Hearing Wen Shixuan hurl such insults, Zhang Qiuyan wasn’t angry at all and just focused on speaking to Xu Yu’e, “Sister-in-law, if you think it’s okay, try persuading Manman.
Next time put on something nice and join us for a meal at Huasheng.
I’ll be leaving first.”
When Huasheng was mentioned, Xu Yu’e walked back and pushed her husband’s shoulder, “You try persuading Manman.”
“How can I persuade her?!” Wen Shixuan wanted to explode with anger, but when he met his wife’s fierce eyes, he lost his voice and simply ducked into the kitchen like an ostrich.
“Why is Dad acting like this?
He doesn’t even consider how sister feels,” Yuanyuan said, her eyebrows raised, talking to her father’s retreating figure.
Manman sat in her room, hearing everything outside crystal clear.
To be a stepmother to a girl her sister’s age made her feel ashamed even thinking about it.
The second aunt was quite vicious, to make such a move.
No matter whether Manman accepted it or not, Zhang Qiuyan had done her duty as an aunt: If you blame me and my husband for not helping with niece’s marriage, now I’ve introduced a wealthy and desirable man, it’s Manman and you all who are refusing.
The measure of a girl’s good marriage isn’t the looks of the man, but his abilities.
As for character, nobody can guarantee it stays the same before and after marriage.
Worldly views are a double-edged sword, and can be like a rope, strangling someone to death.
Manman lay sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling with a hot forehead, burning cheeks, and a cold heart.
She finally understood that no matter how she struggled, she and her father ultimately had no status in this house because of one reality—no money!
Just like her mother said, could marrying a rich man truly set her free?
Manman saw it very clearly and didn’t think so at all.
The money was that man’s, and he could even use it to humiliate you.
With her family poor and powerless, they could only view her as water splashed out, unable to protect her.
A daughter’s fate is indeed cheap, especially for a poor and incapable one.
“Manman, time to eat,” Xu Yu’e called out to her eldest daughter from the doorway, her voice much gentler than usual.
Manman got up, straightened her clothes, neatly combed her hair with a brush, and made sure she was put together before stepping out.
The door opened, and the family was all seated at the dining table waiting for her.
Hope filled Xu Yu’e’s eyes.
Yuanyuan smiled happily, thinking that with a wealthy brother-in-law, she wouldn’t have to worry about future tuition fees.
Wen Shixuan wore a troubled frown.
Manman sat down at the table, picked up her bowl and chopsticks, “Let’s eat.
We’ll talk after the meal.”
Xu Yu’e held back, as Manman was now the goose that could lay golden eggs and couldn’t be disciplined like before.
The family of four ate in silence, an undercurrent of tension swirling beneath.
Right after the meal, Xu Yu’e couldn’t hold back any longer and urged her younger daughter to clean up the table, then grabbed her older daughter to ask, “Manman, give mom an answer, I need to give them a reply in a hurry.”
“Mom, Huasheng isn’t going to fly away.
Besides, if Huasheng is gone, there are other better restaurants,” Manman said, unusually exempt from clearing the table today, opting instead to make tea for her father after the meal.
Xu Yu’e was stunned for a moment, unable to decipher the meaning in Manman’s words.
“Sis, if you miss this opportunity, there won’t be another one.
How long are you going to wait?” Yuanyuan clattered the bowls and chopsticks as she cleaned up, anxious on behalf of her mother and herself.
Reminded by her younger daughter, Xu Yu’e pulled at Manman, “What?
You’re not satisfied?”
“Mom, I won’t marry,” Manman stood firm, her three words resolute.
“Why?” Xu Yu’e was almost impressed with how calm she managed to ask in the moment.
“I will not settle for less just to get married.”
Xu Yu’e instantly transformed from a fiercely spirited mother hen into a block of ice: “Fine.
Do whatever you want.
You’re grown up now; I can’t control you anymore.”
Yuanyuan looked up in disbelief when she heard her mother so easily surrender, “Mom—”
“You talk less and hurry up to clean up the dining table and study.
Don’t be like your sister.
In the end, I’ll leave this world before both of you.
If you end up alone in your next lives, with no one to accompany you, there’s nothing I can do about it.
I did my best!” Xu Yu’e didn’t roar, but the words seemed to be bitten out with resentment as she slammed the door and left.
