The villa was named 'Ran Ju', meaning the little home of Shi Ran and Tang Si.
Back then, Tang Si had secretly designed the house and personally supervised its renovation, but fate had played them a cruel trick, and the two could not end up together.
The car stopped. Tang Si looked back at Shi Ran and found that she had fallen asleep.
He tiptoed to open the back door, leaned down, and carefully lifted Shi Ran out of the car.
As he held her, Tang Si truly noticed she had gained some weight, but unfortunately, it was only in her abdomen. Her limbs remained slender, with little flesh.
Carrying her through the main door and upstairs, he placed her on the bed in the bedroom.
Tang Si tucked her in, then quietly lay beside her. Looking at the peaceful young woman beside him, he felt no desire, only heartache.
He had failed to fulfill any of the promises he made to Shi Ran.
He felt guilty towards Shi Ran, and even more so towards the three children in her womb.
When Shi Ran woke up, two hours had passed.
She turned over and, mid-sleep, suddenly opened her eyes. She looked at Tang Si sleeping beside her, her mind blank for a moment before recalling that they had returned to Huilan City that afternoon.
"Awake?"
Tang Si raised a hand and placed it on her cheek. "Is pregnancy very hard? You kept frowning in your sleep."
"No, no."
Shi Ran did not look at him and adjusted her pillow. "Tang Si, let's not see each other again from now on."
"Why?"
Tang Si's heart skipped a beat, and he felt terrible.
She called him 'Tang Si,' not 'A Si.'
"You are married to Zhao Wuyan. What am I to you now?" She blinked her eyes and looked at him. "Illegal cohabitation."
The four words were incredibly sharp.
While her words were sharp, she was, undeniably, correct.
Legally speaking, their current status was indeed illegal cohabitation.
Tang Si's expression darkened. "You know I don't like Zhao Wuyan. You know very well what my goal was in marrying her."
He was anxious.
"So what if you know?" Shi Ran's tone turned colder. "Outsiders will only think I'm interfering in your marriage."
"Aren't you tired of caring about what others think?"
Shi Ran: "..."
Her red lips parted slightly, and she stared blankly at the person before her, feeling choked.
He had said...
Wasn't she tired of caring about what others thought?
Shi Ran didn't want to argue with Tang Si. She forcibly suppressed all her anger and said with utter helplessness, "Then what should I do? I've always cared about what others think."
Yes, she had always cared.
Who didn't want to live freely?
Who wanted to care about others' opinions their whole lives?
Just like the scar on her face, she had told herself countless times to get used to it, to accept the strange glances from others, to accept everything.
But when people stared at her and whispered, whether with mockery or by pointing at the scar on her face and calling it ugly, how could she possibly be indifferent?
From Tang Si's perspective, whether his marriage to Zhao Wuyan was for revenge or true love, her appearance and the children in her womb would make people think she was an interloper.
Even after the children were born, they would be branded as 'illegitimate.'
In the future, how much grievance and suffering would the children have to bear?
Seeing Shi Ran's calm tone, but with a hint of imperceptible pain in her clear eyes, Tang Si's heart ached.
"Ran Bao'er, I..." Tang Si knew his attitude had been wrong just now and immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, what I said was wrong. I was too impulsive and didn't consider your feelings."
He held Shi Ran's hand, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand. "Give me time, two months. Just two months, and I will officially make you Mrs. Tang."