Grandma Gu looked at all the expensive gifts scattered on the ground, pursed her lips, and said, "Don’t think you can make up for your disgraceful behavior just by buying me some useless things! You may not care about shame, but I do! Jenny Gu’s family is coming to propose tomorrow. If anything goes wrong, you’ll all be kicked out of the Gu family. We can’t afford to lose face like this!"
Cecilia Gu didn’t want to listen to Grandma’s scolding anymore, but she hadn’t finished what she came home to do today.
Cecilia took a deep breath. "Grandma, I came back this time to discuss my marriage with you. All these gifts were bought by my fiancé to show respect, and the man just now was his driver."
With just one sentence, Cecilia managed to both ignite Grandma Gu’s anger and instantly extinguish it.
A fiancé who could afford so many expensive gifts and even had his own driver was definitely wealthier than Zach Zhao.
Grandma Gu’s eyes flickered, instantly calculating in her mind.
“He’s really thoughtful, but discussing marriage is something that requires both families present, right? Surely he wouldn’t ignore such basic etiquette?” Grandma Gu’s eyes sparkled, never leaving the pile of gifts.
"Yes, I just wanted to discuss things with the family first. I’m sure he’ll come to visit very soon," Cecilia replied, lowering her head.
Jenny Gu, who had been standing to the side, suddenly chimed in, "This guy is really generous! Cecilia, you sure have some skills—snagging a rich man in such a short time. I wonder if our future brother-in-law is a bald old man or an ugly guy with a flat nose?"
"You’ll see for yourself when he comes to propose," Cecilia replied coolly.
Even though Alex wasn’t inside the house, he heard everything that happened loud and clear.
Alex reported everything that happened here to Charles Yin.
Charles Yin glanced at the message Alex sent, his eyes flickering with a complicated, unreadable expression.
Charles Yin called Alex directly and listened in on everything happening inside the house.
Back in the room, Cecilia’s reply left Jenny fuming with anger.
"Grandma, if Cecilia gets married, I want to get married too! Besides, shouldn’t whoever gets married first go first? My fiancé is coming to propose tomorrow! You promised me you’d let me marry first! All the dowry at home is prepared for me, not for Cecilia!" Jenny whined and clung to Grandma Gu, afraid Cecilia’s marriage would take away her dowry.
Grandma Gu really was biased.
Hearing Jenny say this, Grandma turned to Cecilia and said, "Cecilia, since your fiancé’s family is so wealthy, you won’t care about this little dowry. As the older sister, don’t fight with your younger cousin. This dowry was saved over many years by your uncle and aunt. Your parents couldn’t manage that. If you want a dowry, ask your fiancé for a bigger bride price."
Cecilia sneered inwardly, but kept her face calm as she replied, "I never intended to fight Jenny for anything."
She didn’t care about anything from the Gu family at all!
"That’s better. Jenny’s fiancé’s family is coming to propose tomorrow, and since you have nothing else to do, help your mother with the chores. The Gu family mustn’t lose face so Jenny can marry well." Grandma Gu said with satisfaction, "Jenny’s never done any housework, she can’t handle these things! As her older cousin, you should help her out."
The dowry she prepared for Jenny was definitely not going to be shared with Cecilia. A child they picked up off the street—how could she be worthy of a single cent of dowry?
She didn’t care if the man Cecilia was marrying was ugly or handsome, as long as he was willing to pay bride price.
Cecilia sneered inwardly. Did she really have a choice to refuse to help?
She finally saw through it—everyone in this family was a vampire! They wouldn’t stop until they’d squeezed everything out of her and her mother.
Alex dutifully reported everything happening in the house to Charles Yin. Charles swirled the wine in his glass and said over the phone, "As the future Mrs. Yin, you can’t be outshone by anyone. Make sure everything is grand and impressive tomorrow!"
The next day, before dawn, Grandma Gu woke Cecilia and her mother up to clean the yard and get ready for the guests.
Cecilia said nothing, quietly got up to fetch water and wash her face, and joined her mother in doing chores.
If she didn’t help, all the work would fall on her mother’s shoulders.
Not a single person in the house offered to help, even though Jenny’s fiancé’s family was coming to propose. Her uncle and aunt didn’t bother to get up early to prepare either.
If everything went smoothly, it would be someone else’s glory.
If anything went wrong, all the blame would fall on Cecilia’s mother.
Cecilia had long seen through her family’s true colors. If her mother didn’t insist on staying, she’d have left this toxic place already.
Just as Cecilia put down the mop, the sound of firecrackers went off outside.
Setting off firecrackers just for a marriage proposal—like they wanted the whole world to know.
Grandma Gu rushed out like a whirlwind, pointed at Cecilia, and yelled, "Why are you just standing there? Go greet the guests! If you mess up Jenny’s engagement, you can get out of this house!"