Shen Wenxin could hardly believe what she had just heard.
Last summer... they had been together since last summer?!
Fortunately, she was calm now and wouldn't react as dramatically as before.
She pointed a finger at Jin Hanshuang, like a stern interrogating officer.
"Who pursued whom?"
"She pursued me."
"Lu took action first and reported later, huh!"
She was still a bit surprised.
Shen Wenxin rested her chin on her hand, furrowing her brows, "So she came to make peace with me not to pursue you, but to make me accept that you two were already together, right?"
Jin Hanshuang nodded, "Yes."
Shen Wenxin suddenly remembered something Lu Yunshu had said:
"If I really wanted to take her away from you without caring, why would I care about your opinion as her daughter? Why would I come to make peace with you and endure your cold stares?"
Shen Wenxin laughed.
She wasn't sure if she was laughing out of anger.
"That Lu is something else, knowing I wouldn't agree to this, she still went ahead and put on a show for me."
Afraid she would get angry, so she lied and said she wanted to pursue Jin Hanshuang.
Who could be more resourceful than Lu Yunshu!
Jin Hanshuang reached out and gently patted Shen Wenxin's hand, comforting her, "Calm down, calm down."
"Mom," Shen Wenxin looked at Jin Hanshuang, "Why did you agree to her back then? Didn't you struggle at all?"
Jin Hanshuang replied, "I did struggle."
Shen Wenxin asked, "And then?"
Jin Hanshuang said, "I lost."
Shen Wenxin: "..."
"Yunshu is really smart."
Jin Hanshuang patted her daughter's head.
"When she first approached me, she didn't say she liked me. Instead, she asked me to help her pursue someone she liked. I felt sorry for her and agreed. I didn't expect..."
Shen Wenxin extracted the key point: "Wait, she asked you to help her pursue someone she liked?"
Jin Hanshuang nodded.
Shen Wenxin: "And the person she liked was you?"
Jin Hanshuang helplessly nodded again.
Shen Wenxin laughed, as if suddenly finding it amusing.
"No way, she has so many tricks..."
She and Jin Hanshuang had really underestimated Lu Yunshu before.
They thought she was a well-behaved girl who wouldn't cause trouble, but in reality, she was full of clever ideas, each more cunning than the last.
Look at how she managed to trick both mother and daughter.
Seeing Shen Wenxin smile, Jin Hanshuang felt relieved.
A good laugh was all that mattered.
A smile meant that this matter wasn't a deal-breaker for Shen Wenxin.
Shen Wenxin lightly coughed, suppressing her smile, "So you couldn't resist and ended up liking her."
Jin Hanshuang raised her hand to her cheek, looking troubled, "Yes, love is truly unreasonable and sudden."
Shen Wenxin glared at her, "It's unreasonable. Didn't you think about the fact that she was your daughter's nemesis?"
Jin Hanshuang laughed, "Of course I did, that's why I didn't agree to her at first."
Shen Wenxin: "Then why did you agree?"
Jin Hanshuang: "Because love is unreasonable."
Shen Wenxin: "..."
Jin Hanshuang: "Because you didn't really hate her that much."
Shen Wenxin fell silent again.
It was hard to respond to that, and her feelings were complicated.
Seeing her not speaking, Jin Hanshuang sighed softly and said gently, "Wenxin, if you're still angry, you can scold me. I admit I wasn't very considerate in this matter."
Shen Wenxin looked at her, ready to take any scolding, and shook her head, smiling.
"Why would I scold you? You're just dating Lu Yunshu, it's not like you betrayed me or decided to cut ties with us forever."
"You are still our family, still my stepmom, right?"
Jin Hanshuang nodded without hesitation.
She gently caressed Shen Wenxin's face, her gaze very tender, "Of course, Wenxin is a very precious family member to me, always will be."
Shen Wenxin made her feel warmth in this family.
Shen Wenxin gave her a lot of affection.
She loved this child and was willing to be her stepmom for life.
She also loved Lu Yunshu.
It was a different kind of love, one where they both wanted each other to know they existed.
So, she selfishly hoped that Lu Yunshu and Shen Wenxin could reconcile.
This way, she could openly introduce Lu Yunshu as her girlfriend to Shen Wenxin, and Lu Yunshu and Shen Wenxin could get along without being constrained by their fathers' conflicts.
Having more friends is always better than having more enemies.
Shen Wenxin's heart gradually settled, immersed in warmth.
She had a faint, helpless smile on her lips.
"You didn't have to tell me this."
Jin Hanshuang said, "Yes, but it wouldn't be right."
She shook her head, "Lying to you again wouldn't be right."
She smiled gently, "You are my most precious family, and Yunshu is a good kid. You don't really dislike each other, so I wanted you to know that I like her and hope for your blessing. Yunshu feels the same way."
Shen Wenxin didn't say anything.
Jin Hanshuang held her hand, bent down, and tilted her head to look at her, her expression soft and gentle, "Wenxin, are you still mad at mom?"
Shen Wenxin's eyebrows twitched, "No."
Jin Hanshuang tightened her grip on her hand, "Then can you forgive me and Yunshu?"
