Jiang Yuning was also stunned. When she came to her senses, she realized she was sitting in an extremely intimate position in front of Xiao Liye on the bicycle. His hands were on the handlebars, effectively enclosing her in his arms.

Her cheeks flushed red as she said uncomfortably, “Let go. What kind of posture is this supposed to be?”

Xiao Liye replied irritably:

“If I let you sit in the back without anything tying you down, you’d probably try to jump off the whole way. Just behave. Otherwise, if you fall, don’t go telling your parents I hit you.”

Jiang Yuning was speechless. She did want to get off, but in this position, even the slightest movement would bring her into contact with him. There was no way to dismount safely.

Normally she should have been facing forward, but earlier Xiao Liye had pulled her in directly, so instead she was slightly turned toward him.

She lifted her eyes slightly, unsure where to place her hands. In the end, her right hand held onto the handlebar while her left fumbled for the crossbar beneath her, trying to turn around.

But because the space was cramped and she couldn’t see clearly, her left hand pressed onto something soft and fleshy.

Xiao Liye felt as if he’d been electrocuted. A strange soreness shot to his tailbone. His handsome face flushed deep red as he looked down in disbelief at the person in his arms and gritted his teeth:

“If you dare take advantage of me again, I’ll really hit you, I’m warning you.”

Jiang Yuning was carefully inching her position to turn around. When she realized what her hand had touched, she immediately turned to look.

Her whole body felt like it had been burned. Her face turned bright red instantly as she quickly pulled her hand back and leaned forward onto the handlebars, saying:

“I really didn’t do it on purpose.”

The redness on Xiao Liye’s face spread all the way to his long neck. He didn’t believe her:

“You weren’t doing it on purpose? I think you’ve got no sense of propriety at all. It’s only been a few months since Jiang Zhiming died, and you’re already acting like this—don’t even think about me. I’m not someone you can have designs on.”

Jiang Yuning’s face grew even hotter. She felt like she wasn’t even in control of her own face anymore and wished she could chop off her hand.

She wanted to argue back, but was afraid Xiao Liye would keep dragging the topic out, so she simply swallowed the grievance and stayed silent.

The wind along the road was cool, but it couldn’t blow away the redness on their faces. After a while, they arrived at the pastry shop.

The shop was small and shabby, with a dull gray counter. Inside the glass display were only the old five classics: mung bean cake, peanut crisps, pea flour cakes, fried dough twists, and osmanthus cake.

Xiao Liye parked the bicycle at the entrance, glanced inside and didn’t seem to see anything, then frowned:

“You go in first. I’ll go up ahead to the store and make a phone call to see if the person has arrived.”

Jiang Yuning didn’t know who he had called, so she didn’t think much of it. She picked up the metal basin from the bicycle basket and walked into the shop:

“Mom, I’m back.”

There was no one inside the shop, but voices could be heard from the backyard. When Jiang Yuning walked in, she saw her aunt Li Caihua shooting sharp, dissatisfied remarks at Zhou Cuifang, who was also pushing back just as strongly.

Li Caihua was Jiang Yuning’s paternal aunt. Relying on the fact that she had a son, she had long been eyeing their household goods.

This only stopped after they adopted Jiang Zhiming as the family heir. After Jiang Zhiming died, Li Caihua naturally started coveting their things again.

Jiang Yuning wasn’t happy about her, but since Xiao Liye was here today, it wouldn’t be good to let him see family arguments as soon as he arrived. She greeted her coolly:

“Aunt, you’re here too.”

Li Caihua glanced at her unhappily. She opened the lid of the metal basin and saw that roasted chicken and braised fish were placed together inside. She sneered:

“Didn’t they say you married some extremely rich man? So coming back to your parents’ home, your husband didn’t even come with you, and you only brought this? My Xiaozhi is still coming back in two days—don’t you know this food won’t keep?”

Though she was complaining, her hands were quick as she reached for the basin.

Jiang Yuning used a bit of force to pull it away and said coldly:

“We ordered too much. These are untouched portions specially brought back. Why can’t we bring them home? You’re not exactly shy about eating other people’s banquet leftovers yourself. And what does your Xiaozhi coming back have to do with us?”

Li Caihua said sarcastically:

“When your parents die, it’ll be my Xiaozhi who carries the funeral basin. Shouldn’t you be taking care of us a bit then?”

