Chapter 240

An Zhiren laughed. Instead of answering, he asked back, "Little sister, do you think I should accept the match?"

His tone was normal, but the word "should" revealed the bitterness within.

Knowing his sadness, Xia smiled. "I don't think Second Brother should rush. Marriage is a lifelong commitment that deserves careful consideration."

Besides, it had only been a month since An Zhiren's divorce. To enter another marriage so quickly did not seem appropriate.

The influence of Wang Caixiang could not disappear so fast.

An Zhiren also wanted to wait, but his family pressed him urgently. Plus, he was at an age where further delay was impossible.

Finding a partner close to his age was not easy now. If he waited longer, the gap would widen, which would be even more inappropriate.

"I agreed. Barring incident, I'll be married in about two months," An Zhiren said.

Xia was shocked. "So fast? Are you sure you shouldn't think it over?"

If regrets emerged after the wedding, divorce could not easily resolve them.

"Zheng Suchun is a decent woman. Her only downside is lacking an urban household registration, but she agreed we would live separately after marrying."

He would not have agreed to this matchmaking session without clearing the household registration issue upfront. So that could not be his reason for declining.

One had to know one's place. In looks and situation, Zheng Suchun was not subpar. If not bound to the countryside, she likely would not have considered him - a divorced man fast approaching middle age. As for work, An Zhiren never expected a wife with a career. He had become director and earned a pay raise these past two years. As long as they avoided extravagant spending, his income would suffice.

Given his status now, an urban wife would bring a few scenarios: demanding work to avoid being sent to the countryside; or capable but fault-finding; or plain looks. He did not want his future generation dragged down by subpar genes.

Compared to those options, Zheng Suchun was beautiful and graduated middle school. Her agreeable personality and willingness to self-sustain after marriage made her the best of the four or five women he had met this past month.

Xia understood now. With age came pragmatic considerations beyond pure emotion.

This was An Zhiren's thinking.

His insistence on self-sustainability did not rule out some elder oversight. Zhou Nan's health had declined the past two years, but she did raise Wen Qing. If all the daughters-in-law started demanding childcare assistance, Zhou Nan could hardly refuse without showing favoritism.

Foreseeing this, Second Brother directly told Zheng Suchun the family circumstances when she expressed hope for a chance. It avoided potential disharmony down the road.

Zheng Suchun wanted to seize this opportunity to change her fate. An Zhiren obtained what he wanted too. It benefitted both.

By the time Xia returned home, dusk approached. The triplets still slept. After a day playing wildly, the twins and Wen Qing had also dozed off in the car.

She tucked the children into bed before retreating into her room and space.

Yuanbao's food bowl was empty; it currently rested in its personal nest. The little pouch it brought back sat on the living room table.

Xia dumped the pouch’s contents onto the table. Apart from some paper, there was money and vouchers.

She counted the cash: nearly eight hundred yuan total! Plus a thick stack of vouchers. She was shocked.

In just a few years, how did Gao Second Sister and Gao Dalin save so much? Yuanbao must have stolen all their savings!

Gazing at the guileless Yuanbao snoozing in its nest, Xia laughed helplessly.

She had only instructed Yuanbao to steal the paper. Obtaining money was purely incidental. But since stolen, there was no returning it. The siblings would just have to chalk up the loss to bad luck.

Xia set the money and vouchers aside for now and opened the lambskin packet, pulling out the stack of paper within.

To her surprise, the entire stack recorded matters about the An and Pei families!

From Gao Meiyun’s perspective. So the portrayal was incomplete, covering only what she knew. Compared to the first lifetime, Pei Jing had already passed military discharge - implying he avoided the calamity that previously triggered discharge. Their ensuing lives would reshuffle.

Apart from Xia’s non-participation, Pei JianGuo's life held minimal change so far.

An Zhiren’s path had swerved. In the previous life, Wang Caixiang also schemed against him, but the divorce happened two years later, past age thirty. He remarried an acrid woman and divorced again, remaining single thereafter.

His decision to marry Zheng Suchun now would bypass that woman. Though there was no telling how his new marriage would unfold.

Likely Xia birthing triplets precipitated his earlier divorce from Wang Caixiang, altering the original trajectory.

The records also covered an upcoming major event. Old Pei would pass next year from illness, leaving the house to newborn Pei Yuhao under Pei Jing's supervision. At Old Pei’s funeral, the old lady would unexpectedly pass too. Overwhelmed, the old man would join them days later.

Without elders holding the Pei family together, relations gradually faded. Eventually, both main family lines moved away for unknown reasons. An Meixia and son relocated overseas.

Likely until his death, Pei Jing never realized the person unintentionally bedding An Meixia was him. Pei Yuhao was actually their son.

Pei JianGuo was an idiot for blindly blaming others without even knowing if he ever slept with a woman. Serves him right for claiming his brother's son!

Reading this, even Xia’s fingers trembled.

What on earth happened?

Why did Gao Meiyun say Pei JianGuo and An Meixia's son belonged to Pei Jing?

For the first time, she felt an intense desire to uncover details about the first lifetime.

In frenzied searching, Xia found no personal records, only the occasional appearance of “An Meixia” in others’ worlds - mostly Gao Meiyun’s curses. Revealing the depth of hatred towards Xia’s return.

“Xia...the child is crying. Should I come in to help?”

Zhou Nan’s sudden voice and a wailing child broke Xia’s absorption. But the closed door blocked Zhou Nan.

Hurriedly stuffing everything back into the lambskin pouch and drawer, Xia exited the space.

For now, she would not trade these items to the trader. After all, they concerned loved ones. The information might prove useful someday.