"Yes, they are a very good match."
"..."
After she finished speaking, there was a moment of silence at the dining table. The gaze from beside her ear was too intense, and Mu Yiran couldn't help but look over.
Shi Youxi's dark eyes, which always held a gentle tenderness when he looked at her, now resembled shattered black glass beads.
It was teetering on the brink of collapse, and with the slightest force it would shatter into pieces, causing painful wounds.
Before his eyes turned red, the boy lowered his head, his curly bangs covering his eyes so he couldn't see anything.
Mu Yiran felt a tightness in her chest from his gaze.
No, I can't be soft-hearted...
"It's wonderful that Madam Shi shares my thoughts. You're younger than all of us, so you'll definitely get along well with these two children." Helian Jingfen smiled at Mu Yiran, putting her arm around Helian Xin's shoulder.
"Xinxin is shy and often doesn't dare to say anything. If she upsets Youxi in the future, it will probably be Mrs. Shi who will have to mediate. Relationships are built up over time."
"...Of course."
Faced with Helian Jingfen's repeated requests, Mu Yiran always nodded with a smile.
From the moment Helian Jingfen sat down, her words, both overt and covert, were barbed and sarcastic towards Mu Yiran.
She was innocently targeted by the other party for no reason. At first, she thought that Helian Jingfen was prejudiced against her because of the original owner's bad image.
It wasn't until Li Bu Huo sent her a message that she learned that this was the eldest daughter of the Helian family who had almost married Shi Yan back then.
Unlike Helian Xin and Shi Youxi.
Helian Jingfen and Shi Yan are childhood sweethearts. They were both born and raised in Liguo. Before they came of age, both sets of parents tacitly agreed that they would get married in the future.
The change occurred when Shi Yan was 20 years old and studying abroad, when he met Bai Shengsheng.
Then everything changed.
In order to defy Old Master Shi's orders, Shi Yan desperately seized power and consolidated his influence over two years. Eventually, even Old Master Shi became wary of his son. At that point, the previously agreed-upon promise between parents was ultimately fulfilled only by Shi Yan's words:
"The only person I can marry is Bai Shengsheng."
Helian Jingfen's more than 20 years of unrequited love were wasted.
Seeing his childhood sweetheart marry someone else, or even divorce and remarry, he probably transferred all the hatred and resentment he had harbored for Bai Shengsheng over the years onto Shi Yan's new wife.
They couldn't help but nitpick at Cheng Ran!
Now her daughter is getting engaged to her first love's son, and rumors are circulating online about a forbidden and ambiguous relationship between her and Shi Youxi.
At this moment, in Helian Jingfen's eyes, he was as worthless as a straw boat in the east wind.
The naked contempt and disdain in her eyes were enough to pierce Mu Yiran like a sieve.
What appeared to be a peaceful, ordinary family meal was actually a trap set by the Helian family to test Cheng Ran and Shi Youxi.
Mu Yiran clearly understood Helian Jingfen's intentions.
The clearer things are, the less one should pay attention to Shi Youxi.
The boy gradually changed from being gloomy to indifferent, like an outsider, sitting there expressionless as a decoration.
I didn't even pick up a piece of my favorite lychee flesh.
Thinking of his pitifully small lunch, Mu Yiran frowned, but couldn't say anything. She just kept turning the rotating table around.
After a while, the boy seemed to see it.
His empty pupils twitched, and he lifted his eyelids to glance at her before instantly looking away!
After a long while, he reluctantly picked up his chopsticks, but didn't pick anything up, just ate nothing.
The rotating table spun around again, and this time, all of Shi Youxi's favorite dishes were laid out in front of him, with a cheesecake placed next to the exquisite plating.
Shi Youxi's eyes flickered. He loosened his grip under the table, revealing small bloodstains on his fingertips.
When I pinched the chopsticks hard with my fingertips, the red veins became more noticeable.
Finally, he saw the woman opposite him react, and a fleeting look of heartache crossed his eyes.
The anger in his heart subsided a little, and the boy, enduring the intense gaze, finally began to slowly pick up food and eat.
Suddenly, Helian Jingfen spoke:
"Mrs. Shi, do you really like eating crabs? I've noticed you've turned around to eat them several times, but you haven't touched them."
Helian Jingfen had been watching the whole time; Cheng Ran hadn't been eating at all.
Mu Yiran chuckled nonchalantly, "It's not that I like it."
"It's because my husband likes to eat it."
My husband, Shi Yan, who loves to eat: "..."
Shi Youxi, who had just comfortably finished eating the lychee flesh: "..."
"...You, Shi Yan likes it?" He Lian Jingfen's lips twitched. "How come I didn't know Shi Yan liked to eat crabs? Didn't you used to dislike seafood?"
"Of course he doesn't eat regular seafood,"
Mu Yiran picked up a king crab, cut off its limbs, and then put it into Shi Yan's bowl.
She smiled sweetly at Shi Yan, whose expression remained calm.
"But he absolutely loves the king crab I pick up!"
Helian Jingfen: "..."
What are you talking about!
Why are you showing off your love? Aren't you afraid of dying young?
