Chapter 73

On the evening of the 28th, the old Jiang family residence buzzed with activity.

It wasn’t Xu Zhiyi’s first time here—the Xu and Jiang families were long-time friends. Since she had been acknowledged by the Jiang family, Xu Xiangyi had brought her here to visit three times already.

Tonight, they were here for dinner, but there wasn’t an ounce of nervousness about meeting the Jiang family. Before they arrived, Xu Xiangyi had even called to reassure her: “No need to feel nervous, just think of it as eating at home.”

With so many cars and people, parking was tight in the courtyard. The driver let them off and turned to leave.

Xu Zhiyi handed her bag to Jiang Sixun. “The red envelopes—you give them.”

Inside the bag were more than ten large red envelopes, prepared for the younger generation of the Jiang family. She asked, “Should we give one to Jiang Baichuan and Su Yang?”

Jiang Sixun nodded. “Yes, they’re younger than us.”

Xu Zhiyi smiled. “I now have a nephew older than me.”

As soon as they stepped through the door, the house was lively and chaotic.

The living room had been rearranged with an additional dining table, as the three main tables for family gatherings wouldn’t fit everyone in the dining room. Despite Jiang Sixun briefing her on which cousins belonged to which uncle, she still felt a little overwhelmed when everyone was gathered together.

She was familiar with her three uncles and aunts, so she put on a polite, sweet persona and greeted them all first.

Jiang Baichuan, in the corner, was cracking open pine nuts, occasionally glancing at Xu Zhiyi. Once she had greeted all the elders, he slowly spoke up: “Zhiyi, you don’t usually sound like this. What happened to your voice?”

Xu Zhiyi: “…”

She fought back a laugh.

It turned out she had been speaking with a pinched voice on purpose.

Her third uncle, unaware of the situation, asked, “Zhiyi, what happened to your throat? Are you feeling unwell?”

Xu Zhiyianswered seriously, “Oh, I just ate too many pine nuts yesterday.”

Her third uncle bought the story. “Nuts are best in moderation, easy to cause heat. Drink more water.”

Everyone else, not the elders, burst into laughter.

Jiang Sixun, who had just sent out red envelopes, heard the commotion and quickly walked over. “What’s so funny?”

Her third uncle waved a hand and said, “Who knows what they’re laughing about?” He gave a sweeping look at the mischievous younger generation. “You’re all grown-ups now, yet none of you act properly. Why don’t you all learn from Zhiyi?”

Jiang Baichuan teased, “Learn from Zhiyi? You mean learn how she fights with Xu Heng?”

Xu Zhiyi couldn’t hold her smile anymore and burst out laughing.

Jiang Chengyu added, “I heard from Xu Heng that her leg almost got broken from the fight.”

Xu Zhiyi, eager to defend herself, quickly said, “He’s lying!”

She’d dropped the fake voice, completely breaking her obedient act.

Jiang Sixun rubbed her head, “They’re all too familiar with you.”

“You wouldn’t just sit there and watch me get praised— you’d find a way to drag me down,” Jiang Sixun teased with a smirk.

Xu Zhiyis smile deepened. “I see through you. I’m going to get my revenge later.”

At this moment, her second uncle glanced over at her and chimed in, “Your dad said that when you and your brother meet, you end up fighting. I thought he was joking. Turns out it’s real, huh?”

Xu Zhiyi burst out laughing, no longer needing to pretend to be the obedient one.

Jiang Chengyu added, “Dad, how naive were you to think it was a joke?”

Second uncle: “…”

He almost blurted out a curse but held back.

Jiang Sixun tossed the last red envelope at Jiang Chengyu. “A reward for all the gems you’ve been dropping.”

Jiang Chengyu grinned, “Thanks.”

Unable to hold back anymore, second uncle kicked Jiang Sixun when Xu Zhiyi wasn’t looking.

Jiang Sixun knew it was the second uncle, but feigned ignorance and turned to blame his third uncle. “Third uncle, why’d you kick me?”

Third uncle: “…”

After thinking for a moment, he realized it was Xu Zhiyi’s first year coming to visit, and he didn’t want to give the impression that the family was violent, so he quickly distanced himself from the situation and then tattled, “I didn’t kick him—your second uncle did.”

