BXBX NOVEL Chapter 48 - Forty-Eight: Compromise
“You better forget the word ‘fake’ during these five years! Yun Nan, you have to be more professional. You have to treat our marriage as the real deal in order to continue your act,” Shi Nian gently persuaded her.
Yun Nan naturally understood the science behind acting. “That’s true, but we
“No buts! Listen to me on this matter; that’s that! Don’t forget I have a condition too. Obeying me is also one of the conditions for my unconditional help! So are you sure you don’t need my aid in the future?” Shi Nian concluded his speech and went straight upstairs without giving Yun Nan a chance to speak.
Yun Nan looked at the pile of gifts and felt troubled.
Of course, she knew that the Shi family was wealthy, and these things were mere pittance to them. However, she couldn’t just accept such valuable things; she hadn’t done anything to deserve them. What’s more, she had a collaboration with Shi Nian; she couldn’t take advantage of him.
Thus, Yun Nan did the inventory on her own. She meticulously took photos of each gift and placed them in an empty corner of the living room. She was thinking about whether she should buy a cabinet for them before remembering a locker that could match this house’s decoration wouldn’t come cheap, so she decided to put the thought aside for later. There was no one else in the house to touch or rummage through the pile, anyway.
After she tidied away the gifts, Yun Nan looked at the bracelets on her wrist. ‘ They really are beautiful,’ she thought. She then tried to take them off.
“Yun Nan, I’ll break things off with you right now if you dare take them off!” Shi Nian spoke through gritted teeth from above her.
Yun Nan was startled. She quickly glanced up, but she didn’t see Shi Nian; he must have gone upstairs after that shout. Yun Nan patted her chest and caught her breath. That childish prat almost scared her to death!
‘Fine, I’ll leave the bracelets on for now.’ Between compensating for the bracelets and giving up Shi Nian’s aid, the first choice was clearly the better deal. ‘ Whatever, I have work to do!’
Upstairs, Shi Nian finally heaved a sigh of relief. ‘Is that girl stupid? he thought. ‘Any other woman in her shoes would be ecstatic, so why did I have to resort to coercion and bribery to make her wear the familVs ancestral jade bracelet?
‘However, ifit were any other woman, I’d rather shatter the bracelets than let her wear them. The bracelets only suited Yun Nan,’ Shi Nian thought pridefully and then busied himself with work.
On the other hand, the Yun family was in a gloomy state. Yun Liu’s tears kept falling as Gu Wei sighed and comforted her, “Don’t cry, sweetheart. There must be some misunderstanding!”
“Yun Zhang, tell Yun Nan to come back home tomorrow. I want to know if that wretched girl has said anything bad about us behind our backs. Why won’t Old Master Shi let us pay him a visit at the villa? Usually, he would have at least invited us to the house as guests; this was the first time he had kept us from his door.”
“As if you need to ask! It must be that wretched girl’s doing! She must have bewitched Shi Nian! He didn’t spare our feelings at all and humiliated us in public! The nerve of that boy!” Yun Xiang fumed and slapped his thigh repeatedly.
Yun Liu’s weeping grew in volume as she wailed, “It’s all my fault. I don’t deserve him! Shi Nian, Shi Nian! *Sobs*’ Yun Liu cried until she was gasping for breath.
Yun Zhang remained silent. He felt a little upset when he heard his parents blame Yun Nan. They all knew what type of person Old Master Shi was. Even if their entire family joined their voices, they wouldn’t be able to influence Old Master Shi’s mindset, let alone Yun Nan herself.
Moreover, Shi Nian defended Yun Nan in public because Yun Liu accused Yun Nan of tipping them off about Old Master Shi’s arrival. Why did Yun Liu say that? She’d evidently learned the news by bribing Old Master Shi’s service personnel with a lot of money, so why did she say that Yun Nan had told her?
If he were Shi Nian, he would definitely be angry at Yun Nan. That was Yun
Liu’s plan all along, wasn’t it? However, Shi Nian had immediately defended Yun Nan. It was obvious that Shi Nian believed Yun Nan wouldn’t do such a thing; Yun Liu was just asking to be humiliated.
Yun Zhang’s parents only had Yun Liu in their hearts. They always demanded Yun Nan to do this and that to provide convenience for the Yun family, and never considered Yun Nan’s feelings; this had become their habit, him included.
So, did Yun Nan leave this house because she couldn’t take it anymore? Has there never ever been a place for Yun Nan in this family? Was that so?
Yun Liu suddenly tugged at his sleeve and explained, “Yun Zhang, I didn’t mean to frame Yun Nan. I just thought that since we’re a family, we can’t possibly act like a dysfunctional family before Shi Nian and his relatives. I didn’t expect to—I think I’ve caused Yun Nan trouble.”
Yun Zhang looked at his sister’s innocent and timid eyes, and the strange emotions that had just surged in his heart immediately calmed down..