Given the Xia family's strength, they don't necessarily need a marriage alliance.
Therefore, Xia Wan's choice of Zhuang Yan was the result of careful consideration.
In the circles of the wealthy, marriage is more like a mutually beneficial partnership. Xia Wan's decision to elope on the day of her engagement was a last-minute breach of contract. In business, breaking a contract at the last minute is considered dishonesty, which is a major taboo in business.
So Xia Wan is the one who is wrong, but why is Zhuang Yan the one being blamed and scolded?
It's as if he forced Xia Wan to marry him. If he really forced her, it would be one thing to be scolded, but the key point is that he didn't have the ability to force Xia Wan.
An Xinrong is easygoing. Xia Wan is her friend, so she can put herself in Xia Wan's shoes. Xia Wan likes Gu Qian, and she only got together with Zhuang Yan because she couldn't have him... She feels that Xia Wan's marriage is not worth it.
Now, thanks to Zhuang Yan's reminder, she has a God's-eye view and seems to see the whole story clearly.
It's a pity that Xia Wan and the person she likes are separated and can't be together, but isn't Zhuang Yan, who was innocently dragged into this, also pitiful?
On the day of their engagement, his fiancée ran away to be with her first love, which was a disgrace in itself. After the engagement was called off, he was still chased and cursed by Gu Qian's fans and smeared by his fiancée's family.
From beginning to end, Zhuang Yan was just a tool.
An Xinrong was unwilling to admit it: "Don't make it sound like you didn't benefit from the marriage between the two families. Anyway, Wanwan likes Gu Qian, and Gu Qian is more suitable for her than you."
"Yes, yes, you're right, so I'm breaking off the engagement to let them be together, isn't that what I'm saying?" The two fish had already been cleaned and were being sliced. Zhuang Yan was skilled with a knife, and each slice was cut to a uniform size, with even the bones removed.
He was focused on the task at hand, seemingly oblivious to the outside world.
"As long as you don't bother them, I won't target you anymore."
“Miss, they’re already together. I participated in this show to find a girlfriend. From the moment I broke off our engagement, we had no relationship whatsoever. I even wish I could stay far away from her, so how could I possibly bother her? You have to understand, it was the Xia family who chose me for this marriage. I can’t even make my own decisions, so what right do I have to bother them? You’ve already suffered this loss once, right…” Zhuang Yan was sincere. In order to divert An Xinrong’s attention, he handed her the sliced fish.
"Wash it clean with some salt."
"I won't."
"If you don't know how, you can learn. You're so smart, how can you not learn this little thing? You can even scrape potatoes very clean."
An Xinrong felt that these words were a bit strange, as if they were both a compliment and an insult. She obediently took the fish slices and said, "Teach me how to wash them."
"Add some salt, rub it with your hands, then rinse it with water, wash it a couple more times..."
Zhuang Yan guided her as he washed the fish slices, and An Xinrong gradually calmed down.
Why does she dislike Zhuang Yan? Besides being Xia Wan's friend, she is also a big fan of Gu Qian. She once acted with Gu Qian and received his care on set.
Perhaps due to preconceived notions, she felt that Gu Qian was superior to Zhuang Yan in every aspect.
If Zhuang Yan hadn't appeared, Xia Wan and Gu Qian would have been together long ago.
She targeted Zhuang Yan over "this little thing," how is that any different from those online trolls who get paid to attack people?
Zhuang Yan is right about one thing: the marriage was a matter of the Xia family choosing him, not him choosing Xia Wan. He has no right to make decisions for anyone else; he can't even make decisions for himself.
If Xia Wan and Gu Qian could be together, they would have been together five years ago. Whether Zhuang Yan was there or not, they could never be together.
An Xinrong wished she could be a little dumber. The more she learned about the truth, the more upset she became... She washed the fish in the basin four or five times until the water became clear before showing it to Zhuang Yan.
Is it okay now?
"Look how smart you are, you can learn it in just a little teaching. Now help me wash some green onions, cilantro, ginger... and peel some garlic too, peel a lot."
The word "smart" is clearly a positive term, but when Zhuang Yan said it, it felt like he was being sarcastic...
Are you mocking me?
Zhuang Yan stopped what he was doing, stood up straight, and said with utmost sincerity, "How could that be? You're a whiz at odd jobs, quick and efficient. You always manage to finish whatever I assign you. Even though you complain that you don't want to do it, you always finish it. I see your efforts, but you still need to work harder." Here we go again, with that same coaxing tone he uses to coax a child.
An Xinrong's heart skipped a beat.
The viewers in the live stream could all tell that Zhuang Yan was "fooling the kids," but An Xinrong didn't realize it and foolishly believed him, actually starting to do odd jobs.
No one expected that An Xinrong, who was previously willful, sharp-tongued, bad-tempered, and had a lot of bad habits, would be so obedient one day.
From Zhuang Yan's perspective, he's actually the victim. His engagement party was supposed to go smoothly, but his fiancée went to be with her first love. Anyone would feel bad in that situation. Besides, he and Xia Wan had already peacefully called off the engagement. I don't understand why he's still being attacked online.
[Those who are criticizing him are probably Gu Qian's fans. Many of Gu Qian's fans don't accept him dating, they can't bring themselves to criticize Gu Qian, and they don't dare to criticize Xia Wan, so they simply focus their anger on Zhuang Yan.]
Is Zhuang Yan trying to whitewash his image?
[Zhuang Yan has never been smeared, so why try to whitewash him? It's your sister-in-law who, for no reason, delayed a man's life for three years. What, are a man's three years worthless? If she can't forget her first love, why arrange a marriage?]
[Zhuang Yan clearly benefited from the marriage with Xia Wan, yet he's being portrayed as a victim.]
[What's the point of a marriage of convenience if there's no real affection involved? Xia Wan may not like Zhuang Yan, but the Xia family has brought capital to the Zhuang family—millions in investment. On the other hand, what can Zhuang Yan offer Xia Wan? He can't even provide basic emotional value. Is it just because of the few dishes he cooks? Xia Wan might as well date a servant.]
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