After having breakfast with An Yize who had an eccentric expression, Su Jian went back to An Yize's room while An Yize went back to work.
An Yize's room also had a study room attached to it. Su Jian curiously toured the whole place once, and as expected, he found that An Yize's study room was furnished with huge bookshelves that were filled with a large variety of books. Su Jian wrinkled his nose as his eyes swept across rows of foreign books with unknown languages and critiqued to himself, "Showing off like a prick, doomed to be struck by lightning." Then with great effort he pulled out a collection of The Deer and the Cauldron out of the bookshelf.
During that time, Yan Ziwei called Su Jian.
Yan Ziwei roared through the phone straight away: "Su Xiao Jian? Where did you run off to? Why is no one at your home?"
Su Jian exclaimed, "You came to see me?" and then quickly explained, "I'm not at home right now!"
"Not at home? Your leg is still injured, if you're not at home then where are you?"
Su Jian then explained the incident of how he was escorted to the An residence due to mother An.
Yan Ziwei instantly became more enthusiastic, "A wealthy family soap opera? Then did the rich mother bully you? Come on, tell this big sis every single detail!"
Su Jian hesitated for a bit, then honestly told the story of what happened ever since he moved into An residence.
Once Su Jian mentioned that Bai Ningxue accidentally spilled soup on him, Yan Ziwei felt even more upset that her expectations were far from reality. "Su Xiao Jian! Is your brain made of wood? If she's really as pure as you say, I'll cut off my head and put it on a platter for you! That woman had obviously intended to spill the soup to burn you! You better wake up now!"
Su Jian was stunned, and doubtfully said, "No way? We don't have any grudges against each other. Why would she want to purposely burn me?"
On the other side of the phone, Yan Ziwei was about to die from anger. "You ask WHY? Because she is your love rival! You stole her man, how could she not hate you! That fking woman actually dares to try to steal a wife's husband right in front of her. She has no shame!"
Su Jian unwillingly gulped with shock. S-So Goddess Yan had such a violent side, women truly were a strange species. Speaking of which, the kind and pure Goddess Bai having a dark side within her might not have been impossible after all. It's just that he still did not understand why Bai Ningxue had to secretly spill soup over him. If she really did like An Yize, why not just tell him directly? Or if she hated Su Jian for marrying him, why not just openly show distaste towards him, or give him a good beating? Why waste all that effort to fake the soup accident? Unless she thought if the soup did burn him, he would end up disfigured and then An Yize would get a divorce to be with her? Sigh~ How is Little Sis Bai dark in any way? It's obvious that she is just naive!
Just like all those years ago, when An Yize stole his girl, he didn't try to get revenge by pouring soup on him!
While Yan Ziwei was still fuming with anger, Su Jian hurriedly said, "Don't be angry Ziwei, it's no big deal."
"No big deal? You're injured!" Yan Ziwei cut him off sharply, pondered a bit, heaved a sigh, and said in a worried tone, "Ugh... the rich are so complicated. Look, you are just a pure and innocent young sheep. There's the evil mother who's above and views you as something vile, and next to your husband there's that unnecessary coquettish woman, how can you deal with all this?"
How am I an innocent young sheep? Su Jian cried silently while stuttering out, "It's not that bad, is it? And anyway, the relationship between me and An Yize isn't even real."
"But you will be wronged since it's not real!" Yan Ziwei was displeased. "You should go to the surname An and ask for a pay raise!"
Su Jian's eyes shone brightly: "That I can do!"
Yan Ziwei didn't know why but she was still unhappy: "Su Jian, you idiot! Can't you be more thorough with your actions?"
Su Jian recovered from her initial shock, "More thorough?"
Yan Ziwei spoke with great vigor. "What's the point in raising your salary? You should just make Third Young Master An yours! I have to say, the best way is to make that relationship of yours real and lock him in your arms! By that time you can have as much money as you want, he belongs to you! As long as you get the guy, that rich mother and the shameless cheater would be annoyed to death!"
Su Jian: "......"
Yan Ziwei was high on emotions and exclaimed, "Little Jian, I am serious, Think about it!"
Su Jian was slightly horrified: "Ah ah, Ac- Actually let's forget about this, I really have no interest towards An Yize..."
Yan Ziwei sounded a little disappointed: "Alright. However, even if you don't plan on having An Yize, you're still his wife and you also live with him. You have to be more vigilant, don't get bullied again!"
Su Jian laughed: "That won't happen."
