Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 18 - His Bedtime Story
Chapter 18: His Bedtime Story
This time, when sending He Qingchi back to the hotel near Hengdian, Wen Shuchen didn’t get out of the car in order to avoid drawing attention.
After the driver parked, He Qingchi opened the car door and got out quickly. Her figure was graceful, and the pale lotus-colored hem of her dress fluttered lightly as she disappeared into the night.
Wen Shuchen sat quietly in the car, watching her walk into the hotel entrance before instructing the driver to head back.
Earlier in the day, he had won the bid for a new tourism development project. That evening, he had scheduled a meeting at the hotel with several partners to discuss the project. But that plan had been disrupted by a phone call from He Qingchi.
Wen Shuchen had ditched his business partners for her, and now, after a two-to-three-hour delay returning to the hotel, the place was already empty.
He stepped slowly out of the elevator and saw Song Chao in the hallway, slightly hunched and smiling flatteringly at someone inside the room.
“Mr. Wen, Madam Qiu is here.”
Song Chao quickly approached when he saw Wen Shuchen return from his ‘date.’
Wen Shuchen’s expression remained calm, showing no particular reaction.
He walked unhurriedly into the luxurious living room, his clear gaze landing on the elegant woman seated on the leather sofa — a lady of the Wen family raised in the old manor.
Qiu Jin was dressed in a vintage-style, elegant suit with pearl accessories. From her high heels to her carefully styled hair, everything about her appearance was refined and graceful. She was well-maintained and looked no older than her thirties, though she was actually forty-seven. Her every movement radiated the aura of someone born into privilege.
Hearing his footsteps, she set down her teacup and turned to see Wen Shuchen returning. A smile appeared on her flawlessly made-up face, though the faint crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes betrayed her age. “Shuchen.”
Wen Shuchen’s attitude toward her was rather cold.
He gave a polite but indifferent greeting and instructed Song Chao to bring tea.
No one else spoke, but Qiu Jin carried on as if nothing were wrong: “You’ve been back in Jiangcheng for over two months now. Why are you still staying in a hotel every day instead of returning to the old house? Your father worries about you living alone.”
Song Chao quickly served the tea and lingered nearby, inching closer, eavesdropping discreetly.
Wen Shuchen casually blew on the hot tea and replied, his voice calm and cool: “Did he send you just for this?”
Not exactly.
Qiu Jin never quite managed to adopt the posture of a true elder. Her tone softened: “It’s almost the third anniversary of your grandfather’s passing. Your father wants you to come back.”
Back then, the Wen family empire had been tightly controlled by the old master. But after he became bedridden for years, he gradually ceded power. That shift triggered serious infighting within the Wen Corporation, as shareholders and senior insiders tried to grab a share. Ultimately, authority over the business remained with the Wen family — specifically, Wen Shuchen’s biological father.
Three years ago, after the old master died, Wen Shuchen returned from studying abroad and took control of the family enterprise with the support of the old man’s will. At a young age, he already displayed the same formidable presence as the old patriarch, and within a year, he had completely sidelined both his father and several powerful veteran board members.
From then on, people like Qiu Jin still lived in the family mansion, but the household’s real influence had moved elsewhere.
Everyone in Jiangcheng’s elite circles knew that the true heir of the Wen family no longer lived there.
As Wen Shuchen’s stepmother, Qiu Jin softened her tone even more: “Shuchen, the house still belongs to you. If you refuse to live there, your father loses face.”
Wen Shuchen sipped his tea. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips, barely visible: “I said it before — I don’t share a roof with bastards.”
The air turned still.
Qiu Jin struggled to keep her smile, insisting: “I married your father years ago. I’m your legal stepmother. Shuchen, your brother is not a bastard.”
Wen Shuchen continued drinking his tea, not even glancing at her: “You were raised in the Wen household. Seventeen years younger than my father. You got pregnant before my mother ever married into the family… If your son isn’t a bastard, what is he?”
Qiu Jin was left speechless. That label, so starkly spoken, struck her where it hurt most — an identity she could never wash clean.
“Song Chao, escort Madam Qiu out.”
Wen Shuchen set his teacup down with long, slender fingers — the conversation was over.
After Qiu Jin was sent away—
In the penthouse suite of the hotel, four bodyguards stood watch outside the hallway. Inside, Wen Shuchen stood alone on the open-air balcony.
His long fingers held a cigarette, but he hadn’t lit it.
Song Chao returned quietly after escorting Qiu Jin out and stood not far behind Wen Shuchen, reporting in a low voice: “Madam Qiu asked before getting in the car… Will Mr. Wen bring a lady home this year for the old master’s memorial?”
Wen Shuchen looked down at the city lights below, his voice low and calm: “What else did she say?”
“She said the old master had always hoped Mr. Wen would start a family. If you don’t have anyone… she mentioned a distant niece she could introduce…” Song Chao cringed just recalling it. He hesitated before asking, “Mr. Wen, for this year’s memorial… will you bring Miss He?”
Wen Shuchen didn’t respond. The emotion in his eyes was unreadable.
He pressed the cigarette under his thumb and crushed it lightly. The fragments scattered in the night wind, leaving no trace of smoke behind.
11:00 p.m.
Over at her hotel, He Qingchi had already finished showering and removed her makeup. She was lying on the bed in a cheongsam-style nightgown, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Her face pressed into a snowy white pillow, her long lashes casting delicate shadows.
All she could think about were the moments from earlier — Wen Shuchen holding her hand as they walked through the city streets.
She flipped over, lying flat on her back, raising her pale, slender hand.
Looking at it from left to right, she could almost still feel the warmth of his touch lingering on her fingertips.
Her heart was completely in chaos.
Originally, she had planned to find Wen Shuchen tonight to ask about the bracelet. If it was really that expensive, she didn’t feel right accepting it so easily. But somehow, everything had gone according to the direction he led.
He Qingchi asked herself honestly—she probably did like him… just a little bit.
She couldn’t sleep at all. Her emotions were unusually high tonight.
After lying there for a while, she simply picked up her phone and opened Wen Shuchen’s WeChat.
He Qingchi didn’t type a single word—she just sent an emoji.
In the stillness of the night, Wen Shuchen hadn’t gone to bed yet either. He replied: [Still not sleeping?]
He Qingchi looked at those few words, and her dark eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled. Her fingers quickly typed a reply: [You’re not asleep either.]
Wen Shuchen: [I’m taking a bath.]
He Qingchi hugged her phone, blinking in surprise. Can someone reply to messages while bathing?
And more importantly—he’s naked right now… chatting with her at night?
Just imagining the possibility made her fingertips burn against the screen.
And of course, as if things weren’t ambiguous enough, Wen Shuchen directly sent a video call invite.
At that point, there was no hope of sleep for He Qingchi—she was wide awake, clear-headed enough to film an entire drama through the night.
She sat up from the bed in a panic, fumbling about, not knowing what to do.
Staring at the flashing video call request on her screen, He Qingchi’s mind spun through a dozen thoughts. She even suspected that Wen Shuchen was deliberately trying to seduce her again.
But despite all that, just one second before the call was automatically canceled—
She accepted it.
Leaning against the bed’s headboard, she reached up to smooth her long, silky black hair, letting it fall over her bare shoulders. Her face, framed by her hair, looked delicate and composed—on the surface, at least.
If Wen Shuchen was naked on camera, it wasn’t her who's showing skin, after all.
He Qingchi reminded herself: she’d seen plenty of male models with abs online—there was no need to always be flustered like some shy, innocent girl every time he teased her.
With that mental preparation, He Qingchi looked straight at the phone screen.
The video did not show a dripping-wet, shirtless man.
Wen Shuchen was fully dressed in a crisply pressed custom shirt, buttoned all the way up without exposing even a sliver of skin. He was lounging leisurely on a sofa out on the balcony, the camera aimed at his side profile, lips curved in a faint smile.
Meanwhile, she was in a modified cheongsam-style nightgown, in bed no less.
Now it looked like she was the one scantily dressed and seducing him.
After a couple of seconds of silence, He Qingchi awkwardly said first, “You tricked me.”
Wen Shuchen caught the subtle discomfort in her expression and smiled gently. “Tricked you how?”
He asked deliberately, his calm gaze resting on her bare arms through the screen, not politely looking away like before.
He Qingchi had no idea what he was thinking and just pressed on accusingly: “Didn’t you say you were taking a bath? On the balcony?”
“There’s a pool outside. If you want to see, I can show you.”
Wen Shuchen turned the camera to show her the view of the outdoor balcony.
He Qingchi: “…”
Who the hell wants to see him strip in the open-air pool?
Wen Shuchen, looking at her through the screen, seemed increasingly amused. In a low voice, he asked, “Why aren’t you asleep?”
He Qingchi slowly snuggled under the covers, placing the phone beside her to face herself. “I can’t sleep.”
She rarely had insomnia in recent years—tonight was an exception.
Wen Shuchen considered it for a moment and more or less guessed that his actions tonight had probably stirred her emotions.
He didn’t call out her shyness. His voice was deep and soothing in the night: “Want me to tell you a bedtime story?”
He Qingchi’s heart fluttered faintly, and she blinked.
Wen Shuchen chuckled softly through the video and told her to close her eyes.
Seeing that he was really about to tell her a story, He Qingchi reluctantly obeyed and even put on a bit of a spoiled act: “Fine, I’ll listen.”
Through the screen, Wen Shuchen watched her long lashes lower, her face nestled against the pillow. After a pause, the story rolled in his throat a couple of times before he began speaking slowly: “A long, long time ago, in a family of great status, there was a little boy. From birth, the elders placed him under great expectations—nurtured carefully to become a capable heir and leader one day. So this little boy was very lonely, never allowed to make friends outside the family. One day, the boy’s father brought home another little boy to keep him company…”
“The two became close very quickly. But after the boy’s biological mother passed away from illness, a few years later… someone plotted a kidnapping.”
His voice grew lower and softer. The story had only just begun, but He Qingchi had already drifted into a light sleep.
Wen Shuchen gazed at the screen, watching her peacefully asleep. He said nothing more. The warm light from the floor lamp by the sofa illuminated his whole face. His expression, now quiet and distant, held none of the earlier smile.
Time passed. One by one, the city’s night lights flickered off completely.
Wen Shuchen stood up and returned indoors. He didn’t end the video call. He placed the phone on the bedside table, lay down fully dressed in his shirt on the large bed.
In the pitch-dark quiet around him—
Only the faint, barely-there sound of her breathing could be heard—soft and steady.
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