Marrying the Ugly Woman of a Rich and Powerful Family - Chapter 23
out of measure.
Cang Yan was so angry she wanted to drag Shen Qingyuan out and beat her up, but Shen Qingyuan seemed genuinely concerned that she might get diabetes, looking at her with an anxious expression.
Cang Yan tried to get angry but couldn’t, so she just stewed in silence.
Shen Qingyuan said, “I’m serious.”
Cang Yan turned her head, not wanting to talk to her.
Shen Qingyuan sighed softly. She heard Aunt Cai say Cang Yan had lost weight, and she also visibly felt that Cang Yan was thinner. She actually didn’t know exactly how much weight was lost. She went and brought a scale, placing it next to Cang Yan’s feet.
Cang Yan looked at the scale, then back at Shen Qingyuan.
She didn’t step on it.
“Come up and try to see how much weight you’ve lost.” Shen Qingyuan remembered Cang Yan’s weight in her records was 42 kg, but she felt Cang Yan definitely didn’t weigh 42 kg now.
Cang Yan said expressionlessly, “I won’t try.”
She turned to go upstairs, not wanting to play along with Shen Qingyuan. She was used to her weight inexplicably dropping. Only Shen Qingyuan would make a big fuss about it.
Seeing Cang Yan about to run away, Shen Qingyuan quickly reached out and grabbed her sleeve, then awkwardly let go under Cang Yan’s warning gaze, and said, “Are you afraid of me seeing your weight? Then I’ll go first.”
Shen Qingyuan took off her shoes and stood barefoot on the scale.
56 kg.
That heavy?
Shen Qingyuan uncomfortably glanced at Cang Yan and stepped off the scale feeling guilty. However, Cang Yan had already glimpsed the number. Her eyes darkened slightly, and her expression was cold, seemingly even more angry.
Shen Qingyuan said sheepishly, “You know I have a niche aesthetic. Sometimes I dislike my height and weight. I’m not humble-bragging; I’m serious.”
Actually, her figure was quite good in her original world—not too thin, not too fat, not scrawny. Moreover, she had muscle definition and was full of strength, which she herself liked very much. But to make Cang Yan feel better, she could only belittle herself first.
Cang Yan folded her arms and didn’t speak.
“Now it’s your turn,” Shen Qingyuan said, looking expectant.
Cang Yan seemed to be preparing herself mentally for a long time before slowly stepping onto the scale. The numbers on the scale kept changing and finally settled at 40.1 kg.
Cang Yan looked at the number without surprise, her eyes seemingly covered with a layer of mist. She sat back on the sofa dejectedly, hugging her knees and burying her head in them.
Shen Qingyuan hadn’t expected Cang Yan to be so light, four jin (about 2 kg) less than the records showed. Although the baseline was small, it was particularly noticeable on a thin person. She cautiously asked, “What is your real height?”
Cang Yan seemed to have given up the struggle. She reluctantly looked up and said, “160 cm. Are you satisfied now?”
Shen Qingyuan choked. Cang Yan was even shorter than she was in her past life. Her height in her past life was 163 cm. After arriving in this world, the original owner’s body was 173 cm.
Although she had emphasized that this world was similar to her original one, where most people were ordinary with normal yellow skin tone, perhaps due to gene selection issues, the general population was taller and darker-skinned. Coupled with the common practice of tanning, Cang Yan stood out awkwardly.
“Don’t overthink it. I’m just afraid the calculated body fat percentage will be inaccurate if it’s different from the publicly disclosed data.”
Cang Yan was delicate and generally looked slender, so Shen Qingyuan had never questioned Cang Yan’s height.
Cang Yan retorted sharply, “Will the height and weight you publish guarantee a hundred percent truth? Anyway, I haven’t gotten shorter.”
She was just this short.
Shen Qingyuan was at a loss for words and suddenly didn’t know how to comfort her. She said dryly, “Actually, your height is very nice.”
Cang Yan snapped loudly, “You don’t need to comfort me against your will. Do you think it helps? Or does your niche aesthetic prefer a world full of short people? Let me tell you, only children are this height.”
Shen Qingyuan was stunned for a moment, then argued anxiously, “I don’t have a p**dophile tendency. Don’t talk nonsense. Don’t wrongly accuse me!”
Cang Yan didn’t know how she jumped to p**dophilia. She wanted to explain she didn’t mean that, but when she opened her mouth, it turned into cold, harsh words: “I’m just stating facts. Think whatever you want, unless you’re not from this world.”
Otherwise, no one would like her height.
