On Saturday morning, the sun rose in the east, casting large swaths of light through the glass windows onto the floor.
Ji Qingtang stepped barefoot onto the carpet and opened the wardrobe.
The closet was filled with new-season pieces custom-made for her by major brands. She browsed for a long while before finally settling on a pale pink dress.
Just then, Shen Jinyu walked out of the bathroom. She held the dress up against herself and asked, “Does this look good?”
Shen Jinyu glanced at it and, instead of answering, asked in return, “Changing your style today?”
Ji Qingtang hummed in acknowledgment, set the dress down on the velvet chaise lounge, and hurried over to the center island to pick out jewelry. “You should be grateful, Shen Jinyu. You haven’t even paid me a cent for my acting, yet here I am, wholeheartedly playing the part of your gentle and virtuous Mrs. Shen.”
Shen Jinyu looked at the dazzling array of jewelry filling the cabinet—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she could open a jewelry store with it.
His gaze caught on a pearl necklace—the one he’d given her as their first wedding anniversary gift.
Seeing that she’d never worn it, he asked, “The pearl necklace—do you not like it?”
Ji Qingtang held a pair of platinum diamond-studded earrings in her hand, her eyes lingering on the pearl necklace for two seconds before she hummed. “I don’t like pearls.”
Shen Jinyu’s lashes lowered slightly. He was about to speak when he saw her reach out and pick up the pearl necklace. “But a pearl necklace does seem to match that dress quite well.”
She stood up and went to grab the dress, intending to change into it first and then try on the necklace to see the effect.
Just then, Assistant Song’s call came in. Shen Jinyu answered the phone and stopped watching Ji Qingtang’s endless picking and choosing.
…
After getting ready, Ji Qingtang came downstairs.
Shen Jinyu turned his head to look. She was wearing the pale pink dress, which perfectly accentuated her waistline. Her fair skin gave her a radiant complexion. Her base makeup was light, her lipstick shade subtle, and the pearl necklace around her neck brought out her gentle temperament and refined elegance to perfection.
Ji Qingtang stopped in front of him and spun around. “Well? Don’t I look especially gentle?”
Shen Jinyu hummed in acknowledgment, then raised his hand to check his wristwatch. “Your sense of punctuality is lacking. Needs improvement.”
Ji Qingtang’s lips instantly flattened, and a look of speechlessness spread across her face. “I miscalculated. Just a few days ago, I actually guessed you’d had a girlfriend before.”
Once in the car, Ji Qingtang took a selfie and sent it to Meng Xiao.
[Heading to the south alley on the outskirts to celebrate Old Mrs. Shen’s birthday.]
[I specially did a no-makeup makeup look. Don’t I look super gentle and pure?]
[Fairy wink.jpg]
Meng Xiao was probably busy on her end. Ji Qingtang waited several minutes without seeing a reply, so she started taking selfies.
She held up her phone, then suddenly shifted its angle, and called out with a suppressed laugh, “Shen Jinyu.”
When Shen Jinyu turned his head to look, Ji Qingtang quickly pressed the shutter.
This was a game she and Meng Xiao had played to death—taking candid ugly shots.
Ji Qingtang smugly opened the photo, but the proud expression on her face was instantly replaced by surprise.
The man’s face was turned slightly to the side, his features cool and handsome—sharp brows, a straight nose, thin lips, and a defined jawline, with a prominent Adam’s apple that was rather alluring. Perhaps because the light was streaming through the car window, his gaze toward her seemed much softer than usual.
This was hardly an ugly shot—his expression hadn’t cracked at all.
It was… actually quite handsome.
If it were Meng Xiao, she would have long been staring blankly at the camera with her mouth wide open.
Shen Jinyu leaned over, caught sight of the photo on her phone, and let out a low chuckle. “If you want a photo with me, you could have just said so. No need for sneaky shots.”
Ji Qingtang turned her head toward him, reached up, and pinched his cheek. “Your face is so thick.”
She wore a stiff, forced smile, but the upturned corners of her lips, the lilting tone of her voice, and such an intimate, affectionate gesture left plenty of room for imagination.
Meeting Shen Jinyu’s unreadable gaze, Ji Qingtang immediately let go, lowered her head, and began scrolling through WeChat aimlessly.
The corner of Shen Jinyu’s mouth curved involuntarily as he looked down at her—”Cheap Shen Duck” flashed past his line of sight.
He paused, pulled out his phone, and sent Ji Qingtang a message.
【Explain this.】
Ji Qingtang received the message and looked at Shen Jinyu in surprise. “Explain what? We’re practically glued together, and you’re still texting me on your phone? Showing off how much data you have?”
Shen Jinyu’s gaze landed on Ji Qingtang’s phone screen, confirming that “Cheap Shen Duck” was indeed the contact name she had saved for him.
Ji Qingtang followed his line of sight and only then realized she’d been tricked. She hastily closed the chat window with him.
“Cheap Shen Duck?” Shen Jinyu looked at her. “Treating me like a male escort, are we? Mrs. Shen.”
Assistant Song, who was driving, pretended not to hear a thing, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead. He didn’t dare glance at the rearview mirror, afraid of catching the eyes of the feuding couple in the back seat.
