Chapter 25 It's Always Been You
The two people, whose relationship had progressed further, ultimately failed to do what a married couple should do.
At the critical moment, Sheng An deserted his post.
She didn't give Xu Jinnian a chance to misunderstand, and explained the reason very seriously:
“My body is too weak, so weak that I haven’t had my period for several months. If we end up killing someone, either the child will die, or I will die with the child.”
For some reason, Xu Jinnian suddenly felt a huge sense of panic. He subconsciously reached out and covered Sheng An's mouth, his voice sterner than ever before: "Don't talk nonsense!"
Sheng An was startled and immediately shook off his hand: "Why are you yelling? Giving birth is a life-or-death ordeal for women, I'm not exaggerating."
This body hasn't fully developed and suffers from long-term malnutrition. With irregular menstruation, the probability of getting pregnant is very low, but you never know what might happen.
If you get pregnant, at best you'll miscarry, at worst you'll lose both you and your unborn child—either way, it's a life-threatening situation.
Sheng An wouldn't risk his life for a moment of pleasure.
"No, I won't touch you, An'an, I won't let you get pregnant..."
Xu Jinnian hugged Sheng An tightly, a huge panic almost engulfing him: "An'an, let's not have children, let's live like this for the rest of our lives."
Sheng An didn't expect him to react so strongly. Suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, she poked his tense body and said, "We sleep in the same bed every day. You can hold back, but I can't guarantee that I can control myself."
Platonic marital relationships are like bubbles; only maintaining physical intimacy can ensure a lasting relationship.
Seeing the man hug her tighter and his body stiffen more, Sheng An sighed and comforted him, "Can you please stop? It's making me feel like I'm really going to die, it's putting a lot of pressure on me."
Xu Jinnian couldn't explain why he was so terrified. Seeing that his actions were affecting Sheng An, he slowly released her, trying to calm his abnormally fast heartbeat.
"I was too nervous. Let's not say such unlucky things again."
Sheng An nodded: "Okay, I won't say anymore. I'll take good care of myself."
She is unlikely to lack money in the future, and she won't be too strict with herself when it comes to food. At most, she can make up for the loss of energy and blood in a year and allow her body to develop normally.
She's only sixteen; she has a few more years to develop.
The room was quiet, and the two people on the bed nestled together peacefully.
Having moved past the heavy topic, Sheng An listened to Xu Jinnian's strong heartbeat and her hands wandered around restlessly: "There's a question I've wanted to ask for a long time, and you have to answer me honestly."
"Yes, go ahead and ask."
Xu Jinnian's voice was somewhat hoarse, adding a touch of allure in the darkness.
Sheng An tried to pinch his abs but couldn't get a grip, so he decisively moved his hand to his chest, where the feel was much better:
“There are plenty of girls in the city who are your equals. My aunt said before that I was marrying above my station. Actually, with your qualities, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a girl who could help you. Why did you choose me?”
Not only was she puzzled, but her grandparents were also surprised and delighted, but also suspected that he might have a hidden illness.
Having the experience of their wedding night, the possibility of having a hidden illness can be completely ruled out.
"An'an really wants to know?"
Xu Jinnian grabbed the hand that was messing with his chest and held it tightly in his palm to stop her from teasing him further: "Whether An'an believes it or not, the moment I saw you, I knew it was you. You can think of it as love at first sight."
Ever since his aunt announced that he wanted to meet someone, matchmakers have been coming to propose marriage non-stop.
There were many girls who were suitable for marriage, and several whose social standing was higher than that of the Xu family. Even the teacher, after learning about it, arranged for him to marry a suitable girl from the clan.
But he always felt that something was missing.
Until the matchmaker lost patience and casually mentioned An'an a couple of times, he somehow took it to heart and, as if possessed, asked to meet her.
He still remembers the look the matchmaker gave him, as if he were a fool.
The matchmaker quickly arranged the meeting. He met Grandpa Sheng and Grandma Sheng at the matchmaker's house, and also saw An'an, who was secretly hiding behind the curtain.
