Yuan Ya'er dragged her leaden legs towards him.
Yan Zhen pulled her down beside him, slung his arm around her shoulders, and offered her the box of chocolates in his hand.
"I thought when Xiaoxi showed up at the wedding in such high dudgeon, she'd bring something really special. Turns out it's just a box of chocolates. I remember you like sweet stuff. Have this box."
He held his new bride in his arms, but his mind was on his former first love. So he didn't notice that Yuan Ya'er was staring fixedly at the box of chocolates and didn't take it from him for a long time.
After a while, Yan Zhen realized the chocolates were still in his hand. He thought Yuan Ya'er was being coy and smiled understandingly. He opened the box and took out a piece of chocolate.
"Ya Ya, here, let me feed you."
Yuan Ya'er clearly saw that the piece of chocolate Yan Zhen took out was missing a corner.
Yan Zhen noticed it too. It looked as if someone had taken a bite out of it. He frowned and said,
"Why is this chocolate piece missing a corner? Xiaoxi... Why would she give us half - eaten chocolates? What's her intention?"
For some reason, this corner - missing chocolate made Yan Zhen feel uncomfortable.
By now, Yuan Ya'er had recovered from the shock of seeing the chocolates. She snatched them from Yan Zhen, stuffed them back into the box rather roughly and hastily, then threw the box into the trash can at her feet.
Yan Zhen was too slow to stop her. Staring at her in surprise, he asked, "Ya'er, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well? Or did I upset you by mentioning Xiaoxi?"
Yuan Ya'er's heart was pounding like crazy.
What did that bitch Xu Zixi mean by giving this chocolate at the wedding? Was she trying to hint at something to Yan Zhen and make him suspicious? But how did she guess it was about the chocolates? Right, she said Ji Xinyue had woken up. Did Ji Xinyue tell her?
No, she mustn't let Yan Zhen catch on. She had to dispel his doubts quickly!
A plan quickly formed in her mind. She covered her face and turned her back to Yan Zhen, sobbing,
"I knew it. Sister Xiaoxi must hate me to the core..."
At the mention of that name, Yan Zhen immediately took the bait. "Ya'er, why do you say that?"
"This kind of chocolate was a gift Dad brought back from a business trip abroad for Sister Xiaoxi. But that day was the first day I was recognized as a member of the Yuan family. Dad knew I liked sweet things, so he gave me the chocolates that were supposed to be for Sister Xiaoxi.
"Sister Xiaoxi got really angry with Dad because of this. She snatched the chocolate, took a bite, and then threw it at me. She said... even if I wanted to steal her things, she'd use them first before giving them to me... She gave this to me at the wedding to humiliate me..."
Hearing this, the doubts in Yan Zhen's mind caused by the chocolate instantly vanished. His heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a sharp object. He didn't notice the loopholes in Yuan Ya'er's words at all.
A used thing? Did Xiaoxi really compare him to something used and discarded?
Who did she think she was to say that about him? She was the one who had been used by others and then abandoned by him! Unlike his Ya Ya, who had saved her most precious self for him!
Yan Zhen pulled Yuan Ya'er into his arms lovingly and comforted her,
"Don't be sad. I'll throw it away later, far away. Okay?"
"But Brother Yan Zhen, can you really bear to do that?" Yuan Ya'er asked softly.
"Last night you promised me that your feelings for her were just about unfulfilled expectations. But this morning, before I even woke up, you were sitting here opening the gift she gave. In your heart, she's still more important than me."
"I didn't! I didn't!" Yan Zhen immediately retorted. After a two - second pause, he said, "Ya'er, don't you trust me at all?"
"I... I really want to trust you." Yuan Ya'er sobbed. "But I don't trust Sister Xiaoxi."
"What does this have to do with Xiaoxi?" Yan Zhen was puzzled.
"You heard what Sister Xiaoxi said at the wedding yesterday. She's so full of resentment that she can even disown the mom and dad who raised her for more than a decade.
"In her eyes, I stole her family, her glory as the young lady of the Yuan family, her room, and even you...
"Brother Yan Zhen, actually I feel the same as you. I don't want to call her auntie either. Because I know that once she becomes my 'elder', she'll never let me go. Just look at my face..."
Her face... Yan Zhen glanced at it and quickly looked away.
The fact that he couldn't perform well last night because of her face had bothered him. Now, with these words, his protective instinct flared up:
"Ya'er, don't be afraid. I'll protect you! I'll talk to Xiaoxi and make sure she won't hit you again!"
Talk to her? Did he really think he could reason with that bitch?
Yuan Ya'er held back her anger and continued, "Brother Yan Zhen, I know you'll protect me. But the best way to take revenge on someone isn't physical harm. It's to attack their mind..."
"Attack their mind?" Yan Zhen was drawn in again.
"For example, she might say all sorts of things to us, trying to drive a wedge between us. She'll make us quarrel constantly out of suspicion, wear down our feelings for each other, and make us drift apart until we end up as strangers and... get divorced."
Yuan Ya'er knew that the divorce of his parents was a sore point for Yan Zhen. As long as she said this, no matter what tricks Xu Zixi played on her in the future, she could get away with it.
Sure enough, at the mention of "divorce", Yan Zhen immediately said, "I won't let that happen! No matter what she says to me, I'll choose to trust you! Ya'er, as long as we trust each other, no one can come between our marriage!"
Yuan Ya'er let out a sigh of relief. She held his hand and intertwined their fingers. "Brother Yan Zhen, you have to keep your word."
"We're the closest people now. Why do you still call me Brother Yan Zhen? Shouldn't you change your address?" Yan Zhen pinched her nose.
Yuan Ya'er smiled and nestled into his arms, saying softly, "Husband."
Yan Zhen felt a stir in his heart. Thinking of last night's hasty encounter, he wanted to carry his wife back to the room and try again. But just then, there was the sound of a car horn outside. Yan Zhen suddenly remembered that Yan Haikun had told him yesterday to take Yuan Ya'er to the Yan family's old mansion today. Presumably, the Yan family's driver had come to pick them up.
Knowing he had to go, he had to put his thoughts aside. He said to Yuan Ya'er, "Ya'er, Grandpa wants me to take you to the old mansion to see him today. Be a good girl and go change your clothes. We'll go and visit Grandpa together."