After a Flash Marriage with a Professor - Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Support

The moment Ming Shu said that, everyone present was once again stunned.

The most shocked were the uninformed negotiator and the other two male colleagues. After all, Ming Shu didn’t look married at all. In this day and age, aside from celebrities with secret marriages, how could someone hide it so well without any hint?

Shen Junlan was also particularly surprised. She was completely taken aback by Ming Shu’s approach. Previously, Ming Shu had discussed with her about keeping their marriage confidential, especially from the company. Later, only Ling Han knew. Saying it like this now, it would likely spread throughout the entire company today.

This was completely unexpected for Shen Junlan.

The male colleague, who was enjoying the spectacle earlier, didn’t believe it and stepped forward again. “Lying isn’t good, Xiao Yan. You’re still young, and it’s normal to make some moral mistakes. There’s no need to cover it up like this. Everyone here today is a colleague, like family. You don’t have to lie to us like this.” The male colleague tried to lead Ming Shu to admit that she was simply misbehaving in private.

Ming Shu’s face turned red. “I’m telling the truth.”

“The truth? If you were married, wouldn’t we know? The company has marriage leave. Did you give up your marriage leave to keep it a secret, Xiao Yan, or did you get married while you were still in school?” the male team leader questioned aggressively.

Ming Shu repeated anxiously, “Anyway, what I said is true!”

“I can prove it.” Ling Han stepped forward at this moment. “I’ve known that Ming Shu was married for a long time.” With that, Ling Han looked at Shen Junlan and extended her hand with a smile. “Professor Shen, hello. We meet again.”

“Hello, Miss Ling.” Shen Junlan smiled and shook Ling Han’s hand, then looked at the other three strangers. “Hello, my name is Shen Junlan, and I am Ming Shu’s spouse. Ming Shu and I just registered our marriage not long ago and haven’t held a wedding yet, so we haven’t made it public.”

The male colleague and the male team leader were stunned. Ling Han had come forward to vouch for her, and the person herself admitted it. What Yan Mingshu said must be true. They had unfairly targeted Yan Mingshu, thinking they could catch a handle on this young woman and vent some frustration, but now they were left with immense embarrassment.

“Sorry, we were just joking with Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan is so young, who would have thought she was actually married?”

“Haha, yes, that’s what I thought too.”

The situation was clear. The negotiator, who had been observing in silence, knowing nothing about the situation and offering no comment, now gave Ming Shu and Shen Junlan a kind smile. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Ming Shu was both shy and embarrassed, and a little annoyed. She usually didn’t interact much with people and felt she hadn’t performed well when facing the team leader and the male colleague just now.

Shen Junlan said, “Ming Shu and I are going to have breakfast. Would you all like to join us?”

“Of course,” the negotiator said. “We came here to invite Ming Shu to breakfast to discuss work matters. If Professor Shen is willing, of course you can join us.”

The negotiator had already connected the name Shen Junlan with the “Professor Shen” Ling Han mentioned the moment Shen Junlan introduced herself. Shen Junlan, Professor Shen. This name had appeared several times in high-level company meetings. She was someone the company had mobilized employees who were former students of Professor Shen to invite multiple times, but to no avail.

Now she was right in front of them. How could they not seize the opportunity?

The group walked out of the hotel. The negotiator walked side-by-side with Shen Junlan, who was holding Ming Shu’s hand. Ling Han walked slightly behind, and the team leader and the male colleague were at the very back, still somewhat confused, whispering amongst themselves.

“What’s going on? It’s just Yan Mingshu’s wife. Why is the negotiator acting this way?”

“I don’t know, but doesn’t the title ‘Yan Mingshu’s wife’ sound a bit familiar?”

“Familiar how? There should be quite a few professors named Shen, right?”

“No, listen. Shen Junlan, Professor Shen. Don’t you feel like you’ve heard that name in the company not long ago?”

“Now that you mention it, maybe a little…”

Ling Han, walking slightly ahead, could hear them and rolled her eyes speechlessly. Privileged men causing trouble.

The meal was originally supposed to be paid for by Shen Junlan, but the negotiator insisted on paying for it in the name of GR Company, specifically choosing the most upscale restaurant nearby.

“Professor Shen teaches at H University, is that correct?”

“Mhm.”

The negotiator was now completely certain. She hadn’t expected to encounter the major figure the company couldn’t hire under these circumstances.

“Is Professor Shen here on a business trip with Ming Shu?”

“No, I had some temporary work and arrived before Ming Shu.”

“In that case, would Professor Shen be available to take some time to visit our company and provide guidance? Our company recently expanded into literary translation, and we greatly need your expertise.”

“I apologize, but this is private time, and I prefer not to discuss work-related matters.” Shen Junlan responded with a smile. She used her knife and fork to cut the smoked meat on her plate into small pieces and offered it to Ming Shu. “Try this.”

The sausage served on Ming Shu’s plate wasn’t to her liking. She only took one bite and then switched to the eggs and toasted bread. When ordering, she hadn’t dared to order anything too expensive, but overall it was still very costly. She felt it was not as good as the congee place Professor Shen had found earlier, which was reasonably priced and delicious.

The negotiator smiled and did not bring up work again. After the meal, they went to the publishing house together. As they parted ways for their respective work, the negotiator took the initiative to shake Shen Junlan’s hand. “Professor Shen, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

Shen Junlan smiled, nodded, and shook her hand lightly.

Ming Shu stood next to the negotiator and quietly raised her hand to wave at Professor Shen. Shen Junlan couldn’t help but smile.

The negotiator saw the subtle interaction between the two wives and, taking the hint, told Ling Han and the two male colleagues to go to the conference room first, allowing Ming Shu and Professor Shen to say their goodbyes properly.

