"And also, she must not leave our home without my consent."
Xiang Jingsheng’s austere face, those ever-serious lines, finally relaxed one by one. He glanced approvingly at his son, "Now that’s more like it."
Xiang Yuan, greatly encouraged, laughed: "Don’t worry, Dad. Our temporary separation won’t give her a chance to meet other men. After all, she will eventually reconcile with me."
"That’s good." Xiang Jingsheng personally poured a drink for his son, his expression softer: "The Chinese community in M Country is small, and she doesn’t have many chances to meet a man better than you. My son is the best, she should understand that."
At that moment, both the father and the son were full of confidence about the future reconciliation.
But now, facing Tang Yanqing’s veiled provocations, he couldn’t help but doubt himself.
Father said he was the best, but if compared to Tang Yanqing, what would Father say? And what would the others in the Chinese community say?
Perhaps even Father, or Xiang Yuan himself, couldn’t believe that the dignified young master would have such an unbelievable interest in Shi Nian, a married woman.
Yet for now, he had to endure, because Father always worked for Tang Mingyi, and was currently a campaign advisor for him... In the future, Father was hoping that if Tang Mingyi got elected as Governor, he would give him the position of Treasurer of this state.
The Tang Family’s young master was someone he couldn’t afford to provoke, so for now, he had to endure.
Fortunately, he believed that this young master’s interest in Shi Nian might just be temporary curiosity. Once that curiosity faded away, Shi Nian would have no choice but to obediently return to him and continue being his quiet wife.
That evening, after her husband left in a huff, Guo Zhengmei was feeling uneasy, but fortunately, Shen Wan came to the rescue.
Shen Wan invited a few familiar ladies to the Tang Family’s house to play mahjong. Read complete version only at novęlfire.net
After all, they were all Chinese and couldn’t avoid this common habit; they all agreed readily.
Shen Wan hosted, first apologizing to the ladies, saying she’d been accompanying her husband on a lecture tour and hadn’t had time to chat and play mahjong with them. After apologizing, Shen Wan brought out several limited edition Birkins, saying they were custom-ordered for the ladies specifically, urging them to accept without reservation.
Shen Wan was not only the Tang family’s wife but also a renowned businesswoman in Asia’s business circles. Although Birkins were expensive and custom orders might take a year or more, for Shen Wan, giving out several was no big deal. Thus, led by Guo Zhengmei, they all graciously accepted without much hesitation.
All the resentment Guo Zhengmei felt towards her husband that night was dispelled by Shen Wan’s understanding nature.
While playing mahjong, Shen Wan even let Guo Zhengmei win a few rounds, making her exceptionally happy. Shen Wan softly asked, "Sister Guo, your expression tonight doesn’t seem quite right; there’s a bit of anger on your face. Could it be because our Ming Yi occupied Brother Xiang for too long, so he couldn’t accompany you?"
Embarrassed, Guo Zhengmei hurriedly denied, "No, not at all. Wan, please don’t say such words. We’ve been a couple for a long time; I’m not that clingy. Tonight it was really because of my daughter-in-law..."
Shen Wan asked a few more questions in this vein, "I heard Shi Nian is an incredibly outstanding child. ’Deep Throat’ is not easy to join, yet she managed to get in. Her aptitude is exceptional, and her adaptability must be remarkable."
While playing, Guo Zhengmei opened up, "Though she’s good, she ultimately came from an unclear background. A Yuan went back to China to study and never mentioned her on the phone, yet upon returning, he inexplicably announced he was getting married. No matter how I objected, I couldn’t stop him."
Guo Zhengmei still spoke with some resentment, "You all know how Chinese girls are these days; they’ll do anything to go abroad. I always worry that our A Yuan was deceived by her."
Shen Wan then picked up an eight of bamboo.
Just now Guo Zhengmei had discarded two nine of bamboos in succession, clearly waiting to complete a sequence with a seven, eight, nine.
Yet she wasn’t in a hurry to discard; she held it and fiddled with it, looking up at Guo Zhengmei with a smile, "Hearing you speak , Sister Guo, I’m now quite curious about that child Shi Nian. Although, since little Qingqing is currently protecting her, I should at least know something about her background."
Guo Zhengmei had already noticed the eight of bamboo in Shen Wan’s hand, making her anxious, but Shen Wan just held onto it without rushing to discard. She hurriedly replied, "Sigh, whenever our A Yuan talks about this topic, he just puts out the fire, as if there’s something unspeakable. Even now I don’t know everything, which is why every time I see her, I get irritated."