When Yu Xiangxiang heard that they might get married next month, her face turned even redder.
Yu Xiuqi, however, noticed something was wrong. He stood up.
“Dad, Mom, why didn’t you give the gifts to the Xie family? Why did you bring everything back?”
Yu Changde sighed helplessly.
“Today just wasn’t a good time. Xie Yunzhou brought his girlfriend back to the old residence, so Old Master and Madam Xie weren’t available to see us.”
Tao Shuqin still felt uneasy.
“Changde, I still think there’s something strange about what that servant said about the Xie family’s young madam.”
“You’re overthinking it,” Yu Changde said. “And don’t scare yourself. Jingmo already has a marriage arrangement. One is that dead girl, Yu Zhiwan, and the other is our precious Xiangxiang. Who do you think he’d choose? Of course he’d choose Xiangxiang!”
Yu Xiuqi nodded.
“Dad is right. Xiangxiang was raised as a wealthy young lady, while Yu Zhiwan grew up in a poor family. Xie Jingmo would obviously choose Xiangxiang. How could he possibly take a liking to Yu Zhiwan?”
Yu Xiangxiang bit her lip, nervously twisting her fingers together.
“But… why do I feel like Jingmo is so cold toward me?”
Even now, she didn’t have his phone number or WeChat.
She couldn’t even have a proper conversation with him.
Yu Shaoze comforted her.
“Silly Xiangxiang, he’s cold toward every woman. That’s just his personality! Besides, I have a feeling he’s keeping his distance from other women because of his engagement to you.”
“So once you two get married, you’ll have plenty of time to develop feelings for each other.”
Yu Changde smiled.
“Exactly. Your second brother is right. Tomorrow, your mother and I will go to the Xie residence again. This time, we’ll definitely settle your marriage!”
Tao Shuqin frowned deeply.
She still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in her heart…
Xie Yunzhou sat nearby, watching his older brother peel oranges for Yu Zhiwan and whisper things to her from time to time.
If their grandparents hadn’t called for him, his eyes probably wouldn’t have left Yu Zhiwan for even a second.
Tsk, tsk.
Where was the cold, distant, unapproachable brother he knew?
If anyone dared say his brother wasn’t interested in women, he’d argue with them to the end!
Xie Yuntang was sitting nearby as well. She kicked Xie Yunzhou and ordered him around without hesitation.
“Stop staring and peel me an apple.”
Xie Yunzhou immediately kicked her back.
“Don’t think I’ll let you off just because you’re my sister.”
Xie Yuntang: “???”
“You little brat, are you rebelling?”
Madam Xie immediately scolded him.
“Yunzhou, don’t be rude. She’s your older sister.”
Xie Yunzhou was instantly defeated.
“…”
Xie Yuntang laughed mercilessly.
“Hahahaha!”
Although the siblings constantly bickered and teased each other, Yu Zhiwan could tell that they were actually very close.
That was simply how they interacted.
Just as Yu Zhiwan was admiring their relationship, Xie Yuntang suddenly revealed some explosive news about Xie Yunzhou.
He had been dumped!
And he had been the one who got dumped!
His girlfriend had broken up with him two months ago!
Xie Yunzhou looked utterly helpless. He glared at his sister, clearly annoyed but unable to do anything about it.
“My dear auntie, it’s already been two months. Can you please stop bringing this up over and over again?”
Xie Yuntang snorted.
“So what if it’s been two months? Even if it’s been two years, I’ll still bring it up and embarrass you!”
“Tsk, tsk. That girl was pretty smart. She knew you were unreliable and dumped you early.”
Xie Yunzhou: “…Are you really my sister?”
“How am I unreliable?”
“Xie Yuntang! Just because you said that, I’ll let you call me ‘brother’ once, and then I promise I won’t beat you up!”
Xie Yuntang wasn’t scared at all.
She immediately turned toward their grandparents.
“Grandpa, Grandma, look at him!”
Madam Xie shot Xie Yunzhou a warning glare.
Old Master Xie’s cane seemed ready to make an appearance.
Xie Yunzhou immediately raised both hands in surrender.
“Fine, fine! A gentleman doesn’t fight with a lady. Truce for today!”
He secretly glared at Xie Yuntang.
Just wait, Xie Yuntang. Keep provoking me.
She laughed so hard that her stomach hurt.
Then she grabbed Yu Zhiwan’s hand.
“Sister-in-law, see that? Xie Xiaozhou is at the very bottom of our family’s food chain. If you ever need anything, you can order him around.”
Xie Jingmo glanced lazily at his sister.
“Does my wife need to order him around?”
Xie Yuntang immediately understood.
She slapped her forehead.
“Sister-in-law, I said that wrong! If you ever need anything, just order my brother around!”
Yu Zhiwan: “…”
She turned toward Xie Jingmo.
He handed her the orange he had carefully peeled, a smile curling at the corner of his lips.
“Did you hear that, Mrs. Xie? If you need anything, remember to order me around.”
