Love Finds Its Time - Chapter 14

Wen Qinghan hadn’t expected that, in her unstable mood, Shi Qingqiu would fall asleep just like that in her arms. There were still tearstains at the corners of her eyes, yet she slept so peacefully. Because she had to go to work, she promptly turned off her alarm, not waking Shi Qingqiu. She moved quietly as she got up to wash and dress, greeted Tang Honglang and Shi Jinghui, then left the Shi household.

The night before, Shi Qingqiu had been pulled into Wen Qinghan’s embrace, her face buried against Wen Qinghan’s neck. Her slightly hurried breaths, stirred by sorrow, gradually calmed, and the tears at the corners of her eyes slowly dried. She fell asleep like that, lulled by a rare moment of warmth, and by Wen Qinghan, someone who almost never revealed affection.

Wen Qinghan didn’t wake her. She carefully removed the cup clutched in Shi Qingqiu’s hand, shifted her body slightly so she could lie flat, then gently took off her slippers and covered her with the quilt. 

Every movement was painstakingly tender, as if afraid to wake her, as if afraid that once she woke, she would discard that moment of reliance. She lay facing Shi Qingqiu, with only two palms’ width of distance between them.

Today, the weather was no longer sunny; the office’s wooden floor was no longer divided into two shades of gold by sunlight.

Meng Siqi entered holding a stack of documents. Having just been allowed in, she saw Wen Qinghan frowning at an open file on her desk, pen in one hand, gripping the page corner with the other.

“Lawyer Wen.”

“What is it?” Wen Qinghan wrote a line, ending with a slow, deliberate period.

“The list of attendees for the exchange conference is fully confirmed. Please take a look.” Meng Siqi said, opening a file for Wen Qinghan to review.

The lawyers’ exchange conference was a must-attend event, but someone also had to remain at headquarters. This time Wen Qinghan would bring her assistant Meng Siqi, along with Chen Yi and Li Wenxiao, while the others stayed behind.

Wen Qinghan skimmed through the list of participants, then the hotel information provided by the organizers, and finally signed her name. “Mm, no problem.”

She handed the file back. Meng Siqi took it, blinked, and in a half-teasing, tentative tone asked quietly, “Boss Wen, you didn’t get drunk last night? You drank so much!”

At that, Wen Qinghan, who had just lowered her head, raised it again and replied coolly, “I wasn’t drunk. And I had sobering tea afterward. Why?”

Speaking of sobering tea, she wondered whether Shi Qingqiu had woken yet.

Turning her head, Wen Qinghan glanced out the window, the corner of her lips faintly lifting. This weather was perfect for sleeping.

“Hm? Sobering tea?” Meng Siqi took a step closer, stacking the files onto Wen Qinghan’s desk, leaning forward with a secretive look. “Your place was a mess last night, you left together with Goddess Shi, and now sobering tea’s involved… don’t tell me you two… Mm~?” She batted her eyes, half hinting, as if waiting for Wen Qinghan to confess.

Back when the firm had just been founded, everyone secretly speculated whether Jian Yizhi and Wen Qinghan were a couple, but they soon realized that aside from work, there wasn’t the slightest hint of romance between them. Everyone had been ready to drop the idea, but over time, Wen Qinghan’s rare actions caught their attention. Whenever Shi Qingqiu had a new film release, Wen Qinghan would cancel any evening plans without fail. And last night, Shi Qingqiu had arrived at the party in Wen Qinghan’s car. Even if it was just that Wen Qinghan, while visiting her parents, had given Shi Qingqiu a ride since their parents lived nearby—still, who was Wen Qinghan? She always seemed cold and detached. It didn’t take many slip-ups; one or two exceptions were enough to prove something.

Yet, if one insisted they were “just friends,” that wasn’t wrong either. After all, couldn’t Shi Qingqiu be friends with an ice block? So everyone shifted their guesses toward Shi Qingqiu, but nothing was certain.

“You’re overthinking.” Wen Qinghan capped her pen and looked directly at Meng Siqi with calm, unshaken eyes, showing no flaws. “My parents’ house is close to Qingqiu’s parents’ place. Haven’t you all known that for ages?”

Meng Siqi deflated at once, straightening up and clutching her file with a sigh. “Ugh, I knew you’d say that. Thought I’d guessed right this time. I’ll get back to work…”

Everyone at Yihan Law Firm knew this: if Wen Qinghan chose to speak, it would never be a lie.

And the words “you’re overthinking” weren’t unreasonable either. Aside from that marriage certificate, everything between them was just as before.

***

Shi Qingqiu woke up naturally. Checking her phone, she saw it was already half past nine. Her eyes were still a little hazy, the drowsiness lingering within them. She blinked, then closed her eyes again, waiting for the sleepiness to pass. When she reopened them, her gaze was clearer. She moved her hand on the quilt slightly, staring at the chandelier above.

This chandelier wasn’t the same as the one in her own room.

Sobering tea, sitting side by side, questions, answers, the embrace—bit by bit, memories of last night returned, replaying in her mind.

Instinctively, Shi Qingqiu turned her head. The cup she had clutched so tightly last night was now on the bedside table. On the pillow beside her lay a long, straight strand of black hair.

Clearly, she had fallen asleep, and Wen Qinghan hadn’t woken her.

Their first time sharing a bed had happened under such circumstances. She had promised to walk forward together with Wen Qinghan from now on, yet remembering the past made her feel that this shouldn’t have happened.

