Soon, the older twin fell asleep and drifted into dreamland.

Youyou, however, remained wide awake despite having his eyes closed. Images of his mother in various types of gowns kept flashing across his mind. His little heart went pounding hard in excitement when he imagined her standing before him in a pure, regal, and holy-looking mermaid gown, appearing mesmerizing and alluring as she smiled gently.

Ah…

Indeed. Mermaid gowns the best.

Smacking himself on the forehead, he told himself, “What am I thinking about? I should sleep now, or I’ll be feeling lethargic tomorrow!”

He then closed his eyes. However, he could not stop himself from indulging in his fantasies and only fell asleep when it had gotten very late into the night.

…

That night was also particularly long for Song Enya. She tossed and turned all night but just could not fall asleep.

They had received news from the Mus that Mu Yancheng and Mu Shumin would be paying them a visit next week to discuss and prepare the marriage between the two young ones.

While her mother was overjoyed to know this, she was not as happy as how her mother felt upon knowing that she had achieved her goal.

After all, she no longer held any illusions about marriage and merely saw it as a path that she had to take.

That’s right.

Isn’t marriage just another path for women?

It was just that it was a path to doomsday for most unlucky women; only a few lucky ones could attain happiness, and she was unfortunately not one of them.

Her marriage was bound to be bleak and miserable, just like how it was for her disappointing parents.

Although her parents appeared to be a harmonious couple on the surface, they had always been fighting nonstop even when she was just a child. She witnessed first-hand how fragile marriage was and how hard it was to maintain it.

To be accurate, her parents’ marriage was arranged. Her father did not love her mother, and vice versa, with the latter thinking that marriage was nothing but another path in life.

Because she understood that marriage not based on love would surely lead to a lifetime of misery, she had nothing but absolute abhorrence for arranged marriages. It was also why she had loved her uncle so desperately and madly.

She had the impression that only a married couple who truly loved each other would live happily ever after.

She could even imagine just how she would become like her mother after marrying into the Mu family. She would be staying at home, waiting at the empty bed, and constantly guarding her weak status.

Marrying into the Mu family indeed guaranteed one a lifetime of glory and wealth, much to the envy of others, but it also meant living in shackles for the rest of one’s life.

To think that I’ve become the unfortunate type of woman that I used to despise the most.

How ironic!

After taking a bath, Jiang Qimeng, in her nightwear, entered her daughter’s bedroom, switched on the lights, and asked softly, “Are you asleep, my daughter?”

“No.”

“Let’s go select your wedding dress tomorrow.”

“Wedding dress?” Song Enya asked in exasperation. “Aren’t we being too anxious to be selecting one now when I’m not officially engaged to Mu Yancheng yet?”

Her mother gave a disgruntled answer, though. “Engaged? What for? It’s better off for you two to hold the wedding as soon as possible, lest more problems crop up!”