Zhou Ying smacked Li Lai with her finger and snapped, "What did you say? You have no manners! Shut up!"
Jin Xiumei found it amusing; this Li Wei was really like a child. After thinking for a moment, she said to Zhou Ying, "Xiao Ying, why don't you go?"
On the other side, Zhou Tao and Li Li both lowered their heads and pretended not to hear. Although Zhou Tao and Zhou Xuan were brothers, it was still inappropriate for him to go and wake up his sister-in-law. So he couldn't go. Li Li was even less willing to go. She and Zhou Tao were not married yet. If they were married, it might be more natural, but it was impossible for her to wake up her uncle, Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Ying pouted, but after glancing at the others and thinking for a moment, she could only lower her head. What could she do? She was a girl, the youngest, and the younger sister-in-law.
Zhou Ying lowered her head and went up to the third floor in a sullen mood. She stopped in front of her brother's new room and saw a big "double happiness" character on the door. She reached out to knock, but then stopped. She stood there for a while before gently knocking on the door with her finger. However, her heart was pounding and her face was burning. She was extremely flustered.
It took a while to calm down, but once she did, she realized that no one in the room answered. Zhou Ying thought she hadn't heard, so she bit her lip and held back for a moment, then knocked a few more times.
After waiting for a while, still no one answered. Zhou Ying was puzzled, so she called out, "Brother, sister-in-law, breakfast is ready!"
After calling out, there was still no sound from the room. Zhou Ying was stunned. Even if she was exhausted, it was impossible for her to be like this. Besides, her brother and sister-in-law had returned so early yesterday and had been sleeping since then. How could they be as if they had been drugged?
Zhou Ying knocked heavily again, but there was still no response from inside the room. So she called out, "Brother, sister-in-law, I'm coming in."
As she spoke, she turned the doorknob. The door clicked softly and then opened. Zhou Ying gently pushed it open a crack, first peeking inside, then slowly pushing it open further until she saw the large bed. She then saw her sister-in-law, Fu Ying, sitting on the carpet beside the bed, holding a piece of paper and sobbing. Although she was silent, her face was covered in tears.
Zhou Ying was startled and quickly pushed the door open, walking over in a few steps. She asked, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Then she looked at the bed, but there was no one on it. She looked around the room, but there was no one there either. Could they be in the bathroom?
Fu Ying raised her tear-streaked face and choked out, "Xiao Ying, your brother is gone."
Zhou Ying was taken aback and asked in surprise, "Go? Go where?" In her mind, going to the street meant walking, or going to Brother Hong's house or Li Wei's house. There was nowhere else to go. Did her brother and sister-in-law have a fight?
It's probably impossible. Zhou Ying knows that her sister-in-law is her brother's life. No matter what, her brother would never scold her or make her angry. Since her sister-in-law came to their house, she has never seen her brother and sister-in-law argue even once.
"Sister-in-law, don't worry, tell me slowly," Zhou Ying said, not knowing what was going on, and comforted Fu Ying by holding her hand.
Fu Ying just shed tears, not knowing where to begin, and handed a piece of paper to Zhou Ying.
Zhou Ying didn't know what was going on, but Fu Ying's expression terrified her. In her memory, Fu Ying was a beautiful, strong, and confident girl who was gentle on the outside but tough on the inside. She spoke her mind, loved when she wanted to love, and hated when she wanted to hate, without any pretense or affectation. Moreover, Zhou Ying had never seen Fu Ying shed tears before. This was the first time she had seen her like this, and she immediately had a bad feeling.
Taking the letter, Zhou Ying eagerly read its contents. The letter wasn't very long, but after just one glance, her hand trembled.
After calming herself down, Zhou Ying looked at it carefully again.
