Chapter 49

The conversation in the main hall was cut short by a burst of cheerful footsteps approaching from afar.

“We’re back! We rushed all the way here and still made it before dinner started!”

Even before he arrived, Jin Linglong’s voice carried in first. He was dressed in a casual suit and carrying several heavy-looking gift bags.

Beside him, Zhang Lijun wore a peach-pink Chinese-style long dress, with a silk scarf tied neatly at her neck. Her smile was gentle and elegant.

Both of them looked a little worn from the long trip, but more than that, they carried the ease and joy of coming home.

“Dad, Mom.” Jin Zijin rose to greet them, and Wen Yan followed closely behind.

“Oh, my dear girl.” Zhang Lijun opened her arms and hugged Jin Zijin, then turned to Wen Yan and looked her over affectionately. “Yan Yan looks even more spirited than the last time I saw you. That’s wonderful.”

Jin Linglong also smiled as he set the gift bags down on an empty side table. He greeted Jin Shuangye first, then nodded to Wen Yan with an easy demeanor.

Wen Yan politely returned the greeting. “Dad, Mom, you’ve worked hard on the trip.”

“Not hard, not hard. We were in such a rush last time that we didn’t even bring you gifts.” As he spoke, Jin Linglong carefully took several items wrapped in soft cloth from one of the bags. “This time we went out on a tour and happened to run into some interesting local artisans. Here, these are for you.”

He first took out a pair of paperweights, polished smooth and warm to the touch, their black-and-white natural patterns making a charming contrast. He handed them to Wen Yan. “Zijing said you read a lot, always looking through books and papers. This will make a good paperweight. Solid and steady.”

Then he took out a brightly colored bracelet woven from natural stones and silver ornaments and handed it to Jin Zijin. “Your mother picked this. She said the colors suit you.”

The gifts weren’t expensive, but it was obvious they had been chosen with care, carrying the marks of travel and their parents’ thoughtfulness.

Jin Zijin took the bracelet and put it on at once, stacking it with her jade bangle. Unexpectedly, it suited her very well.

Wen Yan also carefully put away the paperweights and thanked them sincerely.

After the greetings and small talk, the butler came over to quietly say that dinner was ready.

Everyone then moved to the dining room.

The round table was large enough to seat more than ten people.

The seating had already been arranged. Jin Shuangye naturally took the seat of honor; Jin Linglong and his wife sat on either side; Jin Zijin pulled Wen Yan to sit at Zhang Lijun’s lower right, while opposite them were Jin Ziyu and Jiang Linyue.

Unexpectedly, just before the meal began, two more people were shown in.

The woman in front was in her seventies, her gray-white hair combed neatly into place.

She wore a dark-blue Chinese-style suit embroidered with gold thread. Her face bore a five- or six-part resemblance to Jin Shuangye, but the lines at the corners of her eyes and brows were deeper, and her expression was more reserved and guarded.

Behind her followed a woman in her forties, dressed in a skirt suit with carefully applied makeup. She resembled the older woman somewhat, but her bearing was sharper and more outwardly incisive. When her gaze swept across the people at the table, it carried a distinctly appraising look.

It was the long-exiled, now returned aunt, Jin Mingyue, and her eldest daughter, Jin Ziyu.

For a brief moment, the atmosphere in the room stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Jin Shuangye’s expression didn’t change. She merely lifted her eyelids and said coolly, “You’re here? Sit.”

Jin Mingyue curved her brows in a smile. “It’s Second Aunt’s birthday. Of course we had to come.”

With that, she led her daughter to sit near the end of the table.

Jin Ziyu greeted everyone there sweetly. When her gaze fell on Jin Zijin and Wen Yan, it lingered for two seconds longer.

The banquet began. The dishes were exquisite, and the atmosphere gradually warmed as Jin Linglong and his wife recounted interesting stories from their tour.

