Chapter 18 What's wrong? You're disgusted? If you're disgusted, why didn't you run away that night?
Grandma Sheng washed the pots and pans clean and swept the ground carefully. Just as she finished washing her hands and was about to sit down in the yard to rest, she saw her granddaughter rush out like a gust of wind.
Seeing her granddaughter's face, which was as red as a monkey's bottom, Grandma Sheng asked worriedly, "What happened?"
Sheng An didn't notice what her grandmother said. She kicked the stone bench twice and then slapped herself in the face.
"You're so quick-witted, you speak without thinking, are you fucking stupid?!"
Thinking of the suffocating atmosphere in the study a moment ago, Sheng An wished he could hit himself twice more.
How utterly brainless must someone be to say something like that!
Sheng An now wished she could flee to Mars as fast as she could, and could no longer look directly at Xu Jinnian's expressionless face, which seemed to say everything.
Seeing her granddaughter acting crazy, Grandma Sheng seemed to guess what was going on. She glanced into the house, then simply ignored her granddaughter and sat down at the stone table to pick chives.
Sheng An wanted to eat chive dumplings, so when she went to the vegetable garden at noon to pick vegetables, she casually cut a handful of chives and brought them back.
After venting his emotions, Sheng An finally noticed Grandma Sheng.
She awkwardly sat down next to Grandma Sheng and grabbed a handful of chives to pick them.
Grandma Sheng glanced at her granddaughter, her eyes filled with a smile: "Seeing how well you and Jin Nian get along, Grandma is relieved."
Sheng An paused, looking at Grandma Sheng in disbelief: "Where did you get the idea that he and I have a good relationship?"
She at most considered Xu Jinnian as a roommate and a business partner; there was no real affection involved.
"You silly child, still trying to fool your grandma. I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. You and Jin Nian get along like an old married couple. What else could it be but a good relationship?"
Grandma Sheng glared at her granddaughter, feeling that her granddaughter had underestimated her.
An old married couple? What does that have to do with anything?
Sheng An sighed, knowing that the old lady had misunderstood. He didn't know how to explain it to her, so he could only vaguely say, "Whatever you say, sir."
If it puts the old lady at ease, then let them be an old married couple.
Despite thinking this way, Sheng An still felt uneasy.
She's never even experienced the sweetness of being in love, yet she's already rushing into an old married couple mode. Is that reasonable?
Sheng Anxin was unwilling to give up, and her gaze unconsciously passed through the main room and looked towards the study.
That man's face, which seemed to be both smiling and not smiling, started flashing before her eyes again.
Or, considering her pretty face, could she try a marriage of convenience that blossoms into love?
Although Liu Huazhi's ravings were warning her that Xu Jinnian might be a huge pitfall, that was a matter for the future.
Judging from this person's performance over this period, she felt that he deserved an 80 out of 100. It would be a waste to leave him out like this, and she couldn't live with herself.
What else can we do?
Unlike in my previous life, here couples can divorce if they have doubts about their marriage.
It can be said that as long as Xu Jinnian doesn't give in, she will be unable to get rid of him, whether from the perspective of etiquette or public opinion.
In other words, she was the passive party in this marriage.
Sheng An brainwashed himself and quickly cleared his mind. He immediately dropped the few leeks he had picked and ran excitedly into the study. To Xu Jinnian's surprise, he plopped down in his original seat.
"Xu Jinnian, please continue teaching me to write!"
When Sheng An called him by his name for the first time, she suddenly found the name quite pleasant to pronounce.
Xu Jinnian looked intently at Sheng An, as if trying to see through her eyes to understand her inner thoughts.
Sheng An let him look, picked up the two-hair brush he had just used, and urged him with his eyes to teach him quickly.
Xu Jinnian didn't say anything. He put down the book in his hand, got up again, walked behind her, bent down and gently held her hand. His voice was low and clear: "Don't use your hand too hard. Just feel the trajectory of my pen strokes."
Sheng An's ears felt slightly hot, and she unconsciously turned her head away from the man's presence.
Noticing her movement, Xu Jinnian's expression darkened, but his voice remained calm and unhurried: "Focus."
Sheng An immediately froze, holding her breath and listening intently to the man's instructions.
This lesson lasted longer than the previous two, and it didn't end until Xu Jinnian had to go to the teacher again.
Sheng An did not go back to her room to rest; instead, she sat alone in her study practicing calligraphy.
Finally, you get ink blots of varying sizes and shapes.
It's okay, beginners are all like this!
Sheng An comforted himself and firmly denied that he was inherently a poor student.
That night, worried that Grandma Sheng wouldn't sleep well because she was unfamiliar with the bed, Sheng An brought a pillow to the guest room to sleep with her.
Without saying a word, Grandma Sheng kicked them out: "You and Jin Nian are still newlyweds, what kind of behavior is it to sleep with an old woman like me!"
If her in-laws found out, they would think she was an old woman with half her neck buried in the ground who didn't know any better.
Helpless, Sheng An could only hug her pillow and return to her room.
Just as she lay down, the door was pushed open, and Xu Jinnian walked in, holding a small porcelain box in his hand.
"What's this?"
Sheng An sat up, looking curiously at what Xu Jinnian was holding, unaware that her collar was open, revealing a large expanse of not-so-fair skin.
Xu Jinnian saw it clearly, and subconsciously looked away, sat down by the bed, and opened the lid of the porcelain box: "This is a moisturizing cream, it can moisturize the skin, you can use it to wipe your hands."
