0044 Exposed
The two had fallen asleep sometime during the night. In her half-asleep state, Song Ning heard Su Qingru knocking on her door and calling her from the doorway. Before she could get up, Su Qingru pushed the door open and stumbled upon her and Shen Yuxiu being intimate...
Song Ning hurriedly broke free from the embrace and suddenly sprang up from the bed, flustered and at a loss for what to do.
Shen Yuxiu was pushed over by her and slowly opened his eyes. He looked at her first, then turned to look at the knocking door. He suddenly covered his sleepy eyes with his hand, trying to hold back but unable to, revealing his clean, white teeth and smiling brightly and radiantly.
Song Ning's consciousness was drifting between half-awake and half-dazed, and she hadn't recovered for a moment until Su Qingru spoke again, which finally pulled her back to reality.
"Ningning, are you sleeping? Time to eat."
Su Qingru was calling her; it wasn't a dream. Song Ning rushed to the door and replied, "I know."
Is Yuxiu with you?
"He's not here." Song Ning blurted out in a moment of panic, but as soon as she said it, she thought to herself, why didn't she just say he was here? It would have been better to make it public now.
"Okay, then hurry up and come out, I'll wait for you."
Hearing that Su Qingru was going to wait for her, Song Ning looked at the man who was struggling to suppress his laughter, and was not as flustered as before: "You go first, I'm going to the bathroom."
Su Qingru didn't reply, and there was silence outside, but Shen Yuxiu's phone rang in his pocket.
Shen Yuxiu took out his phone and held it to his ear, his voice still tinged with laughter: "Mom, I heard you."
Song Ning was stunned and looked at Shen Yuxiu in disbelief, wondering if he was still asleep, when she heard Su Qingru say, "Didn't you tell Ningning that Dad and I already know?"
The two channels came in simultaneously, one through a microphone and the other through a door, creating an effect even more powerful than an echo in a valley.
"Okay. Wait a moment, I'll get up and open the door." Shen Yuxiu hung up the phone, sat up, and after a moment, got out of bed and opened the door.
This time, Song Ning understood completely, but was also somewhat confused.
When the door opened, Song Ning hadn't even realized what was going on. When did Su Qingru and the others find out?
Su Qingru entered the room and closed the door behind her. She scolded Shen Yuxiu with disapproval, "There are so many people here, everyone is still here, you should be more careful."
The bed was a mess, the hair was a mess, the clothes were a mess...
Song Ning thought that Su Qingru must have misunderstood that they had been engaging in debauchery during the day. She wanted to say that they hadn't done anything, but then she thought that they hadn't done anything in the morning, but they had done a lot last night, so she kept quiet.
"What time is your flight tonight? I'll take you there?" Shen Yuxiu changed the subject.
Su Qingru knew her son well; he seemed easy to talk to, but he was actually more stubborn than anyone else. Since he had decided to give Song Ning a legitimate identity, he wouldn't hide it.
"No need, just have the driver take me. I heard from your dad that you haven't been sleeping much these past few days, so get some rest."
Shen Yuxiu nodded, leaned against the table by the door, and said nothing more.
Su Qingru walked to the bedside and sat down. "You too. How long are you planning to keep this from us?"
"When did you find out?" Song Ning tried to control herself from looking too stupid.
Su Qingru glanced at Shen Yuxiu, then turned back to explain, "More than two months ago, Yuxiu called me and said he wanted to be with you, asking for my opinion."
Seeing Song Ning's slight surprise, Su Qingru smiled and said, "What opinion could I possibly have? I watched you both grow up. Your father can't see through your feelings, but how could I not? I just said, if you agree, I have no objection. A few days later, he told me about you two getting together."
So early?
Song Ning glared at Shen Yuxiu, meaning she would settle the score with him later. The latter smiled, very lightly.
The young couple's winks and flirtations didn't escape Su Qingru's notice. She cleared her throat and said, "Your dad is taking some time to process this. After all, he's never really been able to accept you having a boyfriend before, and now that he suddenly knows his son has 'seduce' you into dating, he's feeling complicated."
Song Ning thought to herself.
She was in frequent contact with Shen Xiaoyue and had no idea that he was acting strangely. Also, she wondered if Su Qingru was testing her just now.
These people are all really good actors.
“Although you’ve only called him ‘Dad’ for three years, he’s treated you like his daughter for twelve years, and he’s still processing it now.”
