Please Confess to Me

Chapter 18

***

It was the weekend, and they had plans to H City to visit Su Hang’s mother.

H City was just the next city over. Although it wasn’t too far, it was still a three-hour drive from S City to H City. Shen Xi and Su Hang hadn’t planned on spending the night in H City, so they had to get up bright any early.

“Mrs. Zhang, where are the things I asked you to prepare yesterday?” Shen Xi asked Mrs. Zhang as she packed.

“It’s in the kitchen, let me bring it over.” It was quite early in the morning, so Mrs. Zhang was still not quite ready.

Shen Xi accepted the black antique food container from Mrs. Zhang and carefully carried it out of the house. While she did this, she said: “Mrs. Zhang, we might not necessarily come back home today, so please just feed Chu Wu before leaving. You don’t need to cook dinner.”

“Alright.” Mrs. Zheng nodded as she sent Shen Xi to the door.

Su Hang, who had been waiting near the front door for quite a while now, saw Shen Xi and asked: “Everything alright?”

“Yes, we can go now.” Shen Xi replied.

“What’s this?” Su Hang took the food box from Shen Xi and tilted his head.

“An offering.” Shen Xi replied.

Su Hang was stunned. He didn’t expect Shen Xi to be so serious about this. His heart was very moved, but of course, none of this showed on his face. He turned around and opened the passenger door of the car for Shen Xi. After she had gotten on, Su Hang opened the trunk and placed the antique food box inside.

The dark Mercedes Benz drove out of the gate, with a barking Chu Wu to see them off.

The drive was somewhat boring as Su Hang said little. Coupled with the fact that they woke up earlier than usual, Shen Xi couldn’t help but yawn.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep?” Su Hang, who always paid close attention to his wife, asked.

“No, I’m fine. Maybe some wind will help.” Shen Xi rolled down the window a little. Suddenly a cold gust blew in the car, causing Shen Xi to shiver and sneeze twice.

Su Hang immediately pressed the button to close the window. Unfortunately, the car window was slow to close.

“Well, I’m completely awake now.” Shen Xi couldn’t help laughing.

Shen Xi’s long hair had turned a little messy due to the unexpected gust. The two sneezes had also caused her nose to get red, and tears to gather in her eyes. She looked awkward and very cute, causing Su Hang to raise the corner of his lips.

“Don’t open the window, it’s easy to catch a cold.” Su Hang couldn’t help but advise.

“Un, I’ll listen to you.”

Those four words were said by Shen Xi so casually, but when Su Hang heard this, his heart beat faster. He could almost believe that the distance between them had shortened.

“When was the last time you went to H City?” Shen Xi asked as she smoothed down her hair.

“Three years ago. On the day I took over the Su company.” Su Hang replied.

“Oh…” Shen Xi froze. The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward. On the day he took over Su company. It was obvious to Shen Xi that Su Hang had visited his mother to say something specific.

Of course, Su Hang also noticed the change in the atmosphere. He was a little annoyed that his cold personality caused such a change, but also he hadn’t wanted to lie to Shen Xi. So he could only try to change the subject. Su Hang pretended that nothing had happened and casually asked: “Have you ever been to H City?”

“Yes, I once visited with some classmates in high-school.” Shen Xi replied. “There’s a beautiful lake in H City. I went with my classmates to play.”

H City was best known for its beautiful, scenic lake. Many couples liked to visit the city for this. Su Hang tightened his grip on the steering wheel and nervously asked: “Well…after we visit the cemetery we can go take a walk along the lake.”

“Great.” Shen Xi found the tension in the man’s voice somewhat funny.

The crisp autumn weather, Su Hang’s suddenly elevated mood, and the unimpeded drive through the highway, all culminated into a pleasant journey.

After three hours of long-distance drive, the two finally arrived in the urban area of H City at 10:30 a.m. Looking at the shops along the road, Shen Xi didn’t forget to tell Su Hang: “Look, there’s a flower shop. We don’t have a bouquet for your mother yet.”

“Un.” Su Hang turned the car to the left and slowed down.

“Over there.” Shen Xi soon found the flower shop entrance and asked Su Hang to pull over and stop. “I’ll go down and buy some.”

