Chapter 19
Followed by Zhang Jane walking in and speaking politely, “Good morning madam, the old lady and her ladyship and the girls are waiting for you downstairs for breakfast.”
“Oh, I’ll be right down.” Cheng Lydia twisted her head in response and was about to tuck the covers back on the bed when a sharp-eyed Zhang Jane suddenly came up and puzzledly surveyed the dark red on the bed, “What is this?”
This was followed by a question, “You have your period, young lady?”
“No … it is.” Cheng Lydia shook her head instinctively, a face flushed with shame.
Zhang Jane’s surprised gaze shifted back and forth between the bed and Cheng Lydia’s face with a thoughtful look. Then she said with a smile on her face, “You go have breakfast, young lady, and I’ll have the maid come up and take the sheets to be dry-cleaned.”
“That’s a bother.” Cheng Lydia said gratefully.
Cheng Lydia stepped into the dining room when Mrs. Shen, Mrs. Shen and Shen Ron were already seated, and Cheng Lydia was a little embarrassed to have to wait for her first breakfast.
She scanned the crowd and finally rested her eyes on Shen Ron’s face, just in time to make contact with the smirking look on his face. Lydia’s face involuntarily flushed again as everything from last night came to mind. She took a light breath and pushed down her embarrassment to greet everyone politely before walking over to the chair next to Shen Ron and taking a seat.
The older woman surveyed her with a concerned look on her face, “Lydia, I heard Ron say you didn’t sleep very well last night, what’s wrong? Not used to it?”
Cheng Lydia was slightly surprised, then darted a glance at Shen Ron, who was putting a sandwich into her bowl with a Mr. Nice Guy look.
She remembers her agreement with Shen Ron to act like a loving young newlywed couple in front of outsiders.
“It does seem like a bit of a bed picking when you’re in a new environment.” Cheng Lydia said with a smirk.
“And rightly so.” The old woman nodded, “But that’s okay, it’ll be nice to get used to it in a few days.”
“Well, yes.”
“What’s everyone talking about? Chatting so hotly.” When the sound arrived, Shen Belle smiled as she pinned the earrings in her ears and walked to the seat next to Mrs. Shen and sat down, then grabbed the bread slices and milk and opened her mouth to eat.
“This girl, she really doesn’t have a girlish image at all.” The old lady swept her in anger and preparation, and said with a smile in her brow, “Look at your new sister-in-law, how svelte and dignified she is.”
“Grandma, when I get married, I’ll be as demure as my sister-in-law, don’t worry.” Shen Belle slapped her hand on the back of the old woman’s hand.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
“With your heartlessness, it’s still a question of whether you’ll ever get married.”
“Grandma you’re suppressing me again.” Shen Belle finished turning to Shen Ron and shook his arm, “Big brother, you have to judge for me, Grandma she is biased towards her sister-in-law.”
“It’s okay, big brother just hurts you.” Shen Ron smiled and gave her a slice of ham, then stood up from his chair, “I’m full, please take your time.”
“Not eating more?” Mrs. Shen, who had not spoken, asked as she swept a glance at the plate in front of him.
“No, I’m full.” Shen Ron walked up behind Cheng Lydia and leaned down with his hands on her shoulders smiling, “Take your time, I’ll wait for you outside.”
“Good.” Cheng Lydia nodded, trying to keep the smile on her face looking as gentle as possible.
After Shen Ron left, Mrs. Shen suddenly thought of something like that and looked up to Ho Gina who was watching Shen Ron leave and instructed, “By the way, Gina, I’ve asked the kitchen to make a tonic soup for Lydia, go and bring it out.”
Ho Gina returned to her senses and nodded her head into the kitchen to bring the tonic soup.
Soon, a bowl of creamy tonic soup was placed in front of Cheng Lydia, and the old lady smiled as she handed the lid to Ho Gina, “Lydia, this soup is specially made for you by my nutritionist, it nourishes your face and body, remember to drink more.”
“Thank you, Grandma.” Cheng Lydia said gratefully.
The tonic soup tasted a bit fishy, Cheng Lydia sipped it one sip at a time, of course she wouldn’t make a fool of herself thinking that the old lady had hired a nutritionist to mix the tonic soup for her to nourish her face and body, what the old lady cared about was just her heavy grandson who didn’t know when he would exist yet.
After finishing her tonic soup, Cheng Lydia got up and rushed the group, “Grandma, Mom, Belle I’m going to work first.”
“Bye.” Shen Belle smiled then waved at her.
“Take care on your way.” The old lady was all smiles too.
