Every weekend seemed to bring good weather. The north-facing apartment was well-ventilated, though the only slightly bothersome thing was that in the afternoon, sunlight would occupy half of the living room. Chen Jinyao, with her feet propped on the coffee table edge, looked at these penetrating rays of light, slightly furrowed her brows, and let out a long sigh.
It was still okay now, but come midsummer, it would be truly troublesome.
“I’m going to see Chai Yue around two-thirty,” Yan Cheng came out of the storage room, glancing at the clock. He was carrying several boxes of expensive cigarettes, which he tossed onto the dining table with a thud. “Going to give him all these good stuff.”
Yan Cheng had learned to smoke while in school, having tried all sorts of brands. Once you’ve tried enough, it becomes hard to quit. By now, he was somewhat addicted, though not heavily – he would smoke about half a pack daily. These particular brands were his favorites, not only expensive but also hard to find. Yan Cheng lazily drooped his eyes, his fingertips gently rubbing the corner of a cigarette box. After a quiet moment, he let out a soft snort, “Lucky him.”
Chen Jinyao stretched lazily, giving him a sidelong glance: “What made you decide to give things to Chai Yue? Even if you want to give them away, why such a rush?”
“You wouldn’t understand.” Yan Cheng paced back and forth, finding a paper bag and carefully packing them in. “I’m quitting smoking, but I can’t deny that I don’t have that much self-control right now, so the best method is out of sight, out of mind.”
“…” Hearing this, Chen Jinyao rested her chin on her hand thoughtfully.
Yan Cheng was really going to quit smoking?
The timing of this move seemed too coincidental, especially considering what she had said last night. Chen Jinyao uncomfortably turned away, lowering her eyes slightly, her eyelashes gently covering the gleam of thoughts in her pupils.
Some say that between married couples, except for those who had agreed early on to remain childless, most would either naturally or accidentally create a small life of their own at some point, forming what could be called a true family connected by blood.
Different people view issues from different angles – diverse thoughts and perspectives contribute to a pluralistic society.
As for Chen Jinyao, she wasn’t particularly opposed to having children now. When they had touched upon this topic last night, she hadn’t completely ruled it out.
After all, their ages were what they were.
Plus, they had been married for over half a year now. Even if they weren’t thinking about it, both sets of parents would start dropping hints sooner or later.
However, she really hadn’t expected Yan Cheng’s initiative to be so surprising.
Chen Jinyao narrowed her eyes, tapping the bowl of loquats emphatically: “With all this preparation, should I start getting ready for pregnancy too?”
“You don’t need to.” Yan Cheng said righteously, his gaze shooting straight at her, his brows relaxed. He paused, then, as if swearing before heaven, he swallowed and continued: “We won’t consider pregnancy until I’ve completely kicked my smoking habit.”
After pondering for several seconds, he stated seriously, “This will be quite a long process.” He slumped his shoulders, looking like he had little confidence in himself. Well, that was too biased – he should say he had absolutely no confidence in a quick success.
“…” Well, this was quite unexpected. Chen Jinyao raised her eyebrows with interest, wanting to rationally point out that while probability might have some effect, there was no need to be overly cautious.
She ate a loquat, her cheeks moving as she chewed, and only after finishing did she smile somewhat ambiguously and ask him: “What if you can’t quit?”
“Impossible.” The man refuted without hesitation, “I’d climb mountains of knives and seas of fire for my daughter, let alone quitting this stuff.”
Chen Jinyao’s eyes curved, wanting to laugh but holding back. She composed herself, dramatically leaned back, and widened her eyes in mock surprise: “Daughter?”
“Mm.” Yan Cheng replied naturally, but this short syllable somehow carried an undeniable authority.
Even so, Chen Jinyao still argued, “Why not say son?”
“…”
Comparing the two, he frowned, seeming unable to accept this answer.
Chen Jinyao understood, nodded, and concluded: “Looks like all fathers prefer daughters?”
“Yes.” Yan Cheng didn’t deny it, “Daughters are sweeter.”
Chen Jinyao: “My dad thinks the same way. My mom says he was overjoyed with two daughters, but now my mom is worried about the Chen family inheritance.” After all, the Chen family had substantial assets, and even though gender discrimination was long gone, inheritance remained a hurdle, as neither she nor Chen Jinlin were interested in it.
“Mom says she wants Jinlin to find a husband who’ll take our family name.” During their last phone call about this, Mother Chen was adamant, so naturally, the requirements for Jinlin’s future partner were high.
The suddenly raised topic showed no signs of ending.
Yan Cheng glanced at the time, decided to sit next to Chen Jinyao, stared at her for several seconds, and deftly took the loquat from her hand, lowering his eyes to carefully peel it for her: “We don’t need to worry about that. What’s there to inherit from a clinic and a bar?”
“…” Chen Jinyao was stunned, feeling he had a point.
They fell silent for a moment.
Until Yan Cheng brought the peeled loquat to her mouth, and as she bit it, before spitting out the pit, she suddenly looked up: “I want our daughter to have a brother.”
