The surroundings were quiet.Xiang Wan"s mom looked at Bai Muchuan"s smiling face in a dazed manner.
The rest of the relatives were even more stunned than her.
The value of the mansion was clear for all to see.
Bai Muchuan did not say that he would gift the entire mansion, but the words "live here" and "support" was enough to astound them beyond words.
However, Bai Muchuan had not finished what he wanted to say.
He looked at Xiang Wan"s mom calmly and continued.
"Mom, you"ll live here from now on. We"ll get you a nanny to take care of you, so you won"t feel too lonely living here. If you want to, you still have so many relatives here that you can visit. It"s also better to move around more often for good health…"
When he said so, he looked at their relatives with a smile.
Everyone who looked dumbfounded nodded at his words.
"He"s right, he"s right! Aunt Yunchun, your son-in-law is really filial!"
Tan Yunchun was still in her state of shock and was tongue-tied; she still dared not take the keys.
"Little Bai, this, is this really okay…?"
"You don"t have to worry," said Bai Muchuan, "this house is under my name. What"s mine is Little Wan"s as well. I ought to be filial to you… If you really think that this is not appropriate, then I"ll transfer the house owners.h.i.+p to Little Wan"s name. Will that arrangement be okay for you?"
Tan Yunchun gaped her mouth in shock. "…"
Xiang Wan was just as speechless. "…"
Everyone else dared not speak. "…"
n.o.body expected that he would say these.
Xiang Wan"s reaction was also similar to her mom.
She was so shocked that she almost s.h.i.+vered.
It was one thing to look after a house and having its keys. It was a totally different matter if he wanted to transfer the owners.h.i.+p of the house to her.
Was Bai Muchuan really serious? thought Xiang Wan.
"My apologies!" Bai Muchuan suddenly pulled Xiang Wan to him and patted her head. He revealed a gentle smile as he looked at her. "Maybe my words today are too abrupt and surprised all of you. Mom, actually I… I"ve already proposed to Little Wan! We"re going back to the Capital to meet my family and get this matter settled."
"…"
Proposed?
Even their wedding was on the agenda already?
Tan Yunchun"s eyes widened more than ever after hearing his words.
Of course, she was very willing to see that happen. This sudden development simply awestruck her.
After all, being in love and getting married were two different matters altogether.
Even if she had the house keys for now, if both of them did not marry each other, there would be a chance that she would have to return the keys one day since things could change. However, if they were to get married, then that was a different story…
That was a practical thought.
In fact, that was what most of them were thinking as well.
They envied them so much. They also cheered them on and gave their blessings!
Tan Yunchun spoke hesitatingly since she couldn"t believe her own ears, "When… when did this happen?"
She had asked Xiang Wan, but Bai Muchuan immediately answered on her behalf.
"Mom, we"re sorry for not getting your approval first. We can"t wait, and we hope you"ll forgive us!"
Xiang Wan didn"t know what else to add. "…"
Bai Muchuan ignored Xiang Wan"s expression. He held her hand carefully and lifted it to reveal a sparkling big diamond ring before everyone to prove that he was not lying. Next, with everyone looking, he kissed her fingers then looked at her affectionately. His eyes were like the galaxy; it was pa.s.sionate and divine coupled with his alluring smile.
"Little Wan, you promised to marry me. You"re not allowed to back out now!"
It was the most touching confession Xiang Wan had ever seen or heard.
"… Mm." She heard her own voice that sounded shy.
Bai Muchuan"s fingers were dry and warm whereas Xiang Wan"s palms were clammy from nervousness.
Both pairs of eyes looked at each other.
Their gazes lingered sweetly.
Xiang Wan understood Bai Muchuan"s personality. Even though she felt that it was not appropriate for her to accept the mansion, she didn"t want to make him lose face in front of her relatives.
After all, her relatives were looking at them!
"Mom! Take it! Why are you in a daze?" She squeezed her mom"s shoulders then glanced at Bai Muchuan with a half-smile on her face. "Your son-in-law wanted to show his filial piety. If you don"t accept the keys, he would be sad, right?"
When she said the last part of the sentence, she turned to look at Bai Muchuan.
The corners of Bai Muchuan"s lips quirked up, and he looked into her eyes.
"Little Wan"s right."
After a pause, he directly placed the keys on Tan Yunchun"s palms.
"Mom, don"t think too much. If you"re sick of staying in Jin City, then we"ll come back to fetch you to the Capital!"
"Umm…"
Tan Yunchun felt that she must be dreaming.
She had never come across something like this. She didn"t know how to react.
"Mom." Xiang Wan squeezed her shoulders gently. "Hurry, he"s still waiting for you to agree."
Seeing then that Bai Muchuan was still looking at her patiently, Tan Yunchun regained her composure.
"Orh, orh, orh… yes." She held the keys with eyes filled with tears. Then she turned back to Xiang Wan. "Little Bai is a good child. You both have to be good to each other! La.s.s, don"t be wilful anymore! If you dare to bully Little Bai, you will get it from me!"
"…"
Xiang Wan was speechless.
She was her real daughter, but in an instant, she felt like she was just a lost child her mom picked up from the street.