Everyone burst into laughter watching the elders bicker.

Second uncle cleared his throat, utterly speechless.

Of course, there wasn’t much to say, and he just laughed in frustration.

Xu Zhiyi, seizing the opportunity, playfully rewrote the ending. “It wasn’t the second uncle who kicked him—it was Jiang Baichuan.” After all, Jiang Baichuan had exposed her for fighting, and she was just returning the favor.

Jiang Baichuan, busy peeling pine nuts for Su Yang, was caught off guard. “You saw it with your own eyes?”

Xu Zhiyi grinned. “Yep, I saw it. My naked-eye vision is 5.2—pretty sharp, right?” She even pointed to her eyes.

Jiang Baichuan: “…”

The laughter in the living room grew louder.

Jiang Chengyu joined in on the fun, adding to the chaos.

Jiang Xiaomi, with no sense of shame, chimed in, “My naked-eye vision is 5.3.” She glanced at Xu Zhiyis eyes, meeting her gaze for less than a second. “I’m sure your vision is 5.2. No need to test anymore.”

Jiang Chengyu: “…”

“Ha-ha!” Fearing a smack, Jiang Xiaomi quickly bolted away, laughing as she ran.

The real culprit, second uncle, slammed the final nail in the coffin: “What’s there to test? You’re all just bored. It was Jiang Baichuan who kicked him. End of story.”

Jiang Baichuan: “…”

Xu Zhiyi chuckled until she was tired, resting her head on Jiang Sixun’s shoulder and rubbing her face against it.

In the backyard, Su Yang and Shen Tang were admiring chrysanthemums when they entered and immediately heard the chorus of laughter.

Shen Tang: “Today’s pretty harmonious.”

Su Yang: “Or maybe someone’s forcing a laugh.”

Little did they know, the one forcing the laugh was Jiang Baichuan.

With everyone finally gathered, Jiang Sixun turned to Xu Zhiyiand said, “Let me introduce my family to you again.”

He took her hand and started with his eldest uncle’s family.

Xu Zhiyi lowered her voice and said, “No need to introduce the elders. And no need for big cousin and second cousin either.” They were all around Xu Xiangyi’s age, and she had met them a few times, leaving a lasting impression.

Jiang Sixun smiled and said, “This is my fourth brother and fourth sister-in-law, Jiang Mucheng and Su Yun.”

Xu Zhiyi sweetly greeted, “Fourth brother, fourth sister-in-law.”

Jiang Mucheng handed her a red envelope. “For the New Year.”

Xu Zhiyi chuckled. “I’m not a child anymore.”

Jiang Mucheng grinned. “To me, you and Sixun are both still kids.”

Xu Zhiyi accepted it with gratitude.

Jiang Sixun continued introducing, “My fourth sister-in-law is a doctor. Ever since she came into the family, my uncles, big cousin, and second cousin have all become incredibly healthy.”

“Especially my second cousin—Xiaomi’s dad—he hardly complains about heart pains anymore. When he does, we all know he’s just pretending,” Jiang Sixun added with a smirk.

Su Yun laughed. “Keep your voice down, or you’ll get into trouble again.”

At that very moment, second cousin’s angry voice rang out from the other side: “Jiang Sixun, you little rascal!”

Jiang Sixun shrugged, unbothered, and continued introducing Xu Zhiyi to his fifth brother and fifth sister-in-law: “Jiang Mucheng and Luo Sa.”

After the greetings, Xu Zhiyi asked, “Are Fifth Sister-in-law and Luo Qi from the same family?”

Luo Sa smiled lightly. “No. It’s just a coincidence that we share the same surname.”

Jiang Sixun added, “My fifth sister-in-law is a traffic cop.”

Xu Zhiyi’s eyes lit up. “No wonder she looks so familiar! I must have seen her on duty before.”

Jiang Sixun grinned. “I wear red shirts because of my fifth brother. I’m rebellious because of him too.”

Xu Zhiyi chuckled. “You really don’t know how to relax, do you?”

“That bed is crooked.” Jiang Mucheng chuckled, already preparing to give someone a playful kick.

Jiang Sixun quickly dodged, sidestepping with ease.

