Chapter 194 - Senior Brother Yan: Wanwan, We’re Family
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Inside the mansion…
Qiao Wangbei was killing a fish in the kitchen while humming an old song from the 80s. The knife in his hand rose and fell as he cut the stomach open, removed the scales, and sliced it into pieces. His movements were swift and neat.
Qiao Aiyun and Yan Wangchuan were sitting opposite each other on the sofa in the living room, and the atmosphere was a little strange.
On the coffee table was a red velvet box containing a jade bracelet. There was a golden thread wrapped around the middle of the bracelet, making it obvious that it had been broken before. The bracelet had a translucent luster, and although it wasn’t top-grade jade, it was still high-grade.
“My mother asked me to give you this. It’s our Yan family’s heirloom jade bracelet.” Yan Wangchuan’s expression was especially serious.
This atmosphere didn’t seem like a marriage proposal at all but rather more like a negotiation.
“Senior Brother, you were drunk yesterday. Those words can’t be taken seriously…”
“You didn’t drink yesterday,” Yan Wangchuan said solemnly.
“I definitely didn’t drink any alcohol, but—”
“So you promised me while sober.”
“But you were drunk. During that situation…”
“You want to go back on your words?” Yan Wangchuan’s expression suddenly turned serious, and a frightening glint flashed across his eyes. “Shouldn’t people be honest and keep their promises?”
Qiao Aiyun looked at him dumbfoundedly.
“This is the most basic thing about being a human being. Master often said that integrity is the foundation of one’s life and how one should conduct oneself.”
The Qiao family hadn’t sold counterfeit goods for so many years because Old Master Qiao had always put this into practice himself and passed it down. Yan Wangchuan naturally regarded it as his moral standard and had always used it to drill himself.
Qiao Aiyun didn’t expect that he would even bring up her father.
Moreover, he directly raised this matter to be one about her morals. Did I commit murder or arson?
“You were drunk at the time, and I couldn’t get away. So I just said that casually…”
Yan Wangchuan’s expression was cold and inexplicably stern.
Qiao Aiyun rubbed her fingers nervously. “In that kind of situation, you can’t take things for real.”
“You lied to me.” His tone was low, and the air of seriousness around him became even more stifling.
“I didn’t lie to you. This…” Qiao Aiyun was anxious and couldn’t find a good explanation for a while.
“If you weren’t lying to me, then why don’t you want to marry me?”
How could I have known you would still clearly remember what I said while you were drunk after waking up? If I knew this would happen, I would never have said those words.
And I wouldn’t have to feel so embarrassed and awkward now.
Yan Wangchuan kept staring at her like this, making her feel uneasy and restless.
This person was like a stubborn donkey. He was obstinate and refused to listen to her explanation.
“Senior Brother, you also know that I just got divorced, and I still have many things to sort out. If I marry you right after divorcing, who knows what people will say about us?
“There will definitely be all sorts of rumors, which won’t be good for anyone.
“Besides, I have a child. It’s impossible for me not to consider Wanwan, and l have to ask her for her opinion. There are many things that can’t be rushed…”
Hearing this, Yan Wangchuan thought, That’s true.
Qiao Aiyun saw his expression relax and caught her breath. “Senior Brother, so, about the marriage…”
“I’ll give you time to sort everything out. I also need time to prepare. Getting married is pretty cumbersome. I need to arrange my work, buy a house, renovate it…”
Qiao Aiyun was dumbfounded and wished she could rush over and hit him a few times. He’s such a blockhead. Is this what you think I mean?
She was completely at her wit’s end.
Yan Wangchuan was stubborn, and his mind couldn’t be changed at all.
Qiao Aiyun ran to the kitchen to ask her brother for help, but Qiao Wangbei smiled delightedly. “If he could change that personality of his, would he have foolishly waited for you for more than twenty years? Don’t waste your energy.
“Who told you to promise him last night.
“Weren’t you asking for it? Why are you looking for me?”
Qiao Aiyun sighed. “He was drunk yesterday. How could I have known that he’d still remember it so clearly after waking up? I just casually said it to coax him.”
“So now you know that you shouldn’t speak carelessly, especially when you meet someone like Senior Brother. You really can’t do anything about them.” Qiao Wangbei spread his hands.
Yan Wangchuan naturally stayed for lunch.
