Chapter 19

Xue Miaoyun felt like she had just been teased. And what was with calling her little sister?

If it had been a few decades later, she definitely would have teased back. And if there hadn’t been others around, she would have had a proper talk with him about it.

But with Aunt Yu seated on her left—an elder—and Xiao Yan, who was clearly waiting eagerly for food, on her right, there wasn’t much she could do.

So Xue Miaoyun could only respond with an awkward smile.

“Brother Yan, let me get you a bowl.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll do it myself,” Yan replied. Though young, he was smart and emotionally intelligent enough to be the county chief’s secretary. There was no way he would let a relative of his superior serve him soup.

Instead, he stood up and placed the first bowl of soup in front of Xue Miaoyun.

“Thank you, Brother Yan,” she said with a smile, then lowered her head and took a sip of the soup. The flavor was rich and delicious—just what she had expected.

Cang Ling’s expression remained serious, seemingly unaffected. But the brief flicker in his eyes didn’t escape Yu Xiaohua, who had been watching closely.

Ah, to be young again.

Yu Xiaohua had no strict rules about staying silent during meals. After sipping her chicken soup, she looked at Xue Miaoyun kindly.

“Miaoyun, your train ticket for tomorrow is already booked. It’s a sleeper, and I’ve asked the train staff to look after you a bit. If anything comes up, just go to them.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

Yu Xiaohua then turned to Cang Ling. “It’s a pity, really. Cang Ling has a mission; otherwise, he could’ve gone with you.”

“Huh?”

“Aren’t you going to the T Division to find someone? Cang Ling is serving there too.”

Xue Miaoyun looked at Cang Ling in surprise. He served in the T Division? Cang Ling seemed equally surprised at first, then his expression darkened slightly, as if realizing something unpleasant.

“Who are you looking for?” he asked, his tone sharp and cold. The intensity of his voice nearly made Xue Miaoyun choke on her soup.

Cough, cough.

She quickly put down her bowl.

“I’m looking for my fiancé,” she said, flustered.

Cang Ling’s eyes grew darker. “Fiancé?”

Yu Xiaohua and Xiao Yan both turned to look at her.

“N-no, not fiancé—ex-fiancé,” she stammered. “I’m just going to retrieve the engagement token that my mother gave his family.”

Suddenly, the room seemed to grow several degrees warmer.

Yu Xiaohua glanced at Cang Ling but said nothing. She turned to Miaoyun instead. “Your mother arranged your engagement? What happened? Why did it end?”

Yu Xiaohua was concerned someone had taken advantage of the girl. Lihua wasn’t around anymore—had someone gone back on their word?

Xue Miaoyun explained the situation plainly.

“…Back then, my mother just wanted me to have someone to rely on. But there was never much affection between us. Since he has someone else he cares about now, it’s fine to break it off. However, the token my mother gave them was a Yuan family heirloom. I have to get it back,” she said seriously.

Xiao Yan looked at Comrade Xue’s lovely face and thought the man who broke off the engagement must have been out of his mind—unless he had fallen for some sort of goddess.

Cang Ling stared at the girl’s face. Seeing no sign of sadness, the frustration in his heart finally eased.

“If the Song family wanted to break off the engagement, they should have returned the token. What are they trying to pull, dragging it out like this?” Yu Xiaohua was clearly unhappy. This wasn’t how people should be treated. If something was to be broken off, it should be clean.

“What kind of token is it? What’s it made of?”

Xue Miaoyun glanced across the table. “…It’s a jade pendant. Mutton-fat jade.”

Xiao Yan immediately understood. “So they’re trying to keep it for themselves.”

Even if he didn’t know much about jade, he knew it was valuable—especially mutton-fat jade.

Yu Xiaohua obviously shared the same thought.

“Truly shameless. Miaoyun, don’t worry. I have some connections with the political commissar of the T Division. I’ll give him a call. A person like that—what terrible character,” Yu Xiaohua said. Breaking off an engagement was already dishonorable enough, but trying to keep the betrothal token from the girl’s family was downright despicable.

“Aunt Yu, leave it to me,” a calm voice sounded from the side.

Yu Xiaohua turned to look.

“Aunt Yu, let me handle this. I’ll make sure little Sister Xue gets a proper resolution.”

Yu Xiaohua could see the seriousness in Cang Ling’s eyes. Thinking back to his behavior earlier that day, she smiled.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you. Just make sure Miaoyun doesn’t suffer.”

“Don’t worry, Aunt Yu.”

Xue Miaoyun was confused. How had this matter suddenly been handed over to Cang Ling?

“Auntie, Comrade Cang, I can handle this myself,” she said quickly. It wasn’t that big of a deal—there was really no need to trouble them over it.

“What ‘Comrade Cang’? Your mother and Cang Ling’s mother were quite close. Just call him Brother Cang,” Yu Xiaohua corrected.

“Brother Cang… thank you for your help earlier, but I still hope to handle this on my own,” Xue Miaoyun said firmly. “I want to speak to him face to face and make things clear.”

To her, the worst thing in relationships was ambiguity. Even if it was for the sake of the original Miaoyun, she had to stand in front of Song Zhuanguo and tell him directly—it wasn’t that he had broken off the engagement. It was that she no longer wanted him.

Cang Ling met her eyes for a moment, then looked down. “Alright.”

Xue Miaoyun relaxed. “Thank you.”

After the meal, it was Xiao Yan who washed the dishes. Xue Miaoyun was somewhat interested in cooking, but when it came to washing dishes, she had absolutely no enthusiasm.

Say what you will about Xiao Yan, but when it came to reading the room, he was top-notch. In fact, he had taken over dishwashing every day.

After dinner, they all moved to the living room to chat.

Most of the conversation was between Yu Xiaohua and Cang Ling, with Xiao Yan occasionally chiming in.

Xue Miaoyun didn’t understand much of what they were talking about. After the meal, sleepiness crept in. She sat on the sofa, slowly drifting off.

Yu Xiaohua was in the middle of speaking when she noticed Cang Ling becoming less and less responsive. Looking up, she saw that the man was still sitting perfectly straight, but clearly distracted.

She turned to look to her right. On the single-seater sofa, the girl’s long black hair flowed down over her shoulders like a waterfall, cascading across her fair swan-like neck. Her eyes were gently closed as she leaned against the armrest. In the soft lighting, her serene beauty bloomed like a delicate flower.

Lihua’s daughter really was breathtakingly beautiful. Even Yu Xiaohua felt a hint of envy.

But a girl like this wasn’t someone just anyone could protect. In fact, she now felt grateful that the engagement with ‘that’ Song family had been broken off.

“Cang Ling, Miaoyun’s fallen asleep. Carry her to the bedroom so she can rest,” Yu Xiaohua said. Cang Ling’s identity was appropriate. If Miaoyun could marry into the Cang family, at least there would be no need to worry about mother-in-law issues.

Cang Ling glanced at Yu Xiaohua. “Alright.”

With that, he got up, walked over to Xue Miaoyun, and leaned down.

The familiar warm fragrance, the soft sensation in his arms.

He easily picked her up and, with his long legs striding forward, carried her to the guest room.

Xiao Yan could only watch longingly as they left, but Yu Xiaohua said nothing. The world was never truly fair.

In the guest room, Cang Ling gently laid her on the bed.

He didn’t leave right away.

Sitting by the bedside, he stared at her for a long time, his eyes deep and unreadable.