In just one glance, he heard his heart screaming wildly, it was her, it was her!
After that, everything fell into place naturally.
"Love at first sight? We're really on the same wavelength, both of us were attracted to each other at first sight."
Sheng An chuckled and excitedly rolled into Xu Jinnian's arms, giving him a deep kiss on the lips: "This proves that we are destined to be husband and wife."
Xu Jinnian put one arm around his wife's waist and the other hand on the back of her head to deepen the kiss: "An'an is right."
Whether it was love at first sight or lust at first sight, he and An'an are now husband and wife, isn't that the best outcome?
Sheng An was having trouble breathing from the kiss and pushed the man away to remind him to stop.
Seeing the restraint in his eyes, she felt inexplicably guilty and stared into his eyes as she asked, "Don't you think I've changed since before we got married?"
Sheng An hadn't forgotten that she was an outsider, and that the man had fallen in love with her at first sight. She felt like a shameless thief.
"Is there?"
Xu Jinnian noticed Sheng An's nervousness, assuming she was worried that the more her true nature was revealed, the less he would like her as she was now. He couldn't help but wipe the smile from his face, his expression turning serious.
"Whether before or after marriage, it has always been you. What I love is the complete you."
The feeling he had for An'an had never changed. The feeling of his heart fluttering every time he saw her was genuine. An'an was the person he wanted to spend his life with.
Sheng An was startled: "It's always been me...?"
For some reason, an absurd guess suddenly popped into her mind.
Perhaps she and the original owner were originally the same person?
Same appearance, same name, and the same weak bond with parents—everything is too coincidental.
Sheng An's heart pounded as she stubbornly searched for common ground between herself and the original owner of the body.
That night, Sheng An had another dream.
The scene in her dream overlapped with the dream she had on her wedding night, yet it felt incredibly real, as if she had personally experienced it.
The next day, Sheng An overslept and was woken up by her grandmother.
When she woke up, she had a splitting headache and it took her a while to recover, but she didn't show it in front of Xu Jinnian and Grandma Sheng.
The three of them worked hard for half a day and finally set up the wonton stall before sunrise.
To Sheng An's surprise, Manager Yang's son, Xiao Yang, arrived even earlier than them and quickly helped move things.
“Madam Sheng, I have come to help as instructed by my master. Please feel free to tell me if there is anything I need.”
Xiao Yang wiped his sweat and cheerfully explained his purpose, clearly not opposed to this new job.
Upon hearing this, Sheng An smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you."
Perhaps Master Ding was worried that she was too busy and would miss cooking for Ding Tianci at the Ding family home, so he simply sent Xiao Yang over to help out.
This arrangement is good; it reduces Grandma's workload and allows her to take a break.
Business was good as always today; all the wontons were sold out in less than an hour, and not a drop of soup was left.
Sheng An didn't treat Xiao Yang badly either, and specially saved him a bowl of wontons.
Holding the bowl, Xiao Yang ate with a satisfied expression: "Madam Sheng, your cooking is absolutely amazing! I've never eaten such delicious wontons in my life!"
Sheng An laughed and said, "It's just a bowl of wontons. There will be plenty of opportunities to eat delicious food in the future."
Once her little restaurant opens, what dish won't be better than wontons?
Xiao Yang didn't understand Sheng An's implied meaning. After finishing the last sip of soup, he exclaimed, "Nothing tastes better than the wontons made by Madam Sheng!"
Yesterday he didn't bring the old man any wontons, and the old man almost hit him with a stick.
Hmph, I'll tell the old man when I get back that he gets a bowl of wontons from the stall every day, and the old man will be so envious.
After packing their things, Xiao Yang pushed the cart back to the Xu family with Grandma Sheng, while Sheng An also got into the Ding family's carriage.
Master Ding had important business to attend to and went out early in the morning. This time, Changfu was the one who received Sheng'an.
