Chapter 493: Loving Her has become a Habit
Xu Yan saw that his son was seriously injured and still remembered that he was going to visit the Han family’s parents during the Lunar New Year. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to be angry at his son for being stubborn or feel sorry for him for being so affectionate.
Seeing his son staring at him fiercely, as if he would not rest in peace if he didn’t agree, Xu Yan could only agree. “Alright, your mother and I will bring you to w.a.n.gdong City later. Close your eyes and rest now.”
Only after getting his father’s approval did Xu Qian dare to close his eyes in relief.
The moment he fainted, the old gentleman from the Xu Family who knew medicine quickly walked out of the crowd and held Xu Qian’s hand to take his pulse.
After checking his pulse for a moment, the old gentleman said, “The family head’s meridians are all wrong. His pulse is in disorder now and he needs to recuperate in bed. I will prescribe a few medicine for the family head and make him drink them.”
Xu Qian’s body was a vessel to imprison the evil spirit. The evil spirit escaping and escaping was equivalent to punching a hole in Xu Qian’s body. That hole couldn’t be seen, but it hurt Xu Qian’s pulse.
If he didn’t recuperate in bed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Hearing the old man’s words, Xu Yan hurriedly agreed. “I’ll send him back to his room to rest first. Qingqing, call the Han Family and tell them about Xu Qian’s condition. The Han Family can understand.”
If the Han Family couldn’t understand, there was no point in being in-laws. Xu Qian’s mother, Zhang Huaqing, heard her husband’s words and hurriedly nodded. “I’ll go now.”
–
Every year during the Lunar New Year, Han Rang and his wife, Nan Yanyan, would bring their daughter, Han Yishan, back to Imperial Dragon Mountain for the new year. This was their family’s habit.
Last night, Han Rang’s family stayed over at the villa.
Early in the morning, the family squeezed into the kitchen to make glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s.
Nan Yanyan liked sesame stuffing, Han Rang and Song Ci liked meat stuffing, Han Miao and Han Zheng liked white sugar stuffing, and Han Jun preferred red sugar stuffing.
The kitchen was very big and could accommodate everyone.
Han Miao and Han Jun were in charge of cutting up the meat and making mincemeat. Han Rang and Han Zhan rolled up their sleeves, washed their hands, and kneaded the glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s in a metal basin. Nan Yanyan and Song Ci were kneading the glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s while Han Zheng was taking care of Han Yishan.
The little kid rushed over from outside and ran to Uncle’s metal basin to steal a big piece of glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s. Han Zhan pretended to be angry and growled, “Han Yishan, are you asking for a beating?”
Han Yishan twisted her chubby short legs and ran out quickly. Han Zheng shouted behind her, “Shanshan, don’t fall!”
Han Yishan had already run to the wind and rain corridor and couldn’t hear Han Zheng’s advice at all.
“This is another naughty child.” Han Zhan said to Han Rang, “It’s the same as when you were young.”
Han Rang said, “She’s my daughter.”
Han Zhan finished kneading the glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s and placed the metal plate beside Song Ci. He said, “I’ll wrap a few coins. Whoever eats the coins will be safe and sound this year. Everything will go smoothly.”
With that, he plucked a little ball from the glutinous rice ball and rubbed it into a ball. Han Zhan was very good at wrapping glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s. He dug a hole in the middle of the glutinous rice ball and stuffed a thumb-sized meat bun and a one-dollar coin inside.
After he finished scrubbing the glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s, he very cunningly hid two onions on the surface of the glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s and secretly said to Song Ci, “I will scoop the glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s for you later. There are coins in the one with two onions. I will leave them for you to eat.”
Han Zhan always subconsciously left the best things for Song Ci. Doting on Song Ci had already become a habit in Han Zhan’s behavior.
Before Song Ci could say anything, Nan Yanyan heard them. She clicked her tongue and teased them. “You’ve been married for so many years, but Second Brother is still so good to sister-in-law.”
