Chapter 9 First Encounter

  Shen Han protected Li Shi and squeezed in, even though there were still people waiting in line for treatment in front of her, she saw the owner of the voice as she wished. A white robe with a simple wooden hairpin tied up her hair, the whole person gave her the feeling that she had seen before, a man in white clothes like snow and warm like jade.

  After seeing the man, Shen Huan's inexplicable emotions that had arisen initially disappeared instantly. At this moment, she was only thinking about how to meet her family.

  "Zi'an, where's your dad?"

  Shen Huan had something on her mind and didn't notice when a man in his thirties walked up behind the boy until she heard his voice and looked up.

  "Uncle Qingfeng is fine, Father has gone out for a medical visit."

  "Haha, Brother Shifang is indeed a busy person, I'll come find him later then."

  "That's all right, Uncle Qingfeng. I'll tell Father you came when he gets back."

  The young man sent the visitor out of the door and turned to continue walking towards the medicine cabinet, but after passing by Shen Huan, he suddenly turned his head back, and a look of surprise instantly appeared on his face.

  "Second sister?"

  Shen Huan was in a state of deep thought, feeling somewhat startled by the sudden voice, and the person in front of her also made way, exposing her and Li Shi to the front. She was about to turn around to see who this young man who had come to grab medicine was calling out to, and also to make way for him, when her hands were grabbed, and she looked at the somewhat enlarged beautiful face in front of her, shocked and forgetting to pull back her own hands.

  "Second sister, you've finally come back!" The other person was excited at the same time and didn't forget to greet Li politely: "Auntie is well! You must be tired from traveling, please come in and sit down."

  Looking at the young man in front of her, Shen Huan was somewhat taken aback. The other person had clearly called out to her, but she didn't know how to react to this sudden enthusiasm. She could only quickly recall from memory that among the members of the Shen family she had detected on Li's body, there was indeed a younger brother, and she herself was the second child, with an older brother above her who was already married.

  Just now, from his conversation with Qingfeng Shu, Shen Huan also learned that the father of this body was named Shen Shi Yi, and the enthusiastic young man in front of her was called Shen Zi An. Although she still couldn't figure out whether to call him Xiao Di or Zi An at this moment, Li Shi was busy responding to his previous greeting with a bow, so she took the opportunity to nod and muddle through.

  Shen Huan's estrangement did not arouse Shen Zian's suspicion, he smiled happily and pulled Shen Huan's hand to lead the way inside, while Shen Huan withdrew one of his hands and walked with Li Shi towards the inner chamber. When Shen Zian lifted the curtain, he didn't forget to turn back and instruct the apprentices in the shop: "You watch for a while, I'll be out soon."

  At this time, Shen Huan also clearly saw the change on Shen Zian's face. When he faced the patient, a warm and gentle side appeared, but when facing himself, there was a bit of childishness. However, when instructing the apprentices in the store to take care of the shop, he had an air of being the master of the house. She couldn't help but think to herself that men from ancient times were really mature at a young age. In the 21st century, it was already impressive if 15 or 16-year-old kids could understand things, let alone be like the boys in this era who could shoulder the responsibility of taking care of an entire family.

  From the exterior to the backyard, Shen Hanguang could tell that the family's economic situation was not wealthy, but it could be considered a well-off family. She looked at Shen Zian, who had been holding her hand and walking beside her, and felt his enthusiasm for her. Shen Huan hoped to ask him some questions about this household, so she couldn't help but speak up: "Are Father and Mother... all right?"

  At this time, Shen Zian had already walked to the gate of the main hall, with a joyful smile in his eyebrows and eyes. After leading Shen Huan and Li Shi to sit down at their seats, he smiled and said: "We're all good, last time mother asked me to bring your favorite osmanthus cake to see you, but I didn't see you."

  "Back then I..."

  "Are you still angry with your dad?"

  Shen Zian smiled and took over the conversation, which was tantamount to answering on behalf of Shen Han. He himself didn't rest either, pouring a cup of water for both Shen Han and Li Shi, carefully mixing one hot and one cold, with the hot one given to Li Shi and the cold one handed to Shen Han.

  From his subtle actions, Shen Huan also tacitly understood that this body had a very good relationship with him in the past. Shen Zian's action just showed that he was very clear about his sister's preferences. This didn't matter anyway, as Shen Huan himself liked drinking cold water, so even if he didn't pay attention to this detail in the future, he wouldn't worry about being exposed.

  "After you left, Dad was heartbroken for a long time and lost a lot of weight."

  As they spoke, Shen Zian brought the pastries and fruits on the main table to Shen Han's face, but smiled at Li Shi and said: "Auntie has been tired all the way, first eat some fruit to quench your thirst. My father went out for a consultation on West Street, my mother and aunt went out to buy things, and they will be back soon."

  Mr. Li saw Shen Zian at a young age, managing the shop and home, and couldn't help but nod in approval: "Yes, Zian, you can sit down too, don't be busy."

  Everything to eat and drink has been prepared, and Shen Zian sat down beside Shen Han, still unable to conceal his excitement. This was also a manifestation of his innocence as a fifteen or sixteen year old boy. Although he was a bit noisy and talkative, it didn't make people dislike him. Moreover, Shen Han wished that he would say more about Shen Shi Yi's topics, so that she could understand the situation better.

