Chapter 20 The Star of the Sahara, I'll help you put it on.
"Oh? We don't need this. Buying it would be a waste."
Shen Cen hurriedly refused, after all, the two of them got married too hastily and had not considered going through such a sense of ceremony.
Jiang Shiyu disagreed: "We got married but didn't have a ring. Doesn't that clearly tell them that our marriage was a sham?"
“But…” Shen Cen felt that Jiang Shiyu’s words made sense. However, since the ring was only meant to appease their parents, buying such an expensive one seemed a bit too extravagant.
She pointed to the shop across the street and asked, "Why don't we go to that shop and pick one out? It'll be more affordable."
Jiang Shiyu glanced indifferently at the jewelry store across the street. "Not good-looking."
Shen Cen: "..."
"Let's go." Jiang Shiyu touched her hand.
She had no choice but to follow Jiang Shiyu into the store.
The saleswoman rushed forward to greet them, "What would you two like to see?"
"Wedding ring".
The sales assistant led them to the ring section: "Okay, this way please. Do you two have a budget limit?"
"No, as long as it suits her, it's fine."
The saleswoman knew a big order had come in, and became even more enthusiastic upon hearing this. She took Shen Cen's hand and examined it carefully, unable to resist praising, "Sir, your wife's hands are so beautiful, she looks good in anything."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shiyu's eyes lit up with a smile, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, indicating that he agreed with the saleswoman's words.
The sales assistant took out several new women's items for Chen Cen to try on one by one.
Shen Cen's fingers were already slender and fair, and any ring she wore would suit her perfectly, making her hands even more beautiful and the rings even more dazzling on her hands.
"Sir, look, I told you your wife would suit any of them."
The sales assistant was very good at praising. Every time Shen Cen wore a new item, she would use the most beautiful words in the world to praise it, but she did so in a fair and reasonable way that people would feel that she was praising him sincerely.
Shen Cen felt embarrassed by the praise.
"So, is there anything you like?" Jiang Shiyu leaned closer and asked her.
The two were only inches apart, and they could hear each other's breaths clearly. They looked like an intimate couple.
"Both of these are nice. Which one do you think suits you better? Why don't you try the men's version and see which one suits you better?"
Shen Cen was wearing two rings on her hand and couldn't decide which one to choose. One was more glamorous, the dream ring for almost every girl, while the other was more understated and suitable for everyday wear.
In fact, when Shen Cen was trying on the rings, Jiang Shiyu's gaze had already shifted to her several times. He had already memorized how each ring looked on Shen Cen's hand.
Therefore, when faced with Shen Cen's question, he pretended to glance at it casually and said nonchalantly, "I want both of them."
"No need, no need, one is fine, this one will do..." As she spoke, Shen Cen was about to take off one of them, but Jiang Shiyu reached out and pressed her hand to stop her.
"I'm sure both of these would look good on me, so I can't choose."
Judging from Jiang Shiyu's tone, anyone who didn't know better would think he was buying some cheap little item.
"Why don't you buy two? I only need one."
“Chen Cen,” Jiang Shiyu paused, “if they’re not a pair, how can they be called wedding rings?”
"All right……"
Shen Cen didn't refuse anymore. She thought to herself that Jiang Shiyu really had a problem with making choices. She also thought that he was a rich second-generation with a lot of money. These four rings were worth several million yuan in total. He actually bought them without hesitation while shopping.
The sales assistant had already happily wrapped up the rings for the couple, then carefully packaged them in a beautiful gift box before handing them to them, offering her blessings: "Wishing you both a happy marriage and a long and harmonious life together!"
Jiang Shiyu was extremely pleased to hear this, and he smiled slightly, saying, "Thank you."
He decided to visit the store more often in the future, and to buy a ring from Shen Cen to celebrate their half-year, first, and second wedding anniversaries.
After leaving the store, Jiang Shiyu asked Shen Cen if she wanted to wear the ring.
"I'm afraid Grandma or your mother might suddenly visit, and we'll be caught off guard." That was his reason.
Upon hearing this, Shen Cen also felt that it made a lot of sense: "Then I'll bring the second one."
As she spoke, she reached for the ring box in Jiang Shiyu's hand.
Jiang Shiyu took a step back: "I'll help you put it on."
"Um?"
Before Shen Cen could react, Jiang Shiyu had already taken the ring out of the box, grabbed Shen Cen's hand, and put the ring on her ring finger.
So skilled, it seemed as if he had rehearsed it countless times in his mind, as if it were a long-awaited scene that had finally come to fruition.
"Thank you." Shen Cen raised her hand, which was adorned with a ring, and the bright lights of the mall reflected off the diamond on the ring, making it appear even more dazzling.
It looks absolutely beautiful.
“I put it on for you, so logically you should put it on for me too.” Jiang Shiyu handed over another ring box.
"You were the one who was supposed to put it on for me..." Although he complained, Shen Cen still honestly took the ring box and took out the corresponding men's ring.
"Give me your hand." She opened her palm, and the man's hand reached up. She aligned the ring with his ring finger and put it on his finger.
Their fingers touched briefly before separating.
"alright."
