Starting a new chapter in life

Everyone filed in. Zhang Jingtian looked with difficulty at the room full of relatives. He was very happy when he saw Jingyan and Jingxian, and even gave a smile: "Third sister, fifth sister is back too. It's so good. I never thought that all eight of us siblings could be together before we died. I have no regrets."

When Mom and Dad passed away, they entrusted you all to me. I haven't let them down. Seeing that you're all doing well, I feel justified in showing my respect to them.

Everyone looked sorrowful. The eldest brother turned to his wife, who was sitting by the bed, and with difficulty reached out to hold her hand: "I'm leaving. Don't be sad."

I'm getting on in years too. If you're really heartbroken, do what Jingyan did and have your kids take you traveling around the country. After a while, you won't feel so sad anymore.

You must take good care of yourself, live a long life, don't be too hard on yourself. All the family money is in your hands, spend it as you please. The children don't need your financial support. Try to squander all our savings before you die, and live a good life from now on.

The sister-in-law was crying so hard she couldn't speak, she could only nod, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't cry. If you keep crying like this, I won't be able to leave in peace. You've been with me your whole life, and you suffered a lot in the early years. You finally got to enjoy a few days of happiness, and now I have to go before you. I'm sorry. You have to take good care of yourself..." The voice slowly weakened, and a sad mood filled the ward.

The eldest brother left us just like that. The eldest sister-in-law was immersed in grief. After the funeral was completed, Jianjun and Jianguo discussed it. Jianjun asked for leave to accompany his mother out for a walk, while Jianguo stayed at home.

After saying goodbye to their aunts and uncles, they prepared to set off. To make their trip more comfortable, Jingyan bought a campervan out of her own pocket for them. The first person to use it was of course their sister-in-law, but the other siblings could use it if they wanted to go on a road trip in the future.

The eldest and third sisters also wanted to contribute money, but Jingyan stopped them: "I just sold the shop and have money on hand. I can afford to buy a motorhome for over 100,000 yuan. My third sister and I have been away from home and haven't been able to take care of things here. This is just a token of my appreciation."

She declined everyone's offer to pay, and said to Jianjun, "Jianjun, take your mother out to play. If you have enough time, don't rush back. Take your time to explore. There are many places worth visiting."

Although everyone didn't contribute to the purchase of the vehicle, they still gave some money for the trip. Jianjun refused, but to no avail, so he had to accept it. After watching the brand-new RV drive away, everyone dispersed. They were all getting on in years and couldn't take it anymore.

The two sisters stayed at each house for a few more days, but because of their older brother's situation, what should have been a happy meeting was always tinged with sorrow. Before long, the two decided to return home.

On the day they left, all the family members who could come came and saw them off on the train. The two sisters waved to them from the train window, telling them to go home first, but their brothers and sisters on the platform still did not leave.

Only after the train pulled away and they could see nothing did Jingyan and Jingxian pull their heads back into the carriage. Jingxian sighed, "We came back so excited, but we never expected this to be the result."

Jingyan looked out the window and shook her head: "It's good, at least it allowed my brother to see us one last time. He had no regrets, and so did we. But, Third Sister, I'm still so sad. You know, my brother was only seventy-six years old. How could he have had such an accident?"

"Sigh~" the two sisters sighed in unison.

That's how things are in this world. No matter who leaves, the rest of us still have to live our lives. A few days after the two returned to Shanghai, He Zhijun discussed going back to Beijing because he missed his two children.

The couple returned to Beijing. After a period of adjustment, Jingyan's mood gradually recovered. The children came home to visit them every few days, never empty-handed.

They always say they have everything they need, but they just won't listen, which means there's always fruit and snacks in the house. To avoid letting things go to waste, cookies and bread have become breakfast essentials for them. They've really had their fill of food.

Finally, during the National Day holiday in 2014, the children all came home for the festival. Jingyan, with a malicious heart, fed them bread and biscuits they had bought for three consecutive days. Seeing their suffering as they ate, Jingyan laughed:

"Now you know how your dad and I feel, right? Luckily, we only have you two siblings. If we had three or five kids, we couldn't possibly eat them all, even with three stomachs!"

Life is getting better and better now. We have plenty to eat, so you don't need to keep buying things to bring back. It's good that you're here. The only thing we're afraid of when we get old is loneliness, but we really don't lack anything else."

