TN: bonus chapter
The paper envelope was very thin, and there were only a few sheets of paper in it, so He Yanfeng pulled it out together.
Only a fifth of the thin A4 paper was pulled out of the document envelope, and he could already see the words in the middle of the top of the first A4 paper: DNA test report.
He Yanfeng’s breathing stagnated, and the hand holding the file tightened. He looked at Xiang Hong on the sofa, his expression hardly changing, but his voice tensing a little: “What does this mean?”
Xiang Hong held his head in both hands, inserted his fingers into his messy hair, and was silent for a while before saying, “Look for yourself.”
He Yanfeng withdrew his gaze and put all his body and mind on the piece of A4 in front of him. When he drew a third of it out, he paused and said in a deep voice, “You’re not joking with me, are you?”
Xiang Hong hesitated to speak.
He Yanfeng got the answer from his expression, and something felt like it was about to burst out from his chest. His thumb and index finger tightly pinched these thin sheets of paper, but the remaining two-thirds remained inside.
The clock on the wall ticked away, and the document envelope and the report inside remained pulled out a third of the way. It was getting dark, and there was only one floor lamp in the living room, which stood beside the coffee table, and the light yellow slender light cast on the top of the coffee table, divided Xiang Hong sitting on the sofa and He Yanfeng on the other side of the coffee table into two separate spaces.
“Brother He.” Xiang Hong sighed deeply, with an apology on his face: “As a friend, I took your DNA sample without your consent to help you do a paternity test, I’m sorry.”
He Yanfeng looked at Xiang Hong quietly, but Xiang Hong didn’t say a word more, and they stared at each other in the darkness.
“Is that why you went to my office last time?”
Xiang Hong nodded, paused, rolling the words in his mouth several times, and finally said: “He Qianjian is not your son.”
He Yanfeng lowered his head, most of his face was hidden in the darkness, and only his knuckles holding the brown envelope could be seen turning white. A few minutes later, his dry and hoarse voice sounded: “If he is not my son, then who is my son?”
After having said what he had been holding back, it became much smoother to face the next thing. Xiang Hong raised his hand and pointed to the brown paper envelope: “It’s all inside.”
He Yanfeng’s eyes returned to the envelope, and after a pause, he moved his hand holding the A4 paper and pulled it out.
The content of the first page of the report was clear at a glance. He Yanfeng’s eyes fell on the words “test materials”, and slowly moved down——No. 1 test material: He Yanfeng’s hair follicles; No. 2 test material: Yang Yun’s hair follicles; No. 3 test material: He Qianjian’s hair follicles. He quickly scanned the date and process of the test, turned to the third sheet of paper, and his eyes stayed on the appraisal conclusion at the bottom: He Qianjian, He Yanfeng, and Yang Yun are confirmed to have no blood relation.
His eyes stayed on the words “No blood relation” for a long time, until the hour hand of the wall clock reached the hour and made a ding sound. Then he raised his head as if waking up from a dream, put the report back, and looked anxiously and eagerly at the second report, which was still a DNA test report, but in the test materials section, the name of No. 3 test material was changed to Jiang Chen’s hair follicles.
When He Yanfeng saw the name “Jiang Chen”, he paused in turning the pages. He didn’t need to see the conclusion, he already had the answer in his heart.
He seldom had any doubts until a young man named Jiang Chen appeared in their family’s life. This young man was able to appease the rebellious He Qianmin into obedience, make He Qianyu, who was used to being the center of attention, always bring him up, and cause his wife to be especially gentle and filled with concern…..The phone call not long ago made He Yanfeng unable to help but think about Jiang Chen’s special personality charm, which made his wife, son and daughter love him so much, and even made it hard for him to feel displeased at being contradicted. Not to mention when receiving the video that was beyond the realm of reality, he never doubted whether it was true or not, and just believed him inexplicably and easily.
Now, all the puzzles have been answered——because Jiang Chen was the biological son of him and his wife, and the biological elder brother of He Qianmin and He Qianyu.
Seeing that He Yanfeng stayed on the first page of the second report, Xiang Hong said, “Aren’t you turning to the back?”
He Yanfeng pinched the report and turned the report to the last page. His eyes moved away when he touched the conclusion at the bottom, and countless complicated emotions surged up in his heart. The strange thing was that he didn’t feel that it was hard to accept the truth, and what cycled in his mind was all about how to tell Jiang Chen this matter.
Xiang Hong stood up, walked around the coffee table to He Yanfeng, and patted him on the shoulder: “Brother He.”
He Yanfeng came back to his senses, put the two reports back into the envelope, and patted Xiang Hong’s arm heavily: “Thank you for this matter.”
Xiang Hong shook his head: “Are you okay?”
“It’s easier to accept than I thought.” He Yanfeng paused and sighed deeply: “I’m only worried about your sister-in-law…”
Thinking of Yang Yun’s love for the three children, Xiang Hong pondered for a moment and said, “Why don’t you tell her after a while?”
“No.” After accepting the facts, He Yanfeng’s mind was extremely calm, he shook his head and said: “You are right to tell me directly, the longer this kind of thing is delayed, the less good it is, whether it is for your sister-in-law or for…..Jiang Chen’s adoptive parents.”