As Sheng An walked towards the kitchen, she asked Chang Fu, "Did Young Master Ding eat anything yesterday afternoon?"
Changfu said respectfully, "Young Master ate another half bowl of millet and pumpkin porridge. He woke up this morning saying he was hungry."
This was the first time the young master had complained of being hungry since he fell ill, which made the master cry again.
The cook tried to cook a pot of millet and pumpkin porridge like Madam Sheng had, but the young master had no appetite and didn't eat a single bite.
"I wonder if Young Master Ding has anything else he would like to eat? As long as it is food that he can digest, I can make it for him to have a change of pace."
Sheng'an can make more than just millet and pumpkin porridge; she can also make yam and millet porridge, lotus seed and millet porridge, red date and goji berry porridge, etc., which taste just as good as millet and pumpkin porridge.
Changfu: "Young Master didn't say that. Please continue to make millet and pumpkin porridge, Madam Sheng. Yesterday, Master just ordered someone to buy a batch of millet and pumpkin."
Sheng An nodded and went to the kitchen to repeat yesterday's process.
Yesterday, the people in the kitchen watched coldly, regarding Sheng An as nothing more than a swindler trying to take advantage of the Ding family.
Now, Sheng An is surrounded by onlookers, all craning their necks to watch her process the ingredients and control the heat, hoping to learn her secrets to making millet and pumpkin porridge.
Sheng An's every move was exposed to everyone's eyes, and he had absolutely no tricks up his sleeve.
The cook, who had once imitated Sheng'an's method of cooking millet and pumpkin porridge, found it hard to believe and boldly asked the question that had been bothering her:
"Madam Sheng, I cooked it the same way, so why does it taste so different from yours?"
Sheng Anxin thought to himself, "I thought you didn't have the cheat code to give food super buffs and unleash all the energy of the ingredients."
The reason couldn't be revealed, so Sheng An simply threw the question back at him: "With the same ingredients and the same cooking methods, even chefs can produce different flavors."
The cook hung her head in dejection and silently withdrew.
The others understood Sheng An's meaning and stopped questioning whether she had a backup plan.
Without the right tools, one cannot handle delicate tasks; it is only right that Madam Sheng has caught the master's eye.
After cooking the millet and pumpkin porridge, Sheng An went to Ding Tianci's courtyard as he had the day before, waiting for his feedback on the taste.
Ding Tianci was in better spirits today; his eyes were brighter, and he was no longer lifeless.
When he saw Sheng An, he even smiled and spoke as if rubbing sandpaper: "Madam Sheng, you've worked hard."
Sheng An shook his head: "It's only right."
It was just cooking porridge, and besides, Master Ding had given her a generous reward, so she really didn't feel it was hard work.
Ding Tianci only ate half a bowl of porridge, and he would take the rest to the kitchen to keep warm until he got hungry.
"Given Young Master Ding's current physical condition, I suggest he eat vegetarian porridge for five days first. If there are no adverse reactions during this period, I will then prepare other foods for Young Master Ding as appropriate."
Even the most delicious millet and pumpkin porridge can become tiresome if eaten every day, so Sheng An naturally had to remind Young Master Ding to prevent him from rushing to try other foods.
"Alright, I'll follow Madam Sheng's arrangements."
Two years of suffering from illness had worn away Ding Tianci's willful side, and he had no objection to Sheng An's arrangements.
On the way back, Sheng An once again boarded the Ding family's luxurious carriage.
The large carriage naturally attracted attention, and Sheng'an received many envious glances along the way.
Sheng An decided that he would also get a cool horse-drawn carriage for transportation in the future.
As soon as the carriage entered the alley where the Xu family lived, Sheng An heard sharp, piercing shouts and curses coming from ahead:
"You shameless slut who flirts with other women all the time, how dare you use my body to support other men! I'll beat you to death, you shameless whore!"
Sheng An strained his ears to listen carefully and immediately recognized that it was the voice of that wicked old woman from the Sun family.
Using tofu to support a random man? Whose man is so worthless?
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