0088 088 Dingwei hour is auspicious for marriage.
Qi Shuyao gently pushed Tu Mi away and slipped out of her arms. Her expression was calm, and there were no tear stains on her face. She simply brushed aside the stray hairs that had fallen onto her forehead and continued to swirl her wine glass.
"If we were all to die soon, what would you say to the world?"
Tu Mi, not understanding why, still replied.
"What can I say? I won't come back in my next life."
Jiang Yu reached out to grab her arm, but she nimbly dodged it.
"Yaoyao..."
She looked drunk, holding her glass up to the sky.
"If it were me, I would tell the world, get out of here!"
Tu Mi, sitting next to her, wanted to give her a thumbs up and asked with a curious look,
"Shouldn't they have said 'get out'?"
"Why should I leave? It's him who leaves. It's life and the earth that have left me. I can't wait. I'm telling him to hurry up and leave. Did I want to come into this world? I'm jumping around in her belly saying, 'Can't I not leave?' How interesting."
She was really drunk. She pushed back her chair, stood up, and, in the blazing afternoon sun, raised her glass to the ceiling light, inviting it to a toast.
"The stars are all out, but why can't they reflect my shadow? Could I be dead by now?"
Tu Mi stayed close to her, afraid she would fall, leaving Jiang Yu alone at the table, staring at her wine glass.
She was forcing herself to stay awake; her mind was no longer clear. She viciously recounted her mother's crimes to her innocent younger sister, but why did her mother's smile flash before her eyes again?
Some people look for stars when they're drunk, while others miss their mothers when they're drunk.
Xu Mei was always drunk. When she was drunk, she would buy many things for little Jiang Yu that she wouldn't normally buy for herself. She would hug her and say that she was her precious baby, someone she wouldn't trade for a hundred boys.
Qi Shuyao, who was behind her, circled the table once before Tu Mi finally grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her seat. She laughed as she grabbed Tu Mi's arm, then laughed again and pulled it back.
"Sis, what's wrong?"
"No, I just find it strange that someone would raise another person's child, even if it tarnishes their own reputation."
“You mean Qi Yu? Well… we’ve all lived together underground for so many years, we’ve all become like family. When I was pregnant, Jiulixiang even said she would help me take care of the baby.”
Do you think Jiulixiang likes you?
"How is that possible!"
"But he would rush out to protect you, risking his own life."
"What? Why is your thinking always so complicated? We're all people who live underground and never see the light of day, so naturally we stick together like family. Didn't he watch you being born? He treats you like his own child. He saved a life, so of course he cherishes it."
"That's why."
"What else could it be? He likes Xu Mei."
These words came out so quickly that none of the others had time to react. It was Tu Mi who raised her hand and slapped herself in the face; her mind was in a daze, and she had started spouting nonsense.
“There’s no such thing as a relationship between people from birth unless they are related by blood. But we are sisters, and we only just met now. It’s normal for him to be nice to you because of Xu Mei.”
"But if he had taken you instead, he would have treated you better, right?"
"Um...that's true, but..."
"So the love he's talking about isn't because of me, but because of her. He raised you, so he'll love you too!"
Jiang Yu was stunned, and the air in the room seemed to freeze. Tu Mi waved her hands weakly in the air a couple of times, then sat back down as if all her strength had left her.
Only Qi Shuyao remained, laughing heartily. For the first time, she spoke of her love to an outsider, not hiding it under the covers or behind closed doors, but shouting it out freely, not caring about other people's opinions.
Jiang Yu's gaze darted back and forth between her two younger sisters. Tu Mi clasped her hands helplessly, while Qi Shuyao laughed and giggled, much like Xu Mei who had gone crazy that day.
She grabbed her hand and forcefully pulled her to look into her eyes.
"Is the love you're talking about the love I understand? Have you done anything else?"
"Sis—, I'm all grown up now, you don't have to be so subtle, just say it directly, we've slept together, many times, for many years."
"Are you crazy...?"
"How could I be crazy!"
She immediately broke free from Jiang Yu's grasp, causing her to stumble.
"How could I be crazy? Can't I be with him? I've been by his side since I was born. It's just the two of us, no one else. No one else can come in."
Jiang Yu was almost going crazy too. She stood up and once again pinned the swaying Qi Shuyao in front of her.
"When you were with him, did you know that he was not related to you by blood? Was it you who initiated the relationship or him? What did he ask you to do?"
"Does it matter whether we're related by blood or not? I'd rather he were my biological son."
When the topic turned to her biological children, Qi Shuyao glanced back at Tu Mi, and the two exchanged a knowing look before avoiding each other's gaze.
"But now everyone thinks you're father and daughter. What will you do if the truth comes out one day?"
"I want the whole world to know about our relationship right now, and I want you all to know about me and..."
She suddenly fell silent, holding onto her last line of defense, and swallowed all her words.
She slid down as if her bones had given way, and sat on the edge of the chair, finally letting tears fall.
“You don’t understand, none of you understand, you don’t understand my feelings. But, these are all retribution, sisters, don’t you think? Our mother’s experiences are just being repeated in our lives. We can’t marry into wealthy families, we have clandestine relationships, we can’t feel the love of poor boys in dance halls. I say we shouldn’t have gotten married, we shouldn’t have gotten involved in relationships, we shouldn’t have come into this world.”
