“Sounds great! We can drink soup together.”
“Thank you, Mom,” smiled Yan Huan. Despite the warmness in her smile, her pain showed beneath her eyes. She turned, retreated to her own room, and carefully set the laptop on the table.
Sleepy, she went straight to bed.
In the past, she used to be afraid of the dark, and would leave a small lamp on even when she was asleep. Presently, however, she enjoyed the company of the darkness. The darker it was, the easier sleep came. Perhaps she would dream in her sleep. Good dreams or nightmares made no difference, as long as she got to see Lu Yi in them.
Her room had not seen light in ages. She lived in the darkness, because she had lost her light forever. Her light had vanished. Her light had died.
She made sure to drink two bowls of soup every day, regardless of its taste. It takes a lot longer for someone to nourish their body through food than through medicine, but healthier. Perhaps it was thanks to the soup that Yan Huan began recuperating. Color returned to her cheeks, and she started to put on some weight; but she remained skinny.
“I’m not going,” declared Ye Shuyun as she tossed the wedding invitation into the trash can. “I would rather see a pair of pigs get married.”
“Neither are you allowed to go,” said Ye Shuyun with a glare. “He nearly killed me. Why would I attend his wedding? Why would he host such an extravagant wedding right after my son passed away, if not to spite me?”
Lu Jin walked up and put his arm around her shoulders. “Alright, alright. None of us will go, I promise.”
“You better keep that promise,” said Ye Shuyun. Then, with a little uncertainty, she asked, “But is it really okay if we don’t go?”
“Why not?” said Lu Jin. He didn’t care about how other people viewed them. Rumors can be scary, but who would dare mess with them when they hadn’t done anything wrong?
Before Ye Shuyun could say anything, they heard an annoying laugh at the door.
“Brother-in-law, sister-in-law, I have come to visit.”
Ye Shuyun nearly retched when she heard that voice.
“Chase them away,” she said, clutching her chest. It hurt so badly she was on the brink of tears.
But it was too late. She had already stepped into the house. Plus, she had not come unprepared.
Qin Xiaoyue walked in, dressed in gaudy clothes, with Lu Qin following behind.
“Oh my, how can you try to chase me out as soon as I arrived? We are relatives, after all, and long neighbors on top of that. A person shouldn’t be this heartless.”
“Look at me,” she said as she adjusted her clothes, lifting her sleeves up so that they could see her expensive jewelry. “I have come all the way just to bring the good news of my Lu Qin’s marriage to my brother and sister-in-law. He’s marrying the esteemed lady of the Su Family, too. You have to come, alright? Lu Qin is the sole heir of the Lu Family now, and people might laugh behind our backs if his uncle didn’t show up at his wedding. We are fine with that, but how could your Lu Family endure such shame?”
The words “sole heir” stung badly. It was as though she had ripped Ye Shuyun and Lu Jin’s unhealed wounds apart, leaving them agape and bleeding.
“Scram! Right now!”
Ye Shuyun would have gone up and fought her had it not been Lu Jin holding her back.
“Get out of here right now, Qin Xiaoyue!” she pointed to the door with a shaky finger. “I don’t care about your son’s marriage or divorce. It has nothing to do with us. I don’t even care if you all die.”
Her eyes were bloodshot from holding back tears.
She would not let Qin Xiaoyue see her defeated. Never.
Qin Xiaoyue sighed on purpose. “It’s understandable for you to be in a bad mood. Not many can smile right after their son died after all.”
The word “died” made Ye Shuyun so angry her insides hurt. She was shaking and unsteady.
“Let’s go, Lu Qin. Someone from this house just died. It’s an unlucky place,” she said tirelessly, delighted by their misery. The more pain she inflicted on Ye Shuyun, the happier she felt.
This day had finally arrived.
He who laughs last laughs best, after all. Ye Shuyun’s son died? Oh, great, great! Being the vicious woman she was, she relished stabbing them where it hurt the most.
They had been in conflict for half their lives, but it seems like she had won.
Unlike his mother, Lu Qin chose not to rub salt in their wounds, but neither was he going to console his uncle and aunt.
“Uncle, Aunt,” he bowed politely. “My condolences.”
Lu Jin gave Ye Shuyun a pacifying squeeze. The greatest kindness these two can do them was to disappear from their sights. They didn’t need any of their condolences.
But Lu Qin was not done speaking.
“Uncle, ever since my brother passed on, Lin Lang had been a mess from the lack of management. But don’t worry, I’ll take over Lin Lang once I talk to grandpa about it.”
Lu Jin’s eyes suddenly narrowed. The sharp flare in his eyes made Lu Qin burst out in cold sweat, as though someone had planted a steel knife in his back.
“Why waste your breath on them?” said Qin Xiaoyue, dragging Lu Qin away. “Why linger at a place where someone died recently? It’ll only bring bad luck. After you and Muran get married, Lin Lang would eventually go to you anyway. You are the only one left in the Lu Family after all. Do you think your grandpa would give it to an outsider?”
Qin Xiaoyue and her son left in high spirits, chatting and laughing as they walked out.
“Look at them! For twenty years we kept these two under our roofs. When they ran into problems, you were the one who rescued them. When Lu Qin wanted to become an actor, Lu Yi was the one who helped him. When have they not played the widow and her only son card? And now, all these heartless dogs care about is the inheritance,” said Ye Shuyun, pointing at them.
“They can go ahead and beg for it for all they like,” said Lu Jin, equally disappointed in his niece.
