A familiar yet distant voice

  "In that case, what are you still worried about?" An Lan's tone was clearly mocking.

  Ling Yuwei's actions aren't like the idiom "this place has no silver three hundred taels", are they? If she firmly believes her feelings with Yi Shuihan are unbreakable, what's the point of coming to talk to her?

  Ling Yuwei was immediately shut up by An Lan and couldn't say a word, it took her a while to say: "I'm not worried about my relationship with Shui Han, because our relationship is originally unbreakable, but I'm worried that I will be misunderstood as a mistress because of your marriage to Shui Han, so..."

  "Sorry, I guess there's no way to take care of your concerns," An Lan coldly interrupted Ling Yuwei: "If Miss Ling is worried that she will be mistaken for a mistress in the future, then she should keep her distance from Mr. Yi Shuihan, because after the 20th, he will be a married man."

  "But obviously, I and Shui Han are the ones who truly love each other," Ling Yuwei couldn't help but cry out in grievance: "Gu Anlan, you also clearly know that's how it is..."

  "What's wrong with that?" An Lan looked at her coldly: "Are you saying, Miss Ling, that a married woman shouldn't protect her own marriage?"

  Ling Yuwei was speechless again, she had always thought that Gu Anlan was a bit foolish and clumsy, and when they met before, she didn't see her being very eloquent, most of the time she just stood by Yi Tianze's side like a wooden stake.

  But who would have thought that after this conversation, she realized that all her previous feelings were just illusions. Just like the time they played golf, she thought Gu Anlan wouldn't be good at it, but he turned out to be a master of golf.

  Ling Yuwei adjusted her mood for a long time before speaking again: "I know that marriage is sacred and inviolable, so I came to find you before your wedding with Shui Han. I hope you can be magnanimous and let Shui Han go, considering the five years of affection between us?"

  An Lan couldn't help but laugh at Ling Yuwei's words, but the bitter taste in that laughter was only known to herself. She picked up the coffee that had been stirred for who-knows-how-long and took a sip, saying lightly: "Miss Ling, your words are quite off the mark. The matter of marriage is something Mr. Yi Shuihan decided on his own, not something I forced him into with a gun? You'd do better to go back and plead with the man you love. If he's unwilling to marry me, could it be that I'll put on my wedding dress and run to the Yi household, refusing to leave?"

  Ling Yuwei's face turned red and white again, and she couldn't help but argue for Yi Shuihan: "Shuihan had no choice, at the time of the matchmaking meeting, he actually grabbed the wrong hand in a moment of urgency. If you hadn't taken out this video, he wouldn't have even thought about marrying you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have decided to get engaged with me on the 20th of this month..."

  "In the end, the reason is still with him," An Lan coldly interrupted Ling Yuwei's words: "Alright, Miss Ling, there's nothing more to discuss between us. And I won't give up on this marriage either. So, unfortunately, whether you're in pain or heartbroken, please go find the man you love. Of course, it's best if it's before he gets married. If you find him after he's married, although I can't stop you, it will likely put you in an awkward position as a mistress."

  An Lan finished speaking and stood up, took out a pink banknote from her bag and put it on the dinner table, then turned around and walked towards the door. She didn't even glance back at Ling Yuwei who was sitting there with tears in her eyes.

  Ling Yuwei is not wrong to strive for her own happiness, but she has misdirected her efforts and targeted the wrong person. Moreover, she doesn't have the capability to grant herself happiness!

  Anlan took a taxi back to the Qinyuan, still getting off at the small alley behind the rear door, and then entering the yard from the rear door. In fact, she didn't know if there were still guards at the front gate, but she just didn't want to bring unnecessary trouble to herself.

  Early summer nights in the garden are particularly intoxicating, with a pitch-black sky filled with twinkling stars, although distant and cold, but on such nights they seem especially dazzling.

  The moon hangs in the sky, its soft light spreading thinly like gauze over the garden, as if a layer of fragmented silver had been scattered about, clear and shining.

  The wind tonight is also gentle, blowing slowly, carrying a hint of the humid air unique to the southern coastal area, refreshing with a slight salty taste, cool but not cold.

  The cicadas hiding in the grass began to sing quietly, and the cicadas attached to the tree trunk did not give up, and they followed the sound of the cicadas with a "zhi zhi zhi" cry.

  Anlan walked past that night-blooming jasmine, and when she turned the corner, she suddenly found a firefly flying in front of her. The flashing light was as beautiful as the stars in the sky.

  Qingyuan is on the left, and to get to Qingyuan, you have to pass through Yunyuan. In recent days, because Father hasn't come back, and Mother doesn't like going to Yunyuan alone, Anlan has gotten used to the darkness of Yunyuan at night.

  However, tonight, Yunyuan was lit up, and as she walked closer, she faintly heard voices talking inside. She hesitated for a moment before finally walking through the main gate of Yunyuan.

  Just as I walked to the door, I heard Anyu's voice coming from inside: "Ha, home is still better. In the US, eating hamburgers and pizzas every day, I'm so sick of it."

