After a Flash Marriage with a Professor - Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Want to Compensate

Shen Muhua’s nascent attempts at softening and reconciliation were ruthlessly rebuffed by his own daughter. His face stiffened slightly, oscillating between anger and restraint.

However, even if he were to be angry now, it should be directed at Qiao Li and her daughter, absolutely not at the biological daughter he had failed for so many years.

His thoughts spun. Shen Muhua internally defused the anger sparked by his daughter’s cold attitude. The smile he struggled to maintain quickly returned to his face, which was slightly bloated, a sign of middle-age.

Shen Junlan still didn’t look at Shen Muhua, simply holding Ming Shu’s hand. Ming Shu felt the pressure on her hand from Professor Shen increase slightly. She also avoided looking at Shen Muhua.

Yan Hongbo was more interested in his son-in-law’s father, sizing him up curiously. Clad in a suit and tie, the face that somewhat resembled Shen Junlan’s exuded a sense of superiority and authority, even when smiling. He wasn’t someone Yan Hongbo could easily strike up a conversation with. Not wanting to embarrass his daughter, Yan Hongbo averted his gaze.

Qin Shu only glanced at Shen Muhua. His face wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to her. She had seen Shen Muhua when she was younger. At that time, she would have considered a man of Shen Muhua’s stature as a potential romantic partner, silently observing him first, with the prospect of further development being a separate matter. But before she had the chance for a follow-up, Qin Shu became disillusioned with men. Wealthy men were not foolish; the species of man was far more shrewd than women. Very few men would engage in a loss-making trade, while far too many women threw themselves into the fire of so-called love, like moths, leading to eternal damnation, just as she had.

Qin Shu shifted her gaze to Yan Hongbo and suddenly found the man she later married, this cheap husband who lacked both power and money, considerably more appealing.

Yan Hongbo noticed his wife looking at him with an exceptionally gentle gaze and was overjoyed. It had been many years since he had received such a look from his wife.

Yan Wen Xuan was also curious about his brother-in-law’s father, but he read the room and realized his brother-in-law’s relationship with his father was poor. He connected this to the Qiao family causing trouble and managed to piece together most of the situation.

Shen Muhua stood there, still without receiving a glance from his daughter, much less a reply. His attempts at reconciliation were like stones thrown into a vast, deep sea—without an echo.

After a few awkward coughs, Shen Muhua turned his gaze to the person his daughter was holding. She was a beautiful girl with a delicate aura that seemed at odds with her stunning looks, suggesting a beautiful flower that needed to be kept under a protective greenhouse to thrive.

“Junlan, this must be your wife?”

Still no reply.

“Junlan, aren’t you going to introduce her to your father?” Shen Muhua asked with a smile.

Shen Junlan finally deigned to look at Shen Muhua, saying coldly, “This is a police station. You’re here for other reasons. You don’t need to worry about my affairs.”

Her attitude was so resolute that it clearly indicated she did not want him interfering with her new family.

The forced smile that had become strained on Shen Muhua’s face grew a little more bitter upon hearing this. “Junlan, do you have no trust left in your father at all?”

“Do you think your father would harm you? Would your father deliberately torment you and prevent you from being happy?”

“Isn’t that the case?” Shen Junlan retorted coldly.

The man standing before her now—she considered hating him a waste of emotion. A person’s emotions are limited and should be reserved for those who are worthy. Shen Junlan squeezed Ming Shu’s hand a little tighter, as if someone might snatch Ming Shu away from her if she wasn’t careful.

Shen Muhua was stung by his daughter’s counter-question. Her words were like a fine needle, stabbing directly into his heart.

Regardless, he had indeed failed her mother and failed her. Shen Muhua wanted to compensate, to repay his debt, but his daughter simply wouldn’t give him the chance.

“You are…” Shen Muhua was getting anxious. He looked at Ming Shu, momentarily forgetting her name. Ming Shu pressed her lips together, refusing to tell him her name. This was the first time she had ignored an elder’s inquiry. She wanted to stand firmly on Professor Shen’s side.

Shen Junlan said, “Shen Muhua, you had better not disturb my wife, or I will despise you even more.”

Despise. His daughter wouldn’t even grant him the energy to hate him. Shen Muhua felt a suffocating pressure in his chest. The debts he had incurred since his youth were demanding repayment now. The guilt that should have been present then wasn’t absent, but deeply buried. It was slowly surfacing, accumulating, and now often weighed so heavily on him at night that he struggled to breathe and toss and turned in sleeplessness.