“But now I think, we can’t control whether we have a boy or girl.”
The next second, Yan Cheng’s gaze turned bewildered.
The conversation ended there, with Chen Jinyao urging “If you’re going to deliver them, go quickly, don’t dawdle over these undecided matters that we don’t need to discuss.” Yan Cheng stood up, mumbling “Why am I making home deliveries” before lowering his brow and asking her in a tone suggesting a casual outing: “Wife, want to come?”
Chen Jinyao shook her head: “A hundred days to recover from injury to muscle and bone.”
Yan Cheng looked confused: “??????”
“This is all your fault,” she accused him directly.
“Ahem.” Hearing this, he embarrassedly rubbed his nose, turned away with red ears and said: “I’ll be more careful next time.”
Chen Jinyao raised an eyebrow, didn’t respond, but her expression showed she didn’t believe him.
“…” Well, that wasn’t something he could control either.
Chai Yue worked in finance.
As a leader in the investment field, despite his usually carefree manner, he had precise judgment in his industry. His risk investments were almost always profitable. To put it more dramatically, in the capital, everyone in the financial world knew Chai Yue was the gold standard of the investment industry.
Yan Cheng’s decision to quit smoking was genuine, and so was giving away the cigarettes, but looking closer, he still had some ulterior motives like “a weasel paying New Year’s respects to a chicken.”
He wanted to invest, put in money, let Chai Yue manage it, and let the interest compound.
Yan Cheng didn’t plan to stay long at Chai Yue’s place. After clearly stating his purpose, he prepared to leave. It was past three now, and following Chen Jinyao’s organizational requirements, he still needed to stop by the supermarket on his way back to buy some groceries.
Chai Yue naturally agreed, but out of curiosity, he raised his eyebrows and feigned surprise: “Did Er Hall go bankrupt?”
“You used to act uninterested when I approached you before.”
Yan Cheng shot him a cold look, completely ignoring his joke, only saying: “Who wouldn’t want more money?”
Er Hall was highly profitable.
Sometimes, their group of friends would express envy towards Yan Cheng, saying how nice it must be to make money while being a hands-off boss.
That’s what they said, but they all knew that Er Hall’s early operations weren’t as smooth as they were now. Among the thousands of high-end clubs in the capital, to attract customers, you needed something different from the thousands of others. For a period early on, if it weren’t for the Yan family’s money allowing Yan Cheng to operate this way, Er Hall would indeed have been on the brink of bankruptcy. After surviving that period, Er Hall experienced a revival and has been thriving ever since. Within two years, it had become famous in the capital.
Now, Yan Cheng had long since repaid the Yan family’s investment with interest, and even bragged to his father: “I can support myself without joining the company.”
People often see success but not the effort behind it.
Undeniably, Er Hall’s profits were enough to support Yan Cheng’s lifestyle, but he didn’t want to continue like this anymore. He took a sip of tea, raised his eyes to look at the windowsill, his eyes narrowing as he said vaguely: “I need to support a family!”
Chai Yue heard clearly, then rolled his eyes dramatically.
Yan Cheng happily planned: “Er Hall’s profits will support my wife.”
Yan Cheng crossed his legs: “Investment returns will support my daughter.”
Yan Cheng thought for a moment, “Ah, they both need to be raised in luxury.”
Chai Yue: “…”
The air suddenly froze.
After about ten seconds, it finally eased.
Chai Yue’s expression changed from confused to shocked, then suddenly slapped his thigh and leaned in, “Is sister-in-law pregnant?”
As soon as he said this and looked at the cigarettes on the coffee table, Chai Yue understood.
However, Yan Cheng shook his head: “No.”
Chai Yue: “…”
Yan Cheng: “Don’t rush, there will be time for you to send money.”
Yan Cheng: “Just keep an eye on the investment for now.”
Chai Yue nodded, patting his chest: “Leave it to me.”
After two seconds, he suddenly made an “eh” sound, “Wait, don’t you still have shares in the Yan Corporation?”
The Yan Corporation was now controlled by the second young master Yan.
Actually, Chai Yue had always felt that when Yan Cheng contained his usual frivolous manner, his presence was identical to the second young master Yan’s.
“Mm.” Yan Cheng pressed his lips together, “The shares are for my son.”
Chai Yue: “…”
So you’ve already drawn up a beautiful blueprint for your future life?
Impressive, impressive.
After digesting all this information, while secretly admiring Chen Jinyao’s skill in taming her husband, Chai Yue pulled at the corner of his mouth: “Three days away and one must look anew at a person.”
“Young Master Yan, you’ve changed.”
“You’ve changed so much that Uncle Yan might not recognize you.”
Yan Cheng: “…”
Honestly, Yan Cheng felt Chai Yue was exaggerating. This was essentially who he was, he just usually kept it well hidden.
Living in this world, who doesn’t wear a mask?
But Chai Yue was right about one thing – he and his father did tend to clash whenever they met. In his father’s eyes, he was just good-for-nothing.
Father Yan often said: “Sons are born to anger their fathers to death.”
And this saying, Yan Cheng remembered particularly well.
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