Jiang Shiyu followed Shen Cen's example and raised his hand to the light. Faint blue veins were visible on the back of his hand, their tips hidden beneath a ring.
"Ding ding ding— ding ding ding—"
"I'll take this call." Shen Cen walked to a quiet spot and pressed the answer button.
Five minutes later, she returned looking rather grim.
Jiang Shiyu raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Jiang Shiyu, could you take me home?"
-
Twenty minutes later, the two returned to the neighborhood where Shen Cen had previously lived.
When the car arrived at the apartment building, Jiang Shiyu asked Shen Cen in the passenger seat, "Do you need me to go up with you?"
Shen Cen unbuckled the safety buckle. "It's okay, I'll go upstairs and chat with the landlady."
"Okay, call me anytime if you need anything."
The landlady had entered Shen Cen's house a few minutes earlier. When Shen Cen went in, the lights were on and the door was not closed.
"Little Shen, how has your stay with me been this past year?" The landlady didn't get straight to the point, but instead chatted for a bit like a family conversation.
During the phone call, the landlady didn't explain what was going on, only asking Shen Cen to come back whenever she had time, as she had something important to tell her.
So, she didn't know what the landlady was going to say, but she had a vague feeling that it might be related to renting a house.
"Yes, it's a good place, and it's close to my workplace," she said truthfully, then asked, "Auntie, are you not planning to continue renting to me?"
The landlady was surprised by Shen Cen's directness. She coughed awkwardly twice and continued, "Little Shen, it's like this. Isn't Peking University quite good?"
"Um."
“I have a distant niece who took the college entrance exam this year and did very well. A few days ago, she said she was admitted to Peking University. However, my relatives are worried that she might not be very sociable and might not get along with her roommates in the dormitory. So they want her to move into my house. After all, it's just a short walk to Peking University, and I can take care of her.”
"Aunt……"
"Xiao Shen, let me finish. My eldest niece won't be moving back until September when school starts. I'm telling you more than a month in advance so you can find a place sooner and not be caught off guard, right?"
"Okay." Shen Cen didn't like to force people to do things they didn't want to do, and she knew that the landlady was also in a difficult position. "Auntie, I understand."
"By the way, Xiao Shen, I haven't seen you home lately. Do you have a new place to stay?" the landlady asked.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Cen realized that the neighbors must have heard about what happened that night, so she decided to tell them the truth: "Auntie, my husband injured his hand, and I've been staying at his house to take care of him for the past few days."
"Xiao Shen, you actually got married?"
"Yes, it was a few months ago, but my husband's family lives quite far from Peking University, so we didn't live together." She was afraid that directly saying that their marriage was fake would cause unnecessary trouble, so she found a suitable excuse.
But actually, Jiang Shiyu's home is not far from Peking University, although not as far as the distance from here to Peking University now.
The landlady looked like she suddenly realized something, and pointed to the diamond ring on Shen Cen's right hand: "No wonder you refused when we tried to introduce you to someone at the beginning of this year. Were you already dating someone back then?"
Shen Cen lied: "Yes, Auntie."
"Hey Xiao Shen, you're married now, why don't you just move in with your husband? It'll save you the trouble of finding a place to live. Commuting is so convenient these days. Since you live in the city center of Beijing and Jiaxing, it's only a half-hour drive to anywhere."
The landlady finally found a way to persuade him, saying, "Look, you've only been married for a few months, still newlyweds. How can you two live apart? I know you young people are all lovey-dovey these days, and you probably want to be together every day. Your husband will definitely worry about you renting a place alone and won't be happy about it."
The landlady got more and more excited as she talked, spitting as she spoke.
Shen Cen really wanted to say, "Auntie, we're in a fake marriage. How could he possibly worry about me?"
But what came out of her mouth was, "Auntie, I understand. I will move out before September."
"Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Shen." The landlady got up with satisfaction and glanced out the window. "Is that your husband? He's been waiting for you downstairs. He's really handsome, just like a big star."
Shen Cen looked out in the direction the landlady was pointing and saw that Jiang Shiyu had gotten out of the car at some point. He was leaning against the black Maybach, his hands folded in front of him, his gaze fixed on the direction of Shen Cen's house.
In a daze, Shen Cen felt their eyes meet, and quickly looked away, answering the landlady's question: "Yes, Auntie, he is my husband."
Finally, the two left the house one after the other.
Meanwhile, Jiang Shiyu saw the lights in Shen Cen's living room go out, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. He seemed to be in a good mood, rubbing his fingertips on his ring a couple of times before sending a message to He Yan: "Transfer the money to the landlord."
Just as He Yan sent his reply, Shen Cen walked up to him.
He pretended not to know anything about it and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Cen sighed: "They won't rent this place to me anymore. I'll have to look for a suitable place to rent again."
“Chen Cen,” Jiang Shiyu paused, then gently tapped Chen Cen’s forehead with his knuckles, “Why rent a new house when you already have one?”
Shen Cen didn't react for a moment, "What do you mean?"
“What I mean is,” he said, emphasizing each word, as if afraid Chen Cen might not hear him clearly, and deliberately slowed his speech.
"Why don't you move into my house?"
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