The Female Lead Insists on Being My Wife [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Stealing the Wife in a Stand-in Novel (Part 17)

Chen Suihe shook her head.

Not only was she not excited, but even hearing the name Xu Hao again didn’t cause a single ripple in her heart. He was already a stranger who had absolutely nothing to do with her.

“He isn’t important. What’s important is that yesterday was Chuli’s birthday, and I forgot it!” Chen Suihe remembered her actual business and grabbed Li Meng’s hand with a terrified face, pleading for help: “What do I do to get through this safely?”

Li Meng thought for a moment, then patted the back of her hand with a face full of pity.

“Give up, you can’t escape this one.” From Li Meng’s 38° mouth came words that were 38°: “President Shen isn’t an unreasonable person, but forgetting a birthday… this is truly unsolvable.”

Since even the usually resourceful Li Meng said so, Chen Suihe’s shoulders slumped, her eyes welling with tears.

She really couldn’t be blamed this time. She had prepared Shen Chuli’s gift long ago, and even edited a blessing message to be sent on a timer. Who knew the gift’s delivery time was calculated wrong and would only arrive today? As for the message, she set the timer incorrectly—it was scheduled for this time next year.

Knowing that nothing had been completed on time, Chen Suihe felt like the sky had collapsed. To give Shen Chuli a surprise, she had spent the time Shen Chuli was away on business working with a rehabilitation teacher to train her vocal cords and learn to speak. There were already obvious results.

“When does President Shen get back?”

“Today.”

Failing to find help, Chen Suihe walked out of the dessert shop in a daze and headed toward her dormitory. Her mind was so occupied that she didn’t even notice a person suddenly appearing beside her. Floating back to the dorm like a wandering ghost, she finally looked at her side under the complicated expressions of her roommates.

“!”

Chen Suihe was startled by the sudden appearance of Shen Chuli, which scared away all the guilt she had felt about missing the birthday.

“When did you… come here?” Chen Suihe asked, clutching her racing heart.

She looked left and right, gave her roommates an embarrassed grin, and pulled Shen Chuli’s hand to run toward the school’s “Lover’s Slope.” Some things she was too embarrassed to say in front of others. Without Shen Chuli’s supervision, she had started to slack off recently; after only a few steps of running, she was panting for breath.

Once they reached Lover’s Slope and she caught her breath, the number of couples on the hill began to increase. Thinking of what she wanted to say, Chen Suihe’s face turned red with shame before she even opened her mouth.

Seeing her act so shy for so long, Shen Chuli was curious about what she wanted to say that could make her so embarrassed before a single word was uttered.

Chen Suihe, you can do this!

Chen Suihe turned around and patted her chubby cheeks: I’ve rehearsed so many times just to tell her in person! Since the timed audio was sent incorrectly, it must be the “Old Lady Heaven” wanting me to tell her face-to-face.

Go for it, Chen Suihe!

“Ahem.” Chen Suihe cleared her throat and turned around. But her eyelashes trembled; she didn’t dare look at Shen Chuli.

“I…” Chen Suihe’s voice was as quiet as a mosquito: “I li-ke…”

“What?” Her voice was too small, and Shen Chuli couldn’t help but take a step closer.

Unexpectedly, Chen Suihe acted as if she had been burned, jumping a giant step backward. Shen Chuli froze, and Chen Suihe stunned herself.

“Um… good jumping power,” Shen Chuli commented, stifling a laugh.

Chen Suihe’s face was red enough to bleed. Since she had already lost face, she closed her eyes and ran a few more steps further away. Seeing Shen Chuli about to walk over, Chen Suihe shouted to stop her. Shen Chuli was rooted to the spot by her command, waiting motionless for the next instruction.

“I…” Chen Suihe bit her lip, the red spreading down from her cheeks until everything in sight was blood-red. “Shen Chuli, I like you!”

She closed her eyes and shouted her inner thoughts: “Even though my liking for you wasn’t pure at the start, I really, really like you! I… I want, I want to support each other in the future and become old ladies whose teeth have all fallen out and whose hair is snowy white!”

Her voice was the loudest it had been in a long time, and the flow of her words reached a normal human level. She kept her eyes tightly shut, not daring to see Shen Chuli’s reaction.

