Received A Wife From The Civil Affairs Bureau Ch.11

Shen Yumo wore her glasses today, so as she stepped into the cafe, she immediately spied Chen Ruoguang sitting alone not far away. Seeing him, she couldn’t help but speed up her walking a bit.

Chen Ruoguang also noticed Shen Yumo immediately. That’s because no matter where Shen Yumo was, she always attracted the gaze of every male in the area. After so many years, she had already grown used to it. He stood up to greet her and then saw the jade ring on her finger. His expression changed as he weakly sat back down.

“S-so you came.” Chen Ruoguang pushed up his glasses, suppressed the resentment in his heart, and then pushed forward a cup: “Here, you should drink something.”

Shen Yumo looked down at the glass of hot water placed before her and her heart softened. In the end, Chen Ruoguang has been with her for more than four years, so it wasn’t usual that he can still remember some of her small habits.

During these past few days, after much reflection, she realized that not everything was Chen Ruoguang’s fault. The other woman did hide her pregnancy from him, gave birth to the child, and then purposely caused trouble for him during the marriage certification ceremony. Every man would probably get angry and go crazy, much less him. So his behavior that day could be considered normal.

Maybe some other woman would’ve been able to forgive him, but she couldn’t. She tended to be more possessive and stubborn when it came to her relationships.

“Thank you for taking care of me all these years.” Shen Yumo said in a faint tone as she took out a bank card from her bag. 

Chen Ruoguang weakly accepted that card and opened his mouth, “Yumo, how can you be so ruthless? During all these years, in order to be with you, I did everything you wanted me to. I was even willing to bear through anything, as long as it was with you. Last year, I almost froze in the freezing winter of Beijin, but still flew back from Jiangnan to visit you for Valentine’s Day. Even though you said you had classes, I wanted to surprise you, so I waited outside for you. It was so cold that my body couldn’t stop shivering.” Perhaps because he was feeling nostalgic, he took a sip of his wine, “I consider myself to be a very mature person, but for you, I’m still that young man who will do anything for the love of his dreams.”

Shen Yumo listened quietly and she remembered that time. She remembered walking out to see Chen Ruoguang whose hair was covered in snow, but still smiled warmly at her as he handed her a bouquet, and said ‘Happy Valentine’s day.’

Although she felt embarrassed, she couldn’t help but feel a little touched in her heart. It was because he did things like this that made her think that Chen Ruoguang would be a good match for her marriage.

Chen Ruoguang continued to reminisce about their memories together, causing the awkward atmosphere to soften a bit. 

“Did you really decide to marry that person?” Chen Ruoguang asked, staring at Shen Yumo.

“En.” Naturally Shen Yumo knew that the person he referred to was Jiang Ziquan.

Chen Ruoguang nodded helplessly and advised: “Although I’m not qualified to say this, considering the factors during that time, neither side was serious about this marriage. I-I don’t want you to force you to marry someone because of what I did. If you want me to wait for you, I will.”

Shen Yumo knew what he meant, the one-year marriage restriction period, but she for some reason, she remembered Miss Jiang and her heart ached when she thought of hurting Miss Jiang: “Ruoguang, that other woman loves you more than me. Not to mention, you still have a child to take care of.”

Hearing Shen Yumo’s solemn tone, Chen Ruoguang only sighed, “I understand, but can we still be friends?” 

“Of course.” Shen Yumo smiled in relief. Chen Ruoguang and her were destined to meet but not fated to be together. [1]

“You should take this card back, let uncle use it if you don’t want it.” Chen Ruoguang pushed the card in front of her again.

“Thank you, but no.”  Shen Yumo waved her hands hurriedly. When they were engaged, her family was very unwilling to take it then, even less so now.

“What did she promise you?” Chen Ruoguang seemed to understand and asked helplessly.

Shen Yumo froze for a moment, knowing that he was talking about Jiang Ziquan again, but she could only smile and stay silent. 

“Fine, I understand.”

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“Mom, Dad, you two should take this.” Jiang Ziquan took out a card and smiled: “If Chen Ruoguang can provide it, then my Jiang family can too.”

The Shen couple glanced at each other. They already felt guilty enough towards the Jiang family, they couldn’t possibly accept more goodwill from them: “Little Jiang, you don’t have to do this for us. If Yumo finds out, she will get angry and not talk to us for a few days.”

Jiang Ziquan immediately knew what the elders meant and said seriously: “I want to ask the two elders a serious question about this marriage. What are the two elders’ attitudes towards this marriage? Are the two of you treating this matter seriously?”

