Chapter 147: It’s Settled

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“Thank you.”

“Wouldn’t that still count as settling the debt? It’s only a matter of when. Perhaps we can settle it all next time—or the time after.”

“Absolutely tragic.”

“But I have to bring you here. You’re not allowed to make your own decisions. I know what you’re like. You’re perfectly capable of sending ingredients over and coming here to eat while I’m away.”

He nipped their attempts to exploit loopholes in the wording and cut off any excuse they might use to come and disturb Yuxiu.

Wu Chao, Cao Zheng, and Luo Lijun gave sheepish smiles. The other two might not do such a thing, but they certainly would. And once they did, the other two would follow suit. In effect, all five of them were capable of it.

“Don’t worry, Boss. We’ll be sure to get your permission before coming over.”

For the sake of enjoying Dog Egg’s cooking from time to time, they were willing to take any number of steps backward.

“Then it’s settled.” Yan Rushan changed tack. “You should understand that it isn’t that we don’t welcome you to come eat. Yuxiu is busy with her studies and under a great deal of pressure at work. Sometimes she doesn’t even come home all day, so there’d be no point in your coming.”

“We understand. Sister-in-law works hard every day too.” Lin Kai nodded in agreement. Hadn’t he seen Rushan longing to see her sometimes, yet only able to meet her by taking a meal to the school?

The other brothers expressed their understanding as well.

“Sister-in-law’s studies and work are important. Whenever we come to freeload, it’s still freeloading, isn’t it? We’ll wait until she has some free time.”

“We’ll listen to Big Brother.” Cheng Minglang was the most conspicuous in voicing his agreement.

Yan Rushan was satisfied inwardly and gave an almost imperceptible nod. “Dog Egg’s cooking is excellent. In the future, come over and get together on weekends when you have time.”

“All right.” Wu Chao agreed faster than anyone else, as though afraid Yan Rushan might change his mind.

“Saturday or Sunday evening—or at noon?” Cao Zheng asked. “Boss, or are you saying we can freeload for the whole day?”

Yan Rushan looked toward Yuxiu, waiting for her to decide.

“On the weekend, I don’t have much to do that day. It would be nice for everyone to come over and spend the day together.”

These men all had good character. Friends gathering frequently was perfectly ordinary. Yet the circumstances of the times had narrowed everyone’s outlook, and opportunities to meet often were rare.

For some, their family circumstances did not allow it. For others, the limitations of the era stood in the way.

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When all was said and done, nothing could escape the principle of opposites: wherever there was a good side, there was a bad one. Nothing could ever be perfect, nor could everything be flawless.

“Sister-in-law really is the best.” Luo Lijun came alive. If they could not freeload every day, once a week would do. “Big Brother is always afraid you’ll get tired or that we’ll disturb your work. We’ve tried stirring things up several times before, saying that everyone should meet at least once so we’d know each other when we ran into one another later. But Big Brother refused, saying you were busy and we couldn’t disturb you. He said we’d meet when you had time, and then he kept putting it off until now.”

“I don’t mind. I’d already met you before. The others haven’t formally met you yet, and they’ve been jealous. They even joined forces to deal with me and assigned me all sorts of exhausting tasks because of it.”

Once Luo Lijun started complaining, he could not stop, mainly because he believed Zhong Yuxiu was a good person—someone he could trust and confide in.

Unfortunately, he forgot that several brothers were standing nearby, and they promptly gave him a beating.

After letting them make a commotion for a while, Yan Rushan finally said, “It’s getting late. You should be heading home.”

“All right. We’ll leave first.” When Wu Chao and Cao Zheng saw that the sky had indeed darkened, they hurried to their feet and took their leave.

Lin Kai, Luo Lijun, and Cheng Minglang followed them out. Yan Ruhai remained seated on the stool. After the earlier uproar, he knew that his elder brother’s words had been meant not only for Wu Chao and the others, but for him as well.

