Chapter 6 006 Did he always wear his wedding ring?
Chen Miaoying waved to her parents and was led by Aunt Zhang to take a bath in the children's private bathroom.
Meng Ran also took the opportunity to say that she would go back to her bedroom for a while and wait for Chen Miaoying to finish her shower before having Aunt Zhang come to call her.
As she left, she tried her best to remain calm, even deliberately slowing her pace, afraid of revealing her disheveled state as she fled in front of Chen Sulin.
But the violent beating of his heart and the sound of blood rushing through his eardrums could not be hidden from him.
The moment she got close to Chen Sulin and their eyes met, she felt the aggression in his eyes with absolute certainty.
The first thing Meng Ran did upon returning to her bedroom was to examine herself in the full-length mirror.
The nightgown was a loose style, but because the silk fabric was so thin and clingy, it still clearly outlined the curves of her chest.
The two thin straps offered absolutely no coverage, leaving her neck, shoulders, and defined collarbones completely exposed to the air, her originally fair skin tinged with a faint blush.
Even when she gathers her long hair in front of her, it can only barely cover half of her skin, making it a more obvious attempt to conceal the truth.
Meng Ran closed her eyes in despair, wishing time could turn back ten minutes.
Has she lost her mind? How could she stand in front of Chen Sulin dressed like that for so long, and even foolishly move closer to him?
She even wanted to say that classic line from a dating game on Chen Sulin's behalf: "After all, I'm a man too."
Meng Ran forced herself to stop thinking about the scene from earlier, cleared her mind, and opened the wardrobe.
I originally wanted to find an outer garment to drape over the dress, but after hesitating for a few seconds, I simply gave up on the nightgown and found a set of long-sleeved and long-legged loungewear to change into.
Having learned her lesson, Meng Ran vowed never to wear a tank top anywhere outside her bedroom again.
It was not even nine o'clock yet, which is usually when Meng Ran's mind is most active.
But the thought of saying goodnight to Chen Miaoying and then being in the same room with Chen Sulin made it impossible for her to concentrate on doing anything.
I wandered aimlessly around the bedroom, my gaze finally settling on the bedside table.
There was a plain ring on it, which she had taken off and casually placed there when she was on the phone with Jiang Yuqing during the day.
Meng Ran remembered that she seemed to have seen Chen Sulin wearing a similar men's ring on the ring finger of his left hand in the corridor.
She hadn't noticed it before, but this time it was because she didn't know where to look for a few seconds that she accidentally noticed the man's hand.
Meng Ran thought that given the unequal status and information gap between her and Chen Sulin, there was really no need for him to put on a show in front of her.
So, during all the years she was missing... did he wear his wedding ring the whole time?
Meng Ran raised her hand in a daze, and was stunned when she saw a faint mark on her ring finger.
She must have worn this ring frequently in the period before she went missing.
Meng Ran looked at the wedding ring on the bedside table again: It was very beautiful, with an elegant design, yet its value was immediately apparent.
As if guided by some unseen force, she picked up the ring and slowly slipped it onto her finger.
It wasn't until the ring was pushed down to the base of her ring finger that the cold touch of the metal jolted her awake.
Meng Ran gave a self-deprecating smile: What is she doing?
A wedding ring is nothing; it doesn't represent anything. This is true even for ordinary people, let alone for someone like Chen Sulin, the head of a large corporation whose marital status is directly linked to his interests.
Why would she be so flustered by this?
Shaking her head to clear her mind, Meng Ran hesitated for a second before taking the ring off again.
This time, she didn't put it directly on the bedside table; it's too easy to lose, and she wasn't comfortable with that.
Perhaps because she was afraid of being poor in the past, even though she had some reservations about the marriage that the ring represented, it didn't stop her from having the deep-seated belief that "valuable items should not be left lying around."
Meng Ran remembered seeing something like a jewelry box in the closet in her room before. She opened the closet door and looked around, and sure enough, she found a velvet box.
Meng Ran didn't think much of it when she opened it, but after flipping open the lid, she narrowed her eyes in surprise—
She was dazzled by the diamonds in the box.
The only time she could remember coming into close contact with such a large diamond was when she and Zhao Yanzhou had been dating for 100 days, and he took her to a jewelry store to pick out a gift.
Meng Ran remembers that when the store manager saw Zhao Yanzhou next to her, it was as if he had seen a god of wealth. He wished he could take out all the most expensive jewelry in the store and let her try it on.
And she was indeed a common person; when a dazzling diamond necklace appeared, she couldn't control her expression and glanced at it a few more times.
They liked each other, but they had only been together for a short time then, so how could they just accept something worth hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars?