"You think I don't know you? You pure and innocent little lamb!" Yan Ziwei let ou a sigh, "Looks like you have much to learn!"
Using novels and TV dramas, Yan Ziwei taught Su Jian the tactics women used. Daughter in Law VS the Mother, the Legal Wife VS the Cheater, the Mistress's Daughter VS the Wife's daughter, to sum it all up it was a group of women having at it against each other.
Su Jian checked online. Honestly, it did not intrigue him at all, but Goddess Yan Ziwei ordered him to, and this mission had to be completed without leaving anything behind. Since he was stuck at home in boredom anyway, he decided to pick a show which he had heard of before called Empresses in the Palace and binge-watched it.
Therefore when An Yize got on his bed that night, he saw that Su Jian had abandoned her phone and was looking at the computer with an expression of great bitterness.[1]
In the morning before he went to work, An Yize instructed the housekeeper to take away Su Jian's computer. However, to his surprise, when he came back that evening Su Jian was still glued to the computer and refused to leave it. Out of curiosity, An Yize glanced at the contents on the computer.
Su Jian noticed his gaze and asked, "Have you seen it before?"
An Yize replied: "Just some of it." There was a period of time where both his mother and sister were both addicted to it. Every time there was a premiere they would watch it, and he would watch the show with them from time to time.
Su Jian heard him say he had watched it, and instantly fired up with an attitude of "someone who understands her pains," and exclaimed, "Women are so scary!"
"......" An Yize stared at Su Jian. "You're also a woman."
Su Jian coughed awkwardly and said, "To fight to such an extent for just a man, tch! If I had a say, the one who should be fighting is the Emperor himself! But then again, everyone says being an emperor is great and all but I can't see any of that... the back palace holds three thousand beauties, that metal rod really would be polished into a needle through all that hard work! Cutting ties off between descendants, being cheated on, and eventually getting killed by his wife, it's literally a tragedy!"
An Yize silently listened to Su Jian's laments.
Su Jian continued to ramble on: "Wei Xiaobao is definitely the better choice! Seven wives to himself, each beautiful and attractive in their own way. A range of different wives, and they live together peacefully and share boundless intimacy. It is literally every man's ultimate dream!"
An Yize silently looked at Su Jian.
Su Jian jabbed at An Yize with his elbow: "Bet you can't deny you've never had a dream like this before?"
An Yize muttered, "No."
"As if! What kind of man has never had a dream about owning a harem to themselves?" Su Jian did not believe what An Yize said and began lamenting, "A virtuous legal wife, a lover with a sexually enchanting body, a pure and innocent girlfriend, a gentle and intimate soulmate, you dare deny having these thoughts before?"
An Yize shook his head: "Never."
Su Jian tilted his head and glanced at him. "Then does that mean you're into monogamy?" After thinking for a bit, he grinned, "But then again, all men are into monogamy. They don't desire any specific type of woman as long as they have a big chest and a pretty face."
An Yize's gaze subconsciously moved from Su Jian's face and drifted onto her chest.
Su Jian made a 囧 face and asked: " Where are you looking?"
"Nothing," An Yize sighed, "It's just that I suddenly realized that what you said did have some reasonable parts."
Su Jian: "......"
...........
It was a new day, and Su Jian once again woke up in An Yize's arms.
But he was very calm, since this occurred every morning. If it was said that he was trying to get away at the very beginning, then right now he was already used to it.
Su Jian recalled that back when he was boarding in university, all the bros would sleep in the same bed, especially when it was winter. So it wasn't such a big deal when he slept with An Yize. Even more, while An Yize gave off a cold aura around himself, his body turned out to be really warm. Since Su Jian was a person who disliked the cold, over some time, he got used to sleeping with An Yize. It was just like sleeping with a heater, it wasn't bad at all.
These days, he gradually got used to living in the An residence. In terms of convenience, it was definitely better than when he was living by himself before. Moreover, ever since he woke up in this crippled body it wasn't too hard on him, but there were people in the household to take care of him which made him worry even less.
Since they were forced to show their love for each other in front of others, An Yize was treating him very well. His expressions were on point. The way he looked at Su Jian became much more warm, and even though he still did not speak much, his tone of voice definitely became more tender. He would help serve food to Su Jian during meals, walk with him in the garden after work, and would also sometimes help him dry his hair after showers. Although An Yize was his love rival, Su Jian had to admit that the guy's acting skills were really good. He was natural and never exaggerated his actions, anyone who saw them would say that the third young master definitely loved his wife deeply.