Shen Xi opened the passenger door and quickly walked inside the store. Su Hang stayed sitting in the car, watching Shen Xi’s every move through the store windows. He saw her carefully select a bouquet, tenderness in her eyes.

When Shen Xi walked back with a bouquet of daisies in her arms, Su Hang had already turned his head away and was looking straight ahead.

“Alright, we cna go.” Shen Xi said, closing the passenger door.

“Un.” With a gentle hum, Su Hang started the car again and drove towards the cemetery in H City.

H City wasn’t very big. It only took 20 minutes for them to get to the cemetery near the suburbs. Shen Xi and Su Hang walked through the nearby parking lot and up a small hill with the bouquet and the antique food box.

In her last life, Su Hang had never taken her to visit his mother’s grave. So this would be the Shen Xi’s very first time.

She quietly followed behind Su Hang, step by step, until the man stopped in front of an old tombstone. Shen Xi looked at the photo in front of the tombstone. It was a photo of a lovely woman. She had a pair of phoenix eyes that were exactly the same as Su Hang, and a pair of faint dimples.

(T/N: For those not in the know, the Chinese regard phoenix eyes as one of the most beautiful eye shapes one can have.)

“This is my mother.” Su Hang introduced.

“She’s beautiful.” Shen Xi sincerely said. She had a gentle classical sort of look, very charming.

Su Hang smiled, then crouched down. He opened the antique food box and began to place the offerings on the stone. Shen Xi crouched next to him to help. After everything was put in place, she solemnly placed the flowers in front of the tombstone.

“I’ve never brought offerings here before.” Su Hang looked at the ground full of offerings and couldn’t help but say.

“It’s pretty popular nowadays to just sweep around the tomb and place some flowers.” Shen Xi explained. “But since we were going to visit an important elder, I wanted to prepare so offerings too.”

“Thank you.” Su Hang sincerely said.

Shen Xi didn’t reply and simply smiled at him.

After a while, the two stood up and solemnly bowed three times in front of the tombstone. Then just when Shen Xi thought things were done, Su Hang suddenly said: “You can go to the car first. I just want to stay here for a little longer.”

“Oh, sure.” Although Shen Xi was somewhat puzzled, she still accepted the car keys from Su Hang and walked down the hill. Shen Xi took a few steps down, but suddenly felt like something was amiss. She turned around and looked back, only to see Su Hang’s tall figure slowly lowering.

Shen Xi became distressed, her hand that was holding the car keys going stiff. Biting her lip, Shen Xi eventually resolved to walk back.

As Su Hang knelt in front of his mother’s tombstone, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he was stunned to see Shen Xi returning.

Shen Xi said nothing as she walked and kneeled next to Su Hang.

“You…” Seeing Shen Xi’s actions, Su Hang’s expression changed from surprise to something a little more complex.

“I forgot to do something.” Shen Xi shyly said. “I forgot to introduce myself.”

After saying this, Shen Xi didn’t wait for the other party to reply. Under Su Hang’s complicated gaze, Shen Xi began to introduce herself to Su Hang’s mother. “Hello mom, my name is Shen Xi. I’m Su Hang’s wife. I’ll be coming back to visit you often with Su Hang in the future.”

Wife, often, with him? Each word was like a flower blooming in his heart, making Su Hang extremely elated.

“Su Hang, lets kowtow to mom.” Shen Xi turned to Su Hang.

“Alright.”

Together, the two respectfully kowtowed three times towards the tombstone. It was similar to a couple kneeling in the ancestral hall.

The smile of the woman in the photo was quiet and gentle, and her eyes were full of joy.

“I’ll wait for you in the car.” After kowtowing, Shen Xi didn’t continue to intrude. She stood up and turned around to walk down the mountain, letting the mother and son talk.

Su Hang looked at Shen Xi’s retreating figure. He watched her until she was no longer in sight. He then turned back towards the tombstone, unable to hide the happiness and joy in his eyes. Softly, Su Hang said to his mother: “Mom, I just wanted to let you know that I’m married now. And not just to any girl, but to the girl I like the most. Do you like her?”

After saying this, Su Hang couldn’t say anything else, so he stood up and walked down the hill, trying to catch up to Shen Xi.

“You’re finished?” Shen Xi looked at Su Hang, who caught up to her.

“Un.” Su Hang took the car keys from Shen Xi and said: “Let’s go.”

