Lu Ning’s first impression of the mother and daughter who had barged in was extremely bad. They were loud and boisterous, and such a nuisance.
Besides, they looked like the calculating type.
She was a reporter and had met all kinds of people. Most of the time, she could tell what someone was like just by looking at their face.
For instance, from the first moment she saw Zhou Lie, she knew he was honest and dependable.
And her mother-in-law, Li Ying, was the timid sort, while her father-in-law was the kind who had a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
“Ningning isn’t a guest. She’s our Zhou Lie’s wife. They got their marriage license yesterday. Once we’ve picked a good date, we’ll hold a wedding banquet. You must come celebrate with us then.” Zhou Lishu answered Wang Qiuping with a displeased expression.
“Wife?”
Wang Qiuping looked stunned. Her daughter, Luo Xiaoyun, was both shocked and jealous.
“Old Zhou, you’re joking, right? When did Zhou Lie get married? How come we didn’t hear a thing? Besides, this young girl doesn’t even look eighteen yet. Is she legally an adult?” Wang Qiuping said reproachfully.
There was resentment in her words, and she sounded thoroughly displeased, as if she were the one in charge of the household.
“Why would my brother have to tell you when he got married? Who do you think you are?” came a slightly hoarse voice.
Lu Ning turned toward the doorway. A handsome boy stood there in a white short-sleeved shirt and dark blue trousers, a black backpack slung over his shoulder.
“Zhou Lin, why are you home so early? Doesn’t school let out at five?” Li Ying’s attention shifted to her son.
It was Friday. As usual, Zhou Lin should have taken the subway home after school and arrived around six.
But it was only one o’clock. He should have been having his lunch break at school.
If something had happened, the teacher should have contacted the family and asked them to come pick him up.
“Hmph. What else? He’s skipped school again, obviously.” Zhou Lishu said, exasperated. “He might as well stop going altogether. It’s not like he’ll get into college anyway. He’s brought nothing but shame on this family!”
The moment he lost his temper, Wang Qiuping and her daughter grew a little afraid.
They were the typical sort to bully the weak and fear the strong.
“I just remembered—I’ve got soup simmering on the stove.” Wang Qiuping turned and gave her daughter, Luo Xiaoyun, a pointed look.
“Xiaoyun, we’ve delivered the cookies. We should head back now. We can come visit again when we have some free time.”
Luo Xiaoyun didn’t want to leave without seeing Zhou Lie.
She had racked her brains to come up with a way to see him, and had made the cookies especially for that reason.
Besides, she still didn’t know whether Zhou Lie had really married this girl. Maybe Zhou Lishu was just lying to her.
She knew Zhou Lishu and his wife both disliked her. Otherwise, Zhou Lie wouldn’t have turned her down.
Zhou Lin saw right through Luo Xiaoyun and said bluntly, “Why are you still here? Didn’t you hear what my mom said? My brother’s already married. Are you really going to shamelessly cling to him?”
With that, he stepped forward, snatched the bag from Li Ying’s hands, and shoved it back at Luo Xiaoyun.
“Take your stuff. We don’t need cookies. Don’t come to our house again, or my sister-in-law might get the wrong idea about my brother.”
Luo Xiaoyun’s face flushed with embarrassment. She bit her lip, clutched the bag of cookies, and ran off.
Wang Qiuping shot Zhou Lin an angry glare, then hurried after her daughter.
“You little brat! Get back to your room!” Li Ying was so furious with her younger son that her head hurt.
After all, Wang Qiuping and her daughter were their neighbors. They saw each other constantly, and Li Ying didn’t want to sour their relationship too badly.
She was also afraid of what people might say.
The Zhou family lived in an urban village in the center of Yangcheng. The plots had been left to the families by their ancestors, and everyone had built small houses on them.
The neighbors had known one another for years; there wasn’t anyone they didn’t recognize.
Wang Qiuping’s husband had died a few years earlier after suffering a cerebral infarction while drunk. Since then, it had been just Wang Qiuping and her daughter at home.