Song Ci was slightly embarra.s.sed by Nan Yanyan’s words. She smiled at Nan Yanyan and said, “You two are quite close too.”
Nan Yanyan told Song Ci, “What’s so sweet about it? We just quarreled on the 27th of December.”
“What happened?”
“It’s just some trivial matters.” Nan Yanyan was a few years older than Song Ci and had only given birth to Han Yishan at the age of 40. Although she was trying her best to recover after giving birth, it was inevitable that she had a small tummy.
Over the past few years, she had lost the collagen on her face quickly and looked much older. She was no longer as beautiful as when she was young, so it was inevitable that she would have an imbalance in mentality.
Nan Yanyan felt that she had become ugly did not look good wearing clothes, so Aaron hated her...
With all sorts of strange emotions, Nan Yanyan would lose her temper at Aaron.
Don’t look at how Aaron did whatever he wanted when he was young and did things based on his mood. But ever since Edward pa.s.sed away, Aaron had stopped being vicious. Every time Nan Yanyan lost her temper and broke down to cry, Aaron would be very tolerant and rarely quarreled with Nan Yanyan.
So every time she calmed down after the argument, Nan Yanyan would feel guilty.
Aaron was very open-minded about this because he wasn’t the one who had given birth personally. He wasn’t the one who became fat and ugly. Nan Yanyan’s change didn’t happen to him. He couldn’t understand Nan Yanyan’s feelings, so he could only be more considerate towards her.
Aaron cherished his only wife.
Even so, the two of them still quarreled occasionally.
Han Zhan heard Nan Yanyan’s words and said sternly, “Yanyan, did Aaron do anything to let you down? If he did something wrong on principle, tell me and I will beat him up for you.”
Nan Yanyan knew that Han Zhan was serious and hurriedly explained. “No, he didn’t make a big mistake.” Nan Yanyan actually knew very well what kind of person Aaron was. He would never make a mistake on principle.
Nan Yanyan said sheepishly, “It’s really just a small matter. It was my former head of the eSports club, Yule, who returned to w.a.n.gdong City to visit me and treated me to a meal. When Aaron knew about this, he threw a tantrum.”
Song Ci wanted to laugh but didn’t dare to.
Yule was once the captain of the AK team. He had entered the eSports scene because of Nan Yanyan. Nan Yanyan was both Yule’s idol and the woman Yule liked.
That year, after Nan Yanyan got to know Han Rang, she quickly fell in love and got married. Yule had never confessed to Nan Yanyan. But Yule’s fans and brothers all knew that he liked Nan Yanyan.
Naturally, Aaron also knew about this.
Aaron disliked Yule very much and was very guarded against him. In the past, when Yule returned to w.a.n.gdong City to treat Nan Yanyan to a meal, Aaron had to thicken his skin and follow him to freeload. So when he realized that Nan Yanyan had eaten with Yule behind his back, Aaron was naturally jealous.
We’ve been husband and wife for so many years. How can he not understand my feelings for him? He clearly knows that I love him and won’t get involved with other men, but he still made me so angry! I was so angry that I quarreled with him.”
With that, Nan Yanyan glanced at Aaron, who was leaning against the counter kneading dough in the kitchen. She complained. “Some people keep saying that they love you and I believe you, but they turn around and suspect you.”
Aaron listened silently and didn’t dare to say a word.
In reality, he knew that Nan Yanyan was only eating with Yule because of work, but he couldn’t help but not be jealous.
At the end of the day, it was because he cared.
After hearing the entire story, Song Ci said, “If he’s jealous, it means that he loves you. When a lot of old couples reach this age, let alone being jealous, they even want to brush their teeth after a kiss.”
Hearing this, Han Zhan suddenly stopped pinching the glutinous rice ball in his hand. He silently turned to look at Song Ci with a doubtful gaze.
