Chapter 39: The One in Her Heart
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“Sister-in-law, I heard that you only married my brother to use him as a shield. Is that true?” Chen Fei hesitated for a moment before speaking to Su Ran.
Now that he had the identity of “Chen Yang” as a cover, it allowed him to ask questions that were otherwise difficult to bring up.
“Big Brother, I…” Su Ran was momentarily speechless. After all, her initial reason for marrying Chen Fei was indeed just that—nothing more.
“I see. No matter what, you and my brother have gone through the wedding ceremony and are now husband and wife,” Chen Fei nodded.
“I only have one younger brother, and he has been hurt by women before. I hope you won’t hurt him again,” Chen Fei said, speaking like an older brother.
“Big Brother, why would you say that?” Su Ran was startled, looking at Chen Fei in confusion.
“Have you ever had someone you loved before?” Chen Fei asked directly.
Ever since that night when Su Ran got drunk, she had been muttering the name “Nian Que.” This matter had been bothering Chen Fei, and he needed to get to the bottom of it.
“Big Brother, I do not question Chen Fei’s past, nor do I pry into your affairs with him. I can only promise you that as long as I am with Chen Fei, I will never bring him harm,” Su Ran replied decisively.
“Thank you!” Though he did not get the exact answer he wanted, Chen Fei was satisfied with Su Ran’s commitment.
“I’m the one who should be grateful,” Su Ran said. “Initially, I only used Chen Fei to stop the Young City Lord’s proposal, but after he came into my life, the help he gave me far exceeded my expectations.”
“That’s good!” Chen Fei said gently. “I also hope that you two can turn this fake marriage into a real one so that I can truly have an outstanding sister-in-law like you.”
Su Ran merely smiled slightly without responding.
After eating a little, she got up to leave, and Chen Fei did not try to stop her.
This time, their interaction was under different identities, making their conversation less relaxed than when they were in the bridal chamber. However, it allowed Chen Fei to gain further insight into Su Ran’s thoughts.
She was hiding a great secret and seemed unlikely to let their marriage become real. It felt as though she was deliberately restraining something.
“Nian Que?”
“Could it be that she already has someone in her heart?”
Leaving Huang Yue Tower, Chen Fei felt an even stronger sense of jealousy.
When he returned to the Su residence, Su Ran was nowhere to be seen. After their meal together, she had gone directly to the Huangling Mine.
When he sought out Miao Yue, he learned that Su Ran would not be coming back for the next few days, claiming she was busy with matters at the mine.
“But she promised me that after I arranged for ‘Chen Yang’ to meet her, she would either give me a kiss or cook me a meal.”
Chen Fei had a nagging feeling that Su Ran was intentionally avoiding him.
That afternoon, Liu Yunyan and her husband arrived as planned, bringing with them an official appointment letter and seal from the Dance Bureau, as well as a retired former bureau chief to witness the apprenticeship ceremony.
The formalities were kept as simple as possible. Afterward, Chen Fei took Liu Yunyan’s son and daughter to Su Ran’s courtyard to begin teaching them the basics of modern dance.
Just as Liu Yunyan had said, her children possessed extraordinary talent in dance.
In just an hour, the fifteen or sixteen-year-old siblings had memorized all the foundational movements of modern dance with remarkable accuracy.
Chen Fei then demonstrated a modern dance routine, and the siblings imitated it skillfully. To his surprise, they were able to replicate it flawlessly in no time.
“Teacher, did you create this dance too?” Zhang Rou asked with an admiring look, her love for modern dance evident.
“From now on, this dance belongs to you. Consider it my gift to you,” Chen Fei said with a smile.
“Thank you, Teacher!”
Zhang Rou was so excited that she threw herself into a passionate hug with Chen Fei.
“What about me, Teacher?” Zhang Qing was unwilling to be left out.
“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you another new dance in a bit—one just for you,” Chen Fei reassured him.
By nightfall, the siblings were still unwilling to leave, completely immersed in the two new modern dance routines Chen Fei had taught them.
“That’s enough for today,” Chen Fei finally said, stopping them.
“Teacher, can we perform these dances at the Dance Bureau?” Zhang Rou asked eagerly.
“The dances are yours now; you can do whatever you want with them,” Chen Fei nodded. “However, I have a task for you.”
“When you go back, practice diligently. More importantly, try modifying the routines based on what you’ve learned.”
“Three days from now, come back here, and I’ll evaluate your progress,” he instructed the siblings.
For Chen Fei, teaching the Zhang siblings to dance was simply a matter of passing on the knowledge he had. Whether or not modern dance flourished from here was no longer his concern.
When the siblings returned home, their father, Zhang Linsheng, eagerly pulled them aside.
“How did Teacher Chen teach you?” he asked immediately.
“Why are you in such a rush?” Liu Yunyan said to her husband. “Dancing isn’t something you master overnight. How could you expect results so quickly?”
“But we paid a fortune for his lessons! If there’s no immediate progress, how can we be sure it’s worth it? We’re not fools,” Zhang Linsheng retorted.
“Father, how much did you pay Teacher Chen?” Zhang Qing asked curiously.
“A ten-thousand spirit stone signing bonus, a vice-director position at the Dance Bureau, and two third-grade elixirs,” Zhang Linsheng listed.
“Father, that’s just the cost of two third-grade elixirs,” Zhang Qing remarked, unimpressed.
“You foolish boy! Do you even understand what two third-grade elixirs represent?” Zhang Linsheng was furious, quickly explaining, “One third-grade elixir alone is enough to hire an eighth-tier Grand Spirit Master for an important task!”
“That’s nothing!”
“In my opinion, giving Teacher twenty third-grade elixirs wouldn’t be too much!” Zhang Rou chimed in, speaking in defense of her teacher.
“Daughter, do you even know what you’re saying?” Zhang Linsheng was exasperated. Were these still his children? They had only been studying under Chen Fei for an afternoon, yet they were already blindly supporting him?
“Wait!” Zhang Linsheng suddenly realized something. Looking at the glowing expressions of his children, he asked, “Why are you both speaking so highly of Chen Fei? What exactly did he teach you this afternoon?”
Liu Yunyan also sensed that something was off. Their children had only spent a few hours with Chen Fei, yet they were now convinced his teaching was worth twenty third-grade elixirs.
The couple exchanged curious glances before turning their full attention to their children.
“Rou’er, you go first! I’ll play the music for you,” Zhang Qing laughed, looking at his sister and signaling for her to perform the modern dance Chen Fei had given her.
“Father, Mother, watch closely!” Zhang Rou said, flashing a mysterious smile.