That “Bad” Woman Next Door – Chapter 54

This Should Count as an Extra Chapter.

Yuan Yue and Yu Xi had recently been busy with the whole affair of moving. The moment Jiang Yan heard about it, she immediately took time off work to rush over and help.

Yuan Yue’s old apartment had already been sold, and this new one was a joint purchase between her and Yu Xi.

The apartment was right across from Yuan Xi’s place. Before they had even finished unpacking, Jiang Yan stood casually in the middle of the hallway, looked around, and said, “Although moving back and forth is a bit of a hassle, I’ll feel more at ease with you living across from your brother.”

Yuan Yue’s mood was bright. She walked out and wrapped an arm around Jiang Yan’s shoulders, her face full of sweetness. “I feel at ease with my brother around, too.”

She was also counting on Yuan Xi to help convince Jiang Yan. But she couldn’t say that out loud in front of her mom.

Jiang Yan turned her head to look at her, her expression completely serious. “What are you doing running out here when things aren’t packed? Hurry up and get back inside to help Yu Xi.”

Yuan Yue had no choice but to let her go, muttering, “I can’t just work nonstop, can I? I’m tired. Yu Xi’s heart ached for me, so she told me to rest for a bit.”

Peeking through the wide-open door, Jiang Yan could see Yu Xi, dressed in casual clothes, bustling about without a pause. That thin, small frame of hers seemed to hold an infinite amount of strength. Watching her back, Jiang Yan sighed endlessly with emotion. “That child, Yu Xi, is truly wonderful.”

Yuan Yue saw her chance and got clingy again. She hugged Jiang Yan’s arm and said in a wheedling tone, “Mom, is Yu Xi better, or am I better?”

Jiang Yan shot her a glance and said dismissively, “How can you compare yourself to Yu Xi?”

Yuan Yue had expected this answer. She wasn’t annoyed; instead, she said, feeling delighted with herself, “Since Yu Xi is so wonderful, then let’s keep her in China forever, okay?”

“That doesn’t seem right, does it?” Jiang Yan hesitated. “Her parents and relatives are all abroad. It’s too much for you to force her to stay in China.”

Yuan Yue shrugged, feigning helplessness. “This was Yu Xi’s own decision. She said she’s never leaving.”

“Why?” Jiang Yan was surprised.

“Because the person she loves is here. She can’t bear to leave.”

“The person she loves?” Jiang Yan mumbled the words, suddenly recalling that Yu Xi had mentioned she liked women before. She sucked in a sharp breath, glanced at the person in the room, then turned back to ask Yuan Yue in a low voice, “You should know who that person Yu Xi likes is, right?”

Yuan Yue also glanced into the room. At that exact moment, Yu Xi turned her head, and the two of them shared a tacit look for a second. Yuan Yue winked and made a face at her before finally replying to Jiang Yan in an unhurried manner, “Of course I know. And I’m especially close with that person.”

Jiang Yan’s heart was pounding with excitement, yet she was also incredibly nervous. She pressed on, “Who is it?”

Yuan Yue raised her eyebrows, lifted a hand, and pointed a finger at herself. “Me!” she said in a crisp, clear voice.

Jiang Yan’s eyes widened in horror. She subconsciously looked Yuan Yue up and down, and when she finally processed it, she spat, “What kind of joke is this? How could Yu Xi possibly fall for you!”

Yuan Yue remained noncommittal about that, just giggling foolishly for a moment. She held out her left palm, flaunting the diamond ring right under Jiang Yan’s nose. “Mom, look. Isn’t this diamond ring pretty?”

Jiang Yan was still thinking about the last question and was suddenly sidetracked. She gave the ring a cursory glance and said absently, “It’s pretty. Why are you buying diamond rings for no reason? Such a waste of money.”

Her trick having succeeded, Yuan Yue pulled her hand back. She pretended to admire the diamond ring on her ring finger and said, as if it were nothing, “Yu Xi bought it for me. You have to wear one when you get married, so it’s not a waste.”

“Married?!” Jiang Yan snapped back to her senses completely. She grabbed Yuan Yue’s hand to inspect it seriously, only then realizing that Yuan Yue was wearing the ring on the wrong finger. She couldn’t help but demand loudly, “When did you get married? Who did you marry?”

Yuan Yue had already decided to tell her the truth today. She calmly and composedly reassured Jiang Yan, “Mom, don’t get excited. We haven’t registered for the certificate yet.¹ Aren’t we just waiting for you to nod your head?”

Jiang Yan’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. She gripped her hand tightly and said, “Hurry up and tell me who the man is!”

“It’s not a man!” Yuan Yue felt a bit wronged by her yelling.

“Not a man?” Jiang Yan repeated, like a broken record. Her mind couldn’t help but make a connection. As if in slow motion, she turned her head and saw Yu Xi, who had appeared behind her at some unknown point.

Yu Xi said to her with a smile as beautiful as a flower, “Mom, the person Yueyue is talking about is me. I’m going to marry her.”

After speaking, she slowly raised her left hand, showing Jiang Yan the diamond ring on her ring finger.

The sparkling diamond represented eternity. Jiang Yan felt as if she’d been stabbed by the light. Her body swayed, and she stared blankly at the person before her, finding it all utterly unbelievable. “Yu… Yu Xi…”

Yu Xi quickly steadied her, her expression turning serious and full of guilt. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m the one who’s stolen your only daughter away. You promised before that you would bless me, right?”

