YPHC Chapter 80

“…”

 

Yan Jie opened his mouth and dropped a series of shocking bombshells, pitiful for the two elderly people who, at their advanced age, had to be frightened like this by their own son.

 

The room was terrifyingly quiet for a moment, with no one speaking. Yan Jie was waiting for Yan Rulü and Qin Xueru’s response, while the other two were processing the information their brains had just unexpectedly received.

 

After a long while, Qin Xueru took a deep breath, threw her handbag onto the sofa, and walked over to sit down heavily. Yan Rulü’s face looked worse than before, but he also said nothing, just silently followed and sat down next to Qin Xueru with his arms crossed.

 

With these two imposing figures sitting there, Yan Jie scratched his head and sighed tiredly.

 

He walked over and knelt on the carpet in front of his parents, just short of tying two thorny branches to his back to show his determination and attitude.

 

“What did you say?”

 

After quite a while, Qin Xueru seemed to finally adjust her mood and asked, suppressing her anger:

 

“You’re saying you found a man as your partner?”

 

“Yes.” Yan Jie nodded gravely.

 

“Kid, are you deliberately trying to upset your parents? Do you think we’re too healthy and want to send us underground at a good time to be reborn?”

 

“No, really no, how can you say such things? I really like him, truly! I originally planned to lay more groundwork for you two before telling the truth, but who would have thought you would suddenly show up at my door? I certainly can’t lie to you, right? Might as well just admit it.”

 

Yan Jie cleared his throat and began to present his viewpoint:

 

“I think some things don’t need to be so rigid about gender. Dating a man or dating a woman isn’t that different, right? After all, it’s about finding someone to spend your life with. Life is just a few decades, finding a companion should be about finding the one you like most and prefer most, don’t you think?”

 

“Don’t give me your twisted reasoning!”

 

Qin Xueru’s voice rose several pitches. Seeing this, Yan Rulü quickly rummaged through her bag, found a small fan, opened it, and fanned her while glaring angrily at Yan Jie:

 

“Don’t upset your mother!”

 

“I’m not upset, I’m not upset, we’re just discussing, right? Come on, opposing debater, whatever opinions you have, let’s boldly put them forward and debate.”

 

“Do we need to debate? Do you think this is appropriate, Yan Jie? You finding a man to spend your life with, how will others see you?”

 

“As you said, they’re outsiders. How they see me has nothing to do with me, right? I live my own life well, why should I care about them?”

 

“What about children?” Qin Xueru patted the armrest of the sofa:

 

“Can you two have children? Without children, what will you do in the future?”

 

Yan Jie spread his hands:

 

“Even if I married a woman, some people choose not to have children. I love him and want to spend a lifetime with him. This is between the two of us, what does it have to do with children? If in the future we really want a little one for company, there are so many poor children in the world without parents. We could adopt one, why must we have our own?”

 

“You make it sound so easy! You adopt a child, do you know who their parents are? Do you know what their genes are like, if they have any hereditary diseases? Do you know if their biological parents might come back after a few years asking for the child? Then what will you do, give the child back or not?”

 

“Well, yes, there are so many problems, so let’s just not have one. Isn’t that simpler?”

 

“You…” Qin Xueru was at a loss for words:

 

“Have you thought about this: after a few decades, when your father and I are gone, and you’re old too, who will inherit our family business? Who will continue it?”

 

“Our family doesn’t have an imperial throne. Even emperors know to pick a child from a side branch when they have no heir.” Yan Jie smiled:

 

“Besides, who can predict the future? Maybe I’ll squander all my assets before I die, and then we won’t have this worry at all. If it comes to that, here’s a plan: when Fat Fish and his wife have children, if they have two, one can inherit his estate and one can inherit mine. If they only have one, that child gets both shares! His mother is as close to you as a real sister, so giving it to their child isn’t like giving it to outsiders. It’s keeping the wealth in the family.”

 

Yan Jie’s words were jumbled, but not entirely without reason.

 

Qin Xueru fell into silence, and after a long while, just sighed heavily, as if she had lost all her strength:

 

“This isn’t a small matter, child.”

 

“I know, Mom. I’m a grown man, not a child anymore. I understand the weight of some things, and when I make a decision, it’s after serious consideration. I was the one who pursued him, I was the one who insisted on dating him. He didn’t mind me disrupting his life, didn’t mind that I’m a man, didn’t mind that I can’t have children or give him a ‘normal’ family setup. How could I be so picky with him? Him being willing to date me is my honor.”

 

“No matter how old you are, in your mother’s eyes, you’ll always be a child!”

 

After saying this, Qin Xueru fell silent again, this time for an especially quiet and long period.

 

Until she raised her hand, grabbed a tissue box nearby, and threw it at Yan Jie’s shoulder in frustration.

