Yan Beicheng cut open the duct tape with a penknife and took out an old alb.u.m before closing the box. He gave it a thought and decided to tape up the box again as he was planning to bring the photo alb.u.m home with him.
After he put the box back in its original place, he opened the study room door and b.u.mped into Old Master Yan.
"Grandpa," Yan Beicheng was taken aback but subsequently greeted him.
Old Master Yan nodded and explained, "I was thirsty, so I got up to have a drink. What are you doing in the study instead of having an early rest?"
As he said this, his gaze fell on the photo alb.u.m in Yan Beicheng"s hands. He suddenly snapped wide awake as his vision started to blur, making him look up toward the ceiling. His eyes seemed to be turning red.
Yan Beicheng"s throat became dry; He could not stand making the two elders sad. The box may have been sealed but the two elders have always missed Yan Huaiyuan. They did not have the courage to see his smiling face again, so Yan Beicheng had not informed the two elders about him taking the alb.u.m.
Now that he had been caught red-handed, the sad memories came rus.h.i.+ng back to Old Master Yan.
Old Master Yan looked like a regular retiree with nothing much to do, and when he was with Old Lady Yan, he was nothing but a paper tiger* (TN: A Chinese phrase meaning someone that claims or appears to be powerful and/or threatening, but is actually ineffectual and unable to withstand challenges). He argued with her every so often and did not really do much, but deep inside him was an aching heart that longed for Yan Huaiyuan.
Yan Beicheng, of course, did not tell Old Master Yan about Lu Zhenghang as it would make him furious. Instead, he said, "I was chatting with Lin Chu about when I was young and thought that I"d like her to see what Dad looked like. It would be nice for her to get to know her father-in-law.
Old Master Yan tried to hide the tears in his eyes as he nodded. "Rest up after you"re finished with the alb.u.m."
Yan Beicheng nodded as he watched Old Master Yan return to his bedroom before leaving too.
Old Master Yan hid under his covers the moment he got back to his bed. There was a deep pain in his heart as he sniffled quietly. He discreetly wiped away his tears but could not stop the raging emotion inside as he tried his best to stop himself from bursting into tears. Because of this, he could not fall asleep as he tossed and turned in the bed.
Old Lady Yan woke up from all the commotion and immediately gave him a kick. "What are you doing so late at night? Just go to sleep already."
Old Master Yan sighed as he buried his face into the pillow.
Yan Beicheng returned to the bedroom and found Lin Chu already in her pajamas. She looked clean and refreshed as she sat on the bed waiting for him. The covers were only up to her waist whilst her body emanated the fragrance of shower gel.
"Why didn"t you wait for me to shower together?" Yan Beicheng asked grumpily. He especially enjoyed showering with Lin Chu, even though all he could do was touch her all teasingly. He could not fully devour her, but it was better than nothing.
Besides, ever since Lin Chu got pregnant, although she might not yet be meaty, she had become especially soft and supple. Nowadays it felt so good to hold her in his arms.
Naturally, Yan Beicheng would never tell her this. As things stood, Lin Chu did not really shower with him often. If she knew what he was thinking, she would constantly be wary of him.
Thus, he made up an excuse, "The bathroom floor"s really slippery. What if you fell down? I"d feel better if you had me by your side to watch over you."
Lin Chu complained, "Can"t you think of something positive happening to me?"
Yan Beicheng realized what he had just said and quickly touched wood a few times before diving under the covers. He pulled Lin Chu into his arms as he started to worry about the words he had just uttered becoming a curse and hurting her. He should have just slapped himself.
Lin Chu consoled him when she saw his reaction. "Don"t worry. It"s just a slip of the tongue, you didn"t really mean it. In this case, it won"t come true. Besides, I"m really careful when I take my showers. I never use the bathtub as it"s slippery in there and I also wear slippers and use the non-slip mat."
Yan Beicheng still held on tightly to her. Lin Chu could feel his anxiety through his grip.
