Chapter 713 - 478: Two Generations (2)

Chen Yuan’s deliberate teasing was really getting under Jiangg Yao’s skin.

"What flab? Every girl has a tummy, okay? I just wasn’t sitting up straight. If I suck it in a little... See?" Jiangg Yao pulled in her stomach and pointed to her flat tummy. "You can almost see the outline of my abs."

Chen Yuan wasn’t blind.

In reality, there were no abs to speak of. All he saw was a cute, oval-shaped belly button.

"Sucking it in isn’t your natural state."

"Tsk?"

"Never mind, forget I said anything. I was just joking," Chen Yuan said with a smile.

Next to him, Jiangg Ning overheard their conversation. A smile tugged at her lips, especially when she saw how flustered and exasperated Jiangg Yao was.

’It was, how should I put it, a little satisfying.’

Jiangg Yao loved snacks, slept in late, and hated exercise, yet she was only a few pounds heavier than Jiangg Ning. Jiangg Ning, on the other hand, knew exactly how much she had sacrificed to maintain her figure, rarely ever touching high-sugar, high-calorie foods.

Originally, after Chen Yuan’s last comment, the matter would have been dropped.

But Jiangg Yao glanced out of the corner of her eye.

And as luck would have it, she caught sight of Jiangg Ning’s smile.

In an instant, a sense of humiliation crept up from the depths of her heart, a flush rising to her neck. Jiangg Yao bit her lip and took a deep breath.

"Oh, that’s right! You’re so right!" She frowned slightly. "Ningning doesn’t have to suck in her stomach. Even normally, there isn’t a single bit of flab on her. She has such a great body, so skinny..."

"That’s true," Chen Yuan nodded.

Honestly, at that moment, Jiangg Yao had the sudden urge to perform the peerless ’Scrambled Eggs’ technique right on Chen Yuan’s crotch.

She forcefully suppressed her anger.

Then, she broke into a coquettish smile.

"Since Ningning is so wonderful, you should just marry her instead. No need to marry me. It’s not like you think I’m good enough anyway, right? Isn’t having one great wife enough for you? In a life with the three of us... I guess I’m the one who’s redundant."

Chen Yuan didn’t respond to Jiangg Yao’s passive-aggressive remarks.

He knew Jiangg Yao was on the verge of losing it, and this was not the time to add fuel to the fire.

Chen Yuan was just thinking about how to change the subject.

"My, Yaoyao, how generous of you," Jiangg Ning said, feigning surprise.

"It’s no trouble at all. No need to be so polite, sis." Yaoyao waved her hand dismissively.

"Hah. You don’t mean a word of it."

Ningning tossed out the comment coolly. Jiangg Yao heard it but chose to ignore it, turning her focus back to Chen Yuan.

She glared, and in a flash, her fingers were at Chen Yuan’s side.

"So? What do you say, Young Master? Are you satisfied with my proposal? I truly believe you and my sister are a match made in heaven. I just love you two together, you know~"

She said it with an air of utmost seriousness.

But all Chen Yuan could feel was the threat looming at his side.

He could neither deny it nor agree. So, he began feigning deep contemplation, staring up at the ceiling like a statue.

"This isn’t fun anymore. Stop making things difficult for Chen."

"Ooh, you’re not even married and you’re already protecting him like this. I’m so envious. You two are so close. A younger sister can’t compare to a boyfriend at all, can she, Chen Yuan? Isn’t it strange? A little sister can give and give, but it’s nothing compared to her big sister just crooking her finger... Tsk..."

"You’re being ridiculous." Jiangg Ning rolled her eyes at her.

"I’m not being ridiculous. Honestly, you look so cool protecting your man. Sis, you’re so good to your husband. Your little sister is truly envious of your bond."

"Will you ever stop?" Jiangg Ning was suddenly flustered and annoyed, a deep blush rising to her cheeks at the word "husband."

She had never used that term of address before.

’It was mortifying.’

"Don’t be so hasty. No matter how you feel, half of your husband is still mine. And I still get to ’train’ him in private," Jiangg Yao said with a devilish little smirk.

"Piss off!"

Jiangg Ning was clearly disgusted and, for a moment, at a loss for a comeback. She was usually sharp-tongued when bickering with her sister, but she always seemed to lose her voice whenever Chen Yuan was involved.

At the end of the day, she was just too concerned with maintaining a perfect image in front of the person she liked.

「Meanwhile.」

Liu He had just returned after dropping off a quilt and some bedsheets. As she entered the hospital room, she saw Mr. Chen sitting there alone, fiddling with an old camera he’d bought many years ago.

