Once the marriage proposal was accepted, it was time to set the date.

Nian-ger asked the Taoist master at the temple to help pick an auspicious date, selecting three options for Yan Shaocheng to choose from. Yan Shaocheng chose the earliest one: the fifteenth day of the eleventh month this year.

November marked the onset of winter; there was little work left to do in the fields, yet it wasn’t too cold—truly a fine day for a wedding.

Yan Xiaoyue would turn twenty next year, and in the eyes of the villagers, a woman who hadn’t married by twenty was considered unmarriageable. Yan Shaocheng chose this year, and Yan Xingmao and He Qiuhua both breathed a sigh of relief, thoroughly pleased with the date.

Nian-ger was starting his business and couldn’t wait to shout it from the rooftops; once Yan Shaocheng and Yan Xiaoyue’s engagement was set, word soon spread throughout the entire village of Xiling.

Now that they had a legitimate reason, the two families no longer needed to be coy about their interactions. Yan Xingmao and He Qiuhua frequently invited the Yan brothers over for meals.

Now, when the couple looked at Yan Shaocheng, it was truly a case of “a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law”—the more they looked, the more they liked what they saw.

As for Yan Shaoxuan, needless to say, he was the son-in-law they had long considered their own. Although it was all a misunderstanding, they couldn’t very well backtrack now, so they found themselves unconsciously treating him as their son-in-law.

Once the marriage was arranged, Yan Xingmao and his wife treated the Yan brothers as if they were family, always thinking of them whenever they had something nice at home. Yan Shaocheng was delighted by this, but it was a real struggle for Yan Xiaoyu.

Yan Xiaoyu was usually a chatterbox, but now he felt too embarrassed to speak at the dinner table, and he was nearly suffocating from holding it in.

He was already a bit uncomfortable around Yan Shaoxuan due to a previous misunderstanding, and to make matters worse, Nian-ger wouldn’t let him off the hook, insisting on arranging a marriage between him and Yan Shaoxuan. This had left him so flustered that every time he saw Yan Shaoxuan, he was reminded of Nian-ger’s thunderous declaration.

“—I had my master read out your fates. You and Yan Erlang are the reincarnations of the Thunder God and the Goddess of Lightning, respectively. You two have come down to the mortal realm to face a trial! You are a divine couple by nature; even though you’ve come to our mortal world, you cannot be separated! If you don’t get married, you won’t be able to pass the trial of love, and you won’t be able to return to the celestial court!”

Nian-ger spoke with great solemnity, his expression grave, but Yan Xiaoyu couldn’t help but roll his eyes: “I’m a guy! Could you at least be a little more accurate when you make stuff up?!”

Nian-ger didn’t care in the least: “That doesn’t matter. Or maybe you’re the Thunder God, and Yan Erge is the Lightning Goddess. Either way, you two are a perfect match—you have to get married!”

“You’re the one who’s the God of Thunder—your whole family is the God of Thunder!” Yan Xiaoyu gritted his teeth. “If I were the God of Thunder, I’d strike you with a bolt of lightning right now!”

“Whoever wants to be the God of Thunder, couldn’t you at least make up a more plausible deity?!” Besides, Yan Erlang is a man too—which one of them would be the Goddess of Lightning?! Yan Xiaoyu’s tirade scared Nian-ger into staying quiet for days, but it left a deep psychological scar on him.

Now, every time he sees Yan Shaoxuan, the phrase “Thunder God and Lightning Goddess” flashes through his mind.

Since passing the scholar examination, Yan Erlang seems to have developed a taste for finery. Lately, he’s bought quite a few new outfits, and every day he comes over dressed in a dashing, elegant style, looking as graceful as a jade tree in the breeze. Unfortunately, two words are always floating in his mind: “Goddess of Lightning.”

Yan Xiaoyu no longer dared to look him in the eye, afraid that he might burst out laughing and offend him even more thoroughly.

Despite repeated setbacks with Yan Xiaoyu, Nian-ger remained undeterred.

There was no helping it; with these gers and lads being so uncooperative and unable to find a match, his work as a matchmaker was bound to be a bit more difficult. Nian-ger felt he had a long and arduous task ahead of him. After some deep reflection, he set his sights on Yan Shaoxuan.

Yu-ger was a bit fierce, and his curses were terrifying; it would be better to start with Yan Erge.

Yan Erge must have feelings for Yu-ger; he just wasn’t proactive enough or didn’t know how to go about it. Nian-ger needed to give him a nudge.

One day, as soon as Yan Shaoxuan entered the village, Yu Sanlang stopped him. He followed him inside under the pretense of having urgent business to discuss, only to find that it was actually Nian-ger. Nian-ger brought out his old tale of “Thunder God and Lightning Goddess.”