Carrying the cup from last night, Shi Qingqiu returned to her own room, climbed into bed, and sat silently against the headboard.

After a long while, she drew a deep breath, grabbed her phone, and dialed Wen Qinghan’s number.

The call was quickly answered, a soft “You’re awake?” drifting through.

Shi Qingqiu nodded before realizing Wen Qinghan couldn’t see it. She whispered, “Mm, I just woke up.”

It was quiet on Wen Qinghan’s end; she was probably in her office. The silence meant likely no one else was around. Thinking of that, Shi Qingqiu bit her lip, closed her eyes, and said, “Qinghan, I’m sorry. I lost control last night.”

But perhaps it wasn’t only Shi Qingqiu who had lost control. She hadn’t noticed, preoccupied with her own instability, that Wen Qinghan had also acted differently from usual.

“Why apologize?” Wen Qinghan chuckled lightly, with a trace of gentleness. “We’re married, aren’t we? Any questions related to our marriage are mine to answer.” She spoke as though last night’s incident didn’t matter, as though they were still just friends. Shi Qingqiu’s apology, by contrast, sounded like something owed in a marriage.

Eyes shut, Shi Qingqiu recalled over and over their conversation from the night before—Wen Qinghan saying they had no reason to separate. That was true. Their bond was never one that could cause the same hurt as before.

“I understand.” When she opened her eyes again, resolve gleamed within them. She pursed her lips, gripping the quilt with her left hand. “I won’t make the same mistake again. From today on, I’ll remember—we’re to live our lives together.”

Wasn’t that the essence of life? To have someone by your side, someone to share conversations and mutual support. If Wen Qinghan could do it, Shi Qingqiu had no reason not to. One should follow their heart; once decided, there should be no more hesitation.

On the other end, Wen Qinghan was silent for a few seconds. Then came the faintest laugh, so soft Shi Qingqiu almost missed it. “Good. But if you feel the way you did last night again, I want to hear it. I don’t want you forcing yourself to maintain our relationship through endurance.”

Wen Qinghan rarely spoke at such length. Maybe at work, but in daily life, Shi Qingqiu had almost never heard it. This conversation truly confirmed their shared understanding.

“Mm. I promise you,” said Shi Qingqiu.

There was no reason not to. From now on, she would learn to adjust to Wen Qinghan’s growing presence in her life. That should have been the case since the day they registered their marriage.

Wen Qinghan fell silent again. Just as Shi Qingqiu was about to say goodbye, she suddenly spoke. “Qingqiu, in three days our firm has an exchange conference. I’ll be going out of town. Want to come along?”

“Hm?” Shi Qingqiu instinctively asked back.

“I remember you said you don’t have work at the moment. Think of it as a getaway. Will you come?” Wen Qinghan patiently asked again. With Shi Qingqiu, she always seemed to have endless patience.

That’s how people are. Toward those they care about, they inevitably show exceptions. Toward others, it’s just the usual.

Even so, Shi Qingqiu didn’t notice anything. Wen Qinghan’s tone was as calm as ever.

Shi Qingqiu thought of the schedule Pan Jiawen had sent her. A question rose to her lips but she swallowed it back. After hesitating, she finally answered, “Alright, I’ll go with you.”

“Mm. Send me your ID number later, and in the next couple of days, pack whatever you’ll need,” Wen Qinghan instructed.

“Okay.” Shi Qingqiu exhaled, glanced at the cup on her bedside table, and smiled faintly. “Then get back to work. Pick me up the day we leave.”

“Mm,” replied Wen Qinghan. After that, neither spoke further, and Shi Qingqiu hung up first.

She adjusted her mood, washed up, and went to the dining room for breakfast—just as her mother, Shi Jinghui, was rising from the table.

“Morning, Mom,” Shi Qingqiu greeted as she scooped herself a bowl of porridge.

“It’s not morning anymore. Qinghan already left for work ages ago,” Shi Jinghui said with a smile, pushing the small dishes in the middle of the table closer to her.

“I finally have some rest time, don’t I? Once I get busy again, don’t complain you never see me,” Shi Qingqiu teased, reminding her mother of her usual work routine.

Shi Jinghui smiled and shook her head, then quickly began her familiar admonitions. “Take care of yourself out there. Don’t wear yourself out filming. No matter how hard you work, you can’t ruin your health. After so many years, surely you’re tired. Isn’t it better to rest at home?”

Back then, maybe her daughter had been rebelling when she agreed to the agent’s offer. In all these years, there had been little time to breathe—plenty of paychecks, awards year after year. But Shi Jinghui felt, if it was truly because of that child’s loss that her daughter wanted to stay busy, then after all these years, it should be enough. How many years of one’s life can be spent this way? To erase the past at such a cost was far too heavy.

Perhaps because she had just spoken with Wen Qinghan about related things, Shi Jinghui’s indirect reminder didn’t stir any sudden emotions in Shi Qingqiu. She only smiled, giving no direct response. Instead, she said, “I understand. Oh, Mom, in a few days Qinghan’s going on a business trip. I’ll go with her to relax a bit.”

Shi Jinghui was first surprised, then broke into a smile. “Good, go. Don’t worry about us.”

Shi Qingqiu knew well how much the elders hoped she and Wen Qinghan would spend more time together. This reaction was exactly what she expected. She lowered her head and continued drinking her porridge, letting her mother’s probing, joy-tinged gaze rest on her again and again.