After Lu Muqian left, An Yin went upstairs to wash up, and twenty minutes later, she sat back down at the dining table.
She picked up the breakfast on the table. Only today did she realize that all the breakfasts she had eaten before were prepared by Lu Muqian, who woke up early to make them.
He was usually so busy with work, slept late, and still had to get up early to make breakfast for her. Wasn’t he exhausted?
As she ate, An Yin’s tears began to fall. She felt grateful—thank goodness she had returned. Lu Muqian, she wouldn’t let him live such a tiring life anymore.
An Yin picked up the phone nearby and dialed a number.
“Hello, Yinyin…”
“Brother~.” An Yin couldn’t hold back again, and tears streamed down her face like a bursting dam.
“Yinyin, what’s wrong? Tell your brother. Did Lu Muqian bully you?” An Chen quickly heard An Yin’s sobs.
“Where are you now? Tell me, and I’ll come pick you up right away. Don’t worry, your brother is here for you.”
An Chen had always doted on his sister. In her previous life, An Yin had resented him because he and Lu Muqian were close friends, and she had ended up giving him cold shoulders and harsh words. Later, she regretted it deeply.
“No, he didn’t bully me. I just miss home.”
“Brother, I’m at Wanyuan Estate. Come pick me up. I want to go home and see Mom and Dad.”
She really needed to go back. In her previous life, after getting married, she had never returned to the An family home. Whenever Father An and Mother An wanted to visit her, she had shut them out.
“Okay, wait there, good boy.” I’ll come right away.”
An Chen was currently working at his family’s company and had just started his day when he received his sister’s call.
Ever since she was forced to marry his friend, she had grown to resent her own brother too.
An Chen felt helpless, caught in the middle of a difficult situation—torn between his beloved sister and his good friend, unsure whom to side with.
But he had always felt that he had failed his sister, that he hadn’t protected her well enough or allowed her to marry according to her own wishes.
Yet, his friend Lu Muqian was a good man too, and he trusted him with his sister.
He was really stuck in the middle, worrying endlessly, while the people involved might not even be as troubled as he was.
…………
Wanyuan Estate…
When An Chen arrived, he called his sister An Yin, and she quickly appeared at the entrance.
As soon as she got into the car, An Yin sweetly called out, “Brother.”
Before An Chen arrived, An Yin had composed herself, reverting to the well-behaved girl her family knew.
An Chen was momentarily dazed—it had been so long since he had seen his sister acting so obedient.
“Hey~, let’s go home.”
“Okay.”
…………
An Family Home…
It had been a long time since An Yin last returned. Seeing the familiar building, her eyes began to well up with tears again.
An Chen led her inside. Mother An was sitting on the sofa, holding a family portrait and gazing at it.
Her hand gently stroked An Yin’s photo in the picture, and she sighed from time to time, completely unaware of the two figures standing at the doorway.
“Mom.” An Yin’s voice choked with emotion as she called out to Mother An.
In her previous life, she had witnessed countless scenes of Mother An weeping bitterly. During her cancer treatment, she often saw her mother appearing before her with red-rimmed eyes.
Mother An would pretend to be relaxed and comfort her, but An Yin knew—the pain of losing a daughter was something her mother felt more deeply than anyone else.
“Yinyin?”
“Mom, it’s me. I’m back.”
“Yinyin, have you forgiven us? Is that why you’ve come back?” Mother An’s first thought was the reason for An Yin’s return. She remembered how, before An Yin married, she had declared she would never set foot in the An family home again.
During those days, Mother An had been weeping constantly, sighing with worry, and even considered going to the Lu family to cancel the engagement and bring An Yin back home.
“No, Yinyin has never blamed you. I’ll come back often from now on.”
“Good, it’s wonderful that you’re back, truly wonderful.”
“Later, Mom will make your favorite Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs, alright?” Mother An had always remembered that An Yin loved Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs the most.
