The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife
Chapter 364 - 367. Try Harder Once More (An Additional Update)

Chapter 364: 367. Try Harder Once More (An Additional Update)

The wedding was held at a famous cathedral in Beijing, and there were quite a few attendees aside from the relatives and friends of both families, including colleagues and classmates of Li Bomming and Fang Tong, colleagues of Fang Chengzhi, and friends from the Li Family’s business circle.

After her arrival, Shen Qinglan called Fu Hengyi, and then saw him at the entrance.

When Shen Qinglan and Fu Hengyi appeared together, the reactions of most people were nothing special, but Fang Chengzhi’s colleagues, all from political circles and based in Beijing, showed the strongest reactions, given their sensitivity to such matters.

Fang Chengzhi personally stood up to receive Fu Hengyi and Shen Qinglan, "I didn’t expect Mr. Fu to come in person, this truly is an honor for my daughter."

Fu Hengyi smiled, and Shen Qinglan spoke in a gentle voice, "Uncle, there’s no need to be so formal, today we are just friends of Fang Tong."

The smile on Fang Chengzhi’s face grew wider as he led Shen Qinglan and Fu Hengyi to seats in the front row. Ever since he had attended Shen Qinglan and Fu Hengyi’s wedding, his work had faced much less resistance, and many of the measures he had wanted to implement could finally be carried out, showing some improvement in his political performance.

Therefore, despite the workload in the past few months, Fang Chengzhi was in very good spirits. Knowing that Shen Qinglan would come today, he was quite thankful, and unexpectedly Fu Hengyi came as well, which was a great show of respect to him.

Fang Tong was in the backstage resting room as the wedding was about to start. After speaking a few words with them, Fang Chengzhi left.

Fu Hengyi sat beside Shen Qinglan, holding her hand.

As the music started, Fang Tong walked in with Fang Chengzhi at her side, her eyes looking forward at Li Bomming, her mouth bearing a smile.

The wedding went very smoothly. Sitting beside Shen Qinglan, Yu Xiaoxuan expressed her disbelief, "I thought Ding Minghui would come to cause trouble."

Hearing this, Shen Qinglan glanced at her gently. Fortunately, Yu Xiaoxuan had spoken softly enough that only she had heard it; if others had heard, they might have thought Yu Xiaoxuan was the one here to cause trouble.

Yu Xiaoxuan stuck out her tongue, "But his absence shows he knew better. Otherwise, huh..."

Shen Qinglan wasn’t surprised by this at all. Even if Ding Minghui had wanted to come, Liu Hui wouldn’t allow it. Liu Hui, capable of handling Ding Minghui, could be seen from how Ding Minghui had not been able to successfully divorce despite his attempts in recent times.

The wedding banquet was held at a hotel, and after the ceremony, everyone proceeded there.

By the time Shen Qinglan and Fu Hengyi returned from the hotel, it was almost evening. As one was injured and the other pregnant, they had not drunk any alcohol, but they were slightly worn out from ceaselessly socializing at the wedding banquet as many took the opportunity to network with them.

Shen Qinglan hadn’t eaten much at the banquet. After returning, Fu Hengyi had Aunt Zhao prepare some food for her.

"Eat up, then go rest for a while. You didn’t have your nap today," Fu Hengyi said while watching Shen Qinglan eat.

Shen Qinglan nodded, "I contacted Eden yesterday; he will be back in half a month. Then we need to prepare for your third surgery."

Fu Hengyi wasn’t too concerned about his own surgery. His leg sensation had improved significantly recently, and although he still couldn’t stand, the return of feeling was a sign of healing.

"Uh-huh," Fu Hengyi responded lightly, placing a piece of deboned fish into Shen Qinglan’s bowl. Shen Qinglan looked at him, "You don’t seem too concerned about your injury?"

Fu Hengyi looked up from his meticulous work with the fish, "Is that so?"

Shen Qinglan nodded, "Yes."

Fu Hengyi smiled, "Didn’t Eden say my leg would recover? He is someone you trust, and I trust him too. With that in mind, what’s there to worry about? It’s just another surgery," he said nonchalantly.

