Nie Huaiyu clung to Minglang's sleeve, refusing to let go. She asked, "So you've been disguised as a man all this time, and you've been lying to me all along?"
Nie Huaiyu's voice had unconsciously taken on a sob.
"I... I didn't mean to lie to you."
Seeing Nie Huaiyu cry, Ming Linghui panicked. She rolled up her sleeve, wanting to wipe Nie Huaiyu's tears, but Nie Huaiyu dodged her.
Ming Linghui stood frozen in place, feeling somewhat disappointed by Nie Huaiyu's behavior.
"Elder sister."
Nie Huailan walked to Nie Huaiyu's side, took his arm, and pointed at Ming Linghui Nie Huaiyu, saying, "You deliberately deceived my sister like this. What are your intentions?"
She really didn't mean it.
Nie Huaiyu paused, wondering if the person before him was facing some hidden trouble.
Nie Huailan said, "If you have any difficulties, just tell me."
"I..."
A pair of tearful eyes glanced at Ming Linghui secretly, clearly waiting for Ming Linghui to explain to her.
Ming Linghui pursed her lips and stubbornly said, "I can't say."
"You..." Nie Huailan pointed angrily at Ming Linghui, then grabbed Nie Huaiyu's hand, "Sister, let's go, let's never pay attention to this kind of person again."
Nie Huaiyu hesitated, but still followed Nie Huailan.
Tong Aning was getting anxious. She said, "Aren't you going to chase after them right away?"
Ming Linghui utterly helpless. "What am I supposed to say to her if I go after her? That my brother doesn't like her at all?"
Ming Linghui said sadly, "That would hurt her feelings."
Tong Aning: "... Isn't she sad now?"
In short, I'm not going.
[What a stubborn mule! And her brother, he's outrageous! He's already engaged, yet he talked with Sister Yu in the woods, winning her heart. He doesn't dare tell Sister Yu Sister Yue, so he sends his own sister instead.]
[The younger sister is also soft-hearted; not wanting to hurt her Sister Yu, she even went so far as to pretend to be her brother.]
[Now look what's happened, the situation is so embarrassing.]
In the shop, no one spoke for a moment, except for Tong Aning's frustrated and disappointed feelings.
Ming Linghui listened silently, showing no intention of chasing after them.
A new customer entered the shop. Ming Linghui looked up and asked in surprise, "Sister Yan, what brings you here?"
The woman who entered heard the voice and went straight to Ming Linghui, clearly somewhat surprised. She said, "I came with your brother."
Ming Linghui looked around, "Where's my brother?"
"In the back."
She jumped to her feet, looked outside, and exclaimed, "Oh no!"
What if my brother and Nie Huaiyu see this?
Ming Linghui hurriedly ran out, and Tong Aning chased after her.
The Nie Huaiyu sisters have already run into Ming Ze.
Ming Linghui paced anxiously, "What should we do?"
Tong Aning shoved her, "Aren't you going to fix this already?"
Ming Linghui realized, "Yes, yes, yes."
Nie Huaiyu looked at the two identical people in surprise, and tentatively asked, "Are you... twins?"
Ming Linghui nodded.
Nie Huaiyu covered her lips with a handkerchief, her eyes and brows betraying her unconcealed worry. "Who was it that I met that day?"
Ming Ze was about to admit it and apologize to Nie Huaiyu, but his sister beat him to it. Ming Linghui said firmly, "It was me. The person you met that day was me."
Ming Ze was stunned. He turned to look at Ming Linghui, his eyes almost disappearing from his gaze.
Ming Linghui pushed him away, "Brother, you should go back first. I'll handle this myself."
"You..."
[Is this my brother, sister-in-law? Open the door!]
Ming Linghui: "..."
Nie Huaiyu was also stunned.
[Oh dear, what do we do now?]
Ming Linghui was also anxious. "Yes, what should we do now?"
She had taken Nie Huaiyu's hand, but she was still too embarrassed to tell Nie Huaiyu the whole truth. She was afraid of hurting Nie Huaiyu, and even more afraid of making Nie Huaiyu cry.
Nie Huaiyu asked, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
"I..." Ming Linghui opened her mouth dryly.
Nie Huaiyu asked, "How old are you now?"
Ming Linghui said blankly, "Eighteen years old."
"You're about the same age as Sister Lan, so from now on, you can call me 'older sister' too."
Ming Linghui was stunned.
Nie Huaiyu looked at her, "What, you don't want to?"
Ming Linghui nodded vigorously, "I'm willing, I'm willing."
Nie Huailan raised her hand, pouting, and said, "I don't want to."
"Alright, Sister Lan," Nie Huaiyu remembered something, "Were the beaded flowers in the shop made by you?"
"Well," Ming Linghui said awkwardly, "My family isn't well-off, so I make some beaded flowers to supplement our income."
"Very good."
Ming Linghui's eyes lit up.
The matter was resolved, but she still felt a sense of loss. This... didn't seem like the best ending?
*
[I think Sister Yu has already guessed what happened, it's a pity they can't get married.]
Xixi echoed: [Exactly.]
[Hey, Xixi, in my world, are there systems like yours?]
[I think so, but each system is independent, so I'm not entirely sure.]
That would be so exciting!
How should I put it?
