Su Mianmian ignored Lin Jiaojiao’s sugary-sweet remarks, shot Tang Yunzheng a warning glare, then turned back to keep watching.
But before long, Tang Yunzheng pulled the same trick again, nudging the back of her chair. Unable to stand it, Su Mianmian whipped around.
“Tang Yunzheng, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Her voice rose with anger before she could rein it in. Someone nearby complained in annoyance. Su Mianmian blushed, only to see Tang Yunzheng raise an eyebrow and say something infuriatingly smug.
“Su Mianmian, you spoke to me first this time. Don’t forget to bark like a dog later.”
“Bark like a dog? Why would she have to bark like a dog?”
Lin Jiaojiao giggled, lifting her face as she asked Tang Yunzheng in a coy, sweet voice.
Tang Yunzheng playfully pinched Lin Jiaojiao’s chin and said smugly, “Because someone couldn’t help breaking the rules first.”
Listening to the two of them play off each other, Su Mianmian felt a pang of frustration. Just then, her phone screen lit up. She checked it and saw a message from Mother Su.
“Mianbao, call me as soon as you see this. Something urgent has come up.”
Su Mianmian’s brow twitched. A premonition stirred in her heart. She told Cheng Yuli, then ducked out of the screening room.
Mother Su answered as soon as Su Mianmian called back, her voice anxious.
“Mianbao, has your sister contacted you today?”
“No. What happened?”
Mother Su let out a heavy breath.
“Your sister said she was calling off the engagement, then disappeared. Your father and I have been trying to reach her all day, but we can’t get through. Come home as soon as you can.”
A sudden sense of relief washed over Su Mianmian.
After Su Mianmian had suggested that Su Yang call off the engagement, Su Yang hadn’t shown any reaction. And now the day when she and Gu Yizhou were supposed to register their marriage was only a few days away.
Su Mianmian had been getting worried and was planning to find time in the next day or two to contact Su Yang again. She hadn’t expected her sister to catch everyone completely off guard.
Things at home must be a mess. Su Mianmian quickly agreed, hung up, and headed for the cinema exit.
But at some point, Tang Yunzheng had also come out of the theater. He caught up from behind and grabbed her.
“Where are you running off to? Trying to welch?”
Su Mianmian struggled, but couldn’t break free.
“Who’s welching? If you hadn’t nudged my chair first, would I have said anything to you? If anyone has to bark like a dog, it’s you!”
Tang Yunzheng gave a scoffing laugh. As he looked at Su Mianmian, whom he hadn’t seen in so long, he was suddenly struck by how long it had been.
Then he remembered how she’d been laughing and chatting with that law student earlier, and for some reason, it put him in a foul mood.
“Hey, are you dating that law student?”
Su Mianmian frowned. “What’s it to you?”
Tang Yunzheng ran his tongue along his back teeth.
“Of course it’s my business. We grew up together. I have every right to vet your friends—especially your boyfriends.”
Su Mianmian was speechless. The moment he said “grew up together,” she instinctively remembered the awkwardness of her birthday that night.
“Don’t bother. Besides, when you got a girlfriend, you didn’t ask me to vet her.”
Tang Yunzheng’s eyes lit up.
“You want to vet my girlfriends? Fine. Next time I find a girlfriend, you’ll be the first person I bring her to.”
Next time?
“Are you and Lin Jiaojiao not all lovey-dovey right now?”
A roguish smile curled Tang Yunzheng’s lips.
“Who only dates once in their life? Besides, you and her don’t get along, do you? I’ll find someone who gets along with you instead.”
Su Mianmian shuddered.
“I was just saying that offhand. Don’t take it seriously. And from now on, whoever you date or break up with has nothing to do with me. Don’t drag me into it.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pretty figure come out of the theater, and she yanked her hand free of Tang Yunzheng’s.
“I have something urgent to take care of. I’m leaving.”
Tang Yunzheng followed after her.
“What’s so urgent you don’t even have time to talk to me?”
Su Mianmian couldn’t be bothered to argue.
“Something’s come up at home. I need to get back right away.”
Seeing that she didn’t seem to be making it up, Tang Yunzheng pulled out his car keys.
“Then I’ll drive you.”
Su Mianmian was about to say there was no need and that she could take a cab herself, when the rapid clatter of high heels sounded behind her.
Lin Jiaojiao came hurrying over and linked her arm through Tang Yunzheng’s.
“Didn’t you say you were going to the restroom? Why did you come all the way here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Tang Yunzheng brushed her off.
“Go watch the movie first. I’ll take Su Mianmian home, then come back to pick you up.”
Lin Jiaojiao stamped her foot.
“No! I spent ages choosing this movie. You promised you’d watch it with me.”
Tang Yunzheng frowned, keeping his patience.
“Then watch it this time, and next time I’ll take you to a movie myself. How about that?”
Lin Jiaojiao wouldn’t let it go. She clutched Tang Yunzheng’s sleeve tightly.
“What’s the point of that? I don’t care. You have to stay with me today.”
Tang Yunzheng used to be quite susceptible to Lin Jiaojiao’s coquettishness. He’d thought women should be sweet and clingy like that, the clingier the better.
