Chapter 73

"Yi Ye Pian Zhou?"

Everyone in the Xu family turned their heads to look at the excited, wide-eyed, and flushed Xu Grandpa. What kind of name is that?

"Ah, Yanxi, you remember me?" Xu Grandpa warmly greeted Yanxi, pushing Xu Qiao Sheng aside. "Please, sit down, sit down."

"How could I not remember you? We just spoke on the phone at noon," Yanxi sat down next to Xu Grandpa and was immediately handed a handful of snacks.

"Grandpa, you're giving so many snacks to Xiao Xi, but she can't eat them all," Yuan Yi walked over and took the snacks from Yanxi's hands. He was about to sit down between Xu Grandpa and Yanxi when Xu Grandpa grabbed him by the arm.

"You take a couple of photos of me with Yanxi."

Yuan Yi, resigned, took out his phone, and saw Xu Grandpa extend two fingers, making a peace sign.

"Make me look handsome."

He silently turned on the beauty feature and took a few nine-shot bursts for the old man and his girlfriend.

After taking the photos, Yuan Yi handed the phone to Xu Grandpa to pick the best ones. "Grandpa, how did you and Yanxi meet?"

Xu Grandpa, distracted by the photos, didn't answer the question right away. Instead, he asked, "What's your relationship with Yanxi?" Earlier, when Yanxi mentioned going to meet her boyfriend on the phone, Xu Grandpa had felt a bit regretful. But now, seeing that his own grandson had brought Yanxi in front of him, he was a bit incredulous. Could this clueless grandson really be Yanxi's boyfriend?

Did this child use his money and status to pressure Yanxi?

Noticing his grandfather's strange look, Yuan Yi immediately responded, "Grandpa, Xiao Xi told me she hasn't heard from her pen pal, who is about seventy years old, for nearly half a month. Could you be that pen pal?"

"I've been Yanxi's pen pal for a long time, what's wrong?" Xu Grandpa raised his white eyebrows. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Grandpa, how could I have a problem with you?" Yuan Yi peeled a longan and fed it to Yanxi. "But I remember you're eighty-nine this year, and that's quite a difference from seventy."

"Oh," Xu Qiao Sheng said in shock, "Grandpa, you actually lied about your age to fool young girls."

"How can you talk to your grandpa like that?" Xu Uncle shot a glare at his son and then turned to Xu Grandpa with a helpless smile. "Dad, you've been acting mysterious these past few months, so you've been...?" He looked at Yanxi, unsure of how to address her. Calling her Miss Yan felt too formal, but using her name felt too familiar.

"You can just call me Xiao Yan," Yanxi said.

Xu Uncle breathed a sigh of relief. "So, you've been writing to Xiao Yan?"

Xu Grandpa nodded. "It's all your fault for not letting me go out. Fortunately, Yanxi still remembers me, or I'd have been upset with you."

"Dad, the doctor said your eyes and brain shouldn't be overstrained, so I've been doing this for your own good..." Xu Uncle saw that his father was unhappy and realized anything more he said would only make things worse, so he chose to appease him like a child. "It's fine for you to write to Xiao Yan, but why would you lie? Claiming you're seventy when you're eighty-nine—it's almost a twenty-year difference."

"Who, who said I'm lying?!" Xu Grandpa was a bit guilty and didn't dare to look at Yanxi. "I have a young mindset, you know?"

"Grandpa, you're almost ninety?" Yanxi said in surprise. "I thought you were in your sixties or seventies."

"My face looks young," Xu Grandpa sighed with relief when he saw that Yanxi didn't mind the matter. "When I go out, I tell people I'm ninety, and they don't believe me."

"I wouldn't believe it either," Yanxi said with a smile, easing the old man's embarrassment. Somehow, their conversation shifted to the topic of Xu Grandpa wanting to introduce a boyfriend to Yanxi, which made Yuan Yi glance at them repeatedly.

Yanxi had always thought Yuan Yi didn't resemble his parents much, but now, seeing Xu Grandpa, she noticed how similar Yuan Yi's eyebrows and nose were to his grandfather's, especially their guilty yet stubborn expressions. It was as if seeing Xu Grandpa gave her a glimpse of Yuan Yi in old age, and that thought made her smile.

"What are we sitting here for? It's almost two o'clock; let's eat and talk," Xu Xiang said, signaling the maid to start serving the food, smiling as she invited everyone to sit down. The warmth with which the family treated Yanxi made her feel as though this wasn't her first time visiting.

Everyone sat down, and Yuan Yi began introducing the family members. When it came to introducing Xu Xiang's husband, the elegant man apologized to Yanxi, saying his distant cousin had acted thoughtlessly the last time.

"He's the one who drove the Lamborghini drunk and got beaten by me," Yuan Yi whispered in Yanxi's ear. "After that incident, my uncle already apologized to me once, but back then, we weren't very close, so I didn't mention it to you."

Yanxi finally understood what Yuan Yi's uncle was referring to. It had been when they first met, and the incident involving three luxury cars had made major headlines in the entertainment news. "Uncle, this has nothing to do with you. Besides, it's been so long now, I've completely forgotten about it."

As the saying goes, "When poor, no one cares in the busy market; when rich, even distant relatives come knocking from the mountains." Distant relatives, who you might not even know well, often cause trouble under the guise of family, and the people directly involved might not even be aware.

