The Crazy Rumors

Zhou Xia was completely dumbfounded. After digesting it for a while, she asked tentatively, "You didn't even consider it in college?" 

"No, I didn't," Shen Lin replied.

Zhou Xia still could not believe it. She looked at Shen Lin from head to toe in disbelief. She thought of the real reason why she broke up with Shen Lin and the rumors that were spreading like wildfire.

"Is it true then? Are you really…" She quickly stopped before she could finish her sentence. 

Shen Lin frowned. "Really what?" 

"Nothing." Zhou Xia stiffly changed the topic. "When will Aunty Wang arrive?"

"I'll ask her." Shen Lin took out his phone and sent a WeChat message. 

Wang Ruifang replied almost instantly. She informed Shen Lin it would take five minutes. 

"I'll go downstairs to pick up my mom." Shen Lin stood up.

"Do you need me to go down with you?" Zhou Xia offered.

Shen Lin's eyes were very cold. It was as if an ice blade had cut through Zhou Xia. 

"I thought you didn't want my mother to know about our marriage? Otherwise, do you want my mother to misunderstand our relationship and then play matchmaker?"

Zhou Xia shook her head. "Forget it. You can go down by yourself. I'm not going."

Shen Lin pushed the door open and left. A few minutes later, the sound of a key unlocking the door was heard. 

Zhou Xia took the initiative to open the door. Wang Ruifang was grinning from ear to ear. She grabbed Zhou Xia's hand excitedly without even removing her shoes. "Xiaxia, you're really here. I thought Shen Lin was lying to me."

"It seems that Shen Lin has lied to you a lot in the past. That's why you don't trust him." Zhou Xia glanced at Shen Lin who had not entered the room yet.

"Who said she doesn't?" Wang Ruifang turned around and rolled her eyes at Shen Lin. "Every time he saw me, he would promise me that he would find a girlfriend as soon as possible. I have never seen him bring home a girlfriend. He hasn't been in a relationship ever since you graduated. You're the first girl he's brought back to see me after so many years."

Zhou Xia was a little embarrassed. She was all too familiar with the phrase "You're the first girl he's brought back to see me…"

At that time, Zhou Xia had just started to carry out her plan to get revenge on Shen Lin. So, she tried all sorts of ways to get close to him. They lived on the same floor in the past. It was not difficult for them to meet each other. Zhou Xia would always find some extremely difficult questions. In particular, she would usually ask Shen Lin for help with the last question on the paper.

The first time she went to his house to look for him, Wang Ruifang also looked at Zhou Xia with the same smile. After a simple greeting, she poured a glass of milk for Zhou Xia and brought a plate of fruit over. In the end, she also joked about this. At that time, Zhou Xia had just started to pursue Shen Lin. They had not gotten together yet.

Wang Ruifang was gentle and easy to get along with. When Zhou Xia was in the same room with her, she never felt awkward or annoyed like when she was with other elders. Later on, when Zhou Xia recalled the details of how she fell in love with Shen Lin, it was probably because of the warmth and kindness of his mother that she started to think that Shen Lin was a good person.

Shen Lin went to the kitchen with the vegetables. Wang Ruifang took Zhou Xia's hand and sat down on the sofa in the living room. 

Zhou Xia stood up and went to the kitchen to pour Wang Ruifang a cup of pear soup. "Shen Lin made this pear soup. It's delicious. Try it."

"I've had it before. He used to make it for me often." Wang Ruifang took the cup. "Are you very surprised?"

"What?"

"Shen Lin has changed a lot these years."

Zhou Xia nodded in agreement. "Yes. He has gotten better."

"It's not enough." Wang Ruifang said, "He knows how to do housework and clean up. But he just doesn't know how to cook. If the hospital didn't provide him with work meals every day, he would probably order takeaway every day."

Shen Lin came out of the kitchen when he heard the noise. "Mom, don't talk nonsense. Who said that I don't know how to cook?"

"Yes, yes, yes. You can cook instant noodles too. But who can eat instant noodles every day?" Wang Ruifang asked. Shen Lin could not explain himself anymore.

Wang Ruifang gave Zhou Xia a helpless look. She stood up and sighed. "You should leave the kitchen. I'll cook."

"Aunty, I'll help you." Zhou Xia stood up and followed Wang Ruifang to the kitchen. Wang Ruifang didn't stand on ceremony. 

In front of Wang Ruifang, Zhou Xia was no different from her own parents.

Wang Ruifang had always regarded Zhou Xia as her goddaughter and had never seen her as an outsider. When Wang Ruifang gave birth to a child in the past, she had always hoped that she could have a sweet little girl. After Shen Lin was born, she even wanted to have a second child to make up for the regret of not having a daughter. However, due to various changes in her body and family, she was unable to have another child.

"Aunty, have you been staying in the sanatorium all these years? Didn't you return to Yanbei University with Shen Lin?" Zhou Xia asked.