Are you suggesting I inherit three wives' households? I'll marry my eldest brother and bec

Chapter 299 Fate is against us.

The following days went relatively smoothly.

Two weeks later, the phone in Shen Li's bedroom suddenly rang, the ringtone particularly clear in the quiet room.

"Feed..." she picked up the receiver, her voice carrying a hint of languor from being startled.

"I'm the eldest brother." Shen Qingbei's steady voice came from the other end of the receiver.

"Huh? Big brother?" Shen Li was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Why did you suddenly think of calling me?"

Shen Qingbei paused for a moment, seemingly hesitating, before speaking again: "Big brother has something to tell you."

Shen Li's heart skipped a beat: His older brother's tone was too serious. Could something serious have happened?

She subconsciously wondered: Could it be that her older brother found out about her matchmaking efforts between Grandma and Grandpa Yu? That shouldn't be the case; she hadn't shown any such thoughts.

Besides, the elderly need companionship too!

"Brother, you tell me!" Shen Li took a deep breath, composed himself, and planned to explain to his brother the meaning of "a young couple becomes companions in old age," emphasizing that elders should have a caring companion in their later years.

Instead, Shen Qingbei's slightly helpless voice came through the receiver: "You're all girls, so it might be easier for you to talk. Could you tell Lu Nan for me not to go to the military region so often? It'll be bad for her reputation if outsiders see it."

Shen Li: "..."

She almost dropped the receiver, raised her hand to rub her forehead, her mind filled with questions: No way?

Lu Nan is only nineteen years old, while his older brother is almost thirty—although he's still a few months away from turning thirty, there's not much difference between twenty-nine and thirty!

The two are almost a decade apart in age. More importantly, the older brother stays in the military camp every day and you can't see him for ten days or half a month. He's just like Lu Sheng.

Shen Li thought about it more and more and it seemed absurd: how lonely would it be to spend the rest of one's life with someone who is never home?

Is this little girl a bit slow on the uptake?

She originally thought that Lu Nan and Shen Qingnan, who were always bickering and fighting, might be able to spark some romance, but... but it turns out that this little girl actually likes her older brother?

Shen Li was truly speechless.

"Feed? Little sister, are you listening?" Shen Qingbei frowned slightly when he didn't hear a response, and his tone was a bit urging.

In his eyes, Lu Nan was just a child who hadn't grown up, even a few years younger than his own sister. He really couldn't understand why this girl always went to the military region.

Shen Li snapped out of her daze, suppressing her excitement for gossip, and quickly replied, "I'm listening!" How could she possibly miss such a juicy story?

"Talk to her nicely, but be gentle in your tone," Shen Qingbei added, her voice full of entrustment.

At this point, Shen Li couldn't help but gossip, "Big brother, your wife has been gone for so many years, haven't you ever thought about remarrying?"

Shen Qingbei answered without the slightest hesitation, but his tone softened instantly, filled with tenderness: "Little sister, you may not understand the feelings between me and your sister-in-law."

"Although everyone thinks she's not very educated, whether people are a good match for each other is never determined by their education. Even if she's never been to school, in my eyes, she's the best person in the world, the one who's most worthy of me."

When his wife was mentioned, Shen Qingbei's thoughts instantly drifted back to many years ago, his mind filled with her every smile and gesture.

Although she was illiterate, she possessed a rare magnanimity and spirit that was uncommon among women, and she captivated him at first sight.

He had just turned eighteen that year and had just arrived in the countryside to work as an educated youth. He didn't even know how to do farm work and was ridiculed by the villagers.

She stepped forward, blocking his way, and said firmly, "Everyone has their own way of living. Apart from eating, drinking, and defecating, which are innate, what skill isn't learned? It's okay if you don't know it now; you can learn it slowly."

He still remembers how shocked he was at the time—he simply couldn't believe that such insightful words would come from the mouth of an uneducated girl.

He thought more than once that if she had the same opportunity to study as him, her life would be much more wonderful.

But fate had other plans.

He would never forget the way she looked when she passed away. She died from postpartum hemorrhage after giving birth to Nuannuan, and with her last breath, she held his hand and weakly said, "Don't be sad... If you meet a girl you like in the future, marry her, just don't leave Nuannuan behind..."

She named the child Nuannuan, but she didn't even have the chance to say "Welcome to this world" to her.

Shen Qingbei felt the coolness on her cheeks and raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her chin.

Even after all these years, my heart still aches whenever I think of her.

Shen Li held the receiver, listening to the silence on the other end, her heart heavy with emotion.

Although she didn't know the specifics of what happened between her brother and sister-in-law back then, the fact that her brother still spoke so highly of her even after so many years since her sister-in-law's death shows just how deep their feelings were back then.

She also heard that her sister-in-law's family had helped the Shen family a lot during the most difficult times in the countryside.

That's why, when Nuannuan got lost in her aunt's arms, the Shen family didn't choose to retaliate, but instead did everything they could to find her.

She had also heard that in those days, giving birth was like walking through the gates of hell for a woman.

The thought of his sister-in-law dying at such a young age made Shen Li's heart clench.

"Big brother, I understand." Shen Li sighed softly and said earnestly, "I will talk to Xiao Nan properly."

Shen Qingbei hummed in agreement, his tone tinged with relief: "This little girl is too young; she can't distinguish between curiosity and genuine feelings."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Li glanced at the calendar on the table—today was Wednesday.

Lu Zhou and Xiao Nan didn't return to their lodgings that night, so it seems I'll have to wait until tomorrow during the day to go find her.

At this time, Xiaonan should still be at school.

In order to help Lu Nan and Lu Zhou better integrate into campus life, Shen Li had already told them to eat with their classmates and not always follow him around.

So now at noon, she still has lunch with a group of four of her friends.

After quickly finishing lunch, Shen Li went straight to Lu Nan's dormitory.

Does she know where Lu Nan is?

Lu Zhou and Lu Nan are in the same major but different classes. Her dormitory is on the third floor of the building next door. Shen Li had been there once before and still remembered the way.

Just as they reached the door of Lu Nan's dormitory, they heard a sarcastic female voice coming from inside: "I really can't believe it, you're from the countryside, but you have a whole repertoire of ways to seduce people."

Another voice chimed in, barely concealing its jealousy: "Of course! Maybe she's already practiced it all along! She's just a country bumpkin who got in through the entrance exam, why does she have the right to wear such nice clothes? She's probably hooked up with some rich guy, who knows how many she's been with!"