Chapter 7

When Mother Mu heard this, she could no longer remain calm. She turned to Xia Chuwei and asked,

“Chuwei, tell Auntie the truth—what Beiwang said, is it true? Were you crying at the entrance of the restaurant?”

“Did Beichen say something to you? We’ll go find him right now and make him apologize.”

Luo Nianchu tugged nervously at her clothes, then lifted her head to look at them. Summoning her courage, she said,

“Uncle, Auntie… if I want to break off the engagement, will you blame me?”

Mother Mu stepped forward and embraced her.

“No, we won’t blame you. But do you really not want to marry Beichen anymore? Is there some misunderstanding? Tell us clearly first. If you insist on it, we won’t stop you.”

Father Mu added gently,

“Chuwei, when we proposed setting your engagement to Beichen, it was because we wanted to make sure you’d be well taken care of. We thought that instead of raising you and then marrying you off to some other family—worrying that you might be bullied—it would be better for you to marry Beichen when you grew up. That way, we wouldn’t have to worry about you having a hard life elsewhere.

But if you don’t like Beichen, we can’t force you. Originally, we thought that since you grew up together, the feelings between you would develop naturally over time.”

Mother Mu patted Xia Chuwei’s back.

“We know what kind of person you are. If you’re bringing up breaking off the engagement, then Beichen must have done something to wrong you. Chuwei, wait here—your uncle will go find him right now and give him a good talking-to. As for the engagement… I still hope you’ll think it over again.

As long as Beichen is my son, he’ll have to listen to me and marry you—unless he stops acknowledging me as his father.”

Mother Mu didn’t know how to persuade her. In her heart, she hoped the two children could be together. But if they didn’t want to, forcing it might only make their life together miserable later.

They had thought that if Chuwei could marry Beichen, she would have a dependable partner. But if Beichen didn’t care for her, how could they feel at ease?

Seeing Father Mu about to head out to find Beichen, Xia Chuwei quickly stopped him.

“Don’t, Uncle. Beichen has a surgery to perform tomorrow morning. If you go to him now, it might affect his operation.”

“You’re still thinking about him?” Mu Beiwang said, almost laughing in disbelief.

Chuwei’s lips parted slightly. She froze for a moment, then said softly,

“For him… but also for his patient’s sake.”

Beiwang paused when he heard that, then scratched his head in frustration.

“Then at least tell us why you were crying. Haven’t you always liked my big brother? Why are you suddenly talking about breaking off the engagement?”

Father Mu, urged by Mother Mu, also sat back down.

“Yes, Chuwei, why bring this up so suddenly? We’ve already picked the date for your wedding banquet.”

As for Gu Shisheng bringing Chuwei back home, they didn’t think much of it—after all, the Xia and Gu families had always been on good terms. They assumed he had only comforted her after seeing her cry.

“Beichen doesn’t like me. He’s always only seen me as a younger sister,” Chuwei said to them.

Mother Mu still wanted to persuade her.

“Feelings can be nurtured. Your uncle and I met through a blind date and married later—we grew to love each other over time. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding. Beichen hasn’t said he’s unwilling to marry you. Oh, and today he called home saying something had come up, so he couldn’t go to get the marriage certificate.”

“So you’re upset because you heard him say he only sees you as a sister, and that’s why you cried and left on your own?” Mu Beiwang asked in confusion.

That didn’t seem right—Beichen had introduced her as his “sister” before, and she hadn’t reacted like this.

“He didn’t see me,” Chuwei said quietly, head lowered.

That left the Mu family silent—they didn’t know what to say.

“You’re so silly. What’s there to cry about? You’re his fiancée. If you don’t like what he said, you should go straight to him, argue with him, even hit him if you want. Crying in secret when he doesn’t even know? What’s the point?” Beiwang said, exasperated.

Mother Mu patted Chuwei’s hand comfortingly.

“Chuwei, how about this—go talk to Beichen tomorrow. If you still insist afterward, we won’t oppose breaking off the engagement.

We’ve always treated you like our own daughter. Whether you marry Beichen or not, that won’t change. If you marry him, we’ll prepare a generous bride price for you. If you don’t, we’ll help you find someone who truly cherishes you and prepare a dowry instead.”

Father Mu nodded in agreement.

“Listen to your aunt. Ask Beichen clearly first. You were still young before, so maybe he just got used to calling you his ‘sister’ in front of others and hasn’t changed that habit yet. If he truly says he doesn’t like you, then you can decide.

If you like him, I’ll drag him to get the certificate if I have to. But if you really don’t, then forget it—it just means he’s not lucky enough to have you.”

Xia Chuwei had grown up under their care—they knew her temperament well and truly cherished her.

Looking at their hopeful faces, Chuwei finally nodded.

“Alright.” This way, she could ask Beichen directly tomorrow. If he truly couldn’t let go of Xu Xueqing, then their engagement really wouldn’t make sense.

Chuwei went upstairs, and Mu Beiwang followed.

Seeing them go, Mother Mu picked up her glass and drank, then patted her chest in frustration before grabbing a pillow and throwing it at her husband.

“All because of your son! If he really dares say he doesn’t like Chuwei and won’t marry her, then he can just not bother coming back!” she said angrily.

Father Mu was dumbfounded.

“Why are you taking it out on me? If you’re upset, go yell at Beichen! What do you mean ‘my’ son? Isn’t he your son too? This is unfair.

I want Chuwei as my daughter-in-law too, but she has to be willing.”

Thinking about Beichen’s usual indifferent attitude toward Chuwei, Father Mu had to admit it wasn’t very encouraging.

“No problem—if Beichen doesn’t want her, we still have Beiwang. He’s only three years younger than Chuwei. People say if the woman’s three years older, it’s like holding a golden brick. We could have Beiwang marry her—she’d still be our daughter-in-law. They’re close and always chatting together anyway,” he suggested.

Mother Mu looked at him in disbelief.

“Are you crazy? How would outsiders see Chuwei then? She’d go from being Beichen’s fiancée to Beiwang’s. What would people say about her? And how would the brothers get along afterward?

Beiwang is still childish—you expect him to take care of Chuwei? More likely she’d end up taking care of him.”

Father Mu sighed.

“Then what should we do? Beichen’s always treated her like a sister. If he really says he doesn’t like her and she insists on breaking it off, can you really bear to send her away?

If she marries into a powerful family, we’ll worry she might be wronged and we won’t be able to protect her. If she marries into a poorer family, we’ll worry she’ll have a hard life. What do we do?”

“I just don’t get it—Chuwei has looks, education, and ability. What is Beichen dissatisfied with? He should count himself lucky to have her. And yet he doesn’t like her?”

Father Mu started pacing, nearly ready to storm off and question Beichen right now.

“How am I supposed to face her parents if he treats her like this?” he said, clutching his head in frustration.

Mother Mu hesitated.

“And what if you do talk to Beichen? We all know how good Chuwei is, but if he doesn’t like her, then no matter how perfect she is, it won’t work.

If you force him to marry her, he might resent her even more—and in the end, she’ll be the one who suffers.”

Father Mu froze for a moment, looking lost.

“Then what should we do?”

Mother Mu began to wonder if they had been wrong to arrange the engagement in the first place.

She looked up at her husband and reassured him,

“Let’s wait until they’ve talked tomorrow. Give them more time to see if feelings develop. If neither of them wants to be together, we’ll find Chuwei a good match and give her a generous dowry to secure her future.”

She could only hope that Beichen wouldn’t disappoint them.