After a Flash Marriage with a Professor - Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Beautiful Dream

“Wife?” Shen Muhua thought of what Xixi had told him, that Junlan had found a wife through a short-term blind date to deal with them, only getting the marriage certificate and not holding a wedding or notifying family and friends. How could there be love?

Shen Muhua recalled his youth. His love was for Junlan’s mother, Miss Fang Shuyi. It was out of love that they married and had Junlan.

“Junlan, Xixi already told me about you getting married. I’ve seen the girl’s photos, and it’s clear she’s not your type. You don’t have to use your marriage as a pretext to appease us, just because you don’t accept the arrangements your Auntie Qiao and I made.”

“You’re overthinking it,” Shen Junlan said with a light laugh. “I really don’t have the time or patience to deal with you. You truly don’t deserve to be my father, you don’t understand me at all, and you can make such arbitrary conclusions about what kind of person I like.”

“Junlan, your father loves you.”

“Don’t talk to me about love. Hearing that word from your mouth makes me sick. I don’t even believe you ever loved my mother. You were just a social climber back then, coveting my grandfather’s wealth. Wasn’t your love for my mother fake from beginning to end?”

“Junlan, whether you believe it or not, I have to tell you that I truly loved your mother.” Shen Muhua said, glancing at Qiao Li, who was always by his side. Qiao Li still maintained a beautiful face, smiling gently at him, her eyes full of tenderness. “Junlan, I just made a mistake that all men in this world make. I fell in love with two women, one was your mother, and the other was your Auntie Qiao.”

“A person like you doesn’t deserve to talk about love,” Shen Junlan said with a cold, sarcastic tone.

“Junlan, I know you’re angry with me. Say what you need to say, but we are still family. That’s a fact that can’t be changed.”

“You and Qiao Qian’s mother and daughter are the only family. You are not my family.”

Shen Muhua’s patience was almost at its limit. For so many years in a high position, surrounded by people who flattered and praised him, it had been a long time since anyone had spoken to him with such coldness and sarcasm.

“Whether you agree or not, Junlan, your marriage to that temporary wife is invalid. You still have to marry Xixi. The future of the Shen family needs the two of you to manage it together.”

Shen Junlan was infuriated by the four words “temporary wife.” With a full-on attack, she said, “Why should I, an outsider, benefit from your family’s assets? Since you love Qiao Qian and her mother so much, why don’t you take both the mother and the daughter? You three can live happily ever after, have another child, and never have to worry about a successor.”

The words sounded somewhat unfilial. Shen Junlan felt incredibly relieved after saying them, but she was afraid she had scared Ming Shu. She immediately turned to look at Ming Shu’s expression. Ming Shu smiled at her and took the initiative to hold her slightly sweaty hand.

The little rabbit wife wasn’t afraid of her, wasn’t scared of her, and didn’t shy away from her this time.

On the other end of the phone, Shen Muhua completely lost his temper. “Junlan, you’re saying something like that to your father? You… you… are you trying to kill me?”

“If it were that easy to kill you, it would be great. At least you wouldn’t bother me anymore.”

Shen Muhua gasped with rage. Shen Junlan heard this familiar, nightmarish sound of quick breaths. For a moment, she wanted to close her eyes and cover her ears, trying to stop the abusive memories from her childhood from replaying in her mind.

But memories were uncontrollable. How could she stop them?

The rose that was so vibrant it seemed to bleed, the white horsewhip, the sharp metal of a silver instrument, the bleeding wounds, and the heart full of holes were all only superficially healed. Every time she remembered them, they would be cruelly ripped open again, dragging the soul that tried to live in the sunlight back into a dark hell.

Demons have no hearts. Shen Muhua was a demon. He personally turned the people who loved him into demons as well. Shen Junlan knew she was the product of a demon. There was a darkness in her bones, but her mother and grandfather, who were normal during their time, worked hard to give her a normal upbringing, teaching her to restrain and control herself so she wouldn’t fall into the abyss.

When talking to the demon, the aggression deep within her soul was triggered to fight the demon.

“Shen Muhua, I am not your puppet,” Shen Junlan said, her words heavy and deliberate.

