Yan Beicheng closed the door as soon as he entered the room. He turned off the lights in the corridor and the bedroom but he did not pull the curtains close. The view of the mountain outside the window at night was the only thing that could be seen.
The pale moonlight faintly cascaded into the room. Most of the room was illuminated by the pale yellow candlelight. The candlelight extended from the bedside before it plunged into the pitch-black darkness of the corner on the opposite side.
There were two long overlapping shadows of people on the wall that was lit up by candlelight. Those two shadows had seemingly fused into a single shadow, but they kept quivering. The only things that could be seen were grey silhouettes that tossed and turned.
One of the silhouettes formed a beautiful arc that resembled a cavity. It was covered by another exquisite arc soon after that. The two shadows of humans on the wall resembled clouds that rose and fell at different heights as they hung up high in the sky.
Lin Chu slept lazily until the next morning. She felt someone holding her hand while her fingers were being lightly tickled by something that resembled a feather.
The sunlight that trickled into the room shone on her feet now. Although she was covered by a blanket, she could still feel the warm sensation from the suns.h.i.+ne. It felt extremely comfortable.
She straightened her legs and stretched for a while. The tips of her toes accidentally brushed against a warm and smooth area. She brushed against it several times because it felt rather comfortable.
Yan Beicheng could not help but laugh as he raised his eyebrows. Suddenly, he pulled Lin Chu"s into his arms and held her tightly. When she was asleep, she had carelessly brushed against the back of his feet. She rubbed against them several times because it felt quite nice. However, she had no idea that her unconscious actions had aroused Yan Beicheng immediately.
Yan Beicheng hugged her so tightly that Lin Chu woke up despite being sound asleep earlier. She met Yan Beicheng"s pitch-black gaze just as she opened her eyes. His gaze looked intensely pa.s.sionate.
Lin Chu nearly allowed herself to drown in his gaze before she suddenly realized that something was amiss. "What time is it? I need to go to work!"
"It"s only eight o"clock. It"s not time for work yet. I"ll call Wei Zilin later and tell him that you"ll be one or two hours late," said Yan Beicheng nonchalantly.
"It seems like I"ve suddenly gained special privileges. That doesn"t feel right to me," said Lin Chu in a hesitant voice.
She recalled how she was diligently working all along because she had just joined Lin Yi. Lin Chu would hate herself if she started to request for leave, go home early, and arrive late at the office now.
If one of her coworkers acted this way, Lin Chu would surely dislike her too.
Yan Beicheng had seemingly read her thoughts. He promised her, saying, "I"ll make sure to avoid doing this as much as possible in the future."
Lin Chu huffed twice, but Yan Beicheng lifted her hands.
"What happened to your hands?" He did not notice it last night because they did not turn on the lights. The candlelight was too dim as well.
When he woke up in the morning, he affectionately gazed at her as she slept soundly. He then noticed that her fingertips were not badly injured, but they were still slightly swollen. The area near her fingernails was somewhat calloused too.
"Did you forget that I made that ring for you? I used my bare hands because it felt uncomfortable when I was wearing gloves. My fingers were covered in aluminum powder and I had to hold a pestle while I ground and hammered it. There would inevitably be times when I lacked precision when I was doing this," said Lin Chu as she wriggled her fingers. "However, it doesn"t hurt. Please don"t make that face. I just wanted to surprise you. Why do you look so guilty?"
Yan Beicheng merely ma.s.saged her fingers gently before he kissed each of her fingers softly. "You"ve given me a ring that"s worth so much. It"s truly priceless."
She had painstakingly made this for him and injured herself because of that.
Lin Chu knew what Yan Beicheng was trying to say. She threaded all five fingers on her hand through the s.p.a.ces between his fingers. His fingers were much better looking than the average man"s fingers because they were slender and delicate. Nonetheless, his fingers were slightly thicker than hers in the end because a man"s skeleton was always larger than a woman"s. Her hand stretched wider and the distance between her fingers increased when she pa.s.sed her fingers through his.
Lin Chu pressed her fingers firmly against the back of his hand as she arched herself against his chest. "You deserve the best things because you"re such a wonderful person. I"d give you more things without any complaints. I"m only afraid that they won"t be good enough."
Yan Beicheng suddenly felt that his fingers were getting warmer. He embraced her tightly and said, "It"s more than enough."
