I Want a Lifetime with You
Chapter 270

The Shi family had always gathered during New Year's eve as with tradition, but they chose to gather earlier this year. This was done to accommodate Shi Wei, who had to spend New Year's eve with her in- laws. Going forward, Shi Jingzheng and Jiang Yu decided they would have their family gathering before New Year's Eve.

Shi Nuan had no problem with the decision as it didn't matter to her. If given a choice, she preferred not to be there. The only reason she attended was that she was obliged to do so as a member of the Shi family and because of her close relationship with Shi Yunsheng. No matter how much she hated it, she would still visit nonetheless.

Shi Nuan didn't want to go empty-handed so she went shopping. It was customary to bring presents for the New Year family reunion. As Shi Nuan's relationship with Fu Chengyan was still a secret, both of them couldn't go out together. But Fu Chengyan refused to let Shi Nuan go out alone, so he tasked Su Shaoqing to be her porter instead.

A porter was just Fu Chengyan's way of sugarcoating it. In reality, Su Shaoqing was supposed to carry all her shopping bags. Fu Chengyan pampered Shi Nuan so much that he wouldn't allow her to do anything that would require any actual effort. Su Shaoqing felt pathetic that he had to go along with it.

At that moment, Shi Nuan was buying up gifts non-stop while Su Shaoqing's hands were filled with all sorts of bags. He wanted to complain but didn't dare do so. He could only stare at the petite figure in front of him darting around.

Shi Nuan enjoyed shopping for the New Year, despite the fact that she didn't like the members of the Shi family. Nevertheless, she loved her granddad and was looking forward to seeing him. Hence, everything she bought was suited for the elderly. She also picked out some high-end electronic gadgets for him.

Shi Yunsheng always said that he didn't need health supplements, but Shi Nuan bought them anyway due to her filial love for him.

Shi Nuan had spent the whole afternoon shopping before she remembered that Su Shaoqing was with her. She was shocked when she turned and saw him with his hands full of shopping bags. She held out her hand embarrassed. "Su, I think I can carry some of those!"

Su Shaoqing squinted and said, "No, you'd better not. If Chengyan knows that I mistreated you, it will be the end of me!" Su Shaoqing then laughed wryly as he looked at Shi Nuan. "Besides, how much more are you going to buy?"

This was the first time Su Shaoqing felt the full force of a woman's shopping spree. Shi Nuan bought a lot of things that Su Shaoqing thought were unnecessary.

Shi Nuan shook her head awkwardly. Just as she was about to say something, her phone rang. "Granddad?"

"Nuan, where are you?" She could hear Shi Yunsheng's familiar voice over the phone. "It's getting late, why are you still not here?"

"I'm coming now, I'm already on my way!" Shi Nuan laughed. "Granddad, please wait a while longer!" Shi Nuan ended her call before turning to Su Shaoqing. "Sorry for the trouble, Su. I shouldn't have involved you in all this in the first place."

"Don't mention it. But I still feel that you can't hide forever. Sooner or later you will need to tell everyone. You just can't keep using me as a substitute!" Su Shaoqing shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “Let's go; your grandfather can't wait anymore!"

"Sure!" Shi Nuan nodded. They drove to the Shi residence after settling the bill.

As it was the New Year, the Shi residence was filled with decorations that elevated the celebratory atmosphere.

Shi Nuan and Su Shaoqing entered the Shi residence together. When the maid saw Shi Nuan returned, she quickly went to welcome her. "Missy, you're back!"

The maid checked out both Shi Nuan and Su Shaoqing as she greeted them. "This must be Mr. Su! Madam has mentioned that you would bring home the new Sir today!" The maid then held out her hands and said, "Sir, I'll help you with those!"

Su Shaoqing squinted and glanced at Shi Nuan from the corner of his eye. Shi Nuan felt helplessly awkward. "Aunt Fu, you can address him as Mr. Su." Shi Nuan then shot a glance back at Su Shaoqing. "Bancheng, you can pass all those things to Aunt Fu."

Su Shaoqing let out a disarming smile instantly. Those narrow eyes of his gazed at Shi Nuan as he grinned. "Alright!" Su Shaoqing passed all the presents to Aunt Fu. He felt instant relief after that, and motioned for Shi Nuan to come over.

Shi Nuan pursed her lips as she held Su Shaoqing's hand. She leaned closer to him and whispered. "I hope you don't mind. I don't know why my mom said that!"

Su Shaoqing grinned and said, "No problem!"

Shi Nuan didn't know, but he did. The Su family was a prominent family in Jiang City, and Su Bancheng's status was special. To be able to marry him would mean being related to both the prominent Su and Jiang families. Jiang Yu wasn't a fool at all; in fact, she was very smart.

Jiang Yu had been waiting at home since early morning for Shi Wei and Fu Xicheng to come back, but there was still no sign of them. Perhaps it was because Shi Wei was a big star and her relationship with Fu Xicheng was on the ropes. Instead, Shi Nuan and Su Shaoqing arrived first.

Jiang Yu heard some movement as soon as Shi Nuan stepped into the door. It was then that she saw Shi Nuan and Su Shaoqing holding hands. Her eyes sparkled and her mind started scheming. Although she was reluctant to let Shi Nuan bag such an eligible bachelor like Su Bancheng, she was willing to set her feelings aside as her priority was to become relatives with the Su and Jiang families. "So, both of you have finally arrived!"