Xiang Hong’s expression became serious: “Have you thought about how to tell Sister-in-law about this?”
He Yanfeng twitched the corner of his mouth: “It’s useless to prepare mentally, it’s better to just say it directly.”
“Then what about the Jiang family?” Xiang Hong said: “Jiang Chen’s adoptive parents probably don’t know that they raised the wrong child, it may be difficult to accept it, and Qian Jian, it may be even more difficult for him to accept it.”
He Yanfeng narrowed his eyes, and said lightly: “Whether it’s the Jiang family or Qian Jian, sooner or later they have to accept the truth.”
Xiang Hong: “How have you decided to talk to the Jiang family? Visit them directly?”
“I’ll tell Jiang Chen first.” In just a short moment, He Yanfeng had already thought of countless ways to tell the truth to the young man, but thinking of Jiang Chen’s seemingly soft but strong character, his tone became serious and helpless: “If we bypass him and go directly to the Jiang family, he will probably become hostile to us.”
After Xiang Hong pondered, he agreed: “Jiang Chen is too smart. It’s really not a good idea to hide it from him, but are you sure he can accept it directly? No matter how smart he is, he’s still just a child.”
He Yanfeng paused, thinking of something, and suddenly shook his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“The first time I met Jiang Chen, I asked him how old he was, and he said he was eighteen.” He Yanfeng smiled wryly, “It’s because I always thought he was one year older than Qian Jian, so even if he has the same birthday as Qian Jian, I never doubted anything, if I had known…..”
Xiang Hong also felt complicated, guessing: “Maybe he reported his age according to Chinese calendar?” (TN: according to the traditional Chinese method of reckoning (i.e. the number of Chinese calendar years in which one has lived). In this system, a person’s age is one year at birth, and increases by one year at the beginning of the first solar term)
“I will know later.” He Yanfeng put his hands on his shoulders, and said in a heavy tone, “I’ll be going back first.”
……
All the way home from Xiang Hong’s residence, He Yanfeng was thinking about how to tell his wife about this matter, but he still didn’t think of a suitable way to bring it up even after he got out of the car and entered the house.
He Yanfeng stood at the door, still thinking about it.
Yang Yun, who was waiting in the living room, came out when she heard the sound, with a teasing smile on her face: “All preparations for Qian Jian’s birthday party is ready, so you don’t need to find excuses to go to Xiao Xiang’s place to hide tomorrow.”
Approaching and seeing the expression on He Yanfeng’s face clearly, the smile on Yang Yun’s face faded, and there was more worry in her voice: “What’s the matter? Did something really happen on Xiao Xiang’s side?”
He Yanfeng changed his shoes and walked in: “Let’s go to the study, I have something to tell you.”
Yang Yun’s heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t help becoming worried. Except for the time when the He family refused to accept her at first, even through the ups and downs of the company, she had never seen her husband with such a solemn expression. She hurried her pace to walk at He Yanfeng’s side: “Honey, what’s the matter? Don’t scare me.”
He Yanfeng shook his head: “Let’s go to the study and talk.”
“Is it about Xiao Xiang?” Yang Yun was worried, and couldn’t help but continue to ask: “Or is it related to us?”
“It has nothing to do with Xiang Hong, it’s——”
“Dad, you’re back!” The door to the next room suddenly opened, and He Qianyu ran out wearing rabbit pajamas, and threw herself into He Yanfeng’s arms.
He Yanfeng rubbed his daughter’s head, and the expression on his face softened a bit: “Our little princess is still not asleep.”
“I was waiting for you!” He Qianyu hugged He Yanfeng’s waist, and looked around behind him: “Where’s the watercolor pen you promised to buy me?”
He Yanfeng’s hand on her head paused, and then he remembered that he had promised to buy He Qianyu a new box of watercolor pens before going out.
“I’m sorry, Dad forgot.” After He Yanfeng apologized, he bent down and coaxed: “Can Dad buy it for you tomorrow?”
He Qianyu let go of him, pouted her lips in disappointment, and said in a low voice, “But tomorrow will be too late.”
“Is it an art homework?” Yang Yun knelt down to comfort her daughter and said, “Mom will call your teacher later and explain to the teacher that the watercolor pens at home are used up. Mom and Dad are too careless and forgot to buy them for you, so you couldn’t hand your homework in. Mom will discuss with your teacher about handing it in next Monday, okay?”
“It’s not an art homework, it’s a gift I want to give to Brother Jiang Chen.” He Qianyu lowered her head, aggrieved and sad: “I begged Second Brother for a long time before he agreed to come to my school after school tomorrow to help me give Brother Jiang Chen’s birthday present to him, if I don’t finish it tonight, it will be too late to do it tomorrow.”
Yang Yun was taken aback. She glanced at He Yanfeng, hesitated for a while, and said, “Then Mom and Dad will go out and buy colored pens for you now, okay? Mom and Dad promise to come back soon, and you will definitely have time to make a gift for Brother Jiang Chen.”
“No need.” He Yanfeng rubbed He Qianyu’s head, and said softly: “Tomorrow, Dad will ask for a day off for you, so that you have a day to make a present for Brother Jiang Chen. Now you go to bed first, okay?”
