Chapter 70: My Wife Is Even More Beautiful

In the bathroom, Jiang Xingxing stood in front of the mirror, gazing at her reflection through the misty haze.

Her fair skin is almost translucent, her delicate collarbones are exquisite. She tilted her chin slightly, flashing a playful smile before immediately retracting it. Then, she bared her teeth at the woman in the mirror.

Droplets of water condensed on the mirror’s surface, trickling down one by one, fragmenting her reflection into several distorted pieces.

Jiang Xingxing reached out to wipe the mirror, then walked back to the showerhead, lifted her head, and closed her eyes, letting the scalding hot water pelt against her skin.

Everything had already settled.

Shen Nian Nian, Jiang Xingxing…

She was herself, living her own life. Even if fate had intertwined their paths and she had lost many things, who could say with certainty that this was the wrong life to live?

Now, she cherished everything she had.

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Jydt, cydt, cydt.

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“R’x vyjkdt y pbsola,” pbl pyke.

“R jdso,” nyxl vbl alrzu.

Kkydt Dkdtmkdt nbwnjzle psqvzu. “Mbld obyv es usw oydv?”

“R oyp fwpv alyekdt yde pweeldzu vbswtbv sq psxlvbkdt,” Fbydt Kkl’p hsknl oyp nyzx, yp kq bl vawzu bye psxlvbkdt plakswp vs ekpnwpp.

“Ebyv kp kv?”

There was a brief pause before he said, “You were talking nonsense earlier.”

“Hmm?”

“We’ve never actually showered together before.”

Jiang Xingxing: …

“And?”

Shang Jie hesitated for a moment before saying, “Can I come in?”

Jiang Xingxing instinctively stepped back in alarm. “Why would you come in?”

Silence fell on the other side of the door.

Jiang Xingxing turned off the showerhead. The atmosphere grew strangely quiet. The tall silhouette outside the door seemed a little stiff.

“I just want to take a shower,” he finally said, his voice sounding slightly awkward.

Jiang Xingxing sighed helplessly. “But I’m already showering. Can’t you wait a bit? Or use another bathroom? Why must you fight over this with me?”

Outside the door, Shang Jie stood stiffly, his face completely red. He lowered his head, staring at his slippers, before speaking with difficulty.

“Can we… shower together?”

Jiang Xingxing: …

She guessed that the usually upright Mr. Shang must have mustered an enormous amount of courage to shamelessly say something like this.

Before she could even respond, the man had already pushed the door open and walked in.

A wave of warm, misty air enveloped him like a soft veil. He was still wearing a black suit jacket—cold and rigid in texture, completely out of place in the steamy atmosphere.

Jiang Xingxing panicked, turning her back to him and glancing over her shoulder, her dark eyes flashing warily.

“…You’re pushing it.”

Shang Jie casually hung his suit jacket on a rack, then, button by button, began unfastening his shirt with practiced ease.

His fingers were long and nimble as they undid the collar of his shirt, revealing his fair, toned chest. Beneath his defined collarbones, his broad chest and sculpted abs exuded an irresistible allure.

This move was downright illegal!

It seemed that someone had recently transitioned from being reserved to being overtly flirtatious, seamlessly merging both personas together.

“I’m not going to do anything, just shower,” he said, almost unnecessarily defending himself. Then, he walked over and turned on the shower. “It’s not like I’m an animal.”

Jiang Xingxing had just turned around when she lifted her gaze, her face flushed red as she peeked at him shyly.

At that moment, a full-fledged “I take it all back” performance began.

What was supposed to be a relaxing, comfortable hot shower ended with Jiang Xingxing being pressed against the wall by a certain man who clearly had zero self-control.

…

Later, a sore and exhausted Jiang Xingxing sat by the couch, holding her script in one hand while using a mirror in the other to practice facial expressions for her role.

The script required the character to laugh maniacally. Jiang Xingxing laughed in an exaggerated manner for a long while—so much so that her facial muscles were starting to cramp.

Lin Chuan, who was playing a video game, glanced at her, shook his head, and commented with just two words: “Maniacal.”

