On one side, Xiang Mantang set out towards Kunlun Mountain to seek her younger sister.
On the other side, after finishing dinner, Mu Jinyu casually followed Sister Mei and the other two women into the house with his hands behind his back.
"Why are you following us in?"
Seeing Mu Jinyu trailing behind them, Gu Xiyan seemed to think of something, her face flushed, and she turned back and glared at him annoyedly.
"I have something to discuss with you, don't overthink it," Mu Jinyu said.
Wen Rou also thought that Mu Jinyu was following them into the room with certain intentions, and her face too turned slightly red. Hearing what he said, she realized that she and the other ladies might have misunderstood, but the blush on her face didn't fade away.
Sister Mei, however, acted as if nothing unusual was going on. If her two sisters could accept the idea, then naturally she wouldn't mind it either.
Yet seeing their embarrassed looks, it seemed that such a thing was unlikely to happen at the moment.
After Mu Jinyu entered the room, he dragged over a chair and sat down, then glanced over at the three women sitting on the edge of the bed.
The three sisters, Sister Mei, Gu Xiyan, and Wen Rou, each boasted exquisite beauty, extraordinary temperament, skin fairer than snow, like celestial maidens descended from heaven.
Having any one of them as his wife would signify fortune accrued by his ancestors.
But Mu Jinyu needed all three of them to marry him…
Looking at them, Mu Jinyu's lips quivered, words wanting to come out, then halting, a cycle of hesitation and impulse.
In his mind, he was continuously organizing his thoughts.
'Marry me!'
No, that's no good. There's no lead-up, it's too abrupt.
'I love you, marry me…'
No, that's no good. It's too cheesy, he couldn't say it.
...
Sitting on the edge of the bed, the three women watched as Mu Jinyu kept staring at them without speaking. After waiting for a while, they grew somewhat uneasy, then frowned and asked, "What on earth do you want to say?"
"Hm?"
Mu Jinyu blinked and snapped back to reality.
Looking at the eager, plaintive eyes of the three women, he took a deep breath, as if resolving himself to commit, and with his eyes closed he blurted out, "I… I… Let's… get married…"
"…"
Gu Xiyan, Wen Rou, and Sister Mei, upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, were all stunned into silence.
Their eyes blinked in disbelief, wondering if they had heard wrong.
But on their pretty faces, a flush of red was involuntarily emerging.
Mu Jinyu had actually proposed to them…
Hold on?
Something is not right…
Did he just say, let's get married? Who exactly was that directed at?
Or rather, was it meant for all of them together?
Isn't that a bit too greedy?
However, they had already been with Mu Jinyu for so long. If Mu Jinyu were to marry only one of them, wouldn't that be excessively cruel to the other two?
Gu Xiyan had long considered Wen Rou like a sister, and although she didn't get along well with Mei Yinxue, they managed to live amicably. She felt that, whether Mu Jinyu married her or one of the other two women, someone was bound to become a lover with no official status, a secret affair of sorts... she found that somewhat unacceptable...
But to just agree to Mu Jinyu's proposal like this, wouldn't that be letting him off too easily?
Wen Rou was visibly excited, barely able to resist agreeing on the spot.
Mei Yinxue was not as excited as Wen Rou, but her slightly rapid breathing and her nervous expression revealed how much she had been looking forward to this day.
Gu Xiyan quickly covered Wen Rou's mouth to stop her from speaking, then shot Mei Yinxue a look before saying to Mu Jinyu, "Who are you saying this to?"
Mu Jinyu had been anxiously waiting for a response, unsure of their thoughts.
Hearing Gu Xiyan's words, although they were somewhat accusing, Mu Jinyu still heard a glimmer of hope and opened his eyes, saying rather sheepishly, "I'm saying it to all of you!"
At his response, Gu Xiyan couldn't help but give him a coquettish look and said irritably, "You wish."
Though deep down she wanted to accept Mu Jinyu's proposal, he had asked all three of them at once without offering a ring or any promises. Gu Xiyan felt that she couldn't simply agree to him directly.
Women need to maintain some dignity. If they were to agree to Mu Jinyu's proposal as soon as he asked, that eagerness might lead him to not treasure them in the future.
Mu Jinyu scratched his head, feeling embarrassed, but since the words were out, he had nothing else to hide. "I have no choice, who would give up any of you? You're all so wonderful, I can't bear to lose any of you, so I must have you all!"
Gu Xiyan immediately glared at Mu Jinyu and called out testily, "What about Qiaoxia and Linglong? Are they good or not? Do you want them all, too?"
"No, no..." Mu Jinyu shook his head. "Having you all is enough, I'm not that greedy."
Seeing his response, Mei Yinxue chuckled and said, "Alright, Xiyan, stop teasing him. I accept your proposal!"
Her first part was directed at Gu Xiyan, but the last part was said to Mu Jinyu.
She knew Gu Xiyan was also touched by the proposal, but out of a girlish pride, she felt embarrassed for all three to marry Mu Jinyu together. She wanted to make Mu Jinyu work for it, to learn to cherish them.
But as a woman of her age, Mei Yinxue knew too well that playing too hard to get could backfire. If Mu Jinyu left in a huff to marry Yu Linglong or Lin Qiaoxia, could they really bear to part with him?
They had long been like an old married couple; there was no need for pretense. If willing, then a straightforward acceptance was best. There was no need for games.
Wen Rou had wanted to accept from the start, but out of consideration for Gu Xiyan, she hadn't spoken up. Seeing Mei Yinxue agree, she too couldn't help but blurt out, "I agree as well."
Gu Xiyan looked at the two little traitors who had so readily agreed and puffed out her cheeks sulkily before also giving her assent.
Then, she started to make her demands that Mu Jinyu should not mistreat them, that the wedding should be grand, the kind of engagement ring, where to go for the honeymoon...
An excited Mu Jinyu agreed to all of Gu Xiyan's requests.
Then, Mu Jinyu said to them, "Okay, I'm going to tell Mom about this, and Ah-Xiang!"
"Mhm."
Seeing their heads nod, Mu Jinyu, with an excited expression, hurriedly left the room.
At that point, Gu Xiyan turned to Mei Yinxue with displeasure and said, "Sister Mei, why did you agree to him so hastily? Won't that make him think we're desperate to marry him, and afterwards..."
Mei Yinxue shook her head, interrupting her, "Xiao Yan, let me say this to you, 'Pick the flowers when they are blooming, for waiting may mean picking just branches without blooms'. Do you think with his current status as the Hall Master of Dragon King Hall, he won't meet more women who are just as good as us, or even better?"
Gu Xiyan thought about it, first thinking of Lin Qiaoxia and Yu Linglong, and then Xu Qingya and Shen Shuyao, and then the women stronger than them... she thought of Jian Ruyan and Mu Hongchen.
It seemed... although they were with Mu Jinyu first, it wasn't guaranteed that they would have the last laugh.
Seeing Gu Xiyan's half-understanding look, Mei Yinxue continued, "See? With his status, he'll never lack for women. If today we refuse him, wanting to play hard to get, perhaps in the future, it won't be just the three of us marrying him!"