He lowered his head and gazed at her smooth and s.h.i.+ny forehead. He could not help but plant a kiss on the top. "You"ve already given yourself to me. That"s the best present."
Lin Chu could not help but laugh. She nodded and shamelessly said, "Indeed."
Yan Beicheng raised his eyebrows. "When did you become so full of yourself?"
The corners of Lin Chu"s eyes jolted upward. She briefly glanced at him before she jabbed his chest with her finger. "But don"t you agree with me?"
Her gaze appeared to be ambiguous, but her eyes were filled with emotion. Yan Beicheng"s heart melted when she stared at him. He firmly nodded. "Yes, I do."
"Then I was right. I wasn"t being full of myself because I was just telling the truth," said Lin Chu before she gently nibbled him on his chest.
The couple did not dare to spend too much time arguing with each other. Lin Chu did not want to be extremely late for work while Yan Beicheng"s tasks were piling up as well.
Both of them merely teased each other for a while before they got up and hurriedly got themselves ready. Yan Beicheng drove on the way back. Lin Chu felt much better when she was a pa.s.senger instead of the driver.
Yan Ningbai"s birthday was this Sunday. Lin Chu woke up bright and early. She had even dragged Yan Beicheng along.
Last night, Lin Chu instructed Yan Beicheng to put Yan Ningbai"s present in the trunk of the car beforehand. She was worried that she would forget to bring it when they left. Yan Beicheng was unwilling to budge until Lin Chu gave him a rather firm kick in the end. He reluctantly took the present outside after that.
Lin Chu wanted to arrive early at the orphanage to help them with the preparations. Yan Ningbai had always gotten along well with the little children in the orphanage. That child was always popular with people because he was neither pampered nor arrogant. The other children also adored him because he never acted like a spoiled brat despite coming from a wealthy family.
The children longed to give him a present when they found out that it was his birthday. However, these children did not have any extra money. Lin Chu told them that to bake a big cake for Yan Ningbai instead.
The children were delighted to hear that hence Lin Chu ordered the ingredients for the cake in advance.
She did not have any experience in baking cakes because she was always busy with work back then. She was not in the mood to make Western-style cakes because she was not financially well-off either. This time, she bought a recipe book and the ingredients to bake a cake. The recipe book provided detailed explanations on how to bake various types of cakes, cookies, and bread.
Lin Chu experimented with several recipes because she had nothing else to do this week. During the first session, three of the semi-finished cakes ended up failing. She forced Yan Beicheng to eat all of them.
This week, Yan Beicheng"s complexion turned sickly whenever he saw a cake. He recalled how he was blessed with an amazing birthday recently. However, Lin Chu started torturing him the day after that.
It took a great deal of patience for Lin Chu to successfully bake a cake that was fluffy, soft, sweet enough, and looked beautiful on the surface as well. Yan Beicheng finally sighed in relief after that.
He felt slightly queasy when the taste of cake crossed his mind now.
He left the house with Lin Chu after they finished breakfast.
The two elders would be attending Yan Ningbai"s birthday as well. They decided to hold the birthday party in the afternoon because the children"s stamina would be an issue. They were worried that the kids would get too exhausted. They would let them play in the evening for a bit so that they could sleep early at night. They would need to go to school the next day as well.
Lin Chu had just spoken to Mo Jinxi and several other children on the phone last night. The children had enthusiastically decorated the dining room and hall last night. They used the materials that their school usually provided for art cla.s.s. Everyone brought some of those materials while the old princ.i.p.al went to buy some as well.
Although their decorations seem slightly rough, they had certainly put a lot of thought into it.
Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng arrived while it was still very early, but they noticed that the atmosphere in the hall was already very lively just as they entered. The birthday boy Yan Ningbai was not here yet, but the sofa and tea table were already littered with ribbons that were glued together. They had even tied some of those ribbons into flowers.
The old princ.i.p.al was currently moving a ladder outside. She hurriedly moved the ladder aside and welcomed Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu when she saw them enter.
"Why are you here so early?" The old princ.i.p.al smiled as she asked.
"I promised Jinxi and the others that I would come to bake the cake with them. I came slightly earlier because I was worried that it would be time-consuming," said Lin Chu. She glanced at the ladder that the old princ.i.p.al had just put aside. "I also wanted to see if you needed me to help with anything else. Why are you bringing the ladder outside?"
