Beneath the Marriage Pact

Chapter 10: The First Concern Beyond the Contract (2)

At the door of Shen's logistics department, Liu Cui was walking out with a thermos cup in her hand. When she saw Ling Xu 'an, she was stunned for a moment and then nodded and bowed: "Mr. Ling? Why are you here?"

Ling Xu 'an ignored her, his gaze fixed on the gold bracelet on her wrist - it looked not cheap. Shen Zhixia stood behind him, looking at Liu Cui's face, which was fatter than it was a dozen years ago. She felt nothing but a bit depressed.

"Twelve years ago, in the backyard of the Shen family, under the paulownia tree." Ling Xu 'an suddenly spoke, his voice cold, "You pushed a little girl, remember?"

Liu Cui's face turned pale with a whoosh, and her thermos nearly dropped to the ground: "Mr. Ling, you... What are you talking about? I don't remember..."

"Don't remember?" Ling Xu 'an fished out a photo from his pocket, which Chen Mo had hired a private detective to take. The scar on Shen Zhixia's back was clearly visible. "The scar on her back, five stitches, still itches on rainy days now. You say you don't remember?"

Liu Cui's legs suddenly went weak and slid towards the base of the wall beside her: "Yes... It was Mrs. Shen who asked me to do it! She said the girl stole Miss Yuwei's limelight..."

"So you dare to do it?" Ling Xu 'an took two steps forward, his presence overwhelming, "Mrs. Shen gave you a house and told you to shut up?"

"Yes... Yes..." Liu Cui trembled like a sieve, "Mr. Ling, I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! Please spare me..."

"Spare you?" Ling Xu 'an sneered, "Why didn't you think of sparing her when you pushed her?" He took out his phone, clicked on the recording, "I just recorded what I said. Either apologize to Miss Shen now, or I'll send the recording to Mr. Shen and have the media report on the abuse of children by the logistics director of the Shen family."

Liu Cui wept so hard that she knelt down with a splash and kowtowed to Shen Zhixia: "Miss Shen! I'm wrong! It was me, not a human! You have a lot, spare me..."

Shen Zhixia stepped back half a step to prevent her from touching him. She looked at Liu Cui's grizzled hair and suddenly felt rather uninteresting. The bullies have grown old, and the children who were once bullied have grown up.

"Get up." "Don't do this again," she said in a soft voice.

Ling Xu 'an put his phone away, took Shen Zhixia and walked out without looking back. Liu Cui was still kneeling on the ground crying, and there was a circle of people around the entrance of the logistics department, pointing and whispering. It seemed that she couldn't hold her position as supervisor.

"Are you relieved?" As they got into the car, Ling Xu 'an asked her.

"Um." Shen Zhixia nodded, leaning back in her chair and looking out of the window, "Just felt... It's rather boring."

"Everything will be fine in the future." " Ling Xu 'an fastened her seat belt and started the car. "No one will make you feel bored anymore."

As he passed by the supermarket, he suddenly stopped and said, "Wait for me."

A few minutes later, I came back with a bag of things. It was a bag of freshly fried melon seeds and two boards of milk candies. "Chen Mo said you like caramelized melon seeds." He stuffed the seeds into her hand. "Keep the milk candy and eat it when you have low blood sugar."

Shen Zhixia, clutching the warm bag of sunflower seeds, suddenly laughed. The feeling of boredom just now seems to have vanished from the heat of this bag of melon seeds.

While having dinner in the evening, Lin Yue suddenly made a video call, waving her phone around the bar: "Zhi Xia! I have something to tell you! Shen Yuwei is on a hunger strike in the countryside! Shen's father had no choice but to send her abroad! It's called studying abroad, but I think it's exile!"

"It has nothing to do with me," said Shen Zhixia, laughing while eating.

"How it doesn't matter!" Lin Yue winked at the camera, "This is what evil will be punished! Oh, by the way, when are you going to tear up the contract? I'm waiting for the wedding banquet!"

Ling Xu 'an came over with soup and, upon hearing this, took the phone and said to the camera, "It's already torn. The wedding banquet is coming up, and we'll reserve the main table for you then."

