Several elders of the Si family gathered once again with the Yan couple. Unlike the sharp confrontation last time, this time everyone restrained their tempers and spoke more amicably.
“Uncle Si, we’ve already let the children spend an extra day together. No matter what, we should reach a conclusion today, right?” Madam Yan asked cautiously.
“Of course.” The Si family patriarch glanced at his youngest son, Si Yunyi, puzzled as to why he had delayed for another day.
“Then, shall we call the children over?” Madam Yan smiled faintly.
“In fact, the result is the same as yesterday. We really don’t mind if Junlie marries into a Si family branch, as long as that branch doesn’t dislike the fact that Junlie came from the countryside.”
“Let’s not have them all gather together again!” The patriarch felt a headache just thinking about last night’s big scene. After some thought, he spoke slowly.
“How about this—you send messages to the children. If anyone is interested in the Yan family’s eldest son, they should go to his room and give him a personal belonging of theirs.”
The patriarch then instructed his own children, “We’ll wait here for half an hour. After that, we’ll summon all the children and see whether Chu Junlie has anything in his hands. If not, then Chu Junlie will marry into a branch family.”
“That’s a good arrangement.” The Yan couple smiled in timely agreement, showing not the slightest concern for their eldest son’s future fate.
Si Yunyi remained seated where he was, glancing faintly at his elder brother and sister-in-law, who were hastily sending messages to the children, and at the indifferent Yan couple. He lowered his head, toying with the teacup in his hand, his dark lashes drooping slightly behind his glasses, saying nothing.
Time passed quickly. The Yan couple and the second brother’s family chatted enthusiastically, while the Si sisters-in-law also had endless topics to discuss.
The patriarch of the Si family had originally wanted to talk to his youngest son, but he saw Si Yunyi rise and leave, seemingly displeased with the noisy atmosphere.
He knew his youngest son always preferred quiet. Watching his back as he left, the old man had no choice but to swallow back the words he had intended to say.
Si Yunyi quietly went upstairs and stood before Chu Junlie’s guest room, knocking lightly on the door with his knuckles.
There was movement inside. Chu Junlie seemed very cautious; after peeking through the peephole, he opened the door in haste.
“Mr. Si.” Chu Junlie worked hard to suppress the small joy rising in his heart, trying not to show it too obviously.
Si Yunyi raised his wrist to glance at his watch. There were seven minutes left until the half-hour deadline.
“Has anyone come by?” Si Yunyi stepped inside and looked over the tidy furnishings of the room.
“No.” Chu Junlie didn’t understand what was going on. He followed closely behind Si Yunyi, shaking his head quickly.
Si Yunyi was silent for a moment before turning to face him.
“Must you really replace Yan An and marry into the Si family?”
Chu Junlie froze. Meeting those rational and restrained eyes, he recalled what Madam Yan had once told him—that all his debts would be written off—and he gave a heavy nod.
There were pains worse than marrying in.
What he most wanted to escape from was the debt left by his parents.
Si Yunyi looked at him, then sat down on the guest room sofa, quietly accompanying him through the last few minutes.
“I… know.” Chu Junlie remembered the information he had pried out while gambling, his eyes filled with bitter sorrow.
“I’m rustic and stupid. No one likes me. My parents want me to marry into a Si family branch. My future will probably be like living in hell.”
But there was really no other way.
Si Yunyi’s gaze grew muted as he looked at Chu Junlie, who stared at the floor.
At times like this, it was hard to associate him with the tyrannical and reckless man he would become after regaining his memories.
“I once… went to a stray dog shelter,” Chu Junlie said in a muffled voice.
“There, if a dog isn’t adopted within a hundred days, it gets put down.
It’s as if they know their fate—whenever someone appears, they wag their tails nonstop, trying to show off their cutest, cleverest selves.”
“The day I went, I saw a dog that had been waiting for ninety-eight days.” Chu Junlie slowly lifted his head, looking at the man sitting opposite him. His eyes reddened involuntarily, yet he forced a smile onto his lips.
“I thought it would be more eager than the others to get close to humans. But it never moved at all.
Now, I think I finally understand how it felt at that moment.”
In Chu Junlie’s slightly wet black eyes lay a deep despair.
Si Yunyi held his breath in silence, his mind flashing with the image of a barefoot figure locked in a basement, sitting on a wooden cot, waiting for the rain.
The last three minutes ticked by. Si Yunyi listened carefully to the hallway, watched the time on his watch, as the seconds passed—yet in the end, no one came.
When the minute and second hands overlapped, he raised his wrist and unbuckled the watch.
Chu Junlie watched the man step toward him and saw the wristwatch in his long, pale hand.
A sapphire-blue dial, a platinum strap—luxury he had never touched in his memory.
Si Yunyi released it. The watch dropped like a falling star. Instinctively, Chu Junlie cupped both hands and caught the delicate, precious star.
Meeting Chu Junlie’s gaze, seeing the confusion and excitement in his eyes, Si Yunyi said—
“You’ll have use for it.”
