My Online Girlfriend Has a Twin Sister

Even a saint would have cracked under this kind of pressure.

...

"Why are you getting engaged to Yaoyao? Why not marry Ningning? Where does that leave her, I ask you? Have you completely forgotten the heart-to-heart we had before I left Lanjing? Huh? Speak up!"

Liu He’s voice was shrill; you could tell she was genuinely frantic.

Before Chen Yuan could answer, he suddenly heard a deep, urgent voice from the other end of the line.

"Son, Dad supports you. You made the right decision. Indecisiveness only leads to more trouble! Yaoyao really is a good girl—"

The voice was clear at first, but it quickly grew distant. Then came the chaotic sounds of things being thrown and smashed, punctuated by shouts like, "You shut your goddamn mouth!"

Chen Yuan’s expression was conflicted as he silently sympathized with his father.

"Mom, I’m a grown man. Shouldn’t I be able to decide who I want to marry? You can’t control my entire life. Besides, you’ve met Yaoyao, and you seemed to like her, didn’t you? She’ll be twenty-seven after her birthday this year. And you’re the one who always taught me to have a conscience."

"Conscience, my ass!" Liu He exploded.

Chen Yuan hastily pulled the phone away from his ear, his expression pained.

"Yaoyao’s turning twenty-seven! And Ningning is what, eighteen? You tell me, aren’t they twins of the same age? You decide to marry just one, and that’s that? How could you do that to Ningning? Have you forgotten how good she was to you? When your father and I went to Lanjing, you saw how she was, how real her feelings for you are. And you have the gall to talk to me about conscience? *Pah!* I ought to spit right in your face. How did I raise such an ungrateful wretch?"

"That’s not it, Mom! You don’t even understand the situation, so why are you blaming me for everything?" Chen Yuan retorted, his own temper flaring as he frowned. "I don’t want to wrong her either, but Ningning has a mind of her own. She’s just so strong-willed; I can’t change that."

"Then why can’t you be the one to give in a little? For a grown man, you have no grace."

"Because if I give in to her, it would be unfair to Yaoyao. That’s the main issue."

"I don’t care about any of that. The point is, I do not approve of this engagement. And don’t you dare send your father to plead your case. It won’t work, no matter who tries!" Liu He’s tone was incredibly firm.

"Mom, please don’t be like this."

"Like what? You two bastards, the big one and the little one, are going to be the death of me! Ningning is the only daughter-in-law I want. Either you marry her, or you can forget about ever coming back to Qishui."

"You’re misunderstanding," Chen Yuan explained, his voice laced with helplessness. "It’s not that I don’t want to marry her. It’s that she refuses to marry me *together with* Yaoyao."

"That’s your problem to solve. All I have to say is this: if you’re not marrying Ningning, don’t you ever bring up this engagement with me again. Go find some random woman on the street to be your mother and plan the party for you. Got it?"

"Can’t you be reasonable?" Chen Yuan’s hand tightened on his clothes, a storm of frustration churning inside him with no release.

"Get lost! Get the hell away from me!"

With that, the line went dead.

Chen Yuan sat stunned in his car. More than a minute passed before he finally lowered the phone from his ear.

A wave of exhaustion washed over him, and he slumped back in his seat, dejected.

He’d barely taken the first step toward marrying Yaoyao, and he’d already stumbled badly. Things were far more complicated than he’d imagined; he couldn’t even get past the hurdle of his own mother, Liu He.

When he really thought about it, he knew his mother, Liu He, genuinely adored Jiang Ning as a potential daughter-in-law. Jiang Ning was a picture-perfect lady from a good family—poised and graceful, with a wonderful personality, and she knew how to manage a household.

She was the kind of woman you couldn’t find a single flaw in, inside or out.

Liu He had imagined more than once how proud she would be when Chen Yuan married Jiang Ning. She could finally rest easy, letting the young couple live their own lives... But now, Chen Yuan was about to shatter that dream with his own hands.

Of course Liu He would never agree.

"Jiang Ning... how in the world am I supposed to change your mind..."

Chen Yuan muttered to himself in anguish inside the car.