Chapter 138 Xiaoyan, I wish you were my granddaughter-in-law
The sudden soft touch on his palm made Li Zhinan let go without leaving a trace. He turned his head and asked his mother, "Grandma, is it because of my divorce that you are sick?"
Jiang Meng's expression froze, and he immediately lowered his head and said, "Alas, I didn't expect your grandma to hear the aunts at home chatting."
"Mom, why does the aunt at home know these gossips? Who is spreading them?" Li Zhinan's handsome face darkened and his voice became more stern.
Jiang Meng knew she couldn't hide it from her son, so she simply admitted it: "Yes, it's me. It's not a secret. Your grandma will know it sooner or later."
Li Zhinan looked at his mother and suddenly felt that she was a stranger.
Maybe, my brother's illness has been recurring over the past decade or so, and my mother has been taking care of him for too long, so her temperament has changed drastically, which is understandable.
But she secretly hurt others, especially her closest people, which Li Zhinan couldn't understand.
So, his mother's admission silenced him.
Li Zhishi came running down the corridor, panting and asking, "Grandma...what happened to Grandma? Where is she?"
Jiang Meng glanced at her second son, and her eyes inexplicably became red. She felt wronged by her eldest son's aggressiveness.
"Mom, is grandma's condition serious?" Li Zhishi's heart skipped a beat when he saw his mother's eyes were red.
Li Zhinan replied: "Grandma is still in surgery, the situation is not clear yet."
Li Zhishi looked at his elder brother, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
Everyone was concerned about the old lady's condition, but they didn't notice that someone was quietly broken next to them.
Cheng Yan clearly felt Li Zhinan's coldness towards her.
If it were in the past, Li Zhinan would not be disgusted by subtle gestures like holding hands or linking arms.
Just now, she came over with joy and tentatively held his big hand, but he pulled his hand away without a trace.
"Where is Xiaoye?" Jiang Meng asked.
Li Zhinan said: "I asked my assistant to take him. This is a hospital. He is still young and I don't want to bring him here."
Jiang Meng nodded: "The child is in a state of confusion and really shouldn't come to the hospital."
Cheng Yan beside her was dejected, but she also understood that if she wanted to fulfill her wish, she had to endure this grievance.
The old lady was pushed out of the operating room, her pale face made everyone even more worried.
Fortunately, the doctor said the operation went smoothly and the old lady was just still unconscious from the anesthesia.
Everyone gathered together in the advanced ward.
Jiang Meng suddenly snorted coldly: "Why didn't Cheng Qian come over to care about your grandma? Did she really divorce, take the money and leave, and then part ways with the Li family?"
When Cheng Yan heard this, she subconsciously looked at Li Zhinan.
Li Zhinan sat on the sofa gloomily and said calmly, "Mom, she's on a business trip, and she doesn't know about this."
Jiang Meng glanced at her son and said, "Your heart has shifted towards her, hasn't it?"
Cheng Yan's breathing became tight, and a feeling of resentment and anger burned from her chest to her brain.
What's so good about Cheng Qian that Li Zhinan still misses her even after their divorce?
Is it because he knew that she was innocent four years ago?
"Mom, she is a victim, not an abuser. Please don't direct your anger at her." Li Zhinan's expression became more serious.
"What hurt her? Isn't it a win-win situation for her? She likes you, marries you, and her father's laboratory is saved..."
"Her father's laboratory was incorporated into the Cheng Group by me, so it's effectively lost." Li Zhinan interrupted his mother, "Mom, that's not how you define harm, unless time can be reversed."
Jiang Meng pursed her lips and stopped talking.
Li Zhishi, who was standing next to him, said unhappily, "Brother, you never spoke to Mom like that before. Do you know how hard it was for Mom to run the family alone after Dad passed away? How can you be so inconsiderate of Mom just because of someone else?"
"Xiao Shi, don't say anything. Your elder brother thinks I was wrong. Maybe I was really wrong." Jiang Meng's hurt heart felt a little better because of his second son's protection.
"You were wrong from the beginning." Li Zhinan said mercilessly, "Absolutely wrong."
"Brother, how can you hit mom like this? Isn't everything she does for the good of all of us? Even if mom is wrong, she is not your mother anymore?" Li Zhishi immediately retorted.
Jiang Meng glanced at his eldest son resentfully.
Cheng Yan watched as the Li family members started arguing, and it was because Li Zhinan was defending Cheng Qian that the quarrel started.
Cheng Yan couldn't describe the feeling in her heart.
Is it jealousy?
No, it's a resentment deeper than jealousy.
"Aunt Jiang, Xiaoshi, I believe Zhinan is angry because he is a very responsible person, not for any other reason. You should stop hurting the relationship because of outsiders." Cheng Yan jumped out in a gentle voice to ease the tense atmosphere.
Jiang Meng glanced at Cheng Yan. This child was more sensible.
Li Zhishi said angrily, "Sister Cheng Yan, please persuade him and let him know who is more important."
Cheng Yan immediately said softly, "Zhi Nan is not a child. He doesn't need any persuasion. He knows what is important and what is not."
Li Zhinan stood up, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and walked out.
Cheng Yan looked at his tall and handsome back, and her heart was blocked. Why didn't he say a word?
