Chapter Sixteen: The Lavish Bride Price

Xiang Yu forgot even to breathe as she stared at the person before her.

It was her elder sister, whom she had not seen for nearly twenty years.

Tall and slender, she wore the magenta short-sleeved shirt she had so often favored in Xiang Yu’s memories, though the color had faded, along with a pair of black trousers that were neither new nor worn-out.

She was smiling at her.

Xiang Yu’s vision blurred with tears.

She held them back twice, but in the end, the dam broke.

She ran over, threw her arms around Xiang Di, and burst into loud sobs.

Her crying twisted Xiang Di’s heart into a knot. She looked reproachfully at their mother.

Just how much suffering had her little sister endured?

Li Meilan stood rooted to the spot, utterly unable to understand why her younger daughter was so aggrieved. Xiang Yu had hardly suffered any injustice at the Ye family’s hands—she had even dared to curse Ye Fen.

Feeling awkward beneath her elder daughter’s gaze, she pointed at Xiang Yu. “You wretched girl, what sort of fit are you throwing now? Your sister has come home to get engaged. It’s a joyous occasion, so stop bawling.”

At that, Xiang Yu cried even harder.

Several elderly neighbors came out to see what was happening. Li Meilan, furious and humiliated, picked up a piece of firewood from the ground and raised it as if to strike Xiang Yu.

Xiang Di hurriedly shielded her, pulling the girl in her arms toward the kitchen. “Xiao Yu, don’t cry anymore. I’ve just started braising some pork, and I put an egg by the stove to keep warm for you.”

Xiang Yu followed her sister readily. She did not want to confront their mother like this either. She might be beaten, and more importantly, such a confrontation would do nothing to solve the problem.

Xiang Di settled her sister on a little stool before the stove, then used the fire tongs to rake through the ashes. The egg was cooked, but the lean meat wrapped in oiled paper would need more time.

She washed the ash from the eggshell, peeled the egg, and held it out to Xiang Yu.

Her lovely almond-shaped eyes gazed at her with a smile. “Come on, stop crying. You’re a grown girl now.”

Xiang Yu’s tears, which she had finally managed to stop, began pouring down again.

This was the only person in the world who truly loved her.

She wrapped both arms tightly around her sister’s waist, repeating silently a thousand, ten thousand times:

Sister, I will never let you leave me again.

Moved by the depth of her sister’s feelings, Xiang Di’s eyes filled with tears as well.

One hand gently stroked Xiang Yu’s hair.

Once Xiang Yu had calmed down, the first thing she naturally asked about was her sister’s marriage.

Xiang Di forced a smile. “I only got home this morning. We met once before noon, and he seemed all right. The day after tomorrow, he’ll bring the matchmaker over to formally present the betrothal gifts.”

That meant the engagement would be settled.

Xiang Yu had not expected it to happen so quickly. Her hands trembled faintly as she struggled to control her emotions and rapidly searched for a way to prevent the engagement from going through.

The man was called Liu Gang. In Xiang Yu’s memory, he resembled that patch of moss in their county that never saw the afternoon sun—his entire presence was dark, damp, and chilly.

He ran a small barbershop in town.

He was a full ten years older than her sister.

Her sister was nineteen that year; he was twenty-nine.

There was also a scar at his temple.

Most importantly, Liu Gang liked frequenting places of ill repute. In her previous life, her sister had once returned home in tears.

Their parents had agreed to the marriage because the bride price was two hundred thousand yuan. Ordinarily, a family received thirty to fifty thousand when marrying off a daughter; one or twenty thousand was common enough.

This offer was seven or eight times higher. Since Xiang Yu’s parents thought the man looked acceptable, they agreed as soon as the matchmaker gave them a basic introduction. They had never bothered to investigate any further themselves.

Xiang Yu decided to win her sister over first. She took Xiang Di’s hand.

“Sister, you don’t like him, do you?”

Xiang Di’s expression darkened slightly. He was much older, kept his hair unusually long, and had a pallid complexion. There was always something leering in his eyes. Every one of these details made her uneasy.

But their parents were delighted. With the betrothal money, the family could build a new house.

Xiang Hao was about to start middle school as well. Their parents had said that even if he could not get into an academically competitive high school later on, he would still have to attend a technical school or vocational secondary school.

There were plenty of expenses awaiting the family.

She still managed a strained smile. “When choosing a husband, what matters in the end isn’t whether you like him. It’s whether he has a sense of responsibility and can take care of a household.”

“Then have you decided whether he’s responsible?” Xiang Yu pressed. “Will he look after your little family in the future? Will he cherish you?”

Xiang Di was speechless.

Liu Gang’s family had been fairly warm toward her, but the lewd, frivolous look in his eyes before he left had not escaped her notice. When she served him food, he had deliberately touched her hand.

That was not something a responsible, dependable, and honorable man would do.

She felt stifled inside.

Xiang Yu tightened her grip on her sister’s hand and looked at her earnestly. “Sister, you have to live for yourself. Marrying the wrong man will ruin your entire life.”

Xiang Di said nothing. She merely gave a bleak smile.

In that instant, Xiang Yu understood exactly what her sister meant and how she felt.

Her sister did not know what it meant to live for herself. She had neither the courage to defy their parents nor the strength to break free from those invisible shackles she had long since grown accustomed to.