Chapter 266: I’ll Go In There To Help You Tuck In The Corners Of Your Blanket
They would need to let things progress naturally to see what Wei Wucai thought about the situation.
So, he asked, “When did you come back?”
“Friday night. I’ll be returning to T City tonight,” Wei Wucai’s attention shifted away from Yan Zhiqing momentarily, but even then, not completely.
We Wucai was really busy and he constantly had work to do in the Lanshan Institution, so it was rare for him to find the time to come home. On this occasion, he had only come back because his mother had personally gone over to T City in order to force him home.
His mother was not really in any hurry to matchmake him when he was younger. Nevertheless, when his mother eventually did start to feel anxious about his marital status and started looking for suitable girls for him, Wei Wucai would always give the excuse that he was working in T City and it would therefore not be convenient to be in a relationship with someone in B City. After all, long-distance relationships were always problematic. Besides, the nature of his work made it such that even if they were living in the same city, he would not have time to go on dates with his partner, what more if they were from different cities.
Wei Wucai’s mother had thus been convinced by him as this was a valid reason.
However, with Wei Wucai getting older, it became much more worrying that the much older Wei Zhiqian was also continuing his bachelor lifestyle at home.
Old Lady Wei would nag Wei Zhiqian every day. It might not be Wei Wucai’s turned to be nagged yet, but his turn would eventually come after Wei Zhiqian’s ears fell off.
The elders in the Wei family were starting to get anxious as they watched the younger generation from the other families starting their own families one by one. Everyone from Wei Ziqi to Yan Beicheng seemed to be getting having kids.
Wei Wucai’s mother had so far been constantly listening to Old Lady Wei’s nagging about their family situation. When the topic shifted to Wei Zhiqian, it suddenly reminded Wei Wucai’s mother that her son still had yet to find himself a girlfriend!
Whenever Madam Wei chatted with friends about each other’s children these days, she would suddenly be reminded that her son was no longer a young man in his early 20’s – he was already 28 years old! When was he going to get married if he did not start looking for a wife now?
Therefore, this time, she had put her foot down and told Wei Wucai that his excuse was no longer valid.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get you someone who is willing to go to T City with you. It’s not like you can’t afford to take care of your wife, anyway. You can still live a good life with your wife in T City,” Madam Wei had said to him.
Wei Wucai had retorted that these rich girls were difficult to please. Which one of them would be willing to leave their homes and follow him to T City? Not to mention, those pampered girls would not be able to take the fact that he would constantly be out.
Madam Wei replied, “There are nice rich girls out there. I think you just have a biased opinion of those girls who come from prestigious families. Just look at Lu Nanxi. She was brought up in a pampered environment as well, but she still went over to T City with Fang Boran, didn’t she? You shouldn’t judge them all the same way just because of a few bad apples. You’re always hanging out with Fang Boran, so you should be aware of how close both their families are. Don’t fret, you can still find yourself a good wife from another city.”
Wei Wucai did not say another word as he decided that all he needed to do was claim that he was busy and not go home in the near future.
However, he had not expected Madam Wei to personally head over to T City to drag him back home for a matchmaking session.
Wei Wucai did not go into detail about the date, and since Yan Beicheng knew that he did not want to say much, he likewise did not prod too much.
Unfortunately, Wei Wucai was sitting next to Yan Zhiqing. Firstly, she was already not a very sensitive person, but in addition to this, she was at loggerheads with Wei Wucai, so she said with a wide smile, “He’s back here to be matchmade. I bumped into that girl he was being matchmade with earlier. Obviously, it didn’t go very well.”
Wei Wucai, “…”
“I’m a blunt person. Those who don’t know me well tend to get offended by me, which happens pretty frequently. Regardless, I’m still a man. It would be no problem for me to wait until I’m thirty or forty. You, on the other hand, are a lady with a rotten personality who tends to say mean things. It would spell trouble for you if you don’t change this temperament of yours soon. You might think that you’re still a fresh little flower at this young age, but just wait until you’re older. I’m not being sexist, but in our country, it is difficult for a woman over thirty to find herself someone to hitch with. With a temperament like yours, men will just think that you’re a young girl who doesn’t know the ways of the world, and when you get older, they will just ignore you. I can see that you have high standards when picking a boyfriend, but those men you are interested in will not have the patience to coax a lady with a bad temper. They would have a whole throng of young, beautiful ladies vying for their attentions, and these young ladies would be gentle and know how to get into their good books. Even if there were a couple of them who acted stubborn, it would just be in attempt to play hard-to-get,” Wei Wucai examined Yan Zhiqing from top to bottom. The look in his eyes had said a thousand words.
He might not have added anything else to his words, but even with her slower brain, Yan Zhiqing understood what he meant.
A personality like hers was not appealing, so she was likely to get dumped in the future.
However, Wei Wucai was not done. He continued on and gave her the last stab in the heart. “If you don’t believe me, just ask your granduncle and your brother if what I’m saying is true.”
Yan Huaian, “…”
Yan Beicheng, “…”
They were both innocent bystanders who had suddenly got pulled into the conversation.
Even if Yan Zhiqing was their junior, they would never cause trouble for themselves by offending this little girl for no good reason. She was not a particularly smart person and would give them nothing but a headache if they crossed her.
Both of them had always thought that Wei Wucai’s words were mean and blunt, but they ignored it since he would not talk much. Therefore, it was quite a surprise to them that he had said so much to Yan Zhiqing at one go.
Nevertheless, they were not aware that even though Wei Wucai usually did not say much, it was usually because his words were always too sharp for the other party to be able to retaliate. Thus, Wei Wucai never needed to say much to shut others up. Not to mention, the people he spent the most time with were the bunch up at the Lanshan Institution.
Hao Donghuai was better at using his hands rather than his words. Fang Boran was his superior, so naturally, he would not say anything mean to him. Yuan Jiangyi was the one who never had anything nice to say, and so, was always begging for a beating. Even so, he would always come back to Wei Wucai after his beating to say something to incur his wrath. In these cases, there was no need to say too much to Yuan Jiangyi, Wei Wucai would just use his fists to reply him.
This was why Wei Wucai never really had many opportunities to say much. It was not because he did not like to talk, if someone was actually able to get through a conversation with him, Wei Wucai would not mind saying more.
He realized today that Yan Zhiqing was actually capable of taking his mean words, which made the experience particularly delightful. Thus, Wei Wucai could not help but talk much more than usual.
That being said, even though Wei Wucai had a lot to say, he could not ever find anyone to hold a conversation with him due to his biting words. He would often feel his tongue coiling up from holding back everything he wanted to say.
At this moment, Lin Chu quietly tugged at Yan Beicheng. He lowered his head toward her as Lin Chu whispered into his ear, “Wei Wucai’s words sound really familiar.”
She said this quietly as she did not want anyone to hear them. The words entered Yan Beicheng’s ear, but he was only able to focus on her warm breath.
She was the only one who could have such an effect on him. The whole table of delicious smelling food could not cover the light fragrance emanating from her body, which was light and mixed playfully with the smell of her shampoo. He could only smell this concoction when she came close to him.
Yan Beicheng could no longer concentrate on her words. He took in her fragrance quietly and felt something surging within his body. Then, he lowered his head to see her pinkish lips, which no longer had lipstick on them as she had been eating. Lin Chu had the habit of wiping her mouth clean every time she placed her chopsticks down, regardless of if she was going to continue eating.
Her lips looked clean and refreshed, with no sign of any artificial colorings on her at all; only the natural pinkish color of her lips remained. Lin Chu was just like any other woman, and would take great care of her skin by putting on different facial masks every day. From facial masks to skin creams, her bottles of skincare products constantly accumulated, but never seemed to decrease. This was because she was determined to stop her skin from aging too fast.
For someone who cared so much about her skincare regiment, Lin Chu looked better in areas that she did not take much notice of. Her lips were naturally beautiful, and though there were light lines on her lips, and it was always soft and the skin never peeled.
Yan Beicheng’s head tilted slightly toward Lin Chu. He could smell the fragrance of tea coming from her lips and suddenly became annoyed at the other people having dinner with them. He could have enjoyed her lips now if not for them.
