Mrs. Yun didn’t want others to think the Yun family was taking advantage of someone’s misfortune. After all, the Yun family certainly wasn’t short on young women who were more outstanding than Qiao Yitong. While the Yun family was slightly inferior to the Qiao family—but only to Qiao’s eldest uncle’s branch—they were immeasurably superior to Qiao’s father’s branch.
“Sooner or later, they’ll split up,” Mrs. Yun said. “When Qiao Yitong’s father lived, he and her eldest uncle still had some semblance of a relationship, but it wasn’t all that deep. Yun Ruozhu, do you know why Qiao Yitong gets along so well with you? It’s because you’re the male heir in your family and will inherit shares, whereas Qiao Yitong, being a girl—even though her grandfather and the others seem to dote on her—has absolutely no shares at all!”
If Qiao Yitong could bring shares in the Qiao Group with her when she married, Mrs. Yun would look upon her more favorably.
Mrs. Yun didn’t mention how many young women from wealthy families marry without bringing family shares—she was specifically referring to her future daughter-in-law.
As long as Qiao Yitong didn’t marry into the Yun family, Mrs. Yun could treat her politely. But if Qiao Yitong were to marry into the Yun family, Mrs. Yun would have expectations of her.
“Someone who can’t measure up to you—and might even hold you back—just look at the crowd she hangs out with: a bunch of spoiled rich kids, and girls who know nothing but shopping. If you like her, fine; we’re willing to support you two. But you still need to keep a good sense of proportion here,” Mrs. Yun said.
“……” Yun Ruozhu fell silent. He wanted to say that he only liked Qiao Yitong, but he also felt that his mother wasn’t entirely wrong.
Qiao Yitong’s friends were indeed not particularly ambitious or hardworking. Yun Ruozhu had once scolded Qiao Yitong about it, but she had replied that they were just hanging out—they weren’t doing anything else, so what was the big deal? Yun Ruozhu didn’t really like Qiao Yitong hanging out with those people, but since Qiao Yitong wouldn’t listen to him, he felt helpless.
At that moment, Zhu Shanshan was in Qiao Xudong’s room. There was no one else there. Zhu Shanshan was massaging Qiao Xudong’s hands as she spoke to him.
“You need to wake up soon. If you don’t, they might sell your little sister.”
“It seems to me that the Yun family doesn’t think much of your little sister.”
“They’re taking advantage of her vulnerability to force her into an engagement with someone from the Yun family.”
“I’ve heard you’re very fond of your little sister. With her in such a state, aren’t you going to wake up?”
“Do you think your little sister has other brothers, but none of them care about her as much as you do?”
……
Zhu Shanshan realized she wasn’t very close with Qiao Xudong, so she decided to talk about the Qiao family instead. Zhu Shanshan hadn’t expected Qiao Yitong to encounter such things at the Qiao family home; she’d overheard a few remarks that morning while sitting beside Old Master Qiao.
Old Master Qiao had introduced Zhu Shanshan as Qiao Xudong’s wife and asked her to listen in.
Zhu Shanshan was very sensitive to other people’s emotions. Although Mrs. Yun appeared gentle in front of Old Master Qiao, she was actually secretly belittling Qiao Yitong behind the scenes. Zhu Shanshan didn’t like Mrs. Yun; if Qiao Yitong were to marry into the Yun family, she feared Qiao Yitong would likely suffer some injustices as well.
So what if she’s the daughter of a wealthy family? So what if they’re a good match? Mothers-in-law just love to criticize their daughters-in-law. If the elders find out, they’ll probably tell their daughters and granddaughters to just put up with it—that these are just minor issues—and they might even think the younger generation is at fault.
Zhu Shanshan didn’t think it was entirely the younger generation’s fault; it was possible the elders were in the wrong, too.
‘Little sister seems so innocent and naive—she’s no match for them.’
‘Little sister’s really great; she’s been pretty good to me.’
‘Are you going to wait until your little sister gets married and suffers some injustices before you’re finally willing to wake up?’
……
Zhu Shanshan looked at Qiao Xudong, who had his eyes closed, feeling utterly helpless. Couldn’t Qiao Xudong just wake up already? Zhu Shanshan mentioned the matter involving Qiao Yitong, then went on to talk about a few other things.
