Chapter 263: He Cast A Dim Glance At Yue Jingchen And Looked Down To See His Silly Son Giving Him A Peace Sign.
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yan Beicheng, “…”
He felt a little guilty about this matter as well.
“It’s not just the age difference. The two of you do not have matching personalities as well.” Yan Beicheng said without any expression on his face.
“You’re not him, so how would you know!?” Yan Zhiqing got angrier upon hearing these words. She felt that Yan Beicheng was being completely unreasonable.
“I’m his good friend. Don’t you think I’d know what type of girl he likes?” Yan Beicheng scoffed.
“You can’t justify it that way.” Yan Zhiqing had a whole array of excuses up her sleeve. “A lot of people thought they knew what type of person they’d be most compatible with, but the person they end up getting married to at the end of the day is not at all the type they had originally expected. You’re not him, so if we don’t give it a shot, how can you know for sure?”
Yan Beicheng had to admit that when Yan Zhiqing was backed into a corner and forced to find excuses, she had a whole arsenal of them ready to go.
“Go and try to convince someone else with all your excuses.” Yan Beicheng waved his hands dismissively. “There are these cases, but Wei Zilin’s not someone that will ever end up with someone that’s not his type. Even if he changes his preferences in girls, it won’t be to you.”
Yan Zhiqing was so infuriated that her whole face flushed red. “Big Brother, how can you say that about your own sister? You’ve treated me so kindly these days that I thought you’ve actually changed the way you perceive me and realized that I’m actually not that bad. I didn’t expect you to still look at me in such a bad light. Do you really think so lowly of me?”
Lin Chu hurriedly tugged at Yan Beicheng stealthily. Yan Beicheng was already pursing his lips and had a dark expression on his face when she did this.
Due to Lin Chu’s urging, he said, “It’s not that I look at you in a bad light, you’re a good girl. But not all good girls get to be with whoever they desire just because they’re interested in the other party. There’s always the matter of compatibility, right? Even if he were to end up with someone who’s personality is different from what he had originally preferred, that person’s personality wouldn’t be like yours.”
This time, Yan Beicheng’s tone was more relaxed and mild, it was not as pressing and dismissive as before. He switched up his tone so that it would not make Yan Zhiqing feel as though he disliked her.
Likewise, Yan Zhiqing’s expression finally loosened up, but she still groaned and appeared visibly upset.
She continuously used her uninjured hand to slap the wheelchair’s armrest. “That’s just your own assumption. What if you’re wrong? If you don’t properly introduce the two of us, how can you be so confident that he’ll never be interested in me? I know that all of you had not been very fond of me in the past. He’s your friend so he must have been aware about my situation, right? If so, then he probably didn’t like me because of it. However, Big Brother, recently you’ve become quite fond of me, right?”
“…” Yan Beicheng had never before met a young lady who would question him as bluntly as she did.
At first, he was planning not to respond to her question. However, at this moment, Lin Chu suddenly pinched his waist. He let out a soft hiss and turned around to look at Lin Chu pitifully, as if he had been wronged.
She had actually attacked her own husband for this girl’s sake!
Lin Chu twitched her mouth in his direction, hinting at him to quickly reply her.
Yan Beicheng twitched his mouth as well. Then, he reluctantly nodded at Yan Zhiqing.
Yan Zhiqing snorted and turned her face to the side before murmuring, “Imagine overlooking your own sister after getting married.
“In any case, whether or not I’ll succeed, you’ll have to give me a chance first, right?” Yan Zhiqing raised her eyebrows and tilted her chin up proudly. She boasted, “I’m very reasonable. I’m not one of those that’ll pester others once they have made it clear that they don’t like me back. If he’s actually uninterested, I’ll never bother him again. It should be fine this way, right?”
Yan Beicheng glanced at her from the side, seemingly taking it into consideration.
Yan Zhiqing leaned her body forward eagerly. She moved her wheelchair in front of Yan Beicheng and said, “I assure you that I won’t let it affect your brotherly relationship with him.”
Yan Beicheng wrapped one of his arms around Lin Chu whilst resting the other one on his knee. His index and middle finger tapped rhythmically against his knee as if he were deep in thought.
Yan Zhiqing stuck her tongue out. “Not only did the little sister lose to the wife, but it also looks like she’s losing out to brotherly friendship. My status as your sister has really fallen too low.”