By the time he returned to the sitting room, the half-hour had already ended.
The younger generation and Chu Junlie gathered once more in the hall. The old patriarch looked at his grandchildren standing together in tacit understanding. His expression was relaxed, as though he had already left troublesome matters behind.
“Little Chu.” The old man had a suspicion in his heart but still posed the question.
“In the past half hour, did anyone give you a personal item?”
Chu Junlie didn’t know why he was being asked this. Instinctively, he glanced at the person beside the patriarch.
Mr. Si was unhurriedly sipping his tea.
Something was missing from his fair wrist—something only Chu Junlie knew the whereabouts of.
“Grandfather, you don’t need to ask.” The eldest grandson, Si Beicheng, stepped forward with a smile. “None of us siblings gave him anything.”
Bewildered, Chu Junlie looked around, not understanding why they would give him anything in the first place.
“What, your parents didn’t tell you?” The third brother, seeing his confusion, immediately realized and cast a mocking glance at the Yan couple before speaking to Chu Junlie.
“To save you some face, Grandfather let us do a private vote this time. Whoever wanted you to marry in would give you a personal belonging. Remember—it had to be within the half hour. The belt you won off me earlier doesn’t count!”
Hearing this, Chu Junlie froze. Then, as though struck by lightning, his blood surged, and his heart nearly stopped.
The watch—that falling star—was now in his hands. Realizing what this meant, a crushing wave of joy and unreality hit him, leaving him dizzy and breathless.
Was it true?!
Or just his own delusion?!
Could something so fortunate really belong to him?
“You okay?” The third brother, seeing him unsteady on his feet, instinctively hugged himself, shuffled back a few steps, and kept his distance. “Don’t you dare try to play victim with me!”
“Chu Junlie, don’t you dare put on that act of being unwell in front of us.” Madam Yan glared at her eldest son, frowning as she scolded him.
“Your grandfather Si asked you a question. Just answer honestly. If you didn’t receive anything, then say you didn’t. With your poor qualities, it’s only natural no one would choose you. Don’t pretend, or people might think we mistreat you at home!”
“I did receive something!” Chu Junlie pressed the hard object against his chest, his voice ringing out with unshakable firmness, his fingertips tingling from excitement.
“I did receive something!”
“Nonsense!” the eldest’s expression changed. “We clearly didn’t give you anything!”
“Little Chu, take out what you received.” The patriarch frowned, sensing something unusual.
Before everyone’s eyes, Chu Junlie carefully pulled out from his breast pocket an expensive wristwatch, cradling it in his palms.
Seeing that he had indeed produced something, the younger generation was stunned.
“Is it yours?” the eldest whispered to the second.
“I was about to ask if it was yours.” The second lowered his voice.
“It’s not mine either?” the third looked baffled. The siblings huddled together, whispering in confusion.
The fourth sister shook her head, and in the end, all eyes inevitably turned toward the youngest, Si Beiqi.
“Are you all brain-dead?” Si Beiqi looked at his older siblings as if they were idiots, holding up four fingers in disbelief. “I’m only three years old!”
“What’s going on?” The patriarch was bewildered as well. There was the item right in front of them, so why didn’t it match anyone?
“It’s mine.”
The refined, indifferent voice cut through the room. For an instant, the hall fell silent, then every gaze, sharp as a blade, landed on one person.
Si Yunyi met the barrage of stares with calm detachment. He crooked his finger slightly at Chu Junlie.
A brilliant smile instantly bloomed on Chu Junlie’s face. He couldn’t suppress the wild joy pounding in his chest. Clutching the watch tightly, he rushed forward to stand beside Si Yunyi.
“WTF?!” Si Beicheng blurted, unable to restrain himself. What the hell—Uncle actually gave that country bumpkin a token, inviting him to marry in?!
“I must not be awake.” The second brother inhaled deeply several times, pinched his thigh with his eyes shut, then opened them again—only to see Chu Junlie grinning ear to ear, practically glowing, at Si Yunyi’s side.
The third brother felt his soul drifting, his eyes dazed as he tilted his head. Glancing at his own mother, he saw her jaw nearly drop to the floor. Good—at least he wasn’t the only one hit hard.
Looking at Chu Junlie, who at Si Yunyi’s side seemed like he could wag an invisible tail straight into the sky, Si Xuanxuan instinctively tried to cover her little cousin’s eyes. But Si Beiqi pulled her hand down, watching the scene before him and blurting out,
“We’re doomed—we even bullied Uncle’s future spouse earlier.”
If he hadn’t said it, it might have been better. The moment he did, their faces all changed at once.
Who could have thought this “mangy mutt” would leap onto the branch and turn into a heavenly hound!
“Can I just say I’m not with you guys?” Si Beiqi looked at his older brothers sincerely as he asked.
“Madam Yan.” Si Yunyi ignored the others’ expressions. He half-turned his chair toward the Yan couple, the gaze behind his glasses carrying a cold, oppressive weight.
“Let’s discuss the engagement.”
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