Hearing his comrade’s words, Chen Zhengnian’s brow furrowed. His gut told him the trouble at ho had sothing to do with him and Wang Xinxin.
He tightened his grip on Wang Xinxin’s hand and looked at her.
"Xinxin."
"I’ll go with you."
From the look on Chen Zhengnian’s face, Wang Xinxin seed to understand what was happening.
’She’d have to face the Chen family eventually. Sooner or later, it made no difference. She might as well go now.’
The two of them got into the car driven by his comrade and headed for the Chen family ho.
The jeep bounced along the rutted dirt road, kicking up a trail of yellow dust. It finally stopped before a small, detached house with its own private courtyard.
The house was enclosed by a blue-gray brick wall. Inside the courtyard, a few drought-resistant poplars RUSTLED in the wind.
Unlike the lively, bustling atmosphere of Wang Xinxin’s alleyway ho, this compound felt austere and distant.
Chen Zhengnian squeezed Wang Xinxin’s hand and offered a comforting word. "Don’t be afraid."
Then, he stepped forward and pushed open the heavy, green-painted courtyard gate.
The living room was brightly lit.
Mrs. Chen, wearing a crisp, light woolen suit, was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper, her hair impeccably styled.
Wang Xinxin rembered Chen Zhengnian telling her his mother had also been in the military.
Her rank had apparently been quite high, and she spoke with a bureaucratic air.
Mr. Chen sat on the other side in a rattan chair, holding a docunt. His brow was slightly furrowed, and he only looked up at the sound of their entry.
"Dad, Mom, we’re back."
Chen Zhengnian pulled Wang Xinxin a step forward. "This is Wang Xinxin, my girlfriend."
He announced it frankly, pretending to be unaware of what had been happening at ho. Then, he looked at his parents and waited for them to speak.
"Hello, sir. Hello, ma’am."
Wang Xinxin tried her best to keep her voice steady as she bowed slightly in greeting, but her palms were already slick with cold sweat.
Mrs. Chen’s gaze swept from the top of Wang Xinxin’s head all the way to her feet.
It was obvious she looked down on Wang Xinxin; her eyes were filled with disdain.
There was no warmth in that gaze, only scrutiny and assessnt.
It was as if Wang Xinxin were a piece of rchandise to be appraised.
She didn’t respond verbally, rely letting out a soft, vague hum through her nose as acknowledgent.
Mr. Chen set down his papers and adjusted the glasses on his nose. His tone was a bit gentler than his wife’s, but still polite in a detached way. "Yes, it must have been a tiring journey. Have a seat."
Chen Zhengnian pulled Wang Xinxin to sit down, waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Chen to speak first.
’They had summoned back ho,’ he thought. ’They can’t expect us to just sit here and stare at each other.’
The atmosphere instantly beca heavy, like the low pressure before a downpour.
Wang Xinxin sat close to Chen Zhengnian, perching gingerly on the hardwood sofa. The unyielding wood was incredibly uncomfortable.
The two sides were locked in a stalemate for a long ti. Mr. and Mrs. Chen remained silent.
Finally, Chen Zhengnian got straight to the point, his tone firm. "Dad, Mom, Xinxin and I ca back this ti to tell you both that we’ve decided to get married. Xinxin’s mother has already agreed."
Hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Chen finally reacted.
"Married?"
Mrs. Chen’s voice shot up an octave. She slamd the newspaper onto the coffee table, her well-preserved face instantly frosting over.
"Chen Zhengnian! Do I, your mother, an nothing to you? Who did you consult before making such a huge decision?"
Her gaze cut toward Wang Xinxin like a knife, her contempt and disgust on full display.
"Her? So girl from a no-na family in a Shanghai alley? Does she think she’s worthy of marrying into the Chen family?"
The Chen family was very prestigious in the Northwest. Plus, with so many soldiers in the family, they naturally looked down on Wang Xinxin.
Never mind what Wang Xinxin’s family did; even if her family also had soldiers, they couldn’t compare to them.
Mrs. Chen considered her family high-class, so of course she looked down on Wang Xinxin.
"Mom!"
Chen Zhengnian shot to his feet, his face dark with anger.
"I know what kind of person Xinxin is better than anyone! She’s kind and resilient, a hundred tis better than those people who are all for show! I’m going to marry her, and that’s final!"
Chen Zhengnian knew his mother was still thinking of Chen Man.
He knew she preferred soone she knew inside and out, soone she’d watched grow up.
"You don’t know a damn thing!"
Mrs. Chen was trembling with rage. She snatched the gold-rimd white porcelain teacup from the coffee table and hurled it to the floor.
With a piercing CRACK, the warm tea splashed everywhere, and a few shards even landed on Wang Xinxin’s pant leg.
Wang Xinxin flinched, but she managed to keep her composure.
’No wonder Chen Zhengnian wanted to escape this house.’
’Who wouldn’t want to run away from this?’
’All he did was talk back a little, and it caused such an explosive reaction.’
"How dare you bring any old riffraff ho? Chen Zhengnian, I think you’ve lost your mind!"
Her voice grew shrill with rage.
"I’m telling you, as long as I’m alive, she can forget about ever setting foot in this house! Not unless I’m dead."
She had always believed she’d raised Zhengnian well. She never imagined he would turn on her like this over a woman.
To Mrs. Chen, this was an utter humiliation.
"Ma’am, you should choose your words more carefully."
Just as everyone was at a standoff, a clear but obviously angry voice suddenly cut in.
Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice.
At the door, Su Tang stood with a hand on her waist, her pregnant belly prominent.
She had obviously just rushed over; a light sheen of sweat dotted her temples. Her usually gentle face was now an icy mask.
Her normally serene eyes now blazed with two distinct flas of anger.
Lu Xiao was right by his wife’s side. One hand hovered protectively behind Su Tang’s back while the other hung loosely at his side. His expression was as placid as still water.
But when his dark eyes swept over the ss on the floor and a pale-faced Wang Xinxin, they were as sharp as an unsheathed saber, instantly chilling the air in the room.
Su Tang walked in, one step at a ti. Her movents were slow under the weight of her pregnancy, but her steps were unshakeably firm.
She walked straight to Wang Xinxin’s side. After giving her cousin a reassuring glance, she turned to face the aggressive Mrs. Chen.
’It’s a good thing I felt sothing was wrong. Lu Xiao happened to get ho just in ti, so I dragged him along.’
’Thank goodness we ca. Otherwise, I never would have known how nasty Chen Zhengnian’s mother could be.’
Her voice wasn’t loud, but every word was clear and her reasoning was thodical.
"Ma’am, we live in a new era. The Qing Dynasty fell a long ti ago. All this talk of ’family status’ and ’rules’—what century are you living in?"
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Mr. and Mrs. Chen’s shifting expressions, before she continued.
"Chen Zhengnian is a soldier. He shoulders the responsibility of defending our country. The person he chooses must, above all else, be soone who understands that responsibility, supports him, and gives him peace of mind.
Xinxin understands him, respects him, and cares for him deeply. Is that devotion really worth less than so vague notion of high or low family status?
Chen Zhengnian is a responsible man. He has committed to Xinxin and is willing to go through thick and thin with her. Shouldn’t you both be proud of that commitnt?
Or would you rather force him to be a coward who betrays the woman he loves and bows to family pressure? Is that what it ans to be part of the Chen family?"
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