“Really?!” He Qianyu jumped three feet high, her rabbit ears bouncing up and down with her. She stretched out her hand excitedly and said: “Dad must make a pinky promise! Whoever goes back on their word is a little puppy!”
“What are you talking about?” Yang Yun disagreed and said, “How can you just agree to such a thing with Xiao Bao?”
“I have my reason.”
He Yanfeng and He Qianyu hooked their pinkies and pressed their thumbs together. After watching her door close, he turned to Yang Yun and said, “Let’s go to the study, I have something very important to tell you.”
Yang Yun frowned and followed behind He Yanfeng. She waited until the study door was closed, and said: “No matter how important things are, you can’t not treat your child’s studies so carelessly. Now you set a precedent for her to ask for leave for no reason. In the future, she…..”
“Tomorrow our whole family will be going to the old family house.” He Yanfeng took two steps towards the desk, stopped and said, “Except for Qian Jian.”
Yang Yun was taken aback for a moment, but she didn’t think there was anything wrong with not letting He Qianjian go to the old family house together. She just thought that her husband might be worried about delaying their eldest son’s studies as he was in his third year of high school. She worried, “Why do you suddenly want to go back to the old family house? Is it your parents? Do they need us for something?”
He Yanfeng shook his head, gripping the document envelope tightly. He attempted to lift it up several times, but in the end he just put it on the desk.
“Honey, I have something to tell you.” He Yanfeng took Yang Yun’s hand, his voice was a little hoarse: “You have to be mentally prepared first.”
“What’s the matter?” Yang Yun’s heart tightened, and she couldn’t help guessing: “Is it related to our return to the old family house?”
He Yanfeng pulled her to sit down on the chair by the desk, and put his hands on her shoulders. Seeing his wife’s confused expression, he opened his mouth a few times, but he couldn’t utter the words that reached his mouth.
“Just what is it?”
He Yanfeng’s hesitant appearance made Yang Yun get a bad feeling. Her eyes fell on the document envelope on the table, and she recalled that He Yanfeng went to see Xiang Hong, and Xiang Hong’s job was a doctor…..
Yang Yun grabbed He Yanfeng’s hand on her shoulder, and couldn’t help being anxious: “Is it someone in our family? Is someone ill——”
Before Yang Yun finished speaking, He Yanfeng said: “There was a mistake when Qian Jian was born, he is not our son.”
“How is that possible?!” Yang Yun subconsciously said, “Didn’t we do a paternity test when Qian Jian was three months old?”
He Yanfeng was silent for a moment, picked up the envelope on the table, and took out the two reports inside.
“Look.”
Yang Yun took the report, and when her eyes swept over the test materials section, she froze, not daring to say anything: “Jiang Chen?” She raised her head, and the hand holding the report trembled slightly: “How come the test subjects are us and Xiao Chen? What is going on?”
He Yanfeng held Yang Yun’s shoulders, and bent down to meet her eye level: “Jiang Chen is our biological son.”
Yang Yun quickly turned to the last page of the report. Her pupils trembled violently when she saw the sentence at the bottom——according to the results of DNA analysis, Yang Yun and He Yanfeng are supported as Jiang Chen’s biological parents.
“Xiao Chen…..is my son?” Yang Yun raised her head and said, “What about Qian Jian?”
“He should be the child of the Jiang family.” He Yanfeng said, “Didn’t you ever feel that Xiao Chen was very familiar? He’s just like Qian Min and Qian Yu, who inherited your dimples, but his eyes and nose are like mine.”
Yang Yun recalled the quick glance when she first met Jiang Chen, just his profile made her very concerned, and every time she met him later, her fondness for that boy became more and more. Once she only thought that this was due to the affinity between Jiang Chen and their family, but she never thought that Jiang Chen was her biological son!
As long as she thought of Jiang Chen being her own son, she couldn’t help but carefully trace the facial features of the young man in her memory. Just like what her husband said, every inch of him was like the perfect combination of her and her husband’s facial features. Unlike Qian Jian…..
“What about Qian Jian?” Yang Yun raised her head abruptly, “Xiao Chen is our son, but what about Qian Jian?”
He Yanfeng was silent for a moment: “We have our own son, and the Jiang family also has their own son. Of course, Qian Jian must go back to the Jiang family.”
Yang Yun couldn’t accept it, “But…..we have raised Qian Jian for so many years, and can Qian Jian accept it, he…..”
Her elder son and younger son have completely different personalities. The younger son was casual and didn’t like to be restrained or be flamboyant, but her elder son was very particular on everything and always insisted on the best, including his studies and basic needs…..If he had to return to the Jiang family, the conditions of material life would definitely decline. Before, it was already difficult for him to even accept his decline in grades. If he knew the truth about his birth experience, would he be hit even harder?
“Whether he accepts it or not, it’s the truth.” He Yanfeng said earnestly: “Honey, both Xiao Chen and Qian Jian will soon be adults. They must have the fortitude to accept the facts in order to face more setbacks in the future. If you don’t tell Qian Jian the truth, then on Xiao Chen’s side, will you also want to hide it from him?”
“I know what you say is the right way, but after all, Qian Jian is the child we have raised for so many years, and——” Yang Yun raised her head: “Xiao Chen is our son, and Qian Jian is the son of the Jiang family. We hope that Xiao Chen will come back, but will the Jiang family be willing to exchange back the two children?”
