CHAPTER 22: 019 LONG TIME NO SEE

As they reached the end of the stairs, Yan Nanmo suddenly stopped and looked at the various faces below. He smiled lightly, with confidence and scholarly elegance, "Thank you all for attending my wife’s birthday party. This is the first time we’ve hosted such an event, so please forgive us for any shortcomings." He gestured, and a waiter dressed in uniform came over with a tray.

Yan Nanmo took two glasses of red wine from the tray and offered one to Zhuang Xiyue beside him, turning to her with a smile, "As hosts, let us drink first as a sign of respect."

Zhuang Xiyue elegantly smiled as she raised her glass of red wine, clinked it against Yan Nanmo’s, and finished it in one gulp.

Someone from below raised their glass, "Happy birthday to Lady Yan, may you and Mr. Yan grow old together."

Zhuang Xiyue nodded to that person, "Thank you."

"Happy birthday, Lady Yan..."

The sounds of congratulations were unending, and Zhuang Xiyue’s smile was flawless. Her elegant demeanor and every move she made evoked the envy of the women present.

Yan Nanmo patted her hand, "I’ll go greet Secretary Zhou and the others; I’ll leave this place in your care."

Zhuang Xiyue nodded lightly, "Don’t worry."

Yan Nanmo was very confident in his wife’s abilities. She was more than capable of navigating high society in the Capital City, so the smaller circles of Jiangzhou were certainly no challenge for her.

"Lady Yan, I hadn’t expected you to be so young and beautiful in person, and with such a handsome husband. To be a minister at such a young age, Lady Yan, you’re truly blessed," said a woman who approached as soon as Yan Nanmo had left. The speaker was Minister Lin’s wife, a woman in her forties whose thick makeup could have been used to roll dough. Her tone could not conceal its sourness.

Zhuang Xiyue smiled lightly, "You flatter me, Lady Lin. My looks are thanks to my parents; there’s nothing I can do about that."

Lady Lin’s smile became somewhat stiff. The remark felt a bit like a dig at her—what was there to be so proud of? It’s just luck to be born into a good life.

Lady Su and Lady Zhou came over together, admiring the two little boys by Zhuang Xiyue’s side, "Such handsome children, especially the elder one, who seems to have inherited all the best traits from you and Mr. Yan. Who knows how many little girls he will charm when he grows up."

Zhuang Xiyue introduced her sons, "This is Aunt Zhai, and this is Aunt Liu."

The two children politely said, "Hello, Aunt Zhai. Hello, Aunt Liu."

Lady Su and Lady Zhou couldn’t stop smiling, the more they looked, the more they liked them, especially the elder one—how could his little face be so attractive, with that cool and aloof look that was so heartwarming.

Zhuang Xiyue smiled helplessly, "What’s so good about that? The elder one is so naughty that he gives me a headache; I’ve never seen such a mischievous child."

Lady Su laughed, "Which little boy isn’t naughty? My little brat used to be able to tear the roof off the house when he was young, and you’ll have more headaches to come."

Lady Lin felt completely left out of the conversation. Seeing how intimate Lady Su and Lady Zhou were with Lady Yan, she felt disdainful inside. After all, Lady Yan was just a minor minister’s wife. These wives of a mayor and a secretary were fawning over her—aren’t they losing face?

Lady Su completely ignored Lady Lin, who wore everything on her face as if she were a clown. Though Minister Lin had decent accomplishments, his wife held him back.

Yan Song hated attending parties, finding the incessant gossip of a group of women irritating. Seizing the moment Zhuang Xiyue wasn’t paying attention, he planned his escape, only to suddenly feel someone tugging on the hem of his clothes. He turned around and, as expected, it was Yan Ke’s annoyingly punchable chubby face.

"Let go of me."

Yan Ke stuck out his tongue, "Take me with you, or I’ll tell Mom."

Yan Song was defeated by him, "Little rascal."

Yan Song shook his head, "I’ll tell Mom you’re swearing."