Jiang Yu had just squatted down with her, and now she stood up as gracefully as ever. She raised her hand to tidy her messy hair and gave her sisters a standard big smile.
"Actually, I've never believed in fate. It's a pity I could only meet her at that temple. But this month, I'm getting married. You all must come and see my wedding with Zhu Jiangxiu."
It was time to open for business. Tu Mi changed her clothes, sprayed perfume to cover the smell of alcohol on her body, took the lipstick that had been used to apply to Qi Shuyao, and applied it to her pale lips.
The whole building was filled with a lively atmosphere, but the two of them were locked in this room, drinking one glass of alcohol after another.
After the initial shock subsided, Jiang Yu started crying again. She thought she wanted to take care of her younger sister, but she didn't understand her situation at all, her love, her hate, and what she cared about most.
But life is not just about love and hate. They were born, or have come this far, and they have all been marked with their own attributes.
"Yaoyao, do you know someone named Xu Du?"
“Xu Du…I know her, Xu Chaoyi’s sister. Xu Chaoyi used to be my neighbor, my…yes.”
Do you know what she's doing right now?
"Her family went abroad a long time ago. Her father was a martyr, and the Xu family is very powerful... What happened?"
“Zhu Jiangxu has recently been integrating his overseas assets, and I heard that this person is helping him.”
"How could that be? She's so young, she's not even an adult yet."
"I don't know, but he's not entirely clean either. Everyone has their own agenda. He set up a scheme in front of people and another behind their backs."
"Of course, isn't this world just a web woven from the relationships between people? Everyone has someone to rely on, and everyone is looking for someone to rely on. It's just that some people have bad judgment and trust the wrong people."
Tu Mi was busy until the early hours of the morning without a break. She squinted at the bills on her computer when the manager rushed over in a panic.
"Boss, boss, another car has arrived at the door. It's similar to the one that brought that beautiful woman here yesterday. The whole car is black, and there's a man inside..."
While she was rambling on and on, the man strode in. He went straight to Tu Mi and began to speak to her.
"Please call Miss Jiang Yu for me, thank you."
"Wait a moment……"
"No."
Jiang Yu came downstairs by herself. Her sporty outfit caught Zhu Jiangxu's eye. He watched her walk towards him step by step and reached out his hand to her.
Someone in the lobby recognized him and came over to talk to him, calling out excitedly. Zhu Jiangxu, usually aloof and seemingly frozen in time, was unusually good-natured today. He took Jiang Yu's hand and said to everyone...
"This is my fiancée, Jiang Yu. We will be getting married on June 14th. All friends are welcome to attend."
His assistant followed, carrying a large box, and invitations flew out like snowflakes.
Qi Shuyao finally staggered down to the first floor, still holding a wine bottle in her hand. She leaned on the railing with one hand, looked down at the scene below, and tilted her head back to drink the rest of the wine in one gulp.
On June 14th, the Xuan Sha Club celebrated its half-month anniversary. They were busy until 7 a.m. before seeing off the last group of guests. Tu Mi slid down the door while holding onto it. Qi Shuyao pushed aside the pile of wine boxes in front of her and went over to help her up.
The tiny, short Tu Mi was actually stronger than her at this moment, pulling her onto her body. She pulled out a handful of wine coupons from her pocket and laughed so hard she almost passed out.
Am I amazing or not?
"sharp."
"Then praise me."
"Our TuMi is the best, the most capable money-maker on the whole street."
"Hahahaha, I've got it! I'll set my birthday on the last day of June, and then every June, starting with the anniversary celebration of the first store, we can celebrate for a whole month straight until the last day is the boss's birthday. The sound of opening bottles will be continuous for a whole month. Soon I'll be able to support you, Miss."
Tu Mi sent her ambitious message to Jiang Yu. Her sister, who had already changed into her wedding dress, burst out laughing. The makeup artist, who was putting a necklace on her, had never seen her laugh like that before and was about to flatter her when the door behind her was suddenly kicked open and a woman with a bare face rushed in.
"Give me the earring, you can go out now, thank you."
The makeup artist left with her assistant, and Jiang Yu didn't even glance at Xu Mei behind her, calmly putting on her earrings.
"What do you mean? Didn't I tell you to break up with him? Everything has already been arranged over there. How am I supposed to explain this situation?"
"Arrangements? Arrangements for what? You've arranged everything for me my whole life, isn't that enough?"
“Jiang… no, your name isn’t Jiang Yu. Your real name is Shu Xue, which your father gave you himself. From today onwards, you will be recognized as part of the family and will no longer bear someone else’s surname.”
"Shu Xue? Is it the snow that falls when it snows? But it didn't snow when I was born."
She lifted her skirt, walked in her high heels to Xu Mei, and gracefully unfurled the entire wedding dress.
"Have you forgotten? My name is Jiang Yu. My father was the first owner of Tiandi Dance Hall, Jiang Chunlai. Unfortunately, he passed away many years ago. I was unable to take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days. I am an unfilial son."
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