Lin Chu could tell that Yan Beicheng was looking at her funny, so she quietly poked him. Even so, she could not poke him too hard because of his hard-rock abs. His six-pack was so ridiculously defined that if you look at it, it would make you think that something had been injected into them to make them look so perfect. However, if upon touching his abs, you could tell that it was real. It was just naturally rock-hard and springy at the same time.
Now that Lin Chu was heavy with baby, she could not move too much. Before she was pregnant, she was able to let herself go when passion got the better of her. At times, she was so consumed by her hormones that she would hold Yan Beicheng down and kiss him along the lines of his six-pack. The feel of her hands and her lips were different, but wonderful in their own separate way. In any case, the main point was that she loved his six-pack a lot.
When she got pregnant, Lin Chu’s sexual drive grew, and she would easily get into the mood for it. Yan Beicheng had always been the one to take the initiative, but now, he had taken a step back for fear of hurting her. Thus, Lin Chu was the one who was always initiating things now. There were nights she could no longer hold it in but was too embarrassed to say the word. So, she would simply nestle into this arms and creep downward little by little. Lin Chu was aware that it did not make much for Yan Beicheng to get into the mood. All she needed was to light a little fire in him and she could very soon hear his breathing become heavy.
One of the places to light the fire was his abdomen, and Lin Chu would try to poke him on his hard abs through his clothes. However, she was always afraid of hurting him whenever she did this. He may be a man of sturdy build, but his heart was like a fragile vase. In her eyes, even a light touch might shatter it, so she had never poked him too hard. However, for Yan Beicheng the touch felt lighter than somebody scratching an itch. To him, it seemed as though she was just sneakily getting him aroused under the public eye.
Yan Beicheng then placed his chopsticks down while his perfectly structured hands moved underneath the table. He held on to the finger she was poking him with and smiled.
From the look in his eyes, he was obviously thinking about something dirty. Thus, Lin Chu glared at him. Her belly was getting bigger and she was getting nearer her expected date of labor. The gentle look of a mother’s love had now become more obvious on her face despite her expressions being pretty much the same as before. However, the expressions were now tainted with an especially gentle glow that made them seem softer than before.
Now, her glare really did not pose much threat, rather, it had a touch of coyness to it.
Yan Beicheng smiled and said, “Old Lady Wei once said those exact same words before too.”
“What?” Lin Chu blinked and paused. Then, she suddenly remembered and patted Yan Beicheng hard on the legs.
Yan Beicheng’s lips twitched. He had no idea when this became a habit of hers; now, she always hit him whenever she needed to express something physically.
He heard Lin Chu say, “Now I remember. When I followed Grandma over to the Wei house to visit, Old Lady Wei had said something similar about Wei Rongxuan.”
Yan Beicheng’s lips curved upwards. “Old Lady Wei must have been nagging Wei Rongxuan so often that Wei Wucai found it difficult to forget the words. He must have quoted her today and used them today on Zhiqing instead.”
Lin Chu could no longer remember the number of times Wei Rongxuan had divorced now. All she remembered about her was her tendency to continue divorcing and keep young men by her side. She married, divorced, and continued grooming young men. She may now be married now, but her husband and her had an open marriage and did not bother to keep each other in check. Their marriage only existed on paper so that they could enjoy the conveniences that came along with a legal marriage.
They did not need to trouble themselves with dividing the properties during their divorce and did not have the headache of having to guard themselves against others who were eyeing their money since they already had a legal spouse that no one else could replace. No matter how much crazy fun they had out of the house, both husband and wife never bothered each other about it. They took care of their lovers with their individual finances seeing as how both of them did not lack money. As a result, neither of them were greedy for each other’s riches.
Besides, both of them were good-looking people. When they got tired of their lovers, they would occasionally hook up with each other for fun, allowing them to enjoy a very happy life with their open marriage.
However, Old Lady Wei was continuously worried about Wei Rongxuan because of her track record, which Old Lady Wei would constantly bring up. It happened so often that even Lin Chu had heard this nagging before, so it was no wonder that she found it familiar.
Yan Zhiqing, who was sitting beside Wei Wucai, was now seething with rage. She bared her teeth and shouted at Wei Wucai despite Wei Zilin being around, “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with my temper? What has it got to do with you if I have a bad temper?! Stop pretending that we know each other well, alright? You have the gall to be worried over me? Take a look at yourself. You can matchmake all your life and will still never ever get married! Hmph!”
“Just to ride on your wonderful words, I’ve never planned on getting married through matchmaking,” Wei Wucai was aware that he had crossed the line by saying all these things to a young lady in front of so many people.
However, once he started talking, he was unable to stop himself. He did not get angry even though Yan Zhiqing had lost her temper at him, but he also could not help himself and refused to back down.
Yan Zhiqing let out a short, exaggerated laugh. “Ha! Ha! I guess I won’t be able to change my temper. This is who I am. Watch me while I find myself someone who likes me and this temper of mine!”
Yan Zhiqing could not help glancing at Wei Zilin after saying this.
Fortunately, Wei Zilin pretended that he did not see a thing and turned to chat with Yan Beicheng while this was going on.
Unfortunately, Wei Wucai noticed the whole interaction. His mouth unleashed even more sarcasm, “That’s right. Take your time looking, okay?”
Yan Zhiqing exploded with rage.
She bared her teeth like a hissing cat. From Wei Wucai’s tone, it was clear that he was implying that she would never find anyone to love her.
Yan Zhiqing was gloomy all the way home. She had wanted to try to get Wei Zilin to give her a lift home, but Wei Zilin did not even bother to dig up an excuse and immediately told her that it would be more convenient for her take a ride with Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu.
The only good thing about the night was that Wei Zilin did not seem too taken by Liang Wenyin either.
Lin Chu sat at the front and stole looks at Yan Zhiqing. She noticed that Yan Zhiqing was looking out the window and so, did not notice what Lin Chu was doing.
Yan Zhiqing was pouting unhappily, which made Lin Chu wonder what she was thinking about. Her expression was grim and there was a rare look on her face that signified a lack of confidence.
Lin Chu was surprised and felt bad. She now had a better impression of Yan Zhiqing because of what had happened with the Lu family, and even though there were days when Yan Zhiqing’s personality was too much to handle, at the end of the day, she was a good-hearted girl.
This was why Lin Chu treated her as an occasionally stubborn little girl. She was only 19 years old, after all, and was still very much a child.
Lin Chu had always remembered Yan Zhiqing as a confident, happy girl. She sometimes went a little overboard, but she was, in fact, a shy person at heart. Yan Zhiqing was not used to being praised, so if someone praised her or got too close to her with good intentions, she would immediately flare up like a hedgehog and say things that she did not really mean. However, her true thoughts were always betrayed by the simultaneous blushing on her face.
It was really adorable to see her react in this way.
Regardless, Yan Zhiqing had always given Lin Chu the impression of someone who had confidence to spare. She had always acted confidently in any situation, which was no wonder as she was the only granddaughter in the Yan family. It would not be wrong to say that she was a woman of privilege, and those of the Yan family should possess confidence at that level.
However, that same confidence had all but completely disappeared from Yan Zhiqing. Right now, there was even a look of self-doubt on her face.
Lin Chu felt bad for Yan Zhiqing when she saw her this way. She wanted to say something to her but remembered that Yan Zhiqing was someone prideful. She would not want anyone to see her like this right now, so Lin Chu kept silent and swallowed her words before turning to face forward yet again.
Yan Beicheng took a quick look at Lin Chu and saw that she was listless. He knew it was because she had turned back to check on Yan Zhiqing, so he too took a peek at her via the rear-view mirror.
It was only a quick peek since he was driving, so he did not observe her as clearly as Lin Chu did. Nevertheless, he was able to tell the Yan Zhiqing was not in a good mood. Despite this, Yan Beicheng said nothing.
Since Lin Chu was not in a good mood, his mood was affected as well. He wanted to reach over and hold Lin Chu’s hand, but as he was doing this, he thought about Yan Zhiqing’s feelings and decided she might not be able to stand their lovey-dovey actions. Thus, his hand stopped mid-way.
Lin Chu saw his hand as well and pushed it back towards the steering wheel.
Yan Beicheng then focused on driving and did not make any more unnecessary movements.
The car stopped in front of the old mansion where Yan Beicheng carried Yan Zhiqing to her wheelchair. She looked much better now, even though one could still tell that she was upset about something. At the very least, she looked much better than she did on the ride home. However, Lin Chu felt worse for Yan Zhiqing after looking at her face to face. Yan Zhiqing had kept all her sadness pent up inside herself and was too stubborn to let anyone know how she really felt.
