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Cheng Qiuyi joked, "No matter how beautiful Shu Han is, she is still my wife. Do you want to see your own wife?"
Liu Shuhan was puzzled, wondering just how beautiful A-Zhi's wife must be to keep Cheng Qiuyi thinking about her.
Having been abroad for a long time, not many people in C City knew Cheng Qiuyi, except for a few. However, whenever they passed by her, they couldn't help but take a second glance. Families with unmarried sons thought it would be nice for their children to get to know such a pretty girl.
Cheng Qiuyi was used to being the center of attention, and the gazes from others didn't affect her much. But Liu Shuhan was not accustomed to it; she didn't know any of these people, and their stares made her feel like a monkey in a circus.
A-Zhi had to attend to other guests and couldn't chat with them for long. He informed them that the baby and her mother were resting in the suite on the top floor of the restaurant and told Cheng Qiuyi and the others to find it themselves. Following A-Zhi's instructions, Cheng Qiuyi arrived at the designated room and knocked on the door. Shortly after, an elderly woman came to open it.
The old woman’s eyes lit up upon seeing Cheng Qiuyi. She grasped Cheng Qiuyi's hand with tears in her eyes, "Miss, is it really you?"
Seeing her brought great excitement to Cheng Qiuyi: "Aunt Song, it's me! I've come back."
The Aunt Song mentioned by Cheng Qiuyi was A-Zhi's mother. Both of A-Zhi's parents had been servants in Mother Cheng's family back in the day. Now that they had established their own household, they never forgot the kindness shown by Mother Cheng. Since childhood, Cheng Qiuyi had received much care from Aunt Song. With strict parenting from Mother Cheng, there were many times when Cheng Qiuyi was punished by being denied food for not completing her homework, and she still remembered how Aunt Song would secretly have A-Zhi bring her food.
"Just being back is good... It’s been ten years since we last met; you've grown so much! If only Madam could see you now; she would finally be at ease," said Aunt Song, wiping her eyes and noticing Liu Shuhan beside Cheng Qiuyi. "Who is this young lady?"
"Aunt, let me introduce you," said Cheng Qiuyi, pushing Liu Shuhan a step forward. "This is Liu Shuhan, she is..."
"Hello, Aunt! I'm a friend of Qiu Yi!" interrupted Liu Shuhan, ignoring the disapproving look from Cheng Qiuyi.
Understanding dawned on Aunt Song. "Oh, so you're Miss Liu. I've heard about you from A-Zhi. He mentioned that our young lady just returned home and that you took good care of her. Thank you!"
"Oh no, Aunt, please don’t say that!" replied Liu Shuhan, waving her hand. "I took care of each other with Qiu Yi. Just call me Shu Han!"
"Ah, ah..." said Aunt Song, stepping aside to let them in. Inside, another female voice chimed in: "Mom, who is here?" The voice was clear and bright, like the sound of wind chimes ringing in spring.
A woman walked out from the door, about the same height as Liu Shuhan, with round eyes. She had a slightly plump figure, which was not unattractive; instead, it made her appear more rounded and cute.
"Qiu Yi? After all these years abroad, you finally decided to come back?" The woman threw herself at Cheng Qiuyi, giving her an enthusiastic hug.
Cheng Qiuyi stumbled back slightly from the force of the hug but steadied herself, catching the woman with both hands and laughing helplessly, "Sister-in-law, you're already a mother; why are you still so fiery?"
Cheng Qiuyi was tall and had deliberately worn ten-centimeter high heels, making the woman almost hang off her. She playfully tugged at Cheng Qiuyi's ear and scolded, "Oh you, Cheng Qiuyi, even you dare to complain about me?"
Liu Shuhan watched as Cheng Qiuyi got her ear pulled and felt a pang of sympathy. She coaxed the woman down from Cheng Qiuyi, saying, "Sister-in-law, calm down; today is a happy day. Don't hold it against Qiu Yi."
Cheng Qiuyi chimed in, "Exactly! Sister-in-law, please let it go; how about that?"
The woman shot Cheng Qiuyi a glare before circling around Liu Shuhan several times, scrutinizing her for a long while before nodding in satisfaction. "This little girl is not bad; she knows how to protect you. Qiu Yi, you have good taste."
Cheng Qiuyi introduced Liu Shuhan, "Shu Han, this is my sister-in-law whom I often mention, A-Zhi's wife."
The woman extended her hand towards Liu Shuhan. "Hello, I'm Yan Cailing."
Liu Shuhan shook her hand. "Hello, Sister-in-law. I'm Liu Shuhan."
Liu Shuhan had always imagined that the woman Cheng Qiuyi had been thinking about for so long would be an exceptionally beautiful person. Seeing Yan Cailing in front of her brought a small disappointment; while Yan Cailing was not unattractive and could be considered above average despite being slightly plump from just having given birth, she was far from the stunning beauty Liu Shuhan had envisioned. A true beauty should be like Cheng Qiuyi—perfect without a single flaw.
"Don't just stand at the door; come in!" Aunt Song called everyone inside.
Inside were not only Aunt Song and Yan Cailing but also Uncle Song and the baby's grandparents. Cheng Qiuyi led Liu Shuhan to greet each elder one by one. It was Uncle Song's first time seeing Cheng Qiuyi after so many years; he was so excited that he could hardly speak clearly until Aunt Song scolded him and sent him out to help A-Zhi receive guests. She and the other two elders also left to give space for the younger ones to catch up.