"I wanted to hang these ribbons up," explained the old princ.i.p.al. "The children made them on their own."
"I"ll do it." Yan Beicheng took his jacket off before he unb.u.t.toned his s.h.i.+rt cuffs. He pinched his cuffs with his long bony fingers before he folded it several times to reveal his muscular and attractive arms.
The old princ.i.p.al did not hold back around him. She waited for Yan Beicheng to arrange the ladder properly before climbing up. The old princ.i.p.al stood at the bottom and a.s.sisted him by pa.s.sing him the ribbons.
Meanwhile, several children rushed toward Lin Chu.
"Chu Chu, did you bring the ingredients for the cake?" They sounded extremely excited.
They were usually very excited during their birthdays because they could eat a big cake that was both beautiful and delicious. When they heard that they were baking their cake this time, the children were so happy that they only slept for a short while last night.
Lin Chu was holding a large bag in each of her hands. She shook them in front of the children"s eyes and said, "I"ve brought everything."
Mo Jinxi and s.h.i.+ Tou"s eyes lit up instantly. They hurriedly tried to take the bags from her.
"I"ll carry the bags because they"re heavy," said Lin Chu. She did not allow the two children to carry them.
s.h.i.+ Tou patted his chest. "We"re big strong men! We can carry them!"
Mo Jinxi firmly nodded as well. "We train our bodies every day."
However, he was worried that Lin Chu did not believe him. He rolled up his sleeve to reveal his smooth white skinny arm before he firmly flexed it. "Chu Chu, look. I have muscles!"
Unfortunately, there was only an una.s.suming b.u.mp there. It could not even be considered as a little hill. Rather, it only looked like a tiny mound of soil at most.
Lin Chu smiled as she placed the bags on the ground. "Alright, both of you can try and see."
Mo Jinxi and s.h.i.+ Tou walked toward the bags. Both of them reached their hands out and took one of the bags in front of them. They used all of their strength to lift the bags, but their arms swayed as they carried them to the kitchen.
Lin Chu laughed when she saw how both of them were acting. She trailed behind them until they reached the kitchen. After that, Lin Chu took the bags and put them on the table.
She prepared the ingredients before she started to separate the egg whites. She followed the measurements as she mixed the flour and eggs.
She placed the cream inside the fridge to chill it. Once the cake was baked, she would take it out of the oven to let it cool down. She would cover the cake in cream after that.
As this was a homemade cake, she would not use any food coloring. Lin Chu bought some chocolate sauce to decorate the cake. A homemade cake would not look so colorful, exquisite, or beautiful on the outside. Nonetheless, it was made with more care.
Once she had prepared these things, Lin Chu did not do anything else. She pa.s.sed the tools to the children and allowed them to put the cream on the cake. She could not do everything on her own. After all, the children wanted to give Yan Ningbai this cake as a present together.
Several children stood at the sidelines and widened their eyes while they stared all this while. They begged Lin Chu, saying, "Chu Chu, please let us do some of the work!"
The children stepped forward and spread the cream all over the cake together. They iced the cake with a thick layer of cream because they liked the taste of it. It did not look particularly beautiful, but Lin Chu thought that it looked nicer than those expensive cakes.
After that, they used chocolate icing to write some words on the cake. When it was time to write Yan Ningbai"s name, they copied the characters according to the words that Lin Chu had written down in advance. Every part of his name was written by a different person. In the end, Yan Ningbai"s name was written by three people in shaky handwriting.
Lin Chu mixed the leftover cream with some fruits to make a dessert for them. She placed the cake in the fridge to chill it.
Qi Chengzhi and the others arrived one after another when it was slightly past ten o"clock.
Wei Ziqi brought Wei Muran and Wei Muche along. Wei Muche was two years old now. He wobbled when he walked.
Lin Chu turned her head and looked over when she heard a noise coming from the entrance. The first thing that she saw was a little fluffy brown bear that was wobbling as it walked inside. When she took a closer look, she realized that it was Wei Muche.
Lin Chu wondered where Wei Ran had bought this little bear onesie for him. It was fluffy and he looked like a little teddy bear at first glance. Wei Muche looked extremely adorable and cuddly when he wore it because he was chubby. His little face was almost completely covered when the oversized hood of his outfit was worn over his head. The hood resembled a little teddy bear"s face because there were two round bear"s ears sticking out on top.
