Lin Aiyun had just caught up with Xiao Juan when she saw her sobbing on the table, her shoulders heaving—she looked utterly pitiful.
“A-Juan.” Lin Aiyun gently patted her back, then took out a handkerchief and pressed it into her hand, comforting her: “This is your brother’s fault. He’s really something—can’t he talk things through properly? Why does he have to be so harsh?”
“I’ll give him a piece of my mind later. Please stop crying.”
This was the first time she’d heard Xiao Juan had a fiancé. Not knowing the full story, all she knew was that Xiao Juan clearly didn’t want to marry him—after all, she already had someone she liked: Jiang Yan.
With so little information, even her comforting words felt somewhat hollow.
Fortunately, Xiao Juan wasn’t the type to throw tantrums without reason. Seeing her sister-in-law come over so gently to speak up for her, she held back her tears, sniffled, wiped her eyes with the handkerchief, and only raised her head once she’d calmed down a little. When she spoke, her voice was thick with tears.
“I know my brother means well for me, but I just can’t get past this hurdle in my heart.”
Lin Aiyun frowned: “I don’t know the specifics, but if you’re really unwilling, you can talk it through with your brother. He cares about you so much—he wouldn’t force you to marry your…”
She couldn’t bring herself to say “fiancé,” afraid it would make Xiao Juan cry again, so she paused.
The atmosphere fell silent for a few seconds. Xiao Juan couldn’t hold back and poured out the story to Lin Aiyun. She’d always kept this bottled up inside—she was the only girl in the family, Xiao Cheng was often away on business trips, and even when he was home, she didn’t dare talk about this with him. Her friends outside weren’t ones she could share family matters with, so she’d carried it all alone.
Now that she finally had a sister-in-law close to her age, so gentle and always taking her side, she couldn’t help wanting to open the floodgates. She also wanted an ally on her side who could speak up for her in front of Xiao Cheng.
“My mother died giving birth to me, so I never had a mother. She didn’t leave me much—but one of the things was a childhood betrothal, arranged while I was still in the womb.”
“His family used to live nearby too, but they moved to Shanghai years ago for some reason and haven’t come back. Neither has he.”
“Sister-in-law, tell me—we’ve never even met. Even with a marriage contract, without feelings, what kind of life would it be if we were forced together? I don’t like him, and I’m sure he doesn’t like me either.”
“What I want is what you and my brother have—mutual affection, sweet togetherness, not respect without love and growing tired of each other. Is it wrong to think that way? But my brother is set on me marrying that person to fulfill Mother’s last wish.”
By the end, Xiao Juan was crying again, the handkerchief soaked through.
Hearing Xiao Juan mention her and Xiao Cheng’s relationship like that—she hadn’t realized that was how others saw them. Lin Aiyun’s face flushed, followed by a flicker of embarrassment. She could only keep comforting her: “Of course you’re not wrong! Everyone wants to spend their life happily with the person they love.”
“But your brother isn’t that kind of person—even if it was Mother’s dying wish, he’d definitely want you to be happy. I’m sure that was your mother’s intention when she made the arrangement too. Could there be some misunderstanding?”
Hearing this, Xiao Juan’s eyes flickered with guilt. She knew she’d spoken without thinking. If Xiao Cheng heard that, he’d be hurt and might stop caring about her altogether.
Before she could say something to make amends, she heard Lin Aiyun ask softly: “A-Juan, do you already have someone you like?”
How did her sister-in-law know?!
“N-no, I don’t.” Xiao Juan lied instinctively. Only afterward did she realize her reaction had been too obvious. Sure enough, Lin Aiyun looked momentarily taken aback, but didn’t press further. After a brief pause, she continued.
“No? Well, then… maybe you could at least meet the person first. If you really don’t like him, you can talk to your brother then. He won’t force you to marry. If he does, I’ll be the first to object!”
“What? I have to meet him?” Xiao Juan was reluctant.
Lin Aiyun patiently explained her reasoning: “It’s only convincing if you’ve actually met. If you say you don’t like him without even seeing him, your brother won’t believe you and won’t go along with it.”
Xiao Juan was silent for a moment, then nodded, thinking Lin Aiyun made sense.
“Thank you, sister-in-law. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Xiao Juan clasped Lin Aiyun’s hands, her tear-filled eyes—so similar to Xiao Cheng’s—brimming with gratitude.
“Alright, stop crying. Your eyes are all swollen.” Lin Aiyun squeezed her hands back. It was still early in their acquaintance, and the fact that Xiao Juan was willing to share this much was already quite something. As for lying about not having a crush…
Everyone had secrets they needed to keep. Xiao Juan was just a young girl, guarding most of her feelings closely—she wouldn’t reveal them so easily. Lin Aiyun didn’t take it to heart. When Xiao Juan was ready to talk, she would.
“Don’t dwell on this anymore. Go wash up and get some good rest. I’ll handle your brother.”
“Sister-in-law, you’re so good to me.” Thinking back to Xiao Cheng’s dark expression earlier, Xiao Juan felt a chill run down her spine. She had been raised by her father and brother since childhood. Now that her father was gone, her brother was like a father to her—and he was the person she feared most.