After a long while, there was no movement from Shen Chuli. Chen Suihe’s restless heart gradually cooled, and her clenched hands turned icy. She slowly opened her eyes.

Shen Chuli was standing there, covering her mouth, with tears shimmering in her eyes. Realizing she had made the woman cry, Chen Suihe scrambled over to comfort her. But before she could speak, she was pulled into a tight embrace; it felt as though Shen Chuli wanted to melt her into her very marrow. Chen Suihe felt a dull pain from the squeeze and couldn’t help but push her.

“Sui-sui, you’re speaking normally! You’re speaking normally!”

“?” A question mark slowly appeared above Chen Suihe’s little head. She poked Shen Chuli: “Did you miss the main point?”

“I said, I like you, I want to become an old lady wife with you…”

Before she could finish, her chattering mouth was blocked by someone’s lips. Shen Chuli’s kissing skills were self-taught and, as always, superb. Looking at the features of the person before her, Chen Suihe slowly closed her eyes and immersed herself in the kiss.

After quite a while, Chen Suihe couldn’t help but thump the engrossed woman. When she was finally released, her mouth was stinging with pain. She gave the culprit a panting, reproachful look, warily covered her mouth, and backed away. Muffled, she said: “I… I think I don’t want to be a white-haired old lady with you anymore.”

Shen Chuli unhurriedly took a long-prepared ring from her pocket. Not allowing her any room to regret, she slipped a bright, large silver plain band onto the ring finger of Chen Suihe’s right hand. Others might find the ring tacky, but Shen Chuli was $100%$ certain that Chen Suihe would absolutely love it.

“Wow!” Chen Suihe held up her hand, her eyes fixed on it: “Is this a wedding ring! I love it so much!”

After she had admired it for a bit, Shen Chuli handed her the other one: “Aren’t you going to put it on me?”

“I will, I will, I will!” Chen Suihe’s heart had been completely stolen by Shen Chuli. She hurriedly took the other ring from her palm and, with piety and seriousness, placed it on the ring finger of Shen Chuli’s right hand.

The two shining silver rings clinked together, making Chen Suihe more delighted the more she looked at them.

“Hehe!” Chen Suihe couldn’t help but take a pile of photos. “Are we really together now? Will Uncle and Auntie be angry?”

Amused by her delayed reaction, Shen Chuli teased her: “What if they are angry? Will you give the ring back to me?”

That was… a big silver ring! Money-loving Sui-sui’s heart was bleeding. But remembering how well Father and Mother Shen treated her, money-loving Sui-sui endured the heartache and prepared to take the ring off and return it.

“You’re really going to give up on me?” Seeing that she wasn’t as important in Chen Suihe’s heart as her own parents, Shen Chuli’s heart was stabbed by an invisible needle. “Don’t worry, they know.”

“?” Her hand, which was pulling the ring, was forcibly stopped. Chen Suihe was confused. “Know what?”

Shen Chuli leaned in and whispered a few words in her ear, causing Chen Suihe to blush with shame. She gave her a reproachful look and prepared to run, but her hand was caught.

“No classes tomorrow. Shall we go home and rest well tonight?”

Shen Chuli’s eyes were misty, and combined with the gift of a ring that perfectly hit her preferences $360^circ$ without a blind spot—whether it was being blinded by wealth or by beauty—Chen Suihe nodded as if bewitched.

By the time she snapped out of it, she was already home. The little home had been decorated in advance on Shen Chuli’s orders. Flickering candlelight, fragrant red wine… everything was dreamlike, enchanting Chen Suihe.

Outside the window, a drizzle had started at some point. Under the curtain of rain, two kittens were frolicking on the windowsill. The black kitten pinned the slightly smaller white kitten beneath her, bullying her, causing the white kitten to resist in vain, only to let out sweet, sticky cries every time she was bullied.

The rain stopped. The two kittens snuggled together, sleeping soundly.

Chen Suihe slept deeply. When she woke up, aside from a slightly heavy head, there wasn’t a single part of her body that felt uncomfortable; she had been well taken care of by Shen Chuli. Yawning and rubbing her eyes while wearing her pajamas, she pushed open the bedroom door with sleepy eyes and called out Shen Chuli’s name.

The hoarse voice caused Chen Suihe herself to freeze.

“Chuli!” Mother Shen, who was sitting in the living room, couldn’t help but speak up. Chen Suihe’s first rehabilitation teacher also chimed in.