Yan Beicheng did not feel even the slightest bit of regret from her words. “You and I are family, No matter what happens, we’ll be able to speak unrestrictedly with each other. Regardless of whether you’re able to accept the criticism, or if you felt that the words that had been spoken were too harsh, we’ll be able to resolve things among ourselves. It doesn’t matter how hurt you felt at that moment, at the end of the day we’d still be family. Our bonds are unbreakable.
“However, Wei Zilin is my friend. If we hurt each other’s feelings, even if we’re somehow able to reconcile in the future, it would undoubtedly cause a rift between us. Besides, if my immature sister is the one that is making things difficult for him, it’ll partly be my responsibility to put a stop to it. I can’t keep allowing others to be inconvenienced because of your waywardness. It’s unavoidable for us if a mistake on your part ends up making our lives harder, but outsiders are not obligated to indulge you.”
Yan Beicheng initially explained it in a patient and tolerable way, but the words he ended with were not at all pleasant to the ears.
Yan Zhiqing was beginning to suspect that Yan Beicheng had wasted all his pleasant words assigned to him in this lifetime on Lin Chu. Now all he was left with were the unpleasant words. Those were the ones which he had set aside for everybody else.
“Who says I’m immature? I’m merely fighting for myself. Why is it only natural when a guy chases after a girl, yet when a girl does it, it’s thought of as making things difficult?” Yan Zhiqing tilted her head forward and clenched her hands. “I’m a sensible person.”
Lin Chu felt that whether or not Yan Zhiqing was being truthful when she said that she would not continue pestering Wei Zilin if he was truly uninterested in her, the things she was saying right now made sense. In any case, Yan Zhiqing should be given the chance to get to know Wei Zilin.
If it did not work out and Wei Zilin was still uninterested in her, there was nothing else they could do.
Having said that, Lin Chu also felt that Yan Zhiqing’s personality did not suit Wei Zilin’s taste. She did not know much about Wei Zilin, but judging from their previous interactions, she felt that Yan Zhinqing was not the type of person Wei Zilin would fall for.
Moreover, Yan Beicheng was right, Yan Zhiqing was really too young for Wei Zilin.
Yan Zhiqing was a freshman this year. From her perspective, even she thought that Yan Zhiqing was still a little girl, much less Wei Zilin.
Even if she had graduated, she would still only be 23 or 24 years old and would still be too young for Wei Zilin. However, our perception of a student and somebody that was working would be different, as we would regard the latter as more mature.
Moreover, Wei Zilin did not have a girlfriend and was still single. For Yan Zhiqing to disregard the age gap and try her best anyway was not necessarily a bad thing since she was not hurting anyone. Hence, even if Lin Chu was not particularly supportive of it, she had no objections either. She felt that it did not matter if they just went along with the flow.
Now, if Wei Zilin had a girlfriend which Yan Zhiqing was aware of, but she still insisted on disturbing him, then that would be an entirely different matter. She and Yan Beicheng would never agree to it even if Yan Zhiqing were to talk until the cows came home whilst trying to convince them.
When all was said and done, Wei Zilin was still Yan Beicheng’s best friend. Yan Beicheng was the one with the final say in this matter, and it was inappropriate for Lin Chu to step forward and try to meddle in the matter, so she did not voice out her opinion the entire time. At the very least, she would not openly oppose Yan Beicheng in front of so many people as this would only lead people to assume that Lin Chu was the one who wore the pants in this relationship. She decided that she would privately speak to Yan Beicheng once they got back to try and get him to agree to Yan Zhiqing’s request.
In reality, if they were to consider everything they had talked about, despite the fact that Yan Zhiqing and Wei Zilin were generally unsuited for each other, Yan Zhiqing’s request was not really that unreasonable.
However, there was no need for Lin Chu to discuss this privately with Yan Beicheng. Yan Beicheng was sitting beside her as he suddenly said in a calm voice, “If you really do as you’ve promised me, then I may agree to it.”
Yan Zhiqing was stunned. She had prepared herself to fight it out with Yan Beicheng and was not expecting Yan Beicheng to agree so quickly. For a moment, she thought that she had heard wrongly.
She blinked a couple of times and asked in astonishment, “Really?”
