The Only Strange Thing

Su Yan glanced at the synopsis but didn't see anything strange there either. See? He had been right! This was a completely normal novel. Nie Chang just hadn't understood. Mn, he should tell him about it later.

Su Yan clicked on the [read] button and started with the first chapter. He soon had to find out that even though his boyfriend had put in a lot of effort with preparing the notes he had gotten some things wrong.

This novel wasn't about four friends going on an adventure to find wives at all! No, actually, this was the story about two brothers who were called Wang Ya Hui and Wang Ya Ting. Wang Ya Ting was the older of the two and he was the only one who wanted to marry.

If you really wanted to find something about the novel that was weird, it would probably be this character. At first glance, nothing was wrong with Wang Ya Ting. He was a good-looking guy with a friendly disposition. This was definitely a man who shouldn't have any problem with finding a suitable wife. Which woman wouldn't want such a man as her husband?

Unfortunately, Wang Ya Ting had high requirements. And not of the usual kind. Of course, he would prefer it if she was pretty but that wasn't the most important thing. She didn't need to be intelligent or thrifty either since their family had enough money. But there was one thing that wasn't debatable: She needed to get along with his little brother.

Wang Ya Hui was eight years younger than his brother, a cute youth brimming with curiosity. Unfortunately, he was the epitome of naivete. He trusted each and every person he met at first sight. Getting abducted every three days or poisoned every five wasn't anything strange for him.

There wasn't a better word to describe him than 'troublesome' but Wang Ya Ting still regarded him as the apple of his eye. This was his only brother, after all! And he would forever stay his only brother since their mother had died already. Keeping him safe and making sure that he did not want for anything was the most important task in Wang Ya Ting's life. Thus finding a wife that loved his brother just as much as he did was necessary.

Unfortunately, his way of doing things wasn't making things easier. If a woman looked at his brother slightly longer, he thought she was interested in him in an indecent way and threw her out. If a woman didn't look at his brother, he thought she disliked him and threw her out. The subjects she chose to talk about in his brother's presence were judged just as harshly. Thus no woman in the city where they lived dared to think of marrying Wang Ya Ting anymore.

And this was where the novel began.

Wang Ya Ting wasn't getting younger but he had no chance to find a wife in their city. Thus traveling through the country in search of one was the answer he had come up with. There was only one problem he was presented with when he brought the idea up at home and this was what the author described at the beginning of the novel.

["Xiao Hui!" Wang Ya Ting hugged his beloved younger brother to his chest and patted his head before combing through his hair, each gesture as careful as if he was handling something fragile.

Wang Ya Hui looked up like the well-behaved brother he was but his normally bright eyes had dimmed a little. "Big brother, do you really have to leave?"

Wang Ya Ting's heart squeezed painfully. Ah, his little brother already missed him before he had even left! Could he really do this to him? "Forgive me! But don't you want to have a beautiful sister-in-law to take care of you?"

Wang Ya Hui pursed his lips. "If big brother wants to have a beautiful wife, then I won't make things difficult. I'm just sad you'll be gone for so long. You'll probably not come back for a few weeks at least, right?"

Worry crept into Wang Ya Ting's gaze. Right. If he went to search for a wife, he'd be gone for a long time. Would his little brother really be alright without him? Probably not. Didn't all these men in the city just wait for him to turn around so they could harass his little brother?! He couldn't allow that! But if he stayed, then he would never find a wife that could help him with taking care of him. Unless …

Wang Ya Ting cupped his brother's cheek and kissed his forehead. "Don't worry. Your brother already has an idea!" He smiled and hugged his brother closer.

A few days later, the two Wang brothers left the city together. Wang Ya Hui was sitting in a comfortable carriage while his older brother was riding next to the carriage, looking very much like a gentleman accompanying a young woman.]

Su Yan blinked. This story wasn't exactly what he had expected and he wasn't sure where it would go from now on. Wang Ya Ting should be the protagonist of the novel, right? After all, he was the one who went out to search for a wife while his brother just accompanied him.

Come to think of it … Maybe the other 'three friends' that Nie Chang had mentioned would turn up a little later? The younger brother could just be something additional to get the story started. Maybe they would pick the other men up along their way?

Or maybe his brother would be the reason Wang Ya Ting finally fell in love with another man? But that would also be strange. Wang Ya Ting was obviously guarding his brother very closely. He was especially suspicious of other men that dared to come close. How could he fall in love with another man when his brother was around?

Su Yan perked up. Wait! Maybe that was it! Maybe something would happen to his brother and that would somehow force him to spend time with another man? And then after some time, he would drop his guard and fall in love. That had to be it! He really couldn't imagine any other way this novel could have a happy ending where Wang Ya Ting found himself a boyfriend.

Su Yan soon enough found out he had been completely wrong. In more than one regard.