Jiang Meng looked at Cheng Yan with satisfaction: "Xiao Yan, you don't think Aunt Jiang is an unreasonable bad person, do you?"
"Aunt Jiang, I believe Zhinan didn't mean to make you angry. He just felt sorry for Cheng Qian and the child, so he was angry with himself. He is your son, and he has seen the hardships you have gone through to support the family. Can you give him some time?" Cheng Yan walked over, put her arm around Jiang Meng's arm, and spoke softly.
Jiang Meng finally let out a sigh of relief.
She reached out and patted Cheng Yan's arm. "You're such a sensible kid. I'm just wondering, Zhinan was completely indifferent to Cheng Qian before, and it didn't seem like he had much affection for her. Why is he turning his arm away now?"
Cheng Yan also showed a bewildered expression: "Yeah, why?"
Li Zhishi said from the side, "Mom, Sister Cheng Yan, maybe what you saw isn't the truth. Big Brother has always been independent and clear-headed. He knows what he's thinking. If you ask me, it's not that he doesn't have feelings for Cheng Qian, it's just... he hides them well."
When Cheng Yan heard Li Zhishi's explanation, her eyes froze.
Jiang Meng frowned. "How deep is the secret? I've tried to test Zhinan over the past few years. If he really liked Cheng Qian a little bit, he wouldn't send her gifts every time and I wouldn't need to remind him."
Li Zhishi chuckled twice: "Mom, you just don't understand men's hearts. Maybe big brother really wanted to give it to you, but couldn't find an excuse. As soon as you mentioned it, he gave it to you. Don't you think about it? Which of those things big brother gave you were ordinary things?"
As soon as Li Zhishi finished speaking, Cheng Yan instantly felt like a clown.
Her eyes turned red and tears fell silently.
Seeing her crying, Jiang Meng immediately felt distressed and comforted her: "Xiaoyan, don't listen to Xiaoshi's nonsense. Zhinan's feelings for Cheng Qian are nothing more than guilt. There is no such thing as so much affection."
"Well, Aunt Jiang, I know. It's precisely because he is responsible that I have always liked him." Cheng Yan sobbed a few times, as if she was really sad.
Li Zhishi was stunned and immediately shut up. He just wanted to argue with his mother about his elder brother's mood changes, but he ignored the fact that Cheng Yan, who admired his elder brother, was standing next to him.
Now that the eldest brother is divorced, Mom must be hoping to have her marry into the family. He really shouldn't have chosen this time to say such disappointing things.
Li Zhinan smoked a cigarette and returned to the ward, just as the old lady woke up.
The old lady's face didn't look very good and she spoke weakly. When she saw Li Zhinan, she couldn't say anything to scold him, so she just pointed at him with her finger.
Li Zhinan immediately sat down beside the bed and held his grandmother's raised finger: "Grandma, don't be angry. What if you get angry and hurt yourself?"
"Bastard." The old lady cursed, "You are useless."
Li Zhinan didn't dare to refute a single word. He lowered his eyes and accepted the criticism.
Cheng Yan quickly sat down and gently comforted him, "Grandma, please don't scold him. It's not easy for Zhinan either."
When the old lady saw Cheng Yan speaking for him, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. The next second, she grabbed Cheng Yan's fingers and stuffed her hand directly into Li Zhinan's palm, forcing him to hold her fingers tightly.
"Grandma...don't...don't do this." Cheng Yan seemed to be burned by Li Zhinan's palm. She was panicked and her face flushed.
Li Zhinan immediately removed his hand and stood up. "Grandma, you should have a good rest. I will take Xiaoye back first. The doctor recommends that you think less and maintain a stable state of mind."
"Go back, I don't want to see you." The old lady glared at him.
"Grandma, let me stay and take care of you." Cheng Yan said gently.
"Xiaoyan, it would be great if you were my granddaughter-in-law. That would give me a reason to keep you here." As the old lady spoke, she stared at Li Zhinan who turned around. "I'm afraid that grandma won't have this blessing. I'm afraid that in the end, I won't be able to get back such an excellent and sensible daughter-in-law like you."
Cheng Yan had lowered her head shyly, not daring to look at the reaction of the man behind her.
Li Zhinan acted as if he couldn't hear anything and said calmly, "Mom, please take care of grandma. I'll be leaving first."
"Grandma, please don't get sick again. You have to get better soon." Li Zhishi rolled over to the bed on the other side of the old lady like a child, hugged her arm and pleaded, "I'm very worried about you."
The old lady's mood instantly improved a lot. When he was a child, Li Zhinan followed the old man to learn management, and he developed a strong and cold heart since he was a child. Unlike Li Zhishi, he was versatile when he was a child. Although he was naughty, he always stayed around the old lady and made her very happy.
Therefore, the old lady has a much deeper affection for her second grandson. On the other hand, the old man trained his eldest grandson to be like an emotionless machine, who only knows how to work and make money and has no human touch.
"Okay, okay, grandma is fine, don't worry. Just go back and take good care of the two children. Go back quickly." The old lady touched Li Zhishi's hair like she did when he was a child, urging him to leave.
"Okay, then I'll go back first, grandma. I'll come to see you tomorrow." Li Zhishi stood up and walked out.
He chased all the way and finally caught up with Li Zhinan in the lobby on the first floor.
"Brother, wait a minute..." Li Zhishi shouted.
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