"Bai Jiu is so wonderful. She even said she’d help me prepare my wedding supplies." At the thought of Bai Jiu’s words, Xiang Gaoli blushed once again.
Xie Mei felt a surge of frustration lodge in her chest. Unable to exhale or swallow it down, she nearly choked to death on her own anger.
"What am I supposed to say to you? You got bought off just because they gave you a few things. Do you realize that in the future, your family might have to support her and her two kids?"
She had truly raised her daughter to be utterly useless. If she had known her daughter was this naive, she wouldn’t have spoiled her so much in the past. She knew absolutely nothing about how the world worked.
"That won’t happen," Xiang Gaoli retorted, not thinking much of it. After all, Bai Jiu received state subsidies every month. "Her husband’s workplace gives her a monthly allowance. Even if she moves back, she’s the one taking the loss."
How much money could a mother and her two children possibly spend? Today, she overheard an officer from the Public Security Bureau muttering that Bai Jiu received twenty yuan a month, along with ration coupons and other things. She could completely provide for her own food and clothing. She might even end up subsidizing her maiden family.
"Oh, you." Hearing this, Xie Mei breathed a genuine sigh of relief. It wasn’t that she was unwilling to let her daughter help Bai Jiu. It was just that doing so would wrong her own daughter. As a mother, who would want to see their child suffer? Life for the Bai Family was already difficult as it was.
"What else did the Bai Family say? Tell me everything at once, so I don’t die of anger from hearing it piece by piece." Xie Mei could tell that her daughter was playing mind games with her.
"HEHE, Mom," Xiang Gaoli acted coyly with her mother. "Bai Jiu asked me to see if you and Dad would agree to my relationship with Brother Bai. If you agree, our two families can set a time to have a meal together." Xiang Gaoli’s face flushed with shyness.
Xie Mei breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was good news.
"Can I even say no?" Xie Mei rolled her eyes at her daughter—an expression the two shared to a tee.
"No, you can’t."
"Exactly. Alright, we’ll discuss it when your dad gets back tonight and set a date." Her daughter was already twenty; they truly couldn’t delay this any longer. Any longer, and she’d become an old maid.
"Okay!"
When Father Xiang, Xiang Yuanliang, returned home, he was met with a high-level reception from his daughter. Momentarily bewildered, he cast a cry for help toward his wife.
Xie Mei glanced at the father and daughter, shooting them a reproachful look. "Your daughter has a favor to ask," she said, before heading off to busy herself with dinner.
Xiang Yuanliang sighed in relief. "Daughter, tell me what’s on your mind. If it’s within my power, I’ll definitely get it done for you." It was a rare sight for his precious daughter to beg him for something. Most of the time, he was the one begging her.
"Dad, I want to marry Brother Bai." Xiang Gaoli wasn’t one to mince words, directly stating her request.
"Would he agree to that?" Although Xiang Yuanliang was somewhat surprised, he quickly asked.
Xiang Gaoli then recounted the events of her day once more.
After hearing her out, Xiang Yuanliang fell silent. It was a good while before he finally spoke. "What do you think about it yourself?"
"I’ll only ever love Brother Bai in this lifetime. If I can’t marry him, I won’t marry anyone at all," Xiang Gaoli declared, making her stance clear.
Xiang Yuanliang let out a heavy sigh. "Wasn’t he unwilling before?" Otherwise, his two sons wouldn’t have gotten so angry that they went and beat the man up. Fortunately, they had kept that incident a secret from Gao Li; otherwise... there would have been a massive uproar.
"I don’t know." Not having received a definitive answer, Xiang Gaoli started to feel a bit anxious.
"Alas, you..." He was completely helpless when it came to this daughter of his. "How about this: go send a message tomorrow. Tell the Bai Family that our family agrees to this marriage."
He wasn’t afraid of losing face; what he feared was losing his daughter.
Compared to the tranquility at the Xiang Family’s home, the situation at the Bai Family’s home was much more heated.
"I won’t marry her," Bai Xingguo immediately declared his refusal upon hearing about the marriage proposal.
"Why not?" Bai Jiu put down her bowl and chopsticks, looking at her older brother as she asked.
Bai Xingguo really wanted to say that he didn’t like her. Yet, when the words reached his lips, he simply couldn’t force them out.
"Our family has a bad background. We aren’t good enough for her." In the end, he could only brush off his little sister’s question with the very excuse he used to convince himself.
Bai Jiu was left speechless. Just how much of an inferiority complex did he have? It seemed they had truly suffered a lot over the years due to their background. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be this guarded.
"Xingguo, you don’t need to worry about this. Tomorrow—tomorrow, you won’t feel this way anymore." She was extremely confident about the situation at the Public Security Bureau. There would definitely be results tomorrow.
Although she was somewhat surprised that their next-door neighbors hadn’t come knocking to cause trouble today, she knew that the police must have already begun clearing the Bai Family’s name.
"Right now, we’re only talking about whether you’ll marry her or not," Bai Jiu said, not wanting Xingguo to dodge the question.
Looking deeply conflicted, Bai Xingguo turned his gaze toward his parents.
"Don’t look at your mother and me. We both like that girl," Father Bai stated his stance right away.
"I like Sister Li too! She’s great," Bai Xinghua chimed in.
Bai Xingbang had even fewer objections. He had seen her get angered to tears by Xingguo on several occasions.
She was a good person. It was safe to say that the entire family had a very good impression of Xiang Gaoli. Only the stubborn Bai Xingguo was still throwing a petty tantrum.
"Mrs. Xingguo knows that bringing her into the family would do her a disservice, but she also sees her deep affection for you," Mother Bai said. "You shouldn’t let her down. It’s not easy for a woman to go this far for you."
Mother Bai sighed as she spoke. Deep in her heart, she mostly approved of Xiang Gaoli as a daughter-in-law. She hadn’t brought it up before because her son hadn’t made his stance clear, and ultimately, it was his life to live. Now that her daughter had brought it up and briefed her on the situation, she understood that she bore some responsibility for how their lives had turned out over all these years.
The fear. The panic. The endless worry.
If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t be like this, but only by experiencing it firsthand did she truly understand the terror of it all. To think that their perfectly fine, wealthy household had ultimately fallen to such a state. It was tragic. It was lamentable.
However, compared to other families, their outcome was far, far better. It was precisely because this peace was hard-won that the family kept their heads down and acted so submissively.
"Mom," Bai Xingguo said, a look of profound grief on his face. Did he like her? He did. But if she truly married him, what about her future? "She deserves better."
He wasn’t a man who didn’t understand romance. He understood it, and he knew it well. But his heart ached for her. She clearly came from a good background; she shouldn’t drag herself down into the mud for his sake.
"If this is going to remain your attitude, Xingguo, then I also think you aren’t good enough for Xiang Gaoli. Because the man she fell in love with isn’t prepared to shield her from life’s storms." Bai Jiu highly disapproved of this trait in him.
While she could understand his perspective, the woman had already gone this far for him. What was there left to be so awkward about? It was nothing more than his fragile male pride acting up. A man like that wasn’t even worth having.
"Jiu’er," Mother Bai called out disapprovingly upon hearing her daughter’s words. She shook her head at her, signaling her to stop talking.
"This matter still depends on you. Your dad and I have no objections." Mother Bai understood her son well. If he couldn’t figure it out for himself, this marriage would never happen no matter what.
That night, the Bai Family fell silent.
Mother Bai still slept in the same room as Bai Jiu. In the dead of night, the mother and daughter chatted quietly in bed.