“As long as you promise me that if Wei Zilin really doesn’t see you in that way, then you won’t start harassing him and making things difficult for him.” Yan Beicheng said in a serious tone as he looked directly at Yan Zhiqing.
“Of course, I promise. You can rest assured that I won’t do that.” Yan Zhiqing nodded hurriedly. Now that she had achieved her goal, she began to feel that she was being way too overeager and was somewhat embarrassed that she had not been more aloof about it.
She cleared her throat and raised her chin arrogantly. “I’m in no rush to go after him. To be honest, I’m such a good person for giving him a chance to get to know me. If he’s really not interested, then it’s because he has poor taste and terrible fortune. I, Yan Zhiqing, am so qualified that I don’t need to go after a man that doesn’t like me back.”
“Alright.” Yan Beicheng said as he heaved a sigh. “Since you put it that way, I’ll look for an opportunity for you to get to know Zilin. Just note that the ticket for this exhibition belongs to Yu Zi, so it’s up to her to give it to whoever she wants.”
Yan Zhiqing immediately turned her head toward Yu Zi. Yu Zi wore an indifferent expression on her face as she replied to her on the spot, “In that case, I’ll give it to Wei Zilin.”
Thus, the matter was now in Yan Beicheng’s hands.
In the end, Yan Huaian was the one to hand the ticket over to Wei Zilin. When he did, he simply gave the excuse that he wanted him to take care of Yu Zi and Yan Ningbai for him. Yan Beicheng only had eyes for his wife, so he was not at ease leaving them with him.
Although Wei Zilin felt that the excuse Yan Huaian gave was not that convincing, there was no real reason not to go, so he agreed to it.
Yan Ningbai also gave Mo Jinxi a call. Mo Jinxi was not one that would appreciate oil painting, but it would be fun to fool around with Yan Ningbai. So, he immediately asked Liang Xiulin for permission.
Liang Xiulin also preferred that Mo Jinxi interact with Yan Ningbai more, hence she happily agreed.
Everyone was scheduled to meet on Saturday. Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu had come to the Family Mansion to pick up Yan Zhiqing while Yu Zi and Yan Ningbai went to the Mo Family’s mansion to pick up Mo Jinxi. They had agreed to meet up with Wei Zilin at the exhibition.
Yan Zhiqing’s disability was still an inconvenience, so she occupied the whole back seat whilst Lin Chu sat in the passenger seat in front.
Due to the matter surrounding Jiang Changdai, their relationships with Yan Zhiqing had improved. However, since Yan Beicheng was never that close to Yan Zhiqing from the start, it was hard for him to really bond with her. It was as if he had used up all his thick-skinned attitude on Lin Chu, such that he and Yan Zhiqing were unable to find a way to get closer like normal siblings. Moreover, Yan Zhiqing had always been someone that was stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat.
As a result, although their relationships had improved, it was still rare for them to hang out together. Due to Yan Zhiqing’s condition, she did not normally like to leave the house. If she really had to, then the Family Mansion’s driver, Xiao Deng would be the one to fetch her around.
Lin Chu could not help but feel that she and Yan Beicheng were not being caring enough toward Yan Zhiqing.
At this moment, both Yan Zhiqing’s legs had been stretched out horizontally onto the back seat. She was holding onto an air cushion foundation to fix up her makeup as she began to pat it all over her face.
“At your age, going for the no-makeup look is the best choice. After putting it on, you look too mature and are not as attractive as before.” Yan Beicheng frowned. Originally, he had even wanted to say that not only was it a sore to the eyes, it was borderline comical.
To him, it was akin to a child that dressed up as an adult.
However, it would be too harsh, even if it was true. Thus, he bit his tongue and held back.
Even so, Yan Zhiqing was still unhappy at his comment. She had intentionally put on makeup today and had dressed up beautifully. She was making every possible effort to ensure that she would be glowing in front of Wei Zilin.
“Everyone in the school is like this. Big Brother, you’re too old-fashioned. Now even middle school students are starting to put on makeup.” Yan Zhiqing rolled her eyes at the mirror of the air cushion foundation and continued to pat away.
Yan Beicheng looked at her from the rearview mirror. The way she looked right now, did she not realize that she still looked like a child.