[By just randomly pairing it with someone in the entertainment industry, you can have gossip for three days and three nights.]
[Oh My God.]
Xixi was somewhat envious.
I previously suspected that my colleague had a Gossip System; she knew all the gossip about everyone.
Tsk, judging from Su Zhouyue's opinion, her Aning is now no less capable than the colleague she mentioned, and might even have more gossip to share than that colleague.
Catching a glimpse of Tong Aning carrying large and small bags, Su Zhouyue asked, "What are you planning to do?"
Tong Aning said happily, "This is a new medicine I learned from my master. I'm sending it all to my third brother."
"Hmm," Su Zhouyue raised an eyebrow, " Fengye will probably be pleased."
"Mother, do you have any messages to tell Third Brother? Could you put them in with him?"
Su Zhouyue smiled and said, "I don't need to. You've probably already written several pages."
"How could this be...?"
Su Zhouyue rummaged through the package and exclaimed in surprise, "There really is one!"
Tong Aning angrily took back the package, and said awkwardly, "It was all because of people cursing him."
After saying that, he ran away quickly.
After sending the package, Tong Aning accompanied Tong Siyan to the Ma Clan's auction.
Tong Aning had asked to come along this time because she was really worried about Ma Yan, who was acting strangely all the time and might scheme against her second sister.
Tong Siyan, "This is my fourth sister, Tong Aning. May we go in together?"
Ma Yan nodded and said, "Yes, of course."
Tong Aning asked curiously, "Why don't you call me 'young scholar' anymore?"
Ma Yan: "..."
Tong Siyan: " Aning, you mustn't do that."
"Oh."
Tong Aning obediently followed Tong Siyan inside.
This is an old house on the outskirts of Beijing, and quite a few people come here.
Tong Aning knew some of them, but not others.
Tong Siyan led Tong Aning to sit down, showing no intention of continuing the conversation.
Tong Siyan, "Tell your second sister what you like later."
Tong Aning asked, "Will you buy it for me?"
"Of course."
Tong Aning said happily, "Thank you, Second Sister."
Tong Siyan loves quiet, Tong Aning can't sit still. Tong Siyan told her to go for a walk, but not too far.
Tong Aning wandered around and caught sight of Ma Yan acting suspiciously.
She secretly followed him, only to discover that he was actually preparing a surprise for Tong Siyan.
[What does he mean by this? Has he fallen for my second sister?]
Ma Yan looked in Tong Aning's direction, Tong Aning quickly squatted down, letting the large rock cover her figure.
System: [Host, I think it's not impossible.]
[Then he's in for a lot of trouble.]
Not only the system, Ma Yan also pricked up his ears to listen.
[My second sister hates these kinds of sudden surprises. She prefers everything to be planned out. If Scholar Ma really dares to do that, my second sister might really dislike him.]
Ma Yan turned his head and stared intently at the servant.
The servant asked, "Shall we...?"
Ma Yan waved his hand in frustration.
"Yes, young master."
He approached Tong Aning Tong Aning, startling her.
Ma Yan: "Greetings, sir."
Tong Aning placed her hand on her chest and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Ma Yan said sincerely, "I only wish to inquire about a few things."
Tong Aning: "Don't ask. My second sister could never like you."
Ma Yan's face turned pale instantly. "What does this mean?"
Tong Aning raised her head and puffed out her chest, brimming with pride. "Because my second sister's ambitions lie elsewhere."
Ma Yan watched Tong Aning walk away with a sense of loss.
Tong Siyan pulled Tong Aning aside, smoothed the stray hairs from Tong Aning's forehead, and asked softly, "Where have you been?"
Tong Aning blinked, "I helped my second sister get rid of some unnecessary trouble."
Tong Siyan met Tong Aning's bright eyes, and noticing that Ma Yan Yanming had clearly seen her but hadn't come over, she roughly understood what was going on. She smiled and said, "Then Aning, Aning."
She had a general idea of Ma Yan's thoughts, but she really had no plans to get married again at the moment.
Moreover, she didn't like Ma Yan at all.
Tong Aning's eyebrows and eyes curved into a smile.
The person invited by the Ma Family announced loudly, "Please take your seats, everyone. This grand event is about to begin."
The crowd that had been talking suddenly fell silent; chaos had broken out even before the auction had begun.
The eldest daughter-in-law of the Ma Family, dragging a knife, tried to kill the old master of the Ma Family, chasing him around the field in a disheveled state.
A Shu shielded his second and fourth young ladies behind him, while Tong Aning peeked out and peered around. The old master was not far from them, panting heavily.
Seeing his mother about to chop again, Ma Yan quickly stopped her, saying, "Mother, what are you doing? Put the knife down!"
"I won't let him go! I'm going to kill this shameless old thief today!" Ma Yan's mother cursed through gritted teeth. Overwhelmed with grief and indignation, she brandished her knife and went to the old man, but Ma Yan held her back tightly.
Startled by this, the old man fell down comically.
Ma Yan said, "Mother!"
The eldest daughter-in-law laughed wildly, saying in a frenzy, "So you're afraid of death too? Have you thought about my children?"
Ma Yan was a little confused. "Mother, what child?"
[That old man actually threw away all three daughters his eldest daughter-in-law had given birth to!]