C6 It's All for Your Own Good

Jiabao eagerly said, "Sis, you're finally back! Mom and I have been waiting at the door for ages. Hurry up and come home with us. Mr. Aquan brought a lot of gifts today to discuss your engagement."

"His family is loaded; they have three properties. Once you marry him, you won't have to work and can enjoy life."

Soong Yan smiled awkwardly, trying to be persuasive, "Yueyue, your brother's right. Come home for dinner. I made all your favorite dishes."

"Sis, let's go now."

Jiabao enthusiastically reached out to take Yueyue's arm, but she shook him off.

Yueyue frowned and said, "Mom, Jiabao, stop dreaming. I will never marry that man."

Soong Yan's expression changed immediately, "Why won't you listen? I'm doing this for your own good. While you're still young and attractive, finding a wealthy husband is the smart thing to do."

"Sis, you should be content. Even though you're pretty, you know our family's situation. If Mr. Aquan is willing to marry you, you should be happy about it."

Yueyue looked at her mother and brother coldly, pulled a marriage certificate from her bag, and held it up high. "See this? I just got married. Stop pushing me to get engaged."

Soong Yan and Jiabao looked at each other in disbelief.

"Yueyue, don't try to fool me. Where did you get a fake marriage certificate? You can't pull one over on me," Soong Yan said, not believing her daughter could have gotten married so quickly, especially since she hadn't mentioned anything about it the day before.

"Big Sis, let me see if that marriage certificate is real," Jiabao chimed in. As far as he knew, his sister hadn't been seeing anyone, so how could she be married already? It had to be fake!

Seeing their skepticism, Yueyue sighed and opened the marriage certificate, waving it in front of her brother. "Look closely, this is a real marriage certificate. I'm not lying to you!"

Jiabao shook his head in disbelief. "No way, this can't be real. It just can't be!"

After Jiabao had a chance to look at the certificate, Yueyue quickly tucked it away. She had an agreement with the man on the certificate not to make their marriage public, only allowing her family a brief glimpse.

Jiabao was fixated on the thought that his $50,000 for a house down payment was gone, completely dashed. He hadn't even caught the man's name on the certificate, only noticing the official seal that proved it was genuine.

He turned to Soong Yan, his face filled with despair. "Mom, it's over. Big Sis really got married. My $50,000 for the house down payment is gone, and without a house, my girlfriend is definitely going to break up with me."

Soong Yan felt a buzzing in her head, as if she had been hit with a huge shock. Angrily, she shoved Yueyue and snapped, "You've got some nerve, sneaking off to marry a man on your own! Even if you're married, you should get a divorce. Where else will you find someone like Aquan—wealthy and easygoing? Once you're married, won't all those properties of the Zhang family be yours? I'm doing this for your own good, why can't you see that?"

Yueyue laughed bitterly, "Mom, you keep saying it's for my own good, do you think I'm stupid? I've known since I was little that you and Dad favor my brother over me. You're pushing me to marry Aquan just so you can buy a house for him, right?"

"Mom, can't you have some backbone? If my brother wants a house, can't he work for it himself? Don't you know that taking advantage of others comes with strings attached?"

Soong Yan didn't see anything wrong with her actions. In her generation, daughters were expected to support their families. "Finding a wealthy brother-in-law for your brother will also give you a good life. It's a win-win, what's wrong with that?"

"Big sis, you're going to get married eventually, so why not choose a rich guy?" Jiabao was eager for his sister to marry Aquan and get that $50,000.

Yueyue didn't want to waste any more words. People with such different values couldn't see eye to eye. With a stern face, she said, "I'm already married, and there's no way I'm getting a divorce. That's a fact! The idea of me marrying Aquan is off the table. I'm tired, you should go home."