Jiang Mucheng, still grinning, handed out red envelopes: “I’m older than all of you. As long as I’m alive, you all get red envelopes.”

He gave one to Xu Zhiyi, then handed another to Jiang Sixun. “Hope you’re wishing for me to live a long life.”

Jiang Sixun shot back with a smile, “Wishing you a long life is no problem. Just don’t get too forgetful and forget to hand out the red envelopes.”

With that, Jiang Mucheng’s playful kick actually landed.

Just as everyone laughed, Jiang Sixun’s phone rang—It was Xu Heng calling.

He swiped to answer. “What’s up?”

Xu Heng’s voice came through, a bit exasperated. “When are you and Zhiyi coming back?”

The noise in the living room was too much, so Jiang Sixun stepped outside into the courtyard, pulling Xu Zhiyi along with him.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Xu Heng sighed on the other end. “Mom really set up a blind date for me.”

Jiang Sixun wasn’t surprised. “What did you expect?”

He thought his parents were just casually hinting at him to get married, but it turned out they were serious and had actually arranged it.

His parents had always respected his wishes. If he didn’t want to go on a blind date, they never forced it. But this time, it seemed they’d taken matters into their own hands.

Xu Zhiyi leaned in close to the phone. “Brother, what kind of person are you looking for?”

Xu Heng paused for a second, then answered with a soft tone, “Someone who treats me well.”

Xu Zhiyi’s heart warmed. “Thank you, Brother.”

Before she could say more, Jiang Sixun cut in, speaking directly into the phone, “Zhiyi’s fine with me treating her well. You just need to find someone you think is right for you.”

Xu Heng sighed, “Come back soon. Help me figure something out.”

Jiang Sixun was blunt. “I don’t have any good ideas. At least, none that I know of.”

“If your mom already set this up, what do you think we can do?”

Xu Heng’s voice dropped, “Whatever the arrangement, it’s fine. Just not Ning Yun.”

Jiang Sixun raised an eyebrow, “You’re predictable. You know I take your words backwards.”

Xu Heng: “…”

No more words came from him.

Jiang Sixun pressed, “If you don’t want to go on a blind date with Ning Yun, you’ll have to handle it yourself. You have her contact, right? She’s straightforward.”

After the call ended, Jiang Sixun suddenly remembered he hadn’t let Xu Zhiyi say anything to Xu Heng.

“Do you want to say something? I can call him back.”

Xu Zhiyi smiled gently, “No need. We’ll talk when we get home.”

After all, they were heading back to Shanghai early the next morning—no rush to sort things out tonight.

Inside the house, it was bustling with activity, so the two of them didn’t hurry to enter. Xu Zhiyi slipped her hand into Jiang Sixun’s coat pocket.

Jiang Sixun lowered his gaze, his voice soft, “Tired from handling so many elders?”

Xu Zhiyi shook her head, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Not really. I’m not afraid of them, so I don’t feel tired.”

Suddenly, a loud, almost thunderous voice echoed from inside the house: “Jiang Xiao Wu!”

Xu Zhiyi raised an eyebrow. “I bet Fifth Brother’s caused trouble with one of the elders again.”

Jiang Sixun’s lips curled into a smirk. “Maybe he’s been throwing shade at all of them.”

Xu Zhiyi laughed. “No wonder family dinners at your place are always chaos.”

Jiang Sixun leaned down, brushing a gentle kiss on her lips. “Let them shout for a bit. When they’re tired, we’ll go in and take over.”

Just as they were talking, another car pulled up outside the house.

From Jiang Sixun’s angle, he couldn’t see the license plate, but from the car model, he knew it was the same as his.

The back door of the car opened, and as the person stepped out, Jiang Sixun froze for a moment.

Xu Zhiyi, noticing the look of shock on his face, turned around and her expression mirrored his.

It was the Jiang family’s New Year’s Eve dinner. Why was Uncle Lu here?

It wasn’t just them; everyone inside the house was stunned, exchanging glances in disbelief.

Before Jiang Yueru could say anything, even her three brothers stayed silent.

Jiang Lao Da’s thoughts raced—had his sister reconciled with Lu Jianbo?

