Chapter Seventy-Seven
The two turned around and saw a handsome young man with delicate features, somewhat frail and delicate, looking at Zhou Lin with a hesitant expression.
Mu Jin frowned slightly, her gaze darting back and forth between the young man in front of her and Zhou Lin.
Could this young man be Zhou Lin's lover from before his marriage?
Zhou Lin snapped out of his daze and smiled, "It's you, Brother Xing."
The young man's lips curled up as he looked at Zhou Lin, his eyes filled with joy, seemingly oblivious to Mu Jin standing to the side.
“Brother Lin, I am so grateful for your ride yesterday. Otherwise, I would have been exhausted to carry such a big basket of things back by myself.”
Her voice was soft, and her eyes were full of affection.
Mu Jin laughed in exasperation. This young man was flirting with her husband right in front of her. She hadn't encountered such a shameless young man in a long time.
Zhou Lin seemed oblivious, waving his hand and saying, "It's just a matter of lending a hand."
Jupiter's eyes curved slightly, revealing her cute little tiger teeth.
"Brother Lin has always been like this since he was little, so kind-hearted. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let my parents... Sigh, never mind, it's all just a matter of fate. This is a pair of shoes I made for you when I had some free time. You do a lot of work, so you wear out your shoes the most."
Mu Jin's expression had darkened.
Zhou Lin glanced at Mu Jin and quickly shook his head, "No, no need, I have shoes to wear."
Even if he's foolish or stupid, he knows that a man shouldn't take shoes and clothes made by other men or women, except those made by his own husband.
This is quite unreasonable.
Jupiter seemed to only then notice Hibiscus, feigning surprise, "Oh, brother's here too."
He glanced at Zhou Lin and smiled, "Brother, I've known Brother Lin since we were little, and I've always treated him like my own brother. It was just a pair of shoes that I gave to my older brother as a token of my gratitude. You shouldn't be so petty as to hold a grudge, right?"
Mu Jin smiled and said, "What Xing-ge is saying is just a thank you gift from brother, not a gift for a lover, and certainly not a token of love given in front of me to try and seduce my husband. What's there to be upset about?"
Mu Xingwan's lips trembled slightly as she chuckled awkwardly, "Brother Lin is so magnanimous; it's his good fortune to have married you."
Mu Jin moved closer to Zhou Lin and lightly punched his shoulder.
"You're so lucky! Your little brother Xing has a good eye for talent."
Zhou Lin nodded with a simple smile, his expression full of agreement.
Jupiter's perfectly poised smile was almost impossible to maintain; all she could think about was getting the shoes out as soon as possible.
Mu Jin laughed and said, "Speaking of which, is Xing-ge married yet?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Xingwan gently shook her head and glanced at Zhou Lin with affection in her eyes.
“I grew up with Brother Lin since I was little, so my standards for men have risen, and I can no longer look at other men.”
Mu Jin glared at Zhou Lin, "Look what you've done! You're ruining Xing-ge's life. If you ask me, you should never see Xing-ge again, and don't show any more kindness. You're just letting Xing-ge look down on other people. That would be a terrible mistake."
Mu Xingwan hurriedly said, "Brother, you must have misunderstood. I almost got engaged to Brother Lin before, but it didn't work out. Since then, I've always regarded him as my brother. From childhood to adulthood, Brother Lin has helped me and protected me a lot."
Mu Jin nodded and said earnestly, "So that's how it is, Xing-ge'er. Don't think I'm being harsh. I only said that because I consider you my younger brother."
Mu Xingwan's heart sank slightly. Just as Aunt Zhou had said, this Mu Jin was indeed not an easy boy to deal with.
He was the young man who had previously wanted Zhou Lin to marry into his family; his family lived right next to the Zhou family's house.
His mother's health deteriorated when she gave birth to him, and she was unable to have any more children.
Because he was pampered by his family during his childhood, he was spoiled.
From childhood to adulthood, Zhou Lin, who was four or five years older than him, always gave in to him. If Zhou Lin asked him to do something strenuous, Zhou Lin would help him.
Mu Xingwan felt that Zhou Lin was probably head over heels in love with her, but she was too timid to tell him.
If he marries Zhou Lin, he won't have to do any work and can just lie around enjoying life.
As a result, because of the matter of marrying into the family, Zhou Wushi made an outrageous demand, asking for fifty taels of silver right off the bat.
The marriage proposal was thus called off.
Although Jupiter felt regretful, her feelings for Zhou Lin were not yet deep, and after meeting several other men, she felt that none of them were quite right.
He turned eighteen this year, and his parents insisted that he get engaged before the New Year.
A few days ago, Jupiter felt depressed and went out, where she ran into Zhou Wushi and they chatted for a while.
Zhou Wu's words implied her dislike for her eldest son's husband, and she wished she had approved of his marriage to Zhou Lin back then.
His words were filled with regret and remorse.
Zhou Lin learned the craft of carpentry, built a new house for his family, and began to have other plans.
He had a good plan. Zhou Lin was now able to earn money to support his family, so even if he didn't marry into the family, his parents might agree.
Later, he can have several children, choose a man, and have him take his surname.
I never imagined that Zhou Lin was just unable to refuse others at the time, and had no romantic feelings for me whatsoever.
If their relationship had gone through back then, Zhou Lin would not have objected to the marriage arranged for him by Zhou Laosan and Zhou Wushi.
