Received A Wife From The Civil Affairs Bureau Ch.50

Shen Yumo woke up a little past six in the morning. The curtains in Jiang Ziquan’s room were really good as the room was still engulfed in darkness and she couldn’t even tell it was morning already. She turned to her side, her eyes still half shut when she touched the place next to her. 

The coldness of the sheets woke her up and she opened her eyes to look around. The flatness of the area clearly indicated that Jiang Ziquan did not come back to bed last night. 

She sat up in the bed with her eyes lowered, her hands fidgeting with the black sleep mask Jiang Ziquan always wore. Thinking about last night, she didn’t know how many times she woke up but every time she would see that subtle lamplight through the crack of the door. She wanted to call her back to bed a few times, but she decided not to in the end. 

Shaking her head to get rid of the messy thoughts, Shen Yumo pushed open the door and saw Jiang Ziquan curled up on the sofa. She sighed a little helplessly and glanced at the master bedroom. If Jiang Ziquan was worried about disturbing her, she could’ve at least went to sleep on the bed in the master bedroom. 

Jiang Ziquan was someone who liked material things and so all her sofas were of good quality and quite large. She was only in her pajamas and her legs were curled up as she lay on the sofa, her face buried in one of the pillows so one could only see her hair. Her arms were even shielding her face from the morning light. 

Shen Yumo quietly walked over and gently reached down to grab the blanket that had fallen on the ground. She placed it over Jiang Ziquan and squatted as she studied the other person. She touched her soft hair and listened to her steady breathing. The scene right now reminded her of the situation she would always see in the movies. The male lead would find the female lead asleep on the couch and in a moment of tenderness and strength, he would carry the female lead back to bed. 

The corners of her mouth lifted at the thought, for it was impossible for her to lift someone so tall like Jiang Ziquan with her pathetic strength. However, she could at least try. Carefully she leaned over, one arm wrapped around Jiang Ziquan’s waist and the other behind her knees. She then tried to lift her, but that simple movement only caused her to sweat in exertion and her heart to hump heavily. 

Briiiinng! 

The phone was ringing and Jiang Ziquan woke with a start, reaching behind her for the phone. However, instead of a cold piece of metal, she touched something soft. She squeezed it a little. 

“En….”

Shen Yumo, who just had her buttocks grabbed, slapped the hand away fiercely and quickly backed away from the couch. She looked at the still confused Jiang Ziquan and said, “Hurry up and answer your phone.”

“Oh.” With her left hand, she grabbed the phone and then absentmindedly stared at her right hand. She looked up at Shen Yumo, a strange look in her eyes. 

Embarrassed by her stare, Shen Yumo quickly looked away and left, letting Jiang Ziquan talk on the phone in peace. 

Jiang Ziquan’s gaze followed her figure and didn’t stop looking until she was out of sight. She answered the phone and it was from her sister-in-law, Chen Lanyi. She called to ask her to accompany her for an obstetrical examination since Jiang Zitao was out of town on a business trip. 

Jiang Ziquan had accompanied her on several different appointments already so she was used to it by now and since she had nothing else to do, she agreed. 

Shen Yumo saw there were several pieces of drawing paper left out on the table and many more crumpled in the trash. Empty cans of energy drinks were piled on the table and there were even two cigarette butts lying in the ashtray. 

Making sure Jiang Ziquan was finished with her call, she asked, pointing at the drawings, “May I take a look?”

“Sure, go ahead, I need to change my clothes. I have to accompany my sister-in-law for an obstetric examination later.” Jiang Ziquan nodded, holding the blankets in her hand as she yawned. She wondered if she should call Mr. Su today for she didn’t want to sleep on the uncomfortable sofa anymore. 

On the drawing paper, there was only a small crown and only half of it was finished. Although there was no color, one could see the detailed patterns. There were phoenix pins in the crown, each one extremely lifelike with several bells next to it. Each stroke was like a fine carving, and it was quite beautiful, and yet for some reason, she felt like the crown was extremely familiar. 

“Does it look good?” Jiang Ziquan changed her clothes, still yawning as she was still in a state of exhaustion. She approached Shen Yumo and stood by her side as she looked at the drawing. The crown was something the practitioners wore when they married and although she couldn’t even be even as good as 1% as they were, she still thought she did a pretty good job. 

‘It’s good, but why did you suddenly draw something like this?” Shen Yumo’s eyes never left the drawing as she tried to remember where she saw this crown in her memories. 

Jiang Ziquan gritted her teeth nervously and pulled Teacher Shen to sit down. She pointed at the drawing, “I want to use this for our wedding, it was a sudden inspiration I had last night. I made sure to draw it carefully.” Her face softened, “I think Teacher Shen would look really good in an ancient style of a wedding dress.” 

Although she felt a bit suspicious in her heart, seeing how serious Jiang Ziquan was being towards one of the biggest events of her life, Shen Yumo felt moved and her heart felt a little overwhelmed. 