Implicated herself, Yuanyuan wouldn’t stand for it.
She gathered the dishes and chopsticks in her hands with a clatter and flung them back onto the table, rocketing up the small attic after Xu Yu’e.
“Manman.” Seeing his household falling into disarray, Wen Shixuan couldn’t continue smoking his cigarette.
“Dad.” Handing over a cup of tea to her father, Manman squatted down and asked, “Are you also blaming me?”
Wen Shixuan shook his head as he looked into her large, bright eyes, reminiscent of the time she pleaded with him to buy her a lollipop: “No, I don’t.”
“Dad.
I think I can’t stay in this family any longer.
I want to go drift in Beijing with Chun Xia and Du Yu.”
After a long silence, Wen Shixuan coughed twice: “Do whatever you want to do.
I’m not capable of much, but I can give you the freedom to do what makes you happy.”
With her father’s words, Manman felt reassured, and she told the truth: “If Yuanyuan wants to attend the Academy of Fine Arts, and since art costs money, I want to earn more.
That way, later on, you and Mom won’t have to ask anyone for help.
People naturally won’t talk about our family, about Mom and you, and they won’t talk about me.”
“Manman, don’t overthink things.
Yuanyuan’s future is my responsibility,” Wen Shixuan said.
“Dad—” Manman was moved by her father’s words and recalled what Jiang Yan had said.
She gently bit her lip, “If I find a man I like myself, can I make my own decision about it?”
“Do you have someone in mind?” Wen Shixuan nearly slid off the chair in excitement, “If that’s the case, you should’ve said so earlier.
There would’ve been no need for your mother and sister to make a fuss.”
She wanted to say so, but didn’t everyone at home express their opposition last time?
Manman’s silent response made Wen Shixuan realize something.
A cold sweat washed over his face: “It’s not that man from before, is it—”
“Dad.
Let’s not tell anyone about this for now,” Manman urgently interrupted her father.
Wen Shixuan nodded numbly.
He truly was out of ideas, but he knew one thing: he had no way to stop his wife from making a scene and would definitely not prevent his daughter from seeking her own happiness.
——The Wedding Eve——
In the hotel
Jiang Yan’s father insisted on meeting the bride and her parents in person before proceeding further.
Unable to persuade him otherwise but fearful of losing face, Jiang Yan’s mother decided to avoid the parents of Mo and discreetly asked for Manman’s home address to pay a secret visit.
That evening, as Manman was working overtime, unaware, Jiang Yan’s parents headed straight for the Wen Family’s grocery store.
Wen Shixuan had gone out to restock goods.
Xu Yu’e was left to mind the store, and Zhang Qiuyan, pressed by Jin Ruowen, hurried over to enquire about Manman’s decision.
Xu Yu’e, troubled and unable to persuade Manman, fearing that the marriage proposal might indeed fall through, couldn’t put on a cold face to dismiss Zhang Qiuyan and could only greet her coolly.
Zhang Qiuyan boasted loudly: “Mr.
Jin gave me another call last night, worried that contacting Manman directly might frighten her.
He himself is very satisfied with Manman.
You probably don’t know, his ex-wife cheated on him and ran off with someone else, so he wants to find a simple girl.
He doesn’t care about looks or family background.
As for the dowry, he’s willing to offer a hefty sum.”
Seeing Zhang Qiuyan’s eight raised fingers, Xu Yu’e asked: “Eight thousand?”
“He’s a boss, how could it be just eight thousand?
It’s at a minimum eighty thousand.
This eighty thousand doesn’t include buying a set of brand-new bride’s gold and silver jewelry, hosting a hundred banquet tables, taking wedding photos, going on a honeymoon, and other expenses,” Zhang Qiuyan said with a grin so wide it seemed as if all the money was going into her own pocket, “Sister-in-law, if Manman marries him, she’ll be a rich man’s young wife.
That’s like fortune accumulated over several lifetimes.”
Xu Yu’e also thought, if that money could drop into her own pocket, and if she could get a little more from her son-in-law each month, she’d practically be a young matron herself.
The two women sat in the shop, cheerfully discussing the generous betrothal gifts, completely oblivious to a middle-aged couple standing at the fruit stand in front of the shop.
Pretending to pick fruits, Jiang Yan’s parents had overhead every word of their conversation.