Where was there any trace of the frail look she’d had when she first returned?
Jiang Zongyan slipped his phone into his pocket and calmly caught the silk pillow flying toward him.
Seeing his mother fully in the throes of another dramatic performance, the faint smile on his face vanished completely. His voice turned unusually deep.
“Mom, I don’t want to marry someone at random and ruin her life.”
“Ruin her life?”
Those words struck Mrs. Jiang like a thorn.
Her eyes, which resembled her son’s by five parts yet held a gentler, more alluring charm, shot him a vicious glare. She let out an irritated snort.
“Stop trying to fool me with that high-sounding excuse! You’re my son. Do you really think I can’t see through all those little schemes in your head?”
Suddenly, the light in her eyes faded, replaced by an unexpected wave of heartache.
She said earnestly, “Zongyan, that happened such a long time ago. How much longer are you going to punish yourself? Do you really plan to stay unmarried for the rest of your life?”
Jiang Zongyan’s brows moved almost imperceptibly, and his fingers tightened slightly around the pillow.
Mrs. Jiang sighed softly.
“I know you’re a responsible man. Find some time to bring Suisui home for dinner. Suisui is such a lovely girl. Those little dimples of hers—when she smiles, my heart just melts.”
The more Jiang Zongyan listened, the more something felt off. He said coldly, “Mom, I regard Suisui as my younger sister, just like Jiang Ruitian.”
“Your younger sister?”
Mrs. Jiang gave a derisive laugh. She glanced at the phone in his pocket, her expression full of meaning.
“Who was just smiling at his phone like a lovesick fool? And who is this person you brought medicine and clothes for, then personally carried into a hotel?”
Her son had been sparing with words and impeccably composed since childhood.
Aside from work, he seemed uninterested in everything else.
It wasn’t until a few days ago, when Jiang Ruitian secretly told her everything, that she learned her son wasn’t completely indifferent to women after all. He wasn’t always as cold and distant as he appeared.
It seemed her trip to the Matchmaking Temple had been worthwhile. She had barely returned when she heard such wonderful news.
“That was an exceptional circumstance. Zhou Suisui has a boyfriend,” Jiang Zongyan said, his tone tinged with irritation.
He and Zhou Suisui were supposedly dating, and everyone knew it except him!
“Stop pretending. Your sister told me everything. The person Suisui likes is you.”
“Her taste is bad enough to fall for you. If her standards were just a little higher, she could easily find someone gentle and considerate.”
“Mom… exactly which one of us is your biological child?”
Mrs. Jiang glared at him, her eyes filled with disapproval. “Just based on the fact that you carried her into a hotel, if this were ancient times, you’d have to marry her—or be locked in a pig cage and drowned.”
Mrs. Jiang had recently become addicted to watching short dramas, especially those melodramatic stories about domineering princes falling in love with me. That was how everything happened in those shows.
Jiang Zongyan pressed a hand to his forehead. “I’m uninstalling Red Fruit tomorrow. And you need to stop watching those kinds of shows!”
“No!”
Mrs. Jiang hurriedly hugged her phone to her chest, looking as though she would fight anyone who tried to delete her beloved Red Fruit.
Now that she was retired, she had nothing to do at home. Her children were all grown, and she didn’t even have grandchildren to dote on. Red Fruit had become her spiritual sustenance.
Every young man on it was handsome, and every young woman had her own beauty. As for the adorable little children, each one looked as if they’d been carved from jade. Her heart melted every time she saw them.
Thinking of that, Mrs. Jiang let out a plaintive sigh.
“If you want me to stop being so bored, then give me a granddaughter. A grandson will do too.”
“…”
Jiang Zongyan’s temples throbbed.
He’d had enough.
When would this endless pressure to marry and have children ever end?
Tomorrow, he would have Lin Zhou draw up an acquisition contract and buy Red Fruit outright.
Ever since his mother had started watching dramas featuring all kinds of adorable babies, she had begun hounding him about marriage and children. Whenever one appeared on-screen, she would coo at it for ages.
Thankfully, they were separated by a screen. If one had been standing in front of her, he was genuinely afraid she might throw it into a sack and carry it away.
“And you… Jiang Ruitian, what nonsense have you been telling Mom?”
He shot a murderous glance toward Jiang Ruitian, who was hiding by the doorway and trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
Under her brother’s killing gaze, Jiang Ruitian braced herself and shuffled over, forcing out two awkward laughs.
“Hehe… I only mentioned it in passing…”
“What are you glaring at your sister for?” Mrs. Jiang said. “The men of the Jiang family are not allowed to be so irresponsible. How about this—you call Suisui and invite her over for dinner tomorrow. Your mother will cook for you herself.”
She couldn’t wait another day to have this sweet daughter-in-law of hers.
Since her son was too dense to realize what was happening, she, as his mother, would simply have to protect their romance herself.
Seeing the misunderstanding grow more and more outrageous, Jiang Zongyan explained helplessly, “That dress was ordered for Jiang Ruitian. Suisui’s clothes got wet, so I had my assistant give it to her temporarily.”
“Brother, you know that dress was ordered for me, don’t you? If you really cared about Suisui, you could’ve gone to the mall and bought her another one. Why did you have to give her mine?”
One sentence left Jiang Zongyan speechless.
His pale-pink lips parted, but his throat seemed to have jammed. Not a single sound came out.
The moment his gaze had swept over Zhou Suisui’s waist, one thought had flashed through his mind—
That dress would definitely look beautiful on her.
So without a second thought, he had asked Lin Zhou to take it from the trunk of his car. It had been air-freighted from France and had arrived less than an hour earlier, but he had handed it straight to her.
He had even personally messaged the staff at the lingerie shop and asked them to deliver underwear for Zhou Suisui.
“Hmph, nothing to say now, huh?” Jiang Ruitian lifted her chin, looking smugly as if she had exposed the truth.
Jiang Zongyan raised his brows slightly. His husky voice carried a trace of impatience.
“Don’t make things difficult for her. We don’t even know whether she wants to come to dinner.”
“Suisui will definitely come!” Jiang Ruitian said with a pout, absolutely certain that her brother simply didn’t want Suisui visiting their home.
“Brother, I’m begging you. If you marry someone else and make her my sister-in-law, I’m afraid we won’t get along. Please? Please? Whoever you marry, you’re still getting married!”
Mrs. Jiang enjoyed watching short dramas, while Jiang Ruitian enjoyed scrolling through Xiaoyinyin.
There were countless videos on Xiaoyinyin about unhappy relationships between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, as well as conflicts between sisters-in-law and their husband’s sisters. Jiang Ruitian was always terrified after watching them.
Especially in wealthy families like theirs, there were even more hidden schemes. What if her future sister-in-law turned out to be too calculating and kicked her out of the family one day? It wasn’t impossible.
But if Suisui became her sister-in-law, everything would be different.
Who wouldn’t want a sweet, soft, fragrant best friend as her sister-in-law?
With the two of them talking over each other, Jiang Zongyan felt as if his head were about to split in two. He finally forced out one cold, hard sentence.
“Do whatever you want.” He wouldn’t be home tomorrow anyway.
With that, he turned and headed for the door.
“You’re staying home tomorrow. You’re not allowed to go anywhere!”
Mrs. Jiang’s authoritative command came from behind him.
Jiang Zongyan’s footsteps stopped, but he didn’t turn around.
His refusal to object was as good as agreeing.
Mrs. Jiang and Jiang Ruitian exchanged a knowing look and high-fived in perfect unison.
“Success!”
“Call Suisui right now,” Mrs. Jiang urged impatiently.
