Chapter 93 The Fragile Shen Pianran

On the flight from Bin City to Hong Kong, Chen Ang straightened his seat back and fastened his seatbelt.

Shen Pianran sat by the window, head bowed as she tidied her small belongings, her movements efficient and very much in line with her style.

After the plane began taxiing, the cabin lights dimmed.

Shen Pianran leaned back against the seat, turned her head to look out the window for a while, then turned back and closed her eyes.

Chen Ang noticed that from the moment they met at the airport until now, she hadn't said much, and her mood was clearly not as high as usual.

It was nearly ten o'clock when they landed.

The car arranged by Zhang Qixiang was waiting outside the airport to take them to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central.

When Shen Pianran took the room card from the front desk and handed it to Chen Ang, her phone suddenly rang.

She glanced at the caller ID, her expression changed slightly, and after saying "Wait a moment," she walked to the corner of the lobby to answer the call.

Chen Ang leaned against the elevator entrance and waited for about three or four minutes before Shen Pianran hung up and walked over.

Her expression was heavier than before, and the corners of her mouth were pulled tight.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's my mom, matchmaking again."

The elevator doors opened, and they walked in.

The metal door reflected their two shadows, and after a few floors of silence, Chen Ang asked: "What did she say?"

Shen Pianran leaned against the elevator wall, clutching her phone, and sighed as she replied:

"The same old thing. She said that in a few more years it will be hard for me to find someone, said that Sister Wang's daughter at her workplace is three years younger than me and already has a second child, and said she's found a state-owned enterprise executive for me with an annual salary of 800,000, who has a house and a car, and wants me to go back to meet him."

She paused, took a deep breath, and added: "I told her I was on a business trip in Hong Kong, and she said we could meet when I get back, that it's just a meal at most. I said I wasn't interested, and she said I was unreasonable and didn't understand her good intentions."

Chen Ang was stunned, shook his head with a wry smile, and listened to her vent.

Shen Pianran also gave a wry smile, then added: "Then she said she had already scheduled it for this weekend. I didn't agree. She didn't hang up either. We just stayed silent like that for a while, and in the end, I was the one who hung up first."

Through the reflection on the metal door, Chen Ang saw her lowered eyelashes and didn't respond.

He thought of his own parents and the past when they worried about the marriages of both brothers.

"Are you hungry?" he changed the subject and asked.

Shen Pianran looked up, a bit surprised.

"There's a night market on the street downstairs, I saw it when we passed by, my treat."

Shen Pianran shrugged to indicate she didn't mind.

After putting their things away, they went back out and found a street-side stall at the night market next to the hotel to sit down.

Chen Ang ordered a few dishes and two bottles of beer. Shen Pianran didn't decline; she poured herself a glass and drank nearly half of it in one go.

"My dad says girls don't need to work too hard, that marrying into a good family is better than anything. Later, I got my lawyer's license and opened a law firm, and my annual income was more than ten times his back then, but he still feels that I'm incomplete because I'm not married."

As Shen Pianran spoke, her eyes grew slightly hazy.

"Now when I tell him, 'Your daughter can support herself and live a very good life,' he just sighs and says, 'You don't understand.' I don't understand. I don't understand why, after struggling for so many years, I'm still just short of a marriage certificate in his eyes."

She finished speaking, picked up her glass, drank the rest in one gulp, and placed the glass on the table with a light clink.

"Tell me, we people, working so hard to study, working so hard to work, working so hard to get a foothold in this world, only to find that in our family's eyes, we are still not complete."

"Is it just because we aren't living the way they want? In school, we weren't allowed to date, but after graduation, we must get married immediately. If you're too busy with work, they say you have no life; if you're idle, they say you're not motivated."

"If you are an obedient child, they urge you to date. If you find someone suitable, they urge you to get married. If you get married, they urge you to have children. Tell me, when will it be our turn to live for ourselves?"

She paused for a moment, looked up at Chen Ang, "What exactly do we have to live like to be worthy of everyone?"

"Live like yourself," Chen Ang clinked his glass against hers, "Let others fight for what they want themselves."

Shen Pianran suddenly laughed, her eyes curving into crescents. After catching her breath, she asked: "Do you know what makes me feel the worst?"

Chen Ang shook his head, his gaze towards her full of tranquility.

She placed her wine glass on the table, supported herself on the edge of the table with both hands, and tilted her head to look at Chen Ang, "It's not my parents urging me to marry, but that they think if I don't get married in this life, I've lived in vain."

She spread her hands, counted on her fingers, "I got a scholarship for grad school, passed the bar exam, and opened my own law firm. I have an office in the Financial Center with a view of the river. I've helped clients win lawsuits worth over 1.8 billion. In my parents' eyes, none of this is as good as a marriage certificate."

"The cognitive patterns of the previous generation can't be changed," Chen Ang leaned back, resting against the chair, and lit a cigarette.

"I know, I won't change them anymore," she smiled, turned back to lean against the chair, arms crossed, "So, it just so happens that I suddenly wanted to drink some alcohol tonight."

"Those who can change themselves are gods; those who delusionally try to change others are crazy," Chen Ang sat up straight and raised a glass to signal.

Shen Pianran looked at Chen Ang's still steady eyes, and at this moment, all her negative emotions surged up and blocked her throat.

"I've struggled enough," she put down the glass, refilled it, and raised it to signal Chen Ang to continue, "Today, I don't want to struggle for anything."

Chen Ang didn't try to persuade her and drank with her.

He had expected to drink until very late and was prepared to keep her company to the end.

He never expected that after two bottles of beer, Shen Pianran would already be a bit hazy.

Alcohol doesn't intoxicate people; people intoxicate themselves.

Chen Ang understood that sometimes a person's alcohol tolerance is hard to gauge and changes with their mood.

Helping her back to the hotel and into her room, Chen Ang was just about to turn around when he was suddenly grabbed by Shen Pianran, who was lying on her side.

Chen Ang looked down in surprise, staring at that slender, firm, and unmoving hand, then looked up to be met with Shen Pianran's burning gaze.

It was hazy, yet carried a hint of hope.

He understood her thoughts, but the current situation felt a bit like taking advantage of someone.

Shen Pianran's gaze was full of heat, and the flush on her cheeks gradually spread to her neck.

She didn't speak.

Chen Ang didn't speak either, just his Adam's apple bobbed.

They were both adults; some things were tacitly understood.

At this moment, the air suddenly became so quiet that only the soft sound of the central air conditioning could be heard.

Chen Ang raised his hand, held her wrist in return, and his thumb gently rubbed the inside of her wrist.

"You're not drunk, are you?"

She used the force of Chen Ang's hand to sit up, her other hand naturally wrapping around Chen Ang's neck, her fingernails slightly curled, lightly brushing against his shoulder blade.

"Not drunk, very sober."

Chen Ang didn't see any struggle in her eyes, only things they both knew well.

He was a normal man, so he leaned over, wrapped one arm around her waist, and kissed her.

Shen Pianran closed her eyes to receive it.

Outside the window, the night over Victoria Harbour was hazy.