The old princ.i.p.al adored him very much when she saw him waddling inside. She narrowed her eyes when she smiled, but her gaze never left Wei Muche.
Wei Muche"s chubby little round face was still rosy. He politely greeted the old princ.i.p.al without needing Wei Ran to remind him. "h.e.l.lo, granny."
The old princ.i.p.al happily carried Wei Muche. She affectionately kissed him while asking him questions about himself.
Wei Muche turned to Lin Chu and said, "h.e.l.lo auntie."
Lin Chu had previously met Wei Ziqi and his family when Yan Beicheng took her to meet Qi Chengzhi and the others.
However, she did not leave a strong impression on Wei Muche. When the family was on their way here, Wei Ran told her son that he would see a young woman who was around the same age as her. She reminded him to greet that woman because she was Uncle Yan"s girlfriend.
After that, Wei Muran walked inside and greeted the a.d.u.l.ts in a sweet voice.
Another child"s voice could be heard just as Wei Muran finished speaking. "Mu Mu!"
When everyone turned their heads, they saw Qi Youxuan hastily rus.h.i.+ng inside. He held Wei Muran"s little hands while Wei Ziqi looked on sternly. He was not concerned about Wei Ziqi"s fierce gaze at all.
Lin Chu could not stop herself from mentally giving Qi Youxuan a thumbs up.
He was such a brave child!
After that, Qi Youjin who was only slightly over a year old shakily crawled inside. He looked like a little bun.
He nearly tripped when he walked past the doorway. Fortunately, his hands managed to touch the ground in time. He crawled back up and naively laughed twice before he continued walking inside.
He walked past Wei Muche who was currently clinging to the tea table as he was trying to take an apple and eat it. It seemed that the cute "teddy bear" had caught his attention. Qi Youjin drooled and foolishly laughed as he pounced on him and gave him a firm bear hug.
He roughly collided against Wei Muche who was unaware at that time. He ended up hitting his chest against the corner of the tea table.
Fortunately, the little bear outfit was soft and thick enough to prevent him from getting hurt during the collision.
The a.d.u.l.ts burst out laughing when they saw the stunned look on Wei Muche"s round face.
Wei Muche felt very suspicious. He wondered what was so funny before he realized that they were probably laughing at him. He blushed as he felt very embarra.s.sed now. He used his little white paws to drag his hood down to cover his tiny face. After that, he kneeled to prevent the crowd from looking at him.
He initially looked cute and chubby as he was dressed up like a little bear. When he kneeled now, he instantly became a little ball of flesh that surprised Qi Youjin.
Chu Xi dashed out suddenly. It immediately rushed over enthusiastically when it saw the fluffy ball. It sniffed every inch of Wei Muche and used its paws to tug at him.
Wei Muche raised his head to look when he heard the huffing noise that Chu Xi made as it panted. Chu Xi instantly pounced on him and excitedly licked his face for some time.
Wei Muche had short limbs. He was utterly dumbfounded when the dog pounced on him, but he looked really amusing.
Chu Xi had never bitten anyone and it was always friendly toward people. Lin Chu always felt at ease around Chu Xi, but she was still worried that Chu Xi could be naive. As Wei Ziqi and Wei Ran were unfamiliar with Chu Xi, they might be afraid that Chu Xi would harm Wei Muche. Lin Chu hurriedly went over to pull Chu Xi away.
Wei Ran had already teared up from laughing too much. She waved her hand and said, "Lin Chu, don"t worry. It"s fine to let them play as long as they don"t get hurt."
Lin Chu left them alone after hearing that.
She watched as Chu Xi reluctantly released Wei Muche. The child rolled away before he crawled up. There was a dumbfounded look on his face. Wei Ran rocked back and forth with laughter before she instantly fell against Wei Ziqi"s chest in the end.
Wei Ziqi helplessly held Wei Ran with an amused look on his face while the woman giggled quietly.
When Wei Muche noticed that his mother was laughing at him, he hastily ran over at once. His round fleshy body crawled into Wei Ran"s embrace as he wanted to protest.