"Yingying, hello. I am in great pain as I write this letter. I know I can't live without you, but I want to give you happiness, not pain. I know you were in pain at yesterday's wedding. This marriage was not your intention. I understand that you were compromising because you couldn't bear to see our families heartbroken. But seeing how sad and scared you were, I can't marry you. However, I know that if we bring this up, none of our families will agree. They don't understand the truth, and I don't want to tell them. Yingying, so I think I should be the one to bring this up. I am the one who will not marry you. Also, I left a letter for my family and a letter for your family. They are on the table in my room. Please give them to them. I have already asked Li Lei and Brother Hong to take care of my family. The two shops I left are enough for my family to live comfortably, so please don't worry about them. Yingying, you don't need to worry about the marriage anymore. I will completely disappear from your sight. Zhou Xuan, February 19, 2011, early morning."
Zhou Ying was stunned and speechless upon seeing this, and then rushed out of the room, with Fu Ying following closely behind.
Zhou Ying went to the next room, where two blank paper envelopes lay quietly on the desk. Zhou Ying and Fu Ying stood in front of the desk, but neither of them dared to pick up the two letters to read them.
The two letters on the desk were addressed to "Mr. Fu Tianlai" and "Dad, Mom".
Zhou Ying bit her lip, and suddenly tears streamed down her face. She reached out to pick up the letter, but her hand trembled and she dared not lift it, afraid that the letter contained words that her family would find unbearable.
Fu Ying's face was pale. She gritted her teeth, suddenly grabbed the two letters, and tore them to shreds with both hands. Then she took the pieces to the bathroom and flushed them down the toilet.
Zhou Ying was stunned. She followed Fu Ying into the bathroom, where she saw Fu Ying washing her tear-streaked face in front of the mirror. Fu Ying then pulled Zhou Ying out and sat her down on the sofa, choking back tears as she said, "Sister, let me tell you about this."
Fu Ying then recounted how Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu obtained the Nine Dragon Cauldron in Jiangbei, fought fiercely with Ma Shu, and then traveled back in time to a year earlier. She then entered the underground skylight with An Guoqing, obtained the Nine Star Pearl, and returned to the future. However, she was unable to return to her original self. During their wedding, she felt awkward, which led to Zhou Xuan leaving her. Fu Ying told all these stories in detail.
Zhou Ying was completely dumbfounded. Everything seemed like a story or a dream, making it hard for her to believe. But Fu Ying's explanations were so reasonable that she couldn't help but believe it.
Zhou Ying was stunned for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Then why did you tear up the letter my brother gave to your parents?"
Fu Ying's eyes were brimming with tears, and she could only sob for a long time before answering, "I just feel melancholy, but I absolutely don't mean to back out of the marriage. Although I've lost all memories of my relationship with Zhou Xuan during this time, I've realized that he loves me completely and is willing to give everything for me, which is why I agreed to this marriage. I can't bear to hurt him. He... he's a good person. Yesterday, after returning from the restaurant, I was too exhausted and had no idea what had happened. When I woke up this morning, I saw this letter on the table, and that's when I learned that your brother is gone."
Fu Ying was heartbroken, her face growing paler, tears streaming down her face like pearls. She bit her lip and shook her head, then said, "After your brother left, my heart ached so much. I realized that I had unknowingly fallen in love with him again. I don't want to lose him, so I can't let my parents see the letter I wrote. I will find your brother. Even if I can't, I will wait for him to come back, no matter how long it takes. Even if he never comes back in this lifetime, I will still wait."
Zhou Ying could no longer believe her ears and thoughts. She felt as if she were in a dream, and what she heard was Fu Ying talking in her sleep.
Fu Ying wiped away her tears and said sadly, "I finally understand why so many people have said that what is lost is always the most beautiful. My happiness was in my hands, but I let it slip away with my own hands."
Zhou Ying was stunned for a long time, then suddenly cried out, "I don't believe it! I don't believe my brother would abandon our family and leave! I need to find my brother!"