“Xiao Chen has a very good relationship with his parents…..adoptive parents. His adoptive parents must also love him very much. We can accept this truth because we have gotten along with Xiao Chen for a long time. We know what kind of child he is and we like him very much, but the Jiang family has never met Qian Jian, they don’t know Qian Jian’s character and have no relationship with him, so if they are suddenly told that Xiao Chen is not their son, that Qian Jian is their son, it should be hard for them to accept.”
“Think about it differently. If we had never met Xiao Chen before, and suddenly a strange couple came over and told us that Qian Jian is not our child, but another boy we are completely strangers to is our child, wouldn’t you feel that it is hard to accept?”
“And it’s not just that, they not only asked you to accept a child who is a total stranger, but also asked you to give back the child you have loved for more than ten years, would you be willing?”
He Yanfeng fell silent, he had to admit that what Yang Yun said was the truth. But he would look at it more rationally than his wife. In addition to what his wife said, Jiang Chen himself being excellent enough was also one of the important reasons why he quickly accepted him.
Because as the head of the family, He Yanfeng had to calmly consider the stability of the family and the acceptance of Jiang Chen by the rest of the He family.
Jiang Chen and Qian Min and Qian Yu got along very well. One could imagine how happy Qian Min would be after learning that Jiang Chen was his real brother. Perhaps their daughter would find it hard to accept it at first, but she liked Jiang Chen very much, and it would not take too much time for her to accept Jiang Chen. In this way, Jiang Chen’s return to the He family would hardly have any negative impact on the stability of the family.
As for the rest of the He family, He Yanfeng knew his parents and siblings very well. The two elders may have feelings for He Qianjian and it might be difficult to let go, but at the same time they would never let their biological grandchild stranded outside unrecognized. As for his elder brother He Yanjun and elder sister He Yanya, one had He Qianyang as a mediator, and the other was engaged in the scientific research industry and would definitely have common interests with Jiang Chen.
It was because of such comprehensive consideration that He Yanfeng was able to accept Jiang Chen so quickly.
But would the Jiang family, who had never met He Qianjian, accept a completely unfamiliar boy? Also, could they really agree to let Jiang Chen and He Qianjian change back to their original identities?
He Yanfeng sat down on the other side of the desk, his voice was calm and low: “So I have decided to tell Jiang Chen about this matter first, and after discussing it with him, we will tell the Jiang couple together.”
“Tell Xiao Chen first?” Yang Yun was startled, “When?”
“Tomorrow.” He Yanfeng said: “After telling my parents about this, we will wait for him at the gate of his school after school.”
Yang Yun hesitated: “His birthday is the day after tomorrow, would telling him about it before his birthday…..”
“It’s because his birthday is the day after tomorrow that I have to clarify this matter tomorrow.” He Yanfeng tapped his fingers on the desk, pondered for a moment and said: “Also, I will notify them tomorrow morning and anmounce that Qian Jian’s birthday party will be canceled.”
“Why suddenly cancel the birthday party?” Yang Yun sat up straight, frowning slightly: “Qian Jian has been looking forward to this birthday party for a long time. During this period of time, he has been in a much better mood because his birthday is approaching. He would definitely be very upset if it is canceled. Moreover, all the preparations of the banquet have been arranged, but canceling it now…..it will be difficult for him to accept it.”
He Yanfeng shook his head: “Even if I don’t cancel it, when we go to the old family house tomorrow and explain the matter to my parents, my father will still tell us to cancel it.”
Yang Yun was puzzled: “Why?”
“Sooner or later, the identities of Qian Jian and Jiang Chen will be disclosed, and it is very likely that it will be in the near future. Besides relatives and friends, the people invited to Qian Jian’s birthday party also include many of my business partners. These guests will basically overlap with the ones at the banquet disclosing Jiang Chen’s true identity, and with two banquets taking place so close in time, no matter from which aspect, there will be comparisons in people’s hearts, which is not good for anyone.”
“But this is the banquet that Qian Jian had been looking forward to for so long…..” Yang Yun thought of He Qianjian’s increasingly silent and abnormal emotions recently, and felt her heart squeeze, “Even if he is not our biological child, I have raised him for eighteen years, isn’t it okay to treat this banquet as the last thing we can do for him?”
“Then what about Jiang Chen?” He Yanfeng asked: “He has the same birthday as Qian Jian. We found out his identity before his birthday but still held a grand birthday party for Qian Jian. What would he think when he finds out?”
Yang Yun was speechless.
“Also.” He Yanfeng looked at the envelope on the desk, his eyes darkening a bit: “There are many doubts in regards to Qian Jian and Jiang Chen being switched. During this period of time, I realized that I never really understood him. Although many things have not been investigated and no conclusion can be made, he is definitely not as simple as we know.”
Yang Yun frowned: “What do you mean?”
He Yanfeng held her by the shoulders, and at eye level with her, he said word by word: “I have always regarded Qian Jian as my first child. It is impossible for me to have no feelings for him after eighteen years. Honey, I hope that you can trust me, I have my reasons for doing this.”
“Can’t you tell me?”
“At least not until I figure out one thing.” He Yanfeng sighed, his voice hoarse: “I hope he won’t let me down…..”