An'an and Zhizhi had no choice but to agree. They came back more frequently afterward, but they didn't really buy much stuff anymore. He Zhijun and Jingyan finally breathed a sigh of relief and could cook according to their own preferences. Life was wonderful.

By the end of 2014, Jing Yan received wedding invitations from Chu Han and Chen Bin one after the other. After five years, Chu Han and his girlfriend finally decided to get married on May 1, 2015.

The invitation was delivered by Zhizhi, but because Zhizhi had a filming commitment and couldn't spare the time, she probably wouldn't be able to attend the wedding. So she gave the gift money to Jingyan and asked the couple to help pay it on her behalf.

Jingyan opened the red envelope and counted the money—ten thousand yuan. This was quite a generous gift. Zhizhi smiled, "We're old friends, so it's only right that I give more. I'll give you the money first."

If I could find the time to come back then, I would personally attend. After all, as a relative of the groom, I should try my best to make sure there are enough people on our side, so it doesn't seem like we have too few people.

Looking at her carefree attitude, Jingyan couldn't help but laugh: "Chu Han is already married, what about you, don't you really plan to find a partner?"

Zhizhi shook her head: "It's not just Chu Han, Chen Bin is also getting married at the end of the year. I can make it in time for his wedding, so I'll attend. Mom and Dad, do you want to come along?"

Jing Yan and He Zhijun exchanged a glance, then nodded in unison: "Of course we'll go, let's join in the fun, the more the merrier. Do you know what the woman does for a living?"

Zhizhi nodded happily: "His go-to leading lady. To pursue her, he reserved the leading lady role in every drama for someone else. It took him three years to finally win her over. It really wasn't easy for him. He treasures her like the plague."

"You'll understand when you meet her. That girl is incredibly beautiful. He's a comedian, right? That girl is really daring; she doesn't mind making herself look ugly or silly at all. I don't know how, but they actually hit it off. They're a match made in heaven."

Jingyan watched as she changed the subject, but she wasn't fooled: "I'm asking you, what are your plans for the future? Are you really planning to live alone for the rest of your life?"

Seeing that she couldn't fool him anymore, Zhizhi could only awkwardly say, "I'm not alone, I just don't want to get married. I have a boyfriend, we've been dating for two years, he treats me well, but he's not in our circle."

"If you don't want to get married, does he not want to either? As for the man, he'll always want a child or two, right? What if he changes his mind in the end, and you're the one who gets hurt?" Jingyan said with some worry.

Zhizhi thought for a moment, then sat down next to Jingyan and said very seriously, "Mom, his upbringing wasn't very good. Yeah, he grew up with you. His father abandoned his wife and children for his future when he was young."

He was bullied by the neighborhood kids growing up. Later, when he was almost an adult, his mother passed away due to overwork. Shortly after his mother's death, his scumbag father came looking for him.

His later wife only gave birth to a daughter. The girl not only had poor grades but was also very spoiled. The couple went to great lengths to raise her.

Later, his wife suggested that he find a successful child to take over the company. As long as his daughter held company shares, she could live comfortably on the annual dividends, which would be quite good.

His father thought of this son and sent someone to investigate. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise. His mother had also passed away, so he came to find him and wanted to take him back to inherit the family business.

He harbored resentment towards his father. Although he went back with him and achieved some success in his career with his father's help, he still regarded his father as an enemy. So, once he had enough power, he sidelined his father and took over the company.

His hatred for his father made him feel incapable of managing a marriage well, and he had always been indifferent. Of course, because of his mother, he was also considered to be morally upright.

Our meeting was quite dramatic. We booked a private room at his restaurant for our wrap party, and I happened to run into him talking business with someone. However, his business partner wasn't a very decent person; he took advantage of his drunkenness to harass one of the actresses from our crew.

I hit that old guy, and he yelled that he'd call the police. While we were arguing, he got someone to check the security footage. Afterward, he said that the other guy had provoked us, and even if the police were called, we'd only be guilty of excessive self-defense.

That person probably didn't want to offend him, so the matter was dropped. He even apologized to our actress, gave us his business card, and said we'd get a 20% discount when we ate there in the future.

