He Mingchu selected a fabric with a white background and little purple flowers, leaving Lin Xiyue utterly stunned.
“Brother, isn’t this unsuitable for you to wear?”
Could the male lead have some cross-dressing tendencies?
He Mingchu: “It’s for making your clothes.”
Lin Xiyue froze, taking a long moment to find her voice again, unable to suppress the corners of her mouth from curling up.
“Brother, are you serious? Didn’t you say not to think about using your family’s money?”
“Now you’re letting me go to school and making clothes for me. Don’t you feel bad about the money?”
He Mingchu paused his actions: “Stop with the ‘brother’ this and ‘brother’ that. I don’t have a sister.”
Lin Xiyue: “Then what should I call you?”
He Mingchu gave her a look.
Call me master—
Never mind, don’t scare the little pet.
“Just call me by my name!”
Lin Xiyue nodded to show she understood.
He Mingchu continued: “Well, I’m giving you the chance to study and buying you new clothes. Shouldn’t you repay our He family?”
Lin Xiyue: “Of course! From now on I’ll be Uncle Jianguo’s own daughter. I’ll help you take care of both of them in their old age!”
A faint smile rippled in He Mingchu’s eyes, making his entire demeanor appear much softer.
“Not so fast. Right now you have an opportunity to repay the He family.”
Lin Xiyue looked at him with determination: “Tell me!”
He Mingchu pursed his lips and smiled: “From now on, you’ll do everything I say.”
Lin Xiyue looked at him suspiciously.
He Mingchu thought to himself, this little girl is quite alert.
“The other day when I asked you to properly correct your mistakes, you kept wanting to drink water and take breaks. If you’re so disobedient, how can I help you get into Qingbei?”
“Look! Just to make you study properly, I have to go out and buy clothes to coax you.”
These words made Lin Xiyue feel ashamed, as if the He family was spending money to buy her academic performance.
Sure enough, she felt guilty, scratching her head as her tone softened.
“Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you from now on! I’ll definitely study hard!”
He Mingchu turned his head away, a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth.
The devil is one foot tall, the road is ten feet high. This little pet still has much to learn.
“Hmm.”
When they brought the fabric home, Bai Xiaomei was trying on her new clothes.
“Ming Chu, Moon Maiden, come look at how my clothes turned out!”
“I saw some dacron fabric over there. I’ll make shirts for you and your father later. They’ll look very nice!”
He Mingchu twitched his lips: “What about Xiyue? I’ve noticed she only has two outfits that she keeps alternating.”
Bai Xiaomei’s expression fell.
“I haven’t found a job yet, so I don’t have money to buy fabric for Moon Maiden…”
Lin Xiyue tugged at He Mingchu’s sleeve.
“It’s okay, Mom. Your clothes turned out really well. They look great!”
He Mingchu took out the fabric he had bought and placed it on the table.
“Aunt Mei, Xiyue is your own daughter. You should care for her yourself.”
“Since you married my father, we’re one family now. She and I are the same.”
“This is fabric I bought today. Could you trouble Aunt Mei to make two new outfits for Xiyue?”
Only after He Mingchu entered his room did Bai Xiaomei pull Lin Xiyue aside, crying.
“Moon Maiden, it’s not that Mom doesn’t want to make clothes for you. We’ve just entered the He family, so we shouldn’t be asking for this and that. When I find a job, whatever you want, I’ll buy it for you, okay?”
Lin Xiyue sighed inwardly.
“Mom, I’m not blaming you. Didn’t Ming Chu buy fabric for me? Would you mind making two outfits for me?”
Bai Xiaomei wiped away her tears. “Alright, I’ll make it. I’ll start making it for you right now!”
She took out a soft measuring tape to take Lin Xiyue’s measurements.
Lin Xiyue spread her arms. “Mom, make the clothes a bit larger for me, so I can still wear them as I grow…”
Before she could finish speaking, He Mingchu emerged from the room.
“Aunt Mei, don’t listen to her. Make it the proper size. If it’s too big, it won’t look like her own clothes—loose and sloppy, how unattractive!”
Lin Xiyue and Bai Xiaomei exchanged glances.
It took Bai Xiaomei two days to finish the new dress for Lin Xiyue.
Coincidentally, He Jianguo had also arranged with the neighbors to hold the wedding at home while He Mingchu and Lin Xiyue were on break.
Even though it was a second marriage, He Jianguo made it quite grand.
Three banquet tables were set up in the courtyard, and the dishes were prepared by Aunt Li from next door.
He Jianguo made two special trips to the Bai family.
Bai Yongjun and Wang Xiulan pretended not to hear him, while Bai Jiaxing was even more unruly, chasing him out with a shoulder pole while cursing.
He declared that once Bai Xiaomei married into the He family, she would no longer be considered a member of the Bai family, and they would not acknowledge her.
He even threatened that anyone who attended the He family’s wedding banquet would no longer be welcome at the Bai household!
Bai Xiaomei felt disheartened, but Lin Xiyue thought it was for the best to cut ties.
By the afternoon, the neighbors began arriving one after another.
He Jianguo’s mother had come in the morning and was temporarily staying in the room opposite Lin Xiyue’s.
The elderly lady looked displeased, her face stern throughout, which made Bai Xiaomei timid and hesitant.
“For over ten years! Haven’t you given up on that Bai Xiaomei yet?
“Have you forgotten how your own mother was humiliated by the Bai family because of your marriage plans back then?
“If she had been more resolute and married you back then, wouldn’t it have been a good thing?
“But she’s weak-willed. If her parents said east, she wouldn’t dare go west. Someone like that would only bring trouble if married!”
Lin Xiyue listened to the voices from the opposite room and felt somewhat helpless.
He Jianguo closed the door and gently persuaded his mother.
“Mom, Xiaomei and I have already registered our marriage. We’re husband and wife now!
“Besides, Xiaomei has changed. Even though the Bai family wants to cut ties with her, she still firmly came to our family. Don’t you think she’s changed?”
Zhu Qiuju’s expression softened slightly as she turned her face away.
“Regardless, now that you’re married, she must not be put in charge of the household money!
“Who knows if she’s truly cut off from the Bai family or just pretending? What if she takes our money to support her family? We wouldn’t even have a place to cry!”
He Jianguo found it amusing. “Mom, Xiaomei isn’t that kind of person. I wanted to give her my salary, but she refused!”
Zhu Qiuju snorted. “And don’t forget about Mingchu—he’s your own flesh and blood!
“People say, with a stepmother comes a stepfather. Don’t break the child’s heart! Remember who your real family is!”
He Jianguo couldn’t listen any longer. “Mom, what are you saying! Both Mingchu and Moon Maiden are good kids. I treat them equally! Alright, alright, everyone’s waiting! The bride is going to offer you a toast. Please don’t give Xiaomei a hard time!”
The door opened, and He Jianguo helped Zhu Qiuju out.
Zhu Qiuju sat in the seat of honor, a faint smile on her face.
Bai Xiaomei was dressed in red, with a red silk flower pinned at her temple and vibrant red lips.
Seeing that the elderly lady seemed amiable, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Back then, she and He Jianguo had mutual affection, but because Old Mr. and Mrs. Bai disapproved of their marriage, they were forcibly separated. They even humiliated Zhu Qiuju when she came to propose the marriage on their behalf.
In a fit of anger, Zhu Qiuju immediately found a matchmaker to arrange another marriage for her son.
Upon learning that he could not be with Bai Xiaomei, a disheartened He Jianguo ended up marrying someone else.
And Bai Xiaomei, after finding out that He Jianguo had married and started a family, agreed in a daze to go to the countryside in Bai Jiaxing’s place.