Mr. Shen sighed and said, “I naturally want you two to live in harmony, but…”

Jiang Ziquan interrupted his words and patted her chest: “I understand, that’s all I need to hear. Meanwhile, you have to accept this money, even if it is a bribe, it is also a real gift.” 

Mrs. Shen wondered: “Bribery?”

Jiang Ziquan nodded solemnly and said, feeling embarrassed, “Actually, I really like Yumo, so I was hoping you can help me win her over.”

The two elders naturally nodded when they heard this. Jiang Ziquan was a good choice for their daughter, and no parent wanted to see their daughter divorce and marry twice. 

Jiang Ziquan smiled. She had won over the parents, so it shouldn’t be long before she wins Shen Yumo’s heart. 

---

In the next few days, Shen Yumo continued to work, and except for a few students who knew she married a woman, everything was still business as usual. She patiently listened to her parents and eventually achieved a better understanding of the girl.

For example, Jiang Ziquan’s parents dabbled in the real estate business and was considered a somewhat wealthy family in Beijin. Her brother and sister-in-law also entered the business a few years ago.

“Yumo, if you’re free on Sunday, you should go visit little Jiang’s shop and help out. After all, little Jiang had done so much for our family.” Mrs. Shen was persuaded during dinner.

Mr. Shen also agreed: “That’s right, that’s right.”

Shen Yumo nodded. In the past few days, the two of them also chatted on WeChat from time to time after she agreed to the friend request. Although she was not one for words, fortunately, no matter the subject, Jiang Ziquan was able to talk with her for long periods of time. Gradually, the two became more familiar with each other, and now they could be considered somewhat friends. 

At least the next time they meet again, it won’t be as awkward. 

“Boss, there’s a girl at the entrance. She’s super pretty, come take a look.” Tang Jiu said to Jiang Ziquan who was busy taking inventory.

Jiang Ziquan didn’t lift her head, and she kept typing on the keyboard, “Rascal, I say, can’t you look at the people close to you? Only those who are prettier than me can be considered beautiful, understand?”

The hot pot restaurant is located in the center of the city, and it’s aesthetics suited the young people’s tastes very much. Many different types of pretty ladies frequented this place and Tang Jiu, as a sad single, naturally would call every remotely pretty lady he came across ‘beautiful’. 

“No, boss, trust me, this one’s the real deal. She’s a different type of pretty.” Naturally, Tang Jiu knew that his boss is pretty, but this lady’s beauty made even him stutter and blush.

Shen Yumo, led by the waiter, arrived at Jiang Ziquan’s office. The waiter knocked on the open door.

“Will you stop already? Stop bothering me and get to work!” Jiang Ziquan stood up angrily, and then suddenly looked up to see Shen Yumo whose face was a little pale from fright.

She let Shen Yumo slowly approach and then she asked cautiously, “Why are you here? Are you here for dinner?”

“Do you know the boss?” Tang Jiu could tell there was something unusual going on here and so he asked in a curious tone. 

The waiter, on the other hand, knew better than to stay and nodded slightly towards the boss before leaving.

Jiang Ziquan then gave Tang Jiu a threatening glare and he left reluctantly. 

Shen Yumo felt a bit embarrassed. Jiang Ziquan was wearing the restaurant’s uniform, all black, with some red on the cuffs. Her hair was also tied up, giveing Jiang Ziquan a professional look and not the ‘fresh out of college’ style Shen Yumo had grown accustomed to. Furthermore, the dark circles under her eyes had gotten more severe. It looks like the restaurant has been quite busy recently. 

She had come so suddenly, so she was afraid that she might be disturbing Jiang Ziquan. The employees, all of them looking rather young, were turning their heads to watch them, “Sorry, am I disturbing you right now?”

Jiang Ziquan waved her hands. Recently the weather has gotten colder, so her restaurant has gotten more traffic, and business was better than usual. So as the boss, she had recently been swamped with work. 

Ever since the last time they met, Jiang Ziquan hadn’t bothered Shen Yumo because she had been busy making money. The two chatted on WeChat from time to time, so they could be considered friends that aren’t that close. 

However, seeing Shen Yumo take the initiative to come see her, one could say that this was an improvement in their relationship.

“Come with me.” Jiang Ziquan took her to a side room that she used to rest during her breaks. It was a very small room, it could only fit a chair and a single bed.

Sometimes, when she worked all day, she would come here to sleep instead of going home.

Along the way, Shen Yumo observed the setting and ambience of the restaurant. This was her first time here after all, but from the other teachers all held high opinions of the place. 

