Chapter 93

The first page of the photo album showed a chubby little boy sitting in a children's bathtub, grinning as he shoved a piece of rubber into his mouth.

"This is when Yuan Xiao'er was little?" Yan Xi leaned in to look. "He looks quite mischievous."

"Xiao Yuanzi looked very quiet when he was little, but this is Da Yuanzi." Grandpa Xu pointed to the bathtub. "I bought this bathtub for them."

Yan Xi looked at the chubby child with the mischievous look, and no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't link him to Yuan Bo. It seemed that time had been like a cosmetic surgeon, shaping and shedding the marks of childhood.

"This is Xiao Yuanzi." Grandpa Xu flipped to another page, pointing to a photo of a neat and clean little boy in a white shirt and shorts. "He was really well-behaved when he was little. When his kindergarten teacher gave him an apple, he would bring it back to me to share."

Listening to Grandpa Xu reminiscing about the past, Yan Xi couldn't help but gently touch the photo of the delicate boy, as if doing so could transcend time and bring her face to face with the well-behaved little boy from back then. "He was really adorable back then."

"Yes, if not for..." Grandpa Xu sighed deeply. "That show you did about parent-child relationships and education, I wish my good-for-nothing eldest daughter and son-in-law would watch it."

Yan Xi remained silent. She felt sorry for the child in the photo, who had a not-so-happy childhood and was ignored during his adolescence, eventually becoming a man who struggled to express himself. That's why, when they first met, he always seemed a bit too blunt.

She just wanted to hug him, to tell him not to be so obedient, not to listen so carefully.

In Grandpa Xu's memories, Yuan Xiao'er was always well-behaved and obedient, until Yuan Yi slowly grew up and entered adolescence.

"Teenage education is very important. Even a child as well-behaved as Xiao Yuanzi, with parents like his, almost went down the wrong path." Grandpa Xu's mood darkened, and he seemed to regret things from the past. "It's also my fault for not noticing his changes. By the time I did, it was too late."

As the pages went on, there were fewer and fewer photos of Yuan Yi. Yuan Bo appeared in the photos dressed in a suit and tie, with a serious expression, never a hint of a smile.

Yuan Yi's rebellious years, Yuan Bo's growth, photos with different elders, solo pictures—but their parents appeared very rarely in these photos.

"Grandpa Xu, let it go, it's not your fault," Yan Xi gently patted Grandpa Xu's back. "Yuan Xiao'er has me by his side now, I won't let him suffer anymore."

"Alright, alright." Grandpa Xu nodded repeatedly. "I know, Xiao Yuanzi being with you is his fortune."

"Finding him is also my fortune. He's a really good person." Yan Xi smiled. "Really, he's very good."

Hearing this, Grandpa Xu's smile grew even brighter.

Outside the room, Yuan Yi, who was about to push the door open, withdrew his hand. He turned and glanced at Yuan Bo and Xu Qiaosheng, his expression calm yet slightly smug. It was the kind of pride a victor exudes when showing off to a single guy.

Yuan Bo's expression remained unchanged, while Xu Qiaosheng turned his head and secretly rolled his eyes.

So, having a girlfriend is a big deal?

Well, it seems... having a girlfriend like this is indeed quite impressive.

"Yuan Xiao'er actually wore bell-bottoms?" Yan Xi laughed as she pointed at a pair of bell-bottomed pants. The trend from back then, now looked completely out of place and almost painful to look at.

"The taste of young people, I don't quite understand as an old man." Grandpa Xu flipped another page. "That was still fine, but take a look at this."

"Grandpa!" Yuan Yi pushed the door open quickly and rushed inside, trying to stop Yan Xi from seeing this photo. However, his movements weren't fast enough, and the photo was already in front of everyone.

The red, green, and purple mixed hair, the jacket with a skull pattern, the jeans with metal chains, and the long bangs covering half the face—it was a classic street punk look from ten years ago, the kind worn by a not-so-successful rebel.

The person in the photo looked familiar—so familiar that the first thing Yan Xi thought of was the incident from back then.