TN: bonus chapter
The paper envelope was very thin, and there were only a few sheets of paper in it, so He Yanfeng pulled it out together.
Only a fifth of the thin A4 paper was pulled out of the document envelope, and he could already see the words in the middle of the top of the first A4 paper: DNA test report.
He Yanfeng’s breathing stagnated, and the hand holding the file tightened. He looked at Xiang Hong on the sofa, his expression hardly changing, but his voice tensing a little: “What does this mean?”
Xiang Hong held his head in both hands, inserted his fingers into his messy hair, and was silent for a while before saying, “Look for yourself.”
He Yanfeng withdrew his gaze and put all his body and mind on the piece of A4 in front of him. When he drew a third of it out, he paused and said in a deep voice, “You’re not joking with me, are you?”
Xiang Hong hesitated to speak.
He Yanfeng got the answer from his expression, and something felt like it was about to burst out from his chest. His thumb and index finger tightly pinched these thin sheets of paper, but the remaining two-thirds remained inside.
The clock on the wall ticked away, and the document envelope and the report inside remained pulled out a third of the way. It was getting dark, and there was only one floor lamp in the living room, which stood beside the coffee table, and the light yellow slender light cast on the top of the coffee table, divided Xiang Hong sitting on the sofa and He Yanfeng on the other side of the coffee table into two separate spaces.
“Brother He.” Xiang Hong sighed deeply, with an apology on his face: “As a friend, I took your DNA sample without your consent to help you do a paternity test, I’m sorry.”
He Yanfeng looked at Xiang Hong quietly, but Xiang Hong didn’t say a word more, and they stared at each other in the darkness.
“Is that why you went to my office last time?”
Xiang Hong nodded, paused, rolling the words in his mouth several times, and finally said: “He Qianjian is not your son.”
He Yanfeng lowered his head, most of his face was hidden in the darkness, and only his knuckles holding the brown envelope could be seen turning white. A few minutes later, his dry and hoarse voice sounded: “If he is not my son, then who is my son?”
After having said what he had been holding back, it became much smoother to face the next thing. Xiang Hong raised his hand and pointed to the brown paper envelope: “It’s all inside.”
He Yanfeng’s eyes returned to the envelope, and after a pause, he moved his hand holding the A4 paper and pulled it out.
The content of the first page of the report was clear at a glance. He Yanfeng’s eyes fell on the words “test materials”, and slowly moved down——No. 1 test material: He Yanfeng’s hair follicles; No. 2 test material: Yang Yun’s hair follicles; No. 3 test material: He Qianjian’s hair follicles. He quickly scanned the date and process of the test, turned to the third sheet of paper, and his eyes stayed on the appraisal conclusion at the bottom: He Qianjian, He Yanfeng, and Yang Yun are confirmed to have no blood relation.
His eyes stayed on the words “No blood relation” for a long time, until the hour hand of the wall clock reached the hour and made a ding sound. Then he raised his head as if waking up from a dream, put the report back, and looked anxiously and eagerly at the second report, which was still a DNA test report, but in the test materials section, the name of No. 3 test material was changed to Jiang Chen’s hair follicles.
When He Yanfeng saw the name “Jiang Chen”, he paused in turning the pages. He didn’t need to see the conclusion, he already had the answer in his heart.
He seldom had any doubts until a young man named Jiang Chen appeared in their family’s life. This young man was able to appease the rebellious He Qianmin into obedience, make He Qianyu, who was used to being the center of attention, always bring him up, and cause his wife to be especially gentle and filled with concern…..The phone call not long ago made He Yanfeng unable to help but think about Jiang Chen’s special personality charm, which made his wife, son and daughter love him so much, and even made it hard for him to feel displeased at being contradicted. Not to mention when receiving the video that was beyond the realm of reality, he never doubted whether it was true or not, and just believed him inexplicably and easily.
Now, all the puzzles have been answered——because Jiang Chen was the biological son of him and his wife, and the biological elder brother of He Qianmin and He Qianyu.
Seeing that He Yanfeng stayed on the first page of the second report, Xiang Hong said, “Aren’t you turning to the back?”
He Yanfeng pinched the report and turned the report to the last page. His eyes moved away when he touched the conclusion at the bottom, and countless complicated emotions surged up in his heart. The strange thing was that he didn’t feel that it was hard to accept the truth, and what cycled in his mind was all about how to tell Jiang Chen this matter.
Xiang Hong stood up, walked around the coffee table to He Yanfeng, and patted him on the shoulder: “Brother He.”
He Yanfeng came back to his senses, put the two reports back into the envelope, and patted Xiang Hong’s arm heavily: “Thank you for this matter.”
Xiang Hong shook his head: “Are you okay?”
“It’s easier to accept than I thought.” He Yanfeng paused and sighed deeply: “I’m only worried about your sister-in-law…”
Thinking of Yang Yun’s love for the three children, Xiang Hong pondered for a moment and said, “Why don’t you tell her after a while?”
“No.” After accepting the facts, He Yanfeng’s mind was extremely calm, he shook his head and said: “You are right to tell me directly, the longer this kind of thing is delayed, the less good it is, whether it is for your sister-in-law or for…..Jiang Chen’s adoptive parents.”
