Chapter 7

Upon hearing that Song Ci was going to take the college entrance exam, Li Yanfang immediately offered to take care of all the housework. Song Ci disagreed, only asking her to help take care of Xiaoshu when she had time. Li Yanfang breathed a sigh of relief. As the youngest girl in the family, she had been pampered since childhood and wasn’t good at housework. She said this to please Song Ci. She came without any food and stayed for two months, so she was afraid Song Ci would have an opinion. When she was at home before, she also helped take care of her eldest nephew. Xiaoshu was now two years old and looked very well-behaved, so it shouldn’t be difficult to take care of him.

With Li Yanfang taking care of Xiaoshu, Song Ci went out less and less, staying in the house to study every day. But Li Yanfang was a person who could not stay still. After dinner every day, she took Xiaoshu to visit relatives and friends, and soon got to know all the sisters-in-law in the family quarters. Xiaoshu also made many new friends because of her, and was more active in going out every day than Li Yanfang. On this day, Li Yanfang took Xiaoshu out and ran into Song Zhen. She didn’t want to pay attention to Song Zhen at first. After all, Song Ci had fallen out with Song Zhen, so of course she had to stand on the side of her sister-in-law. But Song Zhen called her.

“Is there something wrong?” Li Yanfang turned around and looked at her.

Song Zhen nodded and said, “I have something I want to ask you. If you don’t mind, why don’t you come to my house and sit down?” After that, she took out a small bag of biscuits from her pocket and handed it to Xiaoshu.

Xiaoshu glanced at Li Yanfang and saw her nod, then he took it, thanked her, and started eating the biscuits.

Li Yanfang didn’t want to go at first, but she was so curious about Gu Yiran that she agreed. She consoled herself by thinking that Gu Yiran had kindly brought her to the military district, and she couldn’t be cold to Song Zhen.

The layout of Song Zhen’s courtyard was similar to Song Ci’s, with two large rooms and a small kitchen. But once inside, Li Yanfang immediately noticed a difference. She couldn’t pinpoint the specific difference, but she felt that Song Zhen’s home was better furnished than Song Ci’s, making it feel more comfortable.

As soon as they sat down, Song Zhen brought them a plate of washed plums. When he bent down, his sleeves rose a little, revealing an exquisite watch. Li Yanfang’s eyes widened immediately. She had seen this watch in the department store. It cost hundreds of dollars. It was called Casio. She knew that Song Zhen’s family conditions were worse than hers. The key was that she was fostered and was not very welcome at home. This watch must not have been bought by her. Who else could have bought it except Gu Yiran? These days in the family compound, she heard a lot of news about Gu Yiran. She knew that he was not only good-looking, but also the deputy head of the regiment. His family was also a high-ranking official family in Beijing. Buying a watch worth hundreds of dollars was nothing. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but look at Song Zhen. She saw that she was dressed better than the people in the city. While feeling a little inferior, she couldn’t help but start to gurgle and spit out sour water in her heart.

Seeing her like this, Song Zhen knew exactly what was going on. Pretending not to notice, she smiled and sat down in front of Li Yanfang. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but after I married Yi, I had a falling out with my family. But they’ve been supporting me for so many years, so I wanted to get some information from you about them.”

“Ah? Oh, your family is pretty good. After you got married, your second brother also got married not long after. I heard that he married a girl from the city. He asked for a hundred yuan for the betrothal gift alone, and the dowry was also quite a lot, with all the three major items. No one in the village lives as well as your family, so don’t worry.” Li Yanfang reacted.

“Then I feel relieved.” Song Zhen said with narrowed eyes.

“By the way, Sister Song Zhen, I heard that your family asked for quite a bit of betrothal gifts for your wedding. Otherwise, your family wouldn’t have it so easy. Can I ask how much they asked for?”

“500.” Song Zhen said with his eyes lowered.

“If it’s really 500, no wonder you had a falling out with them. This isn’t selling your daughter…ah, I’m sorry, the betrothal gift is really too much, so I…” Li Yanfang quickly covered her mouth.

“It’s okay, it’s indeed a lot. If it weren’t for Yi Ran, I’m afraid I would never be able to get married in this life.” Song Zhen waved his hand.

Li Yanfang said sincerely: “Comrade Gu is really good to you.”

“When you get married in the future, your husband will treat you well.” Song Zhen said with a smile.

“Sister Song Zhen, how did you get to know Comrade Gu?”

“I was entangled with a street urchin, and he saved me. That’s how we met.” Song Zhen said sweetly.

“So that’s how it is. Sister Song Zhen, you’re so lucky.”

Song Zhen remained silent. She didn’t think she was lucky to meet Gu Yiran. On the contrary, she thought Gu Yiran was lucky to meet her.

After getting the information he wanted to know, Song Zhen wanted to see the guest off.

Li Yanfang didn’t want to leave. Not only did he pretend not to understand what she said, he also apologized on behalf of Song Ci.

Song Zhen asked her if it was Song Ci who asked her to apologize. Li Yanfang didn’t dare to answer, saying it was her own idea. She also said that the two families were neighbors, Song Zhen and Song Ci were from the same place, and there was no deep hatred. It would be better to reconcile and avoid being laughed at.

Song Zhen said that she didn’t care, but she was afraid that Song Ci didn’t think so.

Li Yanfang patted her chest and promised that she would persuade Song Ci when she returned.

After chatting about this and that, it was finally noon, and Li Yanfang finally saw Gu Yiran again. The first time, she only thought Gu Yiran was handsome, but this time, she saw a golden light in him. Seeing him come back, she hurriedly stood up and said, “Comrade Gu, I haven’t thanked you properly for bringing me back last time. How about this, you and my sister-in-law go to my brother’s house for dinner tonight, and I can cook a meal to thank you.”