It seemed like he was having a terribly hard time clambering up as he could not climb up at all. Wei Ran"s thighs faintly hurt when Wei Muche"s little paws pressed against them.
When Wei Ziqi saw this, he pulled Wei Muche into his arms and placed him on his lap before he hugged him. "You"re hurting your mommy."
"Mommy was laughing at me!" said Wei Muche in an extremely troubled tone.
"Oh no, I wasn"t laughing at you. I was just really happy when I saw that my son was so cute. I"m only laughing because I liked how you looked." Wei Ran stroked the fluffy hood that he was wearing on his head.
"See, everyone is only laughing because you"re too cute," said Wei Ran.
The old princ.i.p.al"s heard had melted because Wei Muche was too adorable. She frenziedly nodded and said, "Yes, yes."
Wei Muche felt slightly better now. However, Wei Ran could not stop herself from giggling when she saw the silly look on his face.
Wei Muche refused to believe anything that Wei Ran said now. His embarra.s.sment turned into anger as he said, "You… You"re laughing at me again! You"re bullying your son!"
"No, I"m not." Wei Ran hurriedly carried Wei Muche and consoled her son as he pouted his little lips.
It was not an easy task to cheer Wei Muche up. She watched as Chu Xi ran over and stood before them. It placed one of its front paws on Wei Ran"s knee while using its other paw to tug at Wei Muche.
Wei Muche widened his round black eyes. When he noticed how Chu Xi was persistently anxious, he forgot his gloomy feelings and started becoming naively happy again. He felt that there was finally something else that was more foolish than himself.
Wei Ran planted a quick kiss on Wei Muche"s pink cheeks that resembled dumplings. "Do you want to play with Chu Xi?"
Wei Muche smiled as he reached his little hands out to stroke Chu Xi"s head. He crawled down from Wei Ran"s lap before he walked around the tea table with Chu Xi and went to the open s.p.a.ce in front.
Chu Xi wagged its tail and twisted its waist as it rubbed its backside against him. Wei Muche could not stop laughing. His clear laughter that sounded like a bra.s.s bell was sweet-sounding and pleasant to the ear. Qi Youxuan and Wei Muran followed him outside to play with Chu Xi as well.
Yan Huaian and Yu Zi came with Yan Ningbai when it was slightly past eleven o"clock. Xiao Deng drove Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan here as well.
Lin Chu explained that Old Lady Yan was the elderly woman who had given her money to buy the children a meal before the new year. After that, the children had made a greeting card and sent it to her.
The children came over immediately to thank Old Lady Yan politely.
Old Lady Yan"s heart was filled with fondness for the children when she saw that they were extremely obedient and mature. She instantly took out the red packets that she had prepared earlier. She had already known that she would greatly trouble other people by having a birthday party in the orphanage. Moreover, the children here were also very pitiful.
Old Lady Yan had prepared red packets in advance for their first meeting. "All of you are good children. Granny wants to give you some red packets."
The children excitedly and firmly shook their heads. Their cheeks instantly turned red before they hid behind s.h.i.+ Tou. Mo Jinxi came forward and said, "Granny, we can"t accept that."
"It"s alright, there isn"t a lot of money inside. Granny just wants to give you a present as this is our first meeting. Your schoolmates usually buy snacks during break time in school so you can do that too," said Old Lady Yan while beaming.
Mo Jinxi still felt slightly reluctant. However, the old princ.i.p.al felt that Old Lady Yan knew her limits. As she said that this was merely pocket money, she would not give the children too much cash. The old princ.i.p.al said, "You should accept the money from granny because it"s a token from her."
She did not give them any other instructions because she trusted that the children would not waste this money.
Only then did the little children accept the money and thank Old Lady Yan.
Yan Zhiqing did not show up. Lin Chu a.s.sumed that Yan Zhiqing was unwilling to come because she looked down on the orphanage.
If she came, she would only be a downer because she did not know the people in the orphanage. It was better that she was not here.
Yan Ningbai politely and happily greeted his elders before he went to look for his friends and playmates immediately.
The cake was already in the fridge because Mo Jinxi and the other children had finished decorating it. They came outside to join Yan Ningbai who was playing with Chu Xi.
When Lin Chu noticed that it was almost time for the event to start, she told the children to wash their hands first while she took the cake out. Sheng Yue"s head chef had brought along several of his apprentices earlier. They had cooked various dishes in the kitchen here.