Being stared at by Han Zhan, Song Ci looked slightly confused. “Why are you looking at me?”
Han Zhan threw the glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s into the pot and guessed suspiciously, “Baby Ci, the toothpaste in our bedroom is used so quickly. Did you brush your teeth behind my back every time we kissed?”
Hearing this, Nan Yanyan and Aaron looked at them strangely, gloating.
Song Ci was so angry that she immediately threw the glutinous rice ball at Han Zhan’s face.
Han Zhan grabbed the glutinous rice ball and heard Song Ci scolding. “Han Zhan! I just finished a root ca.n.a.l treatment for my teeth last month. The doctor asked me to take good care of my teeth. How can you not know about this!”
Song Ci repeated Nan Yanyan’s words. “Some people keep saying that they love you and believe you, but they turn around and doubt you.”
Han Zhan was speechless.
Of course he knew that Song Ci had gone to the dental clinic for root treatment. At that time, Song Ci felt that root treatment was too scary and even asked the nurse at the clinic to take a video of her treatment.
Han Zhan had seen that video and his heart ached for her. Ever since the end of the root ca.n.a.l treatment, not only did Song Ci have to brush her teeth every day after dinner, but she also had to rinse her mouth and disinfect it whenever she ate something.
Han Zhan also knew that he was overthinking.
He reached out to touch Song Ci’s cheek and apologized. “Alright, I apologize. Don’t be angry.”
Song Ci didn’t put on any makeup and looked pure. Han Zhan’s hand was stained with glutinous rice powder and this touch left two marks on Song Ci’s face.
Song Ci slapped Han Zhan’s hand away. “Make your own glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s. I won’t do it anymore!”
On the first day of the new year, Han Zhan and Song Ci quarreled.
According to his previous experience, after every small fight, Song Ci would be angry for at least three to five hours. It looked like Song Ci would ignore him until lunch.
The rice b.a.l.l.s were cooked.
Han Zhan stood in the kitchen and called Song Ci, wanting to call her downstairs to eat glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s.
No matter what, Song Ci had to eat this safe glutinous b.a.l.l.s.
Han Zhan had just taken out his cell phone when he heard Song Ci’s footsteps.
Han Zhan was too familiar with Song Ci. He could even hear her footsteps. Han Zhan turned to look at the entrance of the kitchen and saw a touch of moving red.
Song Ci took off her down jacket and put on a white high-collared cashmere sweater, beige woolen wide-legged pants, and a red woolen coat, making her look very imposing.
In a short period of time, she even hid in the room and tidied up her hair again. Her slightly curly hair was tied into a braid behind her head, and there was a diamond hair clip on the left side of her head.
She had light makeup on and her lips were cherry red like March cherries.
Han Zhan was stunned. He blurted out, “Why did you come down?”
Song Ci ignored him.
She took a bowl from the disinfectant cabinet and handed it to Han Zhan with a n.o.ble and cold expression. The Queen finally said, “scoop two for me.”
Han Zhan said, “Got it!”
Han Zhan took the small bowl and used the soup ladle to scoop away the rice ball with two onions in the pot. He added a big rice ball. When he handed the rice ball to Song Ci, Han Zhan said, “I specially kept it for you. I was waiting for you to eat it.”
His flattering expression seemed to be mentioning a peerless treasure.
Hearing this, the coldness on Song Ci’s face seemed to fade slightly. She poked her chopsticks into the glutinous rice ball and the coin before saying, “Is there still rice b.a.l.l.s with coin?”
Han Zhan said, “There’s one more.”
“Mmm.”
After confirming that Han Zhan could also eat the coin glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s, Song Ci turned around with the bowl in hand. Han Zhan asked from behind, “Baby Ci, why did your anger dissipate so quickly today?”
Song Ci’s expression was slightly unnatural and she was too embarra.s.sed to explain. Afraid of dirtying her lipstick, she used her chopsticks to cut the glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s into four pieces and ate them in small bites.