Lin Chu was reminded of the fact that Yan Zhiqing had acted the same way when Jiang Changdai had betrayed her.
Yan Zhiqing had cried then, but it was only for a while before she told everyone about what had happened. After that, she had never mentioned it again. Later, she had awkwardly laughed and chatted with the family without showing any signs that anything wrong.
However, to Yan Zhiqing, it was a serious matter. Anyone who had experienced it could not recover so quickly after just a few words of consolation. Therefore, Lin Chu suspected that Yan Zhiqing might have been feeling the same way she did back then. She acted normal in front of others, but only when no one was watching did she allow herself to be fragile as she slowly digested everything that had happened.
Since they were now in the old mansion, there was no reason not to pay them a short visit. So, Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu pushed Yan Zhiqing in and decided to stay for dinner.
It was already 2.30 pm when they arrived, and Yan Zhiqing had a tired look on her as she said, “Grandpa, Grandma, I’m going to my bedroom for a short nap.”
The two elders were especially patient with Yan Zhiqing. Even when she was being terribly annoying, Old Master Yan would not be as strict as before and lecture her without a second thought. Now, he would patiently try to reason with her.
This was not an easy feat for the quick-tempered Old Master Yan. The first time Old Lady Yan saw him reason with Yan Zhiqing, she had dramatically run out of the house to stare at the sky.
When she went back into the house, Old Master Yan had asked what was wrong with her.
Old Lady Yan said, “The sun is still shining in the east and it’s a good day with no rain, not even red rain. So, it’s really strange that your temperament has suddenly become so gentle.”
Old Master Yan grunted in annoyance and ignored Old Lady Yan after this. From that day onwards, he was always gentle with Yan Zhiqing; Even Old Lady Yan was used to it.
This was why Old Master Yan did not show any unhappiness as Old Lady Yan quickly ushered Yan Zhiqing to her room to rest.
To allow Yan Zhiqing to move around with convenience, they had especially arranged for her to stay in the downstairs bedroom. This way, she did not need to climb any stairs to get around.
Yan Zhiqing gave a listless smiled and went back to her bedroom using the wheelchair’s joystick.
After this, Lin Chu sat down for a while. She was worried and felt that Yan Zhiqing should not let her mind wander alone in the room.
This was a girl who would easily push herself into a corner. What if she could not think things through and got stuck in her current emotional state?
Thus, Lin Chu quietly said to Yan Beicheng, “I’ll go check on Zhiqing. I think something is wrong with her.”
“Okay,” Yan Beicheng nodded and allowed Lin Chu to leave.
Yan Zhiqing was someone who valued her personal privacy. She was very protective of her little world, and she wanted complete ownership of everything she owned.
Regardless of what it was, even if she only needed to use it once and could borrow it from a friend, Yan Zhiqing would still prefer to buy it. She would rather use it once and throw it away rather than borrow it because in the former case, the item would belong to her.
Take her bedroom for example: Yan Zhiqing does not like people walking to and fro in front of her bedroom door. This was why she picked the guestroom at the very end of the corridor and got Aunt Chen to tidy it up for her to use as her bedroom.
She would close the door tight if she was in her room, so that no one from the outside could peep inside.
At the same time, she did not like closing the curtains. The sun often shone into the room through the window, lighting up the entire room whilst also allowing her could turn toward the window and see the garden outside. Yan Zhiqing kept the curtains open even at night. When she laid down in bed, she could see the dark blue sky, which was like an infinite abyss. Occasionally, she could see the planes slowly flying through the sky as their lights blinked away; On lucky days, she would even be able to see some stars.
Lin Chu knocked on the door a couple of times and said, “Zhiqing, it’s me, Lin Chu. Are you asleep?”
“Yes, I am,” Yan Zhiqing’s moody reply could be heard. She did not sound okay.
Lin Chu almost laughed but felt resigned at the same time. Hesitantly, she turned the doorknob. Yan Zhiqing did not lock the door, so she said, “That’s fine. I’ll go in there to help you tuck in the corners of your blanket.”
Yan Zhiqing, “…”
This was a really lousy excuse.
Lin Chu had spent too much time with Yan Beicheng. She must have been totally influenced by him.
Lin Chu did not even wait for Yan Zhiqing to reply as she pushed the door open.
She saw Yan Zhiqing’s sitting on the bed with her wheelchair next to it. There were pillows propped up behind her back and she looked very comfortable sitting there.
There was a box of tissues on her lap, and Yan Zhiqing was still holding on to a slightly dry tissue when Lin Chu walked in. Her eyes were red and puffy while there were unmistakable streaks of tears on her face.
As Lin Chu closed the door behind her, Yan Zhiqing sniffled and pressed her lips together. Now that Lin Chu had discovered her in this state, she let it all out and asked roughly, “What are you doing? Coming in here to laugh in my face? I know that I’m a mess right now, but there’s no need for you to come and see me this way.”
Lin Chu was not angry at all. She walked to her bedside and sat down. “What is there for me to laugh about? Have you ever seen family members be so mean to their own family? I’m just worried because I noticed that you were in low spirits in the car, so I came to see if you were okay.”
“I’m already an adult. What’s there for you to worry about? You can tell me to my face if you want to make fun of me,” Yan Zhiqing straightened herself up and said stubbornly.
“Give me a chance. I know your character pretty well and you may not like what I’m about to say, but in any case, I am more than six years older than you. You’re just a naïve young lady, and it’s not hard for me to be able to see right through you. I know you are a stubborn person; When you are upset about something, you keep it to yourself and refuse to let others know about it because you’re afraid they will make fun of you. To be honest, that’s actually just your ego talking,” Lin Chu said lightly. Her tone was neutral, and her voice was not too loud nor low. It made anyone who listened to it feel at ease.
Yan Zhiqing blinked and sniffled again before lowering her head. Words could not describe how she was feeling right now.
Yan Zhiqing rubbed her chest, she felt a strange sensation in her heart right then.
No one had ever tried to get to know her this way, or even tried to pry open her heart. The two elders were up there in age, so she did not ask too much from them. There was only so much they could do, and they did their best to treat her well. Nevertheless, the two elders did not have the energy to pour into trying to understand her better.
As for Yan Beicheng, he gave everything to Lin Chu and did not spare anyone else a second look. Where would he find the time to get to know another person?
From his point of view, the only person he needed to truly understand was Lin Chu.
This was why Yan Zhiqing felt a slight flow of warmth, only the size of a needlepoint, slowly but steadily flowing through her heart.
She had always thought that she was doing quite well on her own. Yan Zhiqing was aware of her own shortcomings and knew that she did not have a particularly nice personality. Otherwise, her own grandparents and brother would not have disliked her. However, she also knew that inside, she was not a bad person. Yan Zhiqing was too embarrassed to say that she had a kind personality, but at the very least, she was not bad. No one had ever bluntly told her this, but nor had anyone ever pointed out her fragility.
Yan Zhiqing gave Lin Chu a curious look which seemed to contain mixed emotions.
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Yan Zhiqing’s looked less agitated now and seemed to be more willing to allow Lin Chu to approach her.
From where Lin Chu stood, Yan Zhiqing looked like she had built tall, towering walls around herself, before placing herself firmly in the middle. The more fragile she was, the higher her walls became, such that whenever anyone noticed her fragility tried to console her, they would be impeded by the walls.
Yan Zhiqing obviously needed someone to care for her, but all she would do was stare at the wall. She did not have the courage to walk out of it.
Li Chu poked Yan Zhiqing lightly on the shoulder. Yan Zhiqing was slightly stunned by this as she heard Lin Chu say, “Why don’t you move inside a little?”
Before Yan Zhiqing could react, she saw Lin Chu rubbing her lower back while she turned to move onto the bed. She did this with her back facing the bed as she was heavily pregnant.
There was nothing for Lin Chu to lean onto at the bedside, and she could only support herself with one hand pressing against the bed. This made the way she was sitting look really uncomfortable.
Lin Chu then said, “There’s nothing for me to lean onto. I’m going to start aching if I sit this way for too long since it feels really uncomfortable. Why don’t you move in some more and let me lean against the headboard?”
