As the saying goes.
Parents love their youngest child, grandparents cherish their eldest grandchildren.
This is not very evident in the Huo family, but to some extent, it still exists.
Just like how Father Huo favors his second son who looks like him, Grandfather Huo also dotes on his eldest grandson, Huo Chenyang.
He may be tough on Huo Xingchao, even resorting to scolding and punishing him, but when it comes to Huo Chenyang, he will give him anything he wants.
Huo Chenyang has known this since he was young.
And because he is also obedient and well-behaved, he is much closer to his grandfather compared to his younger brother Huo Xingchao, who always feels like a mouse in front of a cat around their grandfather.
Their relationship is so relaxed that when Huo Chenyang gets into trouble, the first person he thinks of is not his parents, but his grandfather.
He went to his grandfather together with Jiang Xiaxia.
Kneeling in front of his grandfather, he said,
“Grandfather, please let us be together.”
Jiang Xiaxia was also crying, her usually lively face now pale.
“Grandfather Huo, I beg you, me and Brother Chenyang truly love each other.”
Grandfather Huo was so angry that his face turned white.
“Even if you kneel here until your legs break, don’t even think about it!”
“Grandfather, I only treated He Nian as a sister. I know Grandfather He saved your life, and I am willing to do anything for him. But you can’t force me to marry someone I don’t love. Please, Grandfather, I beg you!”
“Grandfather, you and Grandmother fell in love freely. Can you bear to let me marry and have children through an arranged marriage? Xiaxia and I truly love each other. Please give us your blessing!”
…
Grandfather Huo’s chest was heaving.
His finger trembled as he pointed at his most beloved grandson.
“Are you trying to kill me? Get out of here! If you don’t want to marry Nian Nian, then get out of my house! I won’t even consider it!”
“Grandfather…”
“Don’t call me Grandfather! I don’t have a grandson like you!”
“Grandfather Huo!”
Jiang Xiaxia couldn’t hold back any longer and kneeled down with tears in her eyes. “Please, please let us be together. I… I’m already pregnant with Brother Chenyang’s child!”
…
…
This sentence carries too much information.
Grandfather Huo glared with anger, his chest heaving violently. Finally, he was taken to the hospital because of their argument.
When Father Huo received the call, Grandfather Huo was already safe and sound, sitting on the hospital bed with a gray face. He waved his finger at Huo Chenyang, who looked guilty and uneasy beside him.
“You go, call your dad and let him come to decide whether to let you two poor lovebirds be together!”
…
That’s how it happened. After hearing the general story, Father Huo grabbed a rolling pin and went to the hospital to discipline his unfilial son.
Huo Xingchao followed them, and on the way, he remembered to ask his friends to inform his mother in the factory.
Coincidentally, He Nian came to the city to buy things and visited Mother Huo.
She met Huo Xingchao’s friend who rushed over and said anxiously, “Auntie, something big happened!”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know.”
The friend gasped for breath. “Xingchao asked me to find you and said to hurry to the hospital. Otherwise, it will be a tragedy of father and son fighting. He asked you to save the day!”
Mother Huo was confused.
But since the situation sounded so serious, she quickly took a leave and brought He Nian with her, and hurriedly went to the hospital.
…
So, at first, Huo Chenyang just wanted to quietly seek his grandfather’s approval and then inform his parents about him and Jiang Xiaxia.
But by evening, Father Huo, Mother Huo, Huo Xingchao, and his supposed fiancée, He Nian, all came.
In the hospital, it’s not good to be loud, but luckily in this era, the hospital beds are not hard to come by. Grandfather Huo is staying in a single patient room.
Huo Xingchao is waiting for his mother at the hospital entrance. When he sees He Nian next to her, he couldn’t help coughing.
Then, while walking inside, he retells the story in half sentences.
“…anyway, it’s that Jiang Xiaxia is pregnant, and my brother wants to marry her, but Grandfather disagrees and got so angry that he was hospitalized. My dad wanted to stop them with a rolling pin, but Grandfather stopped him, and now they are crying inside.”
The more Mother Huo listens, the more absurd it sounds. From disbelief at the beginning to anxiousness at the end, she rans towards the ward that Huo Xingchao mentioned, fearing that the two of them might fight for real.
As for Huo Xingchao, he fells behind a step.
He looked at He Nian, who had been silently listening the whole time, and asked, “Are you… alright?”
The young girl raised her head and showed a faint smile. Her tone was calm, “Brother Xingchao, don’t worry, I’m fine.”
Huo Xingchao touched his nose and gave her advice, “If they go too far later, just cry. Don’t say anything and cry as pitifully as possible. My Grandfather will definitely be on your side.”
“Crying won’t help.”
He Nian’s voice was very calm, “They love each other and even have a child.”
“It’s not that.”
Huo Xingchao frowned, “Believe it or not, when you go in later, Jiang Xiaxia will definitely cry with you. Haven’t you heard that crying children get candy? You can’t lose on principle but also lose out on candy. Trust me, cry first.”
Huo Xingchao’s prediction was correct.
As soon as they pushed open the door, Jiang Xiaxia saw He Nian standing quietly behind him, and her tears that had just stopped started to fall again.
“Nian Nian…”
She choked up, her eyes red.
“Sorry.”
“Xiaxia, you don’t have to apologize.”
Huo Chenyang next to her immediately supported her with pity, and looked at He Nian with a complicated gaze, “None of us are wrong.”
