"Sister Haoxue, I've got something interesting to show you." Pang Shaohan slipped into the study and pulled Wen Haoxue out from the crowd.
At that moment, Mo Wenyang was still showing off his calligraphy in the study.
Interrupted by a pesky kid, Wen Haoxue held her temper and as soon as she stepped out of the study, she glared at him, "What is it?"
Pang Shaohan dragged her to the balcony and pointed towards the corner, "Look, who's that sitting together over there?"
Seeing that ragamuffin seated next to Wen Man, Wen Haoxue's eyes lit up. She patted Pang Shaohan on the head, "You little rascal, keen as ever, deserving of praise. Go, bring your parents out here to have a look."
Pang Shaohan pouted, reluctant to pull Wen Haoxue out himself, as he didn't want to be the snitch.
Wen Haoxue knew exactly what the boy was thinking, she pinched his cheek, saying, "Go drag the other sisters out here."
Pang Shaohan laughed and went scampering back into the study.
Consequently, a minute later, there were no women left watching Mo Wenyang in the study; they had all slipped out onto the balcony.
"Sister Manman should get married too, right? If she doesn't, what are we younger sisters supposed to do?" The sisters were all chattering away. Although that ragamuffin might not be much, given Manman's age, it was quite good that someone wanted her.
The elders thought the same, "Right. No matter what, he's a man. A woman eventually needs to find a man to live her life with."
Wasn't this opportunity just being used to ridicule? Saying that their own daughter was of no good, that she was unwanted goods, a perfect match for a ragamuffin. While Xu Yu'e was choking with indignation, she grabbed her youngest daughter, "Hurry and go down, call your sister up here."
"Mom. I would never do such an embarrassing thing," Wen Yuan said, just as frustrated as her mother. She had long felt that having a sister who couldn't be boasted about in front of her classmates was useless. Now, Wen Man was not only unmarriageable but could only pick a ragamuffin, which was even more embarrassing.
"After all is said and done, big sister-in-law really is... Nowadays, girls are arranged for matchmaking by their families even when they're still in college, to prevent missing the chance to get married later."
"The name that big brother and big sister-in-law chose for Manman is quite something, isn't it? Manman, doesn't it sound just like 'too late'?"
Not only was Xu Yu'e embarrassed, but Wen Man's father Wen Shixuan had just happened to come over and heard these comments. The middle-aged man's face turned as dark as the rest.
So it goes, when a daughter failed to get married, outsiders didn't blame the person herself, but aimed their criticism at the parents first. Some parents endured it, while some, already having tolerated enough in society, couldn't take it when they got home, and vented all their anger on their children.
Wen Man was unlucky to have the kind of parents who liked to take their anger out when they got home.
The chattering on the balcony... Wen Man and Jiang Yan were too far away to hear any of it. Having just filled their stomachs, they took their seats to rest for a while.
"Your name is—?" Jiang Yan asked.
"Wen Man," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
Jiang Yan stared at the thick glasses that had almost slipped down to her small lips on her delicate nose. She wasn't the kind of woman who was very beautiful; her nose was small, her lips were small, her eyes were somewhat small too, and her face was thin and petite. She had long, slender fingers and was not the plump-cheeked beauty you'd picture, but the more he looked at her, the more pleasant and comfortable she became to watch. Her expression was always faintly smiling, carefree as a cloud in the sky.
"And your name?" Wen Man, a bit uncomfortable under his gaze even though she knew his name, still asked him.
"Jiang Yan. Yan as in to propagate, the one with 'xing' in the middle plus three drops of water," he said, as if worried she might not catch his name clearly. He took one of her hands and traced the strokes in her palm.
Wen Man, experiencing a man holding her hand firmly for the first time, blinked in surprise and wanted to pull away, but fearing she might be rude, she silently endured it.
"Do you know which character it is now?" Jiang Yan, seeing her lower her head, moved his face a bit closer with some concern and asked.
"I know," Wen Man said, and when he loosened his grip slightly, she quickly withdrew her hand. Yet her hand retained his warmth and the sensation of his touch—foreign, yet etched in her memory. His hand was not as arrogant as he seemed; it had a thick callus that allowed her to feel that despite his scholarly appearance, he was quite strong.
"Do you really know?"
Wen Man suddenly felt his warm breath almost spraying onto her face and involuntarily lifted her gaze, only to find him standing inches away, looking at her with eyes brimming with laughter. With a slight frown, she quickly lowered her face and began packing her things to leave.
Seeing her sudden change of expression, Jiang Yan was surprised and followed by standing up, asking, "Did I do something wrong?"
"I don't know how many girls you've joked with like this, but I'm not used to it," Wen Man said, keeping her eyes on the roadside flowerbeds, refusing to look again at his handsome face that had confused the hearts of so many girls.
The better-looking a man is, the more likely he is to be a flirt—this almost seems to be an unchanging rule.
Jiang Yan immediately realized she had misunderstood, and it bothered him, bothered him more than anything had before. So as she was about to step away, he rushed in front of her, blocking her path.
On the balcony of the Wen Family home, the Wen Family members bulged their eyes when they saw Jiang Yan stopping Wen Man.
"My God. The pauper has taken a liking to Sister Manman."
"Sister-in-law, congratulations to you."
Xu Yu'e, hearing the scornful and sarcastic compliments from the crowd, turned away from the balcony with a darkened face.
"I—I'm not that kind of person," Jiang Yan said, nervously gesturing with his hands and patting his forehead, "Really, I just think you're a very nice girl."
Wen Man blinked her eyelashes and watched him at that moment, so out of sorts. Could it be that he wasn't arrogant, just not good with words, hence he preferred to play it cool and stay silent?
"Ah—" Jiang Yan held his head in his hands, peeking through his fingers with eyes as innocent as a child's.
Seeing him like this, Wen Man couldn't help but be amused, her lips curving slightly into a smile.
Just then, Xu Yu'e came over, shouting from a distance, "Manman, come here!"
Jiang Yan heard the cold, proud voice filled with anger and a hint of displeasure crossed his brow. As Wen Man was about to walk past him, he grasped her hand, "Who is that person?"
Feeling the firm grip of his hand, Wen Man paused for a moment before responding, "My mother."
His mother? She was nothing like her! Jiang Yan looked at Xu Yu'e's expressive face from a distance and frowned deeply. How could such a brash woman raise a daughter like Wen Man, who was so cultured?
Wen Man pulled her hand away and walked towards her mother with her head low.
Therefore, when Jiang Yan saw her reach Xu Yu'e, she must have been met with a torrent of reprimands. He felt a sudden irritation within him and pulled out his phone from his pocket to call his friend, "Mo Wenyang, how long do you intend to fool around with those monkeys?"
Mo Wenyang had long finished performing calligraphy, and while the Wen Family members had all run to the balcony to watch the commotion, he answered the call, "I can leave any time. If it weren't for you, Master Jiang, wanting to play a scene, I'd willingly risk my life to accompany you—"
"Cut the crap! Let's go!"
Detecting the displeasure in Jiang Yan's tone, Mo Wenyang hung up and promptly bid farewell to the Wen Family members.
"Leaving so soon?" Wen Shirong, of course, was reluctant to let a potential son-in-law slip away and eagerly escorted Mo Wenyang to the door, putting a warm arm around the young man's shoulders and asking, "How do you feel about tonight?"
"Uncles and aunties have all been very hospitable," Mo Wenyang replied with the tone of an exemplary student.
That was not the answer to the question. Wen Shirong was about to probe further when Mo Wenyang received another urgent call from Jiang Yan, leading him to leave without glancing at any more Wen Family faces.