Gu Yiran glanced at Song Zhen, then shook his head and said, “Don’t be so polite, it’s just something that happens to me.”

“Yes, yes. If you don’t go, people will think I’m ignorant if they know about it.” Li Yanfang said hurriedly.

Gu Yiran frowned and said, “I have something else to do. You guys talk first.” After that, he went to the inner room.

Li Yanfang looked at Song Zhen awkwardly, then heard her say, “Xiaofang, we appreciate your kindness. If anyone wants to gossip, just tell them to come to me.”

Li Yanfang had no choice but to nod and say, “Okay. Lunch is about to start, I’ll go back first.” After that, she took the little tree that was playing with toys on the ground and walked out.

After she left, Gu Yiran came out of the room and asked, “Why is she here?”

“I asked her something. I sent her away a long time ago. She probably wanted to see you, so she kept waiting until now.” Song Zhen gave him a reproachful look after finishing her words. “It’s all because you were born too lucky. You have so many bad romantic relationships that you can’t stop them.”

Gu Yiran hugged her and said with a smile: “You are the only one in my heart.”

“That’s more like it. If you have any other thoughts, I will never let you see me again.” Song Zhen stretched out his index finger and pointed at his chest.

“What do you want from her? Haven’t you two ever spoken to each other before?” Gu Yiran changed the subject.

“I just want to ask how those people back home are doing.”

“There’s some clues about your background, but it’s not confirmed yet. Just wait a little longer. As for those people in your hometown, don’t worry. I’ve sent people to keep an eye on them.”

“Then I’ll leave it all to you.”

Here, Song Ci was cooking. Seeing Li Yanfang looking unhappy, she asked her, “What’s wrong? Who said that to you?”

Li Yanfang looked at her with a guilty conscience and said, “We just went to Song Zhen’s house, and she asked me about her family. I thought Comrade Gu had helped me before, so it was hard to refuse, so I took Xiaoshu with me.”

“Just go. I had a falling out with them, but I didn’t allow you to have any contact with her.” Song Ci said indifferently.

“I, I apologized on your behalf and invited them to dinner at my house, but they refused.” Li Yanfang looked at her with an unnatural expression.

Song Ci glanced at her and said unhappily, “Why are you apologizing for me? I apologized a long time ago, in front of everyone. I won’t stop you from interacting with them, but don’t bring me into this. I don’t want to reconcile with them.”

“I’m sorry. Third sister-in-law, don’t be angry.” Li Yanfang walked over and shook her arm.

“Okay, I’m not angry. Think before you speak or act in the future. Of course, I hope you won’t hang out with them too much, but you’re already so old, you might not even listen to what your brother says, let alone me, your sister-in-law. But I still have to remind you that Comrade Gu is already married.” Song Ci couldn’t help but say.

“Look at what you said, what kind of person have I become? You are wronging me. I just think Sister Song Zhen is a good person. She and I are from the same hometown, so I want to help you ease the relationship.” Li Yanfang stomped her feet and said.

After hearing what she said, Song Ci didn’t want to say anything more to her. She nodded, thinking that she would tell Li Yannian when he came back, so that nothing could happen. She didn’t remember anything else, but she remembered one thing very clearly, that is, in the original book, any woman of the right age, no matter if she was the second or the nth female lead, would be moved when she saw Gu Yi. The difference is that some people acted directly, while others kept it in their hearts. Of course, there were also many people who liked the female lead. However, the important male and female supporting characters all appeared in the middle and late stages. Now is still in the early stage of the book, which is the honeymoon period of the male and female protagonists, so the ones who appeared are all insignificant cannon fodder.

As the aunt and sister-in-law were talking, they heard Xiaoshu calling from outside, “Aunt Wang.”

“Good boy, Xiaoshu.” Wang Juan patted Xiaoshu’s head and went into the kitchen. “I’m cooking.”

“Sister-in-law, what brings you here right now?” Song Ci looked at Wang Juan with a smile.

“I’m looking for Xiaofang. You’re not busy, so you might as well listen together. Xiaofang said the other day that she wanted to find something here. I thought about it for several days and finally found a suitable one, so I thought of coming over to ask.” Wang Juan said with a smile.

Li Yanfang had just met Gu Yiran and felt that no one could compare to him. She felt a little unhappy and said, “Aunt, I was just joking. My mother wants me to marry in my hometown. This place is too far away from home.”

Wang Juan thought she was shy and said disapprovingly, “It doesn’t matter whether you two meet or not.”

Li Yanfang looked at Song Ci with some embarrassment, wanting her to refuse on his behalf.

Song Ci had no choice but to continue, “Sister-in-law, my mother did say that she wanted her to marry someone closer, but I’m afraid she wouldn’t agree even if it happened. It’s better not to waste other people’s time.”

Wang Juan was a little unhappy when she heard this. “I’ve been running around for several days for this matter, but I didn’t know you were joking. Forget it, I’ll introduce another girl to him.” After that, she left.

“Why is she like this? When she asked me, I thought she was a little unreasonable, so I didn’t agree. She only asked me if I had a boyfriend and whether she wanted to introduce me to someone.” Li Yanfang said unhappily.

Song Ci thought for a moment and said, “Sister Wang, you should know from your experience that he is a talkative person. You should stay home for the next few days.”

“Oh.” Li Yanfang nodded reluctantly.

Song Ciyuan was thinking of giving her a few more words of advice, but when he saw her like this, he shut up.