Chapter 55: My Turn to Coax You
When Jiang Shiyuan woke up in the morning, she saw Huo Lan sleeping soundly beside her, just like always.
The good habit of going to bed early and waking up early that he had cultivated over the years seemed to have been completely worn away in the last two days. Even Huo Lan, who was always extremely self-disciplined, began to have times when he could not control his own body.
Sensing Jiang Shiyuan's subtle movements, Huo Lan groggily woke up from his sleep.
He stared at her face for a long time until he was sure that Jiang Shiyuan was real, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Have you thought it through, Shi Yuan?"
She knew what he was asking, but there was no need to ask, because she had no choice at all.
Jiang Shiyuan remained silent, but Huo Lan insisted that she give the answer.
He gently pinched her cheek, with a teasing tone, "If you don't speak, you'll stay in bed all day."
Jiang Shiyuan dodged his movement and frowned, saying, "Aren't you getting up yet? It's already nine o'clock. So Huo Lan is a lazybones too."
She pushed away his hand from her waist, lifted the covers and got up to wash up. Only when she reached the bathroom did she softly answer his question.
"I understand, you can make the arrangements."
Huo Lan sensed the compromise in her tone; she hadn't made her own choice, but was merely being forced by him.
But he didn't care; he took it as if she had already agreed.
He got up and went to the dressing room to pick out the clothes he wanted to wear today. In accordance with the requirements for the marriage certificate photo, he specially ordered a beige silk shirt with white hydrangea flowers embroidered on the chest, which was both dignified and elegant.
Jiang Shiyuan's was the same; it was a ribbon dress with a bowl neck, from the same collection as his clothes, and also embroidered with wooden hydrangeas.
Huo Lan had arranged everything a long, long time ago. Although the engagement banquet was out of his control, at least the outcome remained the same.
Shi Teng drove the car out of the garage and parked it outside the courtyard of Lingdang Xiaozhu.
As luck would have it, they ran into Shen Chuqing and Huo Qi, who were walking towards them together.
Shen Chuqing had heard the news on the first day Jiang Shiyuan returned, and now, seeing Huo Lan's car and Shi Teng waiting, she was basically certain of the truth.
She knew how frantically Huo Lan had been searching for people over the past month, so she wasn't surprised that Jiang Shiyuan had been found.
But what are they planning to do?
Shen Chuqing stopped Shi Teng and asked, "Butler Shi, where are you going?"
Shi Teng spoke fluently and politely replied, "Mr. Huo is going out for a while, but we haven't decided where yet."
Huo Qi looked incredulous and said, "How is that possible? When did he ever leave the house after nine o'clock? Could it be that you just found him and were in such a hurry to take him out to play?"
Shen Chuqing's annoyance was almost palpable; she frowned and ignored Huo Qi.
Seemingly sensing her displeasure, Huo Qi stopped talking, becoming somewhat hesitant. "If you want to go out and play, I'll take you. Don't be upset..."
Shen Chuqing knew she couldn't get any information out of Shi Teng, so she turned her head to look at the courtyard of Lingdang Xiaozhu.
The Bell Pavilion is very elegant and convenient to access. Most other gardens are connected by winding paths that lead to secluded spots, and cars cannot drive in. However, the Bell Pavilion has a pebbled driveway right outside the door.
It's said that they even had a feng shui expert consulted, and the location and orientation were absolutely superb...
After this incident, Shen Chuqing realized how important Jiang Shiyuan was to Huo Lan, and her naivety back then had cost her dearly.
She shouldn't have the audacity to think she could take his place.
"Young Master Huo Qi, Miss Shen," Shi Teng greeted them respectfully, only wanting them to leave quickly. "Mr. Huo has urgent business to attend to and probably won't have time to entertain you."
Shen Chuqing didn't leave, remaining outside the courtyard of the small building, looking up as she spoke, "What urgent matter could it be?"
At this moment, Huo Lan had already led Jiang Shiyuan out of the inner hall. When they reached the flower bed, he noticed that the ribbon at Jiang Shiyuan's collar was slightly askew, so he stopped and reached out to straighten it for her.
"This ribbon suits you very well." Huo Lan never hesitated to praise her. "You look beautiful today."
Jiang Shiyuan was in low spirits, but simply nodded and continued to follow Huo Lan out of the courtyard.
When the four met, Jiang Shiyuan was slightly taken aback when she saw Shen Chuqing with Huo Qi.
Just as Shen Yiyi said, they got engaged, all because of her.
Huo Lan turned his head and saw Jiang Shiyuan's apologetic gaze. Not wanting her to spend too much time with Shen Chuqing, he instructed, "Shi Teng, open the car door."
He put his arm around Jiang Shiyuan and was about to lead her to the car when Shen Chuqing called out to him first.
"Brother Huo Lan, wait a minute!"
Huo Lan's expression was unfriendly; he simply turned to look at her without saying a word.
Shen Chuqing continued to ask, "Where are you all going?"
Huo Lan looked at her coldly, without hiding anything, "Go and get the marriage registration done."
He looked down at Jiang Shiyuan, who was being held in his arms, and tightened his grip on her shoulder slightly. "With my Shiyuan."
Shen Chuqing froze in shock, her fingers trembling, and she almost gritted her teeth as she squeezed out the four words, "Marriage procedures?"
"Yes, after all, a marriage certificate is the most reliable proof." After saying that, he added with a smile, "You two should hurry up too."