They had set up a small-scale buffet line on the spot. The doorbell rang just as the cake was placed on the table.
Lin Chu curiously glanced at Yu Zi as all of the guests were already here. Was there anyone else who had yet to arrive?
Yu Zi blinked at her because this was very suspicious. She got up to open the door.
Yan Zhiqing and an unfamiliar young woman were standing at the doorway. Although she had taken good care of herself, that woman looked significantly older than Yan Zhiqing. Judging from the overall manner that she carried herself, it appeared that she was almost thirty years old.
After all, she was a lawyer who had seen many things. She was slightly more experienced than Lin Chu because she was older than her. Her gaze was sharper than Lin Chu"s as well.
Lin Chu could not guess Lu Weining"s age when the latter first arrived in Ding City, but Yu Zi could tell how old she was at first glance.
The woman before her was very shrewd. Yan Zhiqing was standing with her, but she couldn"t hide that fact.
Yu Zi disliked that woman from the first moment she laid eyes on her. She knew that a person who could befriend Yan Zhiqing and become close friends with her was not much better.
Yu Zi did not make her feelings known. She politely welcomed the two women inside instead.
However, Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan"s expressions instantly changed when they caught a glimpse of Lu Weining.
Yan Zhiqing hurriedly explained, "Grandfather, grandmother, this is Big Sister Lu. She also lives in Ning City like me. Big Sister Lu has always taken good care of me. She recently came to B City to work. I brought her here today because she doesn"t know many people."
Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan gloomily glanced at Yan Zhiqing. Although Yan Zhiqing did not know about the incident that happened in the past, they had already clearly stated their feelings toward Lu Weining at the mansion that day. Their hatred for her was also extremely obvious. In spite of everything, Yan Zhiqing still brought Lu Weining here today.
The two elders were clearly upset. Could it be that Lu Weining was more important to Yan Zhiqing than her own family?
Why was Yan Zhiqing treating them like this?
Old Lady Yan had no idea whether Lu Weining knew about the previous incident. Nonetheless, today was Yan Ningbai"s birthday. She could not let the child"s party be ruined just because of Lu Weining. She was also worried about scaring the numerous children who were present.
Old Lady Yan wanted to chase Lu Weining out immediately, but she was afraid of causing a huge commotion that would ruin Yan Ningbai"s birthday. She was forced to restrain herself.
Unfortunately, she hated to look directly at Lu Weining. Old Lady Yan coldly glanced at Yan Zhiqing and said, "Zhiqing, come with me for a moment."
Yan Zhiqing briefly glanced in Yan Beicheng"s direction. A few of the men who had gathered there were chatting with each other now. Wei Zilin was part of that little group. She was only staring at Wei Zilin as he casually laughed quietly. His distinct, long fingers were wrapped around a cup. It was merely one of the orphanage"s extremely plain gla.s.ses, but it looked exquisitely beautiful in his hand. It had seemingly become an expensive item in an instant.
Wei Zilin had on a gentle smile as he chatted. He did not even glance at her when she arrived. It seemed that he did not notice her at all. Yan Zhiqing felt slightly frustrated and resentful as she followed Old Lady Yan to the orphanage"s backyard.
"What"s going on today? Why did you bring Lu Weining here when you"re fully aware that we hate her? Are you trying to ruin this nice birthday celebration for Ningbai?" Old Lady Yan coldly interrogated her just as they entered the backyard.
"Grandmother, how could you say that about me? I wanted to bring Big Sister Lu here to have fun," replied Yan Zhiqing.
Yan Zhiqing"s expression made it seem like she was being treated unjustly. When Old Lady Yan saw this, she simply wanted to cut her skull open to see what exactly was inside.
Hatred stirred in the depths of Old Lady Yan"s heart when she heard Yan Zhiqing speaking about Lu Weining so fondly.
"Young lady, what is wrong with you? You"re surrounded by friends and family today. Why did you bring Lu Weining here when she has nothing to do with our family? You"re fully aware that our whole family dislikes her. Are you trying to upset all of us just for her sake? Zhiqing, you"re a member of the Yan Family, not the Lu Family! Could it be that you secretly think that the feelings of your family members are less important than the feelings of an outsider like Lu Weining?" Old Lady Yan sternly glared at Yan Zhiqing.
