Chapter 29: Her Beauty Is Finally Seen

"Bang!"

The rosewood door slammed shut once more, leaving the stunned group outside in a cloud of dust and frustration.

"Did I just see that scrawny bean sprout from the Meng family?" Song Shiyu’s peach-blossom eyes widened into perfect circles. He was still trying to determine if the delicate, fair skin and graceful silhouette he had just glimpsed were merely hallucinations. She didn't look like the bean sprout he was used to seeing. In fact, she was distractingly fair. Apart from that dark, unsightly face, her exquisite figure had been a total visual shock.

Compared to Song Shiyu, who sat in his wheelchair with his gaze fixed intently on the woman, Song Shijing and Song Shixuan had only caught a glimpse of her face, so their reactions were far more typical.

"Why is Meng Shuyue at our uncle's house? Did Grandfather tell her to stay here?"

"Meng Shuyue, open the door! I have things to say to you!" Song Shijing pounded on the door, the resentment he had suppressed for so long finally erupting. He needed to demand an explanation!

Lin Shuang stood beside him, hammering on the door as well, her eyes burning with such intensity she seemed ready to split the wood just to take the room for herself. "Open up! What right does a country bumpkin like you have to stay here? These two are newlyweds—what are you doing here, acting like a third wheel?"

Su Yanyan, arms crossed, chimed in with a sneer, "Exactly. Couldn't marry into the Song family, so now you're trying to be a mistress for the Shen family?"

The shouting and knocking outside were deafening. Meng Shuyue retreated into the room, dressed herself, and as her eyes wandered, they landed on a note left on the nightstand. Upon reading it, she felt as if the sky had collapsed. The note contained only seven characters: "I have left, my wife, do not fret."

Her hand trembled as she held the paper. Had her newlywed husband run off the moment he got home, terrified by her appearance? Fuming, she crumpled the note and tossed it into the trash. Men—they were all the same!

Soon, the noise outside ceased. Xu Jinhuo returned to the room, intending to pack her clothes and head home. Since her new husband had run off, what was the point of staying?

As she emerged, carrying a large bag of luggage and preparing to leave, the telephone in the hall rang suddenly, startling the uninvited guest so badly she dropped her bags. After a moment of hesitation, she turned to answer it.

***

At the train station, Shen Jinxiao stood in the reception room, gripping the telephone receiver tightly, waiting anxiously for the woman on the other end to pick up. He had left for the south abruptly and didn't know when he would return; he felt he had to say something to her before departing.

The train whistle blew outside the platform. His guard urged him, "Chief, we must go! There's no time left!"

"I know, one minute is enough..."

The line clicked open. From the other end came a timid, soft voice: "Hello..."

Shen Jinxiao tightened his grip on the receiver, his voice raspy. "Comrade Meng, this is Shen Jin. I am sorry, but I must head south for disaster relief. I cannot stay home to build our relationship during this time. I... I will write to you every day, is that alright? I hope you will wait for my return..."

Shen Jinxiao finished in one breath. When he heard no response, he grew frantic. As the train whistle shrieked again, he felt a wave of unease, his vision blurring, and a sharp, suffocating ache in his chest—the exact same feeling he had experienced over a year ago when he learned she and Song Shijing were going to the countryside together. He didn't know what had come over him; he had always regarded his missions as paramount, yet this time, he felt an agonizing reluctance to leave.

"Comrade Meng, please, say something."

He was desperate. The train was about to depart, and his guard was even more anxious than he was.

Meng Shuyue held the receiver, unable to believe her runaway husband was calling her back. She stammered, "Didn't you run off because you thought I was ugly?"

"No, not at all! Comrade Meng, you are not ugly—you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I will write to you, wait for me! I have to hang up, remember to wait for my return!"

"Okay..."

*Click.*

The line went dead. The man's deep, husky voice still echoed in her ears. Meng Shuyue stood holding the receiver for a long time, unable to snap out of it. She carried her luggage back into the room and, looking at the woman with tanned skin in the mirror, reached up to touch her cheek. Her face was burning.

The man had actually called her the most beautiful girl he had ever seen?

Xu Jinhuo’s mood instantly soared from the depths to the clouds. She changed into a pale pink floral dress, styled her hair loosely over her shoulders like the local girls, tucked a clip into her bangs, and walked out of the house humming a tune.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Song Shiyu waiting there. He was leaning against the doorframe, head tilted back at a 45-degree angle, a rose held between his lips, looking for all the world like a lovesick suitor.

Meng Shuyue couldn't help but laugh at his appearance. She plucked the rose from his mouth and teased him with a twinkle in her eyes, "Third Young Master Song, are you here at your uncle's house to poach his wife?"

Song Shiyu froze for a moment, staring at her radiant smile. In the morning sun, the woman in her floral dress seemed to be glowing, casting off any shadow of the scrawny bean sprout he had seen before. But he quickly regained his composure, recalling the plan they had made: to woo her, win her over, and then discard her.

He hurried to open the car door, gesturing for her to get in. Meng Shuyue didn't stand on ceremony and sat down.

The car soon arrived at the entrance of the Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic. Seeing the Meng parents acting like eager, doting in-laws, Song Shiyu handed over a bag of White Rabbit candies and several pounds of pork, calling out shyly, "Father, Mother, I have thought it over. I love Shuyue, and I don't care whose child she is carrying. Once the baby is born, I will hold a grand banquet and marry her. I beg you both to grant us your blessing."

The Meng parents exchanged looks of utter shock. Their daughter had just married his uncle—what was he doing? However, since Elder Shen had ordered that the marriage be kept secret until the official banquet, they didn't refute him. They took the gifts—why turn them down?—and headed out to run errands, leaving Meng Shuyue alone to hold the clinic.

Meng Shuyue glanced at the man who refused to leave the consultation hall. She retreated to the back room, applied a bit of powder and lipstick in front of the mirror, and donned her white and yellow physician's coat before returning to the clinic. She used to have fair skin and didn't need makeup, but she felt that to show respect to her patients, she should look presentable.

Several patients were already waiting. Meng Shuyue sat at the consultation desk, her long hair pinned up loosely with a wooden hairpin. She brushed her calligraphy pen across the paper, writing prescriptions, occasionally reaching out to check a pulse, her brow furrowed as she asked a question or two.

The sunlight streaming into the clinic fell across half her face, enveloping her in a dreamlike halo.

Song Shiyu grew impatient, wanting her to close the shop so they could proceed with their plan. He walked to the entrance of the consultation hall and caught sight of the woman, bathed in golden light and looking as beautiful as a fairy. He froze, his heart hammering against his ribs like a drum, as if spring had finally arrived to melt the winter ice.