In the end, under the shop manager's resentful gaze, she chose another pearl necklace that was much cheaper.
Zhao Yanzhou couldn't persuade her, so he had to compromise and said he would buy her something more expensive after they got married.
Otherwise, people would say that life is unpredictable: now she is married and has a diamond necklace, but her husband is someone else.
Upon closer inspection, the necklace in the box now has a larger diamond and a style that is seven or eight parts similar to the one she had her eye on before. It should be from the same designer.
If Chen Sulin bought this necklace for her, then it can only be said that these two are truly childhood friends, even going to the same jewelry store.
Pulling herself out of her reverie, Meng Ran placed the wedding ring next to the diamond necklace and closed the jewelry box.
She was lost in thought: If she divorced Chen Sulin in the future, could she take this necklace and sell it for money?
I remember when the teacher showed "Titanic" at school in middle school, Meng Ran was not only moved by the love between Rose and Jack, but also deeply impressed by one particular scene:
Even during the most difficult days after disembarking, Rose never sold the Heart of the Ocean.
At that time, Meng Ran thought that if it were her, she would definitely try to exchange the gems for cash as soon as possible.
This is the difference between her and the female protagonist: she doesn't have such noble character, and the financial difficulties she faced during her adolescence made her only wish to have a large sum of money as soon as possible so that she wouldn't have to depend on others for her monthly living expenses.
Just as I put the jewelry box away, Aunt Zhang came over and knocked on the door, saying that Chen Miaoying had already taken a shower and gone to bed.
Meng Ran replied "Okay," and carefully checked herself in the mirror for a few seconds before leaving the house.
In the children's room, Chen Miaoying had already crawled into bed.
The door was open, and Meng Ran walked over quietly, just in time to see Chen Sulin lean down and kiss Chen Miaoying's forehead.
After Chen Sulin stood up, Chen Miaoying saw Meng Ran at the door and her eyes lit up: "Mom, you're here."
His voice wasn't as strong as before; he was probably really sleepy.
Meng Ran stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed: "Mom is here to say goodnight to you."
Chen Miaoying softly hummed in agreement: "Mom, could you kiss my forehead like Dad does?"
Meng Ran: "..."
She subconsciously turned her head to look at Chen Sulin standing behind her, then quickly looked away.
The words "indirect kiss" popped into her mind in an instant, but then she felt that caring about such things at this moment was a bit too sentimental.
Meng Ran said "okay," tried to ignore the man's gaze behind her, and lowered her head to kiss Chen Miaoying's forehead.
Chen Miaoying smiled contentedly.
The little girl looked like she could barely keep her eyes open, and Meng Ran thought she would fall asleep after the goodnight kiss.
Unexpectedly, even though Chen Miaoying was so sleepy that she could barely speak, she still managed to ask, "Mom, will you come tomorrow too?"
Meng Ran's heart skipped a beat.
“Yes,” she said.
"And the day after tomorrow?"
"Yes, it will."
Chen Miaoying moved her lips again, but she was too sleepy. After uttering a few indistinct syllables, she fell into a deep sleep.
Meng Ran looked at the little girl's sleeping face for a long time before slowly standing up.
Chen Sulin stood behind her the whole time.
She looked at him and whispered "thank you".
Meng Ran thought that of all the words she had spoken to Chen Sulin throughout the day, these two words were probably the most sincere.
...
Back in the bedroom, Jiang Yuqing's text message finally arrived, albeit belatedly.
The phone in Meng Ran's hand was a new model given to her this year by the housekeeper, and the number was also new.
Her old SIM card, like her old phone, looked perfectly fine, but it was unusable.
The housekeeper said she would try to help her get her old phone number back, but it would take some steps and she would have to wait until at least tomorrow.
Jiang Yuqing is now the only contact in her new phone's address book.
Jiang Yuqing: [Finally arrived at the hotel, I'm exhausted!]
Jiang Yuqing: [I wrote the memo on the way back and sent it to you. Please take a look.]
Jiang Yuqing: [I'm going to take a shower. Feel free to ask me anything, I'll get back to you when I'm done. Mwah!]
Meng Ran smiled as she looked at the messages and replied with "Okay".
When she woke up, everything and everyone around her reminded her of the phrase "things have changed, people are no longer the same".
Only Jiang Yuqing still treats her the same as before.
Opening the notes app, Jiang Yuqing's writing style is still the same as when she was in school—concise, clear, and organized.
The memo, arranged chronologically from top to bottom, lists all the important time points related to Meng Ran.
This includes her breaking up with Zhao Yanzhou, telling Jiang Yuqing that she was going to marry Chen Sulin, get their marriage certificate, and get pregnant and have a child.
