USWHC -Chapter 22 The Runaway Bride (Part 2)

Old Master Ji sat cross-legged on the heated kang, watching Ji Yi busying himself with chores. He couldn’t help but sigh and said, “Second son, when that girl comes in later, you should strike while the iron is hot and just take care of it with her.”

“Dad, you…” Ji Yi stopped sweeping, looked up at him, and couldn’t help but protest. But the words reached his lips and were forced back down again.

“Your mother and I know you don’t believe what that girl said. Actually, we don’t believe it either,” Old Master Ji continued, his brows nearly knotted together. “That’s exactly why you have to hurry up and do it! You know very well that after all these years, arranging your marriage has only become harder and harder.”

“Dad, you don’t need to worry about my marriage,” Ji Yi said quickly.

For some reason, those words immediately angered Old Master Ji. He jumped down from the kang with a whoosh and snapped, “Not worry about it? Then you go find someone yourself! You stay cooped up at home all day—are you planning to be a bachelor for the rest of your life? We’ve been trying to arrange matches for you since you were thirteen, all the way until now when you’re twenty! And what happened?”

“Dad, you just said it yourself—I’m only twenty. There’s no rush,” Ji Yi replied indifferently.

Old Master Ji grew even more furious. “You’re already twenty and you’re still not in a hurry? Is there anyone in our village older than you who still hasn’t found a match? Your older brother was already married to your sister-in-law when he was fifteen! And you say you’re not old enough? I’m not trying to rush you, but since this girl doesn’t know any better, you should hurry and turn raw rice into cooked rice. Once that happens, she won’t be able to run away!”

Ji Yi seemed unwilling to argue with him any further. He let out a long sigh and put on the appearance of an obedient son, nodding compliantly.

Seeing this, Old Master Ji finally relaxed and said, “Actually, I think that girl is pretty good. She’ll treat you well in the future.”

Hearing that, Ji Yi couldn’t help but sneer. He really wanted to say: Dad, are your eyes broken? She’s ‘pretty good’? Did you already forget about the whole thing with clearing snow up the mountain in the middle of winter?

Zhu Jie looked in surprise at Old Master Ji as he walked out of the room. The old man’s gaze toward her just now had been very strange. It felt a bit like a weasel apologizing to a chick.

No, something was definitely wrong here!

“What did your dad come to say?” Zhu Jie climbed onto the kang and burrowed straight into the quilt. Rubbing her hands that had turned red from the cold, she leaned toward Ji Yi’s face with a rather shameless grin and asked.

Ji Yi rolled his eyes at her and mocked, “What? Not pretending to be a shy little bride anymore?”

At his words, Zhu Jie’s face still flushed a little with embarrassment. But it was only for a moment before she shamelessly shrugged. “Since you don’t believe me anyway, what’s the point of pretending?”

Seeing her like that, Ji Yi immediately shifted away in disgust, avoiding her gaze. Deliberately putting on a fierce tone, he said, “My dad told me to take you. So? Are you scared?”

To be honest, when she first heard that, Zhu Jie really was a little frightened. She immediately clutched the edge of the quilt tightly, her voice trembling unconsciously.

“Th-then… what do you think?”

Fortunately, Ji Yi just sneered. “Hmph. Someone like you? I’m not interested.”

Hearing that, Zhu Jie actually relaxed and laughed. “That’s good, that’s good!” she said, patting her small chest as if still shaken.

Ji Yi couldn’t help glancing at her again.

Heh. So this girl doesn’t fancy him either? Perfect—mutual dislike!

After Zhu Jie left, Sister-in-law You quickly sensed something wrong. She hurriedly ran to the main house. As soon as she entered, she shouted to Old Madam Ji in a fluster:

“Mother, something’s not right! That girl is trying to run away!”

Old Madam Ji was holding a steaming cup of hot water to warm her hands. Sister-in-law You’s sudden shout nearly made her burn herself.

She immediately frowned in annoyance. “Why are you yelling like that? What rumors did you hear now?”

“Mother, just now that girl kept asking me where our house is and how we get up the mountain. The way she was asking—it looks like she’s planning to run!” Sister-in-law You said anxiously.

“You told her?” Old Madam Ji asked at once. Hearing this, she also felt the suspicion was reasonable. But even before Sister-in-law You could answer, she could already tell from the expression on her daughter-in-law’s face that she had indeed told her.

Old Madam Ji’s face immediately filled with irritation. “Useless thing! Come on, let’s go take a look!”