Chapter 19. The Truth! The Old Couple Was Stunned
At the doorway, Bai Cheng froze for a moment.
“Huh? Xiyan? Why are you here? When did you get back?”
Bai Xiyan shrank back slightly and whispered, “I—I’ve been back for a few days.”
Bai Cheng snorted. “You’ve really grown up and think you can do whatever you want now, huh? Coming back from abroad and not even coming home?”
“And what’s with your hand? Why are you holding your brother-in-law’s arm? Where’s your sister? What’s going on?”
After saying this, he glanced outside again.
He didn’t see Bai Xiyi.
Instead, he spotted a group of nosy neighbors peeking over.
“Oh? The Bai family’s younger daughter is back?”
“Tsk! This is gonna be good! The younger sister and the brother-in-law.”
“Kinda spicy, isn’t it?”
“Xiao Ye is a lucky man. This Bai family’s younger daughter has a much better personality than her sister, and she’s prettier too.”
Amid the hushed gossip, Bai Cheng frowned.
His expression darkened.
Though he couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, he could guess it wasn’t anything good!
Especially with his younger daughter clinging to her brother-in-law —how inappropriate!
“Quit standing at the door! Get inside!”
Bai Cheng snapped irritably, then turned to Ye Chen with a warm smile.
“A’Chen, come in quickly. Xiyan has been spoiled rotten by me and your mom since she was a kid. Sometimes she acts a little wild—just bear with her.”
Ye Chen’s lips twitched. Seeing Bai Cheng in a good mood, he didn’t have the heart to say much.
Holding onto a pouting Bai Xiyan, he followed the older man inside.
The door shut behind them.
Bai Cheng turned around and saw Bai Xiyan still clinging to Ye Chen’s arm. Instantly, his temper flared.
“Xiyan! What are you doing holding your brother-in-law’s arm like that? Let go right now!”
Bai Xiyan shrank back but mustered her courage and met Bai Cheng’s gaze.
Gritting her teeth, she said, “What brother-in-law? Jiejie already divorced him! He’s not my brother-in-law anymore!”
“What nonsense are you spouting? It’s just a little spat between your sister and him! Once she gets back, your mom and I will talk some sense into her, and they’ll remarry in no time!”
Bai Xiyan didn’t respond.
Instead, she looked up at Ye Chen.
Ye Chen gave her a slight nod.
Both of them reached into their pockets and pulled out a marriage certificate.
“Dad, take a look at this first.”
“Yeah, Dad, just look at it.”
Seeing the two marriage certificates being handed to him, Bai Cheng’s face lit up with joy.
“Marriage certificates!”
“A’Chen, you and Xiyi remarried? That’s wonderful!”
“Your mom and I have been talking about it nonstop lately—how could that silly girl Xiyi divorce such a good son-in-law like you? What was she even thinking?”
“We’ve scolded her more than once. Whenever we pushed too hard, she’d storm out and stay at a hotel. I almost wanted to smack her!”
“But now it’s all good! You two are back together, and your mom and I can finally relax!”
Holding the marriage certificates, Bai Cheng happily muttered to himself, completely ignoring the complicated expressions on Ye Chen and Bai Xiyan’s faces.
He raised the certificates and hurried toward the kitchen.
“Come take a look! Xiyi and A’Chen remarried! Look at these marriage certificates!”
In the kitchen, Lin Meizhi, who had been washing vegetables, was already beaming.
She quickly wiped her hands on her apron and took one of the certificates with a grin.
Seeing the gilded words “Marriage Certificate” on the cover, her smile widened.
“Remarrying is wonderful!”
Bai Cheng shook his head. “No, just Xiyan and A’Chen came back together.”
Then his expression darkened again.
“Old woman, you need to have a serious talk with Xiyan. No matter what, A’Chen is still her brother-in-law.”
“How can a grown girl like her cling to her brother-in-law’s arm in public like that? What kind of behavior is that?”
Lin Meizhi waved him off dismissively.
“Oh, come on, you old fuddy-duddy! Xiyan and A’Chen have always gotten along well.”
“And wasn’t it A’Chen who handled all her study-abroad paperwork? Didn’t he pay for all her living expenses overseas?”
“If she’s close with her brother-in-law after coming back, what’s the big deal? Would you rather she act cold toward him? That’d just make her an ungrateful brat!”
Bai Cheng thought about it and realized she had a point.
But something still felt off.
“That still doesn’t explain it—where did Xiyi go? Call her and ask!”
Lin Meizhi nodded and pulled out her phone to dial Bai Xiyi’s number.
“The number you have dialed is currently switched off…”
A robotic voice answered.
“She’s turned off her phone.”
Lin Meizhi was stunned.
“That makes even less sense! If they’ve remarried, why would she turn off her phone? Did her battery die? That can’t be it…”
He frowned and muttered to himself, then slowly opened the marriage certificate in his hands.
He let out a confused noise.
Rubbing his eyes, he leaned in for a closer look.
The marriage certificate slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor.
Lin Meizhi immediately bent down to pick it up, scolding, “Hey! What’s wrong with you? Can’t even hold a marriage certificate properly now?”
Bai Cheng’s lips trembled as if he were having a spasm.
“This—this isn’t right! The names on this marriage certificate—they’re wrong!”
Lin Meizhi flipped open the certificate and gasped. “What do you mean wrong? It clearly says Bai Xi—Xiyan? Why is Xiyan’s name on this marriage certificate?”
The old couple huddled together, staring at the brand-new marriage certificate, their faces cycling through a myriad of expressions.
But their eyes were utterly blank with shock.
“What—what in the world is going on?”
“Didn’t they say Xiyi and A’Chen remarried? Then why—why is Xiyan’s name on this marriage certificate instead?”
“Old man, pinch me. This can’t be real!”
Bai Cheng silently pinched his wife’s arm.
“Why’d you pinch me so hard?!”
Lin Meizhi smacked him. Bai Cheng sucked in a sharp breath. “That hurt! So it’s real!”
Lin Meizhi looked up.
“So—when Xiyi said she and A’Chen were completely over… it was because Xiyan married A’Chen instead?”
The old couple felt the world spin around them. Their minds went completely blank.