After a Flash Marriage with a Professor - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: The Best

Ming Shu was speechless for a long time; the air remained quiet for an extended period.

Jiang Lingyu grew even more nervous, and along with her tension, she was terrified that Ming Shu would realize something that would be a fatal blow to their friendship.

“Ming Shu, I… you…” Jiang Lingyu was so flustered she was incoherent. She couldn’t imagine their relationship becoming strained because her feelings for Ming Shu were exposed. She couldn’t live without Ming Shu in her life, even if she could only exist as Ming Shu’s good friend. That was better than being alienated from her.

“Why can’t you even speak properly?” Ming Shu took Lingyu’s wrist, smiling as she said, “I’m sorry, Lingyu. I just seriously considered what you said and realized I can’t make that kind of assumption. You are my best friend. I most hope that you can find happiness. I won’t joke with your happiness. If it meant using your happiness to pay for my troubles, I don’t think I could do it. I’d rather stay in the abyss.”

“I see…” Jiang Lingyu’s face paled, and the stiffness in her expression seemed to transfer to her tears, which froze. “Ming Shu, I want you to be happy too. I…”

“You’re still feeling guilty, aren’t you? Because you couldn’t help me immediately?” Ming Shu gently rubbed Lingyu’s fair wrist with her thumb. Lingyu still had a little baby fat, and her wrist was soft and plump.

Jiang Lingyu sighed deeply in her heart. There was no better choice; she could only agree. “Yes, I could have helped you, but I wasn’t firm enough then. When you said no, I hesitated. I was a step too slow. You were so helpless at that time, and I thought owing me money would be better than getting it from someone else.”

“Lingyu, I already owe you enough. How can I owe you more? You know 1 million isn’t a small amount.”

“I know, but you always paid back every time you borrowed money before. I trust you. I would never doubt or worry about you defaulting, as you always prioritize paying me back when you get your salary.”

“In the past…” Ming Shu didn’t want to recall those dark, difficult days. They were too painful. “If I don’t move past the past, will I live like that forever? This time it’s 1 million, but what about next time? Before, it was relatively small money; I could manage to pay it back with effort. This time and in the future, it might not be. Lingyu, I know you want to help me, but I’m also afraid of owing you.”

“In a critical moment, money can save a life. If you took money from your aunt and uncle to help me, and something happened to them, I would feel guilty for a lifetime. I’m doing well now. You don’t need to feel guilty.”

Jiang Lingyu had never considered so much before. Her mind had been consumed by the fact that Ming Shu, whom she secretly loved, had married someone else, and she could have prevented it all. Hence, she was stuck in a mire of regret.

But at this moment, she suddenly understood. Perhaps, everything was the best choice at this juncture.

Marrying Professor Shen was already the best choice for Ming Shu. It not only triggered a series of butterfly effects clarifying the messy affairs and relationships at home, and gaining relative freedom but Ming Shu also didn’t look unhappy. She was only sad today because Ming Shu was no longer a possibility for her.

Ming Shu looked at Lingyu with concern, hoping Lingyu wouldn’t keep blaming herself. Lingyu had helped her a lot, and it definitely wasn’t Lingyu’s fault she couldn’t help this time; helping her wasn’t Lingyu’s responsibility.

“Lingyu, I want to be your good friend. I don’t want to constantly be your burden.”

“No, Ming Shu, I’ve never felt you were a burden!” Jiang Lingyu said urgently.

“But I feel like I am. Since we became friends, you’ve always supported me. You can help me selflessly, but I can’t take it for granted. I want to do something for you too.”

“You’ve done a lot for me too. You were the only one by my side when I had problems before, and all these years, while I say I help you, you’re the one who takes care of me, actually. I… I’m actually very dependent on you…”

At this, Jiang Lingyu didn’t dare to continue. Ming Shu felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this, shook her hand, and smiled. “Then I think the feeling of being depended on by Lingyu is quite nice.”

Jiang Lingyu lowered her head, staring intently at Ming Shu’s hand holding her wrist, wanting to touch it but not daring to.

