Yan Sui wrapped his arm around Meng Ting and walked towards the bed, asking, “Do you want to sleep?”
Meng Ting shook his head and spoke the truth. “No, I lied to him.”
He immediately hugged Yan Sui’s waist again. “If you hug me, I will fall asleep easily.” This was definitely the absolute truth.
After hearing this, Yan Sui led the person to the bed. As soon as the two of them sat down, Yan Sui pressed Meng Ting down onto the bed, wrapping one arm around the person while using the other to pat Meng Ting’s back, genuinely trying to coax him to sleep.
Meng Ting adjusted his posture, hugging Yan Sui back, and didn’t say anything more. They just held each other quietly. He could sense that Yan Sui’s emotions had not settled; although he couldn’t say he was particularly agitated, it felt different—it’s not the same as true calmness.
Meng Ting wasn’t wrong at all; with Yan Sui holding him and patting him so tenderly, his eyelids gradually became heavy. He nuzzled against the side of Yan Sui’s neck, and soon he really fell asleep.
Yan Sui looked down at the person sleeping soundly in his arms, a slight smile forming at the corners of his mouth, revealing a gentle, unforced smile. He closed his eyes but didn’t fall asleep; this feeling of holding someone while thinking was quite different from usual. His mind was still chaotic, but his heart was at peace.
***
Meng Ting was held by Yan Sui and slept for nearly two hours before waking up. Yan Sui was already tousling his hair before he even opened his eyes.
“Are you awake?”
“Mm,” Meng Ting replied as he slowly opened his eyes, and it took him a little while to fully wake up.
“I fell asleep.”
Yan Sui leaned over and kissed Meng Ting’s lips, saying, “Wrong, I was the one who coaxed you to sleep.”
Meng Ting tilted his head, unable to figure out what was right or wrong about these two sentences, but he still hugged Yan Sui back and kissed his cheek twice, “You’re right.”
He couldn’t understand, but Yan Sui was still right.
“Let’s get up; we’re going to eat.”
Yan Sui continued to ruffle Meng Ting’s hair. He might not have fully resolved the matters he needed to think about, but they no longer affected his emotions or decisions, and there was no need to waste his and Meng Ting’s precious honeymoon time on them.
“Okay,” Meng Ting nodded. Before he could exert any effort, Yan Sui had already pulled him up and led him to the bathroom. He hadn’t even found a cup yet, but Yan Sui had already filled one with water for him. He had just set the cup down, but Yan Sui had already wrung out the towel for him.
Meng Ting obediently turned his body to the side and lifted his face, while Yan Sui continued to wipe his face——gently and meticulously. Yan Sui had already given all his tenderness to Meng Ting.
After finishing with Meng Ting, he finally washed up himself. Meng Ting had just enough time to hand him a towel. Although he also wished to reciprocate to Yan Sui in the same way, he couldn’t help but feel that he was inherently less capable than others. Rather than causing trouble, it was better to just accompany him like this; that was also good enough.
It was past eleven o’clock in the morning. There was no need for tea. Yan Mu had arranged for them to have Western food by the lawn. Yan Zhengbo did not join them; the only ones eating were Yan Sui and Meng Ting, as well as Yan Mu and his soon-to-be-recognized son, Yan Shuya.
When the servant brought the steak1牛排 (niú pái): beefsteak, often called just steak, is a flat cut of beef with parallel faces, usually cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers. 
over, Yan Sui brought Meng Ting’s steak in front of himself. He first cut it into small pieces with his knife and fork, and only after that did he return it to his own plate. “You should eat the vegetables too.”
“Okay,” Meng Ting nodded, then speared a piece of meat with his fork and put it in his mouth. He liked eating meat and wasn’t picky, whether it was pork or beef. Piece after piece, plus the other dishes Yan Sui added, Meng Ting just needed to focus on filling his stomach.
“Uncle and Auntie seem to have a really good relationship.”
Yan Shuya said this while eating, occasionally glancing at them.
Earlier, Yan Sui was blocking the door, so he only heard Meng Ting’s voice. However, he didn’t expect that the ‘Aunt’ who could marry Yan Sui would be so young, looking not much older than him.
However, he had already learned from Yan Mu that they came to Country F for their honeymoon.
