Chapter 17

Before the wedding, Cheng Lydia had a meeting with Zhang Jane. There was a table full of jewellery and gifts, but Cheng Lydia declined them all. She only had one requirement, no wedding, everything was kept simple. Which woman wouldn't want her wedding to be a grand and lavish affair? The appointment was to get married on Saturday at the Civil Service, and today is Friday, the last day to be single. To commemorate this beautiful day, Cheng Lydia walked alone on the busy street, eating her favorite food, wearing her favorite designer dresses and ten centimeter high shoes, dressing herself beautifully. For the first time since she could remember, she had been so kind to herself. Behind the department store building is the riverfront, where couples sit or walk or stand on the riverwalk. Lydia found a stone chair and sat down, quietly watching the happy people come and go before her eyes. It wasn't until dark that she got up and headed in the direction of home. After a sleepless night, she woke up early the next day, packed her few belongings, took her documents and went to the Civil Affairs Bureau at the time she had agreed with Zhang Jane. When she went to arrive, Zhang Jane was already waiting at the door, smiling as she took the curtsy from her hand and said, "Ms Cheng you are just in time, the young master has just arrived too." Young Master ....... If Zhang Jane hadn't mentioned it, Cheng Lydia would have forgotten that such a person even existed. These days she had always treated the marriage thing as a task, as a deal, it didn't matter who the groom was, it didn't matter even if there was no groom. The other party is really wealthy, just connect a wedding have a special reception, there is a special VIP room to do procedures. When Cheng Lydia walked into the VIP room, Shen Ron was standing with his back to her, straightened in front of the dressing mirror, arms spread wide as he allowed his two men to straighten the suits on him front and back. The man was in good shape, the old woman hadn't lied to her about that, Cheng Lydia thought to herself. "Young master, Ms Cheng is here." Zhang Jane said respectfully. At the sound of Zhang Jane's voice, Shen Ron turned back around and met each other with four eyes, Cheng Lydia's small mouth half open in shock, staring in awe at the suited, handsome and charming man in front of her. How could it be him? How could it be? The old lady didn t tell her that her grandson was Shen Ron ...... No, it seemed she did, she was the one who didn t take it to heart. Cheng Lydia suddenly remembers the night Shen Ron got drunk and blathered that he wouldn't marry Cheng Lydia, and remembers the next day, sober, he proposed to her with a serious face, and it turns out that all was not in good fun. Shen Ron took two steps forward and leaned down to laugh lowly against Cheng Lydia's ear, "Don't you hate me? I thought you would run away from the marriage, why not?" Why not run away? If she escaped, he wouldn't have to marry her. How nice! Cheng Lydia moved her lips but never spat out a word. She was shocked, but she hadn't completely lost her mind. Even if she knew that Shen Ron was the grandson the old lady was talking about, what could she do? Did she have a choice not to marry? "I thought you were different from the other women, and it doesn't seem to be any different except that you're grumpier than they are." Shen Ron twisted back around mockingly and straightened his bow tie in the mirror. "What about you? Why didn't you run away?" Cheng Lydia looked at him askance and could see that he didn't want to marry at all, the June he'd been mouthing that night was the one he loved, right? The woman he wanted to marry the most, right? Shen Ron swept her through the mirror and snorted dumbly. After straightening his clothes, he walked over to the chair in front of the red background next to him and sat down. "Ms Cheng," Zhang Jane winked at Cheng Lydia. Cheng Lydia hesitated slightly, took off her trench coat, and went to sit in the seat next to Shen Ron. Two arguably total strangers ...... actually sat in the same chair for a photo shoot, and for a wedding photo, Cheng Lydia felt awkward and awkward. The biased photographer was still there gesturing one after the other saying, "Two please come closer ...... and closer and smile a little ...... happier." Cheng Lydia struggled to tug her lips into a smile and leaned in and out towards Shen Ron. The photographer shook his head after taking one and looking at it again, "Not intimate enough, let's do it again." Cheng Lydia's brow furrowed slightly, she really didn't understand why the photographer was so young to be so serious, it's just a wedding photo, it's not like the law will refuse to validate their marriage because the photo is