He Qiuxia set down the teacup in her hand onto the table; the porcelain struck the wooden tabletop with a crisp, loud sound. “Sister Liu, what do you mean by that?”
Mother He was startled by the noise, and Meng Li’s hands massaging her shoulders also stopped as she turned her head to look at He Qiuxia.
He Qiuxia’s face had completely darkened. Her voice was not loud, but every word was forceful and resounding: “The one engaged to Jianjun back then was my family’s Yunshu; this was a matter agreed upon with the adults of both families sitting together. Saying such words in front of the child right now—are you disdaining Yunshu because her biological parents’ family background isn’t as good as Old Ji’s?”
Poked right in her true thoughts, the smile on Mother He’s face could no longer hold up, and she hastily waved her hand: “Oh my, Old Ji’s wife, look at what you’re saying! How could I mean that…”
“Then what do you mean?” He Qiuxia spared her no face, her voice neither high nor low. “Yunshu is the child I raised; no matter whose surname she bears, she is my daughter. If you feel she isn’t good enough for your family’s Jianjun, say so directly. Our Ji family is not a family that clings shamelessly to others.”
Mother He’s face turned red and white by turns, her mouth opening and closing again. She looked at Ji Yunshu sitting nearby peeling an apple, then glanced at Meng Li standing behind her, and smiled sheepishly.
“I was just making a joke; how did you take it so seriously?” Mother He stood up, walked over to He Qiuxia, and squatted down, her voice considerably lower than before. “What a wonderful child Yunshu is—the very prettiest girl in our compound. How many young men want to marry Yunshu but can’t? If Yunshu becomes my daughter-in-law, I’d be too happy for words! Our Jianjun just likes Yunshu—you’re not unaware of this. Sister He, I just have a loose tongue and spoke wrongly; don’t take it to heart.”
As Mother He spoke, she didn’t forget to play the emotional card: “Sister He, you also know that I’m a person with no education. Old He passed away early, and I’ve been carrying the family of three kids all by myself, so sometimes I really don’t know how to speak properly. You and our Old He go back a long way as relatives of the same surname, as close as birth siblings back then. If you don’t understand me, can you still not know our Old He? What he promised, I definitely won’t go back on!”
Mentioning He Jianjun’s father—Mother He’s husband—He Qiuxia let out a sigh, her heart indeed softening quite a bit. He Jianjun’s father, Old He, was truly an honest, good man and a comrade-in-arms with Ji Haiguo; he had just passed away too early. Back then, it was precisely because he and Ji Haiguo were like brothers, and sharing a surname with He Qiuxia made them look like family, that the marriage agreement between the two families was promised, saying they would become in-laws in the future.
However, if Ji Yunshu was unwilling regarding this marriage agreement, He Qiuxia would definitely not treat it as binding. Arranged marriages were no longer observed nowadays, and she would absolutely never force her daughter to marry against her will. Yet over all these years, Ji Yunshu and He Jianjun’s relationship had always been quite good; although no revolutionary romance had developed, they were much like brother and sister, so He Qiuxia had always felt that the two might end up together in the end.
If Mother He’s words today were unintentional, so be it; but if they were a deliberate probe, their Ji family did not necessarily have to fulfill this marriage agreement!
Observing He Qiuxia’s expression changing repeatedly, Mother He knew she had truly offended He Qiuxia this time. She had thought that after finding her biological daughter, He Qiuxia wouldn’t value Ji Yunshu as much, without expecting that she would still flare up instantly when it came to Ji Yunshu’s affairs.
Mother He didn’t want to make He Qiuxia unhappy either. After all, He Jianjun’s future promotions might still rely on Ji Haiguo, so she had to coax He Qiuxia into being pleased: “Sister He, it’s all my fault. Don’t get angry over this; I’ll go back right away and self-reflect.”
She walked toward the door as she spoke, turned back at the entrance, and smiled at Ji Yunshu again: “Yunshu, Auntie just has a clumsy mouth; don’t lower yourself to my level. I’ll have Jianjun come see you tomorrow, okay?”
Ji Yunshu raised her head, glanced at her, said neither yes nor no, and merely said a sentence: “Take care.”
Mother He left slinking away in embarrassment.
He Qiuxia closed the door and turned back, her expression still unsightly. She glanced at Ji Yunshu and let out a sigh: “Ignore her; she’s just that kind of character.”
Ji Yunshu cut the peeled apple into small pieces, handed a piece to He Qiuxia, took a piece for herself, bit into it, and said nothing.
Meng Li stood to the side with a somewhat awkward expression on her face. She looked at He Qiuxia, then at Ji Yunshu, and said softly: “Mom, I didn’t mean that either… I just… when Auntie came, I couldn’t just do nothing, right?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong; this matter has nothing to do with you.” He Qiuxia patted Meng Li’s shoulder. “Go eat some apple too.”
Seeing that He Qiuxia didn’t vent her anger on her, Meng Li quickly reverted to her gentle and soft demeanor. She sat back on the chair, picked up the book she had put down earlier, and continued flipping through it, as if nothing had happened just now.
The next afternoon right after getting off work, He Jianjun arrived.
Wearing a military uniform with his leather shoes polished bright, holding a bag of fruit in his hand, he stood at the Ji family’s doorway, smiling with a completely amiable expression.
“Auntie He, I came to see you all.” He handed the fruit over, his eyes scanning the room, bypassing Meng Li on the side, and finally landing on Ji Yunshu, saying with a smile, “Sister Yunshu, haven’t seen you for a few days, you’ve grown even prettier.”
He Qiuxia took the fruit and invited him in to sit. Entering the house, He Jianjun greeted Ji Haiguo, nodded to Ji Yunting, and finally sat down on the chair next to Ji Yunshu.
