Bride Swap Backfire: My Cousin's Rebirth Made Us a Power Couple-Chapter 63 - 44: Engagement (4)

Chen Wanqing replied softly, "If that were really true, you wouldn’t be here..."

Zhao Jing looked a bit sheepish before breaking into a smile. "In any case, if I dig my heels in, our elders won’t deliberately make things difficult for me. But as for you, Sister—and please don’t be angry, I know this sounds harsh—the Li family has put you in a difficult position with their capricious behavior. Yet it’s an indisputable fact that you’re not getting any younger. Even if you don’t accept my family’s proposal today, the Wang Family, the Li family, or the Sun Family will come proposing tomorrow. They’ll be an endless nuisance. Instead of wasting time and energy dealing with them, it would be better to accept my proposal first."

"For one thing, my mother is frail and my sister is naive. They won’t stir up trouble or cause you any grief."

"For another, you can use this time to plan your future, treating it as a transitional period. Later, if you find our home agreeable, you can stay. But if you feel uncomfortable, whether you want a divorce or something else, I will grant it."

Zhao Jing gave another deep bow. "I need to focus on preparing for my exams for the next two months, so I won’t have the bandwidth to manage things at home. I wouldn’t feel at ease entrusting my mother and sister to anyone else. If you would lend a hand, I would be eternally grateful."

An hour later, Chen Wanqing left her Second Aunt’s house with her brother, a basket in hand.

The basket held four plump, white radishes that felt quite heavy in her hand.

Chen Wanqing finally snapped out of her daze after De’an took the basket from her.

She looked at her brother in surprise. "You’re still here?"

Chen De’an was speechless. "Sister, you came here for a matchmaking meeting. How could I not come along as a chaperone? Jing might be a brother I’m so close with we could share the same pair of pants, but the moment he proposes to you, he becomes some creep with designs on my sister. How could I let you be alone with a creep like that?"

Listening to her brother’s absurd reasoning, Chen Wanqing couldn’t help but recall their trip to the mountains two days ago to dig for huangqi.

Back then, De’an had let Jing find her on his own and even had him help her dig for huangqi for quite a while.

’Ah, well. No point in bringing that up. It would only make De’an angrier.’

They were home in a few short steps. Once they were in their own courtyard, Chen De’an lowered his voice to ask, "Sister, what did Jing say to you? Have you thought it over? Are you going to marry him or not?"

His tone was laced with jealousy as he spoke the last sentence.

’My closest brother, the one I grew up with, is going to be my brother-in-law.’

’That shameless Zhao Jing!!!’

"Go on, get out of here. You’re just a kid, what do you know about marriage? Your sister’s marriage is for your father and me to worry about. Stop nosing around."

Xu Su Ying came out of the main hall and shooed her son away. "Go back to your room and rest up. The moment you’re well, you can scram."

"Burning the bridge after you cross it, killing the donkey when the grinding is done... Wow, Mom, you’re just incredible. Your son is truly impressed."

Chen De’an muttered his bitter, sarcastic words, then slammed the basket of radishes onto the ground. Stomping his feet angrily, he stormed off to his room.

Once she had sent her meddlesome son packing, Xu Su Ying paid no mind to the radishes and pulled her daughter straight into the main hall.

"So, how did it go, Qing’er? Did you and Jing come to an agreement? Is the marriage on or off?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

A cup of warm tea was thrust into Chen Wanqing’s hands. The heat spread through her fingers, warming her all the way to her core.

It was just like the young man’s words from before, searing through her and making her feel flushed and hot all over.

"Sister, I admit I’m a bit younger than you and can be reckless at times. But I’m willing to respect you and give you the freedom you desire. I will build a good life with you. But if that’s not what you want, then on the day you wish to leave, I will see you off and ensure your safe journey."

Xu Su Ying stared at her daughter with an intense, expectant gaze, but the girl was lost in her own world, as if she hadn’t heard a single word.

Seeing this, the impatient mother felt a surge of hope, yet at the same time, she was so anxious it felt like a cat was clawing at her heart.

In the end, she couldn’t bear it any longer and asked her question again. Thankfully, this time, she received a reply.

"Mother, you can go ahead and make the arrangements for the marriage."

Xu Su Ying’s face lit up. "Really? Qing’er, you’ve agreed to the match? You’re not just teasing me, are you?"

"This is a matter of my future. I wouldn’t joke with you about something so important."

A faint smile graced Chen Wanqing’s features. She let out a soft breath, as if she had finally convinced herself, body and soul, to become engaged to Zhao Jing.

"This is what you hoped for, isn’t it, Mother? Now that I’ve agreed, you should go and make the arrangements."