Tan Yuchen had a dream.

In his dream, he ate a peach he loved so much. It was plump and translucent, and when he peeled off the thin pink skin, the inside was sweet and juicy.

It makes you want to swallow it whole, yet you can't bear to, so you chew it slowly and savor its juices repeatedly.

The flesh isn't just the pure sweetness of July and August; it's so sweet it's heavenly, but a certain tartness deep inside makes it unforgettable, leaving a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth.

It makes you want to keep eating it.

However, a bolt of lightning struck him awake.

He slightly lifted his eyelids, his dark eyes deep and unfathomable, and slowly awoke.

The bedroom curtains were drawn, but a golden glint peeked through the doorway.

His eyesight has been restored.

Someone is crying outside.

Tan Yuchen tilted his neck slightly, and with the slightest movement, a sharp pain shot through the back of his head. A metal lamp base fell to the ground.

—It's not hard to imagine that someone just hit him on the head with this.

However, what caught his attention even more than all of this was the messy marks on the bed, almost a chaotic mess.

Scratches, teeth marks, and a slight stinging sensation in the back and shoulders silently testified to what had just happened.

Tan Yuchen's hair, damp and glistening, fell across his forehead and around his eyes. He pulled a towel over himself, tied it casually, and opened the door.

The sound of crying was instantly clear. Almost half of the Shen and Tan families were in the hall, and they turned around to look when they heard the noise.

The man's expression was nonchalant, and his indifferent eyes revealed a sense of satisfaction after a large meal, which inexplicably made one blush and feel a racing heart.

Shen Yuan's crying paused for a moment, then suddenly grew louder.

However, Tan Yuchen didn't even glance at her, and showed no reaction to the presence of so many people. He simply squatted down in front of the old lady.

"Why aren't you asleep yet? Is it Aunt Zhang—"

Before he could finish speaking, the old lady slapped him hard across the face.

A crisp "smack" echoed throughout the room, leaving everyone stunned. The old lady doted on Tan Yuchen the most, cherishing him since birth. When his mother had her accident, she knew she couldn't blame him, and even though she was a parent outliving their child, she couldn't bear to be too harsh on him.

But now they're beating him in front of so many people.

The first wife wanted to say something, but seeing the old lady's expression, she didn't dare to speak. Feng Lan was so gloating that she almost laughed out loud. Good job hitting her.

Shen Yuan quickly stood up, her voice trembling with tears, "Grandma, please don't blame Yu Chen. He was just drunk; he didn't mean it."

Tan Yuchen's head was turned to the side after being hit, and half of his face was numb.

Anyone else who dared to treat him like that would probably be broken before they even reached out, but he just licked his cheek with his tongue and looked back.

"I've always taught you this way, just like your grandfather taught you. I attributed your past misdeeds to your youth and ignorance, thinking you at least had a sense of propriety. But tonight..."

The old lady's voice trembled, "If you really like Ayuan, you should respect and cherish her, arrange a date for the marriage, and go through all the proper formalities, instead of treating this young lady so hastily. All your family's teachings on propriety, morality, and shame have been wasted!"

After the old lady finished speaking, she felt dizzy and almost fell down, as she already had high blood pressure.

Aunt Zhang hurriedly went to fetch her, but Tan Yuchen had already helped her onto a stool. He remained squatting in front of her, like a lion with its neck bent, his dark eyes staring straight at her.

"I'm sorry, Grandma, it was Yuchen's fault."

He compromised so quickly that the Shen family thought he would use drunkenness as an excuse; Mr. and Mrs. Shen were just waiting for him to compromise.

"Although we can't blame Yuchen entirely for this, Xiaoyuan has been the apple of our eye since she was little. Before, when she went abroad, we had to ask her about every friend she made. Over the years, she has always been self-respecting and devoted her heart to Yuchen."

"Her maternal grandfather was entertaining guests and didn't know. If he did, he would probably be so angry that he would get sick. If the news hadn't been kept out of the way so quickly, the whole cruise ship would probably be talking about it by now."