“Okay.”
Not seeing Father An around, An Yin asked, “Mom, where’s Dad?”
“Your dad is at the company. I’ll call him right away to come back and have dinner with us.”
“It’s fine, no need to call him. I’ll stay here for dinner before going back in the evening.”
“Alright, that works.”
So at noon, An Yin stayed at the An residence and shared a “long-awaited reunion” meal with her brother An Chen and Mother An.
Throughout the meal, Mother An kept serving An Yin dishes, hardly eating anything herself, while gazing at her daughter, feeling she had lost a lot of weight.
“Yinyin, is that Lu boy treating you poorly? Mom thinks you’ve gotten so thin.”
“Is he mistreating you?” Mother An’s words caught An Chen’s attention. Hearing his sister had lost weight, he slammed his chopsticks down—had Lu Muqian been abusing her?
She quickly explained in defense, “No, Lu Muqian treats me very well. He wakes up early every day to personally make me breakfast.”
“That’s good, as long as he treats you well.”
Mother An brought up the origin of their marriage: “Back then, if it weren’t for the marriage contract and Muqian insisting on marrying you, unwilling to cancel the engagement, your dad and I couldn’t protect you and had to let you marry into their family. But we also trusted Muqian’s character, believing he would treat you well and make you happy. Otherwise, we would have fought tooth and nail to protect you and never forced you into anything.”
“Mom, I understand. He really does treat me well. I just didn’t see it clearly before. From now on, I’ll live well with him.”
“I’m so happy to hear you say that.”
In the evening… Father An returned to the An residence and called for his wife as soon as he entered, “Jing’er, I’m back.”
“Dad, I’m back too.” An Yin popped her little head out from the kitchen, playfully addressing Father An at the door.
“Who is this? Yinyin?” Having not seen her for so long, Father An hardly recognized An Yin.
“What kind of talk is that? Who else could this be but our Yinyin?” Mother An came out of the kitchen carrying dishes, teasing Father An for not recognizing his own daughter.
“Dad, you haven’t forgotten your Baby girl already, have you?” An Yin joined in the banter.
She knew her father hadn’t forgotten—it was just that her previous words had been too harsh, making Father An unable to believe she was willing to return.
“How could I forget? You are my Yinyin. It’s just that Dad didn’t dare face you.” Like Mother An, he blamed himself for not being able to protect her and forcing her into marriage.
“Dad, it’s okay. Yinyin doesn’t blame you.”
“Mom made lots of dishes for me today. It’s been so long since we’ve had a family meal together.”
“Good.”
Father An happily went to the kitchen to wash his hands, just as An Chen came downstairs.
The whole family enjoyed dinner together, chatting happily.
Father An didn’t forget to ask about An Yin’s relationship with Lu Muqian:
“Yinyin, why didn’t Muqian accompany you back today? How are things between you two?”
Father An sincerely hoped their relationship was harmonious, wishing his only daughter to find happiness and trusting that he hadn’t misjudged Lu Muqian’s character.
“Don’t worry, Dad, we’re doing fine. He went to the company today. I just suddenly felt like coming back, so I didn’t tell him.”
“Next time, I’ll definitely bring him back to see you, okay?”
Lu Muqian had visited the An family before, but always as An Chen’s friend, never as the An family’s son-in-law—because An Yin wouldn’t allow it.
Mother An picked up a piece of meat and put it in Father An’s bowl, saying, “Don’t worry, Yinyin told me earlier today that she and Muqian are getting along very well.”
“That’s good, that’s good.”
An Chen chimed in at the right moment, “Should I drive you back later, or should I call him to come pick you up?”
“My husband has worked all day and must be tired. I’ll trouble my dear brother to take me back then.”
An Yin didn’t want Lu Muqian to exhaust himself with the round trip after a long day at work.
“Fine, I’m not tired from work. I’ll take you.” An Chen, the ever-dutiful brother.