…
They were the first ones to arrive. Yu Zi and the two kids, as well as Wei Zilin, were not there yet.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Yu Zi arrived with the two children. Yan Ningbai and Mo Jinxi were each holding a small cup of pearl milk tea, which the exhibition would not allow them to bring in. Since Wei Zilin had not yet arrived, Yu Zi let the two children finish their drinks in the car. In any case, the cups were almost empty by now anyway.
After finishing their drinks, Yu Zi looked for a trash can to throw the cups away. Then, the few of them went to wait inside the big hall. The space in the car was too narrow for the two children to sit still, however, in the hall, the children could roam about freely.
Not long after, they saw Liang Wenyin coming out. During the two consecutive weeks of this painting exhibition, Liang Wenyi had been here every single day.
“After finding out you guys were coming today, I’ve been standing here waiting the whole time.” Liang Wenyin said as she giggled. “Since you’re here, why don’t you guys head in?”
“One of my friend’s is not here yet.” Yan Beicheng explained as his hands wrapped around Lin Chu’s waist. It was almost like a rule that had become a habit – as long as Lin Chu was around, he would subconsciously protect her. This habit had only been reinforced after Lin Chu became pregnant.
As soon as he finished talking, Wei Zilin arrived.
Seeing that everyone was there except for him, he apologized right away. “I’m sorry that I’m late.”
Liang Wenyin was momentarily lost for words. Then, she asked in a natural and unrestrained manner, “This person is ——”
“My friend, Wei Zilin.” Yan Beicheng replied in a calm manner. Then, he introduced Liang Wenyin to Wei Zilin.
“Mr. Wei, hello.” Liang Wenyin extended her hand toward Wei Zilin.
Wei Zilin nodded slightly, then politely shook hands with Liang Wenyin. He did not do this for longer than courtesy required and immediately released her hand right after.
Yan Zhiqing squinted her eyes and exclaimed out loud before Liang Wenyin was able to open her mouth again. “Big Brother Zilin!”
Due to the matter regarding Jiang Changdai and the Lu Family, Wei Zilin had learned about Yan Zhiqing’s attitude toward the whole fiasco. Thus, he had gained better impression of Yan Zhiqing now and was more polite toward her than before.
Yan Zhiqing was ecstatic about this and when Wei Zilin was not looking, she snuck a glance at Liang Wenyin in a snobby manner.
Yan Zhiqing was behaving like a hedgehog, unwilling to let down her guard around any suspicious rivals. Besides, one look at Liang Wenyin and it was obvious that she was interested in Wei Zilin.
She grumbled to herself, ‘Old woman,’ then, said to Wei Zilin, “Big Brother Zilin, can you push me around? My brother has to look after Lin Chu and Yu Zi has to look after the two children.”
Liang Wenyin smiled dryly. “Miss Yan, isn’t that an electric wheelchair?”
She raised an eyebrow at the joystick in her hand as she spoke.
Yan Zhiqing twitched her mouth as she replied in a bold and confident tone. “My hand hurts.”
Lin Chu, “…”
She began to suspect that Yan Beicheng’s signature thick-skin had to be hereditary as Yan Ningbai was the same as well. After some time, she realized that Yan Huaian shared this trait too, but it was just not very obvious when in front of them. At least, not as obvious as with Yan Beicheng anyway.
She initially thought that Yan Zhiqing was thin-skinned. She usually said things that were contradicting to her actual beliefs, but Lin Chu never realized that it was just her being thick-skinned.
At this moment, Liang Wenyin took the initiative to go behind the wheelchair. “Then, I’ll push you.”
Yan Zhiqing gritted her teeth and said, “How can I let Miss Liang follow us around all day. Don’t you have other guests to entertain?”
“Not really. All the important guests had come on the first day of the exhibition. The most important guests today are you guys.” Liang Wenyin said, clearly announcing her intention to accompany them the whole time.
Yan Zhiqing thought to herself, ‘Everyone here are family members, so why would an outsider follow us around? It won’t be comfortable for the family to speak freely.’
If Wei Zilin was not around, she would have said this out loud. However, since Wei Zilin was there, she could only swallow her words and bide her time.
She was forced to this as this comment would indirectly attack Wei Zilin too. Since she did not want Wei Zilin to detest her after hearing her say this, she could only sit back and be wheeled around by Liang Weiyin while displaying a gloomy expression.
However, Yan Zhiqing could not stand the fact that Liang Wenyin was constantly behind her. It did not take long before she wanted to move the wheelchair on her own.
