96: uncle

The second day of the Lunar New Year is traditionally the time when wives return to their maternal homes.

Although there is equality between men and women now and no strict distinction between 'your family' and 'my family,' this custom has still been passed down. After all, there are only so many days of Chinese New Year holiday, and relatives must be visited. Having a conventional time set for it is very convenient.

The journey was a bit far, requiring them to cross into another city, so they had to set off very early.

By the time they finished eating, Yan Zhuohua was a bit dazed and could hardly keep his eyes open. Consequently, he naturally didn't notice the others looking at them with meaningful, half-smiling glances. But even if he had seen them, he probably wouldn't have reacted. One eventually gets used to it.

As they were preparing their things to head out, Yan Zhuoyang pulled the two of them aside privately.

"Be more mindful. Don't fool around without checking the time."

The two of them were much thicker-skinned now. They nodded in seemingly shameful agreement with their eldest brother's criticism, but in reality, they didn't care at all.

Today, those going to their Uncle's house were Jiang Fuyue and her four children. This was because Yan Zhuoyi and the others also had to go to their own maternal Uncles' houses to pay New Year visits. Everyone had their own respective Uncles.

The five of them split into two cars, and everyone tacitly let the couple stay by themselves.

Jiang Fuyue was from a neighboring city. Although they were two different cities, they were adjacent, and it only took about two hours to get there via the highway.

The Jiang family was a prominent clan in the neighboring city, as well as a family of scholars. In Jiang Fuyue's generation, the main branch consisted only of her and her brother, Jiang An, so they were very close.

Back when Yan Jinming had his accident, Jiang An specifically came to the Yan Family to help support them for a long time, helping Uncle settle into his position as the head of the family. The main reason was that his younger sister was unwilling to let go of her late husband who had died young without fortune; otherwise, Jiang An would have taken her back home long ago.

Yan Zhuohua was also very familiar with his Uncle. Jiang An especially doted on his sister's youngest son. Even when Yan Zhuohua's true identity was revealed and he was about to leave the Yan Family, his Uncle specifically sent someone to pick him up, saying that if he couldn't stay in the Yan Family, he should return to the Jiang family with his Uncle. Even though he refused, his Uncle often secretly used various means to send him things later on, all of which he had carefully preserved.

But speaking of impressions...

"You don't know, but when Dad had his accident, Uncle dropped everything at the Jiang family and stayed at our house for four whole months to support Mom. I still remember Uncle advising Mom to let go early and not to drown in grief; he said he could take Mom and us kids back to be raised properly."

"Uncle really dotes on Mom, his younger sister!"

"Of course. He didn't just advise Mom not to force herself and to come home early; he also felt that Dad truly lacked the fortune to accompany Mom for a lifetime, so she might as well get a replacement."

Yan Qinghe almost honked the horn. "What?"

"He told Mom privately in the dining room, and I, along with Uncle and Aunt, all eavesdropped. He said there are so many men in the world, they are just like a piece of jewelry—if it breaks, you just replace it, no need to be sad for too long. If you're afraid the next piece will break too, then simply buy more; if one breaks, there's always another, and you'll never have to be sad over it." Yan Zhuohua's memory was vivid.

"Mom countered that if it doesn't suit her heart, then no matter how much jewelry there is, it's useless. But Uncle said again that the family has plenty of money, so why fear not being able to buy jewelry that suits her? She could have as much as she wanted then. At worst, we'd just custom-make it, designing and polishing it according to her preferences; it surely wouldn't be unsuitable then, right?"

Yan Qinghe didn't expect that the most shocking gossip he'd hear this year would appear on the morning of the second day of the New Year.

Uncle is such a massive sister-con.

The few times he'd met Uncle before, he only felt that the man doted on him. He hadn't realized it was actually just a case of 'loving the house and its crows'—loving him because of his mother.

Yan Zhuohua continued his narration, "Uncle heard this from outside and immediately went in to criticize what Jiang An said as wrong. The two of them argued for a long time as if no one else was there, and as a result, Uncle accidentally let something slip. It turns out he was afraid Aunt would also be moved by Jiang An's 'jewelry theory' and turn around to dump him—an old, broken piece of jewelry who can't even cook—to go find a bunch of new ones to enjoy herself with."

"Well, that certainly fits Uncle's personality." Yan Qinghe felt that today's shocks were coming one after another.

After saying all this, Yan Zhuohua felt a bit sleepy again and gave a long yawn.

Yan Qinghe's mind was still replaying Yan Zhuohua's words from just now.

"Wait, that's not right!" Yan Qinghe's sudden exclamation startled Yan Zhuohua, who was about to fall asleep.

"What's not right? Why are you shouting for no reason?" Yan Zhuohua was given a huge fright.

Yan Qinghe's voice was very tense. "It's been ten years and you still remember those words. Are you thinking the same way? Are you thinking of replacing me, this old piece of jewelry, one day and then buying a whole bunch of new jewelry to spite me?"

"..."

How could one not say he's a pure-blooded member of the Yan Family? His brain is just as faulty as Uncle's. I worry for the two older brothers.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Did I hit the nail on the head?" Yan Qinghe pressed.

"I'm just... speechless." Yan Zhuohua sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You can rest assured, I don't have that much money to buy new jewelry."

Yan Qinghe caught another loophole. "So if you had the money, you would go buy some?"

"...Is there a possibility that I was just trying to use that to explain that I have no intention of buying new jewelry?"

"That's exactly what you're thinking! That's why it slipped out!" Yan Qinghe argued plausibly. "Besides, you only slowly grew to like me because of my methods. If you had the chance to choose, you definitely wouldn't have chosen me!"

Yan Zhuohua felt that at this moment, he truly knew what it meant for 'trouble to come from the mouth,' and he experienced what it meant to be unable to clear one's name despite a hundred mouths.

He thought about it carefully; to solve the problem, relying solely on arguing was useless. He should grasp the characteristics and essence of the issue and solve it from the root.

"Fine, what will it take for you to believe me?"

In all likelihood, it would be the same fate as the day he was 'interrogated' through torture.

"I have to use torture to extract a confession before I can know if you're being sincere."

As expected.

Yan Zhuohua sighed and agreed to his request to satisfy him. Yesterday he was triumphantly kicking the man out of bed, and today he was caught in another major predicament; the wheel of fortune truly does turn.

Was he really going to spend his whole life like this with Yan Qinghe? Yan Zhuohua wondered with vacant eyes. But he soon came to terms with it. They indeed wouldn't spend their whole life like this, because he might not survive the devastation and would probably perish on the bed halfway through.

After eleven o'clock at noon, the two cars arrived at the Jiang house one after another.

Jiang An knew they were coming back and had gotten up early to wait for them. Seeing that the time was almost up, he even waited in the courtyard for quite a while.

Now that everyone had finally arrived, he stepped forward excitedly to greet them.

The first person he grabbed to look over was his little nephew, Yan Zhuohua, whom he hadn't seen for several months. As the head of the family, he was usually very busy. The last time he saw this nephew was at his wedding banquet; it was crowded and noisy, and since his own time was tight, he couldn't stay long, so they hadn't had a proper conversation.

"You've grown taller, and thinner!" Jiang An's expression was emotional. "But why do you look a bit haggard?"

Ah, well, you've hit the nail on the head.