Seeing Shi Yan raise an eyebrow and then calmly take a bite of the king crab in his bowl, Helian Jingfen was even more furious.
Just moments ago, Shi Yan was monitoring whether Cheng Ran and Shi Youxi had a secret relationship, but now his attention has been completely diverted by Shi Yan.
Yes, it's laughable when you think about it.
With a man like Shi Yan around, how could she possibly be interested in anyone else, even if that person was Shi Yan's son? But how could a mere child with nothing but a pretty face compare to his father?
She understood Shi Yan's charm better than anyone else.
There are very few women in this world as ungrateful as Bai Shengsheng; it's impossible that Shi Yan encountered both of them.
Her opinion of Cheng Ran changed again and again. Although she still disliked her, she eventually stopped thinking about the fabricated stories online.
But Helian Bochen, who was standing next to her, stared at Cheng Ran suspiciously for a while.
Shi Yan ate a few bites of crab in accordance with Cheng Ran's wishes, and as soon as he put down his chopsticks, he felt a strong gaze.
He looked up and saw his son staring intently at the king crab with its large belly in his bowl.
The father and son stared at each other across the distance, each more indifferent than the last.
Shi Yan narrowed his eyes, about to say something, when Helian Xin, sitting next to Shi Youxi, stirred.
She moved the plate next to Shi Youxi and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"I also really like lychee pulp, could you get me a piece?"
She had actually left the empty plate aside for a while, but Shi Youxi kept picking at the lychee pulp on her own.
He kept picking up food, so Helian Xin couldn't very well reach over with her chopsticks; she wouldn't do something so impolite as to snatch food.
She wouldn't do that, at least not in front of Shi Youxi.
But after seeing Cheng Ran's actions, she understood!
Why didn't she think of asking Shi Youxi to help her pick up food? Anyway, the two of them would get engaged in the future, so it was only a matter of time before they would be able to pick up food together so intimately!
Even if Shi Youxi doesn't like her now, he can't just not give her any food in front of so many people.
Helian Xin licked her lips expectantly.
Shi Youxi did indeed make a move.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed the lychee flesh in his mouth, then picked up another piece with his chopsticks.
Helian Xin happily pushed the plate forward, "Thank you—"
Then he watched as the piece of lychee flesh was put into Shi Youxi's own mouth.
"..."
"you……"
"Didn't you put it for me?!" Helian Xin exclaimed in a low voice!
Her anxiety made Shi Youxi anxious too.
The chopsticks reached over again, stuffing the lychee flesh into the plate one bite after another until it was completely gone.
Helian Xin stared in disbelief at the boy's bulging cheeks!
She had just seen how Shi Youxi ate lunch in the cafeteria!
He was so picky, taking each bite was like a life-threatening ordeal.
What's going on here?!
The boy looked like he hadn't eaten in ages; before he had even swallowed what was in his mouth, his hand reached for the small stack of cakes.
Helian Xin gritted her teeth, "Didn't you hear me say I like to eat this!"
Shi Youxi licked the cake crumbs off his lips, then turned his eyes to the woman opposite him who was smiling and chatting happily with Helian Jingfen.
His eyes gradually darkened.
He obediently ate all of these things.
But his sister still wouldn't talk to him, or even look at him properly...
"I didn't hear it."
Shi Youxi had a mouthful of creamy cheese, which felt heavy and dull.
The interaction between the boy and girl was observed by several people around them. Although they couldn't hear what they were saying, Helian Jingfen and Helian Bochen could still sense that they were a harmonious and well-matched couple.
The two siblings exchanged a glance, and Helian Bochen immediately understood what his sister meant.
Perhaps it was because of my youthful obsession with popular sayings.
After learning that her daughter had fallen in love with Shi Youxi at first sight and couldn't forget him, Helian Jingfen insisted on arranging a marriage between her and the Shi family.
They thought that this would allow them to have some connection with Shi Yan.
In Helian Bochen's eyes, there were no drawbacks to the marriage between the two families. Moreover, he believed that with his niece's charm, Shi Youxi would fall in love with Xinxin sooner or later.
UN urgently needs the help of the Shi family's substantial financial resources and influence in the capital, while Shi Youxi also urgently needs to change his public image.
Shi Yan would never refuse the Helian family's request for a marriage alliance.
With that thought in mind, Helian Bochen smiled and calmly said to Shi Yan:
"It seems the two children get along very well. Why don't we take this opportunity to set a date for their engagement today?"
"Shiyan, you said a few days ago that you needed to think about it some more. How is your decision now? Xinxin is a public figure, so we need to prepare public relations time in advance for this kind of thing."
"We're engaged!"
Helian Xin's anger at Shi Youxi vanished instantly, replaced by a tense yet ecstatic exclamation.
Mu Yiran held her breath and subconsciously looked at Shi Youxi. The boy had his eyes downcast and his face was deathly silent.
Shi Yan nodded slightly.
"Okay, we'll go at Xinxin's time."
Helian Bochen and Helian Jingfen exchanged a smile.
"Then let's set it for next month..."
"I can't."
Helian Bochen was taken aback and turned to look at Shi Youxi.
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