After Becoming a Spare Tire, I Got Together with My White Moonlight - Chapter 43

Yan Guiqiu: “…”

Jiang Xuehe: “…”

Even Song Anchen on the other end of the phone was too stunned to be angry, only managing to ask in disbelief, “So soon?”

Yan Guizhou counted on her fingers: “You’re in love with each other, you’ve met the parents, there’s no messy history with exes, no rivals pulling you apart, and from what I’ve seen these past couple of days, your relationship has only gotten better so there shouldn’t be any conflicts over values or lifestyle habits. What other obstacles could possibly stand in the way of you getting married?”

As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and looked up at the two in surprise, asking, “You’re not anti-marriage, are you?”

“…” The two fell silent for a moment, but then honestly shook their heads. “No, not at all.”

Yan Guizhou clapped her hands happily, confidently retorting, “Then what’s the problem?”

Even Yan Guiqiu was taken aback by her sister’s bizarre logic. Her lips twitched as she reluctantly reminded her, “We’ve only been together for a few days.”

At most, it hadn’t even been ten days.

Their own parents had waited a full month after getting together before registering their marriage.

And even that was considered incredibly fast.

“No one’s asking you to register right this second,” Yan Guizhou said. “But whether you get married sooner or later, you’re going to do it eventually. Why not decide now so we can start preparing early?”

Yan Guiqiu: “…”

That did make a certain amount of sense.

Yan Guiqiu felt a little swayed and turned to look at Jiang Xuehe.

She had expected Jiang Xuehe to brush it off, after all, marriage was a lifelong commitment. Deep down, Yan Guiqiu felt a flicker of hope, but she also knew these things couldn’t be rushed.

Pushing too hard would seem frivolous, and she didn’t want to leave Jiang Xuehe with that kind of impression.

There was plenty of time ahead. Now that they were together, she could wait however long it took for the next steps.

But Jiang Xuehe didn’t seem displeased.

After a moment of thought, she actually had an idea: “How about a year from now?”

She paused before adding seriously, “If we’re still together in a year, then we’ll get married.”

Her tone was earnest, and it was clear to everyone that she wasn’t joking.

Yan Guizhou wanted to say more, but Gu Yuyin subtly nudged her arm.

On the other side, Yan Guiqiu softly agreed, “Okay.”

Just then, someone called for Song Anchen, and after a quick goodbye, she hung up. Over at the Yan household, everyone began clearing the table for dinner.

Yan Guizhou and Gu Yuyin went to the kitchen to bring out the dishes and found Yan’s father secretly eavesdropping by the kitchen door so distracted that he had burned one of the dishes.

When the two came in, he coughed lightly and calmly turned to wash the pan.

Yan Guizhou quietly asked Gu Yuyin what she had meant earlier.

Surely she wasn’t thinking about backing out later?

Her sister didn’t seem opposed at all; she probably wouldn’t even object if someone suggested they get married tomorrow.

But Jiang Xuehe was clearly much more cautious in this regard.

Thinking it over, a year wasn’t really that long, it would give them more time to understand each other.

“Probably because of the Jiang family situation,” Gu Yuyin whispered in reply.

The Jiang family’s attitude was still uncertain. If they got married without any warning, the family would likely cause trouble, and Yan Guiqiu wouldn’t be able to avoid the fallout.

Yan Guiqiu herself probably wouldn’t mind, but Gu Yuyin privately thought it was better to wait, let Jiang Xuehe handle her family affairs first before they focused on their own relationship.

No matter how deep a relationship is, it shouldn’t be one-sided where only one person gives.

“The Jiang family?” Yan Guizhou had naturally heard about the Jiang family’s affairs. “Could it be that they’re trying to cause trouble for my sister and the others?”

“Hard to say,” Gu Yuyin replied.

Yan Guizhou frowned and thought for a moment. Her family had previously discussed the Jiang family’s situation privately. They couldn’t determine whether the Jiang family had hidden circumstances like their own or if they were truly as discordant as the rumors suggested. In the end, they decided that unless Jiang Xuehe brought it up herself, they wouldn’t mention it.

Jiang Xuehe had been here for several days without mentioning her family, which already gave a clear indication of her stance.

It might not have reached the point of sworn enemies, but their relationship was clearly not close.

Now, with Gu Yuyin’s comment, Yan Guizhou immediately understood the Jiang family’s true attitude.

It also gave her some insight into the internal dynamics of the Jiang family’s inheritance changes.

“If it really comes to it, we could just buy out the Jiang family,” Yan Guizhou mused after a moment of thought.

“Pfft.”

Gu Yuyin nearly choked on her own saliva. She turned and gave Yan Guizhou a thorough, head-to-toe look before saying tactfully, “That might be a bit difficult.”