  "Didn't you used to go to McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut every day in Bincheng?" Chen Wanru's voice was reproachful on the surface but indulgent at heart: "Now you think hamburgers and pizzas don't taste good anymore."

  "I still think Chinese food is better," Anyu didn't argue with her mother, and asked Gu Yunbo who was standing aside: "Dad, did Anxin say that as long as we are in-laws with the Yi family, Boyao can get out of trouble?"

  Gu Yunbo hadn't had time to respond when he looked up and saw An Lan already at the door, so he hastily called out to her: "An Lan, your mom said you went to the art center, have things been taken care of over there?"

  An Lan nodded: "Mm, it's all been taken care of."

  Chen Wanru rarely showed kindness, and seeing her slightly better, asked: "Anlan, have you eaten?"

  "Accompanying my mom to eat Su Jin Xian," An Lan's tone was still calm as water, and she glanced at Chen Wanru: "Didn't you say Aunt Ru was going to have surgery? It's done so quickly?"

  Chen Wanru's face showed a moment of embarrassment, and she quickly smiled and said: "Originally, the surgery was scheduled for these two days. Now, I heard that you're getting married, so An Yu and I specially came back to attend your wedding."

  An Lan's mouth curled up in a sarcastic smile as she calmly asked, "Is that so? Then why didn't An Xin return with you all?"

  "Anxin went to the other side and found a school to attend classes," Chen Wanru immediately defended her daughter: "Anxin said that she had not studied abroad before, and lacked many management knowledge, now she must seize the time to make up for it, in order to strive for the expansion of Boyue in the future."

  An Lan looked at her father, Gu Yunbo, with a profound gaze and said calmly: "Is that so? In that case, didn't An Xin try hard enough in the past? And isn't Bo Yao's current predicament of a broken capital chain caused by over-expansion?"

  Gu Yunbo's face slightly revealed embarrassment and quickly shifted the topic: "Alright, An Lan, you seem to not like Yi Shuihan very much, do you?"

  An Lan was suddenly confused by Gu Yunbo's words and didn't understand what he meant for a moment, so she just stared at him blankly.

  Chen Wanru quickly took over the conversation: "Anlan, I've seen all the videos you posted online. Anxin and Anyu also said that at the matchmaking meeting, you were extremely unwilling to continue the competition to the end, and more than once proposed to terminate the competition... Later, when Yijia's second son put a ring on your finger, you still didn't want to..."

  "What exactly did you want to say?" An Lan slightly impatiently interrupted Chen Wanru's words.

  "I mean, your father and I were thinking—” Chen Wanru said, glancing at Gu Yunbo, seeing that he didn't object, she continued: "Since you don't like Yi Jia's second son, but An Yu likes Hai Mi phones and has always admired Yi Jia's second son. A woman marrying a man she doesn't like is indeed very unhappy. Why not let An Yu replace you to marry Yi Jia's second son? This way, it's a good arrangement for both you and An Yu."

  An Lan almost laughed out loud when she heard Chen Wanru's words, asking An Yu to marry Yi Shuihan in her place? What did Chen Wanru take Yi Shuihan for? A trash can, where anything could be stuffed into him?

  She said faintly, "Aunt Ru says that it seems like the marriage of the second young master of the Yi family can be settled as long as you arrange it. Don't ask me if I agree or not first, the key is whether the second young master of the Yi family is willing or not."

  "How could Second Young Master Ye not be willing?" Chen Wanru's face immediately showed a disdainful expression, and she looked at An Lan with a scornful gaze: "Anybody who has eyes can see that An Yu is younger than you. In today's society, which rich man doesn't want to find a young girl instead of liking an old lady? Second Young Master Ye is only 28 years old, and you're already 26 years old, while my family's An Yu is only 19 years old..."

  "That Ye family's second young master probably really hasn't grown eyes yet," An Lan interrupted Chen Wanru's words with a calm tone: "If I didn't have youthful dementia, it seems like An Yu had attended the matchmaking dinner with me?"

  An Lan said with a smile, it's easy for others to like you when they're looking for a partner, so why didn't they take a liking to you back then? Did An Yu suddenly become old at the matchmaking dinner party?

  "I didn't know that Second Young Master Ye liked the natural look," An Yu quickly found an excuse for not being favored by Ye Shuihan at the matchmaking meeting: "If I hadn't worn makeup that night, would Second Young Master Ye have taken a liking to this old woman?"

  "Yi Shuihan's girlfriend, who has been in a relationship with him for five years, is also twenty-five years old," An Lan calmly reminded Chen Wanru and her mother: "It seems that the media hasn't exposed any news about Yi's second son liking younger girls under twenty because his girlfriend is older."

  Chen Wanru was choked by An Lan's words, her face turning red and white for a while, unable to speak. But An Lan didn't intend to let her off the hook, continuing: "According to Auntie Ru's logic, rich men like young girls. So before my dad went bankrupt in Boyao, he was also considered a rich man, and you're not getting any younger either. Shouldn't he go for a twenty-something young girl too? The house is big enough, it won't be crowded even if we add another auntie!"