The two people went back to the car and drove around till they found a lake-facing restaurant for lunch. After eating, the two strolled along the lake embankment.

The lake was a very famous scenic spot. There were always tourists around all year round. The greenery around the lake was very good too. The willow trees next to the lake had leaves billowing above the sparkling water, making for a very beautiful picture. It made people feel like it was a thousand years in the past.

After walking for a while, Shen Xi had grown a little tired. They found a bench nearby and sat down to watch the lake and rest a bit.

Shen Xi suddenly noticed a pair of high-school sweethearts not far from where they were sitting. They were wearing their school uniforms and holding sticks of cotton candy. Shen Xi couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, they’re selling cotton candy.”

“Do you want some?” Su Hang asked.

“Ah.” Shen Xi nodded, a little embarrassed.

“Wait a little.” Su Hang stood up and walked to a nearby stall.

Shen Xi chuckled. She continued to enjoy the scenery as she waited for Su Hang to come back.

The young couple across Shen Xi had noticed seemed to think that the photos they had just taken weren’t very good, so the girl started looking around. She finally noticed Shen Xi sitting on the bench and approached her with her phone.

“Sister, can you take a picture for us?” The girl asked with a smile.

“Sure.” Shen Xi accepted the phone with a smile and walked back with the girl to her boyfriend. Shen Xi then asked: “How do you want me to take it?”

The young girl seems to have a lot of experience in photography. She pointed to the front and said: “Our position has a natural backlight, so can you please take a photo of our silhouettes after we pose?”

“With this camera mode.” The young girl then helped Shen Xi adjust the camera mode.

“Alright.” Shen Xi raised the phone according to the girl’s instructions and took a dozen or so photos while the couple changes poses.

After all this, Shen Xi returned the phone to its owner. Shen she turned around, she saw Su Hang standing by the bench, waiting for her.

With a gentle smile, Shen Xi briskly walked towards Su Hang. Su Hang gave her the cotton candy.

“Thank you.” They sat back on the bench, and Shen Xi began to happily look over the candy in her hand. Honestly, she hadn’t actually wanted to eat some cotton candy. She just thought that it would be fun to ask Su Hang to buy cotton candy for her.

“Don’t high school students have classes on weekends now?” Shen Xi jokingly commented. “They actually skipped school to go on a date.”

“I don’t know.” Su Hang never went to high school.

“Ah, but I guess that age is the best time to experience a fantastic sort of love. You daydream about your ideal partner, swoon about an imaginary boyfriend.” Shen Xi added.

Fantasy? From the very beginning of his understanding of love, Su Hang’s heart had no one but Shen Xi. When she was just three years old and crying for her father and afterward, when she smiled at him as they left. Su Hang’s heart had only seen his other half to be lovely and bright. But what about Shen Xi? Before she married him, what kind of love had she experienced? What did the guy she fantasized about look like?

“How about you?” Maybe it was because the atmosphere was so good. But this time, Su Hang didn’t suppress his curiosity and asked Shen Xi directly.

“What?” Shen Xi, who had been looking at the sun through the cotton candy, looked at him in surprise.

“When you were in high school, what kind of guy did you daydream about?” Su Hang asked.

“Me?” Shen Xi thought back. After a while, she laughed. “I imagined him taller than me. I would go on my tiptoes to kiss him, and he would bend down to kiss me.”

Shen Xi had barely finished her sentence when a shadow suddenly covered her. A soft touch on her lips left Shen Xi stunned. Her eyes rounded in surprise, and she looked at the handsome face inches from her. It happened in the span to two seconds. Eventually, the surprise in Shen Xi’s eyes slowly receded, and she slowly closed her eyes, her quivering fingers holding the cotton candy tightly.

When Su Hang noticed that his eyes were closed, he immediately opened them. He saw Shen Xi’s soft expression, and the fist he had been clenching hard, slowly loosened.

Shen Xi didn’t pull away. She didn’t hate him. She was even putting effort into accepting him, both his personality and his past.

Su Hang finally realized this when she kowtowed with him in front of his mother’s grave. And this kiss was his first step in verifying this conjecture.

He had guessed right!

Su Hang closed his eyes again. As they kissed by the sparkling water, time seemed to have stopped for the two.

