Chapter 548: The Three and a Half Who Defy the Heavens (Please subscribe!)

Wei Shiman was a person who kept her word. Since she had agreed not to bring up the reasons for her "disagreement," she truly didn't mention them again.

Once Li Heng promised her that he would treat her youngest daughter well in the future, she took the initiative to hand the conversation over to the three young people, listening from the side and occasionally chiming in.

At the same time, Wei Shiman was quietly observing Li Heng's words and actions.

After all, she had previously been nothing more than a peripheral bystander. She didn't really know the famous Li Heng, and the three sets of phrases she heard most often from others were "very good at coaxing girls," "overflowing with talent," and "the richest person in the small town."

But now, she had undergone a transformation, changing her identity to become his prospective mother-in-law. Honestly, it always felt very strange, and her mind couldn't quite wrap itself around the shift.

However, after listening in for half an hour, Wei Shiman confirmed one thing: besides the "erudite and talented" reputation mentioned in the newspapers, this guy was indeed very humorous and very good at coaxing girls.

She counted silently: during this time, her youngest daughter laughed happily 11 times. Her eldest daughter was not to be outdone, laughing 10 times.

She could tell that whether it was Hanhan or Qingbao, both were laughing from the bottom of their hearts. Just like right now, Qingbao's eyes were filled with nothing but radiance.

As the atmosphere in the private room warmed up, Wei Shiman was gradually drawn into Li Heng's topics during the latter half, interacting much more with the three of them.

Unknowingly, the lunch was already drawing to a close. After Wei Shiman regained her composure, she gave Li Heng an evaluation in her heart: if he were to seriously try to deceive a woman, that woman would likely be in danger.

Moreover, this "deception" couldn't be considered entirely derogatory, because besides being eloquent, socially adept, and humorous, Li Heng's reservoir of knowledge was astonishing—so astonishing that she, at over 40 years old, couldn't keep up with his thinking on many topics.

Perhaps this was the reason he could succeed, become a great writer, and become a musician.

Previously, Wei Shiman had been skeptical about reports that Li Heng had already read thousands of books, always thinking that a child would be too playful—how could he settle down to read and think about problems every day?

But now, she didn't think so anymore. She overturned her previous skepticism and truly realized what a genius was.

She realized the huge gap between a genius and an ordinary person.

No wonder Hanhan had been smitten since the first year of junior high; no wonder Chen Zijin had given herself away so early. Thinking about it now, was it really all their fault? Wasn't it just that Li Heng was too charming?

After the meal, when settling the bill, the Blue Sky Hotel gave him a 30% discount, which was unprecedented. This had never happened before.

Li Heng had expected the other party to ask for his autograph or something, but after waiting for about a minute, they didn't propose any conditions, which left him with a very good impression.

As they walked out of the hotel, coincidentally, they ran into two acquaintances: the sisters Huang Zhaoyi and Huang Zhiyun.

Li Heng paused his steps, then continued walking forward.

The Huang sisters had been chatting and laughing, but the moment they saw the four of them, they instantly stopped talking, their gazes falling upon the group.

No, to be precise, they were sizing up Xiao Han, who was holding Li Heng's arm, and sizing up Wei Shiman and Xiao Qing.

Almost without thinking, the two sisters understood what it meant for the four of them to be dining together.

Instantly, a surge of anger rose in Huang Zhiyun's heart, but she couldn't vent it, and she knew she couldn't. So, she withdrew her gaze, choosing to simply not look to avoid the annoyance.

Huang Zhaoyi's mindset was much better. As they brushed past each other, she smiled and nodded at Li Heng.

Wei Shiman's gaze followed Huang Zhaoyi's movement the entire time.

The reason for this was, first, that the other party was too beautiful; this kind of generous, bright beauty was rare, making even Wei Shiman unable to help but marvel.

Secretly comparing them, she actually reached a surprising conclusion: although the other party's beauty was different from her youngest daughter's, it was hard to tell who was superior.

She hadn't expected to run into such a great beauty on only her second day in Hangcheng.

However, she soon felt relieved. After all, the other party was the Peking opera performing artist Huang Zhaoyi, the famous Great Qingyi. If she weren't beautiful enough, how could she have such fame?

Wei Shiman didn't love Peking opera, but her parents-in-law did, and she knew Tian Run'e liked it too.

