Marriage.
‘Tan Yuan…’ Mrs Qiao said.
Qiao Tan Yuan closed her mouth.
‘Jiao Wu, uncle and I watched you grow up and love you like we love Qiao Jie,’ Mrs Qiao said. ‘I can give you my blessing to marry Tan Yuan. But I want you to ask your heart one thing first. Do you want to marry Tan Yuan because of Xiao Bao or do you want to marry Tan Yuan because you want to spend the rest of your life with Tan Yuan?’
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t understand what Mrs Qiao was asking him. Wasn’t spending his life with Qiao Tan Yuan, and giving Xiao Bao a family the same thing?
Mrs Qiao saw the confusion in Gu Jiao Wu’s eyes, and understood he didn’t know his true heart yet.
‘Jiao Wu, have you made a decision?’ Mrs Qiao asked.
‘Aunty, I’ve made my decision,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘Gu Jiao Wu!’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘Who wants to marry you? Who wants to live the rest of their life with you? There’s no chance I’ll give you my daughter, and I won’t live the rest of my life with you! Stop dreaming!’
Mrs Qiao pulled Qiao Tan Yuan’s arm.
‘Tan Yuan, go upstairs and check on Xiao Bao,’ Mrs Qiao said.
‘Mum…’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Aunty needs to eat dinner too,’ Mrs Qiao said.
Qiao Tan Yuan glared at Gu Jiao Wu, and walked upstairs.
Gu Jiao Wu was more worried about Mrs Qiao’s look of disapproval than Qiao Tan Yuan sulking.
‘Jiao Wu, the truth is Tan Yuan isn’t the only one with reservations,’ Mrs Qiao said. ‘Even if Tan Yuan agrees to be with you because of Xiao Bao, I wouldn’t give you my blessing to marry Tan Yuan. How can I give my blessing when you don’t know what your heart wants? You need time to figure out why you want to marry Tan Yuan. Is it Xiao Bao or Tan Yuan who you want to spend the rest of your life with?’
‘Aunty, what’s the difference?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
Mr Qiao patted Mrs Qiao’s hand to calm her.
‘Jiao Wu, go home and think about what’s the difference before you come see Tan Yuan again,’ Mr Qiao said.
‘But…’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘Don’t think no one wants to marry big sister,’ Qiao Jie said. ‘Big sister has a long line of men waiting for her to give them a chance.’
‘Qiao Jie!’ Mrs Qiao warned. ‘Jiao Wu, go home and think about what marriage means to you. After you thought about everything carefully, you can come back.’
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t want to upset Mr and Mrs Gu and reluctantly stood.
‘Uncle, aunty, I’ll go home first,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘I’ll come back to see Xiao Bao and Tan Yuan soon.’
After Gu Jiao Wu left, Mr and Mrs Qiao sighed.
‘Why is someone intelligent and successful so clueless when it comes to love?’ Mrs Qiao asked.
‘He takes after his dad,’ Mr Qiao said and shook his head. ‘We shouldn’t interfere, and let them make their own decisions.’
‘Interfering?’ Mrs Qiao asked. ‘I’m only worried Tan Yuan will be hurt again.’
Mr Qiao kept quiet. He didn’t need to say Qiao Tan Yuan had been hurting since the divorce. She suffered a difficult pregnancy, balancing work and home life on her own. What did anyone from the Gu Household do to support Qiao Tan Yuan? Nothing.
‘Dad, mum, I think we shouldn’t let him come here anymore,’ Qiao Jie said. ‘I’ll hire security to guard the front gate, and instruct them not to let him in.’
‘Qiao Jie!’ Mr Qiao said. ‘If you took your work duties seriously then your big sister and niece would be living a peaceful life in Denmark by now. And don’t open your mouth to speak nonsense again otherwise I’ll kick you to a remote place for you to start your own company.’
‘OK, I won’t say nonsense,’ Qiao Jie surrendered. ‘I’ll go out.’
Qiao Jie strode outside, and Mr and Mrs Qiao shook their heads. Mr and Mrs Qiao wished they had at least one child that didn’t make them worry about them. But Mr and Mrs Qiao hoped Gu Jiao Wu would think about why he wanted to marry Qiao Tan Yuan, and make the right decision.
End of Chapter Seventy-Seven