Chapter 46: Visiting the Grave in the Dead of Night

The night was deep, the dew was heavy, and the cold wind was chilling. Ningwan sat on a stone, hugging herself tightly. She was feeling a bit regretful now, having agreed to Wu Taotao’s suggestion, leaving herself out in the wilderness in the middle of the night. Two hours had passed, and Zhan Hanjue still hadn’t come. Maybe he didn’t care about her at all, leaving her to fend for herself out here. "Howl." Suddenly, a wolf’s howl. Ningwan stood up in fright. This was the city; even though they were in the outskirts, there shouldn’t be wolves. Why is there a wolf’s howl? Could it be auditory hallucinations? "Howl." The howl sounded again. Ningwan pinched herself. She was sure it wasn’t an auditory hallucination; it really was a wolf’s howl. Escaped from the zoo? She was so unlucky, encountering a wolf. She quickly took out a silver needle, unsure if it would be of any use. What if before she could react, the wolf pounced and bit her to death? "Howl, howl." The wolf howls came one after another, and Ningwan was dumbfounded. It wasn’t just one wolf. In the darkness, green eyes came closing in from all directions—four wolves, no less. Ningwan’s face turned pale with fright, almost fainting. She wasn’t sure if she could handle one wolf, and now there were four. Should she just immediately jab herself with a needle, ending it all to avoid the pain of being torn apart by the wolves? "Stay away, stay away," Ningwan retreated continuously. But with four wolves forming an encirclement, where could she retreat to? The four wolves slowly closed in, getting closer and closer, their circle getting tighter. Ningwan raised her right hand, prepared to stab the silver needle into her acupoint to avoid the pain of a wolf’s bite. But just then, a gunshot rang out. The four wolves immediately turned and quickly ran away. Ningwan was stunned. The wolves quickly fled, disappearing without a trace, while she, as if in a dream, stood there in a daze. "Frightened?" Zhan Hanjue walked over, waving a hand in front of her face. Ningwan finally came to her senses: "What are you doing here?" "If I didn’t come, you’d have been eaten by wolves," Zhan Hanjue said. "Wolves? Yes, wolves, there were wolves just now—quickly call the police. How could there be wolves here?" Ningwan hurriedly took out her phone. However, Zhan Hanjue snatched her phone away: "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night instead of going home?" Ningwan froze, awkwardly pursing her lips. Could she say that she intended to lure him out here to foster a romantic atmosphere under the moon? Forget it, she decided not to say anything; almost being eaten by wolves was too humiliating. "It’s nothing. I came to... pay my respects. Yes, pay my respects. There’s a cemetery ahead; my parents’ graves are there." "Perfect, I also need to pay my respects," Zhan Hanjue said. Ningwan widened her eyes, suddenly recalling that his father had also died in that car crash. But at the same cemetery? "Let’s go!" Zhan Hanjue said. Ningwan said, "But it’s very late now. Let’s go in the morning; the cemetery is probably closed." "It’ll open," Zhan Hanjue asserted with confidence. He had already started walking in that direction, his entourage following closely. Ningwan, fearing the wolves might return, hurried to catch up with him. Luckily, she had worn modest heels when leaving home today. The cemetery was up in the mountains, halfway up a hillside. Though the path was paved, it’s still a climb on steps, tiring to go up one by one. And to make it worse, Wu Taotao had insisted. On such a lovely moonlit night, a dress was essential to highlight feminine beauty. So, she had been persuaded into changing to a sleeveless princess dress. In the late-night mountain breeze below, she was shivering from the cold, and as she ascended, it became unbearable halfway up. "Can I borrow your jacket?" Ningwan dared not ask Zhan Hanjue for his clothes, so she asked a seemingly robust bodyguard beside her with a sheepish smile. He looked so burly; he couldn’t possibly be cold! If he loaned her the suit jacket, he’d still have the shirt underneath; it would be somewhat better than her situation. If he caught a cold, she could prescribe him medicine. If she caught a cold, then that would be it; a healer cannot heal themselves. The bodyguard looked awkward, his face turning red as he didn’t know how to respond. Zhan Hanjue frowned, angrily taking off his coat and throwing it over her head. So warm. Ningwan hurriedly put on the jacket, warmed by Zhan Hanjue’s body heat. It was incredibly warm. "Thank you!" Ningwan expressed her gratitude. Finally, they reached the entrance of the cemetery. The cemetery was already closed since no one would come to pay respects at such a late hour. Zhan Hanjue stopped, standing at the gate, gazing deeply into the distance. Ningwan whispered beside him, "You see, the cemetery is closed! Let’s head back and come tomorrow." Zhan Hanjue said nothing, but Wu had already gone to wake the cemetery caretaker. The caretaker, hearing someone knocking, was in a bad temper, grumbling as he got dressed: "Who is it at this hour, not afraid of encountering ghosts?" "Open the door." Wu took out something to show him. The caretaker’s face changed drastically, hurriedly turning back to find the keys to open the big gate of the cemetery. Ningwan was surprised that he could even get the caretaker to open the door at this time? But she didn’t ask more, just followed Zhan Hanjue in. "You guys stay at the entrance." Upon entering, Zhan Hanjue instructed the accompanying bodyguards. The bodyguards nodded, stopping in place and standing guard at the entrance. Only Ningwan and Zhan Hanjue proceeded onward. Wearing Zhan Hanjue’s suit jacket, like a coat, she no longer felt cold. "Where are your parents’ graves?" Zhan Hanjue suddenly asked. Ningwan was startled, pursing her lips, "I don’t know." She truly didn’t know. When her parents were buried, she was still in the hospital recovering from her injuries. Afterward, she was sent to the countryside and never visited them, so how could she know where the graves were? Zhan Hanjue took out his phone and called Wu to ask him to find out. After hanging up, he said, "First, come with me to see my father." Ningwan nodded. Zhan Hanjue led her to a grave. On the headstone was the photo of a handsome man; upon closer inspection, Zhan Hanjue also bore some resemblance to him. He had a gentle countenance, seemingly with a good temper. Unlike Zhan Hanjue, who always had a slightly furrowed brow with a cold and unfeeling visage. "Kneel," Zhan Hanjue said. "Huh?" Ningwan was surprised. Do you have to kneel when paying respects now? Before she could respond, Zhan Hanjue kicked behind her knees, causing her legs to buckle, and she fell to her knees with a "thud". "Ah, it hurts." Ningwan cried out in pain. It did indeed hurt. She was wearing a dress, bare-legged, kneeling on the hard, cold ground. It was bound to hurt, wasn’t it? "Father, I brought her to see you," Zhan Hanjue slowly spoke. Ningwan frowned, looking at the headstone, overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling. She had never met Zhan Changwen. Why did she feel such an inexplicable sense of closeness kneeling before his grave?