Jiang Yuqing made special notes, some of which were exact dates found from WeChat chat history, and others were estimates.
Meng Ran read it over from beginning to end. The time when she broke up with Zhao Yanzhou should have been around the time she turned twenty-third.
She and Chen Sulin officially registered their marriage three months after their breakup.
As for the wedding, since Jiang Yuqing didn't mention something so important, it must have never happened.
Otherwise, given their relationship, she would have definitely not informed Jiang Yuqing about her wedding.
About six months after they got their marriage certificate, she became pregnant with her daughter.
After reviewing all the timelines, Meng Ran became even more convinced that there must have been some special reason why she married Chen Sulin back then.
Three months is enough time for her to break up and fall in love with someone else, but given her personality, it's absolutely impossible for her to decide to get married so quickly.
What's even stranger is why Chen Sulin would want to marry her?
Meng Ran could only think of one possibility: the two had no feelings for each other and were married for some kind of cooperative purpose.
But she has neither money nor power, so what could Chen Sulin possibly have to use about her?
My temples were throbbing; I just couldn't figure it out.
A new message popped up on her phone. Meng Ran glanced at the time and realized that she had been staring at the memo for more than twenty minutes.
Jiang Yuqing: [I'm done washing up. How's it going on your end? Is there anything you want to ask?]
Meng Ran: [Not for now.]
Jiang Yuqing: [?]
Jiang Yuqing: [Really? You're not just being polite with me, are you?]
Meng Ran: [You've written very clearly about the things I most want to know. As for the others, my mind is still a bit muddled, and I don't know how to ask them.]
Jiang Yuqing: [Oh...]
Jiang Yuqing: [By the way, I'm finishing my business trip and heading back to Beicheng tomorrow, then I should have a short vacation. Shall we arrange a time to meet then?]
Meng Ran: [Okay.]
Jiang Yuqing: [OK, I'm going to sleep now, let's reschedule for tomorrow! I'm exhausted these past two days, this lousy job is inhuman!]
Meng Ran replied with "Goodnight".
I put down my phone. My mind wasn't actually sleepy, but my heart was exhausted.
Meng Ran sighed deeply and decided to deal with the rest tomorrow and go to sleep first.
Before trying to fall asleep, she closed her eyes and silently prayed in her heart—
She hopes that when she opens her eyes next time, she will find that everything today was a dream, and that she is still the twenty-three-year-old Meng Ran.
...
Meng Ran's wish was not fulfilled.
When she opened her eyes, she stared at the ceiling for a long time in a daze.
She didn't sleep well that night; she seemed to have many dreams, but couldn't remember any of them.
When she woke up, it was a little after nine o'clock. After washing up, Meng Ran deliberately lingered for a while before getting dressed and leaving the room.
She wanted to make sure she wouldn't run into Chen Sulin.
As it turned out, her worries were unnecessary. When she arrived at the restaurant, the aunt told her that Chen Sulin had left home before eight o'clock to take Chen Miaoying to kindergarten.
Meng Ran inquired about Chen Sulin's usual schedule and learned that he did not personally take his daughter to school every day, but he would leave for the company before nine o'clock at the latest.
The aunt brought breakfast to the table and handed her a tablet before leaving, saying that Chen Miaoying had specifically asked her to leave it for her, as it contained videos that Chen Miaoying had recorded for her.
Meng Ran put the fried egg into her mouth and looked forward to finding the latest video in her photo album.
When Meng Ran first learned that she had a daughter, she was devastated.
However, just one day later, Meng Ran had already accepted this fact well.
It can only be said that money can solve most problems, and Chen Miaoying is indeed a very cute child.
When you open the video, Chen Miaoying's round face fills the entire tablet screen.
"Good morning, Mom! I wanted to go to Mom's room to say good morning, but Dad said Mom needs to sleep more to get better, so I can only talk to Mom on the tablet!"
Chan Miu-ying talked non-stop in front of the camera, going on for several minutes straight.
He's still just a kid, so he keeps rambling on and on, and sometimes he repeats himself incoherently.
But Meng Ran watched the video with a smile on her face the whole time, and didn't find it long at all. On the contrary, she found the way the character was rambling on and on particularly cute.
Midway through, I couldn't resist bringing the tablet closer to admire the little girl's bright eyes and animated expression.
Finally, Chen Miaoying gave her closing remarks: "Okay, I'm going to kindergarten now, bye-bye Mom! Oh wait, there's one more thing—"
The next second, the camera shifts, and Chen Sulin's face appears on screen.
Caught off guard, Meng Ran nearly dropped the tablet in her hand.
A note from the author:
----------------------
66 small red envelopes [rose emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com