As she spoke, she picked out a large clump of moisturizing cream with her fingertips, took Sheng An's hand, and carefully applied it to her palms and the backs of her hands.
"I...I can do it myself."
Sheng An withdrew his hand, not expecting him to apply it to himself manually.
Xu Jinnian held her wrist tightly, and in the dim light, his usually gentle eyes seemed to flicker with fire: "Didn't you ask me about the itch that night? How can I give you an answer without experiencing it for myself?"
Sheng An: "..."
Retaliation, blatant retaliation!
Sheng An's face was burning again, and she really wanted to bury her head in the blankets like an ostrich.
But if she backs down now that they've gotten so close, wouldn't she be a coward?
Sheng An then raised her head and glared at Xu Jinnian, fiercely questioning, "What, you're disgusted? You're disgusted that you didn't run away that night? You seemed to be having a great time, practically wanting to break my back, ugh—"
He was only halfway through his sentence when his mouth was covered.
Sheng An was dumbfounded.
She's figured it out and wants to get along well with the guy in front of her, but isn't this progressing too fast?
Xu Jinnian felt the softness on her lips, her breathing became a little erratic, and a feeling of jubilation welled up in her heart.
The frustration that had been weighing on my chest yesterday vanished without a trace in an instant.
Two novices kissing, naturally they don't know the proper techniques.
Sheng An stared blankly, torn between whether or not to push the person down.
A perfect time and a beautiful view, a golden opportunity not to be missed.
Before Sheng An could figure it out, she felt a cool sensation on her lips and heard a man's smiling voice in her ear: "You didn't take a lunch break today, so you should get some rest."
Sheng An: "..."
Just like that?
Hey Xu, are you even capable of anything?
Lying down resentfully, Sheng An angrily closed her eyes, facing away from someone who deserved a beating.
What happened next made me even angrier.
"My lady, the moisturizer isn't finished yet."
Xu Jinnian took Sheng An's left hand, which was resting on her waist, and patiently and gently continued to apply the ointment.
A delicate fragrance slowly diffused in the air, adding a touch of ambiguity to the quiet room.
Sheng An tried to pull her hand away but couldn't, so she simply let the scoundrel do as he pleased.
The man only released her hands after he had applied moisturizing cream inside and out, leaving no wrinkle untouched.
Sheng An thought that was the end of it, and was about to sneak back under the covers to scratch her itchy back when she suddenly felt a shadow fall over her head.
She subconsciously opened her eyes and met Xu Jinnian's smiling gaze.
"W-What are you doing?"
Sheng An's throat was dry, and he questioned him with weak voice, feeling as if he was being laughed at.
"It's nothing, go to sleep early."
Xu Jinnian reached out and tidied the stray hairs on her forehead, revealing her entire face. Then, leaning down, he placed a kiss on Sheng An's lips as she stared in disbelief.
"An'an, we are husband and wife."
Xu Jinnian raised his head, his fingertips gently stroking Sheng An's cheek, his low voice incredibly gentle: "On the day of our wedding ceremony, I vowed in my heart to spend the rest of my life with you and grow old together."
We'll spend the rest of our lives together, hand in hand until we grow old.
Sheng An lay alone in bed, repeating this sentence over and over in her mind.
She believed that Xu Jinnian must have said those words from the bottom of his heart.
That night, Sheng An had a chaotic and incredibly cruel dream.
In her dream, she cried her heart out, as if she had lost everything overnight.
When Sheng An was woken up the next day, she couldn't remember anything about her dream. She only felt a strong sense of suffocation in her chest, which made her heart ache terribly.
She was in a hurry to go to the kitchen to knead dough, and didn't have time to think about the contents of her dream. She quickly got out of bed and went to the yard to wash up.
As usual, Xu Jinnian pushed the cart to the market, with Sheng An and Grandma Sheng following behind, carrying a bucket filled with bone broth on their shoulders.
Yesterday we almost ran out of soup base, and today we prepared even more wonton wrappers, so Sheng'an stewed an extra pot of bone broth.
Just like yesterday, people lined up in front of the stall before the soup base had even boiled again, with the little old man at the very front.
Seeing Grandma Sheng busy running around, the old man said to Sheng An with a smile, "We should have hired someone on the first day. The young boss missed out on a lot of money in the first two days alone."
Sheng An laughed and said, "You can never earn all the money in the world. Besides, it's a small business, and we can't afford to hire too many people."
The old man suggested, "You could learn from Yunji and open a shop to sell wontons, along with steamed buns and mantou. That would make more money than setting up a stall."
Sheng An had no intention of imitating Yun Ji, and vaguely replied, "We'll talk about it later."
As I said before, no matter how good the wonton business is, the money you can make is limited.
She still prefers to open a restaurant.
As the sun gradually rose, the overpowering aroma once again filled the market, and the queues in front of the stalls grew longer and longer, with many people following the example of the old man and others, holding a basin in their hands.
Grandma Sheng was stunned, realizing with absolute clarity just how popular her granddaughter's wonton stall was.
Even with an extra helper, Sheng An was still incredibly busy.
After finally seeing off a group of guests, before she could even catch her breath, a well-dressed, bearded middle-aged man stepped forward and bowed to her.
"Young master, my surname is Yang, and I am the steward of the Ding family. My master has important matters to discuss with you and has specially invited you to come to the mansion for a detailed discussion."
Behind the middle-aged man was a young man. Sheng An recognized him at a glance as the servant who had left a piece of silver as a deposit yesterday and then ran off with the wontons.
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