Author: Jianjia Nizi
Translator: Let4, Renkun27
Proofreader: Lonelycauliflower
Yan Zhenbo briefly recalled and retold the events that took place back in the days. When Yan Yu and He Yue were still university students, they both liked outdoor sports and had the same interests. The Yans had no habit of arbitrarily arranging their children to be married for business; hence, Yan Yu was under no pressure. The two of them eventually got together.
Yan Sui"s grandfather and the patriarch of the Hes were old comrades-in-arms. They used to joke around about becoming in-laws, even though at that time, Yan Yu and He Yue were still in their mothers" bellies. Later on, when the two mothers gave birth to two boys and He Yue disappeared not long after, this matter was never mentioned again.
Afterwards, the Hes had another son and daughter. To soothe the pain from losing a child, when the Yans held a banquet, they would often invite the Hes. Not knowing when it started, but through those occasions, He Wan had began to like Yan Yu.
After finding out that Yan Yu and He Yue were together, she once chased after them in their university and said a lot of specious words to He Yue. She even had some people suppress his adoptive parents" family on the sly. After Yan Yu found out about this, he brought He Yue back directly to attend the birthday banquet of the old madame, that is, Yan Sui"s grandmother.
It was a mess. The Hes lost face altogether and naturally felt embarra.s.sed. However, during that time, Mrs. He suddenly found a birthmark behind He Yue"s ear, making them realize that he was the son that they had lost years ago. Yan Yu and He Yue"s emotional journey should have been sailing more smoothly after that.
Unfortunately, He Wan was spoiled rotten by the Hes. No one knew how, but she managed to get pregnant with Yan Yu"s child. When this matter was revealed, the fetus was already nine months old and would be born anytime.
Before this, He Yue suffered from the death of his adoptive father due to cancer and his adoptive mother"s suicide. This time, he was faced with his lover and sister"s betrayal. He left the country in sorrow and in a mountain climbing trip, he met with an avalanche. When the news reached Yan Yu, at that point, like a mad man, he went to the Hes and wanted to drag He Wan to the grave with him.
When He Wan was in the hospital, Yan Yu left on a plane to search for He Yue. Sadly, the plane he was on crashed. One after the other, the two died without even a body to be found. He Wan gave birth to Yan Yu"s son, but her son did not have a father.
The Hes and Yans simultaneously lost their sons. Regardless of how good their relationship was in the past, it all ended here.
Two days after the baby was born, He Wan sneaked the baby out and knelt in front of the old residence of the Yans, pleading. She said that the child already had no father and he could not be left without a mother. She was willing to give the rest of her life to compensate the Yans, that is, even if it meant marrying a dead man and remaining a widow here on after.
The two elders of the Yans could ignore He Wan, but they could not ignore Yan Yu"s child, Yan Sui. He Wan was too emotional at that time. Fearing she might accidentally hurt Yan Sui, who was only two days old, and along with other considerations, the old madame agreed.
He Wan was wedded to the Yans, but in truth, she only married a cold memorial tablet. The old madame took care of the child personally and did not allow He Wan to interfere.
“Your father was certain of his s.e.xual orientation since young. He Wan did not stand a chance. Manjia and I figured out that she most likely had an artificial insemination.” To say that He Wan had loved Yan Yu too deeply, that was unlikely. However, she had to take Yan Yu from He Yue by all means.
Only she, herself, could understand her own hatred. Now that she could not hate Yan Yu or He Yue, she could only hate the Yans and vent her anger on Yan Sui. Only through this could she live on.
Her life was lamentable, but it was hard to have pity on her.
Overall, this was what Yan Zhenbo knew, but there were some details that were unexplainable. The He Wan that Yan Sui knew did not have the capabilities to manipulate both families into such a state. There must be someone else pulling her strings.
Otherwise, with her nature, how could she keep a low profile after confirming that she was pregnant with Yan Yu"s child and only revealed it when the child was near its birth. She would have flaunted her pregnancy in front of He Yue because without a doubt, more than Yan Yu, she hated He Yue, her eldest brother who had abruptly showed up and took everything from her.
What was the motive of that person behind He Wan? Was she after the Yans? Or was there something else?
“He Yue…” Yan Sui mulled on the name for a while, then looked at Yan Zhenbo. “Uncle, you don"t need to worry. I"ll look after our family. This responsibility was handed over to me by Grandpa and Grandma. No one can touch it.”
Yan Zhenbo nodded. When the Yan clan was in crisis during that time, many of them looked at it without lending a hand. They did not lend a hand, not because of He Wan"s disdain for Yan Sui, but because through Yan Sui"s veins, their family"s blood flowed. He had withstood everything without uttering a word. That was how he had proven his standing within the Yan clan.
“Yan Yu, he…he probably doesn"t know how to face you." Yan Zhenbo paused and could not speak anymore. The filth of the previous generation should not implicate the next generation, but that was hard to achieve.
Yan Sui grew up knowing that his birth was not expected. He did not achieve He Wan"s desired results and she did not like him. He had indirectly killed the four elderlies" son, who was also Yan Manjia"s eldest brother. Although they tried to restrain their emotions, there were times when they would carelessly reveal a hint of indifference and hostility.