“I heard my mom came over yesterday, didn’t keep a lid on her mouth, and said the wrong things.” He Jianjun came straight to the point, his tone sincere. “I apologize to Sister Yunshu on her behalf. She’s just a person who speaks bluntly without bad intentions. I told her not to talk recklessly outside in the future, and she agreed.”
Ji Yunshu gave an “mhm” and said nothing more.
Seeing that Ji Yunshu didn’t seem to be exceedingly furious, He Jianjun knew there was still room for leeway in this matter. He knew Ji Yunshu all too well—fond of eating, lazy, troublesome, yet soft-hearted; aside from a face that was indeed beyond reproach, she could be said to have zero virtues.
However, he had to marry her. Firstly, marrying Ji Yunshu—the prettiest girl among the younger generation in the compound—gave him immense face; of course, an even more important point was that her father was Ji Haiguo! Who in this compound didn’t know how much Ji Haiguo doted on his daughter? Becoming Ji Haiguo’s son-in-law, he could walk sideways in the military in the future!
If it weren’t for his father passing away early, forcing him to rely on Ji Haiguo in the military in the future, he wouldn’t even be willing to marry Ji Yunshu!
He had heard from his mother that the Ji family’s new daughter was a sensible, obedient, and capable woman instead. Naturally, a wife was meant to be married to serve him; could it be that he would marry an ancestor to place at home and worship?
Although He Jianjun was dissatisfied with Ji Yunshu in ten thousand ways, he knew how to endure and would never show it on his face; he had to stabilize this marriage first. If Ji Yunshu threw a tantrum demanding to cancel the engagement, then things would be hard to handle.
Thus, He Jianjun humbly coaxed Ji Yunshu further, saying: “Sister Yunshu, I know you like eating White Rabbit milk candies. After hearing about it yesterday, I made a point to go buy a box early this morning. For the sake of this box of milk candies, please don’t be angry with my mom, okay? In the future we will all be family; my mom actually likes you, hoping every day that you will marry into our family…”
Ji Yunshu didn’t take it, but He Jianjun was not discouraged either, placing the candy box onto the side table. He even smiled and lowered his voice slightly, making his tone magnetic and touching, as if speaking solely for her to hear: “Sister Yunshu, I know you’ve been suffering in your heart during this period. You must be thinking about whether to go to Suzhou. Suzhou is so far away, and you don’t know many people there; you certainly won’t get used to it if you go. But if you marry me, you can still live in the compound without needing to go to Suzhou, nor do you need to worry about this or that. I’ll support you; you can be just like in the Ji family, needing to do nothing at all.”
When he spoke these words, his tone carried a certainty, as though Ji Yunshu would definitely agree.
Looking at him, Ji Yunshu suddenly felt a bit dazed.
The He Jianjun before her eyes and the He Jianjun in her dream gradually overlapped together. In the dream he was also like this—good at first, saying politely “I’ll support you.” What happened later? Later he disliked her for being delicate, disliked her for not being able to do manual work, disliked her for not being able to give birth to a son, and finally simply committed adultery during marriage, even slapping the divorce application right in front of her face.
“Let’s talk about it later.” Ji Yunshu lowered her eyes. “There are many things at home right now; no rush.”
He Jianjun froze for a moment, likely not expecting that the Ji Yunshu who used to be quite easy to coax and deceive would speak like this. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, when Ji Yunting suddenly walked in from outside and patted his shoulder.
“Jianjun, come, accompany me out to buy something.”
He Jianjun had no choice but to stand up and follow Ji Yunting out.
Before leaving, he didn’t forget to turn back and look at Ji Yunshu several times, as if deeply in love with her and reluctant to part.
Ji Yunshu didn’t want to pay mind to his gaze, simply pretending not to see it, and did not touch the box of milk candies he left behind either.
At night, while Ji Yunshu was folding clothes in her own room, there were two knocks on the door.
“Come in,” Ji Yunshu said.
The door opened, revealing Meng Li standing at the entrance. She wore a floral nightgown, her hair let down, her face devoid of expression.
“Sister.” She stepped inside and closed the door.
Ji Yunshu didn’t stop the work in her hands, glancing at her: “Something wrong?”
Meng Li walked to her bedside, looking down at Ji Yunshu from above with arms folded, speaking very directly and candidly: “Sister, your marriage agreement with He Jianjun was originally supposed to be mine, right?”
Ji Yunshu’s hands folding clothes paused for a moment.
Meng Li’s voice was not loud, but every word was spoken clearly: “I am the real biological daughter of the Ji family, and the one He Jianjun should marry ought to be the Ji family’s real daughter. You occupied my position in the Ji family for nineteen years; are you going to occupy even this?”
Ji Yunshu looked at her.
Meng Li’s face appeared very pale under the light; her head tilted slightly, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile determined to win: “Sister, what belongs to me should all be returned to me.”
Ji Yunshu suddenly recalled the Meng Li in her dream—that woman standing beside He Jianjun with a pregnant belly, who called her “sister” with a smile, had also shown such an expression on her face, as though everything was within her grasp.
Turns out she also knew everything in the dream.
Ji Yunshu was truly certain this time that Meng Li also knew what happened in the dream—or rather, what would happen in the future. Yet she felt no panic whatsoever; instead, a sense of peace after the dust settles filled her heart. Because in the dream she had already made up her mind to sever ties with He Jianjun—such a man was simply not worthy of becoming her, Ji Yunshu’s, husband!
“Sure.” Ji Yunshu stood up, patted her trouser legs, and nodded readily, “It’s just a man; I’ll yield him to you.”