 

Yan Jie picked up the tissue box and placed it back beside Qin Xueru:

 

“Go ahead, throw it. As long as it makes you feel better, you can beat me into a gingerbread man if you want.”

 

“Stop talking nonsense!”

 

Qin Xueru picked up the tissue box and waved it at his smiling face, but ultimately couldn’t bring herself to throw it.

 

When she spoke again, her tone wasn’t pleasant, but she asked:

 

“Who is it exactly? Is it that Jiang Nan’an?”

 

“Yes, it’s him. How could you guess? Amazing! Detective Conan, Charlotte Holmes, Sherlock!”

 

“Get lost! You think I can’t see through your little schemes? Am I blind?”

 

Qin Xueru gritted her teeth:

 

“Tell me, what exactly do you see in him?”

 

“There’s so much. He’s both interesting and beautiful. In this world, those more interesting than him aren’t as beautiful, and those more beautiful than him… guess what? They don’t exist! If someone were as beautiful and as interesting as him, they definitely wouldn’t be as endearing. Ah, to think such a perfect person exists in the world, and I found him-it’s a bit exciting just thinking about it.”

 

“All you do is talk smooth with that glib tongue of yours!”

 

Qin Xueru rolled her eyes, then silently struggled with herself for a while before finally compromising:

 

“Get up already, why are you kneeling there?… Where is he? Let me meet him.”

 

Yan Jie was slightly taken aback, realizing that Qin Xueru had accepted.

 

In their family, Qin Xueru always made the decisions, and as long as his wife agreed, Yan Rulü generally wouldn’t object.

 

This meant that on this beautiful morning, he had easily passed his parents’ approval, resolving his baby’s concerns and being able to give him a solid guarantee.

 

Yan Jie had originally thought this would be a prolonged battle, but he hadn’t expected his parents to accept his choice so quickly. Beyond happiness, what he felt more strongly was gratitude.

 

He didn’t get up from the ground, but instead changed his position, sitting cross-legged in front of his parents.

 

After thinking for a moment, he said:

 

“Ah, not today. Can’t meet him.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because although you two have come to terms with it, I haven’t said anything to him yet. If I suddenly call him over to meet the elders, he’d probably be startled. He has a complex way of thinking with many thoughts. Let me go back and talk to him, then we can find a suitable time together to properly meet, okay?”

 

Qin Xueru pursed her lips: “You’re really considerate of him.”

 

“Of course! Both sides are important people to me, so neither side can be slighted.” Yan Jie smiled at Qin Xueru:

 

“Thank you, Mom, Dad.”

 

Qin Xueru looked at him for a while, sighed softly, as if making a decision, and was about to remove the bracelet from her wrist, but then remembered that a young man wouldn’t need such a thing.

 

So she turned her gaze to Yan Rulü beside her:

 

“Are you wearing anything?”

 

“?” Yan Rulü looked at himself: “What kind of thing?”

 

Qin Xueru looked Yan Rulü up and down, feeling that there truly wasn’t much worth taking from this man as a presentable gift.

 

Finding a male partner made things complicated-she didn’t know what would be an appropriate gift:

 

“Hey, is that watch new? Limited edition? You just found it and put it on before going out today, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Take it off.” Qin Xueru extended her hand to Yan Rulü, displaying her queenly demeanor.

 

Yan Rulü didn’t dare to be angry or speak up, he just silently removed his watch and placed it in Qin Xueru’s palm.

 

Qin Xueru examined the watch for a moment, then handed it to Yan Jie:

 

“Since we’ve come all this way, even if we don’t meet him, the gift should be appropriate to show our attitude. This visit was sudden and we weren’t prepared, so we’ll give him a proper meeting gift next time.”

 

After saying this, she also took out a thick red envelope from her bag:

 

“A red envelope, also for him.”

 

“Wow, how generous! I’m jealous.” Yan Jie accepted the gifts with a smile:

 

“Thank you, thank you, sorry for the expense, Dad.”

 

Yan Rulü glared at him and turned away without responding.

 

Having traveled so far, the elderly couple couldn’t meet their son’s partner today and didn’t want to stay longer in his house that resembled post-war ruins. Additionally, although they had reluctantly accepted the situation, they still had some unresolved feelings. Qin Xueru found Yan Jie irritating, so after giving the gifts, she took her bag and her husband and left.

 

Yan Jie had thus smoothly resolved a major life event, feeling as if he were in a dream. He didn’t have the heart to clean the house anymore, so he just put his parents’ gifts in his pocket and went upstairs.

 

When he returned, Jiang Nan’an was already awake, sitting at the bar counter drinking coffee and reading a book.

 

“Hey, baby, you’re awake?”

 

“Mm.”

 

Jiang Nan’an saw him return, looked up at him, and asked:

 

“Did you finish tidying up downstairs?”

