章 18: Effortless Yiren

Junjie (Part4)

Yiren's laughter fills the air as she casually exchanges pleasantries with Suyin and MeiMei, my sisters-in-law. Meanwhile, I'm standing here, sweating through my palms, wondering how this night could get any worse. I can feel the pressure from all sides—Jianyu and Shishi's eyes on me, sharp as ever, like they're just waiting for me to slip up. We didn't plan for this. We're completely unprepared, and I feel like a deer caught in headlights.

Suddenly, Yiren squeezes the back of my hand resting on her waist, snapping me out of my thoughts. She leans in and whispers softly, "You're going to give yourself a heart attack."

I swallow hard, trying to force a smile, but it probably looks more like a grimace. "Good. At least I'd be out of here," I whisper back, my voice tinged with frustration.