SC Chapter41

Shen Guan woke up and saw a tender little face peering over, looking at him curiously. He reached out and pinched it; it was indeed extremely soft.

Niannian did not dodge but only giggled, then turned his head and said, “Gege, Uncle is awake.”

The young boy sitting by the window practicing calligraphy got up, picked up Niannian and moved, then reached out and touched Shen Guan’s forehead, only then did he let out a sigh of relief, saying, “The fever is gone.”

Shen Guan stood up with the quilt wrapped around him and looked at the two brothers in front of him. He couldn’t help but envy Xiao Ning.

Xiao Yuan poured a cup of water and passed it to Shen Guan. Shen Guan accepted it and finished it in one go. Once he set the cup down, he quickly scooped Niannian into his arms while he wasn’t watching, holding him close and nuzzling his face against him with clear ease and contentment. Then he lifted his head to look at the baby-faced youth in front of him, his chest warming with affection, and a selfish thought rose in him that he wanted both of them.

“What is your name?” Shen Guan asked warmly, holding the smaller one while pulling the bigger one closer.

“Xiao Yuan[mfn]The “Xiao” here is no longer the “Xiao” meaning “little”, but the “Xiao” as in Xiao Ning’s surname.[/mfn].”

Shen Guan silently repeated the name several times, then felt a dull ache in his forehead and had to set aside his scattered thoughts, saying, “Were you practicing calligraphy just now? Can I see it?”

Xiao Yuan’s face instantly flushed red, and he shyly brought over his practiced characters while mumbling, “I, I don’t write well.”

Shen Guan smiled and said, “How could that be? It’s clearly very earnest. Let me take a look.” The handwriting on the paper was delicate and graceful. Although the style was not yet fully formed, it was quite proper and beautiful. Shen Guan’s smile slightly froze as he faintly discerned his own brushwork in the writing.

“Who taught you this calligraphy?”

Xiao Yuan’s eyes dimmed slightly: “My father.”

Shen Guan hugged the soft Niannian tightly and sighed with emotion, “Boss Xiao looks so aloof; I didn’t expect his brushwork to be so perceptive and unrestrained.”

Xiao Yuan shook his head: “Not my big father, my other father.”

Shen Guan was startled, a strange mix of emotions rising in his heart.

Xiao Yuan recalled the rainy night that year when he and his father were separated by a door, and they never saw each other again as tears dropped one by one, wetting the Xuan paper.

Shen Guan froze for a moment, hurriedly released Niannian, then reached out to pull Xiao Yuan into his arms. He used his sleeve to wipe away the boy’s tears, saying with heartache, “There, there, don’t think about it. It’s all in the past.”

Xiao Yuan stared blankly at him with tears falling like broken pearls. He choked out his question, “Father, why didn’t you come back to see me and little brother?”

Why?

Shen Guan’s mind buzzed. The young boy’s tears seemed to fall on his heart and it was scalded hot.

Niannian looked at Shen Guan, then at his elder brother, and also burst into tears with a wail. When Xiao Ning pushed the door open while carrying the medicine, he saw his two sons crying like two little rabbits. His temples twitched. He clutched the medicine bowl and, suppressing his anger, said, “Shen Guan…”

Shen Guan, who was at a loss, held Niannian while pulling Xiao Yuan, saying guiltily, “I’m sorry, I also didn’t do it on purpose.”

Xiao Ning finally managed to soothe his two sons and coaxed them downstairs. Only then did he close the door and press Shen Guan down, saying, “Lord Shen, did you come here to help out or to cause trouble?”

Shen Guan was pressed onto the bed. A hint of confusion suddenly surfaced in his eyes, and he mumbled blankly, “I seem to have… forgotten some things…”

Xiao Ning’s expression gradually darkened. The hand gripping Shen Guan’s shoulder slowly released. He picked up the medicine bowl nearby and said, “Drink the medicine first.”

Shen Guan sat up, cupping the bowl in both hands, and asked in a low voice, “Was it, perhaps, a very important matter?”

Xiao Ning was silent for a long time, then finally said, “If it can be forgotten so easily, it must be insignificant.”