Yan Zhiqing’s mind was blank but she reacted in a daze to Lin Chu’s words by moving inward. Thus, she made a space large enough for one more person as Lin Chu immediately moved closer and sat beside Yan Zhiqing. As the two of them leaned against the headboard, Lin Chu breathed a sigh of comfort.
Lin Chu looked relaxed but continued to massage her lower back. “This is much more comfortable. Let me just say to you that your personality is not all that bad. You’re pretty adorable sometimes, but at other times, you act too stubborn. A woman should be independent and try not to rely on people for anything, but there are times when you need to be gentler in your approach. Why is there a need to act all stubborn?”
Yan Zhiqing’s mouth moved a little as though she wanted to reply, but she simply gave Lin Chu a blank look.
Lin Chu smiled at her as she stopped massaging her waist and moved both her hands to her legs. She had walked quite a lot at the exhibition today and Lin Chu could feel her legs and calves swelling up.
It was not nice to massage her legs in the open, so she curled them up before starting to massage her calves.
“It’s okay if you’re not willing to show your weakness to others. After all, what right do we have to ask others to deal with our emotional outbursts? However, there’s no need to be that way with your own family. After all, there’s no one closer to you than family, and it would be exhausting for you if you constantly feel the need to hide these emotions from your family as well,” Lin Chu massaged her calves as she said.
Yan Zhiqing turned to look at Lin Chu’s smiling face. It was a gentle and genuine smile which did not irk Yan Zhiqing in the slightest.
Yan Zhiqing sniffled. Before she could help it, she suddenly asked, “Do you really think I have an adorable personality?”
“Yes, I do,” Lin Chu nodded without hesitation, as if this was already a known fact. There was no need to think before answering.
“…” Yan Zhiqing suddenly felt her face heat up as she saw Lin Chu gaze at her gently, as if she was looking at a little girl. Then, Yan Zhiqing quickly turned away and lowered her head.
Lin Chu could see that Yan Zhiqing’s ears had even turned red.
“You’re not just pretending to be nice, are you? It’s… it’s useless for you to try and get into my good books,” Yan Zhiqing started to mumble stubbornly again.
She knew that this habit of hers would be hard to kick. Every time Yan Zhiqing tried to control herself, her words would leave her mouth before her brain had any time to react.
Yan Zhiqing wanted to slap herself the second the words came out.
Lin Chu may view her as a little girl, but she was not about to give in to her so easily. After all, some things had to be said. Just like how she had lectured Xu Jiaojiao – her biological sister – in the past, Lin Chu had to put her foot down now. She did not give in to her sister that easily back then either.
This was why Yan Zhiqing quickly heard Lin Chu snort while sitting beside her. “Do I really need to get into your good books? Let me ask you this, if you and I fell into a pool at the same time, who do you think your brother would save first? Me or you?”
Yan Zhiqing looked at Lin Chu’s belly. She was about to open her mouth when Lin Chu quickly added a point, “This would be before I was pregnant.”
Yan Zhiqing, “…”
The answer would still definitely be Lin Chu.
There was no other answer Yan Zhiqing could give to Lin Chu’s question. There was really no other way around it, and all Yan Zhiqing could do was grit her teeth. She did not want to admit that she had lost.
This was a question that any member of the Yan family knew the answer to, but now that she had been asked it, Yan Zhiqing did not know how to face the answer. This question was especially difficult for her.
Lin Chu had a look of pride on her face now as she lifted her head slightly. She had a wide, flashy smile on her face.
She reached out to pat Yan Zhiqing on the shoulder and said, “You see. Even you can’t deny that. There is absolutely no need for me to get into your good books, and that is something even you need to admit. That’s the way it’s always been. I know you like it when I try to get close to you – you want someone you can open up to but can’t help the fact that you’re always thinking about one thing but saying another. Don’t try to defend yourself with this argument the next time you say something you don’t mean. This reason carries no weight.”
Yan Zhiqing, “…”
Nevertheless, Lin Chu did not want to push Yan Zhiqing too much and stopped patting Yan Zhiqing’s shoulder.
Yan Zhiqing’s mouth moved a little. Then, she gathered her courage and decided to go all out and ask, “Do you honestly think that my personality is… adorable?”
Yan Zhiqing’s lips twitched at her own question.
Even though she was still pretty young and had a sweet-looking face, her personality did not match her appearance at all. For one, she could not stand girls who acted all cute and adorable. Regardless of if that person was genuinely adorable or was just pretending to be cute, it always gave Yan Zhiqing goosebumps.
When Yan Zhiqing was still studying in Ning City, she had attracted the attention of many boys because of how she looked. She did not know if the boys had a lousy eye for beauty, but all of them preferred girls with a cutesy look. Even if she did not like to admit it, Yan Zhiqing could not deny that she had the face of a Lolita.
However, these boys would tend to leave her be once they got to know her personality. When this happened, they often could not stand her.
Naturally, she did not like them back. As the granddaughter of the Yan family, she was aware of her status and would not easily allow herself to be courted by just any boy, regardless of how good-looking he was!
Yan Zhiqing felt that these boys were unreliable. They were still in school, yet they were spending their parent’s money as if it belonged to them; not to mention they did not see anything wrong with this. How capable were these boys if they had to rely on their family for money? Without their families, they were essentially worthless. That was why Yan Zhiqing had never given them much thought and had never dated any of them.
Lin Chu nodded. “I’m being honest here. It’s just so much fun to tease you. When we praise you, you may not want to admit it, but you feel happy. You don’t usually say a lot of nice things and don’t act very smart most the time, but during crucial moments, you never hesitate to do the right thing, which shows that you have been instilled with the right values. You always act awkward when you’re obviously happy about something, but still refuse to admit it. That’s really adorable.”
As she said this, Lin Chu could not help but pinch Yan Zhiqing on her little face.
This was something Lin Chu had always done to Mo Jinxi and the other children. It could be because Yan Zhiqing acted younger than her actual age which made Lin Chu treat her like a little child, causing her to instinctively pinch her face.
However, things got a little awkward after the pinch. Lin Chu quickly let go of Yan Zhiqing’s face, worried that she would fly into a rage over it.
Yan Zhiqing’s lips twitched. Even though Lin Chu sounded like she was praising her, why was she was not happy about it?
She lowered her head as she gently blushed but did not get angry. She quietly said, “But some people don’t feel the same way. You’re my family, so you know me well because you are familiar with me. Those who don’t know me well think that I have a rotten personality, and that I am someone who has a bad temper and is stubborn. They think that I’m incapable and am stupid, that I am blunt and never give face to others. Overall, I’m just not a very nice person to them.”
Lin Chu had not expected Yan Zhiqing to understand all this.
Lin Chu smiled. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you being this way since I think it’s easier to get along with somebody of your personality anyway. Of course, you’ll be more suited to befriend those who are already familiar with your character. They may not like your temperament, but at least they won’t hate you because of it. Those who get to know you by spending time with you will eventually see that you’re an adorable person.”
The more Lin Chu spoke, the redder Yan Zhiqing’s face became. She was embarrassed by all the praise.
“Besides, compared to some people who are always harbouring hidden intentions, I would be more willing to spend time with someone like you. This is because you are simple, direct and will always express what you like and dislike. You are a much better person compared to those who think themselves so smart that they’re constantly manipulating others. It doesn’t matter if it’s making friends, or getting into a relationship, integrity is the most important thing, isn’t it? I don’t need to give myself a headache trying to guess what you are really thinking about, and I don’t need to worry about you backstabbing me when I’m not paying attention. What’s important is that we are happy being friends with each other. After all, who would want to spend all their scheming against their friends? You have your own set of flaws, but you also have a strong set of principles, meaning you don’t hesitate when it comes to deciding what is right or wrong.”
Lin Chu smiled and placed her hands on her belly. “I didn’t know you well before. We’ve never really taken the time to really spend time with each other, and I didn’t like you since you were always rude to me. But after the Lu family fiasco, I learned that you do not hesitate when it comes to deciding on what is right and wrong. You may not be the most flexible or adaptable person in the world, but you’re still young. Let’s not forget that you’ve already done well with the way you have reacted to the situation. You have a kind heart and would never think to harm another, but if someone were to be rude to you, you would not hesitate to return the favor. I have to say, this can actually be a good thing.”