Jiang Xingxing kicked him lightly. “Show some respect.”

“Madam, you should be mindful of your image. How can you laugh like that in front of the camera? It’s too over-the-top. Can’t you just smile modestly?”

“What do you know? This is for effect.” Jiang Xingxing rolled up the script and knocked him on the head. “Even Julia Roberts’ smile is iconic, okay? An actor has to go all in.”

Lin Chuan pouted. “You’re comparing yourself to my goddess?”

“Ask your boss and see what he says.”

Shang Jie was sitting on a single sofa, casually leaning his arm on the backrest while flipping through a document.

His tailored shirt had its sleeves rolled up to his wrists, revealing a stretch of fair skin—exuding an air of elegance and aloofness.

Hearing their argument and realizing he was being pulled into it, Shang Jie lifted his gaze and glanced at Jiang Xingxing. She immediately activated her “professional fake smile” skill.

“Julia Roberts—do I look like her?”

Shang Jie calmly replied, “No.”

Lin Chuan instantly felt triumphant. “See? What did I say?”

Shang Jie then added in a perfectly timed manner, “My wife is more beautiful.”

Lin Chuan: “…I have no friends anymore.”

Jiang Xingxing shot Lin Chuan a smug glance, but he protested, “Boss, you’re clearly biased. If this is how it’s going to be, we can’t have fun together.”

Shang Jie shifted his gaze back to the document, lazily remarking, “Play with you? Are you going to give me a son?”

Lin Chuan: “…I’m done here.”

Seeing Lin Chuan’s defeated look, Jiang Xingxing burst into laughter. “Oh wow, running to your boss for every little thing—Lin Chuan, are you still in elementary school?”

Lin Chuan huffed, standing up. “You two are ganging up on me!”

At that moment, Jiang Xingxing’s phone rang—it was Shen Chuyan calling.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Ever since the car accident, she had been in the hospital almost every day, taking care of Shang Jie, leaving her no time for anything else. Shen Chuyan had visited once but hadn’t stayed long before leaving.

The two siblings hadn’t even had a proper one-on-one conversation.

Jiang Xingxing didn’t know how to face this sudden shift in identity or… the unfamiliar family.

Right now, Shang Jie had become her safe harbor. She stayed obediently within the calm waters he provided, trying her best not to think about these things.

But avoiding the problem wouldn’t solve it.

She hesitated before answering the call. “Brother Chuyan.”

Hearing these three words, Shang Jie put down the document in his hands and looked at her.

At the same time, Jiang Xingxing also glanced at Shang Jie, searching for reassurance in his eyes.

Shang Jie walked over, sat beside her, and took her hand.

“Xingxing, are you asleep?”

“Not yet. I’m still reading my script. Brother Chuyan, why are you still up so late?”

“I wanted to call you before bed—to chat for a bit.” Shen Chuyan asked softly, “Is Shang Jie feeling better?”

“He’s fine now, completely recovered.”

“Good.”

The conversation felt awkward. It was hard to return to the easygoing way they used to talk—because now there was this new sibling relationship between them. No matter what they said, it felt deliberate and… unnatural.

Jiang Xingxing had no resentment toward the Shen family. She didn’t blame them for their negligence all those years ago, which resulted in her being lost for so long.

She didn’t hold anything against her biological parents. She just… wasn’t used to suddenly having these close family members.

That’s why she hadn’t gone to meet the Shen parents yet.

It was like the feeling of being closer to home but more afraid—she was hesitating, and the elderly couple was also suffering in silence.

“Xingxing, actually… Dad and Mom are with me right now. I’ve put the phone on speaker.”

Shen Chuyan decided to be upfront. “They want to talk to you. Is that okay?”

Jiang Xingxing gripped Shang Jie’s hand tightly, visibly nervous.

Shang Jie gently patted the back of her hand, signaling her to stay calm and do her best.

“That’s okay, Brother Chuyan.”

The phone was first passed to Fan Yazhen, who was already emotional. Her voice trembled slightly. “Xingxing? Is that you?”

