Su Yang nodded. "He's incredibly talented. He can paint, he can play the piano. I've never met anyone more romantic than him." Su Mianmian had never heard Su Yang say these things to her before, and she was momentarily stunned.
"Then why did you agree to get engaged to Gu Yizhou?" Su Yang chuckled, her slender neck twitching, a tear sliding down her cheek.
"Do you think I wanted to? One of us was destined to sacrifice for the family. You're still young, and you grew up with Tang Yunzheng. How could I bear to…?" Su Mianmian's shock was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. She had always thought that her sister's unhappiness after the engagement was simply because she didn't want to be tied down by marriage too early. She never imagined that her sister would silently make such a huge sacrifice for her.
…That night, Su Mianmian tossed and turned, unable to sleep, finally managing to fall asleep just before dawn. But she hadn't been asleep long when her mother came in and dragged her out of bed. "Mianbao, hurry up and get ready, your brother-in-law is coming over today."
Su Mianmian rubbed her eyes, still a little confused. "What's he coming for?" "Nonsense, it's Mid-Autumn Festival today, he has to visit his future in-laws, right?" Su Mianmian said "Oh," and obediently got up to wash and get dressed.
As she passed her sister's room, her sister just came out, wearing a rose-pink dress, her face radiant, her spirits high, showing no trace of the dejection she felt the night before. Seeing Su Mianmian, she went up and pinched her rosy cheeks.
"Mianbao, did you come to my room last night?" Su Mianmian nodded. Her sister always blacked out when she drank. "Well, I didn't say anything inappropriate, did I?" Su Mianmian shook her head. "No."
Su Yang breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Come on, let's go downstairs for breakfast." Su Mianmian looked at Su Yang's back, feeling a pang of sadness. Not long after breakfast, the doorbell rang. Aunt Chen glanced at the video doorbell and smiled at Su Mianmian.
"Yunzheng, he just got his holiday yesterday, and he can't wait to come see you today." Before Su Mianmian could stop her, Aunt Chen had already opened the door.
She silently breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't upset that Aunt Chen hadn't asked her permission; from childhood, she and Tang Yunzheng had been visiting each other's homes, and the two families were used to it. "Aunt Chen."
Tang Yunzheng's voice came in before he even arrived. A pile of gift boxes fell to the floor in the entryway. Tang Yunzheng, as if entering his own home, familiarly opened the shoe cabinet and changed into slippers. Su's mother happened to come out and, seeing this, smiled.
"Yunzheng's here! Oh, why are you carrying so much stuff?"
Tang Yunzheng greeted Su's mother politely. "Hello, Auntie. It's Mid-Autumn Festival, so I couldn't come empty-handed. I brought some tonics and tea. Drinking more of these will help you stay young and beautiful forever."
Tang Yunzheng was always good at flattering elders, and a few words made Su's mother beam with joy. "Still young? You're all grown up now. Go on, go on, Mianbao's in the living room."
Tang Yunzheng sighed and was about to head into the living room when Su Mianmian came over. "Tang Yunzheng, come outside with me for a moment." Tang Yunzheng touched his nose and followed Su Mianmian outside.
Although it was September, the heat was still intense, and the sun beat down on them, making them feel hot in no time. Tang Yunzheng tugged at the collar of his T-shirt. "Su Mianmian, can't we talk in your room? It's scorching hot outside."
Su Mianmian frowned slightly. "Tang Yunzheng, I remember clearly telling you yesterday not to contact me again. What's the meaning of you coming to my house now?"
Tang Yunzheng knew he was partly to blame for yesterday's events, and he was prepared to appease Su Mianmian today.
He patiently said, "Mianmian, I already apologized to you yesterday. I'll say it again today, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have disbelieved you and wronged you." Su Mianmian sighed. "If you came to apologize, fine, I accept."
Tang Yunzheng's eyes lit up. He knew Su Mianmian was easy to appease. Just as he was about to say something, Su Mianmian changed the subject. "So, can you please not contact me again?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Yunzheng's brows furrowed instantly, and he grabbed a handful of hair in frustration. "No, Su Mianmian, what exactly do you mean? Just because of what happened last night, you're going to cut ties with me?" What happened?
