Chapter 112 The Three Women Meet

"Wait, did you really invite them?"

At this moment, Chen Yan suddenly snapped back to his senses. Glancing at the bustling kitchen and the characteristic aroma of food filling the air, he finally realized that Liu Ruyan wasn't joking when she said she was going to invite Xiao Rongyu and Shen Youchu for dinner.

"Otherwise? That eccentric twin of yours has ideas as wild as damn Kennedy's. God knows what he'll pull next. You might not be afraid, but I'm sick of the commotion."

"As your current, legally certified wife, I naturally have to find people to discuss things with."

"Most importantly, I hope seeing some familiar faces will put you in a better mood."

Hearing this, Liu Ruyan gave Chen Yan a look of disdain and explained in a muffled voice.

This dog of a man really had a strange way of thinking. She had clearly mentioned inviting the two women over for dinner last night, yet he actually thought she was just talking.

"Alright then. But then again, how do you have their contact information?"

Hearing this, Chen Yan could only nod. He had been so preoccupied with his mother and Chen Yan yesterday that he had automatically ignored Liu Ruyan's words.

"What's so hard about that? This is Shanghai City; where there's a will, there's a way."

Liu Ruyan waved her hand and spoke nonchalantly.

"Then... one is my first love, and the other is my childhood sweetheart. Aren't you afraid?"

Seeing Liu Ruyan's indifferent attitude, Chen Yan suddenly felt playful and wanted to tease her.

"Afraid? I'm certainly... not afraid."

Hearing this, Liu Ruyan was about to tell the truth, but when she looked up, she saw the mischievous glint hidden in Chen Yan's eyes. She forced herself to change her words before they escaped her mouth.

"I wasn't exactly married into your family with all the proper rites; this was all your twin brother Chen Yan's wild idea. A beautiful wife dropped from the sky into your lap—if you don't cherish her, then I don't care."

Liu Ruyan then calmly added another jab. Little guy, if you want to play games with me, you're still a bit too green.

"You don't care?" Chen Yan narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced. "You even manage my physical exam reports and get me non-alcoholic red wine. You call that not caring?"

"What do you know? This is asset protection." Liu Ruyan remained unfazed. "You're my partner, and your body is a fixed asset of the company. Naturally, I have to maintain it. Otherwise, how can I continue my short drama business?"

"Partner?"

Chen Yan was a bit confused.

"What else?" Liu Ruyan tilted her head, a faint, ambiguous smile on her lips. "Did you really think I'm nice to you because I like you? Chen Yan, do you have some misunderstanding about yourself? Pfft, you narcissistic man."

Chen Yan was momentarily speechless by her retort.

He realized he could never get the upper hand with this woman. No matter what he said, she could effortlessly snap back at him, leaving him with nothing to say.

Because every word she said sounded like a joke, but upon closer inspection, it didn't seem entirely like one. Truth and lies were so intertwined that he couldn't find a single flaw.

"Fine, fine, I can't win against you." Chen Yan waved his hand, giving up on this bloodless war and decisively admitting defeat.

At his words, Liu Ruyan raised her eyebrows triumphantly and turned toward the kitchen. After two steps, she stopped and looked back at him.

"But Chen Yan, there's something I need to make clear to you."

"What?"

"Half of what I just said was a lie." Without waiting for Chen Yan's reaction, she quickly walked into the kitchen, leaving him with the sight of her pale yellow back.

Chen Yan stood in the living room, staring at the figure disappearing into the kitchen for several seconds.

Half was a lie.

Then what about the other half?

Was it true?

Or was it also a lie?

He shook his head, feeling that he might go crazy if he kept thinking about it. Liu Ruyan's words were always half-true and half-false; if you tried to figure out the truth behind every sentence, you'd already lost.

He sat back on the sofa and picked up the magazine. This time, he didn't flip through it noisily but turned the pages slowly. His eyes fell on the glamorous fashion spreads, but his mind was elsewhere.

Outside the manor gates, a taxi slowly came to a stop.

Shen Youchu got out of the car, carrying a paper bag containing fruit she had bought on the way. It wasn't anything expensive—just ordinary apples from a roadside stall—but she had spent a long time picking them, choosing each one personally.