In terms of overall strength, the Yan and Jiang families were roughly on par. The Yan family, with its capable members in Yan Guizhou’s father’s generation, might even have a slight edge.

But even the Luan family, whose foundation was far deeper than theirs, wouldn’t dare claim they could buy out the Jiang family. Given the Yan family’s current capabilities, it was indeed unrealistic.

“Not right now, of course,” Yan Guizhou said dismissively. “The Jiang family’s patriarch isn’t getting any younger. Once that person takes over, it shouldn’t be as difficult. I can still give it a try.”

Gu Yuyin glanced at Yan Guizhou, who practically had the word “youth” written all over her face, and swallowed her additional comments. She nodded and encouraged, “Ambitious. Keep it up.”

It was good for young people to have drive.

And youth was indeed a form of capital.

After all, this was Yan Guiqiu’s sister. Gu Yuyin, who knew very little about business, felt she had no right to “advise” the younger Yan sister.

They didn’t notice that Yan Guizhou’s father had been standing behind them for a long time, holding a plate.

“What about the Jiang family?” he suddenly asked.

“Huh?” The two turned around and were startled by his stern expression. They instinctively shook their heads and tried to cover it up. “Nothing.”

Yan’s father eyed them suspiciously for a moment but didn’t press further. “Hurry up and bring the dishes out. They’ll get cold soon.”

The two nodded repeatedly. Outside, Jiang Xuehe and Yan Guiqiu had already set the table and cleared away the clutter. Just then, Madam Meng came in, hung her coat on the rack, washed her hands in the bathroom, and sat down to wait for the meal.

During dinner, no one brought up any unpleasant topics. For some reason, Yan Guiqiu was unusually energetic today, chatting and making bets with her sister. She ended up volunteering to wash the dishes that evening, and no one argued with her.

But after the meal, Yan Guiqiu began to regret it.

Madam Meng mentioned that she would be on a business trip starting next week and needed to prepare some documents over the next two days. After dinner, she went upstairs. Yan’s father took the other three girls outside to play with sparklers. Yan Guiqiu, looking at the pile of dishes on the table, slumped on the sofa, unwilling to get up.

Seeing her so eager, Father Yan’s mood lifted slightly. Clearing his throat, he made the decision: “You’re allowed to play for twenty minutes before washing the dishes.”

Yan Guiqiu cheered and immediately sprang up from the sofa.

There was an open space in the small yard outside, and the fireworks they had were just the small sparklers strung on thin wires. Once lit, they crackled and sparkled. With the yard lights turned off, the sight was quite beautiful.

Yan Guiqiu had actually outgrown the age where she enjoyed playing with these things, but her mood and interest depended greatly on the company she kept.

Jiang Xuehe hadn’t had much exposure to such things as a child, so she found it quite intriguing.

The two of them wandered around the yard for a while before settling on the steps in the corner. They casually lit the sparklers while watching the other two excitedly darting around the yard. As they chatted idly, the conversation turned to their childhoods.

Yan Guiqiu found it amusing and couldn’t help asking, “What did you play with when you were little, Xuehe?”

Jiang Xuehe thought for a moment and replied, “Building blocks, puzzles, Rubik’s cubes educational toys, mostly. But I didn’t have much time to play. Most of my time was spent being taken to various parties by my mom or attending classes.”

Yan Guiqiu asked, “What kind of classes?”

Jiang Xuehe answered, “Piano, guzheng, traditional Chinese painting, dance English and etiquette, among others. There were a few more, but I attended them for such a short time I can’t even remember. By middle school, academic studies became more demanding, so I only continued with piano and painting.”

Yan Guiqiu sighed sincerely, “That sounds exhausting.”

“You get used to it,” Jiang Xuehe smiled. “All the girls around me were living like that back then. What about you, Guiqiu?”

“I don’t think I attended many extracurricular classes,” Yan Guiqiu recalled carefully, realizing her childhood had been unusually free. “I did take piano lessons for a while, but I’m tone-deaf and really didn’t enjoy it. The teacher personally sent me back after just two weeks.”

Father Yan and Madam Meng never forced their daughter to cultivate any additional interests.

As for Yan Guizhou, she was already fiercely competing for every honor at school. Knowing her temperament, her parents didn’t dare enroll her in any extracurricular classes either.

The main reason was that neither of them had much interest in artistic pursuits meant to refine one’s character. Instead, they both loved running around outdoors. Their parents had signed them up for sports classes like swimming, sanda, and ball games such as table tennis and badminton, which eventually evolved into family outdoor activities.

No wonder their lifesaving skills were so polished.

Jiang Xuehe suddenly understood part of the reason.

