April in Jiangshi brought a continuous, drizzling rain that had lasted for a full week, filling the air with the damp smell of mold and dampening everyone’s spirits.
Ban Ban squatted near the garden flowerbed in the backyard, her fingers poking at a rose stem soaked to mush by the rain. She didn’t even notice as her skirt hem became stained with mud.
She hadn’t seen her father in three days. Ever since the company ran into trouble, he had spent entire nights holed up in the study, the desk lamp glowing until three or four in the morning.
Her older sister, Ban Ruo, had only returned at two o’clock the previous morning. Her high heels clicked against the entryway tiles with a heavier sound than usual.
Ban Ban had feigned sleep, listening as her sister took a phone call in the living room, keeping her voice low. “Give us three more days… I know, we can meet to discuss the interest…”
Ban Ban had pulled the quilt over her head, her silent tears wetting the pillowcase.
She had graduated from Nan Da’s finance department just last year, thrilled to join the family business and lend a hand. But right after she completed her onboarding paperwork, news broke that the company’s capital chain had ruptured.
According to something her sister had mentioned in passing, an overseas project had been gutted by a partner who fled with the funds, and combined with a sudden loan recall by the banks, a gap of several hundred million yuan had opened up, impossible to plug.
Ban Ban couldn’t make sense of those complex accounts, but she could understand her father’s hair.
In the span of just half a month, Ban Shengwei had transformed from a poised, dashing middle-aged man into an old man with frosted white hair.
And she couldn’t help.
“Ban Ban,” Ban Ruo’s voice came from behind.
Ban Ban hastily wiped her face, turned around, and forced a smile. “Sis, you’re back? You’re so early today.”
Ban Ruo wore a sharply tailored business suit. There were dark circles under her eyes, but her back was straight as a board.
Seven years older than Ban Ban, she had always been the one to shoulder the heavy burdens. With their father busy with business and their mother having passed away young, Ban Ruo had played the role of both sister and mother, shielding Ban Ban completely.
“Don’t squat on the ground, it’s cold.” Ban Ruo pulled her up and instinctively brushed the mud off her skirt.
“Go change into something a bit more formal. We have a guest coming, don’t give people something to laugh about.”
“Who?”
“Uncle Wen,” Ban Ruo said.
“The Wen family from the north.”
Ban Ban paused. Of course she knew the Wen family. They had made their fortune in building materials before expanding into real estate and finance, and they were a household name in northern business circles.
The Wens and the Bans were old acquaintances, and Wen Henian and her father had been university classmates. Even though they lived far apart now, they still visited during holidays and festivals.
It was just that her father had been avoiding all visitors for the past half month. Why suddenly see Wen Henian today…?
Ban Ban’s heart skipped a beat, but she asked no questions. She obediently went back to her room, changed into a simple, demure white dress, and swept her hair behind her ears.
As she walked downstairs, she deliberately lightened her footsteps. The living room door was ajar, and her father’s voice drifted out, sounding much hoarser and lower than usual.
“…Old Wen, I appreciate your good intentions. But I cannot agree to this.”
“Shengwei, listen to me—”
“Ban Ruo has a boyfriend. You know that. Xiao Xu has been with Ban Ruo for four years.”
Wen Henian gave a light laugh. “Doesn’t your family have another younger daughter?”
A long silence.
Ban Ban held her breath, hearing her father’s voice suddenly pitch higher. “Wen, what do you mean by this? Ban Ban is only twenty-one! How old is that son of yours, Wen Ting’an? Thirty-three, right? Besides, the rumors about his flings reach me clear across half of China!”
Wen Henian sighed. “I know this request is outrageous. It’s precisely because my wayward son… has a poor reputation that no respectable family dares to marry him. Old Wen, I will treat my daughter-in-law like my own flesh and blood; I won’t wrong her.”
“Ting’an is… he’s just a bit playful, but he can settle down—”
“Settle down from what?” Ban Shengwei’s anger flared higher.
“Ban Shengwei’s daughter is not a tool to help your son settle down! Let me tell you, this is non-negotiable. I’ll figure out the funding myself; you can go back the way you came.”