His fingers were long, clean, and well-defined, and even the orange he peeled was perfectly cleaned.
Yu Zhiwan felt as though a feather had lightly brushed across her heart.
Her calm heart rippled in gentle circles.
She stared at him for several seconds before accepting the orange from his palm.
In a tiny voice, she said,
“I know. I actually have something I want to ask you to do right now.”
“You’re blocking my view and making it hard for me to see Grandpa and Grandma. Could you move farther away?”
Xie Jingmo: “???”
Seeing his stunned expression, Yu Zhiwan’s lips curved into a smile.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled with playful mischief.
“I’m kidding.”
Xie Jingmo raised his brows in surprise.
A few seconds later, his Adam’s apple rolled as a low, indulgent laugh escaped his throat.
His perfectly good wife had suddenly learned how to tease him.
But he liked it.
She could be even more mischievous if she wanted.
He liked seeing her become increasingly comfortable around him.
He loved seeing her bright, lively, playful side.
Yu Zhiwan and Xie Jingmo were persuaded to stay for dinner.
His second uncle and aunt, his aunt and uncle-in-law, Xie Yuntang, and Xie Yunzhou were all there.
The atmosphere remained warm and harmonious throughout the meal.
After dinner, Yu Zhiwan stayed with the elderly couple for a while before following Xie Jingmo to his old bedroom.
The room was on the second floor.
Xie Jingmo had lived there until he went to university.
Yu Zhiwan looked around with interest.
The room was spotless, and almost everything had remained untouched.
There were cool mechanical models on the bookshelf, along with certificates and awards.
However…
Yu Zhiwan looked around curiously.
“There’s not even anything pink in this room.”
Xie Jingmo: “?”
“Pink?”
Yu Zhiwan blinked.
“I feel like you really like pink things. Your WeChat profile picture and your apron both have that little pink bunny.”
Xie Jingmo raised his brows.
“So you’re talking about that.”
He leaned lazily against the desk and tilted his head slightly, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
“I don’t like pink.”
“I just like that bunny.”
That only made Yu Zhiwan more curious.
Who drew that little pink bunny?
What made him like it so much?
Yu Zhiwan realized that her curiosity had changed surprisingly quickly.
Just yesterday, she hadn’t cared about his little bunny at all.
But today, she couldn’t stop wondering about it.
There was a photo album on the desk.
Yu Zhiwan picked it up and flipped through it.
It contained pictures of Xie Jingmo when he was young.
In one photo, he was only two or three years old.
He was incredibly adorable, like a finely carved little doll.
He had been handsome even as a child.
There were also a man and a woman in the photograph.
Their facial features bore some resemblance to Xie Jingmo.
Are these Xie Jingmo’s parents?
Yu Zhiwan wanted to ask, but she was afraid it might bring up painful memories.
After all, his parents had died young.
That must have been difficult for him.
Unexpectedly, Xie Jingmo took the initiative to explain.
He seemed to have long since come to terms with it.
His voice was calm, without any particular sadness.
“The people in the photo are my parents.”
Yu Zhiwan glanced at him and awkwardly changed the subject.
“…You were pretty handsome when you were little.”
Hearing that, Xie Jingmo raised his brows lazily.
“I’m not handsome now?”
Yu Zhiwan: “…”
He slowly sighed, pretending to blame himself.
“My fault. My fault for not growing into your type.”
Yu Zhiwan: “…That’s not true. You’re very handsome now too. You’re exactly my type.”
The moment she said that, a low, husky laugh escaped the man’s throat.
His laughter was deep and lazy, filled with unmistakable amusement.
“So I’m your type?”
“Yes.”
“This is the first time you’ve ever complimented me. I should write it down in a little notebook.”
Yu Zhiwan: “???”
Why was he like this?
Yu Zhiwan decided to ignore him.
She continued flipping through the photo album.
From the pictures, his family seemed to have been very loving.
In almost every photograph, his father had an arm around his mother’s waist or shoulders.
His affection was obvious.
Even little Xie Jingmo seemed almost forgotten in the middle of his parents’ world.
Yu Zhiwan couldn’t help smiling.
But after turning several more pages, she suddenly noticed something strange.
In the photographs, Xie Jingmo’s father was always looking at his mother with obvious affection.
But Xie Jingmo’s mother looked cold.
Her body even seemed to instinctively lean away from him, as though she disliked his touch and didn’t want physical contact.
And it wasn’t just one photograph.
Almost every picture showed the same thing.
Yu Zhiwan’s brows slowly knitted together.
Last night, when Xie Jingmo had washed her underwear for her, he had said that his parents had been the same way—that his father always washed his mother’s clothes.
At the time, she had assumed his parents must have been deeply in love.
But looking at these photographs now…
It didn’t seem like they had been as loving as she thought.
Yu Zhiwan’s thoughts immediately returned to another matter.
The deaths of Xie Jingmo’s parents were clearly something the Xie family avoided discussing.
What exactly happened back then?