After a Flash Marriage with a Professor - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Making a Choice

Qin Shu was stunned to see her daughter, with that stubborn and beautiful face, talking back to her.

Mingshu had always been a good daughter and had never spoken to her like this before. For a moment, Qin Shu couldn’t believe it and was speechless for a long time.

Yan Hongbo stood to the side, also in a daze. As a father, he had long been used to his daughter being wronged at home. He was incompetent and had no say, and even when he wanted to protect his daughter, he was powerless.

“Even if you are my mother, I won’t accept the blame you are forcing on me.” Mingshu’s right hand tightly gripped the back of Professor Shen’s shirt. Professor Shen was wearing a dignified and simple white shirt today, and the back of it was wrinkled from Mingshu’s grip. She was certain that she had gained some confidence and courage from Professor Shen. Otherwise, she, who was lonely and helpless, would never have been able to say these things to her mother.

“Good, very good,” Qin Shu said through gritted teeth, almost clapping her hands. “Now that you’ve grown up, your wings are hard.”

“Why don’t you just never come home again? I’ll just pretend I don’t have a daughter.” Qin Shu folded her arms. No one could see that her two thumbs were digging hard into the inside of her arms.

Wenxuan had told her to be nicer to Mingshu. The best way she could think of to be nice to Mingshu was to kick her out of this family.

“Wife, what nonsense are you talking about?” Yan Hongbo was dumbfounded. He had thought that now that Mingshu had made this sacrifice for the family, their mother-daughter relationship would ease up. He never expected it to get worse. His wife was actually going to throw Mingshu out.

“I’m not talking nonsense. She’s already found a partner anyway. She doesn’t care about this family anymore. It’s better to make it clear now and cut ties completely.”

Mingshu’s tears could no longer be held back. They fell straight down. Although her family’s situation had been difficult since she was a child, she had never thought of leaving or abandoning this family.

“What’s there to cry about? Don’t tell me you can’t bear to leave this family?” Qin Shu said with a sarcastic glance.

“Your mother is agitated today, Mingshu. Please don’t take it to heart. Your mother is just speaking out of anger,” Yan Hongbo said, trying to make amends.

Mingshu cried even harder, her tears falling silently. Qin Shu didn’t look at her. She pulled Yan Hongbo and walked away. “Stop standing here like an idiot. We need to go get some clothes for Wenxuan. He’s going to be in the hospital for two weeks.”

The couple walked away like that.

“Mingshu.” Shen Junlan turned around. Her voice was slightly stiff. To be honest, she didn’t understand why Mingshu’s mother was like this to Mingshu. Mingshu threw herself into her arms.

She held Mingshu, blocking the sight of the onlookers in the hallway.

Mingshu’s tears gradually stopped. A large patch of Shen Junlan’s white shirt was soaked with her tears. Fortunately, Shen Junlan was wearing a tank top underneath, so it wasn’t a big deal.

She saw Mingshu open her mouth and knew Mingshu was about to say sorry. She spoke before Mingshu could. “Mingshu, Wenxuan is awake. He really wants to see you. Go see him.”

Mingshu nodded dully. Professor Shen raised her hand, gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and led her over.

Being led by Professor Shen, Mingshu felt so safe for the first time. At the door of the ward, Professor Shen stopped, let go of her hand, and gently pushed her back, letting her go in and talk to her brother alone.

Mingshu went in by herself.

“Sister!” Yan Wenxuan saw his sister come in and sat up excitedly.

Mingshu ran over to prop up his pillow. “Slow down. What if you pull on the wound? Doesn’t it hurt?”

Yan Wenxuan immediately frowned and pretended to be in pain. “Sister, it hurts so much.”

Mingshu immediately lowered her head to look at his hand and carefully moved it. The pins were stuck in his flesh. How could it not hurt? Mingshu looked at it and started crying again.

Yan Wenxuan panicked. “Sister, it doesn’t hurt. I was just tricking you. Don’t take it seriously.”

“Wenxuan, why were you so impulsive and so stupid?” Mingshu wiped away her own tears and asked.

“I’m useless. I couldn’t think of a better way, Sister. Don’t blame me. I just don’t want you to suffer for our family anymore.”

“Let’s not talk about those unhappy things. I just talked to our sister-in-law. She’s a really good person. You’ll definitely be happy in the future.”

Mingshu was stunned for a moment and asked, “How did Professor Shen get here?”

“Sister Lingyu gave me our sister-in-law’s contact information and said I could ask her for help if I needed anything. I tried sending her a message this morning, hoping she could come and support you. It’s a good thing I sent our sister-in-law a message. It would have been too dangerous for you to come alone, Sister.”

“I don’t want to cause Professor Shen any trouble,” Mingshu said, lowering her head.

Yan Wenxuan said, “If I love a person, I’d be very willing to help them with their worries and troubles. I wouldn’t think it’s a bother. So, Sister, don’t think that way. A person who truly loves you won’t think you’re a burden.”

Truly loves? But it was precisely because there was no love between her and Professor Shen that Mingshu felt she was a burden to Professor Shen.