The walls were mainly painted black and red, giving a person a soothing feeling. There were also a few bead curtains here and there, making the place seem like a middle ground between traditional and modern eras. The only complaint she had was that the music was a little too loud.   

Shen Yumo sat on the bed, and the bed immediately creaked a little. She then looked at Jiang Ziquan. She had never thought that Jiang Ziquan would be such a hard-working person.

Jiang Ziquan sat on the chair and asked, embarrassed, “Is the smell too strong? Do I smell bad?”

The smoke and steam from the hot pot’s spices clinged to the body, leaving a strong scent. \

Shen Yumo waved her hand and laughed: “It seems that Miss Jiang is quite a workaholic.”

Jiang Ziquan didn’t care that she was being made fun of, in fact, she felt quite happy, but she pretended not to notice, “It wasn’t too hard in the past, after all, I only needed enough to feed one person. However, now that there is an extra person in the family, of course I need to work harder.”

She leaned forward, one hand propping her chin. A smile appeared on her face as she looked at Shen Yumo, but she didn’t bother to explain further. 

Shen Yumo noticed the fervent affection in Jiang Ziquan’s eyes and unconsciously leaned back a little, “Miss Jiang sure knows how to make jokes.”

She didn’t know if Miss Jiang was good at acting or if Miss Jiang really has fallen for herself in such a short period of time. 

Jiang Ziquan smirked, and then stood up. This is fine, it’s better to take it slow anyways.

“I have nothing to do this weekend, so I was wondering if there is anything I can help you with, Miss Jiang.” Shen Yumo knew from her parents that Jiang Ziquan had been busy with work recently. Due to her apologetic feelings towards Miss Jiang, she thought it would be better for her to visit and see if she needed any help.

Jiang Ziquan tilted her head, and looked Shen Yumo up and down. With Shen Yumo’s scholarly aura combined with her uniform, she would definitely be popular. Except the problem was that she wanted to keep Shen Yumo all to herself. 

Miss Jiang was the type to get jealous easily. 

“What are you laughing at?” Shen Yumo looked down at her dress, and saw that there was nothing wrong.

“I think Teacher Shen is still more suitable as a teacher.” Jiang Ziquan laughed.

Shen Yumo gave her an unconvinced look, “ I used to work part-time back in college.”

“Oh, is that so?” Seeing Shen Yumo’s expression change from her usual poker face, Jiang Ziquan felt giddy. It seems that Shen Yumo was finally starting to accept her. 

Jiang Ziquan stood up, propped her hands on the bed, and whispered in her ear: “Teacher Shen really is amazing.” 

The bed shook slightly from her movements, and the creaking sound became more noticeable in this small space. 

Shen Yumo, shocked by this sudden movement, didn’t know how to respond. Her ears turned red as she felt that hot breath on her.

She pushed a little, “The smell is really strong.”

Shen Yumo was the cautious type who adhered to the strict rules of propriety. Among her friends, only Jiang Ziquan was shameless enough to do something like this. She didn’t know if she was angry or maybe because of something else, nevertheless her heartbeat accelerated. 

Jiang Ziquan seemed to understand what she meant, and couldn’t help laughing out loud. Then seeing Shen Yumo look at her, she held onto her stomach and laughed even harder. 

However, it was quite regrettable that she didn’t notice Shen Yumo’s red ears. 

Shen Yumo watched her while frowning.

Seeing that Shen Yumo was serious, Jiang Ziquan stopped the laughter as soon as possible, and playfully stuck out a tongue before saying “I’m sorry.”

Shen Yumo wasn’t angry at all. So seeing this sight, she naturally laughed.

Her smile carried faint dimples, although there was some restraint, her eyes carried some laughter too. 

It was like the bright sun in the middle of winter.

No matter how many times she had seen it, Jiang Ziquan would fall into a daze when she saw it. Suddenly, Jiang Ziquan also laughed, a bit of relief in it. The exhaustion between her eyebrows disappeared, and as if she was bathed in light, she laughed in a carefree and confident matter. 

Shen Yumo didn’t understand why Jiang Ziquan was laughing so much, perhaps this is what Jiang Ziquan was normally like. 

“Yumo, I want to pursue you.”

Those words suddenly ranged out. Jiang Ziquan had a similar look when she proposed to her, but this time it was a little different. It seemed more confident. 

Shen Yumo looked at her and said nothing.

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T/N notes:

[1]destined to meet but not fated to be together (有缘无分) is a chinese saying that means although you and i were meant to meet each other in this lifetime, we are not fated to be together (either romantically or just friendship)

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