Chapter 32 The Day of Remembrance

“Qin Miaoyu, you…” Liang Sixuan didn’t finish her sentence. Spotting someone familiar behind them, she quickly skirted around Qin Miaoyu and her companion and headed that way. Xia Min and Hu Qiaoqiao, seeing this, followed close behind.

Liang Sixuan stopped in front of Lu Qian. “Mr. Lu, I didn’t expect to run into you here in Nancheng. What a coincidence.”

Upon seeing Liang Sixuan, a flicker of coldness passed through Lu Qian’s eyes. “Miss, I don’t think I know you.”

“Mr. Lu, I’m Liang Sixuan from the Liang family. Last time, Grandpa Lu asked me to seek you out at Anhe. Since fate brings us together today, may I invite you to dinner?”

Lu Qian’s face remained indifferent. “Mr. Lu? I don’t know what you’re talking about. You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

Gu Xunan, who was a step behind, gave a half-smile. “Miss Liang, are the Liangs seeking marriage alliances all the way to Jingcheng now? Could there be trouble with your family?”

Liang Sixuan, who had been uncertain about Lu Qian’s denial, now firmly brushed it off. “Young Master Gu, you must be joking. The Liang family is simply seeking strong alliances.”

“Strong alliances? You just mistook my friend for someone from the Lu family of Jingcheng, didn’t you? For the Liang family, a union with the Lus might be a strong alliance, but for the Lu family…” Gu Xunan left his sentence unfinished, but the implication was clear—Liang Sixuan understood perfectly well, as she had heard such words before. That was exactly what Mr. Lu had implied last time.

Her face grew a little flushed. The identity she had always taken pride in—as the eldest daughter of the prestigious Liang family in Nancheng—meant nothing in Mr. Lu’s eyes, and now even Gu Xunan thought the same!

Realizing the man before her was not Mr. Lu, she saw no need to linger. She excused herself, saying she had business to attend to, and quickly left with the others.

“That Liang family is definitely in trouble,” Gu Xunan declared.

Although An Xingmo, their first choice, was already married, the Liangs’ eagerness for a marriage alliance was still suspicious.

Lu Qian agreed with Gu Xunan’s assessment. “Yes.”

Gu Xunan’s interest was piqued. “You have news? Care to share?”

“We can set a time to talk,” Lu Qian replied.

The two walked over to Qin Miaoyu and Ji Xuan. Ji Xuan immediately asked curiously, “What did Liang Sixuan want with you just now?”

Gu Xunan glanced at Lu Qian before answering, “Liang Sixuan mistook someone for someone else.”

Meanwhile, Liang Sixuan, still angry from her exchange with Gu Xunan, lost all interest in shopping. She returned home in a huff and took out her frustrations on anything that displeased her.

Xi Ruofen had been arranging flowers in the back garden. Hearing the commotion, she immediately knew her daughter must have been upset outside. She instructed the servants to tidy up and returned to the villa.

As she reached Liang Sixuan’s room, the crashing noises were even louder. She knocked several times, but the clamor continued.

“Liang Sixuan!”

This time, the noise stopped. The door opened, and Liang Sixuan rushed out, throwing herself into her mother’s arms and pouring out everything that had happened that day.

After listening, her mother patted her back. “Young Master Gu wasn’t entirely wrong. Don’t waste any more thought on the Lu family of Jingcheng. Focus on finding someone suitable here in Nancheng. If you can’t, your father may choose for you.”

“Mom, does Dad really have to arrange it for me? He never said I had to marry for an alliance before.”

“That was then. We all thought your marriage with the An family would go through, but now that it’s fallen apart and our family faces new challenges, your brothers are all married. The responsibility now falls to you.”

“So, if you don’t want your father to choose someone you dislike, it’s best to pick someone you approve of as soon as possible.”

Time flew by. On the day of Qin Miaoyu’s grandmother’s memorial, Lu Qian accompanied Qin Miaoyu to the cemetery outside the city.

Qin Miaoyu had intended to go alone, but Lu Qian persuaded her. “If Grandmother’s spirit is watching, she’ll feel much more at ease knowing you have someone by your side.”

The sky was overcast, and the cemetery felt even more somber and lonely, but seeing her grandmother’s photo on the tombstone, Qin Miaoyu felt an overwhelming warmth.

After a while, Lu Qian stepped away to wait nearby, giving Qin Miaoyu some privacy to speak with her grandmother.

She hadn’t been alone for long when Qin Shengyi and Su Yaqing arrived, bringing Qin Lianzhu with them.

Seeing Qin Miaoyu there, Qin Shengyi’s first words were brimming with anger. “So your wings have grown, have they? You come back to Nancheng and don’t even return home?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? That I’m no longer your daughter? Why would I go home—just to be thrown out by you again?”

Her words only infuriated Qin Shengyi further. “So whatever I say goes, does it? Then why didn’t you listen when I arranged your marriage? You married a pauper—let’s see what kind of life you lead from now on!”

Qin Miaoyu was in no mood for this. “It’s Grandmother’s memorial today. Do you really want to argue about this at her grave?”

Qin Shengyi, chastened, restrained himself and began burning offerings and incense.

Qin Miaoyu watched silently. If there was one good thing to say about her father, it was that he was dutiful—both when Grandmother was alive and after her passing.

Qin Lianzhu, bored by the proceedings, sidled up to her sister and pointed surreptitiously at the man by the roadside. “Sis, look over there. That man is so handsome. Should I go ask for his number?”

“For what? Do you even know why we’re here today?”

Qin Miaoyu’s anger showed—not because Qin Lianzhu wanted Lu Qian’s number, but because they were here to honor their grandmother, and Qin Lianzhu’s only concern was picking up a man.

Qin Lianzhu was completely unfazed by the reprimand. If her parents hadn’t forced her to come, she wouldn’t have bothered. Grandmother had always favored her elder sister; why should she bother visiting someone so partial?

Seeing her sister’s unrepentant attitude, Qin Miaoyu was both exasperated and resigned. She simply stopped looking at her—out of sight, out of mind.

Qin Lianzhu had always felt their grandmother preferred her sister, so they had never been close, but their grandmother had never treated her unjustly. Qin Miaoyu simply couldn’t understand her sister’s resentment.

Su Yaqing, noticing that her husband seemed disturbed by the sisters’ commotion, quickly tugged at her younger daughter’s hand.

Qin Lianzhu instantly quieted, standing obediently to the side.

After finishing a call, Lu Qian saw that more people had gathered at Qin Miaoyu’s grandmother’s grave. Realizing what day it was, he guessed who they must be. Noticing the less-than-friendly atmosphere, he put away his phone and walked over.

Qin Lianzhu watched wide-eyed as the handsome man she’d noticed came over and stopped beside her sister.

“Miaoyu, aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“Qian, this is my father, my mother, and my sister.”

At the mention of his daughter’s “ordinary office worker” husband, Qin Shengyi immediately looked up, eager to judge for himself. If the man turned out to be as unimpressive as he expected, he could start searching for a replacement.

But the moment he saw Lu Qian, he was taken aback.

This was the “ordinary office worker” his daughter had spoken of?