Chapter 93 Ji Tanyuan's words were nothing more than a rejection of him.
Zhong Yan gave a speechless twitch at the corner of his mouth.
I'm not talking about faith.
Ji Tanyuan exclaimed, "Plato's love is love that rises from the physical to the spiritual level, but husband, this is a cheating act in love."
"Generally speaking, taking a shortcut to intimacy through sex can make people mistakenly believe that their souls are also satisfied. But that's not the case. We are still misled by physiological hormones. So I think that so-called spiritual resonance does not exist."
"Ji Tanyuan, thank you for saying so much."
Are you planning to reject me?
Zhong Yan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Then who do you agree with more?"
"I agree more with Adler than with Plato."
Love is like an equal team fighting monsters and leveling up. Solving problems together is the way to maintain a close relationship. It's about equality, not dependence and domination.
Zhong Yan lowered his eyes, the cigarette between his fingers had burned down to ash.
He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray, extinguishing the faint flame.
Ji Tanyuan's words were nothing more than a rejection of him.
He was a shrewd and perceptive person. He could see through his probing and understood, but he also considered that their cooperation would not end, so he left room for maneuver.
That sounds so nice.
Can he call this fallacy?
They just don't like it and don't want to take it any further.
Unexpectedly, his repeated probing alerted her first. Was she being overly clear-headed, or was it simply that an outsider had a clearer perspective?
Zhong Yan smiled and stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray.
"Ji Tanyuan, you're so lucid." The voice murmured, as if whispering sweet nothings.
Ji Tanyuan lay on her side in bed, her phone beside her pillow. She blinked slowly, her eyes filled with complex emotions, and after a long while, she finally spoke:
"I'm not always clear-headed, and I can be confused sometimes, so please don't hurt me."
Don't hurt me.
These words were cruel and realistic, and Zhong Yan felt a growing pain in her heart.
It's just liking someone. Isn't mutual liking in marriage the most normal thing?
Unless she's thinking about divorce.
He looked down at his phone; the call was still going on, and Zhong Yan's voice was hoarse:
"No, go to sleep, goodnight."
Zhong Yan hung up the phone and threw it on the table. He leaned back in his chair, turned around, and looked at the dark lake outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
The study was dimly lit, almost blending into the outside world.
After a long time, a small flame was lit, and Zhong Yan lit a cigarette.
The warm glow of the fire couldn't warm the cold face.
He doesn't believe in Plato either; perhaps Nietzsche is more suitable.
He wants to possess something exclusively and absolutely, whether it's loving or being loved. Of all emotions, only romantic love is exclusive and selfish.
He tapped his finger, his eyes filled with unfathomable, enigmatic emotions, before closing them.
That's difficult to figure out.
Ji Tanyuan watched the phone hang up, closed her eyes, and then pulled the blanket over her head.
*
Zhong Yan returned to the old house the next day, and the old lady came back.
He was told to go back for dinner.
The festive atmosphere of the traditional courtyard houses is returning as those who worked away from home have come back.
This includes Zhong Yan's second uncle, Zhong Shanci, who works in another province.
When her second aunt saw that Zhong Yan had come alone, she knew more or less about the "grudges" between Ji Tanyuan and her mother-in-law.
The old lady was getting on in years and was a bit rigid and serious. She had already experienced this firsthand with the two elderly people living with them recently. She knew that other people's elderly people became more open-minded and kind as they got older.
Her in-laws, on the other hand, were as serious and rigid as ever. They were so kind and amiable in public, but so harsh behind closed doors, displaying an arrogance inherent in those from high-class families.
She was looking forward to Ji Tanyuan's arrival today, hoping to see a good show. It seemed that only the young couple Ji Tanyuan and Zhong Yan could make the old lady change her expression in this family.
Before Ji Tanyuan married into the family, only Zhong Yan dared to talk back, but now I hear there's another Ji Tanyuan.
Who wouldn't want to see this spectacle?
She glanced behind Zhong Yan. "Where's Tan Yuan? Why isn't she here?"
Zhong Yan handed her coat to the maid and stepped inside. "She's in Shanghai. She'll be back in a couple of days."
Upon hearing this, Madam Zhong gave her a cold look and said in a deep voice, "What time is it? Still in Shanghai? I'd think you weren't married yet."
After saying that, she looked at Zhou Yanyu and said, "While I was away, you let Tan Yuan stay at her parents' house for so long? What kind of couple is this, living apart from each other in Yanjing while she stays at her parents' house every day?"
Zhou Yanyu put down her water glass. "She has some things to take care of at home and will be back later."
Madam Zhong snorted coldly, "If you ask me, you should have a child. That way, you'll have something to hold onto and it won't look like you're about to break up."
After saying that, she patted Wen Yi'an's hand beside her, "Yi'an, you and A-Jing should be trying to conceive. It's been so long, why is there still no sign of pregnancy?"
Wen Yi'an's smile froze for a moment. "We're preparing."
"Then we'd better hurry."
