I arranged a marriage for you, not made you invincible under a disguise.

"Qiu... Qiu Fang? Is that you?" Shen Zhenghua doubted his eyes.

It's been so long since he last saw Yan Qiufang.

My impression of her is still from before I sent her to the sanatorium.

That withered, thin, and sallow middle-aged housewife.

Later, he got busy with business and never went to see her again.

He entrusted all matters concerning Yan Qiufang to Liu Ninghui.

When he heard that Yan Qiufang was dying, he simply sighed calmly, felt sorry for her for a few seconds, and then moved on.

Shen Zhenghua never imagined that he would be standing face to face with Yan Qiufang like this again.

She caught his eye at first glance, just like when he first met her.

Yan Qiufang has become very different.

She was beautiful back then.

Her skin was fair and soft, and her eyes were bright and captivating.

Now, her temperament has gained an added elegance and serenity honed by time.

Despite spending so much money on skincare and cosmetic procedures, Liu Ninghui was still easily outshone by Yan Qiufang.

"Qiufang, how...how could you suddenly...all of a sudden..."

Shen Zhenghua became stuttering due to the immense shock.

He realized that he still kept Yan Qiufang in his heart all along.

However, after so many years of twists and turns...

He wasn't ready to say it.

Seeing the change in Shen Zhenghua's eyes, Liu Ninghui felt a sudden alarm bell ring in her mind.

She stepped forward and asked the question that had been puzzling her for a long time.

"Yan Qiufang, the doctors said back then that no matter what treatment you received, you wouldn't survive, and they told us to prepare for your funeral. Now that you've become like this, could you be possessed by a ghost?"

Liu Ninghui could only make wild guesses in the direction of depicting gods and ghosts.

Those were the things Shen Zhenghua feared most.

He was startled and took a step back after Liu Ninghui reminded him.

He looked at Yan Qiufang with a strange expression again.

Shen Sixi scoffed, "Since you believe in ghosts, aren't you afraid of ghosts knocking on your door in the middle of the night after doing so many bad things?"

Their faces turned pale instantly, and they were slightly wary.

"However, I can't stand anyone throwing mud at my mother. Open your eyes and look carefully. My mother is standing right here, perfectly fine, without any problems."

"Perhaps God saw that my mother had suffered enough in the first half of her life, so He arranged for us to meet a reclusive doctor in the mountains. Her family had a medical tradition that had been passed down for thousands of years, and she brought my mother back to life."

Shen Zhenghua and the others listened as if it were a fairy tale.

Shen Sixi's statement is really too bizarre.

A reclusive healer, possessing medical skills passed down for thousands of years, capable of bringing the dead back to life.

Even a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit passing by couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Shen Sixi.

However, Shen Sixi's confident expression made it difficult for anyone to doubt her.

She always spoke so confidently.

Even if it's nonsense, it still feels real.

Shen Siyan frowned and couldn't help but say:

"Sister, if that's the case, why didn't you tell us sooner? I could have bought some fruit and visited Auntie."

Her tone implied that Shen Sixi was hiding something.

Shen Sixi: "I don't have a very good memory."

"It's okay if I forgot to mention it, just explain it clearly now—"

"No." Shen Sixi interrupted, looking at Shen Siyan with a strange expression. "Did I forget whether I gave you face or not?"

"Do I need to tell you about my relationship with my mother?"

Shen Sixi's mouth is so sharp it can kill you without consequence.

Shen Siyan was instantly embarrassed and couldn't say anything.

They could only watch helplessly as Shen Sixi left with an imposing aura.

Shen Zhenghua was still shouting in my ears:

"Shen Sixi! You're becoming more and more disrespectful!"

"How dare you speak to your elders like that? How dare you speak to your sister like that? Come back here right now!"

Shen Sixi didn't turn her head.

Tears welled up in Shen Siyan's eyes as she grabbed her father's sleeve. "It's alright, Dad. My sister is just a little immature. Don't blame her."

"She's over twenty years old, how come she's not as sensible as she was when she was a teenager?! It's infuriating!"

Shen Zhenghua was so angry that his face turned red, and he only calmed down when he glanced at Shen Siyan.

"Our Siyan is so obedient, it makes Daddy feel at ease. Okay, stop crying. Didn't you say you wanted to buy a dress? Come on, Daddy will buy it for you."

Shen Siyan stopped crying and started laughing.

It's always been like this since she was a child; she can always trample Shen Sixi under her feet.

Shen Sixi was her foil, her stepping stone.

Shen Siyan turned around with a smile, but her expression suddenly froze when she saw the figure standing at the entrance of the banquet hall.

Chu Lian looked at her with a dark expression.

The lights in the hall and the nighttime darkness on the deck created different interplays of light and shadow on his face.

"Shen Siyan, you're lying to me."

Shen Zhenghua and Liu Ninghui were baffled.

"who are you?"

Shen Siyan said softly, "Mom and Dad, you go first. This is my friend. I have something to talk to him about."

Liu Ninghui glanced at Chu Lian with disdain and reminded Shen Siyan.

"Why would you be friends with a poor kid like that? All he wears isn't even worth as much as a pair of your socks!"

Shen Siyan hurriedly pushed Liu Ninghui away, "Mom, don't say anymore, I'll explain to you later."

Liu Ninghui muttered something and left.

Before leaving, he passed by Chu Lian and gave him a disdainful warning.

"Don't even think about my daughter."

……

The banquet hall became completely silent.

The once bright lights are going out one by one.

Chu Lian looked at Shen Siyan and asked, word by word:

"She is your sister, Shen Sixi. Why did you keep it from me?"

Shen Siyan was at a loss for words when asked the question, and her eyes welled up with tears again.

"Do you...do you really want me to tell you the answer?"

Chu Lian's gaze remained straight. "I don't like being deceived."

“But then…” Shen Siyan lowered her head, as if she had mustered up a great deal of courage, before raising her eyes to look at Chu Lian again.

"But that's because I like you!"

“I like you, Chu Lian, so I don’t want you to pay attention to other girls.”

"Even if that person is my sister, I don't want you to be taken away by her."

Shen Siyan's voice was soft and trembling.

It seems difficult to ask a girl like her to bravely say these things.

"I'm sorry." Chu Lian's tone softened slightly, but it still sounded cold.

"You're a good girl, but you can't force someone to like something like this."

Shen Siyan felt a sudden dizziness.

Why is it completely different from the story in her dream?

Chu Lian was actually going to push her away?

Shen Siyan, refusing to believe it, chased after him and grabbed him.

"Chu Lian, I don't want to force anything. I'll be content as long as I can be your good friend."

“But I don’t like lying to my friends.” Chu Lian pried Shen Siyan’s fingers apart one by one. “I’m sorry.”

Shen Siyan is going crazy.

She shouted at Chu Lian's retreating figure, "Don't forget who brought you onto this cruise ship!"

Chu Lian finally turned around and glanced at her briefly.

"I appreciate that from you."

"When I have money in the future, I will repay you tenfold or a hundredfold."

They even severed all ties with that last connection.

Shen Siyan slumped in the completely dark banquet hall, her heart filled with despair.

How did that happen?

She just couldn't understand it.