Xiang Hong’s expression became serious: “Have you thought about how to tell Sister-in-law about this?”
He Yanfeng twitched the corner of his mouth: “It’s useless to prepare mentally, it’s better to just say it directly.”
“Then what about the Jiang family?” Xiang Hong said: “Jiang Chen’s adoptive parents probably don’t know that they raised the wrong child, it may be difficult to accept it, and Qian Jian, it may be even more difficult for him to accept it.”
He Yanfeng narrowed his eyes, and said lightly: “Whether it’s the Jiang family or Qian Jian, sooner or later they have to accept the truth.”
Xiang Hong: “How have you decided to talk to the Jiang family? Visit them directly?”
“I’ll tell Jiang Chen first.” In just a short moment, He Yanfeng had already thought of countless ways to tell the truth to the young man, but thinking of Jiang Chen’s seemingly soft but strong character, his tone became serious and helpless: “If we bypass him and go directly to the Jiang family, he will probably become hostile to us.”
After Xiang Hong pondered, he agreed: “Jiang Chen is too smart. It’s really not a good idea to hide it from him, but are you sure he can accept it directly? No matter how smart he is, he’s still just a child.”
He Yanfeng paused, thinking of something, and suddenly shook his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“The first time I met Jiang Chen, I asked him how old he was, and he said he was eighteen.” He Yanfeng smiled wryly, “It’s because I always thought he was one year older than Qian Jian, so even if he has the same birthday as Qian Jian, I never doubted anything, if I had known…..”
Xiang Hong also felt complicated, guessing: “Maybe he reported his age according to Chinese calendar?” (TN: according to the traditional Chinese method of reckoning (i.e. the number of Chinese calendar years in which one has lived). In this system, a person’s age is one year at birth, and increases by one year at the beginning of the first solar term)
“I will know later.” He Yanfeng put his hands on his shoulders, and said in a heavy tone, “I’ll be going back first.”
……
All the way home from Xiang Hong’s residence, He Yanfeng was thinking about how to tell his wife about this matter, but he still didn’t think of a suitable way to bring it up even after he got out of the car and entered the house.
He Yanfeng stood at the door, still thinking about it.
Yang Yun, who was waiting in the living room, came out when she heard the sound, with a teasing smile on her face: “All preparations for Qian Jian’s birthday party is ready, so you don’t need to find excuses to go to Xiao Xiang’s place to hide tomorrow.”
Approaching and seeing the expression on He Yanfeng’s face clearly, the smile on Yang Yun’s face faded, and there was more worry in her voice: “What’s the matter? Did something really happen on Xiao Xiang’s side?”
He Yanfeng changed his shoes and walked in: “Let’s go to the study, I have something to tell you.”
Yang Yun’s heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t help becoming worried. Except for the time when the He family refused to accept her at first, even through the ups and downs of the company, she had never seen her husband with such a solemn expression. She hurried her pace to walk at He Yanfeng’s side: “Honey, what’s the matter? Don’t scare me.”
He Yanfeng shook his head: “Let’s go to the study and talk.”
“Is it about Xiao Xiang?” Yang Yun was worried, and couldn’t help but continue to ask: “Or is it related to us?”
“It has nothing to do with Xiang Hong, it’s——”
“Dad, you’re back!” The door to the next room suddenly opened, and He Qianyu ran out wearing rabbit pajamas, and threw herself into He Yanfeng’s arms.
He Yanfeng rubbed his daughter’s head, and the expression on his face softened a bit: “Our little princess is still not asleep.”
“I was waiting for you!” He Qianyu hugged He Yanfeng’s waist, and looked around behind him: “Where’s the watercolor pen you promised to buy me?”
He Yanfeng’s hand on her head paused, and then he remembered that he had promised to buy He Qianyu a new box of watercolor pens before going out.
“I’m sorry, Dad forgot.” After He Yanfeng apologized, he bent down and coaxed: “Can Dad buy it for you tomorrow?”
He Qianyu let go of him, pouted her lips in disappointment, and said in a low voice, “But tomorrow will be too late.”
“Is it an art homework?” Yang Yun knelt down to comfort her daughter and said, “Mom will call your teacher later and explain to the teacher that the watercolor pens at home are used up. Mom and Dad are too careless and forgot to buy them for you, so you couldn’t hand your homework in. Mom will discuss with your teacher about handing it in next Monday, okay?”
“It’s not an art homework, it’s a gift I want to give to Brother Jiang Chen.” He Qianyu lowered her head, aggrieved and sad: “I begged Second Brother for a long time before he agreed to come to my school after school tomorrow to help me give Brother Jiang Chen’s birthday present to him, if I don’t finish it tonight, it will be too late to do it tomorrow.”
Yang Yun was taken aback. She glanced at He Yanfeng, hesitated for a while, and said, “Then Mom and Dad will go out and buy colored pens for you now, okay? Mom and Dad promise to come back soon, and you will definitely have time to make a gift for Brother Jiang Chen.”
“No need.” He Yanfeng rubbed He Qianyu’s head, and said softly: “Tomorrow, Dad will ask for a day off for you, so that you have a day to make a present for Brother Jiang Chen. Now you go to bed first, okay?”