Chapter 266: I’ll Go In There To Help You Tuck In The Corners Of Your Blanket
They would need to let things progress naturally to see what Wei Wucai thought about the situation.
So, he asked, “When did you come back?”
“Friday night. I’ll be returning to T City tonight,” Wei Wucai’s attention shifted away from Yan Zhiqing momentarily, but even then, not completely.
We Wucai was really busy and he constantly had work to do in the Lanshan Institution, so it was rare for him to find the time to come home. On this occasion, he had only come back because his mother had personally gone over to T City in order to force him home.
His mother was not really in any hurry to matchmake him when he was younger. Nevertheless, when his mother eventually did start to feel anxious about his marital status and started looking for suitable girls for him, Wei Wucai would always give the excuse that he was working in T City and it would therefore not be convenient to be in a relationship with someone in B City. After all, long-distance relationships were always problematic. Besides, the nature of his work made it such that even if they were living in the same city, he would not have time to go on dates with his partner, what more if they were from different cities.
Wei Wucai’s mother had thus been convinced by him as this was a valid reason.
However, with Wei Wucai getting older, it became much more worrying that the much older Wei Zhiqian was also continuing his bachelor lifestyle at home.
Old Lady Wei would nag Wei Zhiqian every day. It might not be Wei Wucai’s turned to be nagged yet, but his turn would eventually come after Wei Zhiqian’s ears fell off.
The elders in the Wei family were starting to get anxious as they watched the younger generation from the other families starting their own families one by one. Everyone from Wei Ziqi to Yan Beicheng seemed to be getting having kids.
Wei Wucai’s mother had so far been constantly listening to Old Lady Wei’s nagging about their family situation. When the topic shifted to Wei Zhiqian, it suddenly reminded Wei Wucai’s mother that her son still had yet to find himself a girlfriend!
Whenever Madam Wei chatted with friends about each other’s children these days, she would suddenly be reminded that her son was no longer a young man in his early 20’s – he was already 28 years old! When was he going to get married if he did not start looking for a wife now?
Therefore, this time, she had put her foot down and told Wei Wucai that his excuse was no longer valid.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get you someone who is willing to go to T City with you. It’s not like you can’t afford to take care of your wife, anyway. You can still live a good life with your wife in T City,” Madam Wei had said to him.
Wei Wucai had retorted that these rich girls were difficult to please. Which one of them would be willing to leave their homes and follow him to T City? Not to mention, those pampered girls would not be able to take the fact that he would constantly be out.
Madam Wei replied, “There are nice rich girls out there. I think you just have a biased opinion of those girls who come from prestigious families. Just look at Lu Nanxi. She was brought up in a pampered environment as well, but she still went over to T City with Fang Boran, didn’t she? You shouldn’t judge them all the same way just because of a few bad apples. You’re always hanging out with Fang Boran, so you should be aware of how close both their families are. Don’t fret, you can still find yourself a good wife from another city.”
Wei Wucai did not say another word as he decided that all he needed to do was claim that he was busy and not go home in the near future.
However, he had not expected Madam Wei to personally head over to T City to drag him back home for a matchmaking session.
Wei Wucai did not go into detail about the date, and since Yan Beicheng knew that he did not want to say much, he likewise did not prod too much.
Unfortunately, Wei Wucai was sitting next to Yan Zhiqing. Firstly, she was already not a very sensitive person, but in addition to this, she was at loggerheads with Wei Wucai, so she said with a wide smile, “He’s back here to be matchmade. I bumped into that girl he was being matchmade with earlier. Obviously, it didn’t go very well.”
Wei Wucai, “…”
“I’m a blunt person. Those who don’t know me well tend to get offended by me, which happens pretty frequently. Regardless, I’m still a man. It would be no problem for me to wait until I’m thirty or forty. You, on the other hand, are a lady with a rotten personality who tends to say mean things. It would spell trouble for you if you don’t change this temperament of yours soon. You might think that you’re still a fresh little flower at this young age, but just wait until you’re older. I’m not being sexist, but in our country, it is difficult for a woman over thirty to find herself someone to hitch with. With a temperament like yours, men will just think that you’re a young girl who doesn’t know the ways of the world, and when you get older, they will just ignore you. I can see that you have high standards when picking a boyfriend, but those men you are interested in will not have the patience to coax a lady with a bad temper. They would have a whole throng of young, beautiful ladies vying for their attentions, and these young ladies would be gentle and know how to get into their good books. Even if there were a couple of them who acted stubborn, it would just be in attempt to play hard-to-get,” Wei Wucai examined Yan Zhiqing from top to bottom. The look in his eyes had said a thousand words.
He might not have added anything else to his words, but even with her slower brain, Yan Zhiqing understood what he meant.
A personality like hers was not appealing, so she was likely to get dumped in the future.
However, Wei Wucai was not done. He continued on and gave her the last stab in the heart. “If you don’t believe me, just ask your granduncle and your brother if what I’m saying is true.”
Yan Huaian, “…”
Yan Beicheng, “…”
They were both innocent bystanders who had suddenly got pulled into the conversation.
Even if Yan Zhiqing was their junior, they would never cause trouble for themselves by offending this little girl for no good reason. She was not a particularly smart person and would give them nothing but a headache if they crossed her.
Both of them had always thought that Wei Wucai’s words were mean and blunt, but they ignored it since he would not talk much. Therefore, it was quite a surprise to them that he had said so much to Yan Zhiqing at one go.
Nevertheless, they were not aware that even though Wei Wucai usually did not say much, it was usually because his words were always too sharp for the other party to be able to retaliate. Thus, Wei Wucai never needed to say much to shut others up. Not to mention, the people he spent the most time with were the bunch up at the Lanshan Institution.
Hao Donghuai was better at using his hands rather than his words. Fang Boran was his superior, so naturally, he would not say anything mean to him. Yuan Jiangyi was the one who never had anything nice to say, and so, was always begging for a beating. Even so, he would always come back to Wei Wucai after his beating to say something to incur his wrath. In these cases, there was no need to say too much to Yuan Jiangyi, Wei Wucai would just use his fists to reply him.
This was why Wei Wucai never really had many opportunities to say much. It was not because he did not like to talk, if someone was actually able to get through a conversation with him, Wei Wucai would not mind saying more.
He realized today that Yan Zhiqing was actually capable of taking his mean words, which made the experience particularly delightful. Thus, Wei Wucai could not help but talk much more than usual.
That being said, even though Wei Wucai had a lot to say, he could not ever find anyone to hold a conversation with him due to his biting words. He would often feel his tongue coiling up from holding back everything he wanted to say.
At this moment, Lin Chu quietly tugged at Yan Beicheng. He lowered his head toward her as Lin Chu whispered into his ear, “Wei Wucai’s words sound really familiar.”
She said this quietly as she did not want anyone to hear them. The words entered Yan Beicheng’s ear, but he was only able to focus on her warm breath.
She was the only one who could have such an effect on him. The whole table of delicious smelling food could not cover the light fragrance emanating from her body, which was light and mixed playfully with the smell of her shampoo. He could only smell this concoction when she came close to him.
Yan Beicheng could no longer concentrate on her words. He took in her fragrance quietly and felt something surging within his body. Then, he lowered his head to see her pinkish lips, which no longer had lipstick on them as she had been eating. Lin Chu had the habit of wiping her mouth clean every time she placed her chopsticks down, regardless of if she was going to continue eating.
Her lips looked clean and refreshed, with no sign of any artificial colorings on her at all; only the natural pinkish color of her lips remained. Lin Chu was just like any other woman, and would take great care of her skin by putting on different facial masks every day. From facial masks to skin creams, her bottles of skincare products constantly accumulated, but never seemed to decrease. This was because she was determined to stop her skin from aging too fast.
For someone who cared so much about her skincare regiment, Lin Chu looked better in areas that she did not take much notice of. Her lips were naturally beautiful, and though there were light lines on her lips, and it was always soft and the skin never peeled.
Yan Beicheng’s head tilted slightly toward Lin Chu. He could smell the fragrance of tea coming from her lips and suddenly became annoyed at the other people having dinner with them. He could have enjoyed her lips now if not for them.
