Watching Xiang Wanniao's series of abnormal actions, Xiang Xingyu widened her eyes, her face practically spelling out the words "incredulous."
It was only now that she registered Gu Jingzhan standing right beside Xiang Wanniao.
After all, in the past, her older sister only had eyes for Xiao Xu'an. She had detested Gu Jingzhan to the extreme, let alone had any intimate contact with him or brought him home to the Xiang Family.
That was simply something that would never happen.
Xiang Xingyu blinked blankly for a moment, then asked, "Sis, are you... serious this time?"
"Of course," Xiang Wanniao replied without a moment's hesitation. "As serious as I could possibly be."
At these words, a glimmer of hopeful light flashed in the depths of Gu Jingzhan's eyes, and the corners of his lips curved up imperceptibly.
Xiang Xingyu stepped forward and reached out to feel her forehead. "Sis, your suicide attempt didn't just clear your head—did it improve your eyesight, too?"
At that moment, Jiang Peijun spoke up to interrupt their exchange.
"All right now, your sister was manipulated by those with ulterior motives before. Now that she knows she was wrong, stop harping on the past."
Xiang Yanhua nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Your sister just walked through the gates of hell; don't go bringing up unhappy things."
"Fine, fine, I won't say any more." Xiang Xingyu wisely shut her mouth.
Jiang Peijun said, "Come on, let's eat."
With that, everyone moved over to the dining room.
As soon as he sat down, Xiang Yanhua greeted warmly, "Jingzhan, make yourself at home. Treat this place just like your own house."
"Yes, just like your own home," Jiang Peijun chimed in. "I wasn't sure what you liked to eat, so I had the kitchen make a little bit of everything. See which dishes suit your taste."
Gu Jingzhan nodded and replied politely, "Thank you."
Xiang Wanniao cast a sneaky glance to the side, then picked up her chopsticks and put some food into Gu Jingzhan's bowl, putting on a thoroughly flattering display: "You work way too hard normally, eat a bit more."
Gu Jingzhan should have been happy about this eager display of care.
Yet, when he looked down at the pumpkin and duck meat in his bowl, his gaze suddenly darkened.
Seeing that he was slow to pick up his chopsticks, Xiang Wanniao frowned slightly, tilted her head, and asked, "Why aren't you eating? Do these dishes not suit your taste?"
"No, they do."
With those words, Gu Jingzhan maintained a calm expression, picked up his chopsticks, and forced himself to swallow the food in his bowl.
Seeing him eat the dishes she had served him, a joyful smile bloomed on Xiang Wanniao's face, and she happily continued to pile food into his bowl.
No matter what dish she gave him, Gu Jingzhan ate every single bite without a word of complaint.
Even though those dishes happened to be his absolute least favorites.
After all, this was the first time Xiang Wanniao had ever voluntarily served him food. Even if these dishes had been laced with poison, he would have eaten them without a moment's hesitation.
Watching the interaction between the couple, Xiang Yanhua and Jiang Peijun felt deeply relieved and couldn't help letting out a breath.
Meanwhile, Xiang Xingyu sat there biting her chopsticks in dumbfounded amazement.
She couldn't help wondering: was this really her older sister, Xiang Wanniao?
Since when had she ever seen her sister act so friendly toward her brother-in-law, let alone curry favor with him by serving him food?
That really was a sight to behold!
Could it be that after cheating death once, her sister had suddenly had an awakening and stopped liking that jerk Xiao Xu'an?
After dinner, Jiang Peijun looked at Xiang Wanniao and Gu Jingzhan, and casually suggested, "Qiaoqiao, why don't you and Jingzhan stay here tonight? Saves you the trouble of traveling back."
Hearing this, Gu Jingzhan pressed his thin lips together, his gaze unconsciously sweeping over Xiang Wanniao to see how she would react.
He had assumed Xiang Wanniao would refuse the suggestion to stay overnight, because she disliked him touching her belongings, hated sharing a bedroom with him, and certainly wouldn't want to sleep in the same bed.
Gu Jingzhan was just about to politely decline his mother-in-law's offer when he heard Xiang Wanniao say, "Okay! I was actually planning on that anyway."
The hand resting on his knee curled slightly, and a hard-to-read emotion flashed in his eyes.
Noticing his strange reaction, Xiang Wanniao stared straight at him and asked, "What's wrong? Don't you plan to stay here and keep me company?"
Gu Jingzhan gave a light cough, averted his gaze awkwardly, and replied, "No, I do."
Xiang Wanniao smiled softly, then took his hand and said to Xiang Yanhua and Jiang Peijun, "Dad, Mom, we're heading back to my room first. You guys should get some rest early too."
Xiang Yanhua nodded and said, "Go ahead."
Jiang Peijun nodded as well. "Alright, off you go."
With that, Xiang Wanniao led Gu Jingzhan to her bedroom.
Xiang Yanhua, Jiang Peijun, and Xiang Xingyu watched their retreating figures unblinkingly, seeing them off upstairs.
Until they had walked far enough to fade completely from view, Xiang Xingyu finally voiced the question she had been dying to ask all evening: "Dad, Mom, did my sister really not suffer any neurological damage from losing so much blood?"
Jiang Peijun walked past her and gave her head a light tap. "You child, what kind of nonsense are you saying?"
Xiang Xingyu rubbed her head and protested, "Don't you guys think my sister's behavior tonight is way too abnormal? She actually brought my brother-in-law back to the Xiang Family, and then she was all over him at the dinner table."
"Didn't your sister already explain? She was blind before and misjudged the person," Jiang Peijun defended Xiang Wanniao. "Now she's made up her mind to turn over a new leaf."
"But this transformation is just too drastic!" Xiang Xingyu was filled with doubt. "Just a few days ago, my sister was threatening suicide to force a divorce, and now she's saying she won't divorce, while sucking up to him in every possible way."
"Is this really normal?" she pressed.
Xiang Yanhua picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said slowly, "At any rate, the hospital checkups show your sister is completely fine. Aside from being a bit physically weak, there's nothing wrong with her at all."
Jiang Peijun nodded in agreement.
"As long as your sister has put that Xiao Xu'an out of her mind and is willing to live a proper life with her husband, nothing else matters," Xiang Yanhua added.
Xiang Xingyu thought about it for a moment and conceded, "I suppose that's true."
Suddenly, Jiang Peijun let out a long sigh.
"I just don't know what's going on in Jingzhan's head right now, because..."
She left her sentence unfinished, but both Xiang Yanhua and Xiang Xingyu understood what she meant.
Xiang Xingyu, however, remained unimpressed.
"Brother-in-law loves my sister so much. He can tolerate whatever flaws she has, let alone now that she's changed her attitude toward him. He must be over the moon right now."
"That's not necessarily true," Xiang Yanhua disagreed.
Xiang Xingyu was puzzled: "Why not?"
Jiang Peijun shared Xiang Yanhua's sentiment and murmured softly, "Precisely because he loves her so much, if her sweet dream were ever shattered one day, he would surely snap."
As her voice trailed off, Xiang Yanhua and Jiang Peijun exchanged a tacit, knowing look.