Yan Beicheng and the others could not hear anything. Yan Beicheng glanced at Nan Jingheng and suddenly asked in a teasing tone, "Do you really want to know?"
Nan Jingheng noticed Yan Beicheng"s change in att.i.tude and got the feeling that Yan Beicheng was up to no good. A chill ran down his spine as Yan Beicheng stared down at him.
Nan Jingheng immediately replied, "I don"t want to know. Please don"t tell me, I just want to go home!"
The sound of laughter escaped Lin Chu"s lips. The way he was speaking sounded exactly like a child-like Yan Ningbai, as though he was scared of something and wanted to run into the safe arms of his mother.
Nan Jingheng no longer cared about Lin Chu"s laughter. He turned to run all the way back home. Then, he turned to make sure that Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu were still standing under the warm strobe of the lamp posts, as if afraid that Yan Beicheng would catch up to him before quickly pressing his doorbell.
The next thing they knew, he was shouting loudly into the intercom, "Grandma, your grandson is home. Hurry up and open the door!"
The metal gates creaked open and Nan Jingheng slipped between them very quickly, as if he was being chased by a monster.
The initially drowsy Lin Chu was tickled by Nan Jingheng"s reaction and was now wide awake. She looked up at Yan Beicheng with her eyes wide open and clear as they shone under the moonlight. They s.h.i.+mmered like the surface of a lake, gentle and serene.
Yan Beicheng gulped as he watched her before gently pinching her soft hands. They felt even softer than he remembered.
He wondered if she had gained some weight because they now felt soft and tender as if he was pinching cotton candy or jelly. He could not describe the feeling, but he knew he enjoyed it very much.
Lin Chu felt the abrupt change in the way he was touching her and blushed. "What was Jingheng so scared about?"
Yan Beicheng"s lips twitched as he could not help smiling as well. "He must be feeling anxious about something. The old lady of our house loves hanging out next door so that she can show us off and it always irritates Old Lady Nan. When I asked the question, he must have been afraid that we had more good news to share. If his grandma learned about this, he will be the one that ends up with the short end of the stick. Every time Old Lady Nan gets mad at grandma, she will vent it on Nan Jingheng."
Lin Chu felt bad for her. Old Lady Yan was already busy showing off to Old Lady Han, which ended up with Han Zhuoli suffering the consequences, but now she was showing off to Old Lady Nan too.
Unfortunately for Old Lady Nan, she stayed right next door, which was literally two steps from their home. She must have endured a lot of showing off from Old Lady Yan, more so than even Old Lady Han.
"Han Zhuoli is always complaining that the grandmas from our family and the Qi family are always showing off in front of Old Lady Han. It annoyed Old Lady Han so badly that she banned him from stepping foot into the house. I"ve never heard Nan Jingheng complain about anything at all. Now that I think about it, Nan Jingheng must be suffering even more than Han Zhuoli," Lin Chu could not help laughing. She was not really laughing at their problems, but more so their reactions and expressions in dealing with the situation.
Yan Beicheng laughed too. "The poor guy is contemplating buying a place and moving out to escape from all the nagging from Old Lady Nan, but he"s afraid of angering her. You know how the elders love having their grandchildren around."
When Lin Chu heard this, she asked, "Is it okay if we move out? We weren"t initially staying here anyway, so moving out is not really a problem. But ever since we"ve moved in, I can see that the two elders have been especially happy; every day is so full of life. If we move out, the two elders might feel sad even if they don"t say it. Once we leave, the house would be empty. The thought of the two elders staying here alone by themselves makes me feel sad."
"We"re different from Nan Jingheng. He"s a bachelor. If he stays alone, his elders would be worried that he can"t take care of himself. I, on the other hand, have a family. It"s not that convenient to stay in the old mansion and the two elders are very aware of that. Besides, we"ve never really stayed here since the beginning and have only been staying here for a month. It"s a different situation," Yan Beicheng explained as he rang the doorbell.