Han Zhan walked up to Song Ci with a spoon and stared at her elegant eating manner. He couldn’t help feeling amused. “Why? Are you still angry? Are you not going to tell me?”
Song Ci looked at him reproachfully and said, “It’s the first day of the new year. I don’t want to be angry with you.” When she was young, her father had said that she couldn’t cry or be angry on the first day of the new year. If she cried that day, she would cry a lot that year. If she got angry that day, they would quarrel non-stop that year.
Song Ci wanted to live well with Han Zhan.
Hearing Song Ci’s reply, Han Zhan’s heart warmed. He couldn’t resist kissing Song Ci’s cheek.
Song Ci hurriedly pushed him away. “You’ve kissed all the foundation powder!”
Han Zhan chuckled behind her.
The glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s were slightly big. Song Ci valued her figure and could only eat three at a time. Han Zhan would eat at least eight. If the rice b.a.l.l.s’ stuffing was good, Han Zhan could eat eleven.
The sun was out today and it was very cold outside. Everyone sat in the gla.s.s sunlight room to eat breakfast. As they were eating, Han Jun suddenly saw Butler Cai striding over.
The butler walked up to Han Zhan, leaned over, and said in his ear, “Sir, Ms. Zhang Huaqing from the Kunlun Xu Family called. She said that the young master of the Xu Family, Xu Qian, is seriously injured and can’t move. Her plan to visit you and Madam at the residence this afternoon can only be regretfully postponed.”
Hearing this, Han Zhan instinctively looked at Han Jun.
Han Jun had already put down her chopsticks. She turned to ask Butler Cai, “What happened to Xu Qian?”
Butler Cai said, “Madam Zhang Huaqing didn’t elaborate on the details. If Second Miss wants to know, you can call and ask.”
“Yes.”
Han Jun was so concerned that she forgot that she could call Xu Qian. Han Jun looked at Han Zhan and Song Ci. Han Zhan nodded at her. “Go.”
“Okay.”
After getting Han Zhan’s permission, Han Jun took out her cell phone, got up, walked out of the gla.s.s room, and called Xu Qian under the sunlight.
Xu Qian was unconscious and Zhang Huaqing was using warm water to wipe her body.
He had sat there the entire night and was seriously injured in the morning. Now, his body was cold and felt like a block of ice. Zhang Huaqing wanted to use hot water to clean him up and change into warm clothes for him to recover as soon as possible.
Xu Yan sat at the end of the bed and stared at his son’s weak face. He sighed. “That evil spirit was fine just now. Why did it rebel just like that?”
Zhang Huaqing only cared about wiping his son’s body and ignored Xu Yan. After wiping his upper body and legs, Zhang Huaqing handed the towel to Xu Yan.
“It’s your turn.” His son was old and it was time for his biological mother to avoid arousing suspicion.
“Okay.”
Xu Yan had just finished changing Xu Qian’s clothes when he heard his son’s cell phone ring. At this moment, Zhang Huaqing pushed open the door, walked to the bedside table, picked up his cell phone, and took a look.
She was slightly surprised to see that the caller was a “little kid”. “This little kid...” She and Xu Yan looked at each other with joy in their eyes.
Xu Yan urged her. “Quickly answer the call! It’s that girl from the Han Family calling!”
Zhang Huaqing was actually slightly nervous. She said, “I’m not ready yet.”
“What are you preparing for? An ugly parent has to meet her daughter-in-law.”
Zhang Huaqing glared at him. “Nonsense!”
Zhang Huaqing said, “The Han Family girl must have received the news and called to ask about our Qian’er’s health.”
“She’s a good child.”
“If you dawdle any longer, the call will end.” Xu Yan was anxious for Zhang Huaqing.
“I’ll take it now!” Zhang Huaqing took the video and placed it beside her ear. She held her breath and listened to the person on the other end of the phone.
