Zhou Nan was pleading pitifully once again. If it were the Zhou Nan of the past, she certainly would have thought it was no big deal. But having just heard what her eldest son said, she had been doing a lot of soul-searching on the way back.
Her eldest son was right. Behind this matter, the one to be pitied was not An MeiYun, nor was it them, but Zhi Xia!
Yet she had been putting the cart before the horse, and as a result, her daughter who should have been able to happily grow up after returning home did not get to enjoy the doting love she deserved. Instead, she suffered harm again from her own mother.
And knowing full well that Zhi Xia disliked her greatly, An MeiYun could still make such a request. Were her intentions really so simple?
If she just wanted the Lin family to think she had a good relationship with her own family, wouldn't it be better to have her brother deliver the dowry?
Some things really could not stand up to deeper thought. Now that she thought back carefully, there had been many dubious points in An MeiYun's explanation about their family circumstances from the very beginning. It was because she could not bear to let go of the mother-daughter bond that she had believed An MeiYun's words without even thinking of questioning them.
After realizing all this, Zhou Nan felt a momentary hatred for herself. She had gotten the priorities completely reversed, and as a result, her daughter who should have been happy and carefree when she returned home did not get to enjoy the doting love she deserved from her own mother when she returned home. Instead, she suffered harm again from her.
And knowing full well that Zhi Xia disliked her greatly, An MeiYun could still make such a request. Were her intentions really so simple?
Zhou Nan's face flushed red with embarrassment and shame. She scolded An MeiYun, "MeiYun, I do not agree with this matter. Do not force Zhi Xia any further."
She had felt from the beginning that this request was not normal. An MeiYun's aggressive insistence made her even more impatient.
Seeing that her goal was not accomplished, An MeiYun let tears fall again. "Mother, I don't want to force you either, but on the way to the hospital earlier I ran into Lin Hao. He already knows about what happened this morning, and his father has great objections to our marriage. If none of you want me either, I'm so afraid that even after we get married, they will still look down on me. Mother, Sister Zhi Xia, please help me, just this once more, okay...?"
Wen Qing was frightened by An MeiYun's crying and reflexively threw away the block of wood in her hand. She ran into Zhou Nan's arms and cried, "Wen Qing is a good girl, head doesn't hurt anymore, granny shush..."
Hearing this instantly made Zhou Nan's heart ache. She hurried to comfort Wen Qing.
She was even more impatient with An MeiYun. "You child, you are getting more and more disobedient. You even frightened Wen Qing."
"Your grandfather has already said for you to change your surname. Even if Zhi Xia goes to deliver you to the wedding, do you think you can hide it when you transfer your household registration? It would be better to be upfront from the start. That might even make others look upon you more favorably."
An MeiYun clenched her fists, utterly unwilling to accept this.
Why did her life turn out this way? How unfair that An Zhi Xia could live so well!
It was too unfair.
Even though she had been reborn, did she still have to let others control her destiny?
She felt so indignant.
Even if she could not live well herself, An Zhi Xia should have to suffer with her.
When she raised her head, she concealed the hatred in her eyes. "Sister Zhi Xia, I'm begging you, is that still not possible?"
She thought that by lowering herself to such an extent, she had satisfied An Zhi Xia's vain heart.
And that was true, in fact.
Zhi Xia had been worrying about how to go to the Lin family. Now An MeiYun had conveniently brought her a ladder to climb over the wall. And she was even begging her to go. If Zhi Xia refused now, wouldn't she be letting An MeiYun down after she had gone through such great lengths?
Of course, she wasn't silly enough to completely believe An MeiYun's explanation. She had gone through so much trouble to make Zhi Xia go to the Lin house, so she must have plotted something bad to harm her afterwards.
But where there was a policy from above, there was a countermeasure from below. She was unafraid. It could not be worse than her previous life.
"Alright, if you're not afraid that I'll ruin your wedding, why should I be afraid? I'll go."
Zhi Xia smiled gently, but it made An MeiYun's heart skip a beat. A bad premonition instantly surged up.
But she quickly spoke loudly to thank Zhi Xia. "Thank you, Sister Zhi Xia. I knew you were just being stubborn but soft-hearted. Thank you."
When Zhou Nan came back carrying Wen Qing and heard this expression of thanks, she hurried over in disbelief. "You agreed?"
An MeiYun was afraid she would change her mind, so she quickly made up an excuse to go back to her room.
Zhi Xia nodded. "I thought Mother would be happy."
Zhou Nan felt very complicated inside. "Zhi Xia, it was your father and I who were in the wrong before. We're sorry we failed you. From now on, just follow your own heart. Your father and I will make it up to you properly. But as for sending An MeiYun off for her wedding, forget about it. I'll go and talk to her in a bit."
"Mother, although I never received a proper education, I still know that when you make a promise to someone, you should keep it."
She laughed to herself. How could she let someone take away this ladder that had fallen from the heavens?
Her mother's words should have moved her, but hearing the same thing said so many times without it being fulfilled, the initial feeling of being moved had become laughable.
Zhou Nan looked at Zhi Xia before her. She always had a gentle smile, giving off an impression of being well-behaved and obedient.
And that was indeed true. But when it came to certain matters, she could also be exceptionally stubborn.
Zhou Nan didn't even dare to face her directly. She put Wen Qing down and fled, saying, "Zhi Xia, watch Wen Qing for now. I'm going to make some food for her."
An ZhiAng had taken time off to come back later than An MeiYun who was supposedly seeing a doctor. Recalling Second Brother's urging for him to stay home more, he felt a bit guilty.
Sitting next to Zhi Xia, he played with Wen Qing while explaining, "Little sister, I just ran into Liu Jun on the road earlier. Thinking that I'm leaving the day after tomorrow and won't know when I can come back, I chatted with him for a while. I already told him that after I leave Jin City, if you need any help with anything, go find him. He used to follow me around as a little brother. He has to listen to what I say."
Zhi Xia felt that today was exceptionally smooth sailing. She had just been thinking about how to get Liu Jun's group to go to the Lin house tomorrow as well.
People who thought too morally would falter when it came to actual confrontations. For such battles, it was still these little generals who were best.
Besides, they would not bother talking about any reason or morality. Young people tended to be more rash and hot-blooded. Even a small disturbance could flare up into a big incident, let alone the fact of the Lin family's connections to the bandits of Heilong Mountain.
"Fourth Brother, I happened to have a small matter that I want to ask Brother Liu's help with," Zhi Xia said softly into An ZhiAng's ear. She then told him about what had just happened, and added, "I'm afraid An MeiYun asking me to deliver her to the wedding is fake, and her intention to harm me is real. I don't want Brother Liu and the others to go through too much trouble either. Just have them hang around the Lin house tomorrow to play. That way, if anything bad happens, they can hurry over to save me."