Aunt Chen opened the gates and the two of them entered.
Lin Chu did feel that it was a bit inconvenient to stay with the two elders. Although the two elders were easy to get along with, they were still elders at the end of the day, and one needed to make sure to behave around them.
Both of them did not dare cause too much of a ruckus, not to mention, it would be awkward if they had a loud argument. Additionally, it was common for married couples to fight. Ever since she got pregnant, Lin Chu realized that her temper was getting worse. She could not lose her temper in front of the two elders, so if she ever had a disagreement with Yan Beicheng, she would struggle to find a release.
Lin Chu felt that any disagreement between husband and wife should be discussed openly and honestly. Both parties needed to express their views to better understand the other so that they could solve the problem. It was not right to keep silent and allow the unhappiness to fester inside. This could eventually doom their relations.h.i.+p.
Just this alone made it inconvenient to live here.
Thus, Lin Chu did not say any more.
Her hands were still being gently pinched by Yan Beicheng when she heard him comment, "Your hands are much softer than before."
Lin Chu raised up her right hand and looked at her fingers but did not really notice anything different. Lin Chu thought that her hand still looked as slim and delicate as before. Despite this, she began to doubt herself. Did her palm look meatier than before?
As she continued scrutinizing her hand, she wondered if she was experiencing a psychological effect as her fingers now seemed to be thicker than before.
Lin Chu became a little moody at this. "It hasn"t even been two months. My tummy isn"t even showing yet, but I"ve already become meatier. Does that mean that I"ll just turn into a ball when my tummy starts to grow?"
Yan Beicheng immediately picked up her left hand. "What meat? I don"t see any difference."
"You just said that my hands are softer than before. Isn"t that because I"m meatier? You just mentioned it, so don"t pretend that you"ve forgotten," Lin Chu tried to shake off his hand, but Yan Beicheng refused to let go.
"I said it was softer than before, I didn"t say you"ve gotten fat," Yan Beicheng replied earnestly. It did not look like he was giving an excuse. He stated this very matter-of-factly.
As he said this, he pinched her gently on the palm again. "I feel like you"ve become softer all over since you"ve been pregnant. It"s not just your hands, it"s also…"
Yan Beicheng did not move but his eyes stared straight at Lin Chu"s chest. It was not difficult to guess what he meant.
Lin Chu blushed as his grip meant that she could not hide from his pa.s.sionate gaze. She could not help covering it with her hands, but almost immediately after, felt that it unnecessary and asked in an annoyed tone, "What are you looking at?!"
Yan Beicheng had a coy smile on his face as he said, "You"ve gotten bigger there. It"s softer, but that doesn"t mean you are fat. Your hands are softer too, but you"re not fat."
"Well, you"re just trying to make it sound better!" Lin Chu knew that Yan Beicheng was just trying to console her with sweet words.
With the way she was eating now that Aunt Chen and Aunt Zhuang were making nutritious soup for her every day, it was difficult to maintain her weight.
In any case, even if she did not get fat right now, when her tummy starts showing, she would become look chubby. At that point, she would look like a blown-up balloon and will start to change physically as the days go by. She had seen other pregnant women who could hardly recognize themselves in the mirror.
Lin Chu was so upset at his words that she said in annoyance, "There"s nothing good about what you"re saying."
Yan Beicheng smiled but did not say another word. They held hands as they got to the front door where Aunt Chen had been waiting to open the door for them.
The two elders were already resting, so Aunt Chen and Aunt Zhuang stayed up to wait for them to come home instead. When they arrived, Aunt Chen and Aunt Zhuang prepared to retire to their bedrooms too.
Aunt Zhuang asked Lin Chu again if there was anything she wanted to eat that night. Lin Chu had already eaten a good dinner not too long ago, so she was not feeling hungry. Thus, she shook her head and allowed the two aunts to go to bed.
"If I"m craving for something, I"ll get Beicheng to help me," Lin Chu said.
