Chapter 1105: A Daughter in One House, Sought by a Hundred

Ma Ling'er's large eyes sparkled: "Since you are so hard to satisfy, why not give Ranran to me? I will definitely treat her as my own daughter."

Shi Youxuan: "In your dreams. I've worked so hard to raise my daughter to adulthood, and you want to come and harvest the crops? Where were you before? If you had asked me over ten years ago, I would have given her to you without a word, but now? No."

In truth, even over ten years ago, if someone had asked for her daughter, she still wouldn't have given her away.

Ma Ling'er: "Over ten years ago, I wasn't even raising my own son; I had neither the time nor the energy to raise someone else's child."

Shi Youxuan curled her lip in disdain: "That's rich. Someone else works hard to raise a child to eighteen, and just as the investment is about to pay off, you say 'give her to me.' On what grounds? Not giving her to you."

"Are you playing dumb with me? Fine, I'll lay it out for you. How about letting Ranran be my daughter-in-law? Or to put it another way, if my Qitian becomes your son-in-law, do you think he's qualified?"

Ma Ling'er had a straightforward nature; she said what was on her mind and never beat around the bush.

Since she had already spoken so bluntly, Shi Youxuan also said directly: "A Heng is in our home, as you know, and he and Ranran..."

Ma Ling'er interrupted: "You don't need to worry about that. I know what you want to say—childhood sweethearts, right? What does that matter? Whose family doesn't have a few childhood sweethearts? They are still young now; no one can say for sure what will happen when they grow up. It's fair competition; everyone has a chance."

"I just want your stance now. If Qitian wins Ranran's favor, will you object?"

Shi Youxuan: "No, but Shi Ran is very stubborn..."

She interrupted Shi Youxuan again: "Good, your stance is enough for me. As for the matters between the children, let the children resolve them themselves."

She was a woman of her word and never dragged things out.

Shi Youxuan didn't know what to say, but she felt this whole thing was unreliable and not very ethical.

After returning from the gathering, she found an opportunity to tell her husband about it.

Sheng Hanyu frowned slightly and said that Yun Zhehao had also mentioned it to him.

Of course, it wasn't as blunt as what Ma Ling'er said; it was brought up tactfully.

Both members of the Yun family hoped to facilitate a match between Shi Ran and Yun Qitian; as for Qi Heng, the two clearly didn't take him into account.

After all, their own son was so outstanding, and the two were full of confidence that their son would surely win.

This made things difficult.

It wouldn't be right to interfere, but it wouldn't be right not to, either.

The couple discussed it in their room.

They had no idea someone was eavesdropping outside the door.

Sheng Zichen didn't do it on purpose; he was just passing by and accidentally heard his parents mention A Heng's name, so he stopped to listen and heard everything.

He didn't delay for even a minute and went to tell Qi Heng.

"Brother A Heng, you should elope with my sister. Uncle and Auntie Yun have also taken a fancy to my sister; they want my sister to be their daughter-in-law."

Qi Heng: "Who did you hear that from?"

Zichen: "My mom and dad said it. I overheard them."

"Mm, I see. Thank you, Zichen."

"What should we do now? Although I like Brother Qitian, I like you more and want you to be my brother-in-law."

With the moral support of his future brother-in-law, Qi Heng gained a bit more confidence.

When Lady Qi spoke with her son, she keenly sensed that he was unhappy. She pressed him for answers but couldn't get anything out of him, so she asked Shi Youxuan.

What could Shi Youxuan say?

She told the truth.

The next day, the Sheng Family welcomed guests from afar—Lady Qi and the Vice President had both arrived.

The Vice President was an important figure in the country, busy with a thousand tasks every day, and his schedule was planned out days in advance.

To change his schedule on such short notice, it could only be a matter of extreme urgency.

"Why didn't you call before coming? I would have gone to the airport to pick you up!"

Shi Youxuan invited them into the living room and went to brew tea herself.

"Come back, let someone else do it."

Lady Qi grabbed her and sat her down beside her. Without even drinking a sip of water after her long journey, she stated her request: "I've come this time to arrange the engagement for A Heng and Ranran. How much of a dowry does your family want, and what are your requirements? Speak."

"As long as you can name it, I can do it."

Her sincerity was one hundred percent, but Shi Youxuan could not agree.

"Engagement? Isn't it too early? Why are you still the same old way, rushing about and acting on a whim?"

Lady Qi grew anxious: "I'm not acting on a whim; this is the result of careful consideration."

Shi Youxuan:...

"I don't have the final say in this kind of thing; you have to ask Ranran."

Lady Qi's face darkened: "Xuanxuan, we've been good friends for so many years. I won't beat around the bush with you. Are you against this match?"

Shi Youxuan: "If you're going to be unreasonable, I'll kick you out. Don't think that just because you're the Vice President's Wife, you can spout nonsense without stopping. When did I ever say I opposed them seeing each other? But the two of them are only just starting university and aren't even eighteen yet; they haven't reached the legal age for marriage."

The marriage age in L Country is early; men and women can marry at sixteen, but Jiangzhou is different. The earliest marriage age for a girl in Jiangzhou is twenty.

Lady Qi: "I didn't say get married now; I'm talking about an engagement. We can hold the wedding once they reach your Jiangzhou marriage age to respect your customs, or we can hold the wedding in L Country first; nothing will be affected."

Shi Youxuan felt that Lady Qi was crazy.

There was no way to communicate with her, so she looked at the Vice President, but the Vice President and his wife were of the same mind; both felt that doing this was excellent!

She stated that, first of all, she and her husband had no objections to Qi Heng.

Secondly, this matter had to be asked of Shi Ran. It wasn't an excuse, but a matter of fully respecting the child's opinion.

Even though they were the parents, they couldn't interfere!

Shi Ran returned, and unsurprisingly, she objected.

"No, we are students now, and our main focus is on our studies. I don't want to be tied down by anything else right now."

Lady Qi: "It's just an engagement; it won't affect your schooling. You can go on doing whatever you need to do after the engagement."

"Mom, please don't say anymore. I don't agree either."

Qi Heng did not expect that his mother would actually come to Jiangzhou to force Shi Ran into submission through a forced marriage.

He had a bad premonition that this would backfire!

"Silly son, you still don't agree? Who do you think I'm doing this for? I'm doing it for your own good; once you two are engaged, Ranran won't be able to talk or associate with other boys anymore..."

"Wait a moment!"

Shi Ran could not hold back anymore and asked, "Auntie, is there something wrong with my ears? What did you just say? Once engaged, I'm not allowed to talk or associate with others, is that right?"

The thing feared most is when the air suddenly goes quiet.

Everyone stared at Lady Qi and the Vice President, but the two of them did not feel there was any problem with that statement.

The Vice President: "That's right, is there a problem?"

Sheng Hanyu spoke up: "If that is how you think, then my daughter cannot marry your son; I do not agree."

"Why?"

The husband and wife were completely confused and did not understand why he would object.

Sheng Hanyu: "If the two of them end up together in the future, it will not be your family marrying our daughter, nor our daughter marrying into your family, but rather them leaving our big families to form a new, small family of their own."