Shen Yuan buried her head and cried.

Mother Shen's eyes also reddened. "This child is the most stubborn. Before, I asked her to give up Yu Chen and try to get to know other people, but she refused no matter what. If I tried to persuade her too hard, she would go on a hunger strike. As an old lady, my Shen family is a century-old family. I never force people's marriages, but you should at least show her some compassion today."

There's no need to spell it out; the marks on Shen Yuan's body are undeniable.

The marks in the room cannot be faked.

They are pressuring the media to give an explanation.

Tan Yuchen remained silent, his eyelids drooping like cold, sharp blades; no one knew what he was thinking.

The old lady looked at him intently, truly at a loss for what to do.

She knew her grandson couldn't possibly like Shen Yuan, so she steadfastly refused the marriage proposal.

But now...

Tan Yuchen stood up and took responsibility.

"Uncle Shen, Aunt Shen, I apologize for what I did wrong."

He bent down and wiped away Shen Yuan's tears. The moment his fingers touched her, she shrank back.

But he continued to wipe her face, his deep eyes like whirlpools, suppressing a hint of tender affection, and he curled his lips into a smile.

"Don't cry, it will break my heart if you cry anymore."

Shen Yuan stared blankly at him, completely forgetting that the man had tried to strangle her not long ago.

His expression and movements were so gentle that one could believe he must have already fallen in love with her. Shen Yuan's heart pounded, and her face flushed instantly.

But if she looked closely and remained vigilant, she might discover—

A smile never reached his eyes; instead, a gloomy atmosphere hung in the air, as if a storm was brewing.

He said.

"Let's pick a good day next month and get engaged."

**

That's so unlucky.

The asphalt road leading from the port to the city center became dimmer as you went further. Meng Jiuyi was the only one on the deserted road. The light from her mobile phone could not illuminate the way forward, but it could clearly illuminate the moisture in her eyes.

The cruise ship was now a monster to her. She couldn't bear to stay a minute longer as long as Tan Yuchen was there. Even if it meant enduring the pain and long journey of five or six hours to get back to the city, she was determined to get off the ship.

With each step she took, her bones felt like they were about to fall apart. With each step, she could clearly recall what Tan Yuchen had done to her. The feeling of being forced to accept it made her feel increasingly ashamed. The dark and uncertain road ahead seemed to mock her mercilessly.

Meng Jiuyi didn't consider himself someone who took such things too seriously; at worst, he'd just consider it a bite taken by a dog.

But in order to set up this scheme, she almost suffered two hundred casualties and a thousand casualties herself. The soreness in her legs became an irony of her hard work of planning for more than half a month.

This is so unlucky.

Normally, if she encountered something like this, she would have tried her best to grind the other party to dust, even if it meant mutual destruction. But now she was reaping what she had sown, and no matter how much hatred she felt, she had to swallow her anger.

Should we seek an explanation from Tan Yuchen? The likely outcome is that he'll likely grind her to dust.

Overwhelmed with resentment, a tear welled up in Meng Jiuyi's eye.

She wiped away her tears, using this pain to tell herself that she had already fallen for Tan Yuchen more than three times.

A car passed by behind him, and Meng Jiuyi turned his back and quickly used his hat to cover himself completely.

However, contrary to expectations, the car did not speed past her but stopped beside her.

Meng Jiuyi's heart tightened, and he took two steps to the side like a crab, and the car actually moved along with it.

She couldn't even be sure who it was, so she quickly ran forward.

The car slowly followed, the window rolled down, and the man's warm breath mingled with a soft laugh.

"Meng Jiuyi, why are you running?"

Meng Jiuyi turned her head and looked at him in surprise.

The Rolls-Royce headlights illuminated a wide enough area that, just as she turned her head, Xu Yanzhi could see the moisture in her eyes.

(The previous chapter was posted in Shanghai, but it probably won't be approved. Let's skip to this chapter for now. Goodnight, everyone.)