“Brother…” Lu Jinbei also had multiple bags in his hands. After putting aside his things, he got up and called out to Lu Jinnan.
Lu Jinbei wasn’t in a hurry to change out of his shoes. Instead, he held Cai Jingyao’s hand and generously introduced her to Lu Jinnan. “This is my fiancée, Cai Jingyao!”
Bai Xiaonian sat on the couch in a very comfortable position and brought a piece of fruit to her mouth. She didn’t say a word…
Lu Jinnan stood beside the coffee table with a hand in his pocket. He didn’t make a sound, nor did he look in Cai Jingyao’s direction. He simply stared at Lu Jinbei.
“Xiao Bei and Xiao Cai are back…”
Lu Jinnan’s father stepped out of the bathroom. Upon seeing Lu Jinbei and Cai Jingyao standing at the entrance, he smiled and greeted them.
“It’s really hot outside, isn’t it?” Lu Jinnan’s father smiled before continuing, “Quickly come in and wash your hands. I’ve placed some watermelon in a bowl of ice cubes in the fridge. I’ll go cut it up for you two!”
“It’s okay, Uncle!” Cai Jingyao smiled as she bent down and picked up a few shopping bags. She then walked towards the couch and said, “Uncle, I bought some clothes for you! Come and see if you like them!”
Lu Jinnan’s father paused, then quickly waved his hands and replied, “No need, no need! You and Xiao Bei can just return them! I’m already so old… what do I need new clothes for?”
Cai Jingyao smiled as she walked in. She placed the shopping bags on the table, took out a short-sleeved T-shirt, and said, “Who said one doesn’t need to dress up when they’re old? Uncle, if you dress up, you’ll look ten years younger!”
Cai Jingyao then held the T-shirt up against Lu Jinnan’s father’s body and continued, “At first, I wanted to get shoes for you too, but Xiao Bei said it’s hard to do that. He said you have to try on shoes before you buy them, and you’re picky about shoes because your legs aren’t too good. Uncle, next time, Xiao Bei and I will go with you to buy shoes, and I’ll help you pick shoes to match your outfits, okay?”
Her words sounded so heartwarming that even Lu Jinnan’s father couldn’t help but feel touched. “Won’t I be giving you too much trouble?”
“You don’t have to stand on ceremony with me, Uncle!”
Bai Xiaonian sat on the couch and casually ate her fruits as she watched Cai Jingyao’s performance.
Lu Jinbei changed out of his shoes and walked into the house with shopping bags in hand. He inevitably met eyes with Bai Xiaonian when he placed them beside the couch.
Lu Jinbei averted his eyes first and instead looked towards Cai Jingyao, who was helping his father try on another piece of clothing. His brows were tightly furrowed, but they relaxed as he saw the happiness on his father’s face.
“Uncle likes these clothes very much. Thank you for spending all this money and effort on me!” Lu Jinnan’s father smiled as he spoke to Cai Jingyao. “Go and take a rest. I’ll cut up some fruit for you two!”
“Okay! I’ll help you after I’ve washed my hands!” Cai Jingyao placed the clothes back into the shopping bags, then washed her hands in a natural and carefree manner, as if she was in her house, before heading to the kitchen.
Lu Jinbei sat awkwardly on the single-seater couch. He seemed somewhat uneasy.
His elbows rested on his knees, and his hands were clasped together as he asked softly, “Did you guys… want to ask me why I got together with Cai Jingyao in the end?”
Lu Jinbei didn’t wait for Bai Xiaonian and Lu Jinnan to reply and instead continued, “I didn’t get together with Cai Jingyao to make things difficult for you two.”
“Whoever you get together with is none of our business.” Lu Jinnan’s deep voice was calm. “I just hope you’ll think carefully about whether you really like Cai Jingyao and your purpose for getting together with her. Don’t do something you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”
Lu Jinbei lowered his eyes even further and stared at his feet as he pursed his lips. “If I say I like her, does it mean I can be together with her?”
Lu Jinnan understood what Lu Jinbei meant. His thin lips pressed together in a straight line as the expression in his eyes darkened.
“Of course. If you truly have feelings for Cai Jingyao, we won’t feel disgusted at your relationship with her. If you’re together with her for other reasons… you won’t disgust us, you’ll just disgust yourself for the rest of your life.”
Bai Xiaonian’s words were straightforward, as always.
Lu Jinbei clasped his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white. After a while, he looked up towards Bai Xiaonian. His eyes trembled as they met Bai Xiaonian’s clear ones… and he swallowed all the hurtful words he was about to say.
He rephrased his words so that he would still be able to express what he thought, asking her, “Then, now that you’ve married my older brother and become my sister-in-law, do you feel especially happy and think that you can disgust me?”
“I’m very happy!” Bai Xiaonian intertwined her slender and beautiful fingers with Lu Jinnan’s before continuing, “Because I love this man, and he’s the one who makes me feel happy and blissful! None of this has to do with you… You’re very important to Lu Jinnan because you’re his younger brother, no doubt about that, but it isn’t the same for me!”
Lu Jinbei had a slightly sarcastic smile on his face as he turned to look at Lu Jinnan. “She said I’m very important to you?”
Lu Jinnan nodded. “Of course…”
After Lu Jindong passed away, Lu Jinnan doted on and indulged Lu Jinbei so much… that sometimes, even Tang Zheng couldn’t stand it.
Lu Jinbei’s lips quivered. He saw red as he gripped the coffee table and looked straight at Lu Jinnan. He lowered his voice, seeming as if he didn’t want his father to hear him from the kitchen, and confronted him. “Since I’m important to you, why did you do that when you knew what Bai Xiaonian meant to me? There are so many women in the world, so why did you come and snatch mine? Do you feel good taking away your younger brother’s woman? Hm?”
“What do I mean to you such that you can go behind my back and sleep with my best friend in the dormitory? Hm?” Bai Xiaonian argued back.
Lu Jinnan held Bai Xiaonian’s hand. He knew that she was trying to defend him. She had always been protective of the people close to her.
But as a man, how could he hide behind a woman at this time?
As expected, Lu Jinbei was rendered speechless. He gritted his teeth and sat back against the single-seater sofa. “I know it was my fault!”
“So, you intend to carry on making mistakes?” Bai Xiaonian asked again.
Lu Jinbei didn’t say a word.
“So, you’re marrying Miss Cai out of spite? To anger us?” Lu Jinnan asked.
Seeing that he had cigarette ashes on his pants, Lu Jinbei casually flicked them off with his finger. He then replied, “I’m already at the age where I should marry someone. Dad’s been asking about it every day, and there’s no one around me who’s suitable. Back then… Cai Jingyao had her first time with me, and both of us have been single all these years. We might as well get together!”
Bai Xiaonian was rendered speechless.
Hur hur, that was really straightforward of them!
“How do you know she has been single all these years?” Bai Xiaonian couldn’t help but laugh. She sat back against the couch and continued, “You’re already an adult, Lu Jinbei! How can you be so naive? Do you still remember how the video of Cai Jingyao and Song Yao discussing homewreckers was leaked? Who do you think leaked the video and why? Ask Cai Jingyao if she knew Song Yao’s husband, Cen Mo, in Morocco and whether she wanted to snatch him away from her…”