"ZhiAng, call me grandpa. I'll speak plainly. Don't get angry no matter if I'm right or wrong," Elder Su sighed and said, "Don't listen to Little Ying's nonsense. It's true that she wants you to be her backer, but the real reason is that Little Ying likes you."
These words gave An ZhiAng a different feeling.
"This girl has liked you since she was little. When you played house as kids, she would only be your bride. Do you still remember?"
An ZhiAng did have this impression.
The year Su Ying was sent down to the countryside, he had a big fight with An JingZhi. It was because he refused to help broker things for the Su family and went to live in Zhou Village for two months before his second brother brought him back.
Later on, he realized that back then he was also powerless. Otherwise, given the relationship between the two families, it would have been impossible for him to stand idly by.
As time went by, the childhood feelings gradually faded, and many details were also forgotten.
"Originally, when bringing up the marriage proposal, your grandma wanted to match your third brother and Little Ying. It was because Little Ying liked you that I shamelessly made the suggestion."
Elder Su felt somewhat regretful about this. If she had been matched with the third brother back then, things might have worked out.
But after considering the younger brother, she couldn't choose the older brother again. Otherwise, how awkward would that be for them in the future.
It wasn't that his granddaughter had to marry into the An family. It was just that under the current circumstances, the An family was the only one he could trust to give his granddaughter away to.
If Elder Su didn't have little time left, given the slight disagreement An ZhiAng had shown earlier, Elder Su wouldn't have given him another chance.
He could only sigh that fate toyed with people. With the Su family only having this one seedling left, what could be done?
An ZhiAng still didn't dare to believe it. "That can't be. Why would she like me?"
He still had some self-awareness. In his dad's words, his past self was detestable to both humans and dogs. Any dog that saw him would circle around three times to get away.
Recalling his pre-sixteen year old self, the twenty-six year old An ZhiAng really disliked that version of himself too.
"Why she likes you, to tell the truth, I also don't know. But this girl does like you." Elder Su also couldn't recall any merits of the past An ZhiAng. Just his appearance was considered passable enough to attract young girls.
An ZhiAng's gaze glanced towards the doorway. That was a dark area where a faint shadow that appeared and disappeared from time to time.
Perhaps even he himself didn't realize, but the corners of his lips had already unconsciously curved up.
"Little Ying, go send ZhiAng off."
Elder Su's voice gave Su Ying a fright. She hurriedly ran off before responding.
An ZhiAng appeared at the door. Seeing her clutching her chest while forcing herself to stay calm, she had an adorable appearance.
Su Ying felt a little nervous. "Let's go. I'll walk you to the door."
Until An ZhiAng walked out the main entrance, neither of them spoke another word.
Watching An ZhiAng's back, Su Ying's wildly beating heart suddenly calmed down for a moment. "An ZhiAng, didn't you ask what I liked about you?"
An ZhiAng looked back. His gaze clearly carried bewilderment as he waited for her to continue speaking.
"I like your kindness, courage and sense of justice."
Su Ying looked straight at him after she finished speaking, anxiously waiting for his response.
"Sis, you've got it wrong! Are you sure I have those qualities you speak of?" An ZhiAng avoided her a bit. He hurriedly turned around, "Alright alright, I'm going home. You should hurry back inside too."
"You can ride my bike home."
"No need. It's not far anyway. I'll walk."
Su Ying disappointedly shut the main gate. She leaned against the door with slightly reddened eyes.
The year An ZhiAng turned 16, she was 13.
In a single night, a sudden accident befell her family.
Her paternal grandfather and father were taken away first. She and her mother were also publicly criticized. Her female classmate who she didn't get along with punched and kicked her while shouting to shave all of her hair off.
No one knew how hopeless Su Ying felt at that time. It was when An ZhiAng suddenly appeared with Liu Jun and the rest that they rescued her down. It had felt especially heartwarming then. Even in the end, they still couldn't escape the fate of being sent down.
On the day she left, Liu Jun said that An ZhiAng had been locked at home and couldn't come out.
During her 10 years in the countryside, each time she got bullied, she especially missed that protected feeling when he held her in his embrace. She would think that if he was there, he would surely disregard all else to protect her.
She thought he would treat her differently, yet it turned out he didn't like her at all.
Back then, he had probably just seen her the same as Liu Jun and the rest.
After walking a fair distance away, An ZhiAng finally heaved a sigh of relief.
He really didn't expect that all along, he had believed Su Ying just simply wanted to find shelter. Yet now she would have to participate in a marriage because of it. It really wasn't a wise decision.
To think she actually liked him. An ZhiAng couldn't clearly describe what feeling he currently had in his heart.
"Hey! What are you thinking about?" Liu Jun stared at An ZhiAng for half a day. Seeing that he had blanked out, he suddenly blocked An ZhiAng's path.
An ZhiAng subconsciously threw a punch upwards. Liu Jun couldn't dodge in time and instantly had blood flowing from his nose.
"F*ck, An ZhiAng! Are you trying to kill me? Be careful or I'll bring you in and sentence you for assaulting a cop!" Liu Jun hurriedly pinched his nose, but could still feel the flowing blood.
"Sh*t! Would I hit you if you didn't scare me?" An ZhiAng also hadn't expected this.
After a moment of chaos, the two sat at the roadside. But Liu Jun's sleeves were already dyed red.
"What were you thinking about? I called you for half a day and you didn't even notice." Liu Jun looked at the injured arm An ZhiAng had. He lifted his hand, wanting to pinch it. "What's wrong? Disabled?"
"Piss off. Just be happy I'm not getting better." An ZhiAng avoided him and stood up. "Know any good places? To drink two cups?"
"Can you even do that? Don't get disabled again after drinking yourself disabled!"
The two chatted and laughed, cursed and yelled. Under the moonlight, their skipping shadows stretched very long.
When An ZhiAng returned home reeking of alcohol, he stopped at the main gate. He sniffed himself then took a turn. Supporting himself against the wall with one hand, he jumped into the Pei family residence.
Pei ChenYe was just about to put away his toys and sleep when he heard knocking at the door. "ChenYe, asleep?"
"Fourth uncle! Why have you come?" Pei ChenYe hurriedly opened the door.
"I've come to keep you company. Your fourth uncle is now homeless and can only rely on you now."
After An ZhiAng entered the room, looking at the tidy space and comparing it to the doghouse his had been, he felt rather unhappy.
"Kid, at your young age keeping yourself neat and proper. Aren't you tired? Let your fourth uncle tell you, children should look like children. Don't learn from your dad..."
When Pei Jing was young he kept himself well-behaved. The nearby children didn't dislike him. An ZhiAng took the lead.
But as he was an elder, An ZhiAng still had to make way around him since he couldn't win in a fight.
Pei ChenYe smiled. "Fourth uncle, go take a bath? I'll go get my dad's clothes for you to change into."
"Is your mom asleep? Don't wake her."
Pei ChenYe felt speechless. So he couldn't wake his mom up but it was fine to wake him up?
"It'll be fine. I'm going to get the clothes for you." He ran out and stealthily took a set of Pei Jing's pajamas from his space.
An ZhiAng watched him in the room. On the table were a few mechanical parts. Feeling dizzy, he started seeing double and couldn't make out what they were.
Pei ChenYe quickly returned. "Fourth uncle, I brought the pajamas. Hurry and go shower. I need to sleep too."