At the beginning Su Jian was slightly not used to it, but adapted quickly. Since An Yize was trying so hard, he must also try his best to make it as natural as possible right? Moreover, with An Yize being so nice to him, he wasn't losing anything through this. Once this idea had gone through his mind, he became less stressed and began enjoying this treatment with a peace of mind.
Even the servants agreed that the love of third young master was true and dear.
During days where Su Jian was bored, he would go around the residence to look for servants to talk to. Gossiping with the female servants, chatting about cooking with the chefs, looking at the gardener working with the flowers, it was a very pleasant way to spend his time. He didn't put on airs, had an easygoing attitude, an optimistic personality, and a background from the working class. This made him able to fit in with everyone quickly. A few of the young servant girls especially not only thought of the third young mistress as beautiful with a kind personality, but also caring for all those who served her. Even what she said was intriguing, and that gave them a great image of Su Jian in their minds.
Consequently, after becoming familiar with one another, Su Jian also began learning about the situation in the An family. Currently, the An family had three sons and one daughter. An Yize was the third son, above him was the big brother An Yitian, and second brother An Yiheng. Below him was his younger sister, An Yirou. An Yitian and his wife were currently overseas and hadn't returned yet. An Yiheng was a superstar, so he normally wasn't home. Little sister An Yirou was still attending university, so most of the time she stayed on campus and only came back during the holidays.
Su Jian was in deep thought. Elder Rong looks so young, I never knew she was this active!
In fact, ever since the day Su Jian got burned, mother An never tried to cause trouble for Su Jian. Even Bai Ningxue hadn't appeared since then. After watching all those dramas between women, Su Jian felt that being unable to put it into practice really was a waste.
Since they lived under the same roof, Su Jian could not completely avoid mother An. They temporarily came to terms with their cohabitation.
But slowly, the peace between them began developing.
Mother An wanted Su Jian to watch a TV drama with her, Su Jian thought this task wasn't hard. Moreover, he was bored anyway, so he joined her.
In the beginning, Su Jian was secretly doubtful. What if Elder An was purposely making him watch a drama involving the mother and the daughter-in-law? Was it to make him know that the consequences the daughter-in-law faced when disobeying the mother was only suffering and the like? But once the TV was turned on, Su Jian instantly admitted his loss.
An Yize... did you know your mother likes watching young idol dramas?
Yes. The TV dramas mother An made Su Jian watch were all youth idol dramas. To be more precise, it was girls love dramas such as: Invincible Sweetheart, Pretty Princess and Her Darling, The Overlord's Overwhelming Love, Don't Run! My Beautiful Bride, and other kinds of dramas with similar titles.
Su Jian thought... The world of the rich, it turns out he still doesn't get it....
Su Jian was at one side dying from the shock, whilst mother An had begun to cry on the other side with her eyes red and roared: "That old hag was so evil, Ao Tian and Bing Ning were obviously in love with each other, yet she had to heartlessly break them apart!"
Ao Tian was the male lead in the drama. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was very affectionate towards the female lead. Bing Ning was the female lead. Born penniless as an orphan, she was kind but was framed by the second female lead at the end. The so-called evil old hag was the dowager in the family and the mother of the male lead.
Su Jian handed tissues to mother An. "......"
Not long afterwards, because of the evil old hag's meddling, the female lead painfully broke up with the male lead. After the female lead had gone, the male lead with red eyes silently began coughing up blood.
Mother An wiped off the tears in her eyes and cried heartbrokenly: "Ao Tian!"
Su Jian was speechless. Looking at mother An's grieving state, he then tried to calm the situation down: "Mom, it's just a TV drama....."
With red eyes, mother An glared furiously at him: "You are heartless! How can you have not sympathy at all!"
Su Jian: "......"
Leaving the male lead, the female lead walked as if in a trance down the road alone. As the female lead was about to cross the road, Su Jian blurted out, "There would definitely be a car."
Sure enough, in the very next moment, a car came along and crashed into the female lead.
Mother An: "......"
Footnotes:
[1]This is supposed to be an off accent to include the word '囧' and it means '大概就是十分无奈、无语、痛苦，囧到"有神"，可以orz的地步', extremely annoyed, speechless, painful, sad to a point where God is involved and a place to add OTZ/orz. The drama itself is supposed to be a tragedy (Wiki source).