“Remember this ginkgo tree? When you’re a child, you liked me to hold you to fetch the ginkgo fruit on this tree. And this well with a big iron cover, I was worried that you would fall into the well when you were too young to play, so I specially asked the blacksmith to create it.”
Yan Xun looked at his son, who had grown up to be a talented person. He did not know what to say. He was very excited and could only take him back to remember his childhood. This part of memory was a happy memory that Yan Xun had replayed repeatedly in his years as a farm labor reformer, and already integrated into his being.
Yan Chu looked at this familiar courtyard and was shocked for a few seconds. If he was not mistaken, this courtyard frequently appeared in the original self’s memory, but it was not in those blurry childhood memories. Instead, it was when his stepfather’s whole family had moved to a brand new house after he passed the college entrance examination and returned to the capital in his past life.
It was precisely this magnificent courtyard before his eyes at present.
He remembered the statement of his biological mother, Gao Yaqin, at that time. This courtyard was bought by them later. Now, there was something suspicious about this after he thought about it.
His stepfather, Jiang Cheng, was a government section-level cadre. He had very little power in this capital’s political center, but he definitely was not an influential person.
His biological mother, Gao Yaqin, was born in a pretty good family. But unfortunately, the Gao family already declined as early as those wars several years ago. Her family background was far inferior to the Yan family. At that time, Yan Xun was willing to abide by the marriage contract to marry her. He was even praised by everyone for his benevolence and righteousness. At that time, Gao Yaqin was a logistics professor at the university, and the couple’s salary was ample. However, it absolutely was not to the extent that he could buy the courtyard house.
At that time, the original self overlooked too many things, such as when he lived in a rural community in those few years, his family suddenly appeared to have many houses. After the reformed-and-opened-to-the outside-world, his stepfather came to the sea, where he obtained a large sum of money from merchants. He was afraid that everything was intimately related to the original self.
If he was not mistaken, it was very likely that the man standing in front of him would get political rehabilitation after his death in the past life. Like in this life in general, the country had returned some of the financial matters that were confiscated at the time, which should be handed over to Yan Xun’s only heir, the original self. Except that his so-called biological mother and stepfather coveted properties that belonged to him and exploited the money as their foundation, which became the first initial fund for the Jiang family to become rich afterward.
At this time, Yan Chu had to sympathize with the original self. At first, to covet the Jiang family’s wealth was not reasonable at all. But now, it was valid. It turned out that all of those properties were stolen from him without his consent. But in the end, he had a reputation for treachery, ingratitude, and had no good end.
In this way, it was totally understandable that the original self hated this poisonous family.
However, Yan Chu looked at her and held her hand, this little shy and cautious wife. In the past life, he abandoned his wife and son. The original self was still a scum man who did not give any explanation.
The father and son both met again after a long period of separation, and learned that his daughter-in-law was pregnant with the Yan family’s third generation. In the days leading up to the start of a new term, the Yan family was filled with the sound of happiness and laughter daily.
Especially Father Yan, the country did not only return some of the confiscated properties at that time but also made up for his years of labor reformer itself as the salary of the university professor should have. The sum of the money alone added up to 30,000. Yan Xun seemed to be trying to make up for the years he owed to his son. New clothes and shoes were the most basic, also jewelry and wristwatches. He could not wait to arm his son and daughter-in-law from their tiptoes to the end of their hair with the best of everything delivered to their hands.
In contrast, the Jiang family’s days were not very happy.
“Do you know about your ex-husband coming back?”
When Jiang Cheng went home, he threw a briefcase on the sofa and asked the woman who sat watching TV.
“What? Yan Xun is back? Didn’t he go to reform through labor?” Gao Yaqin frowned and asked inexplicably. She had not thought of her ex-husband for a long time. She recalled the scene when she first saw the other, and somewhat became absent-minded.
The man was too dazzling and made people feel inferior. When Gao Yaqin knew that such a man would become her future husband, her heart was indeed happy. But gradually, this happiness became unsatisfaction.
For that man, she seemed to be a presentable decorative item. He was very good at her and never ambiguous with his female students, but Gao Yaqin always felt that something was missing. He loved books, and his time for reading was much more than time for keeping her company. Especially after having a child, more of his attention had transferred to the child.
In the matter of sexual intercourse, he had not a deep commitment. Twice a week was a kind of mere formality. Even at the climax, his expression was very restrained. The original frequency was maintained until the end. Gao Yaqin was fed up with that lukewarm sex. In an accident, she and the man before her eyes got onto the bed. Jiang Cheng was very overbearing and awfully crude in the bed. However, he made Gao Yaqin scrupulously experience the taste of being as a woman ought to.