Shen Qinglan thought about it and shook her head, feeling she had been too anxious.

**

Shen Junyu and Wen Xiyao returned on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year. Wen Xiyao brought Shen Qinglan quite a lot of food, and Shen Qinglan looked helplessly at the pile in front of her, "Sister Xiyao, I can’t eat this much."

"These were prepared by my mom, local delicacies from Hai City. You can share some with friends if you can’t finish them, and since your tea house is opening soon, it’s not bad to offer them as a benefit to the employees."

Shen Qinglan’s tea house didn’t have many employees, so using these as benefits made sense.

"Are you not keeping some for yourself?"

Wen Xiyao shook her head, "Forget it, I grew up there and I’m already tired of these foods, and..." She paused, pinching the flesh around her waist, "After celebrating the New Year, I’ve gained around the waist. I’m about to wear a wedding dress, and if I don’t start dieting now, it’ll be a huge joke if I can’t fit into the dress."

Her expression was one of distress, having indulged too much over the New Year and seeing the consequences on her figure.

Then her gaze turned to Shen Qinglan, with undisguised envy, "Qinglan, I see you eat quite a bit regularly. How come you, a pregnant woman, only gain weight in your stomach and nowhere else?" She sounded genuinely pained.

"Actually, I’ve gained some weight," but in certain places—well, to use Mr. Fu’s words, it’s no longer possible to grasp with one hand. Mr. Fu couldn’t be more satisfied with this change in Qinglan.

Wen Xiyao’s gaze fell upon Qinglan’s chest, nodding repeatedly with increasing envy, "Yep, you really have gained weight."

Qinglan felt slightly embarrassed.

Wen Xiyao suddenly leaned closer to Qinglan, lowering her voice, "Speaking of which, what’s your size now? Is your Mr. Fu particularly... um, satisfied?"

A touch of awkwardness flashed across Qinglan’s face. She hadn’t expected Wen Xiyao to say something like this. Still, Miss Shen was indeed Miss Shen, regaining her composure almost instantly and responding lightly, "There really is a difference between women and girls."

It was just one sentence, but Wen Xiyao, who had intended to tease, found herself teased instead. Her face and even the tips of her ears turned crimson, and she gave Qinglan a gentle punch, "You have such a big mouth."

Qinglan smiled, "I’m just stating the facts."

Wen Xiyao changed the subject, "Is your due date early May?"

Qinglan nodded, "Yes, the doctor said it’s May 8th."

"That’s a good timing. You’ll finish your confinement just as summer arrives. My mom said that women in confinement can’t catch a cold breeze or bathe. If you had to do it in summer, it would be real torture."

Chu Yunrong had mentioned this before, and Qinglan truly found the strict traditional Chinese confinement practices to be a headache. No wind, no baths, not this, not that—the list of dos and don’ts was endless.

Now, just thinking about these things covered Qinglan’s face with worry lines.

"Sister Xiyao, how are the wedding preparations going with my brother?" Not wanting to dwell on such troubling matters, Qinglan deftly switched topics.

"After the Lantern Festival, my mom will come to Beijing to prepare for the wedding with your mom," Wen Xiyao said. Her wedding to Shen Junyu was scheduled for March 28th, which was about two months away. The wedding and reception venues had been booked in advance, and there was ample time to prepare the remaining items in two months.

"You haven’t taken your wedding photos with my brother yet, have you?"

"Um, we’re planning to wait until it gets a bit warmer before we do," Wen Xiyao said. She initially wanted to have an underwater photoshoot, but gave up on that idea after learning that Shen Junyu couldn’t swim.

"Now that you mention it, I remembered, Qinglan, can you take a look at these invitations for me?" Wen Xiyao slapped her forehead, finally remembering another important reason for visiting Qinglan today.

She took out a large stack of invitations from her bag, "Take a look at these and let me know which ones you think are nice. My mom handed me a bunch, and my eyes hurt from looking at them all," Wen Xiyao said.

Qinglan briefly looked over the stack, pulling out a few, "I think these are all nice."

