Mother Shen pressed a hand to her forehead.
“He has matters to deal with in his unit. Before returning, he had to clean up all those messes. Otherwise, what would people say?”
“But…” Xie Qingwan was frantic. “But Mom, Brother Siyuan doesn’t even like He Ruchu. How can he marry her?”
“He already has.” The mention of it only made Mother Shen more irritated.
Her son was so outstanding, yet somehow he had stumbled when it came to the most important matter in life.
Xie Qingwan felt as though a stone was lodged in her chest.
Brother Siyuan how could he marry He Ruchu?
Her mind raced wildly. Lowering her eyes to hide her emotions, she said softly,
“Mom, are we really just going to let Brother Siyuan suffer for the rest of his life?
He’s still young. A lifetime is so long…”
Mother Shen remained silent, staring fixedly at the table in the distance, lost in thought.
Following her gaze, Xie Qingwan saw a framed photograph sitting on the table.
It was a picture of Shen Siyuan in military uniform.
Standing tall and straight, he looked exceptionally handsome.
Unable to stop herself, she murmured,
“Don’t you love him the most? How can you bear it?”
Hearing this, Mother Shen turned to look at her.
After a long pause, she said,
“Qingwan, I’m a little tired. I’m going upstairs to rest.”
Xie Qingwan parted her lips, wanting to say more, but Mother Shen had already stood up and headed upstairs.
Watching her retreating figure, Xie Qingwan had no choice but to return to her own room.
The moment she entered and closed the door, the emotions she had been suppressing finally broke free.
No one knew that she had fallen for Shen Siyuan the very first time she saw him.
For all these years, he had been the only ray of light in her life.
She had always believed that if she stayed by his side long enough, one day he would notice her feelings.
But why?
Why did He Ruchu have to appear?
Why did she show up only to take away the man Xie Qingwan had silently cherished for so many years?
Wasn’t Zhou Chenyu already by He Ruchu’s side?
Why did she still have to compete with her?
Leaning against the door, Xie Qingwan slowly slid down until she collapsed onto the floor.
She had thought that the things she said to He Ruchu yesterday would wake her up and make her stop pursuing someone who didn’t belong to her.
Yet He Ruchu remained just as stubborn as ever, insisting on forcing the matter.
How could Xie Qingwan accept that?
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her crumbling emotions.
There was one thing she was absolutely certain of:
Shen Siyuan did not love He Ruchu.
Otherwise, she never would have allowed He Ruchu to behave so freely around him.
So there had to be some unavoidable reason behind his decision to marry He Ruchu.
She was determined to find out what it was.
And there was also Mother Shen.
Mother Shen had always disliked He Ruchu’s pursuit of Shen Siyuan.
Would she really accept He Ruchu as her daughter-in-law?
As Xie Qingwan thought about it, she gradually calmed down.
In a world that changed in an instant, what couldn’t be changed?
Did obtaining a marriage certificate guarantee a lifetime together?
He Ruchu had no idea how long she had slept.
Vaguely, she seemed to hear someone calling her name.
“He Ruchu!”
She waved a hand lazily and mumbled in a soft, sleepy voice,
“Stop making noise…”
She was so tired.
She wanted to keep sleeping.
The voice seemed to pause for a moment, but soon it sounded again, louder this time.
At the same time, someone gave her a push.
“He Ruchu, wake up…”
Still half-asleep, He Ruchu impatiently slapped the person’s hand away.
Rolling over, she grabbed something at random, covered her ears with it, and continued sleeping.
In the driver’s seat, Shen Siyuan who had already parked for quite some time looked expressionlessly at his hand after it had been slapped away.
Then he looked at the military jacket the woman had snatched from him.
The next second, he got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and lifted her out by the back of her collar.
Even after her feet touched the ground, He Ruchu was still dazed.
Tilting her little face upward, she stared blankly at the man holding her by the collar.
After several seconds, she finally reacted.
“Shen Siyuan?”
Shen Siyuan released her indifferently.
“Clothes.”
“Huh?”
Her sleepy brain had yet to start functioning, and she had no idea what he meant.
Too lazy to explain, Shen Siyuan simply reached toward her arms.
Following the movement of his hand, He Ruchu finally realized that somehow she had been hugging his military jacket while she slept.
Quickly, she handed it back.
“Sorry, I didn’t notice.”
Without saying a word, he took the jacket and handed her a ring of keys.
Slightly stunned, she accepted them.
Then the man headed toward the trunk and began unloading the luggage.
Most of the luggage belonged to her.
Seeing this, He Ruchu hurried over.
“I’ll do it.”
“Go open the door.”
The man tossed out the words coldly without even lifting his head, continuing to carry the luggage.
“…Okay.”
Lowering her gaze to the keys in her hand, He Ruchu turned to examine her surroundings.
At some point, the car had stopped in front of a small courtyard house made of red brick.
This was probably where she would be living from now on.
The key ring contained several different keys, and she had no idea which one opened the courtyard gate.
She wanted to ask him, but when she glanced back and saw his cold expression, the words died in her throat.
Fortunately, luck was on her side.
The very first key she randomly picked happened to unlock the courtyard gate.
Behind her, the man pushed the gate open and entered.
He Ruchu followed him inside.
As she walked, she looked around the courtyard.
The yard wasn’t large, but it was charming and exquisitely arranged.
The ground was paved with broken red bricks.
Along the walls ran a narrow strip of soil planted with unknown flowers.
It was summer, and the flowers were in full bloom, displaying brilliant shades of red, purple, and pink.
In one corner stood a grape arbor.
Its vines were lush and vigorous, heavy with clusters of fruit.
Unfortunately, the grapes were still green and unripe.
Beneath the arbor stood a small cement table, accompanied by two matching cement stools.
With just one glance, He Ruchu fell in love with the little courtyard.
“Who would’ve thought? He’s actually someone who knows how to enjoy life.”
She muttered to herself.
Ahead of her, the man had already reached the front door and was waiting.
He Ruchu quickly searched through the keys again to find the one for the house.
The single-story house had a simple U-shaped layout.
There were six rooms in total.
The main section occupied four rooms, while two smaller rooms were attached on either side.
This time, her luck wasn’t as good.
She tried three or four keys in succession but couldn’t open the front door.
Just as she picked up another key to try again, the man apparently lost patience.
Setting down the items in his hands, he took the keys from her and opened the door himself.
When he was done, he held up the correct key separately and looked at her.
“Remember it.”
“Huh? Oh…”
He Ruchu pouted.
“I got it. This is the key for the front door.”
The man nodded slightly.
He was a man of very few words.
Communicating with him was exhausting.