Chapter 28: I Want Both

He only knew that Jian Huaifeng’s mother’s surname was Wei, a branch of the Wei family in Yan City. He had also heard his father say that the Wei family’s relationships were complicated. Relatives there were not as close as neighbors. Even if she carried the surname Wei, it would be hard for her to borrow the influence of the Wei family’s top authority.

Still, she at least had a distant blood tie to them. To the outside world, they naturally had to claim the connection openly and secretly. But to the people being claimed, it was dispensable.

So why had that President Wei, Jian Huaifeng’s little uncle, called them over for no reason?

Zhao Juntian feared nothing. All his confidence came from his dad. But if there was someone even his dad couldn’t afford to provoke, then of course he was afraid too.

The teahouse wasn’t far. They arrived before long. Wei Nanting rested his arm on the tea table, bent his fingers, and tapped idly without rhythm. When he saw Jian Huaifeng walking at the front, he stopped. He held out a hand and said, “Come here, let me see.”

Jian Huaifeng was embarrassed, but he still went over at the gesture. Wei Nanting pulled him around until he almost spun in front of him.

His skin was naturally pale, and the makeup wasn’t very thick. It barely covered the color in his face. His neck wasn’t so lucky. It clashed with his face, red in one patch and white in another.

Wei Nanting suppressed a smile. “A phoenix coronet and bridal robes. Who are you planning to marry?”

Now not only Jian Huaifeng’s neck but his ears turned red too. He called out as if begging for mercy, “Uncle, why are you here…”

“Now you know to call me Uncle. You didn’t have this attitude when you refused me.”

Jian Huaifeng explained, “No, I’ve really been busy lately.”

Wei Nanting picked up a golden tassel hanging from Jian Huaifeng’s shoulder and teased, “Busy with this? You like taking photos?”

“…”

Jian Huaifeng groaned inwardly. He dragged Daidai out in his mind and gave it a fierce scolding. What kind of system tasks were these? Now everyone knew he was a narcissist who liked taking portraits of himself for fun.

Daidai argued back, “At your age, with looks like yours, what’s wrong with taking a few nice photos? Just say it boldly: you wake up every day from your own beauty, and when you brush your teeth you stare deeply at yourself in the mirror for half an hour. See if anyone dares to say a word!”

“…”

Crude words, but the reasoning wasn’t wrong.

Jian Huaifeng steeled himself, gave up trying to save face, and nodded. “Yeah, that’s right, I like it!”

It was Zhao Juntian’s first time meeting Wei Nanting. Although Wei Nanting wasn’t as scary as he’d imagined, he still didn’t dare breathe loudly. Tan Tian was different. He had no idea about the ruthless young head of the Wei Group. He only knew this man spoke to Jian Huaifeng in a gentle tone, so he must be an easygoing older brother or elder.

“Liking photography is totally normal. Don’t be shy just because you’re a boy. Baby, with a face like yours, it’d be a shame not to take more photos. I still have a few JK uniforms. You can wear them next time…”

As Tan Tian said this, he reached for Jian Huaifeng’s shoulder. Before he could touch him, Qin Jianqing yanked him back and covered his mouth. “Ah, my friend’s brain is broken from photography. Brother Wei, don’t listen to his nonsense. By the way, Brother Wei, why are you here? I heard this garden is yours? You’re way too obscenely rich, haha.”

Tan Tian was confused by the sudden attack. While struggling, he seemed to see the man on the chair darken his eyes. That feeling was completely different from before, as if he had two faces. He couldn’t help guessing this man was a strict, conservative parent who didn’t like his child doing flashy things, so he shut up too.

Wei Nanting didn’t speak. He pressed his lips together, as if chewing over one of Tan Tian’s words. After a long moment, he said, “If you like it, I’ll have the garden closed for a few days. You can shoot however you want. There are plenty of guest rooms. Staying here is no problem.”

Jian Huaifeng hesitated.

Wei Nanting had said this to Jian Huaifeng, but Tan Tian was carefree, his head full of his photography career. Hearing they could book the whole garden and shoot for a few more days, he immediately started rambling again. “We got some good shots today, but I still feel it wasn’t perfect. Good scenery needs waiting. If we can wait a few more days, we should get even better work.”

Jian Huaifeng was actually tired. He’d already taken so many photos and didn’t want to keep at it. But he was afraid if the photos weren’t good enough and he couldn’t gather a million reposts, comments, and likes, the whole day would be wasted. So he nodded and went along.

In the end, Jian Huaifeng came to the summer retreat Wei Nanting mentioned.

Wei Nanting had someone lead Qin Jianqing and the other two to a courtyard by the lake. Before he could arrange anything for Jian Huaifeng, Jian Huaifeng watched the three enter and then naturally followed Wei Nanting, as if he had never considered himself a guest and naturally wouldn’t stay in a guest room.

“Uncle, where is our courtyard?” Jian Huaifeng had been running around all day in heavy layered clothes and headpiece. He was covered in sweat and his neck was uncomfortable. His questioning look carried a bit of urgency.