After a long while, Shen Xi quivered, then turned away. Shen Xi became embarrassed and hid from Su Hang’s gaze. “I…my neck is stiff.”

The two were kissing for so long that Shen Xi’s neck had become a little sore.

“Oh…cough….” The usually calm Su Hang was also red.

“Ah, the cotton candy is melting.” Shen Xi tried to change the subject to cover her embarrassment.

“Then you don’t need to eat it.” Su Hang reached out and took the cotton candy from Shen Xi, then firmly took Shen Xi’s other hand with his free hand. “What we walk for a bit more or go home?”

“Let’s go home.” Feeling him tightly grasping her hand, Shen Xi’s heart couldn’t help but beat faster. It was really strange; this wasn’t the first time she had held someone’s hand like this.

“Un.” With one hand holding Shen Xi, and the other holding cotton candy, Su Hang slowly started walking by the lakeside.

After a while, a hurried voice started shouting from behind them. Shen Xi felt that the voice sounded familiar, so she stopped and looked back. She saw the young couple she had helped moments before running towards her.

“Ah, it’s good that we managed to catch up to you!” The girl, who had been dragging her boyfriend with her, stopped in front of them.

“What can I do for you?” Shen Xi asked.

“I have something for you.” The young girl took a photo from her boyfriend’s hand and passed it to Shen Xi.

It was a polaroid. Shen Xi and Su Hang looked at the photo and saw the scene to be unusually familiar. It was a scene of two people kissing. One figure was a tall man, bending down as he kissed a woman sitting on a bench. Because of the position of the sunlight, the facial features of the figures were covered, but the beautiful outline and the composition of the scene made the photo look like a painting.

Shen Xi’s cheeks turned red, while Su Hang’s eyes became bright.

“It looks really good, right? I always say its best to take silhouette photos against the light.”

“Should we shoot one with the same pose?” Her handsome boyfriend suggested.

“No way, I won’t let you take advantage of me before we even get to college.” The girl raised a brow, becoming fierce.

“Eh…” The handsome boy replied with a bitter expression.

“Thank you.” Although she was embarrassed to be seen kissing by two minors, Shen Xi did like the photo.

“No need to thank me. I took it at the heat of the moment. It was just a little hard chasing after you.” The young girl said, her expression lovely even as she complained. “I thought you would still walk around the lake some more, so I quickly got the photo printed in a nearby store. But suddenly, you guys had disappeared, and I had to run after you two.”

Shen Xi was so embarrassed she couldn’t speak. Do high school students talk so openly these days?

“Can I have the electronic version too?” Su Hang asked. He felt that one photo print wasn’t enough.

“Sure, add me on WeChat.” The young girl took out her phone.

Su Hang quickly took out his phone and added the young girl. The girl then immediately sent the photo to Su Hang, then proudly said: “My phone has a flagship camera, with 50 million pixels! When you get home, you can enlarge that photo and make a couple of posters. I’m sure it’ll look amazing in your home.”

“Thank you.” Su Hang was more than satisfied.

“Alright, we won’t disturb you anymore. We’re going to play some more, 88!” The young girl was quite a pleasant and straightforward sort of person. She happily skipped away while holding her boyfriend’s hand, having no idea she just added a CEO of a well-listed company to her WeChat.

(T/N: 88 is used in online chats to say bye-bye in shorthand.)

Shen Xi looked at the photo in her hand, then at Su Hang’s phone. As she did this, she managed to lock eyes with Su Hang.

“Let’s go home.” Still holding her hand, Su Hang started to walk again, only a little more briskly this time.

On the way back to S City, Shen Xi grew a little tired. She ended up falling asleep at the passenger seat. With the soothing music coming from the radio and the already dark sky, it was easy for one to fall tired. But Su Hang was so keyed up he could barely rein in his excitement.

Peeking at Shen Xi from time to time, Su Hang drove all the way home with a smile on his face.

It was 9:00 p.m. when they got back home. The living room lights were left on by Mrs. Zhang for them. Chu Wu was in the living room when he heard a car approaching the house.

After Su Hang stopped the car, he unbuckled his seat belt and turned to wake Shen Xi up. But seeing Shen Xi’s relaxed face, Su Hang’s eyes turned deep. He couldn’t help but look at Shen Xi like a big gray wolf would stare at a small white rabbit.