“Yan Sui is so considerate; this is the first time I’ve realized it as well,” Yan Mu said with a smile. Then he also gave Yan Shuya a grilled wing2烤翅 (kǎo chì): Grilled wings. 
. He thought Yan Shuya said this because he was envious that Meng Ting had someone to take care of him while he was eating.
“I get along well with Yan Sui,” it’s not just ‘seemed’.
Meng Ting swallowed the meat and replied with this sentence.
Yan Sui took a napkin to wipe the corner of Meng Ting’s mouth, then approved his words with a confirmation, “It’s very well.”
Hearing this, Meng Ting smiled at Yan Sui and said, “You eat too.”
“Mm,” Yan Sui replied, but he then took the freshly prepared steamed crab3大閘蟹 (dà zhá xiè): lit. big sluice crab; hairy crab; steamed crab; live fresh water crab; Chinese mitten crab. The Chinese mitten crab, also known as the Shanghai hairy crab, is a medium-sized burrowing crab that is named for its furry claws, which resemble mittens. It is native to rivers, estuaries and other coastal habitats of East Asia from Korea in the north to Fujian, China in the south. 
from his plate and served it to Meng Ting.
The Western meal lasted almost two hours. Yan Sui and Yan Mu occasionally exchanged a few words, while Yan Shuya and Meng Ting had hardly spoken since their earlier conversation. Meng Ting concentrated on eating and watching Yan Sui, while Yan Shuya ate and observed the interaction between Yan Sui and Meng Ting.
***
After finishing the main course, dessert and afternoon tea were served. Yan Mu invited Yan Sui to step aside for a chat. Seeing that Meng Ting was still within sight, Yan Sui agreed after confirming with Meng Ting.
He might not agree to Yan Mu’s request, but he couldn’t deny him even the chance to speak.
Meanwhile, Meng Ting continued to enjoy his dessert while glancing at Yan Sui.
“How did Auntie and Uncle meet?”
It seems like someone has asked him this question before. Meng Ting paused for a moment and still answered as he did in the past, “I just got to know him.”4T/N: In Chapter 32.3, Rong Nan asked Meng Ting the same question, and this was Meng Ting’s answer.
“Grandpa doesn’t seem to like me very much. If you and Uncle can accept me, Grandpa won’t have too much of an opinion.” Yan Shuya’s expression suddenly turned pitiful. He looked at Meng Ting and brought out the same coquettish skills he had used to charm Yan Mu.
However, Meng Ting’s response remained very brief, “I listen to Yan Sui.”
Whatever Yan Sui’s opinion was, that was his opinion as well. Moreover, he wasn’t familiar with the people here, including Yan Shuya. How could he possibly speak on his behalf? He had nothing to lose, but what if Yan Sui suffered a loss?
“If Grandpa doesn’t acknowledge me, then I can’t be considered Dad’s son, and that means I won’t have a dad anymore.”
To be honest, Yan Shuya was quite reluctant to act coquettishly and pitifully towards someone who was about the same age as himself, but what could he do? The person in front of him had climbed up to Yan Sui, becoming an equally significant figure within the Yan family’s main and collateral branches.
When Meng Ting and Yan Sui were sleeping, Yan Shuya had gathered quite a bit of information, which helped him understand why Yan Mu valued the arrival of Yan Sui and Meng Ting so much.
Meng Ting looked at him, puzzled, and asked, “But what does this have to do with me?”
It’s not like he himself didn’t have a father——oh, right, he never had a father to begin with, nor did he want one.
Yan Shuya’s breath was choked in his throat. The softness on his face completely disappeared, and his eyes widened as he stared at Meng Ting.
Seeing that he wasn’t speaking to him anymore, Meng Ting lowered his head and took another spoonful of cake.
“How can you be so, so… lacking in compassion, so unkind!” It wasn’t that Yan Shuya had never faced setbacks when using this move before, but he felt that this silly and foolish ‘aunt’ should be easy to deal with.
Meng Ting paused upon hearing this, then nodded in agreement, “If you say so, then it must be true. Anyway, I don’t think you are pitiful.”
With a few casual words, all the plans that Yan Shuya had made failed before they were carried out.