She was honestly quite hurt by Yan Zhiqing"s actions.
"That"s not true." Yan Zhiqing had lived for so many years, but this was only the second time that she had seen Old Lady Yan behaving in such a stern and terrifying manner.
It happened the first time when Yan Zhiqing previously visited Old Lady Yan with Jiang Changdai. However, Yan Zhiqing did not feel terribly pressured because Old Lady Yan"s fiery rage was directed at Jiang Changdai back then.
Yan Zhiqing and Old Lady Yan were the only two people in the yard today. Yan Zhiqing was so nervous that she did not even dare to move now.
She summoned up her courage and stepped forward. She held Old Lady Yan"s arm and affectionately said, "Grandmother, I think that Big Sister Lu is innocent no matter what. All of you dislike the Lu Family so it"s unfortunate that her last name is Lu. However, you can"t blame her for those a.d.u.l.t matters. Big Sister Lu is very kind. You"ll agree once you"ve gotten to know her."
Old Lady Yan coldly withdrew her arm from Yan Zhiqing"s grasp. "A.d.u.l.t matters? What a.d.u.l.t matters?"
Yan Zhiqing"s scalp tingled when Old Lady Yan glared at her. Suddenly, she was secretly filled with extreme fear. She had no idea why Old Lady Yan was looking at her this way. She innocently said, "Grandmother, please don"t look at me this way. Your gaze is scaring me. Is this because… Is this because my mother and Uncle Lu are in a relations.h.i.+p with each other now? My mother is unmarried now, and so is Uncle Lu. I"m not against their relations.h.i.+p. I"m delighted because my mother has found happiness. Grandmother, I know that you still think of my mother as one of the Yan Family"s daughters-in-law. That"s why you"re secretly unhappy that she"s with another man now. However, my mother has already been alone for so many years. Once I had seen this, I hoped that she could find someone to accompany once again. I wanted someone to live with her because I didn"t want to see her all alone. As my brother never came to Ning City to visit her, she…"
"That"s enough!" Old Lady Yan was disgusted. She cut her off because she could not bear to listen anymore.
She glanced at Yan Zhiqing. That was her granddaughter, but Old Lady Yan nearly called the young woman before her an idiot!
However, Yan Zhiqing still insisted that she was being perfectly reasonable. She felt that her actions made her look magnanimous and open-minded. She could stand in someone else"s shoes and understand the situation from their point of view because she was very concerned about others. She was unlike Old Lady Yan who was completely unable to empathize with other people because she only cared about herself.
Yan Zhiqing thought that Old Lady Yan was an extremely irrational person. Despite her advanced age, she was still very narrow-minded.
Old Lady Yan had angrily scolded Yan Zhiqing. She also looked at the younger woman as though she was a fool. Deep down, Yan Zhiqing felt deeply troubled.
"Grandmother, why can"t you empathize with her? My mother has been suffering all these years. As for Big Sister Lu, she…"
Yan Zhiqing tried to patiently persuade and convince Old Lady Yan, but the elderly woman was enraged now. "I don"t care about who your mother is dating, as long as she"s not with the man from the Lu Family! I told you last time that she"s not a member of the Yan Family. She"s free to be with anyone aside from that man whose last name is Lu. I wouldn"t bat an eyelid if she had a different partner every day!"
"Grandmother! How could you say that? My mother isn"t a… She"s not a loose woman!" said Yan Zhiqing indignantly.
"Shut up!" spat Old Lady Yan. This was the last straw. "Stop talking about this! Don"t act like a know-it-all when you don"t know anything. Listen to me, you"re not allowed to bring Lu Weining to see us anymore. Otherwise, don"t blame me if I humiliate her in public."
How could Jiang Changdai be considered as anything but a loose woman? Not only was she a loose woman, but she had also ruined her family as well!
"Grandmother…"
"I"m surprised that you"re still referring to me as your grandmother." Old Lady Yan widened her eyes. She usually had a kind face, but the Old Lady of one of the Eight Dominant Families was not easily bullied.
When Old Lady Yan truly behaved fiercely, Su Changxin simply looked like a joke in comparison to her.
"You were fully aware that our whole family doesn"t like her, yet you brought her to Ningbai"s birthday party to upset us. Do you consider the Lu Family as your real family?" said Old Lady Yan sternly with a serious look on her face.