As soon as Liu Shuhan entered the room, she was captivated by the baby in the crib. The baby had changed significantly since she last saw him over a month ago; he was now chubby and fair-skinned with big eyes that twinkled like his mother's. His short arms resembled lotus roots. The baby was sucking on his fingers in the crib when he suddenly stretched out his little hands towards her slowly and grinned widely with his toothless mouth.
Yan Cailing jokingly expressed jealousy, "This little thing is so ungrateful; I've taken care of her with everything for so long without seeing any reaction from her. Today she sees a pretty aunt and smiles so wide!"
Liu Shuhan had never seen such a small baby before. Curiously, she reached out a finger to touch the baby's little hand, which was grasped tightly in her palm. The baby's skin felt wonderful—soft and smooth. Liu Shuhan was afraid to apply too much pressure, worried she might hurt her.
"She's really beautiful," Liu Shuhan exclaimed, turning to Cheng Qiuyi. "Qiu Yi, don't you think?"
"Yes, those eyes look just like her mother's."
Yan Cailing smiled broadly. "Of course! Otherwise, how could she be so cute?"
When it was time for the baby to eat, the grandmother came over to take her for feeding. Yan Cailing, being the hostess, couldn't leave everything to A-Zhi. She tidied up a bit and went down to the banquet hall with Cheng Qiuyi and the others.
Many guests had already arrived. In the banquet hall, glasses clinked as the wealthy elite of C City gathered in small groups, quietly chatting. Businesspeople were eager to make connections; no one wanted to miss such a good opportunity.
As soon as Yan Cailing entered the hall, she was stopped by several ladies who wanted to chat. Cheng Qiuyi didn't know these people and had little interest in their insincere compliments. After saying a few words to Yan Cailing, she took Liu Shuhan and left. Yan Cailing couldn't break away and could only give them an apologetic glance.
Cheng Qiuyi led Liu Shuhan to a quiet corner. Liu Shuhan looked around the grand hall and admired, "So A-Zhi is really impressive."
Cheng Qiuyi casually picked up a plate of snacks from a rectangular table and handed it to her. "A-Zhi and my sister-in-law are my seniors; of course they're impressive." There was pride in her tone regarding her alma mater.
"You met your sister-in-law in A Country too?" Liu Shuhan picked up a piece of egg tart and took a bite. It was delicious—the crust was crispy, and the filling was sweet but not overwhelming. This was the first time Liu Shuhan had tasted such a good egg tart.
"Yes." Cheng Qiuyi held a glass of red wine and looked toward Yan Cailing, who was surrounded by ladies like a star among planets. "My sister-in-law was the first person I met in A Country. Speaking of which, A-Zhi is lucky to have married her; I played matchmaker."
Liu Shuhan also glanced at Yan Cailing for a moment and hesitated before saying, "You said your sister-in-law is a great beauty. I prepared myself for that for a long time, but in the end..."
Cheng Qiuyi looked surprised. "Isn't she beautiful?"
"She is beautiful, but not as exaggerated as you described."
Cheng Qiuyi laughed and asked, "Don't you think your sister-in-law looks like someone?"
"Like who?"
Cheng Qiuyi took a sip of red wine and said lightly, "You wouldn't know."
The first time Liu Shuhan saw Yan Cailing, she noticed that Yan had already gained a bit of weight. She didn't know how much Yan Cailing resembled her younger self. Cheng Qiuyi still remembered the moment she first met Yan Cailing; for a brief instant, it felt as if Liu Shuhan was standing in front of her. In truth, anyone else would not have made that mistake, but at that time, Cheng Qiuyi had just separated from Liu Shuhan and was nearly lovesick. Even a slight resemblance was enough to quench her longing.
Cheng Qiuyi genuinely thought Yan Cailing was a great beauty; it wasn't just flattery. In her mind, the standard of beauty was Liu Shuhan, so anyone who resembled Liu Shuhan could also be considered beautiful.
"Qiu Yi," Liu Shuhan's voice pulled Cheng Qiuyi back to reality. "What if I end up getting as fat as my sister-in-law?"
"That would be great; being chubby is so comforting to hug," Cheng Qiuyi squinted her eyes and imagined what Liu Shuhan would look like with some extra weight, smiling. "But if you get fat, I might not be able to lift you anymore."
"Not being able to lift me is fine; who cares if you can hug me!" Liu Shuhan had expected Cheng Qiuyi to say something comforting like, "I would still like you even if you're fat," or "You look good no matter what," but instead, Cheng Qiuyi seemed to be rejecting her. Liu Shuhan felt both angry and worried; she absolutely could not gain weight because if she did, Cheng Qiuyi wouldn't want to hug her anymore.
Cheng Qiuyi was just teasing Liu Shuhan when suddenly there was a commotion in the hall.
Two people entered the hall: the short-haired one was Ye Jing, wearing a royal blue jumpsuit paired with pointed high heels, exuding an air of arrogance. Following her was a woman with brown curly hair, dressed in a black strapless gown that perfectly accentuated every curve of her body. With bright red lipstick and an expressionless face, she radiated an inexplicable allure. The guests couldn't help but steal glances at her while being cautious about their own status, occasionally sneaking peeks while trying to hide their interest.
Liu Shuhan's gaze was also drawn to the woman; she stared wide-eyed for quite some time before elbowing Cheng Qiuyi in the waist and whispering, "Did you see that? Now that's a real beauty!"
Cheng Qiuyi sighed; this Yuan Ying was still so ostentatious. She recalled the harsh words she had spoken when Yuan Ying claimed she would try to seduce Liu Shuhan and began to regret it. Seeing Liu Shuhan practically drooling over the sight made her think that perhaps Yuan Ying wouldn’t even need to make a move; Liu Shuhan might just fall for it on her own.
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