"Wait for me to shower with you the next time, I"ll feel better if I can look after you," Yan Beicheng said quietly. He sounded quite despondent.
Lin Chu, "…"
Could she just say no?
"Promise me," Yan Beicheng insisted. He had a pitiful expression on his face.
Lin Chu could never resist this pitiful attack.
She nodded without even thinking. "Okay."
Yan Beicheng instantly cheered up. His lips began to curve upward from the middle of his mouth to the edge of his lips like a ripple. It spread all the way to his dark eyes, where the ripples squeezed the black of his eyes, which were currently bright and filled with pa.s.sion. The look on his face was captivating, making it difficult to look away from him.
Lin Chu swallowed. She could not help but go weak all over. All she could think about was his moist lips that gleamed seductively as even his jaws seemed to give off a pa.s.sionate glow.
Yan Beicheng started to puff up under his wife"s captivated gaze. He lowered his head to kiss her dazed, slightly open mouth. Then, he patted her head, causing Lin Chu to wake up from her reverie.
Lin Chu blushed as she was embarra.s.sed. She awkwardly lowered her head and tried her best to change the topic to hide her embarra.s.sment. "Didn"t you have something to do in the study? Why did you come back so quickly? I thought you might take a while, so I had my shower first."
"I just went in to grab something. These are pictures from my childhood, and my dad is in there. You"ll know who he is the moment you see him. No one will ever doubt my ident.i.ty, even if they have no idea of me being the Master of the House," Yan Beicheng patted Lin Chu"s shoulder and pa.s.sed the alb.u.m to her.
Lin Chu opened the alb.u.m. The first page featured Yan Beicheng as a baby. He looked like he had just learned to sit up and was seated comfortably on a man"s lap.
The man looked slim and had long legs as the baby sat in his lap. He looked dapper as he lowered his head slightly and his eyes looked downward. One could vaguely spot the long, thick eyelashes on his face, even though his attention was completely focused on the baby. There was a touch of gentleness in his expression, like the baby was his whole world and that he would do anything for it.
His elegant, slender hands held on carefully to the baby, as if afraid that the baby was uncomfortable or would get hurt. He looked so gentle, seemingly afraid that using even the slightest bit of strength would hurt the baby"s fragile frame.
Lin Chu could almost make out the gentle look in his eyes that would make any woman swoon if directed at them. Any woman would be prepared to give up everything for a man like him.
One look at him and Lin Chu knew that the man in the picture was Yan Beicheng"s father, Yan Huaiyuan.
The baby in his arms would no doubt be Yan Beicheng.
His little face had yet to mature, but one could vaguely see the resemblance between him and the grown-up Yan Beicheng. As for Yan Huaiyuan, he looked almost exactly like Yan Beicheng.
Lin Chu continued flipping through the alb.u.m. It was a graphic record of Yan Beicheng growing up. Not all the pictures were taken with Yan Huaiyuan. There were quite a few that featured Yan Beicheng by himself, whilst others were taken with the two elders. The only pictures missing were those taken with Jiang Changdai.
Even before she finished flipping through the book, Lin Chu became certain that this was not the only photo alb.u.m in the house that was missing Jiang Changdai.
It was possibly because Jiang Changdai had not even been willing to take a picture with them. Or it could be that the two elders had thrown out all of Jiang Changdai"s pictures after Yan Huaiyuan"s unfortunate accident.
Lin Chu continued looking through the alb.u.m. There was a picture of Yan Beicheng when he was just over a year old, a full-body picture of him with nothing on, another one of him running around the house with his perky little b.u.t.t exposed, and another one of him playing with sand outside while wearing a pair of open-bottom pants with his s.h.i.+ny b.u.t.t fully exposed.
There were a few pictures of Yan Huaiyuan playing with Yan Beicheng, but he was not looking at the camera in any of them. The pictures were obviously taken by someone who had managed to capture the moment. Some of the pictures even showed what Yan Huaian looked like when he was a young boy.