What niche aesthetic? Why hadn’t she seen anyone else with a niche aesthetic like Shen Qingyuan?
Only Shen Qingyuan was complimenting her, which sounded very ironic.
Shen Qingyuan: “…”
“Actually, there are many people with your height; you just don’t know it. Every height has its advantages. My aesthetic is diverse; it’s not rigid, only favoring thin and short.”
Shen Qingyuan felt that Cang Yan was like an anomaly who accidentally crossed over from her world to this one with strange aesthetics.
She said, “At least in my eyes, your height is very normal.”
Height is a matter of perspective.
Some people like tall, some like short, and some are fond of the most adorable height differences.
It was just that the overall aesthetic preference in this world was tall, strong, and dark-skinned, just like the celebrities in her world. Most of them were too thin, outside of the standard weight range, but not everyone liked thinness. There were always exceptions.
Cang Yan stared deeply at Shen Qingyuan. Seeing that Shen Qingyuan spoke without any insincerity, she was inexplicably angry. She asked coldly, “Who do you think you are to me? Do you think your opinion matters to me? I don’t care for it.”
Even if Shen Qingyuan kept emphasizing the niche aesthetic, she didn’t belong to Shen Qingyuan alone. Even if she looked beautiful in Shen Qingyuan’s eyes, to others, she was still ugly.
Cang Yan’s sharp questioning brought a rare silence from Shen Qingyuan.
For a moment, the atmosphere was awkward.
Cang Yan belatedly remembered that Shen Qingyuan was just trying to comfort her. She closed her eyes and emphasized wearily, “In any case, it’s impossible for me to have diabetes.”
Shen Qingyuan still didn’t speak.
Cang Yan continued on her own, “I have a full body check-up every year and also check my physical condition irregularly. I won’t contract a named illness like that.”
Her physical weakness was frustrating because no one knew what the illness was. Even doctors said she wasn’t sick. If she only knew what the illness was, she wouldn’t be so helpless.
Shen Qingyuan finally spoke, her tone as irritating as ever.
“Did you have a check-up this year? Your weight is inexplicably dropping, and your liver is so inflamed. You should pay attention.”
Cang Yan only felt her liver fire increase even more.
“I’ll go for a check-up tomorrow!”
Shen Qingyuan immediately said, “I’ll go with you.”
Cang Yan said coldly, “No need.”
The next day was Sunday. Even though Cang Yan disagreed, Shen Qingyuan insisted on going with her, claiming she also needed a check-up.
They arrived at the VIP section of the physical examination center. Cang Yan wore a white mask and was icy cold throughout the process.
It was a very standard full-body check-up procedure. Cang Yan was very familiar with every item, so familiar that it was heartbreaking. Shen Qingyuan felt like an outsider. Seeing that Cang Yan wasn’t afraid of needle pricks, she was clearly a frequent visitor to hospitals and was used to it.
“You don’t need to follow me,” Cang Yan saw Shen Qingyuan following behind her like a squirrel’s tail. Because a squirrel’s tail is longer than its body, Shen Qingyuan, being so tall, following her like a mother, felt very awkward.
“There are some things I don’t understand,” Shen Qingyuan pretended to be clueless.
And continued to follow.
Because it was the VIP section, there was no queuing, and all the check-ups were completed in less than an hour.
But Cang Yan was still scowling after the check-up. She wanted to go home and shower; she didn’t like being touched by others. Also, because she hadn’t eaten or drunk water for the check-up, she felt a little thirsty and dizzy.
“Let’s go eat.”
Shen Qingyuan found a restaurant that looked good, but Cang Yan had no appetite. She only glanced at Shen Qingyuan, as if saying, ‘See why I’m thin? Because I only ate that cake and have no appetite for anything else.’
She didn’t have diabetes!
Shen Qingyuan said, “Okay, I don’t know common sense.”
Cang Yan was too weak to argue with her.
Shen Qingyuan ate to her heart’s content.
Cang Yan only drank a bowl of soup.
On the way back, Cang Yan’s face was practically colorless. She was weakly slumped in the car, her head drooping.
“Here, have a piece of chocolate to perk up,” Shen Qingyuan pulled out two liqueur-filled chocolates from her hoodie pocket.
Cang Yan closed her eyes and shook her head: “No.”
“Come on, eat it,” Shen Qingyuan held the unwrapped chocolate to Cang Yan’s mouth. As long as Cang Yan didn’t speak, she looked like a stunningly pitiful little darling, but the moment she opened her mouth, she was a short-tempered firecracker.
