"How could that be? You are Jinghuai's sister, so you are my sister too. The things in the past have already passed, how could there still be overnight resentment between family members?" An Nuan quickly chimed in.
It was just playing along!
She could do it too.
"With sister-in-law saying this, I feel relieved. I was really afraid that the things in the past would affect the feelings within our whole family..." Ye Jingjing's words seemed to be habitually leaving things unsaid.
On the surface she appeared worried and afraid, coupled with her delicate appearance.
It was simply a pitiful look that would make anyone feel tenderness towards her.
An Nuan smiled slightly, "Of course not. By the way, since mother and sister have come such a long way, why don't you eat lunch here with us? I'll ask Steward Zhong to prepare more food."
"Ok. Thank you Sister-in-law." Ye Jingjing quickly agreed.
An Nuan knew this woman definitely hadn't planned on staying for lunch when she came over, so there was no harm in scoring some brownie points.
She smiled softly and got up to talk to Steward Zhong, who was busy working in the great hall.
Yun Yuqing watched An Nuan's back as she walked away, full of satisfaction on her face. She said, "Jinghuai, An An really is a good daughter-in-law."
The smile on Ye Jinghuai's lips grew significantly wider.
Ye Jingjing saw it in her eyes, and felt extremely unhappy in her heart.
Yes.
She was jealous of An Nuan.
Once she felt jealous towards someone, she would not let that person have an easy time.
She said, "Mom, I want to hang out one-on-one with sister-in-law."
"That's fine, but you should be mindful of your health. The doctor said your heart has not been well lately." Yun Yuqing reminded her daughter.
"I know to be careful."
With that said, she stood up and walked towards An Nuan, who had just finished talking to Steward Zhong.
An Nuan saw Ye Jingjing approaching, with her brows trembling anxiously.
It wasn't that she was afraid of this woman.
She just didn't want to truly hurt the feelings between Jinghuai and his family since they were his relatives.
"Sister-in-law, would you mind showing me around? I've never been to my third brother's place before so I don't know my way around." Ye Jingjing acted very friendly.
"Sure." An Nuan was also very enthusiastic.
After all, one can only counter whatever comes by being fully prepared.
She felt she could still handle a small bitch leisurely.
In this fashion, An Nuan took Ye Jingjing through the great hall and towards the backyard garden. Along the way, An Nuan introduced the surroundings in the house, "This is the swimming pool. It is temperature controlled so even if you fall in, you won't feel cold. The important thing is, Jinghuai was worried that I might drown, so it's not very deep - even at its deepest point the water would probably only reach your neck."
Meaning that even if you try any tricks now to throw yourself down there, it would have no impact on your health, so you'd best behave yourself.
Of course Ye Jingjing understood what An Nuan was implying. She smiled lightly without betraying anything on her face, "My brother treats you really well."
"He does treat me well. Knowing that I don't like to exercise, he specially had a tennis court built for me. But I've actually been too busy to make time to work out. Take a look, it is over there." An Nuan pointed to the direction.
Ye Jingjing smiled without saying a word.
"There is also a sun room on the other side, filled with fresh flowers. Knowing that I love roses, there are all kinds of rose varieties in there. Jingjing, would you like to take a look?" An Nuan was presenting herself to be very enthusiastic.
She showed not even the slightest unwelcome manner towards Ye Jingjing.
"Ok." Ye Jingjing was also very good at pretending.
An Nuan led Ye Jingjing inside. Even she herself was very surprised when she saw the room full of fresh flowers for the first time.
Somehow she felt it quite strange for such a macho man like Ye Jinghuai to enjoy gardening.
"Be careful, roses have thorns." An Nuan stopped Ye Jingjing when she saw her trying to pick one.
But Ye Jingjing did not stop.
"If you like any, I can ask Steward Zhong to help pick them for you." An Nuan said, "Oh yes, the entire flower room is monitored with surveillance cameras since I don't always have time to come admire the flowers. Jinghuai had the cameras installed so I could watch anytime and anywhere even if I'm not home."
Ye Jingjing's hand reaching towards the rose thorns paused momentarily, and subtle changes could be seen on her face.
An Nuan smiled softly at the corners of her mouth.
"Besides the roses, there are other flowers as well. Let me show you around, Jingjing."
Ye Jingjing followed An Nuan as they walked around the villa.
Very soon it was meal time.
An Nuan warmly ushered Yun Yuqing and Ye Jingjing over, "Knowing you don't like scallions and cilantro as condiments, I specifically told Steward Zhong not to use them. Oh yes, there's no ginger either, as that has been known to induce heart disease, so I also asked Steward Zhong to omit it specially. My sister can eat without worry."
"Thanks." Ye Jingjing smiled pretentiously.
She couldn't keep up the act anymore actually.
She had probably come wanting to find fault today, but didn't expect there wouldn't be even a tiny chance while An Nuan was busy putting on a performance.
"It's really been such a bother for An An. I had thought you were the only daughter of the An family, a spoiled young mistress. I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful that our Jinghuai is truly fortunate to have married you." Yun Yuqing did not hold back with her compliments.
"Jinghuai treats me very well too. Spousal relationships are always mutual." When speaking, An Nuan even shyly smiled a little.
When it came to a sensible and capable daughter-in-law like this, the elders simply could not resist doting on her more.
Yun Yuqing quickly said, "You eat more, eat more!"
"Alright." An Nuan smiled.
Making Ye Jingjing so unhappy she could barely hold it in.
"Sister-in-law, thank you for your hospitality. Everything Steward Zhong cooked was delicious. You also eat more, don't just think about me." As she spoke, she even took the initiative to put a piece of matsutake mushroom onto An Nuan's bowl.
She wanted to display her own care while not letting An Nuan steal all the limelight.
An Nuan smiled softly, "Thank you Jingjing."
Saying so, she picked up the mushroom to eat it.
But in that moment Ye Jinghuai used his chopsticks to stop her.
An Nuan looked at him.
"Aren't you allergic to mushrooms?" Ye Jinghuai's face was somewhat dark. "Matsutake is also a type of mushroom!"
An Nuan had not told Ye Jinghuai that before.
How did he know!?
Of course, she didn't plan to really eat it either.
She had actually intended to bring it close to her mouth and then reluctantly put it down to display an awkward gesture of not wanting to reject yet unable to accept, in order to contrast Ye Jingjing, since she knew all the things Ye Jingjing disliked to eat while Ye Jingjing clearly did not know of her mushroom allergy.
But now with Ye Jinghuai's interference, the effect turned out even better.
Yun Yuqing hurriedly asked, "An An, you are allergic to mushrooms?"
"Yes, since I was little."
"Then how could you still eat it? You tell me what kind of child are you, not knowing to take care of yourself. Allergies can lead to big or small consequences, what if something happened? How would I explain it to your parents?" Yun Yuqing looked very concerned.
"I was also afraid Jingjing would feel unhappy if I rejected her gesture to serve me food. Moreover, with Jingjing treating me so kindly, I really felt delighted, so I thought it would probably be fine to just eat a little bit." An Nuan explained, appearing extremely considerate and magnanimous.