As expected, there was no sign of Jiang Changdai in the alb.u.m.
Yan Beicheng explained, "After my dad"s accident, grandpa and grandma threw everything that belonged to Jiang Changdai out when they went through his things. Any pictures that they had taken together were cut, but there were so few that it didn"t take much work anyway. As for their wedding pictures, the two elders had burned them all."
Lin Chu noticed that Yan Beicheng did not even bother to respectfully refer to her as Miss Jiang. She wondered if it was because of the alb.u.m that he felt even more distant to Jiang Changdai, so much so that he no longer felt concerned about her well-being.
Lin Chu stared at Yan Huaiyuan"s picture. He looked so much like Yan Beicheng. She suddenly realized that even though Jiang Changdai had never treated Yan Beicheng well, she began treating him worse the older he got because he was starting to look like Yan Huaiyuan.
Yan Beicheng now looked extremely similar to Yan Huaiyuan.
It could be that she felt guilty about Yan Huaiyuan"s death, or maybe it was because she had never wanted to marry him in the first place that caused Jiang Chengdai to harbor a deep hatred for Yan Huaiyuan, making her unwilling to face Yan Beicheng.
She was unable to face Yan Beicheng because of the guilt she felt over Yan Huaiyuan, but she had also channeled her hatred of him toward Yan Beicheng.
Meanwhile, Yan Beicheng could not see Lin Chu"s expression. All he saw was the back of her head as she lowered it. Yan Beicheng may have known her inside out, but at the moment, he was unable to tell what she was thinking.
Thus, he simply said, "You see how much I look like my dad, right? We"re like two peas in a pod. No one will ever doubt my ident.i.ty."
Lin Chu nodded as she closed the alb.u.m. She was thinking about how das.h.i.+ng and handsome Yan Huaiyuan looked, and so, began to feel sorry for him.
She could not shake off this sadness, so she did not dare to look up at Yan Beicheng in fear of him noticing her red eyes. She asked quietly, "Can we take this alb.u.m with us?"
Yan Beicheng smiled. He was glad that Lin Chu had shared the same thought as him. They really were soulmates. "That"s the reason why I brought it here. This alb.u.m has always been kept shut in a box since grandpa and grandma were never brave enough to look at it again. They"re afraid of the pain it brings, which is why the box has always been sealed. It won"t trouble anyone if I brought it home with me."
Lin Chu sniffled as she carefully placed the alb.u.m at her side. Then, she lowered her head as she climbed into Yan Beicheng"s arms.
She was worried Yan Beicheng would be sad, so she purposely made fun of him, "I had no idea you were so plump when you were young. Look at those open-bottom pants you were wearing, your big b.u.t.t was showing - it was bigger than Ningbai"s."
Yan Beicheng pinched her b.u.t.t. "It"s still not as soft as yours."
Lin Chu, "…"
She could almost hear Yan Beicheng sigh lightly as he kissed her on the forehead. "What"s done is done. Even though I"m still a bit sad about it, but at least the pain has dissipated over time. It"s not as painful as before, so you don"t need to worry about me. I"m fine."
Lin Chu held on to him tightly. "You"ll have me by your side in the future. Besides, we"re going to have a child of our own whom we"ll love so much. It will experience the love of its parents, as well as the love of the two elders. There"s also Yan Huaian, Yu Zi and its granduncle, Ningbai. With so many people showering it with love, it will be sure to have a happy life. I"ll be a good mother and never let it feel down about life. We"ll also have to figure out if it should have a stern father and loving mother, or a stern mother and loving father. Either way, I"ll let you decide."
Yan Beicheng was tickled by the way she had proposed this and laughed heartily. He had never thought that he would one day be doted on by his wife. It felt like he was a child that still needed to be coaxed.