If this were thirty years ago, he would have been totally against it.

But now, his mindset was different. His sister had been living alone for over thirty years. The pain she had gone through, only she truly understood. Their parents had left him with one final request—take good care of Yueru and Sixun. If she were to remarry, he was to walk her down the aisle.

He felt guilty for not fulfilling their parents’ wishes.

Jiang Lao Er thought to himself, How did I not break Lu Jianbo’s legs back then? How could we let him walk into our home now?

Jiang Lao San was about to stand up when Jiang Shenghe firmly pressed a hand on his shoulder. Lowering his voice, he whispered to his father, “Lu Jianbo may be Sixun’s father and someone Aunt Yueru once cared about. If you’re going to punch him, don’t do it in front of them.”

Jiang Lao San frowned. “I’m just here to pick someone up!”

Jiang Shenghe pushed his father back into his seat. “Picking someone up and hitting someone are the same thing.”

Jiang Lao San sighed, Unbelievable. I can’t even get up.

Jiang Yueru watched as Lu Jianbo made his way into the courtyard, wearing a dark coat with a deep gray shirt underneath.

Back when he was younger, he used to dress like this.

He had always been attentive to his fitness and health, and his physique had hardly changed from when he was young.

At that moment, she couldn’t even tell if this was reality or a dream she had been having.

In the first two years after their divorce, she often dreamt of him coming back home with her.

After a long silence, she finally found her voice and glanced at her older brother. “I haven’t been in touch with him. I didn’t know he was coming.”

Her words clearly defined their current relationship.

Jiang Lao Da sighed, caught in a dilemma. “Fine, since he’s already here, and Zhiyi is also present, we can’t exactly kick him out.”

Soon enough, someone entered the room, followed by Jiang Sixun and Xu Zhiyi.

Except for Jiang Yueru, everyone’s gaze immediately turned to the newcomer.

The younger generation of the Jiang family was not unfamiliar with Lu Jianbo. Out of respect for Jiang Sixun, they had always been particularly polite to him.

“Mr. Lu, it’s been a long time.”

Jiang Baichuan was the first to stand up and greet him.

Lu Jianbo smiled warmly. “It has indeed been some time.”

The younger generation followed suit, getting up to exchange pleasantries.

After a brief conversation with them, Lu Jianbo greeted a few of the older brothers.

“Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother.”

The three brothers responded in perfect unison with a snort from their noses.

Lu Jianbo had prepared himself mentally before coming here, knowing this moment would be uncomfortable.

As for why he chose today, he didn’t want to dig too deep.

His eyes flickered toward his ex-wife, who had turned her head to look out the window.

The last time they had seen each other was the day their son and Xu Zhiyi got their marriage certificate. After that, he sent the details of the alimony payment to her email, but she never replied.

The next day, he received a transfer in cash, which was his answer.

Pulling his gaze away, Lu Jianbo turned his attention back to the eldest brother. “Sixun is planning a wedding after the New Year. I wanted to discuss the wedding details with you.”

Jiang Lao Da raised an eyebrow. “Your family will handle your own, and we’ll handle ours. No need to discuss.”

The atmosphere became awkward, but Jiang Baichuan stepped in to smooth things over. “Mr. Lu, please sit. Get used to it. We were all just given a good talking-to, none of us escaped.”

The living room had limited seating. With Lu Jianbo’s arrival, the mood instantly shifted, and the younger generation quickly made way for the elders. Everyone squeezed around the dining table, some even standing by its edge, leaning against it.

Jiang Yueru sat on the two-seater sofa. As Lu Jianbo moved toward her, just as he was about to step forward, the eldest brother cleared his throat.

Jiang Lao Er instantly understood. “Sit here.” He gestured to the space between him and Third Brother.

So Lu Jianbo found himself seated between Second Brother and Third Brother. Despite his vast experience in the capital markets, nothing could prepare him for this moment. He felt as if he were sitting on needles.

The couch was large enough to seat four people, so he scooted slightly closer to Second Brother, scanning the dining table until his eyes landed on Xu Zhiyi. He waved at her. “Zhiyi, come sit next to me.”

Everyone else fell silent.

Xu Zhiyi hesitated for a moment before answering. “…”