The kiss and Shen Xi’s soft lips still reverberated in his mind. It was addictive, and it made one want another taste.

Meanwhile, Chu Wu was becoming restless. He barked a few twice. He clearly heard the car. Why hadn’t his parents come in yet? Chu Wu walked around in circles. Chu Wu jumped up and opened the door lock with his front paws. Seeing a familiar car outside, Chu Wu immediately ran.

The distance between Su Hang and Shen Xi was becoming shorter and shorter. Just a little bit, just a little bit…

“Bark, bark, bark!!!” All of a sudden, Chu Wu popped up from the front passenger window, his paws tapping on the glass.

“Hm??” Shen Xi jolted awake. She then noticed the man inches from her, obvious dismay in his expression. “Are…are we home?”

Su Hang tilted his head and looked at the silly dog who was still howling excitedly. In the end, he pretended that he had just been trying to help Shen Xi unbuckle her seatbelt.

As Su Hang moved back to his seat, Shen Xi breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Bark, bark, bark!!!” Chu Wu saw that his parents still hadn’t gotten out of the car and was becoming anxious.

Finally free, she smiled at Su Hang and said: “I’ll be going first.”

“Un.” Su Hang was still feeling a little guilty for his thoughts just now.

Shen Xi pushed her door open, embraced Chu Wu, then happily said: “Chu Wu is such a good boy. Did you miss me?”

Shen Xi teased Chu Wu for a bit, then led him to the house.

Su Hang stayed there until he couldn’t hear Shen Xi’s laughter anymore. Then, he put his hand over his eyes. He then started warning himself: Su Hang, be patient, you should be more patient. We already made such tremendous progress today. You shouldn’t be too eager, or you might scare her away.

Su Hang admonished himself again and again until he finally calmed down. He parked the car and walked towards the house. When Su Hang entered the house, he…saw no one on the first floor. Not his wife, or his dog.

That guy ran to his wife’s bedroom again!

Su Hang was very annoyed. He wished he could just go upstairs and throw Chu Wu out of her room. Ahh, he had become too softhearted and forgot to be on guard.

In the second-floor bedroom.

Shen Xi was kneeling on the soft, fluffy carpet, and was playing with a happy Chu Wu. Shen Xi said with a smile: “Chu Wu, I’m very happy today.”

“Bark!” Chu Wu saw that his mother was talking to him and was delighted.

“We went on a date by the lake today.” Shen Xi gushed.

“Bark!”

“Look, this picture was taken today.” Shen Xi didn’t really care that Chu Wu couldn’t understand her.

“Bark! Bark!”

“(*^__^*) hehe…” Shen Xi was in such a good mood she ended up rolling around the carpet with a pillow in her arms.

Chu Wu saw his mother giggling on the floor. After waiting for a while, Chu Wu saw that his mother didn’t want to play with him anymore and was instead busy rolling on the floor. After wagging his tail for a bit, Chu Wu ran to his father’s bedroom on the first floor. He hadn’t licked his father yet.

“Bark, bark!” Chu Wu opened the guest bedroom door and barked at his father, who was changing clothes.

“You finally came down?” Su Hang coldly glanced at the cheerfully wagging dog.

“Bark, bark!” I’m here to play with Dad!

Su Hang smiled, hugged Chu Wu, then lifted him up. He left his room, walked past the living room, and directly locked Chu Wu in his kennel.

“Bark???” Poor Chu Wu was locked up again.

==

Probably because they were out the entire day, Shen Xi woke up the next day a little later than usual. She stretched as she walked down the stairs, not noticing Su Hang sitting in the living room. He had been watching the news on the iPad for the past half hour.

“Morning.”

A clear male voice called out her, causing Shen Xi to forcibly tamp down the yawn she was about to make. With an awkward smile, she greeted: “Morning!”

So cute! Su Hang secretly regrets not installing cameras inside the home. He had wanted to save a screenshot of Shen Xi yawning.

Maybe it was because of yesterday, but now, the two had formed some sort of tacit understanding. The atmosphere during breakfast was much more harmonious than before, and Su Hang spoke much more than before.

“Cough…Do you have any plans for today?” Su Hang asked.

“Yun Shu asked me to go shopping with her.” Shen Xi replied.

