The next day, Shen Liuli woke up in an unfamiliar bed. In a strange room, she felt as though yesterday had all been a dream.
She was married, and the groom was not Chen Qingdi, whom she had grown up with, but Jun Chen, a man she had only met twice.
Shen Liuli washed up, got dressed, and went downstairs. Jun Chen had already prepared breakfast: millet porridge, xiao long bao, fried eggs, and youtiao with soy milk.
"I made everything myself, even the youtiao. It's completely clean and hygienic," Jun Chen said with a smile.
Shen Liuli nodded. She had already sampled Jun Chen's culinary skills the previous night, and there was no denying they were at a five-star chef's level.
Shen Liuli sat down, picked up her chopsticks, and lifted a xiao long bao to her nose. She sniffed it—it smelled delicious!
"Fresh pork and mushroom filling," Jun Chen said.
Shen Liuli took a bite. *Mmm—delicious!* With another bite, she finished the whole thing. Just like that, taking two bites per dumpling, she quickly devoured an entire steamer basket of eight.
Jun Chen immediately stood up, went to the kitchen, and brought out another basket. "There's more."
After finishing the first basket and drinking some millet porridge, Shen Liuli was already quite full. But looking at the fresh basket Jun Chen had just placed on the table, she couldn't resist. She polished off a few more and ended up stuffed.
She began to scold Jun Chen, "From now on, you are not allowed to cook without my permission! If I keep eating like this, I'm bound to get fat."
Jun Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It's my fault. I'll listen to Her Ladyship in everything." Then he asked, "If I don't cook, who will, Wife? I haven't hired a housekeeper here."
"Then we'll move back to my place," Shen Liuli said. "I have a housekeeper there."
Jun Chen nodded with a smile. "Living off a woman isn't out of the question, I suppose."
Shen Liuli rolled her eyes at him.
With a cheeky grin, Jun Chen said, "Well then, Wife, take a break. I'll go wash the dishes, tidy up, and pack a few changes of clothes, and then we can head out."
Shen Liuli nodded, turned on the television, and began to watch.
Meanwhile, at Modu University.
Following the written tests and interviews for the recruitment of three ideological and political teachers, five candidates stood out based on their combined scores. Jun Chen was among the final five.
The Director of Human Resources was in a tight spot. He had directly crossed Jun Chen's name off the list, but the remaining four candidates had all pulled strings and contacted him. No matter who he eliminated, he couldn't afford to offend them.
He had tossed Jun Chen's application aside, but a sudden draft blew it onto the floor, right at the feet of Wei Wuxian, the President of Modu University, who happened to be checking on the recruitment progress.
Wei Wuxian bent down, picked up Jun Chen's resume, and took a look. It looked somewhat familiar. On second thought, wasn't this the Jun family kid who crashed the wedding between the Chen and Shen families yesterday?
Nearly all of Modu's upper crust had attended the wedding of the two prominent families, and Wei Wuxian was no exception. He had been seated right beside Elder Shen and Elder Chen and had heard every word clearly.
Holding the resume, Wei Wuxian walked into the HR office, placed the document on the desk, and asked the HR Director, "Is this person also applying for the ideological and political teacher position?"
"Yes, President," the director replied.
"What were the results?"
"He's one of the final five, but..."
Wei Wuxian understood the political maneuvers at play. He cut straight to the point: "I don't care who the other two are, and I don't want to know. Him—Jun Chen must be one of the final three. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Understood, President," the HR Director replied instantly, nodding.
After Wei Wuxian left, the director's face twisted into a smile uglier than tears. Narrowing the choice down from four to one had already been difficult enough; now he had to pick two out of four. Was this going to kill him? *Ah, whatever, screw it! Damn it, I don't care anymore. Let's just draw lots! Worst comes to worst, I'll quit. This job is truly not meant for humans. Whoever wants to do it can have it. I'm checking out.*
Over at Villa No. 4 in Maple Forest Courtyard, Shen Liuli's residence.
Chen Qingdi had called Shen Liuli countless times, but no one answered. Having no other choice—and since he didn't know Jun Chen's address and lacked the face to go to the Shen family—he had no alternative but to come to Maple Forest Courtyard and wait for her.
Near noon, Jun Chen drove Shen Liuli back to the courtyard.
The moment they stepped out of the car, they saw Chen Qingdi, who had been waiting for a long time.
Spotting Shen Liuli, Chen Qingdi immediately stepped forward. "Liuli, can we talk?"
"There is nothing for us to talk about," Shen Liuli said calmly.
She walked around Chen Qingdi and headed toward the villa. Chen Qingdi tried to reach out and grab her, but Jun Chen blocked his path. "Young Master Chen, please show some self-respect. Liuli is my wife now, the young mistress of the Jun family."
Chen Qingdi shouted, "Liuli, it was all my fault! Everything was my fault! I'm willing to bear any punishment, but I'm begging you—please, I beg you, let Zijin go, Liuli!"
Without looking back, Shen Liuli walked straight into the villa.
"Liuli!"
"Liuli?"
Chen Qingdi yelled frantically, trying to chase her inside, but Jun Chen had no intention of letting him get his way. Blocking him, Jun Chen said, "Cut it out with the howling. Even if you want to pray, you have to go to the right temple, don't you? What happened to Dongfang Zijin was my doing; Liuli knew nothing about it. Liuli isn't foolish enough to run around telling people and calling the police to announce that she was framed and lost her virginity.
"Illegal acts will ultimately face the punishment of the law, no matter who commits them. If nothing was done, then what is there to fear?"
With that, Jun Chen didn't want to waste any more words on Chen Qingdi. He turned toward the villa and called out, "Wife, open the door!"
Chen Qingdi's face turned ashen. He left Maple Forest Courtyard in a daze, his soul seemingly drained away.
Mother Wu, the housekeeper, opened the door. "Welcome back, Young Master!"
"Where is Liuli?" Jun Chen asked.
"Miss went to the study," Mother Wu replied. "She's probably handling company business. Ever since last night, her phone left at home has been ringing nonstop, until the battery died and it shut down automatically."
Jun Chen didn't go up to the study to disturb her, deciding instead to rest in the living room.
At that moment, his phone rang. The caller ID showed it was from the Modu University HR Department. Jun Chen was overjoyed. After three days, there was finally news! The call meant he had definitely passed. The HR Director at Modu University wasn't half bad—he had a promising future and a good eye for talent.
Jun Chen answered the phone. "Hello?"
A female voice came from the other end. "Hello, is this Mr. Jun Chen? We are from the Human Resources Department of Modu University. Congratulations on passing our school's interview. We would like to invite you to report to the HR Department at Modu University next Monday."
"Great, great, great," Jun Chen said quickly. "Next Monday, right? I'll be there on time."
After hanging up, Jun Chen felt a rush of excitement. Even back when he received his military commission in Zhongnanhai, he hadn't been this excited or nervous.
Just as Shen Liuli finished her work and came downstairs, she saw Jun Chen's face beaming with excitement.
Jun Chen shared his joy with her. "Wife, I found a job! I'm a teacher at Modu University."
Shen Liuli simply let out an "oh," her heart as calm as still water. *You're the grand young master of the Jun family; is there anything in this world you can't do besides giving birth?*
Clearly, Shen Liuli had jumped to the wrong conclusion—though not entirely wrong!