“Old Wen, I was just making a suggestion. Even if you’re unwilling, could I really refuse to help you? Look at our relationship.”
“I told finance to wire the money when I left; it should hit your account tomorrow.”
Ban Shengwei looked at Wen Henian and said, “Since you had already made up your mind to help me, why bring up a suggestion like that and leave me feeling guilty?”
Wen Henian sighed deeply, putting on a pitiful tone. “Old Wen, my life is hard. All I want in this lifetime is to find a suitable wife for that unfilial son of mine. When I came over, I figured you had two daughters. If you were willing, the funding could count as the betrothal gift. I just thought I’d throw it out there and see.”
Looking helplessly at Wen Henian, Ban Shengwei replied, “I’m not against a marriage alliance, but your son is out of the question. His reputation is just too bad.”
Ban Ban’s hands clenched tightly around the fabric of her skirt.
She stood outside the door for a long time, so long that her feet grew numb.
She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
“Dad.”
The two men in the living room turned to look at her simultaneously. Ban Shengwei sat on the sofa, his suit jacket open and his tie loosened around his neck, the red veins in his eyes striking and alarming.
Wen Henian sat opposite him. He looked a bit older than she remembered, but full of vigor. His eyes lit up when he saw her.
“Is this Ban Ban?” Wen Henian stood up, looking her up and down.
“I haven’t seen her in years. She’s grown into a young woman.”
Ban Ban favored her mother—round face, fair skin, curved brows, and two dimples that appeared whenever she smiled.
When Wen Henian used to visit their home when she was little, he always loved teasing her: “Ban Ban looks just like a glutinous rice dumpling.”
She offered Uncle Wen a polite smile, walked over to Ban Shengwei, squatted down, and looked up at her father. “Dad, I heard it all.”
“Ban Ban, this isn’t something you should be listening to—”
“Let me marry him.”
The living room fell so quiet the ticking of the wall clock was audible.
Ban Shengwei froze. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I’m not talking nonsense,” Ban Ban said softly.
“Sis has Brother Xu. They’ve been together for so many years, and I don’t want to make things difficult for her. Uncle Wen’s family can help us, and we should be grateful. If I marry over there, it can count as repaying Uncle Wen’s kindness. Besides, what if his son does settle down?”
Before she knew it, Ban Ruo had also entered and was leaning against the doorframe, her face pale. “Ban Ban, you have no idea what kind of person Wen Ting’an is.”
“I know,” Ban Ban said, lowering her gaze and pressing her lips together.
“Dad just said it—he’s fickle, and changes female companions faster than his shirts. But that’s okay, he’s a member of the Wen family.”
She raised her head to look at her father, her eyes slightly red, though she wasn’t crying. “Dad, I’m twenty-one. You and Sis have protected me all my life. This time, let me protect you both, okay?”
Ban Shengwei’s lips trembled, unable to utter a word for a long time.
Standing nearby, Wen Henian looked at this soft, fair young woman with a tangle of complicated emotions in his chest.
He had indeed harbored thoughts of an alliance, but seeing Ban Ban like this made him feel that his own bastard of a son truly didn’t deserve her.
“Ban Ban,” Wen Henian softened his tone.
“Uncle will be honest with you. Ting’an is a bit wild, but he isn’t a bad person. He’s just… got a heavy playful streak and hasn’t settled down yet. If you’re willing to marry into the family, Uncle promises you that if he ever dares to bully you, I’ll be the first one not to spare him.”
Ban Ban looked at him and her eyes curved into crescents. “Uncle, I believe what you say. I’ll marry your son.”
The stone in Wen Henian’s chest dropped, leaving a sour, swollen sensation behind. “Good, good. Don’t worry, Ban Ban. Although my son is fickle, he isn’t promiscuous; there’s hope for him. Once he sees you, he’ll definitely settle down.”
Ban Ban nodded.
She didn’t know when she had grown so brave. Probably that night when she got up to use the restroom at midnight, she had seen the light leaking through the crack of the study door and heard her father sigh softly inside.
The sound was faint, but it cut right through her heart.