Yan Zhiqing was upset. Once Old Lady Yan had finished saying those unpleasant things, she used a gentler tone and said, "Zhiqing, why didn"t you consider our feelings? Perhaps none of us told you the exact details about the things in the past, but you should have thought about why we despised the members of the Lu Family so much. Would we have refused to forgive them if it was merely a minor mistake? The Yan Family is very tolerant. Do you think that you"re the only broad-minded person here? You"re not a little girl anymore. You"re an eighteen-year-old a.d.u.l.t. You should know why we reacted so strongly. Why didn"t you try to think about why we acted this way?"
Old Lady Yan could tell from Yan Zhiqing"s expression that the younger woman thought that her family was completely unreasonable. She felt that Old Lady Yan was merely giving her excuses. Old Lady Yan felt a stifling feeling in her heart.
It was inevitable for someone to feel troubled and angry when they argued with someone else. Worse still, they would feel depressed if it seemed like they were unable to get through to an idiot. This was an intolerable feeling.
"In any case, it"s Ningbai"s birthday today. I don"t want our argument to upset everyone and leave Ningbai with bad memories. You must put on a good face and look happy when you go back there. Don"t do anything that will make everyone else feel embarra.s.sed," said Old Lady Yan sternly.
Yan Zhiqing"s eyes were bloodshot and filled with tears. She whined, "Grandmother, why are you suddenly like this? You used to love me so much. You were always so nice and kind to me. You"ve never spoken harshly or even raise your voice at me in the past. However, ever since my brother and Lin Chu started dating, it seems like it"s suddenly impossible for me to please you. You get upset no matter what I do. What happened exactly? Did Lin Chu poison you so that you"d stop caring about your granddaughter for her sake?"
Old Lady Yan was so furious that she nearly mentioned something else in her next breath. Her face was flushed with rage. She was barely able to steady herself after taking several deep breaths. "You invited Lu Weining here today without informing us at all. What does that have to do with Lin Chu? We would welcome you to come here and celebrate Ningbai"s birthday. Don"t you understand any of the things that I"ve just said? I"m only upset because of Lu Weining. You"ve only exchanged a few words with Lin Chu because you"ve only met each other twice. Why would she need to convince me of anything? What would she say about you? This has nothing to do with Lin Chu today. I"ve been talking to you about Lu Weining from beginning to end. Why are you dragging Lin Chu into this?"
Yan Zhiqing refused to back down. She wanted to say something, but the words could not escape her lips.
Old Lady Yan was increasingly disappointed with her. She merely said, "You"re an a.d.u.l.t now. You should be able to differentiate between good and bad. You should know what"s right and what"s wrong. Everyone knows which person deserves to be their friend, but you don"t. You should be able to distinguish between sincerity and insincerity at the very least. Why can"t you do that? I"m going to leave you to your own devices if you willingly choose to be friends with Lu Weining. There"s no point in saying anything else. You may even bear a grudge against your grandmother for Lu Weining"s sake."
"Grandmother, I"m not an idiot. I"m a good judge of character. Yes, I know that all of you like Lin Chu, but I dislike her. She doesn"t deserve to be with my brother. You think that I"m not good at judging people, but I think that the rest of you have been tricked!" retorted Yan Zhiqing.
Yan Zhiqing"s stubbornness had mentally and physically exhausted Old Lady Yan. She did not want to argue with her granddaughter anymore. "Alright, alright. You"re a good judge of character, unlike the rest of us. We were tricked by Lin Chu, but you realized everything. The rest of us are blind, but you saw through all of it! You"ve understood everything that I told you today. It"s none of my business if you like Lu Weining, but you don"t have to think of a way to matchmake her and Beicheng. Neither Beicheng nor the rest of us would agree to that, so don"t waste your time. You shouldn"t bring Lu Weining to us either. Otherwise, you can"t blame us for refusing to respect her. We"ll humiliate both of you when the time comes. It seems that you"re very concerned about your friends.h.i.+p with Lu Weining. Please don"t let your relations.h.i.+p with us ruin your friends.h.i.+p with Lu Weining."
Old Lady Yan had changed her tactics. She made Yan Zhiqing sound like a hypocrite when she put it this way.