Chapter 834: 835, Marriage Fate (First Update)

Zhou Yiheng was really struggling now.

Single mothers as capable as her were truly rare.

While mixing a drink, Duanmu Sheng said, "I don’t want to hire a maternity matron. Not only do they charge high fees, but I also don’t trust them with Nian’en. I’m still young, and a bit of hardship doesn’t matter. I don’t want to compromise Nian’en’s care." No matter what, no one could care for a child better than their own mother.

Duanmu Sheng had invested all her savings into the bakery. The bakery had just opened, and its income was barely enough to cover daily expenses and wages. Now that she had a child, she had to have savings. Only then would her child’s future be secure.

Right now, she couldn’t afford to misuse a penny; she had to plan for Nian’en’s future.

Nian’en was already without a father; she didn’t want her to lose at the starting line.

Situ Ya continued, "Even if you don’t trust the maternity matron, you should trust your parents. Why not let them take care of the child while you focus on work? Why wear yourself out like this?"

Duanmu Sheng passed the prepared drink to Situ Ya and replied, "The child is mine, and the mistake was mine. I don’t want to dump her on my parents. I have to bear this responsibility. Since I brought her into this world, I have to be responsible for her. How can I just hand her over to my parents? They’ve already raised me; how can they raise my daughter too?"

No matter what, Duanmu Sheng wouldn’t let her parents take care of Nian’en.

Just like she had said, the mistake was hers to bear, and she had to take responsibility for it.

Situ Ya sighed, "You! Look how clear-headed you are now. If you had been this clear-headed back then, things wouldn’t have turned out like this!"

Duanmu Sheng smiled at the mention of the past, her face showing little discomfort, her expression faint.

What had happened had happened; all she could do was face it calmly.

"Sister Sheng." Lin Xiyuan walked in from outside.

"Xiyuan, take a seat inside." Duanmu Sheng moved out from behind the bar.

Lin Xiyuan handed a paper bag to Duanmu Sheng, "Sister Sheng, these are clothes I bought for Nian’en. I’m not sure if they’re the right size; try them on her later."

"Xiyuan, you really didn’t have to go to the expense..." Duanmu Sheng replied somewhat awkwardly.

Lin Xiyuan was a good person. When Duanmu Sheng was giving birth, Lin Xiyuan had brought loads of gifts. And now after the birth, Lin Xiyuan continually bought things for the child.

"By the way, Xiyuan, let me introduce you. This is my good friend, Lin Yuya. This is Lin Xiyuan." Duanmu Sheng proactively introduced the two.

In this world, there was no Situ Ya, only Lin Yuya.

"Nice to meet you, Sister Yuya." Lin Xiyuan stretched out her hand to Situ Ya.

"Nice to meet you." Situ Ya nodded, then turned to Duanmu Sheng, "I have stuff to take care of at the company. I’ll be going now, goodbye."

Duanmu Sheng knew Situ Ya was a busy person and said with a smile, "Take care on your way."

Situ Ya nodded, "Alright, I’m off then. Goodbye, Miss Lin."

"Goodbye." Lin Xiyuan watched her leave, briefly lost in thought.

Lin Yuya.

These three characters felt somewhat familiar. Lin Xiyuan narrowed her eyes slightly and then withdrew her gaze, a sharp gleam flickering across her eyes.

Situ Ya’s figure quickly disappeared down the road.

Duanmu Sheng turned to Lin Xiyuan, "Xiyuan, take a seat inside. My cousin might have been delayed by traffic; he’s not here yet." Indeed, Lin Xiyuan was here for a blind date today, arranged by Zhou Jin, who had introduced her own cousin to Lin Xiyuan.

Since Lin Xiyuan was a military doctor and had been busy until the end of the year, they were only meeting today.

Lin Xiyuan smiled gently, "No problem, I’m free today anyway."

Seeing how understanding Lin Xiyuan was made Duanmu Sheng feel even more relieved, increasing her favorable impression of her.

Compared to most girls these days, Lin Xiyuan was doing exceptionally well to be as she was.

Her cousin really lacked a sense of time.

