spring bite mark

Chapter 66: Revealing old scores

Presidential Suite 1001, Imperial Capital Hotel.

Jiang Manman silenced her phone, sat on the single sofa in front of the French windows, and stared blankly at the darkening sky outside.

She didn't know why she suddenly had the urge to come here. She had deliberately avoided it for five years, but today she suddenly felt compelled to reflect on the past.

The focus of the review is not on the details of that night five years ago when things took an unexpected turn and an ambiguous relationship blossomed, but rather on Yan Changye himself.

Although Yan Changye was a womanizer, he was an extremely arrogant person. Before she had a relationship with him at the hotel, their relationship was actually not good, and could even be said to have reached a freezing point.

Yan Changye seemed to be particularly busy that year; he could not be found in the capital, and when they talked on the phone, they would often only exchange a few words before hanging up.

Jiang Manman met him once more. It was six months after she broke up with Xie Yuheng. She was lying in her private apartment, emotionally and physically traumatized by an accident, when Yan Changye rushed over under the cover of night.

"Look at the awful state you've become."

His tone was pained, yet filled with immense resentment. His languid expression carried a strange hatred. He didn't bother with any further words, simply arranging two caregivers for her and then coldly giving instructions:
"You are not allowed to be exposed to wind for a month, and you are not allowed to go out. Take good care of your health. If your mood still doesn't improve, I will arrange for two more psychologists to treat you."

After he finished speaking, his phone rang urgently. He glanced at it and left with a cold face.

An hour later, he boarded a private plane that left the capital and disappeared without a trace.

After that, I didn't see him in the capital for about half a year.

The next time they met was after that unexpected incident in apartment 1001. Six months later, Yan Changye's inexplicable hatred for her seemed to have subsided, and he readily complied with her absurd requests without any resistance. This change in attitude was truly perplexing.

Jiang Manman went through that unusual period of time carefully, but still couldn't figure out what she had done to anger Yan Changye. If it was hatred born from unrequited love, then she had clearly already broken up with Xie Yuheng at that time...

She looked slightly bewildered, genuinely unable to understand.

Two hours later, Jiang Manman left the Imperial Capital Hotel.

When Yan Changye returned to No. 1 Mansion, he was leaning back on the sofa with his computer on his lap.

"It was just an interview, why are you back so late? It's already dark." He glanced at her indifferently, then turned his attention back to the computer.

Jiang Manman leaned closer, reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, her voice soft and sweet: "Yan Changye, I suddenly remembered that you were so cold to me for the first six months before we got married."

Yan Changye paused for a moment, his voice low and sexy: "Bringing up old grievances, huh?"

He turned off the computer and tossed it aside.

Instead of directly answering Jiang Manman's question, he pulled her into a tight embrace the next moment, teasingly saying:

A woman who brings up the past is not well-behaved.

Jiang Manman: "..."

She gently pressed against Yan Changye's chest: "So, will you tell me or not?"

Yan Changye looked at her with an inscrutable expression: "Oh, I don't remember."

Two days later, at the cemetery in the western suburbs of the capital.

A light rain was falling from the sky. Jiang Manman and Yan Changye arrived early in the morning to pay their respects to their mother-in-law.

But clearly someone was there before them.

Jiang Manman looked at the fresh bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone and paused for a moment: "Did Dad come by?"

“No,” Yan Changye said calmly, “He never sends flowers.”

Jiang Manman opened her eyes and looked around, seeing the fleeting silhouette of a Rolls-Royce gradually disappearing into the rain and mist. That car felt vaguely familiar.

"It must have been sent by the people in that car, but I don't know who it was." Jiang Manman pondered, picked up the flowers in her hand, and gently placed them in front of the tombstone, next to the previous bouquet.

As Yan Changye watched the Rolls-Royce disappear into the distance, the name 'Xie Yuheng' crossed his lips, but he ultimately did not utter it.

Mentioning your wife's ex in front of her is definitely not a wise move.

"Just an insignificant person!"

He casually withdrew his gaze, faced the tombstone, half-knelt to light an incense stick, his expression nonchalant, yet his tone was earnest:
"Mom, today marks the eighteenth anniversary of your passing. I'm doing quite well, and I have control of the Yan family's assets. Don't worry, no one can bully me."

He paused for a moment: "The old man is doing quite well. Besides fishing, he spends time with his beautiful wife. There's nothing for you to do with him, so don't worry about him."

Jiang Manman gently tugged at Yan Changye's sleeve.

Yan Changye glanced at her: "You also have something to say to Mom?"

"Are you here to pay your respects or to upset Mom?" Jiang Manman glared at him. "If you can't speak properly, then shut up."

Yan Changye gave her a deep look, then turned to the tombstone and lowered his voice slightly: "Manman doesn't want me to upset you, so let me say something happy? I'll try my best this year and bring my grandson to you when I come to see you next year so you can have some fun."

Jiang Manman: "..."

"If you think one isn't enough..." Yan Changye said meaningfully, his tone deliberately nonchalant, "then how about two?"

Beside her, Jiang Manman looked slightly embarrassed: "Yan Changye, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Didn't you want me to please my mother?" Yan Changye smiled enigmatically. "Old people, you know, love children the most."

"But you clearly said no."

“I really don’t want it, but if I already have it, then I have to accept it obediently and spoil it?” Yan Changye casually probed, “Manman, maybe you already have it?”

Jiang Manman didn't take it seriously, and just looked at him speechlessly: "Have you forgotten that I just got my period and you rubbed my stomach for half the morning?"

Yan Changye's peach blossom eyes flickered slightly, and he remained silent.

Old Master Yan arrived soon after.

A row of luxury cars were parked to the side. The old butler held an umbrella, and Old Master Yan got out of the car with a cold face and went into the cemetery.

"I thought you weren't coming." Yan Changye raised an eyebrow.

"Not coming? When have I not come?" Old Master Yan glared at him disdainfully. "You even had Manman call to remind you. Can't you have any basic trust in me?"

Yan Changye stepped aside noncommittally and said, "Since you're here, I'll give you the seat."

After saying that, he took Jiang Manman's hand and went directly to the awning dozens of meters away.

Jiang Manman gazed at Old Master Yan's motionless figure standing before the tombstone from afar and softly said:
"Dad still cares about Mom."

“Yes, but that doesn’t stop him from finding new lovers.” Yan Changye scoffed. “He’s married three new wives since my mother passed away.”

Jiang Manman hummed in agreement: "I've never asked you before, what kind of person is Mom? I heard that Dad was even more of a womanizer than you when he was young, but after meeting Mom, he cleaned up all his extramarital affairs and focused all his attention on Mom."

Yan Changye paused for a moment: "My mother used to be the young lady of a wealthy family in the port city."

(End of this chapter)