Chaрtеr 25: Yоur Моther Doesn’t Lоvе You.
Wu Xiаn froze bу thе роnd.
Shе hаdn’t antiсiраtеd this turn of evеnts. Knowing He Yаng сamе frоm аn оrdinаry fаmilу, shе had aррroаched with gentlе pеrsuasion and swеetеned оffеrs.
Surely Нe Yang wouldn’t bе аblе tо refuse.
Вut nоt оnlу did she refusе, she еscalаted the сonflict, drаgging Jiang Shouting and Jiаng Siуе into it.
Wu Хiаn quietly regrеtted hеr lаck of сaution. Shе shouldn’t hаvе gоtten invоlved in the disрute betwееn Duаn Tianhua and He Yang.
“Sister-in-lаw, уou’ve never givеn mе a hard time bеfоre,” He Yang stroked the cattails. “Let’s just drop this matter. Don’t involve yourself in the future either. Background doesn’t equate to intelligence—I’d hate to see you lose face if you end up tangled up with me.”
“……”
Wu Xian’s face was already burning with humiliation.
The two gold cards pressed painfully against her delicate skin.
“He Yang,” Wu Xian’s voice was soft, yet sharp as a thorn, “no one forced you to marry into this family. Don’t act like you’re the victim just because you’ve suffered a little. You have no other capital. All you can do is swallow your pride.”
He Yang’s fingers stilled.
Right.
She came willingly.
She had even prepared herself for it.
She had no background, no resources. What was love? An elusive, intangible thing—the cheapest of all, because she had nothing else to offer.
Children raised in wealth understood this early on. They grasped the rules of society sooner, knowing that sincerity could be used as seasoning but could never be the main course.
If Wu Xian had said this earlier, He Yang would have been crushed on the spot.
Self-respect was a luxury, but utterly useless to a trapped beast in a cage.
He Yang looked at her. “Sister-in-law, are you declaring war on me?”
“……”
The wind rustled through the greenery.
Wu Xian suddenly shivered.
Forget it.
Just forget it.
Why should she risk her comfortable life by getting involved in such matters?
“Do as you please,” Wu Xian turned away. “We’re only here for a meal.”
He Yang curved her lips slightly.
Cattails were cheap. The old gardener tending the flowerbeds had said the Jiang family’s courtyard was lovely, and that returning to simplicity was in vogue now—the natural charm of the wild. That was why Duan Tianhua tolerated these aquatic plants.
The cattail spikes resembled grilled sausages. He Yang snipped a few with scissors.
Da Ke panted heavily, rubbing against her leg.
This dog wasn’t shy around strangers—it followed anyone.
Jiang Siye leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
He Yang had her back to him, half-crouched in front of Da Ke. It was unclear what the two were up to.
Only when Da Ke whimpered twice did Jiang Siye stride over.
He Yang stood up, holding the cattail spikes, revealing Da Ke’s new look.
Jiang Siye halted abruptly, his brow twitching repeatedly.
Really…
In just those few quiet minutes, she had taken a pair of scissors and given Da Ke a haircut.
Transforming him from a majestic figure into a balding, middle-aged man with a receding hairline.
And here he had comforted Da Ke, saying at least she hadn’t wanted to kill him.
Spoke too soon!
Da Ke wagged his tail and affectionately trotted over.
Jiang Siye rubbed his temples. “Why did you cut his fur?”
He Yang: “His head was rubbing against my leg.”
Jiang Siye: “So you cut his fur?”
He Yang: “What was I supposed to do, chop his head off?”
“……”
Silence.
After a moment, Jiang Siye’s shoulders shook slightly, a low chuckle rumbling from his chest. “He Yangyang, have you no shame?”
He Yang didn’t want to chat idly with him—it would make them seem close.
Jiang Siye didn’t let her leave, standing tall and broad, blocking the last rays of the setting sun.
“Let’s move out, okay?” He bent down, meeting her eyes at her level, his tone sticky and pleading. “We’ll take Da Ke with us, raise him ourselves from now on…”He Yang liked Da Ke, Jiang Siye could tell.
