Before he died, my grandfather forced me to marry the richest man in the capital.

As dusk fell, a faint red glow spilled over the courtyard of the Ji residence, adding a touch of warmth to the villa.

Ji Hancheng and Tang Junyao arrived at the Ji residence one after the other in their cars. As soon as Ji Hancheng turned off his car, the back door was opened, and Xiaoyou, wearing a dark blue school uniform, rushed out of the car with her legs taking huge strides.

The little guy threw his schoolbag on the sofa as soon as he entered the living room, without even glancing at his sister who was playing with toys nearby, and went straight to his grandfather's room upstairs, as if he would miss him if he was a second late.

Ji Hancheng walked into the living room with a gloomy expression. As soon as he entered, he saw his wife's red eyes and had a bad feeling. His hand, hidden in his pocket, unconsciously clenched into a fist, but he still asked again, "How is Grandpa feeling today?"

Seeing that his expression had darkened slightly, Tang Junyao took his wrist and patted it gently to comfort him, and together they waited for her mother-in-law's reply.

When the twin daughters saw Ji Hancheng return, they happily called out, "Daddy, Mommy."

Tang Junyao: "Be good, play by yourself for a while. Daddy and Mommy are going to visit Great-Grandpa. Don't be too noisy, okay?"

Yuan Shu sighed, feeling utterly helpless. "I only ate two bites, and I had to persuade me to eat them."

Upon hearing this, the couple frowned, neither of them speaking. They went upstairs in tacit agreement. Tang Junyao pushed open the door to the old man's room and went inside, while Ji Hancheng did not intend to go in and returned to his own room.

The door opened, and Tang Junyao was moved by the heartwarming scene before her. The sadness hidden deep in her heart filled her chest. Her son was holding his grandfather's hand and chatting. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she forced a smile and called out, "Grandpa."

"You're back. Let's go eat. I'm going to chat with Lele for a while."

"Okay, Lele, have a good chat with your great-grandfather." Tang Junyao knew that the old man wanted to spend some time alone with Lele, so she didn't want to disturb the warm scene and took the initiative to leave.

Little Pomelo: "Mmm."

Back in the room, she saw Ji Hancheng standing on the balcony with a gloomy expression, staring at something in the distance. Feeling sorry for him, she went over and hugged him from behind, burying her face in his back, pursing her lips and remaining silent. She simply held him quietly, wanting to share his sadness and reluctance.

Ji Hancheng, who was being held, did not turn around, but let her hold him. He simply held her hands that were wrapped around his front. Tang Junyao could feel his hands trembling slightly. After a long while, the man finally spoke, his voice low and deep, "Time may not be long."

She knew what Ji Hancheng meant by those words, and she knew what his feelings were when he said them. She mumbled from behind, "I know."

Actually, there was a reason for the sudden decline in the old man's health. He had a severe cold before, and his energy never recovered. After recovering from the cold, his body developed problems in various aspects. One thing was wrong, another was wrong. The CT scan showed that polyps and cysts had grown on every little part of his body. Just as the old man said, they couldn't be replaced. You can't replace every single part of your body.

Tang Junyao had long anticipated this outcome, but she hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

Ji Hancheng's voice came again, so loud it vibrated through my back, "Yaoyao, I'll be there tonight..."

He wanted to say that he would sleep in the old man's room that night, but before he could finish, Tang Junyao hugged his waist and comforted him, "I'm not Hanhan and Xiaoyu. Just do what you should do. Don't worry."

"Thank you, my wife." Ji Hancheng said warmly, turning around to hug Tang Junyao tightly and pulling her into his arms.

It was late at night, and the courtyard was pitch black. The door to the old man's room was pushed open again.

The man in his pajamas strode in, familiarly approached the bedside, and tucked the old man in. He thought it would be a light touch, but the old man turned over and said in a weak voice, "Can't you just come and keep me company openly?"

