Yan Shu drove the Mercedes-Benz back to Huanhua District. After parking the car in the garage, she took the elevator upstairs. She had intended to sneak back home quietly, but as soon as she opened the door, she found her mother standing in front of her.
"Shushu, you're back?" Mrs. Yan excitedly pulled her to the sofa and sat her down. She began a long series of interrogations.
"How are your marriage plans? Has Yucheng agreed to hold your wedding on New Year's Day?"
Yan Shu looked at Mother Yan's expectant expression and didn't know what to say.
"Mother, there's no more wedding."
Mrs. Yan shouted, "What do you mean by no more wedding? Before you left home, you swore to me that you would persuade Gu Yucheng to marry you. I've already informed my family and friends to attend your wedding banquet on New Year's Day. Aren't you putting me in a difficult position?"
Yan Shu lowered her head and did not speak.
Yanshu's mother shouted angrily, "Our family has made so many concessions. We didn't ask for dowry or a new house. We are essentially giving our daughter to him for free. What more does Gu Yucheng want? Yanshu, call him right now. I want to ask him personally when he plans to marry you."
Yan Shu was in a difficult position. She had broken up with Gu Yucheng and did not plan to contact him ever again.
Yanshu's mother became even more worked up seeing her daughter's passive demeanor. "If Gu Yucheng truly loves you, he wouldn't keep dragging his feet like this. If he really loves you, he could have just married you first and pursue his PhD afterwards," she said.
Yan Shu's face was burning.
Her mother was right. Gu Yucheng didn't love her as much as she thought. She had been too arrogant, blindly devoted to him from the beginning. She failed to realize that feelings can change, and he had long become a deserter in their relationship.
"Mom, why don't I break up with him…" Yan Shu carefully tested her mother's reaction.
Mrs. Yan grabbed Yanshu's ear in frustration and scolded her sternly, "Are you stupid? You've invested ten years in Gu Yucheng, providing for him, feeding and clothing him. Finally, when he has graduated and was supposed to start earning money to spend on you, you want to kick him to the curb? Wouldn't all your investment be in vain? Besides, at your age, where else can you find a man more outstanding than him?"
At this moment, Father Yan suddenly pushed open the door, holding a bright red invitation in his hand. When he saw his wife's unhappy expression, he froze on the spot.
When Mrs. Yan saw the invitation, her anger rose. "What are you doing with that? We don't need it anymore. Throw it away."
Mr. Yan, on the other hand, held the invitation to his heart as if it was a treasure and explained, "Honey, this invitation doesn't belong to us. Old Wang, who lives next door, gave it to me."
Then, he adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and said excitedly, "Shushu's good friend, Ziwen, has hooked up with a rich husband. When Old Wang saw me earlier on, he was bragging to me about his daughter's achievements. He said that his daughter didn't have a high education level, but she managed to find a boyfriend who is highly educated and successfully got pregnant with his child. They are getting engaged on New Year's Day."
Yan Shu felt like she had been doused in a basin of water. Gu Yucheng and Wang Ziwen were getting married on New Year's Day?
During her ten-year relationship with Gu Yucheng, no matter how hard she tried, he simply refused to get married. However, after being with Wang Ziwen for just one year, he was going to get married?
So, had he really loved her in the past ten years?
Mrs. Yan became even more agitated. She didn't want her daughter to be overshadowed by the mediocre Wang Ziwen. She gave Yan Shu an ultimatum in a huff. "Yan Shu, look at Ziwen. She has managed to find a husband with a PhD, and they are getting married with a child within a year of dating. What about you? I don't care. You and Gu Yucheng must get married on New Year's Day."
Mr. Yan tried to smooth things over. "It's good to get married on New Year's Day. Old Wang and I have already discussed it. Our two families can hold a joint wedding. We will organize a lively and joyful wedding together."
"Dad, Mom, I don't want to get married on New Year's Day," Yan Shu protested.
As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Yan's lungs exploded. She shouted, "If you don't get married on New Year's Day, don't acknowledge me as your mother."
Due to her intense emotions, Yan Shu's mother suddenly suffered a heart attack. Her lips turned visibly purplish, and Yan Shu was too frightened to say another word.
Yan Shu nodded obediently in fear. "Mother, don't be angry. I promise you that we'll get married on New Year's Day."
These words were even more effective than any heart-saving pill. Mrs. Yan's condition actually stabilized immediately.
After Mrs. Yan fell asleep, Yan Shu returned to her room with a heavy heart. She lay on the bed with a headache and started thinking about the New Year's wedding.
She wondered if Bo Su was willing to hold a wedding with her.
Yan Shu thought about the countless times she had been rejected by Gu Yucheng when discussing marriage in the past. This time, she had zero confidence in the outcome.
Speaking of the devil, an incoming call from Bo Su started ringing on her phone, and Yan Shu felt a sense of relief, as if her prayers had been answered.
When she picked up the phone, she heard Bo Su's alluring voice, tinged with a hint of delight, "Shushu, I'm at your door. I'm here to take you home."
Yan Shu was so startled that she almost dropped her phone. At this moment, she suddenly remembered something that Bo Su mentioned in the morning—he would be picking her up after work.
But she had yet to tell her parents about her flash marriage
Yan Shu ran to the living room and opened the door for Bo Su. She reminded him softly, "My mother just had a heart attack… Let's not mention our flash marriage for the time being."
Bo Su was stunned. Was she asking him to hide the fact that they were married?
At this moment, Mrs. Yan's weak voice sounded. "Shushu, who's here?"
Yan Shu lied. "Oh, one of my patients."
Mr. Yan helped Mrs. Yan out the door. The two of them were dumbfounded when they saw the expensive gifts in Bo Su's hand.
He had brought an extremely expensive bottle of Maotai wine, which was Father Yan's favorite, and also top-grade ginseng for Mother Yan.
"Are these gifts for bribing the doctor?"
"Well… Mr. Bo. Our family has been working-class for generations. It wasn't easy for Shushu to find a decent job. Please don't buy her any gifts. If she loses her job because of this, the gains won't make up for the losses." Yan Shu's mother politely declined Bo Su's gifts.
Bo Su looked at Yan Shu disapprovingly. Because of her lie, Mrs. Yan was treating him as one of her patients who had come to bribe her.
Growing up, it was always others who had tried to bribe him, never the other way round.
"Auntie, although I'm Doctor Yan's patient, we're also good friends. Since this is my first time visiting, these gifts are a token from me."
Mrs. Yan was relieved to hear that. She said warmly, "Since you're Shushu's friend, why don't you stay for dinner?"
"Okay," Bo Su accepted readily.
Mrs. Yan was stunned.
She was just asking him casually. She didn't expect him to agree so readily. With a mournful expression, she said to Yan Shu, "Shushu, make a couple of nice dishes for your friend tonight. There are abalones, lobsters, and beef in the fridge. You can cook them all."
Mr. Yan pulled Bo Su towards the sofa. "Come, come, come. Bo Su, take a seat… take a seat."
Yan Shu glanced at Bo Su uneasily. Her parents were always disapproving of her male friends. She wondered what tricks they would play on Bo Su today.