The engagement was with the younger brother, but I've fallen for the older brother.

He Huaipu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and resumed his usual casual tone.

"Later, Nanxian arrived, and that's how the matter was settled."

"I didn't object at the time because Si Chen's attitude was really infuriating."

I thought to myself, "Let him regret it on his own."

Si Yimian held the chess piece and slowly placed it down.

"Grandpa, why did he become like this?"

"Just because your parents divorced?"

It's not about rejecting marriage, it's about the person as a whole.

From that sweet-talking little girl, she's become this aloof and unapproachable person.

He Huaipu paused for a moment as he put the chess pieces away.

Do you know why his parents divorced?

Although Si Yimian knew that He's father had cheated on her with Zhou Wanqing, which led to the marital breakdown, she still shook her head.

He Huaipu was silent for a moment, then picked up his teacup and swirled it.

Si Chen's parents were childhood sweethearts, and their families were old friends.

"The two have a very good relationship, so good that everyone thinks they are a match made in heaven."

"Jingzhi knows that girl has a strong temper and can't tolerate any nonsense."

"Jian'an later got together with Zhou Wanqing..."

The old man paused.

"We have Nanxian."

"Jing Zhizhi was celebrating Si Chen's tenth birthday that day. Before the cake was even cut, she took off her wedding ring and threw it directly at Jian An's face."

"Jian'an and Zhou Wanqing's foolish actions were witnessed by Jingzhi and Sichen themselves."

"The next day, Jingzhi drafted the divorce agreement. A week later, she went abroad and never came back."

Si Yimian tightened her grip on the chess piece and asked again.

"She didn't want her older brother?"

"I want it, but Jian'an won't give it to me."

The old man sighed, "The He family wants an eldest grandson, and Jingzhi can't compete with that alone."

"She sat in Si Chen's room all night before leaving, and left early the next morning."

Si Chen helped his mother carry her suitcase downstairs, stood at the door and said, "Mom, I hope you'll be happy from now on."

"After that, the child changed."

Si Yimian lowered her eyes and placed the chess piece on the chessboard. The black pieces had already surrounded a piece of territory on the chessboard.

"So he doesn't get married because he's afraid of repeating the same mistake?" she asked.

"Not entirely."

He Huaipu took a sip of tea, and when the teacup was empty, Si Yimian got up to refill it for him.

"He felt he didn't need it; in his eyes, marriage was a risky option, not a necessity."

"He was afraid of following in his father's footsteps, afraid of letting people down, and afraid of being let down by others."

"So he simply didn't take that road."

Si Yimian put down the teapot, her fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the chess pieces.

It turned out to be the case.

No wonder he refused the marriage proposal back then.

It's not that they disliked the original owner of the body, but rather that they disliked the arranged marriage itself.

He witnessed the collapse of his most trusted role model, and thus labeled all close relationships as high-risk.

"Dr. He is quite lucid," she said softly.

"Sober my ass."

He Huaipu captured another piece of hers, the piece hitting the wooden board with a thud.

"He's just like his mother, preferring to die a glorious death rather than live a shameful life."

"If I had dumped the chessboard on his head back then, I might have been able to crack his brain."

Si Yimian couldn't help but lower her head and chuckle.

He Huaipu: "What are you laughing at?"

"Grandpa Xiao went easy on me back then."

She raised her face, her eyes shining like stars.

He Huaipu suddenly laughed.

"Girl, you're not very good at chess."

Si Yimian looked down; her white pieces on the chessboard had been almost completely captured.

"Grandpa, you're amazing! I can't beat you."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

He Nanxian pushed open the door and came in, holding a package of express delivery documents in his hand.

"Grandpa, is Mianmian still playing chess?"

"We lost."

Si Yimian pushed the chess box away and rubbed her wrist.

"We lost pretty badly."

He Nanxian smiled, walked over, and placed the file bag on the coffee table.

"Mianmian, could you please go to the study and deliver something to my older brother?"

"This is Tian Shu's third-quarter report. He's working on a project report tonight and might need it."

"I'll play two games with Grandpa."

As he spoke, he sat down opposite He Huaipu and began to set up the chess pieces.

Si Yimian glanced at him, then looked at the file folder.

Never mind, she wanted to go to the study anyway.

"OK."

She picked up the file folder, got up, and walked out.

Looking back at the door, He Nanxian had already begun to make his moves.

The old house's study is located at the end of the second-floor corridor.

The corridor was long, and the lights were a warm yellow.

She raised her hand and knocked twice on the study door.

"Come in."

She pushed the door open and went in.

The study is large, with three walls lined with books and an old elm wood desk in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

He Sichen sat behind his desk, holding a small wolf-hair calligraphy brush in his hand.

With his knuckles gripping the pen handle and his wrist suspended in the air, he wrote with a measured pace.

Without his glasses, his features appeared less aloof than usual, and more focused and detached.

The only sounds in the study were the scent of ink and the sound of rain seeping in from outside the window.

He glanced at her, then continued writing.

"Did you go to the wrong door?"

"You didn't go to the wrong place."

She placed the file folder on the table and sat down opposite him.

"Brother Nanxian asked me to deliver something."

He Sichen glanced down at the file folder.

"Put the things on the table."

Si Yimian turned around and closed the study door.

She went over and placed the file bag on the corner of the table, but didn't leave.

He Sichen's fingers, which were holding the pen, paused.

"Why are you closing the door?"

"With the door open, you're Dr. He; with the door closed, you're He Sichen."

She stood in front of the desk for a while, then walked around to his side, leaned against the edge of the desk, and rested her buttocks on the edge.

"Grandpa told me about your childhood."

He Sichen held the pen, but didn't put it down.

"They say you were very talkative and sweet-talking when you were little, greeting everyone you met and praising guests from head to toe."

She turned her head to look at him, her tone tinged with schadenfreude.

"It's quite a contrast to now."

He Sichen dipped his brush in ink again and wrote another character.

But this stroke was noticeably heavier than the previous one, and when he finished, the ink smudged into a small blot.

People change.

"Grandpa also said that you had previously refused an arranged marriage."

She paused, staring at his well-defined, bony hands.

He said he wasn't interested since you've never even met me.

He Sichen put the pen down on the pen mountain and finally looked at her properly.

"What do you want to ask?"

Si Yimian tilted her head and smiled sweetly.

"I'm just curious why Dr. He refused so decisively back then."

She leaned forward slightly to observe his expression.

"Are you afraid that if you meet me, you'll find that you're not good enough for me?"

He Sichen leaned back in his chair and looked up at her.

The study was dimly lit, casting a honey-colored glow on half of her face.

"Si Yimian, you have a high opinion of yourself."

"It's alright."

Si Yimian wasn't annoyed at all; she smiled and nodded, her expression calm.

"A high sense of fulfillment leads to a happier life."

He Sichen didn't reply. He picked up the purple clay teapot on the table, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to her.

"You were fifteen then, and I was twenty-two."

"It is illegal to have designs on minors."

Si Yimian took it, but didn't drink it; she held it in her hands to warm it.

"And now? I'm twenty-three."

She pressed on, her knee brushing against the armrest of his chair.

"Do you regret it?"