Ji Qingtang gave a stiff smile and lowered her voice. “If you’ve got the guts, don’t make me fulfill my marital duties. Calling you ‘Cheap Shen Duck’ is already doing you a favor. Don’t forget—we’ve got the red booklet. ‘Free Shen Duck’ is the correct title for you.”
Shen Jinyu let out a cold snort and straightened up in his seat. “Change the contact name. Put my actual name.”
Ji Qingtang gave an “oh” and immediately changed his contact name to “Free Shen Duck.”
…
The car came to a stop in front of a traditional Chinese courtyard mansion on South Lane at the edge of the city.
Ji Qingtang got out of the car, a smile radiating across her face as she naturally linked her arm through Shen Jinyu’s.
Song Qikun retrieved the gift boxes from the trunk and followed behind the two of them, carrying them along.
The traditional courtyard sat beside the water, and the moment one stepped through the main gate, the fragrance of tea drifting through the garden filled the air. The landscaping was exquisite, with carved railings and painted beams—the architecture preserved the bone-deep beauty of traditional Chinese design.
Covered bridges and bamboo pavilions, ponds with koi fish, and across from the cool pavilion, a stage had been set up specially for Old Mrs. Shen’s opera performance.
A few days before Old Mrs. Shen’s birthday last year, Shen Yuan’an had suddenly collapsed and been rushed to the hospital.
At the time, Shen Jinyu had been fully immersed in the construction of the first Oriental Tangchun hotel overseas, too busy to spare a moment, and Shen Yu, who was abroad competing in a racing event, couldn’t make it back either. So Old Mrs. Shen had canceled her birthday banquet.
This year happened to be Old Mrs. Shen’s seventy-seventh birthday, so it was bound to be a grand affair.
Stepping into the main hall, Ji Qingtang greeted her with a bright, cheerful smile. “Grandma, happy birthday. May you be as evergreen as the pine, blessed with longevity and good health.”
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Shen Jinyu followed up with a call of “Grandma.”
Old Mrs. Shen’s face bore the marks of time, but her back was straight, her bearing elegant, and her gaze both wise and resolute.
She looked at the two of them, then took Ji Qingtang’s hand and gently patted the back of it. “Xiaotang and Jinyu are here.”
Ji Qingtang’s eyes curved into crescents as she opened her arms and said coquettishly, “Grandma, give me a hug. I’ve missed you so much.”
Standing nearby, Shen Jinyu heard her soft, sweet voice and a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.
Yang Yan noticed and teased, “Jinyu, haven’t you seen enough at home? Why are you still staring at your wife here?”
Ji Qingtang sat down next to Old Mrs. Shen and chimed in, “Second Aunt, you have to understand us. There’s a saying: a brief separation is better than a honeymoon.”
Shen Jinyu stood behind Ji Qingtang and, upon hearing this, reached out and gently tousled her hair.
Ji Qingtang froze for a moment, then turned her head and exchanged a smile-filled gaze with him for a few seconds.
Free Shen Duck, not bad at all. Look at that doting gesture and expression—I really wonder if he signed up for an acting class.
The whole room joined in with a few more teasing remarks, and the atmosphere grew lively.
Standing off to the side, Yan Xuejiao watched Ji Qingtang being the center of attention and saw her intimate interaction with Shen Jinyu, a look of mockery forming on her face.
Ji Qingtang noticed the table covered in old photo albums and asked, “Grandma, are you looking at photos?”
Old Mrs. Shen smiled and opened an album. “We just took them out of the trunk and were about to look.”
When the first album opened, it happened to land on photos of Shen Jinyu as a child.
Old Mrs. Shen said without hesitation, “Jinyu was a handsome child from a young age. His eyes and brows look just like Shulan.”
Ji Qingtang knew that Shen Jinyu’s biological mother was named Jiang Shulan, a southern girl just like Old Mrs. Shen.
Hearing this, she instinctively glanced at Shen Jinyu, then lowered her eyes to the photos and spoke just as openly. “Grandma, do you have any photos of Mother-in-law from when she was young? They say sons look like their mothers, so Mother-in-law must have been very beautiful.”
Standing nearby, Li Yunping already disliked hearing the name of Shen Jinyu’s biological mother, and her expression turned extremely sour at Ji Qingtang’s words.
Old Mrs. Shen flipped further and said, “This is a photo of Shulan and Jinyu together.”
The woman in the photo appeared to be under thirty, with strikingly stunning features. The child she held in her arms had chubby cheeks and looked to be just over a year old—absolutely adorable.
It was the first time Ji Qingtang had seen photos of Shen Jinyu as a child, and she couldn’t help but praise, “So cute.”
Shen Jinyu raised an eyebrow slightly. This seemed to be the first time he’d heard her genuinely praise him.
Yan Xuejiao’s mind turned quickly, and she immediately cut in, “Sister-in-law, the child you and Big Brother have will definitely be adorable too.”
Ji Qingtang’s fingertips paused. She knew the topic of having children might come up today, but she hadn’t expected it to arrive so quickly.
Yan Xuejiao continued to fan the flames from the side. “Big Brother, Sister-in-law, you’ve been married for over a year now—why haven’t you had a child yet? Once our little nephew or niece is born, the Shen family will have four generations under one roof, and Grandma can enjoy the full joy of family. Isn’t that right?”