After Zhou Ying finished speaking, she hurriedly ran downstairs. Fu Ying suddenly grabbed her and pleaded, "Sister, listen to me, listen to me!"
Zhou Ying said resentfully, "You drove my brother away. My brother loved you to the core, and what else do you want to say?"
Fu Ying's tears flowed uncontrollably as she pleaded, "Sister, I know I was wrong, but I don't want our parents to know about this. Your brother and I are already married; we are husband and wife. From now on, I belong to the Fu family in life and in death. Even if you hate me and curse me, I will never leave this family. I will find your brother. Believe me, sister, please don't tell Mom and Dad about this."
Seeing Fu Ying's pitiful expression, Zhou Ying felt a little relieved, but still asked coldly, "You've come to this, how are you going to explain this to your parents? If you can't find my brother, how are you going to explain it?"
“I…we’ll go look for him right away where he might be. I have to find him.” Although Fu Ying was heartbroken, her words were resolute. “I beg you, sister, don’t tell Mom and Dad about this yet. Let’s look for your brother first. Once we find him, I’ll resolve everything. If…if we don’t find him for now, I’ll explain to Mom and Dad myself…”
At this point, Fu Ying pleaded with Zhou Ying again, "Sister, please help your sister-in-law, okay?"
Looking at Fu Ying, who was already heartbroken, and thinking of her sister-in-law who had been so good to her family and the person her brother had sacrificed everything to protect, Zhou Ying couldn't help but soften her heart again. After thinking for a moment, she said, "You... I still can't believe what you've said about my brother, about the Nine Dragon Cauldron and all that. It's too unbelievable. Could such a thing really have happened?"
Fu Ying, of course, had no way to prove it, but she still explained, "Little sister, think about it. Didn't your brother suddenly become rich? Let me tell you, it's because your brother has a special ability. He can detect the inside of objects just by touching them. He can tell the real from the fake when playing with antiques, even better than experts. He can see if there's jade inside a stone when gambling on stones, and he wins every time. You just need to think about your brother's situation, and you'll understand."
Zhou Ying suddenly realized that it was true. Although she hadn't witnessed it herself, she was amazed at how incredibly lucky her brother was. She knew that good fortune doesn't last forever, but every single stone her brother gambled on contained jade, and it was a precious jadeite worth a fortune. She was quite curious. No matter how lucky one is, how can every stone contain jade?
Those raw stones were hauled back by the ton in large trucks, numbering in the tens of thousands. Zhou Ying remembered it clearly. She didn't dare to be negligent at the time and stayed at the stone-cutting factory very closely, staying there for a whole month without daring to leave for a moment, for fear of losing her brother's stones. Later, when the stones were cut, she realized that her brother's stones were indeed priceless treasures.
At first, she couldn't understand it and could only describe her brother as very lucky. Now that Fu Ying said it like this, Zhou Ying really believed it, and it seemed that only this could explain it.
Fu Ying gently took Zhou Ying's hand and said, "Little sister, I can only beg you to help your sister-in-law, okay?"
Zhou Ying sighed and grasped Fu Ying's hand, saying, "Well, what can we do? We're family, sister-in-law. I think... I think it's best not to tell Mom and Dad, or my second brother, about my brother's affairs."
“That’s why I dare not say it,” Fu Ying nodded in reply. “What my sister said is right. These things about your brother are secrets. The more people know, the worse it is for him, and the greater the danger. Of course, it’s not that I don’t trust Mom and Dad, but those who know might also be in danger. So the fewer people who know, the better. Do you understand?”
Zhou Ying's face paled, and she quickly nodded. She understood these principles. Recently, she had watched many movies about superpowers and special abilities with Li Wei, and she knew that these were things that couldn't be talked about.
Both of them quickly wiped away their tears, went to the first room to clean their faces in front of the mirror, and then went downstairs to have breakfast. As for Zhou Xuan not being there, they said he had gone out on business and that they didn't need to wait for him for breakfast.