Chapter 226: Chapter 226

Shi Nian was focused on waiting for Xiang Yuan to drive up, her gaze intently searching for a blue BMW, and did not notice a black Double-R driving up slowly.

The person in the car squinted their eyes, looking forward. The windshield seemed like a picture frame, framing the vast evening glow as the background of the image, with the focus of the foreground being the woman standing sideways in the wind.

She wore a blue-gray chiffon cocktail dress, her long hair slightly curled, cascading down her waist.

The color of the dress was like the layers of nightfall rolling in, but when the hem swirled around her graceful curves in the wind, it was very much like clouds flowing across the horizon.

, she appeared ethereal and lively, radiating beauty.

In fact, the color of the dress was somewhat dark, but she boldly paired it with gray-pink high heels and a matching handbag, which brightened the entire outfit and highlighted the sweet side of her temperament. The whole person looked perfectly blended into the night while appearing sweet and light, making one’s heart beat quietly.

The sky full of evening glow seemed to only set off her beauty.

He couldn’t help but sigh softly.

He had already instructed the driver to drive past her at the slowest possible speed, but no matter how slow, could it move as slow as an ox-cart? So the car was still inevitably sliding past her slowly.

For a moment, her swirling dress hem even brushed across the car body, right on the car door beside him.

He was once so close to her, separated by just a layer of steel, but— in the blink of an eye, the car took him away, far from her.

He could only turn back, nostalgically gazing at her figure through the rear window glass.

It’s a pity that once so close at hand, she hadn’t noticed their passing encounter either; she was still looking up toward the distant lane, seriously searching the stream of cars for the shadow of the royal blue BMW.

The man in black sitting in the front passenger seat, Xia Zuo (whose name originally meant: Hunter), as usual, pretended not to see anything and would not ask the owner anything.

But unexpectedly, today the owner not only changed the usual upright sitting posture, deliberately turning his head back for a long while to take another look at the girl; even more unexpectedly, the owner softly spoke after sitting upright again.

"She’s so beautiful, isn’t she?"

Xia Zuo hesitated, unsure if he should respond or not. Eventually, he just leaned half his body from the seat, not daring to look into the owner’s eyes, merely nodding briefly.

Just because—the owner maybe was just talking to himself and did not need his response.

After noticing her on the roadside, the owner suddenly instructed the driver to turn onto the lane closest to the roadside.

Xia Zuo was somewhat worried originally, whispering to remind, "Sir, she’s already seen our car more than three times, so appearing in front of her rashly , she’ll recognize it."

At that moment, the owner just confidently tilted his chin up slightly, "The closest distance isn’t necessarily the focal point with the best view. Notice how her gaze is cast far and high; she pays more attention to the lane far from her and will thus not focus more on the lane closest to her."

"Chinese call this ’hidden in plain sight.’"

Sure enough, their car drove almost beside her, yet she didn’t pay much attention.

Xiang Yuan’s car finally arrived, Shi Nian got in, bumping into Xiang Yuan’s admiring gaze.

Especially seeing Shi Nian wearing blue-gray tonight, and gray-pink high heels and handbag, just perfectly matching with his favorite silver-gray suit, he couldn’t help but feel overjoyed inside.

Shi Nian was slightly embarrassed, so Xiang Yuan leaned in to help her fasten her seatbelt.

Shi Nian hurriedly avoided, "I can do it myself."

She fastened her own seatbelt, avoiding Xiang Yuan’s slightly disappointed look, awkwardly lifting a gift box in her hand: "I heard you said the protagonist tonight is a sister and an antique furniture hunter, so I picked out a Middle Eastern-style handcrafted silver bracelet for her. I wonder if she’ll like it."

Xiang Yuan smiled happily, "I believe in your taste; she’ll definitely like it."

The car went directly up the mountain, and after passing through a row of peaked white houses, they saw a pink-walled, black-tiled Chinese building in the distance. Its strong old charm appeared particularly striking on this foreign land, making Shi Nian exclaim softly in surprise, "Oh my, look at that ancient house!"

In the blur of the moment, she seemed to have returned to her homeland, back to that familiar place, able to breathe that familiar air again.

Xiang Yuan smiled, "Almost everyone who sees this house, especially the Chinese, can’t resist exclaiming."