Yan Shaoxuan remained expressionless, though a hint of impatience flickered across his face. “You’ve read too many storybooks. Next time, make up a more plausible tale.”

Seeing that this line of reasoning wasn’t working, Nian-ger changed tactics and launched into a tirade of praise for Yan Xiaoyu.

“Yan Erlang, now that you’re a scholar, you must find someone worthy of you. Yu-ger is the most handsome young man in our village, and he’s capable too—he’s earned quite a bit of silver for our family. He has a kind heart and is grateful for kindness; he helped Sister Xu get back on his feet, and he helped…”

Yu-ger is truly a wonderful young man; he’s the perfect match for him. Although Nian-ger isn’t the brightest, he certainly has good judgment.

Yan Shaoxuan’s earlier impatience vanished as he listened; the corners of his mouth began to turn up, but he quickly forced them back down when he realized what was happening.

Nian-ger was oblivious to this. After finishing his praise, he spread his hands and looked at Yan Shaoxuan with righteous conviction: “If you let Yu-ger slip away, where else will you find someone this good—this perfect for you?”

“So what if he’s perfect?” Yan Shaoxuan gazed out the window, feigning indifference. “He doesn’t have feelings for me; he only sees me as a friend. Though he sends me food every few days, finds all sorts of ways to give me gifts, fears I might run out of money, wants to sponsor my education, often finds excuses to talk to me, and praises me every time we meet…”

Yan Shaoxuan was eager to show off and rattled off a whole string of details, but in the end, he concluded in a wistful tone:

“But in the end, it’s not because he’s courting me.”

“Maybe he’s not even doing it for himself. Perhaps he’s just trying to curry favor with my older brother, and is just trying to placate me along the way,” he spoke resentfully, making things up as he went along, then waited for Nian-ger to refute him.

But Nian-ger simply thought he was heartbroken and hurriedly came to Yan Xiaoyu’s defense.

“Brother Xiaoyu did initially get close to you because of Brother Yan, but back then, he didn’t realize his true feelings. Now he’s not just getting close for his sister’s sake.”

“He was getting close to me for my older brother?! ” Yan Shaoxuan, as if his tail had been stepped on, interrupted Nian-ger’s words in a fit of anger and humiliation, “Who told you that?”

“Brother Xiaoyu told me,” Nian-ger stammered. Seeing Yan Shaoxuan’s face turn pale with rage, he quickly tried to smooth things over. “What happened in the past doesn’t matter anymore. A real man has to look forward. Yu-ger really cares about you. Wait for me—Yan Erge, Yan Erge, where are you going—”

Yan Shaoxuan’s face remained stiff as he walked away without looking back.

Nian-ger stomped his foot in frustration and was about to chase after him when Niu Fugui grabbed him just as he stepped out the door.

“Why does Yan Erlang look like that? Did you force him into a match? Good heavens, your mother and I have told you a thousand times not to provoke him. There are so many people in the village who let you run wild—why do you have to pick on him…”

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Yan Shaoxuan stormed back down the mountain and entered Yan Xiaoyu’s home. Yan Xiaoyu was practicing archery in the courtyard and looked somewhat surprised to see him.

“Yan… Xiaoyu!” Yan Shaoxuan gritted his teeth, his eyes clearly filled with rage.

Yan Xiaoyu’s smile froze on his face. “What’s wrong, Yan Erlang?” Could Nian-ger have mentioned the “Thunder God and Lightning Goddess” affair?

Yan Shaoxuan clenched his fists tightly, his chest heaving as if he were suppressing something. “Nian-ger said you got close to me back then because of my brother. Do you admit it?”

Damn it, so it really was Nian-ger who set him up!

Earlier, Nian-ger had been pestering him to arrange a marriage between him and Yan Shaoxuan. When he couldn’t persuade him, he went to talk to his parents instead.

Yan Xingmao and He Qiuhua had already misunderstood the nature of his relationship with Yan Shaoxuan. With Nian-ger’s manipulation, they came to believe he was secretly infatuated with Yan Shaoxuan.

The three of them argued with great conviction: “Otherwise, why were you so attentive to Yan Erlang?”

Unable to bear the harassment, Yan Xiaoyu explained that he had been kind to Yan Shaoxuan all along because he had his eye on Yan Shaocheng. He wanted to lure him back to be his brother-in-law, so he was looking out for his younger brother.

He never imagined that Nian-ger would go and tell Yan Shaoxuan.

Yan Xiaoyu was furious.

No wonder Nian-ger had been struggling all these years without a single success—what kind of matchmaking is that?!

Facing Yan Shaoxuan’s piercing gaze, he inwardly groaned in despair.

With the previous rift still unresolved, Nian-ger coming to stir up trouble, and Yan Erlang so angry—if he couldn’t offer a reasonable explanation, the already precarious friendship between the two of them would likely shatter completely.