Wen Xiyao took a look, "Okay, let’s go with these. I’ll show them to your brother tomorrow and let him choose."

Speaking of Shen Junyu, Qinglan realized that he hadn’t come with Wen Xiyao today, "Where’s my brother?"

Wen Xiyao shook her head, "Not sure, I haven’t seen him all morning. I called him, and he was all mysterious. No idea what he’s up to."

Qinglan thought for a while but couldn’t think of any birthdays coming up, nor could she guess what Shen Junyu might be busy with.

At this moment, Shen Junyu was actually at the swimming pool, accompanied by Han Yi. Shen Junyu, dressed in swimwear, stood by the pool, reluctant to enter the water. Han Yi had already completed a lap and returned, while Shen Junyu was still hesitating at the edge.

Han Yi emerged from the water, "I say, Jun Yu, do you really want to learn to swim or not? If you don’t get in the water, do you think you’ll learn by watching all day?"

Shen Junyu gave him a look, "I asked you to teach me."

Han Yi shrugged in the water, "I want to teach you, but how can I if you don’t come in?"

Shen Junyu frowned deeply, staring at the water, while Han Yi held his forehead, "Bro, this is the shallow end, even if you get in you won’t drown." Who could have imagined that the CEO of the mighty Junlan Group would not only be a completely dry duck, but also scared of water.

Shen Junyu’s fear of water wasn’t innate, but the result of an incident from his childhood, which, incidentally, involved Qinglan.

It happened when Qinglan was four years old, and Shen Junyu was twelve, an age full of playfulness. Back then, there was a huge swimming pool in the compound. The boys in the compound loved playing in the pool during summer days, and Shen Junyu was no exception. He would join the others in the pool after school each day.

Qinglan adored her brother when she was little, and Shen Junyu was happy to bring his sister along to play. There never had been any issues, but one day something happened.

That day, Shen Junyu took young Qinglan along, but because the adults had warned that Qinglan was too young to be near the pool, he decided to play with her on a swing set nearby instead.

When the kids in the compound saw Shen Junyu, they called him over to swim. Shen Junyu wanted to go, but, hesitant and conflicted at the sight of his young sister, it took him a while before he said to Qinglan, "Lanlan, brother is going to play in the water for a little while. Can you wait for brother here?"

Shen Qinglan held a doll in her hands, playing with it joyfully, and naturally nodded obediently. Shen Junyu felt relieved and joined in the fun with a group of people.

Shen Qinglan got bored and looked up, only to find that her brother was nowhere to be seen. She faintly heard the noise of Shen Junyu and his friends causing a ruckus and walked towards the swimming pool. The little figure stood on the edge, watching her brother and shouting at the top of her voice, but Shen Junyu didn’t hear her. So Shen Qinglan moved a bit closer, yet Shen Junyu still didn’t hear her. Shen Qinglan approached the edge of the pool, slipped, and plunged into the water.

At that moment, no one noticed this scene. Shen Qinglan struggled in the water for quite a while before someone realized that the child had fallen in. Someone called out to Shen Junyu, who jerked into action and quickly swam over to scoop Shen Qinglan out of the water.

By then, Shen Qinglan’s face had already turned pale, but fortunately, an adult passed by and timely sent Shen Qinglan to the hospital, preventing a tragedy.

This incident had long been forgotten by Shen Qinglan, who was young at the time; she didn’t even retain a shadow of the memory. It was Shen Junyu, however, who deeply remembered the sight of his sister drowning with her eyes tightly shut, her whole body icy cold.

He was severely punished by Old Sir Shen, but Shen Junyu didn’t utter a word. He silently endured the whipping and stayed by his sister’s side, not leaving her for a moment. After Shen Qinglan recovered, Shen Junyu never went to that swimming pool again, nor did he swim again.

Han Yi was unaware of this past incident. By the time he met Shen Junyu, they were already in junior high, and Shen Qinglan had already disappeared. Shen Junyu’s personality had become more reserved, not at all like a junior high student.

"Jun Yu, are you still a man or not? If you’re a man, be decisive," Han Yi called out and then, taking advantage of Shen Junyu’s inattention, grabbed his leg and pulled him into the water.