Ming Shu was forced to stay put, feeling bewildered.

“Professor Shen, was I… was I… isolated?”

“No, don’t worry. With me backing you up, anyone who wants to bully you will have to restrain themselves now.”

“The negotiator and Ling Han are quite nice to me. It’s just those two male colleagues who were a bit hostile.”

“What about the other people in the company?”

“Generally okay. As long as they don’t badmouth me or slander me to my face, I can accept it.”

“I’m just a little worried about you, Professor Shen.”

“Why worry about me? Your company is asking for my help, not the other way around.”

“If my manager asks me to invite you to the company, would you come?”

“It depends on the situation.”

“That’s good.” Ming Shu breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t want you to agree to do something you don’t want to because of me.”

When Ming Shu joined GR Company, the company already had the intention of expanding into literary translation. This required professional training and guidance, and the most outstanding young professor in this field in China was undoubtedly Professor Shen. Many of the company’s employees were graduates of H University, and some had even been taught by Professor Shen. The company mobilized these employees to contact and invite Professor Shen to guide them, but they all failed.

Ming Shu had heard about it and understood that Professor Shen did not take on external work.

Shen Junlan smiled. “Don’t worry, I never force myself to do things I don’t want to. But you, Wife, don’t force yourself. If you need me, you must tell me. Sometimes when the goal changes, the nature of the event changes with it.”

Back in the conference room, Ming Shu was still pondering what Professor Shen meant by that last sentence. Was Professor Shen hinting that if the company gave her this difficult task, she should feel free to discuss it with her?

“Xiao Yan, I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.” The male colleague came over sheepishly to apologize. It was internal work time for the company group now. There was no communication with the American side all morning. Only a few of them were in the conference room.

Ming Shu felt a little uneasy. She looked at the negotiator, who was sitting far away looking at documents, and the negotiator tacitly allowed the male colleague to apologize to her again during work hours.

Even the team leader swallowed his pride and came over to apologize again. “I’m sorry, Xiao Yan. I had a bad mouth today too. In the future, if you encounter any problems at work, need advice, or need help to stop colleagues from gossiping, you can come to me. I will use my authority as a team leader.”

After dealing with the male colleague and the team leader, Ming Shu spent the entire morning in a state of shock. She had only been forced to make her relationship with Professor Shen public, but her colleagues’ attitudes towards her had done a 180-degree turn. She was basking in Professor Shen’s reflected glory again.

When it was time for lunch, they finally didn’t have to eat as a group. Ming Shu made plans with Ling Han and tried to invite Professor Shen as well. She felt that since they were now public, it didn’t matter if they were seen having lunch together.

On Shen Junlan’s side, she had just finished the handover with the team. She was surrounded by the students and Professor Zhang, who had rushed back to work, gossiping about her not returning home last night.

“I know. Professor Shen definitely went to spend time with the ‘Shiniang’ (teacher’s wife) last night,” Tian Tian boldly voiced everyone’s guess.

“Not bad, Professor Shen. At Professor Lin’s engagement party, you said you were married, and we didn’t believe it. Now it seems to be true.” Professor Zhang used gossiping about a colleague to distract from the pain of his relative’s death. He smiled and asked the students, “Have you met Professor Shen’s wife?”

“Yes, she’s super beautiful!”

“Yeah, Shiniang is super beautiful!”

“Professor Shen’s taste is truly excellent. It’s a shame we were a step too late. We finally gathered up the courage to introduce ourselves to a beautiful woman, and Professor Shen came out and shattered our fantasy,” a smitten female student said mournfully.

“Oh?” Professor Zhang was intrigued. “What did Professor Shen say then?”

A male student who was equally unwilling to give up cleared his throat, smiled, and mimicked Shen Junlan’s tone. “Don’t harbor any inappropriate thoughts about your Shiniang.”

Professor Zhang burst out laughing, his eyes still a bit red. He raised his hand and patted Shen Junlan’s shoulder. “Congratulations, Professor Shen, for winning the heart of a beauty. You were silent for so long and then made such a splash.”

“Exactly! Many people were worried that Professor Shen would end up alone. Who knew that Professor Shen wasn’t against marriage? When it came to Shiniang, she moved incredibly fast, leaving us no room at all. We didn’t even have a chance to be rivals.”

Shen Junlan smiled helplessly. These students were still bothered by the fact that Ming Shu was her wife.

“Lin Qiming, if you talk like that, I won’t feel comfortable letting you meet Shiniang.”

“Ah!” The student named Lin Qiming immediately admitted his mistake. “Professor Shen, I was wrong. I was just venting. You are so outstanding. Even if I wanted to poach your wife, I wouldn’t be able to.”

“Very good. You still want to poach your teacher’s wife?”

Lin Qiming slapped his own mouth. He kept saying the wrong thing. He pulled Tian Tian, the team leader next to him, for help. Tian Tian said, “Lin Qiming has lust in his heart but no guts. Professor Shen, don’t worry. There are so many of us, and we really want to meet Shiniang. Please be merciful and let us meet her.”

Professor Zhang also said, “Professor Shen, I also want to see what kind of person can capture your heart.”

Shen Junlan said, “I’ll ask for my wife’s opinion.”

Just as she finished speaking, a call came in. A smile couldn’t help but appear on Shen Junlan’s face. The students started chanting, “It must be Shiniang!”

Shen Junlan answered the phone. Ming Shu was about to speak when a barrage of chaotic voices entered her ear.

“Shiniang!”

“Shiniang~”

“Shiniang.”

“Shiniang…”

Like chanting a soul, Ming Shu was dumbfounded and forgot what she was going to say. Shen Junlan, helpless, walked aside and said, “Wife, my students all want to meet you. Are you available to come and have lunch with us? If so, I’ll come and pick you up.”

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