Upon hearing this, Lu Zhenjun stopped eating, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart. Lu Minshi was introverted and not good at expressing herself, unlike the outgoing Lu Shuangshuang. She had always been obedient and timid since childhood, keeping everything to herself and silently processing whatever happened.
As a father, he had even less time to spend alone with Zhao Lanzhi after marrying her, and he failed to understand what she was thinking. His failure to protect his daughter was a dereliction of duty.
He then placed another piece of meat into Xu Xinchen's bowl.
Zhao Lanzhi, dissatisfied, slammed down her chopsticks and bowl, picked up the plate of meat, and poured half of it into Lu Shuangshuang's bowl.
Lu Zhenjun glanced at it but didn't say anything.
Lu Shuangshuang raised her eyes, glanced at Lu Zhenjun, then at Zhao Lanzhi, and said casually, "Dad, Mom, I have something to tell you."
The two stopped eating and looked over.
"Bai Fei and I have already discussed it. We're both getting on in years, so we plan to get married soon."
"Outrageous!" Lu Zhenjun slammed his hand on the table, his face a mixture of shock and anger. He rebuked, "Chen Baifei is your sister's boyfriend! What kind of behavior is this?!"
Lu Shuangshuang was unhappy to hear this and pouted as she retorted, "Who said he's my sister's boyfriend? Brother Baifei likes me. We're in love and you can't break us up."
As she spoke, she turned to Zhao Lanzhi, wanting to seek help from outsiders, but Zhao Lanzhi's expression was not good at the moment. She suppressed her emotions and tried to make her tone gentle, "Shuangshuang, let's eat first, we can talk about this later."
Lu Shuangshuang said with dissatisfaction, "But Brother Baifei has already mentioned it to Aunt Chen and the others, and Uncle and Aunt Chen have all agreed." As she spoke, she didn't forget to throw a smug smile at Xu Xinchen.
Xu Xinchen ignored her and buried herself in her food.
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhenjun was so angry that he had nowhere to vent his anger, so he simply slammed the door and left.
"Mom, please help me decide." After Lu Zhenjun left, Lu Shuangshuang turned to Zhao Lanzhi and started to act coquettishly.
Zhao Lanzhi put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, and stood up. "Shuangshuang, come with me."
Once outside, the two walked to the small courtyard on the west side, to Lu Shuangshuang's room. As soon as they entered, Zhao Lanzhi's expression changed drastically. She said forcefully, "Shuangshuang, you and Chen Baifei can't be together. Break it off as soon as possible."
Lu Shuangshuang thought Zhao Lanzhi was trying to find a solution for her, but she was surprised that Zhao Lanzhi disagreed as well. She got angry again, turned her head away stubbornly, and said, "No!"
"What do his parents do? Don't you know? I've raised you for twenty years, Lu Shuangshuang, not so you could suffer for his family!"
“He has a stable job now. Although his family doesn’t have much money, things will get better in the future. Besides, Brother Baifei is very good to me.”
Lu Shuangshuang tried to persuade Zhao Lanzhi, but Zhao Lanzhi's expression remained firm and showed no sign of softening, clearly indicating that she hadn't listened to much.
She quickly changed her mind, gritted her teeth, and blurted out, "Your objections won't make any difference. What's done is done. I'm already Bai Fei's woman."
"You!" Zhao Lanzhi looked over in shock. "How could you be so shameless! What have I been teaching you?"
Lu Shuangshuang never expected to be scolded like that by her mother. Tears streamed down her face, and she rushed to Zhao Lanzhi, nestling in her arms. "Mom, please help me think of a way. I really like Brother Baifei!"
Hearing her daughter's cries, Zhao Lanzhi's anger had not subsided and her heart ached unbearably. But she knew in her heart that if what Lu Shuangshuang said was true, she would probably have to agree to the marriage whether she liked it or not.
Xu Xinchen ate a very full meal. After finishing her meal, she went out of her house and slowly strolled around the entire town along the path in front of her door. Qingyuan Town is not large, but the whole town is built against the mountains and by the water, with beautiful scenery. Along the way, enthusiastic people greeted her, and she responded to them in a haphazard manner based on her memory.
Walking along the small river at the southernmost part of the town, the river murmured, cicadas chirped noisily in the summer, and a gentle breeze blew by. Leaning against the railing by the bridge, Xu Xinchen felt extremely comfortable.
The moonlight shimmered on the water, shimmering with gold. Xu Xinchen suddenly thought of that place. Only a few hours had passed since her rebirth, and she still hadn't fully accepted it. Although, judging from what had just happened, Lu Zhenjun was at least treating her well in this family, she was not the real Lu Minshi and couldn't truly empathize with that kind of family affection.
Footsteps suddenly came from behind her, interrupting her thoughts.
Xu Xinchen turned her head and saw Chen Baifei standing not far away, the moon casting his shadow on the ground. He looked at her with concern and asked, "Min Shi, are you feeling better?"
To be fair, Chen Baifei is indeed good-looking, but she is not the real Lu Minshi and has no feelings for Chen Baifei whatsoever. Moreover, she witnessed...
Seeing him now, Xu Xinchen felt nauseous at the sight of him and Lu Shuangshuang being all lovey-dovey.
She said in a cold tone, "I'm fine."
As she was about to leave, she hadn't taken more than a few steps when a hand grabbed her elbow. She reacted quickly, pulled the hand away, frowned, and couldn't help but show disgust on her face.
Chen Baifei's hand froze in mid-air, not expecting her to react this way. Based on his understanding of Lu Minshi, he thought she should have thrown herself into his arms, seizing the opportunity to beg him to change his mind.
He was puzzled and glanced at Lu Minshi again.
The moonlight shone on her face, as if veiled in a holy glow. Her milky-white skin framed two watery eyes, like two clear springs that seemed to draw one in.
For some reason, his heart suddenly started pounding.
Actually, he started dating Lu Minshi because she was beautiful. But after they started dating, Lu Minshi's timid, rigid, and boring personality completely exhausted him. Just then, Lu Shuangshuang appeared in front of him. Although Lu Shuangshuang was not as beautiful as Lu Minshi, she was still a pretty girl from a good family, charming and lively, which made him fall completely in love. Moreover, Lu Shuangshuang was not as conservative as Lu Minshi. After he tasted Lu Shuangshuang's body, he could no longer stop.
He thought he had no more feelings for Lu Minshi, and that he came to see her today only because of the last bit of guilt he felt. But for some reason, seeing Lu Minshi so unfamiliar, a certain part of his heart began to stir again.
He suppressed his surging emotions and cautiously said, "It's too late, let me take you home."
"Need not."
Chen Baifei was surprised to be rejected again. He felt very uncomfortable with Lu Minshi, who had always been obedient to him and had never refused him before.
Perhaps it was a woman's jealousy? Chen Baifei suddenly became agitated for this reason. It seemed that Lu Minshi might still have feelings for him, otherwise she wouldn't be acting so strangely just because he was with Lu Shuangshuang.
"You did this for Shuangshuang..."
“Chen Baifei,” Xu Xinchen interrupted impatiently, looking at him seriously, “What happens between you and Lu Shuangshuang is none of my business. Please don’t bother me anymore.”
Chen Baifei froze, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.
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