The chancellor’s daughter was standing in the corridor outside the office. Upon hearing the door opening, she looked over to say hello to Song Yaxin, but the latter ran off.
Staring at Song Yaxin, she raised her eyebrows slightly. Did they have a fight?
She glanced into the office but did not take the initiative to enter. Seems like that they had an unpleasant conversation.
After about twenty minutes, the chancellor finished his meeting and walked over from the other end of the corridor. Seeing that his daughter was standing at the door, he asked, “What are you doing here?”
She flashed him a smile. “Someone’s here for you.”
The chancellor nodded as though he knew who had come.
Shen Peichuan had called him previously.
“Are you anticipating someone?” his daughter asked.
The chancellor responded in agreement. “Hm.”
Following her father into the office, she picked up her bag on the sofa and said to her father, “I’ll leave you to it. I’ll get going.”
The chancellor waved his hand. “Do come back for dinner with Shen Tao later.”
Shen Tao was the chancellor’s son-in-law. He missed his daughter, so he asked her and her husband to come home for dinner.
His daughter waved her hand and responded in acknowledgment before walking out of the office and closing the door.
Shen Peichuan stood up, but the chancellor waved his hand to gesture for him to sit down as he himself took a seat behind his desk. After taking a sip of water from the thermos on the desk, he asked, “Which student are you talking about?”
Shen Peichuan walked over and replied, “Her name is Sang Yu. I think you remember her.”
The chancellor did remember her. He looked up at Shen Peichuan and seemed to recall that the girl had had a scandal with him at that time.
“Are you really her boyfriend?” the chancellor asked.
“Yes,” confirmed Shen Peichuan.
“But she has dropped out. Why are you here today?” The chancellor folded his hands on the desk.
“I wonder if you know why she’s dropped out.”
“I heard it from her teacher. It seems to be because of some family affairs.”
“Her mother passed away and no one could bury her, so she went back to bury her mother. As her mother was her only family, she was so sad that she couldn’t accept her death and made the wrong decision. Therefore, I hope you can give her another chance. It’s not easy for her to be admitted to this university.”
The chancellor pondered for a moment. “I’ve gone through her information. Except for the scandal with you, she has always had a good performance. But it’s really not a good behavior to drop out of school so easily.”
“Yes, we know that it’s not right, but please give her another chance,” implored Shen Peichuan.
“Alright, since she has a good academic performance. And I’m agreeing to this out of respect to you and Captain Song. But just this once.” The chancellor was agreeable as he knew that Shen Peichuan had a good relationship with Captain Song, with whom he was also on good terms.
As a result of the association, he easily agreed to Shen Peichuan’s request.
Shen Peichuan thanked him.
The chancellor wanted Sang Yu to come over in advance to report to her teacher.
Shen Peichuan agreed.
He chatted with the chancellor for a while longer, mostly about Sang Yu. At the end of their conversation, the chancellor said, “Send my regards to your boss.”
“Sure,” replied Shen Peichuan. After leaving the university, he went straight to the villa and saw Zong Jinghao and Lin Xinyan, who were leaving the house for the airport.
Shen Peichuan helped the driver put the luggage into the trunk and offered, “Let me take you to the airport.”
Lin Xinyan said, “No need, thanks. Has the matter between you and Song Yaxin been resolved?”
“Yeah, she agreed to a peaceful breakup,” Shen Peichuan replied.
Lin Xinyan was surprised that it was resolved so quickly, as she thought Song Yaxin would pester Shen Peichuan and not let him go.
But on second thought, seeing that Shen Peichuan already knew the real reason for her divorce, it would be very thick-skinned of her to continue to pester him.
“Sang Yu is alone in the house. You should go in,” Lin Xinyan said to Shen Peichuan.
Zong Qifeng and Cheng Yuwen were not at home, whereas Aunt Yu had gone to the supermarket.
“It’s time. We need to go now.”
After the driver opened the rear door, Zong Jinghao placed his hand over Lin Xinyan’s head to protect her from hitting the car. After she got in, Zong Jinghao didn’t get in the car immediately, and instead looked at Shen Peichuan. “Feel free to contact me.”
“Don’t worry,” assured Shen Peichuan.
Zong Jinghao trusted Shen Peichuan’s ability, so he nodded and got in the car.
After watching the car drive away, Shen Peichuan walked into the house. Sang Yu was cleaning the table at the time. Having heard the sound of the main door opening and closing, Sang Yu thought Lin Xinyan had forgotten something, so she looked up and asked, “Did you forget some—”
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw that it was not Lin Xinyan who had come in, but Shen Peichuan. Putting away the rag, she walked up to him. “Why are you back at this hour?”
“I’m done with my work,” replied Shen Peichuan.