After watching the back of Cheng Lydia’s words walk out of the restaurant, Zhang Jane leaned over and whispered something in the old lady’s ear with a smile, only to see the old lady’s shapely eyebrows raise slightly and smile with a surprised look on her face, “Really?”
Zhang Jane nodded.
“I didn’t believe that kid Lim Toby when he told me, so he wasn’t lying to me.” The old lady nodded uncontrollably, “That’s great, that’s just great.”
“Grandma, what’s making you so happy? Tell me about it.” Shen Belle’s curious eyes scanned back and forth between the old woman and Zhang Jane.
Mrs. Shen also looked at the old lady with a puzzled face, looking fixedly at her.
“Oh, that’s right.” The old lady took a sip of milk and laughed, “Didn’t I ask Lim Toby to find out about Lydia’s character before, and Lim Toby directly threw me a sentence saying that his marriage with Lydia was famous but not real, and he didn’t know her character well. At that time, I was thinking that this kid is too rude to even dare to stall me, but I never thought that what he said was true.”
“How does Mom know that what he said is true?” Mrs. Shen asked calmly.
“Wasn’t it Ron and Lydia’s wedding night last night, when Zhang Jane found out.”
“Really, Zhang Jane,” Shen Belle asked Zhang Jane with a surprised twist of her head.
Zhang Jane smiled a mysterious smile, “Of course it’s true.”
“That is indeed wonderful, I thought before that big brother was a bit of a disadvantage marrying a divorced woman.”
The group laughed happily together.
“Old Lady, this thing can be faked.” Just as everyone was laughing, a very fatal voice suddenly rang out from the corner.
There was instant silence in the restaurant as all eyes looked in unison at Ho Gina in the corner.
Contacting the group’s gaze, Ho Gina only realized that he was talking too much and was busy saying, “I … I mean … just like what many ancient dramas play, the bride cut her own finger to dye the white wedding handkerchief on the night of the bridal chamber … as a way to fake it …”
“Gina you shut the fuck up!” Zhang Jane scolded in annoyance.
Ho Gina scowled and whispered an apology, “I’m sorry … old lady, I talk too much.”
The old lady looked askance at her with a hint of laughter tinting her gaze and shook her head, “Girls nowadays either watch court battles or Korean dramas.”
“Grandma, I never watch costumes or Korean dramas.” Shen Belle protested with a pout.
At Zhang Jane’s gesture, Ho Gina exited the restaurant with her head hanging.
“The boy is really getting to be rude, so I hope people will take it more seriously.” Zhang Jane sighed apologetically as she leaned over to help the older woman add her milk.
The old lady smiled indifferently, “Gina grew up in The Shen Family, she is also considered my half-granddaughter, no need to be so insensitive.”
“Thank you, old lady.” Zhang Jane was touched.
“By the way, Gina is not too young, does she have a boyfriend?” The old lady asked casually as she drew a tissue to wipe the corner of her mouth.
Zhang Jane hesitated slightly and smiled as she lied, “I think I heard her say there was one, but I’m not quite sure yet.”
“Really? When it’s confirmed remember to ask Gina to bring it back for us all to see and help with references, and I’ll prepare a weighty dowry for Gina. As long as he treats us Gina well, the house and car are at his disposal.”
“It’s still the old lady who loves Gina,” Zhang Jane said as she reached out to help the old lady who had risen from her seat and together they walked towards the restaurant door.
“Just drop me off here.” Cheng Lydia spoke with a flat face as the car passed a taxi stand.
Cheng Lydia is not embarrassed that she won’t let Shen Ron take her, but the hospital and Shen’s group are on opposite sides of the road.
Shen Ron didn’t take kindly to her and braked the car to a stop in front of the taxi stand with one foot.
“You wait here for two minutes, Tom will be right there.” He reached over and pressed a hand on the door lock.
“I can call my own cab.” Cheng Lydia said with the kindness of not wanting to bother anyone.
Shen Ron turned his face sideways and stared at her abruptly, “And wait here this afternoon, go back together.”
Cheng Lydia nodded, loosening the seat belt on her and pushing the door off.
She had barely gotten to her feet when Shen Ron’s car sped away like a gust of wind and blended into traffic.
Sure enough, just as Shen Ron’s car left, Tom’s car pulled up steadily in front of Cheng Lydia, the front seat window eased down and Tom’s head showed up, still with that sunny smile, “Young lady, young master is in a hurry to meet a client and asked me to drive you to Yarn.”
