Chapter 81: YanYan’s Grievances (Extra Chapter)
Lin Qingyan stood outside the dorm. From his angle, he couldn’t see inside, but he could hear the voices. He knew his biological mother was inside, but she was An Nanyi’s mother now.
Their conversation clearly reached Lin Qingyan’s ears, so natural and intimate. Lin Qingyan didn’t know how to react; his brain froze, and he just stood there blankly.
“Mom, you haven’t said why you came today?”
“The program team invited Mom to come, saying they wanted us to walk the red carpet together. Do you think I look good today?”
“Of course you do, Mom! You’re beautiful!”
…
Lin Qingyan lowered his eyes, feeling a heavy stone pressing on his heart, making it hard to breathe. He put his clenched, trembling hands in his pockets. Just as he was about to turn to leave, someone called out to him.
“YanYan? Are you YanYan?” Lin Qingyan looked up in surprise at the person in front of him; a beautiful and delicate woman. Lu Yuqi resembled her, she must be his mother.
Lu Yuqi and Gu Fei were cousins, so Lu Yuqi’s mother was Gu Fei’s aunt. He composed himself, offering a polite smile. “Hello, Auntie, I’m Lin Qingyan.”
“Auntie knows you. You’re Qiqi’s good friend, right?” Yu Qingwan, Lu Yuqi’s mother, looked at the young man with shining eyes, her voice excited. “YanYan, you’re even more handsome in person than on TV. Auntie loves you so much!”
Lin Qingyan smiled shyly, “Thank you, Auntie.”
“What are you doing standing outside? Come in, Qiqi’s inside too.” Yu Qingwan warmly pulled Lin Qingyan’s hand into the dorm. Before he could react, he was already standing inside.
Three more people had joined the dorm, making it livelier than usual. Liu Yang’s father had also arrived. Lin Qingyan stood awkwardly beside Yu Qingwan. She was talking to him, but he couldn’t control his gaze and kept looking towards An Nanyi.
An Nanyi’s mother was a beautiful and charming woman in a white dress, looking elegant and serene. She was well-preserved and looked young, with beautiful peach blossom eyes that were now slightly curved, her smile gentle as she looked at her son, An Nanyi.
Lin Qingyan thought, Ge Fei was right, he did resemble his mother, especially those peach blossom eyes—identical.
Perhaps noticing his gaze, Song Shuman, who was talking to her son, suddenly looked in Lin Qingyan’s direction. After seeing the boy’s face, she paused, then nodded slightly and smiled politely.
Lin Qingyan quickly looked away, not responding. A hint of confusion flashed in Song Shuman’s eyes as she continued to look at the boy, studying him.
An Nanyi noticed this. He affectionately put his arm around Song Shuman’s arm and said in a coquettish tone, “Mom, help me choose a suit. I don’t know what to wear for the red carpet.”
Song Shuman immediately looked away, smiling and stroking her son’s head. “Nannan looks good in anything, but white is best, so we’ll be matching.”
“Then I’ll choose that white suit?”
“Yes, good. Nannan will look great in that suit.” Song Shuman’s smile was gentle, but she was slightly distracted, her peripheral vision glancing towards the boy nearby again.
Song Shuman watched every episode as soon as it aired and naturally recognized Lin Qingyan. When she watched the first episode, she felt that the boy had a resemblance to her in his eyes and brows. He was hardworking and well-behaved.
She liked Lin Qingyan, feeling a sense of kinship, and naturally paid more attention to him. Only later did she realize that his relationship with her younger son wasn’t good.
She wouldn’t interfere in children’s matters, but she was still somewhat concerned.
An Jing entered then, greeted everyone, and went to his mother and brother. He said with a smile, “Mom, you didn’t even tell me you were coming. You were so secretive when I asked.”
“It was a surprise,” Song Shuman smiled gently. “I made a cake and brought it. Let’s eat cake first.”
An Nanyi, “Okay, I love Mom’s desserts.”
“Then eat more. Nannan, you’ve lost weight recently.”
People’s joys and sorrows are different. Lin Qingyan felt this happy scene was incredibly刺眼 (ciyan – dazzling/glaring). He wanted to escape, but he watched them laughing and talking, like he was being tormented.
He didn’t know what physical pain felt like, but he knew heartache was more fatal than physical pain, like thousands of invisible needles piercing his heart, causing a tingling shiver with every breath.
He wanted to tell them, “I’m your son, I’m your brother. An Nanyi is a fake.”
