護花近衛 - 第3079章 大小姐的幽怨 - 清風書屋

"Then do you hate him?" Wei Zhao asked after a moment of silence. "I... when I suddenly heard that my father knew about me but never came to see me, I really did feel a little uncomfortable. But then I thought about it—perhaps he has his own difficulties," Xu Shilan said with a faint smile at Wei Zhao. "I'm an illegitimate daughter. He has his own life. And at least, Wei Zhao, you were hired by my father and... my brother to protect me. At least they care about me. Even this brother I've never met treats me this way—what is there for me to hate? On the contrary, I'm very happy today. You've let me learn some things I've always wanted to know. My father is all right, and that is truly wonderful." "All right then—do you want to see him?" Things having come to this, Wei Zhao knew he could hide it no longer, so he asked. But in Wei Zhao's eyes, Xu Shilan was still fairly composed; she was a grown woman now, quite capable of facing all of this rationally. "If he does not wish to see me, he must have his own difficulties. Whether I see him or not hardly matters anymore. Though I would very much like to, knowing that he is well puts my heart at ease..." Xu Shilan smiled bitterly. "To be honest, in my memory, my impressions of him are already few." Wei Zhao nodded and turned to Feng Sanmang. "Feng Sanmang, is there nothing more you want to say? I have said a good deal of what needed saying. The rest—you fill in." "Very well..." Feng Sanmang was helpless too. Wei Zhao had already said so much that whether he spoke or not made little difference, and even if Feng Tianqi should blame him for it, Wei Zhao would be there to bear it. So he told the truth. "Miss Xu, I am a guard sent by your father to protect you! In truth, the master has always been concerned for you. All these years, your career in the entertainment world has gone smoothly; in fact, the master was secretly helping you. If there were people with ill intentions, I would deal with them for you. If pressure came from the company, the master would bring his connections to bear and settle it. You must have sensed some of this yourself..." "So that is how it is..." Xu Shilan nodded as understanding dawned. In truth, over the years Xu Shilan had herself felt that her career had been altogether too smooth. She had never encountered the so-called casting couch; when she turned down certain company events, the company did not shelve her but continued to greet her with a smile, and so her fame had only grown. Of course, she did not deny that her own hard work and talent played a part in it, but without someone quietly supporting her from behind, it could not have gone quite so smoothly. After all, she was not the only hardworking, talented person—but she alone had succeeded. That in itself showed there was something else at work. Many of the stars in the company had risen on their bodies or on their families' influence—Xu Shilan was well aware of this. Some had indeed made it through their own efforts, but not many, and Xu Shilan was the most successful of them. One had to call it a miracle—but now it seemed it was no miracle at all. It was inevitable! "Then... what is my father's name?" Xu Shilan asked. "He..." Feng Sanmang looked to Wei Zhao again; he did not know whether he ought to tell Xu Shilan Feng Tianqi's name. "His name is Feng Tianqi. His background is the ancient Feng family, an ancient clan. You ought to have heard the name to some degree..." Wei Zhao said to Xu Shilan, "It is a level even higher than the hidden families!" "Ancient..." Xu Shilan nodded, though she did not seem to understand it especially well. "So it seems... I am not surnamed Xu. I am surnamed Feng..." "By the way, do you know your mother's name? Perhaps I could help you look for her?" Something stirred in Wei Zhao's heart, and he asked. Feng Tianqi had been searching all along, but he might not find her. After all, Feng Tianqi did not dare search too conspicuously; among the Feng family, any one of them