“Does your hand not hurt anymore?” Liang Wenyin asked.
“No, it doesn’t.” Yan Zhiqing, a young lady that had just celebrated her 19th birthday, could not compete with Liang Wenyin in a battle of intelligence. Even her personality was too straightforward and uncultured.
“Yu Zi.” A somewhat unfamiliar yet gentle and cultivated voice was heard.
She turned around and saw that it was the doctor from Chu Tian Hospital, Yue Jingchen. He was not wearing a doctor’s white coat today; instead, he wore a loose sweater and carried a jacket on his arm. Lin Chu almost could not recognize him.
“What a coincidence.” Lin Chu smiled.
Yan Ningbai was initially playing around with Mo Jinxi as both of them were uninterested in oil paintings, but he suddenly dashed beside Yu Zi upon hearing his voice.
The other day, after coming back from the hospital, his father had explained to him the reason behind the argument. It turned out that this uncle was his mother’s ex-boyfriend, and his father had warned him that ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends were particularly dangerous. Therefore, when Yan Ningbai spotted him, he immediately jumped out to protect his mother whilst taking his phone out to text Yan Huaian.
After sending the text, he praised his own intelligence.
Yu Zi noticed that Yue Jingchen was on his own and asked, “Did you come alone?”
“A friend gave me a ticket and since it’s rare for me not to be on duty today, I decided to come out to relax.” Yue Jingchen explained.
He saw Yan Zhiqing there and asked about her recovery. Then, he evaluated her recovery progress based on Yan Zhiqing’s explanation.
After making one round through the art exhibition, it was already noon. Everyone was preparing to leave when Yan Ningbai’s suddenly exclaimed, “Dad!”
The hall was particularly quiet so Yan Ningbai’s sudden exclamation made everyone turned their heads over to their direction. Yu Zi quickly apologized to them and saw Yan Huaian walking over. His back seemingly got straighter as he strode toward them, making him look almost as straight as a pine tree. His long, bony fingers tugged up his tie as he walked, adjusting it slightly before putting his hands back down and walking earnestly.
He cast a dim glance at Yue Jingchen and looked down to see his silly son giving him a peace sign.
“Don’t you have to work in the afternoon?” Yu Zi laughed as she looked at Yan Huaian in a happy and amused manner.
She had noticed Yan Ningbai’s little gestures a while ago so she knew that her son had disclosed the information to his father, which was why Yan Huaian had hurriedly rushed over. Hence, Yu Zi felt particularly helpless regarding his jealous and childish actions.
They had previously had an intense argument about Yan Huaian not trusting her, but now, Yu Zi no longer felt that way. She felt helpless but found it sweet of Yan Huaian to be jealous. Furthermore, his effort in coming all the way here to accompany them for a bit made her happy. After all, Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu’s affection toward one another was getting a bit overbearing by then.
Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu were not deliberately displaying their affection so publicly as they barely even said anything that was cringe-worthy or done anything too over-the-top. However, the two were connected at such a deep level that even the most ordinary interactions would cause others to want to stay far away due to the overwhelming aura that they emitted. If one got too close to them, they would start missing their other half, while those that were single would curse themselves.
Hence, Yu Zi was particularly happy that Yan Huaian had decided to come over. If they were not in a public space, she would have hugged him tight and showered him with kisses.
Perhaps it was Yu Zi’s obvious joy and passionate gaze, but it did not take long before Yan Huaian’s jealousy completely dissipated. He was so ecstatic that he straightened up even more, making himself feel like he had gotten taller. He did not care that Yue Jingchen was there either, since it would be better if he could d*mn him to death with their love.
It did not matter what kind of feelings Yue Jingchen had toward Yu ZI now, as looking at his former girlfriend who he once talked about marriage with being so in love with another man left a sour taste in his mouth. Thus, he quickly made up an excuse and left.
Yu Zi wrapped herself in Yan Huaian’s arm and raised her eyebrows as if to say, ‘Are you satisfied now?’
Yan Huaian smiled in contentment. “I can take a break for the afternoon and keep you company.”
Yan Ningbai, “…”
What about him?
After walking a single round through the exhibit and looking at the paintings, they decided to go for a meal. Naturally, it would be impolite to leave Liang Wenyin on her own so they invited her as well out of courtesy.