Today, she wore a white cotton dress, the best one in her wardrobe. It had been washed many times, and the collar was slightly faded, but it was clean and ironed without a single wrinkle. Her hair was braided and hung over her chest, tied at the end with a light blue hair tie she had made herself from an old one.

Standing at the manor entrance, she looked up at the grand wrought-iron gates and took a deep breath.

"Wow, it's so big," she whispered to herself, her eyes filled with a cautious curiosity, like a little rabbit that had accidentally wandered into a palace.

Xiao Rongyu's car followed closely behind—a silver-grey Mercedes with a Su Corporation license plate. She parked and got out, wearing a black silk shirt paired with dark green wide-leg pants and thin high heels. She looked like she had stepped off a magazine cover.

She glanced at Shen Youchu and then at the paper bag in her hand, her lip twitching.

"Why did you buy fruit?"

"You can't go to someone's house for dinner empty-handed," Shen Youchu said earnestly, her eyes sparkling. "Director Mother taught me that; it's polite."

Xiao Rongyu wanted to say that a woman like Liu Ruyan wouldn't care if she brought fruit or not, but seeing Shen Youchu's earnest expression, she swallowed her words.

"Fine. You brought fruit, so what should I bring?" Xiao Rongyu's hands were empty.

"It's enough that Sister Rongyu brought me."

Xiao Rongyu: "..."

She took a deep breath, looking at Shen Youchu's incredibly innocent face. She suddenly felt an impulse to pick her up and spin her around three times, but also an impulse to push her into the water.

The two impulses fought in her chest, and in the end, neither won.

"Let's go." Xiao Rongyu sighed and led the way toward the manor gates.

The two girls walked side by side on the manor's stone path. The setting sun stretched their shadows very long, overlapping like a washed-out ink painting. Shen Youchu's white cotton dress and Xiao Rongyu's black shirt formed a sharp contrast—black and white, strong and soft. They looked like people from different worlds, yet they appeared unexpectedly harmonious in the same frame.

"Youchu."

"Yes?"

"What do you plan to say when you see Chen Yan?"

Shen Youchu's footsteps faltered. She looked down at the stone path and remained silent for a few seconds.

"I want to ask him if it hurts." Her voice was very soft, almost scattered by the wind.

Xiao Rongyu turned her head to look at her.

"He must be very sad," Shen Youchu's voice trembled slightly, but her tone was still muffled, carrying her characteristic clumsy earnestness. "I want to ask him if it hurts. If he needs comfort."

Xiao Rongyu didn't speak.

She suddenly felt that her own thoughts, her calculations, her schemes of "how to steal Chen Yan back," seemed so ridiculous and thin in the face of Shen Youchu's "does it hurt."

So unlike love.

"What about you, Sister Rongyu?" Shen Youchu looked up at Xiao Rongyu.

"Me?" Xiao Rongyu was startled.

"Yes, what do you want to say when you see Brother Yan?"

Xiao Rongyu opened her mouth, wanting to say "I want to scold him," or "I want to ask why he didn't come find me," but in the end, she said nothing.

Because she suddenly realized that the things she wanted to say were no longer important compared to Shen Youchu's "does it hurt."

"I don't know," Xiao Rongyu finally admitted honestly, her tone carrying a rare sense of confusion.

Shen Youchu tilted her head to look at her, then reached out and took Xiao Rongyu's hand.

"It's okay, take your time. Brother Yan won't run away."

Xiao Rongyu looked down at the hand holding hers. The fingers were slender, the knuckles distinct, and the nails were trimmed neatly without any polish, perfectly clean.

She didn't pull away.

The main door of the Liu Family Manor opened at that moment.

Liu Ruyan stood at the door, wearing a pale yellow dress, her hair cascading over her shoulders, with a perfect smile on her face. Behind her was the spacious and bright living room, the crystal chandelier already on, filling the space with warm yellow light.

"You're here? Come in, dinner is almost ready."

She spoke naturally, as if greeting old friends she had known for ten years. But Xiao Rongyu noticed her gaze linger on Shen Youchu for half a second, then on Xiao Rongyu for another half second, before finally landing on the paper bag in Shen Youchu's hand.

"Apples?" Liu Ruyan raised an eyebrow.

"Um, I brought this for Sister." Shen Youchu obediently handed over the paper bag, her voice muffled as she said, "The fruit isn't very expensive, but it's very sweet. I've tasted it."

