Chapter 294 The Ai Family Breaks Up the Lovers

Chapter 294: The Ai Family Splits Up a Couple

Ai Xiaolan began receiving professional medical treatment, which Chen Aru and her husband didn’t tell a soul about—not even their son, Ai Liangfa, or their favorite, Ai Xiaoqing.

Regarding Ai Chengpeng and his wife’s comings and goings, the two were merely puzzled.

Chen Aru hoped Ai Xiaolan could quietly recover from her illness and eventually live a normal life.

They all wished for Ai Xiaolan to work, marry, have children, and build a family like an ordinary person in the future. They didn’t want her to endure weird stares, so they kept the matter completely hidden.

This discovery and the chain of events it triggered also made Ai Chengpeng and his wife realize how much they had neglected their daughter before.

Old grievances came rushing back—they saw how much they owed Ai Xiaolan.

When Lu Jin'an came to visit Ai Xiaoqing again, Ai Chengpeng and his wife noticeably changed their attitude.

Not long ago, the couple had supported Ai Xiaoqing and Lu Jin'an's relationship, but this time, Ai Chengpeng bluntly stated that they weren’t right for each other and dropped hints that Ai Xiaolan liked Lu Jin'an.

Their words carried an undertone of trying to pair Lu Jin'an with Ai Xiaolan.

Ai Xiaoqing teared up on the spot, but instead of getting upset and indulging her as before, Ai Chengpeng and his wife got upset.

"Xiaoqing, you and Xiaolan are sisters. You're the older one—you should take care of your younger sister. All these years you’ve been with your uncle and aunt, did we ever make you suffer?"

"You said you were scared at night, so we immediately gave you Xiaolan’s room. You said you liked Xiaolan’s new clothes, so we gave them to you even when she cried over it. You said you liked her pencil case, you said you liked her wardrobe—have we ever refused you anything?"

"The meals were cooked how you liked. Anything new in the house always went to your room first..."

"Our own daughter, Xiaolan, didn’t even get a fraction of what you got. Now that Xiaolan likes Jin'an, you *just* happen to like him too. Why is it that you only ever like what Xiaolan likes?"

"Two sisters fighting over the same guy—if word gets out, people will laugh at us." The more Chen Aru spoke, the more guilt she felt toward Ai Xiaolan, her tone growing agitated.

They had never noticed before, but now they realized that whatever Xiaolan liked, Xiaoqing liked too. To accommodate this orphaned niece, they had constantly wronged their own daughter.

Who knew if Xiaolan’s current state had anything to do with their attitude?

Faced with her uncle and aunt’s sudden change, Ai Xiaoqing stared in shock, momentarily at a loss for words.

Lu Jin'an quickly stood up. "Uncle, Auntie, nowadays we believe in dating who we choose. Xiaoqing and I truly love each other—I don’t like Ai Xiaolan."

"You can't force love. Ai Xiaolan’s feelings are one-sided."

Ai Xiaoqing looked utterly wronged as she tearfully gazed at Lu Jin'an.

Lu Jin'an’s heart ached. People outside always said the Ai family treated Xiaoqing better than their own daughter, but now it seemed they were just doing it for appearances.

Who didn’t know about Ai Xiaolan’s bossy attitude and how she bullied Xiaoqing?

Given Ai Chengpeng and his wife’s attitude now, their kindness toward Xiaoqing over the years was probably just hypocritical—all for a good name.

Ai Liangfa also scowled. "Mom, Dad, has that crazy Ai Xiaolan caused drama again?"

"She’s always causing drama at home, making sure no one is happy unless she ruins everything!"

Chen Aru scolded, "Liangfa, mind how you talk. Xiaolan is your sister."

Ai Liangfa scowled in disgust. "She’s not my sister—Xiaoqing is. Ai Xiaolan is our family’s disgrace. Because of her, how many people have laughed at me?"

"Because of her, how many messes have you cleaned up? How much has Xiaoqing suffered? If she didn’t exist, our family of four would be so much happier."

"Enough," Chen Aru said, her chest feeling tight. With her own brother treating her like this, how awful must Xiaolan feel all the time?

The doctor had already said she couldn’t control her emotions. Before, she had always...

Lu Jin'an insisted that there was no way he could ever like Ai Xiaolan—he was only drawn to Xiaoqing’s innocence and kindness.

Ai Chengpeng’s expression darkened. "You hardly even know Xiaolan. How can you be so sure you don’t like her? Whether things work out between you and Xiaolan or not, you clearly know she likes you, yet you deliberately go after Xiaoqing. Aren’t you pitting the sisters against each other?"

"And Xiaoqing, all these years, we’ve treated you well—food, clothing, shelter, everything was taken care of. Did we really treat you so badly?"

Ai Xiaoqing trembled, shaking her head tearfully. "Uncle, you must be misunderstanding something. How could I feel mistreated? If not for you and Auntie, an orphan like me would still be wandering somewhere. It was you who took me in, or else..."

Ai Liangfa, seeing his cousin being pressured like this by their parents, seethed with anger and immediately stepped forward to call them out for being unfair.

Listening to his wife’s sobs and his son’s furious rebuttals, Ai Chengpeng’s expression darkened. "If you truly believe we treated you well, then why is it that both Liangfa and Lu Jin’an act as if you’ve been wronged?"

"Xiaolan may have had many disputes with you, but didn’t she give in every time? Why does no one think she’s the one suffering, but instead, everyone believes you’ve been mistreated in the Ai family?"

Lu Jin’an returned home, his heart racing.

Ai Chengpeng had actually suggested he spend more time with Ai Xiaolan—wasn’t that a death sentence?

He had only wanted to marry quickly to shake off Ai Xiaolan, and now, the Ai family was siding with her.

He could hardly deal with Ai Xiaolan on his own before—how was he supposed to survive now?

He had to get married as soon as possible—immediately, without a moment’s delay.

With Ai Xiaoqing, he was out of time to plan. If he dragged this out any longer, he feared he’d be forced to marry Ai Xiaolan.

At once, he thought of Su Jiao, a backup option in his little harem.

Not wasting a second, Lu Jin’an turned around and went straight to find Su Jiao.

Su Jiao had been troubled lately by Lu Jin’an’s neglect.

Just then, the two sisters-in-law from the Guan family had come by, saying they’d seen Jin’an with a girl by the lake, urging her to keep him close.

She had been wondering how to invite Jin’an out when, unexpectedly, he showed up at her door.

Not only did he bring gifts, but he also immediately proposed taking her home to meet his parents.

The two Guan sisters-in-law, hearing Lu Jin’an’s intentions, grinned with real satisfaction.

Their plan was finally ready to roll.