Li Ying felt sorry for them, so she let things slide.
Besides, they hadn’t done anything too outrageous. Luo Xiaoyun was simply too fond of Zhou Lie.
Zhou Lin glanced at Lu Ning, who was sitting on the sofa with wide eyes, enjoying the spectacle, then turned and left.
He made it look effortlessly cool.
Lu Ning couldn’t help finding him amusing. She wanted to laugh, but the mood didn’t seem quite right, so she held it in.
Still, she couldn’t help thinking Zhou Lin looked a little off.
“Mom, I’ll go to my room too. You and Dad should get some rest,” she said to her mother-in-law, Li Ying.
Li Ying looked terribly embarrassed. “All right. Ningning, I’m so sorry you had to see that. Xiaolin can be thoughtless, but he means well. He’s just a little rebellious at this age. I’ll have Zhou Lie give him a talking-to later.”
“It’s all right, Mom. I think Xiaolin is lovely, honestly. I’ve always wanted siblings. From now on, he’s my little brother.” Lu Ning meant it.
Seeing that Lu Ning didn’t seem to be pretending, Li Ying relaxed and nodded with a smile. “Then go get some rest.”
Lu Ning got up and went upstairs.
Her legs had hurt terribly on the way down, but going upstairs was easier. When she returned to the bridal bedroom, Zhou Lie was nowhere to be seen.
The sheets and duvet cover had been changed, and the bed was neatly made. The room had been tidied up, too.
Lu Ning knew Zhou Lie must have done it.
She hadn’t expected someone who looked so burly to be so meticulous and hardworking.
She’d really found a treasure.
“Did you really marry my brother?” a hoarse young voice asked from behind her.
Lu Ning turned to look at the doorway.
Zhou Lin leaned against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets, watching her with raised eyebrows.
Now Lu Ning could see what he looked like clearly.
Zhou Lin wore his short hair in a tousled cut. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a high nose bridge, giving him a fresh, clean-cut look.
His features were about seventy percent like Zhou Lie’s.
He was lean and tall, and looked to be around 1.8 meters.
His skin was a little fairer, though his face looked tired.
Lu Ning smiled. “That’s right. Your brother and I got our marriage license yesterday. My name is Lu Ning. You’re Zhou Lin, right?”
Zhou Lin didn’t answer her question. Instead, he asked, “How did you meet my brother? When did you meet? Why did you suddenly get married? You’re not fake-married, are you?”
Lu Ning smiled. “It’s true that your brother and I got married in a whirlwind, but why do you think our marriage is fake?”
Had he watched too many dramas?
Zhou Lin’s expression remained calm. “My brother didn’t tell you? It’s because my mom insists he marry Xia Yuwei. You know Xia Yuwei, right? She’s so affected. My brother can’t stand her. Did he really not bring you in to fend her off?”
Lu Ning gave him an awkward smile. “Actually, I’m the Xia family’s biological daughter. When Xia Yuwei and I were born, we were accidentally switched by a nurse while we were being bathed at the hospital. Xia Yuwei has already reunited with her family and gone back to the Lu family to live as a rich heiress.”
“The Lu family switched our marriage arrangements, too. She’s already married to the Lu family’s arranged-marriage partner—my former fiancé. So I married your brother instead. Does that make sense?”
“You’re not speaking some foreign language. Why wouldn’t I understand?” Zhou Lin’s expression stayed flat. He wasn’t surprised at all.
He looked Lu Ning up and down. “So you’re over eighteen? Did you go to college?”
Lu Ning didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Of course I’m over eighteen. I just have a cute baby face. I’m twenty-four this year. I graduated from the School of Journalism at Yangcheng University, and I’m a reporter at the Yangcheng Evening News.”
“You’re a reporter? I wouldn’t have guessed.” Zhou Lin looked surprised.
He paused, then asked, “Then why did you marry my brother? He’s just a poor cop, and our family doesn’t have any money. Besides, my brother doesn’t even want to get married. You can call it off. There’s no need to force yourself to marry into our family.”