“What do you think?”

Jiang Ziquan seemed a little desperate as she asked that, her hand reaching out to grab Shen Yumo’s arm. 

With a faint smile in her eyes, Shen Yumo gently lifted the hand off her arm and said, “I will make my decision when you finish it.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Jiang Ziquan understood her meaning and did a mock salute before she put the drawings away.

---

Chen Lanyi has been pregnant for more than six months and her belly was big now. She supported her belly with her hands and Jiang Ziquan also supported her by the arm, ever fearful of something unexpected happening. 

Chen Lanyi smiled and laughed, “Why are you so nervous? Relax, it’s not like I’m going to fall or anything.”

Despite her reassurances, Jiang Ziquan did not relax even a little.

“Although, maybe it’s good for you to be like this, get some practice in for later.” Chen Lanyi continued, “Have you discussed having children with Teacher Shen yet?”

“Although I’m not like your parents who will urge you to have a child, I still think it’s for the best if you have them early.” Chen Lanyi said as she followed the doctor’s instructions to lie on the bed. 

“I know, I’ll discuss it with Teacher Shen after the wedding.” Jiang Ziquan looked at the small child on the screen and her voice softened while her heart felt strange. At six months, one could almost see the baby’s little legs and arms. 

“Good.”

“Doctor, is there any problems with my sister-in-law’s pregnancy?” Jiang Ziquan asked, changing the subject before the doctor in question left. 

The doctor was a young man and shyly adjusted his glasses as he answered, “Rest assured, there is nothing wrong with either the adult or child. Just make sure to attend your check-ups on time.”

“That’s great, thank you, doctor.”

Chen Lanyi sat up, then thought of something as she laughed, “You know, that young man used to always ask for your number before, but recently he’s been doing that last. At first, I thought it was because you’ve gotten older now and your charm has faded.”

Hearing herself being called old, Jiang Ziquan pretended to angrily say,” Hey, hey, just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you can be rude.”

“That’s not it, I meant that you used to be more….flirty. You used to act like a straight girl, a very strong-willed girl, but straight nonetheless.” She paused and smiled, “But now? Now, I think you’ve been eating too many peaches.” 

“Eh?”

“You have that peaches vibe now.”

Jiang Ziquan froze and looked down at her clothes. She has been influenced by Teacher Shen lately to dress more maturely but she didn’t feel like anything else was different. 

She left that room in a hurry, with Chen Lanyi chuckling, calling her to come back. Eventually, they left the room to go to the nearby medical station to buy some medicine for her sister-in-law when she came across someone she forgot the name of. 

The girl called out her name and Jiang Ziquan stepped protectively in front of Chen Lanyi. Although she had only met the girl a few times, she clearly remembered that she was Chen Ruoguang’s new wife, hardly someone she considered a friend. 

‘Do you need anything?”

Wang Jiajing was not taken aback by Jiang Ziquan’s harsh tone and stepped back a little as she asked in a bitter voice, “Is Teacher Shen doing well?”

Jiang Ziquan did not expect this to come out of her mouth and answered in confusion, “En, Teacher Shen and I are doing well together.”

At this moment, Chen Lanyi whispered in her ear: “It seems she is pregnant.” 

Jiang Ziquan looked at the woman in front of her in surprise and didn’t know how Chen Lanyi could tell. Wang Jiajing’s stomach was not only flat, but she was also very skinny and pale. There seemed to be something off about her, “Are you alright?”

Wang Jiajing’s eyes shined with unshed tears, she obviously did not expect another person to ask about her wellbeing. There were faint tears in the corners of her eyes as she shook her head: “I’m fine, but thank you.”

She continued softly, “I’m sorry.”

Jiang Ziquan hurriedly helped her up as the woman bowed, She could not bear a pregnant woman bowing to her, besides it was Chen Ruoguang who should be apologizing, at her. 

There were tears on Wang Jiajing’s face now, but also a sense of relief on it. 

The woman turned around, leaving Jiang Ziquan in a bit of a daze. Chen Ruogugan had disappeared from her life for so long that she had almost forgotten about him like he was from an entirely different world. 

“I don’t think she’s living a happy life.” Chen Lanyi patted her shoulder gently. She had also witnessed everything that day and found Wang Jiajing to be a pitiful victim. 

Jiang Ziquan nodded: “What are you eating tonight?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, I will cook something for myself later. You should hurry home to your wife instead.”

“Ok.” 

However, Jiang Ziquan did not go home and instead made her way to Su Qingwen’s house. Although, she didn’t forget to send a message to Teacher Shen to tell her she would be coming home late.  

---

T/N notes: 

[1] Peaches: Do I really have to explain this? It’s…alluding to the female genitalia. So when you are eating a ‘peach’ you are…well, uh, eating a woman out. Damn, that was really awkward to type out. In Chinese, the slang is ‘oranges’ instead and you are a homosexual when they say you have an ‘orange vibe’.

---

< Previous |TOC | Next >