Shen Muhua was too angry to speak. Qiao Li, who was at his side, raised her hand to help him calm down. With an eye signal from Shen Muhua, she opened her enchanting red lips. “Junlan, I’m your Auntie Qiao. Your father’s intentions were truly good today. Please don’t misunderstand him. I know you’ve had issues with me for all these years. I don’t expect you to accept or like me, but I hope you won’t take your anger out on your father, or Xixi. Xixi truly likes you.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m an adult who can think independently and doesn’t accept any brainwashing. Who Qiao Qian likes is her own private matter and has nothing to do with me. I have no obligation to fulfill her needs.”

“Junlan…” Qiao Li was about to say more, but Shen Junlan interrupted her directly. “There’s no room for discussion on this matter. Qiao Qian must be held accountable for the mistakes she made.”

With that, Shen Junlan hung up the phone directly. The angry Shen Muhua and the anxious Qiao Li were left helpless.

Shen Junlan felt exceptionally exhausted. She had said a lot today, unlike the easygoing way she spoke during her classes. She hadn’t been in contact with Shen Muhua and his family for years and rarely got into arguments. She wondered how she had performed in this argument.

“Professor Shen, you must be tired. Let’s go to sleep,” Ming Shu said sympathetically. Just listening to Professor Shen negotiate with those people who caused her harm made her feel tired.

“Mhm.” Shen Junlan turned off the light and hugged Ming Shu tightly as they went to sleep.

They had less than four hours of rest, and both of them remained silently in agreement.

Shen Junlan held Ming Shu’s fingers, secretly pondering the ring size.

“Professor Shen, can’t you sleep?”

Shen Junlan withdrew her hand. “Did I disturb you?”

“No. Professor Shen, let me tell you a bedtime story.”

In the darkness, Shen Junlan paused for a moment, a smile unconsciously forming on her lips. “Wife, are you going to lull me to sleep?”

“I’ll try.” Ming Shu wasn’t very confident. “When I used to take care of Wen Xuan, I often read him storybooks.”

Shen Junlan smiled and said, “Okay.”

“Once upon a time, there was a big bad wolf living in the forest and…” Ming Shu paused. She had originally intended to tell the story of the big bad wolf and the seven little goats, but she suddenly remembered the ending and decided to make up a new one. “In the forest lived a big bad wolf and a little white rabbit, along with many other animals. All the animals told the little white rabbit to stay away from the big bad wolf. The little white rabbit asked why, and everyone said it was because the big bad wolf would eat the little white rabbit. The little white rabbit was very scared and cautiously avoided the big bad wolf, to avoid falling into the wolf’s mouth.”

“One day, the little white rabbit accidentally fell into a trap, with no one to turn to for help. The passing animals were all helpless. Only a hideous and vicious beast glared at her and said it could save her, but she had to pay a price. The little white rabbit refused and continued to call for help, which attracted a big bad wolf. The little white rabbit trembled. The big bad wolf stood at the edge of the trap, looking down at her. The big bad wolf was willing to hand her a rope directly and pull her up. The little white rabbit chose to accept the big bad wolf’s help.”

“At first, the little white rabbit thought the big bad wolf was a kind, non-meat-eating wolf, and that the other animals had misunderstood her. But soon, the little white rabbit discovered that the big bad wolf did eat meat. The big bad wolf wanted to eat the little white rabbit one step at a time. The little white rabbit was scared again. The big bad wolf stopped and told her, ‘I’ll eat you when you grow up a little more. I’ll eat you when you understand happiness.’ Later, the big bad wolf told the little white rabbit, ‘I love you.'”

Ming Shu stopped here, looking to see if Professor Shen had fallen asleep.

A wolf’s paw gently pressed on her chest. “Wife, why didn’t you continue?”

“Professor Shen, you’re not asleep yet?”

“Almost. I’ll sleep after I hear the end of the story. What is the ending?”

Ming Shu thought for a moment and said, “To be continued.”

Shen Junlan smiled again. She wanted to pinch the little rabbit but controlled her wolf paw. “I’ll continue. At the end of the story, the little rabbit and the big bad wolf lived happily ever after.”

Ming Shu’s heart rippled with silent joy, but she also felt it wasn’t real.

“A rabbit and a wolf, two completely different species, can they really live happily ever after?”

“As long as the little rabbit is willing to believe it, they can. The big bad wolf already believes.”