  "What's Father doing now..."

  "It's all right now, Second Sister. Are you willing to come back and forgive Father? Actually, Father misses you too, it's just that he... Ah, as long as you're willing to come back, those things are in the past!"

  Here is the translation:

  At this point, Shen Zian seemed to realize that Li was not in a good position to comment on how his father had hidden the truth and married off his sister to be a widow. So he happily said that as long as his sister came back it would be fine. Shen Han couldn't help but feel embarrassed for her previous emotional outburst, saying that he was mature one moment and then immediately became childish again, really... taking advantage of his sister!

  "I'm not unwilling to come back and see you all, it's just that after getting married I've been to many places that didn't suit me, so it's dragged on until now."

  "I thought you were angry and didn't want to go home!"

  "Of course not, your second sister has been wanting to come back and take a look for a long time, it's just that I've always had work on my hands and couldn't leave, so I'm only now accompanying her back."

  Mrs. Li, having lived for most of her life, knew the inside story of Shen Huan not returning home for several months and thought that Shen Huan might still have some resentment in his heart. She immediately helped to mediate and carefully observed Shen Zi'an's expression. The small abacus in Mrs. Li's heart was about how if they couldn't get along well, she wanted Shen Huan to lend them money, which would probably be ruined. Although it was a bit selfish, she was also thinking for the sake of this family, and it was helpless.

  "That's good, Auntie even accompanied Second Sister back personally. Since you're here, why not stay for a few more days? It just so happens that Mother and Aunt are also complaining about how quiet the house is. You can keep each other company."

  They, as a family, eat and dress well, with servants at their beck and call. Shen Huan couldn't help but think to herself, "What's the big deal?" while her expression didn't change much. She probably also knew that in this era, it wasn't expensive to buy a servant or two to do chores. However, seeing how carefree this family lived, while she was still struggling with her mother-in-law at the Zhao household, made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

  "This probably won't work, I'm not at ease with just Qiao Ge being at home, thinking about returning tomorrow, but if Huan'er wants to stay for a few more days, I naturally have no opinion."

  After finishing, Li looked at Shen Huan with a smile, and Shen Zian's gaze naturally turned to her. Shen Huan thought that since she wanted to ask for money from home, it was impossible to open her mouth as soon as she returned, so she could only wait a few more days before speaking, and somewhat uncomfortably replied: "Mm, I missed you guys too."

  "That's great! Mother will be so happy she won't be able to sleep!"

  Shen Zian's performance made Shen Han secretly ponder in her heart, and from start to finish, she didn't mention how Shen Shiye felt about it. Could it be that Shen Shiye really didn't like this daughter of hers, so when she married into the Zhao family and became a widow, he had no regrets?

  As soon as the thought flew here, Shen Zian got up from his seat and saw him quickly walking in front of himself. Following his direction, he looked at the door and found a man with a serious face standing there. A gray and white long shirt set him off to be somewhat slender, and he was also carrying a wooden box on his body.

  "Dad is back."

  Upon hearing this, Shen Han immediately stood up and forced a smile from the corner of her mouth. As his daughter, she respectfully greeted him: "Father..."

  Shen Shi Yi didn't show much reaction upon hearing this, and only responded faintly: "Mm, when did you arrive?"

  Shen Han lowered her head and stole a glance at Shen Shi's expression. When Shen Zi'an took over the medicine box slung over his shoulder, she clearly saw a fleeting astonishment in his eyes.

  It turns out that it wasn't really so calm and collected after all. I thought you really didn't care about this daughter, Shen Huan couldn't help but think to herself again.

  "Uncle... I've come to bother you."

  At this time, Mrs. Li stood up in a timely manner to greet them, dissolving the awkwardness between Shen Huan and her father. Shen Shi-yi immediately regained his serious demeanor, but also put on a smile, making a please gesture towards Mrs. Li, saying: "Auntie has had a hard journey, quickly sit down and rest for a while. Look at us, we haven't prepared well enough. Tell your mother and sister that Auntie is here, let them come out to greet her, and tell your brother to catch a chicken to kill and add some dishes."

  Shen Huan had originally intended to put on a smiling face and treat this father with kindness, but he didn't expect him to look at her in surprise first, then turn around and walk towards Li Shi with a cold expression. She couldn't help but wonder in her heart, no matter how you looked at it, wasn't this all because of her old man's stubbornness and disregard for his daughter's happiness, pushing her into the fire pit? How come now he seemed to have many opinions about her? Wasn't there something more going on behind the scenes?

  "Mother and sister-in-law have gone out to buy things, I'll go find big brother with second sister first! Second sister, it's been a long time since I've had your cooking, can you show off your skills?"

  "Go then, and don't forget to let your brother..."

  "Killing a chicken to add some dishes, eh? Father, take a look at your second daughter, she's become garrulous since she came back!"

  "You this child..."

  I don't know if it was because of what Shen Zian said, but Shen Shi Yi's face showed a momentary stiffness, and he looked at Shen Han with some discomfort. The father and daughter locked eyes again, and Shen Han seemed to sense that Shen Shi Yi wasn't as cold towards her as he appeared on the surface. She smiled slightly and nodded: "Then let's go find big brother first."

  Having said that, she immediately turned around and said to Mrs. Li: "You sit down first, I'll go with Zian for a while."