And Cang Yan loved it when people coaxed and begged her.
Shen Qingyuan’s mind was filled with chaotic thoughts when her finger accidentally touched Cang Yan’s soft, smooth lips.
Both of them were startled.
Cang Yan raised her eyelids and looked at Shen Qingyuan as if she were an enemy. She reached out and took the chocolate that was forcibly being put in her mouth, saying, “Who gave you permission to feed me?”
And touch her lips.
Did she think she was dead?
Shen Qingyuan’s fingertip seemed to still feel the soft, delicate touch. She quickly apologized, saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Cang Yan snorted, her expression cold, and ate the chocolate she didn’t even like without saying anything further.
Upon returning home, Cang Yan went to shower first.
Shen Qingyuan also returned to her room to change and shower.
Cang Yan slowly finished showering, dried her hair, and came downstairs to see Shen Qingyuan fully equipped: a white apron tied around her waist, sleeves covers on her arms, and a white chef’s hat on her head, looking as if she had just graduated from a top culinary school.
Cang Yan stood silently, waiting to see what mischief she was up to.
Shen Qingyuan was eager to try: “I saw you seemed to like the dishes I made last time. Do you have anything special you’d like to eat today? I’m going to cook.”
Cang Yan, refreshed from her shower and invigorated, said, “Which eye saw that I liked your cooking? I only take two bites of any dish.”
She had only eaten two more bites of rice that day; it had nothing to do with the stir-fried dishes.
Shen Qingyuan immediately looked even more wronged than her, saying pitifully, “If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. Why are you snapping at me?”
Cang Yan was annoyed: “When did I snap at you?”
Shen Qingyuan played the rogue: “You are snapping at me. You snap at me all the time. I saw it with both my eyes.”
“…” Cang Yan was so angry she went to the study and took out a copy of Suiyuan Shidan (Recipes from the Garden of Contentment), and said, “Make the dishes in here.”
Shen Qingyuan: “…”
Her classical Chinese wasn’t good.
Shen Qingyuan closed the book and said, “The taste of people in the Qing Dynasty is different from ours, and the ingredients are also different. Besides, my Chinese is not good. Do you have anything else you want to eat?”
Cang Yan was stubborn: “Then I don’t want anything.”
She only liked cake, and only the strawberry cheesecake flavor. Nothing else would do.
Shen Qingyuan had a flash of inspiration and asked, “Have you never been hungry since you were little? How could you not like something as important as eating? No wonder you’re so thin.”
Cang Yan certainly wouldn’t be starved. Due to her physical condition, she was practically hand-fed by Wen Jinshu as she grew up. Since childhood, clothes were handed to her, and food was put into her mouth. Later, when she wanted independence, she simply moved out.
Of course, Cang Yan wouldn’t tell Shen Qingyuan these embarrassing stories. She said expressionlessly, “When it’s mealtime, I force myself to eat a little. I’ve never been starved.”
Shen Qingyuan suddenly understood and said, “Then you’d be even more resistant to eating. How about we do an experiment? You deliberately go without food for a while. Don’t eat lunch, just watch me eat, and see if you get an appetite.”
Cang Yan said indifferently, “Suit yourself.”
The experiment was destined to fail anyway.
Shen Qingyuan turned and went to the kitchen to stir-fry a few dishes she liked. At mealtime, she deliberately called Cang Yan to the dining room to sit opposite her and watch her eat.
She hadn’t eaten breakfast to have an empty stomach for the check-up, so she was starving. She ate with such relish, and since Cang Yan’s house was fully stocked with ingredients and seasonings, the dishes she made were fragrant, with perfect color, aroma, and taste.
Shen Qingyuan occasionally looked up to check Cang Yan’s reaction.
Cang Yan watched her with cold eyes, with an expression that said, ‘You’re wasting your time.’
Shen Qingyuan asked, “Are you hungry?”
Cang Yan shook her head: “No.”
“How can you not be hungry?” Shen Qingyuan mused. “But it’s only noon. I’ll make the dishes you usually eat tonight, and see if you can still hold out.”
Cang Yan said speechlessly, “Boring.”
In the evening, Shen Qingyuan cooked a feast again, following suit. She specifically made the Braised Chicken with Chestnuts she made last time. She then separated a portion of each dish and began eating a large bowl of rice.
Cang Yan watched her eat. As she watched, her throat suddenly moved. She pretended nothing happened and took out her phone to distract herself, but her stomach inconveniently rumbled. It sounded like a cat being stroked.
