Yan Sui lay down under the blanket, and Meng Ting naturally nestled his head into the crook of his neck, with his left leg draped over his thigh.
Meng Ting really enjoys this kind of physical contact. Occasionally, when he wears pants to sleep, Meng Ting’s feet would rub against each other unconsciously. His trousers would inevitably get pushed up high. The same goes for the clothes on his body.
Yan Sui also didn’t mind such contact. After discovering Meng Ting’s preference, he consciously let them both sleep naked.
The feeling of stability when a warm person is hugged in his arms is very captivating; he feels this way, and he thinks Meng Ting feels the same.
A good night’s sleep, the two embraced each other and slept until dawn. Meng Ting’s body recovered quickly, and the next day he went for his usual run. Yan Sui joined him, and Dahuang followed behind them.
An hour later, the two of them returned, went upstairs to take a shower and change clothes, then came downstairs. Nanny Wang and the others had already prepared a full table of breakfast with a variety of Chinese and Western dishes, all in generous portions. Meng Ting could only eat to his heart’s content; there was no worry about not having enough food.
“You work hard every day, you should drink too.”
Meng Ting poured a glass of milk for Yan Sui, placed it on his right side, and then said this.
Yan Sui wouldn’t say he was a picky eater, but he didn’t particularly like dairy products either. Before he turned eighteen, he drank two cups of milk every day to help with his growth. Once he was sure he had almost reached his height limit, he stopped drinking it.
Meng Ting had heard Nanny Wang mention it once, so he remembered it too.
Although his growth period is over, the nutritional value of milk is still very high. Since Yan Sui works so hard every day, he definitely needs to eat well. Of course, if he felt about milk the same way he felt about Western medicine, he would never force it on him.
Yan Sui picked up the milk, showing no hint of emotion on his face, then downed it in one go.
Meng Ting watched as Yan Sui took the napkin to wipe his mouth, then leaned close to his ear and whispered, “You’re a good boy.”
A hint of a smile immediately appeared in Yan Sui’s eyes. He held Meng Ting’s hand, which had not yet left his mouth, and gently kissed it.
Meng Ting slowly retracted his hand, then buried his head in his food. After a while, his cheeks gradually turned red. This alternatingly long and short reflex arc was truly adorable.
Yan Sui put down his bowl. The daily morning impulse to take the person to the company came again. At the moment, Meng Ting was still at home, and in a month, he would go to school. Perhaps he would want to go to the school to ‘kidnap’ the person away?
Meng Ting was drinking the half bowl of congee left in his bowl when a series of high heels clicking on the marble floor came from the direction of the living room door. Yan Sui remained seated and did not get up. Meng Ting glanced at Yan Sui, then continued to drink his congee, not even shifting his gaze towards the door.
Yan Mianjia had moved to the Yan family’s seaside villa the day after they went abroad. She would come back for dinner every Saturday night, but wouldn’t come at other times. Even if she did, she would inform Uncle Xiao and Nanny Wang in advance. Zhen Han returned to his pet hospital even earlier, and besides, he didn’t wear high heels.
So, on Monday, wearing high heels and with an imposing presence that seemed to want to stomp through the floor, it could only be Yan Sui’s mother, He Wan.
Meng Ting could guess who it was in such a short time, let alone Yan Sui. He not only knew it was He Wan, but also why she came and why she was angry.
He Wan was dressed in a light blue long dress, carrying a white handbag. Her hair was styled up, and her makeup was exquisite and appropriate, fully showcasing the ‘gentle’ demeanor she wanted to project. However, this gentle impression completely vanished the moment she threw her handbag into the large bowl of congee on the dining table.
This was not the behavior of a respectable woman[mfn]大家婦人 (dà jiā fù rén): 大家 (dà jiā) means influential family; 婦人 (fù rén) means married woman. So, this phrase could also be translated as ‘married woman from an influential family’.[/mfn]; even a rural village girl wouldn’t do such a thing, as they couldn’t bear to waste food.
“Yan Sui, you’re really something. You brought him and made my mother so angry that she almost fell ill!”
He Wan was so angry that her whole body was trembling, her slender index finger pointed accusingly at Yan Sui. If she had more strength, she might have wanted to throw the handbag at him; but of course, she didn’t dare to throw it at Yan Sui. The direction she was pointing clearly indicated she wanted to throw it at Meng Ting.
Meng Ting looked at the layer of meat congee that was left on the bottom of the bowl, which was mostly covered by the handbag before he could even scoop it out, and got angry.
“Mom!” Meng Ting grabbed Yan Sui’s hand, then looked up at He Wan, his expression and gaze cold.
“I’m not your mom!” Every time Meng Ting called her mom, He Wan had to suppress a bellyful of anger, which she couldn’t express.
