Chapter 2: Should We Have a Child? (Part 2)

“This is just being busy,” Leng Mohan said, rubbing his nose.

Hearing Madam Leng say this, Lin Yan’s cheeks flushed slightly. Indeed, in the two years since their marriage, they had never returned to Qinyuan and rarely visited her grandfather. She didn’t know why, but facing them felt difficult. He seemed uncomfortable suddenly calling them Dad and Grandpa. She had always thought she would call them uncle and aunt for the rest of her life.

She thought it would be her sister who would call them Dad and Grandpa.

Madam Leng teased gently, “By the way, I just came from Grandpa’s place. He asked me to pass on a message to you.”

She glanced at Lin Yan, standing by the sofa with a faint blush on her face, then patted Leng Mohan’s hand again. “Grandpa wants to know when he’ll be able to hold his great-grandchild.”

Madam Leng gently grasped Lin Yan’s hand. “Yan Yan, tell your mom—is it that Mohan is unwilling? I’ll speak for you. Back then...”

“Mom, we have our own plans for this,” Leng Mohan interrupted before Madam Leng could finish. He dreaded hearing about “back then.”

Standing up, Leng Mohan wrapped his arm around Lin Yan’s waist, his lips brushing her earlobe, sending a shiver down her spine. His warm breath swept past her ear as he spoke in a melodious, magnetic voice, “We’re very much in love, aren’t we, Yan Yan?”

Lin Yan’s heart tightened. Whether from nervousness or the warmth in the room, a fine sweat covered her nose. Her palms were cold, yet clammy with nervous sweat as she nodded softly.

“As long as you’re happy, that’s what matters. But the matter of children should have been on your agenda long ago. There’s a saying in the classics: ‘There are three great unfilial acts; the greatest is to have no descendants.’ You’ve been married two years and there’s still no news...” Madam Leng’s words were full of earnest reproach.

This was not the first time. Lin Yan knew well that though no one had spoken so directly before, the topic had been hinted at subtly several times, only to be blocked by Leng Mohan. She had thought it would always be this way, but this time, Madam Leng seemed resolute, demanding an answer.

In truth, Lin Yan had thought about having children long ago. Since she was married to him, she naturally wanted to continue the Leng family lineage. Yet she could never fathom what was truly in Leng Mohan’s heart. Whenever the subject of children came up, he seemed irritable.

Perhaps he simply didn’t like children.

Or perhaps, he didn’t like her—not her, nor the children she might bear.

Maybe he was still waiting for his sister to return...

She still vividly remembered how they had gotten married. Though both had tried their best to be good spouses over these two years, something was always missing between them.

Though he came home every day, they never truly saw each other. Each morning, she would still be asleep when he left for work, and by the time she went to bed, he had yet to return. He always seemed endlessly busy.

They only saw one another when his mother came to visit—the rare moments when this couple lived under the same roof could actually meet.

Madam Leng continued speaking, but Lin Yan bit her lip, listening quietly and reflecting on their relationship over these past two years, occasionally glancing at Leng Mohan’s calm face.

“Dinner’s ready...” Aunt Zhang placed a pot of fish soup on the dining table and called everyone to eat.

Only then did Madam Leng finally stop talking.