After a Flash Marriage with a Professor - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Is It An Illusion?

Yu Le couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t Shen Junlan’s style. They had met in college, studied abroad together, and after returning to China, Shen Junlan became a professor at a top-tier university, while Yu Le, being more laid-back, used her parents’ financial support to open this high-end Western restaurant.

Their enduring friendship meant Yu Le knew Shen Junlan was someone who meticulously planned everything and would never act on a whim.

A shotgun wedding was shocking enough for most people, let alone for Shen Junlan.

Could it be that Shen Junlan had a long-term plan for the young woman?

Yu Le concentrated hard, but she couldn’t figure out when Shen Junlan had met the girl. She gritted her teeth in frustration, vowing to get a clear answer from Shen Junlan the next time she saw her.

Shen Junlan had driven herself there. She and Yan Mingshu walked to the parking spot, where she pressed the car key, and the smart lock clicked open.

Yan Mingshu followed Professor Shen in silence. She caught a faint scent of orchids on Professor Shen, similar to the one on the red dress she wore yesterday, but more refined. It must be perfume.

Shen Junlan didn’t know what was on Yan Mingshu’s mind. She bent down and opened the passenger door, smiling and gesturing for Yan Mingshu to get in first. Yan Mingshu lowered her body to enter. Perhaps because she was too nervous, she didn’t pay attention to the car roof and nearly hit her head. Instead, she hit Professor Shen’s hand, which was protectively placed above her.

“I’m sorry, Professor Shen,” Yan Mingshu quickly apologized, thinking it would have been better to just hit the car roof.

“It’s nothing,” Shen Junlan said.

She smiled as she closed the car door, then got in on the other side. Once inside, she turned on the air conditioning, then turned sideways and smiled, “Mingshu, I know you’re very nervous. I’m a little nervous too. We’re about to become a married couple, and I hope you can try to relax a little around me.”

“…Okay.” Yan Mingshu said, her hands tightly clasped together, a bit stiffly.

Shen Junlan understood she couldn’t rush. At this moment, she was like a hunter, and a beautiful, startled little deer was slowly approaching her “trap.” How could she expect this poor little deer to completely let down its guard?

“Is the temperature okay now? Is it cold?” Shen Junlan asked gently.

She noticed the two embroidered orchids on the short sleeves of Yan Mingshu’s white dress and couldn’t help but smile slightly, feeling more certain that their reunion was fate.

Yan Mingshu finally managed to unclasped her hands and rubbed her goosebump-covered arms, instinctively wanting to say, “It’s fine, I’m not cold.”

“It seems a little low. Let’s turn it up a bit.” Shen Junlan smiled. She noticed that it was difficult for the young woman to express her true needs. In the Western restaurant, the embarrassed phrase “I need a million-yuan dowry” had probably drained all the young woman’s courage.

As the car’s temperature rose, Yan Mingshu no longer felt cold. She said a grateful thank you, adding, “Thank you, Professor Shen.”

The use of the formal “you” bothered Shen Junlan a little, but she held back her own desires. She needed to give the person time to adjust and not scare the child away.

Shen Junlan remembered that Yan Mingshu’s throat was uncomfortable and handed her a bottle of mineral water before entering the destination into the navigation and starting to drive.

Yan Mingshu held the mineral water bottle that Professor Shen had given her, feeling a bit deflated. She had actually wanted to proactively start a conversation with Professor Shen, and she even had a topic in mind—the car. But because she was accustomed to social anxiety, she didn’t know how to start talking to someone.

What a failure.

Yan Mingshu lowered her head, sighing silently. She couldn’t help but peek at Professor Shen from the corner of her eye. Professor Shen’s lips were slightly curved, and the corners of her eyes were also slightly upturned, as if she were very happy.

“Mingshu, is there something you want to say to me?”

Oh no! Was she caught peeking?

Yan Mingshu lowered her head even further and asked in a tiny voice, “Is Professor Shen’s car an Acura RLX?”

“Mmm. Mingshu, are you knowledgeable about cars?”

“No… I just translated some materials related to the automotive industry before.” Yan Mingshu’s voice grew softer and softer. She was afraid that Professor Shen would quiz her on the spot. Fortunately, Professor Shen didn’t have such an exaggerated professional habit. She just smiled and focused on driving.

After waiting for a minute and Professor Shen didn’t ask anything else, Yan Mingshu finally relaxed. When she was in school, Yan Mingshu was most afraid of being called by name to answer a question, not because she was afraid of not knowing the answer, but because as a socially anxious person, she didn’t want to face the concentrated gazes of the entire class. She was afraid of being the center of attention.

