“Who were you with last night?”
At once, a shameful image rose in Si Tian’s mind: last night, her body tangled with a man’s.
She’d been summoned in the middle of the night, so it was only natural that her mind hadn’t been clear.
Looking back now, Si Tian thought she must have been out of her mind.
But she didn’t regret it.
Si Tian lifted her eyes to meet Shen Yifan’s anger-filled gaze and smiled. “And what did you do with my older sister last night?”
There were two dimples at the corners of Si Tian’s mouth. Her smile was usually sweet, like a rose just beginning to bloom—enough to make anyone’s heart flutter.
But now, looking at that perfectly familiar smile, Shen Yifan felt a chill.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but Si Tian seemed… different today.
There was something more alluring in her clear, star-bright eyes.
They looked dewy, almost inviting…
And beautiful, too…
Shen Yifan forced himself to snap out of it. He didn’t dwell on it, telling himself it was just a delusion brought on by his guilty conscience.
He also assumed Si Tian was only jealous.
If she was upset, that proved she cared about him.
It was a sign that she loved him.
Shen Yifan rose from the sofa and walked over to Si Tian.
“Atian, you know your older sister had a stomachache. I took care of her, then came right back, didn’t I?”
“Don’t be mad, okay?”
As he spoke, Shen Yifan reached for Si Tian’s hand.
She reacted quickly, slipping her hand behind her back and out of his reach.
“With Young Mr. Shen’s excellent medical skills, it’d be a shame if you didn’t change careers and become a doctor.”
Hearing the sarcasm in Si Tian’s words, Shen Yifan froze, disbelief and astonishment in his eyes.
Si Tian had always been meek and compliant with him. She’d never spoken to him so sarcastically before.
Besides, he’d already humbled himself to coax her.
Shen Yifan knitted his brows and said in a low voice, “Atian, that’s enough. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not giving you a way out!”
Not giving her a way out?
As if she wanted one.
Si Tian found it ridiculous. She was just about to lay everything on the table. “Last night, you and Si—”
“Tiantian[1]Repeating part of a Chinese given name forms a familiar, affectionate nickname; here it refers to Si Tian. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3736111_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3736111_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, look what Grandma Si bought you!”
Before Si Tian could finish, a kind, frail voice came from the doorway. It belonged to a woman around seventy.
Grandma Si leaned on her cane and walked toward Si Tian, her face beaming.
The nanny beside her was carrying a pile of things in one hand and supporting Grandma Si with the other.
At the sight of them, Si Tian swallowed the words caught in her throat.
She hid her thoughts, lifted the corners of her mouth, and went to meet Grandma Si. “Grandma, what brings you here? The doctor said you’d only just been discharged. You need to take good care of yourself.”
Grandma Si patted Si Tian’s hand reassuringly. “I know what I’m doing.”
Seeing his chance, Shen Yifan put on a dutiful expression.
“Grandma Si, if you miss Atian next time, just tell me. I’ll send someone to bring you over.”
Grandma Si glanced at him and gave a flat “Mm.”
At Grandma Si’s cool response, Shen Yifan clenched his fists and stood where he was.
She’d been treating him well these past few days. He had no idea what had gotten into her today.
Grandma Si waved to the nanny. “Bring everything over.”
The nanny spread out everything they’d bought that day across the table.
Several large boxes of expensive gold jewelry, diamonds, and jade covered the tabletop.
Grandma Si raised her cloudy yet dignified eyes to Shen Yifan.
“Atian is the granddaughter I cherish most. Her parents are gone, but I won’t allow anyone to bully her.”
Clearly, Grandma Si had come to stand up for Si Tian.
The gold and silver jewelry covering the table had obviously been bought with the old woman’s life savings.
At the sight of it, Si Tian’s nose stung and her eyes burned.
Eight years ago, when she was seventeen, her parents had been driving Grandma Si to the hospital for treatment when they got into a car accident.
Si Tian lost both her parents, while Grandma Si lay unconscious for more than two years.