“Oh, then you should have said so earlier. There’s no need to call you mom; that’s great.” Meng Ting spoke the truth from his heart, but he also did so to provoke He Wan. “You come home; not only do you leave leftover food, but now you’re wasting food. Is this how Grandma and Grandpa taught you?”
“If not, then it’s because you didn’t learn well.”
Meng Ting really couldn’t understand how He Wan could have such a terrible habit of wasting food. But since she held the position of an elder, Meng Ting, though furious, stopped there. He picked up the bowl of congee, along with the handbag, and placed them on the ground.
“Dahuang.”
He called out, and Dahuang, who was lying next to the sofa, immediately came over at the sound.
“Eat up, we can’t waste food.”
Dahuang was very obedient, licking with its long tongue, and in just a few licks, it licked up all the congee grains in the bowl and even on the handbag.
He Wan’s anger intensified, making her tremble with rage. She pointed at Yan Sui, almost pointing in the wrong direction.
“Are you just going to let him anger me like this?”
Yan Sui took Meng Ting’s hand again, then calmly looked back at He Wan, “Did Meng Ting say anything wrong?”
Without waiting for He Wan to answer, Yan Sui answered himself, “He didn’t say anything wrong.”
Proud and arrogant, lacking any upbringing, she was born into a good family, but where was the slightest bit of her upbringing justified? Where was the slightest bit of maternal behavior she had ever exhibited?
Arrogant and self-centered, without any upbringing. Apart from being born into a good family, she had no semblance of proper upbringing, nor had she ever acted like a proper mother.
“As for… Grandma,” the words rolled around in Yan Sui’s throat, carrying a hint of amusement and sarcasm. “Did you see her in critical condition with your own eyes? Or did Second Uncle tell you that…?”
“Instead of going to the hospital first or asking about the situation at the He family, you came here to question us… You don’t seem to care much about Grandma, do you?” Meng Ting glanced at He Wan, then at Yan Sui, who was talking. He only felt He Wan’s anger and resentment but didn’t feel any concern or sadness.
But if someone truly cared about another person who was ill, wouldn’t they first consider visiting them and accompanying them? It was indeed strange that He Wan came here to cause trouble for them. Moreover, Old Lady He was clearly fine before they left yesterday; even if she were sick, it had nothing to do with them.
Yan Sui’s gaze returned to Meng Ting, and he raised his other hand to rub Meng Ting’s hair. “What you said is absolutely right.”
Meng Ting’s eyes brightened, and the anger in him faded a bit. He nuzzled Yan Sui’s hand and said softly, “Just don’t be angry.”
“I won’t,” Yan Sui replied, his voice softening slightly. His hand moved from Meng Ting’s hair to his cheek, “And you shouldn’t be angry either.”
“Okay,” Meng Ting nodded, slightly lifting his chin, but he no longer looked at He Wan, thinking that if he didn’t see her, he wouldn’t be angry.
He Wan was almost dizzy with anger at their words. She grabbed something nearby, seemingly wanting to make a scene again, but Yan Sui’s voice came again.
“Take Ms.[mfn]女士 (nǚ shì): lady; Ms.; Miss; madam; Originally, the combination was close to the literal meaning, i.e., a female 士 (shì, “person from higher, educated social stratum”), a woman whose character, upbringing, and conduct matched those expected of the 士 class. For example, in the Shijing (《詩·大雅·既醉》): 釐爾女士，從以孫子。, There is given you a heroic wife, and from her shall come [the line of] descendants.[/mfn] He out. From now on, she is not allowed to enter the old house without my permission!”
“Wha… what!” He Wan’s voice suddenly rose, feeling as if she were hearing things.
“What did you call me? What did you just…say?”
From the first time Yan Sui called her ‘Mom’, it was always in that indifferent tone. But for over twenty years, no matter how cold their relationship was, Yan Sui would still call her ‘Mom’. If he wanted to warn her, he would directly call her ‘Mother’. But ‘Ms. He’… what kind of address was that!
“I am the wife your father brought into the family. This is still my marital home. You won’t let me into the old house?”
He Wan’s face turned pale and green, her expression changing too dramatically, her delicate makeup showing signs of distortion. She was indeed getting old; her once beautiful appearance was hard to maintain.
“Married into the family… Are you talking about you and a memorial tablet?”
If He Wan hadn’t come right in front of him to make a scene, he might have been able to tolerate her for a while longer. But she insisted on doing this… He didn’t want to wait until she did something to Meng Ting before regretting not making a decision sooner.
Today was a bit sudden, but Yan Sui didn’t find it inappropriate; it was just right.