Liu Ruyan took the paper bag and looked down at the apples inside. Each one was carefully wrapped in plastic wrap and neatly arranged in the bag. She took one out and held it in her palm to look at it. It was a Red Fuji; not large, but with a beautiful, bright red color, like the flush on a young girl's face.

"Thank you." Her tone was very soft when she said those two words, but it sounded sincere.

She handed the paper bag to the auntie nearby and instructed, "Wash some of these and bring them up."

Then she stepped aside, clearing the doorway. "Come in, the wind is strong outside."

Xiao Rongyu walked into the living room in her high heels, her gaze discreetly scanning the surroundings. The living room was large, decorated with a low-key luxury. The furniture brands weren't obvious, but they looked very expensive at a glance. An oil painting hung on the wall, a piano stood in the corner, and an open magazine lay on the coffee table.

Her gaze finally landed on the sofa.

Chen Yan was standing there.

He was wearing a dark gray casual shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing his collarbones. His hair was a bit longer than the last time they met, with his bangs hanging over his forehead, partially obscuring his eyes. He looked much more energetic than he had in the hospital; his complexion was better, and the bloodshot veins in his eyes had diminished.

But his eyes were still the same eyes.

Deep and quiet, like a pool of seemingly calm water, but you never knew what was hidden beneath.

As Xiao Rongyu looked into those eyes, she felt something in her chest give a gentle thud.

It didn't hurt.

But it was very loud.

Shen Youchu also saw Chen Yan.

Her footsteps stopped, and she stood at the entrance of the living room as if nailed to the spot. She was still clutching the handles of that paper bag—when she had handed it to Liu Ruyan just now, Liu Ruyan had only taken the bag itself, forgetting the handles, so she was still gripping two white cotton strings.

She just stood there, clutching the two cotton strings, staring at Chen Yan.

Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

Chen Yan was also looking at her.

He watched Shen Youchu, wearing that washed-out cotton dress with her hair in braids, standing under the light of the crystal chandelier like a small white flower grown from barren soil—frail and weak, yet stubbornly blooming.

He thought back to their days in the Orphanage when they were little.

He had been like this back then too, wearing old clothes donated by others, standing on the concrete ground of the yard, watching people come and go. Those people came to the Orphanage to visit, take photos, and put on a show; they would look at you with sympathetic eyes, pat your head, and then leave, never to return.

Only Shen Youchu was different.

She would stuff candies she couldn't bear to eat into his hands, stand in front of him when he was being bullied, and when he woke up crying from a nightmare at night, she would crawl over from the next bed and pat his back with her tiny hands, saying in her muffled voice, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Youchu is here."

How old was she then?

Six? Seven?

He couldn't quite remember.

But he remembered the feeling of that hand patting his back. Light, soft, rhythmically steady, like spring rain hitting leaves.

"Brother Yan."

Shen Youchu finally spoke.

Her voice trembled slightly, but her tone was still that same muffled one, carrying her unique, clumsy tenderness.

"Does it hurt?"

Chen Yan's eyes suddenly turned red.

It wasn't a surging, uncontrollable sob, but a quieter, more restrained redness. His eyes burned and his nose stung, but the tears didn't fall.

He didn't answer.

Because he didn't know how to answer.

Did it hurt?

It had.

And now?

It didn't anymore.

But those words were too light, so light they were hard to say.

Liu Ruyan stood to the side, watching this scene without any change in her expression. She reached out to take a glass of water from a tray carried by a passing auntie, took a sip, and then stepped back a few paces to give them space.

Xiao Rongyu also stepped back a few paces.

The two women stood a few steps apart and glanced at each other.

There was too much in that glance to put into words. It wasn't hostility, nor an alliance; it wasn't a mutual understanding, nor a lack thereof. It was more like two chess players seeing a move on the board they hadn't expected, simultaneously looking up to catch each other's eye.

Nothing more.

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

Chen Yan finally spoke, his voice a bit raspy but firm. He had thought it through clearly; relatives like those were better off discarded.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, Youchu."

Upon hearing this, the tears that had been welling in Shen Youchu's eyes for a long time finally fell.

She cried silently, tears rolling out one by one, sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto that washed-out cotton dress, blooming into small dark patches of moisture.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, but the tears couldn't be wiped clean; they kept flowing as she wiped, like pearls from a broken string, impossible to stop.