Once Wu Chao and the others had left, Yan Ruhai silently walked over to Yan Rushan and Yuxiu.

“Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. I didn’t think things through before. I failed to consider how busy you were, and I kept coming over and taking up your time.” Yan Rushan said nothing. After a pause, Yan Ruhai continued, “Brother, I’ll come with you from now on.”

Yan Rushan: “...”

His own younger brother. His actual, biological younger brother.

Zhong Yuxiu smiled. That answer was so very like Yan Ruhai. “If you come with your brother from now on, that’s fine. Wu Chao and the others will be coming too, after all.”

“All right.” Yan Rushan nodded, and the smile on Yan Ruhai’s face visibly brightened.

“Sister-in-law, Brother, I’ll be going home now.” Yan Ruhai walked out with a smile, then turned back at the doorway and grinned at his brother. “Brother, I’ll stand guard for you. Help Sister-in-law finish tidying up the house before you come back.”

After Yan Ruhai left, Yan Rushan took Zhong Yuxiu’s hand. “Every one of them is a brute. All they want is to come disturb us.”

“They’re your brothers, aren’t they? Otherwise, you wouldn’t let them come.” Zhong Yuxiu did not mind having the house lively. “It isn’t as though they’ll come every day. You may have a close relationship, but the relationships worth keeping still need to be tended with care.”

Even family affection would fade if it was not maintained, let alone friendship.

“Mm.” Yan Rushan took her words to heart. “We will. We grew up together and got into plenty of mischief as children. After all these years, we regard one another as brothers. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so unreserved with you.”

They had even spoken openly about coming to eat regularly, though this was their first time dining at Yuxiu’s home. Clearly, they had formed an excellent impression of her and genuinely accepted her.

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“I’m only saying this because I care. If you go into business in the future, you’ll inevitably need people to support you. Little Hai won’t do—his temperament simply isn’t suited to it. With those men around, things will be much easier for you.”

Zhong Yuxiu had spoken from the heart.

Yan Rushan was stunned for a moment, then smiled. “All right. Thank you, Xiu, for making plans for me so far in advance.”

“It’s only natural. Brothers are more reassuring to rely on than strangers, aren’t they?”

“Indeed.” Yan Rushan nodded solemnly. The young woman beside him wore a radiant smile. Even after being surrounded by noise all day and exhausted from the day’s events, she had not uttered a single complaint.

“Yuxiu, we’ve lost out.”

Zhong Yuxiu looked puzzled. “Lost out on what?”

“We should have made them pay for their meals. We can’t let them get away with providing only the ingredients.” Yan Rushan chuckled, his eyes full of teasing amusement.

“Oh, stop it. They’ll certainly bring a great deal of food. Perhaps they’ll even cover all my meals from now on.” She rolled her eyes at him and turned to help Dog Egg clear the table.

Yan Rushan was in excellent spirits. He leaned over and unexpectedly kissed her cheek. The chopsticks in Zhong Yuxiu’s hand fell onto the table with a sharp clatter.

“I’ll do it, Xiu. Sit down and rest for a while. I tired you out today with matters concerning me.” Yan Rushan picked up the fallen chopsticks and, taking advantage of the moment, pressed her down into a chair.

The man was being considerate, so Zhong Yuxiu accepted his attentions without reserve. “Brother Yan, should I go to your family’s home for the New Year?”

“Of course!” Yan Rushan’s hand paused as he gathered the chopsticks. He lowered his eyes to look at her. “You don’t want to spend the New Year at my house?”

Zhong Yuxiu nodded. “We aren’t married yet, after all.”

How would it look for her to go to the man’s family home for the New Year?

Yan Rushan set down the chopsticks and crouched before her. Taking her hands in his large palms, he said, “My parents won’t mind. You’re all alone here, and I can’t rest easy.”

Other families would spend the New Year in noisy, cheerful gatherings, while Zhong Yuxiu would be alone, facing the cold emptiness of the entire house. How could he bear to let that happen?

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