spring bite mark

Chapter 178 Preference
The next morning, Shen Zongqian was summoned to the chairman's office.

Yan Changye gestured for him to close the door.

Then, she took out a sealed sample and handed it to him: "This is my wife's hair."

Shen Zongqian carefully put it away: "I'll set off this afternoon to personally follow up on this matter in Chongqing."

Yan Changye pondered for a moment: "Did you show up in front of Huo Mingcai in Chongqing a couple of days ago?"

“No, it was all done secretly. The baby photo was obtained by having the bodyguard pretend to be a ‘baby finder’ to deceive people…” Shen Zongqian was unsure of Yan Changye’s thoughts. “Boss, I was thinking that what if it’s true? As your personal assistant, I will have to deal with them more or less in the future. If I show up now, it will be awkward when we meet again later.”

The awkwardness is secondary. Yan Changye's status is not something anyone can easily associate with. If the other party finds out that the lady is the woman of this prince of the capital circle, and develops some messy thoughts, their attitude towards the lady will become unclear, and it will be impossible to tell whether they are sincere or not. This is certainly not something Yan Changye would like to see.

Yan Changye gave Shen Zongqian a satisfied look: "Well done. This appraisal will still be conducted in secret, so as not to be discovered by the other party."

Shen Zongqian nodded: "Don't worry, BOSS, we will leave absolutely no trace."

Yan Changye nodded lazily: "Go."

Shen Zongqian accepted the order and took his leave.

Yan Changye slowly flipped through the documents at hand, preparing to continue working, when his phone received a video call request.

It was a banquet.

Yan Changye was already somewhat cautious around his eldest son, who was usually rather indifferent to him. Back when they were still in Hong Kong, his son wouldn't send him a video call for months at a time, and he would always have Xie Jian, that little troublesome weed, relay any messages. So when his son suddenly took the initiative to send him a video call, Yan Changye answered almost instantly.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Her tone was as gentle and patient as possible, completely different from how she treated Xie Jian.

On the other end, Yan Yu's delicate and adorable face was expressionless, and her sweet voice carried a hint of aloofness.

When are you coming to pick us up?

Yan Changye was silent for a moment: "You've only been away from home for two or three days. What's wrong? You're not used to staying at Grandpa's house?"

Yan Yu didn't answer, but silently turned her phone camera in another direction—

The camera pans across a whimsical indoor children's playground, converted from the old man's garden. At a dark gray astronaut-shaped desk, Grandpa Yan is cuddling his grandson, Xie Jian, helping him with his homework. A clear conversation drifts from the other end:
Old Master Yan asked expectantly, "My dear, did you understand the story about the chicken and rabbit in the same cage that Grandpa just told you?"

Xie Jian was engrossed in playing with the pen cap, and said in a childish voice, "Grandpa, look, my pen cap can dance!"

Old Master Yan paused for a moment: "...Good boy, finish this problem and then let the pen cap dance for Grandpa?"

"But I can't do that! I can only do simple problems like sorting apples and pears or counting birds. Chickens and rabbits are really hard!"

"Oh, it's not difficult at all." Old Master Yan tried his best to remain calm. "My dear grandson, it only has three heads and eight legs. You can count them yourself, even with your hands..."

Xie Jian counted on his fingers for a while, then shook his head blankly: "I don't understand!"

Grandpa Yan patted his chest and forced a smile: "Then Grandpa will do the calculation for you? You'd better listen carefully, okay?"

Xie Jian nodded: "Okay!"

Grandpa Yan wiped his face, picked up a blank piece of paper, and had just written two lines when Xie Jian vanished in a flash. Grandpa Yan groaned, straightened his back, and looked towards the slide. "My little grandson, my little darling, what are you doing playing on it again?"

"Grandpa, you go first! I'll lie on the slide and wait for you. I'll give you a hundred points when you're done!" Xie Jian waved her paws crisply, making a cheering gesture.

Old Master Yan coughed violently a few times, then turned to the butler and ordered, "Give me a quick-acting heart medicine."