Even now, with just her and Professor Shen, she was still scared.

She never thought she would one day be sitting in Professor Shen’s car, going to get a marriage license on the same day as their blind date.

Thinking about this, Yan Mingshu became restless, as if there were needles hidden in the seat cushion that would prick her. In reality, she knew she was attacking herself.

Stop thinking, stop thinking. Does she want to back out? She didn’t have a better option than Professor Shen, unless she was willing to go back and marry Boss Huang.

No, she wasn’t willing.

Boss Huang ended all doubts. Yan Mingshu secretly looked at Professor Shen again, just a quick glance, and it felt like a dream.

With such great qualities, what kind of person couldn’t Professor Shen find? Yet she chose her.

Putting herself in Professor Shen’s shoes, Yan Mingshu would never choose herself in her current state. So, she silently thanked Professor Shen multiple times, feeling that Professor Shen was like the Bodhisattva of Compassion sent from heaven to save her from suffering.

The Bodhisattva of Compassion, Professor Shen, was now driving intently.

Yan Mingshu secretly made a resolution to repay Professor Shen well and be a good wife with all her heart.

Since it was still early, Shen Junlan drove the car into a shopping mall’s underground parking garage. Yan Mingshu was a little confused, wanting to ask but not daring to.

“The civil affairs bureau isn’t open yet. Let’s go to the mall first, find a photo studio to take a wedding photo, and then buy you some things.”

“Buy me things?” Yan Mingshu asked in surprise.

“Mmm, jewelry, clothes, and so on. Let’s see if there’s anything you like.”

Yan Mingshu shook her head vigorously.

Shen Junlan was concerned about her neck, “If you don’t like it, then we won’t go.”

Yan Mingshu was stunned for a moment. She didn’t expect Professor Shen to be so gentle again, catering to all her reactions. She felt as if she was being ungrateful.

“I’m sorry, Professor Shen, I…”

“Mmm?” Shen Junlan’s smile was gentle. “You can tell me anything. We’re about to get our marriage license, aren’t we?”

Yan Mingshu wasn’t good at lying and didn’t want to lie in front of a good professor. She closed her eyes, mustered up her courage, and told Professor Shen about another one of her fatal flaws. This time, it wasn’t about her family, but her own personality.

“Do you know what social anxiety is, Professor Shen?”

“I know a little.”

“I have severe social anxiety,” Yan Mingshu paused here, hugging the mineral water bottle in her arms. “You might not be able to imagine it, but just walking into a crowded place takes a lot of courage for me. When I face strangers, I get very, very nervous.”

After Yan Mingshu finished speaking, it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart. She waited quietly for Professor Shen’s judgment. She thought that even if Professor Shen disliked her cowardly and timid personality and refused to marry her, she could accept it.

After a silent period that was agonizing for Yan Mingshu, she heard Professor Shen’s gentle voice.

“Mmm, I can understand that. For example, we aren’t very familiar with each other yet, so you’re nervous during our blind date and now that we’re alone. Is that a correct understanding, Mingshu?”

“…Yes…”

Yan Mingshu was a little taken aback. She had never received such understanding before. When she said she had social anxiety, her parents would say she just needed more practice to get used to society. Her friend Jiang Lingyu also said that as long as she stepped out of her past shadows, she would change completely.

The first person to understand her was actually Professor Shen?

Yan Mingshu was filled with uncontrollable emotion. She opened her eyes and slowly looked up, seeing that Professor Shen was gazing at her with a gentle expression.

She was like a beam of light, so warm and bright.

“Professor Shen, don’t you think I’m a terrible person?” Yan Mingshu asked cautiously, a little afraid to hear the answer.

Shen Junlan chuckled and shook her head. “There is no good or bad in personality. Everyone has different levels of acceptance and different preferences. It’s about finding someone who fits your preferences.”

“Then can Professor Shen accept my social anxiety?”

“Mmm, yes.” Shen Junlan gave an affirmative answer with a smile. She felt she needed to give her future wife more reassurance.

Yan Mingshu’s heart was filled with a mix of gratitude and emotion, and her gaze toward Professor Shen became bright and sparkling.

Shen Junlan felt that her future wife’s gaze was a little strange, but she couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. She just felt that the other person seemed to be looking at the bright sun outside the underground parking garage through her face.

Was she comparing her to the sun?

Shen Junlan’s lips curled up. This sudden thought was a little funny.

She was never a righteous light that saved all living things. She had her own selfish desires.

The underground parking garage was dimly lit. Shen Junlan looked at Yan Mingshu’s face, not far from her side. The delicate, small V-shaped face seemed even more beautiful in the dim light. She couldn’t help but want to get closer.

