Chapter 78: He Comes to Propose Marriage

"For so many years, you've been with me without status or title; now, I can no longer wrong you," Shen Lan said affectionately.

"Before we are married, I cannot touch you."

Li Xuan:...

Suddenly, she felt very moved in her heart.

The woman Shen Lan loved most was indeed her; this feeling of being valued was truly wonderful.

Si Rong must have never experienced this.

She hugged Shen Lan's waist and asked softly, "Brother Lan, then when are we getting married?"

Once they were married, she would be able to let Brother Lan see her most perfect figure.

She had wanted to take it off just now, but Shen Lan must have been afraid she would catch a cold, so he had put it back on her.

"Good things take time; be patient and wait a little longer."

Shen Lan did not know what he was still expecting in his heart; he loved Si Rong, but Si Rong no longer loved him.

It was as if as long as he did not marry Li Xuan, there was still some possibility with Si Rong.

"By the way, you should look after the children more," Shen Lan changed the subject. "Xiao Yuan hasn't been home much lately, and Xiao Chi—do you know where he goes instead of going to work?"

How would Li Xuan know?

"The children are grown and have their own legs; as parents, we shouldn't interfere too much, or the children will get impatient."

Shen Lan:...

He rubbed his brow. "Xiao Chi is fine, but Xiao Yuan is a young girl, and her health is poor. Oh, and her grades—she has the College Entrance Examination this year. Have you ever cared about her mock exam results? Can she get into Peking University?"

Jiang Yu's daughter was taking the College Entrance Examination with his daughter this year, and he heard her grades were good; his daughter could not be outdone.

Li Xuan felt guilty from this interrogation.

She needed to rest quietly after her surgery; how could she run around everywhere?

When at home, both children had nothing to say to her; if they needed anything, they went to Shen Lan.

It was as if she were a stepmother.

"Fine, I will care about it. After all, I am the children's biological mother."

Shen Lan turned away, feeling that was not necessarily true.

Come to think of it, Si Rong, the stepmother, was much more responsible than Li Xuan, the biological mother.

At this moment, the door sounded.

Shen Yuan had returned.

Her hair was disheveled, and her face was painted with strange makeup.

When she spoke, her voice was very nasal; one look and it was clear her rhinitis had flared up.

"When is dinner?"

Shen Yuan always felt she had been particularly prone to hunger lately, with a much larger appetite than before.

It must be because she was growing.

"Xiao Yuan is back; Mom will go make you dinner right now."

Li Xuan said with a fawning face.

But Shen Yuan did not even give her a glance, slamming the door as she went into her room.

Li Xuan went into the kitchen to cook, thinking that this child had been raised by Si Rong to be too impolite; she would have to discipline her later.

Just as she was cooking, Shen Lan came in holding a jacket and asked her, "Where is the money I kept inside here?"

"I used it."

Li Xuan felt this was nothing; they were husband and wife, and besides, she was considering their married life.

"What did you use it for? How much is left? Give it to me, quickly!"

He had intended to use that money to treat people to meals; he was now starting to form cliques within his department.

How could he manage without money?

"It's all spent!" Li Xuan shook off his hand. "I'm your wife; what's wrong with using a bit of your money?"

She pouted with a playful smile, never expecting Shen Lan to strike her!

With that slap, Li Xuan felt her face go numb.

What was going on?

Wasn't it just a few hundred yuan?

Shen Lan was not a man who would hit his wife; at the very least, as far as she knew, in his nearly twenty years of marriage with Si Rong, Shen Lan had never laid a finger on Si Rong.

Why? Why was it that when it came to her, he went straight for a slap across the face?

"You—you hit me?"

After hitting her, Shen Lan put on his jacket and went out.

And Shen Yuan, who had come out of her room upon hearing the commotion, not only offered no comfort but instead heartlessly urged her, "Hurry up and cook!"