Shen Junyu was caught off guard and swallowed several mouthfuls of water. Once he steadied himself, he glared at Han Yi, "Are you trying to murder me?"

Han Yi stammered, well, he hadn’t thought that much at the moment; he just wanted to drag Shen Junyu down.

He looked at Shen Junyu, "You don’t seem afraid of being in the water, so why didn’t you come down earlier?"

Shen Junyu’s expression stiffened. It wasn’t so much a fear of water as it was a flashback that came to mind every time he thought of getting into the water, the image of Shen Qinglan drowning. Most importantly, the fact that Shen Qinglan could have drowned was because he hadn’t taken good care of his sister, and he felt guilty about it.

Shen Junyu looked coolly at Han Yi, "Aren’t you going to teach me? Let’s get started."

Han Yi rolled his eyes. This Mr. Fu was always like this, even when asking for a favor. He really wanted to strangle him.

"Teach, I’ll teach you right away. But Jun Yu, I’m really curious. You’ve never wanted to learn how to swim for so many years, why the sudden interest now?"

Shen Junyu didn’t respond. He certainly couldn’t tell Han Yi that the last time in Hai City, he saw how much Wen Xiyao enjoyed diving and wanted to learn to swim so that he could join her underwater to see the sea’s landscape.

Shen Junyu and Han Yi spent the whole day at the swimming center, and when they left, Shen Junyu was met with a look of disgust from Han Yi. In Han Yi’s words, Shen Junyu was a waste of an athletic body.

Shen Junyu’s face was cold, clearly in a bad mood, "We’re going to Charming Color tonight, call up Chenxi and Gu Yang too."

"What about Hengyi?" Han Yi asked, immediately realizing that his question was superfluous. Fu Hengyi was mostly staying home recovering and rarely came out.

"Sure, I’ll give them a call. I’ve been meaning to get everyone together for the past couple of days." Han Yi said, having just returned to Beijing. After Yu Xiaoxuan’s work ended earlier in the year, Han Yi took her on a trip abroad, not even coming back for the New Year.

Yu Xiaoxuan’s parents were gone, and his relationship with his father had soured over the Xia Fei incident, so he rarely returned to the old family home, certainly not to spend New Year’s with Han Zhengshan. It was better to stay away from the two people who detested each other.

**

Charming Color.

When Shen Junyu and Han Yi arrived, Gu Yang and the others were already there. Shen Junyu’s gaze fell on Jiang Chenxi, who was sitting alone in a corner drinking.

Han Yi raised an eyebrow at Gu Yang, who shrugged, indicating that he didn’t know anything. Jiang Chenxi had been like this since he arrived, not saying a word, just sitting there drinking.

Shen Junyu, however, knew a bit about it. Jiang Chenxi had a crush on Pei Yinong, but she had rejected him, not even leaving any chance for him. Jiang Chenxi was probably upset about that.

The men gathered together with nothing else to do apart from drinking and playing cards. Shen Junyu took the glass from Jiang Chenxi’s hand, "Alright, stop drinking. Yinong is still single; if you really like her, just keep pursuing her."

Jiang Chenxi smiled bitterly, "What’s the use? She doesn’t love me, not even close to liking."

Pei Yinong had made her position clear, how could he continue?

"The biggest obstacle between you and Yinong isn’t the lack of feelings, but her son, Haohao, and your parents," Shen Junyu stated bluntly.

Jiang Chenxi looked up at him, "I can treat Haohao as my own son."

"What about your parents?" asked Shen Junyu. From what he knew, the Jiang Family was a typical scholarly family, both parents were high-level intellectuals, but his father was very stubborn and traditional, getting him to accept a woman with a child as a daughter-in-law was a huge challenge.

Jiang Chenxi fell silent, then spoke softly after a while, "I can persuade my father. I believe he can understand my choice."

Shen Junyu was not as optimistic about this as Jiang Chenxi. If his father were so easily persuaded, he believed that Pei Yinong would not have given up so easily.

