Chapter 4: Pretending

Ji Duo is six years older than Ji Ze, making him twenty-eight this year. A few years ago, the family started arranging matches for him, but he was indifferent to all introductions, whether from relatives or friends.

Once, Ye Minshu brought someone home without informing him first. Ji Duo used the excuse of military duties and left with a cold face. Ye Minshu was embarrassed and complained for several days, saying she wouldn’t meddle in his affairs anymore.

Because of this, there were some negative rumors about him, and in the past year or two, fewer people tried to introduce him to potential matches.

Of course, Ji Ze didn’t believe those rumors, but he also thought his uncle focused solely on his career and would spend his life with his soldiers. He never expected to see him talking quietly with a young girl, standing quite close to each other.

Ji Ze couldn’t help but take a closer look at Lin Qiao.

To be honest, her clothes were a bit shabby, but her face was gorgeous, especially her eyes, which were bright and captivating. If she could make his indifferent uncle fall for her, she must have something special.

Ji Ze thought he had guessed correctly, but the two people in front of him looked at him speechlessly.

Especially Ji Duo, who stared at him for a while before saying, “This is your grandfather’s old comrade’s granddaughter.” He didn’t mention the betrothal, fearing Ji Ze wouldn’t accept it right away.

Ji Ze scratched his head, “Ah? Did I get it wrong?” Feeling a bit embarrassed, he wanted to slip away, “You guys talk, I’ll go see Grandpa.”

“I’ll remind the nurse.” Ji Duo told Lin Qiao and followed him out.

Near the nurse’s station, he said softly, “By the way, Sister-in-law brought a match for you. She’s still in the ward.”

“My mom brought a match for me?” Ji Ze was first shocked, then upset, “Didn’t I say I’m only twenty-two, not in a hurry?” He ran to the end of the corridor and opened the ward door, “Mom, why are you matchmaking again…”

Ji Duo didn’t move. His words were vague, which could be understood as “Sister-in-law brought your match over” or “Sister-in-law brought someone over, saying she’s your match.” How it was understood depended on whether Ji Ze really had a match.

Now it seemed…

Ji Duo lowered his gaze, estimated the time, and knocked on the nurse’s station, “Remove the needle for bed 33.”

Ye Minshu was still praising Song Jing when Ji Ze’s sudden entrance froze her smile. She immediately looked at Old Mr. Ji, her expression revealing her panic, “Xiao Ze, aren’t you in the military? Why are you back? I was just telling your grandfather about you and Xiao Jing. You came at the right time.”

Ye Minshu desperately signaled to her son with her eyes.

Ji Ze didn’t know what was going on, but he wasn’t stupid. He could sense the change in his mother’s expression and the tense atmosphere in the ward. He paused, “I ran into my dad on the way, and he told me Grandpa was ill.”

“That Ji Jun, he couldn’t come because of his business trip, so he made you come back.” Ye Minshu tried to shift the topic to her husband, but Old Mr. Ji wasn’t having it. He just stared at her for a long time before suddenly speaking, “Xiao Ze, close the door.” Having been in a position of authority for a long time, his face, once expressionless, carried an inherent sense of authority.

Ji Ze didn’t dare delay and quickly turned to close the door. Before he could turn back, a loud shout was already directed at Ye Minshu, “You found someone to pretend to be Xiao Ze’s fiancée? How could you do that! Do you think I’m stupid or dead?”

Those words were harsh, making even Ji Ze’s heart skip a beat.

Ye Minshu, at the center of the storm, turned pale, then quickly flushed red, her eyes welling up with tears, “Dad, am I that kind of person? When you arranged Xiao Ze’s engagement with the Lin family’s girl without asking, I didn’t say a word.” She was from a performing arts troupe, and even though she had long transitioned from a dancer to a managerial role, her red-rimmed eyes still exuded a fragile and pitiful look.

Ji Jun was always swayed by this, unable to handle her tears. But Old Mr. Ji, with his fiery temper, was most annoyed by her behavior at her age, “Is it that you don’t want to say, or you can’t say? Do you think I don’t know what’s going on?”

Ye Minshu choked, and this time the tears were real, feeling utterly humiliated.

