006: I'm About to Get Married to Your Father
Seeing Shen Jichuan approach, Li Ling immediately stepped forward to complain.
"Sir, look at this. People from the countryside really have no manners. When you weren't home, she was acting all high and mighty, even ordering me to cook and do her laundry."
Upon hearing this, Wen Qiao frowned slightly and said, "Sister Ling, aren't you just a nanny in the Shen household? Cooking and doing laundry are part of a nanny's job."
"Sir is kind-hearted and tolerates your casual attitude, but you shouldn’t really think of yourself as the mistress, should you?"
"Also, when did I ever ask you to do my laundry? I wash my own clothes. If you’re going to slander me, at least do it when I’m not around."
Wen Qiao said this deliberately.
Given how Li Ling was targeting her now, it was entirely possible that she might secretly badmouth her to Shen Jichuan in the future.
It was better to take this opportunity to speak up now.
That way, even if Li Ling later tried to speak ill of her privately to Shen Jichuan, he would at least question its truthfulness.
As for Shen Haiyang, seeing Wen Qiao scold Li Ling without any regard for her face, he immediately turned cold and reprimanded her angrily, "Wen Qiao, shut your mouth. This isn’t your place to speak."
Wen Qiao, however, looked up and met Shen Jichuan’s gaze.
"Jichuan, tell me, haven’t you already submitted the marriage report? We’re just waiting to register now. I’ve had my household registration booklet ready for a long time. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go with you to get our marriage certificate."
Hearing Wen Qiao call him by his name, Shen Jichuan’s icy expression cracked slightly.
He frowned faintly, unable to accept Wen Qiao addressing him so directly.
Wen Qiao was about the same age as his niece.
Even other female comrades her age would address him as "uncle."
Shen Jichuan said coldly, "Address me as 'Sir,' like Sister Ling does. Don’t call me by my name."
Wen Qiao didn’t argue with Shen Jichuan’s correction.
She simply replied obediently, "Understood, Sir!"
Seeing Shen Jichuan’s unusually calm demeanor, especially after hearing Wen Qiao mention registering their marriage without showing any anger, Shen Haiyang grew deeply concerned.
Having grown up under his adoptive father’s watchful eye, he knew better than anyone what signs indicated his father’s anger.
Shen Haiyang was very worried about Shen Jichuan’s calm attitude.
Was his adoptive father really going to marry Wen Qiao?
"Dad, are you really going to register your marriage with Wen Qiao?"
"You know very well what Wen Qiao’s intentions are…"
Shen Jichuan cut him off sharply, saying:
"The decision to marry is mine to make. Your focus should be on your studies. You’ll be joining the military unit next year, so do your best."
Shen Haiyang grew anxious.
"But Dad, Wen Qiao’s intentions aren’t pure. I’m afraid she…"
Shen Haiyang believed that Wen Qiao was only marrying his father to humiliate him.
But why would his adoptive father actually go through with registering the marriage? After so many years in the military unit, how could he not see through Wen Qiao’s motives?
Could it be that his adoptive father had genuinely fallen for Wen Qiao?
No, that was impossible.
He had accidentally seen his adoptive father’s medical report—he could never have children in this lifetime.
His adoptive father had never even mentioned marriage before.
Shen Haiyang believed that his adoptive father was marrying Wen Qiao for his sake. Over the years, his adoptive father had treated him as his own, and he could feel it deeply.
Even if Wen Qiao married his adoptive father, she wouldn’t gain any benefits.
Yet, even so, Shen Haiyang didn’t want Wen Qiao to stay in the Shen household, finding her presence an eyesore.
Sensing the malice in Shen Haiyang's eyes, Wen Qiao told herself to endure.
But she was still furious inside.
Wen Qiao looked up at Shen Haiyang and deliberately reminded him:
"Shen Haiyang, don't call me by my name directly. After getting the marriage certificate, I'll be your mother. It's impolite to address me like that—people will say we didn't raise you properly."
Seeing Shen Haiyang's face twisted to its ugliest extreme, Wen Qiao felt immensely satisfied.
Shen Jichuan swept a glance at Wen Qiao's smug face.
He said coldly, "Don't go too far. Remember what I told you."
Wen Qiao immediately straightened her posture and replied softly,
"Yes, I'll listen to you, sir."
Her main target was Shen Haiyang, so she naturally didn't want to oppose Shen Jichuan.
Moreover, whether in her past life or this one, she was still a child in Shen Jichuan's eyes.
She genuinely feared him from the bottom of her heart.
Shen Jichuan forbade Shen Haiyang from asking further questions. Though resentful, Shen Haiyang dared not defy his adoptive father.
He could only sit down reluctantly, his face dark and sullen.
But when he glared at Wen Qiao, there was no trace of goodwill.