Him being born through artificial fertilization was somewhat more acceptable than He Wan"s supposed treachery to Yan Yu.
“I understand,” Yan Sui responded indifferently and they decided to put this topic behind.
He then discussed other things with Yan Zhenbo. An hour later, he took Meng Ting out of Yan Zhenbo"s study and went into the room where they would be staying for the day.
Once the room"s door closed, Meng Ting pressed Yan Sui against the door and hugged him tightly. His eyes were astringent and his nose was red. He did not know why he was sad, but he was sad.
Meng Ting knew that he was stupid, but he did know that he would be stupid to such a degree. He did not know what to say to express his meaning. After a long time, he could only stutter as he said, "Mom"s not nice, Dad"s also not nice, but you"re very nice."
Dumbfounded, Yan Sui leaned against the door for a moment. A light smile emerged on his face, then he reached out and rubbed the hairy head beside his neck. “I know.”
Yan Sui had a strong spirit in his bones. It had always been there since he was young. The matters of the previous generation did have an impact on him, but the more that these had affected him, the more that he wanted them to know that, although his birth was not expected, he could still live well.
If it was what he deserved, he would not yield. If the responsibility was his, he would not evade it.
Even so, that did not mean his mood would not be affected. He did not know it in detail as Yan Zhenbo did, but he had investigated this matter extensively. Every time he finds out a little more, he would become silent for several days.
However, now that he was held tightly by Meng Ting, the silence that Yan Sui could not resist did not come. Meng Ting exhaled heat that surged through his neck, pa.s.sing the warmth to the bottom of his heart.
He raised his hand and hugged the boy back, then he gently rubbed Meng Ting"s nape. “Silly, I"m not even sad, what are you depressed about.”
“I don"t know,” Meng Ting responded with a m.u.f.fled voice. The colder Yan Sui appeared, the sadder Meng Ting was. Only by having gone through many bitter experiences would Yan Sui be able to react in this way.
Having heard what he said, Yan Sui"s strokes on Meng Ting"s neck became even gentler. He whispered, “I won"t let anything like that happen to us.”
For Yan Yu and He Yue to reach such a point was not entirely an outsider"s fault. They themselves were more or less partly responsible. As a lesson from the past, Yan Sui would not let himself and Meng Ting suffer from the same fate.
“Hmn,” Meng Ting responded, “I"ll work hard with you.”
To protect their feelings together.
“Good,” Yan Sui answered. His eyebrows and eyes suddenly warmed up, then he kissed Meng Ting"s hair. “Thank you.”
Having heard what he said, Meng Ting looked up. His eyes were red, but they were clear. He kissed Yan Sui on the cheek. “Treating you well, staying with you, guarding you, these are what I should do as well.”
This was because Yan Sui also treated him this way. He could not do it as good as Yan Sui, but he would give it his best shot. This was not really deliberately paying a debt of grat.i.tude. In his heart, he wanted to treat Yan Sui this way because he likes him.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Yan Sui had not said anything yet, when someone knocked on the door behind him.
He helped Meng Ting up and took care of his hair, then he took Meng Ting along and retreat back a few steps, before he opened the door.
"What"s the matter?"
“I… I, I"m Yan Shuya. Are you my father"s cousin?" The Yans had the youngest patriarch, but he did not expect Yan Sui to be like this appearance. He was clearly handsome, tall, and quite young.
A teenager who looked about the same age as Meng Ting stood in front of their door, scanning Yan Sui with his two eyes. "You look really young."
“What"s the matter?” Yan Sui asked once again. His voice was icy cold, nothing like the gentle tone he used toward Meng Ting.
Yan Shuya did not seem to expect that Yan Sui would remain so indifferent to him even after knowing his ident.i.ty. He suddenly became timid. “My father invited you to tea in the teahouse. He had me come over to invite you.” The truth was, he volunteered to come over.
Instead of responding to him, Yan Sui turned to Meng Ting and asked, “Do you want to go?”
Meng Ting looked at Yan Sui and Yan Shuya, then shook his head. “I want to sleep.”
There was not a hint of sleepiness in his eyes nor was there a "want" in his expression. He just did not want Yan Sui to follow that man. His att.i.tude toward Yan Sui was very unlikeable.
Having heard what he said, Yan Sui nodded lightly. "I"ll sleep with you.”
He looked back at Yan Shuya and said, “Tell Yan Mu that we"ll find him when we get up.”
Yan Shuya could not act coquettish in front of Yan Sui at all. He could only dryly reply, "Yes.”
After that, Yan Sui closed the door.
Yan Sui grasped Meng Ting and walked over to the bed. "Want to sleep?”
Meng Ting shook his head and told him the truth, “I don"t want to. I lied to him.”
Soon after that, he hugged Yan Sui again by his waist. "But if you"ll hug me, I"ll fall asleep easily.” This was definitely a big truth.
Having heard what he said, Yan Sui pulled him to the bed. When they both sat down, Yan Sui held Meng Ting down and laid on the bed. He placed one hand around him and the other on Meng Ting"s back. He was really coaxing the boy to sleep.
[]