Before everyone left, they gave Shen Xiaoting a bunch of gifts. Their behavior surprised her, but she accepted everything with a smile.
She learned a lot about everyone during breakfast. Her husband was the ceo of a big company and had an assistant named Xiao Yan, who was practically his little brother since they grew up together.
Wang Roulan, who liked to be addressed as Auntie Wang was Shen Ruihan's aunt. She was a sworn sister of Shen Ruihan's mother. She was the one who raised Shen Ruihan since his parents died when he was quite young.
Old man Wu was a family friend who was eventually regarded as family because he liked to stick around Shen Ruihan like gum. In his defense, Shen Ruihan was a gift bestowed to him by the heavens. Wherever Shen Ruihan was, that's where he was supposed to be.
Fang Ming was true to his name. He was Shen Ruihan's biological rebellious uncle who abandoned the Shen family name and was a lawyer.
Surprisingly, Xue Peng was actually Auntie Wang's daughter. Shen Xiaoting did not associate both of them with having blood relations because they seemed so different!
Although she learned a lot about everyone, close to nothing was said about her and her family. The only thing she knew about herself was that she was Shen Ruihan's wife. Even the extent of the truth about that matter was only known by Shen Ruihan and his family. She was yet to see the marriage certificate, and yet she chose to blindly trust him. She just hoped that this would not come back to bite her later.
Even after they left, her mind was preoccupied, and she failed to notice the pair of eyes that were looking at her ever since. Shen Ruihan saw her absent-minded state and sighed. He could guess what was on her mind.
A moment later, he appeared in front of Shen Xiaoting's face, holding something in his hands. She was startled because she did not know when he left and how he suddenly appeared in front of her. She looked at him with her confused eyes.
Now that her face was facing his, she could see him clearly. The man was indeed a catch. And there was an unndescribable feeling in her heart. She felt a sense of belonging, like she should totally depend on him. Maybe her doubts were for nothing. As they maintained eye contact, Shen Xiaoting blushed.
Shen Ruihan extended his hands towards Shen Xiaoting. In his hands, there was a red booklet.
"Mrs Shen, this is our marriage certificate."
She was surprised. Was it possible that he could read her mind? Again, she felt that he knew her all too well.
She slowly took it and put it on her lap. Instead of opening the booklet, she asked Shen Ruihan a question.
"Shen Ruihan, can you tell me how we got married? With such a lovely family, I bet the ceremony was a lively and beautiful occasion, right?"
At the mention of their wedding day, Shen Ruihan's heart felt as if it was bitten by tiny red ants. What wedding ceremony?
He was contemplating whether to tell her or not. In the end, he decided to tell half the truth.
"You were not feeling well at that time, and so you were hospitalised. I visited you often. One day, you made a joke about marrying me, but I took it seriously. You were reluctant at first because of your health, but I eventually convinced you. We just signed. We did not have a ceremony because everything was rushed. Your illness got worse, and you needed a special kind of surgery. The aftermath of it is your current memory loss."
Country M had peculiar laws and policies when it came to marriage.
It was permissible for a young man and woman, both aged fifteen or above, to enter into a provisional union—provided their parents gave consent. This arrangement, though not yet a full marriage, granted them certain marital rights and responsibilities. Upon reaching the age of eighteen, the couple had the choice to solemnize the union and render it permanent, should both parties agree. Conversely, they retained the freedom to dissolve the relationship without legal penalty. Once both spouses were over 18, they were only given three months to decide if they wanted to continue with the marriage or not. If they did not return to the marriage beaureu with a decision by that time, they would be automatically granted a full marriage. But if one spouse were to die during that time, the marriage would be dissolved as if it never happened. In some cases, if the parents so desired, they could register the youth under the Marriage Act, thereby bypassing the need for the parents' consent and formalizing the union by law.
Many people in Country M were against this policy, and thus, not many made use of it. But Shen Xiaoting's foster parents decided to use it as they initially planned to sell her off if her real parents decided to return her to them. They would say they were forced to do it as Shen Xiaoting did not want to live with them anymore. This would clear their image and make them gain money at the same time. But Shen Xiaoting was not returned, so their plan failed.
Before Shen Ruihan went away, he had actually married Shen Xiaoting as she was already 15 years old, and he was 19 at that time.