Young Brother-in-law Is Now My Husband

In Lu Qiang's room.

Lu Qiang freshened up and came out of the bathroom with a towel loosely wrapped around his waist as he dried his hair with another towel. Throwing the towel in his hands into the chair, he went to the wardrobe to take out a set of pajamas. He was about to shut the wardrobe when his sight noticed something—an old wooden box kept at the bottom shelf.

Quickly changing into the clothes, he carried the box out with him. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he opened the box and went through the stuff inside it. 

There were old handmade greetings cards and tiny, colorful paper toys in the box. At the bottom of the box also lay a colorful wristband with Lu Qiang name written on it and an old keychain that had a tiny soccer ball hanging to it. 

He also found some photographs and took them out. A pleasant smile bubbled on his lips as he checked every picture.

Three boys stood behind a small wooden block in the garden on which a younger girl stood. The boys seemed to be around fourteen or fifteen while the girl was about nine to ten-years-old. It was evident that the girl had taken to standing on the block so that she could match the boys' heights. All four of them smiled brightly, showing off their white teeth to the camera.

The girl's eyes turned into an inverted crescent moon shape, her long lashes hiding her eyeballs entirely. Her rosy pink soft cheeks having dimples made her smile look cute. She looked adorable in the peach color dress, and her hair tied into ponytails as she held a snow-white kitten against her chest lovingly.

Lu Qiang's smile widened as he looked at her picture. As he inspected each picture, a particular one caught his attention. In it, a girl and a boy sat on a bench, both smiling towards the camera. 

He picked the photograph out of the bunch and kept the rest safely inside the box. As he continued staring at the picture, a flood of memories invaded his mind.

It was a sunny day, a girl and a boy sat on a semi-circular bench in the gazebo of Lu Mansion. 

Seeing the girl in distress, the boy asked, "Yuyan, will you tell me what happened? You have been like this since yesterday. We came to enjoy the weekend, but you have a sad face on."

"Brother Yang, everyone in school hates me. None of them talk to me," she murmured sadly, lowering her head and staring at her fingers as she pulled out the petals of a poor flower.

"How can someone dislike my sister? They must be stupid," Jiang Yang commented as he looked at her sad face.

"They said that I am bad as I get angry easily." The expressions of being hurt were evident on her face. Her eyes watered and looked like she was about to cry.

"You have some anger issues, but it's okay," Jiang Yang comforted.

"I never start it. They always try to prank me... so… I can't control it," she uttered the last part meekly, the guilt catching onto her voice.

Jiang Yang patted her head lightly as he consoled her, "It's okay. I understand. Everything will be fine."

"Brother," she interrupted.

"Hmm?"

"Those boys said that nobody likes a girl like me… and no boy will marry me." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, amusement getting the better of him. 

His ten-year-old sister was crying about men's unwillingness to marry her. He could only think of how cute she was. Controlling himself from laughing, he spoke,

"You're too young to have a husband. In the future, the best man in this world would want you because my sister is the prettiest and sweetest girl in the world. The boys in your class are idiots. Trust me!"

Jiang Yuyan refused to take her brother's word to heart. She started to cry, tears rolling down without a pause.

Between her cries, they heard a ferocious voice. "Which idiot said that?"

The siblings turned to look at the source of the voice.

"They boys in my class—" Jiang Yuyan wept, unable to finish her sentence.

"You tell her, Lu Qiang," Jiang Yang urged.

Lu Qiang stood at the entrance of the gazebo with a boy at his side. He crossed over and took the seat beside Jiang Yuyan, while the other boy sat across from them.

"I will marry you," Lu Qiang said as he wiped her cheeks. He took out his 

handkerchief and even helped her clean her stuffy nose.

"Really?" Jiang Yuyan mewled, looking up at him with teary eyes, and the tip of her nose had become bright red because of her crying.

"I will, and you can show them how wrong they are."

"Promise?" she asked, bringing her pinky finger up to confirm.

"Yes. Pinky promise," Lu Qiang said as he wrapped his pinky around hers and tightly held on to it. "I will never break it."

She hugged Lu Qiang, burying her face in his chest and pulling him closer with her arms wrapped around his waist. He gently patted her head and returned her affectionate hug.

"Didn't I tell you that the best man in the world will marry you? Do you believe me now?" Jiang Yang asked as he looked at his friend. He communicated a silent thank you to Lu Qiang, who just smiled as he hugged the girl.

"I believe you," came the reply from a girl who had just stopped crying and looked at her brother.

"Cheer up now! I don't like to see my sister cry." Jiang Yang lightly tapped the tip of her red nose.

"I have a new camera. Why don't we take a picture of the future bride and groom?" said the boy who had accompanied Lu Qiang.

"Nice idea, Lu Feng," Jiang Yang exclaimed.

And just like that, the picture of the two of them, which was the proof of his promise to her had been taken.

Lu Qiang gently caressed the picture with his thumb as he smiled and spoke, "I guess it's a time to fulfill my promise."

He closed his eyes, holding the photograph close to his chest and fell asleep having a pleasant smile on his face.