"Aye, I know. You"ve said this 800 times already!"
"Hmph!" Tan Yunchun smiled as she glanced at her.
The envious compliments of her relatives surrounded her. Although she responded casually to them, she was actually feeling sweet like she was covered in honey.
She started to feel lightheaded, and the feeling of being in a dream returned to her.
She felt good.
She really felt good!
In just an instant, Tan Yunchun looked as if she had gained a new ident.i.ty.
Even if all of her relatives didn"t really mean what they were saying, Tan Yunchun was still glad to receive their blessings.
However, at this time, they heard an unhappy voice.
"Dad, Mom, this show… I can"t continue watching anymore. I"m leaving first!"
Xing Feifei made a sudden grating sound as she pushed her chair when she rose from her seat abruptly.
Xiang Wan"s mom felt a little awkward but did not say much.
Unexpectedly, when Xing Feifei lowered her head to take her bag, she suddenly mumbled in a low, displeased tone.
"This is just like the nouveau riche! Shameful and irritating!"
Xing Feifei"s presence was akin to a princess amongst the Tan family and relatives. She had not only a good-looking face, but she also had a good family background—Xing Family. The Xing Family belonged to the ranks of the rich and powerful which was nothing like the Tans and their relatives, they were mainly ordinary folks in the bottom of the society.
Hence, if there was any event or gathering that the Tans started, the one whom everyone would surround was always Xing Feifei.
Her elder cousins, Xiang Wan and Fang Yuanyuan, were always the ugly ducklings who would appear next to her, the swan…
Xing Feifei had never expected that one day, the ugly duckling would really turn into a swan. At this event, everyone surrounded and congratulated Xiang Wan—she and her mother became the envy of the relatives.
This was like having her position taken away from her!
Xing Feifei felt that all these should belong to her and her mom.
The little princess couldn"t take it anymore!
The little princess was also used to being wilful and wayward.
She felt that she would get choked to death if she didn"t get that out of her chest…
Why would she bother if her words would embarra.s.s anyone?
"Feifei!" Her mom, Tan Yuechun, reminded her in a low tone. "What nonsense are you spouting? You can go then. Go play with your friends if you want to."
The world of adults differed greatly from Xing Feifei"s understanding, even though she was considered as a grown-up now. She saw that if one was really unhappy with one"s relatives, one should not tell the other party how they felt, let alone say such hurtful words in front of so many people. She couldn"t understand the reason for doing so, and she didn"t want to conform to that. When Tan Yuechun noticed many pairs of eyes were looking at her, her cheeks fumed with the intensity of raging lava.
By reprimanding her daughter, they considered it as a form of respect to the host.
Yet Xing Feifei felt like they had wronged her.
She turned around to look at her mom.
"Am I not right to say that they"re doing all this to show off? Offer a mansion, show off the diamond ring… Can"t they do this privately? Hur, isn"t it because they just want to show off?"
"…" Tan Yuechun felt that she almost died of anger.
"Shut up!" Xing Yuanhang was starting to feel annoyed.
However, they had spoiled their daughter for all these years, why would she stop so easily?
Xing Feifei felt even more unfair—
Since young, she had been getting this sense of superiority, that she had long lost the right mentality to judge herself and the world.
She looked at her parents and her relatives. Then she grunted coldly and put her bag back on the chair.
"You guys are so hypocritical! All of you know that I"m saying the truth, yet n.o.body dared to face up to what you are thinking inside your heart… They are putting this up to show off, and all of you accompany them to continue their show. Why are all of you cozying up to them, is it because they are rich now? Don"t all of you know that your acting sucks?"
Slap!
She got slapped in the face.
Xing Feifei let out a shrill cry and was immediately in tears.
Tan Yuechun was shocked herself.
She lowered her head to look at her hand, then at her daughter who was holding her cheek, crying. For a moment, she could not react.
"Why did you hit her?" Xing Yuanhang held his daughter when he saw her being slapped and quickly tried to alleviate the situation by turning to the relatives. "She"s still young and doesn"t know a lot of things. We have spoiled her too much that she spouts nonsense and doesn"t carry herself well… We"re sorry for letting everyone witness such a scene. I"ll definitely discipline her!"
It was definitely a laughable scene.
Hardly anyone"s kid would have such bad manners.
She was young, but she was no longer a kid.
Once she hit the age of 18, they would consider her as an adult.
However, since Xing Yuanhang had said so, who would really pick on his words to correct him?
Xiang Wan"s mom, Tan Yunchun kept saying that it was nothing and was trying to ease the embarra.s.sment. Xiang Wan, on the other hand, remained silent while she watched this episode unfold before her. It was Bai Muchuan that smiled coolly, seemingly unaffected, but his gaze was on Xing Yuanhang.
"It doesn"t matter! We are all relatives, we won"t take such a trivial matter like this too hard. However, if the outsiders heard all these words, then that would be quite bad! After all, I know that the Xing Family is always proud of its good family upbringing, values and manners…"
He was laughing.
However, that laugh of his was not a simple one.
It was as if the area three feet away from him had frozen solid.