The next day, before Lin Chu could say a word, Yan Beicheng applied for her leave. Wei Zilin immediately let Lin Chu take time off until the weekend, so she was only scheduled to be back at work the following Monday.
When Lin Chu found out, she was dumbfounded. She felt so bad about it.
She had only worked for two days this whole week and had done nearly nothing at the office.
Wei Ziling was smiling especially warmly at Lin Chu when she went back to the office to tidy up her things. She was let off work that very afternoon.
Lin Chu, "…"
Thankfully, her colleagues knew her condition so no one said anything about her special treatment.
If someone else had got the job through connections and constantly applied for leave, their colleagues would naturally be unhappy about it. But since Lin Chu was Yan Beicheng"s wife and the Yan family daughter-in-law, there was nothing much they could do about it.
She was working here to occupy her time. She did not really need the wages, so this job was just Yan Beicheng"s way of keeping Lin Chu happy.
Besides, Lin Chu"s salary was still cut when she took time off work. There was no such thing as earning a keep without working. She did not qualify for an attendance bonus, and when it was payday at the beginning of the month, her salary was so low that even Zheng Yuntong felt sorry for her.
Everything was done according to the company policy. This was, of course, with the exception of her constant leave days - no one else could take leave that many times without getting fired. Besides, Wei Zilin and Yan Beicheng were good friends. He treated it as merely preparing an extra seat for Lin Chu, and it did not care if she simply sat there playing games the whole day.
This was why none of her colleagues felt that there was anything unfair about the way she was being treated.
Lin Chu left the office at noon and gave the old princ.i.p.al a call. She wanted to visit her, but the old princ.i.p.al informed her that she had already been discharged from the hospital.
"Why did you get discharged so soon?" Lin Chu asked in surprise.
"The doctor gave me a thorough check-up yesterday. There"s nothing wrong with my health, so why would I continue to stay in the hospital when I"m already well? I know Chu Tian Hospital is a good hospital, but it"s still a hospital, isn"t it? It"s not good to keep staying in a hospital. Anyway, Madam Dai delivered food to me at 11 something. When we finished eating, we went to handle the paperwork to be discharged. This was possible thanks to Madam Dai"s help," said the old princ.i.p.al.
After Lin Chu heard about this, she hung up the phone and called Dai Huimin to thank her.
"Lin Chu, you don"t need to be so formal with me. This is something I should do, so I feel bad when you"re going so polite," said Dai Huimin.
Lin Chu smiled. "Fine, then I won"t be so formal with you in the future."
Dai Huimin agreed happily.
After she hung up, Lin Chu realized that there was still some time before lunchtime, and she had nothing to do. Yan Beicheng had no idea that Wei Zilin had allowed Lin Chu off work early, so it would be about half an hour before Shao Huai came to pick Lin Chu up.
Lin Chu was worried that Shao Huai would not be able to find her, so she gave a Yan Beicheng a call. "Isn"t there a mall right next to your office? I"m going to window-shop around there. I"ll buy something for Wen Ren"s children for when we go to T City tomorrow."
Yan Beicheng had mentioned that Wen Ren had two children. The older son was nine years old and was called Wen Xu while the youngest son, called Wen Ming, was nearly two years old.
She had no idea what they were interested in or what their personalities were like. All she knew was that they were boys who were born into the testosterone-filled environment of the Wen family. They would like something tough.
"Wait a minute, I"ll go get you and pick something out with you," Yan Beicheng said. There were many people in the mall, so he was worried about Lin Chu heading there by herself.
Lin Chu immediately understood his worries and did not protest, "I"ll wait for you here. You can get Shao Huai to pick me up and head to your office first. Then, we"ll go and pick something together after lunch."
She did not want to disturb him at work.
Yan Beicheng smiled. He understood her logic perfectly as he nodded. "No problem. Don"t stand by the roadside, wait in the office or at the café."