She couldn’t bear to watch her father’s hair turn white overnight, let alone watch her sister beg everywhere for the sake of the company.
This was all she had—herself.
That evening, Wen Henian stayed overnight at the Ban household. Ban Shengwei sat in the study smoking for the entire night. The next morning, he went to find Wen Henian, his eyes as red as a rabbit’s.
“Wen,” he pointed straight at Wen Henian’s nose.
“If your son causes my daughter even the slightest bit of grievance, I, Ban Shengwei, will fight him to the death, even if it ruins me.”
Wen Henian nodded repeatedly. “Don’t worry, don’t worry.”
“Also,” Ban Shengwei’s voice was hoarse.
“The two of them will meet first. If Ban Ban sees him and isn’t willing, the arrangement is void. If… if she is willing, the wedding must not be a grand affair. Ban Ban is still young; I don’t want her pointed at by all sorts of gossiping people.”
Wen Henian agreed to everything, preparing to make a overnight trip back to the north.
When the news reached the north, Wen Ting’an was just stepping out of some drinking party, holding a model in his arms, when he received his father’s call.
“What?” He released the model, standing up straight. “Say that again?”
“I said, I’ve arranged a match for you. The younger daughter of the Ban family in Jiangshi, named Ban Ban. You’ll meet next month, and if things go well, we’ll hold the wedding.”
In the night breeze, Wen Ting’an narrowed his eyes, a cool, cynical smile touching the corners of his lips. “Dad, are you serious?”
“When have I ever joked with you?”
Wen Ting’an stubbed out his cigarette in a roadside trash can and paused to recall the Ban family. His father’s old alumnus had once come to their house for dinner and brought two daughters.
The older one was pretty and reportedly good at studies, while the younger one… his memory was vague, except for a flash of white, cowering behind her sister and barely saying a word.
“How old?” he asked.
“Twenty-one.”
Wen Ting’an let out a cold scoff. “Dad, are you finding me a wife or having me raise a daughter?”
“Shut your mouth!” Wen Henian roared from the other end of the line.
“The girl only agreed to help her family out, so don’t you dare put on that stinky attitude of yours. Come to Jiangshi together next week for a family meeting. Get yourself cleaned up and don’t bring any of those messy people along.”
The call disconnected.
Looking at the darkened screen of his phone, Wen Ting’an dismissed his female companion and stood alone on the street, lighting a cigarette. As the night breeze poured into his shirt collar, he tilted his head back, blew out a smoke ring, and thought: Fine, getting married is getting married.
Marrying anyone is the same anyway.
Except—he flicked the ash off his cigarette, remembering his father’s words, The girl only agreed to help her family out—and a twitch crossed his brow.
At twenty-one, did she even know what marriage was?
He shook his head, tossed the cigarette butt away, and pulled out his car keys.
Back in Jiangshi, Ban Ruo sat on Ban Ban’s bed, looking at her younger sister.
“Ban Ban, it’s still not too late to go back on this.”
Sitting there without lifting her head, Ban Ban replied, “I won’t go back on it.”
“Wen Ting’an, he—”
“Sis,” Ban Ban interrupted, looking up with a soft, shallow dimple in her cheek.
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
Watching her, tears suddenly spilled from Ban Ruo’s eyes. She pulled her sister into a tight embrace, burying her face in the crook of her neck. “It’s your sister’s fault. If only I were a bit more capable—”
“You’re already capable enough.” Ban Ban patted her back, her voice soft and gentle.
“Sis, you’ve shielded me since we were little. This time, let me shield you.”
Outside the window, the rain had stopped unawares. Jiangshi finally cleared up, and the setting sun poured through the cracks in the clouds, casting the shadows of the two sisters onto the floor, overlapping them into one.
Looking at the light outside the window, Ban Ban’s thoughts drifted to the north.
She had never been to the north. She didn’t know if it really snowed heavily there in the winter, or if the food consisted entirely of wheat-based dishes.
She didn’t know what this man named Wen Ting’an looked like, what kind of temper he had, or if he would find her chubby, silly, or completely clueless about everything.
But she knew she had to marry him.
Consider this her first act of willful rebellion in her entire life.