After Su Qingru finished speaking, she patted Song Ning's hand and said, "Alright, get up and tidy up, let's go eat."
Su Qingru accepted it too easily, catching Song Ning off guard. Then she remembered that Shen Xiaoyue seemed unable to accept it. When she saw Shen Xiaoyue at the dinner table, she didn't know how to face him.
It's more accurate to say that she seduced Shen Yuxiu than that Shen Yuxiu abducted her.
Halfway through the meal, Song Ning was suddenly called away by her third maternal grandmother, and Shen Jiayu sat next to her great-grandmother, taking good care of her.
The old man pulled Song Ning to sit beside him, holding Song Ning's hand in front of him.
Song Ning disliked the elderly man's overly affectionate gestures, but not wanting to cause trouble, she tolerated it.
"Daughter, isn't our Jiayu beautiful?" The old man spoke with a bit of dialect this time, which sounded like he was chatting with someone, and it sounded very friendly.
Although Song Ning had a sharp tongue, she knew when to say what, so she complimented, "Beautiful, Third Grandmother."
Upon hearing this, the old man's face creased with deep lines: "Jiayu has always had excellent grades since childhood, and he is also filial and has a first-rate temperament. You two are both good children, and you should spend more time together."
Song Ning nodded and replied with an "okay," though it wasn't exactly sincere, nor was it perfunctory.
The old man talked to her for a while, clearly intending to match her with Shen Jiayu. During the conversation, Song Ning tried to leave several times, but the old man calmly brushed her off each time.
Song Ning couldn't tell whether the old man was truly confused or pretending, until Su Qingru came over, said a few polite words, and then took Song Ning away.
"Don't underestimate Auntie San just because she has a bad memory. She was quite shrewd when she was young. Don't try to pull your little tricks on her in front of the old lady." Su Qingru didn't lead Song Ning to her seat, but instead led her to sit next to her.
I heard that Old Master Shen and his four brothers went to join the army. Two of them came back, but the other one died of illness not long after. That man was Third Aunt's husband. Third Aunt was the pillar of the family, so Old Master Shen always respected her very much. This time, he specially sent someone to invite her over.
Song Ning felt that it was not good for someone like her who had no relatives or friends, because she would have no one to rely on if something happened. It was also not good for someone like Shen Yuxiu who had a large family, because there were too many social obligations involved.
Fortunately, the social gathering only lasted another half day. Su Qingru was afraid that Song Ning would lose his temper, so she took Song Ning with her when she left.
After seeing Su Qingru off, Song Ning was driven back to Shen Xiaoyue's courtyard house. Remembering what Shen Yuxiu had mentioned about the driver's license, she couldn't wait any longer and called him.
Where do you keep your driver's license?
There was a lot of noise coming from Shen Yuxiu's side, including laughter and the clinking of glasses: "Wait a minute, I'll find a quiet place."
After a while, it quieted down on the other end. Shen Yuxiu asked, "Are we home?"
"Um."
"Can't I give it to you back?"
"Who knows when you'll be back?"
Shen Yuxiu smiled and said, "Under the cabinet in your room where you keep the photos."
Then she added, "It's the room I'm staying in."
Song Ning's heart trembled, and a romantic thought arose in her mind. The place where they had been passionately entangled last night stirred up a hidden desire within her.
She knew perfectly well that she wasn't really calling him about her driver's license.
Have you been drinking?
"Hmm, you won't allow it?"
"Let's drink together next time you come back."
"Okay, what would you like to drink? White or red?"
...
Time flowed by in their every word and action, turning into the light snowflakes slowly falling outside the window.
"I'll be back by the day after tomorrow at the latest."
At the end, Shen Yuxiu revealed the true purpose of Song Ning's phone call.
Song Ning replied with a laugh, "Who cares?" and then hung up the phone.
The snow was quiet. Song Ning walked out of the room and looked at Shen Xiaoyue's bedroom with the lights off, remembering what Su Qingru had said at the airport.
"Whether you are a daughter or a daughter-in-law, your father and I will always be your family."
Shen Xiaoyue and Su Qingru treated her very well for 12 years, but she could never see them as her parents, and they never asked anything of her.
She still remembered the moved expressions on their faces when she first called them Mom and Dad three years ago. But only she knew that she wasn't calling them Mom and Dad, but Shen Yuxiu.
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