“Really?!” He Qianyu jumped three feet high, her rabbit ears bouncing up and down with her. She stretched out her hand excitedly and said: “Dad must make a pinky promise! Whoever goes back on their word is a little puppy!”
“What are you talking about?” Yang Yun disagreed and said, “How can you just agree to such a thing with Xiao Bao?”
“I have my reason.”
He Yanfeng and He Qianyu hooked their pinkies and pressed their thumbs together. After watching her door close, he turned to Yang Yun and said, “Let’s go to the study, I have something very important to tell you.”
Yang Yun frowned and followed behind He Yanfeng. She waited until the study door was closed, and said: “No matter how important things are, you can’t not treat your child’s studies so carelessly. Now you set a precedent for her to ask for leave for no reason. In the future, she…..”
“Tomorrow our whole family will be going to the old family house.” He Yanfeng took two steps towards the desk, stopped and said, “Except for Qian Jian.”
Yang Yun was taken aback for a moment, but she didn’t think there was anything wrong with not letting He Qianjian go to the old family house together. She just thought that her husband might be worried about delaying their eldest son’s studies as he was in his third year of high school. She worried, “Why do you suddenly want to go back to the old family house? Is it your parents? Do they need us for something?”
He Yanfeng shook his head, gripping the document envelope tightly. He attempted to lift it up several times, but in the end he just put it on the desk.
“Honey, I have something to tell you.” He Yanfeng took Yang Yun’s hand, his voice was a little hoarse: “You have to be mentally prepared first.”
“What’s the matter?” Yang Yun’s heart tightened, and she couldn’t help guessing: “Is it related to our return to the old family house?”
He Yanfeng pulled her to sit down on the chair by the desk, and put his hands on her shoulders. Seeing his wife’s confused expression, he opened his mouth a few times, but he couldn’t utter the words that reached his mouth.
“Just what is it?”
He Yanfeng’s hesitant appearance made Yang Yun get a bad feeling. Her eyes fell on the document envelope on the table, and she recalled that He Yanfeng went to see Xiang Hong, and Xiang Hong’s job was a doctor…..
Yang Yun grabbed He Yanfeng’s hand on her shoulder, and couldn’t help being anxious: “Is it someone in our family? Is someone ill——”
Before Yang Yun finished speaking, He Yanfeng said: “There was a mistake when Qian Jian was born, he is not our son.”
“How is that possible?!” Yang Yun subconsciously said, “Didn’t we do a paternity test when Qian Jian was three months old?”
He Yanfeng was silent for a moment, picked up the envelope on the table, and took out the two reports inside.
“Look.”
Yang Yun took the report, and when her eyes swept over the test materials section, she froze, not daring to say anything: “Jiang Chen?” She raised her head, and the hand holding the report trembled slightly: “How come the test subjects are us and Xiao Chen? What is going on?”
He Yanfeng held Yang Yun’s shoulders, and bent down to meet her eye level: “Jiang Chen is our biological son.”
Yang Yun quickly turned to the last page of the report. Her pupils trembled violently when she saw the sentence at the bottom——according to the results of DNA analysis, Yang Yun and He Yanfeng are supported as Jiang Chen’s biological parents.
“Xiao Chen…..is my son?” Yang Yun raised her head and said, “What about Qian Jian?”
“He should be the child of the Jiang family.” He Yanfeng said, “Didn’t you ever feel that Xiao Chen was very familiar? He’s just like Qian Min and Qian Yu, who inherited your dimples, but his eyes and nose are like mine.”
Yang Yun recalled the quick glance when she first met Jiang Chen, just his profile made her very concerned, and every time she met him later, her fondness for that boy became more and more. Once she only thought that this was due to the affinity between Jiang Chen and their family, but she never thought that Jiang Chen was her biological son!
As long as she thought of Jiang Chen being her own son, she couldn’t help but carefully trace the facial features of the young man in her memory. Just like what her husband said, every inch of him was like the perfect combination of her and her husband’s facial features. Unlike Qian Jian…..
“What about Qian Jian?” Yang Yun raised her head abruptly, “Xiao Chen is our son, but what about Qian Jian?”
He Yanfeng was silent for a moment: “We have our own son, and the Jiang family also has their own son. Of course, Qian Jian must go back to the Jiang family.”
Yang Yun couldn’t accept it, “But…..we have raised Qian Jian for so many years, and can Qian Jian accept it, he…..”
Her elder son and younger son have completely different personalities. The younger son was casual and didn’t like to be restrained or be flamboyant, but her elder son was very particular on everything and always insisted on the best, including his studies and basic needs…..If he had to return to the Jiang family, the conditions of material life would definitely decline. Before, it was already difficult for him to even accept his decline in grades. If he knew the truth about his birth experience, would he be hit even harder?
“Whether he accepts it or not, it’s the truth.” He Yanfeng said earnestly: “Honey, both Xiao Chen and Qian Jian will soon be adults. They must have the fortitude to accept the facts in order to face more setbacks in the future. If you don’t tell Qian Jian the truth, then on Xiao Chen’s side, will you also want to hide it from him?”
“I know what you say is the right way, but after all, Qian Jian is the child we have raised for so many years, and——” Yang Yun raised her head: “Xiao Chen is our son, and Qian Jian is the son of the Jiang family. We hope that Xiao Chen will come back, but will the Jiang family be willing to exchange back the two children?”