Halfway through, when Qiao Aiyun said that she was going to pick Song Fengwan up at the airport, Yan Wangchuan said directly, “I’ll go with you.”
“It’s okay. My brother will accompany me.”
“I sleep early.” Qiao Wangbei directly blocked her path of retreat, making her so angry that she kicked him hard twice under the table. Is he really my brother?
Qiao Wangbei knew very well how deep Yan Wangchuan’s feelings for her were. If the two of them could really be together, it would definitely be great. But they still needed to get along. In the end, Qiao Aiyun still had to make the decision herself.
As her older brother, he could only create more opportunities for Yan Wangchuan. If after interacting with each other, they find that they’re really not suitable, and it just won’t work out no matter how deep his feelings for her are, then we can only blame fate for messing with them.
***
On the other side, Fu Chen had already informed the Duan family that Duan Linbai was suffering from snow blindness. The doctors weren’t sure when his vision would recover, so there was no way to hide this matter.
The Duan family immediately sent someone to pick them up. They even plied their connections to get a private jet and contacted the most authoritative ophthalmologist in Beijing to check his eyes.
Even after getting on the plane, Duan Linbai was still on the phone with his father.
“Dad, you’re exaggerating. I’m not really blind. Do you have to mobilize so many people?”
“You still have the cheek to say that. Before you went overseas, you told me that you’d bring home a girlfriend. But in the end, you didn’t get one and even caused yourself to be handicapped.”
“The milk has already been spilled. Don’t rub salt into my wound now.” Duan Linbai sighed.
“I’ve found a lot of ophthalmologists for you. Come back and get checked by them again.”
“It’s already been diagnosed as snow blindness. I’ll be fine after a while.”
“We’ll talk about it again when you get back. You’re really so worrisome…”
Duan Linbai knew that his father was worried about him. Just as he was about to comfort him, his father’s following words stuffed the words he was just going to say straight back into his mouth.
“If you can’t see, how are you going to go on blind dates? The girls definitely won’t take a liking to you.”
Duan Linbai smiled bitterly. He’s really my biological father. He’s still thinking about wanting me to go on blind dates at this time.
Duan Linbai’s snow blindness couldn’t be made public. If the media found out about it, they would definitely publicize it wantonly and directly report that he was blind. So contacting all doctors and experts was done privately.
Fu Chen had contacted his parents earlier. He didn’t know the authoritative experts in this field, but before Old Master Fu retired, he held a high position and had a lot of connections. So he asked his parents to help him contact them.
Old Master Fu did indeed know an authoritative expert of ophthalmology. This old man had retired a long time ago and was currently doing research in a certain medical school in Beijing. He was even mentoring a few PhD students.
Old Master Fu called him personally, and he agreed to help with Duan Linbai’s consultation.
This medical school’s ophthalmology department was internationally renowned. The Duan family thought that it would cause too much of a commotion if they went to a hospital for the consultation and so decided to gather all the experts in the university.
The Duan family members were also anxious. When they rushed to the medical school, they greeted the doctors one by one to express their gratitude.
They were receiving money from the Duan family, and they were not conducting the consultation out of obligation. They exchanged pleasantries and offered some words of comfort.
“Mr. Duan, Mrs. Duan, don’t worry. Snow blindness is curable, but the duration of this condition isn’t fixed. Please have some tea.” Along with a clear and gentle female voice, two cups of hot tea were served.
“There’s nothing much to drink in the laboratory, and these tea leaves are from last year. Please don’t mind them.”
“Thank you.” Mrs. Duan reached out to take the paper cup. The young lady’s voice was sweet and soft. She was wearing a white sweater and a white lab coat, and her hair was loosely tied up, revealing a fair and slender neck.
Her skin was naturally fair. And different from Duan Linbai’s fair skin, it was slightly pink and as soft as jade.
She was beautiful, and although she wasn’t wearing any makeup, her skin was fair and rosy, looking as fresh as peach blossoms in spring. When she smiled, her eyes curved…
She was exceptionally beautiful.
After speaking, she turned around and left, busy with taking care of the experts.
“Old Duan, this young lady is quite good. She’s beautiful, gentle, and so polite…” Mrs. Duan kept staring at her.
“Since she’s able to help out here, she’s definitely a top student and has high standards.” The enrollment score for this medical school was very high, and only one person in a hundred thousand could enter through the college entrance examination, much less further continuing their studies here.
