No one present believed such words, and Yan Sisi directly tugged at the girl standing in front of her, looking earnestly into her eyes and asking, “Can you tell me?”
Since the others wouldn’t speak, she would ask the other person involved, surely someone would answer.
Xia Yueling didn’t hesitate at all and said plainly, “Xu Weiming is my blind date this time. And you?”
There was no way she could be the “distant relative” that people had been talking about.
Wu Fang, hearing Xia Yueling speak, didn’t dare say anything either. She only feared that Yan Sisi might reveal her relationship with her son, which could damage her family’s connection with the Xia family. She cast a cold gaze at the delicate-looking Yan Sisi and, in a flat tone, said, “Sisi, my good child, how’s your father’s work lately?”
No matter what, she would never allow such a fragile girl to truly marry her son. Her son could only be with a girl of equal social standing.
Yan Sisi listened to the veiled threats disguised as polite questions. It was they who had done wrong, yet they had the audacity to act this way. She turned to the bright and composed girl in front of her and said, “I am Xu Weiming’s fiancée, not the distant relative they mentioned. My family doesn’t have any connections with relatives like that.”
Previously, she had thought Xu Weiming was just indecisive, but she didn’t expect him to go on blind dates with other girls while already engaged. This crossed her bottom line completely.
Pressing her nails into her palms, using the pain to remind herself to stay calm, Yan Sisi’s gaze turned coldly to Xu Weiming, who had remained silent. “This week, I will go to see Grandpa Xu to call off the engagement. I hope you can come up with an acceptable reason by then.”
She then turned to Xu Weiming’s mother and threw the threat back at her: “Auntie, if my father’s work suddenly goes wrong, or he’s pressured by his boss, I can’t promise what I’ll say when I face Grandpa Xu. By then, your precious son…”
Yan Sisi left the last part unsaid, but everyone understood the meaning. This was the maximum she could do for now; if she openly exposed everything, even the kind-hearted Grandpa Xu wouldn’t be able to handle it.
With all her strength, Yan Sisi forced herself to turn stiffly and leave. Xia Yueling, seeing her go, took the items she had purchased from Xu Weiming’s hands and glared coldly at the mother and son who had deceived them. “Auntie, you’d better think carefully about how you’re going to explain this to my mom…”
Leaving the words hanging, Xia Yueling didn’t wait for any reaction and walked out of the department store without looking back.
Watching the two women leave one after the other, Xu Weiming felt utterly exhausted and said to his mother, who had been trying to control him all along, “Are you satisfied now?”
“My son, I’m only doing this for your own good,” Wu Fang said, stunned, looking at the son she had always cherished. In the end, it was somehow her fault?
Xu Weiming shot a glance of annoyance at his mother and left without looking back, leaving Wu Fang standing alone in the crowd, enduring the curious stares of onlookers and cursing under her breath.
Yan Sisi walked across to the opposite side of the department store before finally letting the tears she had been holding back fall. After all, he was the person she had always thought she would marry. No matter how much she had said before that she didn’t care, reaching this point still made her heart ache.
Gu Jingping saw her the moment he entered the department store, arguing with someone. Including the time she fell into the water the first time, this was the fourth time he had encountered her.
He watched as she exchanged words sharply with others, saw her tears blur her vision as she walked and cried, and worried that she might act rashly. From a distance, he followed her quietly the whole way, watching her cry, watching her stop to wipe her tears with her sleeve, and only after she opened the door at home and disappeared from view did he finally feel at ease and turn back.
Yan Sisi cried for a long time, tears streaming down her face. As she approached the family compound, afraid that her parents would see her crying, she hurriedly stopped, wiped her tears, and stood outside for a while letting the wind dry her face. Only when her eyes were completely dry and showed no trace of tears did she approach the house.
The first thing she saw upon returning home was her long-missed father sitting on a stool in the living room. Her voice immediately brightened with joy: “Dad, you’re back!”
Seeing her father instantly stirred all her pent-up grievances. Looking at his injured arm, she quickly forced back the moisture in her eyes.
Sitting on the stool, Father Yan noticed something was wrong as soon as he saw his daughter return and asked anxiously, “My girl, did you cry?”
Yan Sisi widened her eyes. “No! A flying insect went into my eye outside. Maybe I rubbed it too hard!”
She ran straight to her father, clinging to his hand and acting playful: “Dad, why didn’t you wait for me to come get you? Didn’t Mom say she’d pick you up tonight?”
Yan Xiangdong came out carrying the cooked dishes and, seeing his cousin back, hurriedly called out, “Sisi, come help inside!”
Yan Sisi, hearing Xiangdong interrupt, hugged her father and ran into the kitchen to help her mother, taking charge of washing the vegetables.
Immersed in washing vegetables, Yan Sisi quickly forgot the unpleasant events from earlier. Before long, the three of them had prepared a full table of dishes.
During the meal, Father Yan praised while eating: “Sisi’s mom, just a few days apart and your cooking skills have improved so much!”