Li Xuan finished cooking in great pain and went to her room to sleep, so she missed the sight of Shen Yuan shoveling food into her mouth, and naturally, she also missed her abnormal behavior of leaning against the table to vomit.

Shen Yuan steadied herself for a good while before she could stand firmly by the table.

Something had gone wrong.

It must have been that night.

If Si Rong had called out to her at that time, such a thing would not have happened.

She hated her so much!

Si Rong had long forgotten those trivial matters that had nothing to do with her.

Tonight, the second brother has invited Jiang Cheng to the Si Family for dinner.

The perilous situation Jiang Cheng was in high above at noon, and the way he looked as he resolved the crisis and walked off the fighter jet without a hint of fear, played over and over in her mind.

"Are you swooning again?"

Si Han extended two fingers and tapped her on the forehead.

Unexpectedly, Father Si saw it happen, and a throw pillow came flying over.

"Try hitting your little sister one more time, I dare you!"

The second sister-in-law covered her mouth and laughed from the side, "Dad! Well hit! Who told him to have such itchy hands!"

Seeing that she had someone backing her up, Si Rong immediately straightened her back, jumped up, and returned two knuckle-raps to the second brother.

"You heartless little thing!" Si Han sat down helplessly, "Have you thought clearly about your situation with Jiang Cheng?"

Si Rong pursed her lips, then nodded.

Perhaps she had been hesitant before today, but after today, it seemed she had fallen for Jiang Cheng.

"The second brother admits that Jiang Cheng is indeed not bad, although he is still far behind the excellent second brother."

Si Han said narcissistically, "But his work is somewhat dangerous. I am thinking that at his age, as long as he doesn't want to, he should be able to avoid test flights. I will talk to him about it tonight."

He is forty years old; he should leave the opportunities to the young people.

Retiring behind the scenes to instruct new recruits is also quite good.

The main thing is that his little sister must not be hurt by marriage again.

Li Sao was busy cooking in the kitchen, and the second sister-in-law took the opportunity to pull Si Rong into the room.

"Little sister, do you like this lipstick? I bought it when I went on a business trip to Haishi."

Tian Chang is an excellent translator who travels frequently and can buy many good things from different places.

It is a light bean-paste color; it will look very good even without makeup.

"I like it." Si Rong took it and saw the second sister-in-law hesitating to speak.

"Second sister-in-law, is there something you want to ask me?"

Tian Chang nodded, "I want to ask about that friend of yours, Ming Zi, and the matter between her and your second brother."

"I knew about her existence when I was with your second brother. Over these many years, I have always felt that your second brother has her in his heart. Now that her husband is gone, I am worried..."

Si Rong held the second sister-in-law's hand; she could fully understand her feelings, "Second sister-in-law, I am not very clear about the past between them, but I understand the character of Ming Zi and my second brother. Over these many years, they have absolutely never done anything to wrong you."

Ming Zi wouldn't, and her second brother even less so.

It was just that as for whether her second brother had been hiding another woman in his heart all these years as the second sister-in-law said, she really didn't know, because she wasn't a tapeworm in her second brother's stomach.

"I naturally believe your second brother on this point," Tian Chang also believed the little sister's words, "I was just thinking, if they truly have each other in their hearts, I can let them be."

If she hadn't been able to make Si Han love her after all these years, then she wouldn't deign to keep a man whose heart wasn't with her.

"Second sister-in-law, you are overthinking it. I feel that the second brother loves you."

That was what Si Rong thought in her heart; her second brother was a man with pride in his bones. If he really liked Ming Zi, it would be impossible for him to spend so many years with the second sister-in-law.

Tian Chang's face flushed red.

Downstairs, Si Han was calling out that Jiang Cheng had arrived.

He had taken off his military uniform and was now wearing a casual trench coat.

His entire temperament was as clear and cold as a mountain spring.

He was holding a proper gift in his hand.

He looked at Si Rong and smiled faintly, "I'm here."

He had come today to propose marriage.