Aunt Zhuang looked at Yan Beicheng with pity. Lin Chu had only just gotten pregnant, but Yan Beicheng was already doing her bidding. There was still a long road ahead for Yan Beicheng as her temper worsens over the course of her pregnancy.
However, Yan Beicheng looked happy to be the victim of this supposed suffering. He felt that it was sweet to be able to attend to Lin Chu"s every need. He was enjoying it so much that he could not wait to show off to everyone else.
So, Aunt Zhuang and Aunt Chen went to bed.
At the same time, Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu went back to their bedrooms. The thought of Lin Chu"s pretty, gentle face under the moonlight and the memory of her large b.r.e.a.s.ts stirred Yan Beicheng.
He closed in on her as his breath slowly s.h.i.+fted away from Lin Chu"s forehead, and crept down toward her lips and neck. It was obvious what he wanted.
However, Lin Chu had something important to talk to Yan Beicheng about. The matter regarding Lu Zhenghang was still occupying her head. She might have settled the matter earlier today, but Lin Chu could not hide it from him any longer.
She stopped Yan Beicheng and said, "Stop for a minute, I have something to talk to you about. It"s serious and important."
Yan Beicheng sighed. He was not willing to stop and simply moved away from her a little. Nevertheless, it was rare for Lin Chu to be so serious so it must be something important. Yan Beicheng reigned himself back and flipped away from Lin Chu as he sat upright next to her. He leaned against the bedrest and cupped Lin Chu"s hands.
"Talk to me. This sounds serious," Yan Beicheng snapped to attention to show that he was placing importance on what she had to say.
However, his hand continued pinching Lin Chu"s soft palm as he said this, betraying his true intentions.
Lin Chu could not be bothered to fool around with him. If this was any other time, she would have followed his lead and gotten intimate with him.
She took a deep breath and compiled her thoughts. She was worried that Yan Beicheng would get too emotional at the situation and lose sight of what was important. Even she had been disoriented by Lu Zhenghang"s words when she first heard them, and it took a while for her to think everything through. Yan Beicheng directly involved the matter, so it would be worse for him.
She gently held onto Yan Beicheng"s hands as she slowly and carefully shared Lu Zhenghang"s words from that afternoon.
She felt Yan Beicheng"s grip tighten around her hands. This immediately made Lin Chu nervous as she said, "Lu Zhenghang is spouting nothing but nonsense. I believe his claims to be Miss Jiang"s son as he does resemble her and even looks a little bit like you. When I first saw him at Red Roof, I did think he looked familiar but just couldn"t figure out who he resembled. When I met him today, I gave it some thought, and I have to say that I think that there"s a high chance that Lu Zhenghang is crazy. His features don"t resemble anyone from the Yan family at all whilst the only connection is that he looks a little like you, but that"s because you share the same mother."
"You look so much like Yan Huaian. Even though I"ve never really seen your father"s pictures, if you look so much like Yan Huaian, then you would look pretty much identical to your father. I"ve no idea where Lu Zhenghang found that confidence to say such things. He"s probably suffering from delusion!"
Lin Chu tightened her grip around Yan Beicheng"s hands. He had big hands, and while his palm was moderately thick and wide, his fingers were long and slender, which made them much larger than her hands.
Both her hands held his as she gently ma.s.saged the back of his hands and his palms. Her fingers were soft and gentle, and though she may not have especially taken good care of them, they were soft enough to stir Yan Beicheng"s heart.
Yan Beicheng was initially filled with rage, but after Lin Chu comforted him, he began to slowly calm down. There was still some rage left inside him, but her gentle rea.s.surance had created an opening in his heart which she could fill with loving warmth.
He sensed her worry as his hands moved slightly within hers. He interlaced his fingers between hers as Lin Chu lifted up his hands and slowly kissed each joint. She gently said, "Besides, Jiang Changdai treats you so badly but is so kind to Lu Zhenghang. If Lu Zhenghang"s surname really is Yan, there is no way Jiang Changdai would treat him so well. It"s so ridiculous of him to even suggest that your ident.i.ties are reversed!"
