Li Yumei had known Sheng Xiao for so long, yet she had never once seen him ask anyone for a favor. She immediately welcomed him inside.
Seeing his cracked lips, she poured him a large bowl of tea. Sheng Xiao took it, said, “Thank you,” and drank it all in one go.
Li Yumei quickly poured him two more bowls. After finishing them, he finally gave a rare, slightly embarrassed smile.
“Sorry to trouble you, Auntie.”
Li Yumei hurriedly waved her hand.
“What’s there to be sorry about? It’s just a drink of water. If there’s anything you need Auntie’s help with, just say the word. If it’s something I can do, I’ll definitely take care of it for you.”
Sheng Xiao returned to his usual calm expression. After hesitating for a moment, he said,
“I want to hold an engagement banquet first. But the training schedule has been heavy lately, and there are still a lot of things I haven’t had time to arrange. I’d like to ask you to help me take care of it.”
Li Yumei frowned.
The two of them hadn’t even officially registered their marriage yet.
She hesitated, unsure whether she should say something.
Seeing her expression, Sheng Xiao assumed she was reluctant and immediately said,
“If it’s inconvenient, that’s all right. I’m sorry to have bothered you. I’ll find another time to arrange everything.”
Realizing that he had misunderstood her, Li Yumei quickly waved her hand.
“It’s nothing like that! It’s just, Xiao Sheng…”
She hesitated over whether she should continue.
But looking at the resolute young man before her, she felt that if she kept silent about certain things, she would be doing him wrong after knowing him for so long.
She steeled herself and finally spoke.
“Marriage has always been one of the biggest decisions in a person’s life. You have to think it through carefully. If two people rush into a marriage because of some particular circumstance and simply settle for each other, the ones who get hurt in the end may be both of them.”
“You really need to think this through carefully.”
Sheng Xiao was an extremely perceptive man. The moment he heard Auntie Yumei say this, he knew that something must have happened while he was away—something he didn’t know about.
But the decision had already been made, and he had his own principles and convictions.
He looked earnestly at the aunt who genuinely cared about him and said firmly,
“I know you’re saying this for my own good, Auntie. But I’ve already thought it through. When I returned from this mission, I had already prepared my marriage application. I want to hold an engagement banquet first so the girl can feel secure. Once the marriage application is approved, we’ll register our marriage.”
Seeing how determined he was, Li Yumei knew that, as an outsider, she could only say so much.
As for the favor Sheng Xiao had asked of her, she agreed to help.
After Sheng Xiao left, Su Man and Sun Qinqin finally came out of the room.
Watching his steadfast figure disappear into the distance, Su Man was momentarily lost in thought.
After two lifetimes, she was seeing this man who had changed the course of her entire life once again.
She had thought that her memories of him had already faded.
But the moment he spoke, his voice pierced straight into her mind, and the memories connected to him began resurfacing on their own.
After that incident, she had desperately wanted to forget everything at first. She had felt that what happened was a humiliation she could never erase.
But during all those years living with the Wang family, she had eventually been tortured to the point where her mind had become unstable.
And somehow, she had occasionally begun remembering that night.
The chaotic, distorted sound of their breathing. The pain in her body.
But what had left the deepest impression on her was what he had said:
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll take responsibility for you.”
She had always thought those words were merely a fantasy conjured by her mind under unbearable circumstances.
But now, after meeting this man again and hearing his voice once more, everything fell into place in her mind as naturally as if it had always belonged there.
So he had kept his promise after all.
He had simply taken responsibility not for her, but for another woman—the thief who had stolen her life.
When fate chose to toy with someone, even crying and screaming in despair seemed like far too inadequate a response.
“Manman, what are you looking at?”
Seeing her friend staring blankly into the distance, Sun Qinqin curiously nudged her hand.
The moment she touched it, however, she realized how frighteningly cold it was.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Su Man came back to herself and turned to reassure her friend.
“It’s nothing. I just remembered some things about my family.”
Sun Qinqin was simple and straightforward by nature, so she didn’t suspect anything.
“Mom, are you really going to help the people next door hold their engagement banquet? Didn’t you say you didn’t really get along with them?”
Li Yumei replied irritably,
“What else can I do? It’s the first time Xiao Sheng has ever asked me for a favor. He has a good relationship with our family. Even if I don’t do it for his sake, I have to consider our friendship. Besides, an engagement banquet isn’t that much trouble.”
Sun Qinqin asked, puzzled,
“Brother Sheng Xiao already said he’s going to submit his marriage application, so why does he need an engagement banquet too? Why not just hold the wedding once the application is approved?”
Li Yumei didn’t know what they were thinking either, but she still explained,
“That’s none of our business. It’ll take some time for the marriage application to be approved. Maybe Xiao Sheng thinks highly of that girl and deliberately wants to give her an engagement first.”
Then she looked at her own daughter with an expression of exasperation.
“What a wonderful young man Xiao Sheng is. And you’re like a piece of wood. If only you had…”
With Su Man there, Li Yumei stopped herself before finishing the sentence.
After all, it concerned her daughter’s reputation.
Seeing that her mother had brought up the subject again and was about to turn her attention toward her, Sun Qinqin quickly stuck out her tongue, grabbed Su Man, and dragged her away.
Brother Sheng Xiao was excellent in every way, but he always wore such a cold expression that he seemed completely unapproachable.
She felt nervous just looking at him, let alone imagining spending the rest of her life with him.
She was determined to find a man like her father in the future—gentle and easygoing, with eyes and heart devoted entirely to her mother.
Meanwhile, Su Man was still thinking about what had just happened with Sheng Xiao.
That man’s emotions were simply too controlled. No matter what happened, he always seemed calm and composed.
She couldn’t tell what kind of feelings he actually had for Yang Xixi.
Was he truly in love with her?
Or was she merely bound to him by the shackles of responsibility?
But now that Su Man was already here, there was no need to rush.
She could observe the situation slowly before deciding what to do next.
As for Yang Xixi, however, Su Man knew that she could no longer allow her to get engaged and married without a hitch while pretending to be someone she wasn’t.
Su Man suspected she knew exactly why Yang Xixi was so desperate to get engaged right now.
Yang Xixi was extremely vain and spoiled, always wanting everyone to fawn over her and treat her like royalty.
Once the engagement was official, she could use her status as Sheng Xiao’s fiancée to throw her weight around in the military residential compound and enjoy the privileges of being a high-ranking officer’s wife, rather than being left out in the cold as she was now.
And once they were engaged, she would have a legitimate title.
She could then brazenly hold out her hand to Sheng Xiao and ask him for money.
She had always spent money extravagantly. Even though Sheng Xiao had agreed to the marriage, he certainly wouldn’t immediately hand his entire salary over to her.
The money Yang Xixi had brought with her when she left had probably almost run out by now.
And Yang Shiyong was barely able to take care of himself, let alone send her money.
An engagement would give her another opportunity to make a quick profit.
*Yang Xixi, after two lifetimes, it’s time you paid me back for everything you owe me!*