Seeing his elder brother's pitiful state, Huo Yingjie had a change of heart and coughed twice under his elder brother Huo Yingjun's gaze.
“Grandpa, if my eldest brother wanted to find another girl, he would have done so long ago,” Huo Yingjie said. “Since he has gone through so many years and still can’t let go, it must be true love. In that case, Grandpa and Grandma will have to put in more effort. After all, Aunt is an elder, and my eldest brother, as a junior, shouldn’t talk back to her. But if you say a few nice words, it will be a different story.”
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Huo smiled slightly and said, "Oh, you young people! Oh, forget it. Your grandma and I will talk to your mother about this. Don't worry about it all the time."
With his grandfather's words, Huo Yingjun felt reassured and repeatedly said, "Thank you, Grandpa."
Seeing his son's lack of ambition, Huo Zhegan felt both angry and amused.
"You brat!" Huo Zhe cursed, "If you're like this in relationships, I hope you won't be so indecisive at work!"
"Father, no, absolutely not," Huo Yingjun assured him, overjoyed that a solution had been found for his worries.
On New Year's Eve, the whole family gathered together. Although it wasn't as lively as before, it was truly remarkable that everyone had managed to overcome setbacks time and time again and still be doing well.
With the persuasion of her parents-in-law, Huo Yingjun's mother finally accepted Zhao Huanhuan.
When Grandma Huo heard that Huo Yingjie had a girlfriend, she was both surprised and curious, and asked, "What kind of girl is she? Do you have a picture?"
Huo Yingjie pulled out a photo from his pocket and said, "I have a photo. Your granddaughter-in-law looks good!"
Jiang Lifang was proud; her son had excellent taste. That Tian Tian was not only beautiful, but also exceptionally virtuous, much gentler than Zhao Huanhuan.
Huo Yingqi was surprised to hear that her brother had a girlfriend. She quickly ran over and nestled next to her grandmother, saying, "I want to see it too, second brother! I want to see it too..."
Grandma Huo took out her reading glasses and put them on. Then she carefully looked at the photo that Huo Yingjie had taken out and nodded, saying, "This girl is pretty and not very old."
“Mom, you’re right. This girl’s name is He Tiantian. She’s our neighbor and Yingjie’s childhood sweetheart. She’s sixteen this year, three years younger than Yingjie,” Jiang Lifang explained. “Her parents are both intellectuals who do research. That girl is very virtuous. After we came back from the place where we were sent down before the New Year, the three of us ate at He’s house every day. She cooked all the meals, and they tasted especially good.”
Sister-in-law Huo initially thought that the girl came from an ordinary family, while Zhao Huanhuan was from a family of meritorious officials, and therefore couldn't compare to her daughter-in-law's family background. Now that she heard that the girl came from a scholarly family and was beautiful and virtuous, making her a more suitable daughter-in-law than Zhao Huanhuan, she felt resentful.
However, I've already promised my mother-in-law, so I can't go back on my word now. As for the future? That depends on whether Zhao Huanhuan knows what's good for her!
Huo Yingqi became even more anxious when she saw that the little girl in the photo was exceptionally beautiful. She said, "Second Brother, what about Zhou Yuanyuan?"
"Zhou Yuanyuan?" Huo Yingjie asked, puzzled. "Who is that?"
Everyone was taken aback. They knew that Zhou Yuanyuan was the daughter of the Zhou family, but they didn't know what relationship Zhou Yuanyuan had with Huo Yingjie.
"Second brother, how come you don't remember Yuanyuan?" Huo Yingqi said angrily, "She's Zhou Yuanyuan from the Zhou family in front of our house, the one who confessed to you last year."
"Oh..." Huo Yingjie suddenly realized, "That brat, I had already clearly rejected her back then."
"Second brother..." Huo Yingqi became even more furious upon hearing her second brother's words. "Second brother, Yuanyuan is so wonderful, how could you refuse her? Yuanyuan specially made clothes to come and see you in order to leave a good impression on you!"
Upon hearing this, Huo Yingjie couldn't help but sneer, "Huo Yingqi, I'll say it again, I have absolutely no relationship with Zhou Yuanyuan. No matter how good she is, what does it have to do with me? Don't mention her in front of me anymore. I have a boyfriend now, and I won't like anyone else. If you still consider me your second brother, don't take my side."
Sister-in-law Huo understood. Her daughter was meddling too much. Besides, her nephew Huo Yingjie was very opinionated and would never accept someone he didn't like.
"Yingqi, don't say those things again. No matter how good Yuanyuan is, it has nothing to do with your second brother. Besides, your relationship with Yuanyuan is another matter, but you can't yell at your second brother because of an outsider. What kind of behavior is that!"
Huo Zhegan also felt that his daughter was wrong and said, "Your second brother's marriage is handled by your grandparents, second uncle, and second aunt. As his younger sister, you shouldn't interfere, nor can you interfere."
Jiang Lifang was also a little angry, but since her sister-in-law and brother-in-law had said so, she was too embarrassed to say anything more to Huo Yingqi.
"Big brother, sister-in-law, don't blame Yingqi. She's just concerned about Yingjie," Jiang Lifang said with a smile. "As for matters of the heart, it depends on the two people's feelings. As you've seen, your second brother has someone he likes, and your second uncle and I also quite like the person your second brother has chosen, so please don't talk about Yuanyuan anymore."
Huo Yingqi blushed with embarrassment after being criticized by everyone, and realized that her actions were very inappropriate. But she felt more indignant for her good friend. Yuanyuan was so cute and kind, so why didn't her second brother like her?
"Oh!" Huo Yingqi said weakly, "I understand."
Although there was this unpleasant incident, it passed quickly, and the atmosphere at the Huo family was still quite good.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people came to pay their respects very early in the morning.
Zhou Yuanyuan and her family also arrived. When she saw Huo Yingjie, she blushed and took out a bright blue scarf, saying softly, "Brother Yingjie, this is a scarf I knitted for you. It's very soft and warm."
Huo Yingjie was making tea when he looked up and saw Zhou Yuanyuan blushing. He glanced at the scarf and said, "I'm not cold, and I don't like wearing scarves."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuanyuan's eyes widened, and she hurriedly explained, "Brother Yingjie, I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought the weather was very cold, so I'm giving you a scarf to keep you warm."
“I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but we’re all grown up now, and we need to avoid suspicion. I definitely can’t accept your scarf. If people find out you gave me a scarf, they’ll misunderstand. I already have a boyfriend, and I don’t want any bad rumors to spread,” Huo Yingjie said directly, patiently explaining to Zhou Yuanyuan, hoping she would think it through.
Yesterday's attitude from her cousin Huo Yingqi, and today's attitude from Zhou Yuanyuan, led Huo Yingjie to decide to tell the truth and firmly refuse, without dragging things out and giving those people unrealistic expectations.
Zhou Yuanyuan was shocked by Huo Yingjie's heartlessness, saying such things in front of the adults! Actually, she had her own ulterior motives. (To be continued.)
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