Ming Shu felt incredibly embarrassed. “Professor Shen, did you figure it out?”

“Mhm. It’s so obvious. If I couldn’t figure it out, wouldn’t I be an incompetent big bad wolf?”

“I thought you were going to fall asleep and wouldn’t be able to hear it clearly.”

“I was about to fall asleep.” Shen Junlan hugged Ming Shu a little tighter.

Ming Shu felt that Professor Shen’s hands were much calmer. Nestled in the embrace of the big bad wolf, she closed her eyes with a sense of security. She would fall asleep with the big bad wolf, enter their dream together, and see the ending of their story.

The next morning, Shen Junlan woke up first again. This time, she wasn’t in a hurry to leave and quietly held her little rabbit wife, who was still soundly asleep.

When Ming Shu woke up, she half-opened her eyes and saw Professor Shen looking at her without blinking. She raised her hand to rub her eyes and found it was held. She was suddenly wide awake. “I’m not seeing things, Professor Shen, you’re still here?”

“Mhm. I wanted to spend more time with my wife.”

Ming Shu leaned her face into Professor Shen’s arms, opened one eye, and said good morning. In this moment, Ming Shu forgot about time. She threw out any thoughts about what time it was or how long she had until work. At this moment, her world only had Professor Shen.

“Professor Shen, I dreamed the ending of the story. The little rabbit and the big bad wolf really lived happily ever after, just like you said,” Ming Shu said joyfully.

“Is that so?” Shen Junlan smiled in satisfaction. “Then, the big bad wolf will now carry her little rabbit wife to get ready.” Shen Junlan lifted Ming Shu off the bed. This time, Ming Shu accepted it calmly, hanging on her big bad wolf wife without any psychological burden.

After they were both ready, they returned to the room and changed clothes. After everything was prepared, Ming Shu finally looked at the time. There were still thirty minutes until she had to be at the publishing house, but Professor Shen didn’t seem to be in a hurry at all.

“Professor Shen, do you not have work today?”

“Professor Lin finished dealing with his family matters and came back early. I don’t have to rush back to lead the team. I can spend more time with my wife.”

“Then, should we go have breakfast together now?”

“Mhm.”

Ming Shu then asked, “Can we ask Ling Han to join us?”

“We can, she usually accompanies you. I should find a chance to thank her. But breakfast is a rush; we can invite her to dinner instead.”

Ming Shu nodded. Just as she was about to open the door, a knock came from outside.

“It must be Ling Han.” Ming Shu opened the door and was stunned to see her team members all standing outside.

Everyone froze, and an awkward atmosphere spread. The negotiator’s gaze switched back and forth between Ming Shu and Ling Han. She had thought they were dating in secret, but she didn’t expect Ming Shu to have someone else in her room. The two male colleagues’ expressions were especially excited, as if they had just found something to hold against Ming Shu. Only Ling Han was more composed, as she had already encountered Professor Shen there before.

Shen Junlan’s expression was calm. She wasn’t afraid of such a scene, but she was a bit worried that Ming Shu would be misunderstood by her colleagues. If she explained, she was afraid that Ming Shu wasn’t ready to publicly disclose their married status to the company’s colleagues. She held Ming Shu’s hand tightly and said nothing, respecting Ming Shu’s choice and seeing how she would handle it. If Ming Shu couldn’t handle it, she would step forward.

Ming Shu felt extremely nervous. She held Professor Shen’s hand, feeling the warmth from her palm, and with her other hand, she squeezed the sweat from her palm.

The scene was too quiet and awkward, in desperate need of a breakthrough. The male colleague, who loved to watch drama unfold, was so focused on making Ming Shu uncomfortable that he failed to recognize the person next to Ming Shu. With a suggestive tone, he said, “Xiao Yan, it’s good to be young. Is this a new friend you met in America? The team leader said we should have breakfast together. Should we bring your friend along?”

Ming Shu didn’t even hear her colleague’s teasing. She was struggling and gathering her courage.

She decided to make it public. Professor Shen had defended her so firmly on the phone last night, and she could also defend Professor Shen. It was okay for her to be misunderstood, but she didn’t want Professor Shen to be misunderstood and be subjected to negative comments.

Straightening her back, Ming Shu’s face was flushed as she said with utmost sincerity, “Everyone, let me introduce you. This is my wife.”

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