Chapter 29: You and I Part 2

Follow-up cooperation with Eisenhoth needed to continue. Plus, Anders had explicitly said he wouldn’t go against Wei Tingxia’s wishes and appear in City A again, so all subsequent matters had to be handled remotely.

Remote handling meant double the invisible workload. Yan Xinfeng would be busy for a while, so combining the meals worked perfectly. It could also divert some of Mrs. Yan’s attention to Lu Zhao.

Yan Xinfeng thought it killed two birds with one stone—ideal. Lu Zhao had no objections.

After settling the time and place, Yan Xinfeng set down his phone. Just then, his assistant pushed open the door for a visitor.

“Busy?”

Wei Tingxia, who had slept until noon at home, strolled casually into the office.

He was now very familiar with Yan Xinfeng’s office. He shrugged off his coat, walked straight to the sofa, sat down, draped one long leg over the armrest, and leaned over to peer at Yan Xinfeng’s computer screen.

“Eisenhoth?” He read casually. “Not done yet?”

Yan Xinfeng removed his glasses and rubbed his brow. “Almost.”

The two rings on his ring finger complemented each other in the light. Wei Tingxia admired Yan Xinfeng in the sunlight for a moment before asking, “Going to see your mother tonight?”

Yan Xinfeng paused, then looked at Wei Tingxia seriously. “If you don’t want to, I’ll go alone.”

He wouldn’t let Wei Tingxia get caught in any conversation that might make him uncomfortable again.

Wei Tingxia shook his head. “It’s fine. I’m not someone who can’t be seen in public. Let’s go.”

With that, he stretched lazily, sinking relaxed into the sofa, and said casually, “If Anders pulls any tricks, tell me.”

Yan Xinfeng asked curiously, “What would you do?”

“I haven’t thought about it,” Wei Tingxia said lazily as he adjusted his position. “But this is what he owes me.”

Anders Eisenhoth was a successful businessman and an excellent heir, but his personality had flaws. He liked playing with fire, and in the end, he’d provoked Wei Tingxia, so he could only preserve his life by ceding benefits.

Yan Xinfeng smugly enjoyed the spoils his husband had brought him, feeling no shame—instead, he took pride in it.

But there was one thing he had never told Wei Tingxia—

Actually, on the night they left, Anders had secretly called Yan Xinfeng.

“Xiao Xia won’t be happy to know about this, but since you’re by his side, at least you can calm him down a bit.” Anders had said over the roar of the plane taking off in the background. “You might think his departure back then was excessive and heartless, but you should be able to see that he loves you.

“Wei Tingxia’s love means showing mercy.”

With that brief statement, he footnoted the lion-like little brother in his memory and thoroughly ignited the confusion in Yan Xinfeng’s heart.

So the next day, he used both soft and hard tactics to get the answer from his mother.

Thus, in Yan Xinfeng’s heart, he owed Anders a favor.

Of course, that didn’t mean he would definitely do anything for it—maybe just quietly feel grateful inside.

“Want some grilled fish?”

He left the desk and half-squatted in front of Wei Tingxia, reaching out to toy with the curved lashes of the man before him.

Wei Tingxia was so annoyed by him that he couldn’t close his eyes. He raised a hand to swat it away, then thought along Yan Xinfeng’s lines for a moment. “I don’t want grass carp.”

“Fine, I’ll grill you a humpback sea bass,” Yan Xinfeng had no objections. “If you still think it’s cheap, I’ll add some gold—after all, you’re a billionaire now.”

The estate, including the land, had been fully transferred half a month ago. Wei Tingxia didn’t want to be the boss, so Yan Xinfeng bought it all outright. Wei Tingxia’s assets had now surpassed one hundred million.

On the day the money hit his account, Wei Tingxia had looked satisfied at the soaring numbers in his card and sighed to System 0188 that this was more effective than stock trading.

System 0188 had nearly blown a fuse.

“Once we get back, if you don’t want to say anything, then don’t.”

Yan Xinfeng still wasn’t at ease and continued to instruct him. “If you’re tired, just say so. I’ll take you away.”

The more Wei Tingxia listened, the more off it sounded. He propped himself up. “Am I a kid?”

“No,” Yan Xinfeng said seriously. “About seventeen, or maybe a bit older.”

Wei Tingxia, whose actual age had already exceeded three digits, kept his seriousness too. “Why can’t it be fourteen or fifteen?”

“Because then I’d basically be a pedophile who needs to be shot.”

Wei Tingxia: “……”

So sometimes, President Yan getting kicked was only natural.

……

……

Twilight fell, and a grilled fish party was held in the Yan family rear residence.

Lu Zhao arrived with Xu Wei. It was their first time seeing Mrs. Yan after the wedding, and they brought plenty of gifts. Xu Wei looked happier than before, while Lu Zhao put on an air of complete life fulfillment, swaggering smugly to the backyard where he saw Yan Xinfeng personally grilling fish.

He whistled. “Marriage changes a man, huh? You’re even in the kitchen now.”

Yan Xinfeng didn’t turn his head. “I cooked before we got married too.”

That was true. Lu Zhao knew Wei Tingxia never entered the kitchen—unless it was to sneak snacks. Poor guy; no matter how rich, after marriage, he still had to wait on someone.

“Where is he?” Lu Zhao looked around.

There were plenty of servants in the backyard. The old butler was squatting by the water peeling cucumbers despite his age, and several young maids were blowing up balloons and tying them to the branches on either side, making it feel like a real party.

