After a Flash Marriage with a Professor - Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Painful Memories

“A business deal?” Ming Shu tilted her head and glanced at Professor Shen. “It’s not a scam call, is it?”

Shen Junlan already recognized the woman on the other end of the line and nodded at Ming Shu.

“It really is,” Ming Shu quickly hung up and blocked the number.

Qiao Li had hired a private investigator and conducted some research. She thought Yan Mingshu, who was born into such a sordid environment, would be easy to manipulate. She didn’t expect the person to hang up on her directly.

“Very well.” Qiao Li sneered and tried to dial again, but this time it wouldn’t connect.

Qiao Li was about to smash her phone, but the assistant next to her stopped her. “Sister Qiao, this phone was given to you by Mr. Shen. It’s better to keep it safe.”

Qiao Li gripped the phone tightly. Her blood-red nails gleamed with a bloody sheen, as if blood would really flow out the next moment. The assistant felt dizzy and quickly withdrew her hand, continuing to persuade, “Sister Qiao, calm down. Miss Qianqian is still waiting for you to rescue her.”

“That’s right, Qianqian is still waiting for me, her mother, to save her. Not only will I save her, but I will also get her the daughter of the woman she likes.”

The assistant’s face changed slightly, and she cautiously probed, “Sister Qiao, I’ve never understood. You put in so much effort to break up Mr. Shen and his original wife, but after all these years, Mr. Shen has proposed to you, yet you’ve always refused. Is it just for Miss Junlan’s happiness?”

“What’s there to not understand?” Qiao Li turned her head and gave the assistant a sidelong glance.

“Well, when you successfully won Mr. Shen’s heart, Miss Qianqian was still young. She shouldn’t have had feelings for Miss Junlan then. I remember Miss Qianqian was quite against Miss Junlan at that time. You shouldn’t have been able to predict that Miss Qianqian would like Miss Junlan when she grew up.”

“I certainly don’t have the ability to foresee the future. The reason I don’t marry Shen Muhua is purely because I’ve seen too many men like him. The grass at home is never as fragrant as the grass outside. If I marry Shen Muhua, I’ll be the next Fang Shuyi, virtuous and gentle. These four words serve the patriarchy. If you meet a man with a conscience, you’ll be treated well, but Shen Muhua clearly has no conscience. There’s no need for me to jump into a fiery pit.”

“But if you continue like this, Mr. Shen might still get tired of you one day.”

“That’s why I need to hurry up and have a child for Shen Muhua. Did you find the old Chinese doctor who has already retired to the mountains, the one I asked you to look for last time?”

“Not yet.”

“Hurry up.”

“Could the problem be with Mr. Shen?”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing, nothing.” The assistant lowered her head, regretting her loose tongue.

“It’s not impossible, but men are sensitive about their pride. Shen Muhua will absolutely not go to the hospital to get checked for this.”

“Then do you want to secretly try to find sperm with good activity for IVF?”

“I’ve already considered that plan, but it won’t work. Shen Muhua is an old fox. When it comes to asset distribution, he will definitely be cautious. It’s possible he would secretly get a paternity test.”

“Then…” The assistant was out of options too.

“Let’s not talk about this for now. Give me your phone.”

“What are you going to do, Sister Qiao?” The assistant respectfully handed over her phone.

“Call Yan Mingshu. She should answer unknown numbers.”

Qiao Li dialed Ming Shu’s number again. Ming Shu’s phone rang once more.

“Is it another unknown number?” Shen Junlan asked.

“Yes.” Ming Shu was already unsure whether to answer it or not.

“Don’t answer. It’s Qiao Li, which is Qiao Qian’s mother, calling.”

“Okay.” Ming Shu blocked the number again, her mood inexplicably excited. The classic dramatic scene she had imagined in the United States once again played out in her mind.

“Professor Shen, do you think Auntie Qiao is already preparing money to ask me to leave you?”

“Are you that excited?” Shen Junlan asked with a smile.