“So what? What’s so bad about our son? Don’t look down on him all the time. He went out to start his own business, and it’s doing quite well. He’s just a little uninhibited.”
“He’s not uninhibited. He’s dissolute. This time, he was so dissolute he blinded his eyes.”
“If you say anymore, get the hell out of here. You just can’t say anything nice.” Mrs. Duan harrumphed angrily and turned her head to continue staring at the girl.
The more she looked at her, the more satisfied she was. She was still a student and had yet to step out into society, and she looked clean and comfortable.
Halfway through, the girl came back to fill their cups. Mrs. Duan smiled at her. “How old are you? Are you still a student?”
“Yes, I’m twenty-four.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Not yet. I’m usually very busy and don’t have much time. This sort of thing depends on fate.” The girl seemed accustomed to dealing with this kind of question, and she left after speaking with them.
Mrs. Duan couldn’t help smiling after finding out that this girl was still single. “It’s indeed busy studying medicine, but our Baibai has a lot of free time. There’s nothing to worry about…”
Duan Linbai was currently sitting on the plane, humming along to some rap music. He even occasionally danced and sang a few lines out loud.
Fu Chen was annoyed by him. If not for Duan Linbai’s health condition, he would have kicked him off the plane. What the hell is he singing?
Duan Linbai thought that he was just going to see some doctors and had no idea that his mother had found a blind date for him.
***
Yuncheng Airport…
At sunset, Song Fengwan’s plane arrived at the airport. It was supposed to arrive at night, but after Duan Linbai’s accident, she changed her flight and arrived early.
Qiao Aiyun and Yan Wangchuan came to pick her up, making her slightly surprised. Since when did the two of them become so close?
“Mom, Uncle Yan.” Song Fengwan greeted them before introducing Huai Sheng. “This is Huai Sheng.”
“Hello, Grandpa, Grandma,” Huai Sheng greeted obediently.
Although it was a bit early for them to be grandparents at their age, if it was a decade ago, when people got married early, it would indeed be time for them to have grandchildren.
“Call them Auntie and Uncle,” Song Fengwan corrected. Huai Sheng called her Big Sister, so they were of the same generation. It was strange for him to call Qiao Aiyun and Yan Wangchuan Grandma and Grandpa.
“Auntie, Uncle,” Huai Sheng greeted again.
Qiao Aiyun wasn’t Buddhist, and ordinary people didn’t have many chances to come into contact with monks. Huai Sheng looked very cute and had been well taken care of by the Fu family these days. He was a little round and had a bright little head, looking especially likable.
“Let’s go to home. I’ve cooked big prawns for you.” Qiao Aiyun couldn’t help touching his head.
“Thank you, Auntie. By right, monks shouldn’t eat meat and fish. But since you have good intentions, I can’t let you down. I can only apologize to Buddha later.”
Qiao Aiyun was instantly amused by him.
Yan Wangchuan helped Shi Fang with the luggage. He was dragging a suitcase while walking behind with Song Fengwan.
“Uncle Yan, thank you for coming to pick me up.” Song Fengwan smiled.
“You’re welcome.”
“I’ve been troubling you all this while. I feel really sorry for this.” After all, they weren’t related by blood, nor did they have a close past relationship. If he continued to help out like this, anyone would feel embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it. We’re family from now on.”
When Qiao Aiyun heard this, her face turned green. She turned her head around and glared at Yan Wangchuan. What nonsense is he spouting in front of her!
“Yan Wangchuan!” She no longer cared anything about him being her senior brother and directly called out his name.
“I proposed to your mom last night, and she agreed. What do you think about this? She said she wanted to seek your opinion.” Yan Wangchuan looked at Song Fengwan.
Song Fengwan was flabbergasted, and her head felt dizzy. I know that he likes Mom, but isn’t this too fast?
I’ve only been out for three days, and Mom is already getting married? What exactly happened?
Shi Fang was walking at the back. With someone helping him with his luggage, it was naturally easier on him. He was sending a message to Fu Chen to report the situation. When he heard this, he was so shocked that he almost threw his phone.
Family? Is he on a rocket? That’s so fast.
He’s usually so silent. But once he makes a move, he really is quick, fierce, and accurate..