The livable courtyards in the garden were usually closed to guests. The doors had code locks. Inside was a small courtyard-house layout, with two bedrooms on the left and right. The central living room had cross ventilation, and there was a hot spring under the bamboo grove in the back.

Once inside, Jian Huaifeng found his room, ducked in, closed the door, and started taking off his clothes and makeup. Two hours later, the door finally opened. He had changed into a bathrobe. The cool night breeze made him feel relieved.

Daidai said, killing the mood, “You’re tired after just one day of taking photos in costume? Don’t forget you still have to earn the title of Little Oriole of the Pear Garden. The system will give you a cheat to make learning easier, but all skills require real practice and accumulation. There are no shortcuts.”

Jian Huaifeng looked up at the sky and couldn’t help sighing that this line of work was truly hard. But when he thought back to practicing piano day and night in that dark little room, even though playing piano was done sitting down, it had also drained him completely.

Nothing has shortcuts. Every step leaves a footprint. The difference is whether you have the perseverance and willpower. Once you’ve held on one time, you’ll find that throwing yourself fully into something can be enjoyable too.

The early summer night breeze wasn’t dry or hot. It felt refreshing on his face. Only then did Jian Huaifeng remember he should tell his family he wasn’t coming home. He thought about it, took out his phone to call Wei Shulan, but the phone rang first. It was Jian Junya.

After Jian Junya broke up with Liang Hua, she acted calm, but Jian Huaifeng still worried about her. When he suddenly got the call, he thought something had happened on her end and answered quickly.

Jian Junya’s voice was different from her usual carefree tone. It seemed she had something to say, a little serious. “Third Brother, where are you?”

Jian Huaifeng said, “I’m at Uncle’s place. What’s wrong?”

“Uncle?” Although she knew Third Brother had recently gotten close to that little uncle of theirs, whom they barely knew, every time she heard the address it felt unfamiliar and she needed a moment to react.

“Uh, it’s fine if you’re at Uncle’s place. It’s summer vacation anyway. I was worried you’d get bored staying home all the time. It’s okay to have fun for a few more days. It’s nothing, I just called to ask. Then… if you come back, give me a call. I’ll have Uncle Liu pick you up.”

After a bit of small talk, Jian Junya didn’t say anything else and hung up. After putting down the phone, Jian Huaifeng lowered his eyes, realizing something.

He turned and walked to the back courtyard, coming up behind Wei Nanting. Wei Nanting seemed to have just finished a video meeting. Hearing the sound, he looked back and glanced Jian Huaifeng up and down, then teased, “So you’re not a girl after all.”

Without makeup covering his face, and without embarrassment reddening his cheeks, Jian Huaifeng’s face was a little pale. He asked, “Has Su Lin come back?”

The smile at the corners of Wei Nanting’s eyes gradually faded.

Only then did Jian Huaifeng figure things out. Uncle had so much company business, and family affairs were troublesome too. Once a week he went to the small courtyard to see Qin Louyue, and most of the time he just sat in the courtyard fiddling with his computer. How would he have the time to specially invite him to a summer retreat to kill time?

Jian Junya’s call pulled him back to reality. Wei Nanting had probably already found Su Lin and let the Jian family know in some way. They had likely brought him back in the past few days.

Wei Nanting stood up, pulled him into the living room, and sat him down on the solid wood sofa. He handed him a cup of warm milk and made him take a sip before briefly explaining Su Lin’s situation.

It was all information Jian Huaifeng already knew.

After Su Lin was taken away by Su Yaya, she sent him back to her distant younger cousin’s home deep in the mountains of Yao County. Her cousin Wu Feng was a farmer by birth who had never left the mountains his whole life. He lived off a self-built rural house and a few mu of land.

At the time, the family already had two daughters and a son. Their life was barely manageable, so they naturally didn’t want another burden. But Su Yaya wasn’t asking them. After bringing the child over, she ran off the next day.

Though the Wu couple was angry, they couldn’t throw a baby still in swaddling clothes into a mountain ditch to live or die on his own. They pinched their noses and raised him, treating him as an extra pair of hands. Day to day, his food wasn’t very good.

Su Lin originally had no chance to go to school, but compulsory education was universal. If such a big child wasn’t allowed to study, the village chief would come talk to them. So they had no choice but to let him finish middle school. High school they never even considered.

Who knew that now they didn’t need to think about it. Several strangers driving luxury cars came and took Su Lin away.

Wei Nanting left out some details about how Su Yaya deliberately swapped the children to take revenge, treating it as an accident, and said, “After Jian Zhenjiang confirmed the situation, he sent people to Yao County three days ago. The person arrived at the Jian family this afternoon.”

“So you wanted me to come here for a summer retreat, but really you just wanted me to take two days before facing all this?” Jian Huaifeng finished the milk with his head lowered, his tone still fairly relaxed. “I’m fine. I already knew about this anyway. One day earlier or later makes no difference.”

He had already died once. Having been reborn, he had long accepted everything that had happened before. Su Lin had only come back early. This was what he had wanted anyway. He didn’t feel anything special.

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