As soon as Night Rose Ruan Mei left the airport, she was blinded by the scorching sun. Chen Shanye stepped in front of her and said, "Take out your sunglasses and put them on."
The two got into a taxi at the taxi stand. The dark-skinned driver asked them if they were tourists, whether he wanted them to be introduced to the tourist attractions in H City, and whether he wanted them to be taken to eat seafood.
Ruan Mei leaned against the car window with her hand, staring at the dirty window in a trance, ignoring the driver. Chen Shanye answered for her: "No, we'll just take a stroll."
Ruan Mei had been feeling a little irritable since a few days ago. She felt nauseous while reciting the wedding speech. Every word was like a fly, which she swallowed into her stomach and couldn't spit out.
"Where did they find this marriage proposal speech? It's so corny."
"If it's so uncomfortable, why don't you just not go?" Chen Shanye held her in his arms.
"No, I have to dress like a peacock and walk in front of them with my head held high, to let them know that I am living a good life now." Ruan Mei said with her chest puffed out.
Chen Shanye smiled and did not expose her pretended bravery.
City H is a tropical coastal city with palm trees planted on both sides of the straight roads. The large palm leaves are blown into disarray by the warm sea breeze.
Originally, Ruan Mei planned to come back alone, but Chen Shanye found an excuse to follow her, saying that air tickets were so cheap during this period and it would be a shame not to come.
Ruan Mei agreed and did not expose his true intention.
They only planned to stay in H City for one night. After the wedding banquet tonight, they would return to Guangzhou immediately tomorrow. The time was as tight as if they were on a business trip.
The hotel they booked was the same one where Ruan Lan was holding her wedding banquet, so they even saved on transportation costs. They just had to walk downstairs to the banquet hall at a certain time in the evening.
After entering the room, Ruan Mei was in no mood to look at the boundless blue sea outside the floor-to-ceiling window. She quickly stripped herself down to her underwear and threw herself on the bed to catch up on some sleep. There were only early flights to H City, and she had only slept for two or three hours last night before Chen Shanye woke her up and pulled her to go to the airport. Now she was so sleepy that she just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep.
It would be best if you could sleep so much that you even forget to go to the wedding banquet.
Chen Shanye knew her daily routine, so he helped her pull the floor-length curtains tight to block out the glaring light and scorching heat. He then got a towel to wipe her face and hands, and pulled out the quilt to cover her.
He opened the suitcase, took out the dress that Ruan Mei was going to wear tonight and hung it in the closet, like a wine-red rose hanging upside down in the closet, along with his own shirt and trousers.
The skirt and shirt were wrinkled in the suitcase, and Chen Shanye planned to iron them later.
Just after putting his toiletries and cosmetics bag in the bathroom, Chen Shanye heard Ruan Mei calling him in the bedroom, her voice like a night breeze.
He walked to the bed and when he sat down, the mattress sank slightly. He saw half of her face hidden in the quilt, and in the dim light, her black and white eyes were still filled with tiny sparkling stars.
Smoothing the strands of red silk scattered on the fluffy pillow with his fingers, Chen Shanye asked softly, "What's wrong?"
"Come up and sleep with me."
There was too much doting in the two chuckles. Chen Shanye took off his shoes, socks and pants. When he was pulling at his shirt, Ruan Mei hurriedly called out to stop: "It's time to sleep. No more."
"I know, my clothes are dirty, what are you thinking about." He took off his white T-shirt, walked to the other side, lifted the quilt and got into bed.
Ruan Mei rubbed against him like a little caterpillar. Chen Shanye thought she moved too slowly, so he stretched out his long arms and pulled her to his chest: "Go to sleep."
"Can we chat for a while?"
"Okay, you talk, I'll listen."
Resting her forehead on Chen Shanye's chest, Ruan Mei asked, "Aren't you curious about why my relationship with my family is so bad?"
"Curious."
"Then why don't you ask?"
"You said you would tell me when you had the chance."
Ruan Mei recalled the night when the two of them were smoking in front of the store and Chen Shanye carried her on his back.
"Well... then I'll tell you now."
She felt a little sleepy, her throat as if clogged with a ball of melted marshmallow. "To put it simply, my father's family favors boys over girls. After my mother gave birth to my sister, she and my father started having conflicts. Then, my father had an affair, and my mother got pregnant with me to save the marriage. Unfortunately, I wasn't a man..."