“My parents once thought my sister would end up becoming an athlete or something,” Yan Guiqiu chuckled. “They almost sent her to the provincial team. She’s way more talented in sports than I am, but she didn’t like it, and my dad thought it was too tough, so they dropped the idea.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I guess I just wandered around the company,” Yan Guiqiu said. “I didn’t have any grand ambitions as a child. I just did whatever was in front of me.”

In her spare time, Yan Guiqiu threw herself entirely into the company.

Whether it was the Yan family’s business or the Meng family’s, she came and went freely. As a child, as long as it wasn’t anything too confidential, the adults generally didn’t bother hiding things from her.

She was so observant and sharp-eared that, without the adults ever noticing, she had already pieced together most of the situation regarding her own family’s company and even that of their competitors.

Ms. Meng believed her daughter was a genius, but even geniuses had to invest considerable time and effort behind the scenes.

However, at that time, Yan Guiqiu had little else to do. Seeing her parents constantly stressed about work, she developed a desire to help share their burdens.

Sometimes, when her younger sister came to visit their parents and her during holidays, Yan Guiqiu would bring Yan Guizhou along to gather information younger children had an advantage in extracting intel. To this day, Yan Guiqiu wasn’t entirely sure whether her actions back then had influenced her sister’s future career path.

Compared to Jiang Xuehe, the Yan sisters indeed didn’t quite fit the mold of “young ladies from wealthy families” or “refined maidens” in their childhood.

Moreover, judging by how effortlessly Jiang Xuehe got into a prestigious art school abroad after dropping out, it was clear that her “interests” were pursued with depth, not merely for show.

“Xuehe-jie, it’s truly impressive that you stuck with it,” Yan Guiqiu said with genuine admiration. “If it were me, I probably couldn’t even sit still for half an hour.”

“When I was little, I learned because I liked it,” Jiang Xuehe paused before continuing, “Actually, when I was young, my mother favored me over my brother. I saw all the older sisters around me learning those things, and I thought, if they could do it, so could I and I could do it even better. So, I asked my mother to find me a teacher.”

Back then, Mrs. Jiang indulged her in everything. Though she worried her daughter might be overworking herself, a little acting cute from Jiang Xuehe would make her forget all her principles. She would nod repeatedly in agreement and even help persuade Mr. Jiang afterward.

Unfortunately, as time passed, everything gradually changed.

The atmosphere grew somewhat somber. Jiang Xuehe snapped out of her thoughts, picked up a new sparkler, and leaned toward Yan Guiqiu, using the last ember to light a fresh one.

“Things aren’t so bad now,” Jiang Xuehe smiled, glanced at the clock, and changed the subject. “Shouldn’t you be heading back to do the dishes?”

Yan Guiqiu: “…”

Yan Guiqiu: “Please don’t remind me of such a sorrowful task.”

Even as she said this, she called out to Yan Guizhou and Gu Yuyin, asking them to keep Jiang Xuehe company for a while. Then she patted her pants, stood up, and went back to wash the dishes.

Yan Guizhou and Gu Yuyin laughed gleefully not far away, clearly taking delight in her predicament.

Jiang Xuehe remained seated, watching them and smiling along. After a moment, she felt a shadow fall over her from behind. Turning around, she saw Yan’s father standing there, holding a sparkler as well.

The delicate little toy looked oddly amusing paired with his handsome yet stern face.

Jiang Xuehe instinctively started to stand up, but Yan’s father gently pressed her shoulder, signaling for her to stay seated. He then sat down beside her.

“I overheard what you were talking about earlier,” Yan’s father said after a moment of silence.

Jiang Xuehe was taken aback and turned to look at him under the light from behind.

Yan’s father wore a conflicted expression, as if pondering something important or perhaps hesitating about whether to speak.

After sitting there for a while, he finally decided to continue.

“I’ve heard a bit about your family’s situation,” Yan’s father said. “I’ve been thinking it over carefully, and there are some things I’d like to say to you.”

Jiang Xuehe’s grip on the sparkler tightened slightly, but she still spoke as gently as possible. “Go ahead.”

Yan’s father said, “I think it would be better to hold the wedding here.”

Jiang Xuehe froze for a moment. “Huh?”

Thinking she was dissatisfied, Yan’s father quickly added, “The environment here is nice. If you invite friends over, you can host them and take them out for a couple of days. There are plenty of high-end hotels, and they can prepare both Western and Chinese cuisine. Most importantly, since we’ve already met here, we’ll definitely put more care into the preparations and make sure you don’t lose face.”

After elaborating at length on all the reasons, Yan’s father finally glanced cautiously at Jiang Xuehe, his tone full of expectation as he sought her opinion.

“What do you think?”

Jiang Xuehe: “…”

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