To him, Shen Lan's struggle was merely child's play, he even found leisure to joke with her, "What's up? Aren't we a lawful husband and wife? Can't we even hug?"
Shen Lan was taken aback, it seemed he did make a good point...
"Just not here, what if my mom sees us, it wouldn't look good."
"Isn't that perfect?" Cheng Yanqing, holding the small woman in his arms, walked forward steadily, "It'll reassure your mother to see our loving bond and let you go with me."
Shen Lan: ...
Five minutes later, the doorbell of the Shen family rang.
"You knew to come back..."
The door opened, only for Mother Shen to be greeted by a tall and sturdy man holding her daughter who was curled up, hiding her face with her hands, wishing she were unrecognizable. Mother Shen choked back her words.
Seeing the guy's handsome face coupled with his upright figure standing over 1.8 meters tall and holding her daughter in his arms, she finally understood.
"Whose godlike son is this, that he's been taken by my daughter!"
"Mom!"
Shen Lan quickly jumped from Cheng Yanqing's arms and limped inside, giving Mother Shen a dissatisfied glance.
Cheng Yanqing, with standard black framed glasses on his face and a serious look, stood at the door and called Mother Shen, "Mom."
Mother Shen was overjoyed.
"Ah! Good, good, come in, come in, have a seat!"
"Not this time, everything was too rushed, even the betrothal gifts are not ready, I'll formally visit you next time."
Cheng Yanqing looked at Mother Shen and seriously said, "Even though Shen Lan and I are already married, we can't skip any part of the formalities."
Hearing this, Mother Shen was even more satisfied.
Money doesn't matter, she was mainly worried that her daughter's marriage was so casual it would be looked down upon by the groom's family. Unexpectedly, Cheng Yanqing turned out to be so considerate.
When Shen Lan came out of the shower, she saw Mother Shen sitting on the sofa, stupefied.
"What's the matter, mom."
"Nothing, it's just suddenly realizing, you've grown up already."
Mother Shen patted her daughter's back of hand, "Yanqing is a good man, I trust you with him."
Shen Lan: ...
Won over so easily?
Seeing that Mother Shen was okay, Shen Lan picked up her towel to return to her room only to be stopped by her mother, "Lan, now that you're married, you need to act like it."
Shen Lan paused, turning to look at her mother with a confused look, "Mom, what are you trying to say?"
Mother Shen looked back at her seriously, "Yanqing told me you refuse to live with him and he feels insecure. Lan, you must not let him down."
Shen Lan: ??!
That night, Shen Lan couldn't fall asleep, decided to annoy the root of it all and give him a taste of insomnia.
Shen Lan: Are you asleep?
Unexpectedly, he replied immediately.
Chen Yanqing: No
Shen Lan: What are you doing?
Cheng Yanqing: Can't sleep from missing you
"Bam!"
With no expression on her face, Shen Lan flung her phone face-down onto the bed and closed her eyes to sleep.
Round one, Shen Lan, down.
The next day, Shen Lan arrived at the coffee shop she had arranged to meet Chen Yan with dark circles under her eyes.
Seeing her listless look, Chen Yan felt heartache.
"Lan, if you want, we can just forget about it. No studio? We can always open a new one."
"No way!" Shen Lan declared with furrowed brows.
She and Chen Yan have known each other since childhood, witnesses to each other's youth.
They had supported each other through thick and thin to reach where they are today, more like family than best friends!
So, Shen Lan understood all too well what the studio meant to Chen Yan.
The studio was not just the fruit of her efforts; it was also Chen Yan's life, and Shen Lan absolutely could not let it disappear.
Seeing Shen Lan's persistence, Chen Yan was extremely anxious, her red-rimmed eyes betraying her sorrow. "Shen Lan, can you please stop being so stubborn. You could have had a fine life, it was all my fault, in college you were..."
"Chen Yan!" Shen Lan interrupted her abruptly, rare fury in her voice, "We agreed not to talk about that!"
Chen Yan paused, head bowed, silent.
Shen Lan sighed and said softly, "The past is not your fault, neither of us did anything wrong. Don't think about it anymore. Let the past be the past."
Hearing Shen Lan's soft voice, Chen Yan's eyes reddened further, and she felt even more miserable. "But... if it wasn't for me, you and he wouldn't be like this today!"
Who "he" was, they both understood.
The cobwebs of memory were flung open, and strangely, Shen Lan who expected to be hit by waves of emotions, instead felt an ephemeral ripple, as if a gentle breeze had brushed over the surface of a lake.
"Perhaps it was meant to be this way."
She lifted the coffee cup that had long since gone cold on the table and took a sip.
Chen Yan was taken aback, feeling guilty, her lips parted as if to say something more, but Shen Lan had already looked up at her, eyes sparkling, a smile on her face.
"Besides, I'm already married."
"True, it's all my fault, I... What did you say?"
Chen Yan's eyes widened in surprise, unable to process what just heard.
"You... married, got married?"
Seeing her comical reaction, Shen Lan nodded heavily.
"Yes, I got married."
"Lan!"
Chen Yan, as if realizing something, grabbed Shen Lan's hand anxiously, "If you did this to reassure us, risking your lifelong happiness, we can go get a divorce right now!"