Praise You
When Ye Yuanyin walked in, Zhang Yunrong was sitting on the couch, wearing reading glasses and looking at old photos. Seeing her coming, she took out one of the photos and handed it to her, saying, "This is the picture of the eldest brother when he was a child."
Ye Yuanyin took it with both hands. It was probably taken in high school, when he was on vacation abroad. His eyes were clear and aloof, and he already had a hint of his current coldness.
"Grandma, is there something you want to tell me?"
Zhang Yunrong's eyes were still fixed on the photo, without even looking up. "What do you think it is?"
She said I don’t know.
Zhang Yunrong smiled slightly. Young children don't want to talk about embarrassing things. But if she doesn't say it, she can't just ignore it, so she has to bring it up.
"Your fourth uncle had a crush on someone before, but Grandpa and I disagreed. He didn't get his wish, and he's been unhappy ever since. He's physically ill and in pain, but the pain in his heart is even worse."
Ye Yuanyin listened quietly without saying a word.
Grandma finally took her eyes off the photo, and her deep gaze fell as she looked at the young girl in front of her.
"I asked them to delete all the surveillance footage at home. Just pretend it never happened."
Because he had predicted the outcome in advance, Ye Yuanyin was not surprised, but he still had to ask some questions, "Why did you do this to me?"
"Look at fairy tales. The story of the prince and Cinderella is deeply rooted in people's minds. A beautiful young woman marries into a wealthy family, enjoying material prosperity and widespread favor. The couple's love and affection seem to guarantee a life of happiness from now on. Yet, the underlying difficulties are never mentioned. To maintain a glamorous appearance, everyone is subject to strict control. In such a family, family honor trumps all personal feelings, and anyone who feels unhappy must suppress it."
"Grandma knows you've been wronged, but for the sake of this family, I have no choice but to do this. Please forget about this and don't mention it to anyone, especially not to Dian Jing'an."
Ye Yuanyin wondered why women were so miserable. They entered a man's family because of their love, but also suffered because of his family. What kind of family was so great that they sacrificed themselves and acted like ants for others?
"I won't tell." Ye Yuanyin's heart burned with anger. Her mother had taught her to be patient and seek harmony, to value peace, and to take a step back when encountering someone who disagreed with her. Over time, this teaching had become a habit, and she rarely engaged in direct confrontation. But when she left the mountains, she realized that self-sacrifice wasn't a virtue. She had said that all she could give him was loyalty. Loyalty wasn't physical fidelity, but the other person's recognition of her sincerity and genuineness. Yet, there were always people who would find ways to offend a woman who had nothing.
In great indignation, she asked the questions in her heart.
"Grandma, when you ran away from your ex-husband's house and started a new family with Grandpa, bringing someone else's child with you, why did you go from being a dragon slayer who dared to defy the world to a defender of an unjust order? Why couldn't you stick to your original aspirations?"
After listening to her words, Zhang Yunrong thought deeply for a while before asking, "What is the original intention?"
Ye Yuanyin said, "At the very least, the eldest son shouldn't be alienated, the eldest daughter shouldn't be spoiled and willful, and the youngest son shouldn't be lawless. The eldest grandson shouldn't be exiled."
Zhang Yunrong smiled. "In your eyes, Grandpa and I really don't know how to educate children, right?"
Her straightforwardness was also quite bold. "I sometimes think that way. I've spent some time with Uncle Shen and am quite familiar with Shen Dian'an. I feel like they rarely have happy moments."
Zhang Yunrong said, "Back then, we were still stigmatized by the old-fashioned family tradition, where family was a lifelong career. Although Grandpa wasn't as prominent as ours, I still had two mothers-in-law. I married in while pregnant, and life wasn't easy because I had to rely on everyone's opinions. Furthermore, Grandpa was just a small fruit vendor at the time, struggling financially, so he had no choice but to put Huafeng in his place."
Ye Yuanyin reflected that the difficulties women faced, not just then but even now, remain the same. After having a husband and children, the once passionate love can no longer withstand the trivialities of life. Families vary in size, but the inevitable domestic dramas and tribulations of life make one lament the vast disparity between ideal and reality. It's impossible not to complain about mothers-in-law, find fault with husbands, and discipline children.
Love is always like a pavilion on the foam, but life is long-lasting and patient. In her poor imagination, the love like her parents' is the ultimate happiness.
She loved him, but she couldn't love the powerful family behind him.
