Chapter 90: The An Family Can No Longer Accommodate Him
“By the way, An Jing, do you know how Yan Yan and Gu Fei met? Their relationship seems really good. Gu Fei takes great care of Yan Yan.”
Song Shuman was puzzled. She could see that Gu Fei cared deeply for and took good care of Yan Yan. If it weren’t for him, they might not have been able to find their son.
She had basically watched Gu Fei grow up. The boy’s personality was like his deceased father—calm and composed but quiet and reserved, with a cold and distant attitude toward everyone, except for Yan Yan… it seemed a little different?
“Of course, their relationship is good. Yan Yan is Gu Fei’s…” An Yu hadn’t finished his sentence when An Jing forcefully pinched his arm, a threatening smile on his face.
An Yu, always cowardly in front of his older brother, shut up immediately, not daring to even make a sound. An Jing then said casually:
“Gu Fei is an only child. He’s always wanted a younger brother, so he treats Yan Yan like one, and their relationship is naturally different.”
“I see, then I’m relieved.” Song Shuman mumbled, remembering Gu Fei’s words. Yan Yan had such a hard life before; it’s good to have someone else care for him now.
An Lingkang also thought it was good. “Gu Fei is a very excellent young man. Yan Yan can learn a lot from him.”
An Jing could only smile stiffly and nod in agreement. “Yes.”
An Yu, one of the only two who knew the truth, looked at his older brother with a teasing expression. “Doesn’t your conscience hurt saying that? Gu Fei doesn’t treat Yan Yan like a brother; he’s taking Yan Yan home to raise him as his wife!”
Suddenly remembering something, An Yu’s expression fell, and he asked, “But Mom and Dad, what are you going to do now? Now that Yan Yan is back, what about Nan Nan…?”
For a moment, the other three fell silent.
Although finding their son and younger brother was something to celebrate, they felt a headache thinking about An Nanyi, especially Song Shuman.
She was a mother, and she had truly loved this son for the past nineteen years. The events that unfolded had dealt her the biggest blow.
“It’s my fault for not teaching him properly. He was so well-behaved in front of us, all these years…” Song Shuman sighed, her voice filled with disappointment and pain. “Who would have thought he would secretly do such a thing?”
An Jing frowned. “Mom, it’s not your fault. Honestly, haven’t we been good enough to him all these years? He can’t tell right from wrong; it’s his own choice.”
If An Nanyi had chosen to tell them the truth and hadn’t done what he did, they wouldn’t have been so heartless. Even if they’d found Yan Yan, their attitude towards him wouldn’t have changed.
Nineteen years—even a pet would have developed deep feelings in that time, let alone a person.
But An Nanyi did such a thing, deliberately targeting Lin Qingyan behind their backs—not just once or twice.
An Jing felt heartbroken.
His own brother was deliberately locked out of his dorm room and pushed down the stairs by the brother he’d considered good… and perhaps there were other things he didn’t know about.
Gu Fei’s words echoed in his mind, especially the sentence: He was lucky to be alive; otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived!
An Jing wanted to slap himself when he thought of that. His tone was firm: “Anyway, no matter what, the An family can no longer accommodate him.”
“We can’t mention An Nanyi in front of Yan Yan. He finally mustered the courage to tell the truth and finally returned to us. We can’t disappoint him again, make him suffer again, especially An Yu, understand?”
“Understood.” An Yu sighed.
An Lingkang also sighed, agreeing with his eldest son. “An Jing is right.” He put his arm around his wife’s shoulders, softly comforting her. “Shuman, I know you can’t let go of those feelings, but…”
Song Shuman choked back a sob. “I understand. I understand… For Yan Yan, I have to do this.”
Just then, An Jing received a call and frowned slightly. “Okay, I understand. Have someone look for him.” Hanging up, he looked at his parents. “Nan Nan… An Nanyi is missing. I’ve already sent people to look for him.”
His tone was inevitably somewhat worried. The other three felt the same. Song Shuman shook her head helplessly. “Don’t let anything else happen. Find him quickly; he’ll have to face these things sooner or later.”
“Mm, Mom and Dad, don’t worry too much. I’ll take you back to the hotel first; it’s getting late.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
—
Outside, the night was deep, and the ward was dimly lit.
The VIP ward bed wasn’t small; two adults could lie down without feeling cramped. Gu Fei lay near the edge of the bed, with about twenty centimeters of space between them, afraid of accidentally touching Lin Qingyan’s wound.
Gu Fei couldn’t sleep. He knew the person beside him wasn’t asleep either. After a while, he heard the young man’s deliberately lowered voice: “Ge Fei, could you scoot over a little? You might fall off.”
