Chapter 129 - 094 One separates and grows wider, each finding their own joy_7
Living like this, aren’t you tired? Just looking at you makes me feel tired...
He once suggested to his brother to see a psychologist, claiming there definitely was a psychological issue, but that resulted in a beating from his brother. After that, he never dared to bring it up again.
But now that they had grown up, his brother didn’t dare to hit him randomly. He had become smarter, too, knowing exactly how much he could tolerate, so he always skirted around his brother’s bottom line.
However, two years ago, he discovered a secret of his brother’s.
Thinking of this, Yan Ke’s eyes quickly flashed a mischievous look.
"Brother, are you running low on pocket money? Do you need me to support you a bit? I earned quite a lot from my recent performance." Yan Ke blinked his eyes, looking very adorable.
Yan Song gave him a glare, his dark eyes as calm and deep as ancient wells, causing Yan Ke to instinctively startle.
"Heh heh, I knew it wouldn’t be that, you get a hefty scholarship every year, much more than I have."
His eyes darted around before he suddenly asked, "Is it because of a girl?"
He didn’t miss the ripple that briefly passed through his brother’s eyes, thinking that it really was about a girl.
Yan Ke furrowed his brows, "Brother, do you like a girl?"
Yan Song turned his head away, his cold voice warning, "Speak nonsense again, and I’ll tear your tongue out."
Yan Ke playfully stuck out his tongue, "It seems I guessed right, big brother really does like a girl."
When Yan Song’s murderous gaze turned his way, Yan Ke suddenly jumped away, laughing and saying, "Let me guess who it could be? Ye Xiaoxiao? Song Yiren? Or perhaps Kang Jinxian...."
Noticing how Yan Song’s frown deepened, Yan Ke laughed and said, "NONONO, none of these girls are good enough for brother, don’t you agree?"
Yan Song snorted as if to say, at least the kid has some sense.
Yan Ke suddenly changed the subject, "One night when I got up to pee, I think I heard brother calling someone’s name in his sleep...."
Yan Song stiffened, and then his complexion rapidly darkened, his eyes glinting with a chilling murderous intent.
As if oblivious to Yan Song’s gloom, Yan Ke went on, "Brother, you said that person owed you something, and if she doesn’t return it, you wouldn’t let her off even if you became a ghost."
Yan Ke looked on with a mischievous twinkle, "Brother, who do you think she could be?"
Yan Song’s face was set in a cold grimace, "Are you done? If you are, get out."
Yan Ke giggled, "Brother, you’re already seventeen. It’s perfectly normal to like a girl. The thing she owes you is clearly your heart, because she’s stolen it away...."
Suddenly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Yan Song shot up, the oppressive presence of his tall stature making Yan Ke shiver involuntarily. He had hit a nerve, and his brother was about to explode.
If he had known, he wouldn’t have teased the tiger.
Yan Ke was regretting it; his brother would beat him to a pulp when enraged, whimpering for his mother to save him...
Yan Song grabbed him by the collar like an eagle snatching a chick and tossed him out the door, which closed with a heavy "bang," and he even heard the sound of the lock clicking shut.
Yan Song collapsed onto the bed, burying his head in the pillow and grabbing a handful of his hair at random.
His brother’s words echoed in his mind as he tossed and turned on the bed.
That night, Yan Song had a dream; first, it was the sweet smile of a little girl, "Brother Yan...."
Then it morphed into the gentle and extremely beautiful face of a young lady whispering beside his ear, "Tell me, am I crazy or just a pervert?"
That enchantingly gentle demeanor, mixed with an ultimate charm, intertwined around his heart like threads.
He smelled her fragrance, a captivating scent...
The next morning,
He hesitated for a moment, instinctively reaching under himself, and soon his handsome face turned as red as an overripe eggplant.
In a flurry, he crumpled the bedsheets into a ball and shoved them into the trash can. After a moment’s thought, he pulled them out and stuffed them into his backpack, planning to dispose of them in an outside trash bin when he left the house.