The car stopped outside the mansion. Xiang Yuan got out first, walked to the front passenger side, opened the door, and helped Shi Nian out of the car. Naturally, he bent his arm towards Shi Nian. Shi Nian lowered her head and slipped her arm into the crook of his.

The night was a deep blue, and the distant city lights flickered like a sparkling river of stars, with the serene and quiet old mansion nestled among them, dancing with magical light, as if stepping into a mythical residence.

A middle-aged man stood respectfully at the entrance to welcome guests.

What caught Shi Nian’s attention was that although the man slightly bowed his upper body, his legs remained straight as pins, and he wore knee-high riding boots. His demeanor clearly revealed military experience.

Xiang Yuan hurried over, and unexpectedly spoke respectfully to the man: "Uncle Xue, how could I let you come out to greet us?"

The man smiled kindly: "It’s an old family tradition, it’s only right."

He then glanced over at Shi Nian, nodding slightly with a smile: "This must be Shi Nian, right? Xiang Yuan, you’re truly fortunate."

Following Xiang Yuan’s previous address, Shi Nian bowed respectfully: "Hello, Uncle Xue. It’s our first meeting, I’m here to pay my respects."

The man hurried to stop her: "Please, no need for that. In fact, addressing you and Xiang Yuan by your names just now is already a sign of modern change. In the past, I would’ve had to call you Young Master Xiang and Young Madam."

Shi Nian felt a slight tremor in her heart, thinking: Whose family is this, to have such strict rules?

Guests arrived one after another, indeed not a single one came alone, but as families or couples.

Xiang Yuan exchanged pleasantries with the arrivals and then guided Shi Nian into the mansion.

Waiting for Xiang Yuan to finish his greetings, she finally seized the chance to ask: "You still haven’t told me, whose family is this?"

Before Xiang Yuan could speak, a laugh came from a distance as a woman wearing a modified Zen-style gown made of burlap approached. The medium-height woman exuded a sense of clarity and simplicity from head to toe, smiling softly in the light, with eyes that seemed able to see into the soul.

"A Yuan, you’ve finally arrived?" Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel·fire.net

Xiang Yuan comfortingly patted Shi Nian’s hand, holding her hand as he walked up to greet the woman: "Sister Yan Sheng, it’s been half a year since you left, welcome back."

Shi Nian couldn’t help but frown — yansheng, is that the yan as in swallow?

Unexpectedly, the woman’s gaze landed on Shi Nian even sooner: "Is this my sister-in-law?" She extended her hand proactively towards Shi Nian: "Hello Shi Nian, I am Tang Yansheng."

Shi Nian’s heart nearly stumbled, barely managing to catch Tang Yansheng’s offered hand.

If hearing the word yan earlier hadn’t fully convinced her it was the "yan" she thought, the addition of "Tang" made her clearly understand whose mansion she had stumbled into in her naivety!

No wonder, whether it was the mansion itself or the hospitality, it was all so grandiose!

Even though she was shocked, she was already within, escaping now was unrealistic, and confronting Xiang Yuan directly was impossible. She could only take a deep breath to calm herself and then extend her hand to shake Tang Yansheng’s hand: "Hello, elder sister. I didn’t know I’d be meeting you today, so I hastily picked a small gift, not knowing if you would like it."

She quickly presented the gift box. Tang Yansheng accepted it with a smile, opened the box on the spot, and took out the elegantly crafted bracelet, sighing lightly: "How beautiful. I like it." She slipped it right onto her wrist.

Shi Nian finally sighed in quiet relief.

The lighting in the yard wasn’t bright. Tang Yansheng gazed at Shi Nian through the gentle illumination emanating through the ancient window lattice.

"I know you prefer peace and dislike noise, which is why it’s your first time at my home in these four years. But don’t blame A Yuan today, it was I who insisted he bring you."

"Oh?" Shi Nian was slightly surprised: "Why did elder sister want to see me?"

"Well," Tang Yansheng smiled softly in the light, "due to business, I have spent these years in ancient countries in Asia, like the Mesopotamia region. The ancient cultures there fascinates me, yet their outdated customs sadden me. It was a coincidence that I saw the online version of ’Deep Throat’, and read your article on child brides."

"Shi Nian, I admire you. By chance, I learned you are A Yuan’s wife, so I decided to make meeting you my priority as soon as I returned. Thus, once I finalized my return, I called A Yuan from the airport, insisting he bring you to meet me."

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[Second update of the morning~]