“I’ll go wash the dishes first. Lingyu, you think about where you want to go later the beach or the mall.”

“Don’t bother, Ming Shu, I’ll call the cleaner,” Jiang Lingyu said quickly, pulling Ming Shu’s hand. Her heart was racing. With this little bit of self-interest, she pulled Ming Shu to sit on the sofa.

“You’re so socially anxious. The mall will be crowded on a weekend. Are you sure you want to go with me?” Jiang Lingyu was still holding onto Ming Shu’s hand, unwilling to let go, yet also worried that Ming Shu might notice something. However, Ming Shu seemed to trust her as always and didn’t seem to find her behavior excessive.

Perhaps ordinary best friends also interact this way. It’s just that she harbors ulterior motives.

“It’s your birthday today. I can sacrifice myself to accompany the lady,” Ming Shu smiled. Jiang Lingyu noticed that her smile already carried a hint of nervous resignation.

“Oh, by the way, Lingyu, let me tell you some good news. The last time I went to the mall with Professor Shen to play the claw machine, I caught 5 dolls with 50 game tokens!” Ming Shu said excitedly, then suddenly remembered she hadn’t brought one of the dolls for Lingyu and felt disappointed.

Jiang Lingyu was stunned. 5 dolls with 50 tokens at a mall claw machine? How was that possible? When she played with Ming Shu before, they almost never caught anything. Once, playing with 200 tokens, they only caught one, and that was considered lucky.

Could it be that Professor Shen made a private deal with the clerk to make Ming Shu happy? If so, Professor Shen was quite attentive to Ming Shu.

“I suddenly don’t want to go out, Ming Shu. Will you stay home with me? Let’s go to the room, turn off the lights, and watch a movie with the projector. When the sun isn’t so strong in the evening, we can go to the beach, okay?”

“Sure. You’re the birthday girl. You rule these two days.”

Jiang Lingyu smiled contentedly. “You’re really staying with me for two days? Is Professor Shen really willing?”

At the mention of Professor Shen, Ming Shu’s face subtly flushed. “What’s there to be unwilling about? Professor Shen was always by herself before.”

Jiang Lingyu blinked her round eyes in surprise. “Did Professor Shen never date before?”

“During the blind date, she said no.”

Jiang Lingyu found it hard to believe that someone with Professor Shen’s excellent background had never dated, yet on a blind date, she immediately went for Ming Shu. It seemed like a planned long-game, but based on her closeness with Ming Shu, Ming Shu would have told her about anything special after graduation. Ming Shu said that the blind date was their reunion, and she believed Ming Shu.

Could it be that Professor Shen had feelings for Ming Shu while she was still in school, which is why she snapped Ming Shu up the moment they reconnected?

If that were the case, she could only say Ming Shu and Professor Shen were more fated. Jiang Lingyu didn’t want to think about it anymore and pulled Ming Shu back to the room.

In the room, she set up two projectors: one projecting a starry sky on the ceiling, and the other projecting a movie onto the opposite white wall. While she did this, Ming Shu drew the curtains.

With everything ready, the two got onto the bed and leaned against the headboard to watch the movie. As they watched, Jiang Lingyu suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder. She turned her head, and sure enough, Ming Shu had leaned against her shoulder.

Was Ming Shu tired? Did Professor Shen make Ming Shu very tired?

Jiang Lingyu couldn’t focus on the movie anymore. She quietly watched Ming Shu’s peaceful sleeping face in the projector’s soft light. Unconsciously, she raised a hand to touch Ming Shu’s cheek, then quickly pulled it back as if burned.

Shen Junlan drove alone to attend her colleague’s engagement party. At red lights, she kept forgetting Ming Shu wasn’t in the car and frequently turned her head. She felt like she was obsessing. Her affection for that little girl was perhaps a bit too clingy.

At the green light, Shen Junlan drove through the intersection and a bit further. It was still early. She stopped at a car wash, planning to get her car washed. Unexpectedly, she saw a somewhat familiar face a face shape similar to Ming Shu’s, but with more alluring and aggressive upward-slanting ‘fox eyes’ who was currently trying to suppress her frustration.