Throughout breakfast, his mind seemed elsewhere, and Zhuang Xiyue thought he might be sick, worriedly reaching out to touch his forehead to check his temperature.
Yan Song suddenly brushed her hand away, put down his chopsticks, shouldered his backpack, and left.
"I’m full, I’m heading to school now."
Zhuang Xiyue paused and then shook her head helplessly, "This child, the bigger he gets, the more awkward he becomes."
Yan Ke bit his chopstick and suddenly spoke up, "Maybe Brother has something on his mind."
Usually, Yan Song rode his bicycle to school, but today he deliberately took a longer route to the waste transfer station. With one foot on the ground, he took the black plastic bag wrapped bedsheets out of his backpack and threw them into the air, creating a perfect parabolic trajectory that blended them into the mountains of garbage.
Yan Song breathed a complete sigh of relief, a rare smile appearing on his face. Suddenly, he pushed off the ground, and his bicycle sped away, his tall youthful silhouette darting through the morning light like a breeze.
——
At the Yan residence, after breakfast and after the hosts had gone to work and school, the routine cleaning began.
Extra attention was needed when cleaning the eldest son’s room; there could be no mistakes, and Zhuang Xiyue had already changed several cleaners because of this.
Now, Aunt Lin, in her forties, slim and with a long face, was deft and attentive. Zhuang Xiyue was very satisfied with her, as Aunt Lin had worked at the Yan residence for three full years.
Zhuang Xiyue was sitting in the living room, drinking tea, when Aunt Lin quickly came downstairs and whispered something in her ear.
Zhuang Xiyue first looked surprised and then smiled lightly.
"Ah Song has grown up; he’s a man now."
Aunt Lin smiled along, "Indeed, the eldest young master is shy, afraid that we would find out and laugh at him, he took the bedsheet off early and who knows where he hid it. I’ve searched everywhere and haven’t found it. He may seem cool, but he’s actually very bashful and shy."
Zhuang Xiyue, as if recalling something, shook her head with a chuckle, "I thought he was out of sorts this morning and worried he was sick, this child... But I saw his backpack was bulging, and I thought he was getting serious about his studies. It turns out he hid the bedsheet in there. I’m his mother; how could I possibly laugh at him?"
"The eldest young master is thin-skinned; let’s pretend we don’t know," Aunt Lin reminded.
Zhuang Xiyue nodded, "If he’s set on keeping it a secret, it would be too embarrassing for us to expose it."
Aunt Lin looked at Zhuang Xiyue’s elegant and beautiful features and sighed inwardly. Nearly forty, yet she still looked like a charming young woman.
A loving husband, two sons more filial and outstanding than the other, such a woman was truly a winner in life.
But this Lady Yan had none of the arrogance typical of wealthy ladies; she was always kind even to servants like them, truly a lady raised in a scholarly family.
The future daughters-in-law who could marry into such a family surely possessed eight lifetimes of fortune.
As Aunt Lin pondered, she saw Zhuang Xiyue let out a soft sigh, looking somewhat wistful. It was rare to see the lady like this, and Aunt Lin couldn’t help but ask, "Madam, is there something troubling you?"
Zhuang Xiyue shook her head, "Nothing much, just thinking of someone from the past."
Seeing Zhuang Xiyue’s discretion, Aunt Lin wisely did not inquire further.
Zhuang Xiyue’s gaze wandered to the window, looking out at the garden where butterflies fluttered amongst the colorful blooms, her eyes grew distant.
In two days, Yun Family’s adopted daughter would have her coming-of-age celebration, attended by many notable guests.
But what about Yun Ya? She was truly the legitimate young lady of the Yun Family, yet she had disappeared without a trace for ten years.
For ten years, everyone had forgotten the existence of that girl, forgotten how astounding a prodigy she had been. Every trace of her presence had been mercilessly erased by the torrent of time.
Now, everyone only remembered Kang Jinxian, the Yun Family’s adopted daughter, who was obedient and filial, exquisite and graceful, truly a maiden of great virtue and refinement.