CH 77

mother shan was momentarily stunned but then warmly approached, holding the hand of the young woman affectionately. after exchanging pleasantries, she gave a brief introduction to shen tiantian.

the name shan ming, which shen tiantian had just heard during her mother-in-law’s introduction, lingered in her mind. she learned that this young woman was her wife’s cousin. she smiled and nodded at her, but the other, though smiling, kept staring at her as if scrutinizing something.

like shan yi’s uncle, shen tiantian felt a bit uneasy under such intense scrutiny.

shan yi, with an expressionless face, glanced at her cousin, turned her wife’s face back, and said in a deep voice: “let’s eat.”

shen tiantian turned towards the dining table. although she seemed accustomed to life here, at this moment, she felt strangely awkward.

liu wanjun, sitting next to her, quietly observed everything. she patted her friend’s thigh, seemingly trying to reassure her.

shan yi also noticed her wife’s unease and tightened her grip on her hand resting on her thigh.

“big sister, long time no see.” shan ming seemed oblivious to their family’s sister’s mood, her doll-like face showing innocence. “is this the sister-in-law?”

calculating woman.

liu wanjun cursed silently in her heart.

“we’re all late. let’s quickly take our seats and eat,” shan xu, usually talkative, spoke with a flat tone, seemingly not very fond of shan ming.

mother shan immediately echoed her sentiments. shan ming responded and took a seat beside her father, casually asking, “i wonder what kind of work sister-in-law is engaged in?”

shen tiantian remained silent for a moment, then replied confidently: “i work at yue feng. i used to be in the marketing department, and now i’m in the secretary department.”

shan ming suddenly enlightened, “so that’s how it is.”

“let’s start eating. if there’s anything, we can talk after the meal,” father shan said in a stern tone, his furrowed brow indicating that he was on the verge of exploding. despite being in the professional world, it was clear that his niece was looking down on his daughter-in-law. after spending nearly a month together, he had fully embraced her as part of the family, naturally feeling protective. upon hearing shan ming’s condescending words, his temper flared.

“tiantian, don’t be restrained. eat more,” father shan made his stance clear. implicit in his words was the acknowledgment of his daughter-in-law. he made it clear that anyone mistreating her would be at odds with him. with this statement, the relatives who had initially intended to make sarcastic remarks automatically kept quiet and started eating.

in her heart, liu wanjun silently praised father shan. she exchanged a glance with her husband and continued eating quietly.

shan ming still wore her innocent and pure smile.

after the meal, shen tiantian felt an unprecedented sense of oppression. the excitement and joy she felt when registering for marriage had long vanished, and her complexion didn’t look too good.

quietly, tian jing observed this change. after finishing the meal, she took the initiative to find shen tiantian, who looked a bit down, and slowly sat beside her.

“are you curious about why shan yue and i are together?” even though they pursued different paths in academia and business, seemingly unrelated, the fact that they ended up together could be seen as a strange twist of fate.

shen tiantian, feeling a bit uplifted by the conversation, responded: “i heard from the ceo that you two were college classmates.”

“yes, she was in the medical department, and i was in the business management department.” tian jing smiled and continued, “we had different lecture halls, and our dorms were far apart. considering all that, meeting each other can indeed be seen as fate.”

“you and my little aunt are now…” shen tiantian cautiously brought up the earlier incident.

tian jing seemed unfazed and continued: “we broke up a long time ago, probably three or four years ago.”

broke up!!!

and it’s been three or four years?!

shen tiantian seized on this crucial point. she had thought they were just having a little dispute, but she couldn’t have imagined that they had broken up already.