Lin Chu did not even bother to refer to her as Miss Jiang and instead referred to her by her name. She was not worried that Yan Beicheng would be unhappy at this.
When it came to that woman, Yan Beicheng had no intention of defending her.
Lin Chu gave a cold smiled. "I"m guessing Lu Zhenghang is not aware of how Jiang Changdai used to treat you, which was why he said those things. He really does think that he"s the smartest person in this world and that everyone else is plain stupid."
Lin Chu"s harsh words revealed that she had already helped him a.n.a.lyze the situation. She did this as she was worried he would get angry.
Yan Beicheng"s heart melted at the sight of her getting bright red with anger for him. He pulled his hands away from hers and then pulled her into his lap.
His long legs were stretched straight out on the bed as he hugged Lin Chu in his arms. He could not help tightening his hug as he pulled her close but was careful not to squeeze her tummy and hurt it.
"I was initially very angry, but I think my anger dissipated at the sight of you getting mad at this for me," Yan Beicheng said gently as his forehead touched hers.
He continued, "Don"t worry. I"ll never doubt my ident.i.ty. There"s no mistaking that I"m of the Yan family bloodline, and it"s not just because I look like Yan Huaian and share the features of the Yan family. You might not be aware of this but one of the requirements needed to become the heir of the family within the Eight Dominant Families is the ability to be the Master of the House. This is just like our courtesy name 1 , and no outsiders are aware of it. Besides those within the Eight Dominant Families, no one else is aware that we still have a Master of the House."
"Master of the House?" Lin Chu was surprised. She had never heard this term before.
Everyone knew how formidable the Eight Dominant Families were, as they had a strong foundation and a wide network. Despite this, the Eight Dominant Families were mainly thought of as n.o.ble families, whilst the younger generation from the family was seen as generation X rich kids.
However, no one had ever mentioned anything about a Master of the House within the Eight Dominant Families. Even the fact that the male members had courtesy names was not common knowledge.
Lin Chu suddenly thought of something after contemplating this.
She asked in shock, "Do you have supernatural abilities?"
Yan Beicheng snorted with laughter as his fingers brushed against the tip of her nose. "I heard that pregnant people would become dumb for three years. Have you started early?"
Lin Chu glared at him in annoyance. Yan Beicheng was genuinely interested in teasing her and did not seem to be bothered at all by the matter regarding Lu Zhenghang. This made her feel better.
Her fingers interlocked with his slender fingers. "You better explain it nicely to me. I was really worried about you for nothing."
Yan Beicheng smiled as he explained, "It"s nothing that extraordinary like supernatural abilities. It"s just a rare trait that we have that allows us to surpa.s.s normal human abilities. This is not an ability limited to just the Eight Dominant Families - many in this world can do it too. It"s just a coincidence that it appears in every generation of the Eight Dominant Families, although it"s limited to only one person. Hence, only one person will be named the Master of the House. This is an ability that will develop when one is still young. Not necessarily when one is born, but maybe after a few years."
"Wei Ziqi, for example, has scarily good memory whilst Qi Chengzhi has photographic memory. Mine is night vision. No matter how dark it is, I can see very clearly as if it were daytime. There are details during the day that I"ve missed but was able to see very clearly at night. The darker the environment, the clearer I can see. I have even tried it in a bomb shelter after I went hiking once and found an abandoned bomb shelter. Now, it was pointless to bring a torch with you to the bomb shelter since you can"t see anything inside it. But when I went in, I could see everything clearly."
Yan Beicheng gave a light laugh. He sounded relaxed and not as tense as before as even his body relaxed. "I never really found much use for this ability, but I did use it to do a lot of naughty stuff when I was younger."
Lin Chu found it difficult to imagine a young Yan Beicheng using this ability for naughty pranks. It was even more difficult to imagine him bursting out into laughter upon playing these tricks. Name bestowed in a.d.u.l.thood