“Xiao Chen has a very good relationship with his parents…..adoptive parents. His adoptive parents must also love him very much. We can accept this truth because we have gotten along with Xiao Chen for a long time. We know what kind of child he is and we like him very much, but the Jiang family has never met Qian Jian, they don’t know Qian Jian’s character and have no relationship with him, so if they are suddenly told that Xiao Chen is not their son, that Qian Jian is their son, it should be hard for them to accept.”
“Think about it differently. If we had never met Xiao Chen before, and suddenly a strange couple came over and told us that Qian Jian is not our child, but another boy we are completely strangers to is our child, wouldn’t you feel that it is hard to accept?”
“And it’s not just that, they not only asked you to accept a child who is a total stranger, but also asked you to give back the child you have loved for more than ten years, would you be willing?”
He Yanfeng fell silent, he had to admit that what Yang Yun said was the truth. But he would look at it more rationally than his wife. In addition to what his wife said, Jiang Chen himself being excellent enough was also one of the important reasons why he quickly accepted him.
Because as the head of the family, He Yanfeng had to calmly consider the stability of the family and the acceptance of Jiang Chen by the rest of the He family.
Jiang Chen and Qian Min and Qian Yu got along very well. One could imagine how happy Qian Min would be after learning that Jiang Chen was his real brother. Perhaps their daughter would find it hard to accept it at first, but she liked Jiang Chen very much, and it would not take too much time for her to accept Jiang Chen. In this way, Jiang Chen’s return to the He family would hardly have any negative impact on the stability of the family.
As for the rest of the He family, He Yanfeng knew his parents and siblings very well. The two elders may have feelings for He Qianjian and it might be difficult to let go, but at the same time they would never let their biological grandchild stranded outside unrecognized. As for his elder brother He Yanjun and elder sister He Yanya, one had He Qianyang as a mediator, and the other was engaged in the scientific research industry and would definitely have common interests with Jiang Chen.
It was because of such comprehensive consideration that He Yanfeng was able to accept Jiang Chen so quickly.
But would the Jiang family, who had never met He Qianjian, accept a completely unfamiliar boy? Also, could they really agree to let Jiang Chen and He Qianjian change back to their original identities?
He Yanfeng sat down on the other side of the desk, his voice was calm and low: “So I have decided to tell Jiang Chen about this matter first, and after discussing it with him, we will tell the Jiang couple together.”
“Tell Xiao Chen first?” Yang Yun was startled, “When?”
“Tomorrow.” He Yanfeng said: “After telling my parents about this, we will wait for him at the gate of his school after school.”
Yang Yun hesitated: “His birthday is the day after tomorrow, would telling him about it before his birthday…..”
“It’s because his birthday is the day after tomorrow that I have to clarify this matter tomorrow.” He Yanfeng tapped his fingers on the desk, pondered for a moment and said: “Also, I will notify them tomorrow morning and anmounce that Qian Jian’s birthday party will be canceled.”
“Why suddenly cancel the birthday party?” Yang Yun sat up straight, frowning slightly: “Qian Jian has been looking forward to this birthday party for a long time. During this period of time, he has been in a much better mood because his birthday is approaching. He would definitely be very upset if it is canceled. Moreover, all the preparations of the banquet have been arranged, but canceling it now…..it will be difficult for him to accept it.”
He Yanfeng shook his head: “Even if I don’t cancel it, when we go to the old family house tomorrow and explain the matter to my parents, my father will still tell us to cancel it.”
Yang Yun was puzzled: “Why?”
“Sooner or later, the identities of Qian Jian and Jiang Chen will be disclosed, and it is very likely that it will be in the near future. Besides relatives and friends, the people invited to Qian Jian’s birthday party also include many of my business partners. These guests will basically overlap with the ones at the banquet disclosing Jiang Chen’s true identity, and with two banquets taking place so close in time, no matter from which aspect, there will be comparisons in people’s hearts, which is not good for anyone.”
“But this is the banquet that Qian Jian had been looking forward to for so long…..” Yang Yun thought of He Qianjian’s increasingly silent and abnormal emotions recently, and felt her heart squeeze, “Even if he is not our biological child, I have raised him for eighteen years, isn’t it okay to treat this banquet as the last thing we can do for him?”
“Then what about Jiang Chen?” He Yanfeng asked: “He has the same birthday as Qian Jian. We found out his identity before his birthday but still held a grand birthday party for Qian Jian. What would he think when he finds out?”
Yang Yun was speechless.
“Also.” He Yanfeng looked at the envelope on the desk, his eyes darkening a bit: “There are many doubts in regards to Qian Jian and Jiang Chen being switched. During this period of time, I realized that I never really understood him. Although many things have not been investigated and no conclusion can be made, he is definitely not as simple as we know.”
Yang Yun frowned: “What do you mean?”
He Yanfeng held her by the shoulders, and at eye level with her, he said word by word: “I have always regarded Qian Jian as my first child. It is impossible for me to have no feelings for him after eighteen years. Honey, I hope that you can trust me, I have my reasons for doing this.”
“Can’t you tell me?”
“At least not until I figure out one thing.” He Yanfeng sighed, his voice hoarse: “I hope he won’t let me down…..”