“i came with her today just to repay a favor, hoping there will be no lingering debts in the future.”

scratching her head, shen tiantian asked, “what favor?”

tian jing remained silent, her profound eyes gradually lowering. the dense eyelashes cast a faint shadow, conveniently hiding her eyes. had she been holding back for too long? she was unexpectedly willing to discuss such matters with a relatively unfamiliar former subordinate.

suddenly, tian jing burst into laughter and sighed, “it’s nothing, i apologize.”

shen tiantian didn’t want to pry into things that others didn’t want to discuss, and she forced a smile.

the atmosphere froze again, and liu wanjun, with her big belly, walked over to this side, indicating that it was getting late, and she needed to go back to rest.

glancing at the time, it was already past nine o’clock. shen tiantian was well aware of the hardships of pregnancy, and she didn’t try to keep liu wanjun. it was a rare opportunity, and she somehow failed to have a good chat with her.

seeing what she was thinking, liu wanjun smiled gracefully, “when yaya comes back, we’ll go out and have a gathering.”

“sure.”

“then we’ll head back.” liu wanjun came forward and hugged her. she whispered in shen tiantian’s ear, “congratulations, tiantian. you must be happy.”

although liu wanjun was trying to suppress it, shen tiantian could still hear a slight quiver in her voice.

pregnant women tend to have various thoughts and can easily become sentimental, but liu wanjun was genuinely happy—so happy that she couldn’t help feeling a bit sad. their younger sister had finally gotten married, and with the person she loved dearly, who was also the other mother of her child. moreover, she would soon experience the joy of becoming a mother herself.

time passed so quickly; in the blink of an eye, three months had gone by.

shen tiantian felt a slight soreness in her nose, murmured an acknowledgment, and suddenly her eyes reddened. no need for many words; she understood liu wanjun’s reluctance, just as she had felt when she got married, ending up intoxicated herself.

seeing her friend off at the front door, even though it was only a hundred meters away, shen tiantian still felt a deep sense of reluctance. they each had their own lives, and even if they were close, they couldn’t meet every day.

unable to find anyone at home, shan yi walked out of the house and saw her wife standing alone at the front door, looking forlornly outside. seeing her in such a state, it felt like her heart had been stabbed, making it hard for her to breathe.

she walked quickly over and gently embraced her.

“how come you’re over here?”

the summer night was a bit cool, and shen tiantian didn’t know if it was due to the cold or something else. her body trembled for a moment, and suddenly, she hugged shan yi’s waist tightly, burying her face in her chest. her slightly cool face rubbed against shan yi’s chest.

“what’s wrong?” shan yi’s voice was very gentle, afraid of startling her wife.

shen tiantian shook her head.

“let’s go inside?”

again, she shook her head.

shan yi gently stroked her back and remained silent for a while. after some time, shen tiantian’s body warmed up from being held by shan yi, and she was asked again, “what’s wrong?”

shen tiantian still shook her head, but this time she spoke with a thick sob in her voice, “ceo, i feel so sad.”

feeling some warmth and dampness on her chest, shan yi realized that shen tiantian was crying, and warm tears flowed onto her skin.

shan yi felt extremely distressed. she gently pushed her away, bent down slightly, and wiped away the tears on her face. “what’s making you so sad? you have me, don’t you? talk to me.”

shen tiantian stared at her wife with a look of grievance, pouted, and once again buried herself in her embrace, saying stubbornly: “i still don’t want to go inside.”

“how about i accompany you to the garden then?”

shen tiantian nodded.

she didn’t know anyone inside the house, and their strange looks made her feel oppressed. until they left, she had no intention of going in.

just as shan yi was about to push her away, shen tiantian stuck back to her.

“can we go like this?”

consider it her being a little stubborn. right now, she had no desire to separate from shan yi.

shan yi chuckled, unexpectedly enjoying her wife’s willfulness. she held onto her waist and turned around, saying, “follow my steps.”

“ok,” shen tiantian responded in a muffled tone.

the two of them tiptoed towards a small bench in the garden, their toes touching with each step. because they were so close, their progress was extremely slow. it took them a good five to six minutes before they finally sat on a stone bench.

shen tiantian still refused to let go. following her wife’s movements, she sat on her lap, burying her face in the crook of her neck with a look of grievance.