not intimate enough. Just as she was speechless, Shen Ron suddenly reached out and took her into his arms, smiling at the photographer, "Is that close enough? Excuse me?" As he was on the strong side, Cheng Lydia slammed into his chest headfirst, and winced in pain as she looked up with an indignant glare at him, only to come into contact with his evil-filled light smile. In order to be able to shoot as quickly as possible, she motionlessly withdrew from his arms and leaned intimately against his side tugging her lips into a smile. "Okay, that's it, one, two, two ...... beautiful!" The photographer quickly pressed the shutter, freezing the two in the shot. After the photo was taken, the two men followed the procedure to submit their information and sign the papers, and the whole process was smooth and quick. Gazing at the marriage certificate in her hand, bearing her picture and name with Shen Ron, Cheng Lydia felt tingling, and for a long time she was silent, as if she had lost her soul. It wasn't until the moment she stepped into the hospital that she finally snapped back to her senses. It was only at the hospital that she could make herself sane and serious; this was her job and there was no room for anything less. After a peaceful day of work, the car sent by The Shen Family was waiting in front of the hospital when she walked out. "Good afternoon, Ms. Cheng, I am Tom who is responsible for your transportation," said the driver, a polite and respectful young man with an excellent smile. Cheng Lydia gave him a polite nod, swept around and lowered her voice, "Please just call me Lydia when you're at the hospital, thank you." "Oh, okay." Tom nodded and pulled the back seat door open for her. The Shen Family Villas were built on the west side of LS City and were more than twice as large as The Lim Family. Today was the day Cheng Lydia took her first steps into The Shen Family mansion, and the day she officially returned 'home'. She had seen grand mansions before. But the moment she stepped into The Shen Family, her heart was still a little nervous and uncomfortable. She knew it wasn't how luxurious the mansion was that she feared, but the person inside, the man she was a total stranger to but closest to. "Hey, my granddaughter-in-law is back." Old Mrs. Shen walked up, holding Cheng Lydia's hand and smiling from ear to ear, "Good girl, call me grandma." "Grandma." Cheng Lydia called out politely. "That's so nice, I've been looking forward to hearing you shout this grandma for a long time." Old Mrs. Shen smiled with increasing excitement. "This is Madame, Ron's mother." Zhang Jane introduced Cheng Lydia with a smile as she led her to a noblewoman. Cheng Lydia looked at the noblewoman in front of her with some embarrassment in her heart; the last time they met she had called her aunt as Lim Toby's wife, and it had been less than a month, but she was calling her mother as Shen Ron's wife. This Mrs. Shen, who despises The Lim Family from the bottom of her heart, wonders how she despises her in her heart today? "Mom." She called out good-naturedly. In any case, there's no getting rid of that 'Mom'. Mrs. Shen smiled and nodded at her, her tone hard to hide her mockery, "We meet again." Cheng Lydia smiled uncomfortably and backed away from her. "This is Missy, Shen Belle," Zhang Jane continued, pointing to the young beauty next to her. Without waiting for Cheng Lydia to speak, Shen Belle spoke up with a smile, "I am your sister-in-law. Just call me Belle." "Belle," Cheng Lydia surveyed the pristine looking, fair-skinned, slender young girl in front of her, who looked much more easygoing than Mrs. Shen. The old lady suddenly turned and asked Tom, who was on the side, "Where is the eldest young master? Why isn't he back yet?" Tom was busy saying, "The young master has a dinner party tonight and won't be back for dinner." "This brat, doesn't he know it's Lydia's first day home?" "The Grand Master said ......." Tom hesitated to say more. When he conveyed to the youngest master today that he must come back for dinner tonight, the youngest master only flung him three words: he has no appetite for anything. If he told the truth, would the old lady be so angry that she would jump off the building again? It was better not to say anything. "Ron is always busy, don't mind if you do." The old lady patted Cheng Lydia's hand soothingly for fear that she would think too much of it. How could Cheng Lydia not understand what Shen Ron was thinking? It's just that she doesn't even care if he comes back for dinner, and it's better if he doesn't even come back to sleep, so she doesn't have to deal with the kind of thing that makes her feel embarrassed just thinking about it. "I know." She continued to keep her decent smile. From the moment