"What were you two doing just now?" Xun Hui appeared to be somewhat anxious, "Left alone as a single man and woman... Xinxin, do you not care about your reputation anymore? Do you still want to marry or not?"
"Aunt Hui, I like Xinxin, and I will marry her..." Gu Qingheng felt that this was not the time to back down, so he made himself clear, "We are truly in love..."
"But you, a cripple..."
"Mother." Yang Ruxin’s face suddenly darkened, "Please take back those words."
"I..." Xun Hui swallowed her saliva, but ultimately she did not continue.
"I will decide my own marriage." Yang Ruxin’s gaze sharply fixed on Xun Hui, "I hope you won’t interfere, and even less so should you try to be clever..."
"Xinxin, I am your mother, I would never harm you..." Xun Hui felt a deep bitterness in her heart.
"Indeed, you are my mother, but that’s all." Yang Ruxin walked up to Xun Hui and lowered her voice slightly, "Don’t think of using the identity of a mother to pressure me or control my life, because you don’t have that ability..." She had always had conflicted feelings towards this woman, someone who made her feel a mix of love, hatred, and helplessness.
"I..." Xun Hui also felt a mix of fear, annoyance, and helplessness towards her headstrong daughter.
"You came here for a reason, right?" Yang Ruxin didn’t want to keep entangling with Xun Hui and changed the subject.
"Oh, right, your fourth aunt brought over Daya and Erya, and they are crying in the room..." Upon hearing her daughter’s question, Xun Hui remembered the reason she had come looking for her. The moment Dong Family walked through the door and saw her, she acted as if she saw a ghost. But after her surprise, she just kept crying and saying that she needed Dani to help out, otherwise, there would be no way out.
"What did she come for?" Yang Ruxin furrowed her brows, but she did not immediately go out. Instead, she scalded the ribs in water, added various seasonings, and put them into the pot to stew. She then instructed Gu Qingheng, "After it comes to a boil with high heat, turn it down to simmer slowly."
Gu Qingheng nodded. Xun Hui’s previous words, though not finished, made it clear she looked down on him, but what did that matter? As long as Xinxin didn’t despise him, that was enough. Others, it didn’t matter. So, at this moment, he was calmly tending the fire. The flames cast a faint red hue on his face, making him seem even more attractive.
If Xun Hui weren’t there, Yang Ruxin would definitely have gone up to touch him twice. Now, she could only regretfully remove the homemade arm covers, "I’ll go have a look, I’ll be back soon."
Gu Qingheng nodded.
Yang Ruxin led Xun Hui out of the kitchen and into the main room, where they saw Dong Family sitting on a stool crying bitterly, while her two younger cousins sat quietly on a bench, holding the pastries Erni had given them and eating carefully.
Upon seeing Yang Ruxin enter, Daya immediately stood up, "Big... cousin..."
Erya also stood up to greet her.
"Juju, Lanlan, you’ve come." Yang Ruxin didn’t feel much for the two children, but she smiled and greeted them, "Eat slowly, there’s more later."
Erya then showed a happy smile, the three-year-old little girl really didn’t understand things; she only knew that her big cousin gave her delicious food, so she liked her big cousin, and her way of expressing fondness was to smile at her.
Yang Ruxin went over to pat Erya on the head and gave her a smile in return.
Daya, however, dropped her gaze, her pastry gripped so tightly in her hand that some crumbs fell through her fingers.