She would also treat Jupiter as her beloved husband.
But now, Zhou Lin's eyes and heart are filled with Mu Jin, and he can no longer tolerate anyone else.
Even if he doesn't agree to a divorce, and even if they did divorce, Zhou Lin wouldn't marry anyone else now.
Most of them would quietly protect the hibiscus, not letting anyone bully it, and live a solitary life.
Mu Xingwan originally intended to give Zhou Lin a pair of shoes to let him know his intentions, based on his own thoughts that Zhou Lin loved him deeply.
He beckoned, and Zhou Lin would abandon the husband he had been forced to marry and return to his side.
Mu Jin continued, "It's not that I'm criticizing you, but you're not young anymore. For an unmarried young man to shamelessly give shoes to a married man is incredibly disgraceful. It's a real disgrace to your parents. Even our own brother, Si'er, has never made shoes for A-Lin. If others find out, how will we find a good match? You're just too naive. For your sake, we can't accept these shoes. A-Lin, you too, be mindful of your behavior in the future and don't jeopardize Xing-di's good marriage."
Zhou Lin nodded emphatically, "I understand, it won't happen again."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "I'm afraid your mother didn't teach you to be mindful of your boundaries with men. I've said a lot today, but I'm only doing this because I consider you my younger brother. If it were anyone else, I really wouldn't bother saying anything."
He pulled Zhou Lin along and said with a smile, "Let's go, there's a ton of stuff to do at home."
Jupiter was speechless, her face turning red. She saw Zhou Lin turn around and go home with Mu Jin without any hesitation.
She felt a burning resentment in her heart and secretly resolved to make Zhou Lin divorce Mu Jin and teach him a lesson.
On the way, Mu Jin sighed and smiled, "That boy grew up with you, and you two even met and fell in love, so why didn't it work out?"
Although Mu Jin had inquired about the Zhou family before her marriage, the matter was discussed privately between the two families to protect the young master's reputation and was not made public.
Zhou Lin hurriedly said, "Because I was supposed to marry into your family, we couldn't agree to it. But since I married you, you've been my only love."
Hibiscus blushed slightly and said reproachfully, "Who told you to say these things?"
He was perceptive and discerning; having known for some time now, he was well aware of Zhou Lin's affection for him.
However, today's incident served as a wake-up call for him.
If things get better for the family in the future, and a brick house is built, there might be even younger boys throwing themselves at Zhou Lin.
Who wouldn't want to live a good life right away?
“I’m speaking from the bottom of my heart to Xing-ge, A-Lin. In the future, no matter how close you are to other men, you must be careful about your boundaries. You’re getting married now, and others will still have to consider your marriage. They say it’s better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage. If you cause a delay, it will truly be a sin.”
Zhou Lin nodded, taking it to heart.
In the evening, the family gathered around the table for dinner.
Bai Qiqiu touched his face, looked at Zhou Lin, then at Mu Jin, completely baffled.
"Brother, do I look uglier today than yesterday? Why hasn't your husband given me a second glance all day? He seems to want to stay at least three feet away from me. Have I suddenly become scary?"
Wen Zhaoran nodded in agreement, "That's right, my brother-in-law keeps his distance from me, and I'm not frighteningly beautiful, am I?! But did we make my brother-in-law angry?"
Mu Jin chuckled, "A Lin, there's no need for such formalities among family. Just be more careful when you're out."
After saying that, he told Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran about what happened at Baishi that day.
The two glanced at Zhou Lin. The carpentry work had only just begun, and a young man was already throwing himself into his arms.
“Brother-in-law, brother is right. We don’t need to do this. Just don’t let people gossip outside.”
Zhou Lin smiled and said, "I was just thinking that Qi Qiu and Zhao Ran aren't married yet, but thinking about it, I guess I was overthinking it."
Because Mu Jin was at home and Zhou Lin was often busy outside, he never spent time alone with Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran when Mu Jin wasn't around.
No one else could say anything about it.
Most importantly, if a boy loses his virginity, the birthmark on his forehead will change from a pinkish hue to the color of a reddish begonia.
Whether there's anything wrong or not is perfectly clear at a glance.
After receiving the message, Zhou Lin felt a little more at ease spending time with Wen Zhaoran and Bai Qiqiu.
Jupiter had been trying his best to seduce Zhou Lin, but to his surprise, Zhou Lin smiled and greeted him politely as soon as he saw him, then immediately turned and left, trying to stay as far away as possible.
For three to five days in a row, he didn't even touch Zhou Lin's sleeve, and his planned fake fall had no chance to be performed.
Jupiter, having exhausted all its tricks of manipulating others, finally gave up and settled down with another family.
When Mu Jin heard that Mu Xingwan was engaged, she laughed out loud. That young man still lacked perseverance; it hadn't been that long.
The Mid-Autumn Festival arrived in the blink of an eye. Zhou Si had visited relatives a couple of days earlier and brought a pheasant as a gift.
Soak hibiscus and hazel mushrooms, pluck the feathers from pheasant, chop it into pieces, and stew a whole pot of them.
On the dining table in the courtyard, there was a plate of red date-filled mooncakes, a plate of braised carp, a plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers, and a large bowl of stewed chicken.
The aroma of meat was irresistible; it was all meat and vegetables.
With the moon shining brightly and the stars few, the group enjoyed a sumptuous Mid-Autumn Festival dinner.
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