"Alright, alright, stop crying." Xiao Rongyu finally couldn't help herself. She pulled a pack of tissues from her bag, took one out, walked over, and handed it to Shen Youchu. "How can you be such a crybaby? You cried at the hospital last time, and you're crying again now. Were you made of water in your past life?"

Shen Youchu took the tissue, wiped her tears, sniffled, and said in a muffled voice, "I'm not a crybaby, I just... I just can't help it."

"If you can't help it, then don't bother trying." Liu Ruyan's voice came from the side, indifferent. "Crying doesn't cost money. If you want to cry, just cry."

Shen Youchu looked up at Liu Ruyan, then at the tissue in her hand, and suddenly let out a "pfft" of laughter. With tears still on her face, her smile blossomed like the sky after a rain—bright and dazzling, so radiant it was hard to look at.

"Thank you, Sister," she said to Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruyan was stunned for a moment, then waved her hand. "Don't thank me, I didn't buy the tissues."

"Thank you too, Sister Rongyu."

Xiao Rongyu huffed, "The tissue needs to be paid back."

"Okay, I'll buy a pack to give back to Sister next time."

Xiao Rongyu: "..."

She realized she truly had no way to deal with Shen Youchu. This woman could handle anything you said, but not with a sharp tongue; it was with a silly, honest acceptance. If you said the tissue needed to be paid back, she really meant she would buy a pack to return to you, showing no sign of realizing you were joking.

Chen Yan stood nearby, watching these three women—his childhood sweetheart, his first love, and his legal wife by a twist of fate—talking and laughing in front of him. He suddenly felt the world was so absurd it didn't seem real.

But it was real.

Every second was real.

"Alright, alright, don't just stand there. Everyone, go to the dining room; the food is getting cold." Liu Ruyan clapped her hands, like a kindergarten teacher gathering children. "Auntie, bring the soup up."

The dining room was to the right of the living room, reached through an arched doorway. The dining table was rectangular, covered with an off-white tablecloth. Four sets of tableware were laid out neatly, with knives, forks, chopsticks, and spoons all in their proper places, and even the napkins folded at identical angles.

Seeing such a large dining table, Shen Youchu was clearly ill at ease, standing there not knowing where to sit.

"Sit here." Liu Ruyan pulled out a chair and motioned for Shen Youchu to sit, her tone brook no argument.

Shen Youchu obediently sat down.

Xiao Rongyu didn't wait for Liu Ruyan to invite her; she pulled out a chair herself and sat down, crossing her legs with a natural poise as if she were in her own home.

Chen Yan was the last to sit, taking the seat next to Liu Ruyan—since Liu Ruyan had seated Shen Youchu to her left, the seat to her right was naturally left for Chen Yan.

Once the four were settled, the aunties entered in single file, placing the dishes on the table one by one.

Sweet and sour pork ribs, bright red in color with the sugar glaze cooked perfectly, sprinkled with a layer of white sesame seeds, smelling fragrant.

Stir-fried seasonal vegetables, emerald green and crisp, with not much oil, looking very refreshing.

Spicy diced chicken, with red peppers and Sichuan peppercorns piled like a small mountain. The chicken was cut into small pieces and fried until crispy; it was obvious it had been prepared for Xiao Rongyu.

Pork rib and lotus root soup, with a milky white base. The lotus root was stewed until soft and starchy, the ribs were tender enough to fall off the bone, and a few drops of oil floated on the surface along with a handful of chopped green onions, steaming hot.

There was also a steamed sea bass, a plate of lettuce in oyster sauce, and a bowl of hot and sour soup—the hot and sour soup was for Liu Ruyan herself; she had a slight cold recently and wanted something spicy to help her sweat it out.

A table full of dishes, with meat, vegetables, soup, and fish. The color coordination was also good—red, green, white, and yellow—looking very appetizing.

"Let's eat." Liu Ruyan was the first to pick up her chopsticks, placing a piece of sweet and sour pork rib in Chen Yan's bowl. "Taste this first and see if it's to your liking."

Chen Yan looked at the pork rib in his bowl, then at Liu Ruyan.

"What are you looking at? Eat. We can talk about serious business slowly after we've eaten."

Liu Ruyan teased him, then looked at the two women and spoke meaningfully.