Give Me Your Hands and Marry Me

Birds were singing outside the window. A Miao opened her eyes and stretched herself. Then she thought of something and buried her head under the pillow.

She dreamed of Shen Xinglan last night…

“Shameful!” She walked into the bathroom with a blushed face. Without effort, everyone could guess what kind of dream she had.

Today was the fifth day since she came to the Lan family. It was the weekend. Not only would Lan Hua’s son come back, but her so-called cousins would also come for a visit.

Obviously, they were coming to see A Miao.

“A Miao! Listen carefully. No one can help you. Shen Xinglan is not there, neither is Shishi nor Ling Lang.” Looking at herself in the mirror, A Miao clenched her fist. “This is your own battle, so buck up!”

After dressing herself well, A Miao took a deep breath and went downstairs.

“Good morning, Miss Elder!” She heard the loud greetings again.

A Miao nodded. “Hello, everyone!”

She did not ignore these people but greeted them every day. No matter what others thought of it, it was her own courtesy and principle.

“Good morning, Miss Elder!” Obviously, some people liked it very much.

A Miao smiled as she nodded. “Good morning, Uncle Fu!”

She also learned that there were two housekeepers in the family—one was Uncle Fu, and the other had the surname Li. But Uncle Fu only took Lan Lixiao’s orders.

“There will be a lot of people here tonight.” When she went into the dining room, Uncle Fu suddenly whispered.

A Miao smiled in a naughty way. “I won’t be eaten up, will I?”

“Hehe! Miss Elder can just be like normal.” Seeing that she was not afraid, Uncle Fu lowered his voice and said, “If the juniors say something unkind, you don’t have to be polite, just teach them a lesson.”

Such obvious hints made A Miao very grateful, and she nodded heavily. “Don’t worry, Uncle Fu, I will not shame my grandfather!”

“What are you talking about?” Lan Lixiao, who was already sitting at the table, asked curiously.

A Miao smiled as she walked over and hugged the old man. “Uncle Fu praised me that I am very pretty today!”

“Of course!” Lan Lixiao gave Uncle Fu an angry look. “My granddaughter looks pretty every day.”

Uncle Fu smiled and echoed, “Yes, yes, Miss Elder is the most beautiful one!”

When the Lan Qin couple came in, they saw a happy scene in the dining room. She curled her lips before she changed her expressing and came in, smiled, and said, “Dad!”

“Aunt, uncle!” A Miao also smiled at them.

Lan Qin passed by her side and touched her head, while Hu Hai smiled at her.

A Miao had seen a lot of gossip magazines in the past few days. They all commented that Hu Hai must have saved the whole universe in his last life to be able to marry the daughter of the Lan family.

There was always a shadow of contempt in the lines because his works were rarely mentioned.

“What’s wrong with my elder brother?” Lan Qin said as she added peanut butter on the bread, “Why does he have to go abroad for a meeting even though we are going to have a party today?”

Lan Lixiao revealed a calm expression. “It doesn’t matter and it is not an important gathering.” The old man paused and his tone sounded a bit cold. “I will introduce A Miao to them later when we hold the dinner party anyway, but they have to meet her in advance…”

He cast a look at A Miao, and the latter gave him a small smile.

“Emm!” Lan Lixiao nodded. “If they want to see her, I will satisfy them. My granddaughter is not afraid to be seen.”

Lan Qin smiled. “Dad, what are you saying? My uncles want to see A Miao because they are so curious. I would be curious as well!”

“Hmph!” Lan Lixiao did not speak and Uncle Fu gave him a bowl of porridge.

A Miao was sitting beside him, silently eating her own breakfast. Seeing that she almost finished the food, Lan Lixiao glared at Lan Qin, who raised her eyebrows and asked, “Dad, do you have something to say?”

“You’re not going out today, are you?”

Lan Qin smiled and said, “What if I have to go out?”

“Are you serious?” The old man raised his voice.

“I do have to, but now…” Lan Qin wiped her mouth. “Nothing is more important than my niece!”

A Miao looked up blankly. Lan Qin looked at her watch and spoke to her. “There will be a stylist coming in the afternoon, but there’s no rush, let’s have a talk first.”

“Don’t worry. Take it easy.” Lan Lixiao groaned and patted A Miao’s hand. “Don’t push yourself too hard. We can take it slowly.”

A Miao followed Lan Qin to a small living room on the first floor. There were a red carpet and a fireplace inside, which looked very comfortable.

“Sit down!” When Lan Qin entered, she leaned on a soft sofa and pointed to a high-back chair opposite her.

The European-style, red high-back chair was decorated with rhinestones and looked very luxurious.

“Do you know what we are going to do?” Lan Qin touched her nails as she asked.

A Miao shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Although your mother was training you according to the standards of noble families, it was not enough.” Lan Qin looked at her. “Real girls of nobility cannot be cultivated in a short time, and they are very different from the normal rich girls.”

A Miao nodded to her. “Like you, aunt. You are the most elegant woman I have ever seen.”

It was not a compliment. She knew Ji Xue and Bai Lu, but compared to Lan Qin, they were like wildflowers on the roadside. Lan Qin was an elegant lady and her temperament could not be imitated.