"I'm old, and I turn a blind eye to some things. I don't want to worry about them anymore. If you think this house is not good, you can change it according to your own ideas."
She had never imagined that she could integrate into this family before, and now she will not give up her freedom and jump into the fire pit. Getting married is also a two-way choice.
She didn't like his world.
Ye Yuanyin smiled and shook his head.
Grandma knew her feelings and said regretfully, "I was thinking of being a lobbyist for Shen Ji'an, but since you've made up your mind, there's nothing more to say. Take care."
Ye Yuanyin wished her good health.
*
A few days later, Chen Dian'an and Zou Meng were invited to participate in an art salon organized by Zhang Siling.
There were a few of her British friends at the table, and they spoke like actors in a play, paying more attention to their performance manners than the content of their speeches. Chen Di'an felt bored, so she opened the door and hid away.
There was a young actress who had been watching him. When she saw him leave, she followed him out.
Zou Meng watched from the side and snorted coldly out of anger.
Ji Quan listened intently to the British man's speech for a while, then turned to look at her, his eyes brimming with rebellion and malicious intent. "Do you think this actress will post a message on WeChat Moments tonight, taking a photo with Mr. Shen and fabricating some misleading words to inflate her own reputation?"
Zou Meng chuckled disdainfully and said, "Why are you talking so incoherently? First of all, he won't film it. Secondly, I don't think the Shen family will learn from Miss Chu's mistakes and marry another celebrity into the family. No matter how society changes, it always depends on whether the couple is well-matched."
Ji Quan couldn't imagine that she, a person with no talent or looks, could be so powerful.
What were people like me striving for, studying so hard and striving to succeed? Wasn't it simply to become someone who could share in their success? Granted, we all had different starting points, but who said we couldn't toast to each other at the same destination? Furthermore, wasn't my own hard work all about surpassing her in the future?
This is really the shallow view of a frog in a well.
"A good match? I don't think Mr. Shen cares about that."
Zou Meng couldn't help but think of his ex-wife—beautiful, clean, poor and delicate. She snorted again.
Zhang Siling saw that the glory of the place she had built was about to be taken away by others, and she thought to herself, how could this be possible? She pushed open the door and walked out, calling Chen Di'an back in.
"I invited you here so that you could show me respect, but why are you hiding everywhere?"
Yan Dian asked her, "Why haven't I seen You Jing?"
Zhang Siling was puzzled. "Why are you paying attention to him?"
He naturally had reasons to be concerned. "Is he out collecting folk songs again?"
"No, the Academy of Fine Arts has a concentrated seminar, and he's in closed training. About two months."
Chen Yan nodded, and Qian Qian said, "You should organize more activities like this in the future." Zhang Si Ling smiled knowingly. He didn't want You Jing to hang around Xiao Ye all the time.
"How's Xiaoye doing lately? I heard she's back in Ancheng again?"
"I've been back for a while."
"How's it going? Do you want to remarry?"
Based on his understanding of her, it was unlikely, especially after Shen Lianxing intervened and returned Aunt Long's letter.
Zhang Siling had no idea what had happened between them, but he thought Xiaoye was truly extraordinary. Back then, he'd been living at the Shen family's house, unable to sleep at night and out for a walk, and seeing her running out of Shen Yuheng's room clutching her clothes was hard not to think otherwise. Even so, she could still be with him, still making the usually dignified and calm man worry about her, a testament to her fortitude.
Zhang Siling was unhappy. He picked up a glass of wine from the tray of a passing waiter and asked him casually, "Don't you feel embarrassed, Xiaoye?"
"What's the meaning?"
She brazenly complained, "While you were running around for the Shen family, she ran out of Fourth Uncle's room in dishevel. What kind of thing is this?"
The video footage of the Shen family disappearing showed her running out of the villa halfway up the mountain in a rainstorm. Huang Hua said she was crying the whole time. And then there was the bracelet she had worn since she was a child, but had lost...
Suddenly, Chen Dian'an's pupils trembled violently, as if all the colors in the world had disappeared, and as if all the grass had withered in an instant. The biting cold wind pierced through his soul, and his world was empty, silent and desolate.
It was just a small reception salon, not a big place. It didn't take long to walk from one side of the reception room to the door. Secretary Ma saw the boss leaning forward slightly, one hand grasping the chest of his shirt, his eyes glowing red, like a drowning man aimlessly searching for driftwood. Sensing something was wrong, he hurried over to meet him.