Shen Wenxin remained silent.
Then, she picked up a grape and placed it in Jin Hanshuang's hand.
"Eat grape."
Seeing this, Jin Hanshuang didn't press further and gently said, "Alright, let's eat grapes."
The mother and daughter quietly ate grapes.
The carpet was very comfortable, and the warmth inside the house was also very pleasant.
They chewed slowly, eating very leisurely.
Time seemed to slow down, its passage visibly sluggish.
After an unknown amount of time, Jin Hanshuang finally heard Shen Wenxin's voice.
She said, "Mom, I just want you to always stand by my side, no matter what happens."
Jin Hanshuang replied, "Of course. You are my child, and I will always stand by your side."
Shen Wenxin's expression softened considerably, and she sighed lightly, "Although I don't want to admit it, Lu Yunshu does have good qualities. At the very least... she's not a bad person."
She didn't care much about her parents' love lives, but she did hope they wouldn't fall for bad people or be deceived by them.
And now, Lu Yunshu, a quality partner, had appeared.
She liked her stepmom enough to willingly lower herself and make peace with her.
So what else could she say?
How could someone like Lu Yunshu, who she knew well, not be a thousand times better than an outsider?
As long as her stepmom was happy, that was enough.
After all, she didn't really dislike Lu Yunshu.
Jin Hanshuang instantly beamed with joy.
She reached out and hugged Shen Wenxin, her face full of happiness.
"Oh, I knew it, our Wenxin is the best, loves mom the most. It's so great to be your mom~"
Shen Wenxin was gently swayed in the hug.
She could feel Jin Hanshuang's happiness and joy.
She was also very happy.
"Thank you for becoming my family."
Shen Wenxin changed the subject.
"What for?"
"I have some thoughts to share with her. Remember to have her come over to the house sometime."
Jin Hanshuang raised an eyebrow.
It seemed like she had guessed what the thoughts were.
"No fighting, okay? You two need to get along."
Shen Wenxin: "Don't worry, when have we ever fought?"
True, they hadn't fought.
They were just busy with passive-aggressive remarks.
It was inevitable.
With her around, the two of them would have to meet in the future, and they would eventually exchange contact information.
At home, Lu Yunshu received a message from Jin Hanshuang.
Jin Hanshuang said that Shen Wenxin already knew they had been together since last summer.
Jin Hanshuang told her to visit her house when she had time, as Shen Wenxin wanted to see her.
The first two sentences were expected.
The third one, not so much.
She still accepted Shen Wenxin's friend request.
On the empty chat screen, Shen Wenxin suddenly sent a photo.
The picture was very clear, the focus was sharp, and she could see what it was without even opening it.
It was a hand, with slender and long fingers.
It would have been perfect if it wasn't giving the middle finger.
A thousand words were conveyed through Shen Wenxin's middle finger.
Lu Yunshu rested her chin on her hand, thinking: "..."
What should she reply with?
She didn't know.
Out of politeness, she decided to reply with something random.
So she sent a photo of a thumbs-up.
Shen Wenxin: "..."
Jin Hanshuang leaned over.
She opened both pictures and took a look.
"..."
"You two are really childish."
......
The next afternoon, Lu Yunshu arrived at Jin Hanshuang's house as agreed.
It had been a long time; for the sake of acting, she hadn't been to her girlfriend's house for over two months.
Jin Hanshuang held her hand as they entered, smiling gently at her, "Stay for dinner tonight."
Lu Yunshu's eyes curved with a smile, "Okay."
She was finally able to have dinner at her girlfriend's house again.
Upon entering, there was someone standing in the living room.
-Shen Wenxin.
Shen Wenxin was standing in the living room, looking at her phone, dressed neatly with a scarf around her neck, as if she was about to go out.
She heard the commotion at the entrance and slowly turned around.
The two rivals' gazes met in the air.
Jin Hanshuang casually explained, "Wenxin just got back too."
Lu Yunshu nodded and said, "I see."
Her reaction was calm.
Then she continued to look Shen Wenxin in the eye.
The atmosphere was silently awkward.
Jin Hanshuang gently scratched Lu Yunshu's palm.
Lu Yunshu understood and took the initiative to break the ice.
She grabbed Shen Wenxin's scarf, wrapped it around her, and gently patted it.
"Wenxin, it's cold, don't catch a chill."
"We have floor heating at home."
"Wrap it up anyway."
"..."
Shen Wenxin immediately showed a look of disdain.
She took off the scarf and threw it on the sofa.
"Wenxin," Jin Hanshuang called out.
Shen Wenxin paused, then took off her coat and threw it on the sofa as well, as if she was going to take it off anyway, not targeting her stepmom's girlfriend.
Shen Wenxin adjusted her clothes and hair, with a half-smile on her face, "Lu Yunshu, so you had a crush on my stepmom back in school, huh? I never expected that."
"It's okay," Lu Yunshu said, "Hanshuang didn't expect it either."
She even tried to comfort her.
Shen Wenxin laughed, "I'm not looking for your comfort."
Shen Wenxin: "I'm just curious about one thing, how did you hide it from your dad?"
"Isn't he the one who hates homosexuals the most?"