"No wonder your brother suddenly started following Yining." Xu Nianhua suddenly remembered those couple of days when Pei Yining was at home resting with Pei Yijian. At that time, she specifically asked if there was anything wrong, but Pei Yining firmly said there was nothing; Yijian just missed her.
Xu Nianhua noticed how Yijian was very clingy to Yining and particularly admired Cheng Ge, so she didn’t think much of it.
"Uh." Pei Yicheng sheepishly touched his nose and explained, "Nianhua, don’t be mad, I didn’t intentionally keep it from you. You guys are about to go home soon, and I didn’t want you to worry."
Xu Nianhua: "..."
...
"Qinghe, what do you mean by what you said today?" Ji Ying asked unhappily. She liked Pei Yicheng as her future son-in-law and saw him positively.
Xu Qinghe had drunk a little, and now feeling dizzy. The heat of soaking his feet made him even dizzier. He said, "Yingzi, Nianhua is marrying into the Pei Family, and Yicheng’s dad doesn’t like her. How can that be?"
"You’ve never seen the guy, so how do you know he doesn’t like her?"
Ji Ying disagreed with Xu Qinghe’s viewpoint. Knowing Nianhua was dating Pei Yicheng, Ji Ying deliberately inquired about Yicheng and his dad Pei Guozhong’s matters. Not only did she inquire from Yicheng, but she also asked Cheng Hao when she bumped into him and even more from Du Chang.
Pei Yicheng’s biological mom left when he was ten years old. At fifteen, his dad remarried, but their father-son relationship wasn’t great. However, Ji Ying felt confident that as long as her daughter married Yicheng, she wouldn’t suffer.
As long as Yicheng supported Nianhua, they wouldn’t depend on the father-in-law, and Nianhua wouldn’t suffer. Plus, according to Yining, that stepmother seemed quite gentle.
"If he truly cared, would he not come by to meet us?" Xu Qinghe became more emotional when talking about this and said, "Yingzi, listen to me on this. If they don’t pay us a visit, I won’t agree to Nianhua and Yicheng’s engagement!"
"How unreasonable are you!" Ji Ying widened her eyes at him, criticizing him, "Yicheng is such a good kid, and he’s been nothing but attentive to our family and Nianhua."
"Anyway, I just don’t agree." Xu Qinghe dried his feet, poured out the foot wash, and threw himself onto the bed.
Ji Ying followed Xu Qinghe all the way to the bed, still criticizing him. She said, "Can’t you remember how your dad and stepmom didn’t like me at first either? Yet, we managed just fine. Why is it suddenly different for Nianhua?"
"Yingzi, I’m sorry to you and your family." Xu Qinghe was somewhat drunk but clear-headed.
His words made Ji Ying tense up. She asked, "Xu Qinghe, explain yourself, did you do something to betray me?"
In Shuanghe Village, people’s lives improved because of the Chili Sauce Factory and the furniture factory, leading to fuller wallets and better living, but also some chaotic situations, which immediately came to Ji Ying’s mind.
"If it weren’t for me, you and the kids wouldn’t have had to suffer so much. If I had separated from them earlier, you wouldn’t need to endure so much. It’s my fault." Xu Qinghe felt increasingly guilty as he spoke. The better life got, the more he regretted not separating earlier, letting his wife and kids suffer all those years.
Ji Ying’s rising anger vanished instantly.
Xu Qinghe held Ji Ying’s hand and continued, "You don’t want your daughter to suffer the same hardships, do you?"