“Professor Shen Junlan …” Yan Mingshu was a little startled to see Professor Shen Junlan  suddenly moving closer to her.

The distance was very close now. The warm breath fanned her neck, creating an intense sense of pressure.

Like a snake, the warm breath suddenly moved to her ear. Yan Mingshu was at her limit, feeling as if she had fallen into a dark cave and was being tangled by a poisonous snake, unable to move.

“Let’s get out, Yan Mingshu.” Professor Shen Junlan’s gentle voice freed her.

With a click, the seatbelt that had protected and restrained her was unbuckled. Professor Shen also leaned back, and everything returned to normal.

It was an illusion. It must have been her own illusion. It must be because she had been so terrified by Boss Huang these past few days that her nerves were overly sensitive.

Yan Mingshu took a deep breath, calming herself down.

After both of them got out of the car, Yan Mingshu was still thinking about Professor Shen’s sudden closeness before they got out. In a daze, she heard Professor Shen Junlan  say, “Yan Mingshu, the photo studio is on the 5th floor. We’ll take the elevator up.”

Yan Mingshu followed closely behind Professor Shen. Professor Shen Junlan  was half a head taller than her, as if all the height was in her legs. Professor Shen Junlan’s steps were neither big nor fast, seemingly accommodating her. Yan Mingshu felt a little happy about being cared for. Usually, she was the one who meticulously cared for her family and friends. It was rare for someone to repeatedly accommodate her in such small details, and this person was Professor Shen Junlan, with whom she was not yet very familiar. But they were about to get married, and they would slowly get to know each other once they lived together.

On the fifth floor, they easily found the photo studio. There were no other customers at the moment, so they directly changed into the white shirts provided by the studio for the photos. They didn’t plan to put on makeup or get their hair styled. They just tidied up their hair. The owner didn’t say anything, as both customers were very good-looking and didn’t need any special treatment.

Shen Junlan was calm and composed. Her hair was straight and layered, reaching just to her collarbone, and easy to manage. After tidying her own hair, she immediately went to help Yan Mingshu. When she raised her hand, Yan Mingshu instinctively flinched and then quietly apologized, afraid of not being able to do it herself, she flusteredly asked for her help.

Shen Junlan’s fingers ran through Yan Mingshu’s soft, long, curly hair. Her breathing unconsciously became lighter, and her heart felt a little ticklish. She then raised her hand higher to arrange the stray hairs on Yan Mingshu’s forehead, pushing them to the side to create a natural heart shape, which looked very beautiful.

“Is this okay, Professor Shen?” Yan Mingshu was still sick and worried that she didn’t look good for the photos.

“Trust me, Yan Mingshu, you are very beautiful.” Shen Junlan said sincerely.

The owner, who was watching from the side, also laughed, “Please, Miss, if you’re not good enough, then us ordinary people don’t have the right to take photos.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Yan Mingshu said, rushing to explain, afraid of being misunderstood.

At this moment, a warm hand came over and took hers. Yan Mingshu’s heart stopped for a second.

“The owner is just joking with you. It’s okay, Mingshu, let’s take the photos.”

Holding Professor Shen’s hand, Yan Mingshu completely forgot where she was. She could only feel that the hand holding hers was very warm.

The owner behind the camera laughed and said, “A little closer, yes, even closer.”

Yan Mingshu slowly came back to her senses, wondering why the photo session wasn’t over yet. Weren’t they only taking one photo?

She instinctively looked at Professor Shen, catching a glimpse of Professor Shen wearing the same white shirt as her. The thought of couple’s attire made her face blush. Just then, Professor Shen leaned toward her, shoulder to shoulder, creating an invisible spark. Yan Mingshu felt very hot. As she lowered her gaze, she saw Professor Shen’s legs slightly bend, accommodating her height.

The owner took a series of candid shots. Both customers were as beautiful as celebrities, and standing together, they looked even more compatible.

After the shoot, they changed back into their own clothes and started selecting photos. Yan Mingshu’s eyes were blurred. She couldn’t look at herself in the photos. Meanwhile, Professor Shen was patiently looking.

They only deleted a few pictures and asked the owner to send all the negatives. They chose one for the official marriage photo, which was printed on a red background.

As she was cutting the photos, the owner, with a big smile, said to Shen Junlan, “Miss, you are truly blessed. The stray hairs on your wife’s forehead form a heart shape. Even her hair is saying ‘I love you.'”

Yan Mingshu was instantly petrified. She never knew there was such a saying. She didn’t know how to explain and thought Professor Shen would clarify. To her surprise, Professor Shen just smiled and replied, “Thank you. I also feel I am very blessed.”

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