[Written before the text: This novel was written by Guoguo long ago, and couldn't be published after being hidden. It has been re-edited and modified with the editor's consent and then published in the form of a new work.]
April, Paris, France.
The lazy sunlight crawled into the room on the second floor of a small villa, lightly accompanied by the scent of coffee.
Since it was the weekend, Wen Nuan got up after nine, leisurely sipping a cup of coffee, sitting cross-legged and watching the video on her laptop with Wen Qingyan's face, coquettishly laughing: "Dad, why aren't you out with your friends this weekend, is there anything you need me for?"
"Nuannuan, come back and get married." Wen Qingyan's voice came from the computer.
"Married? To whom? Haha—Dad, since when did you start making jokes like this?"
Wen Nuan almost spat out her coffee, and after swallowing, she laughed heartily: "Dad, you've recently learned to be humorous!
"Nuannuan..."
Wen Qingyan seemed a bit tongue-tied, closing his eyes tightly before opening them again, his handsome face showing helplessness: "Dad is serious."
"Dad..." The smile froze on Wen Nuan's lips, and her hand holding the coffee felt a bit stiff.
Dad's expression wasn't joking!
He had also said that if she couldn't find someone she loved, he wouldn't force her to marry. Unless the Wen Family couldn't hold on any longer, only then would they consider an arranged marriage.
Did something happen at home? She's been abroad for three years, with not much time spent going back, and she wasn't interested in business, never asking about the company matters.
Now, with a global financial crisis, could it be...
She became nervous, as nowadays countless companies worldwide face bankruptcy and failure every day. The Wen Family's company couldn't possibly also...
"Dad, is something wrong with the company?" she probed, her pretty face already turning pale.
"Nuannuan..." Wen Qingyan bit his lip, seemingly making a huge decision, his voice low and pained: "Come back and marry, to the Second Young Master of the Leng Group, Leng Yan."
"Why?"
The coffee spilled from her hand, the warm sensation soaking through the white dress, and yet she was oblivious. Her voice seemed not her own, her dark, watery eyes locked tightly on the weary-looking father on the screen.
"The company can't withstand the financial crisis and is on the verge of bankruptcy. You know it's what your mom and I built together during her lifetime. She always cared deeply for this company, but the financial crisis... Our Wen Family wasn't spared, the company already owes countless debts, and debt collectors come daily... Nuannuan, Dad is truly out of options. And your brother is still young..."
Wen Qingyan's voice, fraught with pain, was already choked with sobs.
Wen Nuan's heart twinged, barely taking in the words that followed, but there was one sentence she had to remember.
Dad said: "Nuannuan, the ninth is a good day to get married."
Looking at the time displayed on the computer, tears silently rolled down Wen Nuan's cheeks.
The ninth...
Just six days away.
Her identity was about to change from the eldest daughter of the Wen Family to the Second Young Madam of the Leng Family...
Her fashion design degree was still a year from completion, she had not yet celebrated her twentieth birthday, and she still fantasized about marrying the man who had resided in her heart for three years on her twenty-fourth birthday.
The spring breeze carried the scent of flowers, swaying the purple curtains, chiming the wind chimes melodiously, and also blew a young, vague silhouette into her mind.
Her heart suddenly ached sharply.
Was he really just a dream she had during her youth?
So, she wouldn't have the chance to tell him, "I like you" anymore, would she?