Back To The 80s-Chapter 587 - 579: Testing_1

The more Ou Tiannan thought about it, the more anxious he became. He had strived for so many years, yet gained nothing. If he were to be betrayed by Ou Ruoshui, everything he had would be ruined. He wasn’t willing to accept that!

As soon as Ma Chengwen left, he immediately went to find Ou Ruoshui. This matter couldn’t be taken lightly.

When Ou Ruoshui saw Ou Tiannan, she looked somewhat surprised: "Why are you here so early in the morning?"

"I thought of coming to see you and see if you want to buy anything else," Ou Tiannan, who had regained his composure in the lobby, now looked at Ou Ruoshui with a gentle demeanor.

"Haven’t we bought almost everything already? I don’t need anything else." Ou Ruoshui was holding the doorknob, never letting go, not wanting to let Ou Tiannan into the house.

Seeing Ou Ruoshui’s hand on the doorknob, Ou Tiannan’s gaze dimmed briefly before he smiled and said, "Is Aunt Jin here?"

"Yes."

As they were speaking, Zhuang Shuxian had already come out from the kitchen and laughed to Ou Tiannan who was standing out the door: "You came so early, did you eat breakfast? Our food will be ready soon, come in and eat something."

With Zhuang Shuxian’s words, Ou Ruoshui couldn’t keep blocking the door and allowed Ou Tiannan to come in the house.

While eating, Ou Tiannan noticed that only Zhuang Shuxian and Ou Ruoshui were present. He couldn’t help but ask: "Why aren’t Uncle Jin and Jiujiu having breakfast?"

"Your Uncle Jin had a meeting early in the morning, so he went to the cafeteria for breakfast." Zhuang Shuxian said and didn’t mention anything about Jiujiu.

Ou Tiannan felt that this family was being cautious around him. Had his intentions been discovered?

Zhuang Shuxian continued on her own: "Xuerong is just like my daughter. You have to treat her well in the future. Ah, I keep saying this every day, I guess you must be tired of it. I hope you understand a mother’s feelings."

Ou Tiannan nodded repeatedly: "Auntie, you’re right. Ruoshui and I don’t have parents, so from now on you and Uncle Jin will be our parents. We’ll repay you in your old age." He fawned over her insincerely.

Zhuang Shuxian only looked deeply at Ou Tiannan and didn’t say another word.

Zhuang Shuxian, who usually goes for a walk after breakfast, was now sitting on the sofa, unmoving. She couldn’t let Xuerong and this man be alone in a room before their marriage, as it would damage their reputations if the news got out.

Ou Tiannan saw Zhuang Shuxian sitting on the sofa listening to the radio, making it hard for him to have a conversation with Ou Ruoshui, which was giving him cold sweats.

"Ruoshui, why aren’t you wearing the bracelet I gave you?" Ou Tiannan found an excuse to ask. He was now regretting deeply, wondering why he had foolishly handed the bracelet to Ou Ruoshui. If she were wearing it, it would have been very conspicuous.

Ou Ruoshui was startled, and she laughed, "I often do housework, and I’m afraid I might accidentally break it." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Ou Tiannan wanted to say something else, but Zhuang Shuxian suddenly said, "Xuerong, the bracelet Tiannan mentioned, is it the one you showed me last night? It’s really beautiful. It’s clearly a valuable piece, you can’t wear it casually as it might break."

Not knowing why Zhuang Shuxian was lying, Ou Ruoshui simply smiled and nodded: "Yes."

Ou Tiannan felt relieved. Since Zhuang Shuxian had seen it last night, it meant his worries were unwarranted.

Zhuang Shuxian was sitting on the sofa, listening to the melodramatic radio play. Though she was old and her sight isn’t clear, her heart was sharp. She had already noticed Ou Ruoshui’s reluctance, but she didn’t understand why. Besides, with how Ou Tiannan looked at Jiujiu during dinner recently, she kept quiet, not wanting to ruin Ou Ruoshui’s good fortune and sending Jiujiu to stay over at Gu Xiaobei’s was a good choice.

Ou Tiannan asking about the bracelet and Ou Ruoshui’s response further confirmed Zhuang Shuxian’s suspicion, so she helped smooth things over.

After sending Ou Tiannan away, Zhuang Shuxian patted the space next to her on the sofa and called Ou Ruoshui to come sit down.

"Xuerong, you are about to marry Tiannan. Tell me honestly, did you choose this willingly?"

Ou Ruoshui was stunned for a moment, and then nodded: "It was my choice."

Zhuang Shuxian smiled and shook her head: "You’re lying to me. I’m old and have gone through more bridges than you’ve walked roads. No matter what the reason is, don’t compromise yourself. Life is short, there’s nothing better than living it well."

"Auntie, I understand. I will live a good life."

Zhuang Shuxian still wore a faint smile: "When Jiadong sacrificed himself back then, I thought we still had Jin Cheng. As long as Jin Cheng lived well, he was our hope. I risked everything to prevent him from joining the army, thinking that there would be no danger. But when Jin Cheng became ill, I realized my mistake. I wondered if things would have been different if I hadn’t stopped him from becoming a soldier? When Jin Cheng passed away, and I felt like I couldn’t go on with life, I met Jiujiu. I felt that Heaven was still kind to the Jin family, and I was content. I wanted to live a good life, watching Jiujiu grow up. Now that you’re back, it gives me and your Uncle Jin peace of mind."

The moment Ou Ruoshui heard Jiadong’s name, tears fell uncontrollably.

"I don’t know why you want to marry Ou Tiannan, but telling you all this is just to say this - Jiujiu is now the life of the Jin family, including me and your uncle. If anything were to happen to her, we wouldn’t be able to go on. Jiujiu has never experienced the warmth of a mother, and now that you’re back, she’s very happy. If you have any problems, it’ll be as if it was taken half her life. We can’t afford to have anything else go wrong in our family..." Zhuang Shuxian said, unable to hold back tears.

Ou Ruoshui bowed her head and tightly held Zhuang Shuxian’s hand as silent tears streamed down her face.

...

Shen Heng took the bracelet and the jade Guanyin to compare and verify, and was certain that the bracelet was one of the pair that was lost from the shipment of jewelry. The person who made the sketch of the jewelry back then drew it very precisely, even clearly marking the tiny patterns on its surface.

Shen Heng was once again in a dilemma. Ou Tiannan hadn’t made the trade with Ye Tianbao yet, and the wedding date of Ou Ruoshui and Ou Tiannan was almost upon them. He had promised Ou Ruoshui that the wedding would not take place.

Shen Heng’s confusion was also Ou Tiannan’s confusion.

Ou Tiannan, being naturally suspicious, found things off after leaving the Jin family home. Recently, he had been so clouded by lust, he didn’t think things through properly. Now that he had calmed down and thought carefully, there were too many suspicious matters.

Ou Ruoshui stated she agreed to marry him, yet she wouldn’t even let him hold her hand once. Each time they discussed their wedding plans, she seemed indifferent, like a bystander. Her treatment of Jiujiu’s attitude towards him had never been corrected. It was all him deceiving himself.

The more he speculated, the colder his heart became. He felt like he was about to give his heart to Ou Ruoshui, yet she would stab him in the back. The anger welled up inside him. Ou Ruoshui was so ungrateful! He was always thinking of her, yet she turned her back on him, and was scheming to frame him.

The more Ou Tiannan thought about it, the more enraged he became, unknowingly reaching Jiujiu’s school gate. Looking at the students exercising in the campus yard, his eyes flashed with malice.