Chapter 711 - 477: Guidance

In the tidy hospital room.

Chen Yuan tugged at the bedsheet with one hand, silently listening to Liu He nag him from across the room.

Mr. Chen sat at a nearby desk, polishing the glasses he’d worn for who-knows-how-many years. On the desk sat an exquisitely carved ivory Go board.

It was an expensive, far from ordinary, item.

It was after dinner now. Having spent a momentous afternoon together, the three of them were set to depart for Kyoto the morning after next.

This was the first time in who-knows-how-many years that this nominal "family" had all been together.

"Your birth father has only one son—you. He’ll certainly do everything he can to support you. He doesn’t expect you to achieve anything grand, but at the very least, you shouldn’t waste the resources he has—resources ordinary people can only dream of. Your father and I are getting old. We’re just teachers in a small county, so we can’t help you with the major decisions in life. We’ve fallen behind the times. So, wherever he tells you to go, you go. Don’t disappoint him or waste his kindness."

As she folded the bedsheets, Liu He seemed to remember something and added, "A businessman of his stature can see how times are changing. The lessons he teaches you will surely be the right ones."

Chen Yuan was a little surprised to hear her say this.

In the past, Liu He had always been afraid that he’d get too close to his birth father and forget his adoptive parents.

Today, however, she was acting completely out of character.

"Why bring this up all of a sudden?"

"You’re a grown man now, already making arrangements to get married. If I don’t give you this advice now, I don’t know when I’ll get the chance again."

"I keep in touch with him plenty. We just don’t have that much to talk about. You know he’s usually very busy."

"Even if he’s busy, you need to find opportunities to talk," Liu He said, smoothing out the bedsheet and looking up. "That’s how people grow close or drift apart. It’s always been this way. Don’t let him feel like his own son isn’t close to him."

"Alright, I know."

"Don’t just say you know. You need to take what I said to heart, not forget it the second I’m done talking."

"I won’t forget."

"Alright, go play Go with your dad. I’m going to return this hospital bedding."

"It’s fine, you can do it tomorrow."

"I’ll return it now. No point having it take up space in the room."

Hearing this, Chen Yuan said no more and let Liu He leave with the freshly folded bedding in her arms.

He pulled out a chair and sat down at the desk.

Looking at the Go board that was already set up, he said lightly,

"What’s gotten into Mom all of a sudden? She was so earnest, it’s making me feel all unsettled."

"Don’t pay it too much mind," Mr. Chen said, handing him a bowl of Go stones. "It’s less that she was lecturing you and more that she was talking to herself. She might seem overbearing and controlling, the type to argue a point even when she’s wrong, but deep down, she has a clearer sense of what’s right than anyone."

"How so?" Chen Yuan asked, puzzled.

"Do you remember this Go board?"

"I do."

"It’s a fine piece," Mr. Chen said, picking up a Go stone and rubbing it between his fingers. "Seven or eight years ago, Zhengfeng—your birth father—found out I love to play Go and gave this to me. Not only are the materials top-notch, but he also hired a master craftsman to do the carving. On my salary, I couldn’t have afforded this even if I worked for several years... Your birth father is a very good man."

When he saw that Chen Yuan didn’t seem particularly moved, he continued, "A man of his stature, every time he sees me—a simple teacher from a small county—he’s still so respectful. He even calls me his elder brother. That’s not just because I raised you. It’s a testament to his character."

"But Dad, your friends and the other teachers at school respect you a lot, too," Chen Yuan couldn’t help but point out.

"It’s different," Mr. Chen said with a faint smile, the wrinkles on his face deepening. "Zhengfeng is very respectful to your mother, too, even though she always acts hostile toward him and never gives him a pleasant look."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it’s always been like that."

Chen Yuan’s mind flooded with memories, from his childhood all the way to the present.