The butler took the order and left.

Grandpa Yan looked at Yan Yu with pleading eyes: "Yan Yu, why don't you go first?"

Yan Yu's languid voice rang out: "Two chickens and one rabbit."

Grandpa Yan's eyes suddenly lit up: "Grandpa will give you another difficult one..."

In response, the camera gradually zoomed out. Yan Yu avoided the tutoring area of ​​Grandpa Yan and walked to the fountain in the distance before turning the video camera back on himself: "See? Grandpa is too old to take care of children."

Yan Changye remained calm: "I'll pick you two up for a couple of days this weekend. Your own grandfather isn't suitable, but there's also Academician Zhang, Professor Li, Professor Wang..."

Yan Yutao's eyes grew increasingly cold: "You just look down on us."

Yan Changye reviewed the pleasant nightlife he had enjoyed these past two days without the children's interference, and said in a serious tone, "How could Daddy dislike you, baby? I love you too much. You're six years old now, don't act like a three or four-year-old, being willful and unreasonable."

“...Tell Xie Jian this.”

Yan Changye said casually, "Every time I pester your mother, she gets annoyed. She likes ambitious men who aren't clingy. If you want to be a clingy child that she hates, I'll come pick you up and take you home right now."

"..." When it came to Jiang Manman, Yan Yu immediately compromised, "If you don't come to pick me up this weekend, I'll just go back to Hong Kong and stay there myself."

After saying that, he hung up the video call without any hesitation.

Yan Changye stared at the disconnected video call, feeling inexplicably heartbroken. He laughed angrily, "I've been with you for six years, and she's only been with you for a few days?"

Muchan Studio.

Jiang Manman also received a video call request from Yan Yu after Yan Changye.

"Mom, will this bother you?" the child asked softly and cautiously.

Jiang Manman smiled gently and said, "Ayu's affairs come first to Mommy."

Yan Yu's delicate face couldn't hide her joy: "Mmm."

Jiang Manman took the initiative to start a conversation: "Did you have fun at Grandpa's house? What did you do today?"

Yan Yu paused for a moment before cautiously replying, "I drew pictures, solved ten puzzles in the Huarong Road puzzle, picked fruit in the orchard with Grandpa Butler, and helped Grandpa with the chicken-and-rabbit puzzle..."

"Baby has done so much in just one morning!" Jiang Manman praised without reservation. "That's really great."

As expected... someone who likes to improve themselves...

The thought flashed through Yan Yu's mind, and she immediately said, "This afternoon I plan to practice calligraphy with my grandfather, learn pinyin, and listen to Professor Li's lecture on international finance."

Jiang Manman listened attentively and couldn't help but exclaim, "Baby's busier than your daddy!"

Yan Yu gave a soft "Mmm" and changed the subject: "Grandpa got a new kind of fragrant fruit tea. I'll have someone send it over to you later. You can brew it and drink it; it's good for your throat."

Jiang Manman's smile widened: "Yes, thank you, baby. Please bring a box of the fruit you picked too, so I can let the ladies in the studio have a taste."

"Okay, Mom." Yan Yu reluctantly ended the video call.

An hour later, Yan Changye received several pictures from Jiang Manman on his phone.

Jiang Manman: [Fruit tea picture.jpg] [Beautiful fruit basket picture.jpg] [Exquisite mini cake picture.jpg]

Y: [?]

Jiang Manman: [My good son had the bodyguard deliver this. The fruit was picked by A Yu himself, and the strawberries on the cake were arranged by Xie Jian himself.]

Y: [Why didn't I have any?]

Jiang Manman: [Chat screenshot.jpg]

Jiang Manman: [This is a screenshot I took when Ayu and I were video chatting. She's so well-behaved and adorable. How can there be such a cute baby in the world? I can't get enough of looking at her.]

At Yanjing Group, Yan Changye looked at the screenshot of his eldest son, whose face was full of a gentle smile, and then thought of his aloof and indifferent appearance when they video chatted. He felt a mix of emotions.

(End of this chapter)