 

“No.”

 

“?”

 

“Didn’t get to it, there was a small interruption.”

 

“What?”

 

“My parents launched a surprise attack, they came to find me.”

 

“…” Jiang Nan’an’s movements paused slightly, and after a moment he responded:

 

“Oh.”

 

Yan Jie walked over and leaned against the bar counter, making himself a cup of coffee while listening to Jiang Nan’an ask:

 

“Should you go accompany them?”

 

“No need, they can go enjoy themselves. They don’t really want me tagging along and disturbing their world of two.” Yan Jie smiled at Jiang Nan’an, mysteriously adding:

 

“This time they came, I did something big!”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Can you guess?”

 

“Hung upside down from the doorframe to give visitors a surprise?”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

Yan Jie laughed and revealed the answer himself:

 

“I told them about us, and they accepted it.”

 

“?” Jiang Nan’an looked up at Yan Jie, seeming somewhat surprised.

 

After a pause, he asked:

 

“Didn’t you say this kind of thing shouldn’t be casually told to others?”

 

Previously at the production set, when he said “he is my boyfriend,” Yan Jie had been so frightened that he covered his mouth. Afterward, Yan Jie had a serious talk with him about it, telling him that for the sake of his career and other considerations, this information couldn’t be openly shared with everyone yet.

 

“Yes, but friends and family aren’t ‘others.’ For example, I’m very happy when you tell Xiao Sun, Teacher Sheng, Shanshan and them about us. Me telling my parents about this… it’s similar to you telling Sister Hong, wanting to receive blessings from those close to us, wanting them to accept us, so I told them.”

 

Jiang Nan’an nodded, as if he understood.

 

Seeing this, Yan Jie took out a red envelope and a watch from his pocket and placed them on the table:

 

“These are gifts from them for you. They originally thought I was dating a woman, so they were planning to give a jade bracelet, but when they found out it was a man, they couldn’t find a suitable gift right away, so they took my dad’s newly bought watch. It’s not very formal, but it’s a gesture of goodwill.”

 

Jiang Nan’an stared at the two items for a long time before looking away.

 

He gently pressed his lips together, lowered his head, and took a sip of coffee:

 

“No need.”

 

“Yes, need. They like you and approve of you, that’s why they’re giving you gifts.”

 

Yan Jie told him gently:

 

“They also really want to meet you. If you’re willing, I’ll arrange a time and take you to have a meal with them. Okay?”

 

Hearing this, Jiang Nan’an slowly curled his fingers, frowning slightly:

 

“Why?”

 

“What do you mean, why?”

 

“Why do they want to meet me?”

 

“Because you’re the partner I’ve chosen.”

 

“So what?”

 

Jiang Nan’an unconsciously crumpled the corner of the book:

 

“They are your parents, they have nothing to do with me.”

 

Yan Jie noticed that Jiang Nan’an’s state seemed a bit tense, but he didn’t know which of his words had made him feel uneasy.

 

He raised an eyebrow slightly, reached out to stroke Jiang Nan’an’s shoulder, his voice much softer:

 

“What’s wrong, Nan Nan?”

 

Is he worried about being put in a difficult position?

 

Yan Jie wasn’t sure, so he carefully reassured him:

 

“It’s okay, it’s fine. I’m their child, you’re the person I love, so naturally they’ll treat you like their own child, they’ll love you just as they love me, baby.”

 

After a pause, he added:

 

“It’s okay, it’s fine. If you don’t want to meet them now, then we can wait until you can accept it, until you feel it’s appropriate, until you want to meet them. There’s no rush. We don’t need to feel burdened, baby. They’re very nice people. Look at me, my parents’ personalities are quite similar to mine, very easy to get along with, otherwise they couldn’t have raised me, right?”

 

“…” Hearing Yan Jie’s words, Jiang Nan’an stiffened imperceptibly, anxiously gripping his fingers tightly to stop them from trembling.

 

He took a deep breath, his voice still relatively steady:

 

“…Right.”

 

After a moment of silence, he asked:

 

“Is dating always like this?”

 

“Like what?” Yan Jie raised an eyebrow slightly.

 

“Meeting parents and elders, joining the other person’s family?”

 

“I suppose so.”

 

“You’re looking forward to it?”

 

“A bit.”

 

“…”

 

Jiang Nan’an lowered his eyes, and after a long while, frowned and sighed with some struggle, his voice much lower:

 

“Then let’s forget it, Yan Jie.”

 

“What?” Yan Jie was stunned for a moment, not understanding what he meant.

 

“Let’s forget it, not continue. Not date anymore.”

 

Jiang Nan’an’s voice was somewhat strained, his fingers tightly clenched, knuckles turning white, breathing deeply with difficulty:

 

“…I don’t need these things you mentioned, and I can’t do it. I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”

 

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