Flash Marriage: He is a Wife-pampering Addict

Chapter 2003: 2002 Wishful Thinking

Wen Ran asked Jing Xiaocha to have breakfast first while she took out her phone to make a call.

Jing Xiaocha ate her breakfast while watching Wen Ran make the call. In the middle of it, Wen Ran asked Jing Xiaocha a few questions.

The call lasted ten minutes. After it ended, Wen Ran said to Jing Xiaocha, who had just finished her breakfast, “Xiaocha, Lawyer Li said that if your evidence is sufficient, you should be able to defend your rights. But it’s best to discuss specifically what you need with him in person.”

Jing Xiaocha said gratefully, “Thank you, Sister Wen.”

Wen Ran smiled and shook her head. “I told you there’s no need to thank me. Lawyer Li is at the company right now, so come with me to talk to him.”

Jing Xiaocha stood up, “Sister Wen, wait for me for a moment, I’ll go inside to grab my notebook.”

Wen Ran waited a few more minutes. Jing Xiaocha came out with her notebook, and the two of them left the house together, heading downstairs.

Qing Feng, who was waiting outside the apartment, saw them coming out and immediately opened the car door.

After getting into the car, Wen Ran instructed Qing Feng, “Qing Feng, go back to the company.”

A half-hour later, Wen Ran took Jing Xiaocha into Haochen, rode the elevator upstairs, and returned to the office, where Wen Jin was waiting in her office.

He was holding his phone, seemingly about to make a call.

Upon hearing the door open, Wen Jin turned his head towards the entrance. Seeing Wen Ran entering first brought a look of joy, but upon seeing Jing Xiaocha with her, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

“Brother, what brings you here?”

Wen Ran asked cheerfully, inviting Jing Xiaocha into the office, and then instructed the secretary who followed them in to make two cups of coffee.

When Jing Xiaocha and Wen Jin’s eyes met, there was a flicker in their gazes.

Even though the secretary had already informed Wen Ran that Wen Jin was waiting in her office, facing Wen Jin’s gaze, her heart still skipped a beat.

Wen Jin’s expression remained unchanged. He glanced at Jing Xiaocha with mild eyes and said to Wen Ran, “I had just met a client earlier. I was passing by, so I thought I’d drop in to see you.”

Mo Xiuchen’s flight was at 9 a.m. this morning. Wen Ran only left the airport at 9 a.m., then went to find Jing Xiaocha and sat at her place for a while. After all this, it was almost eleven when they got to the company.

Originally, Wen Jin came to see her and planned to have lunch with her.

“You want to treat me to lunch, is that it?”

Wen Ran asked teasingly.

Wen Jin raised his eyebrows, a gentle curve on his lips, “What do you want for lunch? I can treat you both.”

“Xiaocha, you’re in luck. What do you fancy for lunch? Someone’s treating us.”

Wen Ran smiled as she glanced at Jing Xiaocha.

She could sensitively feel that the atmosphere was a bit strange when her brother and Jing Xiaocha met.

There was an inexplicable oddness.

Jing Xiaocha watched the banter between Wen Ran and Wen Jin, feeling envious inside. When Wen Ran asked her, she concealed it with a smile, “Brother Wen, thank you for last night. If it weren’t for running into you, I wouldn’t have known how to shake off those two thugs.”

Wen Jin’s smile faded slightly at Jing Xiaocha’s words. His tone was calm and indifferent, “Girls shouldn’t go to that kind of place alone. Even if there’s something to discuss, you can schedule it elsewhere.”

This was not something Wen Jin required only of Jing Xiaocha.

Before Ranran was married, Wen Jin also strictly managed her.

Jing Xiaocha didn’t argue, “I understand.”

Wen Ran looked at them, then got up to make a phone call at her desk.

Only then did Wen Jin, seemingly nonchalantly, ask, “You went to the bar last night for?”

Jing Xiaocha’s heart skipped slightly due to Wen Jin’s question. Earlier at her place, Wen Ran had told her that Wen Jin watched the bar’s video after she left.

Jing Xiaocha dared not presumptuously assume Wen Jin cared about her. At most, she thought he only managed her business because of Sister Wen’s sake.

When he left her on the road that day, the words he said still saddened her when recalled.

“I went to meet an editor to discuss the manuscript?”

At the desk, Wen Ran called Lawyer Li to come to the office, and Wen Jin, of course, heard it in her call.

His eyes moved slightly as he asked another question, “Did something go wrong?”

While watching the video last night, he occasionally overheard parts of their conversation, without full comprehension, leading him to guess that something was wrong with her novel.

But what puzzled him was that since the man was Jing Xiaocha’s editor, why did he instruct the two thugs to bully her?

Jing Xiaocha didn’t want to tell Wen Jin, not wanting to bother him, so she spoke lightly, “It’s not a big issue, but several parts of my manuscript resemble a newly published novel. The editor wants me to make some changes.”

“What is the result?”

On the other side, Wen Ran had just hung up when her phone rang again, so she stepped aside to take the call, leaving Wen Jin and Jing Xiaocha alone on the sofa.

Jing Xiaocha hesitated briefly and awkwardly said, “I find it very strange. It’s impossible for so many plot similarities to happen for no reason, so I questioned it a bit.”

Wen Jin was not very clear about what Jing Xiaocha was saying; in different industries, practices vary greatly.

He didn’t understand what outlines or character settings or themes meant, but as smart as he was, he got the gist, interpreting it as, “You’re saying that outline, character settings, and main plots of the newly published novel are identical to your manuscript. It means they plagiarized yours and published it ahead of you.”

“Yes, that’s roughly it.”

Jing Xiaocha bit her lip and nodded lightly.

“What’s the publisher’s current stance?”

Wen Jin frowned slightly, asking indifferently.

Jing Xiaocha relayed what Li Minxu had told her last night.

Wen Jin’s handsome face sank, “Based on what you just said, it seems very likely that Li Minxu sold your outline to someone else. But you need evidence.”

At this point, he paused.

Seeing Jing Xiaocha striving to suppress her emotions, he softened his tone slightly, offering comfort, “You can’t rush this matter. Is Ranran having Lawyer Li come over for your business?”

“Yes.”

There was a trace of apology in Jing Xiaocha’s eyes as she was slightly worried that Wen Jin might blame her for troubling Ranran.

Unexpectedly, Wen Jin didn’t blame her but said instead, “Normally, if Li Minxu sold your outline, it wouldn’t have fetched much money. Moreover, you have collaborated before, so could he have another motive?”

“Another motive?”

Jing Xiaocha looked at Wen Jin in confusion.

Wen Jin was indeed right; even if an outline was valuable, it wouldn’t sell for much.

Why would Li Minxu do such a thing?

Wen Jin pondered, “Didn’t you say before that a film company wanted to buy the film adaptation rights to your novel and asked you to change some plots you were unwilling to change?”

Jing Xiaocha nodded blankly.

But what was the connection between the two?

It was at this point that Wen Jin stopped talking, for there was a knock on the door; Lawyer Li had arrived.