  "That's enough!" Gu Yunbo finally couldn't help but let out a low growl, and immediately glared at Chen Wanru with a fierce gaze: "Aren't you tired from the long flight? Why don't you hurry up and take Anyu back to Lvyuan?"

  Chen Wanru was scolded by the man and felt very annoyed, so she took Anyu to the door. When passing by Anlan, she couldn't help but whisper in his ear: "Don't be so smug, with that henpecked look of yours, you're just like your chanting mother. Even if you marry into the Yi family's second son, you still have to keep him under control."

  An Lan looked at her straight and said: "Aunt Ru, does this mean that my dad divorced my mom and married you?"

  Chen Wanru was stunned, and before she could react, An Lan continued: "Since my dad didn't divorce my mom to marry you, it means that my mom protected her marriage. And even though you had two children with my dad, you're still just a mistress!"

  Chen Wanru was furious upon hearing this and was about to lash out, raising her hand to slap An Lan's face, but was stopped by Gu Yunbo's timely rebuke.

  "Hurry up and leave? What are you standing there for?" Gu Yunbo's rarely cold gaze made Chen Wanru's hand tremble slightly, and she quickly withdrew it, then reluctantly took An Yu out with her.

  An Lan looked at her father walking towards her, her eyebrows slightly furrowed as she spoke: "Dad, you called back Aunt Ru and her daughter, is it to let An Yu replace me in marrying Yi Shuihan?"

  Gu Yunbo's face turned red and white as he looked embarrassed: "An Lan, what I mean is that since you don't like Yi Jia Er Shao, your mother also doesn't want you to marry Yi Shuihan. Moreover, Yi Shuihan has a girlfriend whom he deeply loves for five years. We mainly think that it's hard for you to gain happiness if you marry him..."

  "So that's what you're saying, Dad is still good for me?" An Lan's sarcastic expression didn't need to be concealed: "So, Dad also knows how to care about my happiness?"

  Gu Yunbo's face grew increasingly awkward, and he said somewhat irritably, "Alright, An Lan, I know the existence of Wanru and her mother makes you think I'm...I don't want to say too much to you either. Why don't you go back to Qingyuan and keep your mom company? She'll be even lonelier after you get married."

  An Lan heard this and smiled bitterly, unable to help but say in a low voice: "Could it be that my mom wasn't lonely for the ten years I was abroad?"

  Gu Yunbo was slightly stunned, his lips moved slightly, wanting to say something, but saw An Lan had already walked out the door, and in the end didn't say anything.

  An Lan returned to Qing Yuan, and her mother was still waiting for her. As soon as she saw An Lan come in, she asked: "Have you been to Yun Yuan again?"

  An Lan changed into a pair of soft cloth slippers and walked in: "Ru Yi and An Yu are back."

  Qin Xuan nodded: "I know, I didn't get home for long and they arrived. Don't bother with them, in Xuan Garden it's still me who has the final say, they can't stir up any trouble."

  An Lan nodded, Chen Wanru and An Yu didn't take it to heart, but An Xin, who hadn't returned home, made her think that it wouldn't be as simple as studying abroad as Aunt Ru said.

  On the afternoon of May 19th, An Lan was at home packing her belongings. She was going to marry Yi Shuihan and would naturally be living in the Yi household from now on, so she had to bring some of her daily clothes with her.

  Actually, there's nothing much to pack up. She has been abroad for ten years and just returned three months ago, so she hasn't accumulated many things. At that time, she didn't think she would stay in the country for so long, let alone get married, so when she came back from Toronto, she didn't bring many clothes either.

  Most of the clothes in the closet were from ten years ago, which she wore when she was 15 or 16 years old. Now it's naturally impossible to wear them. In the three months since her return, she hasn't bought many things either, just a few simple sets of clothes.

  "Anlan, remember to bring the deed of Qingyuan," Qin An reminded her as she saw her daughter packing up.

  "Got it," An Lan said as she put the iron box back into her luggage. She planned to bring this luggage to the wedding scene tomorrow.

  "Where is your wedding being held?" Qin Xin furrowed her brow and asked her daughter, "You two don't even call each other, I feel like this wedding doesn't seem to be happening."

  Anlan hadn't had time to respond when she heard Lin Shu shouting from downstairs: "Madam, the matchmaker from the Yi family has arrived. You and the young lady should hurry to Yunyuan."

  Qin Xuan was taken aback for a moment, then urged her daughter: "An Lan, hurry up, don't pack your things, the Yi family has arrived. I thought they didn't know any etiquette."

  An Lan put the last piece of clothing into the suitcase, slammed it shut with a "bang", zipped it up and locked it with a password lock. Only then did she head downstairs with her mother.

  From a distance, I heard the sound of Yunyuan coming from afar. The voice was so familiar yet so distant, as if it had come from Toronto five years ago. Although I couldn't quite make out what he was saying, Anlan was certain that there was someone named Yi Shuihan in Yunyuan's living room.