Lin Chu could tell that Yan Beicheng was looking at her funny, so she quietly poked him. Even so, she could not poke him too hard because of his hard-rock abs. His six-pack was so ridiculously defined that if you look at it, it would make you think that something had been injected into them to make them look so perfect. However, if upon touching his abs, you could tell that it was real. It was just naturally rock-hard and springy at the same time.
Now that Lin Chu was heavy with baby, she could not move too much. Before she was pregnant, she was able to let herself go when passion got the better of her. At times, she was so consumed by her hormones that she would hold Yan Beicheng down and kiss him along the lines of his six-pack. The feel of her hands and her lips were different, but wonderful in their own separate way. In any case, the main point was that she loved his six-pack a lot.
When she got pregnant, Lin Chu’s sexual drive grew, and she would easily get into the mood for it. Yan Beicheng had always been the one to take the initiative, but now, he had taken a step back for fear of hurting her. Thus, Lin Chu was the one who was always initiating things now. There were nights she could no longer hold it in but was too embarrassed to say the word. So, she would simply nestle into this arms and creep downward little by little. Lin Chu was aware that it did not make much for Yan Beicheng to get into the mood. All she needed was to light a little fire in him and she could very soon hear his breathing become heavy.
One of the places to light the fire was his abdomen, and Lin Chu would try to poke him on his hard abs through his clothes. However, she was always afraid of hurting him whenever she did this. He may be a man of sturdy build, but his heart was like a fragile vase. In her eyes, even a light touch might shatter it, so she had never poked him too hard. However, for Yan Beicheng the touch felt lighter than somebody scratching an itch. To him, it seemed as though she was just sneakily getting him aroused under the public eye.
Yan Beicheng then placed his chopsticks down while his perfectly structured hands moved underneath the table. He held on to the finger she was poking him with and smiled.
From the look in his eyes, he was obviously thinking about something dirty. Thus, Lin Chu glared at him. Her belly was getting bigger and she was getting nearer her expected date of labor. The gentle look of a mother’s love had now become more obvious on her face despite her expressions being pretty much the same as before. However, the expressions were now tainted with an especially gentle glow that made them seem softer than before.
Now, her glare really did not pose much threat, rather, it had a touch of coyness to it.
Yan Beicheng smiled and said, “Old Lady Wei once said those exact same words before too.”
“What?” Lin Chu blinked and paused. Then, she suddenly remembered and patted Yan Beicheng hard on the legs.
Yan Beicheng’s lips twitched. He had no idea when this became a habit of hers; now, she always hit him whenever she needed to express something physically.
He heard Lin Chu say, “Now I remember. When I followed Grandma over to the Wei house to visit, Old Lady Wei had said something similar about Wei Rongxuan.”
Yan Beicheng’s lips curved upwards. “Old Lady Wei must have been nagging Wei Rongxuan so often that Wei Wucai found it difficult to forget the words. He must have quoted her today and used them today on Zhiqing instead.”
Lin Chu could no longer remember the number of times Wei Rongxuan had divorced now. All she remembered about her was her tendency to continue divorcing and keep young men by her side. She married, divorced, and continued grooming young men. She may now be married now, but her husband and her had an open marriage and did not bother to keep each other in check. Their marriage only existed on paper so that they could enjoy the conveniences that came along with a legal marriage.
They did not need to trouble themselves with dividing the properties during their divorce and did not have the headache of having to guard themselves against others who were eyeing their money since they already had a legal spouse that no one else could replace. No matter how much crazy fun they had out of the house, both husband and wife never bothered each other about it. They took care of their lovers with their individual finances seeing as how both of them did not lack money. As a result, neither of them were greedy for each other’s riches.
Besides, both of them were good-looking people. When they got tired of their lovers, they would occasionally hook up with each other for fun, allowing them to enjoy a very happy life with their open marriage.
However, Old Lady Wei was continuously worried about Wei Rongxuan because of her track record, which Old Lady Wei would constantly bring up. It happened so often that even Lin Chu had heard this nagging before, so it was no wonder that she found it familiar.
Yan Zhiqing, who was sitting beside Wei Wucai, was now seething with rage. She bared her teeth and shouted at Wei Wucai despite Wei Zilin being around, “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with my temper? What has it got to do with you if I have a bad temper?! Stop pretending that we know each other well, alright? You have the gall to be worried over me? Take a look at yourself. You can matchmake all your life and will still never ever get married! Hmph!”
“Just to ride on your wonderful words, I’ve never planned on getting married through matchmaking,” Wei Wucai was aware that he had crossed the line by saying all these things to a young lady in front of so many people.
However, once he started talking, he was unable to stop himself. He did not get angry even though Yan Zhiqing had lost her temper at him, but he also could not help himself and refused to back down.
Yan Zhiqing let out a short, exaggerated laugh. “Ha! Ha! I guess I won’t be able to change my temper. This is who I am. Watch me while I find myself someone who likes me and this temper of mine!”
Yan Zhiqing could not help glancing at Wei Zilin after saying this.
Fortunately, Wei Zilin pretended that he did not see a thing and turned to chat with Yan Beicheng while this was going on.
Unfortunately, Wei Wucai noticed the whole interaction. His mouth unleashed even more sarcasm, “That’s right. Take your time looking, okay?”
Yan Zhiqing exploded with rage.
She bared her teeth like a hissing cat. From Wei Wucai’s tone, it was clear that he was implying that she would never find anyone to love her.
Yan Zhiqing was gloomy all the way home. She had wanted to try to get Wei Zilin to give her a lift home, but Wei Zilin did not even bother to dig up an excuse and immediately told her that it would be more convenient for her take a ride with Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu.
The only good thing about the night was that Wei Zilin did not seem too taken by Liang Wenyin either.
Lin Chu sat at the front and stole looks at Yan Zhiqing. She noticed that Yan Zhiqing was looking out the window and so, did not notice what Lin Chu was doing.
Yan Zhiqing was pouting unhappily, which made Lin Chu wonder what she was thinking about. Her expression was grim and there was a rare look on her face that signified a lack of confidence.
Lin Chu was surprised and felt bad. She now had a better impression of Yan Zhiqing because of what had happened with the Lu family, and even though there were days when Yan Zhiqing’s personality was too much to handle, at the end of the day, she was a good-hearted girl.
This was why Lin Chu treated her as an occasionally stubborn little girl. She was only 19 years old, after all, and was still very much a child.
Lin Chu had always remembered Yan Zhiqing as a confident, happy girl. She sometimes went a little overboard, but she was, in fact, a shy person at heart. Yan Zhiqing was not used to being praised, so if someone praised her or got too close to her with good intentions, she would immediately flare up like a hedgehog and say things that she did not really mean. However, her true thoughts were always betrayed by the simultaneous blushing on her face.
It was really adorable to see her react in this way.
Regardless, Yan Zhiqing had always given Lin Chu the impression of someone who had confidence to spare. She had always acted confidently in any situation, which was no wonder as she was the only granddaughter in the Yan family. It would not be wrong to say that she was a woman of privilege, and those of the Yan family should possess confidence at that level.
However, that same confidence had all but completely disappeared from Yan Zhiqing. Right now, there was even a look of self-doubt on her face.
Lin Chu felt bad for Yan Zhiqing when she saw her this way. She wanted to say something to her but remembered that Yan Zhiqing was someone prideful. She would not want anyone to see her like this right now, so Lin Chu kept silent and swallowed her words before turning to face forward yet again.
Yan Beicheng took a quick look at Lin Chu and saw that she was listless. He knew it was because she had turned back to check on Yan Zhiqing, so he too took a peek at her via the rear-view mirror.
It was only a quick peek since he was driving, so he did not observe her as clearly as Lin Chu did. Nevertheless, he was able to tell the Yan Zhiqing was not in a good mood. Despite this, Yan Beicheng said nothing.
Since Lin Chu was not in a good mood, his mood was affected as well. He wanted to reach over and hold Lin Chu’s hand, but as he was doing this, he thought about Yan Zhiqing’s feelings and decided she might not be able to stand their lovey-dovey actions. Thus, his hand stopped mid-way.
Lin Chu saw his hand as well and pushed it back towards the steering wheel.
Yan Beicheng then focused on driving and did not make any more unnecessary movements.
The car stopped in front of the old mansion where Yan Beicheng carried Yan Zhiqing to her wheelchair. She looked much better now, even though one could still tell that she was upset about something. At the very least, she looked much better than she did on the ride home. However, Lin Chu felt worse for Yan Zhiqing after looking at her face to face. Yan Zhiqing had kept all her sadness pent up inside herself and was too stubborn to let anyone know how she really felt.