Yan Song was silent. This little brat was so infuriating, he wanted to beat him up again. Assessing the situation, he decided not to bother arguing with a little kid for now; he would deal with it after leaving the party.

"Follow me, and don’t run off. If you run into trouble, I won’t help you."

Yan Ke clutched tightly at the hem of his clothes.

While Zhuang Xiyue and a few ladies were chatting, Yan Song and Yan Ke wove through the banquet. The two little ones went unnoticed. Just when Yan Song was feeling proud of himself, he suddenly bumped into someone and fell on his bottom.

"Who is it, can’t you watch where you’re going?" He got up angrily and then saw a little girl who looked as delicate and pretty as a porcelain doll standing in front of him, beautiful like a western doll; only her eyes seemed unfriendly.

Yan Song got angry at once, "Is it you?"

Yun Ya curved his lips lightly, his gaze falling on Yan Song’s face. Although his expression was gentle, for some reason it made Yan Song feel like his hair was standing on end, a strange and eerie sensation.

"Brother Yan Song, long time no see."

Indeed, it had been a long time.

The little girl’s voice was soft, mellow, and sweet. When she called him ’Brother Yan Song’, it almost melted people’s hearts, but Yan Song frowned fiercely, "Don’t call me your brother; I don’t have a sister like you."

She looked gentle and obedient, but who knew she was so vicious. When she said she would bite, she really bit, leaving him with a psychological scar. He almost dreamt every night that she turned into a wolf and chased him to bite him.

Yan Song subconsciously touched his shoulder, where there was a fierce bite mark. It still pained him just thinking about it.

Seeing his action, Yun Ya smiled even more gently, took a step closer, and Yan Song suddenly stepped back as if Yun Ya were some kind of flood beast, "What are you doing?"

Yun Ya tilted his head, looking innocently charming, "Are you very scared of me, Brother Yan Song?"

Scared of you my foot!

Yan Song would never admit that he was scared of her; that would be too embarrassing. He took a step forward, holding his head high, trying to overpower her with his presence. He was almost a whole head taller than Yun Ya, and his stern, fierce look was really quite intimidating. However, Yun Ya merely smiled.

"Ji Yunya, I haven’t settled the score with you for last time, and here you are, delivering yourself to my door, huh. This time I must teach you a lesson," not considering the gentlemen’s rule of ’do not hit women,’ he would slap a misbehaving female just the same.

Yun Ya’s smile was all the more sweet, "Brother Yan Song, this is a banquet, are you sure you want to make a move here?"

Just looking at her smiling face, Yan Song could hardly contain the resentment in his chest. "Smile, you still have the nerve to smile. Aren’t you scared? If you beg for mercy now, I might let you off the hook."

"Brother, don’t bully the pretty sister," Yan Ke suddenly rushed out and stood in front of Yun Ya. His plump, round body resembled a ball, and he was half a head shorter than Yun Ya, but he was full of righteousness, frowning with his little eyebrows and glaring at Yan Song.

Yan Song was so angry he could have been crooked, "You get out of here, what’s this got to do with you?"

Yan Ke shook his head: "No, you’re not allowed to bully the pretty sister, or else I will tell Mommy.

He turned to Yun Ya and grinned, "Pretty sister, don’t worry, I won’t let my brother bully you."

The little boy in front of her had very fair skin, his cheeks round and adorable, and he looked incredibly cute with a pair of dimples showing as he smiled. His eyes were clear and bright, turning into crescents as he beamed.

Yun Ya ruffled his soft hair and nodded gently, "Yes, pretty sister believes you."

His eyes, they looked so much like Miaomiao’s.

This was Yan Ke’s first encounter with Yun Ya, who was as beautiful as a princess living in a castle from a picture book. Her gaze was so tender, it made him instinctively want to draw nearer...

Watching the two of them behaving so intimately, Yan Song was so furious that smoke might as well have been coming out of his ears. Was he being treated as if he were dead?

"Colluding together, birds of a feather flock together...". He used all the idioms he had heard. At the age of seven, he was able to use them fluently and express his meaning perfectly, far stronger than his father who had struggled with the language from a young age...