When the two families arranged the engagement, she didn’t dare say anything. Firstly, Ji Jun didn’t oppose it, and secondly, her family was in some trouble at the time, relying on the Ji family for help. She was eager to curry favor with Old Mr. Ji, not daring to have any opinions. But who would want their well-raised son to marry a country girl? No family background, no education, no knowledge. It would be embarrassing to even mention it, let alone take her out. So when she saw the letter from the maid with “Lin Chang” written on it, she didn’t hesitate to say it was a mistake. When the girl shamelessly got into Ji Duo’s car, she panicked and thought of having Song Jing temporarily pretend to be Xiao Ze’s fiancée. She didn’t believe Xiao Ze had a fiancée, let alone a good one. Old Mr. Ji wouldn’t have the heart to break up his grandson’s relationship and force him to marry Lin Qiao.

Fortunately, the two families had a good relationship, and Song Jing agreed to help without question. But she never expected her son to suddenly return and expose the lie. Even more unexpected was that Old Mr. Ji would confront her in front of the younger generation, speaking harshly, especially with Song Jing, an outsider.

Feeling increasingly wronged, she covered her face and turned to Xu Li, “Our families haven’t been in contact for years, Mom, you know that. Who even remembers that old betrothal? I just wanted to cheer Dad up since he’s ill, so I brought Xiao Ze’s fiancée over.”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t seen Lin Qiao,” Old Mr. Ji interrupted her.

Seeing her still being stubborn, insisting that Song Jing was Ji Ze’s fiancée, Old Mr. Ji directly asked his grandson, “Xiao Ze, you tell me, are you and the Song family’s girl actually dating?”

From the moment he entered, Ji Ze had been bombarded with one shocking revelation after another. First, his mother really brought someone over, claiming she was his fiancée, and then he learned he had an old betrothal.

Ji Ze was stunned, looking between Old Mr. Ji and Ye Minshu, then lowered his head, saying nothing.

Saying nothing was as good as admitting Song Jing was his fiancée, giving Ye Minshu the confidence to say, “Dad, you see, I didn’t lie to you. Yes, I had my own reasons. When the Lin family girl came, I deliberately told her she had the wrong place. But Xiao Ze didn’t even know he had a betrothal and already had a fiancée. Should I really break them up now?”

Ji Ze stood silently by, not speaking or looking at Old Mr. Ji.

It was clear that mother and son were of one mind, which made Old Mr. Ji so angry that he nearly fell off the bed.

Ji Ze was startled and was about to step forward when Xu Li got there first, supporting him, “Everyone, say less. You almost scared us to death when you fainted at noon. Don’t you know how high your blood pressure is? And you’re still getting angry.”

Though she was speaking to Old Mr. Ji, Ye Minshu felt it was a clear rebuke for making him angry. Feeling wronged, she blurted out, “If that Lin family girl hadn’t come, there wouldn’t be so much trouble.”

Hearing this, Old Mr. Ji’s anger flared up again, his face turning red. A nurse walked in, “Bed 33, time to remove the needle?” Noticing the tense atmosphere, she frowned, “Why are there so many people here? Don’t you know the patient needs rest?” After removing the needle, the nurse quickly fetched a blood pressure monitor.

The reading was indeed high, with a diastolic pressure 164 and a systolic pressure 203. As she helped Old Mr. Ji with the cuff, the nurse’s tone was stern, “This blood pressure is very dangerous, potentially leading to a stroke. The patient needs to control his emotions, and you, as family members, should know better. Don’t crowd the room unnecessarily.”

Knowing Old Mr. Ji’s blood pressure was high again, Ji Ze felt even more remorseful. He quickly pulled his mother out, “We won’t disturb Grandpa’s rest anymore. You rest well, Grandpa. I’ll visit you another day.”

Given Old Mr. Ji’s condition, some matters couldn’t be rushed. What if he got too angry and something happened?

Ye Minshu said nothing, but once the door closed, she looked at Song Jing awkwardly, “Sorry for the scene.”

Ji Ze was also speechless, “Why did you drag Song Jing into our family matters?”

“I had no choice. Do you want to marry a country girl?”

Just mentioning this made Ye Minshu angry, and Song Jing lowered her head, feeling embarrassed, “It was no trouble at all. I didn’t have anything else to do. Unfortunately, I didn’t play the part well enough, and Grandpa Ji saw through it, getting angry.”