The hotel is near the sea, and Ruan Mei's words are surrounded by the sound of waves. Even when she talked about the most painful things, there was no big emotional ups and downs. She just calmly recounted the things she encountered in her childhood.
Chen Shanye rubbed his palms on her shoulders again and again. When he heard that she was being punished, his palms slightly tightened, his palms became hot, and wrinkles appeared between his brows.
"At first my sister comforted me. I thought she was on my side, but then... Ugh..."
She yawned loudly, tears welling up in her eyes. "Later, I found out that was fake too. I don't know what my mom instilled in her since she was little. Even she thought I was a jinx. It was because of me that she lost her dad... Haha, that's really funny..."
Those words that were originally tied with stones and sunk deep to the bottom of the lake, never seeing the light of day, had the ropes cut by someone. The topics that were originally thought to be very heavy, in fact, had no weight at all. They all floated to the surface lightly and finally saw the sunlight.
Ruan Mei found it quite amazing.
She had told Huang Mingyan about these things before, but her mentality was not as calm as it is now, and she was quite angry. Huang Mingyan was also angry with her at first, but later he would occasionally persuade her to try to reconcile with her family.
Huang Mingyan would hope that she could be more mature. After all, it would be extremely difficult for her to survive in this society without the help of her family.
But Chen Shanye was different. He only responded softly occasionally. He didn't try to persuade her or cater to her deliberately. His warm and dry palms patted and stroked her back gently, as if to say, "I feel your discomfort."
Like a big rock, he said nothing but could protect her from wind and rain.
"The scar on your leg..."
In fact, Chen Shanye also had his own selfish motives. He wanted to know the secret under the tattoo, so he couldn't help but speak, only to find that the girl had fallen asleep in his arms.
Forget it, just sleep well first, and we’ll talk about it when we wake up.
*
"Professor Lin, congratulations!"
"Ah, Principal Huang, you're here!" Lin Bina, wearing a dark red cheongsam, took small steps towards the guests. The cheongsam was decorated with flowers, and gold and silver threads outlined the delicate texture of each colorful piece. A set of jadeite was dotted around her neck, earlobes, and wrist bones. The emerald color was rich and bright, like the most beautiful feather on a bluebird.
"Mingjun, Ruan Lan, congratulations! Lovers have finally gotten married! I wish you a son soon and a long and happy marriage!"
Fang Mingjun, dressed in a neat suit, bent over and shook Principal Huang's hand: "Thank you for coming, Principal Huang."
"Mingjun, you must treat Ruan Lan well. She is the apple of our Professor Lin's eye!"
Wrapped tightly in white gauze, Ruan Lan smiled sweetly and thanked Principal Huang: "Don't worry, Uncle Huang, Mingjun treats me very well."
After the group finished taking their photos, Lin Bina personally led Principal Huang to the main table. The pot-bellied man asked with a smile, "Professor Lin, did you ever imagine that your most successful student would become your son-in-law all these years later? Mingjun is now a key young leader in our school, and his future is bright."
"I never thought that the two little ones are so in love with each other. As long as they are happy, we elders will be happy." Lin Bina's face was full of pride and pride, and her slightly protruding cheekbones were glowing red.
"Hey, where's your little daughter?"
Lin Bina paused almost imperceptibly and quickly caught up with Principal Huang: "She will be here later."
Ruan Mei had actually arrived. A touch of burgundy made her skin look whiter than fresh snow. Her skirt, like tulip petals, was billowing. The top of her chest was like a pristine white beach, her collarbone was a castle made of white sand, and a small and exquisite ruby necklace was hidden in the middle of the fine sand.
Ruan Lan saw her glowing white sister and the tall man with her arm around her from a distance, and the smile on her face faded slightly.
Fang Mingjun was also stunned. He hadn't seen Ruan Mei for many years.
Ruan Mei went home less and less frequently in recent years, not to mention that Ruan Mei deliberately avoided him, and he only occasionally heard some news about her from Ruan Lan.
The chubby ugly duckling has long since transformed into a swan with a crown on its head.
His eyes wandered silently over the wine-red color, like a poisonous snake coming out of a hole, spitting out its tongue and eager to try.
For a moment, Fang Mingjun felt a chill.
The wild wolf ambushing at the cave entrance stepped hard on his throat with its sharp claws, making him unable to make any sound and he could only let out hissing sounds with difficulty.
He slightly shifted his gaze, his lips still curled with a smile of hospitality, and his gaze collided with the man beside Ruan Mei in the festive and warm atmosphere.
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