“Sister, what are you thinking about?” Yan Wenxuan shook Mingshu’s arm.

“…Nothing.”

“Sister, let me tell you, our sister-in-law is really good. The doctor who did my surgery was someone she helped us find. He’s very authoritative. Not only is his skill good, but he also comforted me a lot during the surgery. I’m now very confident that my finger will heal well. Our sister-in-law even said she would get me a VIP ward, but I refused because I know that I don’t deserve such good treatment with my current situation. It’s already great that I can stay in a regular ward.”

Mingshu listened intently. So, while she was afraid of blood, Professor Shen had quietly done so much.

“Sister, here’s the bank card. There’s still 500,000 left. I can’t take it.” Yan Wenxuan had held onto the bank card throughout the surgery. He didn’t want his parents to take it. It was his sister’s.

“But what about the follow-up expenses for your hospitalization?”

“Our sister-in-law said she already paid for them. I was going to give the bank card back to her, but she said that since she gave it to you, it’s up to you to deal with it. So, Sister, you should keep it. You’ll be able to live a better life if you have money on you.”

“No, Wenxuan, you should keep it. Don’t you want to study abroad?”

“I can work for a few years and save up enough money to go abroad,” Yan Wenxuan said.

“But it’ll be hard to get back into studying after a few years,” Mingshu said, pushing the bank card back.

“Sister has a job and can make money. You don’t have to worry about me. I can’t feel at ease if you don’t take it.”

“Then… I owe you one, Sister. I’ll definitely earn a lot of money in the future and give you a dowry.”

“By the way, Sister, Mom didn’t give you a hard time, did she?”

Mingshu was silent for a moment and then said, “Mom said she’s going to pretend she doesn’t have a daughter anymore.”

Yan Wenxuan also fell silent for a moment.

“That’s okay, too. Then you’ll be free, Sister. You’ll always be my sister anyway.”

Mingshu talked with her brother for a long time. She had no choice but to leave when her parents returned.

When she walked out of the hospital, Mingshu was still in a daze. Professor Shen squeezed her palm and asked her if she was hungry. Mingshu realized that she was indeed a little hungry.

“It’s almost two o’clock,” Shen Junlan said with a smile. “I’ll take you to eat.”

The restaurants Professor Shen went to were all high-end, the kind Mingshu would never have gone to before. Thinking about how Professor Shen had been helping her all day, Mingshu grabbed her hand and said in a weak voice, “Professor Shen, can you also give me a chance to treat you?”

Shen Junlan was slightly stunned for a moment and then nodded.

After getting in the car, Shen Junlan drove to the large shopping mall in the city center according to the address Mingshu gave her. Mingshu said, “There’s a really good Korean BBQ place on the sixth floor of the mall. It’s good enough that it can make me overcome my social anxiety and go out to eat. Lingyu and I can eat a set meal for 3-4 people by ourselves.”

“Then I must try it. It sounds really good.”

“Mingshu, did you and Lingyu meet in college?”

“Yes, we were in the same class in our first year, but we only became friends in our second year.”

“That’s nice.”

“What did you just say, Professor Shen?” Mingshu didn’t hear her clearly.

“Nothing,” Shen Junlan said with a smile. It was all in the past.

It was a weekday, and it was past two in the afternoon. There were very few people in the entire mall. Socially anxious Mingshu was able to hold hands with Professor Shen and walk in without any mental burden.

The two of them took the elevator directly to the sixth floor. The restaurant’s decor was very cute, with a pink pig theme. The lighting was all pink, and the two fake trees in the hallway had pink light on their branches and leaves.

After finding a corner table, Mingshu directly ordered a set meal for 3-4 people. A dedicated waiter immediately came over to help them grill the meat.

“Professor Shen, try some.”

“Okay.”

Mingshu was extremely nervous just watching Professor Shen taste the grilled meat.

“Wait, let me make you a dipping sauce.” Mingshu stood up and frantically made a plate of dipping sauce for Shen Junlan. Shen Junlan picked up a piece of meat, dipped it in the sauce Mingshu had made, and put it in her mouth. The meat was very tender, and the sauce tasted good, too. She smiled and nodded, saying it was delicious.

Mingshu let out a sigh of relief and could finally eat with peace of mind. Her mouth was small, so her cheeks puffed up with just a little food. She ate with great satisfaction.

Shen Junlan looked at Mingshu and also ate with great satisfaction.

After lunch, Mingshu paid the bill. As they walked out of the restaurant, Shen Junlan asked Mingshu if there was anywhere else she wanted to go. She knew Mingshu had to go back to work at the company tomorrow.

Mingshu didn’t say anything. She just looked up. The seventh floor must be the arcade. They could hear some music from up there.

“Let’s go up and take a look.” Shen Junlan directly took Mingshu’s hand and led her upstairs. There were also very few people upstairs. The music was loud and a little noisy. Shen Junlan leaned close to Mingshu’s ear and asked her what she wanted to play.

Mingshu still didn’t speak, but her eyes gave Shen Junlan the answer.

“Let’s go get some stuffed animals.”

