Chapter 65: The White Moonlight of Youth

"I'll go take a look."

Jiang Cheng went to the guest room to check the hot water pipes, picked up a wrench, fiddled with it for a moment, and the hot water was soon running.

It seemed that men were naturally better at these things; both the eldest and second brothers at home were capable of them.

After marrying Shen Lan, whenever there was a problem with the water pipes or lights at home, it was usually the eldest or second brother who came to fix them.

She had never seen Shen Lan lift a finger.

Watching the hot water flow again, a sense of relief welled up in Si Rong's heart.

Jiang Cheng gave her the feeling that no matter what happened, he could solve it.

"Thank you."

"Mm, go ahead and wash up, I'm heading out first."

Jiang Cheng practically bolted out the door.

If he had stayed a moment longer, Si Rong might have noticed that something was wrong with him.

Returning to his room, Jiang Cheng took a tissue and pressed it against his nose.

Just from that one glance, he had gotten a nosebleed.

He forgot where he had read the saying, but the lethality of a first love from one's youth is truly immense.

It was indeed immense; just standing there was enough to make his nose bleed for a full half hour.

Si Rong returned to the Si Family on the third day of the Lunar New Year, having stayed at the Jiang Family for four days, where she spent every day either playing mahjong or listening to Jiang Mu tell stories about her and Jiang Fu when they were young; stories of bickering lovers were always pleasant to hear.

She liked the atmosphere of the Jiang Family; it was completely harmonious.

Unlike her time at the Shen Family, where as soon as the New Year arrived, Shen Mu would forcibly dwell on her late husband, and no one in the house dared to show a smile.

This year was no exception.

Shen Mu had come to her son's home specifically to spend the New Year; she didn't mind being alone at home on ordinary days, and since her daughter was married off, it was quite pitiful to be all by herself during the New Year.

In previous years, she had loved the New Year because she could manipulate her capitalist daughter-in-law.

Si Rong was not only filial but also willing to spend money on her; every New Year, Si Rong would buy her several new outfits.

Each set was very expensive, and she could show them off in the village for an entire year.

But this year, Li Xuan was clearly not as sensible as Si Rong.

Not only was the house not as tidy as before, but the meals weren't as delicious as the ones Wang Ma used to make.

"Shen Lan, go and invite that Wang Ma back! It's just a salary; the Si Family can afford it, so we can certainly afford it too!"

It was just a nanny; surely she would be happy to come to the Deputy County Magistrate's house to serve them?

She hadn't forgotten that the nanny had been disrespectful to her before; once she was back, she would see how she would deal with her!

"She won't come," Shen Lan said, rubbing his temples.

He didn't know why, but he felt particularly irritable staying at home now.

His mind was full of Si Rong, and the image of her standing beside Jiang Cheng at the Jiang Family.

He only felt a sour and indescribable sensation in his heart.

It felt like regret, and it also felt like jealousy.

Jealousy?

How could he be jealous?

Could it be that he had fallen for Si Rong?

Once this thought sprouted in Shen Lan's mind, it could no longer be dismissed.

He carefully recalled every little detail since he and Si Rong had separated.

The entanglement between the two of them had originated from a scheme.

He was the one holding the chess piece, and Si Rong was the piece.

He used this piece and manipulated this piece.

He watched the piece experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness because of him, but could it be that his own joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness had nothing to do with Si Rong?

In Shen Lan's mind flashed the memory of his own eyes and brows lighting up because Si Rong was happy.

At this very moment, he began to miss Si Rong again.

The one holding the chess piece had fallen in love with his own piece; an entanglement that felt like destiny.

"Shen Lan!" A loud shout disrupted Shen Lan's train of thought.

Li Xuan had just been needled by her mother-in-law several times and was furious.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Shen Lan looked at her with some impatience, "What is it?"

The face of Li Xuan before him was gradually aging, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes looked ugly.

He regretted agreeing to marry Li Xuan.

If it weren't for her, he and Si Rong would still be the enviable, perfect couple they once were.

Shen Lan was startled by this thought of his.

No, Li Xuan was the mother of his two children after all; he couldn't do that.

They were only engaged and hadn't registered their marriage yet, so there was still room for maneuver.

"I said, how about we have dumplings for dinner?" Li Xuan repeated.

Her current life made her feel exhausted, completely lacking the peace she had when she lived alone before.

A deaf husband, a nitpicking mother-in-law, and disobedient children.

So, was this all that she had envied about Si Rong before?

"Not eating," Shen Lan stood up and put on his coat, "I have something to take care of."

He had to go out and see if he could meet with Si Rong.

Si Rong still did not know his true feelings; indeed, in eighteen years of marriage, he had never sincerely confessed his heart to Si Rong.

As long as he expressed his feelings to her now, Si Rong would surely have a change of heart.

Then, their family of four could still live together happily just as they had before.

……

After returning home on the third day of the Lunar New Year, Si Rong began visiting relatives.

In the past, she would bring Shen Lan and the two children, but this year, having divorced, she had to go with her two older brothers.

The second sister-in-law was not there; she had returned to her maiden home again.

Regarding the relationship between her second brother and second sister-in-law, Si Rong had only ever heard a few things from her mother.

Back then, her second brother had once had a thing with Ming Zi, and last time, when Luo Sheng died, she had also gathered from the phone call the second sister-in-law's dissatisfaction with Ming Zi and the second brother.

Could it be that for all these years, her second brother had always had Ming Zi in his heart?

They hadn't even left with their gifts yet when guests arrived at the house first.

Lin Meixi and her mother.

The very one who had come to curry favor after the Si Family had prospered.

The Lin Meixi who later became Shen Chi's girlfriend.

It was just that after hearing she had divorced Shen Lan, Lin Meixi had also broken up with Shen Chi.

"Auntie Rong!" As soon as Lin Meixi entered the door, she affectionately linked her arm with Si Rong's, "I haven't seen you for a while, and you seem to have become even more elegant!"

This girl had always been sweet-talked, so she and Shen Chi were well-matched in temperament.

Si Rong had quite liked her in the past, but only now did she understand that to see a person clearly, one should not listen to what they say, but watch what they do.

Especially when it came to being careful of such glib-tongued people.

When you discover that everything she says is exactly what you want to hear, it means these words were specifically crafted for you to hear.

"I'm getting on in years; I can't compare to you young girls."

Si Rong's attitude was indifferent.

Although she no longer liked this girl, since it was the New Year and she had brought gifts to pay a visit, it would be inappropriate for them to get up and leave immediately; they had no choice but to sit down and exchange pleasantries for a while.

"Mom! Listen to that, Auntie Rong is truly too modest," Lin Meixi was as enthusiastic as a ball of fire, her voice echoing throughout the Si Family's spacious living room, "If anyone dared to say my Auntie Rong is getting on in years, I would be the first to disagree; walking outside, others would definitely think that Auntie Rong and I are sisters!"