Hearing Mother Shen’s voice, Chen Suihe snapped to her senses, covered her face, and fled back into the bedroom. After a while, Chen Suihe changed her clothes and moved out awkwardly with a red face, whispering greetings to the elders. That raspy voice made Mother Shen and the others’ hearts ache for her.

On one side, they spoke gently to ask about Chen Suihe’s health; on the other, they were nitpicky and critical of Shen Chuli. To someone who didn’t know better, it would seem they were Chen Suihe’s biological parents and Shen Chuli was the outsider.

“Chuli doesn’t know how to cherish people, oh, my little darling.” Mother Shen couldn’t help but feel heartache seeing the red marks on Chen Suihe’s neck. “Chuli is like a puppy; next time, we’ll bite her back!”

Chen Suihe’s face turned completely red. Hearing Mother Shen say bad things about Shen Chuli, she couldn’t help but defend her with a few words.

Shen Chuli stepped forward and walked to Chen Suihe’s side. She solemnly pulled a red velvet ring box from her coat. Unlike last time, there wasn’t a key inside, but a pair of proper, golden wedding rings engraved with both of their names.

Chen Suihe’s brain stalled. She held up her right hand: “Didn’t you just give me one yesterday?”

Only then did she realize that the finger where the ring should have been was now bare.

“That was a couple’s ring,” Shen Chuli said. “Chen Suihe, I want to become an old lady with you. Can you give me this chance?”

Even though it was only a day later, Shen Chuli was different from her composed self of yesterday. Her palms were sweating from nervousness. The previous ring was a mutual expression of feelings; Chen Suihe’s acceptance was within her expectations. But after just one night, Shen Chuli truly couldn’t restrain her heart any longer.

It was only a matter of time before Chen Suihe became a dazzling pearl. She wanted, despicably, to lock Chen Suihe by her side before she shone her brightest. Shen Chuli knew she was despicably forcing a marriage.

“So lame.” Chen Suihe wrinkled her nose, stepped forward, and took one of the rings. “Miss Shen Chuli, may I ask if you are willing to spend the rest of your life with the person before you? Whether she is poor or wealthy, healthy or sick, may I ask if you…”

“I do!” Shen Chuli blurted out the answer. Like a dragon afraid someone would steal her treasure, she impatiently pulled her only precious gem into her embrace.

After just one weekend, Chen Suihe returned to school as a married person wearing a silver necklace and gold-and-silver rings. Shen Chuli treated her roommates to a meal, and through their promotion, Chen Suihe’s secret admirers gradually dwindled.

A few years later, Chen Suihe stood on the stage as an outstanding graduate to give a speech.

Intern, formal employee, rehabilitation teacher… Chen Suihe took each step steadily and surely. In just a few years, she established her own rehabilitation hospital. Because she had once experienced a loss of speech, she was more empathetic toward patients and soon became a well-known speech therapist far and wide.

“Ah! What are you doing!” Looking at the photos broadcast on the large screens across the city, Chen Suihe stood in her office calling Shen Chuli: “Why are you doing something so cringey!”

From the other end of the phone came Shen Chuli’s pitiful voice: “But Sui-sui, this year is our eighth anniversary… we conquered the ‘seven-year itch,’ I wanted to celebrate.”

A secretary entered. Hearing the boss on the phone with her lover, she tactfully withdrew. A moment later, the secretary knocked again.

“Come in.”

The secretary entered. “Boss, he has been released after serving his sentence.”

Shen Chuli changed her demeanor the moment she hung up the phone. She gave a disinterested “Mhm” without looking up and let the secretary leave.

On the street, a man who was skin and bones and covered in scars wandered with a tattered snakeskin bag.

“Wuu wuu, Teacher Chen and President Shen’s love is so sweet! They even rented out all the big screens to celebrate their anniversary!”

“Beautiful love! I’m crying!”

Hearing the discussions of passersby, he looked up at the large screen nearest to him. The two people in the photos were exceptionally familiar to him. After struggling to think for a long time, he finally remembered that they were the people he had hurt in his first half of life, which felt like a world away.

An abandoned plastic bottle rolled to his feet. He hunched his body, his cracked and shriveled hand picking it up and placing it into his tattered snakeskin bag like a treasure.

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