In the Midst of a Fine Performance

The power came back on and the light woke me up, so I hurriedly got up to upload this.

When Aunt Xue saw Sun Shaozong approaching alongside her son, she could not help falling into a daze.

Though she had deliberately tried to forget that awkward incident over the past two years, how could such a thing be forgotten simply because a woman—especially a widow of many years—wished it so?

The instant she saw Sun Shaozong amid the drifting snow, the scene in the Grand View Garden's dense woods, where they had nearly bared themselves completely before one another, surfaced in her mind.

Shyness, embarrassment, and a faint, indescribable absurdity of thought.

Though that thought was only the slightest trace, it made her feel so ashamed she nearly wished she could prostrate herself on the ground.

After all, she had been considering these past days whether to replace Jia Baoyu with Sun Shaozong as her choice of son-in-law.

Yet upon meeting him now, what surfaced in her heart was...

What a disgrace to motherhood!

Her thoughts were in such disarray that she even forgot to respond when Xue Pan and Sun Shaozong stepped forward to pay their respects.

It was Xue Baochai beside her who noticed her absent-mindedness and discreetly pinched her arm. Only then did Aunt Xue come back to herself, hurriedly waving her hand. "Get up, get up. We're all relatives here. Why be so formal?"

Before Sun Shaozong could respond, Xue Pan had already risen carelessly. He cast two furtive glances at Lin Daiyu, then laughed. "Mother's right. If we keep being this formal, we'll end up missing the fine show ahead. Second Brother and I will lead the way. Sister-in-law, sisters, hurry along too."

Since Xue Pan had said so, Sun Shaozong naturally had no objection.