“Yes, Auntie! Your dishes are even more delicious than those cooked by chefs at state-run restaurants. I don’t even want to go back after eating this!”
Father Yan’s wife beamed at the praise, unable to stop serving them more food. “If it’s good, eat more. Xiangdong will sleep here tonight with your second uncle.”
While they praised her mother, Yan Sisi quickly picked up the braised pork she loved. In her mind, this was the best way to compliment her mother’s cooking.
As expected, Father Yan’s wife, seeing how deliciously Yan Sisi ate, added a few more pieces to her bowl. Yan Sisi looked up and smiled, saying, “Thank you, Mom.”
After saying that, she lifted the bowl of braised pork and poured the thick sauce over her rice. Whenever her mother cooked braised pork at home, it meant she was generous with the seasonings. The rich sauce on the fluffy white rice, combined with a perfectly tender bite of pork, was simply irresistible.
After finishing the meal, Yan Sisi sat back in her chair, satisfied, and daydreamed, “I wish we could eat like this every day.”
Father Yan rubbed his stuffed stomach and agreed, “Yes, Sisi’s mom, buy some more meat tomorrow.”
Having spent so many days at the hospital drinking soup and eating porridge, he felt like he was shrinking.
Yan Sisi’s mother began clearing the dishes and cast a sharp look at the two slouched in their chairs. “Occasionally eating a meal like this is enough, you want it every day?”
Yan Xiangdong got up to help clear the table and grinned at the two being scolded, clearly enjoying their discomfort.
Yan Sisi paid no mind to her mother’s words. After all, she had earned some money in the past couple of days, so buying extra meat wasn’t a problem. With the current policy forbidding private livestock, she thought that if she could buy some animals to raise in her space, she could have meat all the time.
What should she buy? Chickens? No, they would fly around in the space and create chaos. Ducks? No, they might run off. Pigs? Too expensive. After thinking it over, it seemed she could only buy fish or shrimp to raise in her space, they wouldn’t run, wouldn’t fly, and were cheap.
After resting a while, everyone sat down in front of the TV, watching black-and-white characters tell stories of the martial world. Yan Xiangdong, rarely having the chance to watch a TV drama, couldn’t resist sitting down to watch with them. He stayed until the episode ended before getting up to leave.
Seeing Xiangdong leave, Yan Sisi couldn’t help yawning. “Dad, I’m going to bed. You keep watching!”
With that, she got up and headed to her room.
Seeing his daughter retreat, Father Yan quickly exchanged a look with his wife. Yan Sisi’s mother, completely absorbed in the TV drama, didn’t notice her husband’s glance at all. It wasn’t until he gave her a tap that she curiously asked, “What’s the matter?”
“My girl seemed off when she came back. Go check on her.”
“What?” Yan Sisi’s mother jumped up at once and went to her daughter’s room. She stepped inside, then quietly stepped back out, and whispered to her anxious husband, “She’s asleep.”
Father Yan immediately got up and turned off the TV. He lowered his voice as well: “Then let’s get to bed early too. I still need to go to the factory tomorrow. Remember to ask our daughter about it in the morning.”
The next morning, Yan Sisi woke to the “ding ding” of her alarm clock. She reached over and switched it off, suddenly realizing it was a school day. Startled, she instantly became fully alert.
Seeing that the clock pointed to 6:50, she relaxed a little. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and tidied her appearance in the mirror. By the time she left her room, breakfast had already been set on the table by her mother.
“Mom, what did you make for breakfast today? It smells amazing.”
“You’re too sweet. I got you your favorite, soft tofu. Eat quickly!”
Thinking about the time, Yan Sisi didn’t dare waste a second. She quickly finished her meal, grabbed her packed schoolbag, and called to her mother still busy in the kitchen, “Mom, I’m off to school.”
Without waiting for a reply, she dashed out like the wind. By the time she reached school and sat at her desk, the class bell was ringing.
She hadn’t even had time to greet her friends when the students began reading aloud from their textbooks. Amid the chorus of voices, Yan Sisi took out her own book and concentrated on reading.
When the bell rang for break, Jiang Siyue, who had been sitting up straight just moments before, turned excitedly to Yan Sisi. She grabbed her hand and shook it, saying, “Sisi, you finally came to class! Are you all healed?”
Facing her friend’s concern, Yan Sisi smiled gently and said, “Yes, tomorrow I can take off the bandage.”
Her deskmate, Wen Xuan, quietly watched the two chatter together. Once they were done, he handed over the notes he had written in his notebook and said softly, “Sisi, I wrote down what was covered in class these past few days. Take a look.”
Yan Sisi was visibly taken aback. Under Jiang Siyue’s playful gestures, she awkwardly replied, “Siyue already helped me take notes. Thank you though, class monitor.”
She squeezed Siyue’s hand tightly and looked her straight in the eye. Jiang Siyue, seeing her friend being so earnest, could only joke to lighten the mood: “Yes, class monitor. I already helped Sisi take notes. You’re not trying to steal my credit, are you?”