Thank goodness she had her sister-in-law. In the past, if she’d dared to run off crying, she’d have been hauled back and scolded within three seconds.
It struck her that though her sister-in-law was about the same age, she was far more mature in dealing with people—kind-hearted and beautiful too. She seemed to excel at everything. No wonder her brother adored her so much.
She adored her too!
Lin Aiyun chatted with Xiao Juan a little longer before leaving.
She didn’t find Xiao Cheng in the room, so she headed to the kitchen instead. Zhang Wenhua was boiling water to cook him some dumplings. As soon as she spotted Lin Aiyun, she came over: “Aiyun, how is she?”
“She cried for a bit, but she’s fine now.”
Zhang Wenhua breathed a sigh of relief and went back to the dumplings, leaving the couple some privacy.
Lin Aiyun glanced at Xiao Cheng. The moment he saw her looking, he got up and came over to take her hand. Instead of mentioning Xiao Juan, he pointed at the vegetable patch outside. “Mom told me you two did this? That’s impressive!”
“What’s so impressive about that? Not as impressive as you—you can make your sister cry in just a few words.” Lin Aiyun let out a sarcastic huff, poking his chest with her other index finger. It was so firm it hurt her finger.
Hearing his wife talk about him like that, Xiao Cheng was both amused and exasperated. His expression softened considerably, losing the cold harshness he’d shown Xiao Juan. He rubbed his forehead and said, “Wife, this is complicated. I’ll tell you about it when we get back to the room.”
Hearing this, Lin Aiyun finally looked at him properly. Xiao Cheng was actually willing to talk about this with her? In her previous life, he’d never mentioned it at all. Could it be because the reason for his silence hadn’t yet occurred?
At that moment, she thought of the man who had caused Xiao Juan to remain unmarried for life—was it because of his death?
“What’s wrong?” Seeing Lin Aiyun silent and staring blankly, clearly lost in thought, Xiao Cheng furrowed his brow.
Snapping back to reality, Lin Aiyun shook her head. Then, remembering something, she shot him a glare. “Don’t be so harsh with A-Juan in the future. She’s at the age to be talking about marriage, and you still treat her like a subordinate. In front of so many people, doesn’t she need to save face?”
“Hmph.” Xiao Cheng let out a cold snort, unimpressed. “Then she shouldn’t do things that make people angry! If I don’t discipline her, she’ll think she can fly. Who’d be able to control her then?”
Lin Aiyun was confused. She didn’t think Xiao Juan had done anything to warrant such anger. But on second thought, maybe she’d done something behind the scenes that Xiao Cheng had found out about. That, combined with her talking back, must have been what set off the explosion.
“Fine, fine—you’re right about everything, okay?” After saying that, Lin Aiyun couldn’t help muttering under her breath, “Will you be this strict with our kids too?”
She’d said it quietly, but Xiao Cheng had good ears. He caught every word, a hint of joy creeping onto his face—his wife was already thinking about their children too!
“How we raise our kids is up to you, of course. But if they do something wrong, I won’t let it slide. They still need to be disciplined.”
“That’s way off in the future.” Lin Aiyun rolled her eyes, not wanting to get into parenting philosophies now. She steered the conversation back to the main point: “Let’s get this straight—tomorrow when you see Xiao Juan, no more cold shoulders.”
“She just said she’s willing to meet her fiancé once. If she really doesn’t like him, don’t force it.”
Xiao Cheng looked at Lin Aiyun in surprise. He didn’t believe Xiao Juan would have offered to meet him on her own—Aiyun must have persuaded her. Still, it was a major step forward. After a moment’s thought, he nodded.
“You can’t force love. If she really doesn’t like him, we’ll cancel the engagement and find someone else.”
Hearing that, Lin Aiyun felt a jolt in her heart. It seemed Xiao Cheng had never even considered the possibility of Xiao Juan ending up with Jiang Yan.
She’d have to ask about the reasons later when they were back in the room.
“Come eat your dumplings—fresh out of the pot, nice and soft!” Zhang Wenhua placed a large bowl of dumplings on the table. Fearing Xiao Cheng might not have enough, she’d also stir-fried a plate of greens—a balanced meal that looked very appetizing.
“Thank you, Mother.” Xiao Cheng said sincerely as he sat down. Politely, he asked, “Do you two want some too?”
“We’ve already eaten—just eat up.” Lin Aiyun waved her hand and told Zhang Wenhua to go rest, saying she’d stay. Her mother didn’t linger, acknowledged her, and left.
Once Zhang Wenhua was gone, Xiao Cheng dug in with gusto, gobbling down dumplings one after another—he was clearly starving.
“Were you very busy today?” Busy enough to miss dinner.
“Yeah, things have been a bit unsettled lately, so I’ve been consolidating our assets and running around a lot.” Xiao Cheng gave a brief reply.
Lin Aiyun didn’t know much about business matters, so she didn’t press further. She just smiled and poured him a glass of water. “Slow down—you’ll choke.”
Xiao Cheng nodded. Before long, most of the dumplings were gone, along with a good portion of the greens.
After he finished, they took a stroll in the courtyard to help with digestion.
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