"Xiyuan, what would you like to drink?" Duanmu Sheng handed the drink menu to Lin Xiyuan, "It’s my treat today."

"Thank you, Sister Sheng. I’ll have a matcha coffee," Lin Xiyuan said, taking the menu.

Duanmu Sheng nodded, "Alright, coming right up."

Unlike others, who would start playing with their phones as soon as they sat down, Lin Xiyuan picked up a fashion magazine to read.

After the matcha coffee was served and Lin Xiyuan had drunk most of it, the male lead still hadn’t appeared.

Lin Xiyuan wasn’t in a rush, showing no signs of impatience, and continued to browse the magazine.

Duanmu Sheng stood at the bar, calling her cousin. As soon as the call connected, she snapped, "Zhou Yiheng, what’s the deal? The woman has been waiting for over half an hour for you! What on earth are you doing? I must tell you, this girl lives in the same courtyard as us! You must show up today, or my mother simply won’t be able to explain it to them!"

The man on the other end was surprised, "Ah! Lin Xiyuan hasn’t left yet? She’s really patient! Wait for me; I’ll be right there!"

"Hurry up!" Duanmu Sheng hung up the phone, still fuming.

After the call, Duanmu Sheng put on a smile again, went over to Lin Xiyuan, and with a sincere apology said, "Xiyuan, I’m really sorry to keep you waiting so long. My cousin just contacted me, he ran into some trouble on the road, but he’ll be here soon."

Lin Xiyuan put down the magazine and looked up at Duanmu Sheng, smiling, "Don’t worry, Sister Sheng. I understand."

Lin Xiyuan didn’t mind at all that the man was late.

"Xiyuan, you really are a great girl," Duanmu Sheng said appreciatively.

"Sister Sheng, I’m not as good as you say," Lin Xiyuan replied modestly.

A short while later, the car belonging to the male lead, Zhou Yiheng, finally stopped in front of the bakery.

Seeing the familiar vehicle, Duanmu Sheng hastily stopped what she was doing, walked outside, and opened the car door. She spoke irritably, "Zhou Yiheng! What’s going on with you? If you didn’t want to go on a blind date, you shouldn’t have agreed to my mom! You agreed and now you’re late! Do you realize the girl has been waiting for over an hour? Xiyuan has good manners; if it had been me, I would have lost my temper by now!"

Zhou Yiheng stepped out, slinging an arm around Duanmu Sheng’s shoulders nonchalantly, "Don’t be angry. Who’s going to take care if you ruin your health? You know it was an order from Auntie, I dared not disobey... And Auntie, why does she bother about my affairs when there’s no need?"

Duanmu Sheng rolled her eyes at Zhou Yiheng.

"My mom is only doing this for your own good! Let me tell you, Xiyuan is a great girl, pretty too, and you must straighten up your attitude and then properly apologize to her!" Zhou Yiheng nodded repeatedly, "I know, I know, don’t worry, I’ll definitely offer her a proper apology."

"Go on then," Duanmu Sheng turned and walked inside, lowering his voice as he went, "Be smart about it later on, I just said you had a bit of trouble on the road, you know how to spin that, right?"

After all, it was his own cousin, and Duanmu Sheng’s heart was with Zhou Yiheng.

Lin Xiyuan was a good girl, and Duanmu Sheng didn’t want Zhou Yiheng to miss this opportunity.

"Got it! Don’t worry!" Zhou Yiheng patted Duanmu Sheng on the shoulder, complaining, "You’re younger than me but nag more than my mom!"

As they talked, the two of them arrived at Lin Xiyuan’s location.

Duanmu Sheng greeted Lin Xiyuan with a smile, "Xiyuan, this is my cousin Zhou Yiheng. Cousin, this is Lin Xiyuan."

"Mr. Zhou, hello." Lin Xiyuan extended her hand very politely.

"Miss Lin." Zhou Yiheng also shook her hand with gentlemanly grace.

Seeing that the two had a good impression of each other, Duanmu Sheng said, "Then I’ll be leaving now, you two chat at your leisure."

Lin Xiyuan nodded with a smile, "Sheng, go ahead with your things; don’t worry about us." Lin Xiyuan was gentle and kind, elegant and poised.