The door to the interrogation room opened. Qiao Li emerged with the police. Her previously angry and ferocious face immediately shifted into one of tender grace the moment she saw Shen Muhua. She seemed like a completely different person.

Yan Wen Xuan witnessed this scene and quietly muttered a complaint to his sister and brother-in-law, “I finally know what instant face-changing looks like. Even AI face-changing isn’t this fast.”

Seeing Shen Muhua arrive earlier than she expected, Qiao Li excitedly ran towards him, speaking in the tone of a standard doting wife, “Muhua, you must be very busy with work. Thank you for making the effort to come pick me up.”

Qiao Li assumed Shen Muhua had specifically come to bail her out. Shen Muhua was so wealthy and well-connected that bailing someone out shouldn’t be impossible; it only depended on whether Shen Muhua was willing to expend the favor for her. Qiao Li thought that previously, it was difficult to act on Xi Xi’s behalf because Zhang Jiajia was so persistent, making things hard to manage, fearing she might later go crazy, petition, and write exposé letters. But her current situation should be fine, Qiao Li thought.

“You know it’s a hassle,” Shen Muhua replied with an impatient expression. He had suppressed too much anger earlier, and Qiao Li, who had caused him to lose face, appeared at just the right moment for him to vent.

Qiao Li didn’t pick up on his tone, assuming it was the slight complaint of a lover. She clung to Shen Muhua’s arm, saying sweetly, “I’m sorry, Muhua. It’s all a misunderstanding, a small misunderstanding with Junlan. I can explain.”

Shen Muhua felt somewhat uncomfortable. Normally, when nothing bad was happening, he appreciated Qiao Li’s attempts at flattery. There were many young women who knew how to flirt, and many young girls who flattered him for money, but none of them understood him as well as Qiao Li. Qiao Li seemed to inherently understand him, the darker psychological needs of a man, and could satisfy them all without asking for too much in return. It had been this way for so many years. Qiao Li was the one who had stayed by his side the longest—so long that all his familiar companions thought Qiao Li was his second wife. He liked Qiao Li, and another reason was that Qiao Li had the demeanor of a competent hostess, able to handle his business connections and take good care of friends who came over, maintaining a pleasant atmosphere.

As for Junlan’s mother, Shuyi, he certainly loved her, too. His initial fervor, the overflowing love written in a love poem and presented with a red rose, had all been genuine. It was this sincere, humble, yet romantic courtship that had moved Shuyi. But Shuyi could only satisfy his romantic fantasies, only the spiritual aspects. In many other aspects, they were mismatched. There were too many things Shuyi couldn’t satisfy him with, so he cheated.

Shen Muhua blamed all of this on the fact that he and Shuyi were too young and too impulsive back then. He was full of passion, and Shuyi returned it with full tenderness. Shuyi had strict family upbringing, and it wasn’t until their wedding day that he truly tasted the flavor of the Fang family’s daughter a sweet taste permeated with the scent of books, light and refreshing, but not passionate enough for him. He thought at the time that it didn’t matter, that they could slowly adjust. They had a sweet time together for a while, but as he received financial support from his father-in-law through Shuyi’s connection and started his own business, there were too many temptations in the business world with all the toasting and drinking. The girls who frequented the nightclubs were beautiful and passionate, completely different from Shuyi. Shen Muhua lost his head once, and then many more times. When he felt he had had enough of the common women who only brought him cheap pleasure, he began looking for a higher-caliber mistress. Her background didn’t have to be great, but she had to have some emotional connection with him and be able to satisfy his male vanity. That’s when Qiao Li appeared, perfectly meeting his requirements.

In the blink of an eye, so many years had passed. Shen Muhua found it absurd in retrospect. He often thought of Shuyi’s pure, jasmine-like face in the sleepless hours of midnight. That face was sometimes flushed, sometimes covered in tears, or rapidly alternating between the two states, tormenting Shen Muhua’s nerves. He had even consulted a psychologist about it. The psychologist suggested that he must take action, make amends for his mistakes, and dispel his guilt.

Shen Muhua thought the doctor was stating the obvious; it was a solution he could think of himself. Sometimes, money couldn’t solve everything.

Shen Muhua had often confessed his sins in his heart over the years. When all else failed, he listened to Qiao Li and her daughter, believing that having Xi Xi marry Junlan could truly compensate Junlan.