Jiang Yu approached them warmly. She then discreetly pulled Shi Nuan's hand away from Su Shaoqing. Jiang Yu squinted as she glared at Shi Nuan. "Why are you late?"

Shi Nuan grinned as she pulled her hand out of Jiang Yu's grasp. She proceeded to walk back to Su Shaoqing's side. "Bancheng wanted to prepare some gifts for Granddad. What's wrong? Do you still think that we're late?"

Jiang Yu was stunned. She didn't expect Shi Nuan to talk back to her in front of Su Shaoqing. Her expression darkened. "Of course not. Since you were buying presents for Granddad, it wouldn't matter even if you were late."

What else could Jiang Yu say? She didn't dare say much, anyway. Jiang Yu couldn't help but feel bitter seeing Shi Nuan stand beside Su Bancheng - heir to both the Su and Jiang families. She also wondered whether she did the right thing pushing Shi Nuan to be with Su Bancheng in the first place.

"Come on over, don't just stand there. Please have a seat." Jiang Yu kept her emotions in check and started to entertain Su Bancheng. "Aunt Fu, serve some tea for Sir quickly!"

Shi Nuan narrowed her eyes and said, "Mother, Mr. Su and I are just friends at the moment. It's inappropriate for you to address him that way!" Shi Nuan looked at Su Shaoqing as she spoke. Su Shaoqing smiled through his narrow eyes and said, "Aunt is just being friendly; I'm sure she does this to everyone!"

Su Shaoqing let out a smile on that innocent face of his. However, the smile itself carried with it a hint of ferocity.

Jiang Yu suddenly had goosebumps for some inexplicable reason. She then laughed awkwardly in return. "Nuan, look at you. I'm just worried for you. Since you have known Bancheng for some time now and he's visiting today, my guess is that you are likely engaged!"

Shi Nuan's smile turned awkward while Su Shaoqing's expression darkened.

It was likely his first time meeting someone even more shameless than he. He couldn't believe how thick-skinned Jiang Yu was to say something like that.

Fortunately, the butler came down from upstairs at that very moment. "Ms. Shi, Mr. Su." He stood beside Shi Nuan and greeted them respectfully. "Ms. Shi, Old Master knows that you're back. He would like to see you. Mr. Su, please join them, too!"

"Sure!"

There was no point for Shi Nuan to stay in the same space as Jiang Yu. In fact, that would be very awkward. Shi Nuan led Su Shaoqing upstairs while the butler walked in front of them. He asked, "Ms. Shi, this is..."

"Uncle Yang, don't worry. He is my friend!" Shi Nuan laughed. "Mr. Su, this is our butler, my granddad's assistant!"

"A pleasure to meet you, Uncle Yang!" Su Shaoqing knew how to differentiate friend from foe. From the looks of it, he could see that Uncle Yang wasn't on the same side as Jiang Yu. Hence, he was able to let down his guard.

Mr. Yang nodded in acknowledgment. "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Su."

"Old Master is in the room. The two of you can enter." Mr. Yang hesitated for a moment. "Old master is in a good mood today. By the way, what tea would you like?"

"The same one as Granddad is having!" Shi Nuan pushed open the door as she replied. She led Su Shaoqing into the room.

Shi Yunsheng was sitting on a bamboo chair. He was reading a book with a thick blanket on his lap. When he saw Shi Nuan and Su Shaoqing enter, he took off his glasses and put down his book. "Is my Nuan back?"

"Granddad!" Shi Nuan approached him happily and held his hand. “I'm back!"

"Alright, alright!" Shi Yunsheng nodded repeatedly. He proceeded to raise his head to look at Su Shaoqing. "Nuan, who is he?"

"Granddad, this is Yan's good friend, Su Shaoqing." Shi Nuan motioned for Su Shaoqing to come over. "Mr. Su, this is my granddad!"

Su Shaoqing approached them in an elegant manner.

Although Su Shaoqing was always playing the fool, he could still be relied on when the time came.

Su Shaoqing knelt down to be at eye level with Shi Yunsheng before greeting him politely. "Mr. Shi, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Su Shaoqing."

"Su Shaoqing? Didn't they say you're Su Bancheng?" Shi Yunsheng was a little shocked as he wasn't clued in on their charade. He recalled that he saw Jiang Yu busy the whole day and had instructed the servants to greet Shi Nuan's companion as "Sir".

Since Shi Yunsheng was already old, he didn't want to concern himself with all the details. Given the fact that he knew Shi Nuan was married to Fu Chengyan, he didn't expect Jiang Yu's actions to amount to much. Hence, he wasn't really bothered.

It was just that he remembered the name mentioned as Su Bancheng and not Su Shaoqing.

Shi Nuan and Su Shaoqing exchanged glances and laughed together. "This is really Su Shaoqing, he is Yan's friend!"

"The Su Bancheng that you mentioned is my brother. His is also known as Jiang Shengfan. I'm not sure if you have heard of this name before?"

"Jiang Shengfan? A member of the Jiang family?" Shi Yunsheng was shocked. "The Jiang family of Sheen City?"