Lin Yue was crying out on the other end: "Mr. Ling, you actually took my lines! All right, all right, hang up right now, I won't disturb you guys!"

After hanging up the phone, Shen Zhixia scooped up a spoonful of soup and brought it to Ling Xu 'an's mouth: "Did you just tell her that the wedding is coming soon?"

"Yeah." Ling Xu 'an opened his mouth and drank, "When the first batch of equipment of the 'Starlight Project' is put into use, it will be done." He paused, looking into her eyes, "In Qingyu Bay, just the two of us, plus Lin Yue and Chen Mo, shall we?"

"All right." Shen Zhixia smiled and nodded. "Yes, Professor Zhang and the others."

"All of them, please." Ling Xu 'an picked up the vegetables from her bowl and put them into his own. "Eat more of your favorite shrimp."

The floor clock in the living room struck eight times, and the moonlight came in through the window and fell on their clasped hands. Shen Zhixia looked at Ling Xu 'an's profile as he lowered his head to eat, and suddenly remembered the dull little boy who hid behind the paulownia tree when he was twelve.

Shen Zhixia tossed and turned in the night, not sleeping soundly. In the second half of the night, she groomed to the bedside table, her fingertips touching two boards of milk candies. She opened one and put it in her mouth. When the sweet aroma spread, she suddenly remembered the way Ling Xu 'an said during the day, "I'll buy you a whole cabinet of candies if you want to eat them later," and couldn't help but curl the corner of her mouth.

Just as she crumpled the wrappers into a ball and threw them into the trash can, she moved her side. Ling Xu 'an did not open his eyes, but reached out and pulled her into his arms, his voice hoarse and sticky: "Not asleep?"

"Just woken up." Shen Zhixia rubbed her nose against his collarbone, "Why are you awake too?"

"You turned over with a loud noise." He pressed his chin against the top of her hair, breathing more evenly. "Are you still dizzy?"

"I'm not dizzy anymore." " Shen Zhixia pinched the corner of his coat. "Just thinking of Liu Cui bowing her head, I can't sleep."

Ling Xu 'an was silent for a moment, his fingertips gently patting her back as if coaxing a child: "I won't let you see these people again." He paused for a moment and then said, "Tomorrow I'll have Chen Mo take back Liu Cui's house. Mrs. Shen bought it with the Shen family's public funds and shouldn't have given it to her."

Shen Zhixia was taken aback: "No need to go through all this trouble?"

"No trouble." Ling Xu 'an said with certainty, "That house, at the current market price, would be enough to buy two centrifuges for the laboratory. Just assume... Give your mother a gift to the old professors."

Shen Zhixia said no more, buried in his arms and nodded. The milk candy was almost melted on the tip of the tongue, but the sweetness trickled down the throat and warmed the heart.

When Chen Mo came to deliver the documents the next day, he still held a property transfer slip in his hand. "Boss, Liu Cui's house is settled! When she heard it was going to be taken back, she was scared to tears and signed faster than anyone else." He handed over the list and, as if presenting a treasure, pulled something out of his bag. "Oh, Miss Shen, I've brought you something good!"

It was an old tin box, and when it was opened, it was full of milk candies, not only White Rabbit but also fruit hard candies and sesame candies, all of which were old brands from over a decade ago. "I asked my grandma for it! She said it was a baby used to soothe kids!" Chen Mo laughed smugly.

Shen Zhixia picked up an orange hard candy, the wrapper printed with a crooked little orange, exactly the same as the one Aunt Zhang had given her in her memory. "Thanks, Chen Mo."

"Why be so polite!" Chen Mo scratched his head, then moved closer to Ling Xu 'an and whispered, "Boss, Father Shen just called and said he wanted to treat you to a meal as an apology. Would you like to go?"

Ling Xu 'an was looking at the mass production report of the Starlight Project and didn't even raise his head: "No. Tell him to speak up."

"He said... I want to hand over Shen's new energy project to you as an apology." Chen Mo rubbed his hands. "It sounds like he's trying to build connections."

Ling Xu 'an put the report on the table and sneered, "Tell him that Ling doesn't lack projects. If you really want to make amends, return the money that was misappropriated for Aunt Shen's experiment and donate it to the laboratory."