When He Yang moved out of the Jiang family home, she was pregnant, and Jiang Siye didn’t dare let Da Ke follow her.
He Yang said, “I’m not moving.”
Jiang Siye pressed his lips together, cupping her face in his hands. “I’ve hired a new psychologist. Let’s go talk together…”
He Yang pushed his hands away. “I’m not sick.”
“Then do it for me,” Jiang Siye coaxed. “I’m the one who’s sick, okay?”
Whether it was for treatment or to repair their marriage, as long as she was willing to go.
He Yang asked, “Do you really have a child outside?”
Jiang Siye: “…”
He Yang: “I’m begging you, don’t do something so immoral. If you have a child, marry the mother and bring the child in, okay?”
“…” The warmth in Jiang Siye’s eyes vanished completely. “Don’t you know whether I’ve been fooling around or not?”
“I don’t know,” He Yang said. “Having a child doesn’t take eight or ten years.”
The topic of children was too dangerous. Jiang Siye didn’t want the conversation to spiral into another extreme situation.
He took the scissors from her hand. “Go inside, dinner’s ready.”
He Yang grew even more suspicious of him.
He probably really had a child outside.
Like the slip-up Cao Yingjun had made last time—Jiang Siye’s two-month business trip had actually been spent in the hospital.
He’d better have a child, and the child’s mother should be causing trouble, demanding to be made official.
He Yang actually saw a glimmer of hope.
Carrying the cattail inside, her steps were light.
To welcome Xu Fang, dinner was prepared with extra grandeur.
Jiang Shouting sat at the head of the table, with Duan Tianhua and Wu Xian on either side. Across from He Yang were Jiang Sanyun and Xu Fang.
Since they were all family, there was no need to stand on ceremony. Occasionally, the wedding was mentioned in conversation.
“Choosing a date for the betrothal gifts is important,” Duan Tianhua said. “If the beginning goes smoothly, everything else will follow. But this time, we need a different fortune-teller. The one Fourth used was no good.”
Jiang Siye set down his chopsticks. “What do you mean, no good…”
He Yang patted his hand. “He really wasn’t good.”
Jiang Siye: “…”
He Yang: “You’re bad luck for me. Which fortune-teller was it? I’m going to go cut him down.”
“…”
“Eat properly,” Jiang Shouting interjected. “Mom, stick to the topic.”
If she kept making veiled remarks, no one would be able to control the situation.
That wild one who had just set down his chopsticks was about to flip the table.
Duan Tianhua swallowed her anger.
Marriage was, after all, a serious matter. Jiang Sanyun also restrained herself, speaking softly as she served Xu Fang.
He Yang sighed inwardly. They were all normal people, really—they just disliked her.
But since they couldn’t touch Jiang Siye, they took their anger out on her, bullying the weak and using every high-society trick to wear her down—
Every single one of them, He Yang remembered.
“Third Brother-in-Law,” He Yang spoke up abruptly in the quiet dining room, “are you marrying into the family, or is Third Sister marrying out?”
Everyone: “…”
Duan Tianhua restrained herself. “Yangyang, mind your manners.”
He Yang said, “Oh, I was just curious. If Third Brother-in-Law is marrying in, then you and I… what would that make us? Sisters-in-law or brothers-in-law?”
Xu Fang’s expression gradually darkened. “I’m not marrying in.”
His reply was firm and resolute.
Jiang Sanyun slammed her chopsticks down.
“Good thing you escaped that fate,” He Yang said without batting an eye. “Otherwise, if you married in, you’d have to serve Third Sister by washing her feet, help Mother get up in the morning, and even make ginger duck for Third Sister while she’s in confinement… Oh, right,”
At this point, He Yang turned her head. “Sister-in-Law, you never got that treatment, did you?”
Wu Xian remained silent.
Hadn’t they agreed she wouldn’t get involved? Why was she being dragged into this?”It’s still a man’s problem,” He Yang continued on her own. “My man is useless, a coward. Husband, you must be an extra birth—”
Jiang Siye’s face was like a corpse.
He Yang sighed. “Your mother doesn’t love you, you’re so redundant and pitiful.”