“No, I’m a little nervous, afraid I won’t be able to handle Auntie Qiao and will embarrass Professor Shen.”

“Wife, you don’t need to call her Auntie. She’s just a homewrecker, a third party who destroyed someone else’s family. She’s only Shen Muhua’s mistress right now.”

“Oh, okay.” Ming Shu observed Professor Shen’s expression and asked carefully, “If Mrs. Qiao… Ms. Qiao finds me, I can just refuse, right?”

“Yes, wife. Don’t be afraid. You don’t owe her anything, and I’m not the possession of her mother and daughter. We are together openly and honestly. They can’t do anything. I’m just afraid…”

“Afraid of what?”

“Afraid they might cause trouble for your family. Although your mother has disowned you, I know you still worry about them.”

Ming Shu was touched in the most hidden corner of her heart, suddenly wilting like a flower that had been in full bloom just a second ago.

“Don’t worry, wife. Shen Muhua is wary of me, so he shouldn’t do that. But I’m not sure about Qiao’s mother and daughter. They might do anything, especially Qiao Qian.”

“I… I’ve already cut ties with them. Even if the Qiao family is terrible, they wouldn’t resort to murder and threats, would they?” Ming Shu asked fearfully.

Shen Junlan was silent. After thinking for a minute, she said, “Let’s first send Wenxuan abroad. We’ll think of other ways for your uncle and aunt. Don’t worry. If they dare to break the law, there are still the police.”

“Professor Shen.”

“Hmm?”

“Can I ask how your mother died?”

The night was deeper, denser, and darker. The blue light of the fountain reflected on Shen Junlan and Ming Shu’s faces. The surroundings were noisy. People passed by them from time to time, talking and laughing. Children argued with their parents, crying loudly. Shen Junlan and Ming Shu stood by the fountain, their voices drowned out.

The aroma of food drifted through the air. Ming Shu smelled the sweetness of roasted sweet potatoes and roasted chestnuts. Shen Junlan caught the fresh, spicy, and numbing scent of barbecue.

When her mother was still alive, she always said that outside food was unsafe, and barbecue was heavy on seasonings, counting as junk food. Making food at home was cleaner and more hygienic. She would often make an exception for her when she craved something.

Her mother, Fang Shuyi, came from a family of scholars. Her maternal grandfather was the chairman of the Calligraphy Association, with excellent handwriting. Many business and political elites would seek his calligraphy. Her mother was a well-bred lady who adhered to classical etiquette. After giving birth to her, she also taught her strictly, with severe house rules, especially regarding love and marriage. Even though she suffered from addiction, she insisted on intimacy only after marriage.

“Professor Shen, I’m sorry.” Seeing Professor Shen sinking into past memories again, Ming Shu quickly said, “Just pretend I didn’t ask. I won’t ask again in the future.”

“My mother shielded Shen Muhua from a knife.”

“Shielded… from a knife?”

“Yes. Shen Muhua had contracted a construction site at the time. There were safety management issues on the site, and a worker was in an accident and died. Shen Muhua wanted to suppress it, give some money for a private settlement. The deceased’s son found a way to enter the site, looking for an opportunity for revenge. That day, Shen Muhua took my mother to inspect the site. The deceased’s son raised a knife for revenge. My mother took the blow for him. It was a large sickle used for cutting trees, and it sliced from her cheek, across her chest, all the way down to her lower abdomen.”

Ming Shu just listened, not daring to speak. She could empathize with Professor Shen’s sadness, as if that knife was currently cutting her, splitting her in half.

“Perhaps my mother’s death at that time was a release, but she didn’t die. The doctor miraculously saved her, but her body was never the same, and her appearance was severely affected. I remember Mother often hugged me and asked if I was afraid of the scar on her face. I shook my head. She didn’t let me see the scars on her body, but I could catch a glimpse of them from the neckline of her clothes. Mother used to love wearing exquisite small square-neck dresses and styling her hair like in the Republican era. The scars extended beyond the small square-neckline. Later, Mother never wore those beautiful clothes again. She focused entirely on preparing clothes for me for every age. Wife, you’ve seen the closet before. Many of those clothes were designed by my mother. They don’t conform to popular trends, nor are they suitable for me, but they are beautiful.”