“I’ve never heard of a dead person getting married, so… you and my father… have a ghost marriage[mfn]冥婚 (míng hūn): lit. spirit marriage; posthumous or ghost marriage (in which at least one of the bride and groom is dead). In Chinese tradition, a ghost marriage refers to a marriage in which one or both parties are deceased. The practice can be traced back to the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), with its participants being wealthy. Its origins stem from the yin and yang philosophy, where the yin has to merge with the yang in order to achieve harmony; and the philosophy of life after death. It was believed that if a person had died as a bachelor or bachelorette, his or her spirit would feel lonely in the afterlife. As these spirits are unable to find harmony, they would return to cause harm to living family members and their descendants. Due to this belief, living family members would seek out deceased individuals of the opposite sex to accompany their deceased bachelor or bachelorette during burial. Today, many consider the real purpose of ghost marriages to be the appeasement of the minds of the living. It is a form of bereavement therapy practiced in ancient times that is kept alive by various Chinese communities today.[/mfn]?”
“Bang!” With a loud crash, He Wan could no longer hold the candlestick in her hand, and it fell directly to the ground. She staggered back three steps, her face pale to the point of making her seem somewhat pitiful. But neither Yan Sui nor Meng Ting, nor even Uncle Xiao and Nanny Wang, who were personally guarding the door and driving the servants out of the living room, felt any urge to pity her.
She tore a family into pieces; she turned a pair of lovers into tragic souls[mfn]死鴛鴦 (sǐ yuān yāng): lit. dead mandarin duck. 鴛鴦 (yuān yāng) means mandarin duck; (figurative) objects or people occurring in inseparable pairs; (figurative) affectionate couple; happily married couple. 
[/mfn]. He Wan, He Wan… why bother feeling sorry for her?
“You, you…”
“I know everything.”
Yan Sui did not deny it. Although he did not know all the details very well before, it wasn’t that he knew nothing at all. Especially after he observed with intention; he was just short of saying it out loud. “You were the one who told me in the first place.”
The two elders of the Yan family, and even Yan Manjia, consciously tried to avoid directing their anger at him, so they naturally wouldn’t tell him about those matters. However, He Wan was different. That night, when he thought back on it now, while it wasn’t particularly terrifying, it still left a deep impression on him.
He was asleep when He Wan came to his room, her cold hands lingering on his face and neck, contemplating whether to strangle him.
“Why does he look so much like him? Why does he look so much like him? I hate it. I hate it so much…”
At that time, Yan Sui was only seven years old and did not understand much, but also wanted to understand everything. His biological mother harbored murderous intent towards him. For a child still yearning for parental love, how much of an impact would that have?
From then on, he began to pay attention to the expressions of his family members, including the two elders, Yan Manjia, and He Wan.
Meng Ting suddenly took a deep breath, stood up, and moved to Yan Sui’s side, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. This was an instinctive protective gesture towards Yan Sui, and his current mood couldn’t be described as just anger.
“Yan Sui, don’t call her mom anymore. She doesn’t deserve it.”
How could He Wan, who wanted to harm her own seven-year-old son, be worthy of being a mother?
His childhood experiences weren’t good either, but he was naturally dull-witted, and there wasn’t much he could feel. However, Yan Sui was different; his intelligence was far above his peers, making him more sensitive and able to sense the malice from the outside world. Moreover, that person was his biological mother.
Yan Sui held Meng Ting’s hand on his shoulder and nodded gently, “Okay.”
He Wan instinctively wanted to shake her head, wanting to deny it, but it was no use. Looking at the face that increasingly resembled Yan Yu, and thinking about the years of desolation she had endured marrying a mere memorial tablet, she couldn’t help but feel hatred, wanting to destroy everything she could.
“Show her out!” Yan Sui turned around, his voice slightly raised. Uncle Xiao, accompanied by two servants, came in and dragged the dazed He Wan out of the living room.
“Yan Sui, Yan Sui! You can’t treat me like this, you can’t! I still have shares in the Yan family…”
Her voice barely reached them before she was completely pulled out through the iron gate of the Yan residence.
I’m very sorry for the late update.
[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 048.1″]
病入膏肓 (bìng rù gāo huāng): lit. the disease has attacked the vitals (idiom); fig. beyond cure; to be incurable as one is critically ill; (figuratively) to be hopeless as the situation has gone too bad; the situation is hopeless; terminally ill; past the point of recovery; in dire straits; the disease is so serious that it cannot be cured; it describes a condition that is so serious that it cannot be cured; it is a metaphor for a situation that is beyond repair.花容月貌 (huā róng yuè mào): lit. countenance of a flower, face like the moon (idiom); fig. (of a woman) beautiful, attractive, gorgeous.
毛骨悚然 (máo gǔ sǒng rán): absolutely terrified; to have one’s hair stand on end (idiom); to feel one’s blood run cold; horrified; terrified; scared; frightened; spooked; petrified; chilled to the bone; spinechilling; the hair stands on end and the spine feels cold; it describes the look of fear and horror.
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