Inside the house, there’s Chu Wu, while outside, there’s Yun Shu!

(T/N: This is Su Hang lamenting the fact that Chu Wu takes away his wife’s attention at home, while Yun Shu takes her attention away outside.)

Noticing that Su Hang was at a loss, Shen Xi asked: “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, buy anything you want.” Su Hang hurriedly replied.

Hearing such a cliche line, Shen Xi couldn’t help but joke: “Should I wave around my card, or your card?”

(T/N: I would use swipe here instead of wave, but the Chinese character used here was ‘to brush.’ And I’m like ???? but then I figured Shen Xi was talking about like pay wave? )

Su Hang was stunned. Then he abruptly stood up and went to his room.

“??” A puzzled Shen Xi looked at Su Hang as he walked away.

Soon, Su Hang came back. He handed a black credit card to Shen Xi and with a serious expression, said: “Wave mine!”

“Pfft…alright.” Shen Xi accepted the card with a chuckle.

Su Hang sat back down, embarrassed by Shen Xi’s laugh. He didn’t know what he did that caused her to laugh. Was it because he acted like a nouveau riche?

Then, Mrs. Zhang came over with an envelope in her hands. She handed it to Shen Xi then said: “Madam, this was delivered yesterday.”

Shen Xi put down her spoon and accepted the envelope. When she opened it she saw that it was an invitation. Opening the invitation, Shen Xi slightly frowned. “Star River Charity Banquet.”

The Star River Charity Banquet was China’s top charity ball. The conditions for one to get invited to the event were very strict. So strict in fact, that one had to donate money if they wanted to attend. Every guest attending the banquet had to have donated more than 100 million yuan for consecutive years. And even if you met the above condition, you still needed someone to introduce you and be your guarantor. Only then would you get an invitation.

And for someone like Su Hang, it was practically impossible for him to be invited to such a ball.

“Hm, I guess it is almost time for the Star River Charity Banquet.” Shen Xi commented as she handed the invitation to Su Hang.

Su Hang took the invitation and looked at the names written on it with a frown. (Ms. Shen Xi and Mr. Su Hang)

“Are you going?” Shen Xi suddenly asked.

“Ah?” Su Hang was taken aback. “This invitation is for you, why are you asking me?”

“Your name is also on that, ah.” Shen Xi replied.

“If it wasn’t for you, how can I be qualified to attend such a banquet.” Su Hang said, self-aware.

“Well, if it wasn’t for you, I doubt they would’ve sent me an invitation this year.” Shen Xi answered with a self-deprecating smile.

Su Hang suddenly regretted his words. Why did he have to remind her of their ‘class’ difference?

Shen Xi gave Su Hang the opportunity to enter her ‘high-society’ circle, and Su Hang had given Shen Xi money so that she could maintain her right to be in this circle. It sounded like some kind of aristocratic drama set during medieval times. A nouveau riche, using their money to be included in noble society. Su Hang knew that practically everyone thought this was why he had married Shen Xi. Su Hang had long mentally prepared himself and honestly didn’t care what they thought. But after yesterday’s wonderful events, Su Hang became a little fidgety. He didn’t want such noisy people suddenly intruding on their newly established harmony.

“Let’s go.” Shen Xi said after some thought.

Su Hang looked at Shen Xi, his expression full of hesitation and tangled emotions.

Shen Xi remembered that in her last life, she had also asked Su Hang to go together. But at that time, Su Hang had made it clear that he didn’t want to go, so in the end, Shen Xi didn’t insist. In the end, Shen Xi had gone alone. Then after the event, rumors that their marriage was strained wildly spread. People sneered at Shen Xi behind her back, saying that she had only married Su Hang for money and that she hated Su Hang’s origins. They gossiped that Shen Xi was too ashamed of her husband to even take him to a charity gala. Poor Su Hang had spent billions of yuan but still hadn’t been able to attend the Star River Charity Banquet.

But what if neither of them goes? Then others would say that Shen Xi married an upstart illegitimate son who didn’t have the courage to mingle with high society. Shen Xi figured that if they would be badmouthed either way, why not just go? At least that way, she could show Su Hang that she had never once looked down on him in her heart.

“I…” Su Hang was still hesitant.

“There will be gossip, no matter if we attend or not.” Shen Xi said. “But if we go, even if we hear some something, at least there wouldn’t be any sort of misunderstanding between us.”