Qiao Yitong had no idea Zhu Shanshan was saying these things in front of Qiao Xudong. She had touched on some of it in her novel, but it was impossible to describe every single minute in detail. An hour’s worth of conversation would be condensed, and over a period of time, it might be condensed into just a few descriptions.
Qiao’s mother asked Qiao Yitong, and Qiao Yitong naturally replied that there was no need to choose.
“It’s obvious,” Qiao Yitong said. “Murong Yuchen is much more powerful.”
“Murong Yuchen’s mother isn’t in the best mental state,” Qiao’s mother said. “I just don’t know if she…”
“She lives abroad and rarely comes back,” Qiao Yitong said. “Mom, do you really think the Yun family is any better? Yun Ruozhu has an older brother; he won’t be able to inherit that much. And his mother is no pushover either—she’s still living right there. If I were to marry into that family, we’d be running into each other all the time, and that would make life miserable.”
“Don’t you like Yun Ruozhu?” Mrs. Qiao asked. “If you did like him…”
“We’re just friends—there’s nothing romantic between us,” Qiao Yitong said. “Mom, I’m not a three-year-old. It’s true that Yun Ruozhu and I grew up together, but that doesn’t mean I like him. This time, he didn’t even tell me beforehand—he just showed up at our door with his mom. He’s nowhere near as good as Murong Yuchen, and he doesn’t respect me. Why on earth would I choose him?”
Qiao Yitong wasn’t afraid of being called materialistic—after all, wasn’t that exactly what she was? She simply valued Murong Yuchen more. Murong Yuchen is the head of the Murong family; he’s far superior to Yun Ruozhu.
“Mom, I know what I’m doing. Marriage is a lifelong commitment—I absolutely can’t make the wrong choice,” Qiao Yitong said. “It’s fine for me to be friends with Yun Ruozhu, but if I marry him, his family might not be happy about it. Do you understand?”
“This morning, I got the impression his mother wasn’t very nice either,” Qiao’s mother nodded. “It’s better for you to be with Murong Yuchen. He’s friends with your older brother. Even though your older brother is still in a coma—and we don’t know when he’ll wake up—Murong Yuchen won’t treat you too badly out of respect for your older brother. I asked him about it, and he said it wasn’t just because of your older brother’s upcoming marriage—it’s because of you.”
“If it were just because of my older brother, I could marry him too—after all, I don’t really like him that much,” Qiao Yitong said. “Didn’t I used to think of him as my arch-enemy?”
“Have you been in touch with Yun Ruozhu?” Mrs. Qiao asked.
“No need to contact him, Qiao Yitong said. “They came to our door without contacting me first. Why should I contact him? Besides, I didn’t choose him, so there’s even less reason to reach out.”
Qiao Yitong felt that Yun Ruozhu’s actions were unacceptable; she had crossed Qiao Yitong’s line.
“Mom, I don’t want to be someone else’s puppet,” Qiao Yitong said, pulling her mother down to sit beside her. “I, Qiao Yitong, am a real, living person. I have a name and a surname. Yes, I rely on the Qiao family—if I were to leave the Qiao family, it would be very hard for me to get by. But that doesn’t mean I can’t make my own choices. Yun Ruozhu has been my friend for many years, yet he still doesn’t understand me.”
“Ah,” Qiao’s mother sighed. “It’s your dad and his family who aren’t up to par.”
“We’re doing just fine this way. It’s a way of life—a kind of wisdom,” Qiao Yitong said with a smile. “It’s called ‘great wisdom appears as foolishness.’ Being a rich kid, taking it easy, and not losing money—that’s not so bad. Mom, we don’t have to compete with others. Not everyone has to be so ambitious. They don’t like people like us, so we’ll just respect them and stay out of their way.”
“Oh, you,” Qiao’s mother said, feeling a little more at ease upon hearing Qiao Yitong’s words. “The Murong family does seem a bit simpler, but… Murong Yuchen’s temperament… he seems quite mild-mannered, but… these businesspeople who can make their businesses thrive—they’re not as simple as they appear on the surface.”
“So what if he’s not simple? If he were simple, wouldn’t his company have been swallowed up by others by now?” Qiao Yitong said. “He’s capable—he stands at the forefront. When I go out to parties, no matter what I say, everyone has to flatter me. Even if I say something wrong, they still have to agree with me.”