Well, better him than me. Since Nian-ger caused the trouble, he should be the one to take the fall.

“Nian-ger is talking nonsense!” Yan Xiaoyu looked at Yan Shaoxuan with complete sincerity. “When I approached you back then, it was clearly because I was grateful that you saved my life, I admired your character, and I wanted to be your friend. It had absolutely nothing to do with Brother Yan.”

Yan Xiaoyu wasn’t entirely lying, nor did he seem particularly guilty; his tone was resolute.

Yan Shaoxuan stared into his eyes for a moment, clearly skeptical. Nian-ger would love nothing more than for him and Yan Xiaoyu to get together—why would he make up such a story to ruin their relationship?

Yan Xiaoyu said, “Nian-ger doesn’t understand a thing; otherwise, he wouldn’t still be struggling to get his business off the ground. Don’t believe his nonsense.”

That was true, Yan Shaoxuan nodded to himself.

The marriage between his brother and Yan Xiaoyue was clearly something his brother had actively sought out—what did it have to do with Yu-ger? Was Yu-ger getting close to him for his brother’s sake? Could it be that, in Yu-ger’s eyes, his brother was more important than he was?

That’s impossible.

Yan Shaoxuan believed half of what Yan Xiaoyu said, but he looked a bit uncomfortable: “If it wasn’t for my brother, why did you change your attitude the moment they got engaged?”

In the past, he’d always greeted him with a smile, but now, even as they sat at the same table for a meal, he wouldn’t even look him in the eye. Yan Xiaoyu opened his mouth to speak, then stopped.

The reason for the change in attitude was, of course, the earlier misunderstanding. Ever since the misunderstanding was cleared up, things between them had been awkward. Yan Xiaoyu wanted to talk to Yan Shaoxuan, but the words stopped at his lips, and he swallowed them back.

He wasn’t quite sure how to handle the situation now; he didn’t know what to do with Yan Shaoxuan.

Yan Xiaoyu remained silent, which annoyed Yan Shaoxuan. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Did I hit a nerve, or are you feeling guilty?”

He hadn’t realized before that Yan Erlang could be so stubborn and unreasonable. Yan Xiaoyu sighed helplessly, closed his eyes, and spoke frankly: “It was precisely because I didn’t handle things properly earlier that you got the wrong idea. If we act the way we did before, I’m afraid you’ll think I’m toying with your feelings.”

“……” Yan Shaoxuan choked on his words for a moment, then muttered under his breath, “So you haven’t been toying with me?”

Yan Xiaoyu didn’t catch that. “Yan Erlang, what did you say?”

“Ahem.” Yan Shaoxuan turned his face away. “Even as ordinary friends, you shouldn’t go so far as to avoid me like this.”

As he spoke, he grew a bit angry. “Rest assured, now that we’ve laid everything out in the open, I won’t get carried away with my feelings anymore. Unless you actively pursue me, I won’t cross that line!”

“I’m not the type to hold a grudge. I didn’t even give that earlier incident a second thought.”

“Oh?” Yan Xiaoyu was skeptical, but dared not show it. He just laughed awkwardly and said, “In that case, shall we go back to getting along like we used to?”

That was fine. He hadn’t been feeling quite right today either, so if they could return to their old way of interacting, that would be best. Seeing the look of anticipation on Yan Xiaoyu’s face—as if he truly wanted to be close to him again—Yan Shaoxuan finally felt a bit more at ease. “Alright.” He nodded, his expression aloof.

Both of them quietly let out a sigh of relief.

“Hehe.” Yan Xiaoyu glanced at Yan Shaoxuan, feeling inexplicably happy. He raised his bow and arrow. “Yan Erlang, bring your bow and arrow over. Shall we have a contest? Last time you said you’d teach me archery, and since I happen to have some free time today…”

Like a spring breeze melting the ice and snow, the barrier between them vanished without them even noticing.

As Yan Xiaoyu was leaving his home, he happened to run into Nian-ger, who had come to apologize.

“You’re right. Yu-ger does care about me; he just hasn’t realized his own feelings yet.” Yan Shaoxuan spoke with a hint of meaning, his tone subtle. “If we had a more experienced matchmaker, arranging this marriage would be a piece of cake. But since you’re still green, I’m afraid you might find it a bit difficult?”

“I can do it—it’s not difficult at all!” Nian-ger was frantic with anxiety and immediately pounded his chest in assurance. “Yan Erlang, rest assured—I’ll definitely make sure Yu-ger comes to terms with his true feelings as soon as possible!”

Yan Shaoxuan nodded in satisfaction.

Nian-ger wasn’t exactly reliable, but at least he was full of enthusiasm. Since there was no one else suitable around him, he’d have to make do with him for now.

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T/N: I told you Nian-ger was gonna be the VIP in this story!

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