But looking at everything laid out before him today, he seemed to have been wrong. Junlan didn’t like Xi Xi, and Qiao Li and her daughter might have done this purely out of selfish motives.

Shen Muhua suddenly felt a sharp headache. A nerve tightened in his brain, and it was as if a lightning bolt flashed through. His world momentarily turned black and white, as if God felt his redemption was hopeless and was about to take everything away from him. Shen Muhua felt a profound fear of death.

“Muhua, Muhua, Muhua, are you alright?” Qiao Li saw Shen Muhua’s face suddenly change, contorted in pain, swaying as if he couldn’t stand. She quickly supported Shen Muhua, and a male police officer also came to help, assisting Shen Muhua to a seat and making him sit down.

Throughout the entire process, Shen Junlan’s eyes merely flickered, without any unnecessary movement.

She wouldn’t have excessive emotions for that person.

A police officer came over to inform Shen Junlan, Ming Shu, and Wen Xuan that they could leave first. They would be contacted by phone regarding the follow-up, and they were asked to keep an eye on their phones.

Shen Junlan thanked the officer and, holding Ming Shu’s hand, left the police station. Wen Xuan called for his thoughtful but preoccupied parents to leave with them.

“Junlan, your father is unwell. Are you just going to leave like that?” Qiao Li asked.

Shen Muhua raised his aching head, only to see his daughter’s resolute back. He sighed helplessly, feeling as though he had suddenly aged ten years.

Finally out of the police station, night had fallen, and the streetlights were on. Shen Junlan proactively offered, “Uncle, Auntie, Wen Xuan, I’ll drive you back.”

“Great, thank you, sister-in-law,” Yan Wen Xuan agreed.

“No need, we’ll take a taxi ourselves,” Qin Shu refused.

Yan Hongbo wanted to say something but was deterred by Qin Shu’s look.

Shen Junlan didn’t press the issue, helped them hail a taxi, and saw them off before getting into her own car with Ming Shu.

Once in the car, Ming Shu finally had the space to ask her question, “Professor Shen, was today’s event a pre-planned operation between you and Wen Xuan?”

“My wife is so smart.”

“Then my parents…”

“Your aunt and uncle didn’t know beforehand. When Qiao Li and her people first showed up, Wen Xuan was quick-witted and prepared to gather evidence then. Afterward, he consulted with me, and we finalized this plan together. Wife, I didn’t expect you to show up.”

“Mom came to the company to find me at noon today. I learned a little about the Qiao family causing trouble at home, but Mom didn’t tell me the details and told me not to worry about it. I just wanted to go back and confirm, and then Wen Xuan said he would show me a good show.”

“So that’s how it was.”

Having clarified everything, neither blamed the other for the concealment; it was their silent way of protecting each other.

The two smiled at each other, slowly leaning in, and shared a deep kiss before heading home. Their lips and tongues intertwined. Ming Shu was the first to pull back. She remembered they were outside a police station, and it wouldn’t be good if someone saw them.

Shen Junlan was reluctant to let Ming Shu go, only doing so when a phone call came in.

It was a call from Aunt Zhang, who had been discharged from the hospital early, asking how long until they got home.

Shen Junlan frowned. “Why didn’t you listen to the doctor and get discharged early?”

“I did. The doctor said I could be discharged, as long as I’m careful not to fall again.”

“It’s better to rest a few more days.”

“Resting at home is the same. Tomorrow is your birthday, Junlan. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

Shen Junlan remained silent. Aunt Zhang laughed. “You never actively celebrate your birthday, but Aunt Zhang never forgets. This year, you even have a wife with you. I’ll wait for you both to come home.”

The call ended.

Ming Shu asked, “Professor Shen, tomorrow is your birthday?”

“Mmm.”

“What should I do? I haven’t prepared anything.”

“You don’t need to prepare anything.”

“That won’t do.” Ming Shu felt she absolutely had to do something. This was Professor Shen’s first birthday since they got married. As a wife, not knowing Professor Shen’s birthday in advance was already a failure. If she didn’t show any gesture now, it would seem like she didn’t care or value Professor Shen enough.

Tomorrow was Professor Shen’s birthday. There wasn’t much time left. Ming Shu began brainstorming, trying hard to think of a gift for Professor Shen.

Seeing Ming Shu thinking so seriously, Shen Junlan smiled, leaned sideways, and sincerely offered a suggestion: “Wife, being enthusiastic on your birthday night is the best gift.”

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