Murong Yuchen returned home to inform Grandfather Murong and Grandmother Murong about the marriage proposal. Naturally, the elderly couple had no objections.
“I can go,” Murong Ya said.
“Grandpa and Grandma will go,” Murong Yuchen replied. “Sis, you have too strong a temper.”
“The bride hasn’t even moved in yet, and you’re already worried about conflicts between sister-in-law and sister-in-law?” Murong Ya raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry. As long as she marries into the family, she can do whatever she wants—I won’t say a word against her. Happiness is what matters most. She hasn’t betrayed you. Even if she asked for the stars in the sky, I’d find a way to get them for her. Our whole family will pamper her—is that okay?”
Murong Ya really had no intention of making things difficult for Qiao Yitong—what’s the point of picking on a defenseless woman? Murong Ya hated making life hard for other women the most; why should women make life hard for each other? Women should be more understanding of one another.
Why hadn’t Murong Ya married yet? First, she didn’t trust men; second, she didn’t want to deal with mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts.
After Murong Ya and Murong Yuchen’s biological father passed away, their grandparents—that is, their father’s parents—had once come to cause a scene. Old Master Murong refused to give them a single penny and even threatened that they wouldn’t be able to maintain their current comfortable lifestyle; only then did those people dare to back down.
After Murong Ya and Murong Yuchen grew up, relatives from their father’s side still tried to visit, but naturally, the siblings paid them no mind and refused to give them any extra money. As for their half-siblings, Murong Ya and Murong Yuchen certainly had no intention of taking care of them.
“I don’t live here every day anyway. If she moves in, I can move out,” Murong Ya said.
“That won’t be necessary,” Murong Yuchen replied. He had never intended for Murong Ya to move out, and he was sure Qiao Yitong didn’t want that either. “Sis, as long as you don’t make things difficult for Tongtong, everything will be fine.”
“Why would I make things difficult for her?” Murong Ya asked. “If you like her, let Grandpa and Grandma go propose the marriage. I won’t go by myself.”
Murong Ya was very assertive in public, and she knew some people didn’t like her assertiveness. It wasn’t that Murong Yuchen didn’t want Murong Ya to go; rather, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to go alone. Furthermore, Old Master Murong was still alive and in relatively good health, so Murong Yuchen wanted to show Qiao Yitong sufficient respect—he couldn’t let anyone think the Murong family didn’t value her.
“Mrs. Yun took her son there,” Murong Yuchen said; after all, he couldn’t let Yun Ruozhu outdo him.
“A girl like Qiao Yitong has quite a few admirers,” Murong Ya said bluntly. “She’s beautiful, has a sweet tongue, a good education, and comes from a respectable family. “Marriage is about building a life together, not running a business. Qiao Yitong is a great match—a really great match. For our family, she’s a perfect fit.”
Murong Ya truly felt this way. The members of their family tended to be a bit strong-willed—though “strong-willed” might not be the right word. It would be more accurate to say they had stubborn, somewhat inflexible personalities and weren’t particularly gentle. It’s not that they don’t know how to care for others; it’s just that sometimes they don’t know how to express their emotions.
Mr. and Mrs. Murong are fine, but Murong Ya and her brother Murong Yuchen—neither of them has the best temperament; Murong Yuchen even has a split personality. Murong Ya had no intention of being picky about Murong Yuchen’s future partner. As long as that person could handle Murong Yuchen and live a happy life with him, Murong Ya would consider that more than enough.
“Aya is absolutely right,” said the Old Lady Murong. “Our household is always so lifeless; we really should find a girl who’s a bit more lively.”
Lady Murong had heard people say that Qiao Yitong was spoiled and willful, and that she had a bad temper, but she didn’t quite see it that way. It was better for a young girl to be lively and cheerful; it was only natural for her to have a bit of an edge—it made her seem vibrant and alive.
“We’ll go first thing tomorrow morning,” Grandfather Murong decided.
None of the Murong family members gave any thought to Murong Yuchen’s biological mother; they preferred not to speak of Madam Murong.
Madam Murong, living abroad, wasn’t insane—she was just a bit absent-minded at times. It suddenly occurred to her that her son and daughter were no longer young; perhaps it was time for them to get married. She decided she needed to return to Hong Kong to see for herself.