Zhang Lijun looked gently at her daughter and Wen Yan, her tone apologetic. “When you two got married, we were right in the middle of the orchestra’s busiest touring season. We were flying all over the place and never got to properly spend time with you.”

“And then I was always busy afterward too... you two have been getting along on your own, right?”

Wen Yan put down her spoon and answered earnestly, “Mom, we get along very well.”

Zhang Lijun nodded, then glanced at her own daughter with some concern. “This child, Zijin, has always been rather reserved since she was little. She doesn’t like to express herself, and sometimes she carries too much on her mind. Yan Yan, you should be a little more tolerant of her.”

Before Wen Yan could speak, Jin Zijin raised her brows slightly and looked at her mother.

Wen Yan smiled and said softly, “Mom, Zijin is actually very considerate, and very gentle. We’re very compatible in daily life, and we’re very accommodating of each other.”

As she spoke, she turned and glanced at Jin Zijin, her eyes sparkling with tiny flecks of laughter.

Jin Zijin said nothing. She only set down her chopsticks and, beneath the table, quietly took Wen Yan’s hand, interlacing their fingers.

Then she lifted their joined hands and placed them lightly on the tabletop, her posture natural yet proudly intimate.

Looking at her parents, Jin Zijin curved her lips. “Mm, that’s exactly how it is.”

This open display of dependence and affection made several of the elders at the table freeze for a moment.

Jin Linglong’s eyes flashed with surprise before turning into a relieved smile.

Zhang Lijun’s eyes even reddened slightly as she nodded again and again. “Good, good. If you get along, that’s wonderful... Mom can finally relax.”

Jin Mingyue, seated opposite them, watched the scene and gave a low laugh.

The older woman’s voice was neither loud nor soft, carrying an ambiguous sigh. “It’s a good thing when young people are on good terms... really good.”

Jin Linglong, who had hardly spoken, perhaps because he saw the atmosphere was harmonious or perhaps out of concern, hesitated for a moment before asking, “Since you two get along, that’s a good thing.”

“Do you have any plans for the future? For example... about children?”

As soon as he said it, Jin Shuangye at the head of the table lifted her eyelids. Her spoon tapped lightly against the bowl with a clear ring.

“What’s the hurry?” The old lady’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried the authority of the family head. “The two children have only been married for how long? Their lives are theirs to live; whether or not they have children is their own business.”

“Did I rush you back then? And now you’re in such a hurry to become grandparents?”

Jin Linglong felt somewhat awkward after being scolded by his mother. “Mom, I’m not pressuring them. I’m just asking out of concern...”

Jin Shuangye’s tone was flat, but there was still a warning edge to it. “If you truly cared, then when they first got married, you should have stayed home with them more instead of running all over the world.”

Just as the dining table seemed on the verge of turning into a lecture, Jin Mingyue hurriedly smiled to smooth things over. “Oh, Second Aunt, Linglong only meant well. Since the whole family rarely gets together like this, the important thing is to eat happily.”

As she spoke, she casually changed the subject, her gaze drifting toward Wen Yan. Her tone carried a probing note. “But come to think of it, Yan Yan is a surgeon, right?”

“I heard doctors are always especially busy. Standing in the operating room for several hours at a time, I’m afraid... you probably don’t have much time or energy to think about children, do you?”

It sounded considerate on the surface, but there were soft barbs hidden underneath.

Jin Zijin held Wen Yan’s hand and gently pressed her fingertip into Wen Yan’s palm. Then she raised her eyes to look at Jin Mingyue, a smile blooming on her face that was unusually bright, even a little innocent.

“My great-aunt is right, doctors are busy,” she said lightly, as if discussing tomorrow’s weather. “But we already have a plan.”

The table fell silent; several gazes fixed on her.

Jin Zijin smiled sweetly and dropped a bombshell. “Wen Yan has good genes; she’s smart, and her physical foundation is excellent. As for me, I’m especially outstanding.”

“So we’ve decided to use the most advanced artificial womb technology to have children.”