“Auntie, it’s me.”

For so many years, the word “Mom” had never existed in Jiang Xingxing’s life. It was hard—really hard—to say it out loud.

Even though she had prepared herself for this moment, hearing the word “Auntie” still made Fan Yazhen break down. She couldn’t say a single word and just covered her mouth, sobbing.

“Oh, why are you crying?” Shen Sushan’s voice came through. “Stop crying, the child still needs time to adjust! You’re going to scare her.”

Jiang Xingxing felt a lump in her throat. No matter what she said, it felt wrong.

Shen Susu took the phone and spoke gently, “Child, don’t mind your aunt. She’s just overwhelmed. We asked Chuyan to call today just to hear your voice. If you have time, we’d love to have a family meal together. But of course, there’s no pressure. We understand that this is a lot for you, and your adoptive parents should also be involved in these discussions. So it’s just a casual meeting. Would that be okay?”

Jiang Xingxing could tell that his voice was trembling by the end of his sentence.

What right did she have to make her elderly parents be so cautious around her?

“Uncle, Auntie, Brother Chuyan already explained everything to me. I’ve been thinking a lot these past days. The reason I didn’t reach out first is that… I wasn’t sure how to face you all. I’m sorry for making you worry. But actually, there’s nothing to be afraid of. We can meet. I’ll talk to my family, and we can all have a meal together. Does that sound okay?”

“That’s perfect!” Shen Susu said excitedly. “I’ll have your brother book a restaurant. You two can decide on the time.”

“Okay.”

Shen Chuyan took back the phone and walked to the balcony. “That wasn’t too overwhelming for you, was it?”

“You should’ve given me a heads-up. I almost embarrassed myself because I didn’t know what to say.” Jiang Xingxing laughed lightly. “But there’s no need to be so on edge. Let’s just take things as they come.”

“I’m really glad you feel that way.”

After all the commotion caused by their parents, the atmosphere between the siblings became noticeably more relaxed. Shen Chuyan asked her, “Xingxing, do you still remember where you hid my stamp collection when we were kids?”

“Huh? Is this some kind of test for your biological sister?”

Shen Chuyan chuckled. “No, I really want to know. That stamp collection was something I spent years working on, but you hid it, and I still haven’t been able to find it.”

“Hmm… let me think.” Jiang Xingxing deliberately stretched out her words. “That was so long ago, I don’t really remember.”

Shen Chuyan sounded slightly disappointed. “Oh, I see… That’s okay.”

“I’m messing with you. I do remember.” Jiang Xingxing grinned. “That day, you ruined my doll’s clothes, and I was furious. So I stuffed your stamp collection into a chocolate tin and hid it inside the hollow of the old phoenix tree in the backyard. I even covered it with a thick layer of leaves and dirt. Is that tree… still there?”

“It is!” Shen Chuyan exclaimed. “Alright, I’m not talking anymore—I need to go look for it!”

“Hey, wait a second.”

“Hm?”

Jiang Xingxing held her phone as she walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. She gazed at the deep, azure night sky, where a cool crescent moon shone brightly.

Her voice was soft. “I’m really happy… that you’re my brother.”

Standing in the courtyard under the moonlight, Shen Chuyan felt a faint blush slowly creep up his ears.

“Well then, let’s officially introduce ourselves again.” The corners of his lips curled up. “Nian Nian, hello. My name is Shen Chuyan. I’m thirty years old. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Huh? What’s with this formality?”

Shen Chuyan chuckled. “I’m not telling you.”

Back then, Shen Chuyan had followed their father to the maternity ward. It was the first time he laid eyes on the swaddled baby, Shen Nian Nian. The infant waved her chubby little arms, struggling to grasp at something, her dark, clear eyes filled with curiosity as she gazed at him.

Shen Chuyan couldn’t help but reach out his hand. The tiny fingers clutched onto his tightly, soft and warm, as if they were slowly melting his heart.

“Nian Nian, hello. My name is Shen Chuyan. I’m six years old. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m your big brother. From now on, I’ll be the one to protect you.”

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