Free Web NovelChapter 407: Chapter 215: Brother and Sister
Juhua was enjoying the warm, humid spring air when she froze at his words. She saw Qingmu watching her quietly and considered his question more deeply. ’Is he talking about what Aunt Zhao brought up? But how would my brother know?’
Juhua smiled. "If you have a question, Brother, just ask me directly. Otherwise, how am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?"
Qingmu smiled faintly. "I just want to know if you have any thoughts about the person Aunt Zhao mentioned."
Juhua deliberately mimicked his tone. "What thoughts could I have? I’ve never even met him."
Qingmu laughed out loud at that. He watched Laishou playing with Black Dog and said, "Actually, I want to know what you really think of Huai Zi. If you’re not interested in him, then we’ll have to start looking for other people."
Juhua smiled silently. ’This is the second person in the family today to ask for my opinion on Zhang Huai.’ It seemed they were all leaning toward marrying her off to him but didn’t want to force her. So, they were probing for her thoughts to prepare themselves, and had even considered backup plans and other options.
She wasn’t one to be coy, and she felt perfectly comfortable discussing the topic with Qingmu—after all, he was always willing to share his own thoughts with her. So, she quietly repeated what she had told the Yang Family that morning.
Qingmu fell silent. After a long moment, he let out a slow breath and said to Juhua, "It’s good to take our time. You’re still young. Normally, no one starts looking for a husband for their daughter this early. It’s just that your situation is special. For some reason, the topic just keeps coming up."
On that point, Juhua felt frustrated too. ’It really is one extreme or the other,’ she thought. ’It seems plain people and beautiful people get the same amount of attention, just with completely different treatment.’ ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Qingmu thought for a moment before adding softly, "Juhua, if you’re not angry with Huai Zi anymore, you should really give him some serious thought—he’s a good person." In the end, he couldn’t help but put in a good word for his friend.
Juhua smiled. "Isn’t that what I’m doing now, giving him thought? I don’t want to agree to anything right now for his sake, too—I’m afraid he hasn’t made up his mind yet. Has he really thought this through? Shouldn’t he be considering things carefully as well? If something goes wrong after we get married, it’ll be a lot more serious than just idle gossip. Also, I’m not doing this because I’m angry with him. I’m not angry with him at all. Back then, I fell into the lake by accident. I didn’t jump in because I was heartbroken. I told Mother all about it today."
Qingmu’s reaction was the same as the Yang Family’s. He stiffened, stunned for a long moment, before his body slowly relaxed.
He looked at Juhua and broke into a relieved smile. "I knew it! My sister wouldn’t be that foolish. She wouldn’t be so heartless as to abandon me, Mom, and Dad."
After what had happened, he’d never thought to blame Juhua—he only felt sorry for her. But now, hearing her reveal the truth, he found himself suddenly at ease.
So that was it. He had been deeply bothered by it all along—bothered that Juhua would abandon her parents and brother for Huai Zi, bothered that she had been so foolish as to throw her life away for a boy.
Now, knowing Juhua had never done such a foolish thing, he was overjoyed. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He grinned at Juhua, showing a mouthful of bright white teeth.
Seeing how happy her brother was, Juhua secretly kicked herself. ’I should have told them sooner,’ she thought, ’and saved them all that worry.’
Qingmu went to the hillside to herd the cow over. The animal’s belly was clearly bulging, yet it was still reluctant to leave. As Qingmu pulled it along, it kept its head down, stubbornly munching on the green grass, refusing to look up. It knew it was time to go home, so it was making one last desperate effort—get the grass in its mouth now, and chew its cud back in the shed later.
When Laishou saw this, he immediately called out to his cousin, saying he wanted to ride the cow.
Qingmu lifted him up and placed him on the cow’s back, holding onto him from the side as he continued talking with Juhua. Black Dog circled the cow, sniffing it vigorously, but the cow paid it no mind, leisurely flicking its tail as it grazed. freewebnøvel.com
He smiled at Juhua and said, "If Huai Zi knew you never jumped into the lake, he’d probably go mad with joy. That’s been a huge weight on his conscience."
Juhua thought, ’Thank goodness the original owner of this body didn’t actually jump. Otherwise, I’d feel really awkward.’ Honestly, she strongly disapproved of the kind of worldview where you’d want to die just because the person you like doesn’t want to marry you.
Her parents and Qingmu must have thought the same way. That’s why today, when the Yang Family and Qingmu heard Juhua say that she had slipped and fallen into the water, not jumped in out of despair, their joy was indescribable. Even though the incident had happened so long ago and no one mentioned it anymore, that couldn’t diminish their happiness in the slightest.
