Chapter 6 My Choice
I returned to Yaoguang Courtyard on my own.
Xie Chengzong was eagerly speaking with Shen Wanrong. When he saw me, his face hardened.
“Yaohua, have you come to make a fuss?”
“Father, I came to pack. Sister Shen likes Yaoguang Courtyard, and I’m delighted to give it to her. How could I fuss?”
Perhaps my change of heart was too sudden. He eyed me suspiciously. “Really?”
Shen Wanrong also glanced at me subtly, then pressed her lips together.
“Little sister Yaohua, if you’re unwilling, you don’t need to yield just to make a point. I don’t have to live here.”
I gave a soft scoff and put on a wronged expression. “How can Sister think that of me?”
“It’s true this courtyard was arranged by my mother. Every plant, every piece of furniture carries her memory.”
“But Mother is gone. What use is clinging to lifeless things?”
I looked up at Xie Chengzong with feigned filial longing. “Father was right to correct me. Earlier, I was narrow-minded and petty.”
He cleared his throat, somewhat awkwardly. “Good. It’s good that you understand.”
“It was indeed wrong to ask you to leave the courtyard you lived in for over a decade.”
“Never mind. Xiaoxiang Courtyard is already cleaned. No need to leave it empty—you move there.”
“Yes.”
I agreed obediently, but inside, something stirred.
In the storybook, I was scolded and sent to a remote side courtyard.
Yet now, by yielding, I made Xie Chengzong feel guilty and gave me Xiaoxiang Courtyard instead.
The plot was not entirely unbreakable—as long as the main events remained, the details could shift.
Just as Mother had faked her death to escape, I too could find my chance.