Chapter 448, Sense of Distance
"I thought your cousin Wen Xiu was already quite good, but I didn't expect Wen Kai to be just as good. He's energetic and cheerful, a truly rare good kid."
After dinner, on the way back to the guest house, Yan Siyu couldn't help but praise her daughter.
Yang Xiujun was a little absent-minded and said "hmm" perfunctorily.
Yan Siyu noticed that her daughter was not in the right state and immediately asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Yang Xiujun hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke out what was in her heart: "Mom, do you think cousin Yiyi doesn't like me?"
Yan Siyu looked surprised: "Why do you think so?"
Yang Xiujun: "On the day we arrived, my grandmother wanted me to stay in Cousin Yiyi's yard, but she changed the subject. Today, when Cousin Wenkai mentioned that other girls were coming, she was willing to let them stay in her yard."
"Also, although she has been very warm and friendly to me these past few days, I can sense that she's not doing this because she likes me, but simply being a good host."
Yan Siyu paused and thought about Daohua's attitude towards them these days. She didn't think there was anything wrong. On the contrary, her casual words and actions on some occasions made her feel warm and didn't make her feel like an outsider in this family.
Looking at her daughter with a depressed look on her face, Yan Siyu showed a look of self-blame.
It was all her fault for being useless. In the past few years, she had no status at all in the Yang family, which caused her daughter to suffer countless grievances. Because she had an unhappy life since childhood, her daughter's mind was inevitably sensitive. She might think for a long time about other people's unintentional actions.
Yan Siyu took Yang Xiujun's hand and soothed her, "Don't worry. Your aunt has explained the courtyard matter to me. Yiyi has a lively personality, and you like quietness. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable living here."
"When I left, I informed your grandmother that we wouldn't be returning to Beijing until after the Chinese New Year. With such a long time away, of course we should be given our own courtyard. That's the way to treat guests."
"As for you saying Yiyi doesn't like you, let me ask you, you've only been with Yiyi for a few days, can you really be so open and intimate with her? Even if you say how much you like her now, I won't believe it."
Yang Xiujun's expression paused: "My cousin is cheerful and straightforward, of course I like her." At the same time, she was also envious. She envied her for being loved by the whole family, for living a free and easy life, and for being only a few months older than herself, but already being able to manage the household affairs under the guidance of her aunt.
Yan Siyu patted her daughter's hand and said, "The affection between people is developed through interaction. It's normal for people who don't know each other to maintain a proper distance when interacting with each other. If Ruoyi is overly enthusiastic towards you, then I will think it's insincere."
Yang Xiujun was silent for a moment: "Mom, I'm overthinking it. I will pay more attention next time."
Yan Siyu smiled and nodded, but didn't continue the topic. Instead, she asked, "I met your third and fourth cousins today. What do you think of them?"
Thinking of her two tall and strong cousins, Yan Siyu smiled: "My third cousin is reserved and careful, and my fourth cousin is warm and sincere. They are both very nice people."
Yan Siyu nodded. "Yes, they are all good young men." She glanced at her daughter with a smile and said, "After your eldest cousin's marriage is settled, it won't be long before your second cousin and his family will be married. I wonder which girl will be lucky enough to marry into the Yan family."
Yang Xiujun paused, but didn't think much about it. She just envied the happy atmosphere of the Yan family.
The next day, after breakfast, Daohua saw Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai sitting there motionless, showing no sign of leaving. She couldn't help but ask, "Third brother, fourth brother, aren't you going back to the barracks?"
Yan Wenkai smiled at Old Lady Yan and said, "Grandma's birthday is coming up in a few days, so of course we have to stay home and spend time with her."
Hearing this, the old lady's face suddenly lit up with smiles: "Great, great, you two haven't spent much time at home all year round. This time your aunt brought Hongrui and Xiuyun back, so you should spend more time with her."
Daohua glanced at her two brothers with a smile: "I see, you two don't want to go back to practice, do you?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai's faces froze at the same time.
Don’t you want to go back?
I don't know what made the young prince crazy, he actually asked Master Wu to train them. Thinking about the difficult days they had been going through in the military camp during this period, both of them couldn't help but shiver.
Yan Wenkai said with a forced smile, "Big sister, what nonsense are you talking about? My third brother and I are just trying to fulfill our filial duty. As for training, anywhere is fine. We'll just stay home for the next few days."
Daohua smiled but didn't say anything, with an expression of "whatever you say is what it is", which made Yan Wenkai very angry.
At this moment, Yan Wenxiu walked in, greeted the elders, and then looked at Madam Li and said, "Mother, Uncle Zhou and Chengye will be here soon. I have to go and meet them."
Madam Li hesitated. "You're gone. Young Master Han and Young Master Fang are over there."
Yan Wentao stood up immediately: "Aunt, my brother needs to accompany the guests, I'll go to the dock to pick him up!"
Yan Wenkai glanced at Yan Wentao and said, "In that case, I'll go too. I haven't seen Brother Zhou for a while." As he said that, he looked at Mrs. Li.
"Mom, when will the Su family come?"
Madam Li glared at her youngest son and said, "How would I know? I guess it must be around your grandmother's birthday."
Yan Wenkai sighed immediately: "What a pity."
Daohua immediately asked with a smile: "Fourth brother, what's the pity?"
Yan Wenkai said seriously: "I feel sorry for you. If the Su family had come earlier, you could have played with Sister Su."
Daohua snorted at her fourth brother's insincere words and said, "Thank you!"
Afterwards, Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao went out and returned with the Zhou family around noon.
"Jingwan!"
"Rice flower!"
In front of the hanging flower gate, as soon as Daohua saw Zhou Jingwan, she immediately ran towards her. In just a moment, she smiled and hugged Zhou Jingwan who was jogging towards her, and then they whispered to each other about personal matters.
Mrs. Li walked towards Mrs. Zhou with a smile and took her to the old lady's yard affectionately.
Daohua pulled Zhou Jingwan to follow, and along the way, the two of them never stopped talking, each telling interesting stories around them.
Songheyuan.
When everyone saw Madam Li and Madam Zhou coming over, everyone except Old Madam Yan stood up to greet them.
Yang Xiujun, Yan Yihan and several other girls were standing together. When they saw Daohua and Zhou Jingwan holding hands, whispering and laughing, talking about something in the back, their eyes dropped.
This is how cousin Yi Yi really shows that she likes someone!
After Zhou Jingwan had greeted the elders, Daohua introduced her to Yang Xiujun, Yan Yunxi and Yan Yunyan.
Not long after, Yan Zhigao personally brought Mr. Zhou and Zhou Chengye to pay a visit to Old Lady Yan.
Seeing Daohua chatting and laughing with Master Zhou in a familiar and enthusiastic manner, Yang Xiujun's eyes flashed again.
Before, when cousin Yi Yi faced her brother and Mr. Han and Mr. Fang, she was polite yet distant. She thought that this was the instinctive shyness and reserve of a girl when seeing a man from another family, but now she found that she was wrong.
Yang Xiujun breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother was right. There was indeed a sense of distance when dealing with unfamiliar people.
(End of this chapter)
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