Lin Yuyi held her in his arms with heartache. He placed a kiss on her forehead, his hand gently patting her back.
“Alright, it’s my fault. I blamed you without even understanding what really happened.”
“Good that you know.”
Zhang Lanhua hadn’t read much in her life. After staying in the village for so long, she inevitably believed whatever others told her.
Fortunately, she could still clearly distinguish right from wrong.
Early the next morning, Su Mo went with Lin Yuyi to the entrance of the village to pick up Zhao Xiaoxiao.
Su Mo had told only Zhao Xiaoxiao about the wedding banquet being held here. Mainly because she didn’t know how to tell her friends and colleagues.
What was supposed to be a honeymoon trip had turned into a countryside romance.
Lin Yuyi took the suitcase from Zhao Xiaoxiao.
“Good thing you came. With you keeping Mo Mo company, I feel more at ease.”
Zhao Xiaoxiao looked at him teasingly.
“So? You abducted our Mo Mo have you been treating her well?”
“When does your banquet start?”
“The day after tomorrow!”
“So soon? Good thing I took several days off.”
“I’ll take you around the mountains these next few days.”
Su Mo, the beauty, was speechless.
He made it sound like Zhao Xiaoxiao was a local here.
Although she wasn’t, Zhao Xiaoxiao had also grown up in the countryside and came from a single-parent family. Her mother had taken her away when she was only a few years old, so she inevitably had a special attachment to the mountains.
For the whole day, with Zhao Xiaoxiao around, Su Mo finally got some peace she didn’t have to deal with those bizarre relatives.
Without Su Mo even saying anything, Zhao Xiaoxiao cracked sunflower seeds and smiled brightly.
“You must’ve suffered quite a bit these past few days, huh?”
As an independent woman especially one who believed in staying single Zhao Xiaoxiao could see Su Mo’s predicament at a glance.
But outsiders couldn’t easily speak about such matters.
She draped an arm over Su Mo’s shoulder.
“How about you just come with me? I can take you away right now.”
“Zhao Xiaoxiao, look around for somewhere cool and go stay there.”
That made her unhappy.
When Zhang Lanhua learned Su Mo’s friend had arrived, she came over smiling like a blooming flower from afar.
Su Mo whispered in Zhao Xiaoxiao’s ear, “We’re doomed she’s here to stir up trouble again.”
Zhao Xiaoxiao was the least afraid of trouble.
Nothing counted as a big deal in her eyes.
“Then let me deal with your mother-in-law first?”
Su Mo rolled her eyes.
“Grandma Zhao, please don’t make things worse for me.”
Zhang Lanhua walked in, smiling so widely her mouth wouldn’t close. Holding Zhao Xiaoxiao’s hand, she seemed even more satisfied than when looking at Su Mo, her own daughter-in-law.
“Mhm, not bad, not bad. What’s your name, girl?”
“Zhao Xiaoxiao. Zhao like in the Hundred Family Surnames, and Xiaoxiao with the ‘sun’ radical.”
Zhang Lanhua hadn’t learned many characters in her life and didn’t really care. Holding Zhao Xiaoxiao, she began interrogating her family background.
Listening from the side, Su Mo felt like Zhao Xiaoxiao’s entire ancestry was about to be investigated.
Finally, Zhang Lanhua reached a conclusion:
“Girl, judging by seniority, we’re actually distant relatives. You should call me Aunt.”
Su Mo’s face filled with black lines. She signaled Zhao Xiaoxiao with her eyes, afraid she might get upset and leave.
Luckily, Zhao Xiaoxiao had a good temperament and obediently called out, “Hello, Aunt.”
“Oh, this girl is really nice so fresh and pretty.”
“You must usually take good care of Mo Mo, right?”
“I just heard you’re two years older than Mo Mo. Do you have a boyfriend now? As your aunt, I must help arrange something for you.”
After hearing so much, both Su Mo and Zhao Xiaoxiao finally understood.
Zhang Lanhua was planning to play matchmaker.
“I’m telling you, that young man of mine is handsome and from a good family. How about you come meet him with me?”
“If it doesn’t feel right, we can just leave.”
Su Mo couldn’t sit still anymore.
“Mom, don’t interfere in this kind of thing.”
Zhang Lanhua’s face lengthened in displeasure.
“How is this interfering? I’m caring about the girl. You’re allowed to get married, but she’s not allowed to find a good family?”
“Mo Mo, you can’t be so selfish.”
Su Mo truly had nothing to say.
Zhao Xiaoxiao felt bored anyway. Besides, plenty of people wanted to introduce her to marriage prospects it wasn’t anything new.
After following Zhang Lanhua there, she discovered it was once again something arranged by Zhang Cui, the Third Aunt.
Su Mo immediately felt angry. She had forgotten to tell Zhao Xiaoxiao how sharp-tongued and mean this Third Aunt was.
She quietly reminded her, “Don’t get trapped.”
So they went to Zhang Cui’s house.
The worldview Su Mo had barely rebuilt was shattered again.
Zhang Cui no longer had last night’s domineering attitude. Sitting there, she treated Su Mo much better than before.
She didn’t look like a vicious mother-in-law who ordered her daughter-in-law around.
“Mo Mo, this must be your good friend Xiaoxiao. She’s really beautiful no wonder you two became friends.”
“Sit, sit. Girl, what would you like to eat? Auntie will get it for you.”
Zhang Cui seemed like a completely different person.
She was warm and attentive toward Zhao Xiaoxiao so caring that anyone who didn’t know better might think Xiaomiao wasn’t her daughter-in-law.
Meanwhile, Xiaomiao could be seen busily going in and out.
The man being introduced to Zhao Xiaoxiao this time was the son of one of Zhang Cui’s distant relatives already thirty and still unmarried.
In the village, everyone knew everyone’s background and character.
After receiving some relocation compensation money, he had stayed home living off it, and now the already small sum was nearly gone.
Even the house he lived in was old.
So when Zhang Cui heard Su Mo’s friend had arrived and considering Su Mo’s own background she assumed the friend’s conditions wouldn’t be bad either.
Her wishful scheme was clattering loudly.
Zhao Xiaoxiao sat there like a well-behaved girl, nodding and patiently answering every question Zhang Cui asked.
If not for Su Mo, she would have flipped out and left long ago.
“Oh, girl, look the person’s here.”
A man in a white tank top walked in. He looked rough, with wheat-colored skin, and his appearance was… hard to describe.
To someone like Zhao Xiaoxiao, who cared deeply about looks, it was simply a disaster scene.
“I say, child, why are you only arriving now? Xiaoxiao has been waiting for you so long.”
The moment Da Bin stepped in, Zhao Xiaoxiao smelled the strong odor of alcohol on him.
Holding her breath, she stepped back several paces before the air felt bearable.
Worse still, Da Bin’s gaze moved from Su Mo to Zhao Xiaoxiao, then back to Su Mo.
At a glance, he was clearly not a good person.
Calling him merely “not good” even felt too generous to Zhao Xiaoxiao.
She stepped in front of Su Mo.
“You’re Da Bin?”
Da Bin nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, yes.”
Zhao Xiaoxiao grabbed Su Mo’s arm.
“We’ve met him. Let’s go.”