Jiang Shiyuan could no longer hold back and apologized directly to Shen Chuqing, "I'm sorry."
"What's there to apologize for?" Shen Chuqing forced a nonchalant expression and took Huo Qi's arm. "My fiancé and I get along very well."
"Ah," Jiang Shiyuan looked on in confusion, remembering that Shen Chuqing and Huo Qi didn't have much interaction.
Seeing that Shen Chuqing was unusually close to him, Huo Qi was in a good mood and immediately replied, "Yes, sister-in-law, we're going to go boating on the lake and pick lotus flowers later."
"Sister-in-law?"
Jiang Shiyuan was shocked by Huo Qi's address. Hadn't he always been cursing her as a mistress who couldn't be brought into the open?
Huo Qi said, "Yes, she's going to marry my brother Huo Lan, so what else could she be but sister-in-law?"
Huo Lan curled his lips, did not respond to Huo Qi, and led the stunned Jiang Shiyuan into the car, getting in with her.
After the car started moving, she could still hear Huo Qi's obviously delighted voice calling out from behind.
"Wishing my brother and sister-in-law a long and happy marriage, and many children to come!"
Jiang Shiyuan was still in the car, not quite able to come to her senses. How could Huo Qi have suddenly changed her personality?
"He's liked Shen Chuqing since he was little, so I just went along with it. Of course, he should thank you..."
Huo Lan's eyes showed a hint of displeasure, and he was furious when he thought of Jiang Shiyuan running away before the engagement banquet.
"If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have had the chance to get engaged to Shen Chuqing."
Jiang Shiyuan said, "Now that I'm back, can't I cancel their ridiculous engagement? Shen Chuqing doesn't like Huo Qi at all."
Huo Lan asked, "Absurd? How is it absurd?"
"You were making a big fuss about your engagement party, but when the party actually started, you said it was Shen Chuqing and Huo Qi. Isn't that absurd?"
"This wasn't my decision. After all, even if I had said it in front of everyone, they could have called off the engagement." Huo Lan smiled knowingly. "After the engagement banquet, the Shen family couldn't wait to come over and talk about the details of the engagement."
Jiang Shiyuan understood, and could not hide her guilt. "So, it was her family who forced her to accept the engagement with Huo Qi?"
Huo Lan said coldly, "Do you think Shen Chuqing is as naive as you?"
Jiang Shiyuan was completely bewildered by the question, "Isn't that right?"
“She couldn’t wait to marry into the Huo family, even if it was Huo Qi.” Huo Lan continued, “From the beginning, she didn’t enter Huo Garden entirely because she admired me; she just wanted to become Mrs. Huo.”
Seeing Jiang Shiyuan's incredulous expression, Huo Lan found her incredibly adorable. "My Shiyuan, how can you so easily imagine people as innocent and wonderful?"
Jiang Shiyuan snorted lightly, too lazy to think about the entanglements of interests between these wealthy families, and her guilt also disappeared by more than half.
"Are you relieved now?"
Seeing that Jiang Shiyuan was no longer tense, Huo Lan took her hand that was placed to the side and intertwined their fingers.
"Then we should think about what's between us."
Huo Lan said calmly, "After we finish the formalities, I'll take you to Jingyuan. The Mengkong project hasn't been fully repaired yet."
Jiang Shiyuan felt a weight lift from her heart again, sensing that it wasn't going to be anything good.
Huo Lan said casually, "Your job at Mengkong is no longer suitable for you. I'll go with you to resign and pack your things."
Jiang Shiyuan had long anticipated this outcome, so it wasn't surprising; however, the day of her departure had finally arrived.
"I haven't moved out of the apartment I rent in Linjiang City yet..."
"I'll have someone pack your things." Huo Lan loosened his grip slightly before intertwining his fingers with hers again. "Didn't you want to take the postgraduate entrance exam? I'll arrange a tutor for you, but there's a time limit. You need to rest more, especially..."
He knew she didn't like hearing him say that, so he unconsciously softened his voice, "Especially after I got pregnant."
"Besides, this major often involves going to construction sites, and I don't want you to work so hard. I want you to be more inclined towards academic research."
Jiang Shiyuan turned her head to look at the scenery outside the car window and ignored him.
He has already planned out her life, so what right does she have to object?
"After you finish your studies, you can continue to pursue a doctorate and then return to Wannan University to work."
Huo Lan's words made Jiang Shiyuan turn around in surprise, her face full of disbelief.
Why are his plans exactly the same as hers?
After the initial surprise came only anger. It turned out that he not only controlled her physical freedom, but also infiltrated her mind!
He knew her so well; he knew exactly what she was thinking, what she liked, and what she wanted to do.
Huo Lan naturally knew what Jiang Shiyuan was annoyed about, and was actually quite pleased. "If it weren't for your insistence on Peking University, I really wouldn't have thought that you would give up the university you had always longed for and go to Berlin instead."
"But I will find it someday, unless you completely give up what you like."
Jiang Shiyuan remained stubborn, sulking, "Even if I run away, I won't give up what I want. I'm no longer the Jiang Shiyuan who was with you right after graduation. I won't pretend to be obedient anymore, and I won't coax you anymore."
"good."
Hearing Jiang Shiyuan's words, Huo Lan felt relieved.
He no longer needed to guess whether she liked or disliked him beneath her sweet smile.
"From now on, you can freely express your likes and dislikes, and I'll take care of you."
In the blink of an eye, we arrived at our destination.
"Get out of the car, my... wife."
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