No matter how mature and composed Yanbo may seem to outsiders, in front of his parents, he is just a young man in his early twenties.
Mother Yan picked up the jade bracelet, held it in her palm, and gently felt the warm, smooth texture of the jade with her fingertips. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Beautiful jade, beautiful jade..."
Yanbo reached out and took the jade bracelet, then grabbed his mother's hand and put it on her wrist himself.
Yan Zhong, who had been observing coldly from the sidelines while sitting on the single sofa next to me, couldn't help but lean over and say, "Come on, let me see, so I can broaden my horizons."
Yan's mother glanced at him sideways and said, "You understand?"
Yan Zhong took out his glasses and put them on, his fingers resting on them, looking very serious.
"I understand! Who says I don't understand?"
Yan's mother held her hand up to his eyes, as if showing off.
"Fine, I'll let you take a look. You won't lose anything by looking anyway."
Yan Zhong held her hand and looked at it very carefully for a long time. Then, without commenting on the jade bead bracelet, he raised his eyes and stared at Yan Bo.
"Didn't you say it was from gambling on jade stones? The jade inside that stone is only enough to make a bracelet for your mother?"
Yanbo suppressed a laugh and nodded at his father.
"Yes, it's only enough to make a bracelet for my mom. So what? I didn't gamble on a very big stone. The fact that there's such a high-quality piece of jade inside is a stroke of luck."
Yan Zhong silently let go of his mother's hand, sat back down, picked up the newspaper on the sofa, unfolded it, and pretended to read it seriously.
Yan Bo smiled slightly, glanced at his father, and silently made a V sign in his mind.
Since Yanbo was a child, the father and son have often competed with each other intentionally or unintentionally. However, as Yanbo grew up, the outcome of their competition gradually became one-sided.
Yanbo has won another game.
Yan's mother had been watching these little tricks of the father and son for over ten years, and she found it all quite amusing. She had no sympathy whatsoever for the powerful and influential old Yan being bullied by his youngest son at home. In fact, she went out of her way to praise the jade bracelet, saying that its design and quality were both excellent and perfectly suited to her taste.
Over the years, Yan Zhong had often argued with his youngest son about abandoning his official career to go into business. However, his son always managed to evade his schemes and escape to pursue his own ambitions. Yan Zhong's feelings toward his youngest son were mixed. On one hand, he felt resentful that his son was rebelling and that his dignity as a father was being challenged. On the other hand, he felt proud that his son was doing so well on his own.
However, he was used to being aloof in front of his children. Even though he would occasionally be proud of his youngest son's outstanding abilities, he would still constantly try to trip him up, hoping that one day his youngest son would change his mind and abandon business for politics.
In his view, the right path for the Yan family's children is to develop their careers in government, and as long as his youngest son is willing, his achievements in government will definitely not be worse than his achievements in other areas.
Yan Zhong held the newspaper, but couldn't concentrate on reading a single word.
A few days ago, my eldest son came back and said that my younger son seems to be in love, and that they should be prepared.
However, the eldest son did not mention a word about his younger son's romantic partner.
Yan Zhong and his wife are actually quite composed. Their youngest son has been back for an hour or two, and neither Yan Zhong nor his mother has asked a single question about his romantic partner.
In their view, their youngest son is only twenty years old, and even if he is in a relationship, there are many variables. As long as he doesn't bring his girlfriend home, there is no need to interfere too much.
Little did anyone know, Yan Bo himself had already decided that this relationship was with the person he would spend his life with, and even though he knew that his family would dislike it or even strongly oppose it, he would still try his best to win her over.
Because he wanted to openly and honestly tell everyone that Tong Xiaohuai was Yanbo's girlfriend. Including his own parents.
"Mom, take another look at this gift and see if you like it."
Yan's mother took the gift box he handed her. Unlike the jade bracelet from before, this gift box felt quite heavy.
"Wow, my precious son actually prepared two birthday presents for me?"
Yan Bo neither said yes nor no. His sixth sense told him that his parents must already know about his relationship, but he didn't know the specific reason why they hadn't mentioned it.
In short, if your parents ask about it, the situation is more likely to be optimistic.
The current avoidance of the topic mostly stems from dissatisfaction, or an unwillingness to accept and confront it.
"Mom, open it and take a look."
Actually, Yanbo only knew what the gift was, but he had never seen what it looked like.
Yan's mother quickly unpacked the box. Inside, there was a square brocade box. Opening the brocade box, she found a Duan inkstone carved with a peach.
Mother Yan was overjoyed. She touched the exquisite carvings on the Duan inkstone and looked at her youngest son with delight. "Xiao Bo, how did you know I wanted a top-quality Duan inkstone?"
Yan Bo's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.
"Mom, I didn't buy this Duan inkstone. It was Xiaohuai who bought it as a birthday gift for you."
Yan Bo had no idea his mother wanted a Duan inkstone. As for why Tong Xiaohuai would buy it, it was supposedly her mother's suggestion. Judging from her mother's expression and words, it wasn't hard to tell that Tong's mother had guessed correctly.
Yanbo didn't know much about Duan inkstones, but his mother's expression was as if she had seen some rare treasure, so this Duan inkstone must be a masterpiece among masterpieces.
Yan's mother paused, then looked up at her son in confusion.
"Xiao Huai?"
Yanbo grabbed his mother's hand and explained very seriously, "Mom, Xiaohuai is my girlfriend. She picked out this gift herself; I didn't know what it was beforehand. So, do you like it?"
Actually, Yanbo already has the answer to whether he likes it or not, without Yan's mother's reply.
Yanbo's suspicions were confirmed by his mother's unusually calm expression when she heard him talk about his girlfriend.
My parents do know that he's dating.
A few days ago, Yan's mother did hear her eldest son, Yan Yuan, mention that her younger son was dating a girl. However, her eldest son didn't mention who the girl was or what her family background was. He only told them to be prepared.
After talking privately, Yan's mother and Yan Zhong basically concluded that the girl was probably from an ordinary background. The eldest son did not think highly of her, and even the younger son himself might not be serious about it.
Therefore, after discussing it, the couple decided that if their youngest son didn't mention it, they would pretend they knew nothing.
However, to their surprise, their youngest son brought it up on his own initiative.
For a moment, Yan's mother didn't know how to react. She remained silent for a while before speaking.
"Girlfriend... Why don't you bring her back for us to see?" After saying that, she secretly glanced at Yan Zhong, who was looking down at the newspaper.
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