Chapter 2: The Live-in Son-in-Law
Lu Yang, after all, was a hot-blooded young man. Bearing the name of “live-in son-in-law,” how could he truly not care at all? He merely kept everything bottled up inside him.
If he had married Yin Mingzhu, that beautiful straight-A student, perhaps on the day of the wedding, no one would have mocked Lu Yang. Instead, they would have envied him, been jealous of him, and wished they could take his place, but they could only vent their frustration and secretly despise him. Perhaps the later tragedy would not have occurred.
But it just so happened that the one he married in the end was Yin Mingyue, the cute stuttering girl whom his master had always instructed him not to overstep with since childhood, and whom he could only cherish like a sister.
The moment the red veil was lifted, when everyone discovered that Lu Yang hadn't married Yin Mingzhu, the beautiful straight-A student he always talked about, but had been swapped for another Yin family daughter, the little stutterer everyone knew, the banquet hall immediately erupted in laughter. People pointed fingers, those who disliked Lu Yang showed contempt, those who were on good terms with Lu Yang showed sympathy, and his junior apprentices, who were also carpentry apprentices under the same master, came over with feigned smiles to comfort him.
Lu Yang still remembered that wedding day. Everyone looked at him with a very peculiar gaze. As for when the wedding ended and when the guests left, he no longer remembered anything.
His mindset had collapsed.
At that time, he had only one thought in his mind: escape, escape far away, preferably never to return, never to see these people again. This youthful impulse led him to actually abandon his newlywed wife. Taking advantage of the joyous occasion when his master and mistress were drunk, he packed up all his accumulated belongings overnight and boarded a train heading south with the migrant worker tide. This departure also marked a separation between life and death.
His younger sister, Yin Mingyue, waited for him in vain, spending the night alone in the empty bridal chamber. By the next morning, her tears had dried, and still wearing her bright red wedding dress, she chose to end her young life with a rope.
Master Yin Laohan, a white-haired man sending off a black-haired one, could not accept the blow of losing his beloved daughter. Afterwards, neighbors pointed fingers, and within a few years, he too passed away, spending his days drinking and living in melancholy.
And his mistress, after a series of continuous blows, developed mental problems. Especially after her master passed away and the furniture factory in the village couldn't continue, accumulating a mountain of debt, his mistress became increasingly deranged. The most fiery beauty in the ten-mile radius before became a crazy old woman who could barely bathe once a year. Some said she lived by picking up trash, others said she had been persecuted and killed by debt collectors, and still others said they saw her eldest daughter taking her, in her deranged state, on a train to the Capital.
Lu Yang didn't fare well either. The death of his younger sister and the melancholic end of his master dealt a huge blow to his future life, filling him with guilt for decades. Occasionally, when he was away from his hometown, he would hear people mention folks and events from his hometown, but he never dared to join in the conversation, much less let anyone know that he was the “heartless man” who had caused their family's ruin.
It wasn't until half a lifetime had passed, and the unsuccessful Lu Yang returned to his hometown, buying peanuts, roast goose, and a few bottles of good wine. He went up the mountain to find his master's grave and laid them out one by one. These were all his master's favorites. He must have been craving them for a long time underground. He still remembered that night the wind was particularly strong, chilling him to the bone. Lu Yang got drunk and stumbled to his sister-in-law’s, no, his wife Yin Mingyue's grave, and collapsed in front of it.
However, upon waking from a dream, he realized he had returned to the past.
So be it.
If I'm reborn, then so be it. Anyway, I was tired of living in the last life.
Lu Yang quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, cheered up, and comforted the startled girl opposite him. He grasped her small hand and, with the most sincere tone he had used in ten lifetimes, said, “Little sister, don't be afraid. Your brother will protect you. Your brother swears, this life, I will never let you suffer again.”
“Bang!”
The door fell down, plain and unadorned, everything as it was in his previous life.
Two women walked in from outside. One woman was about forty. Women who married into the countryside often appeared a bit older due to frequent farm work, but her natural beauty was hard to conceal. In her youth, she was likely a great beauty in the ten-mile radius.