She paused, then, under everyone’s stunned looks, continued smiling as she threw out another bomb. “Since the technology is mature, it shouldn’t be a problem to cultivate several embryos at once.”

“We’ll have ten or eight of them; we’ll help the Jin family branch out and prosper.”

“Pfft—”

Jin Ziyu choked hard on her tea and bent over coughing.

Jiang Linyue, sitting beside her, hurriedly handed her a tissue, her expression equally vivid.

Wen Yan was also startled by such an outrageous claim; her eyelid twitched. But feeling Jin Zijin’s little scratch against her palm under the table, she immediately played along and nodded obediently. “Mm, what Zijin said is right. That’s indeed our plan.”

Her tone was utterly serious, as if she were reporting on a research project. “We can do genetic screening and optimization to ensure the children are healthy and intelligent.”

Seeing that Wen Yan had played along, Jin Zijin became even more enthusiastic and started sketching out the future right there at the table, counting off on her fingers. “I’ve thought it all out. The first one should inherit Yan Yan’s athletic talent and build, so they can become an athlete and bring honor to the country.”

“The second one can study medicine and carry on Yan Yan’s legacy. The third can go into business and help me manage the family estate. The fourth can study law, so we won’t have to worry about legal issues at home.”

“The fifth one... maybe politics? That doesn’t sound bad either.”

“Anyway, if we have enough children, we can cultivate one for every industry. Then our Jin family will have talent everywhere in the future!”

The more she spoke, the more outrageous it became. Her eyes shone as she looked at Jin Shuangye. “Grandma, don’t you think so?”

“Our family just doesn’t have enough children. Starting from our generation, we’ll work hard and make sure you’re holding great-grandchildren until your hands go soft!”

Listening to her wildly imaginative blueprint, Wen Yan really couldn’t help it; she lowered her head and bit back a smile.

Her shoulders trembled slightly, and she had to work hard not to laugh out loud.

But she still didn’t expose her. After Jin Zijin finished, she even added earnestly, “We’ve also discussed the education plan. Teaching according to aptitude is important.”

“Zijin is right; the more children we have, the more options there are.”

The two of them traded lines back and forth; one dared to say it, and the other dared to go along with it. Their coordination was seamless.

At the head of the table, Jin Shuangye’s mouth hadn’t closed since Jin Zijin started talking about “ten or eight.”

How could she not hear the exaggeration and joke in her granddaughter’s words?

But watching the two children sit side by side, one talking excitedly nonsense while the other held back laughter and nodded along.

Their closeness, the way they handled the situation hand in hand, made her heart warm through and through.

The old lady’s eyes glinted with understanding and delight. She slowly drank a mouthful of soup and ignored the “ten or eight” entirely, only saying, “As long as you young people have your own plans, that’s fine.”

“The road is still long. Take your time.”

The one who had asked the question, Jin Mingyue, did not look too pleased after that.

She had meant to test them and make things a little uncomfortable; instead, Jin Zijin had shoved the answer back at her in such a ridiculous and blunt way.

Her lips parted, but in the end she said nothing. Her expression darkened in the light.

In the corner, Jiang Linyue had finally calmed her wildly pounding heart.

She clutched her tissue, staring blankly at Wen Yan’s profile, where a smile still lingered, then shifting to Jin Zijin’s bright, spirited brows and eyes.

The Wen Yan in her memory had been quiet and distant, immersed in her own world.

When had she ever worn such a vivid expression?

When had she ever indulged, even cooperated with, another person’s “nonsense” like this?

That trace of complicated bitterness in her heart began to ferment, little by little.

She suddenly felt dazed as she thought to herself.

Back then, had she... given up too early?

If only she had persisted a little longer.

If only she had been a little more patient while waiting.

Would this silent bamboo standing in moonlight have bloomed for her too?

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Zijin was really doing it on purpose, showing off furiously in front of her love rival. [pat head]