Han Jun was momentarily stunned when she realized that the call had connected.
Xu Qian was unconscious due to discomfort. Obviously, the person who answered the call was not Xu Qian. In the Xu Family, how many people had the right to touch Xu Qian’s cell phone?
Apart from his father, it was his mother.
Xu Qian’s parents were both there. The person who answered the call was most likely Mother Xu, who was also a woman. Guessing the ident.i.ty of the person on the other end of the call, Han Jun called out uncertainly, “h.e.l.lo, is this Auntie?”
Zhang Huaqing turned on the speaker for his cell phone. Hearing this, she pressed her hand against her chest excitedly and mouthed at Xu Yan. “It’s the Han family’s girl. She called me Auntie!”
Xu Yan rolled his eyes and urged her silently. “Say something!”
Zhang Huaqing instantly calmed down and said to Han Jun, “h.e.l.lo, I am Zhang Huaqing, Xu Qian’s mother.”
“h.e.l.lo, Auntie. I am Han Jun. I am...”
“I know you. Qian’er mentioned you before. You are Han Jun, Jun’er, right?”
When Han Jun heard this “Jun’er”, heat quickly crept onto her face. “It’s me.” Han Jun was concerned about Xu Qian’s condition and didn’t care about being rude. She went straight to the point and asked with concern, “Auntie, Brother... is it true that Xu Qian is injured?”
Zhang Huamei exchanged glances with Xu Yan before nodding. “Yes, child. Qian’er is seriously injured and needs to recuperate in bed for a period of time. I’m very sorry. We originally planned to set off for w.a.n.gdong City at noon today and officially visit your house tomorrow. As Xu Qian is unwell, this plan can only be temporarily put on hold.”
Zhang Huaqing added, “We were thinking of visiting again during the Lantern Festival. I wonder if Mr. Han and Mrs. Han were free that day?”
Han Jun thought for a moment before saying, “There’s no hurry. Xu Qian’s health is more important.”
Han Jun really wanted to visit Xu Qian. She couldn’t feel at ease without seeing his condition with her own eyes. Han Jun asked, “Auntie, are you still at Kunlun Mountain?”
“Yes.”
Han Jun said, “Then I’ll come and visit him.”
Zhang Huaqing saw that Han Jun was so concerned about her son and was instantly even more touched. She hurriedly said, “Uncle, Auntie, welcome. Last night, Qian’er came back and told me you liked beef jerky. Since you’re here, I’ll prepare beef jerky and wait for you!”
“Sorry to trouble you, Auntie.”
After hanging up, Han Jun returned to the gla.s.s room and stood beside Han Zhan with a hesitant expression.
She didn’t know how to speak.
If she didn’t say anything, Han Zhan wouldn’t ask. The others also remained silent.
A moment later, Han Zhan finished his glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s. He picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth, and took the basin from the servant to wash his hands.
He slowly wiped his hands and finished wiping the last little finger. He lowered his head and said, “Song Shiqing and Xiong Jian are resting during the Spring Festival. If you want to go, you can only take the high-speed train.”
Hearing this, Han Jun’s face lit up. “Thank you, Father!”
Seeing that Han Zhan was willing to let go, Song Ci said, “Miaomiao, Zheng’er, it’s a long journey. You guys accompany Jun’er and your Auntie Dong.”
“Okay.”
Song Ci had arranged for Yan Qingxiu to accompany Han Jun to Kunlun because she had taken a fancy to Yan Qingxiu’s superb recovery abilities. Bringing him along might be very helpful to Xu Qian’s condition.
Yan Qingxiu was rather happy to know that he was going to Kunlun. Yan Qingxiu loved snow.
On the high-speed train to Xining, the three children surrounded Yan Qingxiu and listened to him tell stories.
