CHAPTER 614: 237 A MARRIAGE ENGAGEMENT FORTY YEARS AGO_2

Yu Ruohuan cast a provocative glance at Mei Qingdai before sitting down, pointing to the seat beside her, and said to Gu Bichen, "What are you standing there for? Sit down."

The young man’s hand hung by his side, clenched tightly. His handsome face was emotionless, but a faint vein throbbed on his temple.

Anyone with eyes could see that there was definitely something going on between these two.

Yu Ruohuan tilted her head back and smiled at Gu Bichen, then extended her hand. Between her fingers hung something bright yellow—a knitted sunflower pendant.

The pendant swayed lightly between her fingers. Yu Ruohuan took pleasure in observing the suppressed expression on the young man’s face and smiled even more tenderly.

Gu Bichen remained silent, walked over, and sat beside Yu Ruohuan.

Yan Lu rubbed her eyes, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the item in Yu Ruohuan’s hand.

Wasn’t that the charm from An’an’s backpack? Yan Lu had thought it looked quite nice and had planned to ask An’an for a link to buy one, but An’an had said it was handcrafted by her aunt and one of a kind.

How did it end up in Yu Ruohuan’s hands?

Yan Lu realized something was wrong and frantically began tagging Shen You’an in the group chat. Gao Yuyue was bewildered and asked her what had happened.

Yan Lu opened up her WeChat chat with Shen You’an: "An’an, where are you? Did something happen to you? Please reply!"

The message fell into a void, with no response whatsoever.

An immediate sense of despair gripped Yan Lu.

Old Madam Yan noticed Yan Lu’s unusual behavior and lowered her voice to ask, "What’s the matter?"

Yan Lu bit her lip, feeling an urge to cry, but she held back her tears. She raised her head, staring intensely at Yu Ruohuan. Gu Bichen saw her reaction, and their eyes met. Gu Bichen subtly shook his head at her.

Yan Lu quickly lowered her gaze. "It’s nothing."

How could Old Madam Yan believe that? She wasn’t blind.

She turned to look at Gu Bichen—was Lu’er behaving strangely because of him?

Yao Huia’s voice broke Old Madam Yan’s thoughts: "Seeing the two of them sitting together, such a beautiful pair—what an eye-pleasing scene..."

Everyone exchanged glances. The phrase "beautiful pair" was usually followed by talk of a perfect match.

Wei Zhuhua shook her head with a smile and said, "Mrs. Xu, you exaggerate. Young Master Gu is outstanding, but my Huanhuan is far from matching him."

"How could you undervalue yourself like that, Madam? I, for one, think Miss Yu is exceptional. My great-aunt certainly had a keen eye back then, arranging the marriage between her and our Bichen early on," Yao Huia remarked.

Her words left everyone utterly shocked.

The implication of what she said was explosive.

Wait—what did she mean by arranging a marriage between Bichen and Miss Yu early on? Was the great-aunt she mentioned Madam Gu?

Was it what they were all thinking?

Gu Bichen abruptly stood up, glaring coldly at Yao Huia. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Yao Huia shook her head and smiled, looking toward Wei Zhuhua with an air of helplessness. "See? The boy’s shy now."

Gu Bichen clenched his fists tightly. "Sister Huia, you’ve been educated, haven’t you? Surely you know what’s appropriate to say and what’s not?"

Yao Huia’s smile froze momentarily. She wouldn’t let herself be threatened by a child. Smiling faintly, she replied, "Well, when the great-aunt and Mr. Yu arranged the marriage back then, you hadn’t even been born, so naturally, you wouldn’t know. But the engagement does indeed exist. Bichen, I see you’ve been childhood companions with Miss Yu, inseparable over the years. Having a marriage agreement is just the icing on the cake, don’t you think?"

Wei Zhuhua was stunned—she seemed to suddenly remember something. "When I first married into the family, my mother-in-law did mention it once, but I thought she was joking. So it’s true. Still, this concerns the future of two children; their own wishes matter most. This is a new era. Arranged marriages like this aren’t the norm anymore. Otherwise, it would ruin their happiness for a lifetime."

Mrs. Wen sneered. Were these two just casually playing their parts in a well-rehearsed setup? They must have planned this beforehand.

She didn’t believe Madam Gu would be foolish enough to agree to a Yu family alliance—it looked like the pair had schemed to corner Gu Bichen.

Mei Qingdai was the first to erupt: "An engagement? What engagement? When did the Yu family ever have an arranged marriage with the Gu family?"

Yao Huia glanced at Mei Qingdai. "You married into the Yu family later, and you don’t manage household affairs, so it’s reasonable that you wouldn’t know. But this engagement truly exists—it’s been in place for forty years now."

Counting on her fingers, Yao Huia said, "Yes, forty years exactly. Why? Would you like me to recount the details?"

Mei Qingdai suddenly came to her senses. She had just discussed Yu Ruohuan’s marriage prospects with her grandmother, and shortly after, her sister-in-law invited Mrs. Xu over and came up with this forty-year engagement. Did they really think she was a fool?

Did they think her sister-in-law was somehow more virtuous or above petty scheming? Turns out, she was full of calculations herself.