After walking 50 meters away from the Blue Sky Hotel, Xiao Qing asked curiously, "Li Heng, do you know her?"

Li Heng nodded: "I do. My mom and dad often go to the theater in Jingcheng to watch Peking opera. After going many times, they became familiar with her. Once, my second sister dragged the family to take a group photo with her, and from then on, we slowly became friends."

He was explaining, explaining the origin of that group photo at the old Li residence in Jingcheng.

After all, his "black-bellied" wife had eaten at the same table as the Great Qingyi at the old Li residence in Gulou. He couldn't just brush it off.

Xiao Han looked at him with a small dimple, not exposing him, but she didn't have too many suspicions either.

Even if she knew her own honey loved great beauties, the age gap between the two was too large, and Huang Zhaoyi was on equal footing with her future mother-in-law. Even if her man were lecherous, he wouldn't go so far as to take his mother's friend to bed, right?

That would be too absurd.

However, speaking of absurd, Xiao Han immediately thought of Yu Shuheng. That was his university teacher; it seemed even more absurd.

Thinking of this, Xiao Han's breathing hitched for a moment, and she couldn't help but look back at the entrance of the Blue Sky Hotel.

…

On the other side.

Arriving at the reserved private room, Huang Zhiyun put down her bag and asked, "That was Xiao Han, his official girlfriend?"

Huang Zhaoyi didn't deny it: "It is her."

Huang Zhiyun said: "She is indeed beautiful enough. No wonder Xiao Liuyue once said that in terms of facial features, Xiao Han wouldn't lose to anyone. I didn't believe it before, but now I admit that statement has no exaggeration."

Sighing, Huang Zhiyun stared into her younger sister's eyes and asked: "Is this meeting the girl's parents?"

Huang Zhaoyi pondered for a while and replied: "It should be."

Huang Zhiyun felt a bit of "hate that iron doesn't become steel" and felt a bit stifled, but she held back from saying anything harsh, turning instead to ask: "How long has it been since he came to find you to sleep with him?"

Huang Zhaoyi's lips parted, but she stopped herself, seemingly wanting to refute but giving up on the refutation.

Seeing her younger sister in a difficult position, Huang Zhiyun asked: "When did he return from Aba?"

Huang Zhaoyi pondered, then shook her head: "I'm not sure, it should be just these two days."

Huang Zhiyun frowned, "He didn't contact you the first moment he got back?"

Huang Zhaoyi defended him spontaneously: "He probably couldn't spare the time; he doesn't have a phone at home, so it's not very convenient."

"Little sister, you... you just keep speaking well for him. Let me see when he comes to find you! When will your belly be able to grow big?" Huang Zhiyun was very depressed, but thinking of the family's intolerant attitude toward her younger sister, it turned into heartache.

Huang Zhaoyi touched her lower abdomen. The thought of drinking some wine with her second sister was extinguished, and she switched to soda. Although she couldn't guess when he would come over next time, or whether he would take safety measures?

But she still subconsciously prepared for pregnancy.

….

Passing by the braised food stall, Li Heng turned his head to glance.

Business was indeed booming; there were at least a dozen people surrounding the roasted sweet potatoes, and several buying braised food.

The small town had plenty of sweet potatoes, and Wei Shiman had no interest in them, but she had a sharp eye and picked out the braised food. She said: "When I was in university in Lu Province, I once ate this in Jinan. I still remember that taste even now."

Then she said to Wei Xiaozhu inside the stall: "Give me some duck frames, duck feet, and duck necks..."

At this moment, Zhang Bing and Li Guang were busy selling sweet potatoes, and the braised food stall was temporarily handed over to Wei Xiaozhu and Dai Qing, with Bai Wanying responsible for collecting money.

Xiao Han asked crisply: "Xiaozhu, why are you here?"

Wei Xiaozhu said: "Bored, so I came out to move around. Are you guys heading back to school?"

Xiao Han revealed a sweet smile: "Yes, taking Mom to his place to recognize the door."

Li Heng followed up with an invitation: "If you guys are free later, you can come to Lushan Village to play. It's lively with more people."

Wei Xiaozhu agreed verbally, but didn't take it to heart. She was a person with a strong sense of propriety; even if she were to visit Lushan Village, it wouldn't be now.

The second one...!

Learning from the conversation that this pure and lovely girl in front of her was a good friend of Li Heng's, Wei Shiman silently kept a tally in her heart: the second one.

