Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Five: An Inescapable Past I (1/2)

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Five: An Inescapable Past (I)

“Why?” Yan Jin asked.

“What do you mean ‘why’? That’s just how it is…” Xiao Yu’s expression was somewhat uneasy.

“How what is?”

Xiao Yu fell silent.

How was it? Well, just like that.

“It’s because instead of stepping into an uncertain future, you’d rather hide in the same old tortoise shell and wait for a miracle.”

Yan Jin’s bluntness caused Xiao Yu’s face to become a little pale.

Xiao Yu knew what Yan Jin was referring to. He was willing to admit that that was the truth. When he’d said earlier that he knew Yan Jin had investigated him long ago, he hadn’t been guessing. Furthermore, when he’d discovered traces of the investigation, he hadn’t confronted Yan Jin. In the end, he hadn’t planned on hiding his knowledge from Yan Jin very long.

However, being called out by Yan Jin like this left a sour taste in his mouth. He was already an adult. He could make decisions for himself and take responsibility for their results. He knew there were problems with how he handled family matters. He neither needed nor wanted others to point out his mistakes.

Yan Jin’s bluntness made him feel a little distant.

Fortunately, Yan Jin changed the topic. “You’re fortunate to have such a reliable lover.”

“Huh?” Xiao Yu couldn’t keep up with the change in topic.

“I told you long ago to have some more faith in me, but you’re still worrying about all these random things every day and night.” Yan Jin pecked Xiao Yu’s cheeks.

“What do I need to do to show some more faith? I…” Xiao Yu paused. Then, he finally gave up and let out his innermost thoughts. “My stepmother… Not long ago, she came to tell me that my dead father told her in a dream that he wanted grandchildren.”

Yan Jin grimaced, but he didn’t look angry or unhappy at all.

In an instant, Xiao Yu suddenly understood the meaning of what Yan Jin had said.

Yan Jin’s apparent criticism earlier wasn’t referring to his cowardice nor his self-deception. Instead, they were to emphasize “you have such a reliable lover.”

So, what Yan Jin had been getting at this whole time was: regardless of how Xiao Yu deceived himself and hid in his tortoise shell hoping for the future to get better, he was fortunate his lover was Yan Jin. Yan Jin could turn all of his hopes into reality.

“What did you do?” Xiao Yu suddenly realized the significance of Yan Jin’s words and hurriedly faced Yan Jin head on. “Did you do something?”

Without Xiao Yu realizing it, his tone carried all of his hope. Yan Jin heard it loud and clear.

Chairman Yan smiled contentedly, but he didn’t directly answer the questions. “Now that you’ve appeared on news headlines with me, aren’t you worried that your Aunty Fang will find out about our relationship?”

From the words “Aunty Fang”, Xiao Yu was even more certain that Yan Jin had already contacted Madam Fang.

“Nope. She’s worlds removed from this kind of thing. While this news did make the headlines, it only did so on entertainment outlets. Madam Fang doesn’t care about these gossip tabloids. She used to only care about the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Now, she hangs out with all the other aunties in her small neighborhood drinking tea and playing mahjong. It’s doubtful that their conversation topic will move to me either. Speaking of which, there was this time…”

Yan Jin suddenly went quiet. Although his expression didn’t change much, his bad mood had already permeated through the now-cold surroundings.

Xiao Yu felt that something wasn’t quite right and ceased his chattering. He repressed his enthusiasm and stared at Yan Jin for a while. Then, he said with some surprise, “Hey, how come you’re suddenly unhappy? You can’t be jealous, can you?!”

Yan Jin still didn’t say anything, but his arm around Xiao Yu tightened considerably.

“How can you be jealous of everything? Are you a woman?”

“Has there ever been a woman jealous because of you?” The point Yan Jin had taken issue with seemed completely off.

This time, Xiao Yu fell silent. He really had nothing to say.

After the two of them were silent for a while, Xiao Yu conceded first. “Perhaps I said a little too much. Can you not make an issue out of this…?”

Xiao Yu’s voice trailed off for so long, but Yan Jin still didn’t respond. Helpless, Xiao Yu could only resort to other tactics to curry favor. “Okay, okay. Madam Fang is just my stepmother. Of course, she can’t even compare with my dear Yan Jin’s position in the center of my heart. I love you the most.”

He concluded his flattery with a kiss.

“But you still tried to avoid our marriage because of her.” Yan Jin’s eyes darkened.

Xiao Yu’s body became somewhat stiff.

That was true, but…

Xiao Yu felt that it was unfair.

Xiao Yu knew that he was being pretty shameless right now. Though he said that Yan Jin was the most important person, his actions were entirely contradictory. He knew that even if Yan Jin proposed to him again, he would likely reject it.