But over the past few days, he’d begun to feel distinctly repelled by it. In fact, even before Lin Jiaojiao started whining, he would feel a physical discomfort. He pried her fingers off his sleeve.
“I said I’ll come right back to pick you up after I’ve taken Su Mianmian home. Stop making a scene.”
When he turned around after saying that, Su Mianmian was nowhere to be seen at the cinema entrance.
He rushed out to the road, frantic, and just caught sight of her closing the door of a taxi.
“Damn it!”
Tang Yunzheng kicked a pebble hard. An indescribable irritation surged through him.
…
When Su Mianmian got home, she saw several cars parked outside. One of them, a BL, stood out in particular.
She took a breath and pushed open the door.
The moment she stepped inside, she felt the oppressive atmosphere.
In the living room, Father Su and Mother Su sat on one side, their faces clouded with worry. On the other side sat Gu Yizhou, perfectly composed and dignified. He even had the leisure to cradle a cup of tea and sip it unhurriedly.
Several older members of his family sat beside him, frowning as they berated Father Su and Mother Su.
“Marriage is no trivial matter! If you didn’t agree from the beginning, why agree to the alliance at all? Now the engagement is settled, and the bride-to-be has run off. Tell me, what sort of thing is your Su family doing?”
Father Su furrowed his brow, lost in thought. Seeing this, Mother Su tried to placate them first.
“Second Master Gu, please don’t get upset. Yangyang may have just gone abroad to clear her head. Perhaps she’ll be back on her own in a few days.”
“Back in a few days? Hmph!”
The elder Mother Su had called Second Master Gu waved a hand.
“She couldn’t have been clearer in the message she left A-Zhou[1]The Chinese prefix A- before a name indicates closeness or familiarity. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3736079_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3736079_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });: she wants to call off the engagement. Why are you still trying to cover for her?”
“She won’t call it off.”
Father Su, who had been silent until then, spoke suddenly.
“Don’t worry, Second Master Gu. Even if I have to drag her back, I’ll bring that disobedient girl home!”
“Why do you have to drag Older Sister back?”
Su Mianmian’s unexpected question made everyone seem to notice her for the first time.
Mother Su came over and grabbed her.
“This is a discussion among the elders. Why are you butting in?”
Su Mianmian stood her ground, her voice gentle but firm.
“If Older Sister doesn’t want to marry him, then even if you drag her back, you’d just be forcing her into it.”
As she spoke, Su Mianmian turned her gaze to Gu Yizhou.
“Brother-in-law, you’re an exceptional man. You could have any woman you wanted. Why marry someone whose heart isn’t with you, only for you to end up resenting each other?”
“Su Mianmian!”
Father Su hadn’t expected his usually gentle younger daughter to say something so outrageous in front of everyone. He shot to his feet, furious.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Go straight to your room.”
Father Su rarely spoke so harshly to Su Mianmian. Her lashes trembled with fright.
But she still summoned her courage and went on.
“Brother-in-law, you said yourself that you liked Older Sister only because she was your future wife. If that’s the case, could you marry someone else as part of the alliance? I believe you could learn to love her just as you love Older Sister.”
“What utter nonsense!”
Second Uncle Gu’s brows drew together so tightly they could have crushed a fly. He was about to berate Su Mianmian again when Gu Yizhou gently raised a hand.
He looked at Su Mianmian warmly, his voice rich and clear, like pearls falling onto a jade plate.
“I did say that. But there was something else I didn’t finish saying at the time.”
“I don’t love her only because she’s my future wife. I love her because she’s a daughter of the Su family.”
A daughter of the Su family…
Su Mianmian’s lips moved soundlessly. The heart that had just been burning with fervor in her chest seemed to suddenly grow cold.
Did that mean he would only marry a daughter of the Su family?
While Su Mianmian stood stunned, Father Su shot Mother Su a glare.
“Why haven’t you taken her upstairs yet?”
Mother Su sighed and walked over to Su Mianmian.
“Mianbao, the marriage between the Gu and Su families was arranged by the previous generation long ago. It concerns the honor and future of both families. You’re still young; you don’t understand what’s at stake.”
As she spoke, Mother Su took Su Mianmian’s hand and led her toward the stairs.
Su Mianmian’s shoulders drooped. She thought of the look on Su Yang’s face that night as she sat on the windowsill, as if her soul had already left her body, as though a gust of wind might carry her away at any moment.
She could imagine that Su Yang, now with the person she loved, must be happy and free.
If they forced her to come back, how would that be any different from breaking a bird’s wings?
Su Mianmian didn’t want her sister to spend the rest of her life as a caged bird. If she could, she wanted her sister’s life to be dazzling and unrestrained.
Father Su was still making promises to the Gu family.
“I, Su Cheng, guarantee that I’ll bring Su Yang back safe and sound within three days. Then we’ll go straight to the civil affairs bureau to sign and stamp the papers!”
At that, Su Mianmian stopped. After taking two deep breaths, she slowly turned around and looked at Gu Yizhou.
“If the wife you want is destined to be a daughter of the Su family, then could you change the bride to me?”
References[+]