Equally hostile toward Wen Qiao was the Shen family's housekeeper, Li Ling.
Li Ling watched the position she had coveted for years—one she had never attained—being effortlessly taken by Wen Qiao, a country girl from the countryside.
Instantly, her face contorted with rage.
After serving the food on the table, Li Ling returned to the kitchen to eat.
The three people at the dining table each had their own thoughts.
Wen Qiao, focused solely on eating, devoured her meal heartily—quickly but not rudely.
Shen Jichuan ate elegantly, observing the rule of not speaking during meals.
And Shen Haiyang, whose mind was filled with thoughts of driving Wen Qiao away but had no means to do so, poked at the food in his bowl, clearly having little appetite.
In the countryside, Wen Qiao mostly ate coarse grain buns. Coming to the city and seeing such a lavish meal naturally whetted her appetite.
She was so deprived of oily food that even the parasites in her stomach were starving.
Though she ate with focus, she noticed Shen Jichuan frown after taking a bite of fish.
As the head of the Shen family, Shen Jichuan followed certain etiquette. Before he touched the braised fish on the table, Wen Qiao naturally didn't dare to eat it first.
Seeing that Shen Jichuan only took one bite and left the rest untouched, as if he didn't care for the braised fish,
Wen Qiao then helped herself to a piece of meat from the belly of the fish.
The fish itself was good and fresh, but the braised fish had a slightly bitter taste.
It was likely due to the fish's innards not being properly cleaned.
Shen Jichuan disliked the bitterness and avoided the fish, but Wen Qiao didn't mind. Since no one else was eating it, all the fish ended up in her stomach.
When Wen Qiao's father was alive, he naturally doted on his only daughter.
Moreover, her father was a technician who repaired tractors. In that era, being able to study and learn a skill was quite remarkable.
His monthly salary was enough to support the family of three.
Before her father passed away, Wen Qiao was a beloved little girl, dressed beautifully every day by her parents.
Unfortunately, after her father died, her mother had no means to earn money.
After remarrying, Wen Qiao's life took a drastic turn for the worse.
If not for this unavoidable circumstance, she wouldn't have left her hometown to seek refuge with her fiancé in the city.
But alas, people change.
In her past life, she had confronted Shen Haiyang, but in the end, she was forcibly sent back to her hometown.
Yet Shen Haiyang should never have deliberately targeted and pushed her to the brink of death after she returned home.
In the end, she died tragically in the countryside, and even her mother spent her whole life unable to hold her head high in their rural hometown.
After dinner, Shen Jichuan went to the study.
Shen Haiyang, preoccupied with his own thoughts, followed him inside.
Wen Qiao took the initiative to carry her own bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen, washing them clean.
As for Shen Jichuan and Shen Haiyang's dishes, the housekeeper would take care of them, and she couldn't be bothered to intervene.
After finishing her meal, Wen Qiao went up to the second floor. She stayed in her room for a while.
Tidying up her belongings, she worriedly wondered: for the marriage registration, what clothes would be appropriate for her to wear?
It seemed she didn't have a single decent outfit to her name?
After much thought, she couldn't come up with a good solution. Not only did she have no money on hand, but even if she did, she couldn't spend it all on buying clothes.
She could just make do with whatever she had for the registration.
She was about to go wash up when, just then, she faintly heard the sound of a father and son arguing from Shen Jichuan's study on the first floor.
In the end, Shen Haiyang emerged from the study looking utterly disheveled and defeated.
Seeing Wen Qiao standing on the second floor, Shen Haiyang glared at her fiercely, wishing he could throw her out of the Shen family right then and there.
Wen Qiao, on the other hand, watched the furious Shen Haiyang with indifference.
Her purpose in the Shen family was to make Shen Haiyang miserable—the more he suffered, the better she felt.
Later that evening, when Shen Jichuan came up to the second floor,
Wen Qiao heard the sound of the man ascending the stairs but paid it no mind.
Then, she heard a knock on her door. Wen Qiao immediately got up from the bed.
Before she could say anything, the man said in a low voice, "Before we register the marriage, go buy yourself a proper outfit. I can't afford to lose face like this."
Wen Qiao replied directly, "Clothes in the city are too expensive. I don't have the money."
Shen Jichuan seemed not to have considered this issue, as he frowned.
"I'll have the driver take you to buy some."
"Can I get a full set from head to toe?"
Knowing that Shen Jichuan wouldn't give her money directly, but since he had brought it up, she saw no reason to be polite or pretend to be reserved.
"As you wish."
The man's voice was cold, as if he regarded her as a leech taking advantage of others.
Hearing Shen Jichuan's "as you wish," Wen Qiao no longer felt the need to hold back.
She smiled gently and said, "Thank you."