“feeling wronged?” shan yi stroked her back, “i won’t let them come to our house again in the future.”

shen tiantian took a deep breath but remained silent.

“darling, can you talk to me?” sensing that shen tiantian’s voice was still quite downcast. “it’s not just that. i suddenly feel so sad. i’ll be fine in a bit; just hold me tighter.”

shan yi complied, hugging her even tighter until the bulging belly pressed against her own.

after an unknown amount of time, shen tiantian suddenly spoke, “just now, wanjun said that i must be happy. i will be happy, right?”

shan yi assured her in a low voice: “i will definitely make you happy.”

shen tiantian transitioned from crying to smiling, finally leaving her wife’s embrace. she looked at shan yi seriously, lifting her hand and gently placing it on her own belly. “both i and the baby are listening, you know.”

“who’s listening? i have the same answer either way.” shan yi gazed into her eyes. although the sky was too dark to discern any emotions, her tone was resolute enough to be convincing.

shen tiantian lowered her head and gently kissed her lips. “it’s a deal.”

shan yi chuckled, hooked her fingers around the back of shen tiantian’s neck, and pulled her towards herself, kissing her again. compared to shen tiantian’s light kiss, shan yi’s kisses were always assertive, never willing to stop at just that.

“mm, it’s a deal.”

the wet and warm kiss ended, and shen tiantian felt completely powerless. shan yi lifted her a bit higher, and the newlyweds held each other tightly, not saying a word, enveloped in warmth and sweetness.

however, the warmth didn’t last long. a sudden rush of footsteps approached, followed by the deliberately lowered voice of tian jing, “what do you really want?”

“i just want to be with you,” came shan yue’s voice.

“if it’s for tiantian, i advise you not to waste your time. i will never let her go to you.”

tiantian?!

hearing her own name, shen tiantian immediately perked up her ears. shan yi lightly nibbled on her earlobe and said with a playful tone, “don’t worry, it’s not about you.”

“how do you know?” although she thought it made some sense, and despite the similarity in pronunciation of their names, from tian jing’s tone and the meaning in her words, it seemed more like she was the object of contention.

could it be that a love rival has already appeared between them?! shen tiantian covered her mouth, afraid she might make a sound and disturb them, and anxiously asked: “what should we do?”

“we were here first,” shan yi opened her hand, kissed her, and said, “didn’t you want to know what happened between them?”

“wow, you’re so naughty,” shen tiantian exclaimed. “but we can’t eavesdrop. let’s go quickly.”

since her wife suggested it, shan yi didn’t object. “can you walk on your own?”

shen tiantian nodded and delicately descended from her wife. she took shan yi’s hand, preparing to bypass them and leave.

“for tiantian and for you,” shan yue spoke again.

“not needed, get lost,” tian jing said firmly. a series of delicate sounds followed, and then the sound of bodies colliding with each other.

“let go of me,” tian jing angrily demanded.

shan yue didn’t loosen her grip; instead, she held on tighter. “i won’t let you go again.”

“let go….mmm…”

tian jing was kissed, instantly losing all her sounds, as if everything came to a halt. shen tiantian and shan yi exchanged glances and couldn’t help but look over there. the faint sound of kissing reached their ears.

shen tiantian blushed, and when she looked up, she saw shan yi watching her. perhaps thinking about what she was about to do, shen tiantian urgently lowered her voice, almost shouting, “don’t mess around; we might get caught.”

shan yi chuckled. “they’re not afraid of us catching them. we were here first, what’s there to be afraid of?”

“i won’t argue with your twisted logic,” shen tiantian scolded, glaring at her, and lifted her leg to leave.

“come to think of it, we haven’t done it outside yet,” shan yi caught up with her, half-joking.

“are you insane?”

this time, shen tiantian directly shouted, alarming the two not far away.