If Gu Yizhou hadn't appeared in time last night, Tang Yunzheng, along with Lin Jiaojiao, would have accused her of being unreasonable and arrogant. But now, Tang Yunzheng was brushing it off with just "that little thing," showing how insincere his apology was.
Su Mianmian carefully examined the boy in front of her. He was still as handsome as ever, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and striking features. Before, every time she saw his face, Su Mianmian couldn't help but feel her heart flutter. But now, he felt so unfamiliar.
Seeing Su Mianmian pursing her lips and remaining silent, Tang Yunzheng's tone softened, and he took out two small, round gift boxes from his pocket.
"Mianmian, I exchanged that heart-shaped necklace for something else. This one I picked out myself. Open it and see if you like it. And this is a pair of pearl earrings, as an apology gift."
He forcefully shoved two boxes into Su Mianmian's hands, afraid she would give them back, and ran away laughing as he spoke. "Mianmian, accept my gifts, and I'll take that as your forgiveness." "No, who wants your gifts!"
Su Mianmian realized what he meant and chased after him for a few steps, but Tang Yunzheng had long legs and disappeared in no time. She bit her lip, staring blankly at the gift boxes in her hand, secretly annoyed. A black BL car slowly drove past her and stopped in front of her house. It was Gu Yizhou.
Su Mianmian looked over and saw Gu Yizhou, dressed in a sharp suit, get out of the car. He was tall and straight, and the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose gleamed slightly in the sunlight, making him look aloof and noble.
The driver was checking the gift boxes in the trunk. Su Mianmian walked over and politely greeted him, "Brother-in-law." Gu Yizhou hummed in response, glancing at her with a calm, unchanging gaze. "You've made up with him again?" He?
It took Su Mianmian a couple of seconds to realize Gu Yizhou was referring to Tang Yunzheng. He must have witnessed their earlier struggle. She felt a pang of guilt, especially since Gu Yizhou had stood up for her just last night.
"No way! He wronged me so badly, how could I forgive him so easily?" Su Mianmian herself didn't realize that her tone towards Gu Yizhou was less reserved than before.
Gu Yizhou's face remained expressionless. He simply nodded. "Go inside." Su Mianmian silently pursed her lips, thinking to herself that Gu Yizhou was truly as cold as an iceberg. Her sister was free-spirited and passionate; being with him must be stifling.
Coming to her senses, she quickly walked a few steps to Gu Yizhou, opened the door, and called out in a clear voice, "Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother-in-law is here." The family members came to greet her one after another.
Afterwards, Gu Yizhou chatted with Su's father in the living room, while Su's mother went to help in the kitchen. Su Yang squeezed in after her, only to be ruthlessly kicked out by her mother, "Go, go, go! What are you doing causing trouble here? Go out and talk to Yizhou for a while."
Su Yang reluctantly replied, "Isn't he talking to Dad?" Su's mother glanced back at the two men sitting upright on the sofa. "What could they possibly talk about? Nothing more than current affairs, politics, and business trends."
Su's mother said, shoving Su Yang, "They're getting their marriage certificate soon, shouldn't they take this opportunity to cultivate their relationship?" Su Yang, ruthlessly expelled from the kitchen by his mother, caught Su Mianmian, who was about to go upstairs, and pulled her away.
"Mianbao, come on, let's chat in the living room." Su Mianmian was forcibly dragged into this, inwardly vehemently refusing.
She had the misfortune of eavesdropping once on her father's conversation with Gu Yizhou; it was incredibly dull and tedious, making her drowsy… Sure enough, when she and Su Yang sneaked over, her father was talking about the recent sudden bankruptcy of a family business.
He frowned, meticulously analyzing the early signs of the company's collapse, from internal family power struggles to the incompetence of the company's leader, and so on… Gu Yizhou, however, remained expressionless throughout, occasionally uttering a single syllable in agreement, and offering unique insights into details her father had overlooked.
Her father nodded approvingly, his admiration for Gu Yizhou even more evident. No wonder he could take over the entire family business at such a young age; truly a formidable young talent! Su Mianmian hadn't slept well the night before, and as she listened, she unconsciously yawned, her vision blurring as she stared at the black watch face on Gu Yizhou's wrist. Just as her head was about to slump to one side, her father suddenly coughed.
Su Mianmian jolted awake, her eyes meeting Gu Yizhou's ambiguous smile with a dazed look.