Chapter 222 Jiang Tinglan, Gentle

As I left the hospital, dusk had already fallen.

Yan Tingnan didn't let the driver follow; she drove herself.

He was in low spirits and remained silent the whole way.

Su Ruan didn't ask any more questions. She hooked her fingers around his hand that was on the gear shift and gently tickled his palm.

He gripped it tightly with his other hand.

Instead of returning to the Tan Palace, the car took a detour onto a mountain road in the suburbs.

There was a private restaurant halfway up the mountain with warm lights on. He took her inside and ordered a few light dishes.

Eat quietly.

It rained on the way back.

The windshield wipers oscillate rhythmically, but they can't clear the gloom inside the car.

Upon reaching the mountaintop, Yan Tingnan turned the steering wheel, turned off the engine, and parked the car in the rain.

There was no one around, only the muffled sound of raindrops hitting the roof of the car.

"Why did it stop?"

"Quiet down."

His voice was a little hoarse, and his gaze fell on the windshield being washed by the rain.

Su Ruan unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned closer, and pressed her fingers against his furrowed brow.

It's raining here.

Yan Tingnan grabbed her wrist, grasped her fingers, and pressed them to his lips.

"Soft."

"Um."

"I'm fine."

"You're kidding me."

Su Ruan chuckled, pulled her hand away, and cupped his face in her hands.

"Yan Tingnan, your face screams 'I'm not happy!'"

He smiled slightly, amused by her.

He looked again at the endless rainy night ahead and remained silent for a moment.

"I just feel a bit empty."

He harbored hatred for twenty-three years and schemed against others for twenty-three years.

The curtain fell abruptly, and the opponent lay there, his hatred having lost its clear target.

It's like punching cotton; what bounces back is boundless nothingness.

Su Ruan understood.

After she took revenge on the Su and Wen families, she felt incredibly empty inside.

She leaned back into the passenger seat, looking at the rain streaks on the window.

"Then let's get a dog."

Yan Tingnan glanced at her from the side.

Su Ruan's eyes shone as she made a serious suggestion.

"Furry, warm, and wagging its tail, we give it the best life a dog can has, feeding it canned food every day, so it can walk with its head held high!"

He chuckled, the emptiness in his heart somewhat eased by her rambling words.

What made you decide to get a dog?

"Siyue said you had a white one when you were little."

Su Ruan spoke in a relaxed tone, carefully avoiding touching on his sore spots.

“Let’s get another one, and find the one that someone else lost ourselves.”

Yan Tingnan's eyes flickered, and he looked at her intently.

She always does this, effortlessly touching the softest spot in his heart.

"good."

The rain grew heavier, tapping against the car windows and isolating the interior into its own little world.

His eyes were swirling with emotion, which was difficult to discern in the dim light.

"Soft."

"I'm here."

"My name wasn't Yan Tingnan when I was a child."

Su Ruan's heart skipped a beat, and she tilted her head to nuzzle his shoulder.

"Oh? What's his name, Yan?"

"Her name is Jiang Tinglan."

Su Ruan was startled and looked up.

His gaze was fixed on the rain in the distance, his profile deep and thoughtful.

Jiang Tinglan.

Listen to the waves.

She silently recited it in her heart, as if warm water was flowing over her.

“Jiang Tinglan…”

She repeated it softly, a look of surprise in her eyes.

"A very nice name."

Yan Tingnan was pleased by her vivid reaction, and the corners of his lips curved into a smile.

"Yes, my mom named it."

"She hoped that my life would be like the sound of waves on a river, free and expansive."

"And then..."

Su Ruan thought of Yan Hongyi and understood.

"Later, I returned to the Yan family."

His tone softened, tinged with a hint of mockery.

"The old man said, how can the Yan family's grandson have the surname Jiang?"

"The character 'Lan' is also bad. Waves and ripples mean uncertainty and variables. He hates anything he cannot absolutely control."

"The heir of the Yan family cannot be water, but must be a mountain."

He said that the south is the king's domain, the north is the place to settle the world, and the south represents power and direction.

Su Ruan's heart skipped a beat.

A single word makes all the difference.

From listening to the "waves" of all things to ruling the world from the "south".

From the gentle expectations given by her mother to the power shackles imposed by her father.

Su Ruan's heart ached terribly.

Losing his name, like losing his puppy, was a cruel deprivation of himself by Yan Hongyi.

She suddenly sat up, straddled his lap, cupped his face in her hands, and forced him to look at her.