“The beautiful woman is actually over 40? Still full of charm! Bro, let me introduce you to another job, isn’t that better than washing cars here?”

Qin Shu kept quiet, lowering her head and eyes, silently suppressing her anger, a stark contrast to the overbearing image Shen Junlan had seen before. Shen Junlan remained in her car for a moment, then rolled down the window. A staff member came over to ask for her car wash preferences. Shen Junlan said nothing, only raised a finger to point toward Qin Shu. The staff member smiled awkwardly. “Should I ask her to wash your car?”

Shen Junlan said, “Yes.”

The staff member broke out in a cold sweat, went to switch people, and assigned a male staff member to the previous middle-aged male customer’s car. The jeering gradually stopped behind her. Qin Shu breathed a sigh of relief and approached the low-key luxury car. She kept her head down and quietly washed the car.

Shen Junlan sat in the car, not deliberately watching Qin Shu. She wondered whether she should tell Ming Shu about running into Qin Shu.

After the car was washed, Qin Shu still hadn’t looked up at her. Shen Junlan thought this was probably for the best. If, as Wen Xuan had said, both of his parents were getting new jobs and living better lives, that would be the best outcome for Ming Shu, Wen Xuan, her, and everyone else.

The colleague’s engagement party was held at a five-star hotel. Shen Junlan was the last to arrive at her table.

“Professor Shen, what’s the matter? Coming so late are you really not interested in such worldly affairs?”

Shen Junlan shook her head and smiled. Someone answered for her, “Of course not. How could Professor Shen be the same as us mere mortals?”

“I am the same. I’m a mortal too,” Shen Junlan smiled.

All the colleagues at the table stared at her, as if they thought she was joking.

“Actually, I’ve already registered for marriage and have a wife.” At the mention of Ming Shu, Shen Junlan couldn’t suppress the smile on her lips, and her joy intensified.

The colleagues were all greatly astonished, as if she hadn’t just announced having a wife but that the world was ending and zombies were attacking.

“Is Professor Shen being serious?”

“You’re not kidding, are you?”

“I’m serious.”

“Professor Shen is so humorous, hahaha.”

“Professor Lin, I’m not joking.”

Everyone looked at Shen Junlan’s hands they were beautiful hands, excessively long-fingered and well-defined, suitable for hand modeling but there was no wedding ring.

Everyone then looked at Shen Junlan’s face. The joy on her face didn’t seem fake.

“Did Professor Shen really register for marriage?”

The colleagues’ concern and gossip came pouring in. Shen Junlan was nearly overwhelmed, but strangely, she didn’t feel impatient. Instead, she patiently responded to each question, almost overshadowing the colleague who was getting engaged.

“Today is Professor Lin’s engagement party. Everyone should focus more on Professor Lin,” Shen Junlan said, slowly taking a sip of tea.

Professor Lin, being a fan of gossip himself, couldn’t resist and egged them on. “Everyone wants to meet Professor Shen’s wife, right?”

“She’s celebrating her friend’s birthday and isn’t available.”

“Then let us hear her voice, or we won’t believe you.”

Shen Junlan initially didn’t want to do as her colleagues suggested, but she genuinely missed Ming Shu a little. Having a rare excuse to contact Ming Shu, she compromised. Before calling Ming Shu, she asked her colleagues to be reserved and not to scare her newlywed wife. The colleagues were all envious.

“Professor Shen, call her quickly! We’ll be careful not to scare your wife.”

“Hurry, hurry!”

“Professor Shen is such a tease, never dating, and then announcing her marriage! Making such a big splash.”

“I can’t wait. Professor Shen’s wedding won’t be sooner than Professor Lin’s, will it? Hahaha.”

Shen Junlan dialed Ming Shu’s number. Ming Shu was asleep, and her phone was on silent, so she didn’t notice it. The phone was right next to Lingyu. She felt Ming Shu’s phone vibrating, picked it up, and saw it was Professor Shen calling.

After much hesitation, Lingyu answered the call herself. Before she could speak, a voice came from the other side: “Wife.”

Support After a Flash Marriage with a Professor