spring bite mark

Chapter 246 Extra: Favoritism

cemetery.

Grandpa Yan hasn't come for a while.

Last time he came, he smiled broadly and said to his sister, Aning:

"We're going to have a granddaughter. I've come up with over eighty names. Let me read them to you and see which one you like."

She looked haggard this time.

……

Old Master Yan only ever loved one woman in his life.

During his rebellious and absurd youth, he indulged in a life of pleasure and debauchery.

It wasn't until he was forty, when his passion had faded, that he met her in her early twenties. At that time, he thought that since they had met so late in life, he should cherish the rest of his life with her.

But the rest of my life wasn't as long as I imagined.

On the day Aning left, Old Master Yan knelt before her bed, heartbroken and filled with remorse:
“Ah Ning, I have my family responsibilities, and I cannot die with you in a suicide pact.”

After saying that, he took out a sterilization certificate to show her: "But I assure you, I will only have one child, Yan Changye, in this life, and everything I have will be left to him."

The rest of my life will be hard.

He built a fishpond next to the cemetery. The once most impatient man now sits in front of the pond with his fishing rod, from a refined gentleman to someone with gray hair.

During that time, he was also consumed by lovesickness and found it difficult to get over it, so he dated two or three new people.

They either look like his Ah Ning, or they have the same personality. But in the end, they are just imitations; once the initial excitement wears off, they lose the desire to continue living.

At that time, he placed high hopes on his only son.

But Yan Changye was more outstanding and attracted more suitors than he had imagined. At only ten years old, he had already caused a sensation in the capital's socialite circles. He thought his son would follow in his footsteps, becoming a playboy and dissolute young master.

But I never expected that he would grow up to be such a devoted lover.

In this respect, he is like his mother, Aning.

……

When Yan Changye was thirteen years old, he took Jiang Manman to the Jiang family.

Old Master Yan had heard a little about it. When his son returned home late at night, looking rather nonchalant, he couldn't help but ask, "Why did you suddenly think of helping a strange little girl? Over the years, many wealthy families in the capital have had their daughters actively seeking you out to play, but you've always avoided them."

The young man, Yan Changye, casually uttered an "oh," and said, "So delicate, strangely cute."

After that, Yan Changye became a frequent visitor to the Jiang family.

They didn't visit each other very often, just once or twice a year, when he would go to the Jiang family to see the little girl he was protecting and see if she had been bullied. Each time he went, he didn't chat much with Jiang Manman. Usually, she would sit quietly reading, doing her homework, or drawing, while he would sit on the sofa next to her, playing mobile games with an aloof air, occasionally glancing at her.

Years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Until her coming-of-age ceremony.

At her coming-of-age ceremony, as she styled her hair and adorned it with a hairpin, his hand gently ran through her cascading long hair. The soft strands felt like they were piercing his heart. At that moment, the once-untouchable prince of Beijing's elite circles felt a stirring of worldly desire for the first time.

Once it starts moving, it can't be stopped.

He was already twenty-two years old and, under the high expectations of Elder Yan, took over the Yan family business. He originally lived in Elder Yan's villa on the hillside.

But Yan Meiren, who was just beginning to experience love, decisively moved to her private island and began to have her own private space.

His villa on the island was filled with photos of Jiang Manman, even under his pillow and deep inside the blankets.

He began to deliberately approach her, tease her, and seduce her, appearing as prey.

But he did not become a successful hunter.

He began his love story with the island full of roses, but he made a fatal mistake and dug up all the roses on the island.

His proud nature wouldn't allow him to pester her relentlessly, but his subconscious infatuation still made him unable to resist doing some irrational things. He would look at her with disdain as she delivered love letters for others every few days, yet he couldn't help but rummage through the pile of love letters to see if there was one that happened to be from her;
He would travel all the way abroad to take a picture of the jade coral and present it to her just because she glanced at it casually and said it was beautiful.

To protect her from being bullied while she was in a foreign land, he would set aside his own principles, assume the identity of Xie Yunxi, and dedicate half of his time to the port city to ensure her safety...

However, it was precisely because of Xie Yunxi's identity that he encountered a turning point on the night of his return to his clan.

Marry, have children, remarry—

Reborn son.

The young master is of noble status and lacks nothing, but things are not going so smoothly for him when it comes to having children.

Yan Yu and Xie Jian gave him his first taste of fatherhood. Although he was not even twenty-four years old, he spent half a year running back and forth to the Gangdu Hospital, taking care of his two children until they were completely out of danger. After that, he experienced all the ups and downs of family life, from taking care of the children to helping them with their homework.

The young master, who had suffered immense mental anguish, never imagined that he would forget the pain once the wounds healed and dare to have another child.

Until he was lured by photos of Jiang Manman as a child on the cruise ship.

He was momentarily bewitched.

All right.

gave birth.

The number of Yan family grandsons increased from two to four.

Two newborn lives were placed in Yan Changye's palm, and Jiang Manman asked him softly:
"If you didn't have a daughter, should you still have more?"

Looking at the child in his arms, Yan Changye felt a deep sense of suffocation and decisively shook his head:

"Madam, from now on I will treat you like my own daughter."

……

Yan Changye's affection for Jiang Manman did indeed grow deeper over time.

But they treated the two newborn children with extreme indifference.

The most direct consequence was that Old Master Yan was completely trapped.

He hasn't had time to go fishing in a long time.

After the two newborns had finished their 100-day celebrations, he finally found time amidst his busy schedule to come to his wife's grave and begin to pour out his sorrows:
"None of the names we gave our granddaughter were ever used. Ah Ning, our son had twins again, so our grandchildren have gone from two to four..."

“My unfilial son is a good-for-nothing who always seeks to be at ease. Now I’m not doing so well in my old age either. I have to tutor my children and take care of two younger ones as well. I’ve never seen such a crying child. He cries all day long and has a loud voice. I have anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. My old age is really miserable.”

Behind Old Master Yan stood the old butler.

The old butler watched Master Yan's retreating figure with mixed feelings, unsure of what to say.

You can't exactly say that with over a dozen nannies taking care of the child, the husband insists on joining in, making a fuss over nothing.

You can't exactly say that he complains about the difficulties of raising children at his wife's grave, and then turns around and proudly shows off his four young masters to everyone in his social circle...

However, since the arrival of his grandson, although the old man's life has been chaotic, he has not complained about how difficult or lonely his remaining years are. He is exhausted from being tormented by the child every day, but his physical indicators are actually better than before.

Is it a bittersweet pain?

The old butler was lost in thought when his phone rang. After answering the call, he respectfully asked Old Master Yan:
"Sir, Young Master Xie called to say he got an A in Chinese this time and wants you to come home and sign it for him."

"With so many people accompanying him to school, why do I have to do such a small thing as signing documents?" Old Master Yan muttered under his breath, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. "In Xie Jian's heart, I, his grandfather, am indeed the most important person."

After saying that, he walked away slowly with his hands behind his back.

The sun is shining warmly.

The old man's tone was disdainful as he got into the car:
"Where did that unfilial son go to hide away for peace and quiet today?"

(End of this chapter)