Zhou Cuifang immediately retorted unhappily:

“Don’t worry. When we die, just throw us by the roadside. We don’t need your son carrying anything.”

Li Caihua said, “You’re good with words now. When you actually need us later, you’ll behave.”

Zhou Cuifang replied:

“Behave my foot. What are you even saying?”

Li Caihua snorted:

“You say you don’t care, but you’ll still come begging us when the time comes. And I see she just got married and brought this back—your son-in-law probably isn’t even taking her seriously. Just treating her like a beggar.”

Zhou Cuifang said:

“What are you talking about? I don’t mind it, but you’re the one being picky.”

Li Caihua sneered:

“You don’t mind because you don’t matter to them. Of course you don’t dare say anything.”

Just then, from outside the door, two men walked in front carrying six cartons of cigarettes and six boxes of high-end liquor. Behind them, a butcher followed, carrying half a pig on his shoulder.

Xiao Liye walked in at the very back, holding a jewelry box. He handed it over and said:

“Mom, I won’t have time tomorrow to come for the formal return visit, so let’s count today as it. I brought some cigarettes and alcohol for uncle, and this gold bracelet is for you.”

Li Caihua looked up, stunned. She had never seen such a grand display before.

She hadn’t attended the wedding, but she had heard the groom hadn’t shown up, so she assumed he looked down on Jiang Yuning.

Yet he was willing to spend so much money on them—and what kind of identity did this Xiao Liye even have to casually give so much?

And he even called her “mom.” It felt like all the good fortune had landed in their house.

Seeing the large gold bracelet in the opened jewelry box, before Zhou Cuifang could even speak, Li Caihua stepped forward with a smile:

“So this is the son-in-law?”

Xiao Liye frowned slightly, but still politely responded, “Aunt.”

Li Caihua smiled and nodded:

“We’re all family with Xiaoning’s mom. Just give the things to me, it’s all the same.”

As she spoke, she reached out to take the bracelet.

But Zhou Cuifang immediately snatched it back, smiling so broadly her lips nearly reached her ears:

“Oh my, son-in-law, don’t listen to her—we’ve already separated families, there’s no real relation. But you really didn’t need to bring so much, and even a gold bracelet…”

Li Caihua’s face stiffened, and she almost argued back, but she couldn’t figure out Jiang Yuning’s standing in Xiao Liye’s eyes. She was afraid offending him would drive away this “cash cow,” so she held back.

Anyway, Zhou Cuifang had no son—everything would eventually be theirs. No rush.

Xiao Liye didn’t really understand their family dynamics, so he simply said:

“The cigarettes were from a friend, the alcohol is from my own factory. I thought it’d be odd to only buy half a pig with money, so I added these.”

Zhou Cuifang looked at the pile on the ground that practically filled the entire shop, unable to hide her smile.

She had only seen Xiao Liye a few times before in crowds and thought he was just good-looking. She didn’t expect him to be not only presentable but also so generous.

He didn’t mind that her daughter had been married once and was now widowed, and still treated their family so well.

Well, given how wealthy he was, even a small bit from him was enough to shock ordinary people.

Especially seeing Li Caihua’s sour, swallowing-a-bitter-pill expression made her even happier:

“Next time you come, don’t spend so much money. We can’t finish all this before it spoils.”

“Just pickle it and eat slowly. The weather’s getting cold, it won’t go bad,” he replied.

The two of them discussed the gifts, while Jiang Yuning glanced at Xiao Liye and didn’t expect that when she was at home he acted so indifferent toward her.

She had thought at most he would bring a couple pounds of meat to send her off, but this was quite generous.

Li Caihua couldn’t stay any longer. She wanted to take some meat, but Jiang Yuning seemed to sense her intention and immediately stepped in front of her with a clearly unwelcoming expression.

Zhou Cuifang opened her mouth but didn’t bother pushing further. Feeling sour and unwilling, Li Caihua eventually left.

As she walked away, she muttered:

“My daughter is no worse than Jiang Yuning. She’ll definitely find someone even richer than that Xiao Liye in the future.”

Zhou Cuifang called after her without letting it go:

“Auntie, leaving already? My son-in-law is here and you won’t even stay for a chat?”

Li Caihua, though angry inside, still forced a smile:

“No, no, it’s getting late. I’m going home to cook.”

Zhou Cuifang’s eyes were full of pride. Back when Jiang Zhiming had died, Li Caihua had been the harshest critic—now look at her, completely silenced by a better match.