Lu Wanwan sniffed, put down her cup, and said in a tearful voice, "I know I was wrong. I didn't tell Mom clearly when I left, and I didn't let them know I was safe on the way. I made you all worry."
Seeing his sister's aggrieved look, Lu Lin's tone softened: "It's good that you know you're wrong. No matter what happens in the future, you can't be so impulsive. You can stay here as long as you want, but you have to call home first to put their minds at ease."
Grandpa and Grandma, despite their advanced age, still worry about everything. When they learned that their granddaughter had come to the island, they also started clamoring to come too.
If his father hadn't intervened in time, the two elderly people probably would have boarded the train like children.
Gu Mingyue smiled and patted Lu Wanwan's arm: "Want to eat some more?"
Lu Wanwan's eyes lit up; she felt she could still eat. "Okay, thank you, sister-in-law! You're the best!"
Lu Lin made another one, and Lu Wanwan was very surprised when she saw it. She whispered to her sister-in-law.
He leaned close to Gu Mingyue's ear and lowered his voice even further: "Sister-in-law, when did my brother learn to cook? Before, he could always burn the dishes when he was cooking at home. How come he's so skilled now?"
Gu Mingyue couldn't help but laugh out loud and patted her hand: "Of course he learned from me. Sometimes when I'm too busy, he follows along and figures things out. He's gradually learned to cook noodles and steam buns. His skills are even more reliable than mine."
As they were talking, Lu Lin brought out a steaming bowl of noodles and placed it in front of Lu Wanwan: "The previous bowl got cold, eat this one while it's hot."
Lu Wanwan looked at the noodles in the bowl, then at the flour on Lu Lin's hands, and her eyes reddened again.
She picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of the fried egg, and gasped because it was so hot, but felt a sweet warmth in her heart.
She leaned closer to Gu Mingyue and whispered, "Sister-in-law, my brother has changed so much. He used to be such a rough guy, but now he actually makes me hot noodle soup."
Gu Mingyue watched Lu Lin's retreating figure as he tidied up the kitchen, a smile playing on her lips: "Your brother has always loved you, he just wasn't good at expressing it before. Now that he's married, he's become more thoughtful."
Lu Wanwan had only eaten half a bowl of hot soup noodles when she put down her chopsticks. Her eyes suddenly reddened, and her voice trembled with lingering fear: "Brother, sister-in-law, actually, I almost had an accident on the way."
Gu Mingyue paused for a moment, then quickly leaned forward: "What happened? Tell me slowly."
"When I was changing trains at Haishi Railway Station, I went to buy water. I had just put the money back in my pocket when I felt someone tugging at my cloth bag."
Lu Wanwan clenched her clothes so tightly that her fingertips turned white. "When I turned around, I saw a strange man holding my purse. I was so scared that I screamed. People gathered around, and he ran away as fast as he could."
Lu Lin's brows furrowed instantly, his knuckles clenching until they turned white: "And then? You didn't encounter any more danger, did you?"
“There’s something even scarier.” Lu Wanwan sniffed, tears streaming down her face. “When we were on the boat, a woman kept talking to me, asking if I was alone, and said she would take me to an island to find my relatives. I remembered my sister-in-law telling me not to go with strangers, so I quickly hid in the crew lounge and didn’t dare to come out until we reached the shore. Now that I think about it, that woman might have been a kidnapper.”
Gu Mingyue reached out and pulled Wanwan into her arms, gently patting her back, her voice softening: "You've really suffered a lot. Luckily you were quick-witted and didn't go with a stranger."
Lu Lin also breathed a sigh of relief, his tone full of lingering fear: "I won't dare to be so impulsive in the future. If something really happened, I would never be able to live in peace for the rest of my life."
Lu Wanwan leaned against Gu Mingyue's chest, her tears wetting her clothes: "I know I was wrong. I was just thinking about running away and didn't think about anything else. From now on, no matter what happens, I will definitely talk to my family first and never run away on my own again."
Gu Mingyue picked up a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and then put the poached egg in the bowl on her plate: "Eat the egg quickly, it's good for your health. It's not your fault, you have your brother and sister-in-law here, no one can bully you."
Lu Lin softened his tone: "Call home tomorrow and tell Mom about what happened on the way, so she can rest assured. Stay here for a while and get your courage back. I'll find someone to take you back later."
Lu Wanwan nodded and ate her noodles heartily. She suddenly felt that although she had been frightened on the way, seeing the changes in her brother and being loved so much by her brother and sister-in-law made it all worthwhile.
As soon as she put down her chopsticks for dinner, Lu Wanwan regained her energy and, like a fawn that had been let loose, grabbed the clean clothes that Gu Mingyue had found and ran into the bathroom.
Soon, the sound of rushing water came from inside, mixed with her off-key little tune, exuding a relaxed vibe.
When she came out of the shower, she felt several pounds lighter. She hadn't dared to change her clothes or wash up much during the days she was on the road, and she looked disheveled, like she was fleeing a disaster.
Lu Wanwan approached the clothesline, touched the soap-scented sheets, and turned to Gu Mingyue with a smile: "Sister-in-law, your little courtyard is so nice. It's much more lively than our big, orderly courtyard at home. It's full of the feeling of everyday life."
Gu Mingyue was watering the flowers in the flower bed in the yard when she heard this and turned around with a smile: "If you like it, stay a few more days."
Lu Wanwan nodded and sat down next to her on the stone bench. She picked at the patterns on the stone bench with her fingers and suddenly whispered, "Sister-in-law, actually, the reason I ran away this time is because my family wants to introduce me to a potential partner. The person is He Xiao."
"He Xiao?"
Gu Mingyue paused in her watering motion. She remembered He Xiao; she had met him once before when she was at the Lu family's house.
The other person was tall and good-looking, but his face was expressionless, and he was colder than the ice of Antarctica just by standing there.
“It’s him.” Gu Mingyue put down the kettle and sat down next to her.
“That’s right.” Lu Wanwan wrinkled her nose, her tone full of grievance. “I’m not afraid of anyone except my brother. He’s one of them. Every time I see him, I run away as fast as I can. Now my family actually wants me to marry him. I feel uncomfortable just thinking about spending the rest of my life with him.”
She leaned closer to Gu Mingyue, her voice softening: "Sister-in-law, do you think I'm being too willful? But I really don't want to marry him. I want to find someone different from my brother. He doesn't have to be super strong, as long as he can talk to me nicely and doesn't bully me."
Putting everything else aside, just the sheer size of He Xiao standing there is enough that she couldn't possibly defeat him.
Gu Mingyue reached out and helped her tidy her wet hair, smiling as she said, "This isn't being willful. Marriage is a lifelong commitment, and you have to be willing to do it yourself. He Xiao may seem rough around the edges, but he might not be a bad person at heart; he just doesn't know how to get along with girls. If you really don't want to, talk to your brother later, and we'll go back and give the family a heads-up. We'll figure something out."
As Lu Wanwan listened, the tightness in her chest dissipated considerably.
Looking at the swaying bedsheets in the yard and smelling the fragrance of flowers in the air, she suddenly felt that it was okay if she didn't want to go home for the time being.
With her brother and sister-in-law around, this little courtyard is her safe haven, where she can always pour out all the grievances in her heart.
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