She avoided looking at the old lady, and no one else noticed, because the old lady started urging Zhong Yan again.
Zhong Yan was about to go upstairs when she heard the old lady urging her to have a child. She paused for a moment and looked back.
“We’re not in a hurry. If you like children, Grandmother, you can visit the orphanage more often. You can do something practical there. Don’t just focus on me and Tan Yuan,” Zhong Yan said calmly.
The tone was not very respectful, and even contained impatience.
It's not the way a grandchild should speak to an elder.
"Zhong Yan! What are you saying?" Old Madam Zhong was even angrier.
Zhou Yanyu said in a deep voice, "Ayan, come upstairs."
The elderly lady has poor blood pressure. What should we do if she gets so angry that she has to go to the hospital during the Chinese New Year?
Zhong Yan smiled enigmatically. “Grandma, things are different now. The so-called ‘teaching’ a daughter-in-law is outdated. She didn’t rush to marry into the family. We were the ones who went to Shanghai to ask for her hand in marriage, you know that, right?”
Zhou Yanyu: "Zhong Yan, stop talking and go upstairs. Your father and the others are waiting for you."
After watching the whole thing, Zhong Yan's second aunt, Cheng Xinyu, was somewhat suspicious. "Zhong Yan, does she have a grudge against the old lady?"
Why?
Ever since the old lady started urging Wen Yi'an to get pregnant, she hasn't been in the right frame of mind.
She didn't come to her senses until Zhong Jing came down to call her.
Zhong Jing frowned. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Wen Yi'an shook her head. "Nothing?"
"Did Grandma say something to you again? Didn't she tell you not to take it to heart?"
Wen Yi'an smiled and said, "No."
She was led to the bathroom to wash her hands. Wen Yi'an let Zhong Jing hold her hand and wash her hands. She suddenly said, "Just now, Grandma said that we should have a child."
Zhong Jing paused in washing his hands, then continued. He took a tissue and carefully wiped Wen Yi'an's hands, saying, "We're not in a hurry."
Wen Yi'an looked at him, hesitant to speak.
Zhong Jing tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Your health isn't good, so we can not have it. Let the second son's family have it."
Wen Yi'an shook her head. "I want it."
She hugged Zhong Jing and snuggled into his arms. "I want a child. I can take the medicine and I will listen to the doctor."
Zhong Jing let her hug him, then patted her back, "I'll find you a doctor."
"But don't feel pressured. I'm not really interested in having children."
He didn't refuse again; if he did, Wen Yi'an, being sensitive, would overthink it.
How could Wen Yi'an not feel pressured? She was afraid that Zhong Jing would abandon her.
Especially since Zhong Jing is both a politician and the eldest grandson of the Zhong family, he faces considerable pressure.
Given the Zhong family's circumstances, they place great importance on having offspring. If Ji Tanyuan were to have a child before her, wouldn't that be detrimental to Zhong Jing?
Thinking of this, Wen Yi'an felt a wave of panic.
When Zhong Jing and Wen Yi'an came out, they saw Zhong Yan coming down, and Zhong Yan's expression was not good.
Clearly, the negotiations did not go smoothly.
"I'm not eating, you guys eat."
Zhong Jing stopped him, "No matter what, you have to eat."
Zhong Yan sneered, "Big brother, I'm not as good at enduring as you."
"Or rather, if they don't interfere in your marriage, you can certainly stay calm. Why pressure them to have children? My wife is almost gone."
Zhong Jing caught up with Zhong Yan and warned in a low voice, "Ayan, don't forget that this is a marriage of convenience. When Ji Tanyuan was downstairs, you said it yourself that it was for the sake of your family's alliance. Have you forgotten?"
"Also, you can't escape the Zhong family at all. Don't be willful. Do you think everything you have now is due to your own efforts?"
"As for my brother and sister-in-law, we'll make it up to them later."
Zhong Yan: "You're underestimating the Ji family."
The fact that Ji Qing could so readily agree to let his nephew die shows that none of the three in this family are pushovers.
Moreover, all of Ji Qing's plans seem to revolve around Ji Tanyuan, and are not related to the interests of the group at all.
He looked up at the study, then frowned and chuckled, "I'm afraid it will end up being a lose-lose situation."
“You can deal with the Shen family, but dragging the Ji family into it and using the Ji family to bring out the Shen family won’t work.”
Zhong Yan didn't even make any threats. He couldn't stop his father's decision; he was just informing them. Whether they listened or not was up to them.
His father and grandfather were always proud, feeling that they had been in power for many years and could manipulate too many people at will, just like playing with a chess piece.
But aren't they just pieces on someone else's chessboard?
Zhong Yan left without eating, which displeased the old lady about what should have been a pleasant meal.
They even started criticizing Zhou Yanyu.
"Enough!" the old man shouted angrily.
The old lady was startled; her cloudy eyes were filled with disbelief.
Zhong Shuqing's expression was somber. "It's annoying to hear. Don't say it again. Wait for your second son's wife to come back, and don't nag her about anything."
"Have a good New Year, so people don't laugh at us."
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