Jiang Yan felt the world go dark. If Yu Xi hadn’t been holding her up, she might have collapsed. Unable to digest such explosive news, she looked at Yu Xi, feeling completely feeble. “You… you two are trying to anger me to death!”

Seeing the situation was bad, Yuan Yue decisively ran to the apartment across the hall and started banging on the door. Clang!

Yuan Xi came out chewing on a cucumber, not understanding the situation at all. “What’s wrong?”

Yuan Yue snatched the cucumber from his hand and said urgently, “Mom knows the truth. Hurry and go help Yu Xi.”

Yuan Xi jolted. When he ran over, he saw Jiang Yan with a look of someone whose heart and head were aching with distress.² He asked with concern, “Mom, are you okay?”

Jiang Yan said, gritting her teeth and gnashing her molars,³ “I’m fine. It’s the two of them who have a problem!”

“What problem could the two of them have?” Yuan Xi was completely in a fog.

Jiang Yan wailed endlessly. “The two of them are getting married! You tell me what kind of problem that is!”

Yuan Xi suddenly understood, but he said in an unhurried manner, “Getting married is a great thing. Mom, you should be happy.”

Jiang Yan rushed over to Yuan Xi, her voice full of disbelief. “Two girls are getting married! You tell me how I’m supposed to be happy about that!”

Yuan Xi looked completely relaxed. “Right, two girls are getting married. When the time comes, won’t you have gained another daughter? And Yu Xi is so much better than that one from our family. You should be content!”

Jiang Yan felt the world go dark again. She closed her eyes, and her body fell straight back.

…

As night fell, Jiang Yan, who had been asleep for the entire day, finally began to slowly wake up. The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was an enlarged view of Yu Xi’s face. Her breath caught, and she slammed her eyes shut again.

Yu Xi remained bent over, watching her. She sighed almost inaudibly. “Mom, if you don’t want to see me, I’ll go back to Germany⁴ right now.”

Jiang Yan’s eyelashes trembled, but she remained unmoved.

Yuan Yue started adding oil and vinegar⁵ to the story. “Mom, if Yu Xi leaves, I’m leaving too. I can’t live without her in this lifetime. You take care of yourself.”

“Mom, if you keep this up, you might lose two daughters at the same time.” At this point, Yuan Xi, who had been standing to the side, came over to join in the fun.

Jiang Yan couldn’t keep up the act any longer. She unwillingly opened her eyes again and shot up, her eyes darting around, not knowing where to look. “You all ganged up to trick me,” she said, annoyed.

Yuan Yue cried out that she’d been wronged. “If we wanted to trick you, we would’ve secretly run off to Germany to get the certificate long ago.”

Jiang Yan was rendered speechless, her mouth opening and closing.

Yu Xi was sticking a pin in wherever there was a crack.⁶ “Mom, I know this is hard for you to accept right now. It’s okay. You can stay here for a few more days. Once you’ve slowly gotten used to it, we can talk about other things.”

“What else is there to talk about?” Jiang Yan blurted out.

Yu Xi said, word by word, “Things like Yueyue and I getting married.”

The moment she heard those two words, Jiang Yan felt like she was going to faint again. She rubbed her forehead and said, struggling, “Isn’t getting married a bit too soon?”

Yu Xi decided to retreat and seek the next best thing. “Then let’s get engaged first. How does that sound?”

“En… gaged…” Jiang Yan stammered, trembling.

Seeing her hesitation, Yu Xi simply took her hand, her emotions sincere. “Or we don’t have to do anything at all. As long as I can be with Yueyue for a lifetime, I’m content.”

Jiang Yan hesitated. “Wouldn’t that be too unfair to you?”

“What do you think would not be unfair to me?”

Jiang Yan shook her head, suddenly understanding. “No, I mean, letting Yueyue marry you is what’s really unfair to you.”

Yu Xi looked at her with a beaming smile. “So what you’re saying is, you agree to let Yueyue marry me?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t ‘huh’ me. Mom, neither of them likes men. It wasn’t easy for them to fall in love. If you split them up, that would be so unkind.” Yuan Xi had already finished the rest of his cucumber. He casually tossed the stem into the trash can and added, “Alright, I won’t disturb your mother-daughter bonding. I need to go back and pack my luggage.”

“Pack your luggage for what?” Jiang Yan asked quickly.

Yuan Xi spread his hands and said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “They can’t get married in this country. Of course I’m getting ready to fly to Germany!”

Hearing this, Jiang Yan fainted once again.

“Mom!” Yu Xi frantically rushed over to check on her.

Yuan Yue tugged on Yu Xi’s clothes and whispered, “She’s faking it.”

Yu Xi froze.

Yuan Yue blinked, her voice completely unrestrained this time. “Don’t be nervous. Actually, she was faking it both times. Don’t worry, what kind of great winds and waves⁷ hasn’t Mom seen before? It’s just two women getting married. How could that possibly scare her?”

The moment her voice fell, Jiang Yan shot up with a whoosh and mercilessly rapped Yuan Yue on the forehead. “You brat,” she said irritably. “You’re not even married yet and your elbow is already turning outwards.”⁸

That rap was actually quite heavy. Yuan Yue grimaced, but she was so happy she threw her arms around Jiang Yan, planted a loud kiss on her cheek—Ba ji⁹—and said with heartfelt emotion, “Mom, I know you actually dote on me. I love you so much! Thank you for making this happen!”

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The author has something to say:

How did I end up writing this extra chapter to be so neither fish nor fowl…….¹⁰

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