she entered, Cheng Lydia felt a hateful gaze following her, and she turned her face slightly sideways to see a young girl standing by the door glaring at her. The girl did not have the designer clothes and fine accessories of Shen Belle, nor did she have the noble temperament of Shen Belle, but she had a pure and natural beauty. From the beginning, Zhang Jane did not introduce her, obviously she was not an important person in this family. Cheng Lydia didn't understand why she hated herself so much, there were so many people up and down The Shen Family and she didn't have the heart to figure them all out at once. Except for Mrs. Shen, who spoke less, Grandma and Shen Belle were both jovial people, so the atmosphere at the dinner table was quite relaxed and warm, and Cheng Lydia ate with peace of mind. After dinner, Cheng Lydia was led by Zhang Jane to a master bedroom on the second floor, which was luxuriously decorated with grey tones, showing the masculine steel everywhere. When she was in it, Cheng Lydia felt depressed, she had never liked such deep color things. After giving all that should be given, Zhang Jane said with a respectful face, "Madam, if there is anything you need, just tell me, I will send someone to procure it as soon as possible." "Okay, thanks." "Goodnight." "Night." After Zhang Jane left, Cheng Lydia stepped over to the king-size bed in the middle of the bedroom and sat down, the bed was soft and a light distinctive masculine scent wrapped around her, unfamiliar and so slightly familiar, none other than Shen Ron's! Zhang Jane left Shen Ron's bedroom, pounding her arms with her fists as she made her way to her quarters next door to the main house after a tiring day, and was startled by the sudden appearance of a figure just as she stepped into the bedroom. "Gina, what are you doing standing here?" Zhang Jane snapped in uncharacteristic anger as she patted her chest and surveyed her daughter. Ho Gina, her eyes red as if she had just cried, glared at Zhang Jane with an angry look on her face, "Mom, is it true that Ron and that Cheng Lydia are getting married?" "Not really getting married, but already." Zhang Jane glanced at her and turned to pull a set of pajamas from inside her closet to get ready for the shower. Ho Gina pulled her mother's arm and gasped, "What? Married already? How can you let that woman marry Ron?" "Mom, are you crazy?" The other day she heard that the old lady had the intention of letting Ron marry the woman in the newspaper, and was thinking of finding some excuse to persuade her, but to her surprise, in less than a week, the woman had already moved into The Shen Family and had actually married Ron. "Why not?" Zhang Jane asked rhetorically. "You know full well ...... that." Ho Gina blushed and was on the verge of tears in her anxiety, "...... I've always liked Ron." "It's because I know you like Ron that I tried my best to let them be together." Zhang Jane looked askance at her daughter with a helpless look on her face, "First of all, it is the old lady's wish to let Ron marry Lydia, even the madam's opposition is useless, how could the old lady listen to a subordinate like me. Secondly, Ron is the future heir of the Shen Group, as subordinates we have to know ourselves, that kind of unrealistic dream is impossible to achieve." "Mom, can you stop talking about 'subordinates' all the time and lower yourself to the ground? Everyone is equal, you know? And what does she have, Cheng Lydia? What does she have besides a face like Yang June?" Zhang Jane stared at her and said in a serious manner, "What the old lady wants is her Yang June face. You don't have a family background, you don't have great beauty, and you can't grow Yang June's face, what do you think makes you look good to Ron and make the old lady like you?" Ho Gina bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. She never felt that she was much inferior to other women, her origin was something she could not change, so she could only change herself through later in life. In order to get closer to Ron, she insisted on exercising every day to gain height and lose weight, and studied hard every day to get into the same university as Ron. In the first round, she lost to Yang June, she was angry but convinced because Yang June is outstanding in terms of family background, appearance and personalities. But now that she has lost to Cheng Lydia, who has nothing to lose, she can't be convinced. Seeing her daughter so sad and lost, Zhang Jane finally couldn't bear it and patted her shoulder with her hand and sighed, "Gina, mom knows you feel bad, but Ron's status is too high. Just forget about him." "I can't!" Ho Gina wiped a tear stain from her eye with her sleeve, glared hatefully at her mother and turned to walk out.