Yanxi's uncle-in-law forced a smile. He had married Xu Xiang, which could be considered a bit of a climb in status. The couple had a very good relationship, and both sets of parents were very open-minded. However, some of his relatives always thought that, as the son-in-law of the Xu family and the brother-in-law of the president of Changfeng Group, he should help out all his relatives. He couldn't manage that. In life, he was very clear about who mattered most to him.

After the meal, the relatives from the Xu family began giving Yuan Yi birthday gifts. Xu Xiang, being thoughtful, had also prepared a gift for Yanxi.

The gift was neither too expensive nor too casual, clearly well thought out.

"Thank you, Aunt Xu," Yanxi said as she accepted the gift.

"I'm glad you like it," Xu Xiang said, pulling Yanxi to sit on the couch. "Our family doesn't like to stand on ceremony. If there's anything lacking in the hospitality, please don't take it the wrong way."

Yanxi smiled and glanced at Yuan Yi. "No, everything's great here, I didn't feel offended at all."

"Yuan Zi, come upstairs with me for a chat," Xu Grandpa said as he stood up, grabbing his cane. He turned to Yanxi and said, "Xiao Yan, you sit here and relax. If you want anything to eat or drink, just ask Qiao Qiao to get it for you."

"Okay." Yanxi smiled and nodded when she saw Xu Qiao Sheng wink at her.

After seeing to his idol, Xu Grandpa was finally reassured and, with his grandson's hand in his, headed upstairs.

Xu Xiang glanced at the grandfather and grandson's retreating figures, sighed, and said with a helpless smile, "The old man really likes Yuan Zi. After Yuan Zi had his accident, he lived with the old man for a long time, so they have a very close relationship."

"An accident?" Yanxi caught the key point of the conversation. "When he was young... what happened?" After being with Yuan Yi, Yanxi rarely heard him talk about his family. She only knew that he had a grandfather who was nearly ninety, and a fairly good relationship with his uncle and aunt. Other than that, Yuan Yi never mentioned anything.

"Didn't Yuan Yi tell you about this?" Xu Xiang combed the hair by her cheek, sighed, "It's all old history, I wasn't planning to bring it up."

But if I don't tell you, how will you understand and care more about Yuan Yi? Xu Xiang felt that her nephew was nothing like herself. When you're with someone you like, how could you not act a little pitiful or weak? This was such a good opportunity.

"My sister and brother-in-law had a very good relationship. After they had their first child, they didn't plan on having a second one. Yuan Yi was an unexpected pregnancy. My sister's health wasn't great, and the doctors didn't advise them to terminate the pregnancy, so they decided to keep him." Xu Xiang spoke about these old matters with a sense of absurdity and helplessness, "But no one expected that when Yuan Yi was born, it was a difficult birth. They had to perform a C-section, and he ended up hemorrhaging. My sister almost didn't make it. My brother-in-law, a grown man in his thirties, was crying outside the delivery room without any dignity."

Yanxi showed no signs of being moved. She was naturally biased, and her heart was with Yuan Yi. She didn't care how good his parents' relationship was, she only knew that his parents hadn't treated him well.

"Sometimes, when parents are too close, they might overlook their child," Xu Xiang said with an expression of guilt. "When Yuan Yi was young, he suffered abuse from the nanny. As his aunt, I also feel responsible. If I had noticed sooner that the nanny had a problem..."

"Raising a child is the parents' responsibility, not someone else's," Yanxi's smile faded, "And Yuan Yi didn't even live with you back then."

Xu Xiang had intended to tell Yanxi more about the past, hoping it would make her care more about her nephew, but seeing her change in expression, Xu Xiang realized she might have made a mistake. Some things are better left unsaid, and speaking about them just made things more awkward. She nodded gently and fell silent.

Yanxi felt a bit uncomfortable inside, as if there was a lump in her chest that couldn't be released. There were some things she knew she shouldn't say in front of Xu Xiang, but she couldn't help herself: "If they didn't want a child at the time, they shouldn't have let Yuan Yi's mother get pregnant. No one wants to be an unwanted child. Why did they treat Yuan Yi so badly?"

Xu Xiang noticed the mixture of grievance and anger on the girl's face. Despite her fragile appearance, she seemed like a flame, ready to burn. If Xu Xiang's sister and brother-in-law were present, that fire would surely be directed at them.

Yanxi took a sip of her drink, trying to suppress her emotions: "Sorry, Aunt Xu, I'm just a bit upset."

"It's not your fault," Xu Xiang forced a smile. "Let's not bring up these old matters. Qiaoqiao, A-Wang, you guys are familiar with Xiaoyan, come over and chat with her."

"Aunt Xiang, stop calling me A-Wang. It sounds like you're calling a dog," Zhang Wang joked, lightening the mood. He turned to Yanxi and noticed that although she smiled, there was no smile in her eyes. She was likely still angry about Yuan Yi's past.

He sighed inwardly, thinking to himself that Yuan Yi had finally found a woman who truly loved him.

Meanwhile, in the study upstairs, Xu Laozi and Yuan Yi sat across from each other, with Xu Laozi looking very serious.

"How did you meet Xiaoyan?"

"It was through Aunt Xu's distant cousin's car accident."

"Yuan Zi, do you remember what I told you?"

Yuan Yi froze. "Which one?" Over the years, the old man had given him many pieces of advice; how could he remember them all?

"The true man stands tall and strong, never resorting to villainous acts. Do you still remember that?"

Yuan Yi frowned; something about that line sounded off.

"Tell me the truth, is Xiaoyan with you voluntarily?"

Yuan Yi: ?