Chen Mo nodded quickly: "I'll go back right now!"

When the people left, Shen Zhixia peeled a sesame candy and held it to Ling Xu 'an's mouth: "You also checked the experimental funds?"

"Yeah." Ling Xu 'an chewed the candy, the aroma of sesame mixed with sweetness. "Chen Mo saw it when he was looking through the old accounts of the Shen family. Back then, Shen Yuwei's mother, under the pretext of 'purchasing equipment', transferred 100,000 yuan to buy a piano for Shen Yuwei."

Shen Zhixia felt a jolt in her heart. She recalled in her mother's notes that when the lab was almost shut down due to lack of funds, her mother went to borrow money from her father, but was retorted by his father by saying, "The Shen family has no money."

"It's fine to come back now." " She chuckled with a wrapper in her hand, "just to buy Professor Zhang the spectrometer he's been talking about for a long time."

Ling Xu 'an held her hand, his fingertips rubbing against the gold chain pendant on her wrist: "From now on, no one will be able to touch your and your mother's things."

The lab called in the afternoon and Professor Zhang was laughing on the other end, gasping for breath: "Zhi Xia! Mr. Shen really sent the money over! One hundred and fifty thousand! Say the extra fifty thousand is interest!"

Shen Zhixia was helping Ling Xu 'an organize the guest list for the engagement, and upon hearing this, her eyes lit up: "Really? "Great!"

"Exactly!" Professor Zhang's voice was filled with excitement. "I've already ordered the spectrometer from the Equipment department! When the equipment arrives, let's renovate Aunt Shen's laboratory and put up a sign that says' The origin of the Star Project '!"

After hanging up the phone, Shen Zhixia held Ling Xu 'an's arm and waved: "Professor Zhang is going to put up a sign for mom's lab!"

"It should be." Ling Xu 'an helped her cross out Mr. Shen's name on the list. "There's no need to invite him to the engagement."

"I didn't intend to write it in the first place." Shen Zhixia laughed on his shoulder, "Just ask Professor Zhang and the others, Lin Yue, Chen Mo... Oh, and Grandpa Ling, too."

"Grandpa is definitely coming." Ling Xu 'an pinched her face. "He called yesterday to ask if he would write the invitation himself for the wedding."

Just as she was speaking, Ling Xu 'an's phone rang. It was Grandpa Ling calling. He picked up the phone, frowned after a few words, and hung up with a stern face.

"What's wrong?" Shen Zhixia hurriedly asked.

"Grandpa said Shen Yuwei was causing trouble abroad, telling the media that you 'snatched her fiance' and that the Ling family 'bulged her' and drove her away." Ling Xu 'an's knuckles turned pale as he held the phone. "The Chinese media abroad have reported it."

Shen Zhixia was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "She really doesn't feel comfortable without messing around."

"Don't be angry." Ling Xu 'an pulled her into his arms. "I asked Chen Mo to contact the public relations team abroad and throw out the evidence - her embezzlement bill and Liu Cui's recording, enough for her to drink a pot of water."

"No need to go through all that trouble." Shen Zhixia looked up at him, her eyes shining. "I have an idea."

Ling Xu 'an did as Shen Zhixia said in the evening and had a brief live broadcast. Without saying anything about Shen Yuwei, he held up his phone and walked around his mother's old lab, with the camera on the wall of his mother's photo: "Thanks to Ms. Shen Qingyao, the 'Starlight Project' has achieved what it is today. My engagement with Zhi Xia will be held here next week, and I invite all those who have contributed to the Starlight Project."

The live stream didn't last long, but the comment section went wild

- "This is what the host should be like! No quarrels, just gratitude!"

- "Shen Yuwei said she snatched her fiance? I think she's trying to climb up the ranks herself!"

- "Mr. Shen donated 150,000 to the lab before. If this is really bullying the Shen family, can it be given?"

No one believed her press release in an instant, and some dug up photos of her buying luxury goods abroad, accusing her of "causing trouble with the family's money". Just two days later, she shut down her social media account and was completely out of touch.

Shen Zhixia was laughing through the comments, Ling Xu 'an hugged her from behind, his chin resting on the top of her hair: "You're still the best."

