Chapter 40 - Feeling Unjust (“Is it that Mu’s that you don’t like or is it me?”)

The old madam only brought up marriage briefly. After the two had walked inside the house, they started talking about work and other subjects and marriage was never brought up again.

Xu WanZhi chatted with the old madam and Mu Ling but she saw out of the corners of her eyes that Mu XueLin and Xu Tian were discussing something and looked as thought they had reached some sort of an agreement.

Xu WanZhi looked over at Mu ZhenYu. The man was reading a financial magazine while sitting properly on the couch. He was nice and calm as though nothing had happened.

Nobody inside of this house was normal!

Dinner was ready shortly after 6 PM. Xu WanZhi saw that Mu ZhenYu had put down the magazine and walked over to the bathroom. She stood up and pretended that she happened to be heading over that direction as well.

The two of them met at the foyer. With a sidestep, Xu WanZhi blocked in front of him.

She rarely talked to him and this was the very first time that she had blocked him like this. There was finally a smile on Mu ZhenYu's long face. "What's the matter?"

Xu WanZhi checked both sides of them and, only after she had made sure that there was nobody around them, said to him softly, "Just a few days ago, you told me that your father and my father…"

She had a great sense of hearing. Now that she had lowered her voice purposefully, she sounded like a mosquito. She could hear what she was saying herself but Mu ZhenYu was completely baffled. "Speak louder."

"A few days ago…" She raised her voice. Then, feeling that it was too risky, finally reached out and put her arms around his neck to pull him down some and closer to her. "Didn't you say a few days ago that perhaps your father met up with my father to talk about our marriage? Did you know something that you didn't tell me about?"

Mu ZhenYu hrumphed and said with a mocking look, "Xu WanZhi, what are you thinking? Do you really think that I will collude with Mu XueLin instead of talking to you?"

Hearing that, Xu WanZhi, albeit still feeling suspicious, had no choice but nodded. "I guess that make sense…"

Before she was done talking, Mu XueLin also walked over as though purposefully. He smiled when he saw the two of them in the foyer, their faces next to each other's and their breath mixed together, and said loudly, "Oh, you two kids. You even need to show some affection for each other just going to wash your hands before dinner. This is making me envious."

Mu ZhenYu stood up straight, casted him a glance before he pulled Xu WanZhi into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

The old madam and Mu Ling were unusually quiet over the dinner table. Nobody at the dinner table talked until half way through dinner when Mu XueLin finally looked up and said, "The two of us had gathered everyone around today to talk about your marriage. I've only met Lao Xu not too long ago but we get along very well with each other. Both of us are very supportive of your marriage but we would like to solicit your opinions. After all, Miss Xu was the girl's side and we, as the man's side, should take the lead. What are your thoughts, Miss Xu?"

Hearing that, Xu WanZhi looked over at Mu ZhenYu. She saw that he just kept on eating his dinner as though he didn't hear anything. All of a sudden, she was not certain what she should do.

Should she accept or decline?

All of a sudden, she recalled the part in the original novel when Mu ZhenYu learned that the original owner wanted to marry into the prestigious family for money, he had his hand around the original owner's neck and pinned her to the wall. His strength was so strong that he had almost snapped her neck.

He said to her, "You need to always remind yourself and keep in mind your own status. Don't get any ideas. To me, crushing you is even easier than crushing an egg."

Xu WanZhi shuddered and kept her mouth tightly shut.

Before either one of the two of them had responded, Mu XiYuan looked up and toasted Xu WanZhi with his wine glass. "Congratulations, Miss Xu. You have been scheming every day and going above and beyond. Your dream to marry into a prestigious family has finally come true."

Xu WanZhi gave him a look.

She knew that Mu XiYuan was just goading her. He wanted her to turn it down. She had set him quite a few times and, naturally, Mu XiYuan hated her. As much as he didn't get along with Mu ZhenYu, he still didn't want her to become his sister-in-law.

That had, however, offered her a way out. She was already leaning toward turning it down. She only worried about stepping on Mu ZhenYu's toes and she'd have to pay the price if he was upset. Now that Mu XiYuan had brought this up, she would be able to use that as an excuse to go down that path.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin, also picked up a win glass, and toasted Mu XiYuan. "XiYuan, you are exaggerating. Truth is, I feel that I am still young and I'm not sure that I am ready to take on the responsibilities of being a wife and having my own family. Besides, ZhenYu and I have a good relationship. Whether we get married or not, it's just a matter of a piece of paper. It doesn't make a lot of difference to us. As for marrying into a prestigious family… The Mu's are strong and had further reached a new height by grandma and grandpa's generation. There is no doubt that it is a prestigious family. That being said, us the Xu's are well aware of where we stand. We should push this marriage on the back burner for now."

Having said that, Xu WanZhi could strongly feel that the atmosphere over the dinner table had dropped.

Let it be Mu XueLin or Mu ZhenYu, they both now have a long face on them.

Seeing that, the old madam quickly stood up to ease the situation. "If you ask me, WanZhi, you are overthinking this. Money is just materialistic goods. One isn't born with it nor can one take it away with them. Just because the Mu's are wealthier doesn't mean that those from the Mu's are more superior. If you feel that the Mu's background is too much pressure for you, you can have a prenuptial agreement with ZhenYu. Of course, if you marry into the Mu's, then ZhenYu's money will be yours. The prenuptial agreement is just for your peacefulness of mind is all."

Feeling the pressure from all directions, Xu WanZhi felt that she was cornered. She looked over to Mu ZhenYu for help.

Mu ZhenYu continued to look down and refuse to say a word.

Xu WanZhi was displeased. With her cheeks bulged up, she nudged him on his hand. "Well, what do you say?"

Mu ZhenYu finally put down his chopsticks, gave Xu WanZhi a look, looked up, and said to everybody sitting around the table. "I quite like the idea of getting married. I'll talk to WanWan after we get back. I will let Grandma and Aunty take care of the date and the other details. We can have Tiana design the wedding gown. I'll wake WanWan to try it on when the time comes."

Xu WanZhi's mouth dropped open when she heard what he had said.

Whatever happened to the ruthless and unruly villain in the original novel?

Nevertheless, the old madam, Mu Ling, and the two fathers all looked very happy. They clapped and they toasted each other. All of them have a happy look on them. Xu WanZhi and Mu XiYuan, for the first time ever, both looked defeated.

Getting married… how did she end up selling herself before the 6-month contract was even up?

After dinner, the entire family sat in front of the TV and waited for "Blossoming Us"'s series finale to air. When Xu WanZhi saw Xu Tian went over to the back yard to smoke, she put her fruit down and followed him out.