Chapter 892: Role Reversal

Although Wang An had already agreed upon things with Li Xiuyu, he felt it would be better to communicate this matter with Second Aunt Yao Ping.

After all, for Wang Li's family, this was absolutely a major event among major events.

Wang An stopped the sidecar and waited for a while. He saw Second Aunt Yao Ping walk out of the courtyard; after scanning left and right to confirm Wang An's position, Yao Ping walked straight toward the sidecar.

When she was still two or three meters away from Wang An, Yao Ping couldn't help but ask

"What is it, Xiao An? What's going on?"

As she spoke, Yao Ping glanced at Li Xiuyu, who was keeping her head down and fiddling with her fingers.

Wang An turned his head and gestured toward Li Xiuyu with his chin, saying

"Second Aunt, this is Li Xiuyu, that classmate of Old Five's. I ran into her on the road before coming back today. Her... well, her family ran into some trouble, so for now, she'll stay at your house."

Second Aunt Yao Ping was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, but she knew of Li Xiuyu. After all, this was the girl her youngest son was constantly longing for; how could she not know?

Furthermore, she was well aware of the situation regarding Li Xiuyu's father owing high-interest loans and intending to use his daughter's bride price to plug the hole in his gambling debts.

Yao Ping frowned and said

"But there hasn't even been a formal meeting or an exchange of cups yet. Won't people... is this really okay?"

"Cups" referred to wine cups, and "exchanging cups" essentially meant getting engaged. To be precise, it was a ritual during the engagement process where the parents of the man and woman each exchanged their filled wine cups with the other.

It was clear that Yao Ping wanted to say "won't people laugh at us," but noticing Li Xiuyu, she changed her words on the fly.

To be fair, Yao Ping wasn't wrong. Having a young woman move into the house for no apparent reason was indeed contrary to etiquette.

But things had already reached this point; etiquette was no longer that important.

Thus, Wang An said with a hint of impatience

"What's with the formal meetings and exchanging cups? Xueqing and I just got married directly, and it turned out fine. We'll just treat everyone to a meal later and that'll be that."

Glancing at the silent Li Xiuyu, Wang An continued

"Besides, the girl is already at the doorstep. Are you going to send her back? If her family hadn't run into trouble, she wouldn't have come in the first place."

To be honest, Wang An was really annoyed by Second Aunt Yao Ping's attitude at this moment. Even now, she was still worrying about the problem of being gossiped about.

Let people gossip if they want to. If someone lived their life fearing gossip every time they did something, they might as well not be living.

Noticing Wang An's impatient tone, Second Aunt Yao Ping obviously realized something and immediately said with a face full of smiles

"Mm, that's true. Right, as long as we live our own lives well, we have everything. Let others say whatever they want."

After speaking to Wang An, Yao Ping turned to Li Xiuyu and said beamingly

"Daughter, we aren't strangers from now on. Stay at the house for as long as you like. Our new house is almost finished being tidied up; once it's done, we'll move into the new house to live..."

It had to be said that Second Aunt Yao Ping's reaction speed was truly fast, and she knew exactly how to pivot the conversation.

Yao Ping rambled on for a long time, while Li Xiuyu only nodded occasionally or gave a soft "mm."

Once the matter was settled, Wang An said to Second Aunt Yao Ping

"Alright then, Second Aunt. I'll take her to my house first and let Xueqing help her tidy up. She's a complete mess right now; it doesn't look good for people to see her like this."

At this moment, Li Xiuyu's hair was still disheveled, and her face was covered in mud stains—a mixture of the dirt from her flight and the tears she had shed.

Most importantly, the clothes she wore were full of rips; with the slightest lack of attention, patches of white skin would be exposed.

If she appeared before the laborers at Wang Li's house in this state, that would truly make people wonder what on earth was going on.

Hearing this, Yao Ping nodded

"Mm, Xiao An. Once I've sent my group of people away, I'll go to your house with your Second Great-Uncle and Xiao Li to bring Xiuyu home."

It must be said, Yao Ping's role transition was incredibly quick; she was already treating Li Xiuyu as her daughter-in-law.

After Yao Ping finished, Wang An simply nodded, squeezed the clutch, shifted gears, twisted the throttle, and drove the sidecar away once more.

Watching Wang An's departing figure, Second Aunt Yao Ping, who had been smiling, suddenly wore a look of worry. She murmured softly to herself

"This is all so vague... what kind of situation is this?"

Clearly, having a daughter-in-law for her son arranged so haphazardly left Yao Ping feeling a bit dazed for a moment.

Returning to the courtyard, Yao Ping did not speak of the matter. Mainly, there were too many people in her house right now, and since this had happened so suddenly, she hadn't yet figured out how to handle things next.

When Wang An arrived home, Wang Dazhu and his wife had not yet returned from the fields.

Only Mu Xueqing, Wang Yi, and the two little sisters were at home.

Mu Xueqing and Li Xiuyu were both originally from Sujia Village, so the two of them knew each other.

However, seeing Li Xiuyu being brought home by Wang An, Mu Xueqing was first stunned, and then her expression changed.

This was because Mu Xueqing thought Wang An had hooked up with Li Xiuyu again.

Seeing Li Xiuyu climb down from the sidecar in clothes that exposed her skin, Mu Xueqing's expression became even uglier.

Although Mu Xueqing knew that a lot had happened in Li Xiuyu's family recently and knew that Wang Li wanted to date her, this scene was truly difficult not to overthink.

There was no helping it; Wang An's prior record was too severe. Anyone seeing this scene would subconsciously assume Wang An had picked up another "worn shoe."

Noticing Mu Xueqing's expression, Wang An said calmly

"This is Old Five's partner. I brought her here first so you could help her tidy up. Before dark, Second Aunt and Old Five will come to pick her up."

With one sentence, Mu Xueqing's mood shifted instantly from a cloudy day to a sunny one.

Mu Xueqing walked forward very affectionately and said to Li Xiuyu

"Xiuyu is here! Quick, come inside with me. We sisters haven't seen each other in so long."

As she spoke, Mu Xueqing took Li Xiuyu's hand and led her into the house.

Only then did Wang Xiaomei and Wang Xiaoli run forward happily, grabbing Wang An's trousers and saying

"Big Brother, did you buy us something tasty?"

"Big Brother, did you buy our new clothes and shoes?"

Wang An affectionately patted the heads of his two sisters and said with a smile

"I bought the tasty things, and I bought the fabric for your clothes, hehehehe..."

Then, Wang An asked his two sisters

"Did you two annoy your sister-in-law while at home?"

(End of Chapter)