“Wife, do you think my mother preparing all these things for me at that time meant she was already preparing to leave me?”

Ming Shu didn’t know what to say. She just opened her arms and hugged Professor Shen.

“I remember during that time, I often heard my mother arguing with Shen Muhua. I overheard some of the content, mainly Shen Muhua complaining that my mother’s scars were hideous and terrifying.”

“Later, Shen Muhua escalated, bringing other women home. Qiao Li was one of them, and the one who stayed by Shen Muhua’s side the longest.”

“I personally witnessed my mother transform from the gentle and virtuous Mrs. Shen into someone hysterical and crazy because of Shen Muhua. Wife, haven’t you always been curious about how I got the rose scar? My mother carved it with a sharp knife used for woodworking. At that time, I was lying on the bed, feeling the pain in my back. I remember Mother seemed to have recovered her gentleness then. Mother told me, ‘Junlan, do you know? There were many people pursuing Mother back then. Many were young talents handpicked by your grandfather, but Mother didn’t like them. She found them all too dull and boring, just like the life Mother had always lived. Mother needed a bit of different passion. It was then that your father came to see me with red roses. We met secretly like Romeo and Juliet. I was irrational, Junlan. Don’t be like Mother. You must be rational, and listen to your grandfather.'”

“I passed out from the pain. When I woke up, I was lying in the hospital. Mother wasn’t there. Shen Muhua came over and said Mother had gone crazy. He locked Mother at home. Later, the doctor said I could be discharged. I rushed home eagerly. I saw Mother had become very unfamiliar, thin, and pale, always staring at the door. I knew Mother wanted to escape, but I was selfish at the time. I didn’t want Mother to leave me, and I didn’t want other women to move into the house. But that night, I fell asleep in the living room, and Mother still secretly left.”

“A few days later, someone found my mother’s body by the sea. It wasn’t suicide by drowning; it was a wrist-cutting. I think Mother chose not to be swallowed by the ocean because she was afraid I would worry about her for a lifetime if I couldn’t find her.”

“I often reflect, if the child me had been a little more mature, a little more open-minded, and took my mother away from Shen Muhua, escaped that home, whether to my grandfather’s house or anywhere else, would the outcome have been different?”

“That’s not your fault, Professor Shen.”

Ming Shu was very sad. Professor Shen had finally opened up her heart to her, allowing her to see her vulnerability. She saw it, but she didn’t know what to do.

“If I hadn’t stopped Mother back then, and she had escaped that home earlier, maybe she wouldn’t have resorted to such an extreme.”

“No, Professor Shen, you can’t think that way. If Auntie knew, she would be heartbroken. Auntie definitely wouldn’t want to leave you with only self-reproach and guilt.”

“Professor Shen, you’ve done very well.”

Ming Shu looked up, blinking her eyes. She couldn’t hold back the tears. Through the blur, she saw a not-so-bright star born in the sky, right above them.

“Professor Shen, look quickly, look up.”

Shen Junlan instinctively did as Ming Shu said. “Wife, what do you want me to see?”

“People say that when people die, they turn into stars. Professor Shen, look closely above your head. Is that Auntie?”

Shen Junlan concentrated and looked. There truly was a star, faintly shimmering with pale yellow light.

“Auntie is winking at us.”

Ming Shu interpreted, “Auntie wants me to take good care of Professor Shen. Auntie, don’t worry, I will definitely do it.”

Shen Junlan smiled. She didn’t believe in these things, but Ming Shu’s effort and sincerity moved her.

“Wife, do you really want to take care of me?”

“Yes.”

“Then, wife, first fulfill your previous promise.”

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