“Alright.” Su Hang immediately nodded, with any sort of hesitation instantly gone.

“We’ve never danced together before. Are you good at dancing?” Shen Xi asked, suddenly turning the conversation.

“I’m not bad.” Su Hang answered with a guilty conscience.

“Oh, and there’s also a charity auction during the banquet. We’ll have to prepare something for the auction.” Shen Xi said, a little embarrassed.

“Didn’t you get a lot of antiques as wedding gifts?” Su Hang remembered Shen Xi saying that some of the gifts could be auctioned later.

“We just received them. It wouldn’t be good to auction them so soon.” Shen Xi shook her head.

“Then…” Su Hang suddenly remembered. “We can auction the Q&H necklace that I bought last time. You said it was too luxurious and impractical for you to wear.”

“No way.” Shen Xi immediately refused. “That’s the first ever gift you gave me. Even if I’m not able to use it often, it can never be auctioned off.”

Su Hang was a little surprised, but seeing Shen Xi’s serious expression, his mouth subconsciously curved.

“I guess we can slowly think about it. We still have plenty of time.” Shen Xi said.

“Alright!” Su Hang thought that even if Shen Xi directly sold him off in the future, he would help her count the money himself.

==

When Yun Shu looked at the ‘Su Hang’ Shen Xi had just signed on the electronic pad, she couldn’t help but spit out: “Didn’t you once tell me that when you got married, you would never spend your husband’s money?”

(T/N: When you pay by credit card, sometimes you have to sign the receipt. That’s mostly done before 2000 I think. I don’t know if China still does this.)

“Yep.” Shen Xi put down the tablet pen and smiled. “But when you get married, you’ll find that spending your husband’s money will help you feel immensely better.”

“It’s vulgar.” Yun Shu wrinkled her nose.

Shen Xi didn’t bother replying. She simply put away Su Hang’s card with a smile.

“Have you received an invitation to the Star River party yet?” Yun Shu suddenly asked.

“I got it.” Shen Xi replied.

“You’re going?” Yun Shu asked.

“Going.”

“With Su Hang?”

“Un.” Shen Xi nodded.

“I guess this year is going to be particularly noisy.” Yun Shun exclaimed, schadenfreude coloring her tone.

(T/N: schadenfreude is when you delight in another person’s misfortune)

“So what?” Shen Xi replied. “In the end, there are some things that just can’t be avoided. Since we’re destined to be the center of attention whatever we do, it’s better for us to show our faces. Maybe if we’re lucky, it’ll raise the stocks of Shen Group and Su company.”

“Aren’t you scared that Su Hang won’t be able to take it once he loses face?” Yun Shu asked her friend, concerned.

“Yun Shu.” Shen Xi suddenly looked at her friend with a serious expression. “Do you honestly believe that Su Hang married me for my link to high society?”

“…” For a moment, Yun Shu didn’t know what to say. After all, it was a recognized fact in their circle that Su Hang married her for this.

“I won’t go around explaining our situation to other people. But you’re my best friend, so I’m telling you. I don’t want you to look at Su Hang in this way.”

“Alright.” As she said this, Yun Shu immediately thought of another matter. “Oh yeah, I heard that our class leader from business school will also be coming back to China to attend the banquet.”

Our class leader will be attending? Shen Xi was a bit surprised.

“Oh man, you and class leader were once recognized as the golden couple, ah.” Yun Shu said, evilly laughing.

Meanwhile, a certain someone was currently calling his secretary to ask him to find a ballroom teacher for himself. After all, before the age of 18, Su Hang never had the opportunity to dance. And after the age of 18, Su Hang had never been in the mood to dance. It wasn’t easy for him to get this opportunity to dance with his wife, so Su Hang was going to learn how to dance before this banquet, or die trying.

***

Omg Su Hang, go you! Full of fluff~~

An especially long chapter. Triple the length!

Also, with this class leader character, we don’t have much information on him yet. In the raws he’s called ‘chief’ (长), but that doesn’t really sound right, so I renamed him as class leader (If he and Shen Xi were the golden couple, no way is he like the tutor or teacher right?). I’m just pointing it out in case we get new information that leads me to change this chapter. A small thing, but I wanted to be clear.