"Yuan left already? Was your chess game that quick?"

"What chess? I said a few words to him and sent him on his way. His business is more important. No point in an old man like me getting in the way of the youngsters."

As Mr. Chen spoke, he snapped the camera’s battery cover shut and pressed the power button.

The last time they went to Lanjing, he had been dead set on bringing this camera to take photos, but when it was time to leave, he couldn’t find it anywhere. Liu He had urged him to just leave it and go. And she was right, in a way. Modern phones were so versatile and had such clear cameras that there was no real need for a dedicated camera for casual snapshots.

But middle-aged men could be stubborn about such things, and this time, he had brought it along no matter what.

"Honestly, that boy Yuan..." Liu He muttered to herself off to the side. "He’s usually so sharp and clever, but when it comes to relationships, he’s just so dense. It’s making me anxious just watching... Does he really not know that Ningning likes him a lot? That she can’t bear to let go? Any normal person could see it, right?"

Hearing this, Mr. Chen was noncommittal.

Liu He continued, "Just look at the way Ningning and Yaoyao were looking at him during lunch today."

A faint smile touched her lips as she recalled the scene.

She and Mr. Chen had fallen in love on their own terms; theirs hadn’t been an arranged marriage. She remembered those days of innocent, budding romance and couldn’t help but sigh to herself, ’It’s so wonderful to be young.’

"Our son is a lucky boy, to have two girls who care for him so sincerely," Mr. Chen remarked with a gratified sigh.

"Exactly! But that blockhead just doesn’t get it. With a personality as strong-willed as Jiangg Ning’s, if she didn’t want to marry him, she would have drawn a clear line in the sand long ago. The only reason things are still so ambiguous is that she can’t bear to let go, right? What Yuan needs to give her is a firm reason, one that makes her feel she *has* to marry him. Isn’t that what a girl wants? And now he’s the one hesitating. Isn’t that infuriating?"

Liu He was exasperated. She could see the problem clearly but felt powerless, and it was driving her crazy.

If she had a way, she would gladly dive into Chen Yuan’s brain, take control of him, convince himself of what to do, and then pop back out like a wisp of smoke. Then everything would be solved.

"That’s just the kind of kid Yuan is," Mr. Chen said. "He’s very sensitive and cares a lot about other people’s feelings. He probably feels like this whole situation is making Ningning uncomfortable... It’s hard to see clearly when you’re in the thick of it. He’s still young; it’s normal for him to not have it all figured out."

"Yes, he’s been like that since he was little."

As she spoke, Liu He sat down on the edge of the bed. Her eyes watched Mr. Chen fiddling with the camera, but her thoughts began to drift far, far away, sinking into the depths of memory.

From the first time she saw tiny little Yuan to the day he got into college, so, so much had happened over the years. Yet to her, every single moment felt like it was only yesterday.

On that afternoon so many years ago—the day she decided to adopt Yuan.

Back then, one look at the little boy with his wide, innocent eyes was all it took. She was captivated, unable to walk away.

Mr. and Mrs. Chen had been married for several years by then, but they remained childless. Their relationship was strong, but this was a constant source of quiet pain. They’d been to countless hospitals, trying every medical procedure and folk remedy they could find. She’d lost track of the nights she’d spent crying in secret, even as Mr. Chen always comforted her, telling her it was okay, that they could still live a wonderful life even without children.

All they needed was each other.

She would agree out loud, but her heart still ached.

Liu He would be forever grateful to her past self for the thought that had suddenly struck her that day: adoption.

In that gloomy courtyard, after taking little Yuan’s hand, she crouched down, her eyes filled with love and compassion, and pulled him into an embrace.

Liu He wore her hair in a ponytail back then. She was twenty-eight, her face free of wrinkles and signs of aging, dressed like a young woman who had yet to even join the workforce. But in that single moment, she suddenly felt the profound sense of calling that came with becoming a mother.

...

"Let’s stop the treatments. Let’s go through the procedures to bring this child home and raise him as our own."

She said to Mr. Chen, her gaze intense, dressed in a simple skirt.

He looked at the well-behaved little boy, who looked right back up at him, his young face showing no shyness toward a stranger.

Mr. Chen didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he bent down, patted the little boy’s head, and said kindly, "Hello, would you like to join our little family?"

"Who are you?" the boy asked in a small voice.

"Chen Yumin. That’s my name. I can teach you how to write it."

He picked up a twig from the ground.

On the ground, stroke by stroke.

...