Because the old woman’s body recovered slowly, she’d remained in the hospital for rehabilitation after waking up.
She’d only been discharged a few days before Si Tian’s engagement.
So she had no idea how Si Tian had been treated in the Si family.
And at Si Tian and Shen Yifan’s engagement party yesterday, she hadn’t had a single decent piece of jewelry to wear.
It had broken Grandma Si’s heart.
The only thing worth looking at was the diamond bracelet her elder uncle had given her.
It was obvious Shen Yifan didn’t care about Si Tian at all.
The Shen family was wealthy and powerful. If he’d cared, would he have let Si Tian look so shabby?
At last, Shen Yifan understood: the old woman had come to hold him accountable.
With her taking this stance, he’d have to show some sincerity if he wanted to get off the hook.
Shen Yifan took out his phone and tapped the screen a few times.
“Ding-dong! One million yuan received in your XX Pay account.”
Si Tian’s phone suddenly rang.
Shen Yifan shifted closer and draped a large hand over her shoulder.
Turning his head toward her, he smiled and said, “From now on, I’ll transfer one million yuan to your account every month. Don’t refuse me again.”
“Otherwise, Grandma will blame me.”
His gesture looked generous, but in truth, he was shifting all the responsibility onto Si Tian.
In the past, Si Tian really would have refused. She would have worried about how hard he worked at business dinners to earn money.
Now, she accepted it without a second thought.
If Shen Yifan wanted to put on an act, she’d play along!
Ignoring her discomfort at his hand on her shoulder, Si Tian curved her lips into a smile. “Sure. One million a month. Remember to transfer it, or I’ll tell Grandma on you.”
Shen Yifan seemed not to have expected Si Tian to accept the money. He stared at her in surprise.
He’d thought she would refuse and send it back.
But he’d already transferred it. He couldn’t very well take it back.
Never mind. This amount wasn’t even a fraction of what he’d spent pursuing Si Rou before.
But give Si Tian one million a month? That was never going to happen.
He’d only said it to fool the old woman and smooth things over with Si Tian.
She was probably only accepting it because she was angry with him.
Shen Yifan spoke in a doting tone. “All right, all right. As if I’d dare not transfer it.”
Seeing that Shen Yifan had offered something tangible, Old Madam Si[2]A respectful title for the senior woman or matriarch of a prominent household. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3736111_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3736111_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });’s expression softened a little.
She could tell Si Tian liked Shen Yifan.
Otherwise, she would have broken off this engagement no matter what.
“This old woman won’t keep you two lovebirds apart.” Having achieved her purpose, Old Madam Si made up an excuse to leave.
Under her watchful eye, Shen Yifan probably wouldn’t dare treat Si Tian too badly.
Even if he was only pretending, at least he wouldn’t let Si Tian go without the things she’d been missing before.
Si Tian and Shen Yifan helped Old Madam Si into the car, then turned and headed back.
Now that Old Madam Si had left, Si Tian tried to unobtrusively slip out of Shen Yifan’s grasp.
Instead, he suddenly turned her around and pulled her into his arms.
Si Tian went rigid. Discomfort and disgust churned violently in her chest.
In the past, if Shen Yifan had hugged her of his own accord, she could have been happy all day.
Now she wanted to throw up.
“Atian, I was wrong last night. Let me make it up to you now, okay?”
Shen Yifan’s voice fell from above her, sounding remorseful as he apologized.
Si Tian caught the key word at once. Her voice tightened. “Make it up to me?”
Shen Yifan’s hand slid slowly down from her shoulder as his eyes fixed on her.
Si Tian saw the familiar possessiveness in them.
That was how Zhou Si had looked at her that night.
His deep eyes had been full of desire, tempting her.
But unlike Zhou Si’s touch, which could make her soak through with a mere look or a single sentence, Shen Yifan’s caresses were as disgusting as a virus-ridden slug.
His hand was about to pass her arm and reach her waist.
Suddenly, Si Tian remembered: she wasn’t wearing any underwear!
References[+]