Yan Qingxiu told them, “My hometown is an endless glacier. Everyone in our hometown is good at skating. Every year, we will hold skating compet.i.tions and ice sculpting compet.i.tions. My master lives on the top of the highest mountain. She lives in a large ice palace. All of us just need to look up to see the palace on the highest peak.”
“Every summer, the ice and snow on the periphery of the glacier will melt and a type of black flower will grow out of the soil. The flower is extremely enchanting. It’s as black as ink, but the stamen is as red as blood. The people from our place call it the Startling Flower.”
“The Startling Flower is the sacred flower of our glacier snowfield. No one can pluck it. Every summer, it blooms and all the stamens are in the direction of the Great Ice Palace, so it is also called the Pilgrim Flower...”
Han Miao and Han Zheng were engrossed in it, as if they were listening to a fantasy novel. Only Han Jun remained silent and stared at Yan Qingxiu with a complicated expression.
The journey was long. On the way, Han Zheng and Han Miao fell asleep together. Yan Qingxiu opened a thin blanket and covered them, before getting up to fetch water.
Han Jun took Han Miao’s handbag to prevent anyone from stealing it. She followed Yan Qingxiu to the water area.
There were not many tourists heading to Xining. Yan Qingxiu was the only one in the open water area. Yan Qingxiu opened the thermos and focused on fetching water.
Knowing that Han Jun had come to his side, Yan Qingxiu didn’t look up and just said, “What do you want to ask?”
Han Jun stared at the steaming hot water and said firmly, “You know Qu Jingtian.”
Yan Qingxiu turned off the tap and covered the thermos flask properly. Only then did he look up and meet Han Jun’s eyes, his eyes filled with unconcealable shock.
His master’s soul had been split into ten pieces that were scattered in different worlds and planes. For the past thousand years, Yan Qingxiu had shuttled back and forth between different worlds to collect his master’s soul fragments and bring them back to the Proud Victory Continent.
So far, Yan Qingxiu had already collected nine pieces. Only this last piece was left, and also the most crucial piece. The previous nine clones didn’t have any memories of the Aosheng Continent, but Han Jun did.
Yan Qingxiu said firmly, “You remember everything.”
“I only remember a little, not all.” Han Jun stared at Yan Qingxiu’s face and looked at it thoughtfully for a long time before saying, “I remember Qu Jingtian.”
Yan Qingxiu sighed with mixed feelings.
“I don’t know much about Qu Jingtian. When I found out about him, he had already died. If you want to ask me about Qu Jingtian, I have nothing to tell you.”
Han Jun shook her head. “I just want to know if Qu Jingtian really exists or if he is just my imagination.”
Yan Qingxiu’s lips touched up and down, but he didn’t say anything in the end.
Han Jun turned and walked towards her seat. After taking a few steps, she suddenly turned back and stared at Yan Qingxiu’s gloomy face. “You’re still better looking like your original self. This woman’s skin is an eyesore to me.”
Yan Qingxiu’s eyes lit up. “You...” Yan Qingxiu gripped his cup tightly and asked her,” You remember me? ”
Han Jun originally didn’t remember. When she heard Yan Qingxiu mention the Startling Flower, many unfamiliar images suddenly flashed across her mind.
There was an endless glacier, a black flower swaying in the cold wind, and a silly young man who often followed behind her and called her master like a shadow.
“Yan Qingxiu, it’s been hard on you.” Han Jun turned and left.
When Yan Qingxiu heard this, what else did he not understand?
His hand that was holding the gla.s.s of water trembled slightly.
Master!
It’s Master!
Ever since he discovered that Han Jun had already started to regain her memories, Yan Qingxiu’s att.i.tude towards her had undergone a 180-degree change.
He would never call Han Jun ‘Junjun’ again. When they alighted from the high-speed rail station, he had to personally help Han Jun carry her things. Along the way, Yan Qingxiu would glare at anyone who looked at Han Jun.
That concerned and nervous look toward Han Jun on his face, was as if she was a living ancestor who couldn’t be offended by peeping.