"She’s very sharp, but she has a big temper. If she’s angry, she won’t listen to reason, even if you’re right. You just have to wait for her to cool down and think things through, and she’ll come around easily... When you were little, Zhengfeng wanted to take you to Kyoto for a better education. Do you remember that?"

Chen Yuan thought for a moment.

Then it dawned on him.

"Of course I remember. Mom was so impulsive back then. She insisted she’d never let me leave, no matter who came to get me."

"But in the end, you were picked up and taken away."

"Oh, right."

"It didn’t take her long to see reason. If you stayed in Qishui County, what could you possibly achieve in life with the educational resources there? The world outside is so much bigger, countless times better than this rural backwater... Since she truly loves you and thinks of you as her own son, how could she bear to ruin your future?"

Chen Yuan mulled over his father’s words, a strange ripple spreading through his heart.

’It really does seem to be true.’

’Including how Liu He suddenly told him today to get closer to Jiang Zhengfeng.’

’But just a little while ago, when he first started college, the family had argued for a long time over buying a house. The root of it was Liu He’s insecurity, her feeling that her son was being stolen away from her. But now, it seemed she’d finally come to terms with it.’

He nodded. He suddenly had so many questions, but he didn’t know where to begin.

After all, he was on the verge of starting his own family.

The future.

’It’s such an ethereal word, something you can neither see nor touch. More importantly, once he was married, what would life actually be like?’

’Would it be the same as when they were living together in Lanjing?’

’Life, plans, compromises... truly treating the other person as your partner in destiny.’

’Or maybe he should first consider how to shoulder the responsibilities of a family, how to change the way he treated them...’

’If Jiang Ning were to marry him, would their relationship remain as formal and respectful as it was now, or would a true marriage change their dynamic?’

’And Jiang Yao still had such a girlish mindset. Was she really ready for marriage...?’

"I actually wanted to ask," Chen Yuan said after a moment of consideration, mentally rehearsing the words. "It’s about family. Everyone’s family is different... If I have a child, how do I explain to them that they have two grandfathers, or... two mothers?"

"You don’t need to explain. If they grow up in a loving family, they’ll come to understand everything on their own."

"Why?" Chen Yuan asked, stunned.

"It’s like..." As he spoke, even the crow’s feet at the corners of Mr. Chen’s eyes crinkled with a faint smile. "You never asked your mother and me why we never told you that you were adopted."

"That’s because—"

He stopped mid-sentence, a sudden light of understanding flashing in his eyes.

’In that instant, he understood.’

"I get it now, Dad."

Mr. Chen held a Go stone, which gleamed faintly in the warm light. He hadn’t made a single move on the board, his focus entirely on his conversation with Chen Yuan.

They weren’t related by blood, but in the eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Chen, that didn’t matter at all.

A father is a father, and a son is a son.

It’s a bond forged by life.

It can’t be defined simply by the blood flowing in one’s veins.

"I don’t think we’ve had a quiet talk like this since your junior year of high school," Mr. Chen said, overcome with a bit of emotion. "In the blink of an eye, you’re all grown up."

"Yeah, I think that was when Mom and I were fighting about which college to choose, and you came to my room."

"You remember... What I was saying earlier wasn’t really to make you understand your mother. It was to tell you that since you’ve decided to follow Zhengfeng’s path, you should try to understand him better. He respects your mother and me because he’s a thoughtful man. He knows how to read people’s hearts, so even when her attitude is at its worst, Zhengfeng is never bothered by it."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone has a heart, and you can’t judge people as simply good or bad. If you want to understand someone, you have to look closely. Your mother and I support you being with Ningning and Yaoyao because we can see those two sisters truly have a heart for you..." Mr. Chen patted his shoulder and sighed. "The best and worst part of growing up is that you get to make your own choices about everything... Don’t let them down."

...

Chen Yuan’s mind was adrift as he walked to the door of the sisters’ hospital room.

Before he pushed the door open, the image of his parents speaking to him with such gravity was still fresh in his mind.