“Very smart!” Lan Qin accepted her praise very naturally. “But you don’t have to be afraid since there are very few women like me in Jingcheng City. There should be no more than five of them.”

A Miao roughly understood the purpose of being taken here. “So… what do I need to learn?”

“Look at yourself. It’s too late to train you from the beginning, but at least, you should act like you are trained.” Lan Qin threw her a beautiful notebook from nowhere.

When A Miao got it, she found that the notebook cover was not ordinary. It turned out to be a good Venus rosewood. Once she opened it, the aroma of thick ink emanated.

“Do you recognize it?” Lan Qin asked her with her legs crossed.

A Miao smiled. “The book cover is full-star rosewood, and the paper inside is hand-made Dongba paper made by the mysterious Dongba people in Dian Province. The ink is the best Yuntouyan (the name of one of the best inks) of the Yidege shop in Jingcheng City.”

Lan Qin raised her eyebrow as her beautiful face looked surprised. “Have you learned or read from books?”

“I have studied calligraphy, but most of my knowledge is from books.” A Miao told the truth. She had read a lot of books in the four years on the island, and they covered every aspect of life.

“Very good. You can take it back to your room and read it carefully!” Lan Qin stretched out and sat up. “Memorize it as much as you can.”

A Miao took the book in her arms. Before she turned to go out, she bowed to her at the door. “Thank you, auntie!”

“You are welcome.” Lan Qin snorted. “You should thank yourself. Go.”

“Does she disdain me, or is she unwilling to make trouble with me?” On the way back to her room, A Miao kept her mind working. It seemed that Lan Qin was teaching her, but A Miao could not figure out her real purpose.

“I should stop thinking that!” She shook her head. Her task at this moment was to remember all the things in this book.

Just after she put on comfortable home wear, someone knocked on her door outside.

“Miss Elder, please have a snack!”

A Miao opened the door and saw an auntie standing outside, carrying some delicate desserts and a pot of fruit tea.

“Elder Master reminds you not to push yourself!” The aunt smiled and left.

Obviously, Lan Lixiao had asked her to do it.

“I know, thank you!”

A Miao closed the door, sat on the small terrace, and opened the book.

As she looked at it, she suddenly felt that life was amazing. Most parts of the book were about jewelry, painting, and antiques. It also mentioned a variety of famous brands, red wine, and expensive and elegant things.

She had specialized in antique calligraphy and painting. As for the rest of the book, she either had read about them in books or seen them after she married Shen Xinglan.

“If I didn’t live on the island for four years, I wouldn’t have read those books.” She suddenly smiled. If she hadn’t met Shen Xinglan, those people would still have found her…

“In that case, I’d have to memorize all of these things now.”

A Miao suddenly remembered that she had read a paragraph somewhere, saying that a person’s experience of sorrow and joy would become an indispensable experience on their journey. All her past would eventually condense into who she was.

In the first-floor study—

“Hasn’t A Miao come out yet?” Lan Lixiao looked out the window, and it was getting dark.

Uncle Fu sighed and said, “Miss Elder is really hardworking. She is studying in the room all day long.”

“Yes, she even didn’t come out for lunch.” Lan Lixiao rolled the beads on his wrist. “She is really like her grandmother…”

Uncle Fu silently went out of the room since the older man had begun to muse over memories of the past.

The night was getting darker, but the Lan villa suddenly became buzzing. Seven or eight cars came in successively, and they neatly parked in the yard.

“Uncle Fu, start the meal!”

Lan Lixiao sat at the head of the dining table. As he ordered, dishes of food were brought up and completely filled the long table for a dozen people. There had been many people sitting at the table, waiting.

“A Miao, these are my male cousins who are also your Great Uncles according to the pedigree.

“The ones on your right are my two female cousins. They are your Great Aunties.”

Lan Lixiao pointed to other people on the table. “As for the juniors, they will introduce themselves!”

A Miao bowed as she said, “Good evening, Great Uncles and Aunties.”

The old man sitting in the second position was dark and thin. He critically looked A Miao up and down with his tiny eyes.

“Second brother, she looks indeed like your wife, but are you sure she is your granddaughter?” As he opened his mouth, he made A Miao feel embarrassed.

Lan Qin lifted the corner of her mouth and waited for a good show.

“You are called here to recognize her, not to identify her.” Lan Lixiao glanced at him. “This is my granddaughter, Miss Elder of the Lan family!”

The dark and thin old man was not reconciled, but when he was going to continue, the woman next to him touched him. Then she smiled and changed the topic. “A Miao, right? You are so beautiful. I am your third Great Auntie.”

“Hello!” A Miao bowed slightly.

The old lady looked very aged but still had curly hair and wore a cheongsam. Her dress looked delicate, but A Miao could tell that the jewelry she wore was not all real.

“Yes! What a pretty girl. Fortunately, you have found her. Or she would suffer outside!” Another old lady with silver hair chimed in and looked at A Miao kindly.

“This is my second elder female cousin,” Lan Lixiao said unexpectedly.

A Miao immediately knew that this old lady was on her side, so she sweetly smiled and said, “Hello, Second Great Auntie!”

“Great, great!” The old lady laughed out loud. “I have no granddaughter in my family. You are so blessed, cousin!”

Lan Lixiao beamed with pleasure. However, the old man next to the lady straightened his face, casting an angry glare at her.