"So, that boy from back then was you?" Yan Xi turned to Yuan Yi, trying to find any resemblance between him and the rebellious teen in the photo. But unfortunately, aside from being male, she just couldn't believe they were the same person.

"It's not me." Yuan Yi turned and pointed at Xu Qiaosheng. "Grandpa must be mistaken. This is a picture of Qiaosheng when he was little."

Xu Qiaosheng: "I'm just here for the fun, what did I do?"

"I can't be wrong." Grandpa Xu was very upset when others doubted his memory. He took the photo from the album and pointed to the back of it. "Back then, I was worried I wouldn't remember who was who when you all grew up, so I wrote your names on the back of the photos. Come take a look, is this your name?!"

Grandpa Xu's handwriting was very beautiful, and even the somewhat childish nickname "Xiao Yuanzi" was written in a flowing, graceful style.

The atmosphere became awkward.

Xu Qiaosheng curiously asked, "That boy from back then? Da He, you knew Brother Yi before?"

Yan Xi was no longer paying attention to Xu Qiaosheng; she was staring at Yuan Yi. "You recognized me a long time ago, didn't you?"

Yuan Xiao'er, with his neck stiff, said, "What are you talking about? I don't understand." If there were a time machine in the world, the first thing Yuan Yi would do is go back and give his younger self a good beating.

Why act like a rebellious youth, dress in those ridiculous clothes, and take those photos? Now, the woman he loves has seen the ugliest and most absurd version of himself. If they end up together, how would she ever stop thinking about his non-mainstream look?

Yan Xi noticed that the other three people in the room were looking at her with curiosity. Yes, all three—Yuan Bo, although he hid it well, had the curiosity in his eyes, which betrayed him.

After thinking for a moment, Yan Xi swallowed the words she was about to say. She opened the study door and turned to Yuan Yi. "Come, let's talk."

Seeing this, Xu Qiaosheng felt a little disappointed. Did this mean she didn't want them to watch the fun?

Grandpa Xu looked at the photo in his hand with concern. "Did I ruin Xiao Yuanzi's image?"

"Grandpa, don't overthink it. Yan Xi is not the kind of person who would argue with Xiao Er over something small," Yuan Bo comforted Grandpa Xu, glancing at the photo. "Maybe... maybe she just wants to talk about the old days with Xiao Er because she finds the fashion from that time amusing. If you're really worried, after they're done talking, you can ask them."

"You're right, Yan Xi wouldn't dislike Xiao Yuanzi just because he looked bad ten years ago." Grandpa Xu felt reassured and picked up his cane. "Let's go downstairs and give the two young people some space."

"Grandpa, I thought you were going to eavesdrop on them?"

"Nonsense! What kind of elder eavesdrops on their younger generation? That's not called concern, or curiosity, that's called having a problem with your brain." Grandpa Xu scolded Xu Qiaosheng. "I think you've been acting in too many TV shows and lost all sense of decency."

Xu Qiaosheng lowered his head, rubbing his nose, and muttered, "I was just thinking you were concerned about Brother Yi, that's why I thought that."

"Under the guise of concern, doing disrespectful things is what feudal, authoritarian parents do. Do you think I'm like that?" Grandpa Xu sighed, shaking his head. "You don't take after me at all."

The three of them walked downstairs. Xu Qiaosheng suddenly whispered to Yuan Bo, "Brother Bo, Aunt is here."

Yuan Bo glanced at Xu Ya, who was sitting on the sofa, and gave a slight nod. Xu Qiaosheng was puzzled by Yuan Bo's calm expression. Was he happy or not? Wasn't it said that Aunt and Uncle didn't like Da He? Why did they specifically come over today?

"Dad," Xu Ya greeted as she stood up when she saw Grandpa Xu come down.

"You're here?" Grandpa Xu sat down on the sofa. "Sit down, why are you standing?"

"Xiao Er..." Xu Ya glanced around and then at the stairs. "Hasn't he and Miss Yan come down yet?"