This was the second great beauty she had encountered since coming to Fudan University.

She actually wanted to see just how popular her prospective son-in-law was with women.

She wanted to know how many rare beauties were gathered around him.

She wanted to know if it was as Hanhan said: he was like a magnet, attracting countless women, and those who could stay by his side had all gone through thousands of layers of screening and elimination; those who remained were the essence.

After weighing the braised food, Bai Wanying firmly refused to take money, saying she was treating the aunt to a taste. Because today was special, Li Heng didn't act coy and accepted it readily.

"Hello, help me get a jin and a half of braised food, a little of everything."

Just as Li Heng reached out to take the braised food, a voice suddenly appeared from the side, saying this to Wei Xiaozhu.

Hmm?

This voice was so familiar.

Li Heng turned his head and discovered it was Wu Siyao.

Wei Xiaozhu was also very surprised; she had just run into her on the bus yesterday, and now she saw her again today. However, the next moment, she realized that Wu Siyao was aiming for Xiao Han, likely wanting to see Xiao Han up close and see what Li Heng's official girlfriend looked like.

The facts were indeed so; Wei Xiaozhu's guess was completely correct.

Wu Siyao had been dining with classmates at the restaurant next door. After seeing Xiao Han, she specifically put down her bowl and chopsticks halfway through to come over, using the excuse of wanting to eat braised food to buy some.

Seeing Li Heng look over, Wu Siyao waved her right hand slightly in front of her chest and greeted him with a smile: "Li Heng, what a coincidence, you're here too."

What a coincidence, my ass! Damn it, this was definitely the biggest lie of the year.

I've run into you so many times on the bus; I don't believe today is a coincidence.

However, one doesn't hit a smiling face, especially in front of so many people, so Li Heng responded politely: "Coincidence. My mom wanted to eat braised food, so we came to buy some."

Wu Siyao then pretended to look at Wei Shiman, but her heart was extremely sour. She knew the other party wasn't Li Heng's biological mother because Wei Shiman and Xiao Han had a few similar features.

Wu Siyao still called out with a smile: "Hello, Auntie."

Wei Shiman nodded with a smile: "Hello."

That counts as half a one...!

Compared to the girl in the stall, the girl in front of her had a certain gap, but she was also very beautiful. Wei Shiman gave her the evaluation of "half a great beauty."

In just a few steps, two and a half had appeared. Wei Shiman glanced at Li Heng's side profile with deep meaning. Others might not have noticed, but she had seen with her own eyes that Wu Siyao had come from the restaurant next door, and on the way, her eyes had been fixed on Hanhan without blinking.

What did this mean? It went without saying.

Actually, Wei Shiman had also noticed Dai Qing, who was delicate and pretty with a lot of charm, but the women she had encountered today were all too beautiful, so she only counted Dai Qing as a candidate, not yet qualified to sit at the table.

From Wujiaochang to Fudan University, the road was finally a bit quieter. Even though they met many acquaintances on the way who greeted Li Heng, the boys and girls all looked average, which could be considered a return to normal levels.

Just as Wei Shiman relaxed, a wave of students came out of the school gate, both boys and girls.

Suddenly, a girl separated from the crowd and headed straight for them like an arrow released from a bow.

The person who arrived was Huang Ziyue. There was an activity in class today, and she was just about to go to the grocery store with classmates to buy some soda and melon seeds.

Huang Ziyue went her own way, walked straight up to Li Heng, and asked: "Senior, when did you return from Aba?"

Li Heng replied: "The day before yesterday." "The day before yesterday? Then did you receive the letter I wrote you in Aba? Why didn't you reply?" When Huang Ziyue said this, her eyes finally looked at Xiao Han.

Xiao Han looked at Huang Ziyue with a smile, and the aura that only exists in female competition radiated from the eyes of the two women.

He calmly held Xiao Han's hand and said indifferently: "I received too many letters and didn't have time to reply."

Huang Ziyue said "Oh," and said: "Senior, then you entertain your distinguished guests well. I'll go first, I have something to do."

Li Heng nodded.

Xiao Qing looked back at Huang Ziyue's retreating figure, then looked at Li Heng, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart: He's really popular, and it's hard for the little sister.

Wei Shiman and Xiao Qing were visiting Fudan University for the first time, and Li Heng accompanied them for more than half a lap before heading toward Lushan Village.

