"Howâs it going?"
As soon as she heard him pick up the phone and ask this question, Chiang Xiao paused, a bit confused about what he meant.
Ah Liu chuckled and explained, "While you were on the phone with Lu Shuangshuang, I deliberately walked away for a while. She might have felt more relaxed talking that way. Did you pick up on anything?"
"Dad, you walked away on purpose?"
"Yes."
"Thatâs what I thought. She was putting on airs like a stepmother in front of me. Why did you keep letting her go on?"
"Hmm?"
Putting on airs like a stepmother?
Chiang Xiao explained, "She said she would be arranging the Jiang Familyâs courtyard and asked what style I liked, whether I wanted to plant the flowers myself or if she should pick some flowers and plants to put in. She also said we could talk on the phone more often in the future, and that if I wanted anything, I could just let her know, and maybe sheâd even prepare a gift for me."
Her courtyard could be arranged by anyone, but she didnât want it to be arranged by Lu Shuangshuang.
Ah Liu said, "I see. Well, itâs not entirely nonsense on her part."
Chiang Xiao was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"Your great-grandfather said sheâs a woman, meticulous and thoughtful. To have your courtyard arranged properly and beautifully, it might really need a womanâs touch. He was worried I couldnât handle it or didnât have enough time, so he gave the task to her during dinner today."
Chiang Xiao suddenly felt a bit awkward.
"So, she was actually working on orders?"
Had she misunderstood Lu Shuangshuang?
She wasnât intentionally putting on the airs of a mistress; she was following Old Master Jiangâs request?
Ah Liu couldnât help but laugh when he heard this.
"I was planning to talk to your great-grandfather about this tomorrow. Naturally, your courtyard should be arranged by me, not someone else. Donât worry; Dadâs not that foolish."
Only then did Chiang Xiao smile.
"I knew Dad would do it himself. I even told her that my dad definitely knows my preferences."
"Yes, the style my precious daughter likes should be the style that Dad carefully arranges, right?"
"Correct!"
So, the color or type of flowers didnât really matter. What mattered was that if her dad arranged it with care, she would love it.
Besides, she trusted Ah Liuâs taste.
"Little naughty."
"Dad, from what youâre saying, you never really intended to marry her, did you?"
Chiang Xiao hadnât asked this question before, but now that Lu Shuangshuang was staying with the Jiang Family, she felt it needed to be clarified.
Ah Liu responded without even thinking, "Of course. I never thought about marrying her. I just always felt there was something between us that I had forgotten, something I couldnât recall, which is why I never said anything."
"Dad, have you remembered now?"
With Chiang Xiao, Ah Liu felt he could say anything without feeling embarrassed.
"Yes, I remembered. It turns out that before the incident years ago, I had written a letter to be delivered to Pingzhou, and inside it was a letter calling off the engagement. At that time, I already wanted to call off the engagement with Lu Shuangshuang. The person who delivered the letter returned and told me it was handed directly to Lu Shuangshuang, so the engagement should have been called off."
Chiang Xiao was stunned.
Really, was there such a thing?
"Dad, is it really that easy to call off an engagement? Just a letter and itâs done?"
"It wasnât so complicated back then. Along with the letter calling off the engagement, naturally, we also sent back the tokens exchanged during the engagement. If the other party agreed, they would return my token, and that would be it."