Chapter 475: What You Thought

Chapter 475 What You Assumed

Lu Hanchuan got straight to business. After discussing the mutual benefits, they quickly reached a consensus.

Li Mingxiang involuntarily relaxed.

"Though you didn’t invite me to your wedding, I actually prepared a gift for your wife."

Lu Hanchuan shot her a warning glance. "Li Mingxiang, you’d better focus more on serious matters and not pry too much."

Sensing his wariness and protectiveness, Li Mingxiang managed a weak smile.

"You’re overthinking it. My blessings are sincere."

With the matter settled, Lu Hanchuan had no intention of lingering. He stood up to leave.

Li Mingxiang: "See you on the island."

...

Over the next few days, Lu Hanchuan and Ye Xiaoxiao stayed home to accompany Grandfather.

It was clear how happy Grandfather was, and how reluctant he was to let them go.

But Lu Hanchuan had military duties and couldn’t stay forever.

Seeing that Grandfather was temporarily fine, he was relieved.

The day before their departure, Lu Hanchuan’s uncle returned for a few hours, making time just to see him.

Of course, it was also to meet Xiaoxiao. After all, they were family—it would be awkward if they didn’t recognize each other in the future.

Ye Xiaoxiao was worth his trip.

Beyond that, the uncle had some matters to discuss with Lu Hanchuan, which had to be done in person.

The uncle was truly tied up and couldn’t stay long, not even overnight, before leaving again.

Ye Xiaoxiao could already picture her future life.

Luckily, she had her own things to keep busy with. Relying solely on a man would’ve been rough.

Unaware that Xiaoxiao had already planned out their future, Lu Hanchuan left the next day. The Yuns packed their things and arranged for a driver to send them off.

Before their departure, Li Mingxiang dropped by.

The Li and Yun families lived nearby, so her visit wasn’t unusual.

That is, unless Lu Hanchuan knew her intentions. But after Yun Pohuai’s warning and Li Mingxiang’s previous behavior, it’d be foolish if he couldn’t guess why she was here.

So Lu Hanchuan wore an expression cold enough to freeze hell.

Xiaoxiao glanced in his direction, noticing his mood change.

Yun Pohuai was out today, but Jiang Shanshan knew Li Mingxiang and greeted her.

"Mingxiang, what brings you here today?"

Li Mingxiang smiled. "I heard Hanchuan was leaving, so I wanted to see him off."

Even as Li Mingxiang spoke, her eyes stayed locked on Ye Xiaoxiao's face.

Jiang Shanshan remarked, "You two know each other?"

Li Mingxiang nodded. "I was at the last get-together."

As she spoke, she closed the distance between herself and Xiao Xiao and Lu Hanchuan.

Lu Hanchuan took Xiao Xiao's hand. "It's cold outside. Wanna get in the car?"

Ye Xiaoxiao squeezed his hand. "We'll go together. Your friend is here—aren’t you going to introduce us?"

Li Mingxiang must have heard Xiao Xiao's words, as she spoke up first. "I'm Bo Huai's classmate, a couple years your senior. You can call me Sister Mingxiang."

After observing Ye Xiaoxiao, Li Mingxiang seemed to realize where she'd come up short.

So men really do prefer beautiful women—at least, Lu Hanchuan did.

The woman before her had hair as dark as clouds and skin as fair as porcelain. Even in a down jacket, she still looked slender.

She appeared quite young, with eyes that sparkled like gems.

Though everyone was standing in the wind, huddling against the cold, Xiao Xiao carried herself with effortless grace, like some windproof goddess.

Li Mingxiang was first stunned by her beauty, then felt a twinge of contempt. Looks alone wouldn't keep a relationship. One day, they’d realize that only a partnership of equals could stand the test of time.

Ye Xiaoxiao said nothing. Since the other woman had introduced herself, she played along. "Sister Mingxiang."

Li Mingxiang had come specifically to see what Lu Hanchuan’s wife looked like.

She was indeed a knockout, but in Li Mingxiang’s eyes, she was nothing more than a clinging vine—couldn't hold a candle to her.

Now that she’d seen her, there was nothing left to say.

Lu Hanchuan and Ye Xiaoxiao got into the car, and the black Jeep slowly rolled out of the Yun family's driveway.

Only after leaving the compound did Ye Xiaoxiao speak. "That woman back there came specifically to see me."

She wasn’t a fool, and Li Mingxiang’s scrutiny had been obvious.

Lu Hanchuan stiffened at her words. Xiao Xiao phrasing it like that was way more unnerving than if she’d said the woman had come to see him.

"It's not like that between us. We haven’t seen each other in years, and even before… we weren’t close."

That much was true. Lu Hanchuan had always been the one being chased, and he’d never developed feelings for anyone else.

He loved Xiao Xiao—there's no one else for me.

Ye Xiaoxiao cupped Lu Hanchuan’s face, meeting his gaze. "I didn’t say anything. Relax…"

Lu Hanchuan swallowed. "I’m not nervous. I’m scared."

Xiao Xiao laughed at his response. Who knew the word "scared" would ever come out of Lu Hanchuan’s mouth? "Do I scare you that much? What are you afraid of?"

Lu Hanchuan pulled her hand down, cradling it in his. "I’m afraid Xiao Xiao will be angry."

Xiao Xiao melted into his arms. "I’m not angry. I trust you."

...

In Baishi Village, after the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, people started trickling away.

Ye Changning had already left home on the third day, went to the county town first, then hit the road.

Driving in the village was impossible now—the roads were under construction, full of potholes everywhere. With the cold weather halting the work, the whole place looked even shabbier.

Ye Changsheng had to head back to campus early to help his advisor with a project.

Ye Changan and his wife, Shen Qiuyu, left together with Ye Changsheng. The couple were totally fine with leaving their kid with the family in their hometown.

Shen Qiuyu even made sure to add, "I trust Mom and Dad to take good care of Jiajia. It's cold now, so there's no need to rush. Let’s hold off until after Lunar New Year season to return to Shen City."

She said this mainly to let the elderly stay at home a little longer.

Miao Cuifang naturally got what her daughter-in-law was hinting at and assured her that Jiajia would be well taken care of.

Ye Changsheng and Ye Changan rode the same train, though Ye Changsheng had an earlier stop.

"Watch yourself out there," Ye Changan reminded Ye Changsheng when they reached the Harbin station.

Ye Changsheng nodded before stepping off the train.

Shen Qiuyu remarked, "I think Fourth Bro’s turning into quite the looker. Who knows what kind of wife he’ll find in the future?"

Ye Changan just smiled. "Why worry about that? They couldn’t care less about it themselves."

During this year’s holiday, the family had been urging Ye Changning to settle down, while Ye Changsheng got off easy.

But Ye Changning was stubborn as a mule—nothing got through to him, leaving the family helpless. Soon enough, they’d probably shift their focus to someone else.

"I never said I’d interfere," Shen Qiuyu clarified. "I was just musing. Third Brother has money, Fourth Brother has a high education—it’s not easy to casually introduce them to anyone from our hometown. There are eligible girls in my dance group, but they’re all already taken."

Ye Changan pulled his wife close. "Then let them figure it out themselves. If they can’t even find a wife, what kind of big shots can they be?"