Lin Chu was reminded of the fact that Yan Zhiqing had acted the same way when Jiang Changdai had betrayed her.
Yan Zhiqing had cried then, but it was only for a while before she told everyone about what had happened. After that, she had never mentioned it again. Later, she had awkwardly laughed and chatted with the family without showing any signs that anything wrong.
However, to Yan Zhiqing, it was a serious matter. Anyone who had experienced it could not recover so quickly after just a few words of consolation. Therefore, Lin Chu suspected that Yan Zhiqing might have been feeling the same way she did back then. She acted normal in front of others, but only when no one was watching did she allow herself to be fragile as she slowly digested everything that had happened.
Since they were now in the old mansion, there was no reason not to pay them a short visit. So, Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu pushed Yan Zhiqing in and decided to stay for dinner.
It was already 2.30 pm when they arrived, and Yan Zhiqing had a tired look on her as she said, “Grandpa, Grandma, I’m going to my bedroom for a short nap.”
The two elders were especially patient with Yan Zhiqing. Even when she was being terribly annoying, Old Master Yan would not be as strict as before and lecture her without a second thought. Now, he would patiently try to reason with her.
This was not an easy feat for the quick-tempered Old Master Yan. The first time Old Lady Yan saw him reason with Yan Zhiqing, she had dramatically run out of the house to stare at the sky.
When she went back into the house, Old Master Yan had asked what was wrong with her.
Old Lady Yan said, “The sun is still shining in the east and it’s a good day with no rain, not even red rain. So, it’s really strange that your temperament has suddenly become so gentle.”
Old Master Yan grunted in annoyance and ignored Old Lady Yan after this. From that day onwards, he was always gentle with Yan Zhiqing; Even Old Lady Yan was used to it.
This was why Old Master Yan did not show any unhappiness as Old Lady Yan quickly ushered Yan Zhiqing to her room to rest.
To allow Yan Zhiqing to move around with convenience, they had especially arranged for her to stay in the downstairs bedroom. This way, she did not need to climb any stairs to get around.
Yan Zhiqing gave a listless smiled and went back to her bedroom using the wheelchair’s joystick.
After this, Lin Chu sat down for a while. She was worried and felt that Yan Zhiqing should not let her mind wander alone in the room.
This was a girl who would easily push herself into a corner. What if she could not think things through and got stuck in her current emotional state?
Thus, Lin Chu quietly said to Yan Beicheng, “I’ll go check on Zhiqing. I think something is wrong with her.”
“Okay,” Yan Beicheng nodded and allowed Lin Chu to leave.
Yan Zhiqing was someone who valued her personal privacy. She was very protective of her little world, and she wanted complete ownership of everything she owned.
Regardless of what it was, even if she only needed to use it once and could borrow it from a friend, Yan Zhiqing would still prefer to buy it. She would rather use it once and throw it away rather than borrow it because in the former case, the item would belong to her.
Take her bedroom for example: Yan Zhiqing does not like people walking to and fro in front of her bedroom door. This was why she picked the guestroom at the very end of the corridor and got Aunt Chen to tidy it up for her to use as her bedroom.
She would close the door tight if she was in her room, so that no one from the outside could peep inside.
At the same time, she did not like closing the curtains. The sun often shone into the room through the window, lighting up the entire room whilst also allowing her could turn toward the window and see the garden outside. Yan Zhiqing kept the curtains open even at night. When she laid down in bed, she could see the dark blue sky, which was like an infinite abyss. Occasionally, she could see the planes slowly flying through the sky as their lights blinked away; On lucky days, she would even be able to see some stars.
Lin Chu knocked on the door a couple of times and said, “Zhiqing, it’s me, Lin Chu. Are you asleep?”
“Yes, I am,” Yan Zhiqing’s moody reply could be heard. She did not sound okay.
Lin Chu almost laughed but felt resigned at the same time. Hesitantly, she turned the doorknob. Yan Zhiqing did not lock the door, so she said, “That’s fine. I’ll go in there to help you tuck in the corners of your blanket.”
Yan Zhiqing, “…”
This was a really lousy excuse.
Lin Chu had spent too much time with Yan Beicheng. She must have been totally influenced by him.
Lin Chu did not even wait for Yan Zhiqing to reply as she pushed the door open.
She saw Yan Zhiqing’s sitting on the bed with her wheelchair next to it. There were pillows propped up behind her back and she looked very comfortable sitting there.
There was a box of tissues on her lap, and Yan Zhiqing was still holding on to a slightly dry tissue when Lin Chu walked in. Her eyes were red and puffy while there were unmistakable streaks of tears on her face.
As Lin Chu closed the door behind her, Yan Zhiqing sniffled and pressed her lips together. Now that Lin Chu had discovered her in this state, she let it all out and asked roughly, “What are you doing? Coming in here to laugh in my face? I know that I’m a mess right now, but there’s no need for you to come and see me this way.”
Lin Chu was not angry at all. She walked to her bedside and sat down. “What is there for me to laugh about? Have you ever seen family members be so mean to their own family? I’m just worried because I noticed that you were in low spirits in the car, so I came to see if you were okay.”
“I’m already an adult. What’s there for you to worry about? You can tell me to my face if you want to make fun of me,” Yan Zhiqing straightened herself up and said stubbornly.
“Give me a chance. I know your character pretty well and you may not like what I’m about to say, but in any case, I am more than six years older than you. You’re just a naïve young lady, and it’s not hard for me to be able to see right through you. I know you are a stubborn person; When you are upset about something, you keep it to yourself and refuse to let others know about it because you’re afraid they will make fun of you. To be honest, that’s actually just your ego talking,” Lin Chu said lightly. Her tone was neutral, and her voice was not too loud nor low. It made anyone who listened to it feel at ease.
Yan Zhiqing blinked and sniffled again before lowering her head. Words could not describe how she was feeling right now.
Yan Zhiqing rubbed her chest, she felt a strange sensation in her heart right then.
No one had ever tried to get to know her this way, or even tried to pry open her heart. The two elders were up there in age, so she did not ask too much from them. There was only so much they could do, and they did their best to treat her well. Nevertheless, the two elders did not have the energy to pour into trying to understand her better.
As for Yan Beicheng, he gave everything to Lin Chu and did not spare anyone else a second look. Where would he find the time to get to know another person?
From his point of view, the only person he needed to truly understand was Lin Chu.
This was why Yan Zhiqing felt a slight flow of warmth, only the size of a needlepoint, slowly but steadily flowing through her heart.
She had always thought that she was doing quite well on her own. Yan Zhiqing was aware of her own shortcomings and knew that she did not have a particularly nice personality. Otherwise, her own grandparents and brother would not have disliked her. However, she also knew that inside, she was not a bad person. Yan Zhiqing was too embarrassed to say that she had a kind personality, but at the very least, she was not bad. No one had ever bluntly told her this, but nor had anyone ever pointed out her fragility.
Yan Zhiqing gave Lin Chu a curious look which seemed to contain mixed emotions.
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Yan Zhiqing’s looked less agitated now and seemed to be more willing to allow Lin Chu to approach her.
From where Lin Chu stood, Yan Zhiqing looked like she had built tall, towering walls around herself, before placing herself firmly in the middle. The more fragile she was, the higher her walls became, such that whenever anyone noticed her fragility tried to console her, they would be impeded by the walls.
Yan Zhiqing obviously needed someone to care for her, but all she would do was stare at the wall. She did not have the courage to walk out of it.
Li Chu poked Yan Zhiqing lightly on the shoulder. Yan Zhiqing was slightly stunned by this as she heard Lin Chu say, “Why don’t you move inside a little?”
Before Yan Zhiqing could react, she saw Lin Chu rubbing her lower back while she turned to move onto the bed. She did this with her back facing the bed as she was heavily pregnant.
There was nothing for Lin Chu to lean onto at the bedside, and she could only support herself with one hand pressing against the bed. This made the way she was sitting look really uncomfortable.
Lin Chu then said, “There’s nothing for me to lean onto. I’m going to start aching if I sit this way for too long since it feels really uncomfortable. Why don’t you move in some more and let me lean against the headboard?”