Cang Yan: “…”
She sat up straight, pretending everything was normal.
Cang Yan had never gone a whole day without eating, and Shen Qingyuan was eating with such enjoyment that she was unexpectedly craving food.
Shen Qingyuan was sharp-eared and naturally heard it. She looked up and saw that Cang Yan’s pale face was slightly flushed, like a ripe peach.
She said, “You’re blushing.”
Cang Yan snapped, “Shut up!”
Shen Qingyuan obediently closed her mouth and asked, “Are you hungry?”
Cang Yan said expressionlessly, “No.”
Shen Qingyuan was super helpless, like an overbearing mother, and said earnestly, “If you’re hungry, eat. Be careful not to damage your stomach by starving yourself.”
Cang Yan roared, “I said I’m not hungry!”
Shen Qingyuan: “…”
“Okay, then I’ll go back to doing practice questions,” Shen Qingyuan said.
The CET-4 exam was less than a month away. She was diligently working on listening, vocabulary memorization, and practice questions. Coupled with the make-up exams and final professional courses, her revision work was very heavy.
Cang Yan turned her head away, ignoring her.
After confirming Shen Qingyuan had gone to the study, Cang Yan looked at the food on the table with a complex expression.
“Aunt Cai.”
Twenty minutes later, Cang Yan was eating with a bowl in her hand. She had Aunt Cai reheat the food Shen Qingyuan had left for her, and for the first time in ages, she ate a small half-bowl of rice.
She felt that the dishes Shen Qingyuan made this time were slightly different from the last time, and even tastier. She used to eat just to replenish energy, but today she actually tasted the food, although she quickly felt full.
Cang Yan asked Aunt Cai if she had added any extra seasoning when reheating the dishes.
Aunt Cai gave Cang Yan a meaningful look and spoke the truth: “When you’re truly hungry, anything tastes delicious.”
This was the real “Tastes Good” theorem.
Cang Yan: “…”
Having accepted the kindness, when Shen Qingyuan finished studying, Cang Yan said awkwardly, “You kept sending me cakes before, so I’ll return the favor and send you something. What do you want?”
Cang Yan absolutely refused to admit it was because Shen Qingyuan’s cooking was good, and she had snapped at her, that she wanted to give her something.
Shen Qingyuan hadn’t expected Cang Yan to offer her a gift. She looked at Cang Yan, who was full of energy, guessing she had already eaten. Since the firecracker was finally not yelling at her, she definitely had to make a big demand.
Shen Qingyuan asked uncertainly, “Really anything?”
Cang Yan was in a good mood now. Although she wasn’t smiling, her tone was relaxed. She said, “Yes, anything I have.”
Shen Qingyuan’s eyes darted around, and she smiled sweetly.
“Then give me whatever you have the most of.”
Cang Yan had the most money, of course.
She was a materialistic person; she only liked money.
Cang Yan, however, started to worry, thinking Shen Qingyuan was troublesome. Why not just say what she wanted instead of beating around the bush and pretending to be reserved?
She thought seriously for a moment, then had an idea, and said, “Come with me.”
Shen Qingyuan followed Cang Yan to the basement with a happy heart. Seeing that Cang Yan took her to the collection room, she became even more excited.
Was Cang Yan going to take her to open the safe?
Shen Qingyuan was almost jumping with joy. Getting rich overnight wasn’t a dream!
The result was…
A room full of broken mobile phones.
Each phone had a different cause of death and brand, neatly placed in display cases, like a display in a mobile phone store. In addition to the deliberate lighting, each phone base had a number and a date of breakage.
The previous phone was smashed when the erotic fiction submission failed. Its number was 1248.
Shen Qingyuan: “…”
“I have the most broken phones. Pick one yourself,” Cang Yan raised an eyebrow and said.
She used to smash her phone when she was in a bad mood, replacing it very frequently. To prevent the data on the broken phones from leaking, she simply cleared out a room to serve as a collection room and stored these broken phones in display cases.
She was most volatile during her adolescence, smashing the most phones. As she got older, she gradually learned to restrain her temper, and the frequency of smashing phones also decreased. Now, looking at this room full of phones was also a kind of self-warning.
Shen Qingyuan’s face was dark throughout the process. Then she thought that smashing so many brand-name phones made her a master of the masters, a fighter jet among the firecrackers.
Shen Qingyuan immediately hugged Cang Yan’s leg, looked up at her pitifully, and said, “Rich lady, hungry, food.” (A trendy Chinese phrase used to beg for money/gifts.)
Cang Yan: “…”