"Chenxi, if you can first convince your parents to accept Haohao, then there’s still a chance for you and Yining," Shen Junyu said.

Chenxi fell silent again. Shen Junyu patted his shoulder, "Think about what I’ve said. You may not see Yining’s feelings for you, but we outsiders can see them clearly."

"I should go," Chenxi stood up, grabbed his coat, and left.

Gu Yang looked towards Shen Junyu, "What did you say to him?"

Shen Junyu smiled, "Didn’t we say we were going to play cards? Four people make a table, come on."

Gu Kai directly took out the mahjong set, and they all sat down to play.

**

The next day, Chenxi visited the Pei Family. When Pei Yinong saw that it was him, she frowned, but Chenxi smiled, "I’m not here for you today, I’m here for Haohao. I promised to take him out for some fun."

Pei Yinong understood instantly, "You were the one who called Haohao last night?" Last night, Little Douding had received a phone call that made him so excited that he didn’t sleep until late. Pei Yinong asked him who had called, but Little Douding stubbornly refused to reveal, claiming it was a secret.

"Yeah, I promised him before, but I’ve been busy recently. I’m free these couple of days, so I wanted to take him out for a bit. You wouldn’t disagree, right?"

Pei Yinong did want to disagree, but her son’s happy face from last night was still before her eyes. Little Douding is a cheerful child, but that level of excitement and joy was rare. It was obvious he really liked Chenxi.

After some thought, Pei Yinong spoke up, "Haohao will be your responsibility today. I have something to do, so I won’t be joining you."

Chenxi hadn’t intended for Pei Yinong to come along with them, so of course, he nodded, "Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Haohao. But where is he?"

Pei Yinong gave a helpless smile, "He was so excited last night, he went to bed late, and he’s still sleeping. Wait in the living room, I’ll go wake him."

Chenxi entered the house; it wasn’t his first time at the Pei Family. He saw Chu Yunjin and greeted her with a smile, "Auntie."

"Chenxi, come in, have a seat. Aunty will make you some tea," Chu Yunjin was very pleased to see Chenxi.

Chenxi gestured with his hand, "Aunty, please don’t bother, I’m just here to pick up Haohao. We’ll be leaving soon."

Little Douding was asleep, roused by Pei Yinong from bed with a disgruntled face. Pei Yinong said, "Isn’t it you who made plans with Uncle Jiang for this morning? Uncle Jiang is already here, and if you don’t get up now and he leaves, don’t cry about it."

Little Douding’s eyes lit up, "Uncle Jiang is here?"

Upon receiving Pei Yinong’s confirmation, the little guy immediately climbed out of bed and hurried to the bathroom without needing any prompting, "Mom, can you get my toothpaste for me? I need to brush my teeth."

Pei Yinong laughed, stood up, and went in.

"Uncle Jiang!" Little Douding ran down from upstairs, and upon seeing Chenxi, he immediately rushed over. Chenxi scooped him up, "Did Haohao miss me?"

Little Douding nodded vigorously, "I missed you, Uncle Jiang. Are you here to take me out to play today?"

"Yeah, didn’t I tell you last night? Have you decided where you want to go today?"

"I’ve decided, I want to go to the amusement park."

Chenxi looked towards Chu Yunjin and Pei Yinong, "Auntie, Yining, I’ll be going then."

Pei Yinong handed Little Douding his little backpack containing his belongings, "Okay."

Chu Yunjin watched the scene of Little Douding and Chenxi leaving with laughter and smiles, and said with a smile, "It’s rare to see Haohao so happy, he really likes Chenxi. It would be so nice if Chenxi were Haohao’s Daddy."

Pei Yinong’s expression shifted slightly, "Mom."

"Okay, okay, I won’t mention it anymore. This is your own matter; you have to think it through. Mom is just saying," Chu Yunjin stated, "The weather is nice today; I’m going upstairs to get the quilt out for airing."

Chenxi took Little Douding to the amusement park and played the whole day until Little Douding was worn out.

"Haohao, do you want to come to Uncle Jiang’s house?" Walking out of the amusement park, Chenxi addressed the dozing Little Douding leaning on his shoulder.