Yan Zhiqing’s mind was blank but she reacted in a daze to Lin Chu’s words by moving inward. Thus, she made a space large enough for one more person as Lin Chu immediately moved closer and sat beside Yan Zhiqing. As the two of them leaned against the headboard, Lin Chu breathed a sigh of comfort.
Lin Chu looked relaxed but continued to massage her lower back. “This is much more comfortable. Let me just say to you that your personality is not all that bad. You’re pretty adorable sometimes, but at other times, you act too stubborn. A woman should be independent and try not to rely on people for anything, but there are times when you need to be gentler in your approach. Why is there a need to act all stubborn?”
Yan Zhiqing’s mouth moved a little as though she wanted to reply, but she simply gave Lin Chu a blank look.
Lin Chu smiled at her as she stopped massaging her waist and moved both her hands to her legs. She had walked quite a lot at the exhibition today and Lin Chu could feel her legs and calves swelling up.
It was not nice to massage her legs in the open, so she curled them up before starting to massage her calves.
“It’s okay if you’re not willing to show your weakness to others. After all, what right do we have to ask others to deal with our emotional outbursts? However, there’s no need to be that way with your own family. After all, there’s no one closer to you than family, and it would be exhausting for you if you constantly feel the need to hide these emotions from your family as well,” Lin Chu massaged her calves as she said.
Yan Zhiqing turned to look at Lin Chu’s smiling face. It was a gentle and genuine smile which did not irk Yan Zhiqing in the slightest.
Yan Zhiqing sniffled. Before she could help it, she suddenly asked, “Do you really think I have an adorable personality?”
“Yes, I do,” Lin Chu nodded without hesitation, as if this was already a known fact. There was no need to think before answering.
“…” Yan Zhiqing suddenly felt her face heat up as she saw Lin Chu gaze at her gently, as if she was looking at a little girl. Then, Yan Zhiqing quickly turned away and lowered her head.
Lin Chu could see that Yan Zhiqing’s ears had even turned red.
“You’re not just pretending to be nice, are you? It’s… it’s useless for you to try and get into my good books,” Yan Zhiqing started to mumble stubbornly again.
She knew that this habit of hers would be hard to kick. Every time Yan Zhiqing tried to control herself, her words would leave her mouth before her brain had any time to react.
Yan Zhiqing wanted to slap herself the second the words came out.
Lin Chu may view her as a little girl, but she was not about to give in to her so easily. After all, some things had to be said. Just like how she had lectured Xu Jiaojiao – her biological sister – in the past, Lin Chu had to put her foot down now. She did not give in to her sister that easily back then either.
This was why Yan Zhiqing quickly heard Lin Chu snort while sitting beside her. “Do I really need to get into your good books? Let me ask you this, if you and I fell into a pool at the same time, who do you think your brother would save first? Me or you?”
Yan Zhiqing looked at Lin Chu’s belly. She was about to open her mouth when Lin Chu quickly added a point, “This would be before I was pregnant.”
Yan Zhiqing, “…”
The answer would still definitely be Lin Chu.
There was no other answer Yan Zhiqing could give to Lin Chu’s question. There was really no other way around it, and all Yan Zhiqing could do was grit her teeth. She did not want to admit that she had lost.
This was a question that any member of the Yan family knew the answer to, but now that she had been asked it, Yan Zhiqing did not know how to face the answer. This question was especially difficult for her.
Lin Chu had a look of pride on her face now as she lifted her head slightly. She had a wide, flashy smile on her face.
She reached out to pat Yan Zhiqing on the shoulder and said, “You see. Even you can’t deny that. There is absolutely no need for me to get into your good books, and that is something even you need to admit. That’s the way it’s always been. I know you like it when I try to get close to you – you want someone you can open up to but can’t help the fact that you’re always thinking about one thing but saying another. Don’t try to defend yourself with this argument the next time you say something you don’t mean. This reason carries no weight.”
Yan Zhiqing, “…”
Nevertheless, Lin Chu did not want to push Yan Zhiqing too much and stopped patting Yan Zhiqing’s shoulder.
Yan Zhiqing’s mouth moved a little. Then, she gathered her courage and decided to go all out and ask, “Do you honestly think that my personality is… adorable?”
Yan Zhiqing’s lips twitched at her own question.
Even though she was still pretty young and had a sweet-looking face, her personality did not match her appearance at all. For one, she could not stand girls who acted all cute and adorable. Regardless of if that person was genuinely adorable or was just pretending to be cute, it always gave Yan Zhiqing goosebumps.
When Yan Zhiqing was still studying in Ning City, she had attracted the attention of many boys because of how she looked. She did not know if the boys had a lousy eye for beauty, but all of them preferred girls with a cutesy look. Even if she did not like to admit it, Yan Zhiqing could not deny that she had the face of a Lolita.
However, these boys would tend to leave her be once they got to know her personality. When this happened, they often could not stand her.
Naturally, she did not like them back. As the granddaughter of the Yan family, she was aware of her status and would not easily allow herself to be courted by just any boy, regardless of how good-looking he was!
Yan Zhiqing felt that these boys were unreliable. They were still in school, yet they were spending their parent’s money as if it belonged to them; not to mention they did not see anything wrong with this. How capable were these boys if they had to rely on their family for money? Without their families, they were essentially worthless. That was why Yan Zhiqing had never given them much thought and had never dated any of them.
Lin Chu nodded. “I’m being honest here. It’s just so much fun to tease you. When we praise you, you may not want to admit it, but you feel happy. You don’t usually say a lot of nice things and don’t act very smart most the time, but during crucial moments, you never hesitate to do the right thing, which shows that you have been instilled with the right values. You always act awkward when you’re obviously happy about something, but still refuse to admit it. That’s really adorable.”
As she said this, Lin Chu could not help but pinch Yan Zhiqing on her little face.
This was something Lin Chu had always done to Mo Jinxi and the other children. It could be because Yan Zhiqing acted younger than her actual age which made Lin Chu treat her like a little child, causing her to instinctively pinch her face.
However, things got a little awkward after the pinch. Lin Chu quickly let go of Yan Zhiqing’s face, worried that she would fly into a rage over it.
Yan Zhiqing’s lips twitched. Even though Lin Chu sounded like she was praising her, why was she was not happy about it?
She lowered her head as she gently blushed but did not get angry. She quietly said, “But some people don’t feel the same way. You’re my family, so you know me well because you are familiar with me. Those who don’t know me well think that I have a rotten personality, and that I am someone who has a bad temper and is stubborn. They think that I’m incapable and am stupid, that I am blunt and never give face to others. Overall, I’m just not a very nice person to them.”
Lin Chu had not expected Yan Zhiqing to understand all this.
Lin Chu smiled. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you being this way since I think it’s easier to get along with somebody of your personality anyway. Of course, you’ll be more suited to befriend those who are already familiar with your character. They may not like your temperament, but at least they won’t hate you because of it. Those who get to know you by spending time with you will eventually see that you’re an adorable person.”
The more Lin Chu spoke, the redder Yan Zhiqing’s face became. She was embarrassed by all the praise.
“Besides, compared to some people who are always harbouring hidden intentions, I would be more willing to spend time with someone like you. This is because you are simple, direct and will always express what you like and dislike. You are a much better person compared to those who think themselves so smart that they’re constantly manipulating others. It doesn’t matter if it’s making friends, or getting into a relationship, integrity is the most important thing, isn’t it? I don’t need to give myself a headache trying to guess what you are really thinking about, and I don’t need to worry about you backstabbing me when I’m not paying attention. What’s important is that we are happy being friends with each other. After all, who would want to spend all their scheming against their friends? You have your own set of flaws, but you also have a strong set of principles, meaning you don’t hesitate when it comes to deciding what is right or wrong.”
Lin Chu smiled and placed her hands on her belly. “I didn’t know you well before. We’ve never really taken the time to really spend time with each other, and I didn’t like you since you were always rude to me. But after the Lu family fiasco, I learned that you do not hesitate when it comes to deciding on what is right and wrong. You may not be the most flexible or adaptable person in the world, but you’re still young. Let’s not forget that you’ve already done well with the way you have reacted to the situation. You have a kind heart and would never think to harm another, but if someone were to be rude to you, you would not hesitate to return the favor. I have to say, this can actually be a good thing.”