Ji Ze asked, looking at Ye Minshu, “Mom, what’s this betrothal about?”

“What else could it be? Your grandfather owed someone a favor and decided to repay it with you. You haven’t seen that girl; she dresses like a beggar, and her eyes are restless. I don’t know where she got the nerve to come to our door.”

Dressing like a beggar and having restless eyes…

Ji Ze’s mind conjured up the bright face he had just seen. “Mom, you’re not talking about the girl with Uncle, are you?”

“You’ve seen her?” Ye Minshu immediately became alert. “Don’t be fooled by her looks and listen to your grandfather.”

“No, I saw her with Uncle and thought she was his girlfriend.”

“It would be better if she were your uncle’s girlfriend…” Ye Minshu started to say more but stopped when she saw someone in the stairwell. As the elder sister-in-law, she had to maintain decorum in front of her brother-in-law, only mentioning that the nurse didn’t want too many people in the ward.

Ji Duo didn’t ask further. Ji Ze certainly wouldn’t bring up what happened in the ward. Passing by Ji Duo and Lin Qiao, his expression was somewhat evasive. This made Lin Qiao raise an eyebrow slightly, suspecting that Ji Duo had said something to him earlier. And Ye Minshu’s expression clearly showed that the conversation with Old Mr. Ji in the ward hadn’t gone well.

Was Mr. Ji dissatisfied with the daughter-in-law candidate she brought, or was he unhappy with the fact that she brought someone at all?

Could this matter somehow be related to her?

If Ji Ze was indeed the male lead, how could his mother have opposed the marriage so strongly back then?

Old Mr. Ji had another son of a similar age. Although they were of different generations, they weren’t really related by blood. Why force the grandson to marry and not the son?

Lin Qiao couldn’t figure it out, but there were more pressing matters at hand than identifying the male lead.

In the ward, Old Mr. Ji was also pondering why Lin Qiao had to come this time.

Seeing his mood gradually stabilize, Xu Li peeled an apple for him, the thin peel hanging in a long strip from the knife. “Still angry? I don’t think we can entirely blame the kids. Back in our day, some people didn’t want arranged marriages either, and this came as a surprise to him. Talk to him properly, and if it doesn’t work, let the kids get to know each other. Xiao Ze isn’t unreasonable.”

She only mentioned Ji Ze, not Ye Minshu, trying to lighten the situation. Old Mr. Ji, however, shook his head, “This won’t be easy. Xiao Ze seems easygoing, always cheerful, but he’s as stubborn as his second uncle. It’s also because his second uncle didn’t set a good example. Xiao Ze followed him around as a child, learning all the wrong things.”

“Alright, alright, it’s all my fault for not raising the second one well, okay?”

“It’s not entirely your fault. I spoiled him too when he was young. He’s the youngest, and you had him with difficulty.”

This conversation was drifting off-topic, so Xu Li brought it back to the marriage, “If it really doesn’t work, don’t force it. There are other ways to repay a favor. We don’t have to push the kids together. It doesn’t seem like their family is very keen on it either.”

Old Mr. Ji remained silent, and just then, footsteps approached, so they stopped talking.

Lin Qiao and Ji Duo entered the room, and the four of them tacitly avoided mentioning the recent events. Old Mr. Ji had calmed down by now and, seeing that Xu Li had finished peeling the apple, asked her to give it to Lin Qiao. “You didn’t finish telling us earlier. What’s going on with your family?”

As soon as Lin Qiao entered, she could sense the lingering tension in the air. She thanked them and, without embellishing, recounted the situation truthfully.

Old Mr. Ji had suspected that Lin Qiao ran away because there was something wrong with the arranged marriage, but he hadn’t expected it to be this bad. Not only had they sold Lin Qiao against her will, but they had also withheld her household registration and all her documents, forcing her to run away for help. Such methods were too…

Old Mr. Ji frowned deeply and, after a while, asked, “When is the date set?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

This time, Old Mr. Ji was silent for even longer before looking at Ji Duo, who was seated on the other bed. “Do you have time in the next couple of days?”

Asking this question at such a time clearly indicated there was something to be done. Ji Duo pondered briefly, “I have a few days off.”

“Then accompany Qiao girl to her home and sort out her family’s issues.”