Mingshu looked at Professor Shen in surprise. She felt that Professor Shen’s image didn’t match the claw machine, but she soon understood. Professor Shen didn’t want to play herself; she had figured out that Mingshu wanted to play.

“You look for the stuffed animal you like, and I’ll go buy some tokens.” Shen Junlan had been to an arcade once before. Jiajia had dragged her there for her birthday, saying she wanted her to go play with her. They came to the arcade first. Shen Junlan found it noisy, and they later went to an amusement park.

When she was buying tokens, the staff member told her that if she couldn’t get a stuffed animal after a hundred tokens, they would give her one for free. Shen Junlan directly talked to the staff member and asked if it was possible to guarantee that Mingshu would get one. She was willing to pay a little more. The staff member was naturally willing. No one turns down money.

When Shen Junlan returned with a small bucket of tokens, the staff member followed her to adjust the machine.

With a hundred tokens, Mingshu was very serious. She slowly played. On average, she got one stuffed animal every 10 tokens. When Mingshu had five stuffed animals, she stopped, a joyful smile on her face. The stuffed animals were not very big, mostly palm-sized.

“Professor Shen, this stuffed animal looks a little like you,” Mingshu said, handing her an orange-shaped stuffed animal.

Shen Junlan took it and asked with a smile, “How?”

“You both look very gentle.”

Mingshu was satisfied and didn’t want to continue playing. They went to return the remaining half of the tokens. Shen Junlan secretly paid the staff member for the five stuffed animals.

“It’s so amazing. Lingyu and I could never get any stuffed animals before.”

On the way back, Mingshu was still very happy. Shen Junlan hung the orange stuffed animal Mingshu gave her on the car’s front mirror as a good luck charm. When she heard Mingshu mention Lingyu again, she felt a little concerned, but she didn’t say anything. Mingshu had a very difficult life before, so it was a good thing that Jiang Lingyu was by her side.

When they got home, Auntie Zhang and Jiajia came out to greet them and asked with concern if they were okay. Shen Junlan and Mingshu both shook their heads and said they were fine. Mingshu also gave Auntie Zhang and Jiajia one of the stuffed animals she had caught.

Auntie Zhang held the stuffed animal and looked at it over and over again. She said happily, “So I, an old woman, get to have a share of what young girls like.”

Jiajia held her stuffed animal and said, “Thank you, Sister Mingshu. You and Sister Junlan went to get stuffed animals today, huh?”

“Yeah.”

The four of them had dinner together in the evening. Jiajia took out a bottle of red wine and asked Mingshu if she drank.

Mingshu nodded. She had drunk it at Lingyu’s place last time, so she should be able to, right?

It was safe here, and Mingshu wasn’t afraid of anything bad happening if she got drunk. But Professor Shen stopped her and didn’t let her drink too much. Jiajia, on the other hand, drank silently and heavily. Shen Junlan said, “You can’t drive after drinking. You’ll sleep here tonight.”

“Auntie Zhang, Jiajia, I’m going to take Mingshu upstairs to sleep. You two should also rest early.”

Shen Junlan put her arm around the slightly tipsy Mingshu and led her upstairs. Jiajia stared intently at their backs until she could no longer see them.

Back in the room, after they had both showered, Shen Junlan opened the door, ready to leave and find a guest room to sleep in. She suddenly heard Mingshu call her from behind.

“Mingshu, is there anything else?” Shen Junlan asked with a smile.

Mingshu was kneeling on the bed, looking up at her. Her cheeks were red, whether from the red wine or the steam in the bathroom. Her beautiful little foxy eyes were misty and watery. Looking at people like that gave her a natural charm.

Shen Junlan’s throat suddenly tightened.

“Professor Shen, don’t go. I… I have something to tell you.”

Shen Junlan walked back and sat down by the bed. She gently held Mingshu’s hand and said, “Go on.”

“I’ve made up my mind, Professor Shen. I’m willing to continue with our marriage contract.”

Shen Junlan’s heart was filled with excitement that she couldn’t suppress, but she kept her composure. “Mingshu, are you sure you’re truly willing, and not just because you’re grateful to me?”

“No, Professor Shen,” Mingshu said anxiously. “I am grateful to you, but I’m choosing this because I want a home. I don’t have a home anymore, Professor Shen.”

Shen Junlan was silent for a moment before she pulled Mingshu into her arms. “You have a home, Mingshu. From now on, this is our home.”

Mingshu leaned against her, looking up at her. “Does Professor Shen still accept me? Do you still want me?”

“Yes.”

Mingshu moved in her arms, sat up, and held onto her shoulders. She kissed her on her lips, a light, fleeting kiss, and then lowered her head shyly.

But that was far from enough. Shen Junlan licked her lips. She put her left hand on Mingshu’s shoulder and her right hand on the back of Mingshu’s head, making Mingshu look up.

Mingshu’s body leaned back. Her heart was in a panic, and she called out “Professor Shen.”

Shen Junlan let go of Mingshu’s shoulder with her left hand and caressed Mingshu’s lips. Mingshu trembled slightly.

“That’s not how you kiss, Mingshu. Let me teach you.”

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