“They just left…”
“I know. I ran into them at the door.” Shen Peichuan looked at her. Although she grew up in a bad environment, her character has not been contaminated and her heart has remained pure. That’s rare.
Shen Peichuan reached out to pull her into his arms. “Let’s get married, Sang Yu.”
Sang Yu was taken aback for a moment. She then wrapped her arms around his waist and asked, “Are you sure about it?”
“Yes, I’m sure. You’ll be able to continue your study at the university soon. If you think that it’s still too early now, I can wait until you graduate…”
“I want to marry you.” Sang Yu hugged his neck tightly. “I don’t want to wait anymore; I’m afraid that things will go sideways.”
It was in fact out of consideration to her that Shen Peichuan had proposed marriage. He was afraid there would be some misunderstandings, and that people would spread rumors which would affect her.
Sang Yu was already an adult. After marriage, their relationship would be legal, giving trouble-makers no reason to say anything malicious.
Sang Yu suddenly let go of him and asked him if he knew why Lin Xinyan left.
Shen Peichuan shook his head, saying, “I’m not really sure.”
“I know that it seems to be due to her health. The doctor suggested an early delivery, but they’re worried so they’re going abroad to go to a more prominent hospital for an examination.” Lin Xinyan and Zong Jinghao did not avoid her when they spoke, so she overheard it.
Shen Peichuan now understood why Zong Jinghao had chosen to go abroad at this time. Taking a deep breath, he could only hope that things would go well for the couple. All he could do now was to help him look after his family.
“I don’t need to go back to the station anymore. Later, you and I will pick up the kids from school. You’ve been living here for two days, so you must already know them, right?”
Sang Yu nodded. “Yeah, but you can’t do the job of picking up the kids as it’s already taken up.”
Zong Qifeng and Cheng Yuwen were in charge of the kids; they did not allow anyone else to interfere.
“Aren’t you busy with work?” Sang Yu asked.
“I just came back, so I’m not that busy these two days,” replied Shen Peichuan.
“Then you can prepare dinner with me,” suggested Sang Yu.
She went into the kitchen with Shen Peichuan, who touched his nose awkwardly. “You know that I can’t cook.”
Turning to look at him, Sang Yu suddenly stood on tiptoe, kissed him on the cheek, and said with a smile, “You’ll watch me cook.”
Shen Peichuan was stunned for a moment before he reached out to touch his face.
Sang Yu enjoyed seeing the dumbfounded expression on his face; she thought it was very cute. She said mischievously, “Look at you. It’s just a kiss. How about I let you kiss me, too?”
Shen Peichuan had always felt guilty to Sang Yu because he felt like he was committing a crime when he became too intimate with her.
Sang Yu knew why Shen Peichuan was feeling awkward, so she didn’t continue to tease him. She said with a smile, “Help me peel the lotus root.”
“Okay,” agreed Shen Peichuan.
Sang Yu handed him a peeler. Taking it over, he asked, “How do you want to cook the lotus root?”
“I will make lotus root meatballs for the kids.” Sang Yu proceeded to cut the meat with her head down.
The meat for the lotus root meatballs must have a combination of fatty and lean minced pork. The lotus root needed to be grated and mixed with the minced pork. That mixture would in turn be made into several balls and steamed.
After preparing the soup, she added dried shrimps, greens, seaweed, and finally the steamed meatballs. The lotus root meatballs and seaweed soup was finally done after Sang Yu touched it up with a drizzle of sesame oil. The dried shrimps and seaweed brought out the umami while the greens contained vitamins. The flavor of the soup was mild because not much seasoning was used. It was a healthy and delicious dish suitable for the summer season.
“You even know how to cook this dish.” Shen Peichuan thought she could only make simple dishes.
“Aunt Yu taught me. She said the kids like it,” said Sang Yu.
Shen Peichuan looked at her. “You like them a lot, don’t you?”
With her head down, Sang Yu grated the lotus root while replying, “Of course. I know that they have a very good relationship with you. I want to treat everyone around you well, but even without considering you, the two of them are still a lot of fun to be around.”
The kids brought the villa to life with their lively energy.
At first, she was afraid that she could not get used to living here. But after some time, she found everyone to be very approachable, even though they were exceptionally wealthy and had high social status.
Shen Peichuan leaned against the sink and looked at Sang Yu’s peaceful face while she rambled on. Subconsciously, his smile grew.
At the hospital.
After Grandma Su fell, she was sent to the hospital, but luckily the doctor said that her injury was not serious. Su Zhan, who was in C City, rushed back and immediately headed to the hospital.
Lying on the bed, Grandma Su was very happy to see her grandson, but she also felt melancholic at the same time.
Her melancholy was due to her grandson’s marriage, which had been weighing heavily on her mind.
She took Su Zhan’s hand. “Tell me, will I live to see you get married and give me a great-grandchild?”
