in the business world.”

Niangao Gao:
“Got it. Thanks, Dad.”

Wen Xi dialed the number from the photo.

The call connected.

But the person who answered was not Shen Yi.

It was a young woman with a gentle voice.

She was probably Shen Yi’s secretary.

“Hello, may I ask who is calling?”

“Hello,” Wen Xi said immediately.

“I’d like to speak with Mr. Shen. Could you please pass the phone to him?”

The secretary replied in a very official tone.

“I’m sorry. Today is the memorial day of Mr. Shen’s wife.

Mr. Shen will not be taking any private calls today.

Thank you for your understanding. If you have no other matters, we will end the call now.”

Wen Xi hesitated for two seconds.

Then she explained that she was Jiang Jibai’s wife.

But the secretary repeated the exact same line.

“I’m sorry. Today is the memorial day of Mr. Shen’s wife.
Mr. Shen will not be taking private calls today.”

“….”

Wen Xi had no choice but to hang up.

She lay back on the bed, looking defeated.

Every method she could think of to find Zou Jiaya’s grave—

she had already tried them all.

Around eleven in the morning, people gradually began returning to the Zou residence.

The rain was still falling.

Wen Xi had been sitting in the main hall waiting.

When she heard voices outside, she immediately jumped up from the armchair and hurried to the entrance of the hall to look outside.

At the front was Chen Zhangyu.

Her figure was small and thin, but her expression was stern.

Behind her was Zou Jiayun.

Her leg was still in a cast, and Zou Jiasheng and Ji Ruhua were supporting her from either side.

Ji Lingling followed behind them.

Chen Zhangyu entered the main hall without even glancing at Wen Xi.

Zou Jiayun, however, greeted her.

Ji Ruhua nodded politely to her as well.

Wen Xi returned each greeting with a polite smile.

When Ji Lingling came close, Wen Xi immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her out into the corridor beside the hall.

“Where’s your brother?”

Rainwater dripped steadily onto the large leaves of a banana tree outside the corridor.

The leaves were soaked into a deep glossy green.

Ji Lingling’s expression looked strange.

She poked at the banana leaves with one finger.

Raindrops splashed up and wet the back of her hand.

She coughed lightly and avoided Wen Xi’s gaze.

“He… went to handle something.”

“He’ll come back after he’s done.”

“What could he possibly need to handle?” Wen Xi walked closer, frowning.

“You said he doesn’t have any social circle here. What business could he have?”

“And it’s raining outside. Couldn’t he wait until the rain stops?”

“Well… you know my brother,” Ji Lingling said.

“He’s cold as ice. If he wants to do something, how could he possibly report it to me?”

“I don’t know, sister-in-law.”

“Fine.” Wen Xi sighed.

She thought about it and had to admit it made sense.

Jiang Jibai normally spoke so little.

Why would he explain his plans to his cousin?

The rain from outside splashed against her face.

She stepped farther back into the corridor and said gloomily,

“But he didn’t wake me up. And you didn’t wake me either.”

“Technically speaking, Aunt Ya is my mother-in-law. I should’ve gone to pay respects.”

“Uh… I forgot,” Ji Lingling said awkwardly.

“And why were all your phones silent?” Wen Xi continued.

“I called your brother, no one answered. I called you, you didn’t answer either. Even Mom’s phone didn’t go through.”

“When people go up the mountain to visit graves, they usually leave their phones in the car,” Ji Lingling explained.

“It’s normal not to hear anything.”

Then she suddenly said,

“Oh right! I just remembered I have to go to my art class.”

“I’m leaving first.”

“Sister-in-law, you can play around here. I won’t accompany you today.”

Before Wen Xi could respond, Ji Lingling ran off as if someone were chasing her.

“Hey! Lingling! Take an umbrella!” Wen Xi called after her.

But Ji Lingling didn’t even slow down.

She ran straight into the rain.

Soon she disappeared behind the stone screen wall in the front courtyard.

Wen Xi felt that Ji Lingling was acting strange.

But she couldn’t figure out what exactly was wrong.

Inside the hall, Chen Zhangyu and the others were still sitting there.

Wen Xi didn’t want to see Chen Zhangyu, so she grabbed an umbrella and returned to the small building in the back courtyard.

At lunchtime, Zou Jiayun sent a maid to invite Wen Xi to eat.

But Jiang Jibai still hadn’t come back.

The WeChat messages she had sent him remained unanswered.

She had no appetite, so she declined.

At two in the afternoon, the rain was still falling.

Wen Xi finally went downstairs and knocked on Zou Jiayun’s bedroom door while she was napping.

Standing outside the door, she asked,

“Mom, the memorial ceremony for Aunt Ya is already finished. When are we going back to Ning City?”

Zou Jiayun removed her eye mask and said,

“We’ll wait until A’Gu comes back.”

“Tonight or tomorrow morning will both be fine.”

“You should discuss it with him.”

“When will Jiang Jibai return?” Wen Xi asked.

Zou Jiayun smiled gently.

“I don’t know.”

“You know he doesn’t tell me everything.”

“Oh.”

Wen Xi went back upstairs.

At three in the afternoon, the rain had grown heavier.

She lay on the bed staring at the WeChat messages she had sent Jiang Jibai.

Niangao Gao: “Jiang Jibai, what are you doing?”

Niangao Gao: “It’s raining. Don’t forget to bring an umbrella.”

Niangao Gao: “When will you come back?”

Niangao Gao: “I’m so bored here alone.”

Niangao Gao: “Tell me where you are. I want to come find you.”

Niangao Gao: “Did your phone run out of battery?”

Niangao Gao: “Reply to my messages!”

Niangao Gao: “I’m angry!”

Niangao Gao: “Just kidding, I’m not actually angry.”

Niangao Gao: “Just tell me where you are.”

Niangao Gao: “Reply!”

Niangao Gao: “Hurry up!!”

Wen Xi frowned and kept fiddling with her phone.

Just as she was about to dial Jiang Jibai’s number again, a message notification suddenly appeared at the top of the screen.

Her dull eyes instantly lit up.

She sat up straight.

Had Jiang Jibai finally replied?

She opened WeChat.

But the message was from Ji Lingling.

Her shoulders slumped again.

Wen Xi opened the chat.

Lingling: “Sister-in-law… I can’t hold it in anymore. Even if I get scolded, I have to tell you.”

Wen Xi replied.

“What’s wrong?”

The typing indicator appeared.

Wen Xi waited patiently.