Ji Hancheng reached out to help tidy the blankets that the old man had messed up by turning around. He chuckled softly, suppressing some emotion and trying to ignore his grandfather's weakness. He put on a relaxed tone and said, "I was afraid of upsetting you. Why aren't you asleep yet? Are you waiting for me?"

Old Master Ji turned slightly, adjusting to a more comfortable position. With Ji Hancheng's help, the old man coughed a few times to catch his breath before saying, "What are you doing here? You have a wife and children, why don't you sleep with them and instead sneak into my room? Go back to sleep. Don't worry, I'll see the sun tomorrow. Even if I don't, the sunlight in our Ji family cemetery is plenty. Don't worry that this old man won't get any sun. Go back now."

The old man urged him on, and after saying that, he started breathing heavily.

Ji Hancheng tucked the old man in without turning on the light. Instead, he lay down on the sofa and chatted with the old man from a distance, showing no intention of leaving as his grandfather had told him. "I was worried you'd be bored, so I came to keep you company."

Seeing that his grandson didn't seem to be planning to leave, the old man stopped urging him and said, "What can you talk about? You can't even say a few words all day. Since you want to talk, Grandpa will tell you something. If you don't listen to me, I'll have to give you a beating."

Ji Hancheng stared at the dark ceiling with mixed feelings, his deep, dark eyes fixed on it. "Speak, I'm listening. How could I dare disobey you?"

The old man, of course, understood the meaning behind his grandson's actions, but he didn't expose him. "Your current life is hard-won; you must always remind yourself of that."

As Ji Hancheng listened and the old man spoke, the grandfather and grandson officially began their conversation.

Once the old man started talking, he couldn't stop for a while. Regardless of whether his grandson paid attention to him or not, he kept patiently explaining, afraid of missing anything.

When he got tired, he would rest for a few minutes. Ji Hancheng didn't urge him and just listened quietly. After a while, when his breathing calmed down, the old man continued, "In the vast sea of ​​people, it is fate for one person to meet another. It is destiny for one person to fall in love with another person in the crowd. And for someone like Yaya to forgive you and stay with you for a lifetime, it is because the God of Love is giving you a special favor. You should cherish it."

Ji Hancheng understood what his grandfather meant. "Yes, do you want to rest for a while? Tell me more tomorrow."

"You wish! You think I'll follow you around all day reminding you? Do you think you're Lele or Hanhan? You don't deserve that treatment."

Ji Hancheng: "It's not impossible. If you can nag me every day, I can listen to you every day without finding it annoying."

In the darkness, a tear slid down Grandpa Ji's cheek. He understood perfectly well what his grandson meant; he wanted him to stay by his side. The tear sank into the pillow. He took a deep breath and changed the subject, "Hanhan and Xiaoyu are smart and bold. You can indulge them a little now, but you still need to discipline them when necessary. They can't be too naughty. You're still not as good as Xiaoyu in terms of education. Listen to Xiaoyu's opinions more."

"Okay, I know. They'll be more sensible next year. Hanhan is just a little mischievous, but she's not naughty. Xiaoyu is just a little bolder than Hanhan, and she's also more obedient." Ji Hancheng was telling the truth. Neither of the children is a lady; they're more like tomboys. I just don't know what they'll be like when they grow up.

"Both of your little ones are too smart. They understand things instantly. You're not as good at reading between the lines as they are, so there are some things you can't indulge them in." Because they are too smart, they sometimes try to guess what adults are thinking and repeatedly test the waters, like the old man's younger brother.

Ji Hancheng countered, "Well, I'll keep an eye on them when they're a little older. Do you want to raise them to be ladylike ladies or strong, independent women?"

Hearing this, the old man chuckled in bed. It might be a bit difficult to turn the two little darlings into ladies, but the future is still so long, and perhaps they will change a lot as they grow up. Speaking of ladies, the old man thought of the little girl from Lu Jinnan's family, who was quite ladylike, speaking softly and gently.

A comparison basically confirms that the two great-granddaughters do not meet the standards of a lady. "There is no need for a lady or a strong woman. Just let the children develop on their own. Correct their mistakes while they are developing freely. Grandpa believes that you and the girl can educate them well. All three children are good children."

