Chapter 145 Our Xiaoyan will never go back to an old flame.

After dinner, Xiang Jingheng racked his brains trying to figure out how to shamelessly stay overnight.

Yu Yan was about to tell the dawdling father and son to leave before it got dark when the rain started to fall.

Xiang Jingheng and Xiang Chu felt overjoyed as they watched the rain fall harder and harder.

Xiang Jingheng, in particular, felt that it was as if heaven was helping him!

Yu Yan and Shao Muyan could easily see through the father and son's ulterior motives, and their faces darkened.

"It's raining so hard, and the mountain roads are difficult to travel."

It was the old lady who spoke up, "Stay for the night, and leave when the rain stops tomorrow."

"Okay, sure." Xiang Jingheng thanked him without saying a word.

Shao Muyan glanced coldly at Xiang Jingheng and said to Yu Yan, "I'll go next door and have the bodyguards prepare a room."

Yu Yan nodded: "Okay."

Xiang Jingheng frowned. "You want me to live with the bodyguard?"

Yu Yan gave him a cool glance, which immediately made President Xiang's heart race and shut him up.

He understood Yu Yan's look perfectly; the meaning was crystal clear—if you don't want to stay, then get out.

Shao Muyan glanced at Xiang Jingheng, then went next door with his umbrella.

Xiang Chu gently tugged at Shao Yun's sleeve and whispered, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Xiang Jingheng and Yu Yan both looked towards Chu at the same time.

Shao Yun gave a faint "hmm," and said, "I'm fine."

Xiang Chu felt relieved and looked at Xiang Jingheng with a bright expression. "Dad, I'll stay with my brother tonight."

Xiang Jingheng: "..."

Just like that, you abandoned him?

It was pouring rain outside, the weather was terribly gloomy, and it was still early before nightfall, making everyone drowsy.

Xiang Chu yawned and asked Shao Yun, "Brother, where is your room?"

Shao Yun extended his hand to him, "Come on, I'll take you there."

Originally, Shao Yun slept next to his uncle that night, but since Xiang Chu wanted to share a room with him, Shao Yun moved Shao Muyan's pillow to another room.

Xiang Jingheng looked around and realized that Yu Yan was not in the same room as Shao Muyan, which put his mind at ease.

Just as I turned my head to say something to Yu Yan, I saw her go out with an umbrella.

Just then, Shao Muyan returned. The two of them stood at the courtyard gate, holding umbrellas and whispering to each other, without coming in for a long time.

Xiang Jingheng frowned, feeling uneasy. When he looked up, he met the old lady's gaze.

His face flushed with embarrassment, "Grandma..."

The old lady was always quite kind to Xiang Jingheng, but they weren't really that close; they had barely met each other a few times.

"You've come here this time to seek reconciliation with Yu Yan?"

Xiang Jingheng looked at the old lady and nodded very sincerely: "Yes."

“You’ve been divorced for over three years, and Xiao Chu is now over six years old.”

The old lady said softly, "Xiaoyan has already started a new life. Now you suddenly come up to her and say you want to get back together with her. It's a one-sided wish. In our eyes as elders, it's really inappropriate."

Xiang Jingheng's face was tense. He knew that the Yu family did not like him, and he had not done anything to make them like him.

Even if he wanted to make amends now, they might not be willing to give him that chance.

"It was all my fault before."

Xiang Jingheng first adopted a humble and receptive attitude, sitting upright in his chair, and analyzed his own feelings: "I'm a bit oblivious. I was too young before and didn't understand that the meaning of marriage is for husband and wife to support each other, build their own little home together, and create a harmonious and happy extended family. I was too... selfish and didn't consider Yu Yan's feelings, causing her to suffer a lot of grievances in the marriage. I will make it up to her in the future."

You're talking about compensation.

The old lady said calmly, "What is compensation? There must be harm and debt before there can be compensation. But with Xiaoyan's circumstances, she can easily find someone who has never hurt her and will never hurt her. Why go back to the old ways and eat the grass she already grazed?"

Xiang Jingheng was taken aback.

The old lady smiled slightly, "Relationships are about mutual consent, while marriage is about mutual benefit. During the three years you and Xiaoyan were married, Xiaoyan essentially gave up her studies to stay at home, take care of her husband and children, and be the woman behind you. But the result was obvious: you and Xiaochu both looked down on her, thinking she wasn't as capable as Gan Xiaoxing. Later, you divorced, and Xiaoyan returned to the research field, doing better than anyone else. You saw her strengths and wanted to win her back."

"Your mindset reflects that of most men: they want their wives to shine and make them look good in public, while also expecting them to be considerate and devoted to their husbands and children when they are home alone."

The old lady shook her head. "Your expectations are too high. Let alone Xiaoyan, if my husband Lao Yu dared to make such demands of me, I would have broken up with him long ago."

Xiang Jingheng felt a pang of anxiety. He had indeed had this thought before, believing that Yu Yan could balance her career and family very well.

But when he had to take care of his child and work at the same time, he realized what it meant to be overwhelmed.

"Grandma, I'm growing up too."

Xiang Jingheng said earnestly, "I admit I'm a bit of a chauvinist. I didn't put myself in Yu Yan's shoes before, but I won't anymore. We can raise the child together, we can build our careers together, and of course, we can manage our family together. I can fully support what she wants to do, and I won't force her to do what she doesn't want to do anymore. I just want a chance!"

The old lady didn't interrupt him. After he finished speaking, she slowly said, "What you said is very good, and your thoughts are also correct. It's just that you can't do it."

Xiang Jingheng was taken aback, "Why..."

"Scientific research is much more arduous than you can imagine. It takes a lot of brainpower and mental energy. Sometimes, after completing a project, Lao Yu can lie in bed for three days and you can't wake him up."

The old lady said, "You don't know what Xiaoyan went through during those three years abroad after her divorce, and you don't know what kind of responsibilities she shouldered after returning to China. She was always on edge and couldn't relax for a moment. You only see her leading the WD research lab to do projects and frequently making headlines, but have you ever thought about why she, a researcher and not a public figure, is repeatedly exposed to the public and pushed into the eye of the storm?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Jingheng's expression froze slightly.

In fact, he had some suspicions before. After Yu Yan was kidnapped after returning to China, and in the project she was working on with Huazhidao, it seemed that there was a mysterious third party hiding behind it all along.

Could it really be...?

"With great power comes great responsibility. The path Xiaoyan has chosen means she will devote more energy to her career and won't have much time to take care of her family."

The old lady sighed softly, "Look at Ayan again. He took over from Lao Yu at such a young age and sat in this position. So many people are watching him. You laugh at him for working himself to old age and becoming an old bachelor, but he knows he can't balance career and family, so he doesn't want to get married casually and ruin other girls' lives. Ayan and Xiaoyan both know that you can't have everything. If you want too much, you'll easily end up with nothing."

"What you want is still a wife who is willing to make sacrifices for you and take care of you."

The old lady looked outside and said, "But our Xiaoyan also needs someone to take care of her and cherish her. At least, someone who can stand by her side through thick and thin and support her."

She looked at Xiang Jingheng and made a definitive statement, "And that person is not you."

Xiang Jingheng looked at Yu Yan and Shao Muyan standing side by side in the rain, and listened to the old lady's words. His heart felt as if it had been hit by a hammer, and he trembled violently.