***
On the other side, Yan Mu was also discussing this matter with Yan Sui, but his explanation was clearer and more straightforward than Yan Shuya’s attempt to elicit sympathy.
To put it simply, eighteen years ago, when Yan Mu went to Haicheng for a trip, he accidentally slept with a woman. It was a fleeting romance, and he hadn’t thought much about it for many years. However, in the past six months, he became infatuated with a woman, determined to marry no one but her. However, at a critical moment, he discovered that the woman had a seventeen-year-old son.
Upon further interaction, he found that this seventeen-year-old son resembled him quite a bit. He doesn’t remember the woman from that one-night stand, but she certainly remembers him, and during an argument, she accidentally lets it slip.
In this day and age, is it really that difficult to find out if he’s the biological son? The hospital results would be ready in three days.
Yan Mu unexpectedly had a seventeen-year-old son without his knowledge. This feeling is quite amazing. Moreover, he is indeed more serious about that woman than he has been with his past lovers, and Yan Shuya is also quite likable to him.
His decision to acknowledge the mother and son became increasingly resolute. He had originally thought that Yan Zhengbo, who had been urging him to get married for over ten years, would have no objections. However, after just one meeting with the mother and son, he told Yan Mu that he disagreed.
“Linda is very good; strong and independent. Over the years, she has raised her son alone and has endured a lot of hardships. I want to make it up to both of them, but the Old Master just won’t agree.”
Yan Sui listened to him finish speaking and did not immediately express his stance. His gaze swept over to see Meng Ting also looking at him; his expression softened a bit. After some contemplation, he finally continued the conversation with Yan Mu.
“Uncle is not dissatisfied with her; rather, your offspring are related to future inheritance rights, and he must consider this carefully.”
The concerns and perspectives of a family patriarch differ from those of an ordinary parent; he has to be responsible for the entire family and those who depend on it.
“Yan Ya’s son is indeed quite good, but Shuya is not bad either; he just never had the opportunity to receive a good education… The old man is too biased.”
People’s hearts always have their inclinations. Yan Zhengbo favors his eldest grandson Yan Mingya, while Yan Mu also leans towards his own son Yan Shuya.
Yan Sui’s eyes were still fixed on Meng Ting, and continuing from Yan Mu’s words, he said, “Actually, if you really want to acknowledge your son, it’s not difficult. All you have to do is tell Uncle that Yan Shuya voluntarily gives up his inheritance rights, and Uncle won’t make things difficult anymore.”
As soon as Yan Sui finished speaking, Yan Mu fell silent. How could he not think of this? Yet, when he approached Yan Sui, it was precisely because he didn’t want Yan Shuya to lose the inheritance rights of the Yan family in Country F. However, from these two sentences, he could still sense Yan Sui’s attitude; he also didn’t think highly of Yan Shuya.
Story time—you can absolutely skip this.
Recently, my dad brought back a stray kitten; it looks like she got lost. Her claws had been recently trimmed, so I think it was someone’s pet, but since she’d been outside for about a week, my dad decided to adopt her. She was chased by feral cats when my dad rescued her. According to the vet, she was about 8 months old, I hope her previous owner had done all the vaccination for her. Anyway, she was still adapting to her new home, so I think she was stressed. I hope it’s nothing serious. We’ll know more later today or tomorrow.
List of Idiom in Chapter 042.2
舉足輕重 (jǔ zú qīng zhòng): to play a decisive role; to play a critical role (idiom); influential; be of crucial importance; hold the balance; be pivotal; be significant; be key; an idiom that comes from a historical story. The original meaning is that if you lift your foot, you can change the weight on both sides, causing it to lose balance and equilibrium. It describes a person with a special identity or status, whose every move can affect the overall situation.胎死腹中 (tāi sǐ fù zhōng): fetus dies in the belly; stillbirth; stillborn; (figurative) plans or projects failed or were cancelled before being tried; plans or projects failed before being carried out; die in the womb; abort; come to nothing; fail before completion; end prematurely. Originally mean stillbirth. Later, it was extended to mean that a plan or program failed or was cancelled before it was implemented.
露水姻緣 (lù shuǐ yīn yuán): lit. dew marriage; casual romance; short-lived relationship; a short-lived or temporary love relationship; brief romance.
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