My first impression of him was pretty good. He had a discount card, and it was cheap, so I figured I'd be a fool not to take advantage of it. Later, whenever we had a meal together here, we would usually choose that restaurant, and sometimes I would run into him. We got to know each other after a while.

I don't know how things developed after that. One day he asked me if I wanted to date him. He said he probably wouldn't marry me, but he could guarantee that he would be faithful to me while we were together, and that I could break up with him anytime I wanted.

I figured I wasn't planning on getting married anyway, and he was good-looking, so I wouldn't be at a disadvantage if we were together. That's why I agreed. Who knew it would be two years already, and our relationship is still pretty good, so we've just stayed like this.

"Mom, you won't be angry that I didn't tell you, will you? You said before that you wouldn't interfere with my dating life, as long as I didn't do anything reckless and didn't cause anyone to get pregnant or contract a sexually transmitted disease. The only thing I needed to do was bring my marriage partner home for you to vet. That's not me deceiving you."

After Zhizhi explained the whole story, she didn't forget to make a self-justifying remark. Jingyan was so angry that she was speechless. She looked at He Zhijun.

He Zhijun smiled and said, "It's alright. They're both equally bad. One is afraid of being alone, and the other is attracted to her looks. Neither of them is taking advantage of the other."

Zhizhi's eyes widened: "Dad, you're amazing! How did you know he's afraid of being alone?"

He Zhijun winked playfully: "Because I'm a man."

Jingyan was truly helpless: "Since that's how it is, then so be it. But he doesn't get along with his father, yet he still relies on his father's power. Isn't that kind of kid a bit too scheming? Won't you two get taken advantage of if you get together?"

Zhizhi shrugged: "We're not in the same social circle. Besides, I think he hasn't taken advantage of us enough. He's actually been quite good to his half-sister."

I met that girl once. Although she was a bit spoiled, she wasn't a bad person at heart. Listen to her brother, and maybe that's why her father didn't react much after being sidelined by him. Instead, he took his wife on vacation abroad.

I don't know what happened with his family's messy accounts, but he seems to be living a very glamorous life now, and his father acknowledges that he's a legitimate child, so he's not ostracized.

Jing Yan nodded: "The grudges of the older generation should indeed end with that generation. According to you, this child is of good character and upright. He took the benefits from his father, but he didn't mistreat his sister. He did a good job."

After Zhizhi had been quite frank about her private life in front of her parents, she felt much more at ease. She stayed home for a few days, during which time her boyfriend called her a few times. After learning that she was at home with her parents, he would say hello and then hang up.

No one expected that, just as the holiday was coming to an end and they were about to leave, the boy would actually show up at their door with gifts. Not only was Jingyan surprised, but Zhizhi was also completely bewildered.

Looking at the young man in a suit and tie, Jingyan and He Zhijun exchanged a glance and saw confusion in each other's eyes. They let him in in a daze, and Jingyan went to wake up Zhizhi, who was still lying in bed.

When Jingyan dragged Zhizhi, who was disheveled and still wearing cartoon pajamas, into the living room, Zhizhi stared at her for a while before exclaiming, "What are you doing here? Wait, how did you know about this place?"

Looking at Zhizhi, the man couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, trying to suppress the upturned lips. He coughed lightly with his fist near his mouth, "Finding your house is quite easy. You have a lot of things in your computer's notes, including this address."

Zhizhi tilted her head, thought for a moment, her brain probably not working properly yet, and subconsciously asked, "Then what are you doing here?"

The man pointed to the gift box at his feet: "Proposing marriage."

Upon hearing this, Zhizhi jumped up immediately: "What? A marriage proposal? Didn't we agree to only date and not get married? Are you going to go back on your promise?"

The man raised an eyebrow, looking completely innocent: "You're the one who said we'd only date and not get married. I just said I don't plan to get married right now, but I'll be devoted to you."

But Zhizhi, we've been together for two years, and I feel we're compatible in every way. It's only natural that we should be talking about marriage, right? After all, living together without getting married is more disadvantageous for the girl.

I know you're at a disadvantage being with me, so I'll compensate you. I've compiled a list of all my properties and will transfer them all to your name as your private property. That way, even if you don't want me anymore in the future, you won't have to worry about food and drink for the rest of your life.