"They're upstairs, chatting." Grandpa Xu seemed a little surprised by Xu Ya's arrival. "I thought you were traveling with Asen?"

"His friend's family had an issue, so they couldn't go out." Xu Ya smiled. "It's good this way, I can stay and spend some time with you." She hadn't been able to spend much time with her father in recent years, so every time she was with him, she felt a sense of guilt.

"Since you're here, stay for dinner." Grandpa Xu's tone changed. "But Yan Xi is my special guest. If you still have some respect for your father, please don't do anything to upset her."

"I won't," Xu Ya quickly said. "Miss Yan is someone Xiao Er likes, I won't do anything to upset her again."

Hearing this, Grandpa Xu looked at Xu Ya a few more times. Had she finally matured?

Yan Xi pulled Yuan Yi into the room he was staying in at Xu's house, closed the door, and pointed to the bed. "Sit."

Yuan Yi obediently sat at the edge of the bed, looking around nervously. After confirming there was nothing useful within reach, he straightened up a little.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Who wants the person they like to know how foolish and ridiculous they were in the past?" Yuan Yi whispered. "It wasn't something to be proud of."

"Why did you come over back then?"

"I had never seen such a foolish girl. You were wearing a school uniform skirt and trying to climb a wall while crying. I couldn't stand watching you being so silly, so I wanted to help," Yuan Yi said, giving up on hiding the truth and recounting the events of the past cleanly. "Who knew that my rare moment of sympathy would backfire? Before I could even lend a hand, the teacher mistook it for something malicious and stopped me, making me write a self-reflection letter, call my parents, and earned me a reputation for bullying younger students that lasted until I graduated high school. Honestly, I was kind of a big deal in high school, but I ended up with all this bad luck because of you."

But it wasn't really Yan Xi's fault. She had been crying so pitifully at the time, like a wilted cabbage in the cold wind. His conscience had been severely tortured, and he felt like if he didn't help her, something bad would happen to him.

If only he had known Yan Xi's true nature back then, he would never have taken a step forward.

Hindsight is priceless, and now talking about it didn't matter anymore.

"Sorry," Yan Xi crouched down in front of him. "I should have explained things properly to the teacher back then."

At that time, she had been so upset about her parents' divorce that she thought a brief explanation to the teacher would clear things up, and even if the teacher didn't believe her, it wouldn't have caused Yuan Yi any trouble. But as a child, she had underestimated the teacher's sense of responsibility and overestimated Yuan Yi's credibility in the teacher's eyes.

"I caused you to be misunderstood and suffer," Yan Xi raised her head to look into Yuan Yi's eyes. "You're clearly such a kind person."

Because Yuan Yi skipped classes and dressed in a non-mainstream style, no one believed him. Even she, the one involved, couldn't explain the situation, and her crying made everyone doubt him even more.

A large part of the blame for what happened back then lay with her.

But through all these days, Yuan Yi had never mentioned it, as if all the misunderstandings and hurts were trivial matters. It seemed like he had always been so invulnerable, as if no words or others' judgments could ever hurt him.

But as long as you're human, as long as you have a heart, it's impossible to never get hurt.

"It's fine, I've long forgotten about it." Yuan Yi's gaze shifted away, deliberately speaking harshly, "A grown man like me, who would bother remembering such a small thing? You should forget about it too."

"I can't forget," Yan Xi hugged Yuan Yi. "That was our first meeting."

"So we've known each other for so many years."

In the end, this little grass by the corner still ended up in my hands.

Yuan Yi bent down and embraced Yan Xi. "Forget it, you should look at my handsome pictures from back then. As for that messy hair, don't worry about it."

"You even admit it was messy hair," Yan Xi finally couldn't hold back her laughter. "Give it up, I'll keep this photo. Later, when we have our kids..."

"Our kids?" Yuan Yi looked at Yan Xi with intense eyes. "It's fine. If you want to show our kids whatever photos, go ahead. If we don't have enough, I can even wear a wig and take more pictures." As long as you're willing to have kids with me, as long as you're willing to be with me.

Yan Xi: "..."

Did she just misspeak?