Chapter 747 - 498: Returning Home
Chen Yuan was fairly confident that Jiangg Ruxue wouldn’t cause any trouble, as they had already met beforehand. But he truly hadn’t expected her to be so deferential; it left him at a loss for how to react.
She was an elder, and Huaxia would always have the concept of respecting one’s seniors. Besides, however badly his mother-in-law had treated Ningning and Yaoyao, that was their own family’s business. Chen Yuan couldn’t use that as an excuse to be rude, so he maintained a pleasant and respectful tone with her.
Lingering awkwardly at the detention center wasn’t a good look.
Chen Yuan quickly invited Jiangg Ruxue into the car. After a great deal of coaxing, he finally persuaded her to just call him Chen, though he practically had to talk himself hoarse to do it.
On the straight highway.
Trees on both sides of the road flew past, but Chen Yuan couldn’t focus completely on driving. Jiangg Ruxue was constantly asking about his relationship with the two sisters, looking extremely interested.
Every few moments, she would pose a new question.
"So, did you become official first, or did you get to know each other’s families and personalities before considering a relationship, or what?"
"We became official first. It came after some ups and downs, and we gave it a lot of thought. Of course, we were getting to know each other’s personalities. That’s the most important thing in a relationship, right? Ma’am, I don’t know if you’d agree with me on this. Family background and other things are certainly important, but compared to how we feel when we’re together, we didn’t pay them much mind. I mean, even if everything else about two people seems perfect, if their personalities just don’t click, they can’t build a life together, can they?"
"Yes, mutual tolerance is key," Jiangg Ruxue said lightly. "My daughter Yaoyao is the type who needs a lot of that. I spoiled her rotten, and she’s never really faced any hardships. It’s extremely difficult for her to handle things on her own. It’s a good thing she has her older sister."
"Mom... We’ve been dating for over a year, he already knows all that, you don’t have to keep bringing it up. Besides, I’ve changed a lot this past year, okay?"
Hearing her mother’s assessment, Jiangg Yao looked displeased. She pouted and turned her head to look out the window.
"That’s right, Yaoyao is very capable. She can handle a lot of things on her own now," Chen Yuan quickly praised. "Last time, when we wanted to set up a gaming room in the Lanjing apartment, she moved a ton of stuff all by herself. She was the one who researched and made a list of things to buy, and she did the installation without any help. By the time I saw it, it was already set up beautifully."
"That’s very impressive. I never would have thought she had it in her," Jiangg Ruxue said, glancing at her daughter before changing the subject. "So, how did you all first meet?"
"At the very beginning... well, to live more comfortably, I moved out of my university dorm. It was hard to find a place to rent near campus, there were only a few options. Ningning’s complex was one of the easier ones to get into because the rent wasn’t cheap. By a stroke of luck, I ended up renting the apartment across the hall from them. Like I mentioned earlier, she was my philosophy professor. I was really surprised when I first saw her, and I didn’t dare say hello or anything. Then we slowly got to know each other and started to develop feelings."
"You must be quite something to make both of my daughters fall for you. That’s very impressive," Jiangg Ruxue said as she listened, her tone suddenly shifting. "You should know, my Ningning has extremely high standards. She’s never shown interest in anyone else before. You’re the only one."
"Is that so?" Chen Yuan scratched his head. "Maybe it’s because I’m quite sincere. Ningning appreciates sincerity."
Ignoring the peculiar glint in Jiangg Ruxue’s eyes, he didn’t know what else to say and could only brush it off with that explanation.
No matter who asked, the two sisters and Chen Yuan always gave the same story: they first got connected because of the apartment rental, and then feelings developed. As for the fact that it all started online, that was never mentioned.
The reason for this was self-evident.
Dating someone you met online sounded a bit too frivolous, and it was the kind of thing elders had a hard time accepting. Having a real-world connection made the story seem much more plausible.
No matter how you looked at it, Jiangg Yao was definitely a better match for Chen Yuan. Their personalities were compatible—one gentle, one lively.
That’s why Jiangg Ruxue was only curious about how his fateful connection with Jiangg Ning had come about.
She knew that her daughter, Jiangg Ning, had been exceptional since she was a child. In high school, she’d had numerous suitors. Sometimes, when she took Ningning to dinner parties, boys from other families would proactively ask their elders about her. It was even more so when she went abroad; countless people tried all sorts of ways to pursue her, including, bizarrely, even some girls...