However, her slightly harsh demeanor was also evident: “Lu Yang, look at the good things you've done! Your master and I, your mistress, trusted your character so much. You dropped out of school and became an orphan early on. It was your master who took you in as a carpentry apprentice, giving you a livelihood. We don't ask for your gratitude, and now we're even taking you in as a live-in son-in-law. In the future, when we old folks pass away, this family business will still be passed on to you.”
“But what about you?”
“You little beast, how could you do such a shameless thing? Look who is beside you! She is your and Mingzhu's sister, your sister-in-law Mingyue after tonight. You two… Sigh… What can I say about you two? Quickly, take your hands away.”
It was indeed the mistress, Ma Xiulan, taking the initiative as soon as she entered.
Exactly as he remembered, only in his memory, he hadn't been holding his little sister's hand at this moment.
But it didn't matter. With the two of them in the same room, it would be impossible to explain away.
“A-ai-ya… b-bro… bro-in-law… let…”
Facing her mother and sister bursting in, the little sister finally stopped being a transparent person. She stammered, somewhat anxious and flustered, eager for Lu Yang to remove his “dog paw” from her hand.
But Lu Yang refused to let go.
In his previous life, letting go led to tragedy, causing him lifelong regret. This life, he would never let go, no matter what.
Lu Yang turned his head, his face full of tenderness, and said, “Don't worry, leave everything to me.”
Perhaps Lu Yang's comfort had an effect.
The little sister no longer struggled.
Together with Lu Yang, she bravely faced her mother and sister who had burst in from outside the house.
The sunlight from the window streamed in, illuminating her eyelashes, as if applying a layer of golden eyeshadow, breathtakingly beautiful.
Lu Yang was momentarily entranced.
Why hadn't he noticed before? This big-eyed, adorable child who used to chase after him in his youth, babbling.
Just because she was a little stutterer, could she be ignored?
Lu Yang felt an overwhelming pang of heartache.
This life, he must cherish her well and never let tragedy repeat itself.
Turning back to the mistress's scolding.
The woman behind the mistress was much younger and more beautiful than her, and dressed more fashionably. She looked exactly as Lu Yang remembered—indeed, the prettiest girl in the ten-mile radius. After she was admitted to Capital University, even the County was stirred. She was his fiancée, Yin Mingzhu.
At this moment, Yin Mingzhu's brows were slightly furrowed. The scene inside the room was not what she had imagined. She was surprised not to see Lu Yang in a state of panic. This man was not someone she liked. The arranged marriage, dictated by her parents, had always made her particularly resentful. What if they were childhood sweethearts? If this man was destined to be unsuccessful in the future, would she, Yin Mingzhu, have to spend her entire life cooped up with him in this small mountain village?
This was not the future life Yin Mingzhu wanted.
Fortunately, through her own efforts, she had now been admitted to the best university in the Capital.
And her parents had finally relented, agreeing that she could break off the engagement.
However, having her twin younger sister replace her made Yin Mingzhu a little uncomfortable. Although her younger sister was just a little stutterer, with damaged vocal cords since childhood making speaking very difficult, and not as good at studying as herself, she also had the right to pursue her own happiness!
But then, she thought again, if even her younger sister didn't marry, then she would be the only one left to marry.
She quickly compromised.
Yin Mingzhu also thought she could face the scene before her with composure, because it was originally her parents' arrangement. To make Brother Lu Yang accept the bride swap, replacing her with the stuttering bride, they first had to make him feel in the wrong, otherwise, it would cause an unsightly scene.
However, when she saw that it was not as she had expected, Lu Yang didn't seem to feel very much in the wrong, nor was he flustered. There was no apology delivered humbly as she had anticipated. Instead, he was confidently holding her younger sister Yin Mingyue's hand, calmly facing her mother and herself who had entered.
What on earth gave him such courage?
If her mother hadn't instructed her before entering the room to follow along, not to speak, and just to watch with wide eyes, leaving everything to her mother to decide, she would have almost been unable to resist loudly questioning the man before her: “Speak, who exactly is your fiancée?”