“It’s alright.” He still shifted a little closer, and in the darkness, took the young man’s soft, slender hand.
Gu Fei enveloped the young man’s hand in his own, his magnetic voice as warm as his palm. “Yan Yan, you can tell me if anything’s bothering you.”
Unable to see the other’s face in the darkness, the warmth in his hand was even clearer. The man’s palm was warm and dry. He tightened his grip slightly, smiling, “Nothing, I’m very happy.”
He paused, then continued, “It’s just… I feel conflicted. Did I make my parents and brothers feel conflicted? They’re cutting ties with An Nanyi for me, but they must be reluctant, too.”
“I’m actually very happy that they’re doing this, but I don’t know if they’re unhappy… I don’t want them to be troubled because of me.”
He chuckled to himself. “Ah… I’m really being quite sentimental.”
Gu Fei lay beside him, listening quietly, ripples of emotion stirring deep within him. It wasn’t sentimentality; the child was simply extremely insecure and sensitive, lacking a sense of security.
He had only faced unfairness in this world, never experiencing warmth or love. Now, he suddenly received so much, and he was adapting poorly, feeling even fearful and anxious.
“Yan Yan,” Gu Fei turned sideways, looking at the young man’s silhouette. In the darkness, those exceptionally deep eyes held unrestrained tenderness and affection.
He said, “Your return to the An family is their good fortune. They’re able to cut ties with An Nanyi for you because they care about you, they love you.”
“These things were always yours; you were just nineteen years late, Yan Yan.”
“You’re wonderful, so wonderful that I want to give you everything beautiful in the world. So, don’t belittle yourself.”
The man’s voice was magnetic and gentle, each word echoing in Lin Qingyan’s ears, imprinted on his heart with the flow of his blood. His nose felt sour, and a warm tear silently rolled down, wetting the pillow.
He nodded seriously. The soft moonlight outside reflected in those exceptionally bright peach blossom eyes. He smiled and said, “I know.”
…
Everyone was a melon-eating chaser tonight.
During the recording of the show, an audience member secretly filmed a video and uploaded it online. It was quickly reposted by numerous marketing accounts, and the news spread rapidly across the internet.
The top of the trending searches were dominated by Lin Qingyan and An Nanyi’s story, each term followed by a deep red “爆” (exploding) character.
A large number of netizens flocked to eat the gossip, almost crashing the server.
Bald programmers were woken up in the middle of the night by frantic calls to work overtime.
Even in the dead of night, it couldn’t stop the netizens’ enthusiasm for gossip; it was practically a national melon-eating event.
Tomorrow’s Star is a wildly popular variety show this year, and the protagonists of this incident were two of the show’s hottest contestants. Their popularity was already high, and with the addition of judge An Jing, a top-tier celebrity in the entertainment industry, the impact was enormous.
Netizens, eager for drama, were extremely excited. This shocking melon was practically history in the making!
So dramatic! It’s unbelievably dramatic!
Isn’t this a real-life version of a wealthy family feud? A case of mistaken identity?
“Is this real? Are they sure they’re not acting?”
“Whoa! This is shocking!”
“Ahhhh!! I’ve always thought Lin Qingyan and An Jing looked more like brothers, and it’s actually true!!”
“My poor Yan Yan baby, he should have been a young master of a wealthy family, but someone else took his place, and he was even pushed down the stairs and suffered such serious injuries!”
“Although the video isn’t clear, Lin Qingyan was so damn cool when he confronted An Nanyi in his wheelchair!!”
“My poor An Jing hubby, he mistook his brother for nineteen years, and his real brother was right in front of him without him knowing.”
Some were gleefully eating the gossip, some felt sorry for Lin Qingyan, some said they were shipping the arrogant king and the clumsy beauty, and naturally, some were cursing An Nanyi.
A large number of fans even unfollowed him and turned against him.
“An Nanyi is really disgusting! He’s so shameless!”
“He always pretends to be weak and pitiful, acting innocent and harmless, but secretly doing such wicked things!”
“Where are An Nanyi’s fans? Aren’t you guys so powerful? Aren’t you always cursing Lin Qingyan and Lu Yuqi for bullying your innocent and cute Nan Nan? Why aren’t you cursing now?”
“An’s fans, do your faces hurt?”
“I was An Nanyi’s fan, but I’ve unfollowed him. I was blind to like someone like that. I apologize by gouging my eyes out!”
“How can such a vicious and manipulative person be an idol???”
“An Nanyi get out of the entertainment industry!!”
…
Each sentence on the screen was like a sharp sting, repeatedly jabbing at An Nanyi’s heart. His eyes were red, he held his phone tightly, his cheek muscles trembling slightly, his teeth clenched. “Lin Qingyan…”