After hanging up, Lin Chu was too lazy to take the elevator back to her office. This laziness was like a disease that had been troubling her ever since she got pregnant, so, she turned toward the café behind her.
The café manager and the waiters remembered Lin Chu very well since she had previously splashed hot coffee onto Lu Zhenghang"s face.
When Lin Chu walked in, a café waitress holding a tray immediately took a few steps backward at the sight of her. She had one hand on the tray and one hand protectively s.h.i.+elding the coffee, as if afraid that Lin Chu would s.n.a.t.c.h it at any moment.
Lin Chu"s lips twitched as she remembered this girl from the previous incident. She must have left such a negative impression on her for the poor waitress to act like this.
"Don"t worry, I"m just here to take a seat. I"ll be off soon," Lin Chu said as she lifted a hand, feeling a little glum. Her long, gentle fingers slightly flicked away some hair that had fallen in front of her face. She was a gentle person by nature, so how did she become known as a feisty woman here?
The waitress breathed a sigh of relief before delivering the coffee in her hands.
Lin Chu found a seat near the entrance so it would be easier to spot Shao Huai coming.
The waitress served her some water, but Lin Chu turned her down. "It"s okay. I"ll only be here for two or three minutes. I"m waiting for someone."
The waitress nodded and was not bothered as she walked away. However, she still gave her a gla.s.s of water with a bright smile. "It"s okay. You can sit here for a while."
Lin Chu returned the smile and thanked her as she drank the water.
After a little over three minutes, she spotted Shao Huai driving over, so Lin Chu left the café.
Zuo Qiu was smiling outside Yan Beicheng"s office as he said, "Master Yan is in a meeting. You can wait in the office for him. He has prepared a pillow and a blanket for you since you"ll be shopping after lunch and won"t have time to rest. You can have a nap here while you wait and needn"t worry about anything. Master Yan will be taking a break as well after the meeting."
What he meant was that Yan Beicheng would not come back to the office for work, so it would not matter if Lin Chu was sleeping in his office. Thus, she did not need to worry about disturbing him.
Lin Chu smiled and nodded as she walked into his office where there were a blanket and pillow placed tidily on the sofa.
Lin Chu flipped open the blanket open. Since it was boring to wait here without anything to do, and she was genuinely feeling groggy, she laid down and covered herself. She briefly took out her phone to surf the web, but once she got tired, she placed her phone on the coffee table in front of her and drifted off to sleep.
She was drifting in and out of sleep when she was suddenly woken up by the delicious smell of food.
Before she could open her eyes, she could vaguely make out some people talking. Their voices were soft, and they sounded as though they were shuffling about. There was also the sound of things being placed down carefully.
"Master Yan," an unfamiliar male voice called out.
"Keep your voice down!" She heard Yan Beicheng reply in a low voice.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw a few waiters in Sheng Yu"s uniform holding a few plates of dishes Yan Beicheng had ordered. They placed it on the coffee table in front of her where there were already other dishes set up. There was the Sour and Spicy Vermicelli she had ordered, but the non-spicy version, so maybe it should just be called Sour Vermicelli now. She wanted to have it spicy, but Yan Beicheng vetoed this. All he allowed her to take was extra vinegar but did not allow her to add any chili.
Lin Chu thought it was better than nothing, so she agreed.
There was a plate of Pineapple Sweet and Sour Pork which Sheng Yue had added almost half a bottle of vinegar to, as per Yan Beicheng"s request.
The chef who had cooked this dish almost cried whilst preparing it. He mumbled to himself about how this dish was about to destroy his reputation as a top chef.
The remaining dishes had yet to be served so Lin Chu had no idea what they were.
She sat up, then called out, "Beicheng!".
Yan Beicheng turned toward her as a smile immediately appeared on his face. It instantly brightened up the room.
Lin Chu was still in a daze from waking up but was captivated by Yan Beicheng"s smile. She felt the entire office light up as his smile warmed her heart.