"Xiao Ma..." he suddenly spoke, his body seemed to be suffering from both drought and flood.
Secretary Ma lowered his head and leaned beside him, saying, "I'm here."
But he couldn't say anything. After a pause, he spoke again, as if he had just escaped from a dangerous situation. "...Go back to Jiutao Village."
"Now?"
"The sooner the better."
*
Ye Yuanyin was doing a big cleaning, and Qin Ling was sent by his aunt as a free laborer.
After the brother and sister finished cleaning the first floor, they carried buckets of water to the second floor.
Qin Ling didn't even mop the floor properly. He used his palm to support the mop to support half of his body weight, and said nonchalantly: "Uncle is too stubborn. Hospitalization only costs a few dollars, why does he insist on being discharged?"
Seeing Ye Yuanyin finish cleaning his room and then go into the study, he followed him. "And you, you used to say you wouldn't go home, but you refused to come in even when you passed by the door. Then when you finally came to your senses and came in, you started messing around again. You've been cleaning from morning till night, and the house is almost peeling off. How clean do you have to be before you're done? I'm almost exhausted."
She ignored him instead of answering.
Qin Ling was annoyed: "Ayin, you are really annoying."
She finally said, "Why is it annoying?"
"You're too proud and arrogant." Qin Ling, in order to criticize her, found an authoritative statement from his limited knowledge and said, "A true warrior dares to face the bleakness of life. We are in such a situation. No matter how hard we work, we can't catch up with their wealth. If you really can't stand Aunt Shen's behavior, just go back and get rid of them!"
She gave him a cold look and asked, "What's going on?"
"I'll teach you." Qin Ling walked over to her with a mop in hand, lowered his head and conspired with her, "First, serve the head of the household well. As long as he's happy, you can act tyrannically and do whatever you want, right? Just be a little softer, act a little coquettishly, throw a tantrum, and then coax him. I guarantee he'll be completely captivated. Men will fall for this, won't they? Once you get the golden ticket to immunity from death, you can clean them up one by one. It's so simple. Do you think this trick of mine will work?"
Ye Yuanyin looked at him and smiled without any discrimination. "Very good."
"Really? Then you can do it."
"OK."
Qin Ling saw her wiping the bookcase with a rag and throwing the mop on the floor. He took out a few books and asked, "Are these all my uncle's?"
Ye Yuanyin had just finished cleaning up when he pulled out several new books. She was so annoyed that she reached out and pushed him out, "Go back quickly and stop messing with me."
Qin Ling was a rebellious kid. He hooked his index finger around the book's spine, thinking, "You said I was messing around, didn't you? Well, I'll mess around with you once and see what happens."
Books fell to the ground one after another with a bang, and wherever his hand passed, there was a disaster.
Ye Yuanyin was so angry that he threw the rag at him.
In order to avoid him, Qin Ling stepped on a few books. In order to steady his staggering body, he grabbed the bookshelf closest to the bed.
A row of books loosened, and a wooden box placed horizontally on top of them fell to the ground with a "bang".
Qin Ling felt strange, bent down to pick it up, looked at it for a long time, and asked, "What is this?"
Ye Yuanyin came over and took it from his hand. He looked at it carefully. The box was square, made of huanghuali wood, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl with twined branches. Although it was old, the craftsmanship was extremely exquisite.
"It looks like an antique. Do you want to open it and take a look?" Qin Ling wondered, "Could it be that my uncle hid it?"
"No, how could he have money?" Ye Yuanyin opened the brass lock on one side and saw a teardrop-shaped yellow diamond ring placed neatly inside.
When the lights come on, it is dazzling.
Qin Ling was dumbfounded. He pulled out his phone and searched for pictures. Judging by the size, it was about 30 carats, and the price that popped up was easily several million dollars. He stuttered a little and asked, "Is this ring...real?"
There was a note on the inside of the box with only eight words on it.
【A mountain of wind and moon, singing praises to you】
Ye Yuanyin suddenly closed the lid and looked at Qin Ling in disbelief, "How much did you say?"
"How should I know?!" Qin Ling held up his phone to show her, "I looked it up online, who knows if it's true?
Three years ago, he went to Hong Kong and asked what gift he wanted. At that time, the Shen Building was crumbling, and he was running around in panic. Where did he get the money? This amount of money was probably all he had.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