"Yan Tingnan".

"Um."

He responded, his hand naturally resting on her waist.

She looked into his deep eyes and asked, word by word.

"What about after that? Do you want to use Jiang Tinglan again?"

He shook his head.

"No, thank you."

"A name is just a symbol."

He looked at Su Ruan with focused and ardent eyes.

"Meeting you, falling in love with you, it's all because of Yan Tingnan."

"Jiang Tinglan is me, and Yan Tingnan is also me."

"Both of them are me."

"Jiang Tinglan is my mother's blessing to me, which is wonderful, but Yan Tingnan is a path I forged on my own."

"I don't need to prove anything or say goodbye to anything by changing my name."

"I can accept all of myself, including my unpleasant past."

Su Ruan's eyes welled up with tears, her heart surging with emotion at his words.

He did not deny the past, but chose to accept and transcend it.

"Yan Tingnan".

She called his name, her voice trembling slightly.

"Um."

"I love you."

She looked into his eyes and spoke clearly.

"Whatever your name is."

"I love you, the complete you."

Yan Tingnan's Adam's apple bobbed, and the gloom in his eyes was dispelled by those words.

He suddenly seized her lips, kissing her deeply and forcefully.

Outside, the rain was pouring down, but inside the car, it was filled with the warmth of spring.

When the kiss ended, both of them were still breathing heavily.

Su Ruan leaned against him, listening to his strong heartbeat, and suddenly remembered something, so she looked up and asked.

"What will our children's surname be?"

She blinked.

"Is the surname Yan? Jiang? Or Su?"

Yan Tingnan raised an eyebrow and pinched the tip of her nose.

"It's up to you."

"real?"

"Um."

He lowered his head and bit her earlobe, his warm breath filling her mouth.

"Anyway, they all have to call me Dad."

Su Ruan chuckled and punched him lightly.

"Speaking of names, do you know what my original name was?"

Yan Tingnan raised an eyebrow and responded lazily.

"Warm and soft?"

Su Ruan looked up, the car's roof light casting dappled light into her eyes.

"Looks like this isn't a secret after all."

"When I was born, I was said to be a warm and soft little bundle, and I loved to smile. Touching me felt like touching a sticky rice cake, and I could feel sweetness in people's hearts."

She was lost in memories, her voice carrying a faint laugh.

"Back then, Wen's parents..."

"Yes, it's Wen Shuheng and Shen Mingwei. They were overjoyed. They named me Wenruan because they think girls should be soft and gentle and be pampered."

"They buy me the prettiest dresses, give me the sweetest cakes, and even when I get into trouble, they just pat my head and say that our happiness is the most important thing."

"Later, I don't know how, this wish changed its meaning."

“They initially hoped I was smart and outstanding, so I could bring them honor, but later they even took back the surname Wen.”

A brief silence fell over the carriage, broken only by the sound of rain tapping against the windows.

Yan Tingnan tightened his arms, pulling her even deeper into his embrace.

"People are always greedy."

"At first, I just wanted a piece of candy, then I wanted a sugar factory, and finally I wanted to take over the sugarcane fields."

"It's not your fault."

"They got lost on their own; it has nothing to do with you."

“You were never their medal or their stain.”

"You are so gentle, you are someone who can live your life as a source of light, and incidentally illuminate me as well."

Su Ruan buried her face in the crook of his neck, her voice muffled.

"Then wouldn't you also..."

"Won't."

He was resolute, his arms tightening around her waist.

"All I've ever wanted is you."

Su Ruan felt a sudden pang of sadness in her nose, and her vision blurred instantly.

"Yan Tingnan".

"Um?"

"If we have children in the future..."

"Let's call him Shouchu."

He answered naturally, as if he had thought about it a thousand times before.

Su Ruan looked up: "Shou Chu?"

"Stay true to your original aspiration."

He looked into her eyes, his gaze flowing like moonlight.

"No matter how the world changes, we will always love her unconditionally, without her having to bear the expectations or shackles of the previous generation."

Su Ruan stared at him blankly, feeling both sweet and swollen.

How can this man be so good?

She suddenly leaned in and kissed him hard on the lips.

Yan Tingnan groaned, his palm gripping the back of her neck. He took the initiative, using his tongue to pry open her teeth and steal all her oxygen.

The kiss moved from the corner of his lips to his earlobe, the warm breath brushing against his earlobe, his voice so low it was barely a whisper.

"Ruanruan, the car is parked on the mountaintop, and there's no one around."