As they talked, the old man seemed to get tired, and the sound of his snoring came from inside the room. Only then did Ji Hancheng take his hands off the back of his head, get up and walk to the old man's bedside. He sat down on the edge of the bed, tidied the blankets for the old man again, and gently pressed them down. His deep voice rang out, "Grandpa, I've remembered everything you said, and I won't make the same mistake again."

After saying this, he did not lie back on the sofa, but held the old man's wrinkled hand without moving. The back of the hand did not feel good; the only sensation was that it was thin as a skeleton and a little rough.

Around 9:30, the door to the room was quietly pushed open. In recent days, this door has been used more frequently. Tang Junyao, wearing a two-piece pajama set, slowly walked in. She saw Ji Hancheng holding his grandfather's hand without moving, his face tense, and his lips pursed in silence.

He had lost his usual aura; now he was just a grandson who couldn't bear to see his grandfather leave, making a final plea to keep him. Tang Junyao felt heartbroken and went over to hug him.

Ji Hancheng's free hand encircled her waist, but he didn't let go of the old man's hand. He tilted his head back and softly asked Tang Junyao, "Is the baby asleep?"

A thousand words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't utter a single one. I didn't know how to comfort him, and it seemed I couldn't persuade him about the natural cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death. I rubbed his hair and helped him tidy it up. Looking closer, I could see the bruises under his eyes, which showed that he hadn't been sleeping well lately. "He's asleep. Before he went to sleep, he was making a fuss and wanted you to put them to sleep. I had to spank his bottom several times before he finally lay down quietly."

Ji Hancheng remembered what his grandfather had told him before he went to sleep, and smiled slightly. The door was not closed, and the light from the corridor illuminated the dim room. "Yaoyao, go to sleep."

Her soft hand touched the ends of his hair, then stroked his cheek. "I'll stay with you for a while."

"No need, go ahead, be a good girl." He rarely coaxed her like this, especially when he wanted her to be obedient.

"Yeah, I didn't lock the door. Call me if you need anything. Don't shoulder everything alone. I'm your wife, give me some recognition." Tang Junyao pinched his cheek, trying to comfort him, but she couldn't find the words. So she could only try a different approach and share the sadness that was about to come with him.

Ji Hancheng agreed, "Okay."

Half an hour after Tang Junyao left, Ji Hang came in wearing pajamas. At this moment, Ji Hancheng had already let go of the old man's hand and put that wrinkled hand under the covers, but he was still sitting in the same spot, showing no intention of moving.

"I'll keep watch tonight. You go back to your room and rest for the night. My foot is all better now, I can make do on the sofa for the night, it's not a big problem." Ji Hang came over to relieve his son from keeping watch.

Ji Hancheng looked up and met Ji Hang's gaze. Ji Hang's eyes were on the old man on the bed, whose breathing was even. "Go to sleep. You can't stay up for many more nights."

The room fell silent in an instant. Neither the father nor the son spoke. Ji Hang understood the meaning of his son's words, as did everyone else in the Ji family mansion.

After standing there for a while, Ji Hang finally returned to his room, leaving the task of keeping watch to Ji Hancheng.

At 2:30 a.m., the room was quiet, without the sound of snoring. Ji Hancheng, who was lying on the sofa, did not get up immediately. He just stared at the ceiling quietly, and finally closed his eyes tightly before sitting up from the sofa.

Approaching the bedside, with trembling hands, he brought his nose close to the old man's nose and checked his breath. Just as expected, Grandpa really didn't give him a chance. He had told Dad that he didn't have much time to spend with him that night, but Grandpa only gave him one night. Grandpa is really stingy. Ji Hancheng stood by the bed, lost in thought.

Her hand trembled as she withdrew it, her voice broken beyond belief. A tear slid down her cheek and dripped onto the floor. The old man's snoring had ceased, and the room was so quiet that the sound of the tear falling to the floor could be heard. "Grandpa, you really did leave right after you finished giving your instructions."