But the scene before him was so harmonious and intimate that Lin Qingyan’s heart was filled with panic. Look, An Nanyi and they were a happy family.
How happy they were with An Nanyi, and what was he, Lin Qingyan?
“YanYan, YanYan? What are you thinking about?”
Lin Qingyan came to his senses; the disappointment on his face hadn’t completely faded. He could only use a smile to mask it, saying somewhat embarrassedly to Lu Yuqi’s mother, “Auntie, what did you just say?”
Lu’s mother said, “Auntie was asking if your family didn’t come?”
Lin Qingyan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Zhou Yue Lan had opposed him participating in the show, so why would she come? Even if she hadn’t opposed it, she wouldn’t come because she didn’t care. Lin Jianxiang was even less likely.
The moment he learned the truth, these two were no longer his parents in his heart.
Forget about the supposed gratitude for over a decade of upbringing. It was Zhou Yue Lan’s selfish and shameless actions that had made his past life so unbearable, and it was why his biological mother stood there, but he dared not acknowledge her.
Lin Qingyan thought, he would never forgive such people.
“It’s okay, you’ll walk the red carpet with us later.” Lu’s mother patted Lin Qingyan’s shoulder comfortingly and said with a smile, “Auntie votes for you every day. I haven’t voted for Lu Yuqi at all.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“Am I your real mom?” Lu Yuqi twitched his mouth.
Lu’s mother glanced at him, “You don’t need my vote.”
Lu Yuqi: “…Lin Qingyan is first.”
Lu’s mother: “Need you to tell me that? I voted for the number one, of course I know.”
Lu Yuqi: “You’re amazing.”
Lin Qingyan watched the mother and son bickering silently, a faint smile on his face, but his heart grew more and more despondent. He didn’t even dare to look towards An Nanyi.
Someone was cutting the cake. It was made by Song Shuman, beautifully shaped and fragrant. She carefully cut a piece and put it on a paper plate, “Nannan, share these with everyone.”
“Okay.”
An Nanyi took the cake, his eyes glancing at Lin Qingyan, then walked over with a smile, holding the cake up to him, “YanYan, do you want some cake?”
Lin Qingyan merely glanced at it, his voice unusually cold. “No, thank you.”
“It’s okay, have a taste.” An Nanyi pushed the cake towards him again, a harmless smile on his face, saying sincerely, “My mother made it herself, you’ll definitely like it.”
“Really, no thank you.” Lin Qingyan refused again.
“YanYan…”
Lin Qingyan could no longer suppress his emotions. “I said I don’t want it!” He suddenly raised his hand and forcefully swiped at the cake in front of him. The cake fell to the ground, the cream sticking messily.
An Nanyi seemed startled and stood there dumbfounded.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes focused on the two of them. Lin Qingyan looked down at the cake on the floor, his nose sour, his eyes starting to redden.
“YanYan, how could you do that? If you didn’t want it, fine… but that was a cake my mother worked hard to make.” An Nanyi looked at the cake with distress, his voice aggrieved, “Even if you hate me, you shouldn’t do this.”
As if it was all his fault… Lin Qingyan still didn’t raise his head. He clenched his fists, his thin shoulders trembling slightly, his jawline tense as he struggled to control his emotions, uttering three words, “I’m sorry.”
Then he turned and quickly walked out.
“Lin Qingyan!” Lu Yuqi anxiously chased him to the door, then turned back to look coldly at An Nanyi, his tone cold and sarcastic, “Playing the victim? He said he didn’t want it, are your ears decorations?”
Without caring about anyone else’s reaction, he chased after him.
The atmosphere was awkward. An Jing looked in the direction they left, feeling uneasy. “Mom, I’ll go and take a look too.”
“Go ahead.”
This child… looking at the cake on the floor, Song Shuman frowned slightly, walked to her sad and wronged son, stroked his head, and softly comforted him, “It’s okay, it’s just a cake.”
An Nanyi whispered, “But it was made by you… I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to share it with him, I didn’t expect him to react so strongly.”
“It’s alright, it’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Lu’s mother, Yu Qingwan, smiled awkwardly. “That, Shuman jie, and Nannan, I apologize on behalf of Qiqi. He’s always been tactless. Please don’t mind him.”
Yu Qingwan’s sister and Song Shuman were longtime friends, so they knew each other, but they weren’t close.
Lu’s mother sighed helplessly. Her son Qiqi’s personality was really something else, always saying things like this. Even if that’s what he thinks, he shouldn’t say it out loud.