"There's no need to take her to heart anyway." Shen Zhixia turned off her phone and hugged him. "By the way, the wedding cake should be milk candy flavored, okay?"

"All right." Ling Xu 'an lowered his head and kissed the top of her hair. "Whatever you say is fine."

The day before the engagement, Shen Zhixia and Ling Xu 'an went to the laboratory to look at the decoration. Professor Zhang was directing students to hang pictures on the wall - from black-and-white photos of their mother doing experiments when she was young to group photos of the "Starlight Project" team working through the night - a whole wall, illuminated by warm yellow spotlights, making people feel hot in their hearts.

"Zhi Xia, look!" Professor Zhang pointed to a small photo in the corner and laughed, "This is you at the entrance of the lab when you were three years old, munching on a beaker!"

The little girl in the photo has two small tufts, her chubby little hands clutching a glass beaker and stuffing it into her mouth, with a little milk powder stain on the corner of her mouth. Shen Zhixia's face turned "swish" red and she grabbed Ling Xu 'an's arm to hide: "Professor Zhang, don't laugh!"

Ling Xu 'an stared at the photo for a long time, then suddenly lowered his head and leaned close to her ear: "So you could eat so much when you were little."

"No way!" Shen Zhixia choked his waist, but he held his hand back. His fingertips made circles in her palm, with a hint of itch: "Tomorrow is the wedding. Let the kitchen steam you a small cake in the shape of a beaker?

"No way!" Shen Zhixia laughed and bent over, Professor Zhang slapping the table beside her and laughing: "Little Ling knows romance! That's how you should be spoiled!"

Just as he was making a fuss, Chen Mo, panting, ran in, clutching a Courier box: "Boss! Miss Shen! Your engagement rings have arrived!"

They were the wedding rings that Ling Xu 'an had specially made, plain silver rings with words engraved on the inner circle. Shen Zhixia put her own on her hand and touched the inner ring with her fingertips - it was the word "Xia 'an", just like the plain silver ring he had given before, but this time it was brighter, as if coated with a layer of warm light.

"Ling Xu 'an." " She waved her hand at him, "Do you think we count... A second engagement?"

"Count." Ling Xu 'an put on his own ring and rubbed his finger against the edge of hers. "This time it's true."

The students in the lab were all jeering, and Professor Zhang wiped her eyes and laughed, saying, "If Qingyao were here, she would surely be happier than I am." Shen Zhixia leaned on Ling Xu 'an's shoulder, looking at the wall full of photos, and suddenly felt a bit warm in her eyes.

It turns out that the care hidden beyond the contract has grown into an unbreakable bond in the repeated closeness.

The next day, the engagement ceremony was simple yet lively. No media, only close people - Professor Zhang with his old lab mates, Grandpa Ling in Tang suit sitting in the main seat, Lin Yue holding a bunch of gardenias and winking at her, Chen Mo busy delivering wedding candies to everyone, the candy box printed with a tiny milk candy, exactly like the pendant around her neck.

Ling Xu 'an held her hand and stood in front of her mother's photo, not saying a long vow, but holding up a pair of rings and smiling at everyone: "Before it was agreement, now it's true heart. From now on, Shen Zhixia is the one I, Ling Xu 'an, will love for a lifetime."

Looking at the light in his eyes, Shen Zhixia suddenly recalled the milk candy that had rolled to her feet under the paulownia tree in the backyard of the Shen family when she was twelve. It turns out that after all these years of going around in circles, the little boy who secretly handed her candy has really grown up to be someone who will protect her for a lifetime.

After the ceremony, Ling Xu 'an pulled her to the rooftop of the laboratory. The scent of gardenias wafted in the wind, and the buildings in the distance lit up like stars scattered all over the ground.

"Shen Zhixia." He suddenly pulled out a milk candy from his pocket, peeled off the wrapper and brought it to her mouth. "I'll give you candy every day from now on, okay?"

Shen Zhixia opened her mouth and held the candy in her mouth. As the sweetness spread across her tongue, she nodded.

Moonlight fell on their clasped hands, the ring shone, and the sugar pendant around their necks also shone.