During that half lap, the news that Li Heng had brought his mother-in-law to the school spread rapidly throughout the entire university, causing many acquaintances to pass by and watch intentionally or unintentionally.

Quite a few female teachers were envious, wishing they could have a daughter like Xiao Han, who could hook a "golden turtle son-in-law" home.

Entering the alley, Xiao Qing looked up and peered around, asking Li Heng: "Which small building do you live in?"

Li Heng told her: "At the end of the alley, the one on the left, Small Building No. 26."

Counting the door numbers one by one, when they reached Small Building No. 27, Xiao Qing couldn't help but stop in her tracks, looking at the extremely charming woman on the attic, and said: "I seem to have seen her somewhere?"

Xiao Han cleared her throat and said: "She is Mai Sui."

As she spoke, Xiao Han's attention fell onto the balcony, where there was a set of men's clothes and a pair of men's underwear.

She recognized at a glance that these were all honey's.

And she knew that there were no boys in Small Building No. 27, only girls, yet her sweetheart's clothes were now appearing there.

Xiao Han, trying hard to maintain her calm, was screaming in her heart: Mai Sui, are you a dowry maid? How come you're even washing my honey's underwear?

She didn't suspect Zhou Shihe.

Because in her cognition, if Zhou Shihe were helping him wash clothes, then honey wouldn't dare to be so arrogant as to bring her, her mother, and her sister back; otherwise, there would definitely be a scene.

Hearing the sensitive name "Mai Sui," Wei Shiman looked over immediately. A few seconds later, she silently recited a number: the third one.

This was the third one after Huang Zhaoyi and Wei Xiaozhu.

As for Huang Ziyue and Wu Siyao, they could only count as half.

Wei Shiman gazed at Mai Sui from a distance for a while. In her heart, she felt a bit worried for Hanhan for no reason. Such a peerless beauty, in a sense, had already transcended the category of beauty and belonged to the class of "femme fatale" like Su Daji; women of equal standing might not be able to compete.

Because men are animals of the lower body, Mai Sui is the kind who can eat a man to death in bed!

Mai Sui, who was weaving a swing on the attic, also saw the four people in the middle of the alley, and greeted them a moment later: "Xiao Han, you're here."

Xiao Han asked with a smile: "Mai Sui, are you living here now?"

Mai Sui responded: "Yes, living with Shihe."

Xiao Han immediately followed up: "We haven't seen each other for a while. Come over to the house to play later."

Mai Sui responded softly: "Okay, I'll come over when I'm free."

Hearing her "black-bellied" wife's two waves of silent attacks, Li Heng felt heartbroken for Mai Sui, and immediately quickened his pace, taking the mother and two daughters into Small Building No. 26.

Just after the four of them entered the house, Sun Manning and Ye Ning appeared simultaneously on the attic of Small Building No. 27.

Ye Ning poked her head out, "Where is Xiao Han's mother? Where are the people?"

Mai Sui said: "They went inside."

Ye Ning peered at the building next door for a while, and finally asked: "Suisui, you were played by Xiao Han twice just now, do you know?"

Mai Sui was silent.

She wasn't stupid; of course she knew.

The first question, Xiao Han asked if she lived here?

The potential meaning was, do you live here often from now on?

Mai Sui could only answer yes.

The second time, Xiao Han then invited her to the house to play in the tone of a hostess. This was the follow-up to the first question, which was equivalent to disguisedly taking charge of Small Building No. 26.

Sun Manning asked unhappily: "Is this disguisedly chasing our Mai Sui out of Small Building No. 26?"

Mai Sui pulled on Sun Manning's sleeve, whose voice was a bit loud, "Manning, keep your voice down."

At this time, Zhou Shihe, who had just finished bathing, came out of the living room. While wiping her hair with a dry towel, she comforted her: "Manning, don't say it like that. That house belongs to the school, and Li Heng is just a passerby."

The implication was: Li Heng is just a passerby, so what difference is there between her Xiao Han and Suisui? All competition lies in Li Heng himself; whoever spends more time with Li Heng is the final winner.

Sun Manning felt instantly relieved upon hearing this, beaming with joy as she hugged Zhou Shihe: "Our Shihe is the true strategist, not counting the gains and losses of a single city or pool."

Zhou Shihe smiled cleverly, not making a sound.