“Arranged marriages are inherently wrong and incompatible with this society’s values.”
“So, are you saying that I’m the one who’s wrong?”
Grandfather Huo leaned against the hospital bed, his face pale, and his voice carried a hint of sarcasm.
“Grandfather, that’s not what I meant…”
“Don’t call me Grandfather, I’m not your grandfather!”
He snorted.
Seeing He Nian, who was silent in the crowd, he couldn’t help but sigh and reached out to pull her to his side.
In a slow and mournful tone, tinged with deep remorse,
“Nian Nian, it’s Grandfather who has wronged you.”
“Grandfather Huo, this has nothing to do with you.”
The young girl smiled peacefully, “Originally, it was just a joke my grandfather made, and it shouldn’t have been taken seriously.”
Yes.
Just a joke.
When he was taking his last breath, Old Master He held his comrade’s hand.
They had agreed to a marriage between their children, and even exchanged tokens.
Now, it had become a joke.
Grandfather Huo slammed the bed hard.
“Alright, just in time, Nian Nian is here today. You need to kneel, but don’t kneel to me, kneel to her!”
“If Nian Nian doesn’t forgive you, even if I die, I won’t agree to this matter!”
…That’s what he said.
He Nian would have to reluctantly agree in the end.
Huo Xingchao looked at his own grandfather with some surprise.
But when he saw the deep guilt in his grandfather’s eyes and the gaze that fell on Jiang Xiaoxia’s belly, he understood.
Things had come to this point, and they couldn’t let Jiang Xiaoxia have an abortion.
After all, it was the Jiang family’s great-grandchild.
After thinking about it, they could only apologize to He Nian.
Although Grandfather Huo usually treated He Nian and He Yi better than his own grandson, at times like this, his heart inevitably leaned towards his own grandchild.
Huo Xingchao looked at He Nian, who was sitting by the sickbed with a slender figure.
The girl looked calm with her eyelashes slowly falling down.
Looking a bit desolate.
I don’t know why.
Clearly, she’s also a victim.
Her fiancé and her best friend were in love, even having a child together.
She was the last to find out.
But now in this scene, Jiang Xiaxia suddenly kneels down.
Tears streaming down her face,
“Nian Nian, please forgive me, I beg you. It’s really not easy for me and Brother Chenyang to be together until now…”
Huo Chenyang went to help her up with a heart full of pity,
“Xiaxia, this is not your fault. You don’t have to be so submissive, Xiaxia!”
…
She looks just like the Queen Mother of the Weaver and Cowherd, who separated them.
Cruel and indifferent.
Huo Xingchao couldn’t help but furrow his brows, glancing at the couple, and snorted,
“Brother, if you really want to date her, when you started liking Jiang Xiaxia, you should have canceled the engagement and said that everything was a result of feudalistic customs. Then I would respect you as an upright man.”
“You’re hiding it from your fiancée on one hand, and on the other hand, you’re messing around and having a child outside. When the truth comes out, you’re asking for mercy from your elders. You’re a two-timer, aren’t you?”
“As for Jiang Xiaxia, what’s the difference between your behavior and being a mistress?”
He sneered,
“I don’t think even feudal matchmaking is as despicable as you two’s grandiose and pretentious ways.”
He Nian lifted her head to look at him, pursed her lips, and there seemed to be a glimmer of water in her eyes.
However, she didn’t respond or cry as taught by Huo Xingchao.
Instead, she stood up, bowed to Grandfather Huo, and said,
“Grandfather Huo, I remember your kindness to me and He Yi.”
“As for my engagement to Huo Chenyang, you really don’t have to worry about it. I believe that even if my grandfather saw all of this, he would think the same way.”
When Grandfather set up this marriage, he must have had the intention of making his granddaughter or grandson happy.
But since the intended bridegroom already has a beloved person and even a child, there’s no point in interfering anymore.
If Grandfather knew, he would surely agree to cancel this engagement.
Moreover…
Even if Huo Chengyang and Jiang Xiaxia were not in love with each other.
Even if he didn’t refuse this engagement.
He Nian always had a negative attitude about marrying Huo Chengyang.
She… she didn’t want to.
The farce ended with He Nian’s understanding and tolerance, and Huo Chenyang and Jiang Xiaxia finally became a couple.
Grandfather Huo looked at their excited and happy faces with clear disappointment and defeat in his eyes.
When Huo Chenyang turned around, he happened to see the emotions in his grandfather’s eyes.
His heart suddenly skipped a beat.
……
After comforting Grandfather Huo, He Nian smiled and comforted Father and Mother Huo. Then she slowed down her pace and fell back to the last person in the crowd, a lazy teenager, and paused.
“Brother Xingchao, thank you today.”
Thank you for speaking up for me.
Thank you for being my support when I was most lost and wronged.
The teenager raised his eyebrows and glanced at her.
Finally, he reached out his hand and patted the little girl’s head.
“As long as you think you’re fine, then you are.”
The little girl smiled, her eyes and brows forming a relieved curve.
“Well, I’m fine.”
……
I’m really fine.
For He Nian, breaking off the engagement was actually a relief because she had a deeply buried secret in her heart.
It was sheltered from the wind and rain, growing day by day, starting from the broad back she had admired a long time ago, until now when she countered with a sneer, “Even feudal arranged marriages are not as hypocritical as you two.”
That secret gradually took root and sprouted, covering her whole heart like a lush vine.
She likes Huo Xingchao.
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