But amid all these busy people bustling about, one lordly figure was notably absent. Lu Zhao also noticed that Yan Xinfeng was actually a bit nervous, constantly glancing back.

Yan Xinfeng said, “He’s chatting.”

“With who?”

Yan Xinfeng didn’t speak, only giving him a tolerant glance.

Lu Zhao understood.

In a second-floor room.

Mrs. Yan emerged from behind the screen, holding a pot of freshly brewed flower tea. She carefully poured the tea into a cup, then sat in front of Wei Tingxia and scrutinized the changes in the face of the man before her.

After a long while, she said, “You haven’t changed a bit. You’re just like in my memory.”

Wei Tingxia raised an eyebrow. “What was I like in your memory?”

“A particularly beautiful child,” Mrs. Yan’s gaze fell on his left eyebrow. “Especially here—the broken brow. I remember it clearly.”

Wei Tingxia touched his left broken brow following her words. “It’s congenital.”

That abrupt break was like a mirror mended whole, reflecting a sharp and profound countenance.

Mrs. Yan didn’t know what Wei Tingxia had seen in her eyes, but in any case, she lowered her head, took a sip of tea, and then looked downstairs.

Lu Zhao had arrived and was talking with Yan Xinfeng. The backyard atmosphere was lively, in stark contrast to the mood in the room at that moment.

Mrs. Yan watched for a while before withdrawing her gaze. Then she looked at Wei Tingxia solemnly. “I haven’t thanked you yet.”

Wei Tingxia pursed his lips. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You saved our mother and son’s lives.” Mrs. Yan’s voice was soft but clear.

Others might not know, but she had seen that astronomical bounty with her own eyes. If Wei Tingxia hadn’t intervened in secret, making those four desperados vanish without a trace overnight and scaring off the others who wanted to act, she and her son wouldn’t have known how many more dangers they’d face. This favor had given them a chance to breathe.

This had indirectly given their mother and son that breathing room, and Mrs. Yan was deeply grateful.

“These years, I’ve been thinking about what kind of girl could accompany him through life. I found a few I was quite satisfied with…”

Mrs. Yan carefully selected the information Wei Tingxia should know. “I had him meet them, but he refused every one. He didn’t say he was waiting for you, but I could tell… I was originally very angry, but after you came back, I realized you might be the most suitable one.”

She forced a smile, fine wrinkles appearing at the corners of her eyes, unconsciously tasting the flavor of life’s twists and turns.

Years ago, her husband hadn’t approved of the two of them, but after his death, the only one willing to help without holding grudges turned out to be Wei Tingxia.

“Mrs. Yan.” Wei Tingxia spoke up, interrupting her thoughts.

Mrs. Yan looked up at him. Wei Tingxia also realized the form of address wasn’t quite right, but his lips moved, and in the end, he didn’t change it.

He simply ignored the title and met Mrs. Yan’s eyes directly. “Are you worried that I’ll hurt him again?”

This sentence directly pierced the worry Mrs. Yan kept buried in her heart.

Mrs. Yan’s brows furrowed slightly, and she no longer hid it. “You’re not as harmless as you seem. I have to worry.”

Those four had escaped for five years without being found, yet Wei Tingxia could bring them back directly from Northern Europe. The power behind that made her wary.

This conversation was her test and her confirmation of Wei Tingxia.

“I won’t.”

Wei Tingxia answered straightforwardly. “As long as Yan Xinfeng doesn’t do anything to wrong me, I won’t hurt him again.”

“What if he does?” Mrs. Yan pressed.

“He won’t.” A smile tugged at Wei Tingxia’s lips, one filled with certainty and perhaps hiding something else. “If that day really comes… it’ll be a matter between him and me.”

The implication in that smile made Mrs. Yan’s heart tighten. She was just about to say something when the window glass was lightly tapped a few times by something.

Both looked downstairs at the same time. Yan Xinfeng stood in the yard, tossing a small pebble in his hand, pretending to throw it up again.

He was smiling too. The yard lights fell on his face, strangely erasing all the wrinkles and weariness from years and setbacks, making him look young and high-spirited, almost back to his boyhood.

Seeing the smile on her son’s face, Mrs. Yan’s eyes flickered, and she suddenly sighed.

She no longer pressed the issue. Instead, she said, “He’s yours now, forever and always.”

No one could take Yan Xinfeng away from Wei Tingxia again. Mrs. Yan turned, looking at the young man beside her.

“You’re probably not used to being around me,” she said. “We can see each other less in the future. As long as you two… are good, that’s enough.”

Wei Tingxia nodded silently.

……

Yan Xinfeng finally fetched his newlywed husband from upstairs after forty minutes by the grilled fish.

The moment he got him, he eagerly leaned to Wei Tingxia’s ear and whispered, “What did she say?”

“Nothing much,” Wei Tingxia tiptoed and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Just that you’re mine now, and you’ll have to listen to me from now on.”

Yan Xinfeng wanted to say he didn’t believe it—his mother wouldn’t say something like that—but when he looked down, he saw the warm yellow light softly spilling on Wei Tingxia’s face, the evening breeze tousling his hair.

Wei Tingxia squinted his eyes, sniffing the grilled fish scent, his face showing a pure, dizzyingly happy expression.

Suddenly, Yan Xinfeng didn’t want to refute it.

“Yeah,” he whispered amid the grilled fish aroma and music, telling Wei Tingxia. “I’m yours.”

Forever.