Not wanting to disturb the two, Duanmu Sheng quickly left.

In a blink, only Lin Xiyuan and Zhou Yiheng remained at the window-side seat.

The two of them looked at each other in silence, the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, Zhou Yiheng said apologetically, "Miss Lin, I’m really sorry, the traffic was just so bad on the way here, making you wait for so long."

Zhou Yiheng watched Lin Xiyuan, his face devoid of excessive expression.

Lin Xiyuan was very beautiful.

So beautiful she had no distinguishing features.

A standard beauty’s face.

It was precisely because she had no distinguishing features that it was hard to remember her.

There are simply too many beautiful women in this world.

"It’s okay," Lin Xiyuan said with a light smile, "Mr. Zhou, there’s no need for such formality, Sheng and I are very good friends, you can just call me Xiyuan."

Zhou Yiheng nodded, "Alright, then you don’t need to be so formal either, just call me by my name, Zhou Yiheng—’Zhou’ as in auspicious, ’Yi’ as in unique, and ’Heng’ as in eternal."

Maybe Lin Xiyuan didn’t look that stunning at first glance, but upon a second look, she appeared quite amiable. Perhaps due to being in the military, she didn’t exude an air of greed for fame or fortune, nor did she seem calculating.

She was taking this blind date very seriously.

Seeing his own tardiness, Zhou Yiheng felt somewhat embarrassed.

The conversation between them was, however, quite congenial.

After finishing their coffee, Zhou Yiheng took the initiative to invite Lin Xiyuan to a movie, and she nodded, "Sure, I don’t have anything else this afternoon. I’ll go to the restroom to touch up my makeup first."

"Okay." Zhou Yiheng nodded with gentlemanly grace.

As Lin Xiyuan stood up to leave, Duanmu Sheng handed the child off to another attendant and quickly followed her.

Upon entering the restroom, Duanmu Sheng immediately pulled Lin Xiyuan aside and asked in a low voice, "Xiyuan, how is it going? Does my cousin stand a chance?"

Lin Xiyuan smiled and nodded without playing coy, "Zhou Yiheng seems like a decent guy; we’ve planned to go see a movie later."

"Really?" Duanmu Sheng was somewhat surprised.

"Of course, it’s true." Lin Xiyuan nodded.

"That’s great," Duanmu Sheng said excitedly, "If things really work out between you two, then you’ll become my cousin’s wife. Xiyuan, my cousin is truly a good man," Duanmu Sheng appreciated Lin Xiyuan a lot.

If Lin Xiyuan really ended up with Zhou Yiheng, that would be a joyous event.

"It’s all about fate; I still don’t know what he thinks of me," Lin Xiyuan said softly.

"Don’t worry, my cousin is bound to have no objections to you; you’re so pretty, if anyone is to choose, it’s for you to pick," Duanmu Sheng said with a smile.

If Zhou Yiheng really had no interest in Lin Xiyuan, he wouldn’t have taken the initiative to ask her to the movies.

Lin Xiyuan also smiled, her eyes twinkling with a soft light, "If he has no objections to me, then we can start by being friends, and if things really work out later, that would be wonderful. I’m not getting any younger, and my parents do hope for me to settle down soon."

"Yeah," Duanmu Sheng nodded and said, "Start by being friends. If my cousin ever bullies you, you can call me, and I’ll have my mom give him a telling-off for you."

"Okay." Lin Xiyuan nodded.

After chatting in the restroom for a bit, Lin Xiyuan left.

After Lin Xiyuan’s departure, Duanmu Sheng immediately called Zhou Jin, who was also very happy upon hearing the news.

Lin Xiyuan and Zhou Yiheng got along very well, and they decided to start off as ordinary friends.

During holidays, the two would make plans to eat out and watch movies.

Because of Lin Xiyuan, Zhou Yiheng began to visit the Duanmu Family more frequently, and Lin Xiyuan was also coming more often.

Lin Xiyuan came because of Zhou Yiheng, and Zhou Jin was very welcoming of her.

Zhou Jin also hoped Lin Xiyuan would become her nephew’s wife.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read