Ye Ning's gaze accidentally fell onto the balcony next door, and she suddenly screamed: "My God! Suisui, didn't you hang Li Heng's clothes in the back? When did they get to the front? Isn't this a ticking time bomb?"

Upon hearing this, Mai Sui turned her head abruptly to look, her expression changing suddenly.

Sun Manning said embarrassedly: "Oh my, Shihe said her clothes should be hung in the back, so I hung Li Heng's clothes on the front balcony. Mai Sui, I'm sorry, my fault, I didn't think so much."

This sounded flawless at first glance.

Because Zhou Shihe's clothes were usually hung in the back; she paid more attention to privacy and didn't want to put her underwear in a conspicuous place.

Therefore, moving Li Heng's clothes to the front made sense.

Ye Ning caught Zhou Shihe and asked: "By the way, Shihe, didn't you just take a bath last night? Why are you bathing again today? In the middle of winter, I remember you usually bathe once every two to three days."

Zhou Shihe said: "I got some dust on me while cleaning today, so I took a bath."

At this point, there was a brief silence on the attic.

Whether it was Mai Sui or Ye Ning, intuition told them that Shihe and Manning were singing in harmony, but they just couldn't find any flaws.

This was like the roles of Wang Yuyan and Duan Yu in *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*; Zhou Shihe seemed to point it out casually, and Sun Manning seemed to have opened up all the meridians in her body, practicing peerless martial arts, performing the act of reversing heaven and earth.

Seeing Mai Sui not speaking, Sun Manning asked a bit nervously: "Mai Sui, should I return Li Heng's clothes? Hang them back to Small Building No. 26?"

Ye Ning echoed, laughing: "That's a good idea, I raise both hands in favor."

Mai Sui continued weaving the swing. As the saying goes, a wise man may make a mistake in a thousand thoughts; she thought that hanging the clothes in the back would be foolproof, but she didn't expect Manning to pull this off.

If she had known, she would have just hung the clothes in Small Building No. 26 directly.

Zhou Shihe said gently: "Manning, there is a chance to make amends. You and Ningning go to the cafeteria to get some food and bring it back."

"Hey! Trying to chase us away again, definitely wanting to do something bad." Ye Ning showed a look of disdain and pulled Sun Manning away.

After the two women went far away, Zhou Shihe asked gently: "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Mai Sui said: "No."

Zhou Shihe spoke slowly: "Regarding the clothes, although Manning is deliberately helping you, it's not necessarily a bad thing. If Li Heng wants to hold both, he will have to pass this hurdle sooner or later.

If he only wants one in the end, it might not be a bad thing to help him make a choice now; long pain is worse than short pain."

Mai Sui asked: "Was it really not your idea?"

Zhou Shihe smiled faintly, using the softest tone to say the most domineering words: "This idea is not good, not fatal. I don't look down on it."

Mai Sui looked up and asked: "If it were you, what would you do?"

Zhou Shihe gazed into the distance for a while and said softly: "If I were you, he would have to marry me."

At this point, neither woman spoke for a long time; one focused on fiddling with the swing, and the other leisurely watched the dark clouds in the distance quickly covering them.

After a long time, Mai Sui's hair was scattered, "It's windy, it's going to rain heavily, it's cold outside, you go back inside."

Zhou Shihe stood up and walked into the room.

The wind outside was too strong, and Mai Sui followed her into the living room.

Zhou Shihe sat on the sofa and asked out of the blue: "Xiao Han's mother has appeared, will his parents come over?"

Mai Sui was stunned, "Probably not."

Zhou Shihe thought of Yu Shuheng, then picked up the unread book on the coffee table and flipped through it.

Mai Sui thought of Song Yu and Chen Zijin, so she was certain that Li Heng's parents wouldn't come this time, but it was hard to say when they went home for winter break.

…

Small Building No. 26.

Li Heng first took Wei Shiman and her daughter to visit the two floors, arranged the rooms for them to stay in, and then the four of them sat on the sofa and chatted for a while.

Half an hour later, Xiao Qing asked him: "Li Heng, can we go into your study to take a look?"

She had a curiosity about the study described as miraculous in the newspapers. After holding back for a while, she finally couldn't help but ask.

Li Heng was very straightforward: "We are all family, Big Sister, you can come and go as you please."

That's what he said, but he knew the other party had reservations, so he led the way himself.

Xiao Qing moved.

Wei Shiman was reserved for a few seconds, then followed.

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(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 549 =====