For the first time, she had some guilt and fear. But with the first time, there was a second, and gradually, there was not any guilt. Under the instigation of the other party, she reported her husband anonymously, to stay together with the man she loved.
That Yan Xun was also stupid. He secretly gave her a box of gold bars before the event. Coupled with her hoarding from managing the household and some money she hid from selling the Yan family’s antiques in advance, she had been comfortably off these years. Besides the eldest son left by Jiang Cheng’s ex-wife and Yan Chu, there was hardly any trouble. Especially she gave birth to the dragon and phoenix twins for Jiang Cheng later. They were her pride, and she would give everything to them.
From what Jiang Cheng just said, Yan Xun was back. Thinking about the things she did to her eldest son, Gao Yaqin could not help but feel a little guilty.
At this time, they still did not know that Yan Chu was going to go to college. They did not know that Yan Chu had been in contact with Yan Xun. In their view, Yan Chu was still staying in the gully ditch. When Yan Xun came to find someone, they would say it was that child who voluntarily went to the countryside to live in a rural community.
“You don’t know about that yet.” Jiang Cheng brushed his hair and sat on the sofa. The bottom of his eye flashed a hint of deep jealousy: “Not only did Yan Xun come back, but also most of his confiscated properties were returned to him. A set of the courtyard at the root of the Imperial City and a small western-style storied building on Tonghua Road. Not mentioning these two real estates, other suites reportedly in a good location, large and spacious. Furthermore, there are some confiscated antiques at that time. Except for some part of it that I don’t know if some of them are destroyed or given to other people, it returned even a small part. It said that when Yan Xun was picking up his things, he carried two whole boxes out.”
Jiang Cheng was a bit annoyed. Initially, he was able to achieve this position by relying on scheming others up. Over the years, as those people had been politically rehabilitated one after another, his life was quite difficult because he was always anxious that he would be fired out of this position at any time.
Why had Yan Xun come back alive? If only he got political rehabilitation after he died, wouldn’t all those things be his?
Jiang Cheng could not help to sigh with sorrow. He did not know that everything indeed developed as he imagined according to the original trajectory.
“Why? Are you also regretting being with me now, or else you’re still Madam Yan at this moment?”
Jiang Cheng himself could regret it, but he could not see his woman showing a melancholy shocked expression. His most self-satisfied in this life was using a rebel faction of junior high school diploma to pry open the educated person, the great professor’s wife. As long as he remembered Gao Yaqin’s former man who was superior and every time he was doing*24doing*from 干 [gàn] that can mean as to do or to f*ck (vulgar) that woman. He had an extraordinary sense of accomplishment when looked at her as he was obsessed with his own feelings.
This was the reason he had other women who were younger and more beautiful than Gao Yaqin all these years. As a known small ringleader of the capital rebels, Jiang Cheng was still vital in this area in the early years. That was why in these years, he had no choice but to clamp his tail and behaved with integrity, honestly living in seclusion.
“What are you talking about? I don’t know what you think. If it wasn’t for you, I couldn’t write a letter to get him out of the way and send my own son to the countryside for that son of yours.”
Gao Yaqin was a smart person. She understood thoroughly if Yan Xun knew what she truly wanted and what she had done to that child Yan Chu these years, he absolutely would not forgive her. If she showed a little regret now, she was afraid that both ends would not get the desired outcome.
“I know that you’re good for me. I’ll remember all of this.”
All women wanted to be coaxed. Jiang Cheng held Gao Yaqin’s well-maintained but no longer young hands, exploited an opportunity to kiss her, and irritated Gao Yaqin for a while.
“By the way, have you been in contact with that child Yan Chu recently? I’m afraid he has not had an easy time in the countryside. You should send him some food to eat and some clothes to wear. Let that child know that you’re still a mother who cares about him.”
Jiang Cheng’s eyes flickered. That child Yan Chu still had a bit of affection for Gao Yaqin, this biological mother. Even when he went to the countryside angrily, his anger should disappear now. At this moment, Gao Yaqin was selling another good point, and that blockhead was not watching, which was similar to a dog saw the meat bones, spat out its tongue, and caught up.
“I know. It was necessary to send that child to the countryside. He came out of my stomach, and I loved him more than anyone.”
Gao Yaqin understood everything and swiftly caught the selfish calculations that her husband played.
Yan Xun was not young. If there was no accident, Yan Chu might be his only son.
The couple smiled at each other and were full of calculations.