“Then I’ll trouble you with yours.” Cheng Lydia pulled open the door and got in, the car starting smoothly as she leaned her head gently against the back of the seat and closed her eyes. Actually, Tom’s explanation was a bit redundant, she didn’t even mind if Shen Ron gave her a ride or not, and why not.
The office rumors are still going around, but no matter how much they spread the word and guess, they fail to guess the real result – the result that she has married into The Shen Family!
In the afternoon, we received a technical request for help from a private hospital, and Director Zhang asked Cheng Lydia to come along for the consultation.
There, Cheng Lydia met the patient, a young boy of six or seven years old with congenital heart disease, who was escorted into the hospital by his nanny and was said to have suffered intermittent cardiac arrest and fainting.
“Why don’t you just send him to Yarn?” Director Chang asked the nanny.
With tears in her eyes, the nanny said, “My young master refuses to go to Yarn.”
The little boy was lying on his side with his back to the group in the hospital bed, and as the nurse lady lifted him onto the portable bed, Cheng Lydia inadvertently got a good look at his face. A hint of surprise flashed across her face, and she couldn’t help but look at the little boy a few more times.
Was she mistaken? Why did she feel that this little boy looked a bit similar to Shen Ron? Was it because she had recently had something too bitter with Shen Ron that she felt like him to anyone she looked at?
She blinked hard at her eyes, but yes, it did look alike.
She looked down and flipped open the chart and saw the words ‘Shen Kerwin’ written in cursive letters on the name field.
Shen …
Cheng Lydia’s heart clenched, then she shook her head.
There are billions of faces under the sky, it is normal to have two people who look alike once in a while, and there are so many people with the surname Shen in the world, there is really no need to make a fuss.
Cheng Lydia worked with Director Zhang to treat the little boy and was busy until midday when he was finally stabilized and admitted to the general ward, where he was handed over at the office before heading home.
“Let’s go, let’s go eat together.” Director Zhang turned his head to Cheng Lydia as he walked in the direction of the elevator.
The elevator doors slowly opened, and when Cheng Lydia took a step with the intention of entering, her footsteps instantly stopped and she was nailed in place, staring at the figure inside the elevator with an astonished expression.
What did she see, Lim Toby and Feng Ann standing close together, Feng Ann holding an ultrasound sheet in her hand with a big smile, Cheng Lydia could even hear her saying in an excited voice, “Toby, which one of them do you think is the older brother? Who is the younger brother?”
“Who knows, they’re still so small.” Lim Toby said with a smirk.
On the other side of the elevator were Shen Ron and a young man who looked like an assistant. Shen Ron’s upright posture stood at the corner of the elevator, with no emotion except for the faint mockery that permeated his gaze as he looked at her.
Lim Toby and Shen Ron have the same elevator left. Oh my God! What kind of staffing structure is this?
“Lydia, come on in, what are you doing?” Director Zhang called out, Cheng Lydia finally came back to her senses, Lim Toby and Feng Ann also raised their heads at the same time, and there was obvious surprise on their faces when they saw Cheng Lydia.
Cheng Lydia strides in and takes the empty seat next to Shen Ron.
If she doesn’t stand next to Shen Ron, she’ll have to stand next to Lim Toby or Feng Ann, there’s no choice at all.
The temperature inside the elevator instantly dropped to a freezing point, with only the insightless Director Zhang saying in a quiet voice, “I see that little boy is quite pitiful, it’s been a morning and not even a family member has arrived.”
Cheng Lydia did not pay attention to him, a heart early flew to the ultrasound sheet in the hands of Feng Ann, Feng Ann’s belly carrying Lim Toby’s child, a pair of twins, or son …
What a happy and fulfilling life! It’s no wonder they’re laughing so hard.
She didn’t bother to look at the two men’s faces, yet she could clearly feel a deep gaze betraying itself through the atmosphere.
Lim Toby, yes, that’s him!
Except she didn’t understand what the stare signified… showing off? And yet it didn’t seem like it.
“Ron, are we really just going to go back?” Shen Ron’s assistant beside him suddenly asked.
The latter just gave a faint ‘hmm’.
The elevator dings and the first floor arrives.
Cheng Lydia suddenly felt a tightening in her palm, it was actually Shen Ron sneaking a squeeze in her palm with his fingers, she raised her head in surprise and came into contact with his impish grin.
In front of Lim Toby, in front of Director Chang …
Cheng Lydia was a little annoyed, but said nothing and followed Director Zhang out of the elevator with a calm face.
Lim Toby was here because he was accompanying Feng Ann for her maternity checkup, so what about Shen Ron? What was he doing here? Cheng Lydia tossed her head gently, it had nothing to do with her, didn’t it?