"You silly girl," Chen Keqiao poked her forehead in frustration. "If you'd told me earlier, I would have helped you. Xiao Che's illness is important, but your marriage isn't something to joke about either!"
An Ruo lowered her eyes, pinching the coffee spoon and stirring gently. "I didn't have a choice back then."
If she had refused to marry Shen Xiaoxing in An Qing's place back then, the An family, with their relentless determination to achieve their goals, would never have let her off.
Luckily, heaven had favored her. Her choice hadn't been wrong. Only by leaving the An family—that den of demons—could she and An Che strive for a better life.
Chen Keqiao understood her plight, knowing how she walked on eggshells in the An household. Refusing to marry Shen Xiaoxing would only fuel their cruelty!
"But I heard that Shen the eldest young master suddenly encountered a plane crash two years ago and ended up almost a vegetable. Marrying him..." Chen Keqiao didn't want her to ruin her happiness over this. "I'm afraid life won't be easy for you in the future."
"His eyes have recovered, and he treats me well. I have food and drink, and he doesn't restrict my freedom. Besides, he's saved me several times. Logically and emotionally, marrying him isn't a bad choice."
Chen Keqiao noticed a girlish shyness on her face—something she'd never seen when she was dating Zou Yikai. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "You're not falling for him, are you?"
Those words felt like a broad hand squeezing An Ruo's heart, and that fluttering, racing sensation returned.
"Even though I've never seen the eldest young master Shen's face, I've heard from my dad through a few uncles that he's a talented young man with a head for business, and his looks are top-notch among the noble circles in Shencheng."
An Ruo's mind conjured the man's cool, aloof face—his sharp, chiseled features like carved sculpture, full of three-dimensional depth.
He really did have the advantage of being devastatingly handsome.
...
Since she had no classes in the afternoon, An Ruo took the bus back to the seaside villa after parting ways with Chen Keqiao.
Butler Xu took her coat and bag, smiling warmly. "The young mistress is back. What would you like to eat today? I'll instruct the kitchen to prepare it."
A servant handed over a menu. This was something the man had arranged after her injury—every day, she could choose what to eat and drink by checking items off the menu, letting her enjoy a high-end restaurant experience at home.
An Ruo picked up a pen and checked off a few dishes she craved. As she handed it to the servant, she didn't forget to ask, "When will your young master be back?"
"The young master usually arrives home around five," Butler Xu recalled. "But before you returned, Han Chong called to say they might be a bit late. If the young mistress is hungry, she can eat first."
"It's fine. I'm not very hungry today. I'll wait for him to come back and eat together."
An Ruo went to her room, lay down, and started binge-watching shows. Before she knew it, she drifted off to sleep. When she woke up, she felt a ticklish sensation on her cheek, like someone gently stroking it...
She slowly opened her eyes and was met with the man's strikingly handsome face. He was looking down at her, his brows soft and eyes tender, caressing her delicate little face.
An Ruo's breath caught in shock. She quickly sat up. "When did you get back?"
"Just now." A gentle warmth lingered in the man's eyes as he gazed at her intently, his voice light and magnetic. "Was class tiring today?"
Just a few hours of class—how could that be tiring?
An Ruo shook her head at that. "Not at all." She paused, then added, "What about you? Was your first day at work tiring? Busy?"
The man stared at her for a long moment before a faint smile curled at the corner of his lips. "Are you worried about me, Mrs. Shen?"
He deliberately emphasized the words "Mrs. Shen" at the end, stressing each syllable as if making some silent declaration.
An Ruo's cheeks flushed slightly. As someone clueless about romance, she felt awkward and didn't know how to respond. She just blinked her bright, clear eyes and stared at him blankly.
They fell into a brief silence until the man was about to speak, and a knock came from outside.
Butler Xu's voice, arriving at an inopportune moment, rang out. "Young master, young mistress, dinner is ready."
An Ruo latched onto the topic, quickly urging him, "Dinner's ready. You've worked all day, so you must be hungry and tired. Let's eat and rest up."
She was like someone always charging ahead to eat, firmly believing that no problem couldn't be solved with a meal.
Though Shen Xiaoxing didn't know why she loved eating so much, his investigation had revealed that during her childhood wandering, she often went hungry and cold. Prolonged food scarcity might have made her cherish her current life more, ensuring she ate her fill at every meal.
Since his eyesight recovered, the one thing he was satisfied with was being able to openly admire her. Like now—the girl was burrowing into her bowl of rice like a little mole. Her eating manner wasn't elegant, but it was healing.
Ever since entering the Shen family, he'd kept everything bottled up inside, unwilling to share with anyone. Over time, it became an indescribable loneliness. Every day, a table full of delicious food was set before him, but eating felt like chewing wax.
But after she appeared, his lack of appetite gradually gave way to a newfound enthusiasm for sharing meals with someone. Eating with a person who had a good appetite made everything taste delicious, no matter the dish.
A deep glint flickered in Shen Xiaoxing's eyes. He noticed a grain of rice stuck to the corner of the girl's mouth. He reached out and removed it, his warm fingertips brushing her cheek, startling An Ruo, who was focused on eating.