’There must be some other special quality about this Chen Yuan that attracted Jiangg Ning,’ Jiangg Ruxue thought. ’It can’t be as simple as it appears on the surface.’
Next, she began to inquire indirectly about Chen Yuan’s family situation.
During the process.
Jiangg Ning was clearly displeased and tried to signal to her mother not to ask so many questions.
As the eldest daughter in this family, Jiangg Ning carried a certain authority, even in front of Jiangg Ruxue. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to protect Jiangg Yao and stand up to their mother in the past. After her time in the detention center, Jiangg Ruxue had become much more restrained. Seeing Jiangg Ning’s displeasure, she grew a bit flustered for a moment and said with an apologetic smile that she was just asking casually.
"It’s okay, Ningning. There’s nothing that can’t be said," Chen Yuan reassured her.
’Understanding each other’s family background is a prerequisite for marriage. That’s true for everyone, everywhere.’
When the sisters met Mr. and Mrs. Chen, and even during the family banquet in Kyoto, they had also been asked a great many questions.
It wasn’t meant as an offense.
"I didn’t spend much time with my biological father; I grew up in my old hometown," Chen Yuan explained to Jiangg Ruxue. "For university, I insisted on following the life path I wanted for myself, so I went to Lanjing. Besides my biological father, I also have an adoptive father and mother."
"I see. I understand now."
Unexpectedly, she didn’t express any surprise and accepted his explanation immediately.
This surprised both Ningning and Yaoyao.
Perhaps Jiangg Ruxue interpreted Chen Yuan’s experience of growing up with adoptive parents as a kind of protective measure for him.
This trip to pick up Jiangg Ruxue was nothing like what the two sisters had imagined.
They had anticipated that something would happen. Perhaps Jiangg Ruxue would suddenly lash out, or perhaps she would immediately start plotting a comeback the moment she got out. Her personality was just too unpredictable.
But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
The two sisters had been on guard the entire way home, incredibly tense, but in the end, nothing happened. In fact, Chen Yuan was getting along quite well with his future mother-in-law.
They had chatted for nearly the entire drive.
When the two sisters looked at each other, they temporarily suppressed the anxiety in their eyes as a sense of relief finally settled over them.
...
"Madam, you’re finally back! You must have suffered so much. How did you get so haggard?"
「Back at the Jiangg Family’s villa.」
As soon as they entered the main hall, a housekeeper who had been waiting for a long time rushed forward. A mess of tears and snot, she gripped Jiangg Ruxue’s hand and refused to let go.
Hearing the commotion, the other housekeepers hurried out from the kitchen to greet her as well.
For a moment.
The main hall was filled with a scene of collective weeping.
Chen Yuan watched the scene unfold from the side, not feeling particularly moved. He was more concerned about what methods his mother-in-law might have, now that she was out, to expedite their marriage.
That was the question that concerned him most.
He knew without a doubt that Jiang Zhengfeng had deliberately kept him in Mingzhu City for reasons related to this marriage, but Jiang Zhengfeng would never explicitly tell Chen Yuan what his considerations were.
As long as Ningning and Yaoyao weren’t his wives, Chen Yuan couldn’t find a moment of true peace.
Just as he was pondering this.
Jiangg Ruxue suddenly recovered from her tear-streaked state and gave a quiet order, "Quick, get the meal ready. At noon, I want to properly thank Chen. We’re all having a family reunion dinner today."
She heavily emphasized the words "one family," as if saying them intentionally for Chen Yuan to hear.
"Don’t you worry, Madam, it’s all been prepared. We’re giving you a proper welcome-home meal today. We’ll get busy in the kitchen right now."
Now that she was home, there was no way Jiangg Ruxue would continue wearing these coarse clothes. Her face was bare, and she hadn’t even had a chance to fix her appearance.
After giving her instructions, she apologized to Chen Yuan and prepared to go upstairs to change.
THUMP THUMP THUMP. She ran up the stairs, then turned back to call out to the main hall:
"Yaoyao, you keep Chen company for a bit. Ningning, come upstairs with me. I have something to tell you."
𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
"I know. You go on up," Jiangg Ning nodded.
’Even if her mother hadn’t asked, she would have found a chance to talk to her anyway.’
Jiangg Ning had recorded a detailed account of the family’s assets—what was sold and for how much—and left it in Jiangg Ruxue’s study.
’From now on, they would truly have to tighten their belts.’
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were destitute.
Aside from the contents of this villa, Jiangg Ruxue had nothing left to her name. The money in Ningning’s bank account had also been completely cleared out.