Yibo couldn't even attend his lesson that day; all he did was sleep due to his weakness. By evening, his condition had improved slightly, but he remained frail. Quentin, who was in the sitting room working in his study area, glanced at Yuting, who was seated nearby, and said, "It's almost six, honey. Shouldn't you wake Yibo?"
She looked up and replied, "I'll wake him before seven."
"Is his fever gone?" Quentin asked.
"Yes, the fever's gone, but he's still weak," she answered.
Quentin sighed. "I hope he recovers soon," he said softly.
"Hmm," Yuting whispered. After a moment, she added hesitantly, "I'm really worried about Yibo's health… He's been through so much, but he always pretends to be strong. And…" She trailed off, then continued, her voice trembling, "I just don't want to lose him."
Quentin reached out to reassure her. "We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate. Keep praying for him, Honey. One day, he'll recover fully."
"I hope so," she said with a faint smile.
By seven, Yuting was in the kitchen when she heard Nainai's voice in the sitting room. She quickly stepped out to greet her respectfully, "Welcome, Mother."
Nainai nodded. "Where's your husband?"
"He's out," Yuting replied.
Nainai frowned slightly. "Yibo came by earlier, and he looked so pale. Is his illness worsening?"
"He's better now, but he's still weak. He's resting in his room," Yuting explained.
Lowering her voice, Nainai said, "Let me tell you something, Yuting. If Quentin's fancy education is failing to cure Yibo, shouldn't you take matters into your own hands? What's wrong with traditional remedies? Why must everything rely on hospitals and doctors when there are effective herbal solutions?"
"You're right, Mother," Yuting admitted.
Nainai leaned closer and said conspiratorially, "There's a healer who lives beyond the mountain. He's like a skilled surgeon with herbs. He can heal Yibo completely. But I fear mentioning this to Quentin or Zong—they'll just mock me and call him a fraud. They don't understand the value of traditional healing."
Yuting hesitated, her eyes widening slightly. "Is it far?" she asked.
"It takes a day and a half to reach him," Nainai said firmly. "And any healer worth traveling that far for must be worth the effort."
Their conversation was interrupted when Quentin entered the room. Nainai quickly changed the subject. "I should head back. The kids might be up to mischief. There's some roasted chicken in my bedroom, and Zhan has been wandering around aimlessly since morning, wanted to steal it and ate. When will your husband go back?"
"Tomorrow," Yuting replied.
"Good. When he leaves again, come to my part. We'll discuss the matter further," Nainai said before leaving. Quentin bid her goodbye politely, but she ignored him and walked out.
However, Nainai headed to Zong wing of the house. She muttered to herself, "I should check on Zihan. I haven't seen her all day."
In their sitting room, Seth sat watching TV, while Yichen and Mengxi worked in the kitchen, preparing a meal. Zhan, who had been avoiding Nainai all day, looked up as she entered the room. Nainai turned to Seth and asked, "Where's your mother? She hasn't come to greet me today. Is she alright?"
Seth replied casually, "She'll come by later tonight, Nainai."
Just then, Yichen entered the room, lowering her gaze respectfully as she greeted, "Good evening, Mother."
Nainai frowned. "Yichen, is this how you greet your elders? Standing like that?"
Yichen said nothing, returning to her tasks. Nainai's expression soured. "If you're going to greet me like that, don't bother at all. Your false pleasantries mean nothing to me. And don't worry, I'll never accept them again," she declared coldly.
Zhan, who had been silently watching, finally spoke up, his tone sharp. "Do you ever visit without stirring up trouble, Nainai? Honestly, it's exhausting."
She turned to him, outraged. "Are you insulting me, Zhan?"
"Take it however you want," he replied curtly, walking past her and out of the room.
Seth quickly stepped in, trying to calm her. "Please, Nainai, let me walk you back."
Tears welled in her eyes as she followed him. "Did you see what Zhan just did? If I were still close enough, he might have hit me! Where's Zong when I need him?"
"He's not back yet," Seth replied gently. "Let's go."
When they reached her quarters, Nainai burst into tears. "It's just now hitting me, Seth. After everything I did for Zhan, this is how he repays me."
"Please be patient, Nainai," Seth urged.
"No," she snapped. "Let Zong come back. He'll have to explain whether it's him teaching Zhan to be so disrespectful to me."
Seth, tired of trying to console her, quietly excused himself and left.
Quentin went to visit Nainai with Yibo. Nainai came out of her room, rolled out a small carpet on the tiled floor where there was no rug, and sat down. She said, "Quentin, I told Yichen to stop greeting me in this house out of pretentiousness, and now Zhan comes storming at me like a whirlwind…"
Quentin replied, "Please, calm down, A Yi . I'll go speak to him now."
Furiously, she retorted, "Oh no, there's no need for that! I don't want to see him here in this house anymore, he leaves or I'll leave. After all, he's grown enough to marry, so let him move to his own house. I won't stay here to be at risk of him hitting me someday! Why don't you people ever care about your mother? I scolded his mother, and this is the insolence I get? Look at you sitting there like a statue, begging me to calm down. Does Zhan think he's above you? Or is his mother better than yours? Zong failed to instilled any manners in that boy."
Quentin stood up and said, "I'll be back later, A Yi." As he headed toward the door, she called after him, "Good! Make sure he tells you if I'm his mate before he leaves this house!"
Quentin didn't respond and quietly left. Nainai scoffed, muttering, "He'll know what it means to mess with his elders today."
Yibo, lying on the couch, had been silently observing. Nainai turned to him and said, "I'm even starting to fear him now with the way he's behaving."
Yibo replied, "Then why did you go to his side of the house?"
Nainai snapped, "How can you ask me that, child? This is my children's house! Why wouldn't I go anywhere I please?"
Yibo didn't respond, only smiling faintly. Nainai continued, "Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through with Zhan?"
Yibo laughed and said, "You always say you've suffered for everyone."
Nainai clicked her tongue and said, "Zhan's troubles surpass everyone's. I know what I'm talking about. I was standing outside the delivery room door from morning till night before he was finally born. You should've seen the ordeal he put his mother through. He came out so taller like twice the newborn baby and he's wailing, and I thought, 'What a handful this one will be.' His hair was black and thick, and his skin so fair—you'd think he was some royal child. When we got home, I bathed him myself. You didn't see his mother back then—she was so thin, like she could break. Now, after eating my son money, she looks like a barrel!"
Yibo burst out laughing, nearly choking. "This is about Zhan-ge, right?"
"Yes, it's about Zhan!" Nainai exclaimed. "I couldn't stand filth or laziness, so I took charge. Every day, I left my house early to bathe that troublesome child because his mother was too scared to touch him. By three months, he'd turned into a chubby little angel with beauty unmatched. Oh, the trouble she saved herself just sitting there feeding him all day while I did the hard work!"
Yibo laughed so hard his sides hurt. Nainai scowled. "You laugh, but you don't know the half of it! Zhan stayed under my roof until he finished his high school, and his father paid for his medical studies abroad. That boy owes everything to me!"
Yibo said, "I wasn't even born then, right?"
Nainai looked at him incredulously. "What kind of nonsense is that? Of course, you weren't born! Back then, everyone thought your mother was infertile!"
Yibo sat up, narrowing his eyes. Nainai adjusted her posture and said, "When your father married your mother, Yuting, we thought he'd made a mistake. She was from a Mandian village, living a simple life. She didn't even have any education until she moved into your father's house and started learning. Yichen, on the other hand, had been running wild, causing trouble everywhere. Do you understand why there's tension between your mother and Zhan's mother even today? It started with Yuting befriended your Yimei."
Nainai leaned closer. "Yuting took years to conceive after marrying Quentin. Meanwhile, Yichen, already had children running around. Your mother was so quiet and skinny back then, eating and doing nothing. Finally, she had you after Zong already had four kids! Your father was over the moon, but everyone wondered if that was the end of it for your mother. Look at you now, almost nineteen, and she never had another child after you."
Yibo was quiet as Nainai's stories unraveled, a mixture of family gossip and her frustrations. She finished by saying, "I hope you find a rich wife who can take care of you. Because if you marry a poor girl, we'll end up burying you, with all your health issues and medical expenses costing a fortune every month. You better focus on your studies and work smartly, even if it's from home!"
Yibo, visibly frustrated, said, "You're bringing up Gege's story, turning it into my issue, as if anyone asked you about me. I'm tired of hearing this story in this house!"
Nainai snapped, "Oh, so you think i can keep ignoring Zhan's antics? He's leaving this house entirely today, and he'll finally learn who runs things here."
Just then, Zong entered the sitting room, and Nainai's face tightened. Quentin followed behind him, with Zhan trailing close behind. As soon as she saw Zhan, Nainai exclaimed, "Oh, my...! Get this man out of my sitting room—I have nothing to say to him!"
Zhan knelt at a distance from her, bowing his head. "Please forgive me, Nainai," he said softly.
Nainai rolled her eyes. "Oh, Zong, are you afraid of this boy? Did I tell you to bring him here to apologize? What am I supposed to do with his apology? If Zhan were trustworthy, would he keep prioritizing his mother over me?"
Her voice grew more indignant. "I raised him! I suffered for him! What kind of ingrate behaves this way? Why doesn't Seth treat me like this? Why doesn't Meiling?"
Zhan remained silent, head still bowed. Nainai added, "Just leave my sitting room!"
Quentin chuckled but said nothing. Zong, however, looked serious. "Please calm down, A Yi," he said. "We'll handle this. Zhan, you need to listen carefully."
He turned to Zhan, his voice firm. "Respect yourself in this house. No matter how A Yi acts or what she says, she is our mother, and that will never change. You will respect her completely. Leave aside your playful antics with her; she doesn't appreciate them. She has every right to express her opinions about your mother. Let her speak. This is the last time I want to hear about you disrespecting her. Do you understand?"
Zhan kept his head down. "Yes, Papa," he murmured.
Quentin nodded approvingly. "Good."
Nainai, unimpressed, muttered under her breath, "Oh, this is all useless since you won't throw him out of the house."
Zhan whispered, "Please forgive me."
Nainai waved him off. "Get out of here! And don't think your future wife won't repay me for your mother's actions. I'll pack my things and move into your house once you're married. I'll make sure to teach your wife to be just as insolent as your mother!"
Zhan stood up, glaring at her briefly before leaving the sitting room. As he left, Yibo, who had been lying on the couch, laughed quietly to himself.
🔹▫️▪️🔸
Later that evening, on Friday night, Nainai sat in her sitting room with Yibo nearby. He was growing tired of Nainai's endless stories but couldn't leave due to his aching foot. He had been with Nainai since 5 p.m., bringing her food and listening to her tales. Now, it was 9:30 p.m., and he still hadn't been able to leave.
"And that's how I ended up falling out with my best friend's daughter-in-law," Nainai was saying. "Your grandfather had no idea where I was going back then. I was so popular with the wealthy."
Yibo didn't respond, pretending not to hear. The door opened, and Zhan entered after knocking.
Nainai scoffed. "He's the only one who bothers knocking. The rest of you just barge in, oh yes!"
Yibo shot her a side glance. Zhan set down a bag on the table. "Here," he said.
Nainai pulled it toward her and opened it. "Oh, fried tofu! How did he know I was craving this?" she exclaimed.
Yibo sat up, intrigued. Nainai frowned and closed the bag, but Zhan took out a plate and placed it in front of her. She moved it aside. "You two are always bothering me in this house, you and Yibo. Seth and Meiling never do this to me—they mind their own business."
Grudgingly, she opened the bag again and pulled out a piece of tofu, placing it on Zhan's plate.
Zhan chuckled. "I bought it for you, not Papa."
Nainai looked surprised. "Really?" She opened the bag again and added another piece to his plate. Then she turned to Yibo. "I know you like cabbage and onions. Go get your plate from the kitchen, and I'll put some for you and one tufo."
Yibo replied, "Did I say I wanted tofu?"
"How should I know?" Nainai retorted. "You jumped up as if someone had bought it for you."
She took a bite and said, "Bless you, Zhan. Of all my grandchildren, you're the most considerate. When you're married, I'll pack my things and move into your house."
Zhan's eyes widened. "Whose house?"
She smiled at him. "Your house."
Zhan pointed at Yibo. "Why not his house? He's right there."
Nainai rolled her eyes. "No, no. I'll feel more at peace in your house. If your wife gives me trouble, I know you'll put her in her place. You're so protective of me."
She took another bite of tofu. "As for this lazy one, I doubt he can cook. I've never even tasted a cup of tea from him. And he says it's because of his health, just like his mother used to say!"
Frustrated, Yibo stood to leave but tripped over the plate he had eaten from earlier, landing on the floor with a laud thud. "Ow! My foot!" he cried out.
Nainai leaped up. "Oh no! This is trouble! Get him out of here, Zhan! Take him out before anyone thinks he fell in my sitting room!"
Zhan sighed, giving Yibo a sharp look. "Aren't you going to stand?"
Through his tears, Yibo whimpered, "I can't. My foot hurts!"
Nainai clutched her chest. "You see? Trouble! Zhan, carry him out now—don't let anyone say he fell here!"
Realizing Yibo was truly hurt, Zhan glared at Nainai and scooped Yibo up like a child. He clung to him, crying dramatically.
Nainai opened the door and practically pushed them both out, locking it behind them. "I won't be blamed for this!" she declared.
Zhan gave Yibo an exasperated look. "Can't you just stay steady for once?"
"I'm not pretending!" Yibo wailed. "My foot really hurts, Gege!"
Rolling his eyes, Zhan carried him to their wing while Yibo continued to sob...
Zhanxianyibo❤️💚💛