Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 73 - Her Trump Card
Chapter 73: Her Trump Card
Last night, He Qingchi knew that Wen Shuchen had come to the He family. She didn’t chase after him immediately; she wanted to sort out her thoughts first so that she could speak with him face-to-face, avoiding a conversation that went nowhere.
Secondly, she also wanted to give them both some space to cool down.
The seconds ticked by on her phone. Her lips were tightly pressed together, her fair and delicate face showing an unprecedented seriousness as she quietly waited for the man sitting on the edge of the bed to answer her previous question:
“Who met me first, you or Wen Yue?”
The question struck straight to the point. Wen Shuchen’s expression was unreadable. He sat motionless, like a statue gradually frozen in place, while the lingering melancholy in his chest was torn and stirred. Words had churned in his mouth for a long time before his thin lips finally uttered a response, simple and ambiguously phrased: “It was Wen Shuchen who knew you first.”
He was skilled with words, using their literal meaning to handle a woman.
A man accustomed to negotiating deals could hardly resist finding loopholes in language to his advantage.
He Qingchi already understood Wen Shuchen’s nature. To confront him, unless one had a mind as cunning as his, it was impossible to speak in some mysterious, convoluted way that forced someone to overthink.
Thus, laying things out clearly allowed her to hear what she truly wanted from him.
She slowly wiped the faint smile from her lips and said, “Last night my father said there are things I’d better forget… but when he said that, he overlooked the fact that women can’t tolerate deception. Wen Shuchen, my father is famously doting; if he nods and allows me to marry you, I believe you haven’t hurt me—but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to blindly spend my life with you.”
It wasn’t until she finished that Wen Shuchen’s expression began to shift.
He Qingchi had made it clear: she was ready to prepare for divorce if needed.
After three seconds.
While giving him time to think, she pulled out the household registration documents from her bag and placed them in front of them: “If you can convince me, we’ll go to the civil affairs bureau in Jiangcheng to get our marriage certificate. If you continue misleading me, then let’s find a time to sign the divorce papers.”
Wen Shuchen slightly tilted his head; when he lifted it again, the look in his eyes had become more intense.
He Qingchi’s expression remained calm, and at this moment, it was a contest of patience.
Ever since the time Wen Shuchen, under Dr. Meng’s hypnosis, nearly twisted her wrist, He Qingchi had found it increasingly difficult to understand the man she married. He seemed shrouded in a mist, mysterious and inaccessible.
His upcoming business trip abroad gave her a chance to visit the Wen residence and learn more about his past.
From what she learned from others and from her father’s reactions, her suspicions deepened.
At this point, He Qingchi’s threat to sign the divorce papers was her final card.
So, no matter how calm she appeared, inside she felt uneasy.
With only twenty minutes left before checkout, Wen Shuchen’s low, deliberate voice finally spoke—without any trace of perfunctory tone, carefully measured: “If you can turn a blind eye to these matters, I will make you very happy. You won’t feel that marrying me is just an ordinary love and marriage.”
But He Qingchi’s nature wouldn’t allow that; she was not the type to depend on a man for her life.
His long, pale hands took the household registration documents, closed them, paused for a moment, then continued: “You knew my name first, before you met Wen Yue.”
Even though He Qingchi had guessed this from her father last night, hearing it from Wen Shuchen himself was different.
Seeing that he had started speaking, she took the initiative to ask: “The people at the old house said Wen Yue met a little girl but the girl misidentified him—are they referring to that?”
Wen Shuchen was unsurprised to hear she had learned from the old house.
From the moment he decided to marry He Qingchi, he never expected his father or Qiu Jin and her son to hide anything.
His voice slowly escaped his thin lips: “Before you answer that, answer me first: the words you said last night—were those your true feelings?”
He Qingchi hesitated for a moment before realizing he meant the words she had spoken at the He residence.
Saying she regretted marrying Wen Shuchen and liked Wen Yue had been a test of her father’s attitude. She hadn’t dared to judge whether her father disliked the Wen family or Wen Shuchen himself.
Having received clarity last night, He Qingchi naturally wouldn’t carry the reputation of wanting to cheat. She calmly said: “I had a serious illness when I was five or six and forgot some things. I haven’t had much contact with Wen Yue since then. Do I have any reason to like him?”
Wen Shuchen’s brows relaxed slightly at her words.
In return, he didn’t remain silent this time, and slowly explained: “Wen Yue and I are of similar age and bear some resemblance. At first, no one suspected anything and simply thought young boys’ faces look similar. Later, during the time he stayed in Yancheng, people often mistook me for him. Your family also has long-standing ties with the Wen family in Yancheng…”
This gave Wen Yue the chance to meet He Qingchi, the jewel of her family. Perhaps at first he didn’t intend to impersonate Wen Shuchen, but was simply mistaken.
As for why He Qingchi continued to mistake him, Wen Shuchen guessed that Wen Yue, raised without status in the Wen family, felt insecure. Meeting a girl from a wealthy family naturally sparked other intentions.
Using the identity of the Wen family’s eldest grandson made it easier for him to approach He Qingchi.
He Qingchi listened silently for a long time before whispering: “Then, how did you know that he deceived me by pretending to be you?”
“Because you saw me and kept calling me ‘Big brother Xiao Shu.’”
Wen Shuchen had an extraordinary memory from childhood—faces he had seen were never forgotten.
Especially when it was a girl as exquisite as a porcelain doll…
He didn’t know He Qingchi, but He Qingchi knew him and had called him by name correctly.
At that time, Wen Shuchen didn’t expose Wen Yue. First, he repeatedly confirmed that He Qingchi had mistaken someone else, and after a few more interactions, he began to like this little sister…
Then, the man’s low, calm voice abruptly stopped.
He Qingchi probably already guessed that after her mother unexpectedly passed away and she fell ill, she had forgotten both of the brothers completely.
She adjusted her thoughts slightly and pressed her lips together, saying, “After my high fever and serious illness, I almost didn’t survive. My health never fully recovered, so I was sent to my grandmother’s home in the countryside to recuperate. For years, I didn’t return to the circle of the wealthy… and you and Wen Yue probably long ago forgot about me, right?”
Now she suddenly understood.
Why did Wen Shuchen develop feelings after only a few brief encounters?
At first, He Qingchi had mistakenly thought he was a careless man. She was completely confused when he suddenly proposed being together and even marriage, thinking it might have been a moment of emotional impulse.
She also happened to be pressured to marry and needed a suitable husband.
Moreover, this husband had many qualities she liked, so they agreed to marry almost instantly.
Now, it seemed Wen Shuchen’s feelings were far more complicated than she had imagined.
He Qingchi’s mind grew increasingly tangled as she stared at this familiar yet strange man. Seeing the slight tension in his brows, she slowly calmed her own emotions.
Wen Shuchen was not entirely composed either; he couldn’t clearly gauge his own feelings.
The checkout time of twelve o’clock arrived.
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door—hotel staff, apparently there to clean.
Wen Shuchen rose first, his voice calm yet gentle: “When we reunited in Jiangcheng, I gave you a business card in the car to see if you would contact me. If you didn’t, I would have thought it was just a chance encounter in a sea of people…”
“Qingchi, that night you sent me a text. I admit I didn’t reply immediately because I wasn’t sure whether I should reconnect with you. The next day, when you unexpectedly appeared in front of me, I realized maybe it was fate—no one can escape it.”
After saying this, he first stepped to open the door, then went to the bathroom to wash up.
He Qingchi sat dumbfounded on the edge of the bed. Only when the staff reminded her that it was time to check out did she snap back to reality, looked toward the bathroom door for a moment, and picked up her phone and bag to leave.
From inside the bathroom, Wen Shuchen heard all of He Qingchi’s conversation with the staff clearly.
Unlike last night, when he had been faintly worried that she might cruelly leave him alone in the single hotel room, this time he allowed her space. After calmly finishing his wash, he put on the shirt and pants from the night before, retrieved the household registration documents that He Qingchi had forgotten, and took the elevator to the hotel’s B2 underground parking.
A driver was already waiting, opening the door and saying: “Mr. Wen, Mr. Shao sent me to pick you up.”
Wen Shuchen got in, the dark-tinted glass reflecting the cold contours of his face.
Before starting the car, the driver asked: “Mr. Wen, are we going to Mr. Shao’s villa, or somewhere else?”
“Jiangcheng—”
Wen Shuchen’s voice was slightly slowed as he spoke the two words.
After the car left the hotel’s underground parking, He Qingchi had just completed the checkout process. After these ten or so minutes, she had mostly regained her composure. She sat in the hotel lobby’s sofa area, looking toward the elevator, waiting for the man to come down.
After a long wait, she still saw no sign of him.
Frowning slightly, she picked up her phone to call him.
Her fingertip touched the screen—but she suddenly paused.
She realized that speaking to Wen Shuchen now might easily create an awkward silence. She abandoned the idea and opened WeChat instead, locating the man’s chat window…
When she opened it, He Qingchi lowered her lashes and saw dozens of unread messages.
The timestamps were all 3:50 a.m. last night—
From Wen Shuchen.
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