Bowl of instant noodles brewed excitement

"Sister Haoxue, I've got something interesting to show you," Pang Shaohan slipped into the study and pulled Wen Haoxue out from the crowd.

Mo Wenyang was still demonstrating his calligraphy in the study at that time.

Being disturbed by a little brat, Wen Haoxue kept her temper in check, but once she stepped out of the study, she immediately glared at him, "What's the matter?"

Pang Shaohan dragged her to the balcony, pointing towards the intersection, "Look, who is that sitting together?"

Seeing Wen Man sitting next to that down-and-out fellow, Wen Haoxue's eyes lit up. She patted Pang Shaohan's head, "You little rascal, quite the sharp eye, deserve a reward. Go, bring your parents out to see this."

Pang Shaohan pouted his lips, rather unwilling to, pulled Wen Haoxue out, but didn't want to snitch himself.

Wen Haoxue certainly understood the little boy's thoughts, pinched his cheek and said, "Go drag out the other sisters."

Pang Shaohan laughed and scampered into the study.

Thus, a minute later, there were no women left watching Mo Wenyang in the study; they had all sneaked off to the balcony.

"Sister Manman should be getting married by now. If she doesn't, what are we younger sisters going to do?" The sisters gossiped amongst themselves. Although that poor fellow wasn't much, but given Manman's age, it was good enough that she found someone.

The elders thought the same, "Yeah, no matter what, he's a man. A woman eventually has to find a man to live her life with."

Wasn't this all just an opportunity to mock? To say that their daughter was no good, that she was an unwanted, worn-out shoe, just right for a down-and-out fellow. As Xu Yu'e choked with indignation, she seized her youngest daughter, "Hurry down and call your sister up."

"Mom. I would never do such an embarrassing thing," Wen Yuan was as frustrated as her mother. She had always felt that having a sister she couldn't flaunt in front of her classmates was useless, and now that Wen Man was not only unable to marry off but could only pick a loser, it was even more embarrassing.

"It's always said, but really, the eldest sister-in-law... Nowadays, while girls are still in university, families have to arrange blind dates for them, lest they can't get married later."

"The name the eldest sister and eldest brother gave to Manman, it's really something, Manman, doesn't it sound just like 'late' (晚晚)?"

Not only was Xu Yu'e embarrassed, but Wen Man's father, Wen Shixuan, happened to pass by and heard this. The middle-aged man's face darkened just the same.

So it turned out when a daughter couldn't get married, people outside didn't blame the person herself, but first aimed their fingers at the parents. Some parents bore it in silence, while some, who already endured others' remarks in society, couldn't bear it upon returning home and took out their anger on their children.

Wen Man was unfortunate enough to have the kind of parents who liked to take out their frustrations at home.

The chattering on the balcony. Wen Man and Jiang Yan were far away, not hearing it, just having filled their stomachs, sitting in their original spots to rest awhile.

"Your name is—" Jiang Yan asked.

"Wen Man," Wen Man answered in a very ordinary tone.

Jiang Yan looked at her small bridge of the nose, holding the overly large glasses that had almost slipped down to her lips. She was not the kind of woman who was very pretty—small nose, small mouth, slightly small eyes, thin cheeks, slender fingers, not a typical beauty with a melon-seed face; but if you looked long enough, you'd find her easy on the eyes and comforting, because her expression was always faintly smiling, like a carefree cloud in the sky.

"Your name?" Wen Man was made a little uncomfortable by his stare; even though she knew his name, she still asked.

"Jiang Yan. Yan as in 'to extend,' the one with three water radicals added to 'xing' (行)," he seemed worried she wouldn't understand his name and took one of her hands, drawing on her palm.

Wen Man was being held by a man's hand with strength for the first time; her eyelids fluttered in surprise. She wanted to withdraw her hand but was worried about being rude, so she silently endured it.

"Do you know which character now?" Jiang Yan saw her lower her head and leaned his face closer with some concern to ask.

"I know," Wen Man took the opportunity when his grip loosened slightly and immediately pulled back her hand. However, her hand retained his warmth, feeling the touch he had just left, foreign, yet deeply memorable. His hand was not as proud as he was, with a thick callus that made one feel this genteel-looking man was actually quite strong.

"Do you really know?"

Wen Man suddenly felt his warm breath almost spraying on her face, and involuntarily lifted her gaze, only to discover he was close at hand, looking at her with eyes brimming with laughter. She slightly furrowed her brows, quickly lowered her face, and began to pack up her things to leave.

As Jiang Yan noticed her rapidly changing expression, he too stood up, asking, "Did I do something wrong?"

"I don't know how many girls you've joked with like this, but I'm not used to it." Wen Man said this while constantly looking at the flower bed by the road, no longer willing to look at his handsome face that had confused the hearts of so many girls.

The better-looking the man, the more likely he is to be a playboy; this was almost an unchanging law.

Jiang Yan immediately realized she had misunderstood, and it bothered him, bothered him like never before. So as she was about to take a step forward, he rushed in front of her, blocking her way.

On the balcony of the Wen Family, the Wen Family's members' eyes nearly popped out when they saw Jiang Yan stopping Wen Man.

"My God. That pauper has taken a liking to Sister Manman."

"Sis-in-law, congratulations."

Xu Yu'e heard the crowd's sarcastic congratulations with cold mockery, her face darkening as she turned and left the balcony.

"I, I'm not that kind of person." Jiang Yan gesticulated wildly with his hands and then patted his forehead, "Really, I just think you're a very nice girl."

Wen Man blinked her eyelashes, stunned as she watched him now flustered and at a loss: Could it be that he wasn't arrogant but simply not good with words, so he just chose to stay silent and appear deep?

"Ah—" Jiang Yan clasped his head with both hands, revealing a pair of innocent child-like eyes through his fingers.

Wen Man, unable to help herself, was amused, her lips slightly curling into a smile.

At that moment, Xu Yu'e stormed over, shouting from a distance, "Manman, come here!"

Jiang Yan heard the voice of this cold, proud, and angry woman, a flicker of displeasure crossing his face. As Wen Man was about to pass by him, he grasped her hand, "Who is that woman?"

Feeling him grip her hand a little tighter, Wen Man paused before saying, "My mom."

Her mom? She didn't look it at all! Jiang Yan looked distantly at Xu Yu'e's face, which displayed all sorts of emotions, and deeply furrowed his brows. How could such an overbearing woman raise a daughter like Wen Man, who was so full of substance?

Wen Man broke free from his grasp and walked towards her mother with her head down.

Thus, when Jiang Yan saw her reach Xu Yu'e, she seemed to be getting an earful from her. A sense of restlessness surged within him, and he pulled out his phone from his pocket to dial a friend's number, "Mo Wenyang, how much longer do you plan to perform for that group of monkeys?"

Mo Wenyang had long finished his calligraphy performance and, with all the Wen Family members gathered on the balcony to spectate the commotion, answered his phone, saying, "I can leave anytime. If it weren't for you, the great young master of the Jiang Family, wanting to keep up the act, I'd have been gone—"

"Enough! Let's go!"

Catching on to Jiang Yan's displeased tone, Mo Wenyang ended the call and immediately bid the Wen Family farewell.

"So soon?" Wen Shirong, of course, was reluctant to let a prospective son-in-law slip away, and accompanied Mo Wenyang to the door, eagerly clapping him on the shoulder and asking, "How do you feel about tonight?"

"The uncles and aunts have all been very hospitable